Online retailer Amazon has opened up pre-orders for Razer’s new surprisingly beefy Android-powered micro-console, the Forge TV.

Since Razer has opted to sell controller-less retail versions for $99, Amazon’s $149.99 listing bundles the device alongside the new Android-optimized Serval controller. The controllers normally retail at $79 so you’re actually saving money going this route.

The Forge TV is scheduled to release May 1, 2015.

Here’s what the device has under the hood:

• CPU: 2.7 GHz Snapdragon 805 (quad-core)
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 16GB
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, wireless 802.11ac, gigabit Ethernet
• Ports: HDMI 1.4 output, USB 3.0, DC Power
• OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop

Forging a New Path

Micro-consoles have started crowding the hardware market over the last year or so, and they ultimately aim to deliver a console gaming experience without the premium console price. We’ve seen devices like the MadCatz Mojo, the Gamestick

Tapping the versatility of Android has been the key, as the OS not only games via Google Play but a wealth of multimedia and entertainment apps like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Go.

With just about every major player throwing their hat into the ring of Android set-top boxes, it’s not so surprising to see Razer jump in as well.

The Razer Forge TV has access to Google Play’s wide array of apps and features, making it a multimedia portal as well as a mini games console.

With so many options on the market, Razer plans to woo gamers with an attractive performance versus value ratio.

As far as performance and functionality goes the Forge TV beats out competitors like the Ouya, which retails for the same price, and delivers a fractured games marketplace compared to the huge open-ended Google Play store.

Beating Ouya is just the start. Razer’s Forge TV will take on key competitors like Valve’s new Steam Link and Nvidia’s 4K TV- ready Shield Console.

How well it’ll fair against the big contenders like Valve and Nvidia remains to be seen. That being said the Forge TV is $50 cheaper than the Shield Console, and since gamers already own PC’s, picking up a higher performance micro-console is a bit redundant.

Apart from price, Razer does have additional aces up its sleeve: the multiplatform-capable Serval controller, and the Cortex game streaming ecosystem.

The Serval controller is quite flexible and can transform into a MOGA-like controller for on-the-go mobile gaming.

The Serval controller is basically a refined Sabertooth controller that can duo as a Moga controller. It can be paired to four different devices including PCs, tablets, mobile phones and the Forge TV, making it a versatile and flexible solution.

You can also hook up four Serval controllers up to the micro-console, making for some epic couch co-op sessions.

Razer even has a stylish “Turret” keyboard and mouse combo that’s designed for use in your living room, which is a pretty great idea.

Cortex is Razer’s unified games streaming ecosystem that will bring PC gaming to your living room.

Cortex is Razer’s answer to Steam Link, and represents a major ecosystem that will unify Razer’s array of gaming hardware.

Using Cortex you’ll be able to stream games from your centralized PC to the Forge TV via LAN connectivity. It’s a lot like the PS4’s Remote Play function only with PC games.

No release date has been finalized for the PC-to-mobile games streaming service, but Razer has targeted a Q2 2015 release window.

If you’re thinking about picking one up be sure to check out some reviews. The major consensus seems to indicate that the Forge TV’s full potential won’t manifest until Cortex is made available.

Until then it’s just another middle-grade set-top box in a sea of Android micro-consoles.

Source: Amazon

Via: Talk Android

The post Pre-Orders Open For Razer’s Forge TV Micro-Console appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) latest plan to get Windows 10 for phones on more devices involves collaborating with Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi in offering a custom Android ROM that effectively allows devices like the Mi 4 to run Windows 10.

From what has been revealed thus far, the deal seems less like a partnership and more like Microsoft trying to gain feedback from Xiaomi’s community of fans, who are some of the most vocal when it comes to sharing their thoughts on new software updates.

As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience.

This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We’re excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.

Since Xiaomi actively encourages users to install custom ROMs on its hardware, Microsoft’s Windows 10 is seen as just another alternative among the likes of CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android and AOSP builds.

An image of a Mi 4 — which comes with hardware that is better than anything currently available on Windows Phone — running Windows 10 was posted on the MIUI forum, with the statement that the ROM would be made available to the community shortly.

What Microsoft’s intentions at this stage in launching a ROM tailored to run Windows 10 is unclear, but with Windows Phone steadily coming to parity with Android at a hardware-level, it is possible that the software giant is looking to increase the number of devices that have Windows 10 installed without actually having to launch any.

By offering a ROM, Microsoft is allowing users to try and test out the features on offer from Windows Phone, which ultimately leads to an increased interest in the platform. Android’s customizability continues to be one of its strong points, and if Microsoft can cater to that segment of power users, it stands to gain valuable feedback as well as a new outlet through which to increase the number of customers using its services.

The post Microsoft Wants You To Run Windows 10 On Your Android Device, Starting With Xiaomi Mi 4 appeared first on VR World.

After launching Android TV and Android Auto last year at Google I/O, it looks like this year’s agenda for Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will focus on Android in virtual reality. According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal, Google has tasked “tens of engineers” to work on a version of Android tailored for virtual reality.

With Facebook (which owns Oculus), Sony, Microsoft, Samsung and now Valve showing interest in the medium, it is clear that VR is a major area of focus for major tech companies. At this week’s  Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, VR products and services took center stage, with the medium referred to as the future of gaming.

The Wall Street Journal suggests that Google will be giving away Android for VR for free, much like other flavors of the operating system. At last year’s I/O, Google demoed the $20 Google Cardboard, which is essentially a low-cost DIY solution that allows you to turn your smartphone into a 3D viewer. The cardboard unit has a tie-in software component that goes by the same name. Clay Bavor was partly responsible for Cardboard, and he will be joined by Jeremy Doig in leading Google’s VR efforts.

Details are light as to what exactly is on offer with the operating system, but with this year’s I/O scheduled at the end of May, it is likely we’ll hear more about Google’s plans for virtual reality then.

The post Google Is Getting Into Virtual Reality With A Custom Version Of Android appeared first on VR World.

Recently security consultancy Bluebox Labs reported on some major security flaws found in the latest Xiaomi Mi 4 phone. Xiaomi didn’t take this criticism lying down, and has prepared a lengthy rebuttal to Bluebox’s claims.

While Xiaomi had already called the report “inaccurate” in a statement to VR World, Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s VP International responded to Bluebox Labs by saying the phone purchased by the company in China had been tampered with. It’s important to note that Bluebox had already tested the device to make sure that it was authentic and not a knockoff.

“We are certain the device that Bluebox tested is not using a standard MIUI ROM, as our factory ROM and OTA ROM builds are never rooted and we don’t pre-install services such as YT Service, PhoneGuardService, AppStats etc,” Barra said in his statement. “Bluebox could have purchased a phone that has been tampered with, as they bought it via a physical retailer in China. Xiaomi does not sell phones via third-party retailers in China, only via our official online channels and selected carrier stores.”

If Barra’s claim holds true, this brings up the very worrying issue of supply chain security, as Bluebox points out. If these — authentic — phones are modified by the retailer, or someone else in the supply chain, that’s incredibly concerning for device security and brand reputation.

Barra says that customers should only purchase Xiaomi phones from the official online store to ensure authenticity and “reputable retailers”. But what makes a “reputable retailer”? If the one Bluebox purchased its phone from — and it went to great lengths to ensure authenticity — isn’t reputable than which ones are? After all, China is home to fake Xiaomi stores (and fake Apple as well as Samsung stores too).

If indeed what Barra says is true, this is largely a lesson in supply chain security. All vendors need to ensure that the China side of their supply chain isn’t compromised by a man-in-the-middle attack. Because clearly even local companies aren’t immune.

UPDATE: March 9 2015 11:00 AM China Standard Time

Xiaomi emailed VR World further statements to expand upon what it told Bluebox Labs. Here’s the statement in full.

There are glaring inaccuracies in the Bluebox blog post. Official Xiaomi devices do not come rooted and do not have malware pre-installed. Our investigation based on information received so far indicates that the phone Bluebox obtained is a counterfeit product purchased through an unofficial channel on the streets in China. We’re gathering more information to fully confirm this and should have a final answer in the next 24 hours.

With the large parallel street market for mobile phones in China, not only is it somewhat common for third parties to tamper with the software sold on smartphones, but there are counterfeit products which are almost indistinguishable from the original products on the outside. This happens across all brands, affecting both Chinese and foreign smartphone companies selling in China. 

Furthermore, “entrepreneurial” retailers may add malware and adware to these devices, and even go to the extent of pre-installing modified copies of popular benchmarking software such as CPU-Z and Antutu, which will run “tests” showing the hardware is legitimate — fooling even very discerning buyers.

Xiaomi takes all necessary measures to crack down on the manufacturers of fake devices or anyone who tampers with our software, supported by all levels of law enforcement agencies in China. However, for the safety of our users, Xiaomi and all smartphone brands always recommend buying phones through authorised channels. Xiaomi only sells via Mi.com, and a small number of Xiaomi trusted partners including mobile operators and select authorised retailers, such as Flipkart in India. 

In addition, contrary to what Bluebox has claimed, MIUI is true Android, which means MIUI follows exactly Android CDD, Google’s definition for compatible Android devices, and it passes all Android CTS tests, the process used by the industry to make sure a given device is fully Android compatible. All Xiaomi devices sold in China and international markets are fully Android compatible.

The post Updated: Xiaomi Hits Back Hard at Bluebox Labs’ Claims appeared first on VR World.

At GDC 2015 Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) took the stage to announce the Nvidia Shield console, the “world’s first 4K Android TV” set-top boxwith a beefy emphasis on gaming.

Set in a sleek and angular form, the Nvidia Shield console takes aim at the consumer’s living room space by providing 4K-ready TV streaming as well as high-performance gaming. Essentially it aims to marry the best of both worlds with 4K HD video and “PC-like” game performance all at a reasonable cost.

While the new box does multimedia streaming, Nvidia makes it clear that it’s primarily aimed at gamers.

At the GDC reveal Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang outright claimed that the new Shield console is “35 times more powerful than the next set top box”, and even goes as far as to say it delivers twice the performance of an Xbox 360.

Harnessing the power of its new Nvidia Tegra X1 “mobile superchip”, the Nvidia Shield will run a number of demanding Android-ported games like Crysis 3, Doom 3: BFG, and the Borderlands: Pre-Sequel, Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance and more.

Huang affirmed that over 50 games would be available upon launch.

The Tegra X1 is only half of the equation, though; the other half leverages the power of the clouds via the supercomputer that runs Nvidia’s new GRID subscription-based game streaming service.

What’s unique about the GRID service is that subscribers can remote play games that are streamed from a faraway supercomputer. It’s bit like the PlayStation 4’s Remote Play with the PS Vita handheld, only on a bigger and much more powerful scale.

And the GRID service will have major AAA games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Batman: Arkham Knight, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and many, many more.

Nvidia has strongly affirmed that the Shield microconsole will be the portal that leads to the “next generation of Android gaming”, promising “PC-quality graphics” and fluid performance.

For those who prefer marathon gaming sessions, Huang promised that the Shield’s controllers would have at least 30 hours of life–which is a nice touch to be sure.

As for video streaming, the set top box comes with a nifty remote with a built-in microphone for easy hands-free searching. As far as 4K TV goes, the Shield can stream local and internet-based 4K video from a Gigabit Ethernet connection through HDMI.

It’s light on internal memory, with just 16GB on board, but it’s expandable via microSD and sports two USB 3.0 outlets for extra HDD’s. Considering how big 4K video files are you’re going to need every bit of extra space you can get.

With a number of peripherals all vying for control of the living room, it’s interesting to see Nvidia embrace a kind of Xbox One-style approach to the next generation of Android TV microconsoles.

As far as power, performance and functionality, the Nvidia Shield console is attempting to find that sweet spot between gaming consoles and PC’s, but only time will tell if it hits the mark or not.

The Shield console is slated to release in May 2015 for a price point of $200, and will come with the set-top box and a controller, plus all the applicable cords and hook-ups.

Below we have a full spec sheet as well as compatibility and other features.

Gaming Features

SHIELD controller compatible
NVIDIA GameStream
NVIDIA Share
NVIDIA GRID game streaming serviceSoftware UpdatesSHIELD software upgrades directly from NVIDIAPower40W power adapter

Weight and Size: Weight: 23oz / 654g, Height: 5.1in / 130mm Width: 8.3in / 210mm, Depth: 1.0in / 25mm

Operating System: Android TV™, Google Cast™ Ready

Included Apps: PLEX

The post Nvidia’s New Shield Console Leads The Charge In Next-Gen Android Gaming appeared first on VR World.

The Gionee Elife E7 series is not exactly a new device, as the mid-sized flagship E7 mini was announced by the Chinese manufacturer in late 2013 and launched in Asia in mid 2014. However, the E7 mini is still on the company’s current lineup, along with the Elife S5.1 — the “world’s thinnest smartphone” — which perhaps signifies the firm’s approach to its product cycles. Even the aging Elife E7 is undergoing some sort of renaissance with a significant price drop, retailing at around $180, which is around 37% of its original price.

The E7 mini is supposedly a smaller version of the Elife E7, which had been Gionee’s flagship smartphone until it was supplanted by the waif-thin S5.5 and S5.1 handsets. However, a unique — or at least uncommon — characteristic is its swivelling camera, which gives some flexibility in terms of photo capturing angles and selfie-photography.

Gionee’s PR sent us a unit to review late 2014, and while this writer had been mostly exposed to, and preoccupied with, reviewing Windows Phones, I started appreciating some of Android’s benefits and nuances with this review.

Specifications

The Gionee Elife E7 mini is not exactly a specs monster, especially given its age, although it’s still a formidable smartphone that can handle Android capably.

• Chipset: Mediatek MT6592 Octa-core 1.7GHz Cortex A7
• GPU: Mali 450MP4
• RAM: 1GB
• Storage: 16GB, no microSD support
• Display: 4.7-inch 720×1080 px at ~312 ppi, IGZO capacitive touchscreen
• Camera: 13-megapixel rotating lens with LED flash
• Battery: Non-removable 2,200 mAh
• Network technology: GSM, HSPA

The Elife E7 mini’s main handicap is its use of an older Android version. The device ships with 4.2.2 Jelly Bean — customized with its own Amigo UI 2.0 — which means users will miss out on the performance and UI advantages latter versions offer.

The E7 mini, by the way, comes in a dual-SIM setup, meaning you can simultaneously run on two different networks or mobile accounts. I find this very useful when roaming abroad — I can simply purchase a cheap prepaid SIM for cheaper local data, calls and SMS.

Hardware Design and Build Quality

Build quality is one of the Elife E7 mini’s strong suits. The device has a unibody design, with the entire casing molded out of a single piece of polycarbonate. This comes with advantages and disadvantages: the battery is not user replaceable, and the only way to open up the device is to pry out the screen. However, it also means the phone is sturdier, and will not tend to creak under pressure or break apart when dropped. Even the micro-SIM slot, which holds both SIM1 and SIM2, is only accessible through a tray, which requires a pin to eject.

The only point of wear and tear is the swivelling camera. Now, there are advantages and disadvantages to this. First, a moving camera means you can take both regular shots and selfies using the same resolution lens. This is a big plus, compared to most other devices that have smaller-resolution fixed-focus front cameras. It also enables taking photos more discreetly (if the lens were swivelled into a position that does not make it obvious you’re taking pictures).

As for buttons and port placement, I appreciate how both the power/suspend and volume rockers are all on the right side. I know it can confuse most users coming from Samsung or Apple devices, but from someone used to Windows Phones, it seems more natural. Given the space the swivelling camera requires at the top, both micro-USB and 3.5mm audio ports are located at the bottom of the device.

What I don’t like here is how Gionee uses a sticker for the device’s certification labels. Yes, the unibody design precludes opening up the case, but these labels could have been incorporated more discreetly (the Lumia 930 has its labels engraved at the bottom of the metal frame, for example).

The post Gionee Elife E7 Mini: Well-Built Midrange Smartphone appeared first on VR World.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been sending out invitations to journalists for a product launch in San Francisco that’s scheduled to take place March 3 which will “redefine the future of gaming.”

Here’s the invitation below, via Android Police.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what exactly Nvidia will be showing off. The date is right in the middle of Mobile World Congress 2015, so it’s doubtful that it would be something mobile related. Rumors of the mystery device being a follow-up to the Shield 2 are also bunk, as it doesn’t fit the five-years in the making narrative. The Virtual Reality market is crowded, and it would make more sense for Nvidia to co-operate with Oculus rather than compete against it. So what else could it be? An Nvidia-powered console?

Nvidia is completely mum on the issue, and there have been no definite leaks to point in any direction. Until March 3, it will be a mystery.

The post What’s Nvidia Planning for March 3? appeared first on VR World.

With over a million apps each on the Apple App Store and on Google Play, marketing one’s app must be tough business for any developer. With the multitude of copycat apps that essentially have similar functionalities, app developers will be lucky to have their offerings included in top and featured lists, whether in terms of downloads, ratings, reviews or revenues. How does one reach the tipping point, in which great traction — and organic revenue potential — will shortly come thereafter?

It seems developers are finding ways to game the system, in what can be considered shady practices or at least grey areas in building up the profile of one’s app. In a recent tweet, Hong Kong-based TapCase developer Simon Pang shares what appears to be a lady doing ratings and reviews on an array of tablets. Pang writes how “this is how App Store ratings work.”

This is how App Store ratings work. Welcome to the reality. pic.twitter.com/0MyHmTeqwE

— simonpang (@simonpang) February 2, 2015

Barry Mead of Fireproof Games tweets that “‘respected’ major developers use systems like these daily.”

This being Twitter, of course, there is no verification yet as to the original source of the image, and whether the photographed activity is, indeed, a pay-to-review or pay-to-rate service. However, it has shed some light into such practices that skew app store ratings, popularity, downloads and eventually revenues for these developers.

Wall Street Journal‘s Lisa Fleisher plans to dig deeper into the issue. But without prejudice to Fleisher’s journalistic work, we can already arrive at several questions and critiques with respect to how major app ecosystems are run.

Is it against policy? What is being done?

One might wonder whether Apple is aware of how developers are gaming its app discovery system. It’s reminiscent of how developers will jack up their app prices from $0.99 to $999 (the maximum that the App Store supports), and then having someone buy a copy of the app. Even as Apple gets a 30% share of the money, the app then gets a boost on the top paid apps list, after which the developer can revert the price back to $0.99. In essence, moneyed developers can shell out cash and then lose 30% of this value, but then get a potentially more popular (and revenue generating) application in return.

If pay-to-review farms are mass-producing ratings and reviews in exchange for pay, then it’s grossly unfair to developers who rely on organic reviews and ratings by actual users. Ratings affect discoverability and revenue potential. Developers can easily recoup their investment once they start getting millions of daily downloads.

Apple’s developer terms of service says this: “If you attempt to cheat the system (for example, by trying to trick the review process, steal data from users, copy another developer’s work, or manipulate the ratings) your Apps will be removed from the store and you will be expelled from the developer program.”

Google Play also has this to say in its developer program policies: “Developers must not attempt to change the placement of any Product in the Store, or manipulate any product ratings or reviews by unauthorized means such as fraudulent installs, paid or fake reviews or ratings, or by offering incentives to rate products.”

But “tricking the review process” and “manipulating the ratings” are quite broad terminology. Does it specifically ban paying someone to do manual reviews? Or does it only ban bots? Does it have a geographic dimension? And what does Apple do to apps that employed such practices, but then gained legitimate and organic ratings, reviews and downloads later on?

At least Google’s terminology explicitly calls out paid and fake reviews and ratings. The question is whether the app store ecosystems are actually doing concrete steps in going after violators.

Gaming and economics

This reminds me of the way people have gamed the big systems before. To wit:

• In the heyday of pay-per-click advertising, clickfraud was a big deal. But it did not prevent publishers from hiring third parties to do manual clicking to jack up revenue — or sometimes even to kill off competitors’ campaigns or screw with their ad budgets.
• Content farms used to be a popular way to earn millions. These companies paid measly cents for writers to churn out rehashed, SEO-friendly, but questionable quality articles, and then earn from the ad placements. This was a viable business model until Google pulled the plug with various search algorithm updates that ended up hurting both content farms and valid publications.
• While trading virtual goods with real money may be against the policies of most games, it has not stopped companies from doing “gold farming” activities — something that has implications not only within the dynamics of MMORPGs, but also development economics, as well (e.g., buyers tend to be from developed countries, while players who play to sell items come from emerging economies).
• Today, viral sites have the habit of ripping off content from other sources (in which the originating source is rarely credited), adding clickbait headlines for the benefit of social sharing, and earning from advertisements. Facebook has recently attempted to curtail these practices through algorithm changes, but viral junk still remains in our newsfeeds.

The common denominator among these examples is money. Where there is potential money involved, then people will tend to find ways to game the system for their economic advantage. Never mind user experience, content quality or business ethics.

Given that “respected major developers” are said to be doing this, can we still trust app store ratings and discovery mechanisms?

Feature image credit: Bloomua / Shutterstock.com

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In less than a decade, Android has pivoted from a scrappy startup of an OS ecosystem to a global behemoth with over a billion devices activated.

A new report from consultancy Strategy Analytics says that Android broke the 1 billion device barrier in 2014, up from 780 million in 2013. In comparison, Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) only shipped 192.7 million iOS based devices worldwide in 2014.

Breaking down the numbers from Strategy Analytics, it becomes clear that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has the advantage because it ships on more devices at more price points. As such, Google can depend on emerging markets for growth — something that Strategy Analytics points out in its report.

“Emerging markets, such as China and Indonesia, drove the industry’s growth last year and will continue to do so through 2015,” the report said.

In the shadow of the virtual Apple-Android duopoly in the market is Windows Phone, with a mere 3.3% market share. Strategy Analytics believes that the failure for the platform to grow comes from the lack of robust hardware partners that are aligned with the OS.

The post 1 Billion Strong: Android Breaks Records in 2014 appeared first on VR World.

After years of delays, Samsung (KRX:005935) unveiled its first handset running Tizen in India earlier this month. The phone signifies a new direction for Samsung in the ever competitive entry-level segment as the South Korean manufacturer sees to regain momentum. The pricing of the device at $90 (Rs. 5,700) is very aggressive, and is in line with what manufacturers like Xiaomi and Motorola are targeting.

The device

The Samsung Z1 looks like any other Samsung device in terms of external design. Plastic is used in abundance, and the menu, home and back button configuration is also present. The home button has been slightly altered and is more rounded. There’s also a metallic finish around the sides of the device. While the design is not drastically different, the Z1 retains the great build quality that is associated with all Samsung handsets. 

Also present is the removable back cover, which houses the dual SIM card slots. Coming to the hardware on offer, the Z1 has a 4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 800 x 480. Other budget handsets like Xiaomi’s Redmi 1S and Motorola’s Moto E offer a better screen — 720p and qHD — but for the amount that the Z1 costs, pixel density of 233 ppi is great. Contrast levels as well as viewing angles are decent, which is a good thing considering that the display is a TFT and not an IPS panel.

Internal hardware is in the form of a Spreadtrum SC7727S SoC, which features a dual-core Cortex A7 CPU and Mali 400 GPU. There’s 4GB internal memory, which can be extended by a further 64GB via the microSD card slot, 768MB RAM, 3.15 MP camera at the back along with a VGA front shooter and 1,500 mAh battery. In terms of connectivity, you get Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, A-GPS and microUSB 2.0. FM radio is also included.

The Z1 does not offer anything out of the ordinary in terms of hardware, but that isn’t what Samsung is aiming for. With the Z1, it is all about the software and Tizen.

Tizen is finally here

Tizen on the Z1 feels a lot like TouchWiz. It actually feels like what TouchWiz should have been to begin with, as there is barely any lag whatsoever when using the device on a day to day basis. The design itself is very similar to that of the newer iterations of TouchWiz, with the drop-down menu utilizing a bright green color hue. The menu has easy access settings for Wi-Fi, cellular data, sound, flashlight, Bluetooth and others, which is once again very similar to what is offered in Samsung’s Galaxy series of devices.

A noticeable change in Tizen is the lack of an app drawer, with all apps accessible with a swipe action. There is a dearth of content — as one would expect — in Tizen, but Samsung is looking to address the glaring omissions by launching custom versions of apps like WhatsApp. Users will also be able to install Android apps on Tizen by first installing OpenMobile’s Application Compatibility Layer from the Tizen store.

Samsung is incentivizing the purchase of the Z1 by offering a host of content for free to customers via Club Samsung. With the promotion, anyone buying the Z1 will be able to stream or download over 270,000 songs through Hungama, access over 80 live TV channels, watch several Bollywood movies on the go and more.

There are a few nice touches bit into Tizen that makes it all the more enticing for first-time buyers. When setting up a service like WhatsApp for the first time, the phone detects the confirmation text message and keys in the value without any user intervention.

Overall, the Z1 is astonishingly fluid for the hardware it features. Tizen was claimed by several leaks over the course of the last two years to be much more lightweight than the likes of Android, and that indeed is the case. There isn’t a noticeable lag when launching apps, and the user interface as a whole feels seamless, which is a drastic improvement

The device itself may not feature hardware to write home about, but it is the sheer amount of content Samsung is bundling with the Z1 that makes it worthy of consideration. Giving away a lot of premium content isn’t a new strategy for the South Korean manufacturer as seen with the Galaxy Gifts promotion for the high-end Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy S and the Galaxy Note series. But this time around, it is doing so with a device targeted at the entry-level segment. 

The market scenario

With the Z1, Samsung is going for the first-time buyers. While Tizen looks like it offers an interesting mix of features, the fact that it is in its nascent stages will deter several potential customers from buying the Z1. Also, vendors like Xiaomi, Motorola and others are offering much better hardware for the same price, and even if the Z1 is not as hardware-intensive as similarly priced Android devices, that mentality of comparing specs has become entrenched in the Indian market. Often, specs do not dictate how well a mobile performs, but with devices offering octa-core processors for as low as $140, consumers are increasingly judging the merits of a handset based on its spec sheet.

Samsung does have a loyal userbase in the country, but it remains to be seen whether the manufacturer will be able to claw its way back in this segment with the Z1. The device itself is not at fault, and is actually one of the better offerings from Samsung considering that even until a few years ago, we’ve had to contend with the likes of the Galaxy Star. Where Samsung will struggle with most when it comes to the Z1 is in marketing a device running a new OS that doesn’t feature anywhere nearly as good hardware as the Android mobiles it is going up against.

The post Hands-on With Samsung Z1: Tizen Makes Its Debut On Mobile appeared first on VR World.

At CES, Lenovo (HKG:0992) has launched two Android tablets aimed at the budget segment. Dubbed Tab 2 A7-10 and Tab 2 A7-30, the tablets will be available from later this month. There’s not much going on in terms of hardware, but with a price tag of under $100, the slates are ideal for first-time buyers looking for an affordable Android tablet.

There are subtle variations between the two: the Tab 2 A7-10 features the 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8127, while the Tab 2 A7-30 comes with the1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8382, which has a 3G module for placing calls and texts. The A7-10 only has 8 GB internal storage and no rear camera, while the A7-30 has 16 GB and a 2 MP shooter at the back. Thankfully, there’s a microSD card slot that can accommodate cards up to 32 GB in size.

The rest of the hardware is similar on both slates, and includes a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600, 1 GB RAM, 0.3 MP front camera, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity along with a 3,450 mAh battery. There’s also Dolby Audio speakers at the front. The tablets feature Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, but Lenovo has mentioned that an OTA Android 5.0 update will be available in a few months’ time. Both tablets will be offered in a variety of colors that include Aqua Blue, Cotton Candy, Pearl White, and Ebony Black.

The Tab 2 A7-10 is priced at $99, while the Tab 2 A7-30, with its 3G connectivity, will be available for $129. The former is set to launch later this month, while the latter will make its debut in March.

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For over 25 years ResMed has been providing medical equipment for sleep-disorder breathing. They are clearly not a johnny-come-lately, jumping on the latest hi-tech bandwagon. This fall ResMed introduced the S+, a no-contact sleep tracking device developed for the consumer.  This differs greatly from wearables such as the Basis Peak and the Jawbone UP systems that promise to track sleep as well as steps, calories, and activity.

The ResMed S+ uses a combination of respiratory and biomotion sensors that not only monitor your motion and breathing while you sleep, but the temperature, light and noise in your bedroom as well. In addition to the biomotion sensor device, ResMed S+ has a smartphone app for iOS or Android. The application connects to the ResMed proprietary cloud and your nightly data is compared to hundreds of thousands of recorded nights of sleep from their other medical prescription respiratory devices. The app makes suggestions for a better night’s sleep based on the data it collects.

Getting a good night’s sleep is something all of us need and want. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent of people report they have problems sleeping almost every night. Continual sleep problems can lead to next-day drowsiness and increases in health related issues like congestive heart failure, obesity, and diabetes. Many people suffer from sleep apnea which is when you stop breathing during the night. Such individuals, usually, wake up with a snort for air, which disrupts a good night’s sleep. As you might guess, sleep apnea can be fatal. Do you have sleep apnea? Take the quiz provided by ResMed.

Now that you understand the importance of the information provided by ResMed S+, let’s take a look at what you get in the ResMed box for $149.95.

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Three winners from the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) will be chosen at CES 2015. All ten finalists will appear on stage at the Venetian in Las Vegas to vie for the opportunity to present their product later to Sir Richard Branson.

Finalists have been helped towards their goal with a boost from such companies as Amazon who provides web service. Rackspace offers no-fee hosting. Back-up and recovery services come from Axcient.  Helpful tools were additional perks, such as app development from Progress and from Spotfire data analytics from TIBCO.

Entrants came from more than 100 countries and were whittled down to the final ten. Only three will be chosen at the CES showdown to go to Branson’s Necker island to meet with him. Kym McNicholas, Executive Director of Extreme Tech Challenge said: It was truly a tough call as we had an incredible set of high quality candidates that I believe will be the next billion dollar wave.

Contestants range from a graphics app thru medical equipment, a publishing platform, travel booking, drones, facial recognition to a high end motorcycle helmet just to name a few. Judges have experience in many of the industries represented. Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline, should be able to evaluate Wanderu that is geared to making bookings, not for planes or hotels, but a different segment of the travel industry – intercity buses and trains.

Howard Leonhardt, XTC judge, holds 21 U.S. patents for products for treating cardiovascular disease.

BioHeart founder Howard Leonhardt another of the XTC judges is steeped in the medical environment. The company works with cell technologies to treat cardiovascular diseases. Robert Scoble will also sit on the panel. A well-known tech blogger who once worked at Microsoft, Scoble is now with Rackspace’s Small Teams, Big Impact (previously Building 43). This division, a new content and social networking website, is geared to help new startups and encourage groundbreaking technology. The Extreme Tech Challenge is right up their alley.

New fangled stethoscope from Eko Designs.

One entrant is by Eko Designs founded last year at UC Berkeley. Eko Designs’ Core is a digital stethoscope attachment that allows clinicians to switch between analog and digital information. It helps visualize, record, playback, share, and analyze heart sounds. The added device standardizes the recording of heart sounds, attaches them to medical records, and provides better coordination of care between professionals. It attempts to address the misdiagnoses and unnecessary referrals that occur in heart-related cases.

The device’s integrated Bluetooth links the Core to Eko’s smartphone app and its HIPAA compliant  web portal. These digital tools provide heartbeat analysis, audio visualization, and secure data storage. You can sign up for one of the beta units coming in 2015 and see for yourself if you can amplify, record, analyze and securely share heart sounds which identify heart murmurs more accurately than ever before.

Ghost is an open source publishing platform for bloggers. Its tools make you look professional while it adds in a few rules to live by when blogging. The Ghost Foundation is a small nonprofit organization that runs the project. As with any open source, the public, people from all around the world, contribute to its structure and features.

Ghost has a set of rules for users to follow.

Although the software is free, as with any open source application, with free comes “basic.” Beyond that, a fee is attached. Ghost sustains itself by renting space for, or hosting, your blog for $10 a month. Their marketplace contains a directory of themes, apps, and resources which have been created specifically for Ghost. Some are free; some are premium, meaning you pay a fee to use them. For $10/month you get unlimited transfer and storage with automatic updates and backups and worldwide CDN & security protection. For a team of ten bloggers you pay $100/month and receive priority support. You can sign up and try it out for free.

Wanderu, unfortunately is only currently covering the US and Canada. If you have ever tried to get around Europe which has a better public transport system than most of the US, you’ll appreciate this new app. They have City Travel Guides for prominent East Coast cities. Bus and train schedules for Boston make your visit to one of the important sites of the American Revolution easy. Wanderu connects you with 10 different bus companies within the Boston area.

Their bus routes are short hauls on each coast. No nationwide trips are available yet. If you want to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles and see scenery along the way, Wanderu is the ticket. Want to take a look at Florida, then after seeing Disneyworld in Orlando, hop a bus to Miami to sun yourself on the beaches using Wanderu’s routing and ticket app. The company selects only the safest and most trusted brands in ground travel. It provides mobile information on Apple, Android or Blackberry.

All ten finalists will appear at CES 2015. Look for the contest to take place January 8 in the Marco Polo room at 2PM.

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Asus (TPE: 2357) introduced its ZenWatch, a brand new smartwatch, in Taiwan on Dec. 24 and decided its MSRP as US$199.

Prior to the debut in Taiwan, ZenWatch has been available for sale in North America and Japan for more than a month.

Asus said that the smartwatch is based on the Android Wear 5.01 operation system, weighs 75g and measures 51X39.9mm on the face, with the thickness ranging from 7.9mm to 9.4mm and the stainless steel finish. It also has a 1.63-inch display, which is AMOLED, with 320X320 pixel resolution, 278ppi. Also, the smartwatch is IP55 rated so the owner will not have to worry about splashing it.

Asus listed the battery for ZenWatch as 1.4Wh in its official specs. Analysis on the watch suggested users to charge the watch every night before use. Asus said that the ZenWatch needs to be attached to the limpet-like charging base that connects to the back for recharging the battery. That plate will accept a micro-USB charger.

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Hiku scans, records, categorizes, locates, and marks your favorite items to make shopping a no-brainer. The handheld device scans bar codes on your favorite and incidental items. The item is then listed on a shopping list on your smartphone ready to take to the store.

You can assign an item to any number of user-named lists – Safeway, Petsmart, RiteAid, GNC, and so forth. Head for the store, display your shopping list on your phone and proceed down the aisles. In this review, I’ll show you with pictures how easy it was to install,  learn, and use. I’ll also tell you what I did and didn’t like about Hiku.

You’ll need either an iOS or Android smartphone to download the free Hiku app. I tested the Android version as soon as it was released. The beta packaging still only refers to the original iOS version though.

You can buy the related scanning device direct from Hiku. The same device works with both iOS 6.0+ and Android 4.0+ since it sends the scanned information to a neutral cloud. The device contains a 1D linear scanner, a microphone, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery.

Inside the box you’ll find the device, a micro USB cable for charging the battery, and a tiny three-fold 3”x3” Start Up Guide.

Hiku seems like an odd name for an application that creates a grocery list. When I questioned Matt Beebe, head of product and design, he explained: “The name Hiku comes from the Japanese short-form poetry, meant to be said in a single breath. When done well, a haiku communicates meaning in its simplest form, and is beautiful. That captures the ethos of our brand: to bring simplicity and beauty to people’s lives.”

The product’s instructions themselves are simplicity personified. They start by telling you to download the application from the Apple App Store < https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hiku-mobile/id721935991?ls=1&mt=8 > and follow the on-screen instructions to connect Hiku to your Wi-Fi. It needs to be a 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi network. Because I was beta testing the Android version, I went instead to Google Play  for a copy of the software. The product’s documentation obviously needs to be updated to include the new version. When you search for Hiku on either site be careful of what you choose.

A search for Hiku on iTunes and Google Play displays several misleading, but interesting, choices.

One choice might include the following Haiku poem by the 17^th century Japanese master Matsuo Basho: < http://poemhunter.com/matsuo-basho/ >

A field of cotton –
as if the moon
had flowered.

Take a moment to mentally contemplate the image … Now let’s continue with our study of a more mundane topic: grocery shopping.

INSTALLING HIKU

Installation of the Hiku app on an HTC was easy and automatic. You are asked for your Wi-Fi connection.

You are told when to sync your device to the application by placing the device on the phone’s display.

Make note of the warning that accompanies the placement. It is no B.S. The bright pulsating action that takes place during the synchronization is intense.

You’ll be rewarded with a message of success that displays on the phone below the device.

The process creates an icon on the phone’s home panel.

The Hiku icon appears here in the lower right corner of the phone’s display.

To sign onto Hiku, you’ll need yet another password to keep track of. They do have a way of assisting you if you forget it. After you have started a shopping list, you can share that list because it is stored in the cloud not on your phone. You could send your mate to the store and they could access the list by signing in to their own smartphone with the same email address and password you created during set up.

 USING HIKU

The device itself is made of a study, water resistant, shell designed to resist damage to both exterior and interior even when dropped. It is fitted with a magnet that attaches tightly to your refrigerator and is covered by a soft silicon rubber that keeps it from scratching the appliance. The activating button on the opposite side is of brushed aluminum. A recessed window protected with a rubber framing is what you point towards the bar code for scanning to take place. You also can set the device on this end on a flat surface.

Hiku adheres securely within easy reach on the refrigerator door.

The same device can be used with either an iOS or Android phone. The downloaded app on your phone talks to the cloud to retrieve your stored information. Hiku has an established and growing data base of 17 million bar codes that it draws upon.

The same device can be used with either an iOS or Android phone.

With the oval Hiku device in hand, I began scanning a variety of items and checking how they showed up on the phone.

Most familiar items were quickly categorized by the program.

When you select to display Details, you are able to edit the information. You can change the name in your list that was associated with the bar code, assign the item to another aisle, and enter the quantity you want to purchase. You can mark common items as “Regulars”.

I scanned a variety of shapes and conditions. Flat cardboard boxes of course do well. Yet, I had no problem with the bar codes being recognized on round cans, moist milk cartons, wrinkled labels, irregular tubes, or cellophane covered containers.

Hiku read bar codes of various and sundry shapes and conditions.

Hiku has three audible signals which translate into: It’s Added. Bar Code Not Recognized. Voice Not Recognized. One item Hiku didn’t recognize was a bottle of Port wine. I guess it doesn’t read Portuguese codes. However, referring to the paper Start Guide that came in the box, I found the solution.

Afer I scanned the bottle again, I immediately pushed the silver button, aimed the scanner at my mouth and said “Porto Morgado” using my best accent. Bingo. Hiku can even spell. There it was on the No Aisle category along with the Epson ink cartridge that the system didn’t know what to do with either. Hiku even spelled the brand name correctly from my verbal input.

I assigned my after dinner drink to the Beer/Wine/Liquor aisle.  Now that Hiku has my Port in its data base anyone can access the information immediately because I “taught” Hiku the bar code.

Porto Morgado has been added not only to my shopping list, but to Hiku’s data base for everyone’s benefit.

Alphabetical aisles come already defined, such as Baking/Spices, Dairy, Grains/Pasta, Meats, Produce. You can add a new aisle which I could have done for the ink, but I decided School/Office Supplies would suffice. I also could create a separate Shopping List for, say, Staples, and assign the Epson ink to that list instead to my general Grocery List.

PROS and CONS

To get started, you can name a list, go to that store, walk the aisles scanning bar codes from your common purchases to quickly set up a thorough list in the order in which you will find them in the store.

As you learn how to use Hiku, if you can’t figure something out, you can tap My Hiku and display links to the site’s FAQ’s or send an email to support@hiku.us. For example, although Hiku has an almost flat, easy learning curve, I didn’t intuit how to remove an item completely. I could “Cross It Off” by swiping it, but to get it off that list the FAQ that displayed on my phone told me I needed to hit the Clear button. I could not locate a Clear button, so I will contact Support for a more specific direction or graphic.

The My Hiku also has Tips, which are a reiteration of the compact Start Up Guide, so help is always a tap away on your phone. It is in place to allow language selection for voice recognition with three forms of English, two forms of Spanish, German, French, and Italian. The product currently supports English only. The other choices will be an enhancement.

Finally, the company responds to problems as evidenced by this notation on their website about their first version. “We’ve identified an issue in the hiku mobile app version 1.0 where new item refresh fails for AT&T customers under certain conditions. The issue is now fixed, available in the App Store as version 1.1. You can download it.”

CONCLUSION

This compact, patent pending, shopping assistant could be called a gadget according to Merriam Webster which says: “Gadget: an often small mechanical or electronic device with a practical use but often thought of as a novelty.”

Hiku is something that is new and unusual, as well as practical. Introduced at San Francisco’s Pepcom in November, Hiku saves the user time, provides organization to an often chaotic procedure, and is easy to use. Instead of scurrying from aisle to aisle, backtracking to the canned vegetable aisle because you forgot to get lima beans when there, you can methodically move up one aisle and down the next, checking items off your list.

I did not find a way, however, to mark that I had put the item in my shopping cart. So for now, you’ll need to remember what you selected and what you still need to pick off a shelf and place in your basket. It’s time to request an enhancement.

I was told that another enhancement I wanted had been requested by other users as well: printing. If your neighbor offers to pick up a few things for you when they go to the store, you’d probably prefer to give them a printed list instead of access to your Hiku account.

This scanner is also perfect for someone who has difficulty writing, perhaps due to severe arthritis. Scanning or speech can take the place of painful attempts at maneuvering a pencil.

Hiku is priced at $79, but I think $50 would be a better price if you weren’t sure you’d really use it once you had it. Also, if you were just counting dollars, a smaller price in today’s economy might be more enticing. However, it depends on how you value your time. This device is definitely a time saver, and “time is money”.

Founders Rob Katcher, CEO, and Rajan Bala, VP Engineering, urge you to “Get the App”.

This app is a must for the busy person who has a deadline and an empty refrigerator that needs filling. No fumbling for a list, no forgetting the one special thing you went to the store for. It’s a convenience for every single mom with limited time, any bachelor who hates to shop, and every person who has a large family and a long, varied shopping list.

Hiku is seeking retail partners 9bizdev@hiku.us) and developers (devrel@hiku.us) to pair their product with Hiku. You should contact them on their career page if you are an experienced mobile software engineer or a data scientist looking for a job.

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Whether the company name was intentional or not, EHang paints a picture of what its product does. China-based EHang creates unmanned aerial vehicles that hang in the air taking video or photos of what’s below. Ghost, one of the company’s drones, is an Indiegogo crowd funding success story. The company has far surpassed its original goal of $100,000 by raising $596,702 with 26 days to go.

Ghost landing gear sets the drone down gently.

Ghost does not require a cumbersome RC controller. You guide it with your iOS or Android smartphone and a small G-Box with 2.4GHz 80mw standard Bluetooth communicator. Auto Mode points the drone head first towards its destination and allows you to concentrate on the visuals you want to capture instead of worrying about piloting. You’ll want to use the micro control mode to pinpoint a specific location by simply sliding it in the direction you want to drone to go. It can get there tail first if necessary.

A simple finger tap points your drone to its destination.

GoPro equipment is compatible with Ghost including the Hero 4 and is assisted by the 2D gimbal which keeps your shots stable. Flying at night is possible due to Night Mode with LED lights to visually keep track of its position. Ghost is wind resistant to 21 knots and waterproof so weather won’t ground the aerial vehicle. If anything goes awry, Ghost incorporates automatic return if the connection is lost.

You can still get in on the Indiegogo Ghost project. Support starts with a $5 fan club contribution and goes to $49,000 with a list of perks in between including a $355 DIY kit that includes parts for you to assembly the Ghost yourself. Cyber Monday offered the following:

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The campaign started November 10, 2014 and will close on January 9, 2015 at the end of CES. The company will be exhibiting in the Las Vegas Convention Center, LVCC South Hall 2. BSN* will be able to provide our readers with a hands-on opinion of this and other unmanned systems after the show. In the meantime, you can tell EHang what you want them to do to improve on their Ghost with the cash they have raised beyond their original goal. Vote at their survey site.  One option is to expand the white ghostly finish to other colors. Maybe one of these? Or ask for your favorite color – neon orange perhaps?

In addition to Ghost for recreational use, EHang also develops the larger Skyway for commercial use. The Chinese company also has offices in San Carlos, California.

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Schiit Audio, a US manufacturer of high end headphone amps, DACs, and preamps rolled out its newest creation today: the new “Fulla”.  The Fulla is a USB dongle DAC/AMP is an inexpensive high quality way for users to upgrade their audio from their computers or portable devices.

Schiit Audio is a good-humored US manufacturer of high end audio components which prides itself.  As such it tries to reduce costs for consumers by selling direct and cutting dealers out of the equation.  Yesterday the company introduced the Fulla USB DAC/Amp via its Facebook page.

The $79 Fulla is one of the company’s most affordable items and combines its experience with their previous DACs and Amps.  The dongle is plug and play with both PC and Mac computers that have a USB port, without the need for any additional drivers to be installed.  The Fulla can also be used with Android devices that support USB host function and allow USB DACs.

The Fulla employs a CM6631 USB 2.0 receiver and a very high quality AK4396 digital to analog converter, which is commonly found in equipment much more pricey than the Fulla.  The gain stage uses thin-film resistors and film capacitors that filters and boosts the output, up to 300mw into 32ohms.  Schiit Audio states that the Fulla would be great for IEM (in-ear monitor) usage due to the very low noise floor and low ouput impedence.

The Fulla is covered by a 1 year limited warranty that covers both parts and labor.  Schiit Audio also says that if in the situation where the user does not like the Fulla that they can send it back for a refund, minus a 15% restocking fee.  The customer has 15 days in which to decide to send it back for a refund.

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International Data Corp’s (IDC) latest mobile phone forecast said that worldwide smartphone shipments will reach a total of nearly 1.3 billion units in 2014, representing an increase of 26.3% over 2013.

IDC, meanwhile, expects 1.4 billion smartphones to be shipped worldwide in 2015 for a 12.2% year-over-year growth rate. Slower annual growth continues throughout the forecast with unit shipments approaching 1.9 billion units in 2018, resulting in a 9.8% compound annual growth rate for the forecast period between 2014 and 2018.

Melissa Chau, senior research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said that the impact of upstart Chinese players in the global market will be reflected in a race to the bottom when it comes to price.

“While premium phones are not going anywhere, we are seeing increasingly better specs in more affordable smartphones,” she said. “Consumers no longer have to go with a top-of-the-line handset to guarantee decent hardware quality or experience. The bigger question now is how much lower can prices go?”

IDC’s report said that on a worldwide basis, smartphones are expected to have an average selling price of $297 worldwide in 2014, and it will drop to US$241 by 2018. Emerging markets, such as India, will see much lower smartphone prices around $135 each but will fall to US$102 by 2018. The report said, however, the prices in mature markets are not expected to change significantly and modestly higher shipment volumes will not drive up overall revenues as each generation of flagship phones shows less and less differentiation from its predecessors.

IDC said that Android devices will continue to drive shipment volumes from an operating system perspective, while iOS devices drive revenues. By 2018, Android will control 80% of global smartphones shipped and 61% of revenues, while iOS will control only 13% of volumes and 34% of revenues. With Android volumes so dominant, IDC said, it is no longer a possibility for new operating systems like Tizen and Firefox to compete on price alone.

“As shipment volume slows, we expect greater attention to shift toward value trends,” said Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phones team. He said that Apple’s approach with premium pricing ensures a growing portion of overall revenues despite its declining market share. Meanwhile, Android’s multi-faceted approach, with forked versions and low-cost Android One strategy, will produce mixed results, yet it allows deeper penetration into merging markets.

“That can lead to additional pressure on its vendor partners, who will need to seek greater differentiation in terms of devices and experiences in the hyper-competitive smartphone market,” Llamas said.

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Thanksgiving is a day for turkey. Black Friday is a day for statistics. Traffic on Thanksgiving from mobile devices edged just over 52 percent of all online traffic, while Black Friday mobile traffic dipped just below 50 percent. According to 24/7 Wall St, sales from mobile devices on Black Friday were about 30 percent higher than last year, accounting for 28 percent of that day’s online sales. Thanksgiving Day sales were below those of the widely hyped day that follows indigestion.Those online shoppers live mostly on the East Coast with Los Angeles wedged in the middle of New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Chicago. Smartphones accounted for 35 percent of all on-line traffic, but tablets led the charge in sales numbers and dollars spent by $18.95.

The Apple platform outdistanced that of Google with Apple products typically being higher priced than Google’s. IBM Data reports as Average Order Value: ”iOS users averaged $121.86 per order compared to $98.07 for Android users, a difference 24.3 percent.” The data shows as Online Sales: “iOS sales accounted for 21.9 percent of total online sales, nearly quadruple that of Android, which drove 5.8 percent of all online sales.” According to comScore, Apple has 42 percent of the market, and Android has 52 percent. However, Android’s market share advantage pales beside iOS popularity.

In general, all online sales were higher than those of last year. Department stores sold an average of just over $143. Health and beauty’s average order was just under $73. Apparel’s average ticket online sale slide to just under $115, while home goods had the highest average order – $238.46.

We’ll have to wait to see what Cyber Monday brings after all the online sales that have already taken place over the weekend.

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Is your recently updated Nexus 5 or SHIELD tablet feeling slow after the Lollipop update? You probably are going to need to do a factory reset.

Keep in mind that if you do a factory reset you will lose all locally stored data that hasn’t been backed up to the cloud. That usually means music files, photos (if you don’t have Google+ auto backup enabled), app settings and authorizations and other settings. Most of these things will be saved for you if you are using all of Google’s cloud services, but local music and other files will not be backed up so back those up before you do a factory reset.

In order to do a factory reset, all you have to do is go to the settings potion of the phone, find the Backup and Reset option and then hit Factory data reset. Your phone will prompt you to make sure you want that option and then it will restart after you confirm and reset the phone to factory defaults, which are now going to be the Android Lollipop defaults.

Recently, a lot of phones have been getting updates to Android 5.0 Lollipop and the list is only growing. A lot of users that have updated their Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat devices are reporting that their devices are appearing to perform slower and less responsive after the update. I had this happen with both my Nexus 5 and my SHIELD tablet and a factory reset made both devices as fast as before the update.

The great thing about Android Lollipop that a lot of people haven’t really experienced yet (because most people haven’t had to update their device and do a reset) is that you can completely wipe your device and the Android backup actually does backup all of your apps that were previously installed. In the past, this feature partially worked for me and I didn’t entirely trust it as a result. So, when I did a factory reset of the SHIELD tablet, I was prepared to re-install everything but instead I re-installed nothing and the tablet did it all on its own.

A lot of people are speculating that people are experiencing this issue due to the fact that the OTA files on the phone or tablet were not properly wiped from the phone or tablet’s memory and as a result are causing some sort of an interface lagginess and overall system sluggishness. After all, the OTA is a fairly large file for both devices. There are also speculations that the reason may be some applications that are unoptimized for Lollipo but those are fairly unjustified because after a factory reset those apps return and performance is still fast.

The interesting thing is that it doesn’t actually affect overall system performance as much as we thought, as when we had originally gotten the SHIELD tablet it had performance of 4579 in Futuremark’s PCMark Android benchmark. After the Android 5.0 lollipop update, it went up to 5127 points even with the lagginess and after the factory reset it went up to 5322, which means that when the Android 5.0 lollpop update is applied correctly the SHIELD tablet gets  20% performance bump, not the 15% we had seen.

So if your newly updated Android device is feeling sluggish or slow after the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, then you should seriously consider doing a factory reset as one of the first options before you waste too much time on other things.

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