Software : Nokia X Android phone already hacked to run Google Apps, Now and Play Store |
- Nokia X Android phone already hacked to run Google Apps, Now and Play Store
- Apple to launch iOS in the Car with Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo next week?
- The Appscars: The Big O!
- Google gives Hangouts a massive update for iOS
- Amazon reportedly priming a music streaming service for this year
- And, action! Oscars to make its live stream debut on the web, apps
| Nokia X Android phone already hacked to run Google Apps, Now and Play Store Posted:  The Nokia X, the company's first-and-potentially-last handset running the Android operating system, doesn't really have much to identify it as a handset running Google-based software. There's no access to core Google apps like Gmail, YouTube, Hangouts, Google Now and users are unable to download items from the Google Play store. Everything is decidedly Windows Phone flavoured. However, thanks to a little bit of ingenuity from one of the clever folks on the XDA Developers forum, anyone can access those Android essentials on the new handset. Forum member Kashamalaga has unveiled a pretty easy method (the man himself called it rudimentary) for restoring the phone to its Google roots. Holy GrailMicrosoft hopes the Windows Phone-style user-interface, with the likes of Skype and OneDrive front and centre will give users an incentive to jump on board with the company's own OS next time they're in the market for a phone. However, what users really wanted from this release was the smartphone Holy Grail of a Nokia handset running full-fat Android. This little exploit doesn't offer that, but it brings the dream a little closer to reality. |
| Apple to launch iOS in the Car with Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo next week? Posted:  Apple will finally unveil its in-car version of iOS at next week's Geneva Motor Show, according to reports this weekend. The Financial Times brings word Apple has enlisted auto giants Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, whose next-generation connected cars will be fitted with iOS in the Car functionality. Those manufacturers, and others according to the FT, will reportedly roll-out vehicles carrying the embedded software before 2014 is out. iOS in the Car will allow iPhone or iPad owners to see Apple Maps mirrored on a dashboard display, use Siri voice commands, make iPhone calls through the car system and receive notifications. Apple vs Google in the carThe company first announced the technology in June 2013 after its unveiling within iOS 7, but all has been quiet since, aside from a few pieces of code within recent Beta builds. Apple's reported move comes at a time when Google is also making a play to control the future of connected vehicles. At CES, the web giant announced it had joined forces with Audi, Honda and General Motors in order to bring Android into the car. Is everyone set for another Apple vs Google battle? This time for the right to control the infotainment within our four wheeled friends? Let us know your thoughts below. |
| Posted:  Zeebox, Awards Party and moreAs much as I know about movies, I've never won a betting pool for the Academy Awards. But I do make one Oscar prediction every year that is incredibly reliable. So much so, that it always comes true. The Oscars will be boring! Bet on it! Sure, the opening monologue can be filled with hilarious jokes or gaffes or better yet, both, but after that, it's a downward spiral of oh-so serious messaging about the importance of "the movies" and actors endlessly thanking people whose names we do not know. And there's often little surprise as to the winners. Yawn. This year's Oscar telecast is shaping up to be less exciting and more forgettable than the most recent Super Bowl. But will the Twitter feed that saved the big game be enough to entertain us through the slogging speeches, musical numbers and montages-of-Hollywood-patting-itself-on-the-back? Fear not! As an Oscar Twitter veteran, I consider it my duty to entertain the masses of bored television viewers left underwhelmed by the show itself. So to add yet another distraction during your viewing of the awards, I present to you this list of apps that will enhance your Oscar-viewing experience. And the "Appscar" goes to… Zeebox
If you're a "second-screen" experience guy like myself, you need a tablet in your lap in order to fully enjoy whatever it is that's on the television while you're texting and tweeting your thoughts about whatever it is that's on the television. Because everyone who watches the Oscars knows that complaining about the awards is as fun as watching it. That makes Zeebox the perfect app for our comment-crazy culture of folks like myself who think their insipid thoughts about what we just saw are worth sharing. You can do searches for keywords and you'll get a running social media feed about the TV program you're watching, like the Oscars! You can also login to your Twitter and Facebook and chat with your online pals. Even start a viewing party so your friends can join you as you complain away. Zeebox is the perfect Oscar companion and works in your browser or as an app.
Live From the Red Carpet
Some of the most embarrassing moments of the Academy Awards do not happen on stage, but rather on the red carpet before the Oscars. You can count on names to be forgotten and fun fact mix-ups happening right outside the theater on the red carpet. Which is why E! Online's app is so entertaining as those awkward moments are preserved for your amusement and viewable via the app. Awards Party
Don't like to write in analog with a pen? Do you want to easily keep track of your Oscar picks for yourself and everyone at your party? Have .99 cents that you just don't want? Then Awards Party for just .99 cents will help you keep track of each of your guests' predictions which makes collecting on that betting pool so much easier.
Shazam
I am ashamed and humiliated to admit to you that I found Frozen to be one of my favorite films of the year, due mostly to that excellent soundtrack and score reminiscent of a Broadway musical. (Feel free to mock me now.) Now the best way to discover exactly where that musical number is from and how to purchase it immediately, is with Shazam. The app simply listens to the music examining the .wav file to identify the tune so you don't have to ask anyone, which is a bonus because you won't look stupid. You don't even need to buy the musical track, you can just quietly name the song title and composers by using Shazam's simple interface. See? I just made you look smart.
Action Movie, Run Pee and Watch ABCAction Movie
Made just for those times when the Oscars, or any awards show for that matter, get deadly dull. Action Movie allows you to take any short piece of video that you shoot, like some slow-moving drama scene from the latest Meryl Streep piece of Oscar-bait and add explosions or car crashes or aliens or flaming meteorites filled with tons of carnage and destruction. Just shoot anything off your television and enjoy watching Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres explode in a hail of rocket fire. Hey, if the Academy is not going to bestow good Hollywood movies where things blow up with awards, then we can do the next best thing and blow up the awards.
Run Pee
If you're like me, you can't see an entire feature film without having to pee at least once. Damn large-soda-and-popcorn-deal! Start this app at the beginning of a three-hour Oscar movie like, say, The Wolf of Wall Street, and you'll receive an alert at the boring parts telling you the best times to make a run to the restroom. Once the show is over, check the app and you'll read a description of the boring parts you missed. While the app would be really useful during the Oscars, it's safe to say you can pee during commercials (unlike the Super Bowl) and during those over-the-top dance numbers. At some point there must be a Run Pee app for television, but for now enjoy this useful movie-going tip.
Watch ABC
While a recent update of the Watch ABC requires users to enter a cable provider in order to access content, this second-screen experience app provides… oh who am I kidding? This app is crap, just use Zeebox. And if these apps fail to provide amusement, I find seeking out trailers for the Oscar porn parodies a very rewarding experience unto itself. Surprised? Yes, in fact, there are Oscar porn parodies and if the Academy ever decides to honor adult films, this year's winner should be 12 Inches a Slave. Chris Gore is the founder of Film Threat, a writer and comedian whose debut comedy book/album is titled Celebrities Poop. (www.celebritiespoop.com) Chris' Oscar Twitter feed can be read @ThatChrisGore. |
| Google gives Hangouts a massive update for iOS Posted:  Google has updated its Hangouts app for iPhone and iPad to version 2.0 on Apple's App Store. This is the first big update for the iOS app since adding voice calls for North America last year October. The update brings in a new look that is completely iOS optimized, now sporting a two pane conversation window, and along with the new look, you also get picture-in-picture video calls, similar to other video calling services. Video messagingIn its efforts to go up against Apple's own OS-entrenched FaceTime, the biggest update for Hangouts this time comes in the form of 10-second video messages for contacts who are offline. Being able to leave video messages for friends and families makes Hangouts an increasingly attractive all-encompassing, multi-platform messaging and video chat app, though we still doubt it will pull many away from FaceTime. Hangouts 2.0 on iOS also gives you animated stickers and the ability to send Google Maps based on your current location with just a few clicks - though these can be considered to be part of the Google app's natural evolution.
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| Amazon reportedly priming a music streaming service for this year Posted:  Amazon may be taking on more than just Netflix with its content streaming ambitions, as the company is reportedly in negotiations to deliver music to its Prime subscribers. The online retailer is in early but "serious talks" with major record labels in an effort to launch a music subscription service, according to Recode citing unnamed industry sources. Amazon would therefore be in direct competition streaming services like Spotify, Google Play Music All Access and the freshly launched Beats Music. Right now, music that's downloaded from Amazon.com can be streamed through the company's Cloud Player, but it's only a music locker meant for purchased songs. It stops short of streaming tracks for free or a fee. Amazon Prime price increase justification?If Amazon is able to sign with enough record labels, its music streaming service is expected to be bundled with Amazon Prime, rounding out the company's subscription benefits. However, that could also mean Amazon is looking to justify a possible price increase that it kept mentioning for the US during its latest quarterly earnings conference call. Amazon Prime is becoming awfully bloated with its Instant Video and Kindle Owners' Lending Library, and expensive decisions to revive shows and create original programming. Amazon has refused to address whether or not it would split its Prime offering for people who enjoy two-day free shipping but never use its movie streaming capabilities. |
| And, action! Oscars to make its live stream debut on the web, apps Posted: The Oscar broadcast will be live streamed in its entirety this Sunday, from the celebrity-filled red carpet to the Best Picture winner reveal seemingly a dozen hours later. The Ellen Degeneres-hosted 86th Annual Academy Awards mark the first time the show is being made available to internet users. However, as ABC noted in its press release today, the live streaming functionality will be limited to certain cable providers and, on top of that, just eight cities. The lucky Oscar live streaming A-listers are in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno, Calif. Live streaming requires Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, Charter, Midcontinent, Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber or AT&T U-verse. Watch ABC-supported devicesThe Watch ABC video player can be accessed on the web via websites Oscars.com, ABC.com and WatchABC.com. The mobile app is free to download on iOS and most Android devices through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, respectively. In addition to these smartphones and tablets, Kindle Fire slates will also be able to access the live stream through the Amazon Appstore's Watch ABC app. Windows Phone 8 isn't supported, but ABC does have a compatible Windows 8 app that can be downloaded through Microsoft's Windows Store. There's a Watch ABC app available on Apple TV, but ABC didn't list it as part of its Oscar live streaming lineup. A spokesperson for the Disney-owned channel told TechRadar, "No, just mobile and desktop devices" when we asked. ABC starts broadcasting the Oscars at 8:30 p.m. EST (5:30 p.m. PST) on Sunday.
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