NVIDIA isn’t new to tablets, having powered the first true Android tablets that ran Honeycomb with the Tegra 2. The history continues with powering the Nexus 7 tablet using a Tegra 3, all the way to the Tegra Note 7 that’s been on sale for quite a while now. But making a tablet on its own is something NVIDIA hasn’t done, but that might just change soon.

The Shield series is NVIDIA’s own hardware, currently consisting of the NVIDIA Shield gaming device. However, according to the latest @evleaks leak, there will be an NVIDIA Shield Tablet and it will be released this year! A gaming tablet is something we expected, but it’s strange to release a gaming device without any sort of physical controls.

There is no further detail on the device, but it’s gotten me excited. As the owner of a Tegra Note 7 (more specifically the HP Slate 7 Extreme), I’m quite fond of the design and the Shield Tablet looks even better. Hopefully it’ll have the display resolution to back up those good looks, something that is a weak point on the original Shield. Would you buy a gaming tablet? Let us know in the comments!

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It’s pretty common knowledge that mobile devices can get pretty hot. Usually that’s no big deal, but in very rare cases, it ends with an exploding battery. However, for this owner of a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, the heat has actually caused the rear of the device to deform significant.

The Tab S is powered by a Samsung Exynos 5420, a processor that’s not exactly brand new. And it has to push a 2560×1600 display, which must be very taxing. This results in heavy processor usage and heat. Paired with what must be a defective back plate, it resulted in the plastic warping inwards from being heated.

We’re not sure if this is a defect seen in only a few devices or if it will end up being a common issue. But if you’re getting one of these tablets, make sure to keep an eye out for the back deforming. You’ll no doubt want to exchange it immediately. How many of you own a Tab S? I’ve wanted one since they launched, but haven’t purchased one yet.

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We’ve always dreamed of Nokia releasing a high end Android device with the body of a Lumia. The camera, build quality, and general Nokia design is alluring, but we wanted our favorite mobile OS on it. The chances were slim, but rumors of an Android-powered Nokia device pushed on. And what we got wasn’t exactly great.

The Nokia X was a cheap, low end Android device with a heavy Windows Phone-like skin. No one was impressed, but it gave us hope. If Nokia is working with Android, maybe a higher end device is in the works! Sadly, that isn’t happening. Microsoft has officially discontinued the Nokia X line in its current form, stating that future devices will run Windows Phone.

This is the end of Nokia’s adventure with Android, at least for a good long while. And really, nothing good came out of it anyway. Still, we mourn for what could have been. For now, let Nokia use Windows Phone and attempt to gain traction in this tough market. How do you feel about Nokia dropping Android? Leave a comment!

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This fall, Android Wear will make the switch to Android L and bring along the much-anticipated custom watch face API. Since its launch at Google I/O, developers and early adopters were disappointed to find out that Android Wear didn’t have an API to create a custom watch face. Some developers have worked around this by turning the watch face into a stand-alone app, but this method obviously has drawbacks and isn’t a long term solution.

Wayne Piekarski, senior developer advocate at Google, took the time to give us some insight into the situation via a Google+ post:

Custom watch faces are activities running inside another process. However, they have some special considerations due to interactions with the stream and always-on ambient mode–including using a shorter peek card, moving the status indicators for battery and mute, and rendering the faces differently in ambient mode. Right now, without an official API, making a really great watch face currently takes a fair bit of tweaking.

We are working to make this as simple as possible for you so that it’s easy to make good-looking faces that work well across multiple form factors, conserve battery, and display the user’s card stream nicely. Some of these changes won’t be ready until we migrate Android Wear to the Android L release later this year, but don’t fret: they’re coming!Wayne PiekarskiGoogle

As Piekarski explained, the watch face API is a bit tricky to create with the special considerations that come with it. Nonetheless, Google is working hard to create it so that developers can quickly and easily create custom watch faces. Piekarski also confirms that Android Wear will update to run on Android L come fall. At this point is when we’ll likely see the custom watch face API be released. Finally, Piekarski gives a word of warning to devs: hold off on publishing your apps today, or if you do, use the alpha and beta channels of the Play Store, because there’s a good chance that your workaround app won’t work with the API once it’s released.

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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.

Flavourit

Description: You like cooking and you enjoy delicious food? Maybe you wish you had a little helper which reminds you of your favorite recipes? flavourit – small enough to practically fit in every pocket – can be your great helper! Create your personal cookbook according to your taste and share your favorite recipes with friends!

Pullshot

Description: Pullshot is a very simple screenshot organizer and manager for your Android. 

Calendar for Android Wear

Description: This application is only available Android Wear Device. You can view your calendar on your watch. Features: Monthly (free), Daily (premium), Detail view (premium), Setting color, first day of week (free), Displaying calendar of events (premium).

Climatology

Description: Climatology gives you climate information for anywhere on Earth: temperature, rain and sunniness. Whether finding where are the warm, dry places to go on holiday in December, avoiding rain for your wedding or finding out what the climate is like in Kazakhstan in April, Climatology allows you to discover the information you want.

Starwatch

Description: This is a sci-fi watch face for your Android Wear.

120 Sports

Description: 120 Sports is the new way to experience sports. Featuring real-time highlights, expert analysis and interactivity, 120 Sports is a must for every fan. This FREE app offers over 10 hours of live programming every day and requires no cable authentication or subscription.

The Active Channel

Description: Get the world’s No. 1 health and fitness TV on your mobile device. View exclusive shows on muscle building, fat loss, health, nutrition, martial arts, rugby, yoga, how to get a six pack…

Wear Mini Launcher

Description: It’s often a pain to open an app on your wear device. You have to remember its name of scroll through different lists to find and launch it. Wear Mini Launcher is designed to allow you to launch any app from anywhere.

QCast Music

Description: QCast brings shared party playlists to your Chromecast. When you host a party, everyone can add songs to the shared queue and downvote those they don’t like – if a majority is reached, the song is automatically skipped.

Normal

Description: Normal is an entirely new kind of earphone designed by you and personalized to the nooks and crannies of your ears. Download the app to capture your ears, customize your Normals and place your order. Every ear is different, but has been treated the same – until now.

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LG has made the LG G3 Beat, a mini brother to the LG G3, official. The LG G3 Beat trims down the size and specs of the flagship G3 to form a smaller, mid-range phone. The G3 Beat features a smaller display than the G3, though it’s still one of the largest in a “mini” phone, clocking in at 5 inches. The screen has a resolution of 1280×720, and there’s also a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage with microSD card slot, 8-megapixel rear camera with Laser Auto Focus, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 2540mAh removable battery and Android 4.4.2 KitKat with LG’s skin overtop.

While not a flagship, the G3 Beat should be a fine mid-range phone. Pricing is still unknown, but we wouldn’t expect it to be exorbitant. Availability was more detailed, with LG saying that the G3 Beat will launch in South Korea tomorrow, July 18, and roll out in Europe in the weeks that follow. In Europe, the phone will also be known as the LG G3 s. LG didn’t mention any other countries in availability, so it’s best to assume that the LG G3 Beat will be rolling out to only Europe and South Korea.

Check out the press release below for a few more details.

Show Press Release

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What is quite possibly the most important app on your phone is seeing a major update today. Chrome for Android has just reached version number 36, and along with it comes a handful of new features, improvements and security fixes.

Listed on the Google Play listing for Chrome and on the Google Chrome Releases blog, changes in Chrome 36 include fixes to address issues from OpenSSL 1.0.1h., an undo tab close function, fullscreen video with subtitles and HTML5 controls, support for some multi-window devices, support for casting some videos with Chromecast, improved text rendering on non-mobile optimized sites, the return of Google Doodles to the new tab page and a ton of other bug fixes and performance enhancements.

To snag the update, just head on over to Google Play on your Android device and you know what to do from there. While Google Chrome might not be the most used app on our devices anymore, if we could only pick one it would definitely be at the top of the list. How about you?

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The Samsung Gear Live is one of two Android Wear smart watches currently on sale, and we were expecting it to launch at Best Buy soon after it went up on the Play Store. It’s been available on Google Play for a while now, many people have already gotten theirs, so it’s about time that Best Buy put the device up on its site.

The Gear Live is now available for pre-order on the Best Buy website, with general availability online and in store expected shortly. With Best Buy hosting the Samsung booths in many of its locations, the company is definitely a fan of Samsung so it shouldn’t be too long before these smart watches are available.

You can get the watch for $199.99 right now and get it delivered whenever Best Buy feels like it’s time. While we don’t see much reason to buy it online from Best Buy instead of the Play Store, buying it in store could be a major convenience. Will you be picking one up from a retail store?

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In a move to take on companies like Beats and Bose, Samsung is using their name to push a new brand of premium audio products called Samsung Level. Originally announced several months ago, starting tomorrow Samsung’s Level premium audio products will finally be available in the US.

The starting lineup for Level includes four accessories:

• Level Over, $349.99

  The Samsung Level Over is an over-ear headphone designed for an immersive sound experience. Level Over delivers powerful, clear, sharp sound, ergonomically designed comfort and wireless Bluetooth technology.

  Level Over includes Active Noise Cancellation, employing four mics on the inside and outside of the headphones to cancel outside sounds. In addition, Level Over includes technology that prevents resonance between the vibration plate and the frame, avoiding unnecessary booming and helping to provide the original sound. Users can control volume, navigate tracks, pause or stop music, answer or end a call all using the Smart Control Technology on the side of the headphones.

• Level On, $179.99

  The Level On is an on-ear, wired headphone that packs a powerful, clear and pure sound in a compact design. Soft polyurethane cushioning provides comfort with a foldable ergonomic design makes this the perfect headphone for the on-the-go mobile user.

• Level In, $149.99

  The Level In is an in-ear, wired headphone that packs a powerful three-way speaker system that controls treble, mid-range and deep bass, providing clear sound separation and rich, natural sound quality.

• Level Box, $169.99

  Level Box is a premium, compact Bluetooth speaker that streams high quality audio from any Samsung Galaxy phone – or any other Bluetooth compatible device – directly to the speaker for crystal-clear sound. The sleek, distinctive design is optimized to provide noise reduction and echo cancellation, and a built in rechargeable battery offers up to 15 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. One touch Near-Field Communications (NFC) or the dedicated Bluetooth pairing button provides effortless synching. Control buttons make it easy to adjust volume or play/pause music, and a high-quality HD built in microphone makes it a great device for phone or conference calls.

All four products will see a staggered rollout across different retailers. Starting tomorrow at 12 Eastern, Gilt will offer all four products with a special Level On and Box bundle going for $299. Starting the 20 Amazon will carry Samsung Level products, followed by Samsung online the 21 and “select Samsung Experience Shops at Best Buy stores” July 27.

Gallery

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Despite the fact that it makes its own processors, Samsung has long depended on Qualcomm because its processors have historically been the only ones with LTE on the chip itself, a necessity for markets like the US. And while Samsung Exynos processors are nice, the lack of LTE is their downfall. However, Samsung’s relationship with Qualcomm will now go both ways.

Qualcomm has outsourced manufacturing of its newest 14nm chips to Samsung. The Snapdragon 805 is a 28nm chip, the chips being made with the 14nm FinFet process will be released sometime in 2015. Not only does this benefit Samsung, but it could also improve Exynos chips in some way.

Samsung’s next Exynos chips will have LTE modems included, so the companies dependance on Qualcomm may waver. But with the company manufacturing the newest Snapdragon chips, it might create a better business partnership. What do you think of this new partnership? Leave a comment!

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