Screens Launches Two Apps at Once

 

If you use the split-screen feature in Android 7.0, there's probably a specific pair of apps that you use more than others. The app Screens – Multi Window Manager can create a single shortcut that launches two specified apps at once.

The app is as simple as it gets. Select the two apps you want paired and set a shortcut name.

If you consistently use the same two apps in split-screen, this can be a very useful tool. I have a shortcut for Maps and Play Music so when I start driving, I can instantly launch the only two apps I use when driving.

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ZTE Unveils Blade V8 Pro and Project CSX Winner ‘Hawkeye’ at CES 2017

ZTE took the stage at CES 2017 to unveil not one, but two smartphones. The Blade V8 Pro is an upgrade over the Blade V7, while ZTE Hawkeye is the smartphone winner from Project CSX, ZTE's attempt to crowdsource ideas for a smartphone.

ZTE Blade V8 Pro

ZTE's Blade lineup has seen popularity in Asian markets, and then expanding to Europe and other regions. With the V8 Pro, ZTE is bringing the Blade to the US market, aiming at users looking for an affordable smartphone.

The Blade V8 Pro features a 5.5″ FHD LCD display, which is standard fare on many price segments these days. On the inside, you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with 8x Cortex-A53 clocked at 2.0GHz; 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. You can choose to expand the storage by another 256GB by making use of the hybrid dual-SIM slot with microSD support. There's a decently sized 3,140 mAh battery onboard, along with a USB Type-C port and Quick Charge 2.0 capabilities. The phone does sadly run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and ZTE has not made known any upgrade plans, so a Nougat release remains up in the air at this stage.

The Blade V8 Pro fuels the dual-camera trend with its dual 13MP cameras on the back, supported with dual LED flash and PDAF. You can also record 4K videos at 30fps. The front camera is an 8MP shooter.

The ZTE Blade V8 Pro is available for pre-order through ZTE's website and other retailers for a price of $299.98.

ZTE Hawkeye

While ZTE had chosen the winner of Project CSX through community voting a few months ago, they have now chosen the name of the upcoming smartphone.

Named 'Hawkeye', the winner of Project CSX is a smartphone with a self-adhesive back with eye-tracking technology. ZTE Hawkeye is now live for funding on Kickstarter for a discounted price of $199. The device is expected to ship globally in Q3 2017.

For more information, you can visit the Kickstarter page for ZTE Hawkeye.

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What are your thoughts on ZTE Blade V8 Pro and ZTE Hawkeye? Let us know in the comments below!

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LG Says They’re Moving Away from Modular Designs with the LG G6

Last year, LG made tons of headlines when it was announced they would be shifting to a modular design with the LG G5. The device quickly became one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year, and LG even said they were committing more funds to marketing the device than they should.

LG even seemed dedicated to the LG Friends modular system and were doing what they could to entice 3rd-party developers to jump on board at special developer events.

The company had once promised that it would continue to support the modular design with their future smartphones, in an attempt to get customers to invest in the modules. But then the device was released and the reviews weren't as favorable as LG had hoped they would be. This decline in popularity continued throughout the year and it was ultimately considered a flop by the company when they were unable to meet sales expectations. Availability and compatibility issues with the already-limited set of modules were the nail in the coffin for the G5.

This resulted in a 23% drop in quarterly revenue and attributed to LG's mobile division losing millions of dollars last year. Thankfully their appliance division was able to keep the company afloat, but many were wondering if LG would spin off the mobile division to prevent these losses from dragging the company down. LG's Chief Technologist, Skott Ahn, is at CES this week and he assured the audience that spinning off the mobile division is not something they would consider doing.

Ahn also spoke about the upcoming LG G6 at the event too, telling us that it is moving away from the modular design LG invested in with the LG G5. We're told that LG could decide to launch the LG G6 in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress event next month. However, a date has yet to be finalized and they are also considering a couple of other dates for the launch as well.
Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Samsung & BlackBerry Publish Their Android Security Bulletin for January

Each month we talk about Google's Android Security Bulletin, but these aren't the only vulnerabilities that get patched.

Google helps OEMs by taking care of the patches which are specific to the core Android platform, but that's not all there is to it — many smartphone manufacturers add their own skin and some even make major changes to the platform itself so that they can implement the features they want. These changes can also add vulnerabilities, and this is part of why we see other smartphone companies releasing their own Android Security Bulletin each and every month, so we are also seeing BlackBerry and Samsung release their summary of patches for the month of January: On top of the patches Google announced, Samsung is patching over 15 vulnerabilities with their Android security update for January.

Only one of these vulnerabilities has been marked with a high severity level, with the rest being considered medium or low. These have all been privately disclosed, with some dating all the way back to May, but they will be patched in this month's security update. As with all monthly security updates, Samsung is unable to give us a list of which devices will be receiving the update, nor can they tell us when owners of Samsung devices can expect to see this update pushed to them.

On the other hand, BlackBerry doesn't give us individual lists to show us what vulnerabilities they're patching from Google, and which ones they have found specific to the BlackBerry platform. However, they do tend to do a better job when it comes to delivering these updates and have told us that updates are pushed out immediately to those devices that were purchased from their Shop BlackBerry website. Those who purchased directly from a carrier, though, will have to wait until the update is certified and pushed out by the carrier.

Follow the links below for more information:

Source: Samsung

Source: BlackBerry

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Zenfone 3 Zoom and Zenfone AR Hands On

While at CES, Miles got a chance to check out two of the hottest phones announced today. The Zenfone 3 Zoom and Zenfone AR were just unveiled and they look amazing. The Zenfone AR features some monster specs that make it ideal for VR. The Zenfone Zoom 3 is also an awesome looking phone that people are very excited about.

Still no word on the prices of these phones but we will no doubt have that information within the next couple of months. Check out the video for the full hands on demo.

Thanks to Honor for sponsoring our CES coverage. Be sure to check out the new Honor 6X.

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Panasonic Automotive to build Android Automotive In-Vehicle Infotainment System into Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Feature Image: Uconnect Access on FCA Vehicles

While most of us are intimately familiar with Google's Android on smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and televisions, few are aware of what Google has been doing for the automotive market.

To illustrate this point, ask yourself the following question: What is the difference between Android Auto and Android Automotive? Android Auto is a system that allows you to connect your phone to your car dashboard display to use certain useful applications, such as Maps, Music, or voice access. On the other hand, Android Automotive is an actual Android-based operating system designed for vehicles. Android Automotive is much more tightly integrated with the features of your car – depending on the set-up, it can even control various sensors and switches in the vehicle.

I can't fault you for now knowing the difference – Google does not really advertise these two (and especially not the latter) as these two derivatives of Android are not really meant to be sold to the end user. Rather, Google has been making behind-the-scenes deals with automobile manufacturers to incorporate Android Auto – and now Android Automotive – into their latest vehicles. But we don't really hear much about these deals throughout the year – that is, until we arrive at big trade shows where companies love to announce new partnerships.

Hence at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Panasonic Automotive has announced a partnership with Qualcomm and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles U.S. (FCA US) to build in-vehicle infotainment systems based on Android Automotive.

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Fiat Chrysler Vehicles Meet Android Automotive

The string of partnerships involved in this announcement is complex as each company involved has released press details of their own to show off their work, so let's break it down some. First of all, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles U.S. is responsible for shipping FCA made cars within the U.S. They have partnered with Panasonic Automotive who will be the supplier of FCA vehicles' in-vehicle infotainment systems. Panasonic Automotive is creating their infotainment system based on Google's Android Automotive operating system, and the infotainment system is powered by a Qualcomm processor designed for vehicles.

Two days ago, FCA revealed that they would be showcasing a seamless integration of Android into their 8.4″ Uconnect infotainment system in a partnership with Google. The integration would be demonstrated on a Chrysler 300 sedan, and FCA states that the system was running on Android 7.0 Nougat. In essence, this is full Android Automotive – not Android Auto. This system integrates deeply (and presumably securely) with the vehicle, while still providing auto makers access to Google's wide selection of applications in the Android ecosystem.

Further details of this infotainment system were later revealed today when Panasonic Automotive revealed that they are the supplier partner for FCA's Uconnect 8.4″ infotainment system. Panasonic Automotive is building infotainment systems that are customized to each auto manufacturer's preference. They revealed that companies seeking a rich entertainment experience for their end users can initially design infotainment solutions using Qualcomm's Automotive Development Platforms, and later seed production development and manufacturing to Panasonic Automotive.

Panasonic Automotive is utilizing chips provided by Qualcomm Technologies, as announced in a separate press release. In particular, the infotainment system will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820Am processor based on its custom Kryo CPUs. The SoC features an X12 LTE modem, integrated location services, a Hexagon 680 DSP, and an Adreno 530 GPU. Furthermore, Qualcomm has also worked to better incorporate Android 7.0 Nougat features into a vehicle-based UI. These infotainment system will feature an adaptive UI design that can accommodate different applications, screen sizes, and resolutions.

Interestingly, Panasonic Automotive has also announced that they partnered with IBM to feature natural language voice interaction services with their in-vehicle infotainment system. IBM is providing the technology behind Watson to incorporate an eCommerce transaction system, allowing users to perform actions such as placing a restaurant order while on the road.

Android Automotive has flown under the radar this past year, but behind the scenes Google has made major strides in promoting the fledgling derivative operating system. We're excited to see how far Google's Android can penetrate the car market, and if they can continue striking deals such as this one, they are bound to succeed.

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Source: FCA North America Source: Panasonic Automotive

Source: Qualcomm

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Casio’s WSD-F20 Rugged Smartwatch will be the First Android Wear 2.0 Smartwatch

Android Wear did not have an exciting 2016 due to diminished consumer interest leading to major companies holding off on major smartwatch releases. All of that hopefully changes this year with the launch of Android Wear 2.0. While Motorola will not be releasing a new smartwatch based on Android Wear 2.0, Casio remains committed to the Android smartwatch and will be releasing a new rugged smartwatch known as the WSD-F20.

The Casio Pro Trek WSD-F20 is the next generation rugged smartwatch from Casio and adopts a similar rugged design compared to its predecessor, the WSD-F10. Since the smartwatch expected for outdoor usage, Casio has added a protective bezel and button guards on the watch, which lend to its MIL-STD-810G rating. You also get the dual-layer display from the predecessor — monochrome mode for high visibility and low power consumption and color mode for smartwatch functionality.

The new smartwatch also comes with a low-power GPS sensor and color maps which can be downloaded for offline use. This, in addition to its new Android Wear 2.0 operating system, will certainly give the watch a unique appeal in the current market. Casio has also added applications for tracking and assisting outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and fishing among other interesting additions —  an application called Location Memory adds in location markers with notes through speech recognition while "Moment Setter" allows you to pre-program certain notifications. Casio will also add in more original watch faces that make use of the low power GPS and offline maps.

The Casio Pro Trek WSD-F10 is an unapologetically niche product geared specifically towards outdoor use, but it also is the first smartwatch to be announced with Android Wear 2.0. Interestingly, the predecessor Pro Trek smartwatch will also be updated to the latest Android Wear 2.0 OS. Casio seems to be banking heavily on Android Wear 2.0 to not disappoint, but that is a question left unanswered until the OS leaves its beta state and reaches widespread use.

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Source: Engadget

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