Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Edge Brings a Different Bend to the Curved Screen

galaxy note 4 edge front and backSamsung’s Unpacked event at IFA this year saw a couple of exciting announcements. Of course most were on tap to see the release of the newest member to the Galaxy Note series. Rumors were flying about a curved AMOLED display. We’d seen previous attempts from Samsung with the Galaxy Round, and LG released a banana curved G Flex, but toying with the popular Note could have been a risky proposition.

For the Note 4 Edge, Samsung has done something a bit asymmetrical. The right hand side of the screen tapers off giving the device a screen which wraps around that corner. It’s a dramatic effect, and Sammy is using it for a variety of functions. It can act like a dock for app shortcuts, it can display time and notifications. It handily houses settings for the camera app (keeping the viewfinder free). Scrolling widgets can be housed on the edge, and while the main screen area is off, the side can still display time allowing it to act like a bedside clock.

What’s a little curious is that Samsung hasn’t made both sides taper off. It could have been our first side bezel-less phone. Hopefully this doesn’t affect the usage for left handed folks. Otherwise, the Edge very much resembles the Note 3 in terms of general design, but thankfully the guts of this phone are getting an upgrade. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Edge Brings a Different Bend to the Curved Screen”

Lenovo Offers Up New Android Tablet and Windows Gaming PC’s

Lenovo TAB S8_1Lenovo has led the PC market in sales for five consecutive quarters, while also making substantial gains with their tablet offerings.

At IFA in Berlin, Lenovo took the wraps off of their first Intel powered Android tablet and some new gear for gamers.

The Tab S8 has an 8″ full HD screen (1920×1200) powered by an Intel Atom quad-core processor. The screen is bordered by tiny bezels with front facing stereo speakers, there’s an 8MP rear shooter, and features 2GB of RAM with 16GB of storage.

Base model will be available in September for $199, and there will be an LTE enabled model released later.

Also announced were a pair of gaming PC’s.

Continue reading “Lenovo Offers Up New Android Tablet and Windows Gaming PC’s”

What lessons can we learn from the iCloud celebrity nude photo leaks?

After an event like this, where hundreds of cloud backed up photos of celebrities have leaked online, what lessons can we take away in regards to our data security and privacy?

Friday Fun: The Voice of Mario & Luigi Posts Funny Videos on Instagram!

Chances are pretty good you’ve heard the work of Charles Martinet. He voices the popular Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, a childhood staple of mine.

Well apparently he’s on the instagrams, and he travels around with little Mario and Luigi action figures, voicing their adventures I.R.L!

For example here’s Luigi discovering a tree covered in leaf cutter ants.

Pro Tips: How I would fix the cameras on Nokia Smartphones (Post Cyan Update)

The cameras found on Nokia flagship phones are certainly formidable, but no gadget is perfect, and there’s ALWAYS room for improvement.

Here’s how I (and others who have commented on this blog) would tinker with Nokia’s camera software.

Samsung Gear S Smartwatch to Feature Curved Screen and 3G Cell Radio

Samsung_Gear_S_02_640We’re still waiting on the Moto360 and whatever watch Apple might eventually bring to the table, but the market isn’t standing still. Now Samsung has taken the wraps off of the newest entry to their Gear line of smartwatches.

samsung gear 2 hero profileThe Gear S is another Tizen offering, which will not use Android Wear like the Gear Live, but features a curved AMOLED display. It looks like it should wrap around the wrist in a slightly more comfortable way than some of the other rectangular screened watches available.

It wont be packing the camera or IR blaster found in the Gear 2, but it will add in a 3G cell radio and WiFi, making it more of a standalone data enabled device, similar to what Timex recently announced with their rugged watch. Using an almost comically small on screen keyboard or S-Voice will allow users to reply to incoming message, and the 3G connectivity will provide voice calling features as well. It could prove to be a decent stand alone experience for folks who want basic communication and media streaming while working out and don’t want to pack a bulky smartphone.

Gear S should be available in October, with pricing info to follow soon. Full PR below.

Continue reading “Samsung Gear S Smartwatch to Feature Curved Screen and 3G Cell Radio”

Amplifon project allows you to hear “The Sounds of Street View” on Google Maps

Google Maps Street View is the go to application for getting a look at an area from a pedestrian perspective. While that kind of mapping and visual location data is handy, Amplifon thinks they can improve the experience by adding sound.

The Sounds of Street View is a project designed to provide a 3D soundscape of an area to correspond with popular search locations on Google Maps. Wearing headphones gives one the sense of being surrounded by the area’s audio, and panning around the scene will change the “focus” of the audio as well.

Playing around with some of the sample locations, the loops used were fairly short. Kids giggling in one area started to sound REALLY creepy with the short mechanical repetition for example, but it was an interesting way to augment the “feel” of looking at a Street View scene.

Amplifon is making a developer framework available, which will allow others to create their own 3D audio samples. You can read more on the project at the Amplifon website, or see their teaser video below.

App Review: Protect your Android Phone or Tablet with Device Manager

We recently covered the news that California will become the second state to mandate a smartphone kill switch on all new smartphones sold after July 1, 2015.

Of course, that’s almost a year away, and for you folks using an Android here’s how you can better protect your phone or tablet today!