This File Transfer Concept Would Allow Files To Be “Swiped” Between A MacBook And iPhone [VIDEO]

Apple products are renowned for being in sync with each other in a harmonious, seamless fashion. The Cupertino company places much emphasis on getting things done with less and less wires, buttons, and optical drives, and designer Ishac Bertran has created a wonderful concept in keeping with that motif.
File transfer used to be a painstaking exercise. Burning files to a DVD or transferring to bulky, loud portable hard drives via USB 1.1 were accepted as the time-consuming norm. Things are a little different nowadays though, and thanks to vast improvements, most file transfers can be programmed to occur in an automatic, smooth and unattended fashion.

Bertran progresses things delightfully forward, however, with his swipe-based concept. Believing there isn’t, as he describes, a "tangible connection" in a file sync, he has created a concept video, which, as you can see, would allow user transfer files simply by holding an iPhone to the side of a MacBook:

Once each device has detected that the other is within proximity, a semi-circular shape appears on each, allowing various files such as pictures, music, videos or documents to be dragged from one to the other. Bertran envisages a similar implementation as natural progression:

I thought that a representation of a physical connection would facilitate a more intuitive interaction based on traditional mental models from the physical world.

Although it most certainly looks interesting, without any real information regarding how such technology would be implemented, it is simply a pipe-dream. Without, say, a touch-screen Mac, it wouldn’t quite feel as smooth as it perhaps should, and also, unless file transfers were to become significantly quicker, holding an iPhone for a prolonged amount of time would likely arouse some form of repetitive strain injury.
Although it looks a little more James Bond than a viable Apple product, if Bertran (or anybody, for that matter) were to go ahead and try to develop this concept, I’m sure you guys will agree that it would be a great deal of fun to try out.

Like all futuristic ideas for mobile devices, though (see face detection for Android), some things are just better off left as concepts, and this, I’m afraid, is probably one of them.

Thoughts?

(via TheVerge)

Galaxy S III – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

After months of speculation, guesswork and supposedly leaked photos, the Samsung Galaxy S III is now 100% real. Samsung’s great and good took to the stage in London to announce the latest in the line of Galaxy S smartphones, powered by Android, along with UK TV presenter Suzi Perry. The result was the revealing of a smartphone that Samsung claims is the biggest announcement of the year. A bold claim, we are sure you will agree.
The handset itself is pretty much what we expected. It is instantly recognizable as a Galaxy S family device, with the same button layout that we have come to expect from Samsung’s flagship line of smartphones. A glance through the specifications list reveals one or two interesting tidbits, though, and not all of them favorable depending on which side of a narrow fence you happen to sit on.
The most striking specification for us has to be that screen.

Weighing in with a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display and 720p resolution, the Samsung Galaxy S III is indeed something of a beast. Put beside an iPhone 4S, it is clear that Samsung believes that bigger is indeed better, and if you’ve got the hands of King Kong, then it is fair to say you’ll agree. But is it really that easy to live with?
Samsung’s own 5.3-inch Galaxy Note is probably the largest handset being marketed as a smartphone right now, and even then the Korean company’s own marketing pushes the thing as a cross between smartphone and tablet – branding which has the unfortunate side effect of making the phone seem more than a little schizophrenic. C’mon guys, that’s marketing 101 right there.
But back to that massive 4.8-inch screen.

One plus that we have to level at the screen is the fact that it means Samsung can include a relatively large 2,100mAh battery, and battery life was something that Samsung itself spoke about during its reveal today. The cynics amongst is would suggest that the handset is so large because Samsung needed to pack in such a massive battery to make the 4G version – available in the US, Japan and Korea this Summer – last long enough to be useful.

An 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1.9 megapixel front-facing affair should be enough to keep photographers happy, though the quality of the camera software will determine whether the iPhone 4S has anything to worry about in that department.

No CPU specs were given during the announcement, which leaves the software as the standout feature here. Samsung seems to be trying to differentiate itself from other Android-using OEMs by packing new and interesting software into its handsets. It is here, assuming they haven’t broken Android at the most fundamental level, that the Galaxy S III could potentially shine. Although, Samsung announced beforehand that the CPU which would power the Galaxy S III would be the Exynos 4 Quad, so indeed it is that processor.
Take ‘Smart Stay’ for example. According to Samsung’s blurb, this feature will track a user’s eyes and alter the screen’s brightness to reflect their attention. ‘S Voice’ is Samsung’s Siri clone, which is interesting to say the least considering the company’s current spat with Apple.

Other software-based features include voice recognition that will allow the phone to tailor commands to users, and various DLNA features that some will no doubt use a lot, whilst others barely notice.
All in, and these are still very early days for the Galaxy S III, the handset appears more iterative than revolutionary. With the main competition, Apple’s next iPhone, due to be announced in six months, Samsung may not have pushed the boat out far enough to really push its rival to the limit.

Gmail Attachment Download” For Android Lets You Download Attachments Of Any File Format And Save Them To Your SD Card

Despite being an open mobile operating system which offers more freedom than competing platforms, Android comes with a bunch of small but nonetheless frustrating limitations. One such limitation is Gmail’s limited support for different file formats; it plays well with things like PDFs, DOCs and AVIs, but when it comes to ZIP files and other, lesser known formats such as 7z, the popular email client simply denies the user from downloading it. Further, Gmail doesn’t let you save attachments to specified locations on your device’s internal memory or SD card.
Both of these shortcomings are easily solved with an app we’ll be talking about in this post. Check it out after the jump!

Developed by Poofinc Studios, Gmail Attachment Download is an easy-to-use app that lets you download any attachment from Gmail and place it anywhere on your device.
Gmail Attachment Download doesn’t come with any app icon and is only activated when you attempt downloading an attachment from Gmail, so it is more of a plugin than a standalone app.
To get it to work, you simply press view/preview in Gmail and select Gmail Attachment Downloadwhen the option comes up. This launches the plugin from where you can select the exact path where the attachment will be saved. You then tap Save file and voila!, the attachment is saved for later use.
We’ve tested the app on a Samsung Galaxy S II (Android 4.0.3 ICS) and can confirm that it works as advertised.

Gmail Attachment Download is more of a necessity than anything else. If you use Gmail on your Android device (who doesn’t?), you really need to install this app.
Gmail Attachment Download is a free, ad-supported app [Google Play]. It works on all Android devices on version 2.1 and up. The app also apparently works on other email clients, but we weren’t able to test this.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 Trailer Released [VIDEO]

The first real trailer for Treyarch’s upcoming Call Of Duty game has finally aired on television, giving fans of the franchise their first look at what Black Ops 2 will encompass.
We have been waiting for it for a while now, and as soon as Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 was heavily rumored to be the next Call Of Duty game to steal all our time, the anticipation reached fever pitch.
We knew that a new trailer, the first to be released, was set to air during the NBA Playoff final today, and that is exactly what we got. Did the new trailer disappoint?
Not one bit.

The trailer itself  roars into life with Black Ops veteran Sgnt Frank Woods reciting a monologue which not only tells us that he is still alive after the first game, but that the sequel is set to be a whole new kind of crazy.

Set in the near future, Black Ops 2 will feature more bangs and crashes than we could shake a metaphorical stick at, and surely plenty to keep even the most keen excitement junkies out there smiling for some time.
Right now there isn’t really that much information to share, other than we suggest you sit back and take the new trailer in, preferably on a big TV screen.  We see no reason, so far at least, to think that Black Ops 2 isn’t going to be the huge success that the franchise now demands.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 goes on sale November 13th and will be available on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Call Of Duty games have been something of a license to print money over the last few years, with the people behind the series of games apparently acutely aware of just how to entice their audience to part with that hard earned money.
There is no reason to believe that Black Ops 2 will be any different to the games that came before it in the money stakes, and with fans eager to pit their wits against the latest Call Of Duty games as well as take part in the hugely popular online portion of the game, sales are almost guaranteed.
At this point it’s more about how many records will be broken, rather than how much money Black Ops 2 will make.

Source : Redmond Pie

Meet The iPhone Plus: New iPhone Concept Which Is Ridiculously Thin And Aluminicious [IMAGES]

With the next-generation iPhone set to launch sometime in the next few months – many credible rumors suggest October – concepts of what the device could possibly look like are being produced by designers already. ADR Studio, a common source of such art has outed yet another concept mockup of what they call the “iPhone Plus”. It depicts an extremely thin iPhone with a 4.3″ screen and an aluminum back, similar to the iPad, or even the first-generation iPhone in some regards.

The mockup doesn’t stop at skin-depth, however. The concept also lists out a number of specs and features that the next iPhone should have: A liquidmetal body, a screen with double alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass, a 4.3″ Retina display with In-Cell technology, an A6 quad-core processor, a rear 10-megapixel camera and a 2MP front-facing camera, a rear motion sensor, a pico projector on top to project content on surfaces, a slim-dock connector, and a fully capacitive Home button.

Now of course, such a mockup as this is more of a fantasy of what the artist wishes that the iPhone could look like rather than a prediction. Anyone sensible would chuckle at the thought of a 4.3″ iPhone for example. It’s clear that Apple put a lot of research into the appropriate size for the device, and will not be changing their stance any time soon (the larger iPhone screen crowd are just as adamant about their nonsensical requests as the smaller iPad crowd are).

A recent rumor has also suggested that Apple will not be implementing a capacitive Home button, and will rather just be making a minor and seemingly unnoticeable – at least to the user – change to that component. And finally, I’m not exactly a huge fan of the form factor of the device. Holding a thin, less rounded iPhone seems like it would be uncomfortable in hand. The design also makes it look far less unique to other phones than it currently is.
While I am critical about the design, however, the concept seems great on the fictional spec level. The addition of a projector seems like it has quite a bit of potential for presentation purposes, and a quad-core processor is definitely welcome.
Now of course, props to the designer, but I’m just not a fan of these concepts. But, if you do want a thin, square, larger-screened iPhone, then you will find this concept to be the ultimate dream.


Source : Redmond Pie

This App Turns Your Android Phone Into A Document Scanner, Lets You Take Photos To Turn Documents Into PDFs

Smartphones are the ultimate example of the convergence of technology. They play your music, TV shows, movies, take great photos, run games, can act as a flashlight, let you browse the internet, send/receive email and, before I get, let you make calls and send text messages. You can now add one more feature to that list: scan your documents. Yes, a new app called Handy Scanneressentially turns your Android phone into a document scanner. Check it out after the break.
Developed by Halfmobile, Handy Scanner is an easy-to-use app that turns pictures of documents into printable PDF documents.

From Android Market:

Handy Scanner turns camera pictures into great print-ready PDF documents.
Mobile devices are not built for scanning. But we worked hard on our enhancement for documents. This will change the way you scan.

We’ve tested the app on a Samsung Galaxy S II on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can confirm that it works as advertised. It has a very simple interface and offers an intuitive user-experience (something Android apps generally lack).I used one of my printed end-semester reports to test the app. The document was placed on a flat surface (though it works even if the surface isn’t flat), after which I launched Handy Scanner to take a photograph of the document. Handy Scanner then asked me to crop out the unnecessary parts of the image, which I did, and that’s it. Pressing “next” lets Handy Scanner work its magic and it then presents a printer-friendly PDF document that can be shared via Dropbox, Email, Bluetooth etc.

 Handy Scanner doesn’t replace a dedicated scanner, that’s for sure, but it offers good results and will come handy for when you don’t have access to a scanner.

Handy Scanner is available in two versions: a free, ad-supported trial version and a pro $2.61, fully-featured version that removes ads and watermark, lets you scan unlimited documents and access the highest scan quality setting.

But wait, there is one last thing our readers should know: there is an app called CamScanner [Market Link] that does the same thing and has pretty much the same feature-set.

• Download Handy Scanner Free [Market Link]
• Download Handy Scanner Pro [Market Link]

Source : Redmond Pie

How To Play Just About Any Video File Type On Your Android Device

Although most media players cater to the common audio and video formats, they do often struggle to manage some of the more obscure extensions. As such, there are many, many third-party media playing apps available which claim to handle essentially all formats, and today’s offering, RockPlayer for Android, follows the same motif.
VLC Media Player is, at least for desktop users, one of the best around, and while there is an unofficial Android port, it unfortunately fails to reach the heights we’ve come to expect. RockPlayer aims to fill that void, and will not shy away from most media formats.

The interface is nice, and you can play content straight from your SD card with minimal fuss. VLC is renowned for its handling of subtitles, and you can easily load .srt external subtitles in RockPlayer, as well as .m3u playlists.

Many of you will, like I, have sauntered through a stage of using Windows Media Player in times passed, and subsequently become frustrated at the constant rejection of numerous video files. While RockPlayer isn’t quite as enjoyable to behold as the life-saving VLC desktop client, it does a pretty good job, and handled any .avi or .mkv we threw at it with relative aplomb.

Considering it claims to handle the likes of .rmvb, .wmv, .asf, .wma, and  swf, we couldn’t help but be impressed with the diverse nature of the file formats RockPlayer can work with. Like most apps throughout the Google Play Store, there’s a free, lite version as well as a paid option. The free iteration is advertisement supported, and while some are happy to persevere with the oft intrusive extra, a large portion of you will probably want to part with the negligible fee.

The app’s developers used to sell a PayPal pay-able version through Google Play Store, but since the Big G took exception, you’ll need to visit the RockPlayer website in for more information. A paid market version will be out once the devs get the go-ahead to merchant, so your best option at this point in time is to grab the free version and manage with the ads for the time being.

Download RockPlayer Lite for Android [Play Store Link]

Source : Redmond Pie