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Google Instant Apps are one step closer to becoming available

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You might remember that one of the most intriguing novelties announced by Google at its I/O event last year was Instant Apps.

If you don’t, let us refresh your memory by explaining that Instant Apps act as a sort of bridge between web apps and native Android apps allowing users to utilize only specific parts of applications without needing to actually installing them on the device.

The example provided at Google I/O had a person send another a link to Buzzfeed Video’s Tasty app. And instead of having to go to the Play Store and install the app in order to view the content, the recipient was able to view, let’s say a recipe without having to do anything more than tap on the link.

Instant AppsAfter announcing the feature more than half a year ago, the first Android Instant Apps are ready to be tested out. The results include a small batch of apps from Buzzfeed, Periscope, Wish and Viki.

So instead of downloading and installing one of these apps on their personal devices, users can now run them right away – quite similar to loading a web page.

Instant Apps 3Instant Apps relies on modularization, by skipping to download an entire app and downloading only what it needs to allow a user to perform a specific action. Obviously users can go back and download the full application later, but the function allows users to get to what they need faster.

Instant Apps 2After collecting feedback from initial testing, Google wants to expand the experience to include more apps and users. The company also mentioned a few steps developers can take to get their apps Instant-ready. The Instant Apps SDK will be available for devs in the upcoming months.

 

This $49 Python bundle features five training courses, four books (Deal of the Day)

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Knowing how to program using today’s computer languages is a skill many people do not possess. Perhaps that’s why there is a global shortage of programmers and why the profession is so lucrative. Instead of twiddling your thumbs, wondering how nice it would be to master programming skills, why don’t you make 2017 the year you learn something new?

Our Deal of the Day is a $49 training bundle that will teach you Machine Learning with Python. As a language that’s more than a quarter century old now, it’s one of the most popular to code in. Moreover, understanding it can help you gain an edge in your career. Mastering it, well, that sounds like a new career altogether.

python_snakesAbout

As a combination of e-books and online training, this kit assumes no prior experience and helps you dive into Python fundamentals to come to grips with this popular language and start your coding odyssey off right. Spread out over 13.5 hours, you’ll have a lifetime access to more than 140 courses.

Features

  • Deep Learning with TensorFlow
  • Beginning Python
  • Deep Learning with Python
  • Data Mining with Python
  • Mastering Python
  • Data Visualization: Representing Information on the Modern Web E-Book
  • Python: Master the Art of Design Patterns E-Book
  • Python: Deeper Insights into Machine Learning E-Book
  • Python: Real-World Data Science E-Book

Where to Buy

You can purchase the full Machine Learning with Python Bundle in the AndroidGuys store for only $49. Normally priced around $650, our readers can access the kit at a 92 percent discount. Hurry, though, the deal won’t last long!

 

Create an animation in Google Photos [How-To]

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We have gone over a number of things you can do with Google Photos. I won’t list them all here but feel free to take a gander at our Tips, Tricks & Tools page and check out all of our content.

Today we are here to talk to you about animations. Remember when you were a kid and you drew a bunch of pictures in your notebook and then flipped the pages to make a short “movie” to impress all  your friends (I was never this cool). This is basically what you can do with the animation feature.

Prerequisites:

Our setup is the same as all of our other Google Photos walkthroughs:

  1. Must have the Google Photos app installed and logged into your Google account
  2. Have taken some pictures that you want to play with

Impressing your friends and family:

  1. Launch the Google Photos app
  2. Tap the options button in the upper right hand corner (3 dots)
  3. Select the Animation option
  4. Select the photos you want
  5. Tap the create button

Now you have a nice GIF that you can share with your friends and family. If you feel so inclined we would love to see some of the animations you create. Feel free to share below or tag us on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.

New year, new gear? Keep charged up with one of iClever’s solutions

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Have you recently found yourself as the proud owner of a new phone or tablet? What are you using to keep it charged up? If you’re like most of us, you likely need more than one wall charger for your stuff. We like to keep one in the bedroom, one in the living room, one at work, and one in the bag. Right?

Some of you are likely transitioning away from devices that use microUSB ports and now rely on USB Type-C connections. This means that a lot of the cords and chargers you were using last year are not going to cut it in 2017. It’s time to upgrade to new stuff.

We’ve received, and spent time with, a handful of products from iClever, all of which are designed to help keep your gear charged up. Note that these were offered to us at no cost and under no obligation for promotional consideration. With that said, we found each of the following to be handy and affordable solutions for customers looking to juice up a phone or other gadget.

iclever_stock2UC01 30W PD USB-C Wall Charger

For those of you who need a straight up extra USB charger, this is that device. With 30W power delivery, it’s exactly what you need for a phone or tablet, or laptop. Normally retails for about $24.99 but we’ve found it for $22.99 at Amazon.

iclever_stock3

UC02 30W Dual USB Wall Charger with USB- C and SmartID

Should you want something that charges up your USB Type-C phone and another device at the same time, you’ll want to check this one out. The back has a USB Type-C on the upper half with a USB port with SmartID speed charging below. Plug in your tablet or Quick Charge phone (USB 2.0/3.0 supported) and charge up as quickly it can handle. Snag one for about $19.99 from Amazon.

iclever_stock4

TC04B 40W 4 Port USB Wall Charger

Powerful and compact, this one is in a 40W/8A 4-port output wall charger that delivers some up to 2.4 amps, per port, for any USB-enabled devices. Indeed, it does the trick for all four at once. Throw this one in a bag with your cables and you can leave three bulky blocks at home. Pick it up for $19.99 at Amazon.

iclever_stock1

IC-BS03 Surge Protector Power Strip

If your situation calls for charging up multiple traditional devices and those with USB ports, the surge protector is your one-stop-shop. You’ll get six AC outlets and six USB ports, each with SmartID technology up to 2.4A charging. Comes with an 18-month warranty and a 4230 Joules Rating. A heck of a deal for $25.99 at Amazon.

Kubik is a colorful, easy, and fun 3D puzzler (review)

OK, a show of hands: Who here has never heard of Tetris?
Nobody? Thought so.

Now, another show of hands: Who here can’t just play a single game of Tetris, but instead quickly become convinced that the turn on it will be the all-time high score. Ah, right again.

We are light years beyond Tetris’s heyday, but the basic principle still has plenty of appeal: a simple game with simple mechanics, lots of colors, short but repeatable gameplay, and even some social appeal (“I can do better than you can!”).

Enter Kubik, a game from the developer Ketchapp Games. Sight unseen, consider it a slimmed-down, 3D version of the ever-popular Tetris. The game is very family-friendly (though younger children may struggle a bit with the 3D spatial relations involved to play) but adults would also enjoy this title, too.
Ketchapp Games has dozens of games available on the Play Store, including “Don’t Step on the White Tile” (a game my kiddos still pick up and play after more than a year later).

Setup

Setup is very easy; just download from the Play Store and enter the game. There Screenshot_2017-01-09-22-15-44extremely little in the way of settings or options. Essentially you can turn the background music and subtle sound effects on or off, buy some of the premium world bases up front, and check the leaderboard. Other than that, it’s a big pulsating ‘TAP TO PLAY’ icon square in the middle of the screen to get you going.

Gameplay

Gameplay is very solid; it works just like the old Tetris, but with a 3D element added to it. You start with a bare 3 square x 3 square grid at the bottom. From above the screen drop down geometric shapes of various sizes and geometries (again these are essentially the same shapes that are in Tetris but with a 3rd dimension to them).

Screenshot_2017-01-09-22-17-53Your job is to spin the grid at the bottom using basic left and right screen swipes, lining up the shapes on top of one another to make the most efficient block tower possible. You want to leave air spaces at a minimum, as with them your tower can grow quickly. If it hits a certain height (shown by a super-imposed indicator).

I found the gameplay to actually be pretty easy. The speed at which this game moves is almost “slow”…..but it’s kinda nice respite from a lot of current games that put an almost-impossible expectation on your supposed cat-like reflexes (I don’t have any of those).

Additionally, the game also lights up the particular squares that the currently-falling block will land on. Rotate the floor, and it will update the squares that will be landed on. While this does assist in making Kubik kind of easy, it does do a great job in preventing the game from being unplayable, in my opinion. Trying to guess which squares would be landed on, only to be proven wrong again and again…..I would have uninstalled this game in short Screenshot_2017-01-09-22-19-29order. Thankfully that’s not the case at all here. If you are certain of the falling block’s location, a simple screen tap will speed it’s drop to full free-fall to get to the next piece faster.

The only real upgrade available is in the “world” that your floor happens to sit on. They don’t offer any strategic or performance enhancements, but hey, they sure are cute.

Visuals and Audio

You can probably guess by now that I’m a fan of the visuals in this game. The colors are solid but a bit muted, and the motion throughout the game is buttery-smooth. It almost can lull you to sleep it’s so nice.
Which brings us to Kubik’s audio. There are very few and subtle sound effects (little ‘plinks’ and ‘dunks’ for game action. I think the background music is love-it-or-hate-it, as it’s has a twangy new-age/zen feel to it that will either have you enjoying yourself immensely or looking for that mute button. But in the end it does work for this game, as the overall feel isn’t hyper-competitive mayhem, but relaxed distraction.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed Kubik; it knows what it wants to be, and almost completely succeeds. My Screenshot_2017-01-09-22-19-55only personal want is to manually dial the difficulty up or down, based on the player or the mood. But other than that it’s a perfect Tetris alternative in this 3D, touchscreen world we’re living in.

Download Kubik from the Play Store here.

Google Voice implements new app features on mobile

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Google has just announced updated versions of Voice across multiple platforms. The updates include a new, modern user interface for both the mobile and web-based applications. Also included in this update is photo-sharing, translation and group conversations that can be separated and named.

It’s been years since Google Voice has seen any major updates, but according to the Google blog, regular updates are being promised here forward. We hope that Google follows through with this as Google Voice could be a great alternative messaging and chat application for many users.

 

google voice
Although it has been around for quite a while, Google Voice is now seeing some major updates

 

Other features to see updates or improvements include voicemail transcriptions, separate tabs for text, calls and voicemail, and in-notification replies on Android. Apple users will also see 3D touch support on their iPhones. Google is promising RCS features on supported networks in the future.

It is important to note that Hangouts integration with Google Voice will not see any changes with this relaunch. You can still use Hangouts as your default application for messaging and sharing content. It’s a little confusing if you’re not set on one messaging application, but it’s still nice to have options going forward.

 

Sprint buys a big stake of Jay Z’s Tidal music streaming service

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Today Sprint just announced it will be acquiring a 33% stake in Tidal – a streaming music service owned by famed rapper and business man Jay-Z.

The partnership between the two companies translates into Sprint customers will be offered exclusive content if they are Tidal subscribers. Tidal is co-owned by iconic music artists including Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Madonna, with each holding a 3% stake with Jay-Z holding the remaining. Sprint says more info on upcoming Tidal exclusive offers will be announced soon.

Tidal SprintThe service became quite popular among music lovers, after exclusively hosting Beyoncé’s award-winning “Lemonade” album (plus others).

Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential. Marcelo understood our goal right away and together we are excited to bring Sprint’s 45 million customers an unmatched entertainment experience.”

Jay-Z

The Tidal service is available in 52 countries and has a song catalog of more than 42.5 million tracks and 140,000 high-quality videos.

Tidal 3In its official statement, Sprint said the service will continue to run by the artists that own it, but the carrier’s CEO Marcelo Claure will join the Tidal board.

Other companies including Apple, Samsung, Google, Spotify also expressed an interest in making a deal alongside Sprint, but it seems that the carrier beat everyone to it.

Google confirms all 2017 Chromebooks will come with Android apps out of the box

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Google announced back May of 2016 that soon Chromebooks will come bundling support for Android apps. Now it according to a recent update to the Chrome OS support page it seems like all Chromebooks coming out in 2017 and afterwards will have access to the Google Play Store.

Case in point, the new Samsung Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro and the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302CA which were introduced back at CES 2017 earlier this year.

ASUS Chromebook FlipAnyway Google also lists a bunch of older Chromebooks which will get Android app support at some point. There are many models in that list which don’t come with a touch screen, so the experience of running an Android app on it won’t be as good, but customers buying a Chromebook today would probably opt for a touch screen model.

Acer Chromebook R11 C738TChromebooks are cheap laptop alternatives, but one of the major complaints for users is the skimpy app ecosystem. With the addition of Google Play Store this issue would be rendered a non-problem.

Currently Android apps are now available on the ASUS Chromebook Flip, Acer Chromebook R11/C738T and Google Chromebook Pixel 2. More manufacturers like HP, Lenovo, Dell or Toshiba will soon launch new models which will arrive with touchscreens and Google Play Store access.

Hugo Barra is leaving Xiaomi to return to Silicon Valley

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Xiaomi is possibly one the most well-known Chinese smartphone manufacturer out there.The company built its reputation on selling affordable but very well specced smartphones through its online web store. It also employed the skills of ex-marketing executive at Google, Hugo Barra which certainly helped propel Xiaomi’s name in the industry.

However, it seems that the winds of change are upon Xiaomi. Hugo Barra just announced on his Facebook page he will retire from his Vice President of International duties at Xiaomi. He explains that “living in such a singular environment has taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health.

Barra Leaving XiaomiBarra writes that he will return to Silicon Valley come February 2017, a decision he took motivated by the feeling of disconnect from his family and his life back in the United States.

The work Hugo Barra put in at Xiaomi can certainly be considered one of the driving forces behind the company’s fast ascent. Before Barra arrived, Xiaomi was widely regarded as a cheap Apple copycat, but under Barra’s guidance the company evolved its own design language which culminated in the Xiaomi MI MIX.

White Xiaomi Mi MIXHowever, while Xiaomi has been busy sedimenting its international presence, sales in its home court have seen a drastic decrease. Xiaomi is was no longer part of the five top smartphone makers in 2016, so it’s quite possible Barra’s departure was also expedited by the company’s failure to live up to its earlier ambitious goals.

Back in November 2016, we told you a Reuters report had revealed Xiaomi actually missed its global smartphone target by 12%. In China, things were even worst with smartphones sales declining with a 45%.

In FactoryOn top of that, Xiaomi is yet to launch a smartphone on the Western market. Even if the device maker made an appearance for the first time at CES 2017 in Las Vegas earlier this month, it was only to showcase a white version of the MI MIX (among other things) which will not be available for purchase (officially) in the country.

ZTE might unveil “world’s first groundbreaking mobile phone concept” at MWC 2017

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ZTE is one of the up and coming Chinese companies that’s attracted our attention in the past year. The manufacturer released a very solid flagship not so long ago, the Axon 7 which comes boasting a super affordable price-tag.

ZTE was also present at CES 2017 to showcase its concept phone, the Hawkeye – an adhesive, eye-tracking device which should see the light of day in September 2017. Clearly ZTE has a desire to innovate the mobile ecosystem that will apparently extend beyond the Hawkeye initiative.

ZTE Concept
ZTE Concept

According to Android Pure, which has stumbled upon the company’s MWC 2017 teaser on Weibo, ZTE is gearing up to unveil a number of intriguing results and new products during the event in Barcelona.

The most interesting one of all is the elusive “world’s first groundbreaking concept mobile phone”. Remember that we predicted “concept phones” are going to become a thing in 2017? After the Xiaomi MI MIX, Huawei Honor Magic and its own Hawkeye, ZTE is apparently planning a new phone with disruptive features.

huawei-honor-magic-front-and-back
Huawei Honor Magic concept

We’re not given any information on what we might expect from the phone, but we can speculate a little bit. Given that the Hawkeye is a phone that will make it out on the market with middle-range features including a 5.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, a Snapdragon 625 and a dual-camera setup (13MP+2MP combo) – the “groundbreaking concept mobile phone” might turn out to be a high-end affair.

ZTE Concept 3
A ZTE Slider Concept

The phone might arrive with an edge-to-edge display in the vein of the Xiaomi MI MIX, a Snapdragon 835 under the hood and a few kooky features (think self-adhesion). Keep in mind we’re only theorizing now and nothing we mentioned above has been confirmed by the company. However we are excited to see what ZTE ends up unveiling at MWC 2017.

The company is also supposed to share info on developments including 5G, cloud services, networking and terminal equipment, the Axon 7 series and the newly launched Blade V8.