Items tagged with App
Android users who favor Android Messages as their default messaging application will be thrilled to hear that Google has begun the rollout of desktop browser support. That means that text messages can be sent and read on the PC. The rollout of the new feature will be staggered throughout the remainder of the week. The web version of Android Messages will support text, images, and stickers giving the full experience from the desktop. The process for using the web version requires users to hit up the Android Messages website where you will find a QR code that creates a link between the smartphone...
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Valve had many gamers excited when it announced that the Steam Link app would let you stream games from your PC to your iOS device. Not so long after the announcement, Steam Link landed in beta on Google Play for Android aficionados. Unfortunately for the iOS users, Apple blocked the app with Phil Schiller explaining that the app violated App Store rules. However, revised app store rules gave hope that Steam Link might still make it. Valve is now trying to get past Apple censors by removing the purchase options inside the app that was released to TestFlight. Reports claiming...
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Apple will give users a way to better report unwanted messages and calls as spam in iOS 12 using a feature called "Unwanted Communication." Documentation from Apple shows that the feature will allow developers to build in the ability to report unwanted calls and messages into their apps. If the iPhone owner chooses to enable Unwanted Communication, they would be able to swipe left on an item in the "Recents" tab of the Phone app and a new "Report" option would be listed there. The Messages app would also have a similar swipe left to report, or reports could be made with a long-press on the message...
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Philips heavily invested into tech that it integrated with some of its higher-end TVs years back called Ambiglow or Ambilight. That tech put a backlight behind the TV that would glow to match the action on screen with light that filled the room. Watch a flick with the Incredible Hulk and your room would glow green. It is slick technology that not only improved immersion in a movie, but the light also helped to bias the eye to prevent flicker from the screen from straining your eyes in a dark room. Philips is now doing something similar for owners of its Hue lightbulbs with a new app called "Philips...
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It looks like Android fans have another thing they can hold over the heads of their iOS-using pals. The Steam Link app launched in beta form on Android earlier this month. The app had originally been approved by Apple to launch on iOS, but this week the planned launch was quashed by Apple when it reversed its decision and blocked the app's launch. Apple listed the reason for blocking the app as "business conflicts with app guidelines." There is no clarification on exactly what business guidelines Steam Link app ran afoul of. Speculation suggests that the issue was that the Steam Link app allows...
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Kermit the Frog famously sang "It's not easy being green", and he should have added that it's not cheap either. Sony has added a new 10-inch model to its Digital Paper line and this thing is essentially a sheet of paper that never runs out. The idea is to help reduce the amount of ink and paper you use, which could be a big deal if you work in an environment where there is typically lots of printing and annotation of physical documents. The new 10-inch Digital Paper model is called the DPT-CP1 and it is meant to be notebook-sized. It slips into the Sony Digital Paper line along with the larger...
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Earlier this month Valve announced that it would be releasing a new app called Steam Link allowing you to play PC games on your mobile device. Steam Link was promised to land by the end of May and now the Steam Link beta is available via Google Play. The app does exactly what was promised; it allows you to stream PC games via Steam if the smartphone is connected to a PC close by over a 5GHz WiFi network. The PC also must be connected directly to your router via an Ethernet cable. Steam Link won’t function over an LTE connection, which means no streamed PC games from across town. Controlling...
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Microsoft had a trick up its sleeves at the Microsoft Build conference last week, one that integrates Windows 10 with your smartphone. The app is called "Your Phone" and it is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app that will be pushed for Windows Insiders in the coming weeks. No exact ETA is known at this time. What it does is allow users to access text messages, photos, and notifications on any Windows 10 PC from your phone. Microsoft's Windows 10 'Your Phone' Microsoft has also suggested that it will allow users to drag and drop photos from the phone to the PC without having to touch the...
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Anyone paying for mobile phone service for a smartphone knows that plans have become very expensive; only a couple lines can cost you well over $100 monthly. Verizon has quietly launched a new startup service called Visible that is a no contract, unlimited plan that offers mobile service via an app. For $40 per month you get unlimited data, minutes, and messaging services. Subscribing involves downloading the Visible app and registering your account, assuming you have an invite. For now, the only way to get in on the action is to be invited from someone who is already on the Visible service. You...
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There has been a lot of cool technology shown off at Google I/O, including Google Duplex and the Google Assistant having the ability to book appointments for us. But that's not all that Google announced at its annual conference. Google Maps will be getting some cool new features that will make the app more useful for everyday users. One of those new features is augmented reality directions that give a Street View mode with directions that you can follow in real time. The AR direction feature is a mash-up of the existing Street View tech and Maps data that feeds live video from your phone's...
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Instagram has slipped an update out without really saying much about it. The new update allows Instagram users to make payments via the app to a limited number of partners. The payments service allows users to register a debit or credit card as part of their profile and then set up a security PIN. Once the payment source and PIN are setup, users will be able to pay directly on the app for services like hair salons and restaurants. One of the very first to offer this service is Resy, an app for making dinner reservations. Instagram has also stated that in the future users will be able to pay for...
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WhatsApp co-founder of Jan Koum is sitting on what is estimated to be a $9.1 billion fortune, and he will have plenty of time to enjoy that cash now that he has departed the company. That massive fortune came to Koum and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton when Facebook purchased their company back in 2009 for $22 billion in cash and stock. Acton and Koum haven't been very happy with Facebook, especially in recent months after the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach. In fact, Acton led a charge to encourage people to delete Facebook, biting the hand that fed him billions. So, what is 42-year-old...
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About a week ago we talked a bit about the rumors floating around that Spotify was working on a refreshed version of its mobile app and free tier service. New details on the revamped service have turned up and according to the rumors some users are already seeing a new UI and features. Among the new features in the revamped service are options to play songs on demand in select playlists. This is one of the features normally reserved for premium subscribers. Spotify has an event set for April 24 where the new free service is expected to be officially unveiled. The refreshed UI for the free...
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One of the most controversial things that Snapchat has done in its history was to move from the traditional reverse chronological order to a feed that was sorted using an algorithm. Many hated this change because they wanted to see the newest posts from friends at the top, not what Snapchat thought was most important to place at the top of their feed. Reports are coming in that for some users the algorithm has been tossed out and the stories are sorted in reverse chronological order with the newest posts at the top again. Users who are seeing the feed change report that the chronological Stories...
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