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Latest Samsung Galaxy S6 teaser is about materials and shapes

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Samsung is continuing its teaser campaign for the upcoming Galaxy S6. The third video in the series was released today. It follows the previous ones about the phone’s camera and performance.

This time around the short video is all about materials and shapes. So, given all the leaks and rumors we’ve seen lately, it kind of feels obvious that Samsung is teasing a metal build for the device. That said, keep in mind that at no point in the promo is that explicitly stated. Otherwise it would be more than a teaser, wouldn’t it? Read more »

Google’s Inbox by Gmail is now available on tablets and more browsers

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Google has significantly expanded the reach of Inbox by Gmail, its experimental email app. From its launch point and up until now it was only usable on iPhones, Android smartphones, and on the Web in Chrome. But starting today, it’s made its way to many more places.

For starters, you can now use Inbox by Gmail on your iPad or Android tablet. Additionally, if you want to access the inbox.google.com interface from a Web browser, you get two more options. Read more »

Microsoft unveils even more cloud storage integration options for Office for iOS and Web

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Today Microsoft has revealed some more cloud storage integration features for both its Office apps for iOS as well as Office Online. This follows the Dropbox integration that debuted last year.

As it turns out, though, Microsoft doesn’t want to force you to use Dropbox in order to get neat Office integration. So starting today, other cloud storage providers can be natively integrated into the Locations picker in the Office apps for iOS (as seen in the example screenshot above). Read more »

Double-height live tiles may not be present in final release of Windows 10 for phones

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The Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones introduces a few obvious new features, yet there are some hidden gems inside too. One of those is support for double-height live tiles – 2×4 (vertical rectangle form factor) or 4×4, respectively. However, to use those app developers need to explicitly enable them, which is why they aren’t on every Windows Phone Start screen already.

But they very well may get there in time. Only there’s a problem. Apparently Microsoft itself still isn’t entirely sure whether it will leave support for such tall tiles in the final build for Windows 10 for phones. Read more »

Pushbullet for Android now lets you reply to WhatsApp and Facebook messages from your computer

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Up until now you have been able to reply to text messages on your computer using Pushbullet – with the Android app installed on your phone and one of the company’s browser extensions or desktop apps running on your computer, of course. But starting today, you can also immediately reply to conversations in some of the most popular Internet-based messaging apps.

So, once you update your Pushbullet app for Android to the latest version (and once you get the newest iteration of the computer browser extension you’re using), you will be able to reply to messages coming into WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Hangouts, Telegram, and Line straight from your computer. In fact, you can do that right from the Pushbullet notification you get on your computer. Read more »

Samsung’s rugged Galaxy Tab Active is headed to India

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Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Tab Active will go on sale in India in the near future. The Korean company hasn’t provided an exact launch timeline for the rugged device yet, but it has given us the all-important pricing information.

The Galaxy Tab Active will be offered for INR 52,000, which is equal to approximately $836 or €738. So it will be anything but cheap. Read more »

Sony SmartWatch 3 is now $50 cheaper at Verizon

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Sony’s original SmartWatch 3 that comes with a silicone wristband has now become cheaper by a cool $50. That’s only true if you buy yours from Verizon, though. Sure, the carrier may not be the first retailer you think of when considering a wearable purchase, but right now it does have the best price for the SmartWatch 3.

You can grab one for just $199.99, which compares pretty favorably to the normal selling price of $249.99. You should know however that there’s no indication of whether this is a limited time deal or not. Read more »

Facebook adds some Material Design elements to its Android app

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After quite a few months since Google first unveiled its Material Design guidelines, Facebook has decided to follow them somewhat. The world’s biggest social network is now testing a slightly enhanced look for its Android app, one that has been infused with a few Material Design elements.

As you can see, a big blue floating action button is present. Once you tap that a few options show up, which were previously available to you through a floating blue bar at the bottom of the screen. This bundled the “Take a photo” and “Upload a photo” items together, while “Where I am” used to be known as “Check in”. The old “Status” option from the floating bar is now replaced with “Write a post”. Read more »

Google continues Android campaign with an ad about handshakes

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Google’s previous Android ad employed cute animals, but the latest installment in the company’s “Be Together. Not The Same” campaign for its mobile OS is really different from that. No animals to be seen here, well, at least not as many animals.

This ad is called “Handshake” and it really is all about the handshake. Or fist bump. Or plenty of other ways in which people greet each other nowadays. Read more »

New Cortana ads by Microsoft focus on Valentine’s Day

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With Valentine’s Day almost upon us, Microsoft decided to release a couple of new promotional videos for Cortana, its very own virtual personal assistant. As you’d expect given the Valentine’s Day theme, the ads are all about love. The Lumia 635 smartphone is featured in them too, though oddly with a Microsoft logo replacing Nokia’s.

In the first video, one man is happy that despite having broken up with his girlfriend around Valentine’s, which isn’t fun, he’s quickly managed to find someone new. Not only that, but he’s apparently blown away by how well she knows him. Read more »

Sony’s next SmartBand will monitor your heart rate

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Sony is apparently getting ready to launch a new SmartBand, to either complement or succeed the SWR10 in its lineup of wearable accessories. A Sony SmartBand with the model number SWR12 has recently passed through the FCC’s rigorous testing, which is how we know about it.

Compared to the original SWR10, the new SWR12 seems to add just one feature, though it may be a very important one. The new SmartBand will have a built-in heart rate sensor, it turns out. Read more »

HTC Zoe gains Lollipop support and new highlight engine

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Today HTC has decided to issue an update to its Zoe app. This has been available in the Google Play Store for non-HTC Android devices since last summer. The update, which is already up for grabs in Google’s app store, brings with it support for Android 5.0 Lollipop, as well as the Motorola Nexus 6 and the HTC Nexus 9.

So if you own one of those you can now use Zoe, HTC’s social network wannabe based around video highlights. Or if you have another device that runs Lollipop already. This isn’t the only new feature, however. Read more »

Facebook now lets you choose someone to manage your account after you die

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Facebook has added a new feature today, and it’s already rolling out to accounts in the US. Basically, you can now add a “legacy contact” in the Security section of your account. This will be the digital ‘heir’ to your Facebook presence after you die.

Once someone lets Facebook know that you’ve passed away, the company will ‘memorialize’ the account and starting at this point the legacy contact will be able to do certain things with it. Read more »

Nokia’s Here Maps for Android leaves beta, iOS version is coming soon

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After yesterday’s map data update, Nokia’s Here team has some more news for us today – namely, that the Here maps app for Android has now left the beta state. As of the latest update to the app, which is already live in the Google Play Store, the beta tag has been put to rest.

So it looks like Nokia now feels very confident about the stability and performance of its app on Google’s mobile operating system. The update brings with it some new things, naturally. Read more »

Nokia’s Here for Windows Phone and Android gets updated map data

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Today Nokia has announced a new map data update for its Here apps for Windows Phone and Android. This isn’t an app update per se, but rather an update to the underlying information that the apps use. So if you’ve downloaded maps in Here for offline use, you’ll need to update those to get all the new perks. Otherwise, if you’re only using Here in online mode, you’ll see the changes automatically.

You should get an update notification at some point, regardless of which mobile platform you use. Of course you can also manually trigger the download by going to Here’s settings (on Android) or, on Windows Phone, to Settings > Applications > Maps. Read more »