Androidifying

Yesterday, Amazon unveiled a selection of nifty new Alexa powered speaker products , along with an assistant powered Fire TV 4K dongle and even an alarm clock. Amazon also pushed the price down on its flagship Echo product, making it more temping than ever to let Amazon get its virtual assistant hooks into your home. Alongside the new hardware announcements, Amazon also announced a partnership with BMW. The arrangement will see Alexa installed in new BMWs and Minis launching through mid-2018, offering drivers voice commands for the news or weather while on their daily commute, as well as access to third party apps. BMW and Ford have previously worked with Amazon on a selection of Alexa Skills that allow drivers to check their remaining fuel, among other things, from the Echo in their living room. Despite already shipping Alexa on a couple of high profile smartphone launches , Amazon is increasingly looking like it doesn’t need a major presence in handsets to fulfil its goal of makin

Shutterstock BlackBerry has posted higher than expected profit in the second quarter of the year thanks to record software sales. The company generated a net income of $19 million, compared to a loss of $372 million a year before, while software and services revenue stood at $196 million, or 26 percent more than in the same period in 2016. BlackBerry was able to beat market expectations thanks to its licensing deals, which brought it $56 million — $40 million more than last year. As you may know, BlackBerry has exited the smartphone market and now sells software to governments and corporations. Additionally, it’s also licensing its brand to TCL Communication, which now owns the rights to make, market, and sell smartphones under the BlackBerry name. See also:   Is this our first look at the all-touchscreen BlackBerry Krypton? BlackBerry Vietnam Since IFA 2017 we've been getting a steady stream of details about an unreleased all-touchscreen device from BlackBerry. Now, w

If you have heard of Bitcoin or any of the other cryptocurrencies, then you have probably heard the word blockchain or the term “blockchain technology”. But what is it? How does it apply to digital currencies? Does it have other uses? How does it work? Please, let me explain! The biggest global business problem is trust. When two parties want to do business, the top question is, can one trust the other? As a result of this trust issue every country has institutions and laws which govern how business is done. Banking and financial regulation laws; consumer rights and consumer courts; contract law and arbitration; all these things exist to generate trust and to punish those who break that trust. See also:   What is virtual memory? – Gary explains Virtual is a word we hear a lot these days, there is virtual reality, virtual currency and virtual machines. But before all of those there was virtual memory. It is a technology that you find … When thinking about money specificall

The guys over at 9to5Google did an APK teardown of the latest Google app last week, which revealed a customizable “Google Bar”. They have now managed to activate the feature, revealing exactly what it is and how it works. See also:   Google Assistant is now available on some Android TVs Your Android TV is about to a whole lot smarter, and more helpful too. Starting today, you now have access to Google Assistant on Android TV if you have an NVIDIA Shield TV. The update is … Google Bar is a new version of the company’s search widget that you can customize in a number of different ways. You can change the logo by opting for the one found on older devices, or the one used on newer handsets such as the Galaxy S8 , which is a lot more minimalistic. You can also change the shape of the widget, its color, and set the transparency with the help of a slider. Check out what this looks like in action below. Of course, the new widget isn’t really groundbreaking, but the new fea

Every device has a main selling point, and the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom is all about its optical zoom capabilities, something we don’t often find in smartphones. Things have changed since the launch of the original ZenFone Zoom , though. From design to specs and features, this is a whole other beast. At $329, the ZenFone 3 Zoom is cheaper than its predecessor too. It’s got g reat battery life and using it is pleasant, but the main selling point with this phone series is undoubtedly the camera. So how does it stack up? I’ve been using the ZenFone 3 Zoom as my primary device for a couple weeks, so let’s dive in; this is the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom review. Design & build quality With the ZenFone 3 Zoom, ASUS has changed that ugly protruding back camera area and turned this phone into something that looks like a modern smartphone . It is thin and nice to look at, but t his slimmer design comes at the cost of camera quality. The ZenFone 3 Zoom looks just like many other devices out there.

The Samsung Galaxy S Active series has always been exclusive to AT&T in the US. According to a report from VentureBeat , this could soon change, as the Galaxy S8 Active is expected make its way to T-Mobile as well. Evan Blass over at VentureBeat got his hands on marketing materials revealing that T-Mobile’s variant of the S8 Active will carry the model number SM-G892T. This isn’t surprising based on the fact that AT&T version of the device, which is already available and retails for $850, has the same model number but with an “A” at the end — SM-G892A. The device is said to be available in the same Meteor Gray and Titanium Gold color options, but there’s no word on when exactly it will be available or how much it will set you back. See also:   Samsung Galaxy S8 Active: Why? Why does the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active exist? Don’t get me wrong, there is always something good about having choice in the Android space, but more so than any other year before it, this Active …

Samsung has a great deal for those of you looking to get a pair or truly wireless earbuds. The company is selling the Gear IconX for just $49.99, which is $150 off the list price. However, it’s worth pointing out that the list price is a bit inflated, as the product currently retails for $140 on Amazon. Nevertheless, this is still a fantastic deal and probably won’t be available for long. The earbuds come in black, white, or blue, and will be shipped to your address for free. See also:   Samsung also said to be working on mobile AI chips for smarter processing There are many ongoing races in AI right now but one of the most important relates to smartphone chips themselves. Huawei has already planted a flag firmly in the earth in this regard, having recently announced the … As a refresher, Samsung took the wraps off the Gear IconX back in June 2016 and initially sold them for $200. The earbuds have 4 GB of storage, are splash-resistant, and come with a carrying case used