Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ super simple

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ have leaked again, this time in multiple places, spilling lots of tasting new treats.

Primarily the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been shown off in a size comparison chart, via OnLeaks, that clarifies just what kind of pocket bulge we can expect. In the case of the S8+ it is mighty, only surpassed by the Nexus 6P but larger than the iPhone 7+. On the other hand the S8 will sit slightly larger than the Huawei P10 but just smaller than the new LG G6.

Another cool tidbit from the rumour mill comes via the Korea Economic Daily which has revealed how the S8 and S8+ will use cameras to unlock. Facial recognition and iris scanning should work in conjunction to unlock the phone without the need for a fingerprint read or password, making security simpler and more effort-free than ever. This, the source says, will take less than 0.01 seconds to work - far quicker than fingerprint reading then.

Finally, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been spotted, via DroidLife, on the FCC. That means they’re getting closer to release than ever. Samsung is expected to unveil the new flagship S8 and S8+ on 29 March at an event it has scheduled - it should be on sale very soon after that.(t3)

5 Out-Of-The Box Things You Can Do With Your New Moto 360>>MYBLOG

So you took the plunge and made the wise decision to buy a brand new Moto 360. And now? You look fantastic. You feel fantastic. Now let’s get you up and running with five cool things you can do with your Moto 360 right out of the box.

GADGET IN>>The Download: The Creative Opportunities of Designing for a Round Watch>>MYBLOG

One of the things that excites us about round watches is not only the iconic, beautiful design. It’s also unleashed cool, new opportunities for software development and new experiences. So for today’s Download, our regular spotlight on software, we wanted to get a little deeper into the benefits of designing for round watches.

Though for decades designers have created software experiences for squares and rectangles (LCD monitors, mobile phones, tablets, and even TVs, to name a few), a round watch provides a new canvas. Rick Hoobler, a user interface designer for Moto 360, and I have talked about how it provides fresh experiences in a few ways:

• A smooth, sweeping experience for your eye. Rectangular form factors typically require left alignment to look good according to traditional design principles. But circular screens create a smooth, race-track like behavior that is soothing to the eye. There is no starting or stopping point. It’s fluid and elegant.
• It’s a delight to experience new technology in a classic form factor. The blend of old and new create a deeply satisfying aesthetic. The classic round shape meets brand new technology to create a design duality that feels original without trying too hard. Tableware, plates, glasses, handles—these are all classic round shapes. When we bring this to the watch, you can see things like someone’s photo that fills up the beautiful, locket-like round shape or maps with solid fields of color in a round compass shape.
• The circle is a natural shape for tracking progress. From a design perspective, it is a very compelling experience for users to be able to use sleek progress meters that track all around the edge. You can see all-day progress, instead of a tiny standard-looking chart. The heart rate monitor, for instance, easily curves in a circular shape to show how fast your heart is beating.

Hear Rick share more about what it’s like creating experiences in a round space, instead of a square one.


What else is new in software this week?

• Hot off the presses is an update to Motorola Camera that brings you a remote shutter for Android Wear watches, so you can trigger a shot from your wrist. It also brings numerous performance improvements and bug fixes across Motorola products. We’ve now had over 1 billion shots captured by Moto G users and will continue to bring improvements to our customers!
• Motorola Assist was updated with important bug fixes for Talk to Me and Drive Mode. FM Radio has been updated on Moto E and Moto G to provide lockscreen controls and to support playback to Bluetooth speakers.
• Motorola Connect and the Motorola Connect Chrome extension have been updated to improve stability and support emoji (Chrome extension).

Hope you enjoy. Let us know what you think.

Posted by Lior Ron, Product

GADGET IN>>The Download: Join Our Hangout On Air to Talk about Moto E!>>MYBLOG

You could say it’s been an exciting past few weeks for us at Motorola. Just days ago, we hosted launch events in six countries across the world to introduce the latest addition to our smartphone family, Moto E.

But we’re not stopping there. We want everybody to have the chance to learn more about Moto E. That’s why we’re hosting a Hangout on Air next week Thursday, 5/22, at noon PT. VP of Product Marketing Steve Sinclair and Product Manager Bill Park will be here to answer your questions about Moto E’s hardware and software experiences.

This is your chance to ask questions, share comments, and converse with our product experts in real time. To submit your question, all you have to do is include your question or comment on our Google+, Facebook, or on Twitter using the hashtag #AskMoto.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the latest software we’ve announced in the past few weeks:

• MMS with Motorola Connect - Now you can do more with Motorola Connect, the desktop extension that allows you send and reply to texts from your phone. The new update lets you receive and reply to pictures and group messages (MMS) from your computer, so you can stay on one screen instead of juggling many. This is in addition to other enhancements, like contacts matching and number formatting.
• Seasonal startup animations! - We launched two new startup animations recently for Moto X and Moto G globally. Which one your phone gets depends on the season for your hemisphere. So, for example, if you’re in Sao Paulo you will enjoy a fall bootup animation, while those in San Francisco will see a spring one. They’ll swap when the season changes. 
• Find peace of mind with Motorola Alert - We all have people in our lives who care about us and want to know that we’re safe. Motorola Alert will put them at ease by keeping you in touch with your closest contacts. This new software experience does three things: 1) Automatically alert those closest to you when you’ve left or arrived at a specific location; 2) Send an SMS to close contacts when you want them to meet you somewhere or if you want to keep them updated on your location periodically; 3) Quickly sound an alarm when or speed-dial an emergency number that you set up in an emergency. Alert will be available first on Moto E and will be coming to other devices soon via the Google Play Store.
• SIMS get smarter - As another example of Motorola experiences that solve consumer problems, we created a solution for our dual SIM devices which are available in several key markets. With Moto E, we’re introducing Dual SIM with intelligent calling. This new feature learns from your patterns of use and automatically selects the preferred SIM when calling a specific contact. For example, if your call history shows that you always use SIM 1 to call your parents, Moto E will make sure to automatically use SIM 1 whenever you call them. In Brazil, we’ve taken this experience even further. Dual SIM with intelligent calling will automatically select a SIM based not only on your usage pattern, but also on your contact's carrier. Read the FAQs to learn more.

Let’s not end the conversation here. Ask us your questions and tell us what you think for the Hangout on Air Next Week. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Posted by Punit Soni, Product Management