Google Launches 3 New Nexus Devices, Android 4.2 & Other Goodies

Google has just announced no less than three new devices, along with what they call a “new flavor” of Jellybean – Android 4.2. The new devices are Nexus 4, the newest of the Nexus smartphone line; a new Nexus 7, and the Nexus 10, with a resolution that beats even the new iPad. All these new devices come with Android 4.2, which is packed with new features despite not getting its own candy codename.
Starting with Android 4.2, this new version of the OS brings multiple users for tablets, which can be switched through the lock screen. It also introduces Photo Sphere, which lets you capture images in 360 degrees. Another new feature which was a long time coming is built-in Gesture Typing, which means you now get a sliding keyboard similar to Swype built into Android. You can read more about all these new features and others here.

The new Nexus 4 ($299-$349) is an LG smartphone with a big 4.7″ screen, a very high resolution, a quad-core processor, and wireless charging. If you fancy something bigger, the new Nexus 7 comes in a 16GB ($199) or 32GB ($249), and now also includes a 32GB version with HSPA+ mobile data ($299), which, according to Google, can operate with over 200 GSM providers around the world.
The Samsung-made Nexus 10 ($399-499) is Google’s new flagship, with an impressive 2560×1600 resolution. In comparison, the new iPad features a 2048×1536 resolution, so Google were obviously trying to out-do somebody.
Aside from these announcements, Google also upgraded Google Now with more cards and information, added new media content to Google Play, enabled movie purchasing for Canada, the UK, Spain, France and Australia, and will bring Google Play Music to several countries in Europe.

Build Your Own Awesome Personal 3D Avatar with Avatara

Do you use social networks and want to build your own awesome 3D avatar? Maybe you want to send someone a cute cuddly image of yourself (kind of)? Or maybe you have your own ideas of what you would do with an Avatar… Well look no further than Avatara which I discovered from the MakeUseOf directory . You can create 3d avatars out of pre-set up templates or create your own from scratch. To start, visit Avatara’s homepage . You will see this screen: Click Get Started to umm, get started! That will take you to this screen: You see that you can build your own Avatar using an uploaded head shot like the Obama one above (just an example, guys). Or roll with one of their awesome avatars. I chose to start with a blank avatar by clicking Start with a blank avatar at the bottom of the screen. That takes you to here: I clicked on the filter at the top and told it to filter out everything but male characters and then I saw this: I rolled with Buck and continued. You need to click Select...

Fun Tools to Translate Your Name into Japanese Calligraphy

Japanese calligraphy is an artistic writing style of the Japanese language. Its Chinese origins can be traced back to the twenty-eighth century BCE. Calligraphy found its way into Japanese culture in 600 CE and is known as the karayo tradition. For Westerners, calligraphy is forever fascinating. However, it takes years to learn how to properly draw the signs. Two basic principles must be known to understand Japanese writing: there are different writing styles and different alphabets. Kaisho for example, is a writing style most commonly used in print media. Tensho on the other hand is used in signatures. Other writing styles are Reisho, Gyosho and Sousho. The alphabets include Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. Katakana is used for writing foreign words. It can also serve to highlight words, in analogy to capital letters as we know them from the Roman / Latin alphabet (Romaji in Japanese). Each Kanji character has a meaning of its own, while Hiragana or Katakana characters merely repres...

Boom, the startup that wants to build supersonic planes, just signed a massive deal with Virgin

Have you heard about Boom? Boom is a relatively new startup that’s aiming to build something pretty crazy. They’re not building an app… or a social network… or even some new gadget for the Kickstarter crowd. Boom wants to build planes. Really, really, really fast planes. Specifically, they’re trying to design and build a supersonic passenger plane that goes 2.2x the speed of sound. If all goes to plan, they’ll be able to shuttle people from New York to London in 3.5 hours, and SF to Tokyo in 4.5. Sound crazy? I wouldn’t disagree. It’s worth noting that the company is in the very early days for something as intensive, massive, and hugely expensive as designing and producing a passenger aircraft. They’re still working on their first prototype, and hope to fly it by late next year. But it’s also worth noting that the team behind the plane has some serious talent in its blood: the company’s 11 employees have collectively contributed to over 30 aircrafts — having worked on thin...

Kiran Upadhyay

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