Android

Back at CES, we visited a little booth of developers that claimed they had revolutionized the virtual keyboard. One of these developers then held out his tablet, looked straight at me, and began to type a sentence out while not looking at the tablet. Okay, I was intrigued. Fleksy Keyboard is a new keyboard that had the soul purpose of creating a keyboard for the blind. Some of you might have come across the video online, where they demonstrated how it would work for the blind. That being said, a lot of you might have not been so intrigued simply because it did not appeal to you. Well I am here to tell you that even though their target audience was maybe for the blind, the style of this keyboard is right up my alley. What I really love about Fleksy Keyboard is the way it looks. It has a slick Holo-like look to it, and when tapping the keys, the letters jump off the screen. When hitting the spacebar, a streak of light beams across the middle of the keyboard, which is pleasing to the eyeballs. Other than having great animations, the keyboard is relatively like a lot of the other keyboards out there. When it comes to accurately guessing the word you intended to spell, Fleksy is a little hit or miss. If there is a word that is not stored within the keyboard, you can swipe up twice for the keyboard to remember the word. Swipe up one more time it will forget that word. If you complete a word and it was not the word you wanted, you can swipe to the left and it will completely delete the word. Swiping to right will put a period, so there is a good amount of swiping going on even if it is not “Swype.” I love the keyboard strictly because of the style and animations. I recommend not having the spell checker option on, because for some reason it kept adding an S at the end of my words. If you want to look more into Fleksy, head over to their site and check it out. It is still in the beta phase, and not yet released in the Play Store. They might still be looking for beta testers, so head to the site and see if you can snag a download. Check out my video review below, and let us know what you think. Fleksy.com

The animated film, Epic, will be coming to theaters tomorrow, and Epic: The Official Game is available in the Google Play Store. Gameloft, Fox Digital Entertainment and Blue Sky Studios, the production company behind the film, collaborated on the game. Users team up with the Leafmen, a band of samurai style warriors, to try to build a kingdom, while defeating bosses from the movie. Players compete against bosses like Mandrake, the leader of the Boggans kingdom, while attempting to keep the Jinn Kingdom safe. You can build up you own kingdoms within the game with the help of friends you can find on Facebook. Players can also challenge other kingdoms in online social multiplayer (PVP) battle mode. Other modes include Tycoon-style gaming, for building kingdoms from the ground up and reward-based missions for rewards. Google Play Store

AT&T customers can expect to pay a little more every month. The carrier has decided to add a 61-cent charge to each of their customers’ bills. Beginning May 1, the “Mobility Administrative Fee” is considered a “below-the-line” fee, meaning it appears with taxes and other surcharges at the bottom of a customer’s phone bill, below the service charges. A charge of less than a dollar might sound insignificant, but when multiplied by all of the number of customers they have, it could add more than a half-billion dollars of revenue for AT&T. AT&T is quick to say that below-the-line charges are ”consistent with similar fees charged by other carriers,” and that the revenue will “help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance.” Source: Wall Street Journal Come comment on this article: AT&T adds new “mobility administrative” 61-cent fee to all monthly bills Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!! Apps Fast and Furious 6 game hits the Play Store Twitter introduces two-factor authentication for log-ins Mediafire app update now allows music and video streaming to devices Carriers Viva Movil, a mobile service focused on Latino consumers by Jennifer Lopez Google Google quietly working on the inclusion of haptic feedback technology into Android devices… for more effective advertisements Google adding richer notifications to Chrome on ChromeOS, Windows Google Glass Google Glass Explorer Edition shows up on Craigslist for $6,000 Phones After much speculation, HTC may in fact release a “Sense-less” stock Android version of their HTC One HTC One becomes the first enterprise-ready HTCpro certified smartphone in US HTC finally explains lack of microSD slots in US/UK versions of HTC One, no love for Big Red HTC One sales strong at 5 million despite supply issues and reshuffling execs Facebook puts HTC First launch in UK on hold HTC Desire 600 handset formally announced, will arrive in parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa by mid-June Huawei Ascend P6 leaked Waterproof LG Optimus GJ E975W officially announced, will be priced at $600 Samsung sells over 10 million S 4s and announces four new colors for summer Samsung Galaxy S4 Developer Edition slated for AT&T and Verizon AT&T to offer Samsung Galaxy S 4 in new “Aurora Red” color starting June 14, pre-orders start tomorrow Verizon & AT&T Galaxy S 4 gets bootloader unlock method Tablets Samsung tablet concept with flexible display leaks with specs Amazon adds more than 170 countries as markets for Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Miscellaneous LoJack launches phone recovery service with the Samsung Galaxy S4 as its first supported device Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 23, 2013 Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

There’s a lot to like about the HTC One. Now there’s more. HTC has announced that their HTC One is the first HTCpro certified smartphone in the United States.What exactly does this mean? It means the HTC One is enterprise-ready and meets the Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 certification, offering 256-bit encryption, and level-one government-grade security. As part of the distinction, the One also offers built-in VPN functionality to offer data protection and security, and in the future will offer multiheaded Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) VPN support from Mocana. Aimed obviously at business professionals, this is an important step for HTC. Source: Laptop Mag Come comment on this article: HTC One becomes the first enterprise-ready HTCpro certified smartphone in US Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Once again thanks to evleaks’ Twitter account, Huawei’s Ascend P6 has been leaked through various screen shots. With the thickness of just 6.2 mm’s, this should be the worlds thinnest smartphone upon release. The device will have a 4.7 inch 720p display. Not much else is known about the device, but it should be announced sometime next month during an event in London. source: evleaks Come comment on this article: Huawei Ascend P6 leaked Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Looks like there’s news that Verizon and AT&T will both receive a developer edition of Samsung’s Galaxy S4. Both of these versions of the S4 have a locked down bootloader, so it makes sense for a developer edition to come out on both of these companies. While developers over at XDA have already dismantled and un-locked the bootloader in both of these respective devices, it is still nice to see Verizon and AT&T releasing an unlocked version for those who wish to purchase one. Lets not get confused with the Google Edition of the S4 that’s due out to be released next month, these two developer phones are still running TouchWiz and not stock Android. The only difference is that the bootloader is unlocked compared to the regular versions of it that Verizon and AT&T currently sell. Anyone on AT&T or Verizon nabbing this? source: Samsung Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy S4 Developer Edition slated for AT&T and Verizon Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Remember during Google IO when an HTC employee hinted at a “stock Google experience” HTC One in response to Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Google Edition? Well, that seems to be inching closer and closer towards the truth as even more “tipsters” have confirmed such a device is indeed coming. Now before you write this out as just another rumor, keep in mind where this rumor comes from. Russel Holly from Geek.com first outed the Google Edition of the S4 the night before it was announced, and now he claims the same sources that gave him that information are now providing the same in regards to a “Sense-less” HTC One. No actual date has been given, but he did say that one of the sources said the device should be announced in the next two weeks or so with a summer release. Of course, this is still a non-factual rumor so take it for what it is. The Sense software helps make the HTC One as great as it is in my opinion, thus I’m not sure if having a stock Android HTC One device would make it any better. Either way, having it out there as a choice is certainly a great thing and something plenty of people will be excited for. What do you guys think of a Google Edition HTC One? source: Geek Come comment on this article: After much speculation, HTC may in fact release a “Sense-less” stock Android version of their HTC One Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Samsung has packed loads of features into the new Galaxy S4. With it’s beautiful display, who wouldn’t want to occasionally save a screenshot from their device?  As simple as it may sound, there are actually two screen capture methods in the Galaxy S4. One method is a bit more conventional to most Android users, while the other will be more familiar with users of previous Galaxy devices. Take a moment to watch our video tutorial to get a quick demo of both! Method 1 - When you want to capture a screenshot, press and hold the power and home buttons simultaneously. You will get visual confirmation around the border of the screen. The screenshot can then be accessed from the notification bar.   Method 2  Enable “Palm motion” under the “my device” settings tab. You can then swipe your palm across the screen to capture a screenshot. Like method 1, you will get a visual confirmation that the screen was captured. If you have palm motion enabled, you can still use both methods at any time. Enable “Capture screen” to use Method 2 Swipe palm from left to right across the screen That’s all it takes folks! You can then access the photos and make edits to them before sharing them and storing them in the gallery.  

Despite being denied by executives after rumors originally surfaced, the stock, Nexus Experience HTC One “Google Edition” is making headlines again today, after the source who originally leaked information on the Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock Android is saying a “Senseless” One is on the way. Russell Holly of Geek.com is reporting that sources tell him the launch of a Senseless HTC One, complete with stock Android, is “imminent.” Apparently, the chatter that has been getting louder surrounding the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S4 running stock Android was the final push needed to get HTC on board with the idea. HTC’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager, Jeff Gordon, reached out to Android and Me to say that, “HTC is not currently planning a ‘Nexus Edition’ of the HTC One,” shortly after the original rumor on the such a device was started on Twitter, but things can change. According to Holly, the stock HTC One could be announced as soon as the next two weeks. The device could see a summer release, right around the time production of the One is scheduled to double, and an update to Android 4.2.2 is delivered to the original handset. As for how this device would be sold and updated, that’s still a mystery. One of the big selling points of the Nexus Experience Galaxy S4 is that it will be sold unlocked through Google Play, and updated directly by Google. We’ll be keep our ears to ground for more information. In the meantime, which would you pick: a stock Galaxy S4, or a stock HTC One? Let us know in the comments.