Android app hints at future Game Center-like feature

When Google takes the stage at Google I/O in May, the company just might introduce a new gaming experience for Android users that is similar to Apple’s Game Center.
Speculation about a “Game Center for Android” picked up after Android Police found some clues to the new feature buried inside the recently released Google Glass companion app, My Glass. The new Google service is expected to have features such as the ability to challenge your friends, have in-game chats, track gaming achievements, and view leaderboards. Google was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.
The Android-focused site uncovered a purported ‘Google Games’ feature after digging through the application package (APK) for My Glass and looking at the directories for Google Play Services. Developers use Google Play Services to access Google product features inside their apps such as Google+ sign-in or map tiles. One of the directories inside My Glass was named ‘games,’ a previously unknown Google service, which Android Authority believes was shipped with the app by mistake.
There was no interface to go along with the games folder, but the naming conventions of the files inside make it pretty clear what a future Google Games service would be able to do. There are references to matchmaking for real-time and turn-based multiplayer games so you can play Android games online with your friends. The new games feature may also support in-game chats, but it seems only geared for real-time multiplayer games. Other standard gaming platform features are also supported such as an achievements tracker, leaderboards, invitations, and a gaming lobby.
The prospect of a Game Center-like feature for Android is long overdue as many other major mobile device platforms already include such capabilities. Microsoft incorporated Xbox gaming into Windows Phone and Windows 8, while Amazon rolled out GameCircle last July for the company’s Android-based Kindle Fire platform.
Apple’s iOS, Android’s biggest rival, has included Game Center since 2010; that feature later came to OS X devices with the release of Mountain Lion. Apple’s gaming central command has run into criticism recently for its reliability, with complaints about disconnections during multi-player gameplay and syncing errors. Presumably, Google with its heavy focus on cloud services such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Chrome tab sync would fare better than Apple in this respect. Game Center also lacks in-game text chat, which appears headed to Google’s gaming platform.
Perhaps the most important feature of an upcoming Google game center would be the question of whether the service would include a standalone app or if it would be baked right into games that use it instead. One of my complaints with iOS's Game Center is that you can’t just wipe the app off your device since it's integrated with Apple's mobile platform; instead, the best you can do is banish it to an unwanted apps folder where you won’t see it as often.
For those who want it, though, a Google-supported gaming platform supporting friendly match ups, leaderboards, and achievements would be a welcome addition

Best high-tech family sedan: Toyota Avalon

You can program the instrument cluster screen to display fuel economy, speed, trip meter, and turn-by-turn directions.

The Avalon sports a wireless charging surface for your phone.

The touch button controls on the dash's secondary screen are used to control apps.

The Avalon's dash features two color touchscreens.

The new 2013 Avalon sedan is available with the full-featured version of Toyota’s Entune suite of on-board applications that display data retrieved by smartphones on a large screen in the car’s dash. All the usual tech connections are also available, but one of the best things the Avalon has going for it is the “eBin” that’s in front of the shifter on the center console. It’s a nook for a smartphone and includes a grippy rubberized surface. This simple feature keeps the cup holders free for actual cups.
Check out the bumper-to-bumper review on Edmunds.com.

The test-drive

Toyota is clearly trying to court younger car buyers by loading up the Avalon with high-tech features. The Avalon line, which usually sells to an older demographic, starts at $31,000 and comes in both traditional and hybrid models with multiple trims. The Limited comes packed with technology, including three-color TFT screens in the cabin, capacitive touch-sensitive buttons on the head unit, and blind spot and cross-traffic monitoring.
The first thing you’ll notice when you get into the Avalon Limited is its slick, futuristic-looking dashboard control area, which houses two of the aforementioned color screens.
The main screen is a 7-inch, matte-finish touchscreen flanked by capacitive touch buttons. While I’m not usually a big fan of touch buttons, these are actually quite responsive and usable. They’re also nicely placed, for the most part. I really like that the audio, media, and volume controls are located to the left of the touchscreen, close to the steering wheel, because this makes changing the radio station a breeze. The buttons to the right of the screen are a little less convenient, however, and it’s quite a stretch to reach them if you’re sitting in the driver’s seat.

The main screen

Most of the action happens on the main screen. Here, you’ll find car settings, apps, media and audio, navigation, and phone settings. Though the main screen is a touchscreen, it’s not entirely controlled by touch: To get to each of these main areas, you’ll need to use a combination of the capacitive buttons and the touchscreen. This is why the reach for those buttons is such a problem.
The big thing in the new Avalon Limited is apps. The Limited comes with two different types of apps: built-in Sirius XM apps (for sports, stocks, and weather), which require a Sirius XM subscription, and Entune apps. Entune is Toyota’s in-vehicle multimedia system that works in conjunction with your smartphone.
To use Entune, you’ll need to first download the app on your smartphone. Then, you can connect your phone to the Avalon Limited to use the built-in apps: Bing, iHeartRadio, MovieTickets, OpenTable, and Pandora. Bing lets you search for destinations, MovieTickets and OpenTable let you find movie times and make restaurant reservations, and iHeartRadio and Pandora let you stream music through your car. Entune uses your phone’s (not the car’s) data connection, which means you do have to be a little cautious, as streaming music can quickly eat through a limited data plan.

Navigation: a mixed bag

On one hand, the Avalon Limited’s turn-by-turn directions and route guidance are accurate and easy to follow, especially with turn-by-turn directions being pushed to the small instrument cluster screen. Plus, the Limited is equipped with NavTraffic, which offers real-time traffic alerts and updates to help you avoid traffic jams and accidents.
On the other hand, the navigation can be a bit confusing. For example, I couldn't find a way to enter an address using just the touchscreen—you either need to press the capacitive “Destination” button, or you have to do it using voice-recognition commands.  You can’t leave the navigation screen for more than a couple minutes (to change the radio station, use your phone, etc.) before the system kicks you back. What you can do is split the screen in half to see both your radio station and the map at the same time.
The Avalon Limited actually has some neat features to enhance your phone experience, aside from the basic Bluetooth-connected calling. Below the floating center stack, there’s a small, non-slip cradle designed to hold your mobile device. If you push the cradle up, you’ll reveal a lit-up compartment called the eBin, complete with two 12-volt power outlets, an auxiliary audio jack, and a USB port for wired charging.
But wait—there’s more. If you happen to have a device that’s compatible with Qi wireless charging (or if your device has a Qi-compatible case), you can just drop your phone on the non-slip surface in the eBin. That’s right, the Avalon Limited is the first car to have built-in wireless charging. Of course, if you don’t have a wireless-charging-enabled device, then the eBin is just a convenient non-slip cradle.

Other screens and features

There are two other color screens in the Avalon Limited. Below the main screen, on the center stack, there’s a slim screen that displays a clock and climate settings. Capacitive buttons situated around the screen are used to control the climate (there are separate climate zones for the driver and the passenger). Below this screen is a capacitive slider for controlling fan speed. The Limited also has heated and cooled front seats, though these controls are located on the console between the seats.
The last screen is located in the car’s instrument cluster, between the tachometer and the speedometer. Initially, this screen just shows what gear you’re in, unless you switch it up using the steering wheel controls. You can also customize this screen to show various stats, including fuel economy, speed, trip meter, and turn-by-turn directions.
Though we mostly focus on the consumer tech in our reviews, it’s worth noting that the Avalon Limited is also full of safety tech. This includes blind spot and cross-traffic monitoring, an automatic backup camera that shows the space behind the car, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. The Limited also has automatic cruise control, which uses sensors and radars to maintain a preset distance between you and the car in front of you, and automatic high beams, which uses a forward-facing camera to detect oncoming traffic and automatically dim your lights.

Bottom line

Toyota has done a nice job of adding hip technology, such as Entune-compatibility, multiple screens, and capacitive buttons to its 2013 Avalon Limited. The new Avalon Limited will be best received by somewhat tech-savvy suburban parents because of its cool tech and because its got the biggest trunk I’ve ever seen. My only gripe is that the new technology inside the car might not be intuitive enough to appeal to older drivers.

Best all-electric high-tech car: Tesla Model S

Tesla’s advantage is that it has so little experience building cars that it doesn’t know what it can’t do. The all-electric Model S sedan (from $57,400) features a massive, 17-inch central touchscreen in its dash that not only allows access to the car’s functions but also provides a direct, full connection to the Internet. That includes video display even while the car is in motion—something never available from established car manufacturers. Of course, the Tesla Model S system will also take media from smartphones or other media players through Bluetooth and two USB connections, but the screen is what makes everything so usable.
Check out the bumper-to-bumper review on Edmunds.com.

The test-drive

Tesla’s flagship four-door sedan is arguably more computer than car. This all-electric vehicle seats five people, goes from 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds, and starts at $52,400 (with a 40kWh battery and after a $7500 federal tax credit). But it’s not the Tesla’s electric powertrain that we’re interested in—it’s all the tech inside the car, which includes two screens (one of which is the 17-inch touchscreen) powered by separate Nvidia Tegra 3 processors.

A massive touchscreen

The first thing you’ll notice when you hop into the Model S is the enormous 17-inch touchscreen that completely replaces the typical head unit. The Model S has just two physical buttons on the head unit: a hazard-light button on the left, and a glove-box button on the right. The rest of the controls, including those for media, navigation, door locks, and climate control, are located within the touchscreen.

The Model S includes two screens powered by Nvidia Tegra 3 processors.

The screen has a glossy finish and is slightly angled toward the driver. It’s bright, and it appears to have an antiglare coating, as it’s quite easy to see in direct sunlight (such as when the Model S’s sunroof is open). Of course, you can adjust the brightness, and you can switch it over from black on white (day mode) to white on black (night mode) if the contrast is too much to handle.

User interface

You’ll find three main sections in the touchscreen. Along the top are basic stats (battery, 3G connection status, time, temperature) and icons for the car’s built-in apps, including those for navigation, energy, the Web browser, the rear-view camera, and phone functions. The middle section of the screen is where the apps appear—you can show two apps in a vertical split-screen format, or you can maximize one app to take up the entire section. Finally, the lower portion of the screen is reserved for the car’s settings, including access to the power sunroof and cabin climate controls.
The Model S has built-in GPS as well as a 3G cellular connection, so it can offer native navigation with a Google Maps overlay. You can control navigation by touch and voice, and the Maps overlay means you can search Google for points of interest. The Model S also sports an HD rear-view camera that you can access at any moment—even if you’re driving forward at 65 mph on the freeway. The Model S connects with your phone via Bluetooth, but I couldn’t get our test model to recognize my Samsung Galaxy Note II.

The Model S's head-end touchscreen is massive.

The Web browser

The Web browser, however, is unique. Sure, other cars let you surf the Web to a limited extent, but Tesla’s browser is nearly full-featured. It doesn’t support Flash or HTML5, which means it can’t play streaming video (there’s a law against that), but that’s about all it can’t do. In my test-drive of the Model S, I used the Web browser extensively in an effort to see just how useful it was. It’s similar to a tablet browser—a URL bar appears along the top, and when you tap somewhere near a text box, a QWERTY keyboard pops up at the bottom of the screen.
The keyboard is easy enough to use, but it doesn’t have a Shift feature like most phones and tablets do (that is, the ability to capitalize one letter and then go back to lowercase). Instead, when you tap the Shift key, it stays on until you tap it again to turn it off. This isn’t a huge deal, but since I’m used to tablets and phones, it was a bit disorienting at first. And, let’s be serious—being disoriented on the road is never a good thing.
The Web browser supports full (not mobile) websites, and accepts the ubiquitous pinch-to-zoom multitouch gesture. The Model S’s touchscreen is relatively snappy and responsive, though it’s not quite as responsive as it needs to be for Web browsing to be completely seamless. For example, I sometimes had to tap a link a couple of times before my command went through. Once, when I pinched to zoom, there was just enough lag that I had to put my eyes back on the road and then look back to the screen to see if it was zoomed.
Now, to be fair, I’m not sure anyone should be using the Web browser while driving at freeway speeds. Although Tesla doesn’t explicitly warn against it, the company doesn’t exactly suggest that you try to write work email from the road. Nevertheless, a 17-inch touchscreen is perhaps just a little too tempting for otherwise bored drivers.

The Model S's second screen replaces the instrument cluster behind the wheel.

A second screen

The Model S doesn’t have just one screen, though—it has two. The second screen replaces the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, and runs on its own Nvidia GPU. This screen has three sections: the center section, which houses basic stats (speed, for example, as well as estimated range), and two sections on either side that you can customize to suit your needs. If you use the Tesla’s built-in turn-by-turn direction system, directions automatically push to the left side of the instrument-cluster screen so that you don’t have to take your eyes off the road more than necessary.
You primarily control the instrument-cluster screen by way of the steering wheel buttons, but you can also control it (somewhat) by voice. The steering wheel has two scrolling push-wheel buttons on either side (the left button defaults to volume, unless you push it in to control the left side of the screen). The steering wheel also has standard controls, including a phone button and a voice-control activation button.

Relatively awesome

It’s difficult to compare the Model S’s tech offerings with those of other cars on the road today. Did I mention that this thing has a 17-inch touchscreen instead of a head unit? That said, after my initial geeking out over the awesomely large touchscreen, I had a few concerns.
First, the touchscreen is only relatively responsive, where “relatively” means “relative to other touchscreens in cars today.” And if you’ve seen other cars today, you know that that doesn’t mean much, since most cars seem to be driving around with 1990s-style touchscreen technology. The Model S’s touchscreen is nowhere near as snappy as an iPad, which might cause problems if you try to use it in traffic.
Second, the all-digital head unit is attractive, but it sacrifices usability. When you’re driving in traffic at freeway speeds, it’s much easier to glance at a traditional head unit—complete with ordinary knobs and buttons—and see the controls you want to hit immediately. The physical depth of knobs and buttons lets you better gauge where you want to press (or turn) when you’re busy driving.
But when you quickly glance at the Tesla’s head unit, all you see is a wide, flat screen. While it is sexy and technologically awesome, it’s not as usable as something with bumps and ridges. I’m not saying it’s impossible to use—the designers at Tesla actually made it about as simple as they could—but there’s no denying that physical controls are easier to work your way around (both with your eyes and your hands).

Bottom line

The Tesla Model S is probably the most technologically advanced car on the road today, and that can mean both good and bad things. It’s certainly pretty to look at and fun to drive, but I’m not convinced that a buttonless car interface is the future.

DDR3 RAM Prices

DDR3 RAM Prices – New generation DDR 3 Offers many improvements over DDR2 memory like Higher bandwidth, up to 1600 MHz, lower power consumption and most importantly higher data transfer rate.
Prices updated on 10 August 2009

• Transcend 1 GB 1300 MHz DDR3 Ram Price – 1000/-
• Transcend 2 GB 1300 MHz DDR3 Ram Price – 1900/-
• Kingston 1 GB 1300 MHz DDR3 Ram Price – 1050/-
• Kingston 2 GB 1300 MHz DDR3 Ram Price – 1950/-
• OCZ 2GB DDR3 1600MHz Gold Edition RAM Price – 2750/-
• OCZ 3X1GB (Core i7 Edition) 1600MHz DDR3 RAM Price – 5900/-
• OCZ 6 GB (3X2GB) Core i7 Edition 1600MHz DDR3 RAM Price – 2,750/-
• Corsair XMS3 2x1GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM Price – 3350/-
• Corsair XMS3 Classic 3x1GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM Price – 4750/-
• Corsair Dominator 3x1GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM Price – 7,250/-

No, Apple Is Not Tracking Your Location

Everyone take a deep breath. Read the title again. No, the sensational reports of iPhone’s location logging haven’t been totally false, but I think there has been a serious misunderstanding here and it’s time to clear something up. While iPhones do in fact store a cache of location data, this data is not sent to Apple. The log is stored on the phone itself, and used to improve cellular service. The distinction here is that Apple is not tracking your location--your phone is. The implication has been the former and it is simply false. So you can stop writing angry letters, or filing frivolous lawsuits now.
I’ve heard the argument that because the log is carelessly unencrypted, a motivated person (such as law enforcement, suspicious employer, or jealous spouse) able to acquire your phone could then potentially track your past movements. First of all, if law enforcement were able to acquire a search warrant for your iPhone, I think you have other problems. Second of all, if you’re going somewhere you don’t want to be reached, leave the cell phone at home, why don’t you? And finally, why’d you let whoever you were hiding your movements from get their suspicious little hands on your smartphone anyway?
Ok, well jokes aside, everyone: stop freaking out. And Apple, even I can’t justify keeping a running cache since the beginning of time. Cut it off at 30 days or something. And encrypt that sucker while you’re at it!

How to Root Your Verizon Galaxy Nexus

If you’re anything like me, you always have to have the latest and greatest piece of technology. Unlike me, though, you may not be eager take that shiny new gadget and unlock, root, install a custom OS, or brick it in the name of progress.
Rooting an Android smartphone and installing custom firmware is always a risky proposition, and by doing so you void your smartphone warranty and may even render the device inoperable. Please be careful when trying to root your phone, as PCWorld cannot be held responsible for the consequences if you accidentally brick your Galaxy Nexus in an attempt to make it more awesome. Of course, Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus (with Google's Android OS and Verizon as carrier) is already a pretty awesome smartphone; it may be the best phone currently on the market, and it's certainly one of the best smartphones Google has ever endorsed.

ClockworkMod running on a rooted Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

That said, there are always things you want to do to make your phone work a little bit better. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus running stock Android won't let you tweak how the notification LED works, for instance, and at this date you can’t run a full backup in stock Android. Also, Google Wallet has been blocked by Verizon, and if you're a Verizon subscriber you may want to try it out anyway by hacking your phone. Those plus at least a hundred other reasons are why you should unlock and root your Galaxy Nexus (though it's possible to install carrier-blocked apps without rooting your phone if that's all you're after); installing custom firmware is a great way to get the most out of your device if you do it right. To help you do that, I've put together a step-by-step tutorial on how to root a Galaxy Nexus. As a little bit of prep work before we start, though, let’s run through the basics. You need to have the Android SDK package installed for whatever operating system you have running on your PC. If you don’t have it installed, you can find simple instructions for doing so at the Android SDK website. In particular, make sure you have the fastboot and adb files installed on your PC before you continue on. Please note that these instructions are meant for the Verizon CDMA version of the Galaxy Nexus, though other versions probably require the same process (just different files).
First: download these two files:

• http://download.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-5.5.0.4-toro.img
• http://download.clockworkmod.com/test/su.zip

The first is the image file you’ll be replacing your stock image of Android with to allow you to root your device. The second is the file you’ll "flash" (install, basically) to your phone to actually gain root access. Now that you have those files and the Android SDK, let’s get started. Please note that you must wipe your phone back to factory default during the rooting process, so make sure to back up your data beforehand. Check out our guide to backing up your Android phone for tips on how to make sure your data doesn't disappear.
1. Turn off your phone and boot into recovery. You do this by pressing both volume buttons and the power button at the same time. Your phone will vibrate, and then boot into recovery.
2. Plug your phone into your PC.
3. Open Command Prompt on your Windows 7 PC by opening the Start Menu and selecting All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt. Once the Command Prompt opens, type the following: fastboot oem unlock -- this will bring up a warning on your phone, telling you that unlocking your device voids your warranty; go ahead and proceed. (You remembered to back up, right?)
4. Next, type fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.5.0.4-toro.img -- this flashes the custom image over your stock image, paving the way for your device to be rooted.
5. Finally, type adb push su.zip /sdcard/ -- this uploads su.zip to your phone (make sure to include the trailing /).
At this point your phone should be in Recovery Mode, so choose the option for “install a .zip from the sdcard,” and install su.zip. That’s it; reboot your device, and it should be unlocked and rooted. It will also be completely wiped, as stated.

You should see an "install zip from sdcard" option in Recovery Mode regardless of whether or not you use ClockworkMod.

That first boot can take up to 10 minutes, so give it some time to do its work. From here you can install any custom Android ROM you like. I installed Codename Android, and I’ve been pretty happy with the overall performance boost I saw after installing it. In order to install custom ROM software, you just put the zip file on the sdcard and boot into recovery; I did so straight through Clockworkmod. After a reboot and some time for the first boot, I was in business (though the phone was wiped again, of course).

HP Officejet 150

HP Officejet 150 Mobile All-in-One Printer Features:

• 220MHz ARM9 Processor
• Built-In Bluetooth
• 2.36″ CGD Touchscreen
• Window 7 Compatible
• Energy Star Qualified

HP Officejet 150 Printer Technical Specification:

• Print, Copy, Scan
• 220MHz ARM9 Processor
• Print Speed Black: Up to 22 ppm
• Print Speed Colour: Up to 18 ppm
• ISO Speed Black: Up to 22 ppm
• ISO Speed Colour: Up to 3.5 ppm
• Duplex Print Option: Manual (Driver Support Provided)
• Copy Speed Black: Up to 4 ppm
• Copy Speed Colour: Up to 2 ppm
• Duty Cycle: Up to 500 pages
• Optical Scanning Resolution: Up to 600 dpi
• Bit Depth: 24-Bit
• Scan Speed Black: Up to 1.7 ppm
• Scan Speed Colour: Up to 0.9 ppm
• Connectivity: USB 2.0, 1 Pict Bridge, Memory Card Slot, Bluetooth v2.0+EDR
• Internal Memory: 64MB
• Multi Card Reader
• Display: 2.36″ CGD Touchscreen
• Power Consumption: 22 Watts
• Dimensions: 350 x 171 x 90 mm
• Weight: 3.1 kg
• Warranty: One Year

HP Officejet 150 All-in-One Mobile Printer Price in India: Coming Soon