Items tagged with App
Microsoft seems intent on allowing you to access all the things from your Android device on your Windows computer. The biggest of these features has been the much talked about Your Phone app that is in testing and will be part of Redstone 5 build 1809. Your Phone will mirror content like recent Android photos over to your desktop to prevent users from having to email images to themselves. Eventually, it will allow users to text and answer calls directly on the PC. As Windows and Android users are waiting to get full Your Phone availability, Microsoft is also talking up another way to share...
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Google Maps is widely used all around the world and it has recently been pumped full of new features, like personalized recommendations. Google is adding another feature that at first glance might seem silly. This feature sends details on how much battery charge is left on your smartphone when you share your location with someone. Why would they care how much battery life is left on your device? Parents who have kids share their location with them during transit times to and from school or a friend's home will find the battery life feature useful. A parent would be more at ease if a child...
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Google has had a difficult time keeping its upcoming Pixel 3 smartphone a secret. There have been an abundance of leaks, with one from last week confirming that the device has a single rear camera and a notched screen. Previous leaks had shown what the device will look like in its black and white versions. A new Google app 8.14 beta has also rolled out, which features some code that references a companion device called the "Pixel Stand." The Pixel Stand is expected to launch along with the Pixel 3 smartphone this fall. The code suggests that the Pixel Stand will let users get "personalized help"...
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With Microsoft's own smartphone OS on its deathbed, the software giant is now focusing on Android and iOS devices. It's admittedly odd to see Microsoft making apps specifically for Android and iOS given that Apple and Google are two of its biggest rivals. Sources claim that Microsoft has been working on a new app for both iOS and Android devices called Microsoft Movies & TV. Currently, that app is only available on Windows-based devices like the PC, Xbox, and Windows 10 Mobile devices and supports content from the Microsoft Store. With a version of that app coming for iOS and Android, movie...
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Something interesting is going on with Google Maps regarding a “new” feature. Some people are claiming they have had this feature for a long time, others are seeing it for the first time. The feature in question is incident reporting, something that has made navigation app Waze popular with users. Google has long had traffic information integrated, but data on road work and closures hasn't been part of the app for most users. While some users are claiming, according to reports, to have had incident reporting for a year or more, others haven’t had it at all. I personally use...
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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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