Today Google rolled out Android 5.1 - an update to Lollipop that improves stability and performance and offers a few new features like support for multiple SIM cards, Device Protection and high definition (HD) voice on compatible phones.
Features:Whether you want to share your phone with a family member or better manage your mobile costs, Android Lollipop 5.1 now lets you use more than one SIM card on a device with multiple SIM slots. With Device Protection, your lost or stolen device will remain locked until you sign in with your Google account - even if someone resets your device to factory settings. This feature will be available on most Android phones and tablets shipped with Android 5.1 in addition to Nexus 6 and Nexus 9. High Definition voice calling is now on your mobile phone. Get crystal clear calling with HD Voice between compatible Android 5.1 devices like the Nexus 6 on T-Mobile or Verizon. Android 5.1 Lollipop also provides enhancements such as the ability to join Wi-Fi networks and control of your paired Bluetooth devices directly from Quick Settings. Enjoy these tasty additions to Android Lollipop as you get more out of your Android phone and tablet.
Microsoft made a few huge announcements yesterday, notable among them was the introduction of Windows 10. I was impressed with the fact that, finally, Windows 10 will work across all available platforms, from the PC to your tablet and to your phone.
While Windows 8.x is still the prevalent desktop OS, Microsoft has had to rely on a separate OS altogether for mobile. Windows Phone 8.1 is the current iteration, found mostly on Nokia devices, and a small selection of HTC and other brands.
Windows 10 is a new approach, the same OS is capable of installing on the various devices, where it offers a differing UI for each form factor. From what Microsoft showed off in their announcement, the phone UI brings with it the typical functionality we have all come to expect from our mobile devices. Home screens, settings menus, a phone book, a web browser and more.
What’s New?
Windows 10 will rock a new web browser, code named Project Spartan.Cortana, Microsofts Digital Assistantis a huge element to the new OS. Universal Apps make for a consistent experience across devices. Action Center eases settings control and syncs data and notifications across devices. Expanded Xbox integration goes beyond sharing game clips, streaming full games to your Windows 10 PC or tablet.
Your photos will show together in the Photos app, they will be automatically organized into sections and albums. An all new synchronization technology available on your Windows 10 phone in the Action Center. As is true for Google+users, you’ll be able to get to your full photo collection regardless the device you are using.
A new messaging app seamlessly jumps between your SMS and IM communications, with Skype integration bringing video to the mix.
Yesterday, WhatsApp unveiled a Google Chrome extension which enables you send and receive WhatsApp messages via the browser. Google Chrome mirrors your conversations and messages right on your computer. Here is how you get it done.
Android
1. Go the Google Play Store and update your WhatApp. If you don't have Play Store on your device, you can get the apk here
2. Open Whatsapp and select "WhatsApp Web".
3. Go to https://web.whatsapp.com/ and scan the QR Code on the Website with your phone. Keep trying it doesn't seem to work.
4. Congratulations! You have activated WhatsApp Web and can now use WhatsApp on your computer. :)
Whatsapp Web can also be used Windows Phone, Blackberry and Nokia S60. Sorry but Apple users can't enjoy this service due to the limitations of the iOS. Support for other browsers will be coming soon too! Have a great time using WhatsApp Web!
University of Cape Coast, one of Ghana's top university's website has been hacked. The attack took place on Sunday, 4th January 2015 at about 8:16 AM. The website has been hacked and defaced by an Indian known as "Mr. Bangladesh" and was reported by BD Grey Hat Hackers. At the moment the website has been taken offline however, a google search on the website gives you a result similar to that in the image below. It read: "Hello Admin ! Mr. Bangladesh here ! from Bangladesh GREY HAT HACKERS. We Defend || We Revenge. 0000. hacked by Mr. Bangladesh #Contact ...".
You can take a look at a snapshot of the site when it was hacked here. It's a short video of the message to the administrator of the website with background music. Here is the link to UCC's Website. It's just 4 days into the New Year and we've had our first cyber attack already. Website owners should be expecting more of this to happen and should be prepared.
2014 was a great year in the mobile industry. We saw many new brands and models coming up with very interesting specs and features. Mobile Operating Systems also took a different turn in design and function. In my article today, I bring to you my best 5 phones of 2014.
5. Sony Xperia Z3
Xperia Z3 is Sony's latest flagship smartphone released in September 2014. Just as other recent sony smartphones, it has dust and water resistant over 1 Meter and 30 minutes. Xperia Z3 comes with Android 4.4.4 pre-installed, 2.5 GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, and 20 MP rear camera. With other loads of features, Xperia Z3 is a worth buying.
4. Google Nexus 6
If you want a feel of the pure Android Operating System, the you should go for the all new Google Nexus 5. Expertly crafted by Motorola, Nexus 5 bring you not only a feel of the true Android but also impressive hardware specs. Google's latest flagship comes with the Latest Android 5.0, 3GB RAM with 64 GB internal memory, 13MP rear camera with OIS, and a stunning 5.9 inch screen display. This also comes and an amazingly cheap price.
3. iPhone 6+
Finally Apple went back to their drawing boards and brought something everybody was waiting for them to do: A large screen phone. iPhone 6+ features a massive 5.5 inch screen, TouchID sensor, NFC and all the goodies iOS 8 brings. It lacks enough RAM as compared to Android competitors. It has just 1GB RAM. It's a phone you will love to use and it costs about GHc3000.
2. HTC One M8
This is my dream phone. HTC M8. M8 has the following specifications: 4 inch screen with a DPI of 441, Gorilla Glass 3, Android Kitkat 4.4, 2.3 GHz Quad-Core processor, Two 4UP rear cameras, Boom sound, and 32GB internal memory. With about GHc1800, you should be getting a fully functional HTC M8.
1. Galaxy Note 4
This is the best phablet of the year 2014. I've had a chance to have a hand's-on this device and I couldn't but admire the QHD Display. Galaxy Note 4 comes with tons and tons of features which include: A heart rate monitor, a UV sensor, an IR Blaster, 16MP rear camera with OIS, Android 4.4.4, and a stunning 4.7 QHD display with Gorilla Glass 4. If you want a phablet with all the power, features, and functions, Note 4 is certainly the phone you should go for. You can watch a review of Galaxy Note 4 at PCAdvisor.
I'm looking towards a great 2015 with new, powerful and feature-loaded devices. Not only with great specs but cheap...very cheap.
Mobile phone company, Nokia has just introduced the N1, a brand new (iPad mini clone) tablet running Android.
The Nokia N1 will cost $250 and launch in China initially, starting in February.
MTN claims “The Ghana’s largest and fastest 3.75G network,” and Tigo says it has “Ghana’s fastest 3.75G network.” Airtel too boasts “Ghana’s fastest 3.75G network,” and now Surfline says it has the first and fastest 4G LTE network in the country.
Now that we are at the end of the Surfline “wow-erful” promotion, we ask; What does 4G LTE and its related terms really mean, and how much faster is a 4G network?
What actually Do The “G’s” Mean?
There are no “official” definitions for 1G, 2G, 3G… but G has come to stand for generation. They can be considered as a segregation of similar generation mobile phone technologies, which have enough acronyms to confuse a normal cell phone user. All these G’s are however GSM(Global System for Mobile Communications) technologies.
What is 4G?
4G(Fourth Generation) is the fourth and latest generation technology for data access over cellular networks. It’s faster and can give networks more capacity than the 3G networks still utilised by most phones. There’s a technical definition, set by a United Nations agency in Europe, and a marketing definition, which is more relevant to most consumers. Variants of 4G technology include LTE and Wimax.
Differences in Speed & Frequencies
4G is quicker than 3G which means less buffering times, better audio quality, improved gaming experience and streaming services.
Differences in Latency
Latency is a measure of the time it takes for data to travel from a PC/Mobile to the internet and back. On 4G that time is around half that experienced on current 3G networks meaning real-time applications like video conferencing, internet gaming and cloud-based streaming services work better with less buffering and fewer interruptions.
Who needs 4G?
It’s mostly for people with smartphones, tablets and laptops who often need fast data speeds for Web browsing, app use and email when they’re out of the range of Wi-Fi networks. It can give you the same or greater data speeds as home or office Wi-Fi when you’re in a taxi, hotels and airports. You are also likely to find this to be often faster than public Wi-Fi networks.
How does 4G differ from another term being advertised, ‘LTE’?
LTE, which stands for “Long Term Evolution,” it is the fastest, most consistent variant of 4G, and the one most technical experts feel hews most closely to the technical standard set by the U.N. In Africa, it has primarily been deployed by MTN and Smile, which offers it in about 6 countries including Nigeria and South Africa.
How fast is 4G?
Claims vary and performance depends upon the type of device and its Operating System, location, and time. In my tests, 4G data modems provided by Surfline for laptops typically deliver from three to 20 times the download speeds of 3G devices. . The speed king is LTE. The other forms of 4G have generally produced download speeds over 10 mbps. But all of these are better than 3G, which in my tests on all networks and many devices, averages download speeds under 2mbps.
How does LTE compare with common wired home Internet speeds?
Although it is wireless, LTE is often faster than most Ghanaians broadband home Internet service. Vodafone claims they provide the fastest 40 mbps (shared) broadband service in West Africa. However in the test I conducted (provided in the image below) I had download speeds moving up to 6.84 mbps.
Shared networks offer less speed than typically advertised and interestingly the real applicable download speeds aside from tests can be between 700 kbps and 1 mbps.
Yes, this was a completely legit download
Speed Comparisons
I decided to test the speeds of both Surfline and Vodafone Broadband and the results were quite interesting. The test was conducted in two folds. A theoretical speed using speedtest.net and a real application speed test by downloading the same file from the internet. The results are depicted in the images below.
Surfline had theoretical speeds between 8.67mbs and 12.37 mbs and application speeds at about 1.74 mbs. To be fair, I have previously come across download speeds of about 2mbs!
On the other hand in the test I conducted at Vodafone Cafe at Osu, Vodafone resulted in a speed test rating of 71.94 mbs. But with the real application downloads I had speeds of between 2.5-4.0 mbs.
How does LTE compare with Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi is usually a wireless broadcast of a wired Internet service, so if the average broadband speed in Ghana is 5.13 mbps, that’s around what the average Wi-Fi speed is. But, in public places, the shared Wi-Fi is often much, much slower than LTE. In tests I did at Busy Internet at Kwame Nkrumah Circle as well as other internet cafes, the public Wi-Fi networks delivered well under 500 kbps on my Acer Aspire notebook. But the Surfline LTE cellular network on the notebook averaged over 1 mbps in both places. I was pretty impressed at the speeds I had after comparing Vodafone broadband and Surflines 4G LTE network.
Is LTE only faster at downloads? What about uploads?
In my experience it’s faster than 3G at doing both. The screen shots tell the whole story.
Will these speeds drop as more people adopt LTE?
Probably, but it’s hard to say by how much, since LTE also offers more capacity, as well as speed. Nonetheless as Surfline is a shared network and not a dedicated network, the speed may be throttled in order to enable every user enjoy a stable speed. So it’s quite possible for speeds to drop as more people join but this should be insignificant.
What does LTE cost?
I was amazed when I saw the prices for Surfline’s internet. 1GB of data is as low as GH¢25 and 50GB costing GH¢445. This is quite expensive compared to Vodafone’s broadband which costs about GH¢400 for 500GB. However it’s worth the price for a mobile service in that you get almost the same speed (and sometimes much faster than regular broadband services) at such a price.
If I have an LTE phone or tablet, will I use more data faster than if I have 3G?
Quite possibly. The same amount of content, received at the same quality, won’t use more data on LTE than it does on 3G. However, because LTE is so much faster, users may be tempted to download or stream more data, like video, than with 3G. And they may choose to view higher quality video, which uses more data. Also, some apps and websites, sensing the higher LTE speed, will automatically send down larger data files, especially video.
How does LTE affect voice calls?
It doesn’t. It’s all about data, so far. Voice calls are handled by other, parallel networks. But Surfline and other LTE providers are hoping to move voice traffic to LTE.
What if I have an LTE phone or tablet, but I move to a network without LTE coverage?
On MTN, Tigo, and Airtel, you fall back to a 3.75G network. On Vodafone and Expresso, you fall back to 3.5G, which is a slower 4G network, but still faster than 3G.
Final Remarks
4G(LTE) networks are indeed fast and are an answer to the many calls for better internet services within the country. In due time 3G networks and speeds are going to be a thing of the past. Network speeds are however based conditions such as area of coverage, the device being used and its hardware/software composition, signal strength, and the amount of traffic on the network.
So if you need fast mobile internet, then get on board the 4G train or you can always wait on the 5G train which is fast in development.
It started life as Android L preview in June, but it has since matured into a full-blown release, ready to hit millions of Android devices over the next weeks and months. Android 5.0 Lollipop is here!
In a blog post published minutes ago, Google announced the biggest update to Android since Ice Cream Sandwich, a major change that is reflected in the version jump to Android 5.0. We’ve spent ages on Android 4.x and jumping to 5 marks the beginning of a new era in the history of our favorite operating system.
Most of the changes and new features in Android 5.0 have been introduced with the L preview, available on the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013). Expectedly, there are some small changes and surprises in the retail release, however.
Here’s a brief look at what’s new in Android 5.0 Lollipop and stay tuned for more in-depth coverage in the following hours.
Visual changes in Android 5 Lollipop
When booting up an Android Lollipop device, most users will be struck by the visual changes first. Android 5.0 brings many refinements to a user interface that’s quite mature at this point, with many small changes rather than radical departures from the past.
Some of the most visible updates are the revamped navigation bar, which now features the more abstract triangle-circle-rectangle icon set, and the status bar, which can now be colored or transparent (depending on the app) and features refreshed status icons.
The lockscreen now displays rich notifications instead of just icons, which include details about the message – it should make quickly checking messages or game notifications easier and faster than before. Speaking of notifications, there’s now heads-up mode, which we’ve seen activated in CM and other custom ROMs – this feature basically shows you a rich floating notification on top of whatever you’re doing on the phone, and lets you check and dismiss it without interrupting your activity. The lock screen also now gives you access to the caller through a rightward swipe.
Multitasking has been refreshed, and is now focused on documents instead of apps, meaning that you can have more than one card for each app – for instance, you could have a Gmail card and a separate card for sharing through Gmail that won’t disrupt your original Gmail card. The activity cards themselves are now arranged in 3D, with a smooth rolodex-style animation.
The quick settings received a refresh and got some new features, like Do Not Disturb mode and adaptive auto-brightness.
There are many other smaller changes throughout the UI that we’ll be detailing soon.
Material Design
Google launched Material Design as the new “official” design language for apps and the web. Material takes its name from the metaphor of a magical piece of paper that can change color, size, and shape instantly, existing in a space that has a Z-axis (depth), not just length and width.
Material is all about clean typography, bold and bright colors, and restrained, but delightful animations. We’ve already seen many examples of Material design in action, and Google will probably update its major apps to meet the guidelines soon.
New features in Android 5 Lollipop
There’s a multitude of small features and under-the-hood changes that should enhance the user experience and open new avenues for app developers to offer new and delightful experiences. Do Not Disturb Mode, keyboard selection icon in the nav bar, smarter battery consumption and charging estimates, RAW image support, better accessibility features are just a few of the small improvements to the feature set of Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Developer features
Developers can look forward to a much needed revamp of the Android Camera API, which will make it easier to support features like burst mode and fine settings tuning, OpenGL ES 3.1 support, smarter power management features, improved microphone latency and more. In fact, under the hood there are more than 5,000 new APIs for developers to take advantage of!
Android 5.0 Lollipop update
Android 5.0 Lollipop will come loaded on the Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and the new Nexus Player. What about older devices? The Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 and all Google Play Edition devices will be among the first products to see the update. No exact timeframe for when that will happen, other than the “weeks to come”. If we had to take a guess, we’d say early November, but that’s really just speculation on our part.
Update: Here’s the full change-log fr0m Google, if you still haven’t heard enough:
Material Design
A bold, colorful, and responsive UI design for consistent, intuitive experiences across all your devices
Responsive, natural motion, realistic lighting and shadows, and familiar visual elements make it easier to navigate your device
Vivid new colors, typography, and edge-to-edge imagery help to focus your attention
Notifications
New ways to control when and how you receive messages – only get interrupted when you want to be
View and respond to messages directly from your lock screen. Includes the ability to hide sensitive content for these notifications
For fewer disruptions, turn on Priority mode via your device’s volume button so only certain people and notifications get through. Or schedule recurring downtime like 10pm to 8am when only Priority notifications can get through
With Lollipop, incoming phone calls won’t interrupt what you’re watching or playing. You can choose to answer the call or just keep doing what you’re doing
Control the notifications triggered by your apps; hide sensitive content and prioritize or turn off the app’s notifications entirely
More intelligent ranking of notifications based on who they’re from and the type of communication. See all your notifications in one place by tapping the top of the screen
Battery
Power for the long haul
A battery saver feature which extends device use by up to 90 mins
Estimated time left to fully charge is displayed when your device is plugged in
Estimated time left on your device before you need to charge again can now be found in battery setting
Security
Keep your stuff safe and sound
New devices come with encryption automatically turned on to help protect data on lost or stolen devices
SELinux enforcing for all applications means even better protection against vulnerabilities and malware
Use Android Smart Lock to secure your phone or tablet by pairing it with a trusted device like your wearable or even your car
Device Sharing
More flexible sharing with family and friends
Multiple users for phones. If you forget your phone, you still can call any of your friends (or access any of your messages, photos etc.) by simply logging into another Android phone running Lollipop. Also perfect for families who want to share a phone, but not their stuff
Guest user for phones and tablets means you can lend your device and not your stuff
Screen pinning: pin your screen so another user can access just that content without messing with your other stuff
New Quick Settings
Get to the most frequently used settings with just two swipes down from the top of the screen
New handy controls like flashlight, hotspot, screen rotation and cast screen controls
Easier on/off toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and location
Manually adjust your brightness for certain conditions. Then, adaptive brightness will kick in based on ambient lighting
Connectivity
A better internet connection everywhere and more powerful Bluetooth low energy capabilities
Improved network handoffs resulting in limited interruption in connectivity. For example, continue your video chat or VoIP calls without interruption as you leave the house and switch from your home Wi-Fi back to cellular
Improved network selection logic so that your device connects only if there is a verified internet connection on Wi-Fi
Power-efficient scanning for nearby Bluetooth low energy (“BLE”) devices like wearables or beacons
New BLE peripheral mode
Runtime and Performance
A faster, smoother and more powerful computing experience
ART, an entirely new Android runtime, improves application performance and responsiveness
Up to 4x performance improvements
Smoother UI for complex, visually rich applications
Compacting backgrounded apps and services so you can do more at once
Support for 64 bit devices, like the Nexus 9, brings desktop class CPUs to Android
Support for 64-bit SoCs using ARM, x86, and MIPS-based cores
Shipping 64-bit native apps like Chrome, Gmail, Calendar, Google Play Music, and more
Pure Java language apps run as 64-bit apps automatically
Media
Bolder graphics and improved audio, video, and camera capabilities
Lower latency audio input ensuring that music and communication applications that have strict delay requirements provide an amazing realtime experience
Multi-channel audio stream mixing means professional audio applications can now mix up to eight channels including 5.1 and 7.1 channels
USB Audio support means you can plug USB microphones, speakers, and a myriad of other USB audio devices like amplifiers and mixers into your Android device
OpenGL ES 3.1 and Android extension pack brings Android to the forefront of mobile graphics putting it on par with desktop and console class performance
A range of new professional photography features for Android Lollipop that let you
Capture full resolution frames around 30 fps
Support raw formats like YUV and Bayer RAW
Control capture settings for the sensor, lens, and flash per individual frame
Capture metadata like noise models and optical information
State of the art video technology with support for HEVC main profile to allow for UHD 4K 10-bit video playback, tunneled hardware video decoding to save power and improved HLS support for streaming
Ok Google
Easy access to information and performing tasks
Even if your screen is off, you can say “OK Google” on devices with digital signal processing support such as Nexus 6 and Nexus 9
Talk to Google on the go to get quick answers, send a text, get directions and more
Android TV
Support for living room devices
User interface adapted for the living room
Less browsing, more watching with personalized recommendations for content like movies and TV shows
Voice search for Google Play, YouTube and supported apps so you can just say what you want to see
Console-style Android gaming on your TV with a gamepad
Cast your favorite entertainment apps to your big screen with Google Cast support for Android TV devices
Accessibility
Enhanced low vision and color blind capabilities
Boost text contrast or invert colors to improve legibility
Ubuntu 14.10, codenamed “Utopic Unicorn”, is saddled with a modest changelog, composed largely of bug fixes, stability improvements and key software updates.
All worthy, but falls a little way short of the “fresh ideas and new art” that should “raise the roof” – quotes from Mark Shuttleworth’s “U” name announcement.
For developers things look a little rosier. Ubuntu 14.10 introduces the ‘Ubuntu Developer Tools Centre’ that simplifies the process of installing the Android SDK, its dependencies and other necessities, all with a single command. Canonical say additional platforms, including Go and Dart, will be added in due course.
For the release taking place in the week of Ubuntu’s 10th anniversary, this may all read like a bit of an anticlimax. No headline user features, no visual changes (bar a few new icons for the sidebar of Nautilus) — there’s not even a new default wallpaper to look at.
But on the flip side it’s perhaps the most fitting release; the one that shows just how far Ubuntu has come in the past few years. Mature, dependable and sure in its own (Ambiance-themed) skin, buggy feature churn has given way to a sustained era of assured stability.
That sounds a bit flowery, granted. But as the least dramatic update of any release in Ubuntu’s 10 year, 20-release strong history, Utopic stands out as one of the most dependable as a result.
Notable Apps
LibreOffice 4.3.2.2
Firefox 33
Thunderbird 33
Nautilus 3.10
Evince 3.14
Rhythmbox 3.0.3
Unity 7.3.1
Community Wallpapers
As with every new release of Ubuntu there are a selection of new backgrounds shipped on the disc image. These are sourced from the community as part of the twice-yearly ‘Ubuntu wallpaper contest’.
Ubuntu Linux Kernel 3.16
All of the features of the Linux Kernel 3.16 are on offer in Utopic, supporting some of the latest Intel CPUs, including Haswell and Broadwell, improved NVIDIA and AMD graphics, including enhanced audio through the Radeon H.264 video decoder.
Uninspiring Unicorn
Ubuntu 14.10 is a rock-solid, hearty and dependable release. Perhaps more here than ever before. There’s no getting away from the fact that it’s an uninspiring update on paper, and is far from being anything approaching essential.
For those on releases prior to April’s LTS, avid Ubuntu fans and developers in need of the latest packages and libraries to build on, Utopic is perhaps a leap worth taking.
For the rest of us the truncated support period on offer (9 months) and only a smattering of minor app updates make a less than convincing case that upgrading is worth the hassle.
Download Ubuntu 14.10
Ubuntu 14.10 is available to download direct from Canonical using the torrents below. If you’re running a pre-release version of Ubuntu 14.10 you can get the “final” release by updating and installing any pending updates
