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Google's phone app will boot spam calls to voicemail automatically
Google is taking spam calls seriously. An upcoming update to the default Android Phone app devices will send potential spam calls directly to voicemail, as spotted by 9to5 Google. The feature works like this: A potential spam call comes in, and automatically goes to voicemail. You won't receive a notification for the missed call, and your phone won't ring. However, calls will still show up in your call history and voicemail. Presumably, Google is using AI to filter these calls, much in the way it does spam messages in Gmail.
Facebook wants to replace your Android phone's dialer
Facebook isn't done trying to replace your Android phone's software just because Home fizzled out. Android Police tipsters have spotted the social network testing a dialer app that would not only show more info about who's calling, but stop calls from "commonly blocked numbers." In theory, this would prevent telemarketers and technical support scams from getting through even when you don't recognize their digits. It's not clear if or when this dialer will ever see the light of day -- these kinds of tests happen all the time. If it launches, though, it could be one of the few standalone Facebook apps that you actually want to use.
Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls
Smartphones have revolutionized how we communicate and the way we create, share and consume content. Yet there's one aspect of using these devices that remains stuck in the last millennium, and that's the calling experience -- yes, apparently some people still make phone calls. Sure, there are plenty of VoIP and video calling apps out there, but few are simple and beautiful. Enter Sidecar, a free app which aims to reinvent the way we make phone calls by adding messaging as well as real-time video, photo, location and contact sharing to that antiquated calling experience. It achieves this through an intuitive and polished user interface plus a handful of standards such as SIP and XMPP. Phone calls between Sidecar users are free anywhere in the world -- the app even supports free WiFi calling to any number in the US or Canada. While Sidecar's been available in beta on Android for several weeks, it's launching on iOS today with support for the iPhone and iPod touch. We've been using the app on and off for a few days on several handsets, including a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ and an iPhone 4S and it works exactly as described. Looking for additional details? Check out the demo video and full PR after the break.%Gallery-155893%
NoseDial lets you dial your iPhone with your nose
Hands full of gifts to return after Christmas but still need to make a call with your iPhone? Well don't worry, as NoseDial is here to help you out. NoseDial is exactly what the name implies that it is -- a visual dialer for your iPhone that lets you scroll through your contacts by tilting your phone and then call them by pecking at their picture with your nose. Sure, you still need to be able to somehow tilt the phone with your hand or some other way to move through your contacts, but if your fingers are otherwise occupied with bags and/or inside your winter mittens, at least you can still make a phone call using just your nose. While you may get some rather odd looks from those around you, NoseDial is a pretty neat concept even if not a particularly smooth way to dial your phone. Available from the German iTunes App Store for a little bit over US$1.00, NoseDial could come in handy on those freezing cold walks to work -- or if you were a super-secret spy whose hands were otherwise tied up. We've seen some interesting visual dialers and custom dialers before for the iPhone, but this is definitely the first we've seen designed with nose dialing in mind. [via Gizmodo and Lifehacker]
TapTapDial makes phoning and driving safer
Unless you have voice recognition and Bluetooth in your car, dialing any cellphone can be dangerous to your health. It's truly frightening to see great numbers of commuters fooling around with their phones while trying to drive. Driving is tough enough these days without the distractions; without any tactile feedback on the iPhone, it's especially challenging to operate while in motion.All the more reason for us to take a look at TapTapDial [App Store link]. This $0.99US app makes it easy to dial without looking at your phone and it provides voice, audio, and on screen confirmations, but don't look at that screen!Describing how to use the app is a lot more difficult than just using it. You can add favorites from your phone book, and the app assigns them a number. If you want to call someone who is in position 3, you tap 3 times. The app will respond audibly with the initials of the person you are calling as a double check. It also will say if the favorite is a home, office, or cell number. If your list is really long, you can tap on the right side of the screen to go through your list in increments of ten, so if you wanted to call person 31, you would tap 3 times on the right, and once on the left. If you make a mistake, simple swipes left, right, up, or down will move you around your list and provide other navigation functions inside the app. Once you have the person you want, a swipe up or down initiates the call. You can even dial numbers that aren't in your address book, by tapping on the lower half of the screen. 6 taps dials 6, 3 taps dials 3, and soon. I think this feature is better for the vision impaired. Keeping track of all those taps while driving is probably not a good idea.This is a clever and needed app that is, as I said, much easier to use than to explain. Some people will get quite addicted to it, and it will certainly result in safer roads and highways. I'd just make sure you have the app up and running before you get in the car, otherwise you'll be doing something dangerous just to get it up and running.I don't really have any suggestions for the app, other than I think the GUI is not very attractive or contemporary to my eyes. Of course, if you're using the app correctly, you're not looking at it anyway.Here are some screen shots of TapTapDial in action:%Gallery-63517%
Some iPhone apps are just strange but they still work
There is no shortage of iPhone dialers. Most work by voice, some by tapping a picture of your contact. Now we get Sensi Dial, [App Store link] an iPhone program that uses gestures to dial your contacts. Gestures? Yep. The idea is with gestures you don't have to look at your phone to reach a contact. Gestures can be taps on the screen or swipes, or a combination of both. You open Sensi Dial, and add the contacts from your address book that you want to assign gestures to. Then save them, and tap the dial button. Use the gesture you assigned to a particular contact, and it gets dialed. You can program in a pause so you have time to bail out of a mistake. If the program isn't sure which contact you mean, it will display multiple contacts and let you tap on the right one.It's an interesting idea, and the program selling point is that you don't have to look at your screen, which is nice for driving. The reality is that you may have to look at the screen to pick the correct contact if there are multiples, and at least take a glance to see if your phone is calling the right person. As you feel more secure with the program, you may not have to look as much.I gave Sensi Dial a try, and it pretty much worked as advertised. The tricky part is remembering the gestures you assigned to a person. I wouldn't think you would want a big list of contacts assigned to this app, or you may be swiping when you mean to tap or the other way around. On the screen shot you can see that the third number on the list is composed of two taps, two swipes, and a tap. You can either remember that combination, or just make 2 taps and see all the contacts that start that way. To clear the contacts and start over you shake your phone.Reviews of the program from users are generally enthusiastic, although the developer is offering a free copy to buyers who write a review for the app store. That might be putting the old thumb on the scale a bit.Sensi Dial is certainly an alternative way to make a call. It's $1.99US at the App Store. Think about if this kind of method works for you, and be sure to investigate the other dialers available. I think there are at least ten, most using voice. If gestures seems the way to go for your particular use, tap and swipe away.
Programmable X-keys Stick takes you to macro heaven
There's no denying that macros make all of our lives a bit less tedious, and while having a few here and there will suffice for the most of us, the hardcore RTS gamers and graphic designers can certainly appreciate the overkill on this one. PI Engineering's X-keys Stick (full shot after the break) is a programmable, customizable rod sporting no fewer than 16 buttons ready to bow to your commands. Available in PS/2 and USB flavors, the backlit device ships with Macro Works software (or iKey for OS X) and a template for printing out your own key labels. Nah, this won't hold a candle to the tweaking abilities of the Optimus Maximus, but the reasonable $99.95 pricetag also manages to (thankfully) pale in comparison. If you feel like really nerding out, X-keys also has X-keys Professional and X-keys Desktop editions designed to sit next to your keyboard. The X-keys Pro version even comes with a WoW sticker set to push things off the deep end -- as if the macro madness hadn't gone far enough already.[Via EverythingUSB]Read - X-keys StickRead - X-keys Pro and Desktop
Dial the phone using your iPod
Ah, Woz would be proud. MacMerc's Brian Burnham has written a tutorial detailing how you can turn your iPod into a phone dialer (is iPod phreaking far away? I think not). It works because analog phones use a series of tones to decipher what numbers you are inputting, so you simply play those same tones through some speakers, via your iPod, and BAM! The iPod dials for you.[via Make]
