List of Siri Commands

With the introduction of iOS7, Siri is finally out of beta. Apple rarely ever slaps BETA on to anything. Since the launch of the iPod, their legacy has been to deliver finished products. Now that Siri is out of BETA, it’s more powerful and faster than before. There are a huge list of things Siri can now do. Take a look at some of them below.

Phone

• Call (name)
• Call (name) home
• Call (name) on his work phone
• Call (number)
• Call home
• Get my call history

Facetime

• Facetime (name)
• Make Facetime audio call

App Launching

• Launch photos
• Play Infinity Blade II
• Open Facebook

Messaging

• Tell (name) I’ll be right there
• Send a message to (name)
• Send a message t0 (name) saying ‘How about tomorrow?’
• Send message to (number)
• Text (name) and (name), ‘where are you?’

Calendar

• Set up a meeting at (time)
• Set up a meeting with (name) at (time)
• Meet with (name) at (time)
• Set up a meeting about (description & time)
• Move 3pm meeting to 4:30
• Reschedule appointment with (name) to (date)
• What does the rest of my day look like?
• What’s on my calendar?
• Cancel (event)
• When is my next appointment?

Sports

• Did (team name) win?
• How did (team name) do last night?
• What was the score last time (team name) played (team name)?
• Show me the football scores from last night
• When do (team name) play next?
• What does the Premier League table look like?
• Who is the highest goal scorer in the Premier League?

Navigation

• Navigate to (destination)
• Navigate home
• Navigate to work
• Walking directions to (destination)
• What’s my next turn?
• Are we there yet?
• What’s my ETA?
• Find (place)
• Show me (place)
• Where is the closest (store)?

Twitter

• Tweet (whatever you would like to tweet)
• Tweet (whatever you would like to tweet) with my location
• Search Twitter for (your search terms)
• Show me my tweets
• What’s trending on Twitter?

Facebook

• Post to Facebook (whatever you would like to post)

Movies

• Where is my closest cinema?
• What’s playing at my closest cinema?
• Show me reviews for (film)

Music

• Play (name of song)
• Play (artist)
• Play (album)
• Play (playlist
• Play
• Pause
• Skip
• Play iTunes Radio
• Play more songs like this one
• Don’t play this song again

Reminders

• Add (whatever you want) to (name of list)
• Remind me to call (name) at (time)
• Remind me to take my medication at (time)
• Read my to-do list
• Remind me to call (name) when I get (destination)

Email

• Email (name) about (whatever you like)
• New email to (name)
• Check email
• Any new emails from (name)
• Reply to (name)

Weather

• What’s the weather for today?
• What’s the weather for tomorrow?
• How’s the weather in (place)?
• What’s the weather for this evening?
• Is it windy?
• When is sunrise/sunset?

Clock

• Wake me up at (time)
• Set an alarm for (time)
• Turn off alarm
• Delete alarm
• What time is it in (place)
• What is today’s date?
• What’s the date this Saturday?

Timer

• Set time for five minutes
• Show timer
• Pause timer
• Resume timer

Contacts

• What’s (name) address?
• What is (name) number?
• When is my wife’s birthday?
• Show (name)
• My mum is (name)
• My brother is (name)
• Call mum

Notes

• Note (whatever you’d like to note)
• Find meeting notes
• Show my notes from last week
• Read my last note

Settings

• Turn on airplane mode
• Turn on bluetooth
• Make screen brighter
• Go to Twitter settings
• Show me privacy settings
• Enable Wi-Fi
• Open mail settings
• Turn on Do Not Disturb

This list is not comprehensive and there are a lot more commands that Siri will respond to. If you know of any such commands, do let us know in the comment section below.

Copyright: http://www.honeytechblog.com/list-of-siri-commands/

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What If Google Play Looked Like This?

Formerly known as Android Market, Google Play is great overall. The reason why we all love the PlayStore is that all our favorite apps and games are just some install permissions away. It also makes browsing apps easier as you dont have to browse them from the device. You can simply browse the apps on your desktop’s larger screen estate and install them. The browsing experience is much better than the iOS store which is trapped on the iDevices.
However one thing that’s always bugged me is the design of the Play Store. Sure it’s not hideous but it could look a lot better. Google, the web experts, the people who make absolutely stunning apps for both Android and iOS, haven’t put much design effort into the second biggest app store in the world. The user experience though is amazing, like most Google services.
Enes Dani? agrees with us and obviously thought the same. So in his free time he came up with a random concept that keeps most of the elements of the original design but makes it a lot prettier and professional. Of course with this being an experimental concept, things are far from perfect. Though the vision is there, that’s the main thing. Check out the concept below.

 copyright: http://www.honeytechblog.com/what-if-google-play-looked-like-this/

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Facebook Turns Into Mental Research Asylum As Half Million Users Forced To See Depressing Posts

There is a serious uproar & protests going on in the social media world after news came in that Facebook has conducted some secret psychological research on it’s users, without informing them. Termed as a‘disturbing emotional experiment’ users and social media experts are demanding apology and justification from world’s biggest social network.

What Happened?

Researchers from Cornell University and the University of California collaborated with Facebook and devised an psychological experiment wherein news feed of more than 6.5 lakh users were specially tweaked.
These users, who unwittingly became part of this experiment, were forced to see positive and negative posts based on the experiment.
Some of these users’ newsfeed on Facebook only showed positive posts and the rest of the user’s newsfeed only showed negative posts.
Termed as an ‘emotional experiment’, the scientists then recorded the response of these users based on the positive or negative newsfeed. After evaluating the results and responses, the study was published in the journal called “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA”, and as per the published journal, “Emotions expressed by friends, via online social networks, influence our own moods, constituting, to our knowledge, the first experimental evidence for massive-scale emotional contagion via social networks.”
Hardly any surprises over here as the human mind will react and respond accordingly, based on the positive or negative news from their friends and family.

What is the fuss?

Privacy advocates, social media experts and lawyers are demanding to know that why Facebook conducted such an emotional and psychological experiment without informing 6 lakh+ users, and how far is this allowed as per the law.
At a time when Facebook has 1 billion+ users, with a wealth of private information about everyone, is it ethical to conduct such ‘social experiment’ on unaware users?
Politicians in UK have demanded a judicial enquiry into this experiment done by Facebook in manipulating user’s newsfeed as one of the parliamentary member quoted, “This is extraordinarily powerful stuff and if there is not already legislation on this, then there should be to protect people..”

Read more: http://trak.in/tags/business/2014/06/30/facebook-mental-research-depressing-posts/

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Twitter Acquires Mobile Advertising Firm Tap Commerce

Twitter announced Monday that it has cut a deal to buy mobile ad firm Tap Commerce to bolster money-making tools at the popular one-to-many messaging service.San Francisco-based Twitter did not disclose how much it paid for Tap Commerce, which is located in New York City, but technology news website Recode.net reported the deal to be valued around $100 million.
Tap Commerce specializes in getting people to "re-engage" with applications installed, then ignored, on smartphones or tablet computers.
"Advertisers spend aggressively to get new users, but re-activating existing or previous users can provide just as attractive a return on investment," Twitter said in a blog post about the Tap Commerce acquisition.
"Together with the Tap Commerce team, Twitter will be able to offer mobile app marketers more robust capabilities for app re-engagement, tools and managed service solutions for real-time programmatic buying, and better measurement capabilities."
Twitter maintained that working with Tap Commerce would result in the service offering mobile gadget users better and more relevant ads in applications on devices.

For the latest technology news and reviews, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and get the NDTV Gadgets app for Android or iOS.

Copyright:  http://gadgets.ndtv.com/social-networking/news/twitter-acquires-mobile-advertising-firm-tap-commerce-550741

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Windows 9 public preview ‘likely’ coming this fall

According to ZDNet, a public preview of Windows 9, which is code-named Threshold, will be released sometime this fall, in preparation for release “around”  Spring 2015. This upcoming version of Windows will reportedly aim to lure desktop-based PC users to Microsoft’s newest version of its longtime OS after millions were put off by Windows 8 and its mish-mosh of concepts.

Details are a little hazy at this point, but the Windows 9 experience will reportedly differ depending on what kind of device you’re using, and could consist of multiple versions. On the flavor meant for traditional desktop and laptop PCs, the classic desktop UI will be the centerpiece of the OS, while hybrid devices will allow you to switch between the desktop and a tiled, Metro-ish mode.  One report suggests that users may be able to turn the tiled portion of the UI on and off in the final release of Windows 9.
On top of that, the desktop/laptop version of Windows 9 will allegedly feature a return of the Start menu, or some form of it. Users of this variant will also be able to run windowed Metro apps in the familiar desktop environment. These were expected, and unsurprising changes though, assuming they turn out to be accurate. Microsoft teased a new Start menu at Build 2014.
Microsoft has already started to make overtures towards desktop users with Windows 8.1, and with Windows 8.1. Update 1 as well. With those two updates, which arrived in October and this April, respectively, Microsoft has added a handful of smaller functions aimed at desktop users. They include a psuedo-Start button for the desktop UI, the ability to run Metro apps in the classic desktop UI, a dedicated button for shutting down, restarting, or putting your device to sleep in the Metro UIs Start screen, and more.
While Microsoft is expected to continue with this push to appeal to desktop users, there’s no guarantee that whatever changes they make with Windows 9 will have Windows XP and Windows 7 diehards flocking over to Windows 9 once it’s released. The Windows 9 public preview, should it be released sometime this coming fall, may go a long way towards telling us whether Microsoft is on the right or wrong path.

Copyright from : http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-9-public-preview-reportedly-coming-fall-will-target-desktop-users/#!6JST7

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You are Over Confident that your Home PC Won’t get Hacked

Imagine a complete stranger rifling through your purse, glove box, pockets and phone. You’re not comfortable with that, are you?
Nowadays, home PCs hold a myriad of personal files and information that most people wouldn’t be comfortable sharing. Search history, emails, instant messages, bank usernames and passwords, tax details and a host of other sensitive data can now be found on your home PC – and without adequate protection from cybercrime, this information could fall into the wrong hands.
Identity thieves and hackers target home computers because they know families often do not maintain adequate security protection on their PCs. This makes these family users easy, lucrative marks. Many hackers access your personal information in order to steal your money and your identity. Others might want to use your home computer as a shield to mask their identity as they steal from others.
But it won’t happen to me!
Identity theft is more common than you think – and the advent of the Internet has simplified the process for would-be thieves. It’s estimated that a quarter of all cases of identity theft originate on the Internet. More specifically, according to the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre, email and web pages dominate the fraud methodology, and the vast majority of victims actually have email contact with the perpetrator.
How can identity theft occur?
Anyone can fall victim to identity theft. Here’s how:

• Accessing the Internet from an unsecured PC—Without a security layer between your computer and the Internet, you invite hackers to steal your identity, destroy your files, or use your PC to attack others

• Obtaining potentially unwanted programs like spyware or adware on your PC—Malicious software programs may monitor your keystrokes, track your Internet logins, transmit your confidential information, or redirect your browser to fake web sites

• Sending personal information over the Internet—Hackers can easily retrieve sensitive data that is sent over an unsecured Internet connection

• Downloading files from friends and family or accepting unknown emails—You can obtain a virus, worm, or Trojan simply by accepting files from your friends, family, or others

• Not recognizing phishing scams or spam— Ever received a dodgy looking email claiming you’ve won big? All you have to do is send over your bank account details… Phishing scams use fraudulent emails and web sites to lure unsuspecting users into revealing private account or login information.

• Leaving your wireless network unsecured—Since your wireless network’s radio waves travel through walls, a hacker with a simple antenna could attack you from miles away to steal your information or to launch attacks from your PC

How you can fight identity theft
Common sense dictates some very obvious measures to protect yourself, your family and your computer. Make sure to set up parental controls to keep the kids from accidentally clicking on untrusted ads and websites. This includes not downloading files or clicking on hyperlinks sent by strangers, avoid storing financial information on your computer and using a secure browser.
Over-sharing on social media has desensitised our notion of online privacy, and it can be very easy to fall into complacency when sharing your personal information online. There are a number of ways that hackers can compromise your home PC and access information, most of which can be avoided with adequate security protection and a little online vigilance.
- See more at: http://www.blogsolute.com/home-pc-identity-theft-protection/29369/#sthash.23HtODSR.dpuf

Imagine a complete stranger rifling through your purse, glove box, pockets and phone. You’re not comfortable with that, are you?

Nowadays, home PCs hold a myriad of personal files and information that most people wouldn’t be comfortable sharing. Search history, emails, instant messages, bank usernames and passwords, tax details and a host of other sensitive data can now be found on your home PC – and without adequate protection from cybercrime, this information could fall into the wrong hands.

Identity thieves and hackers target home computers because they know families often do not maintain adequate security protection on their PCs. This makes these family users easy, lucrative marks. Many hackers access your personal information in order to steal your money and your identity. Others might want to use your home computer as a shield to mask their identity as they steal from others.

But it won’t happen to me!

Identity theft is more common than you think – and the advent of the Internet has simplified the process for would-be thieves. It’s estimated that a quarter of all cases of identity theft originate on the Internet. More specifically, according to the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre, email and web pages dominate the fraud methodology, and the vast majority of victims actually have email contact with the perpetrator.

How can identity theft occur?

Anyone can fall victim to identity theft. Here’s how:

    Accessing the Internet from an unsecured PC—Without a security layer between your computer and the Internet, you invite hackers to steal your identity, destroy your files, or use your PC to attack others

    Obtaining potentially unwanted programs like spyware or adware on your PC—Malicious software programs may monitor your keystrokes, track your Internet logins, transmit your confidential information, or redirect your browser to fake web sites

    Sending personal information over the Internet—Hackers can easily retrieve sensitive data that is sent over an unsecured Internet connection

    Downloading files from friends and family or accepting unknown emails—You can obtain a virus, worm, or Trojan simply by accepting files from your friends, family, or others

    Not recognizing phishing scams or spam— Ever received a dodgy looking email claiming you’ve won big? All you have to do is send over your bank account details… Phishing scams use fraudulent emails and web sites to lure unsuspecting users into revealing private account or login information.

    Leaving your wireless network unsecured—Since your wireless network’s radio waves travel through walls, a hacker with a simple antenna could attack you from miles away to steal your information or to launch attacks from your PC
 

How you can fight identity theft

Common sense dictates some very obvious measures to protect yourself, your family and your computer. Make sure to set up parental controls to keep the kids from accidentally clicking on untrusted ads and websites. This includes not downloading files or clicking on hyperlinks sent by strangers, avoid storing financial information on your computer and using a secure browser.

Over-sharing on social media has desensitised our notion of online privacy, and it can be very easy to fall into complacency when sharing your personal information online. There are a number of ways that hackers can compromise your home PC and access information, most of which can be avoided with adequate security protection and a little online vigilance.

Imagine a complete stranger rifling through your purse, glove box, pockets and phone. You’re not comfortable with that, are you?
Nowadays, home PCs hold a myriad of personal files and information that most people wouldn’t be comfortable sharing. Search history, emails, instant messages, bank usernames and passwords, tax details and a host of other sensitive data can now be found on your home PC – and without adequate protection from cybercrime, this information could fall into the wrong hands.
Identity thieves and hackers target home computers because they know families often do not maintain adequate security protection on their PCs. This makes these family users easy, lucrative marks. Many hackers access your personal information in order to steal your money and your identity. Others might want to use your home computer as a shield to mask their identity as they steal from others.
But it won’t happen to me!
Identity theft is more common than you think – and the advent of the Internet has simplified the process for would-be thieves. It’s estimated that a quarter of all cases of identity theft originate on the Internet. More specifically, according to the Internet Fraud Complaint Centre, email and web pages dominate the fraud methodology, and the vast majority of victims actually have email contact with the perpetrator.
How can identity theft occur?
Anyone can fall victim to identity theft. Here’s how:

• Accessing the Internet from an unsecured PC—Without a security layer between your computer and the Internet, you invite hackers to steal your identity, destroy your files, or use your PC to attack others

• Obtaining potentially unwanted programs like spyware or adware on your PC—Malicious software programs may monitor your keystrokes, track your Internet logins, transmit your confidential information, or redirect your browser to fake web sites

• Sending personal information over the Internet—Hackers can easily retrieve sensitive data that is sent over an unsecured Internet connection

• Downloading files from friends and family or accepting unknown emails—You can obtain a virus, worm, or Trojan simply by accepting files from your friends, family, or others

• Not recognizing phishing scams or spam— Ever received a dodgy looking email claiming you’ve won big? All you have to do is send over your bank account details… Phishing scams use fraudulent emails and web sites to lure unsuspecting users into revealing private account or login information.

• Leaving your wireless network unsecured—Since your wireless network’s radio waves travel through walls, a hacker with a simple antenna could attack you from miles away to steal your information or to launch attacks from your PC

How you can fight identity theft
Common sense dictates some very obvious measures to protect yourself, your family and your computer. Make sure to set up parental controls to keep the kids from accidentally clicking on untrusted ads and websites. This includes not downloading files or clicking on hyperlinks sent by strangers, avoid storing financial information on your computer and using a secure browser.
Over-sharing on social media has desensitised our notion of online privacy, and it can be very easy to fall into complacency when sharing your personal information online. There are a number of ways that hackers can compromise your home PC and access information, most of which can be avoided with adequate security protection and a little online vigilance.
- See more at: http://www.blogsolute.com/home-pc-identity-theft-protection/29369/#sthash.23HtODSR.dpuf

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The Core i7-5960X, Intel’s first 8-Core desktop CPU: Fast, expensive, and coming soon

 
 

After countless articles and much anticipation, Intel is reportedly about to release some of the first processors based on its Haswell-E specifications, which will, of course, support DDR4 memory and 8-core processors. However, of the three Haswell-E Core i7 CPUs expected, only one of them, the Core i7-5960X, will actually come with 8 cores, and it will sell for $999. The other two, the i7-5930K and i7-5820K, will contain only 6 cores, which is the same number found in the current Ivy Bridge-E generation processor.

Eight cores and more

Dubbed the Core i7-5960X Extreme Edition, the flagship CPU of the first Haswell-E lineup will be Intel’s first 8-core processor. With two more cores and four more threads than the company’s current Ivy Bridge-E based Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition processor, the i7-5960X will be aimed at gaming and hardware enthusiasts. Built around the 22nm Haswell architecture, this new 8-core CPU, due primarily to the increased power efficiency of the Haswell micro-architecture, will provide improved inter-process communication (IPC) while using close to the same amount of power.
The Core i7-5960X will be clocked at a 3.0GHz base, with a 3.3GHz boost frequency. It will also include support for the latest DDR4 2133MHz memory, and 20MB of L3 cache as well. In addition, its power rating will be 140 watts TDP, or only 10 more watts than the 6-core i7-4960X. The new DDR4 memory controller resides on the processor itself, through which the RAM is directly connected to the CPU, and the DDR4 modules themselves use only 1.2 volts of power, compared to DDR3’s 1.65/1.5 volts.

Overclocking

Designed for enthusiasts, Haswell-E processors will, like their Ivy-Bridge-E predecessors, offer versatile overclocking options. Memory and the CPU can be overclocked in numerous ways, including:

• Unclocked core ratios in 80/100 increments
• XMP mode support
• Unclocked turbo limits
• Support for memory up to 2667MHz
• Unlocked memory controller
• Unlocked voltage limits

And that’s a short list of the ways you can tweak this processor to get every last ounce of power out of it.

Two other new-generation chips

In addition to the 8-core Core i7-5960X, as mentioned above, we’ll see two other Haswell-E Core i-7 chips soon: the Core i7-5930K, and the Core i7-5820. Both are 6-core, 12-thread processors. Aside from clock speeds, their specifications are primarily the same. The i7-5930K runs at a 3.5GHz base, about a 3.9-4.0GHz boost, and it will list for around $550. The i7-5820K, on the other hand, will run at a 3.3GHz base, with a 3.6-3.8GHz clock boost. It will list for around $300. Both will support a 15MB L3 Cache.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/core-i7-5960x-intels-first-8-core-cpu-fast-expensive-coming-soon/#ixzz366GmRaiz

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Missed Google I/O? Here are 5 big things you need to know

Google I/O has already come and gone. If you missed the three-day showcase of Google’s latest innovations, don’t worry. Here are all the big news items you want to know.

The next version of Android is Called “Android L”

This year, Google’s latest operating system is departing from the typical, sugar-coated naming tradition. Dubbed as “Android L,” the next edition of Android with a minimalist name has been designed with anything but minimalism in mind. Google is packing a ton of new features in Android L all while making the OS feel faster and run better than ever.
Some highlights from the latest Google update include enhanced notifications, unlocking your device with your Android Wear smartwatch, better search, better graphics processing, better battery life, and more-integrated search. Google is trying to make as much about Android a little better with Android L, and you can read about all the major changes here.

Android Wear isn’t sexy, but it sure is smart

By Joshua Sherman — June 29, 2014

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Google I/O has already come and gone. If you missed the three-day showcase of Google’s latest innovations, don’t worry. Here are all the big news items you want to know.

The next version of Android is Called “Android L”

This year, Google’s latest operating system is departing from the typical, sugar-coated naming tradition. Dubbed as “Android L,” the next edition of Android with a minimalist name has been designed with anything but minimalism in mind. Google is packing a ton of new features in Android L all while making the OS feel faster and run better than ever.
Some highlights from the latest Google update include enhanced notifications, unlocking your device with your Android Wear smartwatch, better search, better graphics processing, better battery life, and more-integrated search. Google is trying to make as much about Android a little better with Android L, and you can read about all the major changes here.

Android Wear isn’t sexy, but it sure is smart

Google’s new Operating System for wearables, Android Wear, was announced a few months ago in March. Here at I/O we finally got an up close look at the new technology for our wrists. Based on our first impressions, Android Wear has a lot of potential as a useful watch, but it might be a while before we get a truly beautiful device.
At Google I/O we also learned just how users will use Android Wear in their daily life. “Glanceability” still remains Google’s biggest focus, and the company will be using all the data it learns about you to make the Android Wear experience a personalized one that knows when you want certain information. Notifications will come in three main types — stacks, pages, and replies — and will allow you to interact with everything from direction to text messages from your friends and family.
One thing Android Wear is still figuring out is how to look sexy. Wristwatches, as much as they help tell time, are also an important piece of jewelry for many, and the days of ugly smartwatches are still around. However, some of the upcoming Android Wear devices, such as the Moto 360, are finally starting to look rather interesting.

Google is unifying development for all its products

Since Android’s debut in 2007, Google has taken the experimental OS for cellphones and turned it into the leading standard across consumer electronics of all sorts of shapes and sizes. To help keep things simple for developers and end-users, Google spoke a lot about how it’s unifying the Android experience for these many devices, and making it easy for developers to build applications that interact with all devices at once.
With wearables like Google Glass and Android Wear, Google is making Android Wear a seamless experience between your smartphone and the gadgets you connect to it. Notifications will automatically appear on your peripherals with no additional coding, and with a few lines of code developers can let users interact with their wearables using one of Google’s three notification types: stacks, pages, and replies. This allows developers to easily add support for Google’s new Android Wear technology, and gives users a similar experience no matter what device they use.
The notification standard is extending beyond Google’s mobile products, too. Users of Chromecast and Chrome OS will see similar connectivity and notifications on their devices when they connect and interact with their smartphones. The idea is that notifications across all Chrome and Android devices will be similar in style and easy for users to recognize and interact with. This unity will help Google sell these products as a complete experience for users.

Google’s Cloud is predicting the future (sort of)

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/google-io-2014-news/#ixzz366ESYboF

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Was iOS 7 Created In Microsoft Word?

In terms of design, iOS7 is a drastic change compared to the previous versions of Apple’s mobile OS. The design is much flatter and simpler compared to iOS 6 and before. As with every new change, some people love the new design, some people hate it.

But one thing that is crazy is that you can create the iOS 7 homepage completely from scratch in Microsoft Word. Yes, Microsoft Word, that very popular word processing program that millions of people use on a daily basis.
Vaclav took out the time to recreate iOS 7 in Microsoft Word and he did a fine job of it.

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Google Brings Android One Sub-$100 Smartphone Program

At the Google I/O 2014 keynote presentation, Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai announced the company’s new program to bring affordable Smartphones to the masses. Dubbed ‘Android One’, Smartphones launched under this program will be both affordable, and receive regular software updates.
Still skeptical? This will perhaps take that away…
Google will themselves seed regular Android updates to all Smartphones (and not the handset vendors like Micromax, Spice etc) under Android One, just like they do for the Nexus lineup and the separate Google Play Edition handsets.
To many, it might seem as if Google is simply detaching the Play Edition brand from the Play Store, but attaching a cheaper price tag to it. There is a certain degree of truth to that; the first Android One Smartphone will cost under $100. More on that later.
However, Android One goes further than that. Google is providing OEMs with reference hardware platforms, which will enable them to produce powerful handsets are lower costs. To achieve this, the Mountain View company has paired up with our very own Micromax.
Surprised? We were too. With this new partnership, Micromax is effectively launching itself as a brand to be recognized across the globe, even though they market and sell most of its products in India (and Russia where they launched couple of handsets). It does set the stage for Micromax to launch across Europe, perhaps even in the US some day.

 Alright, snapping back to the present day, Google also announced the first Android One Smartphone from Micromax. We even have some details regarding its specifications – a 4.5-inch display, dual-SIM slots, FM Radio, microSD card slot.
Read more: http://trak.in/tags/business/2014/06/26/android-one-smartphones-micromax-karbonn-spice/

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App Review: Angry Birds Epic (iOS, Android, WP): Thrown into RPG Land!

“Sometimes you just have to let go of what has worked well for you so far. And try something altogether new.” No, we are not giving some self-improvement sermon here. We are just talking of the latest Angry Birds game in tech town, Angry Birds Epic. Almost six years ago, the game became a rage all over the world because of its physics based gameplay which involved hurling furious birds through slingshots at adversarial swine hiding behind fortifications. The locales changed – we went to Rio, to outer space and even got some Star Wars into the act – but the gameplay remained fundamentally the same: you put a bird into a slingshot, worked out the angle and force of your attack at the pigs. And let rip.

The past year, however, has seen Rovio trying to shake off the catapult physics game heritage of the Angry Birds brand. First there was the Bad Piggies game which was more about building things than destroying them and then there was the unabashed go karter, Angry Birds Go. And now comes Angry Birds Epic, which sees Rovio yank the birds into combat and RPG territory. Yes, you heard that right, and if you happen to be a fan of the turn-based combat system of the early versions of Final Fantasy and games like Septerra Core, say ‘hooray’ because now your favourite feathered heroes are in similar mode.One thing that has now changed, however, is the storyline. It still is about pigs stealing the birds’ eggs and the birds then going on a pig battering spree on the path to claim back what is rightfully theirs. Only this time there is no flinging or throwing birds at fortifications. What actually happens is that your bird – you start out with one, but pick up followers along the way – faces a page. It strikes a blow at the pig, then the pig strikes a blow, then the bird strikes a blow…and so on until one of the aforementioned warring parties kicks the gaming bucket. Cue celebrations by the winner and if it is the bird, some loot and extra points. Classic turn-based combat if you will. As you go along, you get new weapons, new kinds of birds (which blow up multiple pigs with a single attack), and of course, more adversaries. It soon comes to the stage when there are a group of pigs facing a group of birds and you have to pick and choose how to make your next attack and at whom – some pigs are more powerful than the others – do you leave them for the end or take them out right away? Decisions, decisions…

 Read more: http://techpp.com/2014/06/25/angry-birds-epic-app-review/

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TV Anchor Accidentally 'Outs' Apple CEO Tim Cook as Gay

An anchor on a US television network found himself in an awkward and embarrassing situation when he remarked that Apple CEO Tim Cook was gay and was among the few American chief executives who have been open about their sexuality.
CNBC co-anchor Simon Hobbs was part of a panel on a show discussing that there are CEOs at top American companies who are gay but have not publicly spoken about their sexual preferences.
Among the panellists was New York Times columnist Jim Stewart who was discussing his upcoming column on oil giant BP's former CEO John Browne.
Browne's book, 'The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out Is Good For Business', details his life as a gay executive who hid his sexual orientation and only revealed it after his retirement.
Stewart, who is openly gay, said he had spoken to many CEOs whom he knew were gay, but who were not willing to go on record about their experience.
Hobbs intervened saying, "I think Tim Cook is fairly open about the fact that he is gay at the head of Apple, isn't he?"
The panel was silenced by Hobbs' remark who then sought to correct himself and said, "Oh dear. Was that an error?"
Stewart answered after an awkward silence, shaking his head in disapproval.
"I don't want to comment on anybody who might or might not be," he said.
"I'm not going to out anybody. I called a lot of people and no one at any major company would allow their names to be used."
Read More: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/tv-anchor-accidentally-outs-apple-ceo-tim-cook-as-gay-549465

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Facebook Bid to Shield Data From the Law Fails, So Far

Facebook and the Manhattan district attorney's office are in a bitter fight over the government's demand for the contents of hundreds of Facebook accounts.
In confidential legal documents unsealed Wednesday, Facebook argues that Manhattan prosecutors last summer violated the constitutional right of its users to be free of unreasonable searches by demanding nearly complete account data on 381 people, ranging from pages they had liked to photos and private messages.
When the social networking company fought the data demands, a New York judge ruled that Facebook had no standing to contest the search warrants since it was simply an online repository of data, not a target of the criminal investigation. To protect the secrecy of the investigation, the judge also barred the company from informing the affected users, a decision that also prevented the individuals from fighting the data requests themselves.
The case, which is on appeal, pits the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches by the government against the needs of prosecutors to seek evidence from the digital sources where people increasingly store their most sensitive data.
The issue has risen repeatedly in court cases. Just before a Manhattan judge lifted the seal on the Facebook case, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision on similar privacy issues, ruling 9-0 that cellphones are so vital to people's lives that the police must get a warrant to search them, just as they would need to do to search a person's home.
(Also Read: Facebook: New York Prosecutors Got Data on 381 Users)
"In that case, they were talking about how revealing the information could be on a cellphone. You could make a similar point about people's social media profiles," said Kurt Opsahl, deputy general counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that promote digital civil liberties.
Lawyers for Facebook, which has about 1.28 billion active users worldwide, said they were pressing the fight in the appellate courts because they were troubled both by the vast scope of the district attorney's search warrants and by the judge's ruling that Facebook could not challenge the warrants.
Prosecutors say the information gleaned from the accounts contributed to the highly publicized indictments in January and February of more than 130 police officers, firefighters and other civil servants on charges of defrauding the Social Security system with fake disability claims. Photos posted on Facebook showed supposedly disabled people riding personal watercraft, teaching karate, deep-sea fishing and pursuing other vigorous activities. Those photos supported other evidence, like wiretapped conversations, that prosecutors gathered in their three-year investigation.
"This was a massive scheme involving as many as 1,000 people who defrauded the federal government of more than $400 million in benefits," said Joan Vollero, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. "The defendants in this case repeatedly lied to the government about their mental, physical and social capabilities. Their Facebook accounts told a different story. A judge found there was probable cause to execute search warrants, and two courts have already found Facebook's claims without merit."
Orin S. Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University who is an expert on digital searches and seizures, said Facebook was trying to do something unusual in establishing a right for service providers to challenge a warrant. "The real question is, 'Can they challenge warrants for their customers?' And I think the answer is probably not, under current law," Kerr said.
Facebook lawyers say they are continuing to press the fight because they are troubled both by the vast scope of the district attorney's search warrants and by the judge's ruling that the company had no legal standing to contest the warrants on behalf of the affected users.
Chris Sonderby, deputy general counsel for Facebook, said that if Facebook could not challenge the warrants and the users remained in the dark, no one would ever get the chance to object to the possible invasion of privacy.
"It appeared to us from the outset that there would be a large number of people who were never charged in this case," said Chris Sonderby, deputy general counsel for Facebook. "The district attorney's response was that those people would have their day in court. There are more than 300 people that will never have that chance."
Sonderby said the district attorney's demand for data was far larger than anything it had ever received from any other prosecutor. And Vance's office was unwilling to discuss narrowing the scope of its requests to be more directly relevant to its investigation.
The relationship was so chilly, Sonderby said, that when Facebook pressed its challenge to the warrants, one of the prosecutors called and threatened to press criminal contempt of court charges against the company and throw its officials in jail.
Read more: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/social-networking/news/facebook-bid-to-shield-data-from-the-law-fails-so-far-549545

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How to watch the Colombia vs. Uruguay 2014 World Cup match online

The 2014 World Cup continues on, with the tournament progressing from the Group stage, to the knockout round. If, for whatever reason, you won’t be able to park yourself in front of a TV to watch these matches, you should keep reading. We’ll show you how to watch and keep up with all of today’s games right from your computer. Just stick with this guide, and you won’t miss a second of today’s World Cup 2014 action.
First, here’s a primer on todays games.

Brazil vs. Chile: 12 p.m. ET

As the winner of Group A, Brazil gets to play the runner up of Group B, which turns out to be Chile. Though Brazil has a reputation as a titan in the world of football (or, soccer, if you prefer that term), Chile is by means no slouch. After all, on the road to advancing to the knockout round, Chile beat Spain 2-0. Though Spain is one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament, that’s still an impressive win for Chile, especially considering that Spain has won three consecutive major tournaments: Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and Euro 2012. In order to beat Brazil, Chile will have to contain Neymar, who is tied with two other players for the overall tournament scoring lead with four goals. Brazil is no doubt the favorite to emerge from this contest as the victor, but Chile should at least put up a fight today.

Colombia vs. Uruguay: 4 p.m. ET

Though Colombia and Uruguay have had very impressive showings throughout the 2014 World Cup thus far (they only have one loss between the two of them), Colombia has to be the favorite in this match. That’s simply due to the fact that Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been temporarily banned for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini when the two nations squared off on June 24. Suarez is one of the best scorers in the world. To give you an idea of how prolific he is, here’s a key stat: Uruguay has scored four goals so far in this World Cup. Suarez has two of those goals. Can Uruguay overcome the loss of Suarez and move on in this tournament? That is no doubt the main story line going into today’s game with Colombia. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to find out the answer to that question.

For a quick list of all the group stage matches visit FIFA’s interactive match calender. For an easy-to-read schedule complete with all broadcast stations and times, check out Wait But Why’s simple breakdown.

Network sites

ABC Online: Though ESPN is championing the bulk of World Cup coverage, its sister station ABC plans to stream games during the weekends. The Watch ABC site isn’t available everywhere, but it takes just a few seconds to check your availability through the site. If offered, you’ll have access to the same video feed, announcers, and matchups airing on ABC on Saturdays and Sundays.
WatchESPN: ESPN, ESPN 2, and ABC will stream all 64 matches of the World Cup for unprecedented coverage. Cable subscribers have access to all 64 of the matches through ESPN’s streaming service Watch ESPN. ESPN’s streaming content is accessible via smartphones, tablets, Xbox Live (with an Xbox Live Gold membership), Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast. To top it all off, the legendary Ian Darke is ESPN’s head game-caller for the entire tournament.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/world-cup-live-stream-how-to-watch-online/#!5H9ow

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Asus’ new Republic of Gamers G550JK notebook runs on Core i7 and Nvidia gear

Popular PC maker Asus just took the wraps off its newest high-powered notebook, which is the latest in the company’s Republic of Gamers series of laptops.
Dubbed the G550JK, the latest laptop to come out of Asus wears a 15.6-inch 1080p LED matte display, and is stuffed with an Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 850M graphics with 2GB of RAM, 8GB of RAM, and a 750GB 7,200 rpm hard drive. the fact that the display is matte instead of glossy likely means that it will be easier to use whenever sunlight directly hits the screen. Glossy displays are often very reflective, which can torment your eyes. The G550JK also packs a DVD burner as well.
Measuring 15.1 x 10 x 1.1 inches and weighing exactly 6 pounds, the G550JK is covered in a paint job dominated by black, and supplemented by red trim. The system’s lid wears a brushed finish, along with a pair of logos in the center: Asus’ typical logo, along with a Republic of Gamers insignia.
Asus claims that the system’s GPU can be “safely overclocked” up to 5 percent, due to heatsinks, and a pair of fans that work to keep the G550JK’s innards cool. It’s unclear what ports are built into the laptop’s body, but we do know that it will support 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity. The G550JK is kept afloat by a four cell battery, which gets a boost in the form of Optimus tech. According to Asus, this allows the system to save battery life when you’re not running a GPU-intensive program on the rig.
The G550JK is backed up by a one year international warranty, along with one year of accidental damage protection. The latter will save your bacon in case your G550JK falls prey to drops, spills, power surges, and fire damage.
The Asus Republic of Gamers G550JK can be pre-ordered now from Newegg, Amazon, B&H, and TigerDirect. All of those retailers are selling the G550JK for $1,099.99, except for B&H, which offers it for slightly less ($1,069.99).
The G550JK will begin to ship on July 20, according to Amazon.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/asus-reveals-republic-of-gamers-g550jk-laptop-specs-price-release/#ixzz35o5Bmu9a

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Side Effects of Making Money Online at Home

Side Effects of Making Money Online at Home
By Yogesh Bailwal
Today most of us who work online and make money at home face many peculiar problems which are specific to those who work from home on internet. These drawbacks I think will take a large shape in next few years when most people in society will start working at home online. Earning money online at home which is today just beginning of a trend and most of its drawbacks are undiscovered and unstudied. This trend of working from home and earning money online can pose serious threat to our social structure other than a number of problems for individual at family level. Working from home on internet is like working in a virtual environment and virtual office, where everything that exists now may not exist tomorrow or even after a few minutes. These
1. No time for family or All time for family: All those who earn money working at home face this problem. It is very difficult to balance online work and family issues. There are times when there is no time for online work as one gets engaged in one issue after another at home, and it becomes really very difficult to concentrate on online work. On other occasions when an online worker is busy in some online project for hours and days he hardly finds any time for family. Although he is at home he isn't aware of what is going on because he has developed a workplace, an office environment at home and whenever he is free he tends to think about his online work and earning money.
2. No time or place to relax : Home is a place called 'Home sweet home' now if we are working full time in this place, within the space that was earlier meant for relaxation. Earning money and doing work often comes with stresses, which come and go but with 'online work at home' all these things happen in a place where we used to relax. During stressful period there is no time to relax, as the solution to the problem lies in more work and spending more time online. Next is the problem of place to relax, it is very difficult to find relaxation in the same place where you work even if its home.
3. No social interaction : When we earn money online by working at home, we hardly move out of the house, because if we are earning good money, we'll like to work more and earn more money due to greedy human nature. On the other hand if we are not earning any money or are losing money then we will like to make some changes and improvements in our work, therefore we'll spend some more time online at home. This means we don't interact with society, we spend our time in online societies which are virtual. This is one of the major drawback which will bring a major change in social structure as people will work at home and spend time online, resulting in a poor and meek society. A subject of interest for social scientists.
These are some of the side-effects of making money online at home, may be these are not thought provoking but they do exist and have a major impact on both our earning money online and working at home. This article is just a brief outline and just a preliminary report. These issues must be considered before starting a full time home based earning program, as everyone can't make adjustments all the time even if he is earning good money online working at home.
Yogesh Bailwal works for Infoweb Services and also manages a website on working at home with legitimate options available on internet. He is himself working with many of these legitimate work at home opportunities online and understands the side effects associated with working at home for anyone who is seriously involved with his/her work.
His website contains information on a number of online/offline ways to earn money online [http://www.earnfromnet.com/self-employment-jobs/1-freelance-writing-jobs-com.htm]. One can learn more by visiting recently listed legitimate work at home opportunities and see which one fits his/her taste.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yogesh_Bailwal
http://EzineArticles.com/?Side-Effects-of-Making-Money-Online-at-Home&id=1695563

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Reader poll: Would you trade in your MacBook Air for a Surface Pro 3?

Right now, Microsoft is offering people a credit of up to $650 towards the purchase of a Surface Pro 3.
The catch? You have to trade in a MacBook Air in order to get the credit. Oh, and don’t even think about giving them one that’s busted. It has to be in working condition.
Once we learned of this offer from Microsoft, we couldn’t help but wonder whether anyone would actually take them up on this offer. After all, even the cheapest MacBook Air you can get today costs significantly more than the maximum value of this credit. Right now at Apple.com, the entry-level 11-inch Air costs $899. That’s $249 more than the full credit you could get from Microsoft.
Plus, only “select” MacBook Air models are eligible for the trade in, but Microsoft doesn’t specify which versions are and aren’t eligible. Also, considering that Microsoft language mentions that consumers could get “up to” $650, this leads us to believe that you would have to trade a 2013 or 2014 model in order to get the maximum trade in value. At the end of the day, part of what determines how good of an offer this is depends on how much you could get for an older MacBook Air, and how the amount of credit that Microsoft doles out breaks down as you move up the ladder from older MacBook Airs to newer ones.
The base model Surface Pro 3 costs $799, packs an Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The next step up is the $999 version, which bumps the CPU to a Core i5, keeps the RAM constant at 4GB, and doubles the storage. For $1,299, you still get a Core i5-powered Surface Pro 3, but the RAM jumps to 8GB and storage shoots up to 256GB.
From there, the price goes up to $1,549, which nets you an Intel Core i7 processor, but keeps the RAM and storage at $1,299 levels. And then there’s the mack daddy model: an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, and a 512GB hard drive for $1,949.
With all of that in mind, would you consider trading your MacBook Air in for up to $650 towards the purchase of a Surface Pro 3?

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/reader-poll-trade-macbook-air-surface-pro-3/#ixzz35jEYFDTD

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Google Play adds motion tracking, credit card scanning, and dynamic security to apps

Google launched its Google Play services back in 2012. The collection of proprietary software development kit (SDK) and application programming interfaces (API) provided a huge collection of new functionality within Android apps and integration within the Google ecosystem. Google announced the latest version of Google Play services, version 5.0, at its ”Google Play services Rocks!” session during Google I/O 2014.
Google focused on some of the new APIs that will be included in Google Play services 5.0, which was previewed by Google during its afternoon session.

Send messages to Android Wear

Google immediately dove into APIs for Android Wear devices, one of the stars of the Google I/0 2014. For developers planning to make an app for wearables, they will be able to put to use the Message API to send messages and tasks between wearable device and phone. For example, a user could change song playing on the Android phone from a watch. An additional Asset API will allow assets to be sent between wearable and phone. This would allow a user to, say, download an image on the phone and have it automatically resized and displayed on the face of the wearable device. The final piece of the Android Wear API puzzle is the Data API, which will sync the data between the devices.

Google Play will let you scan your credit cards

One of the other major focuses for Google Play services 5.0 comes from the retail front, for both the consumer and the business. Purchasing has been made easier with the inclusion of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning, which will allow users to scan their credit cards with their smartphone’s camera and have the information automatically gathered and entered into text fields. Additionally, a new Address API can gather an address — with user permission — to fill out a shipping form with no typing required. Finally, a featured called Wallet Fragments makes it easier to use the “Buy with Google” feature and will make it easier for retailers to include the button in their digital storefronts.

Save your stuff to Google Wallet

On the selling side of the transaction, retailers will be able to push more information to their customers. A “Save to Google Wallet” button will make it possible for users to store loyalty cards, coupons, discounts, and bonuses all within their Google Wallet. Merchants can add their cards straight to a user’s Google Wallet rather than requiring a consumer to provide information or sign up for a program. With this, stores can offer benefits and offers when a person walks in the door, utilizing location and context.
For digital retailers, new features have also been added within Google Analytics for applications. This service will show how users are downloading and installing apps, performing in-app purchases, and getting updates. It’s a wealth of information for developers to make use of to better understand how apps are used. Enhanced e-commerce analytics track how users shop, down to how often users view product details and when they put items into their carts.

Mobile in-app purchase ads targeted toward you

Advertising is still a major stream of revenue in mobile and Google Play services 5.0 is looking to improve upon the current method. Google recently introduced in-app purchase ads that prompt users to purchase different goods from within an app. For those looking to place advertisements, in-app purchase ads can be targeted to specific demographics so retailers can reach a given audience.

Gifting games and game power ups

Last year, Google introduced a major overhaul to its gaming service. It continued to expound upon the framework it set by adding new features in Google Play services 5.0. Game Gifts API will give users the ability to request a gift – an extra life or power-up in a game, for example – which can be provided by another player. Gamers’ profiles will also be centralized for all gaming activities, placing experiences, game progress, titles, levels, achievements in one place. A persistent game experience is also being built within the latest Google Play services, so players can pause a game and continue playing on any device without losing progress.
Google also introduced a concept for game developers that it referred to as Events and Quests. Using analytics, developers will be able to see which parts of games are used frequently and how players complete certain tasks. Using this data, Google posits developers can create quests with specific tasks based off how users play.

Google Play can track your walking and running

Google added to its collection of activity recognition features with Google Play services, now including the ability to track walking and running. In an on-stage demo, the new APIs were put on display using a game. You give a command to start walking or to stop moving, and it responds to your movement as it’s tracked. Google seems to have no issue differentiating between walking, running, and stagnant movement.

Better in-app search

Developers will be able to make Google Search aware of content deep within an app using the new App Indexing API. This will allow Google Search to pull up data that it would otherwise miss from within an application. Google states this will help developers to drive user engagement.

Dynamic Security

A new feature included in version 5.0 of Google Play services is the Dynamic Security provider. This tool allows developers to pick up a security provider that will ensure its apps are up to date. The security provider is also capable of spotting and fixing vulnerabilities without requiring extra patchwork work from developers.

Google Maps with panoramic Street View

Google Maps on Android gets a significant boost in the new Google Play services with the updated version of Google Maps Android API. It now includes Street View and its panoramic 360 views. Users will be able to use the Street View camera natively within an application for the first time. Google challenged the developers in the audience to create an app that would display Street View from a current location so users can experience Street View as they travel in real time.
The latest offering of Google Play services, now up to version 5.0, is already rolling out to developers and should be widely available soon.

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Battle of the Samsung Watches: Gear Live vs. Gear Fit vs. Gear 2

Google announced Samsung’s newest addition to the world of wearables at their I/O conference. Samsung’s newest smartwatch is the Gear Live and it’s available for pre-order now on Google Play.
The Gear Live will debut Android Wear OS, which means it’ll receive notifications like texts and calls, and can be paired with any Android device running on Android 4.3 or higher.  The Gear Live has a clear emphasis on compatibility, and the I/O event showcased the smartwatch interacting with several different Android devices. It’s available for pre-order now on the Google Play marketplace and will go on sale July 7. 
Here’s our spec showdown between Samsung’s Gear Live, Gear 2 and the fitness-oriented, Gear Fit. The obvious difference is that Gear Live touts the Android Wear OS. Below is a breakdown of the specs from all three watches. See how the Samsung Galaxy Gear stands up to the Sony Smartwatch 2 here.

Size	37.9 x 56.4 x 8.9 (mm)	23.4 x 57.4 x 11.95 (mm)	36.9 x 58.4x 10.0 (mm)
Weight	59g	27g	68g
Screen	1.63” Super AMOLED	1.84” Curved Super AMOLED	1.63” Super AMOLED
Resolution	320 x 320 pixels	432 x 128 pixels	320 x 320 pixels
OS	Android Wear	Android	Tizen
Storage	4GB	N/A	4GB
Processor	1.2GHz processor	180MHz ARM Cortex-M4 processor	1.0 GHz Dual Core Processor
RAM	512MB	N/A	512MB
Bluetooth	Version 4.0 LE	Version 4.0 LE	Version 4.0 LE, IrLED
Battery	About 2-3 days (300mAh)	About 3-4 days	About 2-3 days (300mAh)
Charger	N/A	Magnetic charger	Magnetic charger
Price (Ave.)	$200	$200	$300
Availability	Google Play, Samsung	Samsung	Samsung

Design

Samsung’s Gear Live and Gear 2 have similar touchscreens and resolution. All three watches are water-resistant. All include fitness features including heart rate monitor, compass, gyroscope, and accelerometer. The battery life is longest on the Gear Fit, but the 2-3 day battery life of the Gear 2 and Gear Live is manageable. The Live’s 22mm strap is offered in two colors: black and red wine.

Features

Gear Live offers what Google calls the “context stream,” a vertical list of cards that appear on the watch face one at a time and display specific notifications you might want to see, like weather, texts, emails, directions, or other actions. It’s streamlined from what Android phones offer, but far more robust than the the operating systems of Gear Fit and Gear 2. What’s more, Live’s voice recognition capabilities can take commands to check data and appointments, make calls, or even set an alarm with voice activation. The smartwatch can pair with Google Chromecast or play music on your phone.

Operating System

The Android Wear operating system offers a slew of features that aren’t available for the Gear Fit or Gear 2. For starters, the Gear Live displays notifications from a wide variety of compatible apps, unlike the Gear Fit and Gear 2. Though it’s still new, do to the scale of Android, Wear will likely have a much larger ecosystem of apps for the Android Wear, unlike the Tizen OS for Gear 2. Meanwhile, Fit and Gear 2 only pair with a several Samsung phones.  

Conclusion

Gear Live looks to improve upon Samsung’s past efforts in just about every way. This is a smartwatch that will pair with any Android device (4.3 or higher) and comes equipped large ecosystem of apps. Our reviews of both Gear Fit and Gear 2 reveal each device’s lackluster features. In comparison, the Gear Live has nearly identical specs to the Gear 2 but has a smaller price tag and better OS. To be fair, the Gear Live doesn’t emphasize its fitness components. In the gym though, Gear Live seems to be a worthy competitor of the Gear Fit. By the looks of it,  Gear Live is the most advanced smartwatch from Samsung. What’s more, the $200 price tag renders the other Samsung smartwatch contenders obsolete.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-gear-live-vs-gear-fit-vs-gear-2/#ixzz35jDGUUMr

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