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Now that Facebook has paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, what's next for the mobile messaging app? Voice calls, apparently. According to TechCrunch, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum announced the upcoming feature at Mobile World Congress earlier today. With this new functionality, the app will even more directly compete with the likes of Skype, KakaoTalk, Line, and Viber. Though, without video support, it still won't be an all-encompassing solution just yet.
AT&T Launches International 4G LTE Roaming In Over A Dozen Additional Countries
AT&T Launches International 4G LTE Roaming In Over A Dozen Additional Countries
AT&T is currently the only carrier to offer 4G LTE roaming in other countries, a change it rolled out back in December. At the time, only Canada was supported, followed by the UK. Now the carrier is rolling out the service in around a dozen additional countries. These range from locales as small as Hong Kong and Singapore to places as expansive as Australia and Russia.
Sony is showing off its own take on Google Glass at Mobile World Congress, and while the current name, the SmartEyeglass concept, doesn't flow as well as Google's, it already looks less weird. The company has managed to cram an accelerometer, compass, brightness sensor, embedded camera, microphone, and other bits of hardware inside a bulkier but otherwise normal-looking frame.
The All New HTC One+ 2 isn't expected to make an appearance at Mobile World Congress, but that doesn't mean HTC doesn't have things to share. The company just held a press event where it unveiled a new midrange device, the Desire 816.
Today is the day that the WWE turns on the WWE Network, its new streaming service that provides a 24/7 streaming network along with 1,500 hours of video on demand. To kick off the launch, the company is also rolling out an update to its Android app. This way you can watch your favorite scantily clad beefcakes body slam each other anywhere you'd like.
Update: Some owners have also reported to us that the update is rolling out in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and other European countries as well.
Facebook Will Now Make 'Look Back' Videos For Those Who Have Passed Away If Their Family Requests So
Earlier this month Facebook celebrated its 10-year anniversary by introducing "Look Back" videos, bite sized glimpses at what each of us have shared on the social network over the years. Depending on how active a person you are on the site, these short clips may fill you with overwhelming nostalgia as you look back over time gone by. But Facebook's videos are capable of more than that - they can also serve as brief reminders of who you are and the kind of life you've lived, and they can do this even after you're gone. Today Facebook is introducing the ability for family members to request "Look Back" videos for loved ones who have passed away. If you've lost someone, you can make a request for their video here.
The Galaxy S4 Mini and Mega may typically take a backseat to the Galaxy S4, but today is their turn to bask in the limelight. Sprint is now rolling out OTA updates to both devices enabling Galaxy Gear support along with WiFi calling. The former is already available for the Galaxy S4, but the latter functionality is brand spanking new. This update is rolling out right on schedule.
Here in the US, Amazon offers video streaming bundled up with its annual Prime subscriptions, so anyone who wants discounted shipping gets to watch some videos on the side seemingly for free. Now the company is starting to replicate this setup in the UK and Germany as well. Today Amazon announced that it is merging Amazon Prime and LoveFilm Instant in both of these countries starting on February 26th, combining the speedy delivery and substantial Kindle library of the former with the 15,000-strong collection of TV shows and movies of the latter.
It's time to take your foot off the gas. No, seriously, take your fo - see? You've spun out. That's what happens when you approach Colin McRae Rally as though it were any other racer on the market. This is a thinking man's racing game, one that requires you to go into each turn with calculation and precision. The franchise has made a name for itself over the decade and a half it's been around, and now a mobile game based on the original two PlayStation and PC games is available for Android.
[New Game] Ridge Racer Slipstream Brings You To The Track With An Attractive Ride Slowed Down By IAPs
[New Game] Ridge Racer Slipstream Brings You To The Track With An Attractive Ride Slowed Down By IAPs
If a piece of technology is capable of pushing pixels, sooner or later it will have its own Ridge Racer game. Today's that day for Android. This mobile entry, which hit iOS this past fall, celebrates the series' 20-year anniversary. It doesn't reinvent the wheel by any means, but fans of the franchise should find enough here to appeal to their nostalgia.
Stitcher Radio has made the jump to version 3.2, and it's a pretty nice update. Ever start a podcast and wish you could come back to it later without having to search? The app's new "Listen Later" feature will take care of that problem. Just click on an episode and hit up the "Add to Listen Later" option that appears. You can then access it and other saved episodes from the sidebar.
T-Mobile began its soak test of the Moto X running Android 4.4.2 earlier this month, a version of Kitkat that has already gone out to devices in Canada. It seems, though, that American carriers are largely taking their time with the release. Sprint placed its own soak test on hold just a half-hour after announcing it. Now, after roughly a week's wait, the process is back on. The issue has been addressed, and Android 4.4.2 is rolling out to those taking part in the testing process.
We haven't heard much in the way of news regarding the OnePlus One since CyanogenMod and OnePlus first announced their collaboration in early January. Since then the team has shared its intent to release the phone internationally in the second quarter of this year, a plan that sounded ambitious then and continues to do so now. But early this morning OnePlus's Pete Lau took to Google+ with a message about the handset's eventual price. Anxious consumers can look for the OnePlus One to cost less than $500 unlocked and off-contract when it eventually debuts.
Nearly two months have passed since our last installment of the Android Police Files, so I'm not going to spend much time on the introduction this time around. You already know what you're in for. Below are eight emails that several people out there mistakenly thought contained either legitimate questions or useful information of some kind. Unfortunately, grammar or common sense (but usually grammar) got in the way. Anyway, you've been more than patient, so without further ado, I present to you our sixth installment.
Google has just pulled the curtain off Project Tango, the latest innovation to come to us from its Advanced Technology and Projects hardware group (the folks also involved with Project Ara). This device is capable of tracking its movement within an area while creating a 3D map of the environment at the same time. It could be immensely useful for indoor navigation or the creation of highly immersive video games.
Thanks to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, there's no shortage of quirky (read: gimmicky) wearable products to throw money at. I won't pretend to understand what makes a product appealing to people, but at last I'm not the only one here at Android Police who has been baffled by some of the projects that have found crowdfunding success. So with this confidence-inducing introduction out of the way, I present to you Fin, a Bluetooth ring with gesture support that looks to be just shy of practical.
It's no secret that HTC intends to enter the wearables market, but we haven't come across many details about what form an eventual product from the company would take. Well if a new Bloomberg report is to be believed, we've already grown accustomed to one. The Taiwanese manufacturer will allegedly show off the first of three new devices to carriers at Mobile World Congress, with no plans to unveil anything publically. The smartwatch in question will be based on the Qualcomm Toq.
On an Android blog like ours, you're accustomed to reading about the rechargeable lithium ion batteries crammed inside smartphones and the external battery packs that can pump juice back into them. Today we're shaking things up. The SkyRC NC2500 is the kind of accessory that can make keeping up with those AA/AAA NiMH batteries you may have lying in a drawer somewhere less tedious. Just pop your batteries in, install the Android app, and look at those charge levels go.
Adaptxt 3.0 isn't ready for the big league yet, but a beta is available that's introducing some rather intriguing functionality. Most interesting, it gives users the option to have the keyboard's built-in dictionary auto-populate itself with nearby street names, relevant addresses, and nearby landmarks. Of course, this somewhat creepy feature is optional, and typists who don't trust it can choose to manually save addresses instead.