Tag Archives: MWC 2015

Future Android Devices May Come with Waze Pre-Installed

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Pre-Installed Waze on Android Devices

Mountain View has just authorized Android smartphone and tablet manufacturers to pre-install Waze on the devices they’re making, in order to make the social GPS and traffic app more popular.

Once a remarkable Israeli startup, Waze became the property of Google in 2013, when the tech giant bought it for $1.1 billion. After the purchase, Waze and Google Maps weren’t allowed to play together, and while that doesn’t seem to change in the immediate future, at least the company has included it in Google Mobile Services and gave manufacturer the green light for pre-installing it.

Since it was acquired by Google, Waze has had a couple of low moments, the most recent of them taking place this January, when the US Police claimed that it is a stalking app, and that the company is helping criminals to avoid cops.

“I can think of 100 ways that it could present an officer-safety issue. There’s no control over who use it. So, if you’re a criminal and you want to rob a bank, hypothetically, you use your Waze,” said the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, Jim Pasco. Waze spokesperson, Julie Mossler, replied that “These relationships keep citizens safe, promote faster emergency response and alleviate traffic congestion.”

At this year’s MWC conference in Barcelona, Mossler emphasized the benefits of offering Waze as a default app on Android devices: “If a leading telecom preinstalls Waze in his handsets, a large percentage of the population would immediately have access to blocked roads, dangerous intersections traffic and more in real time.”

Considering the sorts of bloatware some manufacturers ship with their devices, the addition of a truly useful app will seem like a breath of fresh air to Android users. However, it would be fair to allow uninstalling the app, as not all Android users are drivers and vicecersa.

While this may be great news for drivers who want to get to their destination fast and safe, there will surely be more such reactions from law enforcement agencies from all around the world.

Now that the Android version of Waze has a bright future ahead, it’s time for the Windows Phone app to get some love. On the other hand, iOS users don’t seem to care that much about Waze, as the chances of it coming pre-installed on iPhones and iPads are null.

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Xiaomi Yi Action Camera Gives GoPro Hero a Run for Its Money

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Xiaomi Yi Action Camera 01

China’s largest smartphone vendor couldn’t have missed the mobile world’s greatest conference of the year. At MWC, Xiaomi exhibited its latest creation: the Yi Action Camera.

Now that smartphones manufacturers have learned about Xiaomi’s true potential, it’s time for another industry to fear for its products. Action camera makers such as GoPro represent Xiaomi’s most recent target, and the weapon used for destabilizing this industry seems to have better technical specs on paper, while also carrying a smaller price tag of only 399 CNY (the equivalent of $64). For an extra 100 CNY ($16), Xiaomi will offer a travel version of the camera, which comes with a selfie stick. Various other accessories, such as pet mounts (much in the vein of Sony’s Action Cam pet mount) will be launched at a later point in time.

Xiaomi made a habit from delivering companion Android apps with most of its gadgets, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Yi Action Camera also comes with one. For the time being, the app is only available in Chinese, but an English version should be available, too, in the near future, if not from the company itself, then from the MIUI forum members.

The 16 MP Yi Action Camera is capable of recording video in 1080p at 60 fps, while the $130 GoPro Hero can only handle 1080p at 30fps and 720p at 60fps. That’s not the only part where Xiaomi outshines GoPro, as the Yi Action Camera also comes with 64GB of internal memory, double of what the Hero has to offer. It remains to be seen how the Sony (an Exmor R CMOS) sensor behaves in real life scenarios, and if the image quality is at least as good as of Xiaomi’s competitors, GoPro can really pack their bags and go home, as the game is over.

Word has it that the Yi Action Camera won’t be available outside of Xiaomi’s home country, but in the age of Internet, that’s hardly a problem. Unlike certain smartphone models, which work exclusively in China (that happens when they support only LTE TDD bands instead of FDD-LTE, even though this has hardly been the case with Xiaomi’s devices), the sports camera should work all over the world, as long as there are Chinese online stores willing to ship it there. Granted, it won’t come at its launch price, as these stores have a tendency of adding a premium while also offering free worldwide shipping.

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Huawei’s new gadgets from MWC 2015

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Huawei Talkband 1

The MWC 2015 in Barcelona has already started, and the Chinese company Huawei used the opportunity to show their latest creations. These include their first smartwatch, two smartbands, a phablet, and a mobile WiFi device for cars.

Huawei brought many new gadgets to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which is talking place now, and lasts until Thursday. Their new offerings include the Huawei Watch, their first smartwatch, the TalkBand B2 and TalkBand N1 – two wearables – and the MediaPad X2 phablet along with CarFi, a mobile WiFi device for cars.

Huawei Watch

Huawei’s first smartphone ever works with Android Wear, Google’s special OS for wearables, and works by associating with a smartphone. Sporting a classic, refined design, it has a 1.4 MP AMOLED round screen on top which is capable of 400X400 pixels. From this watch, users will be able to send and receibe emails, text, apps, and phone call notifications, and will work with every Android 4.3 phone and onwards. Also, because it’s a smartwatch in the end, it will track your physical activity. You can get in three variations of gold, silver and black.

TalkBand B2 & TalkBand N1

Huawei’s two new wearables are specialized fitness trackers that drop some of the smartwatch functionalities to focus on more stuff for the athletes and users who go all out on training. These bands focus a lot on the health aspect, but in the case of the B1, also music featuring two microphones and technology for noise reduction so users can enjoy their music but still notice if they are getting a phone call.

The N1, instead, is the industry’s first headset with both Hi-Fi stereo and bluetooth, with capacity for some 1.000 songs. Of course it will track your health and fitness too, but what differentiates these bands from the competition is what they add on top. Huawei’s answer is clear: music.

MediaPad X2

Huawei’s most powerful phablet yet is also the world’s thinnest one at 7.28mm wide with a metallic thin body that looks both elegant and ideal for offices. It combines phones, tablets, navigators, hotspot and digital camera in one giant 1200 x 1920 pixel HD screen, equipped with a battery that lasts 24 hours.It comes in two variations of grey and pink, both dual-sim and capable of 4G connectivity.

Huawei CarFi

Huawei’s new device turns any car into a WiFi hotspot by transforming 4G into a much needed connection especially if you’re not driving. Users can download with speeds up to 150 Mbps, using some 10 gadgets at the same time. Also, it’s so small you can easily bring it from one car to the next. The CarFi is small and portable, and will turn off on its own if it doesn’t detect any WiFi capable devices. Furthermore, with the car on, it can even recharge your gadgets too.

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Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet Goes Head to Head with the iPad Air 2

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Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet

At this year’s MWC exhibition in Barcelona, Sony has unveiled its new flagship tablet, the Xperia Z4, along with the midrange Xperia M4 Aqua smartphone, a slim, plastic copy of the Z3 flagship.

The Xperia Z4 Tablet seems to hit all the right notes, as it is an improvement over the Z2 Tablet in almost every aspect. There’s a better panel used in the display, the resolution has been increased, the internal hardware is faster, and even the software has been updated to mark the birth of a new star. At its size, the Z4 Tablet is equally great for office work and entertainment, and it won’t fail to impress in either scenario.

While Sony has maintained the 10.1″ display size from the predecessor, it increased the resolution from 1200p to 1600p. The panel has also been changed from TFT to IPS, for better contrast and color reproduction. The 8.1 MP rear camera was kept, but the resolution of the front one is now 5.1 MP. One thing that remained unchanged is the 6,000 mAh battery capacity, but given the increased power efficiency of the internal hardware, users should notice an improved battery life.

The Snapdragon 810 that powers the Xperia Z4 Tablet is paired with an Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB of RAM. There should be plenty of room for installing apps and games in the 32GB of internal storage, but just in case that’s not enough, users can expand this with an up to 128 GB microSD card.

To sweeten the deal even more, Sony has bundled Microsoft’s Office for Android apps on its new flagship tablet. The Redmond giant’s decision to offer its office suite for free for iOS and Android is definitely a strategy to attract more users (in the same way the Microsoft Band is compatible with devices running the two rival operating systems). Sure, smartphone and tablet owners could easily head to the Play Store and install Microsoft Office Mobile on their devices, but pre-installing the suite could prevent users from turning to Google’s office apps. Ultimately, that is Microsoft’s goal, so we can expect more such partnerships in the future.

At 389g and 6.1mm in thickness, the Xperia Z4 Tablet will be a reputable rival for the iPad Air 2, especially since the technical specs of Sony’s new flagship are also very competitive. It remains to be seen how much this tablet will cost, as Sony has yet to disclose this information.

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No more rumors: these are Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge

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Galaxy S6 1

Just like we knew would happen, Samsung has introduced the new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge phones at the MWC in Barcelona. Read on to see what is new.

Samsung’s latest flagship is coming in several colors including but not limited to green, white, gold and black. Other designs might include colors based in jewels (expect sapphire or emerald). The phone sports a 5.1 inch QHD Super Amoled screen, 3gb of ram, 4G capabilities, a 16 mpx camera in the rear and a 5 mpx front one.The galaxy S6 also sports an alluminium frame, and comes in three variations of 32, 64 and 128 GB storage. Also, the main draw of the phone is that it features a curved screen (on both sides in the case of the Edge, making it ideal for left handed people).

Samsung explained that the new S6 models are not based on the S5, but were designed from the ground up with beauty as the main design pillar. Besides, with its thinness and aluminum frame they also made light of Apple by claiming that “the S6 does not bend”. Another thing that works just like with Apple gadgets is their new print reader as seen in the iPhone 6.

The new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will feature a new, redesigned software meant to simplify the process of looking for things by eliminating some icons and creating a faster, easier way to navigate with simple yet bright colors. What Samsung did take from the S5 is the camera software, which was one of the few very praised features on the previous flagship.

Samsung also claimed the Galaxy S6 will charge up literally twice as fast as the iPhone 6 and touted wireless charging for the future, as to forfeit cables for ever, and wouldn’t that be something.

Despite all these new features it is a shame that Samsung decided to drop the Micro SD slot and the possibility of submerging it (we don’t know about you, but we drop our phones a lot) in the name of design – at least we’re left with the new services like Samsung Pay to use the phone as a credit card, and Milk VR, for watching media in virtual reality.

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Acer Liquid Leap+ Tracks Fitness without Breaking the Bank

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Acer Liquid Leap+ Fitness Tracker

The more companies get involved in the wearable tech industry, the more affordable fitness trackers become. Acer’s touchscreen fitness and sleep tracker is a prime example of that, as it will carry a price tag of less than $90.

Acer has been the fourth largest PC vendor in the world for the past four years, and since it is a bit unlikely that it will occupy a higher position in the near future (that is, unless the SuperFish fiasco hits Lenovo’s sales), the Taiwanese company has decided to dip its toes into other markets, wearables being one of them. Liquid Leap+ is by no means the first fitness tracker Acer has made, but it adds a bit more functionality to the previous model at a much lower price.

Liquid Leap+ shares its design lines with wearables made by Garmin, Samsung and Microsoft, so Acer’s smart band isn’t revolutionary in this aspect. To make something different, you need to take the minimalistic route, as Xiaomi did with their ultra-affordable Mi Band, or do something as intricately-designed as Misfit’s Swarovski Shine.

Despite the simple design, the Liquid Leap+ abounds with functionality. Users have quick access to all the features via the included touchscreen, which is definitely something you don’t get too see that often in this price range. As a matter of fact, the one-inch OLED touchscreen represent the only way to control this fitness tracker, since it doesn’t include any physical buttons.

Acer’s fitness and sleep tracker syncs data with your smartphone over a Bluetooth 4.0 LE connection. As far as the compatibility with your smartphone’s OS is concerned, the Taiwanese company didn’t take sides, so the device will work equally fine with iOS, Android or Windows Phone. The tracker is compliant with the IPX7 waterproof standard, and while it might not handle physical shocks too well, it could be a trusty companion while swimming.

There has been no word on when the Liquid Leap+ will be available in the US, but for the time being, Acer plans to launch it later this month in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for €79 ($88). The Taiwanese company will have this fitness tracker on display at their MWC stand in Barcelona, so anyone visiting the exhibition will get the chance to see it in action and decide for themselves if it’s any good.

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