Gmail wants you to drop the mic on overbearing email threads

It's almost that time of the year and one of those "we wish these were actually features" introduced to our favorite services. This year's April Fool's prank by the Gmail team is called the Mic Drop feature. It's basically a tool you want to use when you want to eject yourself from a long-winded email thread. To use it, simply press the Send + Mic Drop button and an accompanying GIF will show that you are done with this conversation and will not have anymore of it. You might not be speaking with these people in the future but at least your inbox is quieter for it. 

Source: Gmail Blog 

Nintendo launches Miitomo App for smart devices

By Sonya Davidson

There's a new way to add Nintendo to your day. Nintendo just launched Miitomo, the company's first ever smart device app, in Canada and other countries. Currently free, the app offers users a new way of socializing with friends and family using Mii characters. 

Teasers were noticed the last couple of days leading up to the Canadian launch allowing people to pre-register on their devices. A notification will be sent to let those registered know when the app goes live today. Users can create a customized characters with features like eyes and hair as well as voice and personality. There is also the option to take a photo which can be used to create a character. Mii Characters can also be imported from their Wii U or Nintendo 3DS systems.

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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

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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