Sony SmartBand Aims to Be a Better Fitbit - Webmaster News

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The Sony SmartBand is the latest fitness tracker to hit the market, and it has a little more to offer than what you’ll find from other competitors these days.

The device, which was announced earlier this year at CES, tracks everything from steps taken to your sleep cycle.

Sure, it looks nearly identical to the Fitbit Flex — although its silicone casing is much softer to the touch than Fitbit’s rubbery band — but it incorporates a few smartwatch-like features that make it a potential standout.

First, it must be paired with a phone via NFC or Bluetooth; naturally, the company wants you to use the corresponding Sony phone, but it will work with any device running Andriod KitKit 4.4.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

You’ll need to download Sony’s Lifelog app, which lets you control music, keep track of your movement and vibrate when you get a call, text or email. Since there’s no screen, you can’t tell who is calling or sending you a message without grabbing your phone. But this is a nice way for Sony to incorporate some of that smartwatch functionality.

Similar to the Fitbit Flex, the Core (where the battery and all intelligence lives) pops in and out of the band. It also comes with an open micro-USB port and it’s waterproof too.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

Another promising perk: It will buzz you if you’re too far away from your smartphone, so you’ll never have to run back to a store or restaurant because you left it there. Sony is calling the SmartBand “a leash for your smartphone” and this is one of the many features that do just that.

The SmartBand is available starting Wednesday at Sony Stores and online for $99.99.

Mashable has its hands on one and will be doing a full rundown as to what to expect and how it works. Check back soon for details.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/sony-smartband-launch/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Apple App Store Gets Better Search, Preview Videos and Beta Testing - Webmaster News

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Apple refreshed its popular App Store at WWDC on Monday.

The newly updated store will offer improved search functionality, as well as app bundles, app previews and a new developer-friendly feature called TestFlight.

App previews allow developers to include a short preview video next to the app, giving potential downloaders a look at how it functions before making a purchase.

App bundles will allow developers to offer multiple apps for purchase in one bundled purchase price and download.

“I do read your emails,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in response to WWDC audience members’ enthusiastic reaction to the new feature. “Users can buy multiple apps at a discounted price with just one tap.”

Apple also unveiled a new Explore tab designed to help users more easily find the apps they’re looking for. What’s more, the company added Related Searches and Trending Searches, options for those simply browsing popular apps to try out.

For developers, one of the biggest surprises was TestFlight, a free feature that will allow devs to offer pre-release beta testing for end-users.

Apple also introduced Family Sharing, a feature that will allow up to six families to browse and share app purchases, including those made on iBooks and iTunes, as well as photos and calendar information.

The update will be available immediately for developers, and in the fall as a free update to the general public.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/02/apple-revamps-app-store-with-better-search-preview-videos-and-beta-testing/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

11 Ways Maya Angelou Taught Us To Be Better Women - Webmaster News

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“I’m a woman, phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me.”

Maya Angelou, the beloved author, poet and activist who passed away on Wednesday May 28, was even more “phenomenal” than the words of one of her most famous poems can express.

During her 86 years, she wrote seven autobiographies, was active in the civil rights movement and worked with the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., recited a poem at Bill Clinton’s 1993 presidential inauguration, became a college professor, befriended Oprah and was awarded the 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom — the list goes on. (As the NYTimes obituary points out, before her first autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969, Angelou had already been “a dancer, calypso singer, streetcar conductor, single mother, magazine editor in Cairo, [and] administrative assistant in Ghana.”)

In celebration of her incredible life, here are 11 lessons all women can learn from Maya Angelou:

1. Loving someone means risking everything — but it’s always worth it.

“In the flush of love’s light, we dare be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free.” -”Touched By An Angel”

2. Women need to support each other.

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”

3. The key to success is simple: enjoyment.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

4. Make changes where you can, but accept the things that you have no control over.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

5. Trust your own voice and instincts.

Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.

— Maya Angelou (@DrMayaAngelou) May 23, 2014

6. Learn the value of forgiveness.

“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”

7. Looks aren’t everything. Not even a little bit.

“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.” -”Phenomenal Woman”

8. Dare to “kick ass.”

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”

Maya Angelou and Gloria Steinem on their way to the March on Washington on August 27, 1983 in Washington, DC.

9. If you’re in a bad living situation, relationship or job, get out now.

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”

10. Always remember to laugh.

“Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives.”

11. How you make people feel is the mark you will leave behind.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

We’ll certainly never forget how you made us feel, Maya.

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Source http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/28/maya-angelou-women-quotes_n_5404284.html?utm_hp_ref=style&ir=Style