Google Now Detects Accents & Mimics

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Google Now is still a half measure for many Android users, the cards look like the most potent part of the program, but the voice recognition service still needs a bit of work. A new feature looks to make it easier for multiple language users to swap over on the fly.</span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The new system allows users to add more than one language, swapping from one another on the fly. This could allow localisation for user’s who move country often. Google Now can even detect accent change, as </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqYBuS0jM5o&channel=shadow321337" style="color: #0068cf; font-weight: inherit;" target="_blank">one video shows</a><span style="color: black;">.</span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Moving from English (UK) and English (US) is completely impractical for anyone, but does show the voice recognition service has a good understanding of accent, something Apple’s Siri has not been great at detecting, especially stronger English accents.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Google Now" height="419" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Google-Now.jpg" width="640" /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Accents are a hard thing for programmers to understand, voice recognition naturally works with one voice, but Google is looking to add multiple languages and accents. This means Google needs to take more real world accents and voices, to get the practical information needed.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Google Now and voice recognition in general is still a questionable service, but there are some uses like taking notes, setting dates and asking for travel times. Google, Apple and other voice recognition services just need to fan out some of the clutter in their services.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The secondary language option is available now, but not to everyone. Google is restricting it to some countries and it may take a while for them to update it on all Android devices.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://news.filehippo.com/2014/08/google-now-detects-accents-and-mimics/" target="_blank">tech beat</a></span></div> </div>

Google Now Detects Accents & Mimics

Google Now is still a half measure for many Android users, the cards look like the most potent part of the program, but the voice recognition service still needs a bit of work. A new feature looks to…

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Build Your Own Bluetooth Gloves For Taking Calls

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You may remember that a little while ago we reported on what looked like a pair of normal winter gloves, which in actual fact had bluetooth capabilities, allowing you to take calls simply by holding your thumb and forefinger up to your ear and mouth. The gloves, which can be charged in thirty minutes and give you twenty hours of talk time, are great if you want to avoid getting cold hands. However, if you love tinkering and building your own gadgets, did you know it is possible to build your own bluetooth gloves?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Hi-Fun Gloves" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-18127 data-lazy-ready" data-lazy-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hi-fun-gloves.jpg" data-lazy-type="image" height="365" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hi-fun-gloves.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); display: inline; float: none; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" width="640" /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That’s what Instructables user,  known as <a href="http://www.instructables.com/member/WiseGuy10x/" style="color: #0092dd;" target="_blank">WiseGuy10x</a> has done. Using a glove, a push button, soldering iron, soldering wire, wire and of course a bluetooth headset, he has been able to build his own bluetooth glove that allows you to take easily take calls, without actually getting your phone out of your pocket.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="bluetooth gloves" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-18128 data-lazy-ready" data-lazy-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/bluetooth-glove.jpg" data-lazy-type="image" height="477" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/bluetooth-glove.jpg" style="background: rgb(236, 240, 244); display: inline; float: none; max-width: 708px; padding: 10px;" width="640" /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The step-by-step guide is pretty straight forward and could perhaps be a great first project for any budding gadget hacker. For full instructions on how to build your very own ‘Bluetooth Glove: Version 3.0′, then check out the guide on<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Bluetooth-Glove-Version-30/" style="color: #0092dd;" target="_blank"> Instructables</a>.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #5f6d80; line-height: 23.310400009155273px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://news.filehippo.com/2014/08/build-bluetooth-gloves-taking-calls/" target="_blank">tech beat</a></span><br /> <br /></div> </div> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.facebook.com%2Fdocs%2Fplugins%2Fthetechilicious&width&layout=standard&action=like&show_faces=true&share=true&height=80" style="border: none; height: 80px; overflow: hidden;"></iframe></div>

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Build Your Own Bluetooth Gloves For Taking Calls

You may remember that a little while ago we reported on what looked like a pair of normal winter gloves, which in actual fact had bluetooth capabilities, allowing you to take calls simply by holding …

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Laser device detects blood glucose levels without the finger-prick

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="A new system developed at Princeton University allows diabetics to check blood glucose lev..." height="358" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/laser-blood-glucose-diabetes.jpg" width="640" /></span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finger-prick tests to monitor blood glucose levels can be the bane of a diabetic's life. In a move that could put an end to such tests in the future, researchers at Princeton University have developed a non-invasive way to test blood glucose levels using a laser.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Like a number of other blood glucose measuring research efforts we've seen in recent years, such as carbon nanotube "tattoos" and biochips that measure glucose in saliva, the Princeton team's method doesn't require direct analysis of a blood sample.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Instead, the new approach detects the level of blood sugar by directing a specialized laser at a person's palm and measuring the amount of absorption by the sugar molecules in the person's body. Rather than the person's blood, the laser targets dermal interstitial fluid, which has a strong correlation with blood sugar.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Instead of near-infrared light, which is used by many medical devices, the Princeton team's method uses mid-infrared light. This is because although near infrared light is not blocked by water, making it suitable for use in the human body, it interacts with a number of acids and chemicals in the skin, making it unsuitable for detecting blood sugar.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">However, the use of mid-infrared light presents its own problems – it is difficult to harness with standard lasers and requires relatively high power and stability to penetrate the skin and scatter off bodily fluid. The researchers found the answer in the form of a new type of device particularly capable of producing mid-infrared light called a quantum cascade laser.</span></div> <div class="article_img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; height: 370px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 5px; padding: 0px; width: 530px;"> <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/laser-blood-glucose-level-mesurement/33466/pictures#2" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1e8dd7; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="The new monitor uses a quantum cascade laser, instead of blood sample, to read blood sugar..." src="http://images.gizmag.com/inline/laser-blood-glucose-diabetes-1.jpg" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="530" /></span></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Quantum cascade lasers boast the ability to produce one of a number of frequencies by passing electrons through a "cascade" of semiconductor layers. Recent developments have also provided increased power and stability, allowing the researchers to produce mid-infrared light with the properties required to penetrate the skin.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In testing the approach the researchers measured the blood sugar of three healthy subjects before and after eating 20 jellybeans and compared the results to measurements taken with a finger-prick test. These measurements were conducted repeatedly over a period of several weeks.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Although the laser measurement readings produced average errors larger than the standard blood sugar monitors, the research hers said they remained within the clinical requirement for accuracy. Glucose monitors need to produce a reading within 20 percent of the patient's actual level and the early version of the new system met that standard with an accuracy of 84 percent.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"It works now but we are still trying to improve it," said Sabbir Liakat, the lead author of a paper detailing the new approach.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The experimental setup the team started with took up a moderate-sized workbench and required an elaborate cooling system to work. However, they have since solved the cooling problem, allowing the laser to work at room temperature, and will now look to shrinking the device.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"This summer, we are working to get the system on a mobile platform to take it places such as clinics to get more measurements," Liakat said. "We are looking for a larger dataset of measurements to work with."</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">source-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/laser-blood-glucose-level-mesurement/33466/" target="_blank">gizmag</a></span></div> </div>

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Laser device detects blood glucose levels without the finger-prick

Finger-prick tests to monitor blood glucose levels can be the bane of a diabetic's life. In a move that could put an end to such tests in the future, researchers at Princeton University have develope…

Read more »

Organs-on-Chips emulate human organs, could replace animals in tests

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h1 id="ar_title" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><img alt="Emulate's lung-on-chip, seen here, is lined with human lung and blood vessel cells " height="358" src="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/emulate.jpg" title="Emulate's lung-on-chip, seen here, is lined with human lung and blood vessel cells " width="640" /> </span></span></h1> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The search for more efficient tests of pharmaceuticals without animal models is taking a stride forward, with a new technology being developed in the US called Organs-on-Chips. The new miniature platform and software, which mimic the mechanical and molecular characteristics of human organs, were developed by bioengineers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The device, about the size of a small computer memory stick, is created using microchip-manufacturing techniques. It features a porous flexible membrane that separates two channels at the center of the device. The channels are filled with living human cells and tissues cultured in a fluid that mimics the environment inside the human body. Micro-engineering and automated instrumentation allows the system to perform real-time analysis of biochemical, genetic and metabolic functions within single cells.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The idea is to authentically replicate, or "bioemulate" in science-speak, the workings of human organs. This way, scientists and even clinicians without high-level expertise can determine the efficacy and safety of potential new drugs, chemicals and cosmetics, with no animal models in the process.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Wyss Institute team has formed a company called Emulate to further develop and market the product. They have also developed a system to automate the chips and connect them with a blood-like medium in order to reproduce the experience of the whole human body on chips. This way, researchers can get a better picture of the responses of the body as one unit and not just as series of individual organs.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"This advanced technology is the beginning of a revolution in the way we study human biology and disease," said senior scientist Geraldine Hamilton. She added that Emulate is more predictive of the human situation than animal models, besides being more cost-effective and less time-consuming. Therefore, new pharmaceuticals could get to market, and to those in need of them, more rapidly.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another aspect of the new technology is that it paves the way for more personalized treatment with stem cells. "Our vision is we can one day put each patient’s cells on chips that mimic the function of organs, and this will open up new ways for us to design truly personalized treatment with stem cells, based on each patient’s unique genetic profile on their own individualized Organs-on-Chips," added Shlomo Melmed, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the medical faculty at Cedars-Sinai, one of the institutional investors in the new company.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Emulate has just secured a US$12 million Series A financing to develop the product for commercial purposes. The team will now focus on design, biology and engineering in order to further develop the technology and design new products for various industries.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Besides the lung-on-chip seen at the top of the page, in the last four years the researchers have also developed more than 10 types of organ/chips, including some that emulate the liver, gut, kidney, and bone marrow.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Elsewhere, other researchers are looking for methods to replace animal testing including the similarity ensemble approach and sensor nanoparticles.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SOURCE-<a href="http://www.gizmag.com/organs-on-chips-testing/33337/" target="_blank">GIZMAG</a> </span></span></div> <h1 id="ar_title" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></h1> <h1 id="ar_title" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></h1> </div>

Organs-on-Chips emulate human organs, could replace animals in tests

  The search for more efficient tests of pharmaceuticals without animal models is taking a stride forward, with a new technology being developed in the US called Organs-on-Chips. The new miniature …

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Download iOS 8 On Your Android – Sort Of

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">While iOS 8 is Apple’s forthcoming operating system which will be available sometime later this fall, you can easily download a taste of it now. Here’s the catch: you have to be an Android user. Yes, that’s correct – if you want your phone to look like it’s running Apple’s iOS 8, you have to have an Android phone. (Android users, don’t deny it – sometimes you really like that iOS look). If you’re one of those people, even if you don’t like to admit it, I have an easy way to help you. All you have to do is download the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.one.appx.launcher" target="_blank"><em>iOS 8 Launcher HD Retina Theme</em></a> from the Google Play Store. Best of all, it’s free!</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is a pretty simple way to get the best of both worlds – you still have all of your Android functionality with the new iOS look. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? The launcher even acts like iOS – for instance, when you hold down on one of the icons, it will jiggle around, just like on an iPhone. It also transforms all of your icons and folders into iOS-like buttons.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><img alt="Download iOS 8 On Your Android - Sort Of" class="lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-17991 data-lazy-ready" data-lazy-src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/9f4ca9348d71ae7fb8e6217a100646929a8603c4.jpg" data-lazy-type="image" height="524" src="http://news.filehippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/9f4ca9348d71ae7fb8e6217a100646929a8603c4.jpg" style="display: inline;" width="640" /></span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Pretty impressive, huh? As I said earlier, all this app does is give your phone a visual change – it does nothing to how your Android works on the inside.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SOURCE-TECH BEAT </span></span></div> </div>

Download iOS 8 On Your Android – Sort Of

While iOS 8 is Apple’s forthcoming operating system which will be available sometime later this fall, you can easily download a taste of it now. Here’s the catch: you have to be an Android user. Ye…

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha launches with iPhone 6 in its sights

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is finally here - a premium Galaxy smartphone that shares some similarities to the flagship Galaxy S5 while also ploughing its own furrow.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's the metal framed chassis which Samsung is putting the main emphasis on here, as it looks to bring a higher class look and feel to the handset.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Galaxy Alpha won't be competing with the likes of the HTC One M8 or Sony Xperia Z2 however - the 4.7-inch, Super AMOLED 720p display links this particular handset more closely with the upcoming iPhone 6.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A super slim, 6.7mm body wrapped in a band of metal is reminiscent of Apple's design, although Samsung's new soft touch, dimpled polycarbonate rear still sneaks its way onto the back of the device.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">While the screen may not live up to the full HD offerings we're now accustomed to, the octa-core (quad 1.8GHz + quad 1.3GHz), 2.5GHz quad-core (depending on which country you're in) processor and 2GB of RAM is certainly up there with the best of them.</span></span></div> <h3 style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finger scannin' good</span></span></h3> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Galaxy Alpha also inherits the fingerprint scanner under the home key and the heart rate monitor on the rear from the Galaxy S5, but there are no water or dust resistant features in play here.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another area that takes a bit of a spec hit is the camera, with a 12MP snapper adorning the rear, while on the front you'll find a 2.1MP offering.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <figure><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Samsung Galaxy Alpha" src="http://cdn4.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/Samsung/Galaxy%20Alpha/Press/GalaxyAlpha-Press-04-580-90.jpg" width="580" /></span></span></figure></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In terms of storage there's 32GB of internal space to play with, but in an interesting twist Samsung has decided not to put a microSD slot into the Galaxy Alpha.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There doesn't appear to a SIM tray round the outside of the handset, so we're still hopeful the rear cover will come off providing access to that and the 1860mAh battery - although we'll have to wait for confirmation.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <figure><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Samsung Galaxy Alpha" src="http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/mobile_phones/Samsung/Galaxy%20Alpha/Press/GalaxyAlpha-Press-05-580-90.jpg" width="580" /></span></span></figure></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Samsung Galaxy Alpha release date is set for the start of September and it will be available in Charcoal Black, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Sleek Silver and Scuba Blue, although we currently have no word on price.</span></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">SOURCE-<a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-alpha-launches-with-iphone-6-in-its-sights-1261344" target="_blank">TECH RADAR </a></span></span></div> </div>

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha launches with iPhone 6 in its sights

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is finally here - a premium Galaxy smartphone that shares some similarities to the flagship Galaxy S5 while also ploughing its own furrow. It's the metal framed chassis whic…

Read more »