Phandroid
Developer taps into Snapdragon 800′s always-listening core, give Nexus 5 Moto X-like Touchless Controls
A post on Google+ blew up after the developer of a popular custom ROM showed off a proof of concept where his Nexus 5 effectively mimicked the always listening “Touchless Control” function found in the Motorola Moto X. How exactly was this done, you ask? No witchcraft, just a little Android knowledge.
Still in its early state, Guillaume Lesniak was able to tap into Qualcomm’s QDSP6V5 low-power DSP core found in the Snapdragon 800 processor. Because this is separate from the cores used for handling applications, in theory, this would have a minimal impact on battery life, keeping the main CPU in a sleep state as usual.
Although Qualcomm has yet to release any of the Snapdragon 800′s always listening APIs to developers (we could never figure out exactly why), they sure had no problem boasting about this specific feature of their SoC. It’s a shame we haven’t really seen it in action, until now.
Because this is still very much “unofficial,” and the developer is attempting to avoid drama with Qualcomm’s legal department, he’s holding back from releasing any details on how it was done. For now, we can find solace in knowing that it has been accomplished (however buggy), and that there’s still a glimmer of hope this feature may find itself in a future version of the OmniROM custom Android software.
Who knows, maybe Qualcomm is keeping their cards close to their chest for a future Nexus device, or even Android release. Why should the Moto X have all the fun?
Thanks, Derek!
[Google+]
T-Mobile: further industry consolidation isn’t a question of if, but when
If there was any question that T-Mobile was entertaining the idea of a Sprint merger, a recent statement by T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter hints that it could be all but inevitable. Speaking openly during a telecom conference today, Carter said that in regard to his company’s future prospects for consolidation, it wasn’t a question of “if” but “when.” This echoes a similar statement Carter made last year, after T-Mobile purchased MetroPCS. And while the words “Sprint” never actually left his mouth, investors are now anticipating a Sprint merger is likely. You know, should US regulators give it the green light.
Last week Deutsche Telekom — T-Mobile’s parent company — said it would be open to potential consolidation in the U.S. mobile market, but also mentioned that they were in no hurry to make such deal (they’ve always been open to merger talks in the past). According to them, T-Mobile has performing well enough to continue running by itself. But as Carter points out, “To take a third-scale national player that has the scale benefits with the right business model could be very competitively enhancing in the U.S..” In other words, AT&T and Verizon should probably be watching their backs.
Something tells us they aren’t too worried. It was back in 2011 that the US Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission shot down AT&T’s proposed buyout of T-Mobile for a cool $39 billion, leaving AT&T walking away bruised and broken. Sounds they wouldn’t be too receptive of a Sprint/T-Mobile merger either.
Carter goes onto say that the government can’t simply have its cake and eat it too. “If they think there really needs to be four players in this market on a nationwide basis, they are going to have to put some structural protections to ensure an adequate distribution of spectrum.”
Sprint has been gunning for T-Mobile for years now. In 2010, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse went on the record about merger talks with T-Mobile. In 2011, talks of a merger once again began rearing their head, followed by a recent report last December saying Sprint would offer upwards of $20 billion to buy T-Mobile this year, but was still feeling things out. Like that persistent dude in the movie theater, Sprint really wants T-Mobile’s number.
I guess John Legere never received the memo, T-Mobile’s off-the-wall CEO who continued blasting away at rival carriers on Twitter. In a recent tweet, Legere specifically calls out Sprint saying, “Remember when people actually liked @sprint? Yeah, me either.” It’s clear Sprint is going to need more than just Carly in tight leather to drawn in new customers. Upgrading their slow as molasses network would be a good start.
[Reuters]
Angry Birds goes medieval for upcoming sequel – launching first in Canada and Australia [VIDEO]
We’ve seen Angry Birds travel to Rio de Janeiro, we’ve float through space. We’ve even seen them race each other in go-karts, and battle the Republic in a galaxy far, far away. If you didn’t think there was anywhere else left for the birds to travel to, it appears Rovio might soon be sending them back into time.
Over the weekend, Rovio uploaded a teaser video to their YouTube channel, showcasing knights armor with their trademark red bird inside. While there were little details provided in the teaser, a look back at a Rovio 2014 preview video from December shows this medieval version initially teased, but managed to fly under the radar for most.
In the video, a variety of upcoming Angry Birds games being plastered on a wall as an aggressive Razor scooter skater does x-treme tricks. In one scene, an image of the birds outfitted as a wizard, knight (or viking?), and archer was revealed, leaving us to wonder if Rovio will stick to their tried-and-true slingshot formula, or go with something different altogether like an MMO RPG, tower defense, etc..
One could make the claim (as so many often do) that Rovio is simply beating a dead horse when it comes to their Angry Birds franchise, first they’d have to prove that Angry Birds is dead. Well, it isn’t. The games (in their vast many iterations) are still very much alive and well, topping the charts in the many different app stores you’ll find them available.
There was no word on exactly when we can expect this new medieval version of Angry Birds to hit the Play Store. Rovio only mentioned that, similar to what we saw with Plants vs Zombies 2, a soft launch would begin first in Australia and Canada, followed later by other regions. We’ll keep you posted.
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