Google I/O 2016 keynote: Summary

If you are an avid tech follower or just someone who stays on the internet a lot, chances are you heard of Google I/O. Well, more or less, it's Google's biggest event of the year; and where a lot of products and services are announced.

This year's edition was no different either. We saw new products and old-updated ones. I made a rough list of the major announcements. Here they are:

Google Home: 

 With tech diversifying, thanks to IoT, Google decided not to give Amazon complete monopoly with the Alexa. Instead they chose to reply with their very own assistant - Google Home. As you might have guessed, Google Home does basically the same thing as something like Alexa but since it is built with and in the Android ecosystem, it has the ability to do things like - cast using (of course) Chrome Cast.
Although this device is not available to the general public as of now, it will be from next year; according to Google.

Android: 

This probably should have come first but, meh, better second than never, right? Anyways, we saw an update to Android N. Basically it's no longer a developer preview but now a beta release which you could get on your Nexus device. There was also the promise of stability; in essence, you could install this on your main device and not fear the presence of bugs or the OS crashing altogether. There were other cool stuff regarding Android N though - no, an official name has not been given; but more on that later. As i was saying regarding "cool stuff", you can now do split multitasking

As you can see, this functionality is available for both phones and tablets alike.

    Android Wear 2.0: 

With this update, you can now use your watch independent of your smartphone. Well, amongst other features. Pretty cool, huh?

     Virtual Reality: 

You've probably heard of Google Cardboard or even used one. How impressed were you? Not very, I'm sure. Well, get ready to be wowed! Google came back and I daresay with a bang! Their own VR headset is so cool that it comes with a remote controller - I'm serious.

Told you, I was serious. This is still a prototype though; but I'm sure a fully working model is not too far away - although, there was a demo of this at the I/O. The best part is Day Dream is a big part of this. No, I'm not talking about your phone staying awake while charging. I'm talking about the platform that Google's virtual reality runs on. There is a lot to be done with this and I sure am hyped already!

Messaging: 

A part of me sure hoped that Google would make a do-it-all messaging app; but, no! They just had to break it into two separate apps! One is called Allo while the other is Duo .
Allo is a texting app while Duo is for video calls. I'll go into details in a separate post. For now, just know that Google is not backing out of the messaging war.

I'll get into details on each of these in subsequent posts; so do stay tuned!
PS: If you would like to suggest the next Android Name; head on to https://android.com/n. A part of me can't help but think that Google already knows what to name Android N; but are waiting  for someone to suggest it so they can say "We went with what you suggested!". Nice try Google. Maybe that's just the paranoia talking.

Read More

iPhone 6 fact sheet [IMAGE]

This post [rather an image] compares the iPhone 6 and the Nexus 4

Read More

From Jelly Bean to Jelly Beans

If you've been following Android releases for the past few years, you'll realize that Jelly Bean has had the highest number of version numbers (from 4.1 - 4.3). Now with that fact in mind, I think I wouldn't be wrong if I told someone that Android has Jelly-Beans(pun intended). Taking a look at the technical specifications of these individual Jelly Bean versions, you'll realize that not much change has really taken place on the succeeding Jelly Bean version. Its probably just one or two bug-fixes(I stand to be corrected though). I even almost got into a fight with a friend over the android versions... since 4.1 was Jelly Bean, we expected 4.2 to be Key Lime Pie (before Google changed the code name to KitKat). Some news sources said it would be called Key Lime Pie, some said Jelly Bean while some were not really sure of the version number(a few were saying it would be 4.2 some were like 4.1.2)... What really gets to me is the fact that they would create a new version number for an extension of the current OS. They could have just called them : 4.1, 4.1.2 and 4.1.3(Just saying!). That's all for now folks... share your views in the comment boxes below.

Read More

Key lime pie changed to Kit Kat

Me: hey dude, ready for the Key Lime Pie update? Dude: huh? Where have you been... as of now Key Lime Pie doesn't exist anymore its now KitKat. Duh!

Me: *Speechless* and feeling dumb.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
As at when this conversion took place, I just came back from some jungle(some would call it a village). So that explains why I was living in the past. After the news of the change of codename, I went to do some research and actually found that Google changed Jelly Bean's successor's codename from Key Lime Pie to Kit Kat for some comical reason: they(android division of Google) said that most of their employees didn't know what Key Lime Pie(the dessert I mean) was so they had to change it to a more common one, hence the name KitKat. I take it that at this point you know that Android versions are name after one dessert or the other.

Read More

How to identify fake SAMSUNG devices[and other brands]

For some time now, China phones have hit the market and have made a name(Not too good a name though). Why? These so-called China phone have a general motive: A little lower specs for MUCH lower prices and this is generally a good thing until they started fooling people.
A little while ago, I owned a Samsung Galaxy Note 1(The Chinese Version). Now, if you're not really conversant with the note, I bet you, you'd have thought it was the real thing. But a few things gave it away as a fake which I am going to share below.

Read More

Fake BBM for Android hits the play store

Many Black Berry users argue that the BBM is one of the man reasons why Blackberry devices are(oops.. I meant were)  rocking and storming the market. Then....ENTER ANDROID.
When Android first hit the market, it was expensive like crazy but now thanks to  companies like Tecno, you can get low-cost android devices. When this happened, Apps like Whatsapp hit the mobile world sweeping smartphone users off their feet. Though Whatsapp has serious competition lately.....well thats for another
post. It had some serious edge over BBM like its cross-platform nature. On seeing this, in other not to run out of users(Since they've been banned in some countries), Black Berry decided to move BBM to other platforms.

Read More

Sony announces which Xperia phones will get Jelly Bean

The cards are on the table - Sony just announced the update plan of its Xperia line. Here's the list of models that will get updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and also the ones that will remain stuck with 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sony's latest high-end Xperia phones - the Xperia T, TX and V - will be updated to 4.1 Jelly Bean in mid-Q1 next year.

Next up are the global versions of Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia go and Xperia J. The release date for the update will be announced later. It's still unclear what will happen to the localized versions.

And now, the ones left behind - the whole 2011 Xperia lineup (which got updated to ICS) will not be getting Jelly Bean because Sony "would not be able to guarantee owners of these smartphones the user experience you expect and we demand".

It's a bit disappointing that the Xperia J, which has a cut-down version of the Qualcomm chipset that powers the 2011 Xperias, is getting JB but the older models are not.

Read More

LG and Google to partner to make next Nexus Device

The new Nexus phone, presumed to be called the LG Nexus 4, has been reviewed ahead of its rumored launch date of October 29th.

Onliner, the same website that leaked the LG Nexus 4 several times this week, posted a full review of the device complete with detailed specifications as well as a side-by-side photo op with the previous Nexus smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

The review details some information that we had not known yet including the new Nexus phone’s size, weight and more. Apparently, the phone is 9.2mm thin which means that it’s much thicker than the iPhone 5 which is 7.6mm thin. It also weighs 139 grams, also heavier than the iPhone 5. The device is also thicker than the Galaxy Nexus by .03mm. It’s also wider but shorter than the Galaxy Nexus.
The back of the new Nexus phone, unlike the Galaxy Nexus’, possesses no hump. It’s flush. The review also claims that the back is both smooth and glossy which could mean that it’s made of scratch-resistant glass. They took a key to the back to try and scratch it and could not do so.

The new Nexus phone does not contain any metal elements in its design. Instead, it’s made of plastic, just like the Galaxy Nexus.

Its display, which measures 4.7-inches, is a True IPS display which means that its not PenTile Matrix.The screen sports HD resolution, something that does not differ from the previous Nexus smartphone.

LG Nexus 4 has an 8MP rear camera, no pins for accessories, and it appears that the phone is running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, the latest from Google. It’s certainly possible that it could launch with Android 4.2 on board but at this point, it’s unclear.

Read More

Inside Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

With the introduction of Android 4.1(Jelly Bean) in the Nexus 7 and Nexus Q, I have been wondering: What's new in Jelly Bean? The following have be either introduced or modified Project Butter
Project butter is a new framework that makes Jelly Bean faster and less battery consuming. How? With the frame, CPU and graphics chips working hand -in-hand to make transitions faster. The frame also makes the CPU slow down when your android device is not in use then becomes faster when you start using your android device.

Read More