Sprayscape: A Perfectly Imperfect VR-ish Camera From the Android Experiments Project

Google's Android Experiments project is a way for developers to create interesting and unique smartphone apps. Once approved, the app goes live on the Play Store, gets featured on Google's Android Experiments website, and has its code open-sourced and published on GitHub. You can think of it as a proof of concept that Google encourages other developers to perfect and use in their own Android application or game.

The apps that Google features on the website can be from anyone, but this particular app was created by the Google Creative Lab. The developers describe it as a "perfectly imperfect VR-ish camera for capturing faces, places, and spaces," and it's a pretty interesting concept for those who like to play around with VR. It's not an application that creates a typical 360-degree photo, but instead it's a twist on that idea.

With the application open and running, anytime you tap on the screen an image is created. When you move the device around, the app uses the gyroscope to know where it's been moved to and uses that new point for the next time an image is captured. So while you can use it to create a typical 360-degree photo (as long as nothing is moving in the scene), it can also be used to create some very trippy looking collages when you're capturing images of moving objects.

You can even keep your finger or thumb pressed down on the screen while you move the phone around. Doing this will capture a stream of images that will be stitched together in this 360-degree image. Once the user saves the image, Sprayscape creates a flat panorama image of what was captured. When one of these images are shared, the three.js web viewer takes the images and wraps it into a sphere.

Be sure to check out the GitHub page here, and check out the demo video below to get a better idea as to how this app works.

Source: Android Experiments>

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HTC will Handle the After Sales Service of the Pixel in India

As we get closer to when the Pixel and Pixel XL goes on sale, we're seeing more evidence that shows Google is taking its hardware serious this year. The company is emphasising its Built by Google and Phone by Google taglines in its ad campaigns, and we're seeing them go the extra mile in a number of areas too. It's been reported that Google spent $3.2 million dollars to advertise the Pixel and Pixel XL during the first two days after it was unveiled.

Ad executives say they are expecting Google to invest "hundreds of millions more," but Google has yet to confirm that. Although, Google's Vice President of Product Management Mario Queiroz did tell Reuters that the company planned to invest in a "very significant marketing campaign." This, on top of the marketing that Verizon Wireless will do for the device gives the Pixel and Pixel XL a good chance to compete with the other flagships on the market today.

Google knows they have to take this further though and that's exactly what they will be doing in India. The Economic Times is reporting that Google is relying on HTC for the after sales service of the Pixel and Pixel XL within the country of India. This gives customers in the country 56 different walk-in service centers in over 30 cities that they will be able to bring their device to in case anything happens.

On top of that, the same report talks about how the Pixel and Pixel XL will be sold in over 1,000 different retail outlets through India. We aren't told all the stores that the phones will be available at, but we do know that it will be sold in "seven large format store chains" including Vijay Sales, Croma, Reliance Digital, Jumbo, Spice Mobility, Poorvika and Sangeetha Mobiles across the country.

Source: The Economic Times

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LG to Launch Their 15W Wireless Charger This Month

Back in March, LG Innotek initially announced they were working on a 15W wireless charger. The company told us they would begin manufacturing these modules for smartphones and vehicle chargers sometime this year. It seems LG has been hard at work on this accessory as the company has just announced they will begin selling this product in North America, Europe, and Australia sometime this month.

At the time of its announcement earlier this year, we were told this wireless charger would support both WPC 15W and PMA 5W.  However, the press release for the product now does not mention PMA support at all. Instead, it just mentions that it meets the standards laid out by the Wireless Power Consortium (which is the organization that brought us Qi wireless charging). So we should not expect the charger to work with PMA (Power Matters Alliance) devices at this time.

Typical wireless chargers use a 5W charging module, but this new Quick Wireless Charging Pad from LG will use a 15W module. The company says it will be able to charge a battery to 50% within 30 minutes. Oddly enough, LG doesn't give us a battery capacity when talking about this statistic though. As a reference point, we've seen Samsung's fast wireless charger completely fill the 3,000mAh capacity battery of the Galaxy S7 in about 2 hours.

LG Innotek says they're focused on keeping heat generation down as well. They understand that heating the battery up too much can cause degradation of the battery as well as making the battery more susceptible to explosion. To combat this, the company says they've embedded a sensor into the Quick Wireless Charging Pad to monitor the temperature of the smartphone. If it reaches a certain limit, then it will stop charging the device for a few moments.

Once the device reaches the desired temperature again, the Quick Wireless Charging Pad from LG will go back to charging the battery.

Source: LG Innotek

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Want a ZTE Flagship with Stock Android? Vote for it in ZTE’s Project CSX

We've talked about ZTE's Project CSX before. For a recap, ZTE is crowd-sourcing ideas on what its next smartphone should be. The ideas will be collected from the public, and after voting, the most popular of these goes on the road towards becoming a reality.

Now we've come to the point where the ideas have been submitted and the first few rounds of shortlisting have taken place. Here are the final 5 contenders on what ZTE should work next:

1. Eye Tracking, Self-Adhesive Phone: A true hands-free experience that allows you to scroll up or down based on eye movement and a self-adhesive back that would allow the phone to stick to a wall or flat surface.
2. Intelligent Smartphone Covers: Expend the power of a smartphone through functional cases such as a gamepad, stylus or e-ink flip cover.
3. Powerglove: An exo-glove that controls your fingers for use in learning or rehabilitation settings, all powered by your Android smartphone.
4. Stock Android Flagship Phone: The next generation of Axon to include stock Android as well as improvement in performance and camera.
5. VR-Interactive Diving Mask: A waterproof VR mask allows you to swim in a pool or lake and feel like you're in the open ocean.

While all ideas do seem innovative in their own right, the one that piqued our interest (and we guess it would pique yours too, since you are reading this on XDA-Developers) was the 4th idea. Of all the five, this seems the most feasible, one that would still be within the realms of smartphone conventionality so as to not feel like an experiment to the consumer, and yet appease to the people who want a high-performance, and hopefully affordable, flagship grade device that run stock Android without ZTE's skin.

Voting for the ideas has begun, and will continue onto October 19. The idea that gets the most votes will be announced as the winner on October 20. The winner idea will hopefully made a reality in 2017.

If you would like to vote, head on over to the Project CSX website. You can also use the widget below to vote for your favorite choice.

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Image Credit: Axon R Idea Thread

What are your thoughts on ZTE's Project CSX? Which idea should win in your opinion, and why? Let us know in the comments below!

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Win a Pixel XL from XDA and RhinoShield, Because Bumpers are Back

Phone skins are really great to add style to any phone, plus they're not expensive, but they provide minimal protection if you happen to drop your phone. On the other end of the spectrum are cases, which are generally more expensive but offer much more protection. Cases are bulky and they don't let the beauty of your phone show through because they often have to cover all four edges as well as the back of the phone.

That's where CrashGuard by RhinoShield comes in. CrashGuard is essentially a bumper case, which means that it does not cover the back of your phone but only the sides (thus giving your device a more "naked" feel), but because of how it's engineered, it provides more protection than most cases. CrashGuard is far superior to the bumpers of the past because it has been engineered to absorb impact. This is done by utilizing a proprietary polymer material that is far more shock-absorbent than plastic, and it also has a protective honeycomb structure within the bumper to disperse impact properly. In fact, within the honeycombs are compartments of pressurized air that act as airbags and deflect impact energy. If that sounds really elaborate, it is, and the net result is that you can drop your phone from a variety of heights (up to 11 feet) and if you have a CrashGuard bumper on the phone, you're going to have a completely unmarked phone. If you want to see how incredible this protection is, watch this video from David Pogue where he does everything in his power to smash his phone by dropping it from a tall ladder.

Not only are CrashGuard bumpers durable, but they're lightweight (with most of their bumpers coming in under 14 grams). They're also pretty grippy thanks to the matte finish, and they come in a variety of colors. Another thing we really like about the CrashGuard line is the pricing: they're all priced at $19.99-$24.99, and they're shipped free on Amazon. Check out the listings for the Nexus 6P, Galaxy S7, and OnePlus 3. You can also pre-order a CrashGuard for the Pixel/Pixel XL.

But let's get into the contest, which is open to all countries, and the winner gets to pick the color! Use the below widget to get started. Contest ends on October 22. Good luck!

Win a Pixel XL!

Thanks to RhinoShield for sponsoring this post and contest.

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Renders of Flat and Curved Variants of the Huawei Mate 9 Leaked

It's been almost a year since Huawei launched the Mate 8 (and just a few months since they launched the P9), so the time is about right for a refresh in their flagship Mate lineup. While the device is still some time away from official launch, we've got some leaked renders to sate our thirst for new information about new devices.

Coming to us courtesy of Evan 'evleaks' Blass through his publication VentureBeat, the renders show us two different variants of the Mate 9. One is the standard variant, the other boasts of a display with curved sides.

Top: Manhattan; Bottom: Long Island

The devices are known right now by their internal codenames. The flat display variant is codenamed Manhattan, while the curved display variant is codenamed the Long Island. Manhattan is said to be the "base" version with an FHD display, while the Long Island is the more premium of the duo with its QHD display that will reportedly be up to Android's Daydream spec. However, Long Island is said to be a China-exclusive, while Manhattan would be released globally.

Huawei Mate 9 "Manhattan"

Specs of the Huawei Mate 9 point to the devices having a 5.9″ display, an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 960 SoC and several memory configurations, the highest of which will be at 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The camera setup will be the similar dual-lens, dual-sensor Leica setup similar to the one seen in the Huawei P9. The lenses and sensors are reportedly improved though, as it is tipped to be 20MP at f/2.0.

And since almost everyone looking at the renders will be thinking of it: Yes, the curved display variant looks like a Galaxy device. And yes, that looks like a button on the front. And yes, looking like the Note 7 might not be such a good idea from a marketing perspective, although it looks pretty nice in its own right.

The Huawei Mate 9 is set to be unveiled on November 3. We hope to come across more information on the devices as the launch date approaches.

What are your thoughts on the leaked renders of the Huawei Mate 9 variants? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: VentureBeat

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Samsung is Reportedly Increasing Production of the Galaxy S7

It seems Samsung is unable end 2016 on a good note due to the Galaxy Note 7 issues. After the company's replacement Galaxy Note 7 units continued to have battery issues, multiple carriers and retailers choose to no longer sell the device anymore. Instead, they offered to let their current Note 7 customers come in and replace the phone with any other phone in the store, or to get a refund on it as well all accessories they have purchased for the device.

Shortly after these announcements, Samsung themselves said they would temporarily halt sales and production of the Galaxy Note 7 so they could investigate what was going on with the replacement units. The company was unable to give any statements about new incidents other than saying they are waiting for the burnt unit to be shipped back to them so they can determine whether or not it was a "safe" Galaxy Note 7, or one that had previously been recalled.

Just one day later, The Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung had decided to discontinue the Galaxy Note 7. And this makes sense from a marketing perspective. The reputation for the Galaxy Note 7 is so tarnished right now, that it will likely spill over onto the Galaxy Note 8 as well (if there even is a Note 8). Considering how much money Samsung has lost on labor and resources, on top of the investors that have sold their stock in the company, the move to discontinue the Galaxy Note 7 sounds smart.

It's now being reported that Samsung has diverted their resources to increase production of the Galaxy S7 as well as some of their lower-end smartphones. The report cites an "industry source who wanted to be unnamed," and says the company is planning to increase production in order to minimize rumors of a price drop. Another source also tells The Korea Herald that Samsung doesn't have any plans to push the launch date of the Galaxy S8 forward.

Source: The Korea Herald

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