Android Games Vending Machines Rolling in Tokyo

In Japan (obviously), they have vending machines for everything, ranging from worn underwear(yes, you read that correctly, those Japanese dudes are weird) to, breaking news, Android Games! Yes, now you can buy Android Games from Vending Machines, only in Japan!

You can’t get more retro and true than that, mark my words. Don’t even try.

So, riding the wave of trendiness and the cult for vending machines, the good people from Google Japan decided to join the party and now you can buy up to 18 games from those machines, which are basically dedicated Google Play physical stores, sort of speak. Or, huge smartphones. Or, I really don’t know what they are, just check out the picture. If you can buy a Coke and a Hot-Dog(or, at least sushi in a toothpaste tube, in case you’re not addicted to real food) with your Android game, drop of the hat for those Japanese engineers, heaven is here to stay!

So, moving along with the story, the games available in the Google Play machines are free to play or paid for types. In order to take advantage of this retro technology, you will have to use your state of the art Android running  smartphone (at least a 4.0  Android version) and NFC.

It’s like riding an Unicorn wearing Google Glass and thinking that you’re an Elf or something, if you ask me. I would be blown off my shoes if those guys from Google Japan would have sold you Android games on Vinyl disks or Cassettes, you know what I mean?

The Google Play vending machine has a huge touchscreen, with weird animations (Manga, anyone?) and looks just like a Coke dispenser of some sort. Using it is very easy, so all you have to do is buy a one way ticket to Tokyo and start playing.

Samsung Galaxy Gear

The world of gadgets has welcomed a lot of intriguing devices lately, some of them being the smartwatches, some little tech-fellows that hope and promise to make your life easier. And they do a pretty good job, actually. As an example, see what the Samsung Galaxy Gear has to offer and find out if it’s capable of improving your life and deserves to be bought.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear is an Android based smartwatch that is currently compatible with the recently released Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Note 10.1 (which is going to be out soon). It’ll be able to connect with the Galaxy S4, S3 and Galaxy Note II after being updated to Android 4.3.
In terms of design, I thought that the Galaxy Gear was a little bulky, but after placing it on my wrist, I started to enjoy it, as it looks nice and feels quite comfy.

Let’s get to more serious issues, like hardware and software. The Galaxy Gear is home for a 1.63” Super Amoled screen that has a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels, a 277 ppi density and is protected by a scratch resistant glass. Its body is IP-55 certified, thus being protected against moderate levels of dust and water, meaning that it will survive being dropped in sand or splashed with water, but don’t go swimming with it or something like that, because it can’t survive underwater.
The Galaxy Gear comes loaded with Android 4.2.2 and is powered by a Samsung Exynos chipset, having a single-core 800 MHz processor, ARM Mali-400 MP4 GPU, 512 MB of RAM memory and 4 GB of internal storage.
For taking pictures, you have a 1.9 MP camera with autofocus which is placed in the watch’s band. It can record 720p videos.
The Galaxy Gear can be controlled with S Voice, a virtual voice assistant, and make calls, check messages, check out the weather, set alarms, record voice memos, control your audio player and more. Losing your phone becomes almost impossible, as the smartwatch can command it to beep, vibrate or illuminate whenever you have it misplaced. Also, if you move away from your phone, it will unlock itself when feeling a distance larger than 1.5 m between it and your smartwatch.

LG G Pro Lite Dual Leaks Reveal Stylus and Low End Screen

According to some rumors, the LG Optimus G Pro is expected to have a similar version launched, I’m talking about the LG G Pro Lite Dual, which sports dual-SIM support and features some downgraded specifications.
The new version comes with almost the same measurements as its sibling, standing at 150.2 x 76.9 x 9.5 mm, being slightly thicker and wider, but it’s kind of physically impossible to notice the difference with the naked eye.
The LG G Pro Lite is going to host, like its predecessor, a 5.5 inches IPS touchscreen, but unfortunately, it doesn’t inherit the resolution and pixel density, having only a qHD resolution of 960 x 540 pixels and a pixel density of 200 ppi.
A stylus will be provided with the new phablet and it will be hosted in the handset’s body.
The chipset has suffered a downgrade too, as instead of seeing a Snapdragon 600 in action, we’re expected to settle with a dual-core 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM instead of 2 and 8 GB of internal memory (not 16 or 32, like before). Of course, there’s a card slot for expanding the storage capacity.
For taking pictures, the LG G Pro Lite comes with an 8 MP camera instead of 13, like the one featured by the original G Pro, and has a back-illuminated sensor (BIS).

The new smartphone comes loaded with Android v4.1.2 Jelly Bean and features some neat LG customizations, such as KnockOn, Video pause, Guest mode or QSlide. Also, it holds a “dual speaker” for enhancing the sound quality, a 3,140 mAh battery, FM Radio support and probably more.
The source that published the rumors states that the new dual-SIM version is going to hit the Russian markets soon, at the middle of October.

Given its specifications, the phablet’s price is going to be much smaller than its sibling’s, around $400, according to the leaks.

Nexus 5 Specs Leaked

I’m sure that all you techies out there are clued up about the apparition of a new Nexus version, to be more specific, the LG made Nexus 5. Well, the fellows from Myce.com just revealed that they have spotted a 10 MB log file of Android KitKat running on a Nexus 5. Searching through its 133,000 lines was fruitful, as some internal specifications for the new lovechild of Google and LG were confirmed.
Of course, the findings don’t really bring a lot of new information, as we already suspected what the Nexus 5 is going to bring.
For those of you who are unacquainted with the Nexus 5 related stuff, I’m going to let you know about what’s going on inside this highly-rumored smartphone and what it brings to the world of smartphones.
According to some FCC documents, the Nexus 5 is 131.9 mm tall and has a width of 68.2 mm, but that’s all regarding its measurements for now.
The smartphone will be home for a 4.97 inches display that sports a 1080p resolution and a pixel density of 442 ppi.
In terms of hardware and software, the Nexus 5 features a Snapdragon 800 chipset – a quad-core Krait processor clocked at 2.3 GHz, an Adreno GPU, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory. Also, the Nexus 4 will run Android’s latest and greatest v4.4 KitKat.

Sony Reveals 2 Android Walkman Players :the ZX 1 and the F880

Whenever you think that your iPod is cool, the alfa and omega like, you’re forgetting one basic fact : before Apple and the iPod “revolution”, the Sony Walkman ruled the world!

I remember those cassette player Sony Walkmans since the 90′s, yes, I am that old folks. And the first Walkman was invented back in 1978, when Steve Jobs was still thinking about what to steal from other companies. Strike that, I meant innovate.

The Sony Walkman is one of the oldest brands in the music industry and it used to be synonymous with “portable music players”.

If you’re a Sony fan, you are very familiar with the excellent audio quality output of their smartphones, because yes, they’re all using the Walkman audio player.

For all the Android lovers out there, I have some good news: just a few days ago, Sony announced two new members in the Walkman family, 2 stand-alone portable music players : the ZX 1 and the F880.

The Sony ZX1 is the high-end model, it comes with an impressive 128 GB of storage capacity (built in flash memory), it supports 24 bit/196 kHz audio playback and it can play almost everything you throw at it : FLAC, ALAC, MP3, you name it.  For an enhanced audio quality output, the ZX1 uses  a new proprietary technology by Sony, the S-Master HX Amplifier.

The front panel of the ZX1harbors a 4 inches wide display with  854×480 pixels resolution, it features Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, support for the Google Play Store and last but not least, the Walkman runs on Android 4.1.

The cheaper variant for those of you on a tight budget is the Sony F880. This baby comes with the majority of the features of its “smarter” sibling, but with a smaller display (3.5 inches wide) and a reduced internal storage capacity (you have multiple options : 16 gb, 32 gb,64 gb).

What I enjoy most about  the F880 is the wide choice of colors available : black, white, blue and pink. The ZX1 is the serious cat of the bunch, it is available in just one color, as pictured.

Both Android running Walkmans will be available starting with October 19′th, initially in Japan.

Dolphin Browser for Android Now Available in Beta Version

If you’re not happy with your default Android browser, now you can take a look  at the new Dolphin Browser for Android, available for beta-testers in the Google Play Store. So, if your current Android browser doesn’t offer enough features or shortcuts you’re expecting for your smart device, you can take a look at Chrome, Firefox  or the Dolphin Browser, all of them available in beta versions in the Google Play Store. But, with the Dolphin, you will have to sign up first, for its beta program before using it, so let me show you how to do it : First, you will have to join the Dolphin Browser Beta Testers Google+ Community. Indeed, it sounds complicated, and come on, who uses Google+ or HI5 anyway?  But there are benefits if you join, checkthis out.  If you don’t have a Google+ account and you want to join the Dolphin Beta Testers group, you’ll have to create one for yourself. The next step is to go here, click on “Become a tester”, and you’re set up and almost ready to go, but you must keep in mind that the link won’t work if you’re not a member of Google+. Finally, you will have to download the Dolphin Browser for Android from the Google Play Store by clicking here and voila! You can now start testing it, knock yourself out!

The NSA & Comp Can Remotely Access Your PC Even When Turned Off or Offline

The NSA and/or any other Government agency can get remote access over your computer, even when turned off. How about that?

By remote access I mean that your privacy is zero, even if you’re not connected to the internet or you have your hard drive encrypted. It doesn’t matter.

The Intel Core vPro CPU comes with a backdoor built in, as it contains a secret 3G chip that basically allows a third party to access your hard drive, your webcam, to remotely shut down the PC, you name it, it’s the real ghost in the machine.

This technology is nothing new for the “insiders” in the industry, but after the NSA spying scandal, some people started to ask questions. This secret 3G chip was introduced two years ago, in 2011, as a security enhancement. At least that’s what Intel claimed, that with the 3G embedded chip, they will enable their Anti Theft 3.0 technology, which is found on all their I3/I5/I7 CPUs, after Sandy Bridge. Intel’s marketing claims that the 3G “secret” chip allows easier maintenance over your computer, because it doesn’t require the computer to be turned on in order to fix the problems remotely.

According to Jeff Marek, the director of business client engineering (an Intel employee), all processors built on the Sandy Bridge platform (after 2011) have, let me quote him on that :  “the ability to remotely kill and restore a lost or stolen PC via 3G.”

Long story short, the Core Vpro CPUs come with a secondary physical processor built in the main CPU which has its own operating system embedded on itself.

Jim Stone wrote an article, describing how the “backdoor” actually works :

“As long as the power supply is available and and in working condition, it can be woken up by the Core vPro processor, which runs on the system’s phantom power and is able to quietly turn individual hardware components on and access anything on them.”

This backdoor technology was promoted as an easier way for IT experts to take care of the problems on your PC/Laptop/Tablet/Smartphone/YouNameIt. But it doesn’t take too much imagination to realize what it really means for the NSA : full access on the entire content on everyone’s hard drive, even if the computer is turned off and not connected to the Internet.

According to TG Daily, this is a privacy nightmare, actually privacy is just a fancy word for the worst 1984 scenario:

“This combination of hardware from Intel enables vPro access ports which operate independently of normal user operations,”These include out-of-band communications (communications that exist outside of the scope of anything the machine might be doing through an OS or hypervisor), monitoring and altering of incoming and outgoing network traffic. In short, it operates covertly and snoops and potentially manipulates data.”

How to Turn Your Android Smartphone Into a Microscope With The Microphone Lens

I don’t know about you, but I think that turning your Android running smartphone into a microscope is the coolest idea ever and now it can become reality, thanks to the Microphone Lens.

I love to take macro pictures of insects and stuff, especially with a nice auto-focus camera (I always use my smartphone, I never owned a dedicated camera), and check out the fine details; the possibility of taking snapshots of viruses and bacterias is mind blowing, don’t you think?

Now, even if you don’t have a microscope, you can build yourself one, easy as pie. All you need is a smartphone and a “Microphone Lens” and voila!, your droid will turn into a portable, handheld microscope. You may ask, what the heck is a Microphone Lens, let me show you a picture of the device :

Basically, turning your android into a microscope can be achieved by attaching a lightweight (less than half a pound) and not very expensive device to your smartphone, on the back panel. At least that’s what the researchers from the University of California are claiming, and that device will convert your droid into a sensitive fluorescence microscope.

This is the Microphone Lens, and it will allow you to take snapshots of a single cell or a virus, not to mention the endless possibilities of using it in healthcare in poor countries.

The first experiment with the Microphone Lens used a Nokia 808 PureView, the coolest smartphone ever in my humble opinion, due to its monstrous 41 Megapixels sensor and exceptional image quality of its camera. With a little help from the Microphone Lens, the phone was able to take fluorescent images of individual viruses and nano-particles. The Microphone Lens components  were 3D-printed and the device used a laser bought from eBay, a color filter and an external lens.

As you can see from the diagram, it’s not rocket science, but it may inspire a new generation of scientists.

The Microphone Lens project was sponsored by Nokia University, the Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation and many others.

The New LG Vu 3 is Finally Here

LG has just made an official announcement regarding its latest and greatest phablet, and if some of you have been expecting a successor for the Optimus Vu series, you’ll be a little surprised, as the new member of the Vu family isn’t an “Optimus” anymore, being simply the LG Vu 3.
The new smartphone made by the Koreans doesn’t really resemble with its two older Vu brothers, as its body has rounded corners instead of angular ones, but keeps the family tradition of having 4:3 displays.
The LG Vu 3 sports a 5.2 inches True HD IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen that has a resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels, the 4:3 aspect ratio that I’ve mentioned earlier, Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2 protection and has a pixel density of 308 ppi, so the image quality should be pretty impressive. Just like in the previous generations of Vu-s, you’re provided with a  rubber tipped stylus.
On the inside, the third Vu features a blazing fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, having a quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 processor, an Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. There were no details about the internal memory, but the Vu 3 supposedly comes without a card slot.
The rich package of goodies is completed with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Hits the World

Great news for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 fans everywhere because today Samsung launched its long expected phablet, the Note 3, worldwide, in over 58 countries.

The Note 3 is going to be shipped today, unlocked, and it is expected to be available in the mobile carriers offer in the days to come.  This latest gizmo in the Samsung’s phablet line-up will be available in 58 countries initially and by the end of the year another 82 countries will follow.

For the UK market, the Samsung Galaxy Note will retail for £649 unlocked from Samsung’s own website and for just £629.95 if you choose Carphone Warehouse. In Germany and other EU countries, the Galaxy Note will be available unlocked for a hefty price tag of €759 (that’s almost $1000 folks).

In the United States and Canada, the Note 3 is available in stock at Negri Electronics with a price tag around $770. The phablet is also available in Honk Kong and China, but the Aussies will have to wait until October the 3′rd to put their greedy little hands on the Note 3.