Let's Talk Tech
Lenovo is building out a line of small form factor PC’s under the “THINK” branding. The hardware certainly has a business-grade focus, and can be paired with an excellent monitor dock. Is the M83 a good fit for personal use too? Let’s take a look!
We only just posted our review of 6Discover this afternoon, and it would seem Snapchat’s lawyers were already drafting a letter to Developer Rudy Huyn asking him to remove the app from the Windows Phone app store.
The 6Discover devloper tweeted to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel early today.
Hey @evanspiegel can u speak with your lawyers?I’m sure it’s a good thing for U & partners to have more views (1/2) pic.twitter.com/skt39hASO7
— Rudy Huyn (@RudyHuyn) April 17, 2015
Snapchat recently started aggressively policing 3rd party apps over privacy concerns, that some apps could intercept images which were meant to be disposable. This has been supremely frustrating for Windows Phone users however as Snapchat still has not developed a native client for Microsoft’s OS.
6Discover was meant to interact with one specific aspect of the Snapchat service, media and news distribution, and while Rudy Huyn is correct that his app likely does not interact with any sensitive or private user information, but he might be underestimating the nature of the licensing agreements that Snaphat had other companies sign in order to participate.
Do you want better drop and scratch protection for your iPhone 6? Do you want some fun color accents and a fun design? Speck might have the case for you with their two piece MightyShell + FacePlate. Let’s take a look!
Shop the Speck MightyShell on Amazon.
More info on Speck Products.
It’s a service I use almost every day, and now their Android app is much easier to use. KCRW is a listener supported radio station in LA, which produces fantastic news and music shows with a global focus. Let’s take a look at their new app for streaming live audio and organizing their podcasts!
More phones are arriving with wireless charging built in. Nokia pioneered the tech in the Lumia line, Samsung has made specialty back plates and built it into the GS6, and several Nexus phones have incorporated the technology.
Even with growing support from phone manufacturers, it’s still largely regarded as a “geeky” tech, and utilizing it means buying a special charging pad. IKEA is looking to make the adoption of wireless charging easier with a surprisingly comprehensive live up of products.
Lamps, desks, end and bedside tables, stand alone pads, they’re even providing a kit to help consumers drill holes in existing furniture to build in their own charging pads. This is not a company dipping a toe into the tech market, they’re betting big on being first to market.
Each product will feature a small circle with a + sign on it. Plop your phone down on that and it’ll start charging. No more fuzing with charge cables.
Based on the Qi standard, this line of products should be compatible with most of the phones that have wireless charging built in, and for iPhones and Galaxy S phones that lack wireless charging, IKEA will have cases available that will add the charging coils.
You can see the whole line up via the IKEA press release, and the collection should be available later this Spring.
It sounded like a joke at first. Google built a template that allowed users to cut out a cardboard headset which turned their phone into a Virtual Reality display.
What started off as a proof of concept for VR applications on mobile devices, has exploded as it’s one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to try out VR content. App developers are paying attention as there’s a growing list of services being developed for VR with Google Cardboard in mind. While you can create your own headset using Google’s template, there are also a number of companies building pre-assembled headsets out of cardboard or plastic. Even the Viewmaster will be returning this Fall as a Cardboard inspired VR experience.
With a growing community, it would only make sense that Google would continue investing in this project, and they’ve now announced a “Works With Cardboard” program for better hardware and software compatibility moving forward.
Developers will receive better tools for migrating existing apps and services into a VR environment, Manufacturers will get a new tool which helps customers automatically configure the app for different hardware builds, and consumers will have access to a better organized app store experience.
It’s a very positive development to see Google taking this sector seriously, as VR is primed to be a hot industry as Oculus, Razer, Samsung, and HTC are all moving to get solutions into consumer’s hands. Google is betting on your first taste of VR coming from the (Android) phone you already own.
On a video released yesterday, LG claims “You deserve this”.
What you deserve is apparently a brighter and more colorful phone display, which would be a welcome addition to one of their flagship phones. It’s been one of my more consistent criticisms of LG devices, that while their screens are high resolution, they’re a bit dimmer than their Samsung, HTC, and Lumia counterparts which affects outdoor view-ability.
Is this a killer app for you? Are you looking forward to the G4 reveal on the 28th? Drop us a comment and watch LG’s teaser video below!
Samsung has been on a roll with their camera tech. Does the Galaxy S6 continue their record of delivering excellent optics? Does it live up to the hype? Let’s run this flagship smartphone though our slate of real world video tests!
Shop the Galaxy S6 on Amazon: http://goo.gl/Ii0Qg1