The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a host of cool gesture-activated features that let you perform key functions with the wave of hand. With the Galaxy S4′s motion controls, you can make a call by simply placing the phone next to your ear, lift up your phone to check missed calls and silence a ringer by placing the phone flat on its screen.
Like most of the newest halo phones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has an infrared port so you can use it as a TV remote. With its built-in WatchOn application, the Galaxy S4 can browse channels and see what’s on, search Netflix for streaming titles or query Samsung’s Media Hub to find movies and TV shows you can buy. But before you can use the WatchOn app, you’ll have to set it up.
On your laptop, you frequently get more information by positioning the mouse pointer on top of an object. Whether it’s the ALT text when hovering over the image on a Web page or the tool tips when hovering over a button in Windows, there’s a ton of extra available information. The Samsung Galaxy S4′s Air View feature also offers additional information when you hover over an object, but it uses your finger rather than a mouse pointer.
Air View lets users preview a photo, view the text of an email message in the inbox or scan ahead on a video, all without touching the screen. To enable Air View on the Samsung Galaxy S4, follow these steps. Read the rest of this entry »
Tired of having to unlock your Samsung Galaxy S4 to access your favorite apps? Then you’ll want to add your favorite app shortcuts to the S4′s home screen. To do this:
Open the Settings menu and tap the My Device tab at the top of the screen.
It looks like the rumors of a Twitter-based music service were true, as the social media giant has announced its new Twitter #music app. Available for iOS or via Music.twitter.com, the service will scour Twitter activity to find tweets, mentions, user engagement and more to find music that’s popular among the Twittersphere. That music is then pulled into the app, and made available for listening. For now the desktop version is still listed as “coming soon,” and the app isn’t easily searchable in the App Store. But, it is downloadable if you Google it.
From the social side, users can follow their favorite artists’ Twitter activity and view their profiles. You’ll also be able to tweet songs from the app. Read the rest of this entry »
Two of the biggest complaint users (us included) have about Windows 8 are the loss of the Start button and the inability to boot to the traditional Desktop screen, both of which Microsoft has steadfastly denied are problems. But it looks like the folks at Redmond may have finally gotten the hint. New reports are indicating that Microsoft will bring both features back to the OS with its upcoming Windows Blue update for Windows 8.
According to Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet, Microsoft is considering an option to skip Windows 8′s Modern UI interface upon startup, instead allowing users to boot the the Desktop screen. Foley says the company is also considering bringing back the Start button. As Foley indicates, both reports are just rumors. But the chatter across the tech landscape points to at least the boot to Desktop option as the more likely of the two to come true. Read the rest of this entry »
Planning for what to do with your online accounts when you pass away might seem morbid to some, but for those looking for a way to prepare for the inevitable, Google’s new service is a godsend. In a post on the Google Public Policy Blog today, product manager Andreas Tuerk introduced a feature called “Inactive Account Manager” that can take care of all the Google accounts you leave behind after you’re gone, even if being gone only means you want to abandon your digital persona completely. Read the rest of this entry »
Bad news for everyone waiting for Microsoft Office to be available on Android and iOS; these versions of the popular productivity suite might not arrive until October 2014. This disappointing timeframe comes from an internal roadmap for Gemini, the codename for the next-generation of Office updates, that ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley obtained from an unnamed source.
The Office suite for iOS was first spotted on an iPad in February 2012, but it wasn’t until November 2012 that the company’s Czech PR team revealed that Microsoft has indeed been working on an Android and iOS version of the Office Suite. The report was corroborated by other sources, and it was rumored that the mobile Office suites could be available as soon as early 2013. Alas, it’s already the second quarter of the year and, as we’ve yet to hear an official announcement from the company itself, it seems like Microsoft won’t be launching these mobile apps anytime soon. Read the rest of this entry »
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Telecommuting is a double-edged sword. Sure you can just slide out of bed and saddle up to your computer in your P.J.s, but you miss out on those important water cooler conversations and idle chitchat that helps build working relationships, not to mention spread ideas. That’s where Ambient Communications comes in.
The company, which was on hand during AT&T’s recent Innovation Showcase, is developing a new technology that will give telecommuters the opportunity to participate in the kind of social interactions that can only be found in an office setting.
The system works by essentially tapping into a series of always-on webcams, which are positioned in different areas of your office. The telecommuter’s display is then filled with different nodes that stream images from every webcam attached to the service. Read the rest of this entry »
Facebook’s secretive “Home on Android” event is just a day away and it seems like we’re getting a better image of the mystery HTC smartphone that the company will reportedly unveil. The phone, which @evleaks posted images of on Twitter, is called the HTC First and, if it’s real, will likely run the rumored Facebook Android launcher we heard about earlier this week.
The First, which has also been referred to as the HTC Myst, is expected to sport mid-range specs like a 4.3-inch display, a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 processor and 1GB of RAM and have a 5-megapixel rear-facing and 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera. Android Police reports that the First will likely come loaded with Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2. The @evleaks post indicates that the phone will be available in different colors including black, red, blue and white.
"The s4 obliterates the iPhone in every way, the screen won't break as the iPhone will in one drop and the design for the iPhone doesn't matter everyone has to put it in a otter box to try to keep it from breaking the s4 ..." -- morgan mcinnes on Apple iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4: And the Winner Is…
