Wednesday
Mar302016

WhatsApp beta introduces Quick Reply

Using beta builds of apps can sometimes not be as rewarding an experience as you'd hope but sometimes it might be worth its bugs. The latest update for WhatsApp beta brings with it a similar Quick Reply option to what Google Plans to do with Android N. Although, it is a bit more like what Line and Facebook Messenger does with a small window showing up. If you want to answer a message. You hit the Reply button and a pop-up window will let you either type in your answer or use the speech input to dictate your response. If you click on the View button, though, that will take you to the thread within the app.

Aside from introducing Quick Reply, WhatsApp has fixed its chat and contact selection to make it similar with how you do selections within Gmail. When you tap on a profile icon or chat group, you can tap more and that will start the multiple item selection process, which lets you select both single and group chats together. The options that will appear after this will vary depending on the type of content you selected. The app also brings with its solid color backgrounds for those who prefer a cleaner background over the somewhat busy WhatsApp wallpapers.

Source: Cult of Android

Wednesday
Mar302016

Microsoft: Windows Phone isn't our focus this year

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Microsoft unloaded a heady mix of exciting announcements, new technologies and developer news at its first Build 2016 conference keynote today. The company is pushing productivity and creativity, putting the Pen front and centre of the experience and getting ready to make Windows 10 even more universal.

One thing that seemed to be missing was any mention of moribund Windows Phone. The company, who kept mentioning Android and iOS in its demos, is apparently putting mobile on hold. The Verge's Tom Warren quizzed Windows and devices head Terry Myerson about this and the response doesn't sound good.

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Wednesday
Mar302016

Waze now warns you if you go over the speed limit

Adding more functionality to an already useful app, Waze is letting its users know if you're driving over the speed limit. If you use the app to navigate it will use the same visuals as the photo above to let you know if you've exceeded the speed limit. You can automatically set audio warnings if you've hit the limit or you're over it by 5, 10, or 15 percent. As everything else, the speed limit of a particular area is being sourced from its community. The feature is currently available in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, El Salvador, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad, Tobago, and Uruguay but Waze promises it will be available in other areas soon.

Source: 9to5Mac

Wednesday
Mar302016

Google brings Cardboard SDK to iOS

As the rumours have suggested, Google is bringing its Cardboard SDK to iOS developers. This means, developers of iPhone apps can create apps that will work with Google's virtual reality viewer. The Google Cardboard is a low-cost viewer that lets you slot in your smartphone into the front of the viewer to bring both virtual and augmented reality experiences to you via apps.

Aside from launching the SDK for iOS, Google's also introduced VR view, a feature to let developers include immersive content within apps and websites. It can turn images and videos into 360-degree VR images and videos that can be viewed on the desktop or with a phone attached to a Cardboard viewer. Both the SDK and the tools needed to create VR views are available starting today.

Source: MacRumors