Tag: Android

Article

Google Fast Play could open up an improved point-to-point data transfer experience to Android smartphones

Google working on ‘Fast Share,’ Android Beam replacement and AirDrop competitor [Gallery] | 9To5Google.com

Fast Share is Google’s Android Beam replacement: Here’s what you should know | Android Authority

My Comments

Google is to provide as part of the Android platform a new “open-frame” point-to-point data-transfer solution. This solution, known as Fast Share, implements Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi to transfer text, pictures, Weblinks and other resources.

The Android platform had two different peer-to-peer data-transfer solutions previously. The first of these was the Bluetooth profile that was implemented by Symbian, Microsoft and others to transfer pictures, contact details and the like since the rise of the feature phone. The second of these was the Android Beam which used NFC “touch-and-go” as a discovery method and initially used Bluetooth but moved towards peer-to-peer Wi-Fi as a transfer method.

This was while Apple was using AirDrop across their ecosystem which included iPhones and iPads. In Apple’s true style, it was part of keeping as many users on the iOS platform and you couldn’t do things like transfer to other mobile or desktop platforms.

Google is intending to have Fast Share as part of their Play Services software package rather than being “baked in” to a particular version of the Android operating system. Here, Fast Share can be run with Android devices running older versions of the operating system which is a reality with a significant number of phones where the manufacturer won’t provide support for newer Android versions on particular models.

Advance images of this concept shown on the Web are underscoring a tentative plan to port it to their own ChromeOS and Apple’s iOS operating systems. If Microsoft and Apple are interested, it may be seen as a way for Windows or MacOS regular-computer users to share resources across the room on an ad-hoc basis. As well, Google could look at how Fast Share can be implemented in a “headless” form whether for sending or receiving the data.

You will have the ability to share file-based resources like photos, videos, PDFs or vCard-based contact-information files along with URLs pointing to Web-hosted resources or snippets of text. This will satisfy most usage requirements like sharing family snapshots, contact details or Weblinks.

There will be the option to give a sender “preferred visibility” status so they can discover your phone when you are near them. This status means that they will see your device if you aren’t running the Fast Share app. Of course, users can turn Fast Share on and off as required, preferably with the idea of turning it off when using the phone in a public place unless they expect to receive something. You also have the ability to decline or accept incoming files so you have some control over what you receive.

The core issue with Google Fast Share and similar point-to-point across-the-room file-transfer platforms is that they have to work in a truly cross-platform manner so you don’t have to worry whether your friend sitting in that armchair across from you is using an iPhone or Android device when you intend to send that photo to them or share your contact details.

Article

Cast Drawings On Your Phone To Your Television Using A Chromecast And This App | Lifehacker

Video (Click or tap to play)

Get this app here

CastPad (Google Play for Android)

– Free version has ads, in-app purchase for premium version

My Comments

The idea of using a regular TV as the electronic equivalent of a chalkboard (blackboard) or whiteboard has been explored through the 1980s thanks to a few key drivers.

A use case that was being put forward was to work with the then-new hobby of home videography thanks to the arrival of affordable video cameras and portable video recorders. Here it would be about creating title cards for one’s home video projects. As well, third-party peripheral vendors created light-pen setups that work with various home-computer platforms like the Commodore “VIC” computers (VIC-20 and Commodore 64), the Tandy TRS-80 Model 1 and the BBC Micro. The software that came with these setups included an elementary “paint” program that worked with the light-pen and allowed the (low-resolution) drawings to be saved to the computer’s secondary-storage medium (cassette or floppy disk) or printed to a connected printer.

The mouse, along with various graphics programs for later computer platform, extended the concept further even though newer computers were hooked up to displays better than the average TV set.

But the concept has been revived using the CastPad app for Android. This app allows you to draw using your finger or stylus on your Android smartphone or tablet, then “cast” it to your TV or monitor that is connected to a Chromecast or has full Chromecast ability built in. There is also the ability to “cast” to other Android devices running the same software and connected to the same logical network that the Chromecast is connected to.

You can save what you drew to your Android device but I am not sure whether it supports printing via Android’s print functionality. There is a free ad-supported version that is limited to five colours. It may be good enough to show to a child or use for games like Pictionary. But a premium version, which you can purchase through an in-app arrangement allows for infinite colours and a few more features.

A use case that was called out in the article was to improve a family Pictionary game that the article’s author played during their family’s Thanksgiving celebrations. Here, they had a Chromecast connected to their family home’s TV and used their Android smartphone to draw out the word ideas as part of gameplay.

But the app has other use cases such as conference facilities, classrooms and the like that are kitted out with a large-screen TV or video projector. Here, the CastPad app may work as a better approach to illustrating concepts in a basic manner and showing them to a larger audience as part of your presentation effort.

Apple could easily answer this app with something that runs on an iPhone or iPad and uses AirPlay to stream the canvas to an Apple TV. Or the app developers could simply port it to iOS to take advantage of that platform’s user base.

Similarly, there could be the ability to have you draw the graphic on the smartphone or tablet then project it through the Chromecast, which can be useful if you are preparing that diagram for a class. This can also be augmented with the ability to insert printed text in a range of font sizes, something that would appeal to “blackboard diagrammers”.

Apps like CastPad can exploit “screencasting” setups like AirPlay or Chromecast to turn the largest screen in the house or business in to an electronic whiteboard and the touchscreen of your device in to a “canvas”.

Articles

Most recent Android smartphones may be able to support one-touch pair-up for Bluetooth accessories

Android ‘Fast Pair’ will quickly connect Bluetooth devices | Engadget

Announcing Fast Pair – effortless Bluetooth pairing for Android | Android Developers Blog

My Comments

Google has answered the setup method that Apple has implemented for their AirPod wireless in-ear headset by implementing a software-driven “quick-pair” setup that will be part of Android.

This method, called Bluetooth Fast Pairing, works on Android handsets and other devices that run Android 6.0 Marshmallow onwards and have Google Play Services 11.7 or newer installed and support Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (Bluetooth Smart) connectivity. You will have to enable Bluetooth and Location functionality in your handset, but you don’t have to look at Bluetooth device lists on your smartphone for a particular device identifier to complete the setup process.

Click or tap this image to see Google Fast Pairing in action

It is meant to provide quick discovery of your compliant Bluetooth accessory device in order to expedite the setup process that is involved with new devices or to “repair” Bluetooth connections that have failed. This latter situation can easily occur if data in the device regarding associated Bluetooth devices becomes corrupted or their is excessive Bluetooth interference.

The user experience will require you to put your accessory device like a Bluetooth headset, speakers or car stereo in to Bluetooth-setup mode. This may simply be through you holding down the “setup” or “pair” button till a LED flashes a certain way or you hear a distinct tone. On the other hand in the case of home and car audio equipment that has a display of some form, you using the “Setup Menu” to select “Bluetooth Setup” or something similar.

Then you receive a notification message on your Android device which refers to the device you just enabled for pairing, showing its product name and a thumbnail image of the device. Tap on this notification to continue the setup process and you may receive an invitation to download a companion app for those devices that work on the “app-cessory” model for extended functionality.

Google implements this by using Bluetooth Low Energy “beacon” technology to enable the device-discovery process. This is similar to the various beacon approaches for marketing and indoor navigation that are being facilitated by Bluetooth Low Energy, but they only appear while your accessory device is in “Bluetooth setup” mode.

The Google Play servers provide information about the device such as its thumbnail image, product name or link to a companion app based on a “primary-key” identifier that is part of the Bluetooth Low Energy “beacon” presented by the device. Then, once you tap the notification popup on your Android device, the pairing and establishment process takes place under Bluetooth Classic technology.

I see this also as being similar to the various “Plug And Play” discovery process implemented in Microsoft Windows and Apple MacOS whenever you connect newer peripherals to your computer. This is where Microsoft and Apple keep data about various peripherals and expansion cards that are or have been on the market to facilitate installation of any necessary drivers or other software or invocation of class drivers that are part of the operating system. For Google and the Android platform, they could take this further with USB-C and USB Micro-AB OTG connectivity to implement the same kind of “plug and play” setup for peripherals connected this way to Android devices.

This system could be taken further by integrating similar logic and server-hosted databases in to other operating systems for regular and mobile computer platforms to improve and expedite the setup process for Bluetooth devices where the host device supports Bluetooth Low Energy operation. Here, I would like to see it based on the same identifiers broadcast by each of the accessory devices.

The Bluetooth Fast Pairing ability that Google gave to the Android platform complements NFC-based “touch and go” pairing that has been used with that platform as another method to simplify the setup process. This is more for manufacturers who don’t have enough room in their accessory device’s design to provide an NFC area for “touch-and-go” setup thanks to very small devices or where NFC doesn’t play well with the device’s aesthetics or functionality.

It may be a point of confusion for device designers like Alpine with their car stereos who place their devices in “discoverable” or “pairing” mode all the time so you can commence enrolling your accessory device at your phone’s user interface. Here, the device manufacturer may have to limit its availability to certain circumstances like no devices paired or connected, or you having to select the “Bluetooth” source or “Setup” mode to invoke discoverability.

At least Google have put up a way to allow quicker setup for Bluetooth accessories with their Android platform devices without the need to build the requirement in to the hardware.

Article

The front camera on the next premium smartphones could end up being equipped with auto-focus technology

The Galaxy S8 may provide better selfies thanks to autofocus implementation | Android Authority

Previous coverage on “selfie” smartphones

What Makes That Smartphone A “Selfie” Smartphone

My Comments

Increasingly smartphone manufacturers are paying attention to the kind of photos a smartphone’s or tablet’s front-facing camera takes. This has been driven by the phenomenon where young people are using these cameras to take “selfies” – pictures of themselves. Even venue owners and event hosts are catering to this trend by providing “selfie photobooths” with the appropriate decorations and props so they can take the funniest-looking selfie.

The way most of the manufacturers have approached this issue includes front-facing cameras with a resolution not dissimilar to the rear-facing camera, use of a wide-angle lens on the front-facing camera or even integrating software logic to remove blemishes from the photos that are taken.

But Samsung has gone further with their front-facing camera by implementing an auto-focus mechanism. Typically, a smartphone would be equipped with auto-focus on the rear-facing camera because this is the one used for general photography but the front-facing camera gets a fair bit of use for both videocalls and selfies. But implementing an auto-focus camera for both of the smartphone’s cameras would be costly and not worth it due to the close proximity of the subjects.

Here, they have implemented an auto-focus cameras on both the front-facing camera and the rear-facing camera for their new Galaxy S8 Android smartphone. This will be seen as a way to differentiate their premium smartphones from the rest of the pack due to the ability to yield that sharp videocall image or selfie.

As the cost of auto-focus cameras for smartphones and tablets that yield acceptable resolution goes downhill, it could become a trend for front-facing cameras on the smartphones, tablets, laptops and similar devices to have this feature for the best Skype videocall or selfie.

Article

Android and iOS can support contacts’ nicknames with Google Now and Siri

Use Nicknames With Siri And Google Now To Reach Contacts Faster | Gizmodo

My Comments

Most smartphone operating systems have in their contact list a field called “Nickname”. This is typically of use when you have a personal nickname, relative-shortcut name like “Mum” or similar name for a contact. But in most cases, this field isn’t shown up on call logs or contact lists.

Now Siri and Google Now make use of the Nickname field to interpret instructions to call particular people. Google Now does provide inherent support for relationship-shortcut names but you can use the Nickname field for manually determining a contact’s nickname. Both voice assistants can query which person a nickname pertains to which can come in handy if you are calling one of many siblings or someone with an obscure nickname or a nickname that is spelt a certain way but pronounced another way.

How could this be improved upon?

Nicknames appearing in the contact-display context

At the moment, the nickname functionality only works in the contact-search context but I would like to see it also work in the contact-display context especailly when a call or text comes in from the contact or you browse through your contact list or recent / missed call logs. This could be facilitated through the use of a “Display As” field which shows a user-chosen field or combination of concatenated fields for a particular contact.

Support for a phonetic representation of a nickname

These systems could support the ability to store a phonetic representation of a nickname which can come in handy when you say that nickname one way but have it written another way. The phonetic representation would be used for voice-based search and voice-based call announcements.

Security issues with nicknames

Nicknames may expose security issues when they fall in to the wrong hands. It is because people use these nicknames as a “password” or “word of trust” within their community.  But confidence tricksters using familiar nicknames as a way to “get in to someone’s mind” and have them acquiesce to their inappropriate scheme. In some cases, a nickname that is a symbol of endearment may be used as a weapon against one or both of the participants.

Having nicknames as a “secure” field which is only shown to trusted users is important to preserve this kind of security. For example, if a phone shows a list of missed calls or text messages on the notification screen, it could show a standard “first-name last-name” or “company-name” while locked but show the nickname while unlocked. Similarly, voice-level biometrics can be used to authenticate a user who is “searching by nickname” using a voice-based personal assistant.

Further improvements needed for phone contact lists

Handling of common phone numbers

Another area where a lot of contact list programs miss out on is handling phone calls or other communication that comes in from pbone numbers, emails or other contact addresses common to two or more contacts.

The most common example is a landline phone number that serves as a “catch-all” number for a household, workgroup or business. In this case, you may instruct the voice assistant to call a person on that landline by saying “person-name Home” or “person-name Work” or something similar. This will place the call to that landline. The same thing will happen if you contact someone else who lives or works behind that common phone number.

The problem rears its ugly head when a call comes in from that phone number or you review your call logs and you see the first alphabetically-listed contact related to that “catch-all” number even though other contacts in your contact list are behind that number. Here you don’t know whom it was who called you or whom you placed that call to.

This could be facilitated using a dynamically-concatenated display field for phone numbers with something like [<company-name>(caller-name-1. caller-name-2, or caller-name-n] for callers with a populated company-name field; or [caller-name-1, caller-name-2 or caller-name-n] for callers missing a company-name field i.e. households. Or you may create a dedicated contact entry for the “catch-all” phone number such as a distinct “name-address-number” entry for a company or household. Then you add “common fields” like work number, home number or company name to the entries associated with the people with that same “roof” in common. The name associated with the dedicated contact entry shows up in the call log when you call that number or on your phone’s screen when they ring you from that “catch-all” telephone.

Conclusion

At least something is being done to make sure that the contact management software and voice-activated personal assistant software  is tied in to how we view our contacts so we see our contacts our way.

You may want to use the large screen to show people how to use social media to promote their business

Do you want to show that Web-based resource to a large group of people?

You may want to do this as part of training for concepts like social media, Web analytics and the like. Perhaps, you may want to show a particular blog post to a group or even show pictures and video from a Website or video platform but the device doesn’t have native support for that.

There are two different methods of going about this:

• Mirroring – you see the same display on both the device’s screen and the large screen
• Extended or Dedicated View – you can see what you want to show on the large screen but have a minimal control view on your

I will be listing the options available to you by the different equipment combinations.

Using your home or other small network

This involves using devices that connect to your computer via your home or other small network.

The common requirement for these setups is that the set-top device connected to your display and your host computer must be on the same logical network. It doesn’t matter what medium (Wi-Fi wireless, Ethernet or HomePlug powerline) is used to connect the host computer or the set-top device to your network.

This setup may not work properly if you are attempting to use a public-access network to connect your set-top device or host computer and this network implements Web-based authentication.

iOS + Apple TV

Equipment Requirements:

• Relatively recent iOS devices (iPad 2 onwards, iPhone 4 onwards, iPod Touch 5th generation onwards) running iOS 6 or newer
• Apple TV (3rd generation onwards)
  

  AirPlay devices discovered by iPad – when you tap AirPlay icon

Mirror your iPad’s display

1. Go to Shortcut menu (tap Home button twice, slide to right)
2. Click AirPlay button and select Apple TV
3. Select Mirroring
4. Bring up Web page using Safari

Dedicated Display

This requires you to use one of two apps that you buy from the iTunes App Store: AirWeb ($1.99) or AirBrowser ($6.49). These are Web browsers which present the page on to the display that is connected to the Apple TV device and use your device as a tool to navigate the Web page.

Set up iPad for mirroring to Apple TV

AirWeb simply has your iOS device work as a mouse with the external display serving as a screen while the more expensive AirBrowser offers a more polished response and has more capabilities.

Apple Macintosh + Apple TV

Equipment Requirements

• Apple Macintosh to run MacOS X Mountain Lion (10.8) or newer
• Apple TV 3rd generation onwards

To connect your Apple Macintosh to your Apple TV

1. Click AirPlay icon on the Menu Bar at the top of your screen
2. Click the “Connect To AirPlay Display” option and select the Apple TV device you want to use
   This procedure makes the AirPlay-connected Apple TV device work as an extra monitor similar to if you had connected another monitor or projector to your Mac.

Mirrored Display

1. Select the Mirroring option to show your system’s Desktop display on the big screen
2. Open the Web page using your preferred browser

Extended or Dedicated Display

1. Select the Extended Desktop option
2. Open the Web page using your preferred browser and drag it to the new screen

Google Chromecast + Google Chrome on Windows or MacOS

Equipment Requirements:

The computer you are using to bring up the Web pages with has to run the latest version of Google Chrome browser and have the Google Cast extension installed.

Mirrored Display

1. Click the Cast square at top right corner on Chrome in Windows
2. Using the drop-down menu, select the “Cast this screen / window” option

Dedicated Display

1. Start Chrome and browse to the Webpage you want to show on your large display
2. Click the Cast icon on the tab and choose the Chromecast you want to show it to

Google Chromecast + Chromecast App on Android

Equipment Requirements

Your Android smartphone or tablet has to run the latest version of the Chromecast app, which you can download from the Google Play store.

Mirrored Display

1. Run Chromecast app on Android device
2. Click on the Navigation drawer (hamburger icon) on the Chromecast app’s user interface
3. Select the Cast Screen option
4. Select the Chromecast that you want to use, The Android device’s screen will appear on your larger screen
5. Use Google Chrome or your favourite Android Web browser to load your site

Dedicated Display

Like the iOS platform, you will have to install a browser that shows its output on the external screen. Here, your Android device will be the control surface while you see the Webpage on your large screen.

For Android users, you will need to purchase and install the Web2Cast app which costs $1.99.

Directly-connected screen

These setups require you to connect your host computer directly to the display device, preferably via HDMI. It is a task you can perform easily with the regular-computer platforms i.e. Windows, Macintosh or Linux because this practice is performed more commonly in offices for multi-screen displays or to show presentations using a projector.

Therefore the procedure to use a directly-connected external display to show that Web page comes across as being simple.

The setup procedures are very consistent across the different major versions of these operating systems.

If you are using some “all-in-one” desktop computers, you may find that an HDMI port may be used as an input port or output port. This functionality is typically to allow one to use the computer’s display and speakers with another video peripheral like a games console or set-top box. Here, make sure that this port is set up to become an “output” port for use with external displays when you are showing a Web page on a larger screen that is connected to this HDMI port.

Windows computer

Equipment preparation

Display setup for a secondary display as a dedicated screen – Windows 7

Connect the external display to Windows computer and make sure that Windows detects the presence of the display. Here, you may have to use Display Settings to verify that this display is properly detected. You may also have to make sure the external display is switched on and the correct input is selected.

Mirroring

1. Right click on the Desktop and select “Display Settings”
2. Select Duplicate These Displays to see same screen
   Most laptops may allow you to invoke this setup by pressing Windows+P together
3. Load the Webpage on your preferred Web browser and browse it as normal

Extended Display

1. Right click on the Desktop and select Display Settings
2. Select Extend These Displays
3. Drag the screen which represents the external display, which should be marked as 2, to the top or right of your main screen. This is a way to help you remember that you are setting up a “big screen”.
4. Load page on your preferred Web browser, and drag to “big screen” before you browse it.
   Windows 10 makes this process easier by allowing you to click the square “All tasks” button where there will be icons representing both the screens. Then you just drag the Web browser to the “other” screen

MacOS X

Equipment Preparation

Like with Windows, connect the external display to your Mac and make sure that MacOS X detects the presence of this display. As well, make sure that the correct source is selected on your display.

Mirrored Display

1. Click the System Preferences menu in the Apple menu
2. Select the Displays menu in the View menu
3. Check Mirror Displays to show the Desktop on big screen
4. Open the Web page in your preferred browser

Dedicated Display

1. Click the System Preferences menu in the Apple menu
2. Select the Displays menu in the View menu
3. Uncheck Mirror Displays for extended desktops
4. Drag the newly-created screen to the top of your existing screen and make sure that your existing screen is kept as the primary screen. This is a way to help you remember you are setting up and using a “big screen”.
5. Open the Web page in your preferred browser and drag it to the external display.

Article

Telstra takes on the bush with a rural-friendly phone | GadgetGuy

From the horse’s mouth

Telstra

Tough Max Android smartphone

Product Page

ZTE (OEM supplier)

Product Page

My Comments

Telstra have shown some interest to the rural community by offering long-distance phone tariffs that are cheaper than their competitors for calls from rural and regional communities to the nearest state capitals which represents the kind of long-distance call someone would frequently make when they live in these areas. Similarly, I have always recommended Telstra or any “mobile virtual network” operator that uses the Telstra mobile-telephony infrastructure as a preferred mobile-telephony service for those of you who are in rural areas or make regular forays to these rural areas such as to visit that “bush bolthole” or maintain that farm that you have a few head of cattle on.

Now they have shown their chops again for this community of telecommunications users by offering an Android-based answer to that classic Motorola “brick” mobile phone that was so beloved of tradesmen and other outdoor types because of its simple ruggedness.

Unlike most Android phones, this phone has the ability to be connected to an external antenna which would improve on reception in rural areas as well as a cellular-network front-end optimised for long-distance reception. It is housed in a rugged casing which absorbs drops and is rated to IP67 which means the Telstra Tough Max is dust-resistant and can survive being dunked in a pool of water up to 1 metre deep.

This phone works on Android 5.0 Lollipop which means it can gain access to the apps on the Google Play app store. It has a 4.7” HD screen which may not match most of today’s desirable Android smartphones, uses removable microSD storage and can link with Bluetooth peripherals or your Wi-Fi home network. But surprisingly, it will support wireless charging when you pair it with a Qi charger. It doesn’t necessarily have all the frills of today’s smartphones but, like the Motorola “brick”, it is pitched towards users who place importance on durability.

The Telstra Tough Max is available for around AUD$500 outright or best paired on a subsidised-equipment contract with any of Telstra’s mobile phone plans to take advantage of what this network has to offer with the cheapest of these starting from AUD$62 per month.

If Telstra keeps going with phones that please the “bush brigade” like this one, they could work towards a phablet-style unit with NFC as a higher-end model to court this market along with similarly-rugged accessories. Similarly, they could work towards a Mi-Fi or wireless NAS that also espouses this same level of ruggedness, courting this same community.