Sponsored

Techradar

---

• Dropbox Notes poised to challenge Google Docs at launch
• How much paper does it take to print the internet? You don't even want to know
• In Depth: Apple Watch's most promising feature is one you can't see
• Yes, the Apple Watch will support third-party bands
• Updated: 5 Best all-in-one PCs
• UPDATED: Every single home appliance that works with Apple HomeKit
• Hands-on review: Acer Aspire E14
• Nokia really is making another Android phone
• Updated: Android Lollipop 5.0 update: when can I get it?
• Hands-on review: UPDATED: Valve Steam Controller
• ARM unveils small-but-powerful Cortex-A72 CPU
• This was the one and only Apple Watch launch line in the US today
• How to reclaim 5 missing features on the Galaxy S6
• Google Glass 2 is coming soon, and it should be très chic
• Updated: Google Maps has just turned into one big Apple troll fest
• In Depth: All 63 major Apple Watch apps to download at launch
• In Depth: Adapt or die: how TiVo is keeping pace in the age of streaming
• Roundup: The best business apps for your Apple Watch
• Oracle giving away 1,000 Raspberry Pi computers to students
• 7 days in phones: No Nokia, don't come back until you've got something to add

Dropbox Notes poised to challenge Google Docs at launch Posted: 24 Apr 2015 03:48 PM PDT After testing a collaborative note-taking service early this month, it appears that Dropbox is now ready to have users sign up for Dropbox Notes. According to TechCrunch, Dropbox Notes is the latest form of Project Composer, a service that was part of the HackPad acquisition. Under the Dropbox branding, the company is now inviting teams to sign up for the private beta. As part of the beta, Dropbox is asking companies for their name, email address and company name. Currently, Dropbox isn't providing much information on its DropBox Notes site, but the service appears to be targeted towards enterprises, businesses and teams. The introductory text reads, "we're working on a new way for teams to write together." Collaboration Entering the collaborative online note-taking space, Dropbox will be competing with heavyweights such as Google with its Google Docs service and Microsoft with Office 365. Another challenger in this space is Evernote. Unlike Google Docs and Office 365, the Dropbox service is geared towards quick note-taking rather than full document creation. Dropbox Notes is designed for taking meeting notes, rather than creating documents and files for the office. Still, the collaborative aspect, such as having multiple collaborators working on the same document simultaneously, is similar to other online office titles. TechCrunch says that the simple interface may be an advantage as it could make Dropbox Notes more usable on mobile devices, where there is not a lot of screen real estate to pack in menu bars and ribbons. Dropbox integration With Dropbox integration, users of Dropbox Notes may be able to integrate files already stored on the Dropbox cloud service. This integration would be similar to what Microsoft offers on its OneNote application, allowing users to create a rich digital notebook with links to text, images, videos, and other files for later referencing. This could make Dropbox Notes a valuable service for those who need to plan events and projects, as it serves as a digital notebook where you can reference and link other files and documents. Read our Office 2016 review

How much paper does it take to print the internet? You don't even want to know Posted: 24 Apr 2015 03:35 PM PDT Part of the joy of being a scientist is getting to take a crack at questions that no one has an answer to - questions like "How much paper would you need to print out the entire internet?" It may sound more like a "thought experiment" you'd hear in a dorm room on 4/20, but University of Leicester students George Harwood and Evangeline Walker published their findings on it in a peer-reviewed student journal run by their uni. The answer? Apparently 136 billion sheets of standard printer paper. In other words, a lot of trips to Staples. The duo reached this number by first figuring out that it would take over 70 million sheets to print out all of Wikipedia, then extrapolating from there. Making that much paper would use 16 million trees - which, to be fair, is only a small fraction of the four hundred billion trees estimated to make up the Amazon rainforest alone. So could you print out the entire internet onto sheets of paper? Apparently, yes. But should you? That's another question entirely. Quick, someone figure out how many ink cartridges we're going to need!

In Depth: Apple Watch's most promising feature is one you can't see Posted: 24 Apr 2015 03:21 PM PDT Forcing a change The Apple Watch has arrived, bringing the latest in wearable technology to wrists everywhere. But what does this device, which some call "revolutionary," do that we haven't already seen before? Some critics say the smartwatch doesn't bring anything new to the Apple ecosystem, costing consumers hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars for nothing more than the convenience of displaying push notifications without having to pull out their iPhones. TechRadar has dived into the utility of the Apple Watch at some length, but there's a bigger question for tech geeks to consider: what does this wearable mean for the future of iOS devices? There's one Apple Watch feature that's already rumored to be making its way to the iPhone 6S. It's called Force Touch, and it just might be the Apple Watch's most underrated feature. What is Force Touch? While the Apple Watch has plenty of features to distinguish it from smartphones and tablets, the biggest difference (aside from its form factor) is found in the controls. While iPhones have been getting bigger, the Apple Watch can come in a frame as small as 38mm. That's forced Apple to rethink how users interact with the device, beyond just swiping and tapping. Part of the solution to the screen size constraints appears in the form of the "Digital Crown" - a home button and dial combo that handles scrolling and zooming as well as fine adjustments. But there's an even more innovative control mechanism at play on the Apple Watch, one that could make the cut on future iPhones, like the iPhone 6S and 7. Since the display is so small, Apple made its watch capable of sensing whether a user is tapping the screen or pressing down. This technology is called Force Touch, and it's what makes it possible for app developers to offer a lot of content without cluttering the screen with buttons. Force Touch can be used to customize the watch face, create a new message, or bring up contextual menus in a variety of apps. It's a simple but effective feature that Apple has already put on its 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch Macbook Pro. How Force Touch works with Apple Watch apps Force Touch may be an innovative way to control a device without adding more buttons, but it also creates an interesting opportunity for developers in designing apps that work with the new control mechanism. Booking.com's Booking Now app, for example, lets users select the best hotel from a list of nearby results and book using their Apple Watch with a firm press of their finger. "Force Touch is a really interesting extension to the language of gestures which the iPhone has helped define in recent years," said Stuart Frisby, Booking.com's principle designer in charge of the user experience for the Booking Now app for iPhone and Apple Watch. "What is most interesting about it is how natural a gesture it is, and how intuitive it feels in usage. We've long had machines which respond differently to different levels of pressure, and so unlike some other parts of the gesture language where users are performing these gestures for the first time, Force Touch feels right on the Apple Watch. "Having this technology extend to laptops will further cement this as an established interaction pattern, and as designers and developers we always welcome new ways for people to interact with our apps." Evernote's VP of Mobile Products, Jamie Hull, says the Evernote Watch app uses Force Touch to deliver the core features of the company's popular iPhone app in a new way/in a way that works for the wearable. "Force Touch allows the two core functions of Evernote for Apple Watch - new note creation and search - to be accessible from anywhere within the app," she explained. "Users can easily capture a quick thought or find a different note without having to navigate back up to the home screen." Nothing is quite like Force Touch Force Touch isn't alone, but it is unique Hardware is an arms race, and it's highly likely Force Touch will make its way to future iPhones or even iPads. Even so, it's important to remember that Android already offers similar functionality by means of the "long press." On iPhones, a longer press merely acts as an aid in selecting or editing text, managing the home screen and deleting apps. Android users can use a long press in an app to bring up a contextual action bar that developers can tailor to their apps. This is very similar to how Apple is using Force Touch on the Apple Watch. For Apple, Force Touch is an opportunity to provide more robust interface options and reduce the number of swipes and presses users have to perform to complete basic tasks. The absence of contextual menus in iOS apps is something that people (myself included) transitioning from Android immediately notice. By adding contextual menus with Force Touch, Apple could plug what amounts to a gaping hole in the iOS interface. Right now, if a developer wants to add a feature to an iOS app, they have to complicate the UI by adding a button. Force Touch eliminates that need. We're still in the early days of Force Touch, and how users receive it will play a huge role in how Apple develops it for the future. That being said, it's an intriguing control system that should impact app development from here on out, not to mention influence the design of future iDevices to come. Learn more about the iPhone 7

Yes, the Apple Watch will support third-party bands Posted: 24 Apr 2015 02:50 PM PDT There's a lot you can do to customize your brand new Apple Watch, including swapping among all the official (and pricey) Apple Watch bands. But a passage in the recently published Apple Watch user guide suggests that Apple's own Watch bands soon won't be the only ones the company approves of. "Use only Apple branded or Apple authorized bands," reads a note under the section "band care information." Well that's quite a hint. Made for Apple Apple has one authorization program already for iPhone, iPad and iPod accessories, dubbed "MFi" - Made For iPhone. It's easy to imagine the company doing the same for Apple Watch bands, particularly with some third-party accessory makers already creating their own straps for the wearable. Apple hasn't announced anything outright, but we've asked the company to confirm, and we'll update this article if it does. Check out our full Apple Watch price breakdown

Updated: 5 Best all-in-one PCs Posted: 24 Apr 2015 02:50 PM PDT Updated: we've added the stunning iMac with 5K display to our round up of the best all-in-one computers. All-in-ones are interesting little (or in some cases, big) PCs. They're desktops with integrated displays and are often built with laptop-grade parts. As such they've inherited a bad reputation for poor performance compared to their full-on desktop tower brethren. The stigma is not completely undeserved. Mobile graphics cards and processors have always lagged behind those made for personal computers. However, the all-in-one form factor has its own advantages. These self-contained PCs take up less room than a giant full-size tower and don't create a giant tangle of USB and display cables. What's more, some all-in-one computers are doubling as giant tablets. When's the last time you were able to pick up your PC and screen off your work desk and ferry it over to work on the couch? Without further ado, here are the best all-in-ones we've reviewed. Dell XPS 18 An 18-inch tablet-PC you can take on the go The Dell XPS 18 blows away any notion that all-in-ones are hulking great machines tied to desks. Essentially a massive touch-operated tablet that turns into a monitor when slipped into its stand, the 18.5-inch device is designed to be used all around the house and is a great choice for online TV addicts. It's a capable PC too thanks to its Intel Core i7 CPU, Intel HD 4400 graphics and 8GB of RAM at the top end. Read: Dell XPS 18 review iMac with Retina 5K display An expensive luxury, that might just be worth it While Apple's iMac with Retina 5K display is one of the most impressive all-in-ones around, its price places it out of the reach of most people. Apple's older 27-inch iMac possesses many of its best qualities without the wallet-intimidating price tag. Apple redesigned its iMac line in 2013 to give it an attractive slimline chassis that houses a sharp 27-inch IPS display with a respectable 2,560 x 1,440 pixel-resolution. Excellent build quality means it's a PC built to last, and a fine option for productivity work, watching movies or light gaming. Read: iMac with Retina 5K display review LG Chromebase A Chrome OS desktop with simplicity in mind The LG Chromebase's biggest strength is its simplicity. Essentially a Chromebook crammed into a 21.5-inch 1080p IPS display, the Chromebase runs Google's ChromeOS that lets you do basic PC tasks using Chrome's growing list of web apps. If you have no need for the bells and whistles that come with Windows 8.1 and OS X and don't mind relying on the internet to get things done, the LG Chromebase is an attractive, affordable and convenient all-in-one. Read: LG Chromebase review MSI AG240 All-in-One Gaming performance in an all-in-one package All-in-ones tend to be advertised as family-friendly alternatives to desktop PCs due to their suitability for the living room, but the MSI AG240 isn't interested in that. The 23.6-inch AG240 is a gnarly gaming PC in an all-in-one's chassis, combining an Intel Core i7 CPU with a powerful Nvidia GeForce GT860M GPU that's backed up by 16GB of RAM. If you're hankering for a large touchscreen display with the innards of a gaming PC, the dare-to-be-different AG240 fits the bill. Read: MSI AG240 review Lenovo Horizon 2 Lenovo flexible all-in-one is ready to play games Like the Dell XPS 18, the Horizon 2 is an all-in-one Windows 8.1 PC that can transform into different positions, allowing it to be used as a large tablet. But unlike Dell's machine, the Horizon 2 lets you connect HDMI-equipped devices such as Blu-ray players or games console to be used at its native 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. The XPS 18 packs quite a punch itself thanks to the Intel Core i5 CPU and Nvidia GeForce GT 840A GPU inside that can handle demanding games. It also has the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi and comes with a capacious 1TB hard disk. Read: Lenovo Horizon 2 review

UPDATED: Every single home appliance that works with Apple HomeKit Posted: 24 Apr 2015 02:10 PM PDT What is Apple HomeKit? Update: Our long days of waiting are over, the Apple Watch is officially here. It's worth noting that Honeywell, BMW and Lutron have already released HomeKit apps compatible with the Watch. Keep tuned for more of these products' apps rolling out in the coming weeks. Announced alongside iOS 8 at last year's Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple's HomeKit software aims to put its own spin on home automation. Using HomeKit as a framework, developers can link up iOS products to communicate with home appliances, such as thermostats, light bulbs and garage openers. While the initial framework of HomeKit was unveiled alongside the release of iOS in September 2014, manufacturers have been waiting to bring out HomeKit-enabled products to consumers over the course of this spring. Not sure what home appliances will be compatible with your iPhone, iPad or, one day, the Apple Watch? Fear not, as we've rounded up a list of upcoming (and a few already-released) products expected - or are already confirmed - to bring Apple connectivity to a home near you. Schlage Sense Door Lock The Schlage Sense lock system, designed with Apple HomeKit in mind, hopes to do away with keys by allowing you to access your home with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod using Bluetooth technology. The Schlage Sense allows cutting-edge home owners to set and change entry codes using a dedicated app as well as use an illuminated touchscreen keypad for those of us who are still prone to locking ourselves out of the house at 1 o'clock in the morning. How much does it cost? TBA Where can I get it? Schlage has stated that select stores will begin selling the Sense later this year (US only). Honeywell Lyric Thermostat The Honeywell Lyric has been out for nearly a year, but is expected to receive an update in 2015 that will allow you to turn your iDevice into a smart remote via HomeKit. The Lyric's smart technology allows it to adjust temperatures to household activity, controlling energy usage without occupants ever having to leave their beds or set complicated schedules for when they leave the house. How much does it cost? $279.99. Though, at the time of writing, Honeywell is selling the Lyric for a discounted $249.99 through their website. Where can I get it? You can order the Lyric online through Honeywell's webpage, or through various home improvement retailers (US and Canada only). Hue Automated Lighting System While the Hue lighting system has yet to confirm HomeKit support, manufacturer Philips' past support of iOS devices would suggest that an upcoming crossover is likely. Philips' Hue high-tech lightbulbs can be controlled with a dedicated app and an electronic hub that can manage up to 50 individual light sources at a time. You can customize color, timing and brightness for each bulb, and by setting and saving various "scenes" smartphone users can simulate a sunrise in the morning or a turquoise-and-hot-pink '80s themed party in the evening. How much does it cost? Starter Kit is $199.95 (£174.99), with additional standard bulbs starting at $60 (£50). Where can I get it? Hue products can be found on Amazon and most electronics retailers, though Apple features the product in its own store. MyQ Garage Opener The MyQ is an sensor for your garage that includes a Wi-Fi hub and door sensor which can transform a smartphone into a functional garage door opener as well as sync up any pre-existing remotes, should you wish to avoid swapping out your entire garage-opener setup. In addition to being using a smartphone as a key, the MyQ application, in conjunction with HomeKit, can also send notifications that detail when the garage has been in use, thereby foiling teenagers nationwide hoping to "borrow" Dad's Mustang. How much does it cost? $129.99 Where can I get it? Chamberlain sells the MyQ through their store, as well as offers a free companion app via the App Store (US and Canada only). Insteon Hub Pro Insteon is no stranger to the home automation game, with over 200 different products ranging from thermostats to light switches available to outfit your walls with smart tech. Several of Insteon's products already talk with each other over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but with the HomeKit-compatible Hub Pro, the company's long list of products can be consolidated and controlled with a single iPhone or iPad, synchronizing lights, temperature, smoke detectors and more in one place when it launches later this year. How much does it cost? $149.99 Where can I get it? Preorder online through SmartHome (US, UK and AU included) Incipio Power Strips, Outlets, and Adapters Incipio's series of 'smart plugs' give you complete control over your outlets using Siri commands (i.e., "Siri, turn off the lights") as well as offer proximity detection for when you want certain electronics to turn on when a person enters the room. Insteon's 2015 lineup of smart plugs is comprised of The Direct Smart Outlet, which plugs directly into a wall socket, a Direct Wireless Smart Lamp Adapter, for attaching to lightbulbs, and a 4-Port Direct Powerstrip, for control over multiple devices. How much does it cost? $24.99 for Direct Wireless Smart Outlet (pictured left), $24.99 for Direct Wireless Smart Lamp Adapter (pictured bottom-center), and $59.99 for 4-Port Direct Powerstrip (pictured top-right) Where can I get it? All three products are displayed and priced on Incipio's webpage but have yet to go on sale (US, UK and AU included). Eve Home Monitoring by Elgato The Eve home monitoring system by Elgato isn't really a single product. Rather, it's more along the lines of an entire monitoring ecosystem, with a full arsenal of various remote sensors that can detect a range of statistics, from air quality to water use. While this isn't the first line of home quality products, what makes Eve unique is that the various sensors will be able to connect to an iPhone or iPad using the HomeKit framework to give you a status report of your home, which can be a boon for the environmentally conscientious looking to reduce resource consumption or improve their quality of life. How much does it cost? TBA Where can I get it? Elgato still lists the Eve as "coming soon" on its website (US, UK and AU included). The Withings Home The Home by Withings is a stationary camera that toes the line between security monitor and user-friendly webcam. It features a high-quality camera that works during the night with time-lapse video recording, a motion sensor, two microphones and even air quality tracking. Utilizing HomeKit support, the Home can send data based on what it picks up to the user's iPhone, making it as useful for home security as much as monitoring your toddler or pet. How much does it cost? $200 (£169.95) Where can I get it? Order online through Withings iHome SmartPlug Much like the previous Incipio line, iHome's upcoming SmartPlug intends to put Siri to work by giving HomeKit users voice control over their outlets. In order to achieve that, the SmartPlug utilizes an application called iHome Control (a new addition to iHome's suite of apps designed for use in concert with their list of audio products) that will lets users group multiple plugs together and control electronics en masse. How much does it cost? $39.99 Where can I get it? iHome reportedly plans to release the SmartPlug later this Spring. (US and Canada only) Tempo Environment Monitor The Tempo by Blue Maestro is a versatile, lightweight device designed to track environmental conditions in a number of personal and commercial situations. Utilizing either HomeKit or a Bluetooth connection via a dedicated app, Tempo allows you to track the humidity, barometric pressure, temperature and other metrics for a wide range of environments, from your pet lizard habitat to your humidor for questionably-obtained cigars. How much does it cost? $72.00 (£45.00) Where can I get it? Order online through Blue Maestro iDevices Switch Another contender in the brewing smart plug battle, the Switch by iDevices features similar HomeKit-enabled connectivity between your home and iPhone, utilizing Siri support and a dedicated app that can control multiple electronics remotely without the need for a central hub. The Switch changes up the formula by featuring a stackable design, customizable light strip, and planned integration with other products that have been featured on this list, such as the Chamberlain MyQ and Schlage door lock. How much does it cost? $49.99 Where can I get it? iDevices has yet to announce when it will release the Switch (US, UK and AU included). ConnectSense Smart Outlet While there are a handful of other uses, it seems most developers are really hooked on the idea of using Homekit as a smart outlet, with ConnectSense bringing its own rendition to the table. Much like its competitors, the Smart Outlet claims that it will have Siri connectivity, multiple device control, and easy setup. The Smart Outlet also boasts features such as alerts for energy usage, USB ports for simplified charging and ZigBee technology that gives it the ability to communicate freely with other smart devices in the home. How much does it cost? $79.95 Where can I get it? Pre-order online through ConnectSense (US only) Velvetwire PowerSlayer Blu Having your home hooked up to your phone is only convenient if your battery doesn't die before lunchtime. The Powerslayer Blu, while sounding like a late-'70s heavy metal band, is actually a quite contemporary charger from Velvetwire that connects to your device in more ways than one. The device alerts you when your iPhone battery is fully charged, offers power surge protection and sends reminders if the phone is due for a charge or gets separated from the device, the latter being a godsend for travelers prone to leaving their cables at home before a long trip. How much does it cost? $59.95 Where can I get it? The PowerSlayer is listed as 'coming out soon' on Velvetwire's site, though its current iteration is built to work only in the US, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, and other countries with similar 110v outlets.

Hands-on review: Acer Aspire E14 Posted: 24 Apr 2015 01:30 PM PDT In the world of affordable laptops, Chromebooks reign supreme over most Windows laptops and has been a wake-up call for manufacturers to step up their game. Cheap notebooks are getting better and better, with the HP Pavilion x360 as one major stand out 2-in-1 laptop on the cheap. Now, in the traditional notebook space, Acer is hoping to catch some eyes with its uniquely crafted Aspire E14. The first time you touch this 14-inch laptop, you'll immediately notice it is uniquely textured to feel like a piece of fabric. Unlike most other laptops, the Acer Aspire E14 features a 3D printed lid and bottom panel that give it a distinct look and feel of a thousand layered threads. In reality, though, the laptop's sides are just made of finely extruded plastic that helps make the laptop feel more premium than the usual glossy finish on an affordable notebook. Even better, during all my manhandling with the sample units, it seems the 3D printed material is adept at avoiding greasy fingerprints. The exterior of the Aspire E14 isn't the only part that's been given a textured finish. The palm rest also features a tiny, diamond cut pattern that felt nice and rippled against my palms. Overall, this isn't a cheap feeling laptop and that comes at a surprise considering it's very low starting price point of $379 (about £250, AU$485). Standard fare Aside from the laptop's distinct exterior, pretty much everything else about the Aspire E14 is standard fare. It has a 1,366 x 768 resolution display, though you can upgrade to a higher-resolution 1,080p panel. Acer is also offering up the same display choices for a 15-inch model of its E-series. Meanwhile, users can also pick up a 17-inch variant with either a 1,600 x 900 panel or a full HD display. Additionally, the laptop I was able to play with came packing a 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U processor with 16GB of RAM. The Acer Aspire E14 can also be configured with lower spec processors from Intel's Celeron or Pentium lineups. There's the option to also go with an AMD CPU, from its A4 to A10 ranges. Born ready for school Despite the high-end configuration of my hands-on unit, the Aspire E14 still felt a bit sluggish while tabbing between applications. However, one Acer spokesperson was quick to note the units at the New York event were pre-production models, chalking the performance hitches up to the units being on for several hours. One inescapable shortcoming is it has an incredibly glossy screen that reflects light with a very unattractive sheen. The real shame is the screen's reflectiveness prevents you from fully appreciating how colorful it is. As for handling, the touchpad feels great and clicky with accurate tracking, thanks to Microsoft's hand in developing Precision Touch for all Windows systems. Similarly, the keyboard is more than up to task without the slightest hint of flex, which should help it survive any marathon essay writing sessions. Early verdict The Acer Aspire E14 is a compelling package for $379 (about £250, AU$485), but those in the US won't be able to get their hands on it until July. That's a long lead time, and the competition in the affordable laptop space is only mounting with amazing Chromebooks - including the Chromebook 15, which Acer itself made. Those in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are a bit luckier with Acer's E series arriving this May. China will get first dibs Acer Aspire E14 and the rest of the E-Series this month. For now, I'm fairly pleased with the Aspire E14, but I'm skeptical as how well it will perform against equally-excellent Chrome OS options and other affordable notebooks running Windows, such as the 15-inch HP Pavilion. The Acer Aspire E14 is a step in the right direction, but it will have to be even more than that come July to survive a season ripe for cheaper, snappier Chromebooks.

Nokia really is making another Android phone Posted: 24 Apr 2015 01:21 PM PDT Nokia's pretty much been lying low since Microsoft bought its mobile business then dropped the name from its Lumia phones, but a return is now imminent. There have been rumors since last year that Nokia would re-enter the smartphone market with a new Android phone - its first in some time - and today those rumors are confirmed. Nokia's president in China, Mike Wang, said the company will use its Chinese factories to build new Android phones in 2016, reports G For Games. We've asked Nokia to confirm it, but unless the site is way off-base this sounds like the real deal. Given the focus on China Nokia could be looking to return to the Android market with some low-end or mid-tier devices, but we can only speculate on that front - Wang revealed no further details. We'll be watching for more word, and in the meantime we'll update this article if we receive confirmation from Nokia that it's really making Android phones for 2016. Which version of Android will they run? Android KitKat is still on top

Updated: Android Lollipop 5.0 update: when can I get it? Posted: 24 Apr 2015 12:57 PM PDT Google, HTC, Samsung and Sony It's been a while since Android Lollipop was unveiled, but a lot of your handsets still don't have it, as it's down to individual manufacturers to bring it to their devices. That takes time, but we're finally seeing it trickle out to ever more phones, and many manufacturers have also revealed when they plan to roll out the update. We're constantly updating this article as new information emerges so read on for details about your specific device and manufacturer and remember to check back regularly. The good news though is that if you don't have Lollipop for your phone yet you probably will soon. And the even better news: it's worth the wait, as it includes a smorgasbord of new features, a visual overhaul and numerous under-the-hood improvements to make if faster, more efficient and lighter on your battery. Read our hands on: Android 5.0 Lollipop review Latest update: Sony has begun rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to its more obscure and older Xperia devices, such as the Xperia Z3 Dual and the Xperia Z1 Compact. T-Mobile in the US announced on April 24 that it should start rolling out Android 5 to the Galaxy Note 4 on its network starting the following week. Google One of the best things about buying a Nexus device is that they're first in line for software updates. As such not only did the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 ship with Android 5.0 Lollipop, but it's since been rolled out to the Nexus 5, Nexus 4, Nexus 7 Wi-Fi (both the 2012 and 2013 versions) and the Nexus 10. That's most of the remotely recent Nexus devices accounted for, but it does leave a big question mark against the cellular versions of the Nexus 7 2012 and 2013. Those tablets should see an update at some time, though Google has not indicated when this will be. Any Nexus devices older than the ones we've already mentioned are all but guaranteed not to get it, meaning that Nexus S owners are plum out of luck. Google has also confirmed that the Galaxy Nexus will not receive the update. HTC HTC has been more forthcoming with its update plans than some manufacturers and it's no surprise given how quickly it's started bringing the update to users. In a statement the company originally said: "We will begin rolling out updates to the HTC One M8 and HTC One M7 in regions worldwide within 90 days of receiving final software from Google, followed shortly thereafter by other One family members and select devices." HTC has made good on its promise for some users, but not for others. The Google Play Edition of the HTC One M7 has got the update, while unlocked and developer versions of the HTC One M8 worldwide and the HTC One M7 in the US have now been given a lick of Lollipop too. But owners who have a device that's tied to a specific mobile network or those with a One M7 outside the US may have to hold on for a little while longer. We're going to assume that most other HTC handsets released in the last 12-18 months will also get Lollipop at some point given HTC's commitment to the upgrade cause. As a general rule the more recent and high profile a device is the more likely it is to get an update. Indeed according to LlabTooFeR the HTC Desire Eye and HTC One E8 will both get updated. Another leak states the HTC One Mini 2 and Desire 816 will get Lollipop sometime in March or April, while the HTC One Max, HTC One Mini and Butterfly S have an expected Android 5.0 rollout of March-May. Samsung Samsung started rolling out Android 5.0 to the Galaxy S5 in mid-January, so most if not all S5 handsets should have it by now. The Android 5.0 update for Samsung's Galaxy S4 handset is now live for owners in India, so we should expect S4 smartphones in other parts of the world to get the update soon. You'll be able to download the 1GB update OTA (over the air) or through the Samsung Kies desktop software. Russian users of the Galaxy S4 should also be able to grab the update, while various European countries are seeing the update land on the Galaxy S4 LTE-A. The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is now also getting the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop, though it's heading to lucky owners in Australia first. The update will be 1.02GB large, so make sure you're on Wi-Fi when you download, and Samsung notes you'll need 3GB of free space. Hopefully owners of the Galaxy Note Edge in other parts of the world won't have long to wait to get the update. Owners of unlocked Note 4s in South Korea and Poland are now able to get the update by connecting to a Wi-Fi network, opening up Settings, selecting 'About Device' and tapping on 'Update Now' under the Software Update option. It's also now started rolling out to the Galaxy Note 3 already according to SamMobile, but only in Russia so far. To whet your appetite before it lands it looks like photos of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 running Android 5.0 Lollipop have leaked on to the internet. The Galaxy Alpha is also likely to get the update soon, according to Danny Dorresteijn, the co-founder of respected fan site SamMobile. Other Samsung handsets may have to wait a little longer, although we'd expect that most high profile devices released in the last 18 months to 2 years will get the update, including the Galaxy S4 Mini and the Galaxy S5 Mini. We doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S3 or anything older will get Android Lollipop. It's a device that's already over two years old and some versions of it didn't even get Android 4.4. Samsung doesn't seem great at updating its tablets either. There's a good chance recent slates like its Note Pro and Tab S ranges and even the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 will get Android Lollipop, but anything older or low end is probably not going to happen. Sony Sony has openly declared that it will be "bringing Android 5.0 Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z Series." It's even published a full list of handsets which are in line for Android Lollipop, and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition has already received the update. Sony started rolling out the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade for the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact on March 16. Owners in the Nordics and Baltics regions will be the first to see the update, with other markets getting it soon after. Sony also announced that the rest of the Xperia Z series will get the update, and sure enough a new blog post on April 16 claimed that the Xperia Z3 Dual, Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1 Compact and Xperia Z Ultra will be getting Android 5.0 Lollipop in the next few days. The Xperia T2 Ultra and Xperia C3 are scheduled to follow in a few more weeks, with Xperia devices from 2013, including Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR and the Xperia Tablet Z, also due for an upgrade sometime in the future. LG, Motorola, OnePlus, Huawei, Asus and ZTE LG If you have an LG G3 then depending on your network you may already have got the upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop, as Vodafone in the UK has brought Android 5.0 to all of its branded LG G3 handsets. By now many LG G3 users across Europe should have Lollipop, but the US is still waiting. On January 23 LG teased on Twitter that the update is coming soon, but it's not got more specific than that. Next up seems to be the LG G Pro 2, which has already got Lollipop in South Korea and is now starting to get it in Hungary according to Phone Arena, so keep an eye on your phone, especially if you're a European user. LG G2 users might not have long to wait for it either, as LG has indicated that it has scheduled the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for it in the future and indeed it's already in testing according to Italian siteTutto Android, but we haven't heard anything about LG's other handsets. We imagine that in time the LG G2 Mini will probably get updated too and the LG G3 Beat and LG G3 S are both bound to get updated. Motorola Motorola has confirmed that Android 5.0 Lollipop will be coming to a number of its handsets in a post on the official Motorola blog. According to the post Android Lollipop will come to both the first and second generation Moto X, the Moto G, the Moto G 4G and the Moto E. If you have a first generation Moto G then you might have received a message from Motorola saying that it is "preparing the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade for your device...in the upcoming weeks". If you have got this message make sure you click 'More info', which will allow Motorola to check if your device has the latest version of Motorola Update Services installed. You'll need that before you can download Android 5.0 Lollipop, so follow the instructions to make sure your device is ready. The update has begun rolling out to Canadian 3G-only Moto G handsets in a limited soak test. If successful the update, which is actually the most up to date version (Android 5.0.2), will then be rolled out to other handsets, so keep an eye out. It has also been officially announced that the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is being rolled out to Moto E and Moto Maxx devices, though for the moment only in Mexico and Brazil. Android 5.0 Lollipop has begun rolling out to second generation Moto X and Moto G devices in the US, however it seems like the update could be delayed while Motorola finishes testing the update. There are also reports from Android Geeks that some first generation Moto G's have received the update. But apparently these early updates are just a limited soak test roll out. Users who missed out on that shouldn't have to wait long though, as on January 13 Luciano Carvalho, a software engineer at Motorola, confirmed that the Android 5.0 Lollipop is coming to Motorola smartphones "really soon." Motorola has launched a helpful website where you can track when your handset will get updated to Android 5.0, which is being constantly updated with information about the upgrade process. Motorola's UI is very close to stock Android as well so it shouldn't be as much work to get new versions up and running and back when the company was owned by Google it was pretty prompt with updates, unsurprisingly. OnePlus The OnePlus One is still bizarrely hard to get hold of thanks to the requirement for an invitation (except on Tuesdays), but if you have managed to get your hands on one you'll be pleased to know that the company plans to upgrade it Android Lollipop. Want to know exactly when you'll see Lollipop land on your One? Well good news, as the Chinese firm has confirmed the Lollipop-fuelled CM 12S (Cyanogen Mod) will arrive on or before March 30. That's not all though, as you'll also have the option to download and install OnePlus' own operating system, OxygenOS, on or before March 27 if you fancy something a bit different. Huawei Huawei isn't always the quickest at updating its phones, but the company has announced on its blog that the Ascend Mate 2 will get Lollipop in the first half of the year, while the Honor 6 will also get it in early 2015 according to GizChina. Its recent flagship, the Ascend P7, shipped with Android 4.4 and we imagine it will probably get Android Lollipop, perhaps in early to mid-2015. We're less sure whether any of the company's other phones will get it, but fingers crossed. Asus Asus has confirmed that the Asus ZenFone 5, along with the rest of the ZenFone line, will be updated to Android Lollipop in April. The Padfone S will also be updated around April. In June Asus will update its Padfone Infinity smartphone. So far though there's been no news about Asus' other devices, such as the Padfone mini, and when they will be updated to Android 5.0. ZTE If you're one of the relatively few with a ZTE handset you might be wondering if and when Android Lollipop will be arriving for it. Unfortunately so are we and this is one case where it's very much an 'if' rather than a 'when'. Fairly recent phones like the ZTE Blade V and the ZTE Blade Q Mini launched with old versions of Android and they haven't been updated, so we're not optimistic that they'll get Android Lollipop. Nvidia Nvidia might not be high on most people's radars when it comes to Android devices, but gaming fans might be interested in knowing that the Nvidia Shield already has Android 5.0, as the update began rolling out at the end of November. Nvidia told us that "we've worked hard to support every official Android release in the past, as you can see with our SHIELD portable and our software team is always working hard to bring new features and the latest updates with no delay. We try to make sure that updates come as close to their announcement as possible." Clearly so far it's achieving that, so if you own an Nvidia Shield tablet you should be able to update to Android 5.0 Lollipop right now. Here's everything you need to know about Android Lollipop.

Hands-on review: UPDATED: Valve Steam Controller Posted: 24 Apr 2015 12:45 PM PDT Steam Controller It's hard to believe how fast time passes. I can still remember the clamor and speculation the day Valve first announced it was not only producing its own operating system based on Linux and a line of gaming PCs - called Steam Machines - but would release its own controller as well. Like the original designs for the Steam Controller, SteamOS was interesting, if a little confusing at first. It's been over two years since that day, and in that time we've seen exactly one Steam Machine come to market (the Alienware Alpha) with 14 more en route for the holidays. The delay has been upsetting, to say the least. If Valve intends to follow through with its plans for a controller, it will have to strike soon. Valve is on a deadline. It's not all bad, though. The delayed release has given Valve time to refocus the controller, to redesign it with functionality - rather than novelty - in mind. Design Where the original version we saw had four square center buttons and lacked face buttons, the latest (and what Valve is calling the final design) is reverse. The gamepad has 13 buttons, with seven on the front face and six in the rear. The front left is loaded with a control stick and haptic feedback-enabled touchpad, while the right side sports four face buttons - A, B, X and Y - as well as another touchpad. In the middle are the Steam jewel, start and back buttons. The vast majority of the controller's face is dominated by two circular pads, wired for haptic feedback. The left pad, inscribed with a d-pad, could be used for custom commands - calling in airstrikes in Battlefield, for example - while the right stick seems solely used for looking around. Spin it around to the back and you'll find a set of mushy triggers, two bumpers and a hidden set of buttons where your fingers rest on the inside of the wings. The latter are something commonly found on aftermarket controllers from PDP or Mad Catz, but never in first-party pads. What they might do, however, is a complete mystery. They could just be nothing more than another set of inputs. But the best guess I have so far is that they could serve as a set of programmable macro buttons used to quickly access a string of commands. Performance During a closed-door demo at GDC 2015, I was able to play the pre-alpha version of the new Unreal Tournament using the controller. Surprisingly, the controller fared better than expected. Using a touchpad to aim instead of a second stick took some getting used to, but with the help of what I believe was auto-aim assistance, I pulled through the fight with a slightly positive kill-to-death ratio. It wasn't perfect, however, and definitely didn't have the same intuitive feel that an original PlayStation controller had all those years ago. Of course, one issue with my experience could've been the sensitivity on the right thumbpad. The sensitivity was cranked up to one of its highest settings at the beginning of the match, causing me to whip around left and right with the lightest touch. Once adjusted, it started to feel better and I started to rack up a kill or two to make up for the lost time. I left feeling that the Steam Controller perhaps isn't suited for shooters like Unreal Tournament and that its greatest strengths - its touchpads - still lie untapped because developers are shoehorning old control schemes into a new product. Crowdsourcing control While Valve's Steam Controller will likely be better suited to certain genres over others, that doesn't mean that someone won't come up with something brilliant and game changing. When the Steam Controller launches, players will be able to create their own custom control schemes, save them to their Steam profiles, export and share them with the Steam Community. Other Steamers will be able download these player-made setups, and Valve will highlight the most popular ones in the community. It could be that a fan-made setup will beat out an official one. How's that for player feedback? This also removes the impetus from developers to come up with the best control scheme right out of the gate - a boon for them while we're all still getting used to the new technology. Is the Steam Machine revolution still on schedule? Quite frankly? No. But while it's disappointing to see delay after delay, the extra time in the oven has only helped the final product. (And hey, at least we have a release window.) Using this version of the Steam Controller for a first-person shooter felt better than I had expected, though there's still some tweaking to be done before we see the final product. That said, the additional buttons along the bottom of the controller may prove useful for increasing or decreasing look sensitivity in-game or doing something completely unpredictable. There's still plenty of work to go before the full systems launch in November 2015, but each outing brings with it another improvement. That said, what you see here is awfully close to what will ship this autumn, I'm told. So, if you don't dig it now, your mind may already be made up. Early verdict The Steam Controller is a living, changing peripheral that's just as likely to change the way you game as it is to frustrate you when using it for the first time. A mix of slightly quirky design tweaks, like underside paddle buttons and more standard set of shoulder buttons, keep us on our toes. But at the same time, the design overall trends closer and closer to something we've seen before. However, if it can't compete with the mouse and keyboard, there's no way the Steam Controller will become the standard input (or even an ideal alternative) for PC gaming in the living room. If that's the case, either PC gaming will remain at the desk or the mouse and keyboard will find a way to fit in on the couch. The only thing that's certain, at this point at least, is Valve is willing to think outside of the (orange) box. … Alex Roth originally contributed this hands on review

ARM unveils small-but-powerful Cortex-A72 CPU Posted: 24 Apr 2015 12:14 PM PDT ARM has revealed more details on its next generation of its high-performance CPU in the shape of the Cortex-A72 designed for mobile devices. The company used its annual Tech Day event to introduce the replacement for the Cortex-A57 that will bring faster and more efficient performance into a CPU that is much smaller than its older brother, according to Ars Technica. Less is more when it comes to ARM's new range and it claims that the smaller area and reduced power consumption results in a clock speed of 2.7GHz that is around 10% higher than the A57's 2.5GHz. That's not all as it also offers an 18-30% better performance per watt score than the A57. "Our focus on A72 was to achieve next-gen performance and pull a ton of power out of the design. We did that in spades," said Mike Filippo, ARM's chief architect for Cortex-A72. Firmly targeted at the 14nm and 16nm next gen process nodes, ARM has also engineered branch prediction that outperforms the A57 by 20%, a completely reworked 3-way L1 cache and a much smaller, reorganised dispatch unit. Flattened by Broadwell What we really want to know is how is stands up against Intel's Broadwell CPU and, according to ARM, it isn't good when there's power by the bucket load and in that instance it was firmly trounced by Intel's chip. Although when the power and thermal envelope are dulled down the Cortex-A72 almost catches up with the Core M. That's according to ARM's figures at least. We first heard about the Cortex-A72 back in February and ARM predicts that the first 16nm FinFET mobile SoCs with the CPU on board will ship at some point in 2016. Check it out: Who wants to squeeze ARM out of server market?

This was the one and only Apple Watch launch line in the US today Posted: 24 Apr 2015 12:02 PM PDT Behold, this is an extremely rare sighting: an Apple Watch launch line, a species once thought to be entirely extinct. In their natural habitat, a sidewalk outside of a posh storefront, these Apple consumers laid in wait for up to 25 hours to prey on the first iPhone-compatible smartwatch from Apple. Ironically, the Apple Watch battery life wouldn't have lasted the entire time if they had been wearing one. We caught up with the one remaining herd in the US outside of Maxfield Los Angeles, a fancy Chanel Fashion store in Hollywood, where they braved the high Apple Watch price. The leader of the pack, Richard Ryan of Tennessee, said he arrived at 8:00 am the previous morning. The store didn't open its doors until 9:00 am today, coinciding with the Apple Watch release date. Ryan said he ended up with the stainless steel Apple Watch, noting that he would have gotten an 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition for his YouTube channel if it was available. This store had the Sport and normal Watch available. Apple Watch launch subdued and unusual There are only six stores worldwide selling the Apple Watch today, and none of them are an official Apple Store. Other cities include Tokyo, London, Paris, Berlin and Milan. Like Maxfield, all are upscale fashion locations everyday Apple fans don't shop at. Most pre-orders went through the Apple Store online and shipped starting today. There were about 250 people in line when this Los Angeles store opened, a fraction of count we saw all over the country when the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launched last year. Maxfield employees tried to drum up the excitement, but they were no Geniuses at it. None would confirm how many units were in stock, either. Apple has hinted that this subdued launch launch is a temporary policy, which is good news for Apple diehards who want to camp for the iPhone 7. See all 38 Apple Watch bands in this handy guide

How to reclaim 5 missing features on the Galaxy S6 Posted: 24 Apr 2015 12:01 PM PDT Intro and storage Since Samsung launched its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge flagships, users have bemoaned the company's decision to remove advance features like a memory card slot, removable battery and waterproofing. In addition to the three features above that did not make the cut in the transition from last year's Galaxy S5 to this year's Galaxy S6, Samsung also dropped support for USB on-the-go (USB OTG) and MHL. The former feature allows business users to access USB flash drives and connect peripherals like keyboards and mice to their phones for enhanced productivity on the go, while the latter allows the phone to connect to an external display or projector. Even though these features may be gone on the Galaxy S6, you can still regain expandable storage, add battery power, take the Galaxy S6 for a swim, project your display and expand your productivity with these simple solutions: 1. Reclaim your storage Just because Samsung ditched the microSD card on the Galaxy S6, you don't need to buy the costly edition with 128GB of storage built-in. A convenient way to access, store and save files is the cloud. With cloud solutions - such as Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox and Box - users will always have access to their documents, photos and videos wherever they have access to the internet. If you like to document your workflow through photos, most of these services include automatic photo backup over Wi-Fi or 3G/4G. For local storage solutions, wireless drives are a great option. You won't have to worry about the cloud being hacked, and even in the basement of your office building where no wireless signal can penetrate, you'll still be able to access your most important documents or treasured photos. Essentially, a wireless drive creates an ad-hoc wireless network and transforms itself to a battery-powered, portable media streamer. Examples of wireless drive include 32GB SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive ($80, £65, AU$103), the 16GB SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive ($50, £40, AU$65), the 500GB Seagate Wireless Mobile Storage ($100, £67, AU$128) and the 2TB Western Digital Wireless MyPassport Drive ($200, £133, AU$257). With the SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive, you even expand the built-in memory of the drive with an SD card. For high capacity, you can even use SanDisk's 200GB capacity microSD card, with adapter, to the media drive. That's more than six times the capacity of the 32GB Galaxy S6 on the memory card alone. Best of all, you can add and swap multiple memory cards to grow your storage needs on a wireless media drive. Using a wireless drive means you'll have to charge the battery on your Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge every night, and also the battery on your media streaming device. For the added effort, however, if you carry multiple devices, you'll be able to simultaneously share and access the contents on the wireless drive with a phone, tablet and laptop. Road warriors can meet in a hotel conference room and they will all be able to access the files on the drive. Many of these drives can stream content to a maximum of ten devices simultaneously. This means I can listen to stored music, my colleagues can watch a video file, while an editor at TechRadar can view photos and other documents on the drive at the same time. Battery, waterproofing 2. Refuel and reduce range anxiety External battery packs and battery charging cases for smartphones have made the removable battery an obsolete requirement for long work days. Although a removable battery, a battery pack and a battery charging case all serve the same purpose to charge your smartphone and reduce range anxiety when you're away from a power outlet, there are benefits to having external batteries. Having a removable battery on the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 are convenient, as I am able to slip a spare battery into my pocket and keep the form factor unaffected. However, when I need to swap batteries, my workflow is interrupted. This means the phone powers off, my call is terminated and all my apps vanish. With an external battery pack or a battery case, it's more like having hot-swappable batteries on laptops. Just before the internal battery is depleted, I can just plug in the external battery or switch on the battery on my charging case, and I can keep going - my calls won't terminate when the internal battery depletes and my apps won't vanish on me. I can continue to "hot swap" my batteries as well if I have multiple battery packs or charging cases. Samsung's 3,100mAh battery pack, which provides more than a full charge to the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge, costs $15 (£10, AU$20) on Amazon, and there are a range of third-party cases from a variety of different manufacturers in different capacities. Larger battery cases are less portable, but come with a higher mAh rating, which could deliver two, three, or even ten times the charge of a normal smartphone. Mophie's Juice Pack typically runs around $100 (£70, AU$130), depending on capacity, and offers between 80% to 120% of the device's charge. A Juice Pack not only offers extra battery life, but it also adds impact protection to the device. Similar to a hard case for a phone, battery cases like the Juice Pack can also shield the device from minor drops. Amazon, eBay, and other resellers also carry Mophie alternatives - most are made in China, so quality will vary - that are more modestly priced, but lack Mophie's brand recognition. These start at around $30 (£20, AU$40). Still, given the built-in wireless charging capabilities of the Galaxy S6, a third option is to carry a Qi-enabled battery. These are more expensive than battery packs, but they're convenient, as you don't need to also carry a charging cable for your phone. About the size of a small, flat brick, Qi-enabled batteries have wireless charging built in so you can set your phone on top of the battery, and your Galaxy S6 will automatically begin charging. Various after-market solutions are available on Amazon and start at $30 (£20, AU$40). The LUXA2 comes with Qi built-in and a 10,000mAh capacity battery for $70 (£45, AU$90). That's almost four times the 2,600mAh capacity of the battery in the Galaxy S6. 3. Conquer aquaphobia Even though the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge do not have the water resistant rating of last year's Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S5 Active models, early consumer tests show that a splash or two won't hurt. If you're more accident-prone, then a waterproof case will be a great option to conquer your fear of water. It might be easier to find a custom-fitted waterproof case for the Galaxy S6 than a Galaxy S6 Edge given the latter's dual curved screen edges. Lifeproof, which has been a popular option for iPhone users, will release a version of its waterproof case for the Galaxy S6. The $80 (£55, AU$105) Lifeproof Fre for the Galaxy S6 offers a hard case for impact resistance in case the phone is dropped onto a hard surface and comes with internal rubber gaskets to seal the phone off from liquid environments. I've used prior versions of Lifeproof's solution on older iPhone models, and they're great for the pools in summer, perfect for reading ebooks with my iPad in the bathtub, and excellent for those who have butterfingers, in case you want to rescue a fallen phone from the sink or toilet. There are also less expensive third-party options on Amazon and eBay, but quality will vary. The water resistant SUP case for the Galaxy S6, priced at $20 (£15, AU$25), seems to be getting high reviews on Amazon currently. Another place to search would be eBay. A potential downside with many of these cases is that they come with a screen film, which could degrade the sensitivity of your touchscreen. Another issue is that they cover the ports, making them difficult to access, and the speaker may be covered so audio output may be muffled. For the Galaxy S6 Edge, a waterproof pouch may be your only option. I've used these before for kayaking and rafting, and they do the job of keeping my gadgets dry, but lack the elegance of a form-fitted case. Many of these pouches retail for under $20 (£15, AU$25) on Amazon, and you should do your research to find trusted sellers and brands. The most important thing is to test the pouches first before placing your phone in it and submerging your $600 (£400, AU$775) investment into water. MHL and USB OTG alternatives 4. Project what you see Even though Samsung ditches MHL on the Galaxy S6, connecting your smartphone to a larger display is still an easy task with the right accessories. With a $30 (£20, AU$40) Chromecast, you can project your phone's display wirelessly, without the tangles of cords and adapters, to a larger screen. You'll be able to mirror your phone's screen to get a larger projector, large display, or TV. The Chromecast dongle is highly portable and setup is a breeze. Many offices are now equipping their televisions with Chromecast, but if yours doesn't, you can slip one into your briefcase or bag for travel. If you need a more permanent solution for your office or conference room, Android TV is a great option. As a set-top box, Android TV delivers more functionality than Chromecast, but is less mobile. Devices like the Nexus Player ($99, £65, AU$130) and the Nvidia Shield ($199, £130, AU$255) to run apps, stream video and play games on your TV in addition to projecting the content on your phone to your TV. Additionally, for HDTVs that come with wireless display support, Galaxy S6 users can also mirror their screens using Miracast technology without any dongles or boxes attached. Ultimately, with your Galaxy S6 connected wirelessly to a display via Chromecast, and with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse attached, you have a mobile, pocket-sized workstation where you can create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and slides, edit photos and trim videos, reply to emails and manage your digital files. 5. Extend your productivity On the Galaxy S5, a USB OTG dongle allowed me to plug in a USB keyboard, mouse or flash drive, essentially turning my smartphone into a mini computer. However, the feature has been removed on the Galaxy S6, but you can still find solutions that offer comparable functionality to accessing files on a USB flash drive or connecting PC peripherals. One solution is to use a portable wireless media streamer. With this alternative, users can plug their flash drives into the media streamer. Once plugged in, you'll be able to connect your Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge over an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network to the streamer to access the contents of your USB flash drive. If you have multiple devices, many media streamers can stream to multiple devices so you and your colleagues can collaborate and work off of the same files on the same flash drive with a single media streamer. It's like a portable personal hotspot to connect to your files, rather than the mobile internet. Kingston's MobileLite G2 ($35, £40, AU$65) on Amazon is one example of a media streamer, allowing you to plug in either a USB flash drive or a memory card to share files. The SanDisk Wireless Connect Flash Drive ($50, £40, AU$65) is more like a traditional USB flash drive, but comes with wireless capabilities built-in. It has a full-size USB tip so you can connect the drive to a PC or Mac to transfer or share files over a "wired" connection, and then you can share those files to your phones and tablets over a Wi-Fi signal. With Bluetooth HID support on Android, users do not have to plug a wired USB keyboard mouse if they want a PC-like experience to type out documents or quickly respond to emails. Conclusion Conclusion Even though it may seem that the Samsung Galaxy S6 seems to be "lacking" many prosumer features, the reality is that we're moving toward a world that is increasingly dependent on wireless technologies. Wireless media drives are replacing USB OTG, Chromecast is leaving MHL in the past and wireless flash drives add utility to storage by making content sharable between local devices. Connected wirelessly to a Chromecast on a large HDTV or projector, the Galaxy S6 becomes the ultimate mobile workstation when you add in a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, set it on top of a wireless battery charger and pair a wireless flash drive for expandable storage. In this vein, the Galaxy S6 is doing for Android what the MacBook is for the notebook. Both represent a bold leap into the future of mobile computing by abandoning legacy support. Even though it may take an additional year or two to change mindsets, wireless is playing an increasingly important role for mobile storage, power and expansion. Read our review of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge

Google Glass 2 is coming soon, and it should be très chic Posted: 24 Apr 2015 11:28 AM PDT The biggest rumor we've heard about the next Google Glass is that it will look less like a robot's monocle and more like normal glasses, but that might not be entirely true. In fact, Google Glass 2 might actually be designed by Italian eyewear maker Luxottica, which could make the wearable look like a very fancy pair of glasses and not a normal one at all. This news comes straight from Luxottica CEO Massimo Vian, who said in Milan that its new Google Glass will be out soon, reports the Wall Street Journal. That's far more specific than the last concrete word we got on Google Glass's future, when the company promised that the next version of Glass will appear "when it's ready." We also heard that a second-gen Glass headset was being tested by a select few all the way back in February, but there was no hint of Luxottica's involvement until now. Glass hasn't yet made a splash with any but the most hardcore tech fans, but the eyewear designer could provide just the spark it needs to catch on. Provided Google can sort out some of its other issues, at least. The Apple Watch has arrived

Updated: Google Maps has just turned into one big Apple troll fest Posted: 24 Apr 2015 11:15 AM PDT Earlier today if you headed into Google Maps and look for the city of Rawlpindi in Pakistan you'd have found a rather strange image. Just to the south of the city stood the iconic Android robot logo peeing on its main competitor, the Apple logo. Though it's located in a base terrain area, which the public shouldn't be able to edit, Google said in a statement (see below) that the addition was "user-created content." If you headed east for a couple of miles you'd also have found an image that stated "Google review policy is crap" with a sad face to the side. Now the internet is ablaze with those hunting for more hidden messages from the hacker but so far nothing else has been found. The images you see here have been removed. Update: Google said soz for the images in a statement sent to the Washington Post, and indicated a user created them, not an employee. "We're sorry for this inappropriate user-created content; we're working to remove it quickly," Google's Mara Harris wrote in an email to the publication. "We also learn from these issues, and we're constantly improving how we detect, prevent and handle bad edits." This case seems to be an outlier as Harris wrote most users editing Google Maps come up with "great contributions." Some would argue this is pretty great in its own right. Check out Edward Snowden's new shop in the White House according to Google Maps.

In Depth: All 63 major Apple Watch apps to download at launch Posted: 24 Apr 2015 10:11 AM PDT Apple Watch apps list Your formerly naked wrist is about to be weighed down by these 63 Apple Watch apps, just dozens of the 1,000 WatchKit apps currently in development. The official Apple Watch app list includes 20 built-in apps by Apple, made specifically for its iPhone-compatible smartwatch, and another 43 apps by top-name developers. The Apple Watch is now officially on sale, so we explored we explore how Twitter, Nike, Evernote, Siri and more apps look and function behind 38mm and 42mm sapphire glass, and if any of them are worth that steep Apple Watch price. Messaging apps Messages Messages are about to become a whole lot easier to respond to or ignore, as they move from the hip (your iPhone in your pocket) to the wrist with Apple Watch. It flashes iMessages and text messages onto the wearable OLED, immediately telling you if it's the one you've been eagerly awaiting for a whole internet 10 seconds, or some marketing promo you signed up for, but haven't responded "STOP" to yet. Responding with your voice cuts down on the autocorrect typos. Dropping your current location into the message makes "Where are you?" responses obsolete too. Phone Full-time Apple CEO and part-time Dick Tracy wannabe Tim Cook said that he's wanted to make and receive phone calls on this wristwatch since he was five years old. It's one of the few major differences in our Apple Watch vs Android Wear comparison. No, talking to your wrist isn't the ideal way to carry on a conversation, but quick access to loved ones in tight situations - when driving a car or holding a baby - make it convenient. Just seeing who is calling with the flick of your wrist makes it a worthy app. Mail Cut through the junk mail and surface the important conversations with email alerts on Apple Watch. The mail app includes the ability to scrolls through your inbox and read full messages. This is where the side-mounted Digital Crown really comes in handy, allowing you to scroll while reading an unobstructed screen. Is a message worth responding to? Flag it send or beam it to your iPhone for a proper response. Not worth your time? Send it to Apple Watch's surely-eco-friendly virtual trash bin. Calendar When is your next appointment? What's your day look like? Why do you have to pull out your phone and unlock it every time there's a new meeting to RSVP to? I'm never not there. Can't I just respond if I'm not going to be there? Apple Watch's calendar app keeps nuisance questions like this at arms length. Glancing at the appointment times and details like location make your day-to-day a little easier to manage. Plus, whenever someone asks what your day looks like for and you're not in a good mood, you can simply say, "Talk to the wrist." Fitness and map apps Activity Tim Cook recently said that "sitting is the new cancer," so it's only fitting that Apple Watch's Activity app reminds you about your movement and, too often, non-movement. Three colorful rings make up its interface, and they're hard to ignore as they capture your steps, exercise minutes and sedentary moments in real time. Calories burned since midnight is another stat calculated one menu deeper. Yes, it's basic compared to the cheaper Fitbit Surge, but more colorful than the lackluster Google Fit ecosystem. Workout When you're moving and you really mean it, Workout is the Apple Watch app that steps up with coaching capabilities. It tracks running, walking and cycling in real time with stats for time, distance, calories, pace and speed. In short, the difference between the Activity and Workout app is analogous to the difference between an activity tracker and more robust fitness tracker. We'll be sure to put Workout and the heart rate monitor through their paces in our final Apple Watch review. Maps Clutching a flashy iPhone to look at directions isn't always advisable in every neighborhood, especially one you're not familiar with. Peaking at an Apple Watch's turn-by-turn directions instead is a little less obvious and a little safer. Yes, it uses Apple Maps, but that means it's also initiated by Siri and searches nearby restaurants, gas stations and stores. Apple Watch Maps also taps you on the wrist so that you subtly know to turn left or right. Constantly glaring at the screen is no longer necessary. Passbook Passbook on the iPhone is great - when it works. However, at the airport, I'm typically toting a just-passable carry-on suitcase, being weighed down by an electronics-filled laptop backpack and violently shoving my pockets' gadgets into these stuffed bags due to a lack of TSA bins. The last thing I want to do is navigate to the lockscreen for Passbook. It requires stopping my current phone activity, locking the phone, waking it up and sliding to open the Passbook lockscreen menu item. Passbook on Apple Watch solves this dilemma, and it's also good for movie tickets, sports tickets and even paying for things through Apple Pay. Info at a glance Siri Siri reminds me of the Apple Watch itself. The much-hyped personal assistant was met with skepticism and some considered it an immediate "flop." However, it's not meant to run your entire life like a human secretary. It's great in more subtle ways, like setting a timer for cooking or doing laundry, or calling Home hands-free. All of those Siri benefits come to Apple Watch without the hassle of locating your phone for the same menu-heavy tasks. You don't even need to tap the smartwatch. Simply saying "Hey Siri, call Home" works, as if your iPhone is plugged in (an unfortunate requirement of the "Hey Siri" feature on the phone). Weather Meteorologists may not always be correct, but the Weather app on Apple Watch at least looks fancier than the interface of rival smartwatches. The forecast is arranged like a watch face, with the conditions, temperature and chance of rain on an 11-hour dial. This Apple Watch app uses location data to check the weather of the city you're standing in, but it can also see the forecast around the world. Siri helps out with that too. Stocks Apple Watch comes with a built-in Stocks app with three key menus. There's a list of your favorite stocks that display each company's market share and daily percentage change. Tapping into a company reveals drilled-down information, like its highs and lows. Sliding up a specific stock reveals a stock graph. It displays performance for the day, week, month or six months. The graph stops there. Beyond that, elite traders need to fetch their diamond studded iPhone to widen the chart. Settings There's nothing incredibly glamorous about the Apple Watch settings menu, but like Google's Android Wear menu, it has options to enable and disable Airplane mode and Bluetooth. There's also a way to set Do Not Disturb and mute. What has to be the standout feature of this often-underappreciated menu is the ability to ping your lost iPhone. I'st a whole lot easier to do it from an always-with-you Apple Watch than to borrow a friend's phone and log into the Find My iPhone app. Multimedia apps Music Apple is often at the intersection of technology and music, as much as the founders of Tidal dislike that thought. So it's no surprise that Apple Watch expands the iTunes ecosystem by letting you control the music on your iPhone. Better yet, you can leave it at home by storing some of your songs on the smartwatch itself. That's right: Apple Watch works without an iPhone in a few cases. Through a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones, you can listen to about 2GB of music on the go. That's around 200 songs, plenty for a 10K marathon. Remote Pump up the volume to the main speakers in your house with Remote, an Apple Watch app designed for Apple TV, and Mac and PC iTunes programs. Scroll through your entire iTunes library using the digital crown and remotely select and skip songs, playlists and videos. The Remote app is a good replacement to that way-too-tiny Apple TV remote. It's been lost in my couch cushions for several months. RIP Apple TV remote. Camera Remote Some of the best DSLR cameras can be controlled remotely with an iPhone app, so why not control your iPhone camera app with its own remote gadget? After all, it is the most used camera in the world. That's exactly what Apple Watch delivers with the handy Camera Remote app. It beams the iSight camera of the iPhone to your wrist, complete with a live preview of what the iPhone sees. That's perfect for distant phones, especially if your eyes are going bad because you've been staring at a smartphone for far too many years. Photos Photos on the Apple Watch don't make much sense to me yet. It's far too small at 42mm and even smaller at 38mm, but there's an app for that anyway. It involves using the digital crown to zoom into individual images from a gallery, and swiping to move through a slideshow. I'm always looking to AirPlay my iPhone photos to an Apple TV with a larger display to show a group of friends, or immediately publish them to the web for an even larger group of friends (the internet). With a restriction of just 75 MB for photos without an iPhone, this app may be the first one I delete. Clock apps Timer Let's contrast something. Setting a phone's timer for a midnight snack cooking in the oven seems like a good idea. Then the timer goes off for a solid minute in an otherwise silent house because, surprise, you left your phone in another room! Apple Watch straps the alarm to your wrist and the digital crown sets the right time. Siri also helps out, expanding upon one of my favorite uses for Apple's personal assistant. Alarm Alarm apps are nothing new, but this Apple Watch app makes it easier to set and dismiss the nuisance-sounds you bring onto yourself. It lets you manage, label and edit multiple alarms right from your wrist and allows you to import existing iPhone alarm times. The app uses the digital crown to cycle to your desired wake up time, and it wisely separates the AM and PM on the top left and top right sides of the watch. Stopwatch Apple Watch finds a way to make its Stopwatch app at least a little bit exciting vs the default Android Wear app. It gives picky users the choice of digital, analog and a everyone-pleasing hybrid view. It also throws in a graph view, which charts previously-boring, and still-fairly-boring, lap times at the bottom of the OLED. This real-time chart provides a nice rising visual and displays the average lap time to boot. World Clock World clock needs to come to an Apple Watch face near you. It's a fine-looking app on its own, but one in which Apple asks, "Doing business in another time zone? Calling a friend overseas?" Of course! That's exactly why this should be a default watch face, not just an app. Traveling internationally demands that this. Having ventured to Barcelona last month, I was caught texting home at odd hours of the night in Los Angeles. How great would it be to have this running on the Watch face (or iPhone lockscreen screen) at all times? Social and sharing Apple is also promoting 43 third-party apps from key partners like Twitter, American Airlines and Nike. They will be available through its App Store in time for the Apple Watch launch along with the 1,000 other apps submitted by developers. Twitter Twitter is a lightweight social media network, so why not have a lightweight Apple Watch app to go with those 140 character tweets? Okay, there's one reason why not. Those audible notifications sound and "gentle taps" for every new tweet are bound to get annoying, just like the iPhone app's high-pitched tweet-sound notification. But disabling that, I like the idea of checking the timeline and trending topics, and receiving direct messages, retweet and favorite alerts. Instagram There's no official Facebook app for Apple Watch, but its filter-friendly photo and video network lets you browse your feed and favorite photos with the a double tap on the Force Touch screen. When someone hearts your posts or tags you in a new picture, that notification is sent to your wrist. Apple Watch is the fastest way to know you want to untag yourself in a picture. You also can leave comments - in the form of emojis. Remember, there's no on-screen keyboard for Apple Watch - yet. Evernote Evernote for Apple Watch makes a lot of sense, especially for those moments I have what I truly believe is a brilliant thought, but no way to write it down in an instant. It's the now fastest way to do just that thanks to the smartwatch's built-in microphone. Dictation is far and away its biggest feature, but the app also lets you review recent notes, reminders and find what you've jotted down based on your current location. eBay Selling off everything you own to afford a classier Apple Watch? This miniaturized eBay app may come in handy. No, you can't fully communicate with prospective customers and answer the annoying questions that you already answered in the description. But, so far, it lets you scout your watched auctions and relays outbid notices. Fun fact: the Apple-provided photo includes a pair of Beats earbuds, as the company now owns the Dr. Dre-founded music service. If you're not going to by them at the Apple Store, might as well get them on eBay. Travel apps Expedia Expedia is more than just a travel site with a catchy jingle. It's also on the cutting-edge with an Apple Watch app that provides a detailed itinerary on your wrist. Have a flight to catch? See the gate, terminal and time information at a glance. What's the hotel check-in and, more importantly check out time? The hotel address and phone number are here too, so don't dive into your email for it. Of course, this all requires you to book through Expedia. Otherwise the app is pretty useless. TripAdvisor The Apple Watch app for TripAdvisor lets you explore new destinations once you deplane or check into that hotel. The site is filled with smart user reviews and best of lists, and I expect the same on a 38mm and 42mm display in a simplified interface. Without a proper Yelp app for Apple's smartwatch at launch, it may be your best bet for finding nearby restaurants, sights and tourist hotspots without taking out your phone in unfamiliar territory. American Airlines American Airlines is the first US airline with an Apple Watch app, which almost makes up for my multiple flight delays leaving MWC 2015 last month. Almost. In addition to all of the usual gate and departure time notifications, it beams critical info: gate changes, connection and baggage claim information to the watch. It also differs from Passbook with flight path map that shows the time remaining until you touch down. Hopefully more airlines follow AA's lead on this one. Starwood Hotels & Resorts One of the world's largest hotel companies has already announced an "early check-in" for the Apple Watch App Store, yet it's a major no-no if you try to check into one of their rooms at noon. Go figure. That's okay, because its SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) app can unlock your door with the watch. Yes, there are other hotel stay details within the app, but not having to pull an unpredictable keycard out of my wallet, with an often-chafed magnetic strip, is the only important detail here. Babbel Babbel bills itself as a fun and easy way to learn a new language online. On Apple Watch, its app displays new words based on your location. The point is to help you learn new words related to food when you're at a restaurant or for travel terms when you're at the airport. Its success depends on how relevant these words are compared to the actually helpful full site. I've been testing it out along with Rosetta Stone on my iPad Air 2, and am picking up some more Spanish to prep for MWC 2016. By then, hopefully the Babbel Apple Watch app is more advanced. Fitness apps Nike+ Running Nike didn't become the Apple's relay partner in creating the iWatch, but, the company did get a headstart on its Nike+ Running app that can calculate your running distance, duration and pace. Friends can cheer you on, just like on the phone app, and it pairs with Bluetooth headphones so you can listen to music on the go. To me, that seems unnecessary. This Apple Watch app requires your phone to be with you to function anyway, and who wants to waste more Apple Watch by streaming music from it? Runtastic Runtastic displays all of the same basic fitness information: speed, distance, duration, pace, even how many calories you've burned. It also requires your iPhone to be on you during runs. However, I've always liked the Runtastic user interface and it should bring the same to Apple Watch with easy to check your stats mid-run. If you're haven't started collecting Nike Fuel points for several years, this may the more straightforward running app to try out. Strava Strava for Apple Watch is a little more detailed and a little more versatile. It has a mode for both runners and bike riders, and includes real-time stats like elevation gain, average speed, distance and heart rate. It has segment-by-segment workout visuals to give you glanceable motivation during long hauls, and promises a trophy whenever you break a personal record. It's going to be one of the few if not the only bike app during Apple Watch's launch window, so it's a must download for twin-tire pedalers. Lifesum Exercising apps for Apple Watch are easy to find, but elusive nutrition apps are going to be harder to download than me sticking to a New Year's resolution diet come Valentine's Day. Lifesum motivates you to skip that celebratory chocolate and other high calorie meals. It's all about picking the right foods and portions. I also like its easy-to-tap water gauge to check off how far along I am on downing eight glasses of H2O a day. Sports and city apps ESPN Stuck in a meeting and missing the big game? You can at least keep an eye on the score with ESPN's app that features breaking sports news and the ability to follow specific games. Real-time scores and player stats go as far as detailing who is up at bat or in the red zone. No word on if it'll alert you when broadcasters have been suspended for saying something stupid on-air or athletes get arrested for doing something reckless. MLB.com at Bat Baseball fans can get even better MLB stats from the official MLB.com at Bat app for Apple Watch. It promises "subtle notifications," which include following just your favorite teams, not all 30 teams. Best of all, you won't need to shell out for an MLB.tv subscription after cleaning out for savings for the Apple Watch price. The day goes by a lot easier with pitch-by-pitch updates, Webgem-worthy text highlights and live scores beamed right to your non-throwing hand wrist. PayByPhone Parking Apple Watch apps that get me the most excited are the clutch ones that get you out of terrible first-world binds. Case in point, PayByPhone Parking lets you pay a meter without having to go back to your car. You can always keep on eye on the time remaining in case want to skip dessert and avoid putting more money into the virtual meter in the first place. Downloading this free smartwatch app beats paying a crummy parking ticket and that feeling when you first see one stuck to your windshield. Citymapper We're still - somehow - waiting for public transit directions from Apple Maps - hopefully in iOS 9. Until then, Citymapper lays out the fastest route using bus and train information. It has enough room on the Apple Watch display to list the next three arrivals and uses the Taptic engine to nudge you when you're at your stop. That's really handy on long commutes, where Apple Maps doesn't give us any guidance. At home apps BMW iRemote Hyundai's Blue Link app for Android Wear proves that car makers are interested in letting you start your vehicle from a smartwatch, but for now you'll have to settle for lighter Apple Watch apps, like this one from BMW. It allows you to see if you're doors are locked, view service reminders and see how far along a charge is on an electric BMWi. Doing all of this may deplete your non-energy efficient Apple Watch. Bonus: Cabin temperature can also be adjusted via the Watch. Honeywell Lyric Whether or not the popular Nest thermostat ever works with Apple Watch remains to be seen. The company is now a part of Google. However, the Honeywell Lyric Apple Watch app makes the same functions available for Honeywell's similar products. It asks you if you want to set the thermostat to "I'm away mode" when far from the house, and it auto-adjusts conditions back to normal when you get closer to home sweet home. It can save you on your energy bill now that you're powered your smartwatch nightly. Lutron Caseta Another Apple Watch energy saver comes from Lutron Caseta. It controls lights in your home wirelessly, just like the iPhone app as long as you have the company's switch equipment installed on your home. Whether you're nestled in on the couch and too lazy to get up, or legitimately on vacation and forgot to turn off the lights, the smartwatch app makes it a easy to get the job done. It'll even send you a notification giving you the option to turn them off remotely if you leave them on and blanked. Green Kitchen Apple Watch could become an all-star cooking companion thanks to instruction-filled apps like Green Kitchen that can be followed mess-free. It's designed for healthy, organic recipes and there's less chance of olive oil-filled smudges on this out-of-reach wristwatch than on my iPad Air 2 or MacBook keyboard. While the LifeSum app lets you track your healthy food intake, Green Kitchen tells you how to make it all. Out and about apps OpenTable Dinner reservations are a pain to remember the day of, especially when you booked a table through OpenTable several days in advance. However, this app gives you a reminder at arms length with upcoming reservation details and a map that explains how to get to the restaurant. It's much better than digging for an email or a slightly easier to access vs reaching for the phone app. Booking a new table or making changes to an existing reservation still requires your phone, though. Target There's nothing more daunting than wandering into a big department store like Target, looking for a single item, like, say, a needle, in its many isles, aka haystacks. That's where the Target Apple Watch app becomes a worthy shopping partner. It lets you view your shopping list and tells you where to find items in a jiffy. It should also help you stick to your list and not wander aimlessly into the video game isle to demo the latest and greatest. Sky Guide Miss the last lunar eclipse? Didn't even know there was one in some parts of the world? Sky Guide is always on hand with astronomical events. From the basics like full moons to rare events like meteor showers, it remembers to watch the skies for you while you're busy looking down at your shiny new smartwatch everyday. As an added bonus, it lets you tweet at International Space Station when they're overhead. No word on whether or not you can send them your heartbeat via Apple Watch yet. Dark Sky Dark Sky is an iOS weather app that uses technology to predict whether it will rain or snow, down to the minute. You just might have enough time to drive furiously to get that last carton of milk in the store. Having this information on the wrist is obviously a plus. Of course, you don't need to wait for a notification to see if the weather is going to turn. The Apple Watch app allows users to look several days ahead too. Fandango I used Fandango on my phone to reserve movie tickets for Furious 7 over the weekend and it worked flawlessly - except for the nagging service fee. It beat standing in a 100-person line and nabbing the best seats. I gamed the system. Having the stubs on my wrist would've helped me carry a popcorn, large soda and hotdog back to my seat, without me nearly spilling everything. I swear, it wasn't all for me, and the popcorn was a medium, by the way. Work apps Mayo Clinic Synthesis Fit for doctors who can afford the gold Apple Watch Edition price, the Mayo Clinic Synthesis is a narrowly tailored app that lets busy M.D.'s manage their daily schedule and alerts them of patients waiting in the lobby. Time to make them move from a big waiting room to the next, smaller waiting room. Also available through this Watch app in basic patient information: their age, sex and weight. Not available is a list of excuses as to why you can't take their health insurance. Sorry, doc. Redfin This real estate app for Apple Watch lets customers browse listings, view photos and scroll through the neighborhood map. It also managed to fit in key data, like prices, number of bedrooms, square footage and days on the market. All of this sounds easier to do on an iPhone, especially when you're thinking about making a big decision like bidding on a house, but it's one of the major apps ready to download on day one. Salesforce Wave Most Apple Watch apps are consumer-focused, but if there's going to be some enterprise software here, it might as well be from the popular, but not-yet-profitable Salesforce. Its customer relationship manager gives you an overview of your business analytics, so CRM data like your company's top 10 sales opportunities are viewable with the flick of your wrist. Your one step closer to never leaving work, but unlike Salesforce, may turn a profit. Procreate Pocket This Apple Watch app isn't what it sounds like at first. It's all about creating new art on the iPhone and using the Apple Watch as a remote color palette. It's a 21st century update to the old-fashioned wooden handheld color mixer. The watch app also has buttons like undoing mistakes, erasing mistakes and add effects that are usually the source of your big mistake. All of these buttons, relocated on the Watch, clear the iPhone app's interface for extra canvas space. Finance and to do list apps Mint Personal Finance Mint is one of the best personal finance trackers on iOS and Android, yet it's not available for any of the Google-based smartwatches running Android Wear. Instead, we've had to take a chance on an app called Level. Good news: Mint is coming to Apple Watch with an app that tracks monthly spending goals and helps you keep within a budget. It'll be like a deliberate shock every time you make a purchase. This is a must-have following for froogle folks who dropped money for the Apple Watch pre-order. CommitTo3 The idea behind this to do list app is fascinating. It requires writing down just three core tasks for the day and sharing them with a team, usually coworkers or friends doing the same thing. Everyone sees each other's progress, leading to more motivation. It works on the web, and the smartwatch may act as a handcuff-like reminder that your goals need to be met. Apple Watch is just an easier way to tick off "commits" and see how everyone else on the team is doing. Invoice2go Job time-tracking apps are wonderful, but I often forget to start the timer. Invoice2go remedies this fatal flaw thanks to geofencing technology and a hard-to-miss notification as soon as your arrive at the job site. Clocking in is a little bit easier with the Apple Watch app, though it still requires an iPhone to work, edit times and send that invoice at the end of the day. There's no automated way to get out of that part of the job with an Apple Watch. CitiMobile Lite Citi is one of the first major banks with an Apple Watch app. No, you can't make deposits or withdraws with Citi Mobile Lite, but the app lets you track your checking, savings and credit card balances. The smartwatch app can display the detailed information about your last five transactions, and it watch vibrates whenever your card is used online or in stores. This, again, is part-security and part-shock therapy every time you make a purchase. News and kids apps NPR One Done with "Serial" podcast and looking for a new NPR addiction? The non-profit US public radio network lets you search for shows on Apple Watch using dictation and then control their playback functionality using the touchscreen. It also imports all of your old iPhone playlists, so the news and stories you love to listen to are ready to go on as soon as the Apple Watch launches. Old-school radio meets the latest technology in this must-download app. CNN On television, CNN is a little overly obsessed with telling stories using over-the-top computer graphics, but on Apple Watch, it serves up classic breaking news headlines. The app features 12 categories from which you can receive alerts. It uses similar notifications cards that were beamed to my eye using the same app for Google Glass. Beyond easy-to-read-and-dismiss headlines, this smartwatch app lets you tap to either save a story or open it up in full on an iPhone. New York Times The New York Times app has all the news that's fit to print on a small 38mm or 42mm Apple Watch. In other words, it lets you swipe through breaking news headlines and little else. It does incorporate the Apple's useful Handoff feature to read the rest of the story an iPhone or iPad, or like the popular Pocket app, tap "Save for Later" to stash it for later reading. Basically, letting you see if it's a worthy headline is this the function of this Apple Watch app. PlayKids Thankfully, this isn't a kids app that attracts them to your expensive watch. It's actually a way to get them off your iPhone and iPad, which they have already taken over. If they're watching a PlayKids video, the watch remotely forces them to take break, or sends them a "special message" - something you type in, like "Time has expired on the iPad. Commence brushing your teeth. -Santa." That usually works. Game and music apps Don't expect Apple Watch sales to be boosted by game apps like the iPad and iPhone before it. Android Wear has a small share of serviceable games, like adorable Flappy Bird spin-off, Floppy Droid. But they're nothing special. Of course, that hasn't stopped app developers from trying to make the first batch of Apple Watch games. Rules A cutesy brain teaser game, Rules is an Apple Watch app that features speed-intensive puzzles. It's the perfect game when you're waiting in line in real life and have nothing else to do for two minutes - it has just 10 daily stages. At the end of the 10 puzzles in a score and keeps track of your stats, so it's kind of important not to mess up this quiz-on-a-wrist. Expect more, simple games like this on the Apple Watch through its launch window. BoxPop Apple Watch games have to stay simple, and that's exactly what BoxPop does. It's inspired by chess, with L-shaped paths that a knight is allowed to take, but there are no chess pieces here. The game is a lot simpler than chess, however. It's all about ridding the grid of one-dimensional boxes throughout 40 increasingly complicated levels. Although the premise is a little odd, having played the iOS and Android version, it's strangely addicting in short bursts. Amplifi Remote Apple Watch apps can be narrowly focused, as evidenced by the Amplifi Remote. It lets you connect with the hybrid Amplifi Bluetooth speaker-guitar amp, a guitar gadget that is sold in the Apple Store among other places. It plays guitar tuning sounds from the watch instead of the iOS app. It's meant for weeding out sharp and flat notes with the right levels. Pacemaker DJ Apple Watch may be the world's smallest mixer thanks to this Pacemaker DJ app. The developer's inventive Autopilot DJ feature, also part of the iPad app with the same name, blends tracks together from iTunes. This allows a DJ to beatskip and loop, even when away from his or her two turntables and microphone. It's good for hosting parties and staying in control of the music, or for mixing it up in the shower. Apple Watch is water-resistant after all. Shazam What's the name of that song again? It's terrible, but I kind of like it and don't want to ask anyone in person. You could ask the now-music-savvy Siri, or go straight to the Shazam app for Apple Watch and cut out the middle-robot. It's a touch-based smartwatch app that still uses the iPhone to listen to the song. However, it shows the song's name, artist and, for some reason, lyrics on your watch.

In Depth: Adapt or die: how TiVo is keeping pace in the age of streaming Posted: 24 Apr 2015 09:41 AM PDT Adapt or die: TiVo People still love TiVo. Subscriptions are up 30% year-over-year which, according a recent company results report, led to the company making more than $7 million in gross profit in the last three months. So what keeps the digital video recording (DVR) company thriving amidst increasing dependence on streaming video and the cable cutter movement? Its ability to adapt, and doing so without alienating the people who bought into TiVo all those years ago. If you're still skeptical, I understand. I was too before I met with Jim Denney, vice president of product marketing at TiVo. In the course of an hour meeting at TiVo's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., we talked at length about the changing state of home entertainment. We also chatted about how content is converging thanks to services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, as well as the consumer's desire to have every show at their fingertips through intelligent search functionality. Finally, we discussed the competition - Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and integrated DVR technology right in your cable box. Nothing dissuaded Denney. TiVo isn't competing with anyone else, he said. TiVo's here to improve your viewing experience, whether that's with a cable provider or an over-the-air antenna, by making it easy to watch what you want to watch, when you want to watch it. And that's what leads me back to my original point: Just why do people - thrifty cord cutters especially - love TiVo so much? Denney broke down four ways TiVo has adapted to the cord-cutting age: It integrates every service you own in one place TiVo, despite what the advertisement on its home screen might lead you to believe, is actually a pretty agnostic system. You're encouraged to connect the services you already pay for (Amazon Prime Instant Video, Netflix and Hulu) with cable or OTA programming for the ultimate repository of cool shows and movies. Once you've got all the account info loaded into the box, searches come back with a robust amount of content rather than an episode here or there. By combining services, TiVo can draw upon more resources when it comes time to recommend new content and help you track down the shows you want to watch. "I don't see us competing with Netflix or Amazon [for consumers], I see us working with them to incorporate that into a broader experience," Denney said. "If you're looking for Netflix, get Netflix. But if you're looking for a service that combines Netflix with the best of live TV, you should get TiVo." OnePass is the ultimate tool for binge-watchers TiVo, through the magic of technology and one heck of a database system, compiles every possible location for a show, whether it's on live TV or streaming on your favorite service, and combines every episode into a single list. This feature, unique to TiVo, is called OnePass. Selecting a show as one of your favorites will tell TiVo to start recording it, but instead of haphazardly collecting every instance of the show, you're able to specify which seasons you're looking for. Say, for instance, you like The Simpsons. You've watched everything up to the fifth season, but have only seen a few episodes from every other season up until now. OnePass would be smart enough to only record episodes from the sixth season on, while simultaneously pointing you to Hulu for the most recent shows. "One of the best offerings for cord cutters around is getting a TiVo OTA, as it will record all of the live content and come with tools like OnePass, alongside subscribing to streaming services like Amazon or Vudu," Denney said. TiVo believes that by subscribing to its service for $14/month for features like OnePass and live recording, tacking on an extra $8 for Netflix and using an antenna for OTA content, users are getting the most content for the least amount of money. "The key is that it's all incorporated in a very easy to use way," he said. "There are other systems that do this, right? But they're not designed to be as easy or as comprehensive in what they include." You can set up recording from anywhere Although it can seem slightly anachronistic at times, TiVo has focused a lot of its attention in the last few years on improving its mobile experience for the thousands of cord cutters that use it. The TiVo app, available on both most Android devices and iPhones and iPads running iOS 7.0 or later, allows you not only to pull up a channel guide while your primary screen is occupied, but also lets you select which shows you'd like to record using the same intuitive control scheme and feature set as the main box, whether you're at home or using an outside network. You can download videos to your mobile device But the mobile app is about more than just finding content or remotely scheduling TiVo to record tonight's episode of The Wire. TiVo lets you actually store full shows on your mobile device for offline viewing and, by transcoding the video stream, allows you to stream directly to a mobile device. In practice this can mean downloading a full season of your favorite sitcom before getting on a plane, or keeping a copy of your kid's go-to TV series on your iPad to entertain them on a long car ride, or when you're at home giving you a second screen when disputes arise on what to watch. Just how popular are these functions? Denney told me that in February, over half the boxes that are capable of transcoding and streaming used that functionality. "So a lot of people are using the out of home recording and in-home transcoding abilities of the device." TiVo units start at $49 with the TiVo Roamio OTA, and require a monthly service fee of $15 a month.

Roundup: The best business apps for your Apple Watch Posted: 24 Apr 2015 09:31 AM PDT The Apple Watch is a polarizing device. You either love it or hate it. Either way, you probably need to get used to seeing it around. With more than 3000 apps available, Apple has developed a ton of utilities for Watch wearers. Included in this long list of apps are several business-focused tools that aim to help improve productivity, organization and communication. We've narrowed the list down to some of the most important ones available, and we'll be sure to continue refining as the list expands. Salesforce for Apple Watch You can't have an enterprise-ready device without somehow tying it back to Salesforce. In partnership with Apple, the CRM giant created a tool, Analytics Cloud for Apple Watch, that offers users the ability to analyze and take action on data. Users can swipe from dashboard to dashboard to explore real-time data, and perform voice-based search to bring up reports and dashboards. Additionally, Salesforce1 for Apple Watch is built to provide notifications to employees. Managers can send updates to their teams via the Watch to let them know when goals have been reached, when emergencies have occurred, or when it's quitting time, among other uses. If you're willing to do the leg work, and you're a Salesforce customer, you can use the Salesforce Wear Developer Pack to develop your own apps that tie back to Salesforce's reporting. ShoreTel Mobility Client Want to step out for lunch, but you're afraid to miss that important client call? Unified communications specialist, ShoreTel, has developed a tool that will route your desk phone to your Apple Watch so that you can hear voicemail, transfer calls, and conference into meetings. You can also program the app to let you view and respond to unread instant messages, receive meeting notifications, and more. Now you can be "unreachable" on your watch too! Betterworks If you're one of those managers that likes to be in touch with your employees at all times, Betterworks has developed an app for the Apple Watch that is designed to help teams track and achieve goals. Managers program assignments into the app, where everyone on the team is able to use their Watches to track progress (or lack thereof). Users can also message one another from within the application. Bottomline Similar to Salesforce, but designed for smaller businesses, Bottomline is a sales tracking tool that gives business owners the power to monitor sales, customer requests, inventory, and more. You can also view PDF dashboards on the Watch so that you can better understand which products are outselling others, which stores have more foot traffic, and which salesperson sold more goods, among other uses. Invoice2go For consultants and other hourly workers who have a hard time managing when they started which job and when they clocked out, Invoice2go has created an Apple Watch application that lets you clock in and clock out of jobs via your wrist. The Watch app also notifies you when payments have been processed, so you don't have to constantly check in with your clients' grumpy payroll managers. Read our Apple Watch review

Oracle giving away 1,000 Raspberry Pi computers to students Posted: 24 Apr 2015 09:31 AM PDT Oracle and the Raspberry Pi Foundation want to encourage students to take up coding and close the alarming skills gap that is afflicting the IT sector globally through a new program. The Oracle Academy Raspberry Pi Weather Station initiative for schools is committed to giving away 1,000 free Raspberry Pi hardware kits to schools globally in order to let them learn how code while at the same time gain skills in meteorology and geography. Students between the ages of 11 and 16 are the main target of the initiative that asks them to build a weather station before developing apps to collect data from the instrument and feed all this into a cloud database hosted by Oracle. "Our goal with the Oracle Raspberry Pi Weather Station project is not only to show students how computer science can help them measure, interrogate and understand the world better, but also to give them hands-on opportunities to develop these skills. We believe this is one of the best ways to inspire the next generation to take up the computer science roles that economies around the world need filled," said Jane Richardson, EMEA director at the Oracle Academy. Closing the skills gap Raspberry Pi has become an incredibly popular and important school for students across the planet that is teaching them to code and build the gaming titles of the future that will eventually close an acute skills gap being felt globally. A similar scheme unveiled by the BBC back in March will provide a similar coding device to every child in year 7 free of charge to address the UK's own gap in skills that will total around 1.4 million over the coming five years. Check it out: Raspberry Pi 2 review

7 days in phones: No Nokia, don't come back until you've got something to add Posted: 24 Apr 2015 09:19 AM PDT It's only ruddy 7 days in phones, and you've been truly spoilt as it's the second this week after the legal furor of the last one. Consider yourself spoilt. So without further ado, take my hand, and here we go! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Catch up on 7 days in phones | Follow Winston on Twitter Nokia returns – but do we need it? Nokia is picking up the pieces and putting them all back together in a 'Dr Frankenstein' manner to resurrect its smartphone business, or at least that's what we've been led to believe. Rumours suggest Nokia is planning to jump back into smartphones as soon as the Microsoft deal allows, so it'll be the end of 2016, but do we really need it to return? The only reason Nokia went from the worlds biggest smartphone manufacturer to the sad mess it was when Microsoft put it out of its misery was a lack of innovation. The platform held onto Symbian for too long and should have switched to Windows Phone quicker, but instead the iPhone and Google popped up and overtook it. Microsoft has taken over the Windows Phone-fronted end of the market now so we don't have any real need for another manufacturer doing that. If it doesn't innovate further, there's no reason to see Nokia come back into smartphones at all. We've got a long wait to find out what the company is planning but I want something fresh with new ideas to take the Nokia brand to the next level if it's gonna come back. Just too little too late Quick, HIDE! It's the Apple Watch… or, maybe the opposite: get out from under that rock and improve yourself. Google is taking that tactic and going balls out with the Android Wear platform. Updating it to the best it has been so far ready for the arrival of the most exciting thing in wristwear - the Apple Watch. But most of the additions are things we should have seen months back. Some manufacturers have been making their watches Wi-Fi ready for over a year now and Google hasn't bothered to turn the feature on until now. Although some should have done better... We're looking at you LG G Watch R. Google got cocky; where is the maps functionality we should have had? The improvements to voice functionality? More Google based apps?…it all started out well and Google then begun to coast a little over the last few months but has had to buck its ideas up and improve ready for the Apple Watch. Joining The Council "Welcome… to The Council of the Forgotten handsets" announced an ominous voice shaded in black. Winston's knees continued to shake, this time out of nerves rather than the agony of his recently sustained injuries, whilst his voice followed suit. "Wh…wh…why am I here?" Winston asked. The ominous dark figure leaned out from the shadows a little to reveal the tip of his yellow beak. "Because you have work to do" the figure declared. The shadows around Winston began to retract revealing he wasn't alone with the figure - he was sharing this exchange with the rest of the council surrounding him. Paws, claws, teeth, fins, whiskers, tails, scales and all other manner of animal features began to fade into view as Winston span around to take them all in. There must have been 40 members surrounding him, all staring down menacingly upon the confused unicorn. Each sat upon a forgotten phone. Despite his confusion Winston managed to make out a BlackBerry Pearl, a Samsung E100, a Sony Ericsson K300, a Siemens A50, a plethora of Nokia handsets including the 5230, 3210, 6600 but there were many more he didn't even recognise. The leader sat higher than the rest of The Council upon a half open Motorola Razr V3i, looking down upon his clear subordinates. As Winston's spin came to a stop, his eyes met the beady peepers of the bald eagle. "What kind of work? Why me? Who are you people?" Winston declared. "For you are The Chosen One Winston, and the history of phones need your help." Chen Up Son BlackBerry's John Chen is known for being brutally honest but in this interview from a few months back he gets even more honest than we've ever seen him before. You just want to give him a little cuddle. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz2lQJwhQXY Strange press shot of the week Meet Sally, but don't mess with Sally, Sally is serious. She's serious about the new LG Optimus range. So serious she's worn her best PVC dress for the occasion even though it's the height of summer outside. Now which of the LG Series are you going to buy? Buy it, BUY IT NOW. WHY HAVEN'T YOU BOUGHT IT ALREADY? Retro video of the week You may be shocked to know even in the days before YouTube (which happens to be 10 years old this week) there was an appetite for cat videos. That and You've Been Framed-style humour of things hurting themselves. Put them both together, look at it it all through 2003's Nokia 3650 and Finnish company thought it was on to a winner. Sadly the advert never actually made it onto TV down to animal cruelty claims – oh, how things have changed. Animals in comedic peril is now the norm in almost every YouTube video you'll watch. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBH9VYb0Xhg Proper bits from the site We went to go see Edward Snowden's historic, yet destroyed, laptop. EE launched a brand new low-cost 4G smartphone called the Harrier. Carphone Warehouse went and launched its own network with free roaming in 22 countries. Plus we discovered that cute little football droid from the new Star Wars trailer is going to be available in shops!

You are subscribed to email updates from techradar To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States