Google Contacts gets a much-needed redesign and cool new features

Google has announced an update to the web version of Google Contacts. It’s an app that has long been hidden inside of Gmail and has never gotten the attention it deserved, but that’s changing with today’s announcement.

The most obvious change is a Material Design user interface that is in line with their vision of a more beautiful internet. No secrets or surprises there. The new functionality is what has us most excited, though.

For starters, Google has made it easier to find and manage duplicate contacts. They say they’ve built the engine from the ground up to more effectively and accurately identify duplicates, and they make it quite easy to either delete or combine entries with one click of a button.

They’ve also made a change where recent meetings and conversations with a certain contact will now show up on their page. It’s a nice and natural way to reference an encounter without having to get your hands messy with a search. Finally, when it can, Google Contacts will use Google+ profile information to automatically keep your contacts up to date (and anything it can’t catch you can always find yourself).

These changes won’t be available from within Gmail just yet, but you can get a preview by heading right here. Be sure to bookmark it for easy access while we await its integration into Gmail and (hopefully) Inbox by Gmail.

[via Google]

Stay cool: HTC One M9 overheating issues have been fixed, now ready to be shipped

Earlier this week we wrote about the HTC One M9 experiencing some overheating issues. It was reported early on that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 had some problems with overheating, which is why the Samsung Galaxy S6 doesn’t use it. HTC’s Communications manager made sure to let everyone know that the One M9 was not running final software yet, which could explain the issues.

Now, a member of XDA forums is reporting that HTC has solved this spicy problem. His source with a One M9 received an OTA update with the changelog: “thermal improvements and camera improvements.” A Twitter user is also reporting that HTC has finalized software and devices are ready to be shipped. Just in time for the early April time frame.

HTC finalized M9 software for the most of the regions. This means devices are ready to be shipped for the customers.

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) March 19, 2015

This is all very good news, and it’s why you should never freak out about problems before a device is available in stores. When software and hardware aren’t meshing it can create problems like overheating. We’ll test the One M9 for ourselves, but at this juncture the overheating is not something to worry about. Stay cool, everybody.

Moto X (2nd Gen) getting Android 5.1 soak test in Brazil, comes with a cool new flashlight gesture

Motorola has announced that their 2nd generation Moto X has started receiving Android 5.1 Lollipop, though only in limited capacity. The rollout has started as a soak test out in Brazil, with the company saying they’re working hard to ready it for more regions and carriers shortly down the line.

Motorola has also detailed a new feature they’ve included alongside the bug-squashing goodness of Android 5.1 — chop twice for flashlight. It’s a new gesture that lets you move your phone in a chopping motion (as if you were chopping veggies) to quickly enable or disable your flashlight. It’s a nice alternative to having to unlock your phone, head to the app menu and find an app just to get that pesky LED light to turn on.

[via Motorola]

This cool virtual reality headset claims to be able to track eye movement [KICKSTARTER]

Talk about the HTC Re Vives and the Oculus Rifts of the world all you want, but no one is doing anything quite like what FOVE is promising. Their virtual reality headset — which is currently enjoying a successful funding campaign on Kickstarter — does more than just track head and body movement: it can even track your eyes.

FOVE claims to be able to read the user’s eyes to determine where, exactly, they’re looking. Not only can it tell which direction the eyes are looking, but it can even tell how far into the distance you’re gazing. This sort of tracking makes it possible to implement levels of detail beyond anything we’d imagine possible, such as having digital characters notice when you’re looking at them, or looking at something else.

It’s a seemingly ordinary virtual reality headset otherwise, but this added level of dimension is enough to take it out of the “ordinary” category and into the “holy crap we really want one” category.

The project has already raised close to 0,000, which is more than enough to fulfill the original project goal of 0,000. The earliest units are scheduled to ship May 2016, one of which you can claim for as little as 5. Be sure to check out all your options for pledging right here, and check out the video above if you’re wondering about the types of virtual reality experiences that could, well, become reality with FOVE.

Watch this cool Avengers fight in 360-degree goodness on YouTube for Android [VIDEO]

While the earliest videos released for YouTube for Android’s new 360-degree viewing experience were cool, we’ve been waiting for a chance to be thrown into the universe of our favorite fictional stories, like the ones which Marvel writes. Thankfully Samsung and Marvel have done just that in order to promote their new Avengers movie.

If you head to this YouTube video on your Android phone or within Google Chrome for Android (it’s also embedded above), you’ll be able to watch the Battle for the Avengers Tower scene in full 360-degree motion. This means you’ll be able to move your phone around and view different parts of the scene, whether that’s behind you, to the left of you, above you or whichever direction of the action you’re hoping to check out.

Just try not to get too freaked out when you find yourself waking up with Ironman standing right next to you. Oh, and those should be an especially cool experience for those with virtual reality headsets such as the Samsung Gear VR, so be sure to try watching it with that if you have it!