Samsung Exynos 5430 octa-core processor uses new 20nm process

Samsung has officially announced a new Exynos octa-core processor that uses a new 20nm manufacturing process. The Exynos 5430 chip, which can be found in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, is the first Exynos processor to switch to a 20nm manufacturing process. The new 20nm manufacturing process results in a smaller die than a traditional 28nm process, resulting in up to a 25 percent decrease in power consumption.

In other areas, the Exynos 5430 is similar to existing octa-core chips. It features four 1.3GHz Cortex A7 cores and four 1.8GHz Cortex A15 cores on a big.LITTLE HMP set-up. This means that while the processor will usually choose one set of cores to run on at a time, it can run both at the same time if necessary. Such a processor is quite capable of powering devices with high resolutions like QHD and WQXGA. Additionally, the Galaxy Note 4 has been rumored to use an Exynos 5433 processor, which could also use this 20nm process and be a more powerful version of the Exynos 5430.

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What’s Android Wear actually good for?

I’ve read in more than one place that Android wear is just an extension of your phone or just Google Now on your wrist. It’s just a way to not have to pull your phone out of your pocket as much. Android Wear does do these things, but I think it’s much more. Maybe we are obsessed with our phones and maybe we are pulling them out of our pockets an outrageous number of times per day, but I’ve never counted nor cared how many times I’ve pulled out my phone. However, smartwatches do offer more than saving you a little arm overuse. Do they offer enough extra functionality that I think everyone should go buy one now? No. But I know your phone does not “already do everything” you can do with a smartwatch. So let’s all stop saying that.

I’ve now had the LG G Watch for a month and it’s definitely left some impressions. Some good. Some bad. Additionally, I wore a Pebble smartwatch every day for over a year before the G Watch. I like what a smartwatch does for me. For those of you that have no idea how you’d use a smartwatch, I thought I’d tell you how I use mine. I’m not saying this is exactly how you would use it, but here are some ways I enjoy wearing a smartwatch, and more specifically, Android Wear.

In the Car

Android Wear 5I’ve felt for a long time that Android needed better hands free functionality. It’s definitely getting better with some recent Google Now updates, but unless you own a Moto X, your phone isn’t “always listening”. In reality, Android Wear also isn’t “always listening”. However, what Android Wear can be is “always on your wrist and ready to listen”. With your phone, when you’re driving you will likely have to take your concentration off the road for a moment or two to find, pick up, unlock, and use Google Now or do whatever. With Android Wear, you know exactly where your watch is; it’s on your wrist. All it takes is a simple twist of the wrist to wake up Android Wear and it’s ready for action waiting for voice input. I use Android Wear in the car all the time to start navigation, open apps on the phone (podcast, Spotify, etc.), send text messages, and initiate phone calls. All this without having to fumble to find my phone and take my eyes off of the road.

In a meeting

Android Wear 1Now, it’s arguable that it’s just as poor of meeting etiquette to be fiddling with your watch during a presentation as it is to be fiddling with your phone. But Android Wear does offer quick responses to SMS and rejected phone calls. No, you don’t need to voice activate and speak to use these quick responses. Android wear has a list of responses that are quick and easy to use to let your friend or loved one know that you’re there and that you care. You’re not ignoring them. You’re just in a place where it’s inappropriate to pull out your phone and answer or text back.

In the home

Android Wear 4What? Who’s too lazy to pull out the phone at home? Not me. But I do use Android Wear all the time at home. I, like many Android users out there, have a phone (Nexus 5) with less than ideal battery life. So, one of the first things I typically do when I get home is throw my phone on a charger. Now, with Android Wear it doesn’t matter where I am in the house or where my phone is, I’ll know if I’ve received a text (and can respond) or if I’m receiving a phone call. I can set timers when I’m cooking and my hands are messy. I can check the weather or the commute times while I’m getting ready in the morning. All with my phone out of reach or on the charger. It’s about always being connected.

Home automation

I admit I’m a huge nerd, and I’ll probably get burned for calling this hackery, but I really enjoy being able to control things from other things. Maybe it’s laziness, or maybe it stems from elsewhere, but I like being able to control things around the house with my watch. Using AutoVoice Pro in conjunction with Tasker, you can get your watch to control all sorts of things just by talking to it. Examples could be toggling your phone’s Wi-Fi, controlling your Nest thermostat, or turning on and off lights. I enjoy getting it all rigged up and I really geek out on controlling everything from my watch.

These are some of the biggest things that I use my LG G Watch and Android Wear for. Do I think Android Wear is for everyone? Is it something you can’t live without? No, it’s not. But I do think it’s something that can be very convenient (and may improve safety) in special situations. Also, it’s dang fun to use. What do you think about yours? What are the most important ways you’re using your Android Wear watch? How would you use it if you had one? Or how do you wish it could be used? Drop a comment down below!

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Fresh Meat: 10 new Android apps worth checking out

New apps need lovin’ too, right? Every day there are thousands of additions to the Google Play Store, but many go unnoticed and never receive the attention they deserve. We’ve shown in the past that this community can discover great apps and propel them to new heights. Our weekly Fresh Meat column highlights new apps with fewer than 100,000 installs. Browse our new Android app picks below and let us know which ones you enjoy.

Headlinr

Headlinr

Description: Get news articles on tons of topics! Click the button. Get a randomly chosen headline. If you like the headline, click it to read the full article. Otherwise, click the button again. Powered by Feedzilla (http://ift.tt/L56gSS).

 

TapPath

TapPath

Description: TapPath allows you to customize how clicking a web link in a 3rd party app behaves. A single click will load your default browser as you’re used to, but a double click might load Pocket and a triple click might load PushBullet. Think of the time you’ll save

  

 

Tockle

Tockle

Description: Tockle enables control of your phone from your wrist. Toggle WiFi and other system settings, send an SMS message, and even activate Tasker tasks with a simple tap.

 

NFL NOW

NFL Now

Description: NFL Now delivers a personalized video stream of your favorite NFL teams, players and coaches right to your phone or tablet. Get exclusive interviews and stories about your team, breaking news on your fantasy players, and unlimited access to your favorites in the NFL Films Archives.

 

Unclouded

Unclouded

Description: The revolutionary tool to help you analyse and clean your cloud storage. ( Dropbox and Drive)

 

RedditCaster

RedditCaster

Description: RedditCaster currently supports IMAGE slideshows from reddit, which will play a slideshow of all of the images found on a chosen subreddit straight to your chromecast device. 

 

Device Unlock

Device Unlock

Description: Device Unlock is an application that allows you to request and apply a Mobile Device Unlock directly from the device. The application is compatible only with Samsung Avant devices at this time.

 

KnightRider Watchface

KnightRider

Description: The Knight Rider’s watchface for your Android Wear. You can be the hero and talk to your supercar (OK GOOGLE) to defeat bad guys right away!

 

White Light

White Light

Description: Activate phone’s flashlight with a swipe. If you’re in a dark room, the flashlight may be too bright. For this reason, we’ve added a slider to adjust your screen’s brightness. White Light doesn’t need any permissions except access to the camera (so it can use the phone’s flash).

 

Meter Watch Face

Meter Watch

DescriptionDisplays the current time and date on two horizontally-scrolling “meter” displays. Also displays seconds – when the watch is awake – on a third, animated meter.

 

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T-Mobile to throttle unlimited data users who engage in P2P file sharing

T-Mobile may offer unlimited data, but even though you can get all the data that you want, its uses can be limited. If you use your mobile data connection for torrenting or other peer-to-peer file sharing, you may find yourself throttled with no one but yourself to blame.

T-mobile has identified customers who are heavy data users and are engaged in peer-to-peer file sharing, and tethering outside of T-Mobile’s Terms and Conditions (T&C). This results in a negative data network experience for T-Mobile customers. Beginning August 17, T-Mobile will begin to address customers who are conducting activities outside of T-Mobile’s T&CsT-Mobile

Some people may cry foul at T-Mobile for throttling its customers based on usage scenarios, and while it’s not exactly ideal, it’s technically fair. You signed a contract and you’ll need to abide by it, and P2P activity is not allowed by T-Mobile. Unfortunately, a lot of P2P file sharing is perfectly legal and encouraged by media creators.

This new rule applies to those on the old $70 unlimited plan and new the $80 Simple Choice plan. If I were you, I wouldn’t start torrenting on T-Mobile’s mobile network, because it might just land you in some hot water. It’s really too bad that P2P sharing has such a dirty reputation since it’s a great way to quickly and easily share files in a perfectly legal manner.

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TapPath opens links in different app depending on how many times you tap

Many of us around here love the work of Chris Lacy. He brought us Action Launcher, a very useful and surprisingly innovative app. Our own Brooks Barnard swears by it. His next app, Link Bubble, is also awesome, but I’ve found it to be less useful by being overly restrictive.

Funny enough, Lacy has fixed my issue with Link Bubble by releasing yet another app called TapPath. This app allows you to select the app you want to open a link in by tapping it a certain number of times. For example, a single tap, double tap and triple tap can all open a link in different apps.

TapPath is also customizable, so you can choose which apps you’d like to use. This would be very useful paired with Link Bubble so that can use it only on some links (as it’s not always needed). However, charging a dollar for such a simple app without offering a free version is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. What do you think of it? Leave a comment!

 

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HTC One remix – plain ol’ megapixels

Since the launch of the original HTC One (M7) in 2013, HTC has been on a UltraPixel kick in an effort to improve the overall camera experience on its One series of handsets. While all of last year’s One handsets had 4-megapixel sensors,  HTC has chosen to keep UltraPixels tied directly to its flagship HTC One (M8) in 2014. The HTC One remix (a Verizon variant of the HTC One mini 2) has a more traditional 13-megapixel camera sensor — considered by many to be a spec bump over HTC’s flagship Android phone.

If you want a close look at the benefits of HTC’s UltraPixel imaging sensor, we suggest you read our HTC One (M8) camera review. But we’re here to talk about the HTC One remix and what its 13-megapixel camera has to offer. Let’s be honest: the camera spec sheet of the One remix is quite dull. The handset features a run of the mill 13-megapixel BSI sensor with an f/2.2 lens and standard 1080p video recording. There are no lasers, Duo Cameras or optical image stabilization motors — just plain ol’ megapixels.

The HTC One remix is running HTC Sense 6.0, which means it shares the camera interface and most of the features found of the HTC One (M8). The HTC camera app UI is simple and intuitive, and we love that HTC allows users to manually tweak settings and save them as presets. The only real gripe we have with its latest camera UI is that the video capture button isn’t present on the screen at all times. Users have to jump to the function screen to select video capture mode and then press the record button. Useless screen taps for the sake of a clean UI doesn’t always translate into a better user experience.


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Images captured with the HTC One remix turn out pretty much as you’d expect. Colors are vibrant, clarity is decent and low-light performance shows us why HTC has been so focused on UltraPixels. The best word to describe the One remix’s imaging capabilities is “mid-range.” While it may sound like a slap in the face for a phone as beautiful and well-crafted as the One remix, it actually isn’t since that’s how HTC has positioned the phone. We’d be disappointed with the One remix’s camera if it were a flagship smartphone, but we don’t have much to complain about since the phone is currently being sold for $50 with a new two-year contract on Verizon.

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Amazon Local Register is a new competitor to Square

Amazon has announced its own mobile card scanner known as Amazon Local Register. Amazon Local Register is a direct competitor to Square and its mobile card reader. In most ways, Amazon Local Register functions in the same way as Square, even using a similar design that plugs into a headphone jack. But Amazon has given Local Register a feature or two that may draw users over from other options like Square.

The largest differentiating factor is that Amazon is charging lower per swipe fees than Square and other competitors. Amazon is charging just 1.75 percent per swipe until December 31, 2015 if you purchase Amazon Local Register before October 31, 2014. After that, the rate goes up to 2.5 percent, which is still less than the 2.75 percent fee that Square charges.

Local Register also has Amazon’s massive brand behind it, which gives it lots of clout in the eyes of everyday people. If you’re looking to use Amazon Local Register, follow the source link below to sign up. The reader itself costs $10 and includes free two-day shipping.

Show Press Release

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 13, 2014– (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon.com today announced Amazon Local Register, a secure card reader and mobile app that provides local businesses with the tools they need to quickly and easily accept credit and debit cards from a smartphone or tablet and keep track of their growing business. Amazon Local Register customers will have access to the Amazon.com award-winning, fully dedicated customer support team, as well as in-app tracking tools. Customers who sign up for Amazon Local Register before October 31 will also receive a low promotional rate of 1.75 percent per card swipe on all major credit and debit cards until January 1, 2016. Additional details are available at localregister.amazon.com.

From clothing stores to contractors, food trucks to accountants, businesses and organizations using …
From clothing stores to contractors, food trucks to accountants, businesses and organizations using Amazon Local Register will enjoy industry-leading low rates, trusted and secure payment processing, and access to award-winning customer support, all backed by the same services that securely power Amazon.com purchases.

“From clothing stores to contractors, food trucks to accountants, businesses and organizations using Amazon Local Register will enjoy industry-leading low rates, trusted and secure payment processing, and access to award-winning customer support,” said Matt Swann, Vice President of Amazon Local Commerce. “We understand that every penny and every minute counts, so we want to make accepting payments so easy and inexpensive that it no longer gets in the way of a business owner doing what they love – serving their customers and growing their business.”

Customers can get started with Amazon Local Register in three simple steps: create an account on localregister.amazon.com, purchase a $10 card reader, and download the free mobile app from Amazon Appstore, Apple App Store or Google Play. Starting today, the card reader is available with Free Two-Day Shipping on Amazon.com. Beginning August 19, customers can also purchase a card reader at Staples retail locations nationwide. The Amazon Local Register card reader and free mobile app are compatible with a variety of smartphones and tablets, including Apple devices running iOS7, Kindle Fire tablets, select Android smartphones, and coming soon to the new Fire phone. Each customer’s first $10 in transaction fees will be credited back to the customer’s account once Amazon Local Register is in use – allowing customers to fully recoup the cost of the card reader. Money from transactions can be deposited directly into a bank account within one business day, or spent on Amazon.com within minutes – see the website for more details. Amazon Local Register also provides:

Exceptional value: Amazon Local Register accepts all major credit and debit cards for a low, flat rate with no hidden fees. Plus, there are no long-term contracts. Customers who register before October 31 will receive a low promotional rate of 1.75 percent per card swipe until January 1, 2016. Customers who sign up after this promotional period will pay a flat rate of 2.5 percent on all swiped transactions.

Amazon customer support: Access the award-winning, fully dedicated customer support team, available by phone and email. Plus, Kindle Fire HDX owners can take advantage of the Mayday button to connect to an Amazon tech advisor 24 hours a day, 365 days per year – for free.

Secure and stabilized card reader: A stabilized card reader limits swivel, making it easier to swipe once and go. Plus, each transaction is backed by the same services that securely power Amazon.com purchases.

Business tracking tools: In-app reporting enables a business to quickly check bottom line performance, sales trends, peak sales times and more. All reporting is easily accessible from a smartphone or tablet and is password-protected.

Compatible accessories: Shop for compatible accessories including cash drawers, receipt printers, smartphone cases and stands. Find everything needed to build a point-of-sale system including massive selection, available at the best price, all on Amazon.com.

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Samsung makes metal-trimmed Galaxy Alpha official

Samsung has made the Galaxy Alpha official after a bout of leaks. As expected, the Galaxy Alpha is Samsung’s first smartphone to venture away from an all-plastic design by adding a metal frame. Aluminum stretches around the edges of the Alpha, resulting in nice-looking design that has harder corners than most Samsung phones. The Galaxy Alpha can really be summed up by the fact that you immediately know that it’s a Samsung phone, but one that’s different from the rest.

That metal frame has also led the Galaxy Alpha to become the thinnest of Samsung’s smartphones at just 6.7mm. But aside from the design, what other specs does the Galaxy Alpha have going for it? Let’s take a look:

  • 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED display
  • Octa-core Exynos processor: four cores at 1.3GHz, four cores at 1.8GHz
  • 2GB RAM
  • 32GB storage
  • 12-megapixel rear camera
  • 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera
  • 1,860mAh battery
  • Android 4.4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz skin
  • Heart rate sensor
  • Fingerprint scanner

All in all, we have high-end phone here. It’s not quite up to the flagship specs, but Samsung doesn’t want to draw too many sales away from its main devices. The Galaxy Alpha will be available in five color choices: black, white, silver, gold and blue, though the blue option will be exclusively carried by Carphone Warehouse in the UK. As far as availability goes, Samsung says that the Galaxy Alpha will be available from the beginning of September onward. Details are only known for the UK so far with Carphone Warehouse, Three UK, EE and Clove all announcing that they’ll carry the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Clove is the only one with known pricing, set at £499.99 off-contract.


Samsung Galaxy Alpha

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Three ways to make your phone unique

If you go out into the world, you’ll find that every single person within it is different. Similarities can be found, but nobody is exactly the same. We all have our own characteristics and traits that make us who we are and cause us to be unique. That uniqueness, however, doesn’t have to end with people. Anything can be made to be unique, even smartphones.

In a world of nearly-identical slabs, your smartphone needs to have something to make it stand out and be unique in the crowd. This can be done in plenty of different ways and today we’re going to take a look at three of the ways that you can make your phone’s hardware look unique. Let’s cut the chit-chat and dive right in!

1. Buy a case

The simplest thing you can do is buy a case. Cases come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Best of all? There are almost always numerous options for every phone. If all you want for your phone is to change the color, fear not, as the market has no end of simple colored plastic cases. You can go as cheap or expensive as you want, depending on how high of quality you want. Fair warning, some cheaper cases will shed their color onto your clothing and furniture, so maybe buying $0.10 cases on eBay isn’t the best option.

Galaxy S4 Cases

If you’re looking for a bit more function or style with your case, you can check out the specific options for your phone. HTC has the Dot View case available for certain phones, which adds function and a design flair that won’t be found on other cases. Companies like Spigen and Tylt often have a variety of interesting cases available. Everything from leather holsters to bumper cases and everything in between. The only downside to some of the more premium cases is that they become harder to find for less mainstream phones. But for every phone, you’ve got a variety of cases to choose from, so do some looking and find out what you like best.

2. Get a phone skin

Phone skins are one way to make your phone really stand out from others. Basically, a phone skin is just a sticker that goes on the back, and often the front, of your phone. These can be artwork, photos, quotes or really anything that can be put on a sticker. Many places focus on making phone skin designs so you can choose from their selection that generally covers the back, sides and front of your phone with a corresponding wallpaper to match the skin. Nexus 5 Plaid Skin

If none of the already-created phone skins suit your fancy, most skin creators will allow you to create your own design. From here, you can upload your own photo and move it around to make it appear just the way you want it to on your phone skin. If you’re looking for a place to purchase phone skins, here are several options: Nuvango, DecalGirl, Zazzle, SkinIt.

3. Create something all your own

The best way to make your phone unique is to create something that’s entirely you. The ways you can do this are endless. One of the coolest ways is to create a case that’s all yours. The simplest method is to get yourself a cheap, clear, hard plastic case and then customize it.

That doesn’t sound very interesting though, does it? Well, here are some ideas to get you started. Cut out some strips and images from your favorite comic and glue them in there for an interesting blend that shows off your taste (tutorial here). Or perhaps you’re more of a poetry or literature person. In that case, cut out some quotes and verses from your favorites and put them in there for an aged, refined look. If you’re someone who likes to travel, cut out some sort of paper signature from every country or state you’ve visited. This gives you an interesting look while also providing a neat conversation starter for those who see it.

Comic Book Case

As always, you don’t have to use a case for these crafts. If you’re okay with directly applying things to the back of your phone, then by all means, go ahead. It’s your phone and you’re the one deciding how to customize it. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could look into changing the color of your device. A couple companies will do this for certain aluminum devices, but they’re hard to find. A better bet is either getting a different backplate or looking into something such as Plasti Dip. Note: I don’t entirely recommend this and can’t take the blame for any damage you may cause. Unless you’re experienced, don’t try dipping as you could damage your phone or leave it looking worse than before.

In any case, there are hundreds of ways to customize your phone in a way that’s entirely your own. Get thinking about which way you want to do it and then snap to it. Once you’ve mad eyour phone uniquely yours, come back here and drop a picture down in the comments so that we can all see how your phone is unique!

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HTC releasing Zoe app to the masses this week with more to come

HTC made it known today that it will be branching out beyond device manufacturing and will be releasing apps for more than just its own devices. Known as HTC Creative Labs, HTC is creating a separate business unit with hopes that this new venture will help it compete better with Samsung and Apple. It’s no surprise that HTC is coming up with new business models to help supplement their financial challenges. Making once exclusive apps available to all is an interesting idea that has yet to be done with other major manufacturers, but HTC understands it will take time before this business plan will make money.

The first app that HTC plans to release to non-HTC device users is Zoe. If you recall, Zoe is an app that HTC first introduced with the original HTC One over a year ago. Zoe collects pictures and video clips from your gallery and creates a small highlight reel with a soundtrack to your daily happenings. Additionally, one can create your own Zoe clip by combining up to 16 of your own images and video clips and choosing a soundtrack to go along with it. It reminds me a lot of Google’s Auto Awesome but more in a Vine or Instagram short clip form. HTC sees Zoe turning into something more than just a way to create media content, but a potential social center for viewing, sharing, and remixing the Zoes.

HTC Zoe

HTC definitely has a lot of competition when it comes to social media sharing and content creation, but I’ve heard lots of positive things from HTC One users and how well Zoes are implemented. It’s definitely arguable, but HTC has historically done a great job at making great looking apps and hardware. In the early days of Android, I was always jealous of HTC’s clock and calendar widgets. In my opinion, there wasn’t a better looking skin to Android. Now that Google’s upped their UX game, HTC’s scaled back its skinning of their Android launcher and has been coming out with great features like Zoe, Blinkfeed, and the Dot View case. I think HTC has an uphill battle to fight, but has a great opportunity with getting their software on a lot more phones. The source stated that HTC plans to build an audience before finding a way to monetize Zoe.

HTC Creative Labs will have its hands full with both developing their apps for Android as well as continuous development for the software on HTC’s devices. Additionally, it plans on releasing more apps for non-HTC user use beyond Zoe. Zoe is currently available on the Play Store, but only compatible with HTC devices. Zoe should be available for non-HTC device use later this week.

So, who’s excited about using Zoe? I’m definitely going to give it a try. I think this is a really interesting move by HTC and am glad it’s trying it. I highly respect HTC and want it to do well. I think HTC makes great products and we need its competition in the handset market. How do you feel about their move to releasing once exclusive apps for non-HTC device use? What other HTC apps do you want to see released to the world? Let us know by commenting below!

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