Google Play Games 5.5.72 by Google LLC

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How to Turn Off Smart Punctuation on Your iPhone and iPad

Smart punctuation is an iOS feature that automatically turns certain generic punctuation marks like straight quotes into better ones like curly quotes. The problem is that smart punctuation doesn’t always play nice with the internet.
by Harry Guinness via How-To Geek

Easier Bluetooth Pairing is Finally Coming to Android and Windows

Google and Microsoft want pairing a Bluetooth device with an Android or Windows PC to be as easy as pairing AirPods with an iPhone. This feature is already available, but only on a few devices so far.
by Chris Hoffman via How-To Geek

BlackBerry GHOST Leaks! And It Looks Pretty Awesome

Richard Goodwin 28/02/2018 - 11:10am

This is the BlackBerry GHOST… a new handset from BlackBerry that looks very impressive, though it will likely be an India exclusive

BlackBerry still makes phones. Good phones, actually. We loved the KEYone and the BlackBerry Motion. Both were solid handsets with plenty of things to like about them. And now we have another BlackBerry on the horizon, and this one is called the BlackBerry GHOST.

Leaked by @evleaks, and designed and built by Indian telecom company Optiemus, the BlackBerry GHOST looks every bit like a premium, high-end Android phone. It appears to have an edge-to-edge display, lovely svelte styling, and a very smart overall appearance.

The downside? The BlackBerry GHOST will almost certainly be exclusive to India. Why? Simple: it was made by Optiemus, no doubt for use on its network and this means we likely won’t see the handset launched in the West.

Nothing else is known about the phone – nothing was said about specs or features, other than it would run Android. But given that its aimed at India, we’d expect its price to be relatively low. And if this is the case, you can expect the specs and hardware to reflect this.

It does look nice though, from what we can discern from the leaked images.

More as we get it!

by rgoodwin via Featured Articles

20 Alexa games to keep your kids busy - CNET

Whether you're trying to educate your kids through games or keep them busy while you cook dinner, here are 20 games you can play with Alexa.
by Taylor Martin via CNET How To

Samsung Galaxy J8 spotted on Geekbench

Samsung decided to unify its naming scheme - first it was the Note, then the A-series caught up with the S flagships. Apparently, the affordable J series are next for rebranding, according to a new benchmark of a Samsung device with the model number SM-J800FN. The phone has Exynos 7870 chipset, coupled with 3 GB RAM and runs Android Oreo. The single-core score of the device is 728, while the multi-core result is 3683, although these results are comparable only with the alleged Galaxy J6 (2018) and the eventual Galaxy J4 (2018) due to the Geekbench version. The 7870 chipset,...

by via GSMArena.com - Latest articles

Yep, Android Phones Are Too Expensive (And Don’t Blame Apple)

Richard Goodwin 28/02/2018 - 10:40am

It’s official: Android phones are now too expensive – way too expensive. And there is no end to the madness in sight

Apple was the first company to release a $1000 phone. The iPhone X retailed for more money than any phone before it in history. And it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Apple was the first to do this – its entire brand is built on being “expensive” and “exclusive”.

The elitist nature of Apple might now have gone by the wayside, everybody has iPhones and MacBooks, but the company’s pricing has remained the same. It still charges WAY MORE than it should for its products, only now it has mass-market appeal.

This is why Apple’s business model is lusted after by every other brand on the planet. They want the prestige, the brand appeal, the profits, and the ability to charge whatever the hell they like for their products. But they can’t… because they’re not Apple.

Still, this hasn’t stopped phone makers in the Android space hiking up the price of their flagship phones in the wake of the iPhone X. Just look at the handsets launched at MWC 2018 from Samsung and Sony – they’re more expensive than ever before.

And, yes, a lot of this is down to Apple. But keep this in mind: Android phone makers did not have to follow Apple’s pricing strategy. Rather, they could have kept the price increases more respectful to consumers and enjoyed greater appeal to customers put off paying over £1000 for an iPhone.

Take Samsung: it’s bill of materials  – what it costs to make a Galaxy S phone – has hardly budged between the Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy S7, and yet there is a massive flux in the RRP of the phone. I totally understand that these firms are in business for profit, but there comes a time when you have to start saying enough is enough.

(IMG SOURCE)

I wouldn’t buy the iPhone X because I feel it to too expensive for what it represents. This is my opinion, so you don’t have to agree with me, but that’s how I feel. Sure, it has a new design and an OLED display… but to me it looks like a Samsung phone from 2016, so why pay so much for it?

Apple Can Get Away With It Though

This statement is kind of true. Apple CAN get away with charging way over the odds for its phones. And that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean everybody else in the space should follow suit. Hell, even Sony wants £800 for its new Xperia XZ2 phone!? No chance, mate!

The other thing Apple has going for it (and Google Pixel phones as well) is regular, consistent software updates. Apple provides around five year’s worth of software updates, so in this respect, if you’re buying a $1000 phone, at least you’re getting support for it.

In the Android space, well… this just doesn’t happen. You might get one major update through, possibly two, but that’s about it. And then you’re just left languishing on some outdated build of Android (like the vast majority of Android users right now).

This is why I ALWAYS used Nexus phones in the past and why I now use Pixel phones. I love Android, but I hate the way Google’s partners handle updates. This problem has not been fixed, and there is no solution in sight that seems like it will fix everything, and now these same phone makers are trying to charge MORE for their phones? Come on!

Android phones should not cost as much as iPhones. They just shouldn’t. Traditionally, that’s not what Android has been about and I am sick of seeing every Android brand try to emulate Apple’s pricing strategy. It doesn’t work. Punters don’t like it. And it’s bad for the vibrancy of the space.

Make ‘Em Last Longer

I’d happily pay £1000 for an Android phone if it was guaranteed to last me the same amount of time as a laptop of a desktop computer, both of which you can get for considerably less than £1000. But they don’t. Most have a lifecycle of two years at best and then they crap out because this is the nature of the phone space. Churn. Constant churn.

I can’t think of any other type of product that costs so much but has such a short lifespan. Hell, you can lease a car for the contract price of most top-flight Android/iPhones these days. A car!!!

And even if you can eek out years of use from your phone, the company that sold it to you – be they Apple or Samsung – will ensure that it eventually dies by crippling either the handset’s battery or CPU via nefarious software updates.

I think this is why the mid-range of the phone market is enjoying such a revival right now. Customers are searching for value for money. They know there isn’t much to separate the phones in terms of functionality and are savvy to the marketing used to sell these “elite” phones.

This is why OnePlus has been so successful, I believe. They offer great specs at a decent price and that for many users, is just what the doctor ordered. It is probably also why plenty of people are now buying their iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones reconditioned and saving around 40% in the process. 

Either way, the only way to stop this trend is by voting with your wallet. 

by rgoodwin via Featured Articles

Applications for Round 5 of DNI Innovation Fund are now open

Since its introduction in 2015, the Digital News Initiative Innovation Fund has offered more than €90 million to more than 460 ambitious projects in digital journalism, across 29 countries. The fund, our €150 million commitment to supporting innovation in the European news industry, is designed to provide no-strings-attached funding to those in the news industry looking for some room—and budget—to experiment. Today the DNI Innovation Fund is open for a fifth round of applications—the deadline to apply is April 9, 2018.

How the Fund works

The Fund is open to established publishers, online-only players, news startups, collaborative partnerships and individuals based in the EU and EFTA countries. There are three categories of funding available: Prototype (up to €50k of funding), Medium (up to €300k of funding) and Large (between €300k and €1 million in funding). For more information on eligible projects, criteria and funding, see our website.

We’re looking for projects that demonstrate new thinking in the practice of digital journalism, support the development of new business models, or even change the way people consume digital news. Projects can be highly experimental, but must have well-defined goals and have a significant digital component. Successful projects will show innovation and have a positive impact on the production of original digital journalism and on the long-term sustainability of the news business.

New for Round 5: Diversifying revenue streams

As with Round 4, all Medium and Large track applications will need to demonstrate that they have a monetisation component within the idea to be eligible. This year, we’re also looking for ideas outside of the well-known approaches around paywalls. So in Round 5 we welcome a range of experimental and innovative approaches which diversify revenue streams.

Apply now

See the DNI Innovation Fund website for full details and and application forms. Applications must be made in English by April 9, 2018 at 23.59 CEST. We’ll announce recipients by mid July.

New approaches have never been more needed so it’s time to experiment, innovate and try something new. We’re ready and waiting to help you bring your ideas to reality—submit your applications now!

by Ludovic Blecher via Google News Blog

Asus تطلق هاتفها الجديد المنافس ZenFone 5Z

هذا الموضوع Asus تطلق هاتفها الجديد المنافس ZenFone 5Z ظهر على التقنية بلا حدود.

كشفت شركة Asus عن هاتفها الجديد ZenFone 5Z خلال مؤتمر الجوالات العالمي MWC 2018 الذي يقام في برشلونة، والذي سيأتي بسعر 500 دولار.

سيشبه هاتف ZenFone 5Z هاتف آيفون X من حيث نتوء الشاشة، وسيأتي بـ 3 إصدارات من الذاكرة إما 6 جيجابايت من الذاكرة العشوائية و64 جيجابايت من سعة التخزين او 6 جيجابايت من الذاكرة العشوائية و128 من سعة التخزين او 8 جيجابايت من الذاكرة العشوائية و256 من سعة التخزين. كما يأتي مع الهاتف بطارية بسعة 3300 مللي أمبير، وشاشة من نوع LCD بحجم 6.2 بوصة ودقة HD وابعاد 2.5. وسيتوفر بلونين الأزرق والفضي، كما سيدعم أيضاً نظام تشغيل أندرويد أوريو بالإضافة إلى Asus ZenUI.

سيتوفر الهاتف بكاميرا مزدوجة من الخلف بدقة 12 ميجا بكسل ومستشعر بدقة 6 ميجا بكسل بالإضافة إلى كاميرا ثانوية بفتحة زاوية 120 مئوية والتي ستدعم وضع Portrait.

كما سيدعم أيضاً ميزة ZeniMoji والتي تقوم بإنشاء رموز تعبيرية متحركة باستخدام تعابير وجهك وصوتك، والتي يمكنك استخدمها اثناء دردشات الفيديو او الرسائل. ومن الجدير بالذكر ان هاتف ZenFone 5Z سيشبه هاتف ZenFone 5.

ووفقاً لـ Asus، سيتم إطلاق هاتف ZenFone 5Z في شهر يوليو المقبل، ولم يتم الكشف عن أي تفاصيل أخرى بخصوص دعم شبكات الاتصالات.

المصدر

هذا الموضوع Asus تطلق هاتفها الجديد المنافس ZenFone 5Z ظهر على التقنية بلا حدود.

by sultan.alfardan@gmail.com (Sultan Al-fardan) via التقنية بلا حدود

ASUS’ new ZenFone 5 lineup includes two iPhone X alternatives

Your next flagship might come from ASUS. The company just unveiled unveiled a new premium phone called the ZenFone 5Z with a Snapdragon 845 and a Notch design. Prices start at $499.

The post ASUS’ new ZenFone 5 lineup includes two iPhone X alternatives appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Alexandra Arici via AndroidGuys