Famous faces make for great advertisement fodder when the right celebrity is used to promote a product, and with Samsung's strange, enigmatic promotion of Galaxy devices through a lengthy football (soccer)-themed campaign, picking a star like the legendary German forward Franz Beckenbauer to be head coach of the so-called 'Galaxy 11' seemed an informed decision.
The Android versus iOS debate is fiercely contested among experts, commentators and users alike, with both sides putting forth strong arguments as to why one is superior to the other. But while it often seems to appear as though everybody is a partisan fan of one or the other, a study by InfoScout into Black Friday spending habits has revealed that many of those who rushed out to grab the Apple iPad were in fact Android users.
In some capacity or another, most of us find ourselves streaming content between devices, and with mobile devices becoming smarter with every new generation, it becomes that little bit easier to beam video, music and other content right to our TV sets. The CyanogenMod team, which suffered a minor setback last week when its CyanogenMod Installer app was pulled from the Google Play Store, has long since expressed interest in helping push the boundaries of streaming, Koushik Dutta, famed developer behind CM, has created a nifty little Android app that allows users to stream content to an abundance of set-top box devices including Apple TV, Roku, and Sony's new PlayStation 4.
Google Glass may be generating an increasing amount of interest within tech circles, but before everybody gets carried away with what remains an exciting development, it's worth pointing out that Google is not the only company trying to make an impression in the smart glasses market. Vuzix has already completed the development process on the M100, its own forthcoming effort to get us wearing tech on our faces, and not only is the product ready to ship from Tuesday, but at $1000, it's a great deal cheaper than the current Explorer Edition of Google Glass.
As well as trying to sell the idea that its Glass project is a revolutionary invention, Google is also introducing a tried-and-tested product that makes a great deal more practical sense in the form of Google Play Music. Killing two birds with one stone, the Mountain View-based company has brought official Play Music support to Glass, meaning Explorers can now, if they so choose, enjoy the sweet sound of their favorite tunes through the Glass Accessory Store's extortionately highly-priced ear buds.
Google's Project Glass is perhaps the most exciting thing to manifest from the search giant since the original Nexus 7 made waves last year, and even then, it's difficult to justify including a small, cheap tablet in the same sentence as a product that could prove to be game-changing. The Explorer Edition has gone down well with creative types, and in the past month or so, we've seen Google expand the beta testing to bring more interested parties into the fold. Now, it has been made known that Glass Explorers can purchase a second pair of the geeky spectacles, and with the refreshed model of Glass having only been released in October, the development process appears to be moving through the gears.
We can't lie, it's getting a little boring watching ads where companies try to get one over their competitors by simply prodding them with the biggest, spikiest stick they can find, but at least this new ad from Amazon does actually talk about the company's own tablet as well.
The emergence of social networks and sharing services like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr has only accelerated the popularity of mobile photography and means we can share our creations with a few taps. But what about those who want to go beyond the native capabilities of mobile cameras with an added accessory? Well, the extremely popular Easy-Macro is one of the more popular options, and it just got even better.
Companies like Apple, Samsung, HTC and Motorola are consistently pushing the boundaries of what we believe is possible with technology, often resulting in more powerful hardware with extended functionality. There's undoubtedly a trade-off that comes hand-in-hand with that level of engineering commitment; an increased specification and feature set invariably means more power drain and a reduced battery life. OnePowerGuard Pro for Android may not be the holy grail of solutions to that issue, but it certainly appears to be one of the most comprehensive offers we have seen yet for rooted Android hardware.
All respectable soccer fans will have heard of, and played many of the annual FIFA Football (soccer, futbol, or whatever you call it locally) releases over the past couple of decades, and now, the sport's governing body has come through with an official news app. Dedicated to keeping fans in the loop regarding all of the goings on the world of football, it's a free download for those on both iOS and Android, and you can catch all of the relevant details after the jump as well as the direct download links.
