Google launched Chromecast to stream videos directly from your phone to HDTV

In yesterday's event Google launched Chromecast, a $35 USB dongle. What it does is that it can stream YouTube, Netflix, music, Google Chrome tabs and more all, from your Android and iOS devices to your HDTV. Your device works like a remote controller. It is developed by Google and Netflix to compete with Apple TV and works on DIAL wireless streaming protocol. 

You can not only cast videos but also webpages from Chrome Browser. Google has recently launched Chromecast extension for Chrome which can be downloaded from Chrome Web Store. Though Chromecast comes with manual but there are 3 simple steps: 1.) Plug it in 2.) Switch input 3.) Set it up. 

It is a 2 inches long USB dongle having a bulbous circular end opposite the necessary HDMI port. It is black in color and has Chrome printed in white on its top. It runs on a basic version of Chrome. This dongle is made of firm textured plastic and has gold plated HDMI post on the one end while other end has a micro USB port to connect it to USB slot of your TV or the small AC Adapter which is bundled with the box.

The worth noting point is that the content you stream actually doesn't stream directly between your device and your HDTV. First it is uploaded to a cloud from where it is downloaded to Chromecast. You can use other apps while casting a video such as opening browser, sending messages. Even you can lock the phone and videos will be streamed flawlessly. You can stream 1080p videos easily. 

Chromecast is a perfect successor to failed Nexus Q which was launched for same purpose. Chromecast dongle generates its own Wi-Fi hotspot, and can be connected to it with an Android, iOS, Windows, or Mac OS X app. It needs a Wi-fi router to provide it internet connectivity. It is different from Apple TV which streams or mirrors videos directly from iOS device or Mac to Apple TV. Google has also announced SDK for Chromecast. That means third party developers can make their apps optimized for Chromecast.

At the price of $35 it is available on Amazon to buy. You can also buy it from Google Play Store. It requires Android 2.3 and up, iOS 6 and up, Windows 7, Mac OSX 10.7 or a Chromebook Pixel. With Chromecast, Google seems to patch up the work that was failed by Nexus Q. 

Images Via: Engadget, The Verge

After Nexus 7 we may see Nexus 10 soon in future

Yesterday was the day when Google launched Android 4.3 and Nexus 7 2013 edition. If we believe on rumors then it is possible to see Google launching Nexus 10 soon. According to The Wall Street Journal’s Amir Efrati, who got chatting to Android chief Sundar Pichai after the press event in San Francisco. Efrati says next Nexus 10 will be manufactured by Samsung like the last model and will have quad core Snapdragon S4 processor and Adreno 320 GPU. And ofcourse Nexus 10 will be loaded with Android 4.3

Android 4.3 upgrade rollout plans confirmed by SONY

Yesterday Google launched Android 4.3. Today Sony announces to rollout Android 4.3 update for Xperia Z, ZL, ZR, Z Ultra, Tablet Z and Xperia SP. It is just a day later after the launch of Android 4.3. Some Sony devices will not get Jelly Bean 4.2 update, they will directly be updated to Jelly Bean 4.3 which is according to Google, the sweeter version of android. Sony has not provided any time table for rolling out the updates, but we expect it to be rolling soon as Android 4.3 code has hit AOSP yesterday and factory images for Nexus 4 are already available to download. Sony has also said that Jelly Bean 4.2 updates for Xperia ZR and Tablet Z will be pushed by early August. 

Google announces Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

Finally the wait is over. Most widely used mobile operating system, Android was rumored and waited to be launched from a long time. Today, Google has officially announced Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Google also announced new Nexus 7 on the stage. 

Multi User settings are added so that tablet users can make settings for each account. It is like Microsoft Kid's Corner of Windows Phone 8.

As described on on official Android developers blog post, Android 4.3 has following major changes. 

• OpenGL ES 3.0 — Game developers can now take advantage of OpenGL ES 3.0 and EGL extensions as standard features of Android, with access from either framework or native APIs.
• Bluetooth Smart — Now your apps can communicate with the many types of low-power Bluetooth Smart devices and sensors available today, to provide new features for fitness, medical, location, proximity, and more.
• Restricted profiles — Tablet owners can create restricted profiles to limit access to apps, for family, friends, kiosks, and more. Your app can offer various types of restrictions to let tablet owners control its capabilities in each profile.
• New media capabilities — A modular DRM framework enables media application developers to more easily integrate DRM into their own streaming protocols such as MPEG DASH. Apps can also access a built-in VP8 encoder from framework or native APIs for high-quality video capture.
• Notification access — Your apps can now access and interact with the stream of status bar notifications as they are posted. You can display them in any way you want, including routing them to nearby Bluetooth devices, and you can update and dismiss notifications as needed.
• Improved profiling tools — New tags in the Systrace tool and on-screen GPU profiling give you new ways to build great performance into your app.

This Android 4.3 will be rolling out today for Nexus devices i.e. Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Galaxy Nexus HSPA+, worldwide. 

One more render of Moto X leaked in White color

Yesterday we saw a render of Moto X leaked which was shown in Black. Today one more image of Moto X is leaked which shows handset in white color. It is also leaked by renowned leak source "evleaks". The details and bezels are exactly same as that of black one. 

Which one would you prefer? Black or White?

Moto X press images leaked, show slim and eye catchy design

Everyone is waiting for Moto X. We saw Eric Schmidt using this phone couple of days ago, a lot of rumors and leaks have hit the web, images leaked, even a promo video from telecom carrier Rogers also got leaked. This time renowned leaker "evleaks" has leaked the renders of Moto X and these images are similar to those as we saw in earlier leaks. It has a textured back with a curvy back design. Similar to that of Nexus 4, Moto X have virtual keys for back, home and recent apps. It has a transparent menu bar. 

Back of the device shows camera, LED flash and new announced Moto logo in a bottom down alignment. The display bezels look nice, curves on the phone make it more eye catchy. Headphone jack is on the center of top edge, while the power button and volume rocker keys are on the right hand side. Top of the front side contains front camera and speaker grill. 

Motorola has set an event for 1st of August and we think that Motorola is ready to officially announce this much awaited phone there. 

How To: Forgot your Android Pattern lock? Don't worry, here's how to bypass it

Android has quite good security options such as pattern lock, password lock, pin lock, face recognition etc. Pattern lock is one of the popular locks among these. But sometimes it becomes a mess. Due to some glitch, a lot of users have reported that pattern lock got failed. It doesn't open if limited no. of trials are done, then user needs to enter Google account. Sometimes it doesn't work and in that situation, user has to wipe the phone as the last option. Even my brother and my close friend also faced it. Their phones got locked and finally they wiped their phones to get the access. But it's not good.

So, today I am telling you how to bypass your Android security pattern lock. If you've accidentally forgotten your pattern then you can take help of this method. A XDA Develoepers member m.sabra found this method to crack the security pattern. 

So let's get started. It works for both rooted and non-rooted phones, but some users reported that it does not work on non-rooted phones, so it is recommend to root your phone. If you don't know how to root then you can follow this link (and also do some Google). You will need Android Software Development Kit (SDK) and also Android Debugging Bridge (ADB) installed. You can read tutorials to how to install Android SDK and ADB. 

Warning

• This tutorial is only for educational purposes and not for getting unauthorized access. So if you are thinking to get unauthorized privileges, then I will not be responsible for anything. 
• There are no guarantee that whether these instructions will work or not. So do everything on your own risk. 
• Read all instructions carefully.

Requirements

• Any Android device with USB Debugging enabled, preferably rooted; or, if not rooted, the device must be running a kernel that grants root access to the adb shell.
• To enable USB Debugging on devices running Android 4.0 and up, go to Settings > Developer Options. Check the box beside the USB Debugging option.
• For devices running on older versions of Android, go to Settings > Applications > Development. Check the box beside the USB Debugging option.
• A computer with ADB installed (tutorial for ADB)
• Your device’s USB cable
• Make sure your device’s battery is charged 75% or more to avoid interruptions during the process.
• Backup all personal data on your phone to make sure you have a copy of your personal data (e.g., contacts, SMS, MMS, Internet settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and the like) in case the procedure in this guide erases such data.

Instructions

1. Connect your device to your PC using the USB cable.
2. On your computer, open a terminal window (or command prompt on Windows-based machines).
3. Type in the following commands at the terminal or command prompt window. Press Enter after every line:
   • adb shell
     • The prompt should display a # rather than a $.  Otherwise, enter su to switch to the root user.
   • cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
   • sqlite3 settings.db
   • update system set value=0 where name='lock_pattern_autolock';
   • update system set value=0 where name='lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently';
   • .quit
   • exit
   • adb reboot
4. After your device has rebooted, enter the following commands at the terminal:
   • adb shell
     • The prompt should display a # rather than a $.  Otherwise, enter su to switch to the root user.
   • rm /data/system/gesture.key
   • exit
   • adb reboot
5. Your device will reboot.  After it reboots and asks for a security pattern, you can use any pattern and the device will still unlock.
6. Once you regain access to your device, make sure to change the system security settings to re-select another unlock pattern.

So, you have now successfully bypassed the pattern unlock of your Android device. You can use it again like you used to do. 

Thanks to Android Authority