Samsung’s ‘Galaxy Gear’ Smartwatch Companion App Leaked

Samsung’s Lee Young-hee confirmed that the device would make its first official appearance at the company’s event scheduled for Sept. 4 in Berlin. Today, Evleaks points us to the screenshots above showing what appears to be the device’s companion app that will likely be available for all Android devices, although there is still the possibility it will only support Samsung’s own Android devices.

The screenshots above confirm the device will pair with Bluetooth, and there is also a section within the app to manage “Samsung Apps.” Another feature called “Find my watch” sounds a lot like a feature for locating a missing Galaxy Gear and Samsung also references wireless charging: “turn on NFC in Settings and bring the mobile device and charger together, back to back.


Source: @evleaks 

Samsung Announces The Availability Of Samsung TecTiles 2

Samsung has announced the next generation of their TecTile NFC offering. Dubbed TecTiles 2, the programmable stickers are designed to be fully operable with all NFC enabled handsets from Samsung, including the Galaxy S4.

As with the original TecTiles launched alongside the Galaxy S3, TecTiles 2 feature a companion app for Samsung smartphones that allows users to create custom NFC-based functions. You can get an idea of this from our review for the original TecTiles, but basic interactions include toggling settings like Bluetooth or WiFi, opening a specific application, or checking into Foursquare or Facebook.

You can buy them starting today direct from Samsung and soon from other retailers. A pack of five cost priced at $14.99.


This article we wrote back on April 27th explains why the original Samsung Tectiles will not work with the Samsung Galaxy S4, check it out here....

Samsung Galaxy S4 Isn’t Compatible With Samsung TecTiles

When Samsung launched the Galaxy S3 last year, it attempted to show off the possibilities of NFC through a new accessory named TecTiles. TecTiles are little NFC-enabled stickers which you could use to, for example, enable/disable Wi-Fi on your phone at a certain location and they became mildly popular.

However, in the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung chose the BCM2079x NFC controller which is not compatible with Samsung’s TecTiles that utilize MiFare Tags. This new controller follows NFC standards and is found in other phones like the Nexus 4, but won’t read the MiFare Classic 1k tags found in Samsung TecTiles. Brian Klug from AnandTech reached out to Samsung and the company offered a statement:

Samsung is introducing TecTile 2, an update to the original TecTile NFC programmable tags, which will be available in the coming weeks. TecTile 2 will use the current NFC technology on the market, allowing Samsung customers to further incorporate NFC into their daily lives and to use with the latest Samsung Mobile products and services, including the Galaxy S 4. As industry standards continue to evolve, Samsung remains committed to meeting those standards and adapting its technologies if necessary. Samsung customers can also fully utilize TecTiles 2 with existing Samsung Mobile NFC-enabled Android smartphones currently in market.

Update: It seems some of the more recently manufactured TecTiles have been updated to NFC Forum type 4 tags. These tags would be compatible with the Galaxy S4, as well as the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3, so if you've picked up some TecTiles more recently you’re in luck.


Update: Samsung announces Samsung Tectiles 2



Source: AnandTech

Google Makes The Nexus 7 Tablet Official

Google has officially taken the wraps off of the Nexus 7, its first reference-grade tablet. The 7-inch slate is the first and currently only device shipping with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and takes advantage of its optimization for smaller tablet screens, magazines and movies it's also the first to ship with a finished Chrome for Android. Like what was widely suspected, the tablet is built by ASUS and mostly draws our attention in terms of what we get for the money: that quad-core Tegra 3, 1.2-megapixel front camera, NFC and 1280 x 800, IPS-based LCD are traits we'd normally look for in a pricier tablet. Google is asking just $199 for a 8GB model and $249 for a 16GB version that's a lot of speed for the money, especially with a $25 Google Play credit and a slew of bundled content. There's no SD card slot, however. 

Sprint's Makes LG Viper 4G LTE Preorder's Live April 12 For $99

Sprint's just given us the heads up that the LG Viper 4G LTE, with its 4-inch NOVA display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 5MP camera and NFC radio (along with Google Wallet) will be up for pre-order starting April 12. The Viper, which we got a dark look at back at CES in January, admittedly won't set any hardware records. But the price is right -- $99 on contract, with $50 mail-in rebate. Sweetening the deal is 50GB of cloud storage from Box. Sprint says full availability dates will be announced later this month.

BlackBerry App World 3.1.2.20 Brings New Features

 

BlackBerry App World 3.1.2.20 is now available in the “Downloads” tab of Beta Zone. This version has the following features:

• Find an app in “My World” by typing a keyword term
• “Other Devices” filter view in “My World” allows you to filter out apps not available for your device e.g. PlayBook Apps
• Announce downloads to BBM Status
• NFC is now an additional method to share a single app
• A new “Share” channel in the App World Home page allows you to share your app list via NFC
• Various Bug Fixes

You can download App World 3.1.2.2.0 from Beta Zone here.

LTE And HSPA+ BlackBerry PlayBook Makes Their Way Through The FCC

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The BlackBerry PlayBook has been available for nearly a year now, but there's still no version of the tablet with a cellular broadband connection. That might not be the case for much longer, though, as an HSPA+ version and two LTE versions of the 7-inch tablet have been submitted for approval to the FCC. As usual with FCC filings, there aren't too many details, though we know that both tablets have Bluetooth, GPS, dual-band (802.11a/b/g/n) Wi-Fi, and NFC — a PlayBook first that we assume will be compatible with BlackBerry Tag. Additionally, one of the LTE versions will support the AWS and 700MHz LTE bands as well as HSPA+ on the 850MHz and 1900MHz UMTS bands, meaning it most probably will run on AT&T's network in the United States if ever released. The other LTE version has support for Verizon-friendly EV-DO and LTE Band 13. Lastly, the HSPA+ only version supports the 850MHz, AWS, and 1900MHz UMTS bands, so we'd expect this to be the international / T-Mobile variant of the tablet.

While the tablets aren't called PlayBooks in the filing, they do share the same length and width as the current PlayBook, so they can't be the previously-rumored 10-inch Black Forest tablet. It's worth mentioning that the tablets have been in the labs for well over four months — they were originally received on October 28th last year.

Apple Awarded ‘iWallet’ Patent

Apple on Tuesday was granted a significant patent by the United States Trademark & Patent Office, Patently Apple reported. The technology, which is supported by 23 Patent Claims, allows credit card companies to send statements directly to a user’s iTunes account for purchases made using an NFC-enabled iPhone. Account holders will also be able to allow a secondary account holder, such as a child, to make purchases on the same card while allowing the primary account holder to control spending and implement various limits.

BlackBerry PlayBook 3G+ Specifications

While we're all anxiously awaiting the release of PlayBook OS 2.0 in February, it looks like RIM is already hard at work on a refreshed version of their tablet. The rumored 3G+ BlackBerry PlayBook will be sporting some upgraded hardware in addition to OS 2.0. According to a leaked slide, the 2nd tablet from RIM looks to feature a 1.5GHz processor, 42Mbps HSPA+ Connectivity and NFC. We're not sure just what else the new tablet will be packing, but this is a pretty good start.

Android NFC app makes Facebook friendships a touch easier

Imagine yourself in the awkwardly staged situation you see above: you're in a club that's filled exclusively with girls. One's jumping around, shaking her hair, but you're desperately trying to recite the address of your Facebook page to her above the din. It's not working. Fortunately, Add Friend is here to ameliorate these tricky first social steps through the magic of Near Field Communication. Granted, it's still unlikely that: a) you'll both be carrying NFC-capable Android phones and b) have already downloaded and registered this particular app. Putting those issues aside, you and your future BFF / SO will both need to have the app running and then bring your smartphones together in a loving embrace, and letting the near-field magic transmit your Facebook details across. And remember, for any accidental adds that don't work out, the unfriend option will always be there for you.

Android Market update 3.3.11 has NFC support

Three days after the launch of Google Music and the Market's server-side changes, a new version of the Android Market has started to roll out. So far the only change that's visible over version 3.3.11 is the addition of the permission requirement for near field communication (NFC), which allows phones to send data directly to another device nearby.

It does not look like they've changed anything visually or functionally with the Market yet, but this could be the start of being able to use it to pay for non-Market goods via NFC (e.g., swipe your phone at a gas pump, enter a code, paid).

Likely the first things we'll see from this in the Market will be NFC for Google Music purchases: purchase music then transfer a one-time-listen to your friends, but it could also be used to transfer extremely large multiplayer Market games between phones without involving data charges.

As with all Android Market updates, there's no telling when you're going to get it. You can wait and it will probably just update sometime in the future, or you can download the new version from here. It's properly signed by Google, so non-rooted people should have no issues with installing and updating it.