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Android 7.0 Nougat Update: OS beta for Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy Note 5 before new year

However, the South Korean tech giant has not yet committed to an exact release date of the update. This leads speculators to believe that Samsung may be behind the Nougat update again.

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Samsung was behind compare to other companies in the roll-out of the Marshmallow update even to its flagship devices. The tech giant took months after others did the roll-out of Marshmallow. This time, it looks like that things will not be different.

LG, Sony, Motorola, HTC and OnePlus have all committed to a Nougat roll-out before the year ends.

But with the way things are going on with Samsung, it seems that Android 7.0 Nougat update for Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5 will roll out in 2017, at the earliest.

This also means that Nougat update for Samsung J7 and Galaxy Tab S2 will be pushed out, too.

The benchmarked results from GFXBench and Geekbench for Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge only prove that Samsung is indeed already working on the Nougat update.

Benchmarked data only means that the tech giant is already testing the smartphones' power and capabilities under the new Android OS. However, it can still take the company months before the actual rollout of the new Android OS.

Fortunately, there is a way for Samsung users to experience Android 7.0 Nougat update for Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5 earlier.

Samsung confirms that a Nougat Beta version is due for release before the actual and official Nougat update. The Nougat Beta version is speculated to arrive before 2016 ends.

In order to enjoy the thrilling new features of Android 7.0 Nougat update for Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5, users will have to stay tune for the release of the Beta version first.

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Microsoft announces Windows 10 release date, free upgrade

Myerson said Windows 10 would be released globally sometime "this summer". That is the first time Microsoft has put a time frame on the release, although it has been expected in autumn, based on Microsoft's release history.

Microsoft Corp is making its biggest push into the heavily pirated Chinese consumer computing market this summer by offering free upgrades to Windows 10 to all Windows users, regardless of whether they are running genuine copies of the software.

The move is an unprecedented attempt by Microsoft to get legitimate versions of its software onto machines of the hundreds of millions of Windows users in China. Recent studies show that three-quarters of all PC software is not properly licensed there.

Terry Myerson, who runs Microsoft's operating systems unit, announced the plan at the WinHEC technology conference in Shenzhen, China.

"We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10," he said in a telephone interview with Reuters. The plan is to "re-engage" with the hundreds of millions of users of Windows in China, he said, without elaboration.

Myerson said Windows 10 would be released globally sometime "this summer". That is the first time Microsoft has put a time frame on the release, although it has been expected in autumn, based on Microsoft's release history.

Microsoft said in January it would offer free upgrades to Windows 10 for users of Windows 7 or later in an attempt to hold onto users and make up for lost revenue by selling services such as Office over the internet.

Microsoft is working with Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's biggest PC maker, to help roll out Windows 10 in China to current Windows users, Myerson said.

It also is offering Windows 10 through security company Qihoo 360 Technology Co and Tencent Holdings Ltd , China's biggest social networking company, which will build a Windows 10 app that will work on smartphones and PCs for its popular QQ gaming and messaging service. QQ has more than 800 million users.

Lenovo said in a statement that it will make phones running Windows software, available through China Mobile, sometime later this year.

Microsoft also said it is working with Chinese handset maker Xiaomi Technology Co Ltd -- which generally uses a form of Google Inc's Android on its devices -- to offer some customers a test version of Windows 10 on their smartphones."

Android 5.0.2 Lollipop Problems Frustrating Nexus Users

Google rolled out its Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update to fix Nexus Lollipop problems. And while it did fix some of the bigger issues, Android 5.0.2 Lollipop problems continue to frustrate Nexus users.
At the tail end of last year, Google finally rolled out its Android L update, an update now known as Android 5.0 Lollipop. Android 5.0 Lollipop delivered some massive changes to the Android operating system including the company’s new Material Design. It’s arguably the biggest Android update Google’s ever released and owners of Google’s Nexus smartphones and tablets eagerly downloaded the software when it arrived.
In addition to new features, Android 5.0 Lollipop brought a number of problems to Nexus users. Owners of devices like the Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 4 complained about a series of bugs and problems right off the bat and those problems continue to this day despite Google’s best efforts to enhance the operating system.

Android lollipop5.0.2

Since Android 5.0’s arrival back in November, Google’s rolled out two new Lollipop updates. An Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update that arrived for Nexus smartphone and tablet users and an Android 5.0.2 Lollipop update that rolled out to select Nexus tablets including the Nexus 7 2013, Nexus 7 2012 and the Nexus 10.
While our experiences on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop have been good for the most part, we’ve started to see a pickup in complaints about Google’s brand new firmware. Google’s Nexus forums and popular social media sites are filled with complaints about Android 5.0.2 Lollipop problems ranging from poor performance to issues with battery life and so on.
Nexus 7 users in particular continue to outline many of the issues plaguing their device and we’ve seen a number of issues pop up over the last week or so. Many complaints come from Nexus 7 2012 users who claim that Android 5.0.2 Lollipop wrecked their device. Some users even claim that the update has lead to a near unusable experience on the tablet.

Google’s Nexus Help Forums outline some of these Android 5.0.2 problems in more detail. Nexus users are complaining about an issue that keeps the device stuck in portrait mode. This is a problem that we’ve heard about numerous times in the past and it’s one that appears to still be afflicting some owners of Nexus tablets.
Nexus 7 users are complaining about slow performance and abnormal lag, one user says that Android 5.0.2 destroyed the Nexus 7 2012, and another Nexus 7 user claims that Android 5.0.2 bricked the tablet. The complaints don’t stop there. There are complaints about core Google apps running poorly after the move to Android 5.0.2. Issues with ghosting and other problems with the screen. Various issues with Wi-Fi and problems with key apps like Kindle. The list goes on.

Nexus 7

Unfortunately, it’s not clear when Google will fix lingering Android 5.0 Lollipop issues. Rumors have pointed to the arrival of Android 5.1 sometime in the early part of the year though that rumor popped up several weeks ago and we’ve seen nothing emerge since then. It’s clear that Google has another update of some kind in the pipeline though it’s not clear if that update is Android 5.0.3 Lollipop, Android 5.1 or something else entirely.
For now, Nexus users must depend on third-party fixes, and each other, to solve these Android 5.0.2 Lollipop problems. Gotta Be Mobile recently put together a list of fixes for common Android 5.0.2 Lollipop problems though it’s clear that those fixes do not encompass all of the issues plaguing Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 users on Google’s latest update.
There are several threads on Google’s Nexus Help forum that propose a number of potential fixes for some of these problems but some Nexus users say that even these solutions haven’t worked.

Google Now 4.1 teardown reveals upcoming features like voice commands, read-aloud notifications

Google Now 4.1

The Google Search 4.1 update added some cool new features to Google Now, but there’s a lot more lurking underneath the hood.

Android Police into the APK, finding evidence that Google has even bigger ambitions for its digital assistant. While there is no guarantee that any of the discoveries will make it into a future update, it provides a hint at how Google wants to bring even more of its machine learning prowess into Android.

Why this matters: Google Now is one of Android’s best features because it more deeply ties you to Google services, turning your phone into a more useful tool. It’s Android’s main trump card over iOS, putting key information right on your home screen, instead of keeping it locked away inside separate applications.

A smarter Google Now

One interesting find is something called Project Hera. The best we know about it so far is that it’s part of Google’s continuing effort to more deeply tie together the web, Android, and Search. Think of it as the next step in Material Design, which has been used to bring a unified look across all of Google’s products (think how Inbox looks the same on mobile or the web). If Google can more deeply tie your search data, messages, and other info to interact between the web  and Android it makes the latter just that more powerful.

The code hints at more direct social network sharing capabilities. The icons are similar to those used on Google Glass, so all those news alerts, TV suggestions, and other cards that pop up could one day be quickly shared to your favorite network.

The lock screen also gets attention, with some kind of interaction for headsets, devices like Glass, or just more voice commands. You can already use the “Okay Google” command without unlocking the phone, but Google clearly has plans for building in more capabilities here. The code indicates that similar to how the Moto X reads aloud information, your phone may be able to read to you key notifications.

One feature that’s already in place is the way the Google Now Launcher will now hang around in the foreground when you’re interacting with certain apps. This could vary, of course, depending on your specific device's user interface. But it’s a better visual cue for what task you were working on.

Another item I’m rooting for is the capability to copy text over from your browser to your phone. Pushbullet recently added a feature like this, but it would be great to have it as a native Android feature. The code Android Police found offers some good evidence, so let’s hope it shows up eventually.

No matter which of these pan out, you’re likely to see a lot more Google Now interaction in the future of Android. We’ll keep an eye out for such features should they ever materialize.

References

Napster-Sparkus. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2015, from http://websecurites.blogspot.com/

Play Edition smartphones disappear from Play Store.

Htc One M8

Play Edition smartphones disappear from Play Store.

The chatter online is all about how the last Google Play Edition smartphone has been pulled out of Google Play store.

An Android Police report now highlights how Google Play Edition devices started dropping from the shelf last year and now eventually the last one, namely the HTC One M8 GPE, is also no longer available on the Play Store.  The page now says, “Its no longer available for sale.”

“It was a little concerning when the Galaxy S5 GPE never materialised, then the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, GS4, G Pad 8.3, and others were pulled from the store. Meanwhile, no other devices arrived to take their place,” the report points out.

This also means, those looking for a new device running stock Android, will have to rely on the Nexus lineup.

The Google Play Edition (GPE) of the One M8 is priced at $699 that translates to roughly a little over Rs 43,000. It is still unclear whether Google plans to stock in another batch of GPE devices, or it was the last edition to hit the Play Store.

With One M8, HTC got rid of polycarbonate or plastic for the sides as the chassis was almost completely metal. The phone came with the latest version of Sense featuring enhanced BlinkFeed experience. It was believed to be selling faster than its predecessor and touted to have the potential to help the company claw back market share in developed markets such as the US.

......References........Napster-Sparkus. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://websecurites.blogspot.in/

12 Things DuckDuckGo Can Do That Google Can't

Duck Duck Go Logo

Search engines have evolved to make it easier to find the information you need without having to go through different websites. Google has the Knowledge Graph feature that shows a neat box with useful information above (or beside) search results. It can do cool things such as calculations, show flight information and even currency conversion.

Although these features are incredibly useful, Google Knowledge Graph has its shortcomings. The biggest problem is that results are not uniform. When we were digging through Knowledge Graph features to find cool things you didn't know you could do with Google, we noticed that the results were not always the same. When one person searched for Apple stocks, Google showed him regular search results, but when a colleague searched for the same term, he was shown current stock information along with a nice price versus time graph.

These limitations made us look for alternatives and we found one that impressed us with its utility - DuckDuckGo. We've previously mentioned DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focussed search engine, in an article on how to stop Google from tracking you. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that shows the same results for a search term to all its users. This is unlike Google, which filters search results based on the sites you have been visiting. It is also now possible to set DuckDuckGo as a default search engine in iOS 8 as well as OS X so you can get the instant search results just by typing your query into the Safari browser. Of course you can also use DuckDuckGo in Chrome or Firefox by visiting DuckDuckGo.com and clicking the Use in Chrome or Use in Firefox button.

Because it doesn't try to personalise results, DuckDuckGo's instant answers work for everyone and it has a great community of developers and users that are constantly adding new sources for answers. After using DuckDuckGo as our primary search engine for quite some time, we found that its instant answers are often as good as or better than Google's Knowledge Graph. Here are 12 amazing things DuckDuckGo can do that Google can't.

Check out the video Below

1. Social media bio

DuckDuckGo lets you see the social media profiles of people without leaving the search engine. So, search for @Ndtvgadgets and you can see full the profile information on the same page. The same thing works for Google+ and Gravatar as well. To look up a Twitter bio, you need to search for the handle. For Google+, type G+ and then the name of the user. For Gravatar, just type Gravatar, and then the username you want to look up.

Another cool feature that is related is letting you search inside other sites. With Google, you can use the site: modifier to search for results within a particular site, but then you still have to open the link to see the results. With DuckDuckGo, you can use the site's own search functions.

For example, if you want to search for someone's details on LinkedIn, you don't need to open the site. Just type "!linkedin" followed by the person's name, and you will see the LinkedIn search results page. You can do this with a large number of websites; !g lets you search with Google, !a is Amazon, !r is Reddit, just to name a few. You can see the full list by just typing ! in the DuckDuckGo search bar....

2. App store search, alternatives to apps

Search for any popular app on DuckDuckGo and you will find that it shows a carousel full of apps with similar names. Just search for NDTV Gadgets app to see what we mean. Clicking on any one of the cards on the carousel will show you the price of the app, a description and links to the store. We found that this feature doesn't work with very obscure apps, but it can find most of the well-known ones.

Another useful feature shows alternatives to apps in a neat carousel. Tired of MS Office? Just search for "Alternative to Word" and see the results for yourself. It also works for Web services, so you can even search for "Alternative to DuckDuckGo", if you like.

3. Shorten and expand links

Want to find out which websites are at the end of shortened links such as http://bit.ly/1tYrmaB ? Open DuckDuckGo and search "expand http://bit.ly/1tYrmaB". Also, if you want to shorten long URLs, enter "shorten http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/android-browser-security-hole-affects-millions-of-users-says-expert-592578" to get a URL shortened using is.gd.

4. Generate passwords

Can't think of a strong password? Just head to DuckDuckGo and search for "Password 20". You'll see a strong 20-character password. You can replace the number to change the number of characters in the password. If you find those random passwords hard to remember, you can make DuckDuckGo generate XKCD-style passwords. These passwords comprise four common words put together, which are easy to remember and hard to crack, and were first suggested in the popular Web comic XKCD. For these passwords, search "Random passphrase".

5. Quick stopwatch

Both Google and DuckDuckGo let you create a quick timer (search for "timer") but DuckDuckGo also has a stopwatch. Simply search for "stopwatch" to use it.

6. Change case and check number of characters

Want to change a sentence to Title Case, lowercase or UPPERCASE? Just add one of those three terms before your sentence and key it in on DuckDuckGo. For example, "Uppercase ndtv gadgets" leads to "NDTV GADGETS".

Another interesting feature is the number of characters. You can quickly check how many characters are in your search query by adding "chars" before or after the query. Try searching for "chars I really like this article" without the quotes and see the results.

7. Checks whether websites are down

If you can't open a website, you might want to check if it is not opening anywhere or just on your computer. You can use websites such as isup.me to check this or you can simply search DuckDuckGo with the keywords like, "Is gadgets.ndtv.com down for me".

8. Does mime rhyme with time

You read that right. DuckDuckGo also has an instant answer that finds rhyming words. Search "rhymes with ndtv" or any other word you can think of. You'll see an instant answer with rhyming words, from RhymeBrain.

9. Calendar

Google and DuckDuckGo can show you the current date and time. But DuckDuckGo goes one step further by supporting calendar as an instant answer. Search "calendar" to see one, with the current date highlighted. It can also show you the calendar for any month and year. Try searching for "calendar january 1899".

10. Loan calculator

Another useful DuckDuckGo instant answer is a loan calculator. It's useful if you want to see how much your monthly installments will be and how much interest you'll be paying in total. The search query for this is a little hard to remember, like the terms and conditions for most loan agreements. It is "loan AMOUNT at INTEREST with PERCENT down for DURATION". All the uppercase words are what you need to key in - total amount, interest rate, down payment percentage and the duration of the loan. We tried "loan Rs 50,00,000 at 4.5% with 25% down for 15 years" to get the answer in the picture below.

11. Cool features for developers

There are several instant answers that will be useful to software developers, but might be less important for the general public. Here's a quick list of what DuckDuckGo can do:

• Generate lorem ipsum text
• Encode URLs to machine-readable text
• Convert binary to decimal
• Show a list of special characters and their HTML values
• Show HTML value for any special character
• Show colours based on hexadecimal values

12. Add instant answers to other search engines

If you like all these instant answers but don't want to leave your favourite search engine, just download the DuckDuckGo extension on Chrome, Safari or Firefox. Now whenever you search, you'll see DuckDuckGo's instant answers above search results in any search engine.

Bonus

There are several other instant answers on DuckDuckGo that are quite cool, but not very useful. That's why these are included as a bonus in this article. Here's a quick list of some of the best we could find.

• How many people are in space
• Generate ASCII art
• Chinese Zodiac queries
• Anagram solver
• Blood type compatibility

These were the best instant answers we could find on DuckDuckGo and none of those are available on Google. Which is your favourite DuckDuckGo instant answer? Which one of these did you find useful? Let us know via the comments....

Credit- Ndtvgadgets for making this article....