Google I/O 2014 Registration Switches to April 15-18, Delayed By A Week

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The annual developer-focused Google conference is a Mecca for tech enthusiasts, the popularity of Google I/O conferences can be gauged by the swift speeds with which the tickets get sold out. Usually the Google I/O is an impeccably managed affair, however for this year due to reasons not known yet, the registration window for this year has been delayed by a week. Information previously shared on the official Google I/O site had put the registration window from April 8^th to 10^th, however from today onwards, the registration dates are from April 15^th to 18^th.

For the uninitiated, once every year Google calls together developers and tech enthusiasts alike to unveil what the future holds for Google’s products. Google I/O features more towards the technical aspects of Google’s products and services, including in-depth sessions which are focused on building web, mobile and enterprise solutions using Google’s offerings – namely Android, Chrome, Chrome OS, Google APIs, Web Toolkit, App Engine and more. The first Google I/O conference happened in 2008, with the I/O standing for Input-Output and ‘Innovation in the Open’.

This years’ conference will be held on June 25^th and 26^th at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco. The General Admission Tickets costs the same as last year – a whopping $900 while the tickets for school students (Academic Admission Ticket) is much more reasonably priced at $300. This year Google has also made some changes to the registration process, as last year all the tickets were sold out within just 49 minutes. For the registration process the Google I/O website states that “The window to submit a registration application will open on April 15th and stay open until April 18th, so you’ll have plenty of time to apply. [Google will] randomly select applicants after the window closes on the 18th and notify them the following week via email. Qualified registration applicants will be selected at random for ticket assignments. The order in which registration applications are received has no bearing on the final outcome.”

This random selection of participants in something unique from this year onwards, whether this method will bring in some sanity to the process, only time will tell. In the meantime, hit up the source link on this article to check out what to expect during the registration window and how to apply for those tickets. All the best!

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Featured Review: HTC Dot View Case for the HTC One M8

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Alongside the HTC One M8, HTC also announced their newest accessory, which is the HTC Dot View case, and kind of takes some pointers from Samsung’s S View Case and LG’s QuickWindow case. While those both have windows on their cases to show you information, HTC uses a retro 8-bit display to show information through the dots on the case. Hence the name Dot View case. it’s a really nice looking case actually, and I really like it. However there is a downside, which I’ll get to a bit later on. The HTC Dot View case is made of the soft-touch plastic that you’ll find on the Nexus 5 and 7 2013. The particular one that I have here is gray, but I’m told that it’ll be available in many other colors very soon. It’s available right now for just $50. We’ll have buy links at the bottom of this review.

The HTC Dot View Case is a great looking case, as I stated already. And if you pick up your phone and double tap the front of the case, it’ll turn on showing you the time and weather. Which the weather will flash between the conditions and temperature. Then it’ll turn off after a few seconds. Now if you’re getting a phone call, you can swipe up to answer or down to ignore, through the case. You never even need to open it up. It’ll show you the name of the person who’s calling, but not their phone number. Unless that person isn’t in your contacts, then it’ll show their number. Unfortunately, the Dot View case doesn’t show notifications from other apps like Gmail, Twitter, etc. but it will work for the stock email app and a few other HTC apps. Which kind of sucks, but I have a feeling that’s going to change in the future since we do have the Dot View app in the Play Store that HTC can update at any time.

Now for the quirks. There’s a reason why I don’t like these flip cases or covers, and that’s because when you are trying to type an email, a Tweet, a Google+ post or anything at all, it just feels weird. because the cover is folded back and it’s not curved like the back of the HTC One M8 is. So it’s a bit awkward to use. That is literally my only issue with this case. Other than that, I’d buy it with the HTC One M8.

A lot of people have been asking about battery life on the HTC One M8 with the Dot View case, and I can say that I haven’t noticed any type of drain from using it at all. The reason why many were asking is because the M8 does not have an AMOLED display, so it’s lighting up the entire display, and not just a few pixels like the Active Display on the Moto X. But the main difference here is that the Dot View case only lights up when you double tap or get a phone call. Active Display on the Moto X will keep flashing until you check your notifications.

Would I recommend the HTC Dot View case? Yes and no. I’d have to say that the good stuff far out weigh the bad stuff here. But if you’re looking for a case to protect your HTC One M8, then you’ll want to look elsewhere as the Dot View case won’t provide much protection for your HTC One M8.

Buy: HTC

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Featured Review: Incipio DualPro Shine Case for the HTC One M8

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Here we are looking at another case for the HTC One M8 from Incipio. This one is their DualPro Shine case, which is a great looking case, and one that they make for most other flagships out there as well. In fact, I’ve reviewed this same case for the LG G Flex just a few months ago. With the DualPro Shine, I pretty much knew what to expect, but it was still awesome reviewing it as the HTC One M8 does look amazing in this case, but then again it looks amazing without it as well. The DualPro Shine is available in white and black as well as all black. It’s also available for $34.99 from Incipio, we’ll have links to both Incipio and Amazon at the bottom of this review.

With the DualPro Shine case, you’ve got two layers here. The first layer is a nice TPU type case that goes against your smartphone, in this case the HTC One M8. Then there’s the second layer which is more of a hardshell and is a bit shiny, but not shiny enough to be slippery. It also has the brushed metal look like the HTC One M8 has, and it looks amazing on the HTC One M8. It’s very simple to put on, but a bit difficult to take off, which might be a good thing. What that means is that it’s not just going to pop off at any moment, which is definitely a good thing, right? The DualPro Shine is probably one of my favorite cases for any device right now, it’s right up there with some of Spigen and Seidio’s cases.

The Incipio DualPro Shine is available from Incipio and Amazon right now – links down below. For those that want more pictures, we’ve got a nice gallery below as well as a short video review – kind of hard to do a long one on a case.

Buy: Incipio, Amazon

Gallery

Video Review

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Thanks To Samsung, Selfies With The President Could Soon Be A Thing Of The Past

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Hoping that one day you might get the opportunity to take a selfie with the Commander-in-Chief? Sorry to say it, but your dreams might soon be dashed, and if that happens, it looks like we can probably blame it on Samsung. It isn’t exactly a secret that Samsung has been getting high-profile folks to use its devices as a means of low-key advertising – remember when Ellen’s selfie at the Oscars turned out to be a bit of marketing for the Galaxy Note 3? – but the white house is a little concerned that Samsung may have taken things too far with another wildly popular selfie.

Specifically we’re referring to the picture David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox snapped with President Obama when the team visited the White House last week. The picture was taken with (you guessed it) a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and was soon retweeted by Samsung. Though Samsung and Ortiz have both denied planning the selfie to help advertise the device, the fact that Samsung retweeted the picture left White House officials feeling a little too uncomfortable.

It isn’t so much that the White House doesn’t want the President to be featured in selfies, but rather, it isn’t fond of the President’s likeness being used to promote a product. Samsung does indeed have a marketing agreement with David Ortiz, and even if the picture wasn’t planned in advance, that deal is enough to get the White House wondering if it should just put an end to all Presidential selfies.

Not that it means anything to normal folks like us, since our chances of actually being close enough to the President to snap a selfie are pretty slim. That’s just the thing though, isn’t it? If the only people who can get that close to the President are high-profile folks with a vast following, then it opens up a prime opportunity to do a little discreet marketing. We can’t say we necessarily blame the White House for considering a hard-line against Presidential selfies, but we want to know what you think – head down to the comments section and share your opinion on this story!

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Sprint’s WiMAX Network Getting The Axe By End Of 2015

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It would appear that Sprint’s WiMAX network doesn’t have much time left. The company has revealed through an SEC filing that it will pull the plug on the network by the end of 2015, which falls in line with previous statements Sprint has made about the future of WiMAX. Now that we know WiMAX will soon be a thing of the past, Sprint has unsurprisingly shifted its focus to bolstering its Spark LTE service, which we imagine will make a fair few Sprint customers happy.

The company should have Spark LTE available in 100 new markets by the time 2016 rolls around, which should help offset the loss of 4G coverage in some areas with the shutdown of WiMAX. Dropping WiMAX means that the company will be decommissioning approximately 6,000 towers it has identified as redundant. As FireceWireless points out, however, that number could grow as the demise of WiMAX draws closer. In a previous SEC filing concerning the shutdown of its WiMAX network, Sprint said it planned on decommissioning 4,300 towers, which means the number has grown by around 1,700 in the time between then and now.

Sprint may have 55,000 towers at its disposal, but any way you slice it, 6,000 is still a lot to lose. The company plans to keep that number sitting around 55,000 though, bringing new towers online as it shuts down old ones. Hopefully that helps keep the impact of WiMAX’s departure to minimum. Turning off that many towers is expected to cost the company somewhere in the range of $50 to $100 million.

Customers who currently rely on WiMAX service will be given “reasonable advanced notice” before the service becomes unavailable in their area, and once that happens, they’ll get to pick from three options. They can simply carry on with the wireless plan they have without WiMAX functionality, deactivate their service without worrying about paying an early termination fee, or choose to be upgraded to Sprint’s LTE network, which will net them a “free standard LTE-capable” device. These options sound fairly reasonable in terms of minimizing the number of people impacted, but we’re sure there’ll be at least a few who will be upset to see WiMAX go. Stay tuned.

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Google Partners With Hotel Booking Startup Room 77 For Better Search Listings

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Room 77, a new hotel booking start-up has apparently partnered up with Google to provide a better search results experience for users who are looking for Hotel accommodations through the search engine. You can currently use Google to search for Hotels and flights, but it’s not as easy of a task as using something like Kayak or Priceline. When you use one of those search sites dedicated to serving up results for Hotel rooms and booking information, you get a tailored experience that is meant solely for what you’re seeking. Google seems ready to improve the experience for users with this reported deal and hopefully we’ll see it come to fruition sooner than later.

Right now Room 77 can be utilized via the web or through a mobile browser on your smartphone or tablet, or via the Room 77 app that’s available on the play store. Since we already use Google for plenty of things anyway, it just makes sense to have an updated and more robust user experience for when we want to search for a place to stay when we’re out of town. Google already has Hotel information built into Google Now cards, so once this deal with Room 77 is all said and done and usable by consumers, we might even get to have relevant information pop up through Google Now, at least it would seem like a good idea.

The partnership between Room 77 and Google should see the start-ups Co-founder and a good number of the staff joining on with Google to make this dream become a reality, although Room 77 will still maintain and control all of its patents and services which include their apps, website, and brand name. With this deal in place, soon travelers and jet setters will be able to easily and quickly find rooms and places to book an overnight stay(or three) while on the go. This could also make booking a hotel room easier through the use of Google’s voice search function, making finding a place to sleep not only a simpler experience, but hands free as well. Have any of you ever used Room 77 before?

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Knock Lock Lets You Put Your Phone To Sleep Using Taps

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LG’s new Knock Code feature is one cool way to lock and unlock your device if you’re using one of the compatible LG devices that has it built in. For the rest of us though that don’t have one of those phones there is an alternative to at least locking your device with a similar function, by using an app called Knock Lock. It’s still quite a bit different than Knock Code, as you can only use it to lock your device and you get no similarities other than that, but it’s still pretty useful as locking your phone from the display in this manner just seems more natural.

Knock Lock as stated above will only lock your device, it will not unlock it right now but that doesn’t mean that it wont become an included feature down the line. The app is pretty easy to use and it’s simple and straightforward. All you have to do is install Knock Lock which is completely free, than once installed open it up and set your parameters,(first you should be prompted to allow the app administrator rights) then you can set how big the transparent overlay box is(width and length) and where the box is placed on screen. For me personally it feels the most natural more towards the bottom right side of the display as I hold my phone in my right hand and that is within the area my thumb travels on the screen.

For those worried if this will effect battery life, the apps developers say that it shouldn’t effect battery life to a noticeable extent-only affecting about 0.1% as it sits in the backgroud- which is good news for anyone who may have poor battery life as it is. Knock Lock is simple, easy, and understated, and we expect this to be a fairly popular app in no time. Once everything is set in place, you can knock the designated spot to put your phone to sleep. It seems to provide a lag free experience and put the phone to sleep immediately, so all around it feels no different than if you lock your phones display with the power key.

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