Android Oven

Back in 2011, Eric Schmidt (among others) predicted that Android would soon power home devices, including refrigerators and other appliances. Now a California-based company Dacor, known for manufacturing quality home appliances, has announced an Android-powered in-wall oven.

Yes. It's an oven. That you cook food in. And it's running Android. Not for the heat, mind you. That's silly. It's a relatively normal convection oven. Only, yeah. This one's got an Android brain inside it that, well, runs Android. It'll run Android apps, but the real purpose for all this is that it'll walk you through the cooking process, and send you alerts when the meal is done. And yes, you can finally play Angry Birds while cooking meatloaf. The company says the smart oven lets you surf the Internet, view recipes, and even enter a guided cooking mode for novice chefs.

Dacor's ninth-generation oven pulls together a 7-inch screen, 1GHz processor, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, Android 4.0.3 and Wi-Fi connectivity, while the UI behind its oven-centric widgets is apparently the product of a design collaboration between Dacor and BMW's DesigworksUSA -- they're all simple enough to navigate and get things done.

The oven-maker's Discovery IQ controller cooking app will offer up interactive cooking guides, recipes and all other things cooking, although you'll still be able to install more standard apps from Google Play. The built-in cooking app offers preprogrammed dishes and adjustable timings for several dishes, while you can even program the oven to cook food remotely from any Android device. You'll also get notifications (text message or on-screen) through your other Android device when your meal is done.

The smart oven is a step further for the next generation home devices. Now that android has reached ovens, the next thing could be refrigerators or it could even be a juicer mixer. We could also see an android powered house in the future. Surely the developers are extending the limits of android.

LG G2 Review

LG Electronics (LG) has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone LG G2, introduced under LG’s new “G” Series. The LG G2 brings everything together in a device with comfortable, functional, convenient and beautiful design. The LG G2 shifts the paradigm in smartphone design by placing all the buttons on the rear of the device, making this the first smartphone to be completely devoid of side buttons. This smartphone is loaded with plenty of specs and new design approaches. 

The LG G2 incorporates a 5.2-inch Full HD (1920x1080) display with an impressive 423 pixels-per-inch (PPI). In addition to the expansive viewing experience, LG’s innovative Dual Routing technology reduced the phone’s bezel to a mere 2.65mm on the side edge. It’s nearly one millimeter thinner on the sides and three millimeters thinner up top than its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S4. It has an effective display area of about 75.9%, the largest on the market today. And with proven IPS technology, the LG G2 offers superior graphics, accurate colors and clear images without any distortion.

The LG G2 runs on the industry’s most advanced mobile chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 Processor and redefines the smartphone experience through stunning performance, rich graphics and outstanding battery efficiency. The device comes with 2GB RAM and offers 16GB and 32GB storage options. It runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. You’ll notice that on the rear is the 13-megapixel super-slim camera. It’s made of fingerprint-resistant sapphire glass, nearly three times stronger than traditional tempered glass, and boasts an OIS module, anti-shake technology, and audio zoom.

Despite the humongous screen, the G2 manages to maintain a rather slim and sleek profile, assisted by LG’s decision to move the power button and volume rocker to the back of the device. It’s a radical move, but one that LG explained rather logically. With a device of this size, you’ll have an easier time reaching the back than you would reaching the side.  Think about it: where does your finger naturally lie when holding a 5-inch or larger smartphone? And its location lends itself to some cool added functionality.

LG G2 comes with a number of compelling user experience (UX) features like long-pressing on the rear-mounted volume keys allows users to launch Quick Memo TM and the camera, making note taking and photo capturing even easier than before. And if the LG G2 is lying on a surface face up, there’s no need to lift the phone to access the power button on the back. With KnockON, the LG G2 can be powered on simply by tapping twice on the display.

The G2 features Guest Mode, which sets up different unlock patterns for different user profiles, and Answer Me, which answers your phone automatically when you pick it up and bring it to your ear.  There's also Text Link, which gives you quick access to the calendar, maps, and browser depending on the context of the text.

And then there’s multitasking, which LG has improved with Slide Aside: within any app, up to three apps at a time, slide three fingers to the left to save it. Then, slide three fingers to the right to bring up those three apps, which are still running without interruption.

The LG G2 is the first smartphone on the market today to feature 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi playback that reproduces studio-like quality sound, far superior to a CD. And with a generous 3,000mAh battery that is thoughtfully designed to take maximum advantage of the interior space, the LG G2 is more than ready for a full day’s work or play.

LG has also introduced a few new accessories to accompany the G2, including the Quick Window Case. It’ll condense your screen into a small “all in one” square, giving you access to your music, weather, clock, and even calls. It’ll be available in eight colors.

“Our definition of innovation today is technology that truly resonates with consumers,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, who welcomed the guests to the event. “We have always listened to and learned from consumers in pursuit of innovation. We took these insights to new heights in developing LG G2, the most exciting and ambitious mobile phone in our company’s history.”

The G2 is a step forward for LG in terms of both hardware quality and software. Not only is this the most well-designed smartphone to ever come out of LG’s labs, it also feels like the company has finally gotten its UX right.

Sony’s Cool Wireless Speaker

Ultra-portable Bluetooth speakers are becoming increasingly common these days, but leave it to Sony to give us one with NFC technology, solid sound quality and intriguing style in the SRS-BTV5.

This gadget looks like a tennis ball but brings us a cool way to freely stream sound wirelessly as it allows us to play our favorite music or mix and share it. The device has some good features. The top of the speaker has a little symbol you can tap your NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet to instantly pair it. It has a built-in speakerphone button and can take calls hands-free, without losing track of your playlist. The opposite of the Call button sits volume control buttons. It also includes a USB charger that can also charge your phone.

The speaker has Sony's 360-degree Circle Sound audio diffusion technology to deliver music to each and every corner of a room. The device has a decent battery life. According to Sony, it can last for five hours of constant music playing before it needs to be charged.

Sound output is loud, but bass gets distorted when you try playing it at full volume. What the Speaker Ball does do, however, is deliver a solid, clean sound.

The Sony Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker can't compare with the likes of the Jabra Solemate or Logitech UE Mobile Boom box in terms of power and Bass. It's nice for a bedside speaker, but don't expect this to work as your main sound system.

Sony's ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker is appealing for its size and a great design. This easy portability of the Speaker Ball makes it ideal for the on-the-go user who wants just a bit more zip from their laptop or tablet or smartphone experience, delivering a fuller sound than the tinny speakers built into such units. For someone who wants a portable solution and who doesn't have high expectations, the Sony SRS BTV5 is a perfect fit.

Motorola’s Moto X Review

It's been a while since Google bought Motorola but it's only now that we finally see the fruits of that cooperation. The company’s new creation - The Motorola Moto X strives to attract the attention. It is beautifully designed with a svelte slab with smooth curves at its edge, purpose-built to fit in the palm of your hand, the Moto X is pleasing to hold.

The Moto X has a 4.7-inch 720 p AMOLED panel with the RGB sub pixel display. The most attractive part of the phone is the camera. It has a 10-megapixel Clear Pixel (RGBC) rear module capable of pulling in 75 percent more light for faster daytime exposure and low-light performance. It's also bolstered by the Quick Capture feature, enabled from sleep by a double twist of the wrist, which allows for a sub-two-second shot-to-shot speed. As for autofocus and exposure, those are handled automatically. It also packs a 2 MP front camera. The rest of the camera app is very simple. You drag up and down to zoom in and out. Settings Options slide out from the left and gallery from the right.

The real star of the show is Motorola’s X 8 chipset, which actually consists of a 1.7 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, Adreno 320 GPUs, 2 GB of RAM and specialized processors meant to handle natural language processing and information from the X’s myriad sensors. It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly bean and comes with built in storage of 16 or 32 GB with no micro SD card slot which is a bit of a disappointment as Google wants to push cloud services.

The defining feature of the Moto X is its voice commands, the feature lets users control the phone with simple voice commands prefixed with "Okay, Google Now." Utter those, and a Moto X user becomes master of the universe—to the degree that Google, its developers, and the users themselves have digitized it. The interesting bit is that you don't need to touch the phone or take it out of your pocket. If enabled, it always actively listens to the user and follows commands.

One nice feature: the USB charger has two USB ports. That means you can charge two devices at once. The charger doesn't output enough power to charge a phone and a tablet, but you could easily charge two phones or a phone and e-reader.

And the most impressive part of the Moto X package though is how users can customize it using Motorola’s MotoMaker web app. Users can pick from some 16 colored resin back plates, as well as a black or white front facade, and seven accent colors for your volume and sleep buttons.

Google's Chromecast

Yet another Google’s creation. And this time it’s Chromecast. Chromecast is a small, USB-powered dongle that connects to an HDMI port on your television or a monitor. It uses the new Google Cast screen sharing technology to show Internet content, as well as some local content from devices running the Android, iOS and Chrome platforms.

The Chromecast is deceptively simple: you plug it into your TV, then stream video and music to it from apps running on your iPhone, Android device, or laptop. The Chromecast itself has no remote; whatever device you’re streaming from is the remote. The Chromecast has next to no user interface of its own, either; it’s got a single screen that shows the time and whether or not it’s connected to your Wi-Fi that appears when nothing is being streamed, but again, the device you’re streaming from largely acts as the interface.

The setup is simple. Download the Chromecast setup software to a PC and the Chromecast controller app to an Android tablet and install it. Once all these installations are complete, you are ready to get streaming.

There's also a Chrome extension that allows you to mirror content from a Chrome browser tab to the Chromecast. This works a little differently, because you're feeding the data that is being displayed on the television from your browser to the Chromecast dongle. It appears that the Chromecast takes the tab's data, but the content in the tab itself comes from the Internet and not your computer. In other words, it follows the URL path. This means that if you're playing local content in a browser tab, like a video on your hard drive, you're sending it from your computer to the Chromecast. This means you can basically put any site or service on TV with just the click of a button.

Chromecast is definitely a cheap solution to get content from the web to the television without any wires or hassle.