Google Home app latest update creates fluster

 Google has started updating its devices and apps following the announcement of changes to Speaker Groups and Assistant device setup. The latest version of the Google Home app no longer lets you use a phone's physical volume button when playing videos. 

The company on Thursday unveiled a new feature that will prevent you from changing the Speaker Group volume using your phone's physical volume button. Though that change has not yet been applied to Cast controls integrated into the system volume panel, it has now been removed with version 2.47.79.5 of Google Home for Android.

In the Home app, a green shortcut for Media can be found at the top or you can click a notification to open the Media screen. Previously, you could adjust output either on a single or multiple speakers using your Android device's volume rocker.

With the update to Google Home for Android released late Friday evening, you can no longer click the rocker to select your speaker's output - now you must use each speaker's virtual slider within the Home app.

This latest change makes it difficult to quickly control music started by someone else in your house. Currently, there is no difference when adjusting the volume of audio that is started directly on your phone. 

In addition, the "Group volume" slider still appears in the "Now playing" screen on the Nest Hub. It appears that Google Home 2.47.79.5 for Android will be available to most Android 11 and 12 devices in the coming days.

Selfie with Snapi in a touch free way

Do you feel to focus more on the picture that stretching your hand and fingers to trigger the camera to take a selfie? Well,  here’s an app to help you out. Snapi puts an end to uncomfortable Selfies. With Snapi you can now capture photos without touching the phone. Thanks to the touch-free gesture technology engine from a company called eyesight. Simply raise your open palm in front of camera, close it into a fist and open again to start the capture countdown, and voila, – the selfie will be captured. Snapi works up to 13 feet (4m) away – just put the phone down and get that group shot. So what are you waiting for? Start Snaping!

              

You can also configure how many seconds will pass between your gesture and the actual capture, so no need to move yourself just to be in position.  It also has autofocus based on your smartphone's face recognition. You also will get the sound feedback to help you focus and countdown and finally capture the click. It can be easily switch between the front and back cameras on your device.

The best thing about Snapi apart from touch free selfie is that it is absolutely free from Google playstore,so enjoy your selfie with Snapi.

Don't Know ? Just Ask Cortana..

Tech giants like Apple and Google have given lot of importance to Voice assistants. With the SIRI coming in, Microsoft wants to ensure that it isn’t late for the party and has given Cortana a big push in Windows 10. Cortana was showcased at Windows 10 event held at Redmond. The biggest highlight was Cortana will be coming to desktops as well. At the core, it is similar to what we saw in Windows Phone, but now Cortana is more skilled at natural language, handling your daily appointments and so on.



Improved search is the first and foremost feature of Cortana.It can look up specific Word files or Presentations. It also lets users search for contextual information. For instance, you can look for “videos from September.” It can also go beyond your computer and search for videos or docs from Microsoft’s cloud service – OneDrive.

Another key thing needless to say Cortana learns its users’ tastes and preferences, just like some other voice assistants. There’s a new feature called Notebook that keeps a tab on all the saved information. It also keeps a track of the sports scores, travel, weather and such similar information that you may be interested in. It’s in the Notebook, that you can add other things that you expect Cortana to keep a track.

Sources say Cortana is integrated with Spartan Browser, given that Google has integrated voice-search in Chrome as well. Cortana will bring predictive search into the browser. Cortana also takes dictation. Yes, you can simply dictate an email, now. You can also ask it to play music. In case you are on a page of a hotel/restaurant, it instantly pops up the menu or Maps with directions. In the search bar, it also helps with generating auto complete.

Cortana needless to say just the right move as Windows 10 is expected to bring seamless experience across all Microsoft devices. Microsoft’s move to bring Cortana to desktops  makes perfect sense as voice-assistant are being seen as the future of search.

Invisible Text app - delete message even after it is sent

Worried about wrong message sent to your Parents, boss or friends now there is a Ctrl Z for the same.After a few too many drinks we have all sent that text we wished we hadn't or the text that accidentally got sent to the wrong person.



Invisible Text” app works by allowing the user to delete a sent message as long as it has not already been opened.Another amazing advantage of the app is its timer facility, which allows the user to set a timer for a message to self-destruct itself if it is not read within a stipulated amount of time.

According to Invisible Text, it uses patent-pending technology that combines message encryption with device pairing.

The app is available on Android, iOS and BlackBerry devices using a technology that combines message encryption with device pairing."To date, no other solution can ensure secure data transmission between two devices, including a smartphone, smart TV, computer, tablet, radio or webcam,” the company said in a statement.

So far there is already one small catch, the recipient of the text you want to delete must also have Invisible Text for the app to work. So if you sent that text to your dad but it was meant to go to your boyfriend and your dad doesn’t have the app then unfortunately there is no saving you from that awkward moment.

Nokia + Android = Normandy ??

 @evleaks posted a photo with that caption “Android on Nokia ( -virtual buttons)” that could perhaps be further suggesting a Nokia device running Android is in the works. Code Named Normandy, Nokia's Android smartphone seems to be coming back from the dead.Tipster evleaks have revealed that such a device is in the works, and will be announced in the MWC conference  through the Chinese website tieba.baidu.com, a screen capture of Nokia's Android phone has been leaked, seemingly confirming the existence of an Android running Nokia phone.



Firstly, the model number for this Android Nokia is A110, and it's running Android 4.4.1. It is running a 3.4.0 Kernel.This device is running on Snapdragon Processor with camera spec of 5MP, resolution of 854 x 480 and is a confirmation of the fact that this device is targeted for the low-end market.

The appearance of the phone is a mix of Lumia and Asha series designs, with only a single capacitive 'back' button on the front face.This Lumia-style device, according to a report by The Verge, has “no apparent capacitive buttons for navigation” and ”supports Android applications like Skype, and other popular top apps.”Comparing the above image to smartphones running Windows Phone, the navigation bar is nearly identical as far as the layout of the status bar icons.

According to an India website BGR, this Android phone will be "de-Googled", which means it will not be able to access the Google Play Store, will not include Google maps, Gmail, Google Search services, and instead will be using Nokia's own maps, Bing Search and Microsoft Outlook for the mail client.

Another rumor claims Nokia have been in contact with many top-tier app developers and are in talks to develop apps for their own Android store.There are also app developers who claim that over 80% of the apps in the Play store is compatible with Nokia Normandy, and only needs minor tweaks.

As there is no confimed news on launch of Normandy, we cannot expect it to make it to market based on  the official photos leaked, but it proves that Nokia is in development of an android phone.According to leaks Nokia could be announcing the Normandy in the MWC 2014 in the end of February.

via @evleaks, GSMArena

Have a break have a KitKat

Cupcake, Donut,Eclairs,Froyo,Gingerbread,Honeycomb,Icecream Sandwich,Jelly bean.As everyone finds chocolate so tempting here comes the new version of Android 4.4 named KitKat. Throughout the Jelly Bean reign, we've been gathering rumors of the next major Android update, Android 5.0. The word was that this release was being developed under the dessert-related codename of Key Lime Pie but then on 3 September 2013, Google announced that Android 4.4 KitKat would precede Android 5, so the Key Lime Pie name looks to have been ditched



We're still expecting an Android 5 release, of course, but with different features, a new code name and a later release date than we were originally anticipating.

Nestle-Android how it worked

The story goes that the Android development team then thought about KitKat and pitched the idea to Nestlé who jumped straight on board. t's a deal that works on both sides, with Nestlé running a promotional campaign  on confectionery to win Android devices or Google Play credit, while Google gets to use the icon image of the KitKat bar, now in Android form.

Some may see it as a shrewd marketing move, others as Google trying to express its fun and playful side. Either way, Google's promise that Android 4.4 will be sweet is very much literal. Quickly following the reveal of the Android KitKat statue, Google updated it's Android page announcing that KitKat was coming.

Android 4.4 KitKat will almost certainly debut on the Nexus 5, which is rumored to launch on 14 October. The date is yet to be confirmed by Google, but October fits the launch pattern for previous Nexus devices. Nestle also posted on its Facebook KitKat page to expect a launch in October. Whether this is KitKat repeating the rumors, or stating fact, can't be determined.

There’s also been a build of KitKat - KRS74D - identified in a Chrome bug tracker site, spotted exclusively by myce. And in the last couple of days, a few credible screenshots have emerged of the messaging app and dialer. One theory is that 4.4 will be easier for the world’s handset manufacturers to integrate into their own road maps by offering broader firmware compatibility - so older handsets will be able to upgrade, and you’ll get faster updates on newer models.  You can also be fairly sure that 4.4 will mark updates to Android’s stock theme. Google has just updated the Android GMail app.

Merging the google with the notification screen,Moto X Voice activation,making interface even prettier,,handsome skin and smooth animations,are some of the features we’d be loved to see in KitKat. So it's looking increasingly like Android 4.4 KitKat won't be the radical overhaul some are expecting – and that the days of numbered Android updates bringing big changes could be... well... numbered.

Bye bye QWERTY,Hello KALQ

Wanna type 34% faster than now, then install KALQ keyboard for touch screen. Researchers claim to have developed a new keyboard for touchscreens that allows superfast thumb-typing. This latest challenger comes from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Informatics and is aimed at speeding up thumb-centric typing on mobile touchscreen devices.

KALQ, the layout was devised by a research team led by Antto Oulasvirta using computational optimization techniques along with a model of thumb movement to search through millions of potential layouts. The team ultimately hit upon a split layout with 16 keys on the left and 12 keys on the right. All vowels, with the exception of the Y, which can sometimes be considered a vowel, are located on the right along with G, K, L, Q and J.

This design relies on user moving both thumbs simultaneously with one thumb moving towards its next target as the other is typing.The team conducted a survey and found that user could type 34% faster in this layout when compared to QWERTY layout.This  allowed users to reach 37 words per minute, which they claim is the best ever reported for two-thumb typing on touchscreen devices and significantly better than the roughly 20 words per minute regular users achieve on a split QWERTY layout.

Researchers said KALQ will be made available as a free app for Android-based smartphones at the beginning of May.