SmartLoc software for Android Smartphones

Four researchers have developed SmartLoc software for Android Smartphones, which will double the positioning in navigation devices, especially in cities virtually. It also saves battery power. These four researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and Tsinghua University in Beijing have developed SmartLoc intelligent software that optimizes the GPS navigation in large cities. In the downtown area, the position determinations by satellite are frequently disturbed by tall buildings.

Conventional devices then determine the position with accuracy of about 40 meters. With SmartLoc, the localization accuracy can almost be doubled. As soon as GPS reception is insufficient, SmartLoc employ the motion sensor of a smart phone instead of GPS in order to calculate the position relative to the last given location via GPS.

The individual movement patterns that occur to the left or right, for example, while crossing a bridge, when braking or accelerating after the turn, are stored in a database and with the current data of the motion sensor and card material, such as Google Maps, then it is adjusted accordingly. When the GPS reception is good, the measurements of the motion sensor are compared with the GPS data to optimize future position determination. The system is not perfect and the refining is going on.

 Factors such as slow traffic, long waits at red lights or jams can distort the distance traveled since it is programmed to calculate the distance with last GPS reception. The training mode is to reduce this error rate with time. The researchers have tested SmartLoc in Chicago, which applies for navigation devices as a nightmare, because of the many high-rise buildings that reflect the GPS signal in the downtown area. Nevertheless, it was possible with SmartLoc to achieve a position accuracy of 20 meters for 90 percent of all test runs. The pure GPS navigation was as accurate in less than 50 percent of the tests. The previously developed software for Android also turns the power-hungry GPS reception at poor values hence it is put off automatically to conserve battery power.

Upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 features exposed

With Windows Phone 8 Microsoft is trying to defy the competition of Android and iOS and also to take in the Smartphone market back. By April 2014, the first major win- Phone update is expected. Windows Phone 8.1 is ready to appear with a voice control named Cortana.

While Microsoft 8.1 has rolled out the first major update for PC and tablet users with Windows in October 2013, but the Smartphone owners still waiting for their turn and this is the worst blunder; the manufacturer has indeed been turned off with the three updates( GDR1 , GDR2 and GDR3 ).

 The big jump to 8.1 is yet to happen. According to various reports - including from Microsoft's Mary Jo Foley connoisseur - Microsoft provides the Blue update for Windows Phone before San Francisco developers conference which is going to happen in April. According to a report Microsoft’s Windows Phone will have voice control with the name "Cortana" and is a part of the next major Windows Phone update (version 8.1).

Microsoft’s TellMe service that specializes in telephone voice control serves is the basis to this voice control service. Another option offered Microsoft is the Notification Central which will displays new emails, missed calls and others.

A now been submerged Screenshot confirms the rumor that Microsoft is working on a similar function for Windows Phone 8.1. Also, a screenshot indicates that Microsoft integrates a multiple selection. It could mean setting of folders to organize the many tiles on the home screen.

Digia Releases Qt 5.2 for iOS and Android

The development environment Qt 5.2 finally manages iOS and Android. The version 5.1 released in early summer provided a preliminary support for the two popular operating systems on mobile devices.

With this new version released last week, the vast majority of Qt API is managed by iOS and Android. However there are some exceptions such as Qt WebKit that cannot be done on iOS because of Apple restrictions.

 Even if everything is perfect and there is still a little work on some points, Digia developers will be able to tackle the management of Windows RT. This version offers preliminary support of the Microsoft operating system.

This is one of the main development of the 5.3 version is already under construction. More than ever, with Qt, the word platform makes sense, even on mobile platforms. Full support for Windows RT is pending. Digia has also made improvements to Qt for desktop operating systems.

This version does not solve all problems with Mavericks and enables Qt Mac Extras integrate native code. You may download this version directly from their site.

Samsung SSD 840 Series mSATA Evo has up to one TB space

Samsung's new mSATA SSDs score now with large memory. A terabyte is currently the record for small SSDs. Samsung's small SSD mSATA series 840EVO weighs just 8.5 ounces and is only four millimeters thick. Super -thin laptops and tablet PCs often need special thin SSDs, they are too thin for conventional hard drives.

Therefore, manufacturers build SSDs in the mSATA format. They are not only thinner but also more compact. A pleasant side effect of this case is more space for the battery. The can be so slightly larger and lasts longer. The only disadvantage of the smaller SSD size is that the mSATA SSDs often did not offer as much space as an SSD in the traditional 2.5 -inch format.

The largest model in the Samsung 840 Evo mSATA stores a terabyte. The new SSD not only provides much storage , Samsung also promises a lot of pace - more than 500 megabytes per second and nearly 100,000 read accesses or write accesses 90,000 per second ( IOPS) should be possible.

That would be much faster than for example the OCZ Vector 150 The mSATA version of Samsung's 840EVO series is four times smaller than a notebook hard drive and easily fits into the Ultrabook. The new SSDs will be available in December. In addition to the expensive one- terabyte version for 615 Euros, there are three smaller sizes also.

Gmail, Maps and Calendar updated for Android

Google Apps has been made a minor update with Bug fixes, new interface for Gmail and Gmail integration with Google Maps. Google has pushed past weekend updated three of its Android applications namely Gmail, Google Maps and Google Calendar.

This is a relatively minor update day in most cases, but brings some interesting news also. Gmail for example, the new interface allows you to take into account the semi- automatic sorting used by the application on the web. Gmail on Android now has tabs main box, Social Networking, Updates, Forums and Promotions. Google has also added its "swift action" in the Android version of Gmail.

Just tap on the photo for a contact in the message list, to access a number of shortcuts to standard functionality. Google Calendar provides much less news, the giant being merely fix bugs, without specifying further. As for Google Maps, the application now includes a direct channel with Gmail, to display directly and Plans appointments, travel, etc.

The three applications are updated via Google Play Store. They are online since the end of last week. Availability of them depends on the device, including the Android version installed.