Samsung’s Dropcam competitor is called Perch, helps you monitor your home from an Android phone

Samsung SmartCam HD (not the Perch)

One of the biggest trends in technology right now is home automation. Before smartphones it was nearly impossible to know what was going on at your home while you were away. New products, like the Google-owned Dropcam, have made it possible for ordinary people to easily monitor their home from afar at a reasonable price.

Samsung is the another company looking to break into home automation. Last year they acquired SmartThings, a company who has created a popular open platform for connected devices. A new patent from Samsung suggests they are ready to create their own hardware or software for the platform, and it could be a direct competitor to Dropcam.

The patent filed on April 1st, 2015 is for something called “Perch.” Here’s what the description says:

“computer application software for mobile devices for remotely controlling and monitoring video cameras and video feeds; computer vision system for home automation comprised of methods for image and signal processing, object detection and recognition, and motion analysis”

It’s not far of a stretch to see how this is a competitor to Dropcam, a device that you can perch on a shelf to watch your home. The patent is for a mobile application, but we would be surprised if Samsung didn’t have hardware to go with it. They’ve already created home WiFi surveillance cameras in the past. The interesting thing is that Dropcam already works with the SmartThings system, but a device from Samsung could offer more tightly integrated features and software.

This would be a huge move for Samsung. With Samsung’s ability to pump out hardware, and the excellent SmartThings platform, there is massive potential here. Many companies are dabbling in home automation, but there are no clear front-runners yet. Samsung could be the one to step into that position. Have you bought any home automation devices? Would you buy a Dropcam competitor from Samsung?

Google could be working on a telemeeting platform called “GMeet”

Teleconferencing is all the rage with businesses in the internet age, and Google is just as poised as anyone to provide a platform suitable for the types of corporate meetings that have to take place in such a manner. If Hangouts video calling wasn’t already enough, the company could be working on a standalone platform meant specifically for businesses.

Google+ user (Google+er?) Florian Kiersch stumbled across a new app in the works by Google called GMeet, or Google Meeting. Details are largely unclear at this time, but from the outside looking in the app doesn’t seem all that different from something such as Goto Meeting. You sign in, you join a meeting, and you (presumably) conference over voice and/or video.

Kiersch says the app only accepts Googler logins right now, so it’s unclear if this is a tool meant for internal use by Google or if it’s a user-facing service where the prerequisite only exists to make sure prying eyes can’t get an early look at what’s inside ahead of any official announcement.

Searches for G Meet and Google Meeting pull up interesting anecdotes and code snippets from as far back as 2011, but most of the code references things we already have access to in the latest rendition of Hangouts, such as whiteboards, screen sharing, and integration with Google Calendar. A URL that once existed in the code (google.com/talk/meet) also now redirects to Hangouts’ main landing page.

A standalone meeting app would likely use Hangouts technology for its backbone so there’s nothing out of the ordinary than meets the eye. But until we can get into the app for ourselves or get an announcement from Google, we’re left to our educated guesses. Let’s hope to hear more in the very near future!

[Thanks, Florian!]

Google releases their own watch face for Android Wear called “Street Art”

Back in December Google officially opened the doors for custom Android Wear watch faces. Since that day we’ve seen many creative and unique watch faces fill up the Play Store. Now, three months later, they have released their own watch face.

The watch face is called “Street Art,” and it brings artwork from dozens of artists within the Google Art Project. You won’t get a ton of customization options, but there are three different time modes: analog, digital, and minimal. With the different time modes and many backgrounds to choose from there are many configurations to choose from. There’s not a lot to say about this watch face. If you’re looking for something artsy and simple you can download Street Art below for free.

Street Art Watch Face | Google Play Store

Google gets called out for questionable YouTube Kids advertising

In February Google launched a new app called YouTube Kids. This app is specially made for kids to watch YouTube videos, and for parents to feel safe about the videos their kids can find. YouTube Kids highlights videos from top children-focused channels such as Dreamworks, Sesame Street and Thomas & Friends. Sounds great, right? Not everyone is happy about it.

Consumer groups are upset about the way YouTube Kids advertises to children. They claim that the app mixes entertainment and commercials in a way that would not be permitted on regular television. Google says they have a strict screening process for the ads, but the consumer group says they aren’t doing a good job. Here is an excerpt from a letter sent to the FTC:

“Many of the video segments endorsing toys, candy and other products that appear to be ‘user-generated’ have undisclosed relationships with product manufacturers in violation of the FTC’s guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.”

Have you had any experience with the YouTube Kids app? Have you felt the advertising is not suitable for children?

YouTube Kids | Google Play Store

[via Star Tribune]

Yu’s next phone is called Yuphoria, and it’s coming May 12th with Cyanogen OS

Yu’s first smartphone — the Yureka — wasn’t all that special aside from the fact that it ran Cyanogen OS. It was still a decent option for budget-minded folks, though, and now the company is set to follow-up with a sequel.

They have announced a May 12th date for the revelation of their next smartphone, which the promo image suggests will be called “Yuphoria”. The company is sure to use Cyanogen OS for software, though that’s as much as we know about it at this time.

Even if we don’t know what to expect we can always talk about what we want. What we don’t want? A copy/paste job based on a smartphone that already exists. We’re hoping for something unique that’ll turn heads even if its specs are unlikely to top any charts. We’ll be digging for more details, but May 12th isn’t even a fortnight away so we’ll know more soon enough.

Pushbullet devs introduce super simple WiFi file transfer app called Portal [VIDEO]

The developers behind Pushbullet are gearing up to bring a big update to the push notification app soon, but first they dropped a brand new app on us. It’s called Portal, and it enables you to transfer files from your computer to your Android phone.

It’s not super exciting or some new concept, but it is simple, and it is fast. It works by transferring files over your local WiFi network, so you don’t have to deal with shoddy connection and server speeds. Files transferred to your phone are easily accessed either within the app or Android’s standard file browser.

It’s different from Pushbullet’s file transfer feature which can work even if your two devices aren’t on the same network. We’re not sure why it couldn’t simply be brought to Pushbullet as a new feature, but we won’t complain — it’s free and it’s awesome.

The developers have plans for big updates soon, including the ability to transfer files from your phone to PC.

And that’s about it. Like we said: simple, but sweet. Give it a go over at Google Play.

[via Pushbullet]

ZTE reportedly working on a smartphone called the Star 3 with a 5.5-inch 4K display

We’ve just started warming up to the idea of smartphones outfitted with 2K displays, and already it seems manufacturers could be looking towards 4K in this year’s devices. We’ve heard rumors that Samsung could be looking to equip this year’s Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with a ultra high-def 4K display (up from last year’s 2K display).

Today MyDrivers is reporting that ZTE could be looking to introduce their own 4K smartphone this year, codenamed the Star 3. The device will allegedly come equipped with a 5.5-inch TFT display carrying a eye-blistering 806 ppi. To keep this device from eating up too much battery, the display employs some kind of “crystal structure” tech which is less taxing on the CPU.  The Star 3 will also allegedly feature the world’s narrowest borders, which we assume are in reference to the bezels.

Of course, nothing at this point is confirmed and there’s no real way to validate any of these claims. While we don’t often see ZTE devices launch outside their homeland of China (at least not their high-end models), it would be interesting to see another handset hit the market with such a crazy high spec. It’s still a little too early to say, but it seems 2015 could officially be the year of the 4K smartphone.

T-Mobile’s 10th Un-Carrier announcement is called AMPED, and it’s coming June 25th [VIDEO]

T-Mobile is just about ready to unveil their 10th Un-Carrier move. Such a neat number and milestone deserves a slobberknocker of an announcement, and we have feeling they aren’t looking to disappoint. They’ve gone as far as creating a trailer not unlike the one you’ll see for a blockbuster summer film, and the name they’ve coined for it — AMPED — certainly gets our blood pumping.

It’s become increasingly difficult to guess what direction T-Mobile would go next with Un-Carrier as they have seemingly eliminated most consumers’ pain points in previous moves. Even the businesses got some love the last time around.

It all goes down in a mere 2 days — June 25th — so circle back to see what Magenta has in store. In the meantime, let us know if there’s anything cool you’d love to see the carrier do with a comment below.