Having dipped its toes into the branded mobile device game, Google is all set to expand its Nexus program, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The search giant is apparently planning to offer early access to future Android iterations to up to five device OEMs, with the intention of selling the devices directly to consumers.
Up until this point, the Big G’s battle plan has consisted of selling just one flagship device through a solitary OEM partner, but in quintessentially-Google fashion, there will be a much stronger emphasis on this market, and like the Android mobile ecosystem itself, Google will be looking to make a significant, lasting impression.

Just recently, it laid the foundations for a potential expansion of this nature by resuscitating its online direct-to-consumer sales portal, through which it used to sell the Nexus One unlocked. Meanwhile, the Nexus S and much-lauded (yet rather disappointing) Galaxy Nexus were retailed through third-parties and mobile carriers.
The devices in question however, are most likely be sold unlocked without carrier restrictions, and at full retail price, and it is thought the devices could – if all goes to plan – be around by Thanksgiving, which would inevitably equate to stronger sales boosted by the holiday rush.
Although the Google Play Store only sells the Galaxy Nexus in the US of A, the WSJ’s report reckons Google will offer the new, bolstered catalog to a much wider audience – including parts of Europe and Asia.

With Google’s acquisition of Motorola almost done and dusted, many OEMs would have feared its new purchase would be getting vastly preferential treatment as Google tries to haul Android almost completely in-house, but this move should pay heed to all that.
In addition, Google is looking to get OEMs competing based on hardware alone, which will certainly help with the continual prosperity of Android itself. Ice Cream Sandwich’s release was delayed heavily by the custom Android skins added by each OEM, every one of which meant ICS needed to be tailored and adapted to each device for optimum functionality. By keeping the software implications similar for each device, Google will be looking to avoid such a fiasco with Android Jelly Bean (5.0) – set to be released later this year.

Read More

How to turn on the LG G Watch

During the setup process of an LG G Watch while at Google I/O, I placed it into its charging cradle and the watch powered up. The thought of looking for a power on button or an "on" gesture (since the G Watch lacks physical buttons) never crossed my mind.

Then during my flight home, I turned the watch off in order to conserve battery. I had been testing and using the watch all day and it was sure to die before I arrived home. What I didn't realize was that I would have my work cut out for me to get the watch turned back on.

After repeatedly tapping on the screen, followed by holding a finger on the screen for at least 30 seconds and realizing my efforts to power on the watch were failing, I took my conundrum to Google. A few search results later, I figured out placing the watch in its charging dock was my best bet for powering on the watch. I even quipped about the apparent oversight on Twitter. Little did I know there's actually another trick to turning on the G Watch.

According to Google's support documents, you can also power up the G Watch using the reset button on the back of the watch.

Using a pen, paperclip, or a SIM tool, press the reset button for about 2 seconds and stare in amazement as the watch powers up. You can find said reset button just above the five charging contacts when you turn over the watch.

The moral of the story here is don't make the same mistake I did. If you're going to turn your G Watch off, make sure you're close to the charging dock, or have a paper clip nearby.

Tags:

Wearable Tech

Android Wear

Google

LG

Read More

​Korean handset maker Pantech faces bankruptcy with $475M debt

In Korea's mobile phone landscape, after Samsung and LG, Pantech plays third fiddle. Mostly operating in the domestic market, Pantech offers budget-friendly alternatives to rival companies and some of its flagship models, such as the Vega Secret Note, have been met with tremendous success. But the company now faces troubled waters as it faces a debt repayment deadline amidst posting staggering profit losses.                                              (Vega Sales also Can't save company)

Pantech will have to pay back an outstanding debt of 480 billion Korean won ($475 million, £277 million, AU$502 million) on July 4, a date set back in late February when the company filed for its second debt restructuring program. Unfortunately, the company is in no position to make good on its debts, having posted operating losses of 292 billion won last year and 6.7 billion in Q1 of 2014.

The list of Pantech's creditors include financial institutions, investment banks, and Korea's three network operators, SK telecom, KT and LG Uplus. And while the financial institutions and investment banks have agreed to a swap their 300 billion won debt to equity in the company, the three carriers have publicly stated that they are "undecided" on what to do with only two days remaining.

Of the three, SK Telecom is owed the most with 90 billion Korean won ($89 million, £52 million, $AU$94 million), while KT and LG Uplus are owed 45 billion Korean won ($45 million, £26 million, AU$47 million) each.

Should the carriers decide to follow suit with a debt to equity swap, they will have to pour in more capital to Pantech's struggling business. They would also more than likely face capital reduction at a 10-to-1 ratio, meaning the value of their equity would essentially shrink by a tenth.

Should the carriers refuse to agree to a swap, Pantech will have to file for bankruptcy. Recovering the original principal will be next to impossible and the carriers would also need to undergo the costly process of liquidating existing inventory of Pantech phones.

It will also have lasting effects on the market itself, leaving South Korea with a domestic duopoly of Samsung and LG. Foreign competitors could also penetrate the market to fill the void left by Pantech.

Another alternative suggested by analysts is the possibility of a foreign company, such as China's Huawei, India's Micromax or Japan's Kyocera, choosing to enter the competitive Korean market by buying out Pantech.

Read More

ARM to ship mini-computer for writing 64-bit Android L apps

A new ARM mini-computer that could speed up the development of applications for 64-bit Android L smartphones and tablets will ship late next month.

The hardware, which is an uncased computer, is aimed at professional developers and large companies to help them write middleware, drivers and tools for 64-bit Android smartphones and tablets, which are expected in the market by the end of the year.

[ Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]

The price of the board hasn't been revealed.

Google last week released a developer preview of Android L, but has not said when it will release a final version of the OS.

There are no 64-bit Android mobile devices available yet. This has stymied development of 64-bit applications for Android devices with ARM processors, which power most smartphones and tablets.

ARM typically licenses its hardware designs and has never sold hardware. However, it wants to boost its 64-bit hardware and software efforts with the Android developer board. The only ARM-based 64-bit mobile devices are currently available from Apple.

A new feature in Android L is support for ARM-v8A, which is ARM's 64-bit architecture. The board will work with a 64-bit Android edition developed by open-source development group Linaro.

The ARM development board will have a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 and dual-core ARM Cortex-A57. Other features include a graphics processor, USB ports, support for up to 8GB of DDR3 memory and ARM's Corelink on-chip interconnect.

Developers will be able to tune applications and games to run within the power and performance constraints of ARM's 64-bit CPUs, said Vincent Korstanje, vice president of marketing for systems and software at ARM. It's better to test graphics on actual hardware than through emulators, he said.

Typically mobile device makers tune Android to work on their smartphones and tablets. Linaro's Android build is for ARM-based platforms, and the latest version stands between version 4.4.2, code-named KitKat, and its successor, Android L, a Linaro spokesman said.

Since Google has not made available a final version of Android L, Linaro is pulling the base OS from AOSP (Android Open Source Project), a repository where open-source developers contribute Android code. Linaro's Android OS is tuned to work with processors and other components on ARM's developer board.

The latest Android software build from Linaro is based on the stable Linux 3.10 kernel. Linaro also updates Android builds based on the Linux 3.14 kernel, which is still being tested.

Linaro's Android will provide access to ART (Android run-time), an alternative environment to Dalvik for the execution of software programs in Android. Google is moving over to ART in Android L, saying the runtime move will make applications two times faster.

Read More

Play With Google’s Psychedelic New Interactive Music Video Cube

It’s called The Cube, and it’s a trip. Built by Google Creative Labs as “an experimental platform for interactive storytelling”, The Cube is an in-browser manipulateable 3-D box with a different video and audio track on each face. It debuted online today with indie dance band The Presets’ new single “No Fun”. You decide what to watch and hear by clicking and dragging The Cube to show a single side or a combination.

And no, Google didn’t take some bad acid. The whole thing is a multi-pronged promo. The Cube only runs in Google Chrome and Android, it links to buy the song on Google Play where it’s exclusively available for the next 48 hours, and it’s sure to help Google recruit designers by showing it can do art, not just algorithms.

And since The Cube is embeddable, you can play with it below. There’s a story about a girl in a bathtub and a dude dancing himself silly laced in with technicolor heads and pulsing geometric shapes.

This isn’t Google’s first foray into weird, interactive msuic videos. The Chrome Experiments has done two with Arcade Fire. “The Wilderness Downtown” used your address and Google Maps to customize the video with aerial shots of your home. “Just A Reflektor” employed your phone and webcam to let your movements control the action.

But rather than a one-off experiment, Google is calling The Cube a “platform”, indicating more art could be built on it eventually. It was conceived by the Google Sydney Creative Lab team and demoed last month in person at the local Semi Permanent creative conference. Google hooked up with The Presets to show what The Cube can do, but the possibilities go far beyond music.

Imagine a short film told from six different perspectives simultaneously, or using The Cube for interactive data visualizations. Groovy.

For more on the making of The Cube, check out the behind the scenes video below (you’re probably gonna want to pause The Cube itself first)

Read More

First Batch Of Android Wear Apps Now Available In Play Store [Video]

We know that Android Wear, like most smartwatch ecosystems, will rely heavily on a smartphone for a great deal of its functionality. Given that they’re designed, in essence, to supplement our handsets, this isn’t too much of a surprise, but with some standalone Android Wear apps having just cropped up on Google Play, it’s clear that the likes of the Moto 360, and LG’s G Watch will have minds of their own, too. The first batch of Android Wear apps untethered by any post-installation smartphone interaction have begun appearing on the Play Store, and although, naturally, we’re talking bare basics in terms of functionality, it sets a very encouraging precedent.

Read More

Watch: President Obama Uses iPad To Record A Video Inside A Classroom [VIDEO]

As the president of the United States, Barack Obama is more than used to having his picture taken. Part of the burden that comes with being among the world’s most powerful leaders, he cannot escape the press taking snaps and recording video on his every move. In a more light-hearted environment such as a classroom, though, a busy man like the president gets a rare chance to kick back and enjoy himself, and as you’ll see in the clip below, he took full advantage on one visit to a school in Maryland by taking some amusing videos of his personal press team using an Apple iPad.
The iPad belonged to one of the students, and despite the fact that he or she happens to be rocking an older model (regrettably, perhaps, since the new iPad Air boasts a slightly better rear-facing camera), the student certainly has a little personalized memory to treasure.

In the video, the president is seen recording a few words from the teacher before turning the lens on his press team, at which point he even profiles a Secret Service agent by the name of Mike. Given that Secret Service agents are meant to be as covert as possible, we’d hazard that the video was probably removed from the iPad or edited in some way, but nevertheless, Obama maintained his reputation as one of the cooler presidents of recent times by playfully recording from the iconic Apple slate.
The president was visiting the Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland to discuss the progress of his ConnectED, program. It’s an initiative that Obama has devised to help drag American students into the modern Digital Age, and while it wasn’t in his immediate plans to stop by the math class and start playing director with a kid’s iPad, he did show that tech could be used for enjoyment as well as education.
In the process, he also somewhat avenges the press with some filming of his own, and although he could probably have done with a more up-to-date model, he will likely just be pleased to be on the other side of the camera.

Source: The White House

Read More