Lenovo’s sold 1 million Moto Z handsets globally

Lenovo's Moto Z series showed us all how simple modular components could be, and while modular may not have been the game changer some had hoped for, the company has just passed the 1 million global sales milestone for the range.

1 million sales isn't quite in the Galaxy or iPhone league, but this milestone makes the Moto Z series one of most popular ever Motorola branded handsets and the brand's best ever selling high-end range. Lenovo had been struggling to turn a profit from Motorola after its $2.91 billion acquisition from Google back in 2014, so a strong performance from a more radical handset launch is sure to boost company confidence.

The success of the Moto Z series is likely down to selection of price points, with the reasonably priced Play model still offering modular component support, and a compelling high-end hardware option available with the Moto Z Force. Not to mention that the additional battery capacity, improved JBL SoundBoost speakers, and 10x optical zoom camera modular accessories are going to have won a few customers over too.

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Lenovo isn't done with Motorola branded handset releases this year through. The company's upcoming low cost Moto M handset has appeared in several leaks recently and is expected to arrive with a cost of just 1999 Yuan, or around $295. Lenovo will be unveiling the new Moto M in China tomorrow, on November 8th.

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“Partial Screenshot” feature spotted hidden in Android 7.1

Screenshots with Android are a rather basic affair, offering up a quick snapshot of whatever happens to be on your display at the time. However, it appears that Google has been experiment with a new feature to take 'Partial Screenshots' and may bring the option to a future version of Android.

XDA member MrWasdennnoch spotted a commit for the partial screenshot feature newly tucked away inside the Android 7.1 Nougat source code. However, the feature isn't yet active on any devices, but can be switched on with a rather small edit, simply modifying line 53 of TakeScreenshotService to takeScreenshotPartial().

The name of the feature basically explains the functionality in full. Rather than simply capturing a full picture of what's currently on the display, the partial screenshot allows the user to select an area of the display to capture. This avoids the need for cropping screenshots afterwards if you just want to focus on a particular onscreen object or bit of text. While cropped screenshots aren't entirely new to the world of Android, third party screenshot apps can do this and more, this feature is now baked into the main Android code.

There's no mention of if or when this feature will be activated by Google, but a future version of Android could well include enhanced screenshot capabilities. If you want to see the feature in action, Maxr1998 has kindly put together the video below showing off the feature baked into a custom ROM for the trusty old Nexus 4:

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T-Mobile delivers November security update for Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge

T-Mobile has rolled out November's security patches for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The Galaxy S7 (SM-G930T) is being updated to Software version G930TUVU4APK1, while the Galaxy S7 Edge (SM-G935T) jumps to G935TUVU4APK1.

The security patch increases the level of protection on the Galaxy devices, of course, but there's yet to be an announcement to specify which exact Android vulnerabilities have been targeted; that information should follow soon.

Nevertheless, Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge owners on T-Mobile should look out for the update notification shortly to bring their devices up to the latest security version.

See also:

Samsung: nearly 85 percent of Galaxy Note 7 phones in U.S. have been replaced

2 days ago

In other update news, Samsung has just launched the Android Nougat beta program for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in the UK. The beta program, which can be signed up for via the Galaxy beta program app in the Galaxy Store, allows select users to upgrade to an early version of Android Nougat to test the software and report feedback. The beta is expected to continue into mid-December.

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Samsung confirms new AI assistant for Galaxy S8

Samsung has confirmed its plans to deliver a new digital assistant for the Galaxy S8 in a press meeting at its Seoul headquarters. The software, which will be based on Samsung's recently acquired Viv platform, is to be integrated into many of its upcoming smart products: from phones, to wearables, to home appliances.

Samsung purchased San Jose-based company Viv Labs last month, sparking rumors that its AI software would be featured in Samsung's next flagship. The Viv platform makes use of a conversational interface and machine learning algorithms to assist users and simplify tasks, but what exactly it will offer the Galaxy S8 isn't yet known.

"We are developing a key major interface which will bring about a totally new paradigm; an open AI platform," said Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics' vice chairman. "The current Galaxy smartphones need separate applications for users, for instance, to order pizza or coffee. But, the new AI platform will enable them to order (or do) things directly without going through separate applications," he added.

See also: Samsung Galaxy S8: all the rumors in one place96

The South Korean company also said it's planning more acquisitions in the aid of improving its AI and software capabilities in the future.

The Galaxy S8 is expected to be unveiled at MWC 2017 in late February and it needs to deliver if Samsung is to recover some of the billions of dollars lost due to the Galaxy Note 7 cancellation. Other recent rumors regarding the Galaxy S8 include speculation of a 90% screen-to-body ratio and 5.5-inch 4K display.

Meanwhile, Google just released its own new digital assistant product, Google Home, last Friday. Look out for our first-impression of that later today.

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Google Play Store adds a Trending section with hot content

The Google Play Store continues evolving, but it isn't often that we see significant changes or improvements. Today the Play Store get s a brand new feature many of you will probably enjoy – a 'Trending' section.

This area is under the entertainment tab, which is the one that reads "Movies, Music, Books". It is located right under the New Movie Releases. The word "Trending" is big and bold, so you won't be missing it.

See also: How to fix common Google Play Store error codes8

As you can expect, said section showcases hot topics regarding musicians, movies and more. One of the current featured trending topics is Bruno Mars, for example. Tap on it to display a page full of news, videos, links to other content, an author description and more.

It will definitely help keep users up-to-date on the latest entertainment trends, and it is a simple addition that won't really get in the way of those who might not be prone to use it.

What we can say is we are seeing changes in the design department here. These Trending pages look sleek and very dynamic, making us hope these aesthetic changes will also come to the other areas of the Google Play Store.

What do you guys think? Is this Trending section something you will be taking advantage of, or is it just more noise?

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Google acquires team behind LeapDroid Android emulator for PC

The team behind LeapDroid, an Android emulator made for the PC that was first released publicly in June, have announced that they are joining Google. The announcement also comes with some bad news as the emulator will no longer continue to be developed.

See also: Best Android emulators for PC192

In their announcement, Huan Ren and Huihong Luo, the co-founders of LeapDroid, stated:

While it's too soon to comment on specific plans, we look forward to working with our new colleagues at Google to continue pushing the frontier of technology.

The team emphasizes that LeapDroid itself is not affiliated with Google, so this is not a flat-out acquisition of the company behind the emulator. It sounds like Google was more interested in hiring the team behind the software. If you already have LeapDroid installed on your PC, you can still continue to run it, but there will be no further updates and the official downloads for the emulator have been taken offline. We reviewed LeapDroid in July and found it to be a very solid emulator with only a few issues and hiccups.

What do you think of Google's latest business move, and what do you think it means for the future of Android development as a whole?

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Crowdfunding project of the week: the SPUD is a portable 24-inch monitor

We are back with another 'Crowdfunding project of the week', where we highlight the hottest tech gadgets from sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. You can find great gadgets in there, but we all know there is also plenty of stuff we can live without. This is why we are here to weed out the culprits!

Other featured projects: 

• Remix IO is an Android 4K set-top box, PC and gaming console
• SunnyBAG LEAF+ is a solar panel you can take anywhere
• Betterspot VPN router

This week we are taking a look at what could be the most portable 24-inch monitor out there. But how can that be? After all, a 24-inch monitor is… well, a 24-inch monitor! Is it possible to make that portable?

The SPUD (short for Spontaneous Pop-up Display) is pretty much a 720p DLP projector with its own white screen. This is why it can be folded to the size of a paperback book – 17 cm wide, 5.5 cm high, 19 cm long. It also weighs only 2 pounds, so you should be able to carry it around in any bag with no sacrificed comfort.

The idea is really quite awesome, yet it's a simple product. This is essentially a portable projector with HDMI connectivity. Any laptop, smartphone or tablet with HDMI support can take advantage of the SPUD. It's even possible to use wireless HDMI adapters with it, such as a Chromecast, Microsoft Wireless Adapter, Roku or Amazon Fire TV.

And because this is meant to be a portable screen, it does have its own battery. The SPUD can operate unplugged for up to 10 hours at 350 nits, or 4 hours at 785 nits.

Interested? It seems people are going nuts over the SPUD, as the $33,000 pledge goal was smashed and now the company has funded over $300,000 with 40 days to go. Most early bird specials are gone, but you can still get one for as low as $384. That's a good deal considering retail price is expected to be $499.

Who is signing up?

Check out SPUD on Kickstarter

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