Nokia to make Android phones in 2016, R&D moves to China

Recently we heard rumors about alleged Nokia plans for re-entering the phone market in 2016. We are happy to report those plans are indeed true and Nokia will be marking its return next year with an Android smartphone.

Nokia sold its device business to Microsoft a year ago and it signed a non-compete clause preventing the company from producing smartphones under the Nokia brand until December 31, 2015 and feature phones under the Nokia brand for a decade.

Nokia used wisely these non-compete clauses and outed the powerful Nokia N1 tablet early this year. The N1 is designed by Nokia, including its Z Launcher for Android, but the rights for the branding, manufacturing, marketing and distributions were licensed to Foxconn.

The President of Nokia China confirmed Nokia is working on Android powered smartphones, which will be probably manufactured in factories in Sichuan, China (after further assessment) and will be launched in 2016. He also sheds some light on company's future - the Nokia's R&D center will permanently relocate to Sichuan, China.

Looking forward to Nokia's next phone chapter? We certainly are.

Source | Via | Via2

Samsung Galaxy S6 camera tips and tricks

The Galaxy S6 has an amazing camera from the moment you first launch it, but there's always room to improve.

Just like every other camera, the Galaxy S6 has a learning curve — and while it's easy to pull out the phone and capture great shots with little effort, if you take the time to learn a few of its finer points you can really make the most of it. Whether it's switching over to the Pro mode for finer control or just browsing through the settings to make sure you're taking the right kinds of pictures and videos, these are the tips and tricks you need to know to get the most out of your Galaxy S6's camera.

1. USE THE CAMERA 'QUICK LAUNCH' SHORTCUT

One of the headline features of the Galaxy S6 is its new camera "Quick launch" feature, which lets you open up the camera in less than a second after quickly pressing the home button twice. The feature is enabled by default and works at any time, even when the phone is locked and the screen is off — it's a fantastic way to get into the camera so you don't miss important moments.

There's no real reason to turn off Quick launch unless you for some reason find yourself accidentally launching the camera, but if you need to the toggle is available right in the camera settings. (Remember that if the phone is locked when the camera launches, there's no access to previously-taken photos.)

2. TURN ON VIEWFINDER GRID LINES

One of the best ways to ensure you're getting a nice flat horizon on your next sunrise shot or are filling the frame with correct proportion of subject matter is by turning on grid lines in your viewfinder. Hop into the settings and toggle the switch for "Grid lines," and you'll see four intersecting lines divide your viewfinder into thirds both vertically and horizontally.

With the grid lines turned on it'll be easier to align your shots no matter the subject, and they're so subtle that you don't lose any feel for the picture you're taking as it happens.

3. USE TAP-TO-FOCUS IN THE VIEWFINDER

Unlike some phones the Galaxy S6 doesn't let you tap the entire viewfinder to capture a photo, but you can still tap the screen to focus on a specific point for your next photo. Tap anywhere on the screen and you'll see the phone focus on and expose for that exact point. If you tap and hold on a spot, you'll lock that focal distance and exposure no matter where you then move the camera or how long you wait to take the next photo.

This can be super useful if you are in a tough lighting condition or have a moving subject, and want to lock the phone on one point no matter what happens in the scene.

4. CHOOSE VIDEO OPTIONS WISELY

One of the more crowded area of the camera settings on the Galaxy S6 is the video options. The camera is set to record video at a standard 1920x1080 resolution at 30 fps, but you have plenty of further options. You can step up to 1920x1080 at a smoother 60 fps, as well as 2560x1440 (QHD) or 3840x2160 (UHD).

The higher resolution options are appealing — particularly since online video services can now handle them — but you need to consider the tradeoffs when selecting your video resolution. If you choose anything higher-end than the default 1920x1080, you'll lose the ability to shoot HDR video, use video effects, software video stabilization (OIS still works of course), taking pictures during recording, and the new Tracking AF feature.

The extra resolution may be worth it for specific situations, but for most people the standard 1920x1080 resolution will be best considering the extra features can improve the quality more than just extra dots can.

5. PRESS AND HOLD THE SHUTTER KEY FOR BURST SHOTS

Though there's no option to turn it on or off, you can take burst shots on the Galaxy S6 by simply holding down the shutter key. As you press and hold the shutter key you'll see a number pop up by the photo preview showing how many you've taken. Release the key to stop taking burst photos, and tap the preview to view all of the images. They'll be grouped together for review, and can be deleted in bulk.

The Galaxy S6 can capture 10 or 20 shots faster than you would think, and is a great way to make sure you don't miss a shot of something like a moving target.

6. CHOOSE THE PRO MODE FOR TONS OF OPTIONS

The Galaxy S6's new camera interface is super easy to manage in Auto mode, but if you're a bit more of a photography enthusiast you'll want to switch over to Pro mode. Tap the "Mode" button by the shutter key and then tap "Pro" and you'll be given a new set of tools in the viewfinder. You can manually set your exposure, ISO, white balance, focal depth, metering type and some advanced effects.

You can still leave all of these features in automatic so that you can quickly pull out the phone and take a picture, but if you need to tweak just one or all of the settings for a better shot they'll be available right there in the viewfinder.

7. CREATE CUSTOM PRESETS IN THE PRO MODE

Once you've tinkered with and mastered Pro mode, you'll want to make your own custom shooting presets in that mode. Flip over to Pro mode and find a combination of manual controls that you'd want to use again — like those for low light or bright macro shots, for example — then tap the "Custom" button in the viewfinder. You'll see a button to "Save current settings" and then can select to save them in one of three slots.

Once you have at least one set of custom settings you can tap that custom button at any time to recall one of the three you've saved. Once you get proficient at the Pro mode you may prefer to just set things manually each time as the scene calls for it, but having the custom modes with some of your favorite combinations is always a plus.

8. USE THE 'WIDE SELFIE' MODE TO FIT MORE IN ONE SHOT

Introduced originally on the Galaxy Note 4, Samsung once again has its "Wide selfie" mode available when shooting with the front-facing camera on the Galaxy S6. Once you switch over to the front camera you can tap the "Mode" button to choose "Wide selfie" — you then capture photos kind of like a front-facing panorama. Tap the shutter key and then twist the phone in your hand left and right (holding in portrait is preferred) so that it captures a wider area.

A few moments later the photo will be stitched together for review, where you'll see an extra-wide selfie shot. Paired with the already wide angle lens on the Galaxy S6, you can get a pretty impressive shot to show more of the background or get an entire group of people in one shot.

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Moto 360 with a metal band in India for ₹19,999

Motorola has started to offer the Moto 360 with Light Metal and Dark Metal bands in India, although the pricing at ₹19,999 ($315) makes it one of the costliest smartwatches available in the country.

It doesn't look like the Light Gold option will be available for the Moto 360 in India. Although Motorola initiated a price cut for the Moto 360 in the U.S. — with the smartwatch available for as low as $165 — that is yet to be reflected in India, where it is still listed (with a leather band) at its launch price of ₹17,999 ($282).

The smartwatch is set to receive the latest Android Wear update that adds a bevy of new features, including gesture-based interaction, always-on apps, drawable emoji and more.

[source]

Telltale and Marvel Teaming Up for New Game

Today during a special event in San Francisco, Telltale Games and Marvel Games announced a partnership for a new game due out in 2017.

The event is ongoing; we'll have more details on the new game as they become available.

Telltale has also published a blog post about this announcement, though it doesn't offer much in the way of specifics.

"Announced this evening in San Francisco, we're excited to reveal an all-new partnership with the incredible team at Marvel Entertainment. We'll be teaming up on the development of an upcoming Telltale game series project set to premiere in 2017!"

Marvel is just the latest brand that Telltale has taken on. Others include major media franchises like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Minecraft, among others.

In February, Telltale announced that it was moving beyond games with its new game/TV show hybrid project called "Super Show," though it's unclear if the new Marvel game will operate under this model.

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Samsung Galaxy S6 edge review: Double down

Introduction

How big of an impact can a small change have? The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge has only the extra screen curves compared to the vanilla Galaxy S6, but these two phones couldn't feel any more different - it's a difference that you can readily feel when you hold them in your hand.

Different, and yet the same, the two Galaxy S6 phones share some of the best components available, tied together with software built on new philosophy to match the new hardware ideology.

Here's the recap of the key specs and disadvantages and... please, pardon the deja vu feel.

Key features

• Curved screen, thin (7mm) profile, premium dual-glass design reinforced by a metal frame
• 5.1" Super AMOLED of QHD (1440 x 2560) resolution, class-leading ~577ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• Exynos 7420 64-bit chipset, octa core processor with four 2.1GHz Cortex-A57's and four 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 cores, Mali-T760 MP8 GPU, 3GB of RAM
• Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with TouchWiz and Samsung Pay
• 16MP camera, f/1.9 aperture, 4K video recording, LED flash, optical image stabilization
• 5MP front-facing camera, f/1.9 aperture, 1440p QHD video, HDR
• 32/64/128 GB of built-in storage (64GB comes as standard issue on some markets)
• Active noise cancellation via dedicated mic
• New generation of fingerprint scanner
• LTE Cat.6, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, IR port, Bluetooth 4.1, ANT+
• Heart-rate sensor, barometer, SpO2
• Built-in wireless charging (Qi/PMA)
• 2,600mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• Pricier than its sibling, with only the curved screen to show for it
• No water or dust protection
• No user-replaceable battery
• No microSD slot
• No FM radio
• No stereo speakers

Samsung spun off a whole new Galaxy line, the A (or Alpha) series, to practice making phones with proper metal frame and then got back to the drawing board and came out with the new design language of the Galaxy S6 family. Combining the metal frame with a dual-glass build (front and back) is certainly not the most novel design solution but it's one that works well and it's a first for Samsung's smartphones.

And despite being their first attempt at this design approach, the Galaxy S6 came out borderline perfect - perhaps lacking on novelty, but excelling in implementation. The Galaxy S6 edge however takes it even further for those who want something that much more special. It comes with an off-the-chart novelty factor and is rightfully priced higher than the regular Galaxy S6.

    
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge official images

But is this sort of a difference worth the hefty price premium? A tough question, indeed, unless you reside in one of those markets where the Galaxy S6 edge will be selling with 64GB of storage as a base version, partly making up for the outrageous markup. But even then, you sure are getting a lot more than a mere storage upgrade for the extra money.

Join us on the following pages as we explore the hardware differences between the two and discuss the added value of the curved screen.

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Microsoft says it sold 8.6 million Lumia devices in its fiscal Q3

Microsoft has announced its fiscal 2015 Q3 (quarter that ended on March 31) earnings report, revealing that it sold 8.6 million Lumia devices in the quarter, up 18% year-on-year but down 18% compared to the prior quarter.

Lumia sales brought in a revenue of $1.4 billion, down 16% compared to the year-ago quarter. Microsoft said the decline was due to a "higher mix of low royalty devices."

The software giant also revealed that it sold a total of 24.7 million feature phones in the quarter, down compared to the same quarter last year. "Market for feature phones continues to contract," the company said.

[via]