Feb 19
Amazon has opened up its virtual currency, Amazon Coins, for use across all Android devices, having originally limited it to its own Kindle Fire tablets. The digital cash, launched back … Continue reading
Feb 19
When Flappy Bird’s developer announced he would be taking the game down, suddenly we started seeing listings on eBay second hand iPhone units with the Flappy Bird game installed on them. The phones were being sold for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, although eBay soon put an end to that as they claimed it violated the website’s policy. For those who weren’t quick on the draw, it looks like you’ll be stuck with your phone, or maybe not. Thanks to the folks at BGR, they have discovered that website UpgradeSwap is actually willing to pay smartphone owners a little extra if their phones were to come with Flappy Bird preinstalled on them.
Of course don’t expect to get paid a few extra hundred dollars, but you can expect to get an additional $10, $15, or even maybe $20 depending on the condition of your device. For those unfamiliar, UpgradeSwap is essentially similar to websites like Gazelle and uSell where they buy second hand gadgets from people looking to get rid of their older phones or upgrade to a newer one. Now this does not mean that UpgradeSwap will actually sell the phones with Flappy Bird preinstalled as the phones will most likely be factory reseted, but it is a good marketing stunt given how popular the game is at the moment, despite the fact that the game has since been removed from app stores around the world.
Used Electronics Retailer Paying More For Phones With Flappy Bird original content from Ubergizmo. 
     |
Feb 19
Nokia has unveiled a new accessory designed to make sure users of its Lumia smartphone are never parted from their handset. Or at least, that when they leave the house with their tagged keys or bag, they’ll be reminded to pick up their phone too. Or vice versa.
Called Treasure Tag, the smart fob can be paired via NFC or Bluetooth 4.0 with a Lumia smartphone running the Lumia Black update to link the two devices — so that if either one moves out of range of the other an alarm sounds on both to alert the user that all is not well with their favourite gadget.
Now there are scores and scores of startups building lost and found gizmos. One of which, Tile, which we covered last summer, managed to amass $2.6 million in crowdfunding before the field started getting insanely crowded. And now Nokia has thrown its hat into the ring — although most lost and found startups aren’t going to see the Treasure Tag as any kind of competition.
For one thing, Nokia’s system is currently* a closed one, limited to use with a sub-set of Lumia smartphones, rather than allowing the ability to tag any kind of treasured possession (inanimate or otherwise). (*Nokia does say there will also be third-party apps for Treasure Tag to support Android and iOS devices in future.)
Nokia’s tag also offers a very limited feature-set vs some of the more elaborate tracker tag concepts out there. Whereas Tile’s plan, for instance, is to build a distributed network of other Tile users so that the community of users can expand its location-pinpointing range, Treasure Tag is not so smart, with only the paired link between phone and tag to go on.
So expect its alarm to sound when you’re popping to the toilet with your keys in your pocket but not your phone, for instance. (The alarm can be muted or put to sleep via the corresponding app, or you can long press on the tag itself to deactivate it — all of which sounds like a fair bit of hassle.)
The Treasure Tag system also supports locating a lost tagged item, such as your keys or bag, on a map within the app — or it will if you are within range of it. It can only report the last known location, so if the item has been moved since it’s not going to turn up.
And if you want to tag multiple items to link them to your phone, you’ll need to buy multiple Treasure Tags. Up to four different tags can be simultaneously connected to the handset — with the ability to assign ready-made icons to each (such as a keys icon), or use a photo, to try and make the managing multiple tags scenario less confusing.
Either way, with the tags themselves being relatively large vs some of the tracker startup competition — each Treasure Tag is a roughly matchbox sized 30 x 30 x 10mm — it’s not exactly an elegant solution to forgetfulness. Forget slipping a tag inside your wallet, for instance, as you can with the likes of Protag Elite.
The battery life of each Treasure Tag is pegged at ‘up to six months’. A standard coin cell type battery that’s user replaceable powers each tag.
Nokia said it expects the Treasure Tag to go on sale via global retailers in April, costing €24,90 ($29.90). Colour options are the bright yellow and cyan that Nokia also uses for its phone range, as well as white or black.
Feb 19
If you were a developer, which would be your platform of choice if you were tasked to create a game for? Would it be for consoles, like the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One, or would it be for the PC? Or maybe even mobile like smartphones and tablets? Well thanks to a recent poll conducted by the Game Developers Conference, it seems that an overwhelming amount of developers have chosen to develop for either the PC or for smartphones. According to the numbers, a whopping 52% of developers who were polled claimed that they intend to release their next title for the PC/Mac. This was followed by 51% of developers who intended for their releases to arrive for smartphones and tablets.
This begs the question, what about next-gen consoles? With all the hype surrounding the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One ahead of its launch last year, we would have thought developers would be clamoring to release their games on said platform, but as it turns out perhaps the hype and anticipation might have been lower than we thought. The polls found that only 17% of developers planned on releasing for the Xbox One, and 20% for the PlayStation 4. The lead on the PS4 isn’t all too surprising given how well the console is doing, suggesting that there might be more gamers interested in the PS4 compared to the Xbox One, but why do you guys think that the results are such? Could it be the ubiquity of the PC and smartphone platform that just makes more sense to develop games for?
PCs And Smartphones Are More Attractive To Developers To Create Games For original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Feb 18
Over the past few months, there has been a lot of accusations leveled at giant tech corporations, such as Apple and Google, on how they were providing data to government agencies like the NSA in order for them to spy on US citizens. Whether or not that is true, or to what extent the data is shared, we guess we will never truly know, however an interesting report from AdAge would seem to suggest that Apple takes the protection of its user data very seriously, to the point where it might actually be hurting the company’s iAd sales. (more…)
Apple’s Protection Of User Data Could Be Hurting iAd Sales original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Feb 18
While you were busy worrying about the NSA spying on you, artist -slash- software developer Lauren McCarthy made an app called Crowdpilot. It lets everybody spy on you.
| |
Feb 18
Back in January, we had heard that BBM could soon be making its way onto older Android devices still running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Towards the end of the month, we heard that its release would be soon and sure enough soon is correct as BlackBerry has officially released a new build of BBM that would target Android users still running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, so if you’re still holding onto a device that cannot be updated beyond Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread but would love to get your hands on the BBM app, you will be able to do so by heading on over to the Google Play Store for the free download.
As it stands, based on the latest Android distribution figures, Android Gingerbread devices account for about 20% of the Android market at the moment. This means that at least one fifth of Android users out there are still using older builds of Android that they have either chosen not to update, or are unable to update as their handsets aren’t powerful enough. Granted those figures will probably go down over time, but that also means that BlackBerry has one fifth of the Android market that they have not tapped into. With BlackBerry not doing so hot at the moment, we guess the next best thing would be to spread their services around, even if their hardware isn’t necessarily selling as well.
BBM For Gingerbread Now Available For Download original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Feb 18
Opera’s mobile web browsers have been around for almost a decade, utilizing remote servers to compress data, ultimately saving users’ bandwidth. The novel concept works, which is why the company’s browsers have a big fan following, particularly in emerging markets. Opera has now turned towards app data usage, which we know all too well can have drastic effects on bandwidth limits. Opera Max is here to compress all non-encrypted data being used by apps on your device, routing it through its servers just like it does on its mobile web browsers.
At first the Opera Max app was only available via the Google Play Store beta program but starting today the company has made it available for anyone and everyone. It claims that the app can compress data up to 50 percent, thus allowing users to stay well within their data caps. The app has a timeline which shows which apps ended up saving data and exactly how much data was compressed and saved during the entire session. Users have the option to disable compression when needed, particularly if they don’t want to view slightly pixelated video, the kind they get when its being compressed. There a $1 per month subscription for unlimited usage, those not willing to pay will be subject to advertisements. Opera Max is now available for download through the Google Play Store.
Opera Max Aims To Compress Your App Data Usage original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Feb 18
This week the folks at Layar have spoken up on their newest update to the system they called Layar Creator. With this tool, users are able to create images that, … Continue reading
Feb 18
Its acquisition of Skype enabled it to offer a separate unified communications platform for average consumers, one that is different from what business users are offered, Microsoft has two of the most widely used platforms under its belt, Lync and Skype. Part of its Applications and Services division, the Lync team has been working under the Skype team since 2012 and has been increasing its presence on mobile devices. Lync apps are already available for Android phones, iOS devices, Windows Phone, Mac and Windows. The latest destination is Android tablets, Microsoft officials have confirmed that Lync app for Android tablets is going to be released by the end of June 2014.
Microsoft Lync App For Android Tablets Coming This June original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.