Category Archives: Services

Latest Swype Beta update features Nuance’s Dragon Dictation software

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

There are a lot of great keyboards for Android. I have been an especially fickle consumer regularly jumping between a number of excellent choices. If you haven’t had a chance to use Swype with Dragon Dictate you’re in for a treat, it’s a great keyboard with an easy-to-use and very accurate voice recognition app that allows you to speak your text and have it transcribed automatically.

The latest Swype keyboard beta integrates directly with Nuance’s latest Android app Dragon Go which utilizes advanced language modeling for an up to 40% increase in prediction accuracy. The application learns over time as you use it, building up a personal language profile for you.

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CyanogenMod 9 boot animation posted

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

I have been a CyanogenMod fan for some time now, I’m currently running a custom CM7 Gingerbread rom on a couple of my smartphones. I have briefly run an early Alpha version of a CyanogenMod 9 ICS Rom that is surprisingly stable and responsive for such an early version of the ROM.

I really enjoyed using the ICS ROM, but went back to the Gingerbread ROM because the camera is not yet supported on the Alpha ROM. As soon as this feature is added I will be re-flashing my phone to CM9. (Boot animation video after the break)

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iPhone 5 design rumors, your chance to win a Lumia 800 from Nokia, HTC X looking to steal the show at MWC

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) rapidly approaching phone leaks abound, MWC is the perfect stage for companies to unveil their products. According to the latest unsubstantiated rumors the iPhone 5 is slightly taller and wider than the 4 and 4S. The front facing camera is also higher resolution on the iPhone 5.

Is Apple looking to shape-up the front facing camera game on smartphones? If these rumors are true, we are on the edge of our seats awaiting further details about the iPhone 5.

If you head on over to Nokia’s Facebook page you will see a contest to win a white Nokia Lumia 800. The game is simple, upon opening the page, you will have 60 seconds to catch a white tile by clicking on it. After catching the tile a score will be displayed and you will be asked to enter your info for a chance to win.

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Near Field Communications (NFC) mobile payments FAQ

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By Michael Koploy

ERP Analyst at Software Advice

According to US research advisory Gartner, mobile payments may be the next “big thing” for retailers. The firm expected 38 percent growth of mobile payment users last year, totaling 141 million.

While this may seem like a lot, the industry still has a long way to go and there are a number of roadblocks ahead, according to Sandy Shen, Gartner Research Director. “The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behavior by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards,” says Shen.

Retailers can play a large role in changing user behavior, and the first step is learning more about the technology. Software Advice often hears from retailers that are curious about mobile payments, so they put together a FAQ. Here are answers to three of their top questions.

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Scalado “Remove” lets you capture a clear view.

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

Have you ever wanted to capture a photo in a busy area without capturing a number of strangers in the shot as well? Up till now this has been all but impossible enter Scalado Remove, a technology that automatically highlights and removes any unwanted object from a captured photo. Scalado claims it’s the first Object removal software to be released on a mobile device.

Remove promises to solve this photographic conundrum by detecting and removing unwanted objects by touching the selections on the screen after capturing the image. Imagine capturing a photo and letting the camera remove the unwanted people for you! All of this can be done after the image is captured using post-processing to selectively remove anyone moving around, or select your subject and remove anyone else in the frame.

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Motorola Triumph Hacks including ICS and Gingerbread ROMs

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

We recently reviewed the Motorola Triumph a CDMA pre-paid phone which is being offered by Virgin Mobile. We generally liked the Triumph but were disappointed that the phone is currently being delivered with Android 2.2 Froyo installed with no official upgrade path announced as of this date.

Well we’ve come across a great resource “Motorola Triumph Hacks” that addresses many of the Triumphs shortcomings. The site features downloads for several of the more popular third party ROMS that add additional features and bug fixes as well as instructional videos that include step-by-step instructions to help even novice users enhance their Motorola Triumph experience.

Following one of the featured guides I’ve now upgraded my Triumph to Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread which made the phone noticeably more responsive. The only feature not enabled on the third party build that I installed that is HDMI, which was not a critical feature for me. (Video after the break)

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Verizon for Valentines day? “Samsung’d” again!

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

Starting February 13th through the 14th, Verizon is allowing users to tweet their most creative confessions with the hashtag #TweetHeart in order to win a free colored Droid RAZR. If you don’t like purple, simply give it to that special someone of yours. Until then, be on the lookout for the contest on Verizon Wireless’s official Twitter page.

PS. your partner may still like a romantic date even if you win the free phone.

For those who happened to miss the Samsung Galaxy Note Superbowl ad, the ad is simple no longer shall customers have to wait in long lines in order to buy a subpar phone such as iPhone, instead the Samsung Galaxy Note shall be your savior. It was a quirky and funny commercial, some may say it was a tad over the top, but the stage it was premiered on, sometimes over the top is better.

See the Samsung Mobile USA- Thing Called Love ad after the break

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Chrome for Phone

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

Google introduced Chrome for Android Beta today that brings many Chrome desktop features to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phones and tablets.

Some of the Chrome for Android features include:

  •  Browse fast with accelerated page loading, scrolling, and zooming
  • Search and navigate directly from the omnibox
  • Open and switch between unlimited tabs in an easy-to-view stack
  • Send pages from desktop Chrome to your smartphone or tablet with one click and read them on the go, even if you’re offline
  • Browse privately in Incognito mode
  • View open tabs: Access the tabs you left open on your computer (also signed into Chrome)picking up exactly where you left off.
  • Get smarter suggestions: If you visit a site often on your computer, you’ll also get an autocomplete suggestion for it on your mobile device, so you can spend less time typing.
  • Sync bookmarks: Conveniently access your favorite sites no matter where you are or which device you’re using.

Facebook to push advertising into the news feed on mobile devices.

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

Facebook is set to begin showing advertising to mobile users according to a recent Reuters report.

Facebook allegedly has already entered in negotiations with advertising agencies for displaying ads which it is calling “featured stories” in the news feed seen by users providing Facebook with a new source of revenue.

Facebook mobile users could see the advertisements as early as March ahead of its $5 billion dollar public offering, according to the Financial Times sources.

It is unclear at this time if we will see these “features stories” added to the web version of Facebook as well at some point.

Samsung Galaxy III, Skype & InstaCam for Windows Phone, Blackberry Resurrection?

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

Reports have surfaced that the latest edition to the Samsung Galaxy family, the Samsung Galaxy III will measure in at a relatively slim size of  7 mm. The Droid RAZR, which is currently one of the thinnest phones on the market measures in at 7.1 mm, so you can imagine how thin we are talking.

The Samsung Galaxy III is rumored to be released this upcoming May and will feature a 8megapixel rear camera and 2megapixel front-facing camera. Look for the device to run on Google’s latest operating system, Android 4.0(Ice Cream Sandwich). Multiple reports have cited that the Galaxy III will sport 2GB of RAM, have a quad core processor, and will also be 4G LTE compatible.

If this news is all true, the Samsung Galaxy III will be a hard phone to beat this year.

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