Tag Archives: Android

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Instagram goes online to the desktop

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Screenshot: Kyle Stewart/Magnae Famae

Screenshot: Kyle Stewart/Magnae Famae

Today, Instagram has unveiled their full news feed for desktop browsers at Instagram.com.

Instagram is a very popular photo sharing app on iOS and Android. It has almost created a cult-like following. Instagram was sold to Facebook for $1 billion in April 2012, and has continued to maintain its users, even with the threat of boycotts.

The new Instagram.com allows users to use almost all of the same functionalities that is presented in their mobile app, including commenting; liking; and of course, viewing. The only exception is that users cannot upload images. That feature remains with the mobile app.

This is an important move for the ad-free social network, that needs to begin generating revenue, as it is much easier to advertise on a website over a mobile app. This theory can be proved with the amount of empty space on the sidebars, that will likely be filled with ads in the near future.

What do you think of the new website?

Slider Image via The Verge.

 

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Image via The Independent

First Thoughts on the Nexus 4

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Image via The Independent

The Nexus 4 is here! I was personally very excited about the release. Google’s ‘Nexus’ product line seems to be taking over! The Nexus 7 tablet did amazing on sales! Why wouldn’t it? But that’s not what I’m talking about here!
The Nexus 4 on a hardware prospective, has:

  • Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Processor
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • 2 100 mAh Battery
  • 8MP rear camera
  • 1.3MP front camera

This phone currently costs $299 for the 8GB model, and $349 for the 16GB model, unlocked. Yes this phone has a strangely low price tag!
This is the first device to be running Android JellyBean 4.2! And being a google device, it will get all software updates! The phone’s front and back are both gorilla glass, and has plastic sides. The volume controls remain on the left side, and the power switch remains on the right. And this phone, does indeed work with wireless charging!
The phone has a GeekBench rating of a little over 2000! That’s crazy! Compared to the iPhone 5, with ratings of over 1600, looks like the phone is incredibly fast, with quite some processing power!
The Nexus 4 can take pictures that have a 360 panorama! It’s just like the Google Maps, Street View experience, but with your own pictures! All of the settings for the camera, are easily accessed but just holding your finger down on the screen. The camera looks very good, although not quite the quality of pictures from phones like the iPhone 5 or the Nokia Lumia 920, the pictures on this phone still look great!
Now I’ve talked a lot of the pros of this phone, now we get into the cons! First off, this isn’t a major issue, but there is no LTE! Google did install a LTE chip, they just didn’t want to sign with phone companies on this phone. They wanted you to be able to put a plan on your phone, that you wouldn’t need a contract for. There are ways you can activate the LTE chip, from what I’ve heard, right now, it can only be done by the following Canadian carriers, Rogers, Bell or Telus.
Also, there is only 8-16GB of storage on this phone! There is not a 32GB or 64GB model, and it does not have expandable storage like many other Android models. The storage size of course is not tiny, however, many people would love to see models with more memory.
These are just my first thoughts on the Nexus 4! I was very excited for the release, and am not disappointed by the results! This is a great phone, especially for the price.

 

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US Judge bans Galaxy Nexus in the USA

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The Galaxy Nexus, running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (Image via CNET)

Just a few days after the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was banned in the US from sales, now the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Phone) was banned from sale in the USA.

It was (no surprise), Apple who brought Samsung to the US Courts, and it was over the “slide to unlock” feature, and also we are now learning over Siri, some how.

We’re disappointed with this decision, but we believe the correct result will be reached as more evidence comes to light.

-A Google Spokesperson

Also, an Apple representative spoke out as well.

It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.

-Apple

What do you think of this Judge banning the Galaxy Nexus in the US? Leave a comment below.

Huga Barra of Google Product Management with the Nexus 7, in hand. (Image via The Associated Press)

Google unveils new Nexus 7 tablet at $199

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Huga Barra of Google Product Management with the Nexus 7, in hand. (Image via The Associated Press)

June 27th, at Google I/O, Google unveiled a new Asus-branded tablet, called the Nexus 7. This is the first device to run the next version of Android, which is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The tablet starts at just $199 for 8GB and goes up to $249 for 16GB of storage. They plan to ship the Nexus 7 in Mid-July, in the USA, Canada, and Australia. Currently it can be pre-ordered in the Google Play store.

The Nexus 7 is a 7-inch tablet, at 1280 x 800 pixels. It comes with 1 GB of RAM, GPS, NFC (Near Field Communication), and Gyroscope. It also has a Quad-Core Tegra-3 Processor.

A disappointment for the Nexus 7 is that it doesn’t have a rear-facing camera. It does however, have a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera.

The back of the tablet is “textured” and “grippy“, so you don’t need to worry as much about it sliding out your hands. It is 10.45mm thick and weighs 0.7 pounds. The Verge reports that it does indeed feel “remarkably light”.

It has a Micro-USB port and Headphone jack, both located on the bottom of the device. The Verge is reporting that the built-in speakers work well as well. They also reported that surprisingly the Nexus 7 has no Photos or Camera app. It appears that the camera can only be used for video-chatting.

The Nexus 7′s front and back. (Image via CNET)

An amazing feature of the Nexus 7 is it’s 9 hour battery life on 720p video playback!

Many are implying that the Nexus 7 was designed to compete head-and-head against the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Google Play, the official Android App Store, is heavily integrated into the Nexus 7. It was “designed for Google Play“.

The Nexus 7 is coming in the market at a very impressive price. I actually gasped when I heard the pricing. Will you be buying the tablet in Mid-July? Leave a comment below.

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Tech Now: April 2012

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Tech Now-

 Every month (or so)  Kyle Stewart, will be showing you all of the best new tech of the month (or so). The Gear will be listed in order from Best to OK. The list includes both software and hardware must-haves. Please note that Tech Now will eventually be posted at Your FAQ instead of Magnae Famae.

1 Nokia Lumia 900 This is the first good Windows Mobile phone (Technically Windows Phone 7). It has a great display and works seamlessly with the OS. It also has a great camera! It is available with Rogers and AT&T.

2 The New iPad AKA the iPad 3 was released in March 2012 by Apple, and has had an amazing release so far. SOme of the highlights include a stunning new retina display, a great camera and voice dictation.

3 Samsung Galaxy Note This massive Android phone is perfect for Android fans, with big hands! It is a phablet (tablet+phone).

4 HTC One S It’s an awesome new Android phone, running Ice Cream Sandwich (The latest version of Android). It has a great AMOLED display and is great all-in-all. It is available at T-Mobile and at Bell.

-a KYLE STEWART article-

* the gear/software may not have been tested, and is based on review.

*1 the list may include rumored gear, and/or unreleased gear/software

The New Twitter... #letsfly (Screenshot by Kyle Stewart/Magnae Famae)

#letsfly: Review of the New Twitter

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The New Twitter... #letsfly (Screenshot by Kyle Stewart/Magnae Famae)

THE OPINION OF KYLE STEWART- Today, I got the New Twitter. Now, I know many of you already got the new twitter. A lot of people don’t like it (a lot of the same people who don’t like Facebook Timeline). So, I am writing this today to give you a brief review of the new twitter.

The new Twitter revolves around Twitter’s new #letsfly theme.  It’s an excellent idea, and they are really doing what Apple did. They are being simplistic. Which is great for innovation. This new twitter has five basic buttons.

  1. Home  Obviously this button takes you to the newly designed homepage.
  2. Connect This includes interactions and mentions.
  3. Discover This button revolves around hashtags and trending topics.
  4. Me Your own profile
  5. Tweet The tweet button.

The first three mentioned are the biggest and most important in this upgrade.

General Layout

The General layout is great. Except for the fact that in the last version of Twitter everything about you was on the right, and all the tweets were in the center. Well, it has switched. Everything about you is on the left, all tweets are on the right. I can imagine myself getting confused over this eventually.

Left Sidebar

The left sidebar has everything about you. How many tweets you have made, how many followers you have, how many you are following. Also recommendations for who to follow. It also includes a the 10 trending topics, legal stuff etc.

Profiles

At the top of the profiles is your description and basic information. Below that on the left is links to your Tweets, Followers, Who you’re following etc. Also people you are similar to. On the bottom right are your tweets.

How to get the new Twitter

To get the new twitter you need to download the new twitter app for iOS and Android.

In conclusion, I really like the new twitter. They really did a great job on the web version and on the app for iOS as well. If only they had better servers….

What do you think of the new twitter? Do you have it yet? Leave a comment below or email us at question@magnaefamae.com.

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Image via LG

Best of CES 2012

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Image via LG

As always, CNET has come out with the best of CES 2012. CES 2012 has some amazing products, but below are the best, according to CNET.

  • BEST OF SHOW: LG 55-inch OLED TV. This TV was stunning. Only 4mm (millimeters thick)… that’s thinner then a pencil. You could barely see the screen when you looked at it on the side. What’s better? LG says by 2016 a OLED TV like this one will cost about the same as a LCD TV today. WOW. We strongly agree with CNET’s choice on this product.
  • PEOPLE’S VOICE: Razor Project Fiona. This is an amazing Windows 8 Gaming tablet. It looks fantastic, although it is only a concept so far. It has Intel’s i7 processor,  a solid state drive, 10.1 inch screen, with a 1280 x 800 resolution. apparently it will have the battery life of a Laptop, not a Tablet. The tablet will also have an Android overlay.
  • SMARTPHONE: Nokia Lumia 900. The phone, running Windows Phone 7 impressed all with a 4.3 inch AMOLED screen, a front-facing camera, dual LED flash, 16GB memory, and is available in Black and Blue. This phone looks fantastic.
  • CAMERA: Fujifilm X-PRO 1: This new camera is the world’s first mirror less camera. The camera is estimated to be about $1700. The camera has 3 lenses (each about $650) a 18mm f2, a 35mm f1.4, and a 60mm f2.4 macro. The LCD screen has 1.4 million pixels. The camera can shoot video at 1080p.
  • EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: Makerbot Replicator. The Makerbot is a (amazing) 3D printer. This Makerbot Replicator can “make anything”. The Replicator starts at $1799.
  • COMPUTER: HP Envy 14 Spectre. This is HP’s first consumer-focused Ultrabook. The screen is 1600 x 900 pixels. It will have a 128 GB solid state drive, along with  likely a i(3,5 or 7) intel processor. The ultrabook is expected to cost about $1399.
  • TABLET: Asus Memo 370T. This 7 inch tablet from Asus made a splash at CES 2012. Especially with the price point of only $250. It has 1GB RAM, and at least 16GB storage. It will have a Micro-USB port and a micro SD and HDMI reader as well.
  • SOFTWARE: Bluestacks for Windows 8. This app lets you run Android apps in Windows 8. With so many Android apps available this will be extremely convenient to consumers. So much so, it will be included in Windows 8.

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What a great list of software! Great picks, CNET! What do you think of the picks? Which products would you be willing to buy? Leave a comment below or email us at question@magnaefamae.com.

 

Image Via OLPC

$100 One Laptop Per Child Tablet

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Image Via OLPC

The One Laptop per Child Group plans to display a $100 tablet at CES 2012. This tablet will be called the OLPC X.O 3.0 Tablet.

The OLPC’s mission is to provide Laptops (and now Tablets) to children who have ‘little or no access to education because of insufficient resources’.

“We’re proud to introduce the XO 3.0 tablet, showcasing the design, durability and performance features that make it a natural successor for our current laptops, which have been distributed to more than 2.4 million children in 42 countries and in 25 languages,”

-Edward McNierney, chief technology officer of One Laptop per Child

The Tablet has a 8 inch screen, Up to 10 hours of battery life, Supports both Android and Linux, and the tablet can be powered by hand cranks and by solar panels.

We will have more on this $100 tablet in the coming week.

Image Via OLPC