HTC's Zoe feature is a perfect way to play with Auto Awesome motion on Google+

Google+ got some great new image tools and toys last week and Google I/O, including the "motion" portion of the Auto Awesome tweaks. How it works is, it takes any series of pictures of the same subject that have been shot in quick succession and transforms them into an animated gif image. You can then share it on Google+, or download it to share anywhere. Everyone loves animated gifs!

As it turns out, the Zoe feature on HTC's Sense 5 camera software is perfect for this. A Zoe is a series of high resolution stills that get stitched in series to create an animation on the phone, and since they are individual jpg files, Google+ can work its magic the same way. 

To play with it, you'll have to either turn on auto-upload to Google+ on your HTC One, or find the frames of your Zoe and upload them individually. You'll then find all 20 stills, the small video that your phone exports, and a single gif file of the full animation in your Google+ photos. If you're a nut about housekeeping, you can then delete the 20 stills and the video, leaving your animated masterpiece available for the world to see. 

Now get out your Ones, hit the Zoe button, and drop some links in the comments to show off your stuff! Hit the break to check one out.

Via: Android Central forums;  Phil's humidifier

Face-to-face voice and text translation across multiple languages 

We're at CTIA 2013 in Las Vegas and while a lot of business and back-end technologies are being talked about here, companies like the Japanese carrier NTT Docomo are showing off at least a couple of consumer-facing products. Its recently announced "Translator Phone" service was on display today and we had a moment to see how it all worked. The app and service, which will be pre-loaded on nearly every one of its devices going forward, gives near real-time voice and text translation between English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and several other languages.

The UI is extremely simple, and all you have to do is select which two languages you'd like to have a translated conversation between. The app then has two buttons -- for example English and Japanese -- that you tap, speak to and receive a translation. Voice is nearly instantly transcribed into text, translated into the text of the other language, then also read aloud in that language. You can then hold the phone to the native speaker of the other language, where they can read the text and give their response for you to read. The translations come through in a threaded conversation view, and any of the translations can be read aloud or re-transcribed at any time.

NTT Docomo is also working with this same technology to provide nearly real-time translation over phone calls, but it is only working in a limited capacity with English, Japanese and Chinese with about a 2 second delay when translating. The hope is to eventually provide seamless translation between languages while on phone calls one day. Be sure to watch the video above of the service in action.

More: Android @ CTIA 2013

It's my pleasure to announce that I'll be joining Jason Howell, Ron Richards and Gina Trapani tonight on TWiT's "All About Android" show to talk about the new Xbox One. Wait. That's not right. We'll be talking Android. All about Android. But maybe a little bit about the Xbox One. And a lot about last week's Google I/O, and maybe a bit about CTIA this week.

The show should kick off somewhere around 5 p.m. PDT -- that's 8 p.m. on the East Coast -- but things are a little bit in flux due to today's live Xbox One coverage. So check in to live.twit.tv and show 'em what the Android Central fan base can do, won'tcha?

See y'all this evening!

The Nexus experience device won't be available outside the US at launch, sources tell CNET

It appears that folks around the world are going to have to wait to not order their very own Google Edition Samsung Galaxy S4, as CNET says Google has confirmed the launch to be US-only. The device, which was unveiled during the Google I/O 2013 keynote presentation, is the same Galaxy S4 you all know and love, but without Samsung's Touchwiz software -- or it's features. Instead the device has the same "Nexus user experience" that Google's own Nexus 4 delivers. The version shown at the I/O keynote will be penta-band HSPA+ and LTE, and will be completely compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.

It was a bold, if strange, move by the two companies, and nobody is quite sure why either side wanted it to happen. Around these parts, we still think you're better served buying the "non-Google" version and doing a little software hackery if you just have to have Google Android instead of Samsung Android, allowing for an easy path back should you want or need all the features the hardware can deliver.

There was no word on when to expect the device to be sold in other countries, but we imagine Samsung and Google both want to make it available and will work out the logistics and details as fast as they can.

Source: CNET UK

Interesting name. And so far this is making Google TV look like a bad dream.

We're keeping up with the Xbox news over at WPCentral.

Available from June, no pricing details available yet

Following T-Mobile's announcement yesterday, Sprint-based MVNOs Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile have confirmed that they'll offer a 4G LTE-capable Galaxy S3 from next month. The device will run on Sprint's 4G LTE network, which will be available to Virgin and Boost customers in some 88 markets.

Pricing for the phone itself remains up in the air, but you'll get the usual range of price plan options from Boost and Virgin. On the Boost Mobile side, you've got the Android Monthly plan with shrinking payments, starting at $55 per month, going down to $40 in $5 increments. That gets you unlimited calls, texts and web use. With Virgin Mobile, you've got monthly no-contract plans starting at $35 per month, which give you unlimited messaging and data.

Besides the changes in availability and price, this device is essentially the same Sprint Galaxy S3 we've gotten to know over the past year -- 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2GB of RAM, 720p SuperAMOLED display and 8-megapixel rear camera. On the software side, you've got TouchWiz'd Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.

The liveblog kicks off at 9am PT right here

We're ready to go on the official first day of CTIA 2013, and the events kick off with the first of three keynote sessions. It is set to run from 9am to 11am PT, with several industry leaders expected to speak.

More: Android @ CTIA 2013

Two ruggedized mid-range devices destined for Sprint, Boost and U.S. Cellular

Making their appearance as successors to the original Kyocera Hydro, the Hydro EDGE and Hydro XTRM have been unveiled here at CTIA 2013 in Las Vegas. Doing what Kyocera does best, the latest two iterations in the Hydro family are mid-range devices that pack a solid feature set with the added bonus of water, shock and dustproofing. First up is the EDGE, which is only officially rated as being waterproof but still sports what feels like a solid case, destined for both Sprint and Boost Mobile. The XTRM (as the name would suggest) is officially certified as resistant to not only water, but also shocks, drops and dust and will arrive instead on U.S. Cellular.

Both devices are decidedly mid-range, with 4-inch WVGA displays, 5MP cameras and dual-core Snapdragon processors. Stick around after the break where we have a bit more information, as well as some hands-on pictures and video to get a better feel for both of these new devices.

Just a quick heads up that LG has confirmed that its May 30 event in Macau, China, indeed is for the Optimus G Pro, as we originally suspected, and not a successor to the smaller Optimus G. That makes more sense from a release-cycle standpoint, as the Optimus G is all of eight months old at this point.

In the United States, the Optimus G Pro is currently (and exclusively) available on AT&T.

6.3-inch Galaxy Mega to go on sale at UK retailer in July for £459.99

If the likes of the recent 5-inch devices, or the Galaxy Note 2 just aren't quite big enough for you, then you may be interested in the Samsung Galaxy Mega. A colossal 6.3-inch smartphone, the Mega was announced back in April for launch in Europe and Russia sometime in May. We're now seeing the first signs of UK availability for this monstrous device, and it can be yours in July, though the exact date is still unknown.

Retailer Clove Technology has started taking pre-orders for the Mega, and for £459.99 you get the 16GB version in either black or white. Other notable specs on the device include Android 4.2.2 and Samsung's latest version of Touchwiz, a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU, a HD display, LTE, an 8MP rear camera, 1.5GB of RAM and a pretty sizeable 3200 mAh battery. You may also need large hands to use one. 

Get all your pre-order information at the link below, and if you're thinking of picking one of these up, do please tell us in the comments below. 

Source: Clove