Newsletter
Google Maps Adds Lane Guidance for Indian Users
Towards the end of last year, Google added lane guidance to maps in parts of the world, making it easier to know which lane to be in for your next exit. (As a UK driver, this makes unfamiliar roundabouts much easier to deal with). Now, it’s available in India, making it easier to navigate those busy roads. As well as the new lane guidance, the Google Maps app was updated with Hindi language to help navigate you on your way. To read more about the new features, take a look at Google’s blog post.
Samsung’s Galaxy S3 Neo Drops to RS 12,499
To get a feeling for how Samsung overvalues their smartphones in India, the Galaxy S3 Neo is a prime example. The device launched last year as a sort of remix of 2012’s Galaxy S3 with the same 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 720p display, 1.2 Ghz CPU but with an IR blaster and 1.5GB of RAM. That sounds pretty decent and all, the Galaxy S3 was a great device, but it launched at RS 25,499. Now, it can be had for RS 12,499, which is a much better deal but there’s arguably more affordable devices out there. It’s available from Flipkart for the new price right now in either Pebble Blue or Marble White.
Toshiba Launches L5400 And L9450 Android Powered TVs in India
Android TV might be a thing now, but it looks like Toshiba feels they can do a better job and the new L5400 And L9450 series of LED TVs are running your regular variety of Android 4.4.4 KitKat. Of course, Toshiba have made numerous modifications to keep things fresh, but we really would have liked to see Android TV here. Those looking for a smart 4K TV however should look at the L9450-series which starts at 50-inches and goes all the way up to 84-inches. For more info and pricing, check out this post from earlier in the week.
LG G3 Owners in Australia Should be Getting Their Lollipop Update Soon
The LG G3 has been blessed with sweet Lollipop in many parts of the world, but Australians have so far been left out. That should change soon however, as LG has been advertising the new software version to come very soon. Networks like Vodafone and Telstra have updated their statuses with some progress. We’re still waiting for something really officially, but progress is nice and hopefully this time next week we’ll have more info.
Twitter Acquires India’s ZipDial
Twitter has completed their acquisition of ZipDial, the mobile marketing firm that connects some of Indian’s biggest brands with people through mobile technology. The acquisition is Twitter’s first in India and should help further extend the reach of the network in the region and help tune their advertising to more mobile applications. Valerie Wagoner, Founder and CEO of ZipDial had this to say of the acquisition: “More than half of the world’s population live in emerging and newly developed markets, and these consumers use their mobile phones differently. We build for them. ZipDial’s innovative platform has already scaled across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, where we operate. We are thrilled to expand our impact to a global level with Twitter.” Hopefully, we’ll see some fruit from this latest acquisition of Twitter’s towards the end of the year.
Wireless Charging Hits Starbucks Locations in London
Starbucks locations throughout London are getting Powermat charging stations put in place to help keep your phone juiced up. Sadly, this is the standard that your phone probably doesn’t support, but there will be dongles available to plug into your phone, with the offer to buy one to take with you for £10. The dongles are little circles that plug into your microUSB port and as of writing 10 locations are jumping on board, with many more to come later in the year. Sadly, Powermat just isn’t that popular, so this all might be a waste of time for a lot of users, but we suppose there are those dongles available.
Dropbox Acquires Israeli CloudOn to Bolster Cloud Offerings
Dropbox this week acquired the Israeli-based CloudOn, a service that allows users to edit Microsoft Office documents and more online. The 30-strong team has confirmed that their products will shut down starting March 2015 as the team moves into the new Israeli-based Dropbox offices born out of the existing CloudOn premises. TechCrunch has the full story on this, but it all sounds a little like buying out the competition, but hopefully we’ll see new features show up in Dropbox as a result of this latest purchase.
Google’s Play Store Extends Availability of the Moto 360 and the Nexus 9 Worldwide
Google has been extending the availability of devices throughout parts of the world for quite some time now and their latest tablet, the Nexus 9 and the Moto 360 are becoming available in more markets this week. Where the Moto 360 is concerned it’s now available from the Play Store in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom with prices of course varying depending on region. The Nexus 9 meanwhile is now available in New Zealand and Taiwan, along with the trusty Chromecast to boot.