Cristopher Hall, Author at Argyll Free Press

Russia Bans and Unbans Reddit, Shrooms are to Blame

August 14, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

Earlier this week Russia banned one of the most popular websites in the world – Reddit.

Yesterday, they lifted the ban.

The reason? A two-year-old post which contains information about how to grow psychedelic mushrooms made the Kremlin’s media watchdog agency Roskomnadzor act accordingly, they say.

The ban was lifted only after the website adhered to the rules the government requested Reddit to comply with. Reddit now restricts local access to the specific guide that instructs people on how to grow magic shrooms – ” Minimal and Reliable Methods for Growing Psylocybe”.

The post about how to properly harvest psychedelic mushrooms was published two years ago – April 2013. The post is still available outside Russian internet territory.

Through VKontakte, which is a Russian Facebook-like social media platform, Roskomandzor says that they tried reaching Reddit with a complaint about the 2013 post, but they were unable to contact any admins.

The agency went on about how they realize that they are understaffed during Summer holidays, but this is clearly no excuse on their part. More so, they are risking to lose the entire Russian audience if they don’t comply.

Well, they lost it, but just briefly.

Under President Vladimir Putin’s regime, Russia has enacted severe restrictive rules regarding what the Russian populace is allowed to see on the internet. US digital rights group, the EFF, which translates to the Electronic Frontier Foundation says that the legislation that Kremlin has passed is violating the rights of their citizens to freedom of expression.

The Reddit nation-wide ban went into effect on Wednesday. The blackout lasted no-more than two days.

The author of the post on how to harvest magic mushrooms, rsocfan, was contacted regarding this subject. He said that he will definitely not remove the post, and he thinks that Reddit should do nothing. He went on talking about how this is a serious, and important issue on freedom of speech, and that the somebody needs to do take a stand against the Kremlin’s human rights violations.

Rsocfan added that he thanks Roskomnadzor, because of the huge amount of traffic he received after they banned Reddit.

The Kremlin agency added on their VKontakte page that they hope Reddit will continue to listen to their regulatory demands, which represent the interest of Russia, and the Russian populace.

Reddit is one of the most popular websites in the world, it ranks 31st most popular across the whole world wide web on the internet analytics site Alexa. It’s ranked at 163 in Russia.

The Russian media watchdog threatened only last month to ban YouTube if they don’t comply with their rules.

That’s a bold strategy cotton, let’s see if it plays out!

Image Source: 1, 2

New Motorola Moto G won’t make you break the bank

August 7, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

The third generation of Motorola Moto G has been long awaited and anticipated. The waterproofing, all day battery and thirteen mega pixel camera give a good money quality report.

Motorola reinvented what budget smartphones could do back in 2013 when they launched their original Moto G. While it was affordable, it didn’t sacrifice any vital features that would make the Android phone slow or annoying to use.

Now we’re getting ready to welcome the third generation of Moto G, spotting the similarities and dissimilarities between the latest release and its predecessors. Right off the bat everyone noticed the increased price of Motorola’s new phone. Let’s see if the new features can justify the price bump.

The new Moto G will be sleeker and still have a removable back, with a ribbed texture. The redefined design makes it easy to hold and the quality seems sturdy.

The new smartphone is waterproof as long as it falls in one meter deep water and doesn’t stay there more than thirty minutes. Behind the removable back you’ll find the card slot for microSDs and a battery that cannot be removed.

The third generation Moto G will be faster thanks to its 1GB or 2GB of RAM and 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410. The battery life performed well on tests, with 25% left after being used for fifteen hours which included sending and receiving emails, handling notifications, an hour of music playback over bluetooth and more than an hour of browsing.

The latest Moto G comes with Android 5.1.1 and some apps that you can use or replace if not needed. One noteworthy app is Motorola Migrate which works flawlessly at transferring all data from another Android and getting contacts and calendar notes from an iPhone.

The camera also got a face lift. This is the same thirteen pixel one used on the Nexus 6 which delivers good pictures details, faithful colors and decent stability. If you’re into selfies, you should know you’ll get a five mega pixel camera which might lack crisp details at full resolution.

What prices are we looking at? You definitely won’t have to break the bank for the new Moto G which has starting point of 180$, but it doesn’t come too cheap if you prefer the 16GB version with 2GB of RAM.

To sum up, the pros of the Moto G 3rd gen outweigh the cons. We’re looking at a good camera and battery life, a sturdy build with waterproof feature and a card slot for microSDs, with the only disadvantage being the price and the plastic that could start showing signs of wear in time.

Image sources 1, 2, 3

The Metamorphosis Of The Luxury Apple Watch

August 4, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

After the release of the Apple Watch in April 2015, iOS users were left wondering at the accessory’s usefulness, with impressions falling in one of the two following categories: “extremely cool” or “not worth it”. And now, under the signature of a high end brand, the Apple Watch gets a face lift and becomes the luxury Apple Watch.

With the Apple Watch selling for ten thousand dollars and some users complaining about the looks and feels, one timepiece manufacturer thought “Carpe diem!” and seized the opportunity to spin the situation in his advantage. We’re talking about Nico Gerard who has just launched its newest line, the Skyview Pinnacle.

What’s new about the Swiss luxury timepiece? It enables you to attach the 38mm version of the Apple Watch and wear both luxury and technology on your wrist at the same time. Enter the questions about practicality and comfort.

Let’s take a closer look at the weird hybrid that is the luxury Apple Watch. The side that faces outwards sports a timeless look encased in a 41mm frame. It also incorporates a date indicator and can resist at one hundred meters pressure depths. You can choose from three versions: stainless steel with either a blue or a black dial or 18k gold with a red dial.

If your finger tips are itching with excitement, you should know the wait list for the watch varies between ten to twelve months if you choose the steel version. If you want to splurge and prefer gold, you’ll have to wait between six and eight months.

But the latter version will get you digging deep in your pockets. More precisely, the gold watch costs $112,000. In comparison, the cheaper versions in blue or black will sell at around nine thousand dollars. A bargain!

Decided to spend more on a watch than most people did on their cars? Then you’ll be relieved to find out that all Skyview Pinnacle Nico Gerard watches come with a 38mm Apple Watch.

If you ever wanted to be able to know what time of the day it is by looking at either side of your wrist, then you’re in luck. The Skyview Pinnacle watch can now be preordered with a deposit of at least two hundred dollars.

The watch’s bracelet was dubbed the Papillon (French for butterfly) by Nico Gerard. But there are already some voices saying there’s not going to be anything delicate or butterfly like about the luxury Apple Watch from the Skyview Pinnacle collection.

It’s easy to imagine the luxury Apple Watch will have a bulky feeling and you’ll risk scraping it on your desk, table or laptop keyboard. And, unfortunately, not even 18k gold can make scratches look luxurious.

Image sources 1, 2, 3

Meet the Ozo Nokia Spherical Camera for VR film-makers

July 29, 2015 By Cristopher Hall 2 Comments

The Ozo Nokia spherical camera for virtual reality, aimed at Hollywood film-makers, is the company’s shot to become, once again, a leader in the industry. A feat that it held, but lost for some time now.

Last night at an event in Los Angeles, Nokia officially announced Ozo. You see, this won’t be an affordable camera that can shoot VR. It’s meant to be used by Hollywood film-makers in their high-budget films.

Nokia announced that their camera will be priced in the middle five figure range. Enthusiasts, or hobbyists aren’t their target demographic. But don’t despair just yet. If it’s successful, be certain that Nokia will release something for the average Joe too.

With Microsoft writing off a staggering $7.6 billion in Nokia costs, the old phone-manufacturer turns towards other markets in order to get a grip on something.

The Ozo Nokia spherical camera can be just the thing that prompts them back as leaders of an industry. The Ozo VR camera is a next-gen device that can capture audio, and video in 360 degrees.

It’s still in pre-production, but what we’ve seen so far puts it on the Keep Your Eyes On This list. You see, virtual reality rendering can take up to a couple of days, but Ozo can do it in a few minutes. Mind you, in low quality, but film-makers need to see their footage fast. Filming costs money, and losing money isn’t on Hollywood’s plans.

Because it makes virtual reality in real-time, and because it has a live monitoring option, directors may be enticed to use it more than other devices on the market.

GoPro announced that they bought a virtual reality company in May, and that they are planning on building a spherical camera. Later in May, they announced their sort-of alliance with Google, and their new Jump tech. Even Samsung is working hard on building a VR camera.

With more and more tech industry behemoths getting themselves into virtual reality, the Ozo Nokia spherical camera won’t encounter smooth sailing. Our only hope is that it won’t be a flop, and that Nokia will release a consumer product – sometime in the future.

When you are transported in the Ozo-produced VR, everything feels more real, than virtual. The Ozo takes advantage of the fact that it can record audio, and it uses this feature to make VR feel more enjoyable, and why not, even shocking.

If you hear a dog barking behind you, you can turn around and see the animal in question.

The official price for the Ozo Nokia spherical camera isn’t known at the moment, but we’ll know more when it’s going to officially launch this Fall.

Image source: 1, 2, 3

Bethesda’s Fallout Anthology Comes in a Nuke

July 25, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

Bethesda just announced that a collector’s edition named Fallout Anthology will hit the light of day on September the 29th in North America, and on the 2nd of October in Europe. If you’re in love with apocalypse-prevailing games, then this collector’s edition is a must-have.

More so, it comes in a nuke – well, not a real one, but something that resembles a mini-nuke, that also has an audible bomb sound.

The complete Fallout Anthology collection consists of – Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition, Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition. Yup, there’s no Fallout 4 on that list, and this may be a deal breaker for some. Although, it has a spot for Bethesda’s Fallout 4, you’ll need to purchase it separately when the time comes in November.

It does serve as a quick hors d’oeuvres before the main Fallout 4 course. Don’t fret, Fallout 4 will arrive with it own pack of goodies – like the PipBoy Edition, which will make every fan drool over their keyboard right now. You can still pre-order it on Bethesda’s official website. I’e been wanting a PipBoy since I first played Fallout 3 ages ago. This is like a dream come true

Bethesda hasn’t announced how much the Fallout Anthology collector’s edition will cost, but Best Buy has it up on their website available for pre-order at $50.

Until Fallout Anthology, and Fallout 4 arrives, you can waste some time playing Bethesda’s Fallout Shelter iOS game – which is slated to appear for Android pretty soon. As an Android user, saying pretty soon without a set release date in sight feels like a kick in the groin.

If you’re going to be too late for the party, all of the discussed editions will sell before you have a chance on nicking one. Don’t fret though, Bethesda has announced that they’re planning on a mega collector’s edition for Fallout 4. So, you better keep your money safe in your wallet until the game-making company announces every edition that will go on sale.

All of the games from the Fallout Anthology will consist of Game of the Year Editions, which include all of the DLCs, and expansions.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past two months or so, here’s what Fallout 4 will look, and feel like. The game is going to be released for PC Windows, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.

Are you going to take a leave of absence from work to journey in Boston this November? Or you’re just going to play it on the weekends? Tell us in the comments section below.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3,

20 Android and iOS Games and Apps to Try this July

July 17, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

It’s already past the middle of July. It’s hot, and sweaty outside. You’re stricken with boredom because all your favorite TV shows are on a break, and the season for AAA games starts in September. What to do until then? I know. You could download these Android and iOS games, and apps.

Some of them are free, while others cost just a little bit. Curious? Scroll down below, and take a look at our list.

We’re going to start with apps, and move to games.

Android and iOS Games

Apple Music

Dubbed as the Spotify-killer, Apple Music offers the first three months for free. Apple Music curates playlists, and with an especially designed like system, it learns what to suggest based on what you love. It’s easy to use, and if you want to try it out, it can be downloaded for free. Zane Lowe has his very own live Beats 1 radio station.

Platform – iOS
Price – Freemium

BuzzFeed News

If you’re into short stories that have a jaw dropping wow factor, then BuzzFeed News is the app for you! Editors curate news from across the world, and share them on the app. BuzzFeed News doesn’t revolve only around BuzzFeed articles!

Platform – iOS
Price – Free

Medium

Medium, which was initially a website, now has a news app which allows its users to follow certain writers, or the whole Medium community. If you’re looking for long articles that grip you to your sit while on your morning commute, you better download Medium.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Free

BitTorrent Shoot

Before you sharpen your pitchfork, and light your stick, hear me out. BitTorrent, which is one of the most known clients to download stuff from, let’s say, the bay were pirates reside, has released a tool which users can use to easily share photos, and videos, with friends.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

BBC Newsbeat

BBC Newsbeat is the quickest way to stay in touch with whatever is happening around the world – whether it is in written, or video form. You can search what stories have appeared, for the current day, in music, technology, entertainment, and of course, other categories. Teams from BBC’s 1Xtra, and Radio 1 stations are in charge of delivering high-quality content.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Free

Loopimal

If you’re into music making, and want to push this forward to your children, Loopimal is the best sequencer for your younglings. Tapping on dancing animals will create sounds, subsequently tunes. It’s accessible, but it does require a little bit of cleverness, and creativity. To be honest, you can be a new-comer to the sequencer medium and still enjoy the app, regardless of your age.

Platform – iOS
Price – $2.99

Lumo Lift

If you tend to slouch, and have a bad posture, Lumo Lift will alert you of your wrong doings. It has to be paired with a physical tracking device – a wearable if you will. Lumo Lift also tracks your steps.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Free

Minds.com

Who needs another messaging app? Well, Minds offers a secure, and private messaging option. This means that if you have nightmares of the NSA spying on your every move, Minds.com might be your salvation. Also, if you’re into illegal activities, this might prove very useful. Minds.com rewards users for using the messaging service through a well-built point system.

Platform – Android
Price – Free

Lulu Dating Intelligence

There’s an app out there that rates men based on their humor skills, and how great, or not, they are in bed. Do you know what Lulu Dating Intelligence does? It lets men see those scores, of course, by charging them a subscription. With knowledge comes great power, and responsibility – and of course tons of money.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

Kamcord Game Screen Recorder

If you want to record your gaming sessions on your smartphone, and publish them online, even to YouTube, Kamcord is the best option. This game screen recorder tries to do what Twitch has done for PC, and Console game streamers. YouTube Gaming is going to be released in the near future. At the current moment, we don’t know if Kamcord Game Screen Recorder will be integrated in Google’s new stream service.

Platform – Android
Price – Free

Android and iOS Games

Angry Birds Fight

Angry Birds doesn’t need an introduction – everybody knows about this worldwide phenomenon. Angry Birds Fight on the other-hand isn’t that well known. It pairs the puzzle system of Candy Crush, and the fighting system of, well, every card fighting game out there. You may be sick and tired of Angry Birds, but Angry Birds Fight is a different beast.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

Her Story

From the genius mind of Sam Barlow, Her Story transports the player in a eerie, and dark world. The thing that fascinates me about Her Story is that it blends puzzle mechanics, with a catchy, and confusing, story. In 1994, a woman is brought to the police for to be interviewed – she’s the prime suspect in her husband’s disappearance. But, did she really do it? Or is she a misunderstood girl? Your job, of course, is to find out the truth. Trust me, it’s not that easy. You have to search for VHS tapes in an old, and crummy database through certain keywords, and phrases. Highly addicting!

Platform – iOS
Price – $4.99

Tiki Taka Soccer

If you love charming, and quite soccer games, I highly recommend Tiki Taka Soccer. I was sick and tired of EA’s Fifa on mobile. Tiki Taka Soccer is highly addictive, and quite entertaining. It resembles Sensible Soccer.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

You Must Build a Boat

Welp, doh, this game is clearly about building a boat, but it doesn’t limit players to just that. You need to fend off invading monsters, gather a crew, and spew spells. It’s a puzzle adventure mobile game, and while it sounds complicated and hard, I assure you, it’s one of the easiest fun mobile games out there.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

Fallout Shelter

To prepare Fallout fans for the upcoming Fallout game, Bethesda developed this sweet mobile game. Unfortunately, it’s only available for iOS at the current time, but Bethesda has reassured Android users that it will eventually come to their OS too. You build an underground shelter, and you need to keep everyone happy with a plethora of jobs, and activities.

Platform – iOS
Price – Freemium

Lego Minifigures Online

While it ain’t the Minecraft-killer it’s definitely worth playing. I’ve tested the PC version relentlessly. Sure, it doesn’t replace Minecraft, but thank God for that. Nobody would have wanted to play a clone. It’s another kind of beast. It’s fun, and super-easy to use. Although I highly recommend it to children, old guys, and girls like myself can have tons of fun too!

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – $5 – ( It has In App Purchases)

Vainglory

I know, it has a stupid name, but put that aside for a second. It’s a huge online battle arena where players can pummel each-other in three vs three matches. It was initially released for iOS. Android just got its version.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

Freak Circus Racing

If you’re like me, you prefer cartoonish styled racing games over real simulators any day of the week. Freak Circus Racing is that plus a little bit of going overboard. It’s filled with absurdly fun characters, and things to do.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – Freemium

Dragon Quest VI

It may be quite expensive for a mobile game, but this one has been developed by the mighty Square Enix. Dragon Quest is basically this huge RPG with a dizzying variety of heroes to choose from, and a plethora of vocations to opt-in. The battle system is considered to be one of the best.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – $12

Hexderity

Hexderity is an amazing indie game that will test your reflexes, and memory. As you may have figured out already, you need to match hex pieces. It’s charming, and visually stunning.

Platform – Android and iOS
Price – $2

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Google’s Self Driving Cars Aren’t at Fault for Accidents

July 7, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

Google’s self driving cars have been involved in two accidents during June of this year – humans were at fault in both of the cases. As we previously discussed earlier this year, the big G set free their self driving cars in Mountain View, California.

Google’s self driving cars are accompanied by two safety drivers on board – ready to jump and take controls if the need arises, but it seems they weren’t quick enough, and two accidents occurred due to human error. Neither of the accidents resulted in injury, they were only minor scrapes.

One of the accidents consists of a Google Lexus stopping at a red light, and the one driving behind bumped into it at 5 miles per hour. There were minor scrapes, and nobody was injured.

The second accident was even more anti-climactic. The Google car was stopped at a red light when the car behind bumped into it at 1 mile per hour – no damage occurred, not even a scrape.

Now, Google is testing their new tech in Austin, Texas. They have take all the safety measures, states a spokesperson. Permits from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Transportation, police and other authorities have been acquired by the company, but somehow, they completely forgot to announce this little experiment to the public.

Some say that Google isn’t really acting that legally when it’s about self driving cars – more so, because laws don’t exist for this kind of thing.

But why is Austin the first city where Google has decided to test their new tech? Welp, the reason behind this, according to a Google spokesperson, is that – ” We’ve loved how much Austin embraces innovation.” Or, maybe, how Austin embraces Google spending big bucks on their city.

The June report, according to Google, states that there are 2 Google Lexus self driving cars around the Mountain View area, and other 25 vehicles prepared for internal testings. Of course, we can’ really predict when the big G wants to innovate some more around the world.

Google isn’t the only one developing this kind of technology. Tesla, of course it’s Elon Musk we are talking about, has been developing their self driving cars around the same time that Google has started, but they have a fleet of only 12 autonomous vehicles.

Also, Delpi, the car manufacturer, is developing new tech regarding sensors, and soft-ware based on self-driving systems.

The future seems bright, hopefully Google isn’t going to unleash the A.I. Apocalypse on us – even Elon Musk is afraid of this, and when great minds like him suggest that we shouldn’t dwell that much in A.I. it would be best that we would heed the warning.

What about you? Do you think Google’s self-driving cars aren’t at fault? Or do you think that they are mischievously lying in their monthly reports?

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

Blade is the First 3D Printed Supercar!

June 25, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

You wouldn’t download a car, would you? Yes, yes I would, if that means I can 3D print it!

Blade is the first 3D printed supercar from San Francisco-based Divergent Microfactories. It weighs way less than your average vehicle – 90 percent less; and it can reach 60 miles per hour in about 2.5 seconds. CEO Kevin Czinger says that even though the world is going green, trying to find ways to reduce the costs of manufacturing vehicles should also be a priority – and it also saves energy due to the fact that it doesn’t require so much hard work to assemble.

Now, Blade isn’t just a prototype available for events, or whatever auto-moto shows there are. It’s a functional supercar that you could drive on the road – that is, if you have enough money to buy it. It’s unknown at the moment how much Blade will cost, but rest assured that it’s going to stand near the Buggati Veyron’s price tag.

Its design speaks future, and the big gull-wing doors offers a sneak peak on what the trend of designing supercars is heading – not really a big fan of this design. The two-seater Blade has a powerful 700 horsepower engine, and because its 3D printed chassis, it’s way more lighter than any other supercar.

It weighs about 1,400 pounds, that is 635 kilograms for you metric users.

Blade’s chassis weighs under 100 pounds, and it can be assembled in under half an hour – capital costs are significantly less than manufacturing your average supercar, and according to CEO Czinger, they used only a 50th of the usual factory capital cost.

Because it weighs less, it uses less fuel to run, making it the best eco friendly supercars in the world. Who said you can’t drive at blazing speeds on the highway, and still love mother nature?

Although 3D printing is the key to manufacturing Blade, larger parts weren’t build using the 3D printing method because it would take too much time.

Divergent Microfactories CEO Kevin Czinger said that – ” Society has made great strides in its awareness and adoption of cleaner and greener cars. The problem is that while these cars do now exist, the actual manufacturing of them is anything but environmentally friendly. “

Take a look at the clip just down below where the team at Divergent Microfactories talks about their Blade supercar.

Czinger also adds that building a factory that could create Blade-like vehicle will entail in costs that compare with opening a microbrewery factory – $10 million according to Forbes also.

Brad Balzer, who is the company’s project lead engineer said that – ” the nodes and carbon-fiber tubes were tested and that they held up well.”

Now, we should see some reports about how safe the 3D printed supercar really is, and jump on the bandwagon of 3D printed cars if it works out to be less expensive.

Image Source: 1, 2,

A Bigger iPad Pro Might Be Coming, iOS 9 Code Notes

June 16, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

The new iPad Pro resolution should be 2732×2048 – code found in the new iOS 9 states that Apple’s new device will feature a larger keyboard. Thus making us think that their new iPad Pro will most likely be bigger.

Thanks to developer Hiraku Wang, we should be seeing the 12.9-inch iPad Pro sporting a pixel density of 263ppi.

Reports earlier this year were noting that Apple’s new device will most likely be bigger, but now we’re closer to confirmation. Although, there isn’t an official announcement from Apple, and don’t expect this to happen any time soon. Apple isn’t known to reply to these kinds of rumours, and they’ll focus on doing their own thing.

As expected, Apple’s new mobile software isn’t expected to roll until this Fall, although if you’re a developer you can get your hands on the dev release, and meddle with it. Probably Apple wants to pair the release of their new software with the announcement of their new bigger iPad Pro product line.

It’s not unlikely that Apple will talk about their iPad Pro at their iPhone 6 plus event, but don’t hold your breath for this actually happening.

Apple spent quite some time at their WWDC conference speaking to devs, teaching them that the best way to design an app, and offer the best kind of experience, is to have size fluidity in mind. Of course, Apple is also sticking to their traditional views that apps should also be made elegant and simple, and nobody should sacrifice design in order to release their apps. *Doh* Apple, thanks for being Captain Obvious once again.

Apple’s new keyboard will be scalable to sizes that are unseen on their already-released devices. It will also feature more keys that what the present devices have, making us think that although the size will be quite bigger, keys might be clustered a little bit. This isn’t a serious issue, and one might use their iPad Pro for more serious issues rather than just typing away on Facebook, or looking for that cute cat video on YouTube.

Apple seems to focus more and more on multi-tasking, and size fluidity. Don’t get me wrong, they are making steps forwards, and we, the consumers, should be thrilled that Apple is working towards a more intuitive UI, but what about a better battery life? I’ve been ranting about this for the past year. Sure, we get better screens, great software, but battery life seems to be forgotten.

A few months ago we wrote about a new aluminium battery being developed at Stanford that can be re-charged in just one minute. It’s not perfected yet, and it can output only a meager 2 volt, and can only carry 40 watts of electricity per kilogram. Hopefully, we’ll see this issue being tackled by the big corps too.

Image Source: 1, 2, 3

BlackBerry Might Launch an Android Device

June 14, 2015 By Cristopher Hall Leave a Comment

According to Reuters, BlackBerry is seriously considering building a smartphone that will use Google’s Android OS.

Their reliable source, who wishes to remain anonymous because he isn’t authorized to discuss anything about the company’s plans, has said that BlackBerry is quite serious about this.

By all means, BlackBerry should equip their smartphones with the Android OS. We don’t want to see a company with such a long history bankrupt themselves because someone’s ego is too big.

BlackBerry knows that their latest product line didn’t appeal to the masses, and the era when they were considered top dogs in the business sector has long set.

BlackBerry, who back in the day dominated the smartphone market now holds about 1 percent of its share.

The BlackBerry 10 Line

In 2010, the company released their BlackBerry 10 line, praising themselves that they will win back their crown. I would feel a little bit embarrassed if I were in their place. The company has massively lost in front of iOS, and Android devices.

In an email reply to Reuters, the company has stated that – ” We don’t comment on rumors and speculation, but we remain committed to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which provides security and productivity benefits that are unmatched.”

Also, a Google spokesperson has declined to comment on the situation.

Really subtle guys, really subtle.

The biggest issue that the company might tackle is proving to its customers that their new line of devices can provide its device management software across a variety of platforms – subsequently working successfully.

Anonymous sources have reported that BlackBerry is going to release an Android slider device that will incorporate a keyboard and a touchscreen – trying to appease the masses, aren’t we BlackBerry? I would definitely buy a top-of-the-shelf smartphone that wields a physical keyboard. I got really big sausage fingers, and typing away on touch screens is a pain. I know for sure that I’m not the only one in this predicament.

BlackBerry could snag some big market points by providing a device for this particular niche, but only time will tell if they can get passed their ego, and actually try to reinstate themselves as challengers in the Apple, Samsung, and Google dominated industry.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company has made some much needed cuts regarding its personal. Gone is the day that BlackBerry had 17.500 employees. In February of 2015 the company had about 6.200 people employed, and in May a spokesman for BlackBerry announced that they will be making further cuts in their device sector.

Tough times require tough decisions.

Are you going to buy a BlackBerry device if they launch it featuring Android OS, and sporting a physical keyboard and a touch screen?

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4

Android and iOS Games

Apple Music

BuzzFeed News

Medium

BitTorrent Shoot

BBC Newsbeat

Loopimal

Lumo Lift

Minds.com

Lulu Dating Intelligence

Kamcord Game Screen Recorder

Android and iOS Games

Angry Birds Fight

Her Story

Tiki Taka Soccer

You Must Build a Boat

Fallout Shelter

Lego Minifigures Online

Vainglory

Freak Circus Racing

Dragon Quest VI

Hexderity

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