There’s been a flurry of Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) leaks lately, including several photos that show the device out and about. Now another leaked image has surfaced that shows the new Moto 360 in official-looking press images.

The two devices show look similar the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) models that we’ve leak lately, complete with exposed watch band lugs and a button that’s slid up a bit to the two o’clock position. We’re also seeing two different case colors and two different band materials.

.@RDR0b11 Mine too http://pic.twitter.com/ODeN2ou72Y

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 30, 2015

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That’s about all of the information that can be gleaned from this leak. However, past reports have suggested that the new Moto 360 will be sold in two sizes — a small and a large — which could make the new 360 attractive to folks who found the original model too large.

Spec details for the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) are still up in the air, but a recent report suggested that Motorola will unveil a new Android Wear device at IFA this week, so it may not be long before all is revealed. Until then, what do you think of the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) so far?

Source: @evleaks

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Blackberry’s upcoming Android slider, the Blackberry Venice, has popped up once again in a new set of images from a couple of different sources. At this point, it’s all but officially confirmed that the Venice will be Blackberry’s entry into the Android world. It features a large display and Android Lollipop in addition to its distinctive feature, which is a full QWERTY keyboard that can be accessed by sliding the display up.

From the leaks, we can also see SIM and microSD ports residing on the top of the device, with a volume rocker and power button sitting on the right side of the device. The back of the device holds what looks to be an 18-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a dual LED flash, though we’ll have to wait and see how it performs in the real world. The Venice is running Android Lollipop, though plenty of rumors have pegged it as having some customizations, one of which is a tweaked app switcher screen that we can see in one of the leaked images.

We’ll keep you posted on any more leaks concerning the Blackberry Venice.

Gallery

Source: Tinhte, Techrum
Via: Crackberry

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I like to think I’m pretty good about not losing things, but that’s not always the case. My keys and phone are always the worst offenders for me, which is exactly where Tile comes in. I have spent the last week with a second generation Tile attached to my keys to see it worked, if it could help me, or if I’m more organized than I thought.

As a quick introduction, Tile is a Bluetooth-enabled square that can be attached to just about anything or stored wherever you want. It’s then connected to your phone where it acts as a beacon that can be turned on at will. The second generation Tile also features a great web interface for finding your phone, and the Tile itself has a hidden button for paging your phone.

The installation process is really simple. Just follow the directions on the box and in the app. It really only takes a couple minutes. The Tile unit itself feels well made; it’s sleek and pretty, and I really enjoy the noise it plays when being paged because it reminds me of a Game and Watch or one of those classic Tiger handheld games. I wish there was a black Tile, because my white unit got dirty pretty fast. But hey, it has character now.

In the week I used Tile, I did need it once. And it was there for me. I simply opened the app, rang my Tile, and found my keys (I left them in the bedroom, I swear I never do that). I also made sure the phone pager worked, which it did, and that the website worked, which it did. So I really don’t have any complaints about performance or how Tile functions. I did notice one small problem where it took a second for the Tile app to recognize my Tile or sometimes I had to reopen it, but it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind that I won’t lose my keys anymore.

I could end this review right here, but I want to point out something very important about Tile that I hope comes through in the brevity of this piece. Tile is really simple, and that’s one of the things I like the most about it. It’s flexible, and people have found really cool things to do with their Tile, but I just wanted to make sure I didn’t lose my keys. Integrating it into my life took virtually zero effort on my end. Far too often, technology products require you to rearrange some aspect of your life or routine to reap the benefits. All I did was install an app and attach a new keychain to my keys. I wish more things could be as simple as Tile and work as well.

To buy a Tile, head on over to Amazon or the official Tile store.

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Motorola is pushing out an update to both its Camera and Gallery apps today with a couple of handy new features.

While Motorola does run a relatively untouched version of Android on its devices, its Camera and Gallery apps are tweaked to better suit the devices they’re running on. New in the Camera app today is an active viewfinder for QR and barcodes, compatible with the Moto X 2014, Moto X Pro, DROID Turbo and Moto Maxx on Android 5.1. The Gallery app’s update includes better album management, and the ability to move albums to your SD card.

Both updates should be available in Google Play now. Make sure to check today for updates.

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Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most frequently upgraded apps for the week. We’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to find the ones that are actually being updated by the developers rather than selecting the apps with the most installs. As in the past, we’re going to filter out minor updates for the super-popular apps that have over 10 million installs, but we’ll make exceptions for apps that have had significant updates. We hope you enjoy this weekly feature and that you discover some apps that end up being useful.

Link Bubble Browser – Version 1.6.0

What’s new in this version:

• Link Bubble is now fully free! Enjoy unlimited bubbles and all pro features for free.
• Themes now also apply to reading mode
• Improved bubble reloading by only reloading the most recent bubble. This is to reduce memory usage while also improving loading speed and stability.

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Opera Beta – Version 32.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Add to Home screen
• Synced typed history
• Pull to refresh
• New pulsing animation for progress bar
• High resolution images in Discover
• A Chromium upgrade to version 45

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Pocket – Version 6.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Recommendations deliver the best content being saved to Pocket by millions of users. They’re personalized just for you, based on what you save, read, and watch in Pocket.
• Tap the Recommended tab to discover the most interesting articles and videos you might have missed.

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Talon for Twitter – Version 3.2.0

What’s new in this version:

• Revamp and improve tweet and profile viewer’s styles, animations, layout, and flow
• Swipe down to close tweets and profiles
• Improve tablet support, dimensions, and animations
• Improve timeline animations and styles
• Compose window follows text size from settings
• Add user’s profile picture and banner to the pictures gallery on their profiles
• Fix some issues with the tweets below pictures option

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Google AdSense – Version 3.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• New logo and fresh look with Google’s material design
• Custom date ranges
• New reports: ad sizes, types and networks, targeting and bid types
• New metrics: impressions, impression RPM and CTR
• Hindi and Malay translations
• Bug fixes

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tinyCam Monitor Pro – Version 6.2.0

What’s new in this version:

• Internal web server for recordings remote access. See https://youtu.be/xqFitj4po1U
• Recording to Amazon Cloud Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.
• HEVC/H265 video decoder.
• Revamped Manage Cameras window.
• Android 6.0 support.
• More at https://goo.gl/ICfu2a

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Swype Keyboard – Version 2.0.0

What’s new in this version:

• Emoji Keyboard
• New Swype Store with premium themes featuring Star Trek
• New Languages – Lao and Uzbek Latin
• Improved auto-correction
• Various crash and bug fixes (thanks for reporting!)

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Floatify – Version 8.0.0

What’s new in this version:

WhatsApp Messenger – Version 1.2.27

What’s new in this version:

• Per chat custom notification settings and mute
• Mark chats as unread or read
• Added new emoji. You can also tap and hold on some emoji to choose a different color.
• When receiving a contact card, you can now quickly message or save the contact if they’re on WhatsApp
• Lower the data usage used during WhatsApp calls in Settings > Chats and Calls

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Instagram – Version 7.5.0

What’s new in this version:

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The Huawei Watch is nearly here. With Huawei’s first Android Wear device set to ship on September 2, Huawei thought it would give you the opportunity to pre-order yours though Amazon. While most other Android Wear watches have been available with two or three different color and band options, the Huawei Watch features six unique combinations, ranging from the entry-level stainless steel model with a black leather strap that starts at $349, all the way up to the gold plated stainless steel model with a gold plated link band for $799.

Huawei Watch – Stainless Steel with Black Suture Leather Strap: $349
Huawei Watch – Stainless Steel with Mesh Band: $399
Huawei Watch – Stainless Steel with Stainless Steel Link Band: $399
Huawei Watch – Black Stainless Steel with Black Stainless Steel Link Band: $449
Huawei Watch – Gold Plated Stainless Steel with Brown Suture Leather Strap: $699
Huawei Watch – Gold Plated Stainless Steel with Gold Plated Stainless Steel: $799

Despite the different exterior finished and bands, all models of the Huawei Watch feature a circular 1.4-inche 400×400 pixel AMOLED screen protected by sapphire glass, a physical button at the 2 o’clock position along the casing,  1.2GHz Qualcomm processor, 4GB of built-in storage and 512MB of RAM, heart rate monitor, barometer and a motion sensor.

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Huawei will have ha hard time competing directly with the Apple Watch, but the Huawei Watch shouldn’t have any issues stealing market share from Samsung, Motorola or LG in the Android Wear space.

Which version of the Huawei Watch will you be buying?

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A week ago, Samsung launched its “Ultimate Test Drive,” a bold attempt to try and win over iPhone owners by letting them try out Samsung’s latest flagships, including the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+, for one month just for one dollar. That’s already a nice deal, but Samsung has decided to go ahead and make it a bit better anyway.

The company is now offering a $100 Google Play credit for those that buy a Galaxy phone after trying the program. That large chunk of digital currency is good for games, movies, apps, and more through the Play Store, so it’s certainly something to consider. To get the credit, you’ll not only need to buy the phone through the program, but also provide your email address and follow the steps through a quick survey, answering a few questions about the experience you had with the promotion, and share your phone’s purchase information and receipt.

If that’s not enough, how about another $100? If you trade in your iPhone to your carrier or a retailer and stuck with one of the Test Drive phones, Samsung will send you a $100 check, too.

As it stands right now, Samsung’s Ultimate Test Drive page still says there aren’t any phones to send out, which has been the case essentially since the promotion began. The company still says it’s planning on adding more phones, so if you’ve been hoping to give the Test Drive a go, keep an eye out.

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The Google Play app is an attractive way to search for applications, but the Play Store’s mobile web search counterpart has never quite looked as good. That is, until now.

Google is rolling out an updated mobile web app search that divides the results into a colorful grid. The grid is broken up into multi-colored boxes that include an app’s icon, its name, its rating, and its price. And, as you’d expect, tapping the box will kick you to the app’s page in Google Play for easy installation. You can also tap the expand button at the bottom of the screen to expand the list of apps.

The new results are nice because they highlight the app icon by placing it in its own box, and they’re also easy to read because the boxes are different colors. You can see the new-look results for yourself by searching “____ apps” in Google on your Android phone or tablet.

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Sony’s Xperia Z4 launched with only a minimal amount of fanfare when it was announced back in April of this year, but if press images of the newest flagship from Sony are any indicator, then it would appear the Z4 probably was a stopgap device as the company prepped something new.

“New,” insofar that the new handset, as discovered by Xperia Blog view some press images, is indeed a new handset, even if it shares some obvious connections in design to its predecessor. According to the initial report, Sony’s calling the new phone the Z5, and it has a design that’s strikingly similar to the Z4, with at least one exception: The word “Xperia” is engraved into the side of the handset.

Of course, there are other changes, too. First and foremost, the camera has been upgraded to a 23-megapixel shooter, up from the 20.7-megapixel camera that was present in the Z4. The Z5 will also come in varying colors, as is usual for Sony, including a turquoise shade, white, and gold.

That’s not all the Xperia news, though. A recent post published by Sony Georgia, which has subsequently been removed, indicates that Sony will have quite the showing at this year’s IFA in September. According to that post, Sony will showcase the Z5 Compact with a 4.6-inch 720p HD display, the Z5 with a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, and, finally, a Z5 Premium with a 5.5-inch display with a 4k 2160p Ultra HD display. Finally, each of the handsets are said to be rocking the same 23-megapixel camera.

Nothing is official yet, but if it makes any Sony fans feel a bit better, these recent leaks reportedly line up with what serial leaker, Evan Blass, has heard from his own sources. So, take that for what it’s worth.

What do you think of the Z5?

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Alcatel OneTouch thoroughly surprised the Android world earlier this year with the release of the Idol 3 5.5. We weren’t blown away with its specs, benchmarks, or flagship killing, but it is a beautifully simple budget phone with a great design that works. There are no gimmicks, and it’s a cheap, well-designed phone that performs.

Back at Mobile World Congress in March, Alcatel OneTouch announced two variants of the Idol 3, with one of the headlining features for both devices their usability upside down (which I guess could be called a gimmick). The Idol 3 5.5, the bigger variant with a 5.5-inch display was released in April. Now, the smaller version, with even less horsepower under hood has been released as the Idol 3 4.7. So, the big question on my mind for Alcatel OneTouch is this: Can lightning strike twice?

Let’s start with the specs:

What I like:

• I love the size. Love, love, love the size. I’ve been using the Nexus 6 for several months and I’m not a fan of the size. Using a device this size is a breath of fresh air. It’s so easy to hold and use with one hand. The slippery back issue I had with the Idol 3 5.5 doesn’t matter anymore. The back is made of the same materials, but the size of the phone makes it easily grippable.
• Performance has been great thus far. I’ve been doing a lot of gaming on the device (NFS Most Wanted, Granny Smith, Hill Climb Racing) without any stutter or lag. If you have another game you like to benchmark performance with let me know.
• The display. You’d think having about three-fifths the pixel density of the Nexus 6 would bother me, but it’s not. Viewing angles are great, the display gets bright, and 720p looks fine on the 4.7-inch display of the Idol 3 4.7.
• Unlocked price of $179.99. I like that.
• Expandable memory. I’ve been a long-time user of Nexus devices without expandable memory and forgot how nice it is to have an extra place to store photos and media content. It’s handy.

What I don’t like

• I’m disappointed by the speaker sound quality. The Idol 3 4.7 has dual firing front speakers that get loud, but they’re very tinny. I don’t remember this issue with the Idol 3 5.5. Comparing the sound to the now $500 Nexus 6 with dual firing front speakers, the Nexus 6 clearly sounds better.

An obvious competitor to the Idol 3 4.7 is the recently-released Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen.), which offers the exact same unlocked price point of $179.99. The Idol 3 4.7 is smaller in all dimensions including display size, is lighter, and has the dual front JBL speakers. The 2015 Moto G looks like it has two front speakers, but it doesn’t. However, the Moto G does have lots of tricks up its sleeve, like Moto Maker customization, water resistance, and a larger battery. Additionally, the Moto G comes with two memory options: 8 GB of ROM with 1 GB of RAM for $179.99 or 16 GB of ROM and 2 GB of RAM for $40 more. The Idol 3 4.7 comes with one memory option: 16 GB of ROM and 1.5 GB of RAM.

Options are good and both devices have their trade-offs. Both phones have lots of similarities and deciding between them is going to come down to personal preference and overall performance. And as reported, so far performance has been great with the Idol 3.

That’s all I have to report on now. The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 4.7 is available now unlocked for $179.99 on Alcatel’s website as well as on Amazon. So far the Idol 3 4.7 feels like another winner, especially at the size and price point, but I’m not ready to give it my full recommendation yet. Stay tuned in the coming week for a full review of the device. And be sure to let me know if you want anything specific covered in the full review.

Are you in the market for a small budget unlocked device? Do you feel like 4.7-inch is too small? Or do you find smaller devices refreshing in a world of phablets? How does the $180 price point feel to you? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

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