Office for Android Now Available on Phones & Roost Battery Opens Orders
Posted: June 24, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, iOS, Kickstarter, Microsoft, Office for Android, Roost Smart Battery, Smartphones, Smoke Alarm, Tablets, wi-fi Leave a commentAfter being dropped for Android tablets in January, theverge.com says Microsoft has released Office for Android smartphones. It’s just about identical to the iOS version…not as robust as the tablet app, but great for quick drafts and edits on your smartphone. It has full Dropbox and OneDrive support for file storage.
Last fall, we covered a Kickstarter for the Roost Smart Battery. Thenextweb.com reports they’ve gone live to the public for preorders. The Roost battery turns your existing smoke alarm into a smart connected one. A 9 volt battery pack is $34.99, and a twin pack is $64.99. You can order through Amazon or GetRoost. They ship in September. The Roost batteries connect over WiFi to your home network, and they have Android and iOS apps for monitoring when you’re away.
Starbucks Order & Pay Mobile Ordering Now in 25 States
Posted: June 16, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Driving app, iOS, Mobile ordering, Order & Pay, Range Rover, Self Driving Cars, Starbucks Leave a commentIf you’re wide awake, there’s a good chance caffeine is involved. Good news for coffeeholics…Starbucks expects mobile ordering to be complete nationwide this year…and according to geekwire.com, has 4000 cafes live today. The Order & Pay service is available in 25 states…amazingly, California is not one of those! This amounts to about half of Starbucks stores. You should know they don’t have plans to include the ones in grocery stores and airports. Coffee drinkers are embracing the service…19% of all US Starbucks transactions are now done from the app. Order & Pay is iOS only right now, but they will add Android users later this year.
There’s a lot of activity moving us towards self-driving cars, but you might remember the James Bond movie where Bond drives a BMW with his smartphone. Techcrunch.com reports that Range Rover has a prototype Sport model that can actually be driven from an app! It’s not intended for fast getaways from foreign spies…the speed is limited to 4 mph, and the phone has to be within 10 feet of the vehicle. Rover sees it as a possible help for tight parking spaces or for treacherous terrain. No word on its availability to the public, but Rover is working on making it use voice commands, and also keeping it super secure…so crooks can’t just hack and drive away your SUV from a distance!
Tiny LiteOS Prepares for the Internet of Things
Posted: May 20, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Android, AWS, Cloud, DOS, Google, Huawei, Internet of things, iOS, LiteOS, Microsoft Leave a commentHuawei is readying their minuscule operating system, LiteOS, to power everything from wearables to cars to the electronics around your home. The system is 10 KILObytes! For a little perspective, Apple’s iOS 8 takes a gigabyte of space, and ancient DOS 2.11 was 28 kilobytes! The mini-system is designed for zero configuration, auto-discovery, and auto-networking. The verge.com says it isn’t intended to compete with iOS or Android, but to power small internet connected gadgets from light bulbs to toothbrushes.
From the very small to the biggest on the block…or in this case, the planet. Despite growing competition from Microsoft and Google, Amazon is the 800 pound gorilla of the cloud world. According to geekwire.com, Amazon Web Services not only increased market share in 2014, but operates more cloud capacity than the next 14 providers combined! Google cut cloud prices by 30% just yesterday, to try to grab more share, but it’s a long climb. Microsoft’s strategy is to provide more complete services for a price, where Amazon sticks to a la carte pricing. Microsoft’s revenues from cloud were up 96%, making them the leader by that metric.
New Technology Recaptures Phone Energy and Extends Battery Life
Posted: May 5, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Battery life, Bluetooth, Cellular, Dropbox, iOS, Kickstarter, Microsoft Office, Nikola Labs, Recycle RF, wi-fi Leave a commentOne of the most ingenious gadgets ever is in the pipeline. Nikola Labs has cooked up an iPhone 6 case that harvests electricity from the cellular, wi-fi, and Bluetooth transmitters in your phone. According to techcrunch.com, they will launch a Kickstarter by the end of the month for $99, and have a case out by September. Nikola claims they can recycle enough RF energy to give you 30% more battery life! The tech can be used in other devices that have little RF transmitters like smartwatches and tablets.
Dropbox is going to drop an update for iOS in the next few weeks that will let you create Microsoft Office files from scratch online…not just edit them. Engadget.com reports that it will also bring commenting functionality. No word on when an Android release is coming, but you can bet it’s in the pipeline, too.
Tesla’s Home Batteries Could Be Leased
Posted: April 27, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Elon Musk, Facebook, Home Batteries, iOS, Leasing, Rent Sharing, SolarCity, Splittable, Tesla, Venmo, WhatsApp Leave a commentThe poorly kept secret Tesla home batteries may be leased instead of sold. Engadget.com picked up a report from the Guardian that says some have already been leased to a few SolarCity customers. SolarCity is, of course, run by Tesla boss Elon Musk. The 10 year deal has been test run at $1500 down and $15 a month, or $27.50 a month, making the decade lease cost $3300. Subsidies from energy companies could drop the price even lower. Whatever the deal will be should be revealed in a few days.
A new app is out for renters, that works like Venmo for shared meal tabs. Splittable lets housemates divvy up rent and expenses evenly…a big help in places like the Bay Area and New York City, where house and apartment sharing are common. It was already given a trial run in London for 1000 renters, and is available on Android, iOS, and the web. TEchcrunch.com says you can invite housemates over email, Facebook message, or WhatsApp.
Could Samsung Be Thinking of Releasing a 2 Line Galaxy S6?
Posted: April 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Drones, Galaxy S6 Duo, iOS, Pictures from videos, Samsung, Sim cards, Taplet Leave a commentPictures have showed up online of a prototype duel sim card Samsung Galaxy S6. Dubbed the Duo, cnet.com reports it would allow for 2 phone numbers…business and personal, or for people who travel overseas frequently. No word on it’s possible release.
Thenextweb.com says an app called Taplet is out for iOS…it extracts still pictures from your videos. You can even upload GoPro or Snapchat footage to your phone and pick HD images. It’s free at the App Store.
Engineers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland have developed a system that automatically uprights drones and finds them a place to land, avoiding crashes. According to engadget.com, it even works in constrained areas and indoors.
New Features for Microsoft Outlook on Android & iOS
Posted: April 2, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, apps, Chrome, Drone, Flimmer, Google, iOS, Microsoft, Navy, Outlook Leave a commentMicrosoft has updated Outlook for both iOS and Android, according to thenextweb.com. It now shows the full blown address book, there’s a 3 day landscape view of Calendar, and you can now enter zero length meetings & cancel appointments.
Google has expanded App Runtime for Chrome, allowing all developers to make Android apps that will run on any PC or Mac with a Chrome browser. Engadget.com warns that even so, not all mobile apps will play well, but expect many to join Evernote and Vine on your desktop.
The Navy is developing a duck-like drone. Dubbed the Flimmer, engadget.com says it will fly around looking for subs, and then can poke its nose into the water for a better look. They’re trying to improve it’s ability to dive into choppy seas at this point.
iPhone Fitness App Won’t Activate Until You Pair With Apple Watch
Posted: March 14, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple Watch, Cortana, Einstein Project, Electricity through the air, Fitness app, iOS, Microsoft Leave a commentA developer has discovered that the Fitness app does exist on iPhones in iOS 8.2. Macrumors.com says it apparently doesn’t appear until you pair the phone with Apple Watch…then you get a comprehensive overview of your daily activity and workout history. Apple has been pushing health and fitness as a prime reason to spring for the watch, which is out April 24th.
Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant is apparently coming to Android and iOS. According to Reuters.com, it may be ready to drop along with the desktop version when Windows 10 is released this fall. The managing director of the Einstein project, which is building it, says it can read and understand email.
Electricity in the air? Yes, and not just a figure of speech. Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency have just used microwaves to send 1.8 kilowatts of electricity 180 feet through the air to a device! Rt.com notes that’s enough to power a microwave oven! An eventual goal is to transmit solar energy collected and converted to electricity in space down to the surface where we can use it!
iOS Update Creates Battery Suck…But The Fix Is Easy
Posted: March 11, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Amazon Exclusives Shop, Emoticons, Facebook, Fat, Fitness Tracking, iOS, iOS 8.2, Motion & Fitness, Shark Tank, Stuffed Leave a commentIf you installed Apple’s iOS 8.2 update, that’s good…it had an important security fix. If your battery is lasting less time now, bgr.com says try this: go to settings…click privacy…click Motion & Fitness, and toggle Fitness Tracking off. That should get you more battery life.
Amazon has just rolled out it’s new ‘Exclusives’ Shop. According to techcrunch.com, it showcases up and coming brands and new inventions…including products previously featured on the TV show Shark Tank. Every item exclusively available on Amazon, of course.
Following a firestorm of protest from activists and several petitions, Facebook has removed it’s ‘feeling fat’ for status updates…kind of. Thenextweb.com says it’s been replaced with the very same emoticon re-labeled ‘feeling stuffed.’
Analyst: Apple Watch SalesWill Be Strong
Posted: March 7, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Apple Watch, Drones, Gmail, Google, iOS Leave a commentThe Apple Watch will be introduced Monday, and appleinsider.com says a forecast from BMO Capital Markets is for 19 million of the smart watches to sell this year. They predict that half of those will be during the holiday shopping season. BMO also expects that by the end of 2015, there will be more than 484 million iPhone users…nearly a half a billion!
Google has updated Gmail for iOS. 9to5google.com reports that Google has included sheet support, the ability to archive, and the ability to reply to email using notifications. You will also be able to email directly from other apps and attach photos and documents, like with Apple’s native Mail app. It’s in the App Store now.
If drones make you worry about privacy, you may as well start worrying more now. According to bgr.com, Unbox Therapy has a mini-drone that fits in the palm of your hand. The good news is, right now, it’s indoor only…it can’t fly in any amount of wind.
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