Some insights on Android TV

Android TV serves as a smart TV platform introduced by the web giant Google. Compatible with all Android enabled devices, Android TV creates an interactive television experience via a 10-foot user interface overlaid on existing television programming. Announced on June 25, 2014, this Android feature can be easily built into television sets as well as standalone set-top boxes. With Android TV, you can gain a quick access to the Google Play Store that serves as a hub for applications which allow you to cast media(photos, videos etc.) directly to your big-screen television. And that’s not all, Android TV also emphasizes on the usage of voice search feature which enables you to quickly find content as per your search criteria. Android TV’s interface is segregated into three sections viz: recommendations on the top, media apps in the middle and games towards the bottom. You can easily navigate through these sections via a remote control, a game controller or a renowned Android TV Mobile app.

Now, some words about Google Cast

Do you want to enjoy a big screen experience for your content? If yes, then Google Cast is for you. It is a software technology that enables you to send and control content(audio, video etc.) from your small-screen computing device like smartphone, tablet, laptop etc. to a large display like a television. You need to have an Android OS-based device that runs an application which you may also avail via any reputed Android App Developing Company that uses the Google Cast API. This API will serve as a platform for discovering and communicating with the receiver application running on your big-screen device like television etc. You may even choose to customize the communication between sender and receiver applications for authentication. The best part of Google Cast is that it enables you to multi-task on your device while the content is being played on the television screen. For example, you can choose to search for a video on your phone’s YouTube application and directly send the video to your TV via the Google Cast application. Moreover, you can also choose to play, pause, seek and control volume using your phone itself.

Here are some interesting Google Cast apps that have become an instant hit among serious television viewers:

VideoStream

VideoStream is a wonderful app that allows you to stream local media to your Chromecast. It supports a wide range of formats including MKV and FLV in addition to subtitle files. This free app comes with support for ads, playlist etc.

CloudCaster

CloudCaster is a brilliant Android media player cum viewer app that allows you to stream the cloud-based media including photos, video and music tracks directly to the Chromecast. This app supports streaming from Dropbox, Bitcasa, Drive and many other online data storage platforms.

Netflix

Netflix is yet another Google Cast-ready app that allows subscribers to cast the most recent episodes of popular television shows straight from the cramped smartphone/desktop screen to the wide television screen. While the video is being played on the television, you can enjoy surfing the internet via your mobile device.

Summing it all up

Android TV and Google Cast are indeed the sweetest surprises for television lovers residing in different corners of the world. If you too are one, then don’t delay in experiencing the features available with these two services. Hope this blog would’ve helped you gain a good insight into the same.

Do drop in your views/opinions on the above post using the comments box below.

The post Small To Big Screen Casting- Possible Via Android TV And Google Cast appeared first on AppTrawler.

Astro file manager

This is one of the widely used app used to transfer as well as mange files, pictures, music, videos, documents across devices or clouds like that of Facebook, Dropbox, Google drive, Skydrive , etc. without the use of USB cables or wire connections. It comes with a dynamic search technology that can conduct explicit search actions across locations as per specifications. It is also powered with its unique cloud hopping feature that you can use to move files from one cloud to another in a single move without any necessity to download them before transferring to your target cloud location.

ES File explorer files manager

One of the most popular Android app and also a long running overall player for file management, the ES File explorer file manager is available in both paid as well as free avatars. The app allows Android users, irrespective of their location, to manage, peruse or access all of the available files from your mobile device, and share them with others free of cost. It supports Dropbox, Box.net, Sugarsync, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Amazon S3 etc. You can also use it to access your home PC through 3G, 4G, EDGE, or Wi-Fi.

WiFi file transfer

This Android app, designed by the team of smarter Droid, supports file transfer over wireless connection from phones or tablet without any USB cable connection. It has an effortless file manager interface and can transfer multiple files at one go. It also offers easy access to external SD cards and USB external devices. All it requires is that the two devices t involved in transfer belongs to the same LAN or WLAN network.

Data Sync

Data Sync, as its name implies, allows for effortless synchronizing between multiple Android powered devices. It is principally designed to connect through Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth but can as well synchronize to your cloud or to your other devices in their absence too.

WiFly

Without using Wi-fi or cloud access, WiFly is designed to transfer or fly files of all types like apps, documents, pictures, music, game data, videos etc., from one device to other provided both share the same local area network. Additionally it supports multiple file transfers through easy drag and drop in the WiFly interface, transferred files can be opened by using any android app available on the device. You can download full files to your PC, or browse through downloaded files and folders directly on your mobiles without any need for additional supportive applications.

Conclusion

Easy migration of files from one device to another is a very needful concept in the present scenario. Given this necessity, android players and designers are working round the clock on easier and more relevant apps with wider features. So a regular check on the Android store will keep you abreast with the new developments and help you locate the perfect one that fulfills your specific requirements better and more precisely. You can always try out the free trial versions to get a better feel around the software before you invest your penny on it.

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New updates for Google Play Games Services

Gaming is an enormous market for Google, and the lead product manager for Google Play Games said that they saw 2013 as a breakout year. The company has seen more than a billion Android devices activated, which is an enormous target market. They also say that 75 percent of Android users use their devices to play games. No wonder Google is taking the gaming market so seriously.

As part of their commitment to gaming, Google has just released new updates for Google Play Games Services, and also the Google Play Games app, which bring some exciting new abilities to the Android gaming world. The element that will be most appreciated by gamers is the ability to have cross-platform games. Currently, Android users cannot play games with their iPhone friends, and vice versa. It is a frustrating limitation, and users will be happy to see the end of it.

Multi-player gaming across iOS and Android

The new Games Services toolkit update gives game developers the ability to create multi-player games across both platforms. While it still depends on developers to make use of this feature, this could lead to a wider game play experience – one where you can play with all of your friends.

Once developers incorporate this capability into their games, it will be possible to play both real-time games and turn-by-turn games with all of your friends, whether they are Android lovers or iPhone fans. There are benefits for game developers, too. Widening people’s pool of friends to play with could mean they become more engaged with the game, and keep playing longer. It also could lead to more players in a game, as people get their friends to play, regardless of what platform they are on.

In-game gifting – an excellent strategy to draw in more players

There are other changes in the newly announced updates, as well. One thing is that developers can now add gifting capabilities into their games. The idea is that players could send an in-game gift to any of their friends who are playing the same game, as long as that person is in their Google+ circles. This could help new players discover the game, when they see their friends sending and receiving gifts. It can also increase engagement by encouraging that interaction with friends.

The Google Play Store is also being redesigned for games, with eighteen new categories meant to exceed the expectations of every avid gamer out there. The intention is to help people find games they would like more easily. The store previously had very broad game categories like “Casual”. When someone is looking for a role playing game, for example, it is a lot easier to find something they want if they can browse through a more descriptive category.

There is also a change to help game creators improve their monetization with better in-game advertising. Google is integrating AdMob (which is their platform for mobile advertising) with analytics. This could let game developers target specific players with ads for in-game purchases.

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Who is Green Throttle Games?

Green Throttle Games produces a game controller that was designed to connect wirelessly to mobile devices by using Bluetooth technology. This can overcome the typical limitation of gaming on smart phones and tablets, by providing physical buttons for precision controls. Let’s hope that the Santa Clara Company that now belongs to Google will bring something new to the table sometime in the future.

Green Throttle Games came up with an Android app that demanded the use of its own “Atlas” controller, which by the way looked just like the Xbox 360 joystick, only it was connected to other Android phones via Bluetooth. The app was removed from Google Play at the end of 2013, and it looks like it only had a couple of thousands downloads. The company kept selling the Atlas controller in spite of the fact that gamers couldn’t download the app anymore. But all that is in the past right now.

This acquisition feeds industry speculation that Google is working on a TV set-top game box, which would enable customers to play Android games on the big screen. This is a hot technology area right now. Apple has a product on the market now, the Apple TV, and Amazon is expected to bring their set top box out within a month.

These big players became interested in this once they found how interested consumers are in their mobile games. In fact, both the iTunes store and Google Play have so many games on offer that they are virtual arcades. With sales like this, it is obvious the market is hot, and that the big companies are taking it seriously. Apple has their offering in position, and with Amazon hot on their heels, can Google be far behind?

We have high expectations from Google

Google has attempted similar products in the past, with little success, and industry insiders are speculating about what their next box will do. Their relatively new Chromecast dongle allows mobile content to be played on a television.

How will the new box operate? While it could be something as simple as a Chromecast-style connection to the internet, experts predict that it will be more capable than that, but still far short of the powerful mainstream gaming consoles that are already  on the market. Google does have money to invest, however, and they have proven their willingness to spend on new technologies before.

At the moment, it looks like the established consoles on the market, the Microsoft XBOX One and the Sony PS4 will retain their leadership positions. It doesn’t appear that the new boxes from Google, Apple, or Amazon will be powerful enough to take a bite out of their core market. However, this could be just the start. As hardware gets cheaper and cheaper every day, and cloud computing becomes more powerful, flexible, and integrated into our lives, things could change.

The public’s gaming tastes can and do shift, also. In a few years, these two powerhouses may be facing some serious competition. Years ago, people thought it was an odd choice for Microsoft to move into the gaming market from its traditional Windows and desktop software. They thought the same when Sony made their move into gaming consoles.

Google has some big advantages at this point – incredible financial clout and money to invest, teams of highly skilled engineers, and an Android platform with millions of users worldwide. They certainly have the potential to become a big player in this market, and the purchase of Green Throttle Games looks like a step in that direction.

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Smaller and Better

The ability to (phonetically) record an ambiance was once a technological marvel. Today, audio-visual recording devices are getting smaller and exceedingly advanced. Consider the proliferation of content on social media sites such as YouTube and FaceBook. Virtually any person handling a smart mobile device from anywhere can use software such YTD and may convert, create and upload content within a small timeframe. As devices get smaller and advanced (think Google Glass), a number of ethical questions come to the forefront.

Spyware?

The producers of the Narrative Clip urge consumers to search elsewhere if needing devices to spy on friends and loved ones. The clip is not very realistic in helping James Bond-types succeed in undercover missions. Though small, and not aesthetically revealing of its technological ability, the device is intended for hands free yet repeated recording of events. Such practical settings could include a child’s birthday party or a scientist’s lab slides.

The Autographer is more overt in serving as a camera, alerting those within sight of an oncoming shot via a blue light. Moreover, the devices fish-eye lens prevents wearers from taking head-on shots of others without making it blaringly obvious.

Privacy Protection

In theory, we act in public by a particular code of ethics and laws. Does it matter if someone takes a picture of you while strolling the bookstore or eating in a café? In theory, if we’re doing nothing wrong, maybe there’s nothing wrong with being recorded, yet no one can dismiss the uneasy feeling of privacy invasion.

As more devices are produced and the number of individuals wearing them in public increases, lawmakers will need to contend with a new trove of ethical and legal implications. As it stands, technically, it is legal to wear such small recording devices in public, outside of public restrooms, strip clubs, casinos and other venues that prohibit such actions.

Etiquette vs. Value

Those who find value in new wearable gadgets will counter those who view such devices as added intrusions and nuisance. Like a number of products and services, the etiquette versus value issue may reside in behavior.

For example, Facebook is an incredible social tool used by people all over the world. One may use it for commerce, keeping in touch with relatives, or misuse it to bully classmates and spread falsehoods. Producers of wearable technology hope products are seen as valuable commodities rather than threats to privacy and standards of etiquette.

Wearable technology is here. If wearable tech is here to stay remains unanswered. In addition to clip-on cameras, expect to see Google Glass, virtual-reality headphones and more ‘wearable’ yet technologically advanced wearables in a public café, bookstore, or crowded city street near you.

Make sure you respect IP with video downloads.

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Try to imagine the world without computers. It’s pretty difficult right? They are so ingrained in everything we do today that it’s hard to imagine life without them. Back in 1997, only 18% of homes in the USA has access to the internet. In 2012 that number was 75%

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Because of this, many of the Android phones available are quite different, and it can be hard to sort through them all. Here is a list of the top rated Android phones, based on several professional and private users’ reviews. These are phones that consistently were rated at 4 stars and above, and are in no particular order.

Motorola Moto G

This phone shows up repeatedly as the best value Android on the market, period. It is available in two memory sizes 8GB (~ £135) and 16GB (~£159). Though it doesn’t look very fancy, for the price, its features can’t be matched.

The 4.5-inch 1280×720 pixel resolution is particularly impressive. As is the slick interface (4.4 compatible), sturdy sturdy build, strong performance and battery life.
The downsides include a poor camera that takes dark photos, low internal storage with no expandability, and no NFC or 4G capabilities.

HTC One

HTC is quickly gaining a reputation for phones that rival Samsung and Apple. Their latest flagship model certainly underscores these claims. Sleek in both engineering look and ease of use, the HTC One is thin, light and powerful.

The newly enhanced HTC Sense UI runs beautifully on the fully HD 4.7 inch display. The strong metal frame is durable and looks slick, but can scuff easily. It comes loaded with 32GB of storage, as well as top-end Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 3G and 4G LTE connections.

The £500 price tag may scare off some users, while others may be disappointed with the “innovative” camera.

Sony Xperia Z1

This sleek and powerful phone comes with the great feature of being water resistant. Its polished glass and metal finish comes with a protective band, to keep it safe from most phone-killing liquids.

Also, as a Sony product, it was built off the technology that created the Walkman, and it shows in both stunning sound and photo capability (20 Megapixels). It comes with a full HD, 5 inch display, which though beautiful, makes it a bit cumbersome.

Unfortunately, the stunning technology also comes with a stunning price – about £540 without a contract.

Google Nexus 5

Google teamed up with LG to release this great phone at an affordable price. Though it’s a bit pricier than the Moto G at £299 for the 16GB model, and £339 for the 32GB phone. That’s pretty reasonable – doubling the storage space for just £40. Unfortunately, the memory is not expandable.

And unlike the Moto G, the Nexus 5 comes with a 5 inch HD display, and the latest version of Android, Kit Kat 4.4. As a Google product, you can always be assured of getting the latest updates as soon as they are available. It also comes stuffed with a 2.3 GHz quad-processor backed by 2 GB of RAM.

Unfortunately, they cut some corners on the camera, and there can be some software issues.

Samsung Galaxy S4

This phone is often touted as the most powerful on the market. One of its most striking features is the full HD 5 inch display. The design fits it well in terms of the phone’s orientation, but does make for a slightly bigger phone, though it doesn’t come off as clumsy.

It comes with a 1.9 GHz quad-processor with 2GB of RAM that makes it not only possibly the fastest phone on the market, but even challenges some laptops.

Unfortunately, it comes with a £540 price tag, which isn’t reflected in the cheap feeling plastic case.

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As we know, the android app market is flourishing. Though, there are various app development platforms in the market, yet android has occupied the top position with maximum number of users downloading apps made for android devices. Besides, even developers are preferring android the platform for developing the apps, as it is an open source platform and free, developers don’t need to buy software licenses during android app development.

Whether you belong to a business or a non-business community having an app has become the quintessential requirement for all. Android app development helps in creating several type of apps, be it an entrepreneur app or a game app etc. One highly useful app that can be used by individuals as well as business firms is Cal Calendar.  Let’s review what’ll does this app offers.

What is Cal Calendar

Cal calendar is a new app added to Google Play. Brought by Any.do this app is one of the best looking calendar apps till date. Without a doubt, things that are pretty appeal more to the consumers but what actually matters is the working of the application – whether or not it works the way we expected.

Functionality of Cal Calendar

Well, you might be looking to have answer to what does this app actually do? It’s really not that difficult to figure out, as it name itself clears that it’s a calendar app. This app comes with all the functionality that you’d find in any regular calendar. Also, like any calendar app it has all the same features like adding and editing events, syncing your calendars, and there is even a to-do list plugin that you can download from the Play Store.

That’s it! This is just another calendar app that has some really nice widgets available for phones as well as tablets and exactly does what you’ll expect from any other calendar app. What makes Cal Calendar different from the others is its good look and feel.

Pros and Cons

Going by the saying that “there are two sides to every coin”, same is what we can say about the Cal Calendar app.

Positives about the App

• The bright, colorful images add a nice look and feel to the app. Additionally, the modular GUI of the app makes navigating throughout the app easy and pleasurable.
• The subtleness of the app is the main highlight. It’s undoubtedly the most simple calendar app, wherein adding events requires you to simply select the boxes with almost no or little typing.

Negatives about the App

A lot of people have complained about the app slow performance, which sometimes requires to “force close” the app. These are the bugs that still need to be worked upon.

A Final Word

After going through aforesaid points, we can say that this app is justly good. It has few bugs, but leaving them aside there is nothing bad in this app. In fact, it’s a really beautiful calendar app and very simple to use. So, folks this app is definitely worth the download.

Related articles

• 12 of the best calendar apps available for your Android smartphone today
• iCal calendars
• Cal, the Calendar App from the Team Behind Any.DO, Is Out for Android
• Sync Ical With Google Calendar
• Any.do’s Cal smart calendar app lands on Android

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The iPhone version lets you search waves, create a new wave, and see your list of waves. Tap to switch between single view or avatar view. You can also view and manage your Google Wave contacts from here. If you are watching a wave on your iPhone, the webapp follows the typing in real time pretty nicely. Again, this isn’t officially supported and there isn’t too much functionality such as attachments, but it works so it is a great alternative for when you are on the go.

Here is a video demo of the Google Wave webapp on the iPhone

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