The new Galaxy S4 is the first Samsung smartphone to boast Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass 3, which promises to be up to three times as scratch resistant as its predecessor. And according to its first scratch test, it does not disappoint — the Galaxy S4’s display is almost impossible to scratch.
Despite support for just a small handful of Android smartphones, Facebook Home has already surpassed half a million downloads in just nine days. The new launcher first became available to download through Google Play on April 12, and it appears those with supported devices are keen to try it out.
We learned a lot about Google Glass this week. In doing so, we also learned a lot about Google.
It’s tempting to look at Google’s vast range of products and research projects and conclude that the company has more ideas than vision. (The difference is that ideas tend to be disconnected, whereas vision involves a coherent strategic direction.)
Where is Google going? Does Google even know?
A closer look suggests that Google is, in fact, an increasingly visionary company. And the fate of many Google projects is predictable.
Some are predestined to die eventually in the hellfire of “spring cleaning” (Orkut), many will live on forever as useful, profitable but not centrally strategic products (Gmail) and others form the strategic centerpiece of Google’s longterm future (Google+).
If we’ve learned anything from the truckload of Google Glass details this week, and from prior revelations that I’ll tell you about, Google Now is absolutely strategic and central to the future of Google.
More interestingly, Google Now’s cards metaphor looks likely to become one of the main interfaces for interacting with Google’s many cloud services.
When I hear about a game that uses miniature figurines with a videogame, I automatically think of Skylanders, Activision’s hit toy/video game that uses plastic creature figures placed on a special “portal of power” to use the creature’s special abilities in the videogame, on consoles and on iPad.
Sydney, Australia-based TableTop Interactive is going one step further to a fuller interactive experience, with mini-figurines reminiscent of tabletop games like Hero Clix or Warmachine, and gameplay that looks more like an action RPG like Diablo. The Kickstarter project is just getting started, with a £150,000 goal and 42 days left to get to it.
We appreciate the effort, really.
In a world where app discovery is a never ending battle, it’s nice to see developers working on ways to help us all find apps that correspond to our actual interests.
Appreciate is one such app, and its developers don’t want to be the typical recommendation engine, with key words, advertising, or hype ruling the day. What Appreciate wants to do is help you get discover personal, relevant apps for Android right on your device.
