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Tom Maxwell

@tommaxwelll

Truecaller’s spam-blocker and caller ID technology are coming to Cyanogen OS

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 7 2015 - 2:14 pm PT
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Incessant calls from unknown numbers are frustrating and can at times be immensely distracting, which is part of why companies like Facebook and Google have as of late introduced new Android dialers with which they hope quash this problem. Both essentially crawl their respective social network and search databases for the number calling you trying to find a name or business match. In Facebook’s case, it allows you to “block” individual numbers, which really just sends calls from unwanted callers straight to voicemail.

It was announced by Truecaller today that Cyanogen, the popular Android OS based on the AOSP, will be getting the company’s caller ID service baked in, specifically to be part of the Cyanogen OS dialer.


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comScore releases U.S. smartphone subscriber market share for March 2015

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 7 2015 - 12:36 pm PT
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comScore today released a new U.S. smartphone manufacturer and platform market share report for the three month period ending in March. The data suggests that while the continued strength of iPhone 6 adoption has resulted in market share gains for Apple, Android is still the most popular smartphone platform in the United States.

During the measured period, comScore reports that 187.5 million people in the United States owned smartphones, which equates to 77 percent of the total population. Of that, Apple was the most popular OEM (original equipment manufacturer) with 42.6 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers (up 1% from December), followed by Samsung with 28.3 percent market share (down 1% from December), and LG taking third place with 8.4 percent (up 0.4% from December).


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A ‘Game of Thrones’ fan created a Google Maps-flavored Westeros map

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 7 2015 - 10:09 am PT
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You can’t browse through George R.R. Martin’s fictional continent of Westeros from the hit series Game of Thrones on Google Maps just yet, but you can now at least see what that might look like thanks to Reddit user salvag. Below you’ll find the beautiful Westeros map recreated by salvag, which is very nicely designed in the flavor of Google Maps.

And no: he claims this map contains no spoilers. It’s even available as a poster for sale on Etsy, starting at $21 before shipping.

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Maybe someday Google will grant our wishes and create something more interactive. Until then, however, Game of Thrones fans might want to try QuarterMaester.info, which includes all the continents from the series along with a “spoiler control.”

The idea of Google Maps being used for non-Earth or fictional locales is not a new one, with one of the more well-known examples being Google’s own recreation of Mars using the Maps software.

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Samsung’s “#TextsFromMom” Mother’s Day ad is more funny than sappy

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 6 2015 - 5:54 pm PT
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Mother’s Day is quickly approaching and Samsung has chosen to separate itself from advertisers going for your heartstrings with a much lighter advertisement titled “#TextsFromMom,” featuring the Galaxy S6 Edge.

The one-minute spot, as the title suggests, takes a look at how your mother probably uses (read: misuses) text messaging, and does so in a funny yet gentle manner. Anyone with a mother who took it upon herself to learn to text can sympathize and see their own mom in one or many of these messages. It ends with a reminder that you should call Mom this Sunday, not text her.

[protected-iframe id=”d603a218f395e450061ea4a5f0e213ee-22427743-41205376″ info=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/e7D5KvoXwRg” width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]

What’s more, if you dial the phone numbers visible in the spot you get to hear what the moms had to say in their voicemail messages. You can also enter to win a Galaxy S6 Edge by sharing your mom’s funniest texts to Twitter with the hashtag #TextsFromMom. Nice job, Samsung.

Google releases Games In Motion, a game to inspire developers with the potential of Android Wear

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 6 2015 - 12:52 pm PT
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Google has today released an open source exercise “game sample” to GitHub which utilizes a handful of Android technologies to demonstrate to developers how they can create fun games using Google Fit and Android Wear.


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HTC posts record low April results amid poor One M9 demand

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 6 2015 - 11:46 am PT
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HTC has just released its lowest revenue figures for the month of April in 6 years, attributable to lackluster sales of the new flagship HTC One M9, according to an analyst from Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co.

The company’s consolidated revenue was NT$13.5 billion (US$440 million) in April, down 38 percent year-over-year from NT$22.07 a year earlier. This figure is also down 33 percent from promising revenue of NT$20.02 billion posted only the month prior, in March. This is HTC’s lowest monthly revenue for April since 2009’s result of NT$11.4 billion.


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HTC RE camera w/ free accessory bundle $150 shipped (Reg. $260)

Avatar for Tom Maxwell May 6 2015 - 10:09 am PT
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Mother’s Day is May 10th and HTC wants you to give your mother something cool and memorable this year, and what’s more quirky than HTC’s Re camera?

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Through May 10th, HTC is offering the Re for $149 shipped, which is $50 off the regular price, and is even throwing in an accessory bundle which would normally run you $60 separately. The bundle includes a bar mount, a clip mount, and a protection pack, each of which make the Re a little more versatile when you’re out on the go getting those sweet action shots.


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