Google denies dropping app drawer for Android

Hoping to quash fears and rumours that Android will be losing its app drawer, Google has denied there are plans to get rid of its app drawer in the near future. Android users were up in arms when a short clip on Google Maps’ Twitter account showed a Nexus 6P sans an app drawer. It’s a blink or miss it sort of thing of the first two seconds of the clip. But hawk eye users were speculating this might be the start of Android dropping its app drawer to mimic the iOS approach of having all apps on the home screen. Google says the user interface shown in the video is a bad mockup of the app and it doesn’t hint at anything coming up in terms of UI changes.

Source: Droid Life

New Windows 10 ads take aim at OS X's lack of multi-touch, voice assistant

The PC/Mac wars are on again. After the past holiday feel goodery of that "Let there be peace on earth," ad, Microsoft is brandishing a series of TV spots that throw OS X under the bus for not having features expected of a 'modern OS.' The features in the series of ads which aim to make Windows 10 cooler and more useful are multi-touch and the Cortana voice assistant. Microsoft has dropped the gauntlet and Apple will likely respond sooner than later, we'll have to see if any of the March 21 announcements will offer an answer to Microsoft's new taunts. It's on!

Here are the winners of Mobile World Congress 2016

The Oscars might be awarding the best in its industry right now. But the recently concluded Mobile World Congress also awarded the best of the mobile tech industry. Some of the big winners include the LG G5 as the “Best new mobile device,” the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge as the “Best smartphone of 2015,” the “Best low cost smartphone” goes to Xiaomi Redmi 2, and the “Best mobile tablet” goes to Microsoft Surface Pro 4. There were 930 entrants this year and these were narrowed down to 170 nominees until we ended up with the 42 winners. The other winners of MWC are listed after the jump if you’re curious to check it out.

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Volvo brings semi-autonomous driving to 2017 XC90 model

Autonomous driving takes a step forward for Volvo as the company brings its Pilot Assist II technology as a standard feature for its 2017 XC90 model. Pilot Assist II is a semi-autonomous driving system that helps control acceleration, braking, and steering to follow traffic flow on well-marked highways. It can run on speeds of up to 81mph or 120 km/h and it doesn’t need a lead car to work as have other Volvo systems before. But you can override it anytime, all you need to do is deactivate cruise control using the brake, cancel/off button, accelerating, or turning the steering wheel. If you let go of the wheel for a few seconds, it will deactivate the system, too. What doesn’t deactivate the system is if you use the turn signal and wheel to make a lane change.

The 2017 XC90 is also getting PowerPulse for the diesel variant, which is said to get rid of turbo drag, and an update to Volvo’s City Safety, which adds large animals to its standard collision avoidance system. The updates coming to the XC90 will also be carried over to the S90 sedan and V90 wagon.

Source: Gizmag