Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S available online, reaches Best Buy on June 23rd

Lenovo teased a potential sweet spot in its convertible laptop line when it revealed the IdeaPad Yoga 11S, blending the portability of the Yoga 11 with the raw performance of the Yoga 13. As of now, we can do more than just imagine how well that balance works: the Yoga 11S is at last available to order. Those who plunk down at least $800 can buy the bendy Windows 8 PC online from either Best Buy or Lenovo, although shoppers will want to think carefully before jumping in with both feet. While both outlets equip their Yogas with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive at that price, Best Buy lists a 1.5GHz Core i5 where Lenovo starts with a more modest 1.4GHz Core i3. No matter which outlet beckons, would-be owners will have to bide their time. Lenovo is quoting a four-week wait for new shipments, and Best Buy will only see the Yoga 11S grace its retail stores on June 23rd.

Google+ gets new Multi-Column card design and Auto-Hashtags

Google at the I/O conference has launched a new design of their social networking site, Google+. Users on Google+will be seeing their social content in a new way thanks to a multi-column format fit for any size screen.

 The design consists of a maximum of 3 columns populated with individual cards for posts and pictures, almost to replicate Pinterest type UI. Columns appear or disappear depending upon the size of your screen, and cards can be flipped to reveal editing options, the cards can also be moved around. 

Identical to Facebook’s left side menu, Google+ has also added a similar menu to help in the navigational traits. The Videos and Pictures will span to the width of the screen across multiple columns for a nicer looking experience.  Google clarified that the new design is responsive and will adjust to screen sizes. In addition, this 3-column layout will make its way across devices.

Incase you like the original format, you can continue on the old design and say boo to the new Google + format. 

Among the new features of Google+ is the ability to flip an image and look at related pictures under similar Hashtags. A feature called Auto Enhance will analyze and apply tweaks to your uploaded photos. The auto enhance feature will include fairly simple adjustments like brightness, contrast, color correction, noise reduction, tonal distribution, and saturation, but it will also make some more intensive changes. 

“Auto Awesome” detects the kinds of photos you take, Google is going to try to make other improvements. Uploading a series of similar photos taken in a short period of time,  will automatically make an animated GIF out of it on Google+.

The new Social Network design will also automatically pick out best pictures and ignore the blurry ones. This feature will choose the “best” photos to show off. To cite an example, Multiple images from an event will be scanned and only the good ones will be automatically shared, the remaining will remain pending for approval.

Google also focuses on unified messaging service with the new Hangouts which is now integrated into the Google+ redesign. Google is releasing Hangout apps for Android, iOS, and Chrome (as well as integration with Gmail). In this move Google will get rid of Google Talk, Google Messenger, and Video Hangouts and everything will be replaced with the new Hangouts.

Google still promises the features launched earlier for Google+ like unlimited uploads for photos under 2048-pixels wide, a fullscreen picture viewer, and 15GB of free space for for photos that cross the size limit.

Google Now improvements: better on Android, and coming soon to PCs

As search technology advances, it’s going to become more and more like human interaction. Apple’s Siri might have popularized conversational search, but many of us feel that Google Now quickly surpassed it – with its faster and more accurate results. Soon much of Google Now’s functionality will be arriving on PCs, by way of the Chrome OS and web browser. Not stopping there, Google also added some improvements to Android’s Google Now.

Before long, when you use Google search in Chrome, you’ll be able to search using only your voice – no button-pressing required. Just say “Okay, Google” followed by your search, and you’ll get a spoken Google Now-like response. It’s all right in your browser.

In case you’ve never used Google Now, that means you can ask about things like the weather, directions, or how tall you have to be to ride a specific roller coaster ... and Google will speak the answer to you. Failing that, you’ll get a more typical page of Google search results.

You’ll also be able to continue the conversation with follow-up questions (much like Siri). Google will “remember” your last query and continue the “conversation” on that subject. So after asking about the population of Las Vegas, you can say “how far is it?” and Google will tell you. Yep, it’s the future.

Updated Google Now for Android

The Google Search app for Android has already been updated today with some cool new features.

Reminders have long been one of the few ways that Google Now lagged behind Siri, but that’s no longer an issue. Tell Google Now what to remind you about – and when – and it will alert you when that time comes. Like Siri, it’s all done conversationally, so no need to memorize specific commands.

The updated Google Now also adds a few new perks that Apple’s reminders don’t have. If you take the same train every day, Google Now already knows that. With the new version, if you’re about to miss the last train, Now will remind you that you’d better hurry. These are technically reminders, but are really extensions of the predictive functionality that Now has always had.

Google didn’t give an exact release date for the new Chrome voice search, but the updated Google Now for Android is available now. If you have a Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 or higher) device, just update the Google Search app.

Gmail to allow money to be sent as an attachment

Gmail lets you send all kinds of files as attachments. And Google Wallet lets you pay for just about anything. Why not combine the two? That could have been the thinking by someone at Google, as the search giant is set to launch a payment system that’s the love child of Gmail and Google Wallet.

Pretty soon, U.S. Gmail users 18 and older (sorry, kiddies) will see a dollar sign icon among their Gmail attachment options. Click on the icon, select a dollar amount, and send it along. The recipient doesn’t have to have a Gmail address to take your money, but they’ll presumably need to have a Google Wallet account (or at least sign up for one to claim their money).

In fact, that might be one of Google’s motives here. Make it ridiculously easy to send money to your pals, and if they aren’t already in the Google ecosystem, this is a new way to reel them in. Let the rush to Google+ sign-up pages commence.

Google does also take a small cut from credit card payments – 2.9 percent per transaction, to be exact (with a minimum of $0.30). If you're paying from your bank account or directly from your Google Wallet balance, then you're off the hook. Receiving payments is free.

The feature will be rolling out to U.S. Gmail users in “the next few months.” In the meantime, you can preview the feature in Google’s video below.

Sources: Gmail Blog, Google 

Nvidia Shield Hands-On And Interview At Google I/O

There was plenty to see and do at Google I/O, but our own Joshua Vergara still managed to find the time to get hands-on time with Nvidia Shield and conduct an interview with Nvidia.

We’ve been hearing plenty of information about Nvidia’s gaming platform over the past few months, but we can now offer you Android Authority’s first hands-on experience with Nvidia Shield.

What surprised me the most about our first look is that Shield remains a true Android device at its heart. Unlike some of what we’ve seen from OUYA, where the entire Android UI is replaced, Shield runs stock Android Jelly Bean and seamlessly integrates its own dashboard into the experience just like any other app.

The dashboard shows all the Shield specific and optimized games for the device at a glance, and looks pretty easy to navigate. But you won’t be limited to games which appear in the dashboard. Other games,apps, and emulators work perfectly just like they would on any other Android device.

Samsung Sells 6 Million Units Of The Galaxy S4 In Two Weeks, Becomes The Fastest Selling Samsung Smartphone: Report

Samsung has sold more than 6 million units of its flagship Galaxy S4 in the first two weeks of its international release. Korean website ChosunIlbo is claiming that Samsung has confirmed that Galaxy S 4has been the fastest selling Galaxy smartphone to date.

Apparently, the Korean giant had sold four million units in the first five days and then it managed to extend the number of sales to six million by May 10, two weeks after its international launch. Considering this rate of supply, the company is predicting to reach 10 million units by the end of this month. However, it has also cleared that these sales figures are based on wireless operators and does not include unit sold to the consumers.

Previously, the original Galaxy S reached four million units sales in 85 days. The Galaxy S II managed the same in 55 days and the Galaxy S III was even faster as it managed to achieve the landmark in 21 days.

Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 phone has been a hot topic because of its features including processor versions, number of rumored variants, its Google’s Stock Android running edition and many more reasons.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini New Images Leaked, Rumored For May 30

We have got some better quality pics of the much rumored Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. Yes these pics were gathered by Smart News which had a chance to get a hands of this device. These better quality pics gives us a good look up onto the outside and also one of the image has the screen on so we can also assume what’s on inside. According to source its also revealed that Samsung has also fitted IR blaster in it which allows you to control your TV and your Smartphone.

According to Smart News this will be another hit as Samsung didn’t compromise anything for its smaller edition of S4. Adding on its much awaited specs are still not out . We have a good idea of this Smartphone packed with  4.3 inch Super AMOLED screen with 540 x 960 resolution. Powered by 1.6GHz dual-core Exynos 5210 processor and 1GB of RAM (2GB on the LTE Version)The device will be running on Jelly Bean 4.2 and the camera is rumored to be 8 MP auto focus.

               

Visualized: Google Glass prototypes

As a part of the 7 Techmakers and a Microphone panel tonight at Google I/O, Project Glass Staff Hardware Engineer Jean Wang dropped in this slide reflecting on the process of developing the headset. We've seen pictures of a few early Glass prototypes before, but as she describes, this shows off the full process from strapping a cellphone to a pair of goggles along with a pico projector shining directly into the wearer's eyes. The jump from off the shelf components to custom 3D-printed materials is represented in the third version (top right), and allowed the progress seen along the bottom row.

She also got a laugh pointing out that the Glass-inspired SNL skit starring our friend Fred Armisen wasn't "too far off" the team's initial efforts in gesture and voice control. The panel itself focused on a series of TED-style segments featuring seven women discussing being technical leaders inside their company. You can check out the entire thing embedded after the break or just zoom to the Google Glass part (6:13) for more details.

Gran Turismo 6 coming to PS3 in time for the holidays, creator has PS4 version 'in mind' (video)

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi has announced that the series' next racing title will arrive later this year, with a demo scheduled to appear this July, ahead of a holiday launch. Expect a heady 1,200 cars to make the new edition, with 33 locations (and 71 layouts) to drive them around. Polyphony Digital has developed a new game engine for Gran Turismo 6, one that "pushes the limits of the PS3," but the incoming game might make another appearance on the incomingPlayStation 4. At a 15th anniversary event at the Silverstone racetrack in the UK, Yamauchi teased to IGN that they had a PS4 version "in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on [the] PS3." Gran Turismo remains Sony's most successful franchise ever and has sold over 70 million copies to date. Sony adds that we'll hear even more about the sequel at E3-- likely alongside a next-generation console we can see.