Snapdragon power coming to smartwatches using Android Wearable Platform

News by:  Justin Herrick, Jeff Causey 19th March 2014

Google has officially announced Android Wear, a version of Android designed specifically for wearable devices. In an official blog post, Google explains that Android Wear will focus on getting key information to users at the right time, displaying health and fitness information, and providing an extra display to use throughout the day. As you can see in the image above, Android Wear (for smartwatches) is designed to closely resemble Google Now and, basically, it functions the exact same way. In fact, voice searches are still done through the “OK Google”activation.

Main Question arises here: Who is making Android Wear devices? Here is what Google had to say about that:

“We’re also already working with several consumer electronics manufacturers, including Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung; chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek and Qualcomm; and fashion brands like the Fossil Group to bring you watches powered by Android Wear later this year.”

As we know that Google announced the new Android Wear platform for wearable devices and mentioned a variety of manufacturers and chip makers promising to support further development. Qualcomm has released a statement letting fans of their Snapdragon line of chips know they have been “working behind the scenes” with Google and other OEM customers to develop devices powered by Snapdragon chips.

Qualcomm mentions they have experience with the smartwatch platform already thanks to their own in-house Toq product. Combining that experience and their collaborative efforts with Google, Qualcomm says their chips will enable manufacturers to deliver “outstanding performance and user experiences.”

news source: talkandroid.com, talkandroid.com

Read More

Better Battry time than expected in Nexus 5 thanks to Qualcomm

News by:  Hamad Shaikh  1st November 2013

The Nexus 5 will have a non-removeable battery sized at 2300 mAh, but prospective owners should not have to worry about running out of juice quickly. Inside will be Qualcomm’s new QFE1100 envelope tracker that the company claims to be able to reduce heat and power consumption from the radio components. A huge concern with many phones is the pace at which LTE data kills a phone’s battery; however, Qualcomm’s new envelope tracker aims to solve that. Also, the Nexus 5 has the 802.11ac WiFi standard. This means that if you have a compatible router, your phone will reach the signal easier with much larger transfer speeds. All very good signs if you’re picking up a Nexus 5.

Via: talkandroid.com

news source: gigaom.com

Read More

"Slide Aside" LG's application switching feature on the G2

News by:  Jerry Hildenbrand  22nd Sep 2013

The LG G2 is chock full of features. A lot of folks will call them gimmicks, and that's OK because a world where everyone likes the same things is no world I want to be in. Whether you love them or hate them, the important thing is that they all work without killing the performance of the phone. A lot of that comes from the Qualcomm Snapdragon S800 under the hood, but we like to think that LG was also hard at work to optimize the software.

What Slide Aside does is act as a "container" of sorts for app switching. You enable it in the settings, and with a three finger gesture you can swipe away any active application to dock it on the left side of the screen. You can store up to three applications there, and bring them in and out of focus at will. It's a lot like Samsung's Multi-window, but it works with every app.

This is incredibly handy for apps like a messenger, that you're in and out of all the time. I've been using it while reviewing the AT&T model of the G2, and sticking Hangouts and the Gmail app over there at the side really is useful for the way I use my phone. Does it affect the battery life? Probably. But not enough for me to decide not to use it. 

news source: androidcentral.com

Read More