Report Project Chirp Google’s Amazon Echo Competitor to be Called Google Home

Report Project Chirp Google’s Amazon Echo Competitor to be Called Google Home

On the eve of Google I/O, details are emerging regarding Google’s Project Chirp. If you have missed the previous reports, Project Chirp (otherwise known simply as Chirp), is the Amazon Echo competitor device that Google is working on, said to be powered by Google Now and other Google technologies. According to the latest report from the New York Times, Chirp will be officially called Google Home, set to be unveiled during Google’s keynote address tomorrow morning in Mountain View, CA. 

Detailed in the report, Google Home will do essentially everything Echo can do, which is answer simple questions using the web, as well as possibly connect to other smart devices in your home. That’s the goal, at least. Not too many tidbits on operation were given, but considering we are potentially less than 24 hours away from unveiling, we will know everything soon enough.

According to the source of the New York Times, Google Home will not be available for purchase until this fall, but with an unveiling during Google I/O, you can expect that Google is looking to bolster app integration and support for 3rd-party systems by the time launch comes around. The Echo from Amazon has had nearly two years to build on the platform, so Google has a bit of catching up to do.

Let’s see a show of hands for who is anticipating the announcement of Google Home.

Via: The New York Times

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Google Current Smartphones Unlikely to be Supported by Daydream VR Platform

Google Current Smartphones Unlikely to be Supported by Daydream VR Platform

Google’s overseer of Virtual Reality, Clay Bavor, states that folks looking to get into Daydream, the Android VR platform, should hold off on upgrading their smartphone for a couple of months. For anyone who wanted to upgrade within the next few weeks, if VR is an important purchasing factor, you may want to take Bavor’s advice. According to Bavor, it is “unlikely” that many current devices, or any at all, will be “Daydream-ready” out of the box when the platform is made available to consumers later this year. 

Stated by Bavor, “I can tell you that there will most likely not be any retroactively Daydream-ready phones.” Apparently, Google’s standards for internal components to support Daydream are so high, many of the current devices on the market, such as the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10, may not make the cut. Bavor continued with, “We want to hold a very high quality bar, and for that to happen all of the components need to be just right. So, to VR fans, I would say, hold off for a few months to get your next phone… and get a Daydream-ready phone.”

Google has yet to publicly announce what exactly separates a “Daydream-ready” smartphone from an already available high-end smartphone, but the company did list a few general bullet points for what is inside a would-be Daydream device. Phones will need low-persistence displays, a high performance SoC (system on a chip), as well as a myriad of low latency and high quality sensors. Also note that a phone must be running Android N to enable the VR Mode that is required for Daydream to work properly. Even with this information available, we still don’t know the exact requirements or if any current flagship device carries them. While most current high-end devices would meet the SoC and display needs, it’s likely that the built-in sensors are not quite up to the standards Google is requiring. Right now, specifically for developers, Google lists only the Nexus 6P as a supported device for Daydream development, but Bavor did not state whether or not it would be supported once Daydream is officially available.

Alongside the announcement of Daydream, Google listed a few partners who would have Daydream-ready smartphones later in the year, including ZTE (the company announced its first Daydream-ready phone this week), Samsung, LG, HTC, and more. If getting into virtual reality is something you have been contemplating, and don’t want to wait for a Daydream-ready smartphone, you can purchase a Galaxy S7 and Gear VR headset.

Let’s see hands for who all is fine waiting until Google’s partners release their Daydream-ready phones. Anyone?

Via: Road to VR

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Google Play Beta Tests Will Soon be Easier Than Ever to Join

Google Play Beta Tests Will Soon be Easier Than Ever to Join

Joining a group to a beta version of an app on Android hasn’t exactly been the simplest of tasks. It typically involves finding out or knowing about a Google+ group or Google Group that hosts the beta, then clicking through a special link in that group to opt-in to testing, before moving onto Google Play to get the beta installed. See what I mean? 

Thankfully, those days of jumping through hoops to get involved in a public beta will be in the past. During Google I/O, Google announced that beta tests will become easier to find and participate in because they will start showing up in Google Play search results, assuming they are open and not in production. Through the beta listing, you will be able to opt-in and also send developers private feedback.

This new beta setup has already appeared briefly in Google Play, so it may happen more broadly within the coming days or weeks. Either way, joining beta tests should be easier than ever.

Via:  Google Developers

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Samsung Announces 10nm LPDDR4 6GB DRAM Likely to be Used in Galaxy Note 6

Samsung Announces 10nm LPDDR4 6GB DRAM Likely to be Used in Galaxy Note 6

At the Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum this week in China, Samsung unveiled its 10-nanometer LPDDR4 6GB mobile DRAM (dynamic random-access memory), which is likely to be used in the upcoming Galaxy Note 6 flagship device. Without diving into technical specifics, the upping of RAM  should allow for better battery life and improved smartphone performance overall.

During the forum, Samsung also spoke about its “super-fast” UFS built-in memory, Dual Pixel image sensors, improvements to AMOLED technology, lithium battery product line (smartphones, wearables, etc.), charging technologies, and wireless WiFi modules. From that list, it appears Samsung focused on smartphones the entire time, which is fine with us.

Right now, there are only a few reported specs for the Galaxy Note 6 floating around, including a 5.8? AMOLED display, Snapdragon 823 processor, USB Type-C, and IP68 water resistance.

Bring on the RAM, Samsung.

Via: SamMobile | huanqiu

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Android VR Headset Said to Launch at Google I O be “Better” Than Gear VR

Android VR Headset Said to Launch at Google I O be “Better” Than Gear VR

With Google I/O quickly approaching, we’ve been wondering how Google planned to surprise us. With Android N already alive and in preview 2, it wasn’t going to be with that, though we may still get a preview 3 next week. With the current line-up of Nexus devices still fresh enough, we aren’t expecting to see 2016 models yet either. So what could the big reveal be, if there is one? According to Peter Rojas of Gizmodo, Engadget, and various other tech venture fame, it’ll be with Android VR. 

Rojas took to Twitter this morning to say that “Android VR will definitely be announced next week” and that it will be “better than Gear VR.” He also noted that this is a stand-alone device that runs off of a smartphone, like the Samsung Gear VR, so don’t expect it to be close to the Vive and Oculus experiences.

Here are the tweets:

We aren’t sure what prompted the mention from Rojas, but a redditor form yesterday did see a mention of “AndroidVR” in a list of release notes for the latest Unreal Engine preview. That could just mean that Unreal Engine is creating some sort of Android related VR product, but after the notes were called into focus, they quickly changed them, removing any mention of “AndroidVR.”

Keep in mind that this isn’t the first time we have heard about Google making a Gear VR competitor. A report back in February suggested the same, telling us to expect it later this year, along with native Android VR software built-in to Android. That report also mentioned that it might be an upgrade over Gear VR with “better sensors, lenses, and a more solid plastic casing.”

As a VR hater who has come around to appreciating the technology (Vive addict here), this is pretty exciting news if Google can do this right, build out a legitimate Gear VR competitor, and figure out how to get content creators on board. Because in the end, VR is only as good as the content available.

Ooh, Google I/O is shaping up nicely.

Via:  @PeterRojas | reddit

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Report Next Galaxy Note May be the Note 7 Not Note 6

Report Next Galaxy Note May be the Note 7 Not Note 6

In the whacky world of smartphone marketing, it may seem odd to have two lineups of devices not on the same number-naming structure. At Samsung, we have the Galaxy S line, as well as the Galaxy Note line, but these lineups are not on the same number, and apparently, that’s a problem. This issue, if it even is an issue, originates from Samsung releasing the first Galaxy Note device one year later (October, 2011) than the first Galaxy S (June, 2010). Because of this time difference, it has caused the two lineups to be out of sync in the numbering structure.

Today, the latest Galaxy S on the market is the Galaxy S7, and the latest Galaxy Note is the Galaxy Note 5. Note that the next Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note 6, is likely only a few months away from launch. Well, according to the latest overseas report that cites industry insiders, Samsung may skip the “Galaxy Note 6” name completely, and instead, will release the Galaxy Note 7 to go right alongside the popular Galaxy S7. 

Stated in the report, Samsung wants to eliminate any inconsistency it currently has with the numbering structure, so jumping ahead to the Galaxy Note 7 seems to solve that issue entirely for them. However, to my recollection, skipping a number in a series of smartphones has not been done before, by any company, so we won’t know the possible affects it has on the unbeknownst populace. Will average consumers even notice that “6” has been skipped, or will there only be a few angry bloggers?

According a reported high-ranking representative of the telecommunications industry,”When Galaxy Note 6 has its model number lower than Galaxy S7, which is the newest model, is released, it can give out a feeling that it is an outdated phone. It is known that Samsung Electronics has made the numbers same to unify a premium image.”

That is certainly an argument Samsung can make, but if you ask me, the fact that the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S line are not the same is fine by me. The company continues to sell millions of phones, so I don’t get the sense they have been losing business because of numbering. This is the first report we have seen that describes a potential name change, and as we get a bit closer to an unveiling, we will certainly keep you posted.

I guess this answers the “Why was 6 afraid of 7?” question pretty well.

Via: ET News

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Report Moto X Line to be Replaced by New Moto Z Phones

Report Moto X Line to be Replaced by New Moto Z Phones

According to a report out of Venturebeat, the Moto X line may have been unceremoniously retired by Lenovo in favor of a new Moto line dubbed Moto Z. This news comes on the heels of Lenovo announcing new Moto G phones that may show up later this summer in the US and just before Lenovo shows off new Moto products at its Tech World conference in early June.

Today’s report claims that unpublished marketing materials have revealed the new branding, which also might shift the DROID line at Verizon into Moto Z branding. Let’s talk about what we are being told today. 

The Moto X line is dead and the Moto Z line is taking over. The two Motorola phones under codenames Vector Thin and Vertex, whose details were leaked last week, will arrive publicly as the Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play, respectively. Those names certainly match up to last year’s Moto X Pure Edition, which was more widely presented as Moto X Style outside of the US. Its counterpart, as you may recall, was the Moto X Play.

As for the DROID line, Verizon and Moto may end up ditching the Turbo and MAXX lines in favor of this Moto Z branding, only they’ll be dubbed “DROID Edition.” So we could have a Moto Z Style “DROID Edition” and Moto Z Play “DROID Edition.” That’s ridiculous, but then again, these are DROID phones we’re talking about.

Finally, we have additional information on the modular aspect to all of these phones. According to today’s report, the individual modules may end up being sold as MotoMods instead of Amps, which was previously rumored.

So much re-branding. I hope you know what you are doing, Lenovo.

Via:  Venturebeat

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Fitbit Acquires Coin’s Wearable Payments Platform Will be Used in Future Products

Fitbit Acquires Coin’s Wearable Payments Platform Will be Used in Future Products

This morning, Fitbit announced its acquisition of the wearable payments platform from Coin, the payments startup that released a universal credit card replacement. According to Fitbit and Coin, the acquisition will include, “key personnel and intellectual property specific to Coin’s wearables payment platform.”

Undoubtedly, Fitbit will use this purchase to create wearable devices that feature Coin’s technology, allowing users to not only track their steps, but to make purchases at supported retailers. As reported by Engadget, Fitbit previously mentioned that there are no plans to release such a device in 2016, but the door has been left wide open for a release in 2017. 

Detailed in the press releases, this deal excludes the Coin 2.0 credit card hardware. Mentioned by Coin, your Coin card will still work (until the internal battery dies in 2 years), but the company will no longer sell the device, although, they are holding onto inventory for warranty replacement purposes. Furthermore, Coin Rewards and the Coin Developer Program are being retired with this announcement.

Via: Engadget | Coin | Fitbit

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