OmniROM developer is modding the Moto X touchless voice control into the Nexus 5

Guillaume Lesniak, one of the creators of the OmniROM custom ROM, is working to bring the Moto Xs always-on listening capabilities (touchless control) to the Nexus 5. The developer explained that the N5s Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 chipset supports always-on listening in a similar capacity to Motorolas flagship. Qualcomms chipset contains a dedicated voice processor that handles voice commands without activating the central processing unit.

Not unlike similar cases in which available technology was found laying dormant inside the silicon, the voice processor can be activated by tinkering with software. The voice recognitions availability was never a secret, however. It was revealed in a Qualcomm promotional video.

A proof-of-concept video indicates that bringing the Moto Xs touchless controls to Googles phone is really possible. Alas, the mods current condition is unstable and the Nexus 5 ROM will require a fair bit of nipping and tucking before your Nexus becomes obedient.

via Android Authority

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Candy Crush developer King thinks its worth 7 6 billion and it probably is

Weve talked before about developer King and its various games. Most often we talk about Candy Crush, because not only is it Kings most popular game, but because King has done some fairly silly things in regards to the game, like trying to assert a trademark on the word "candy". Now, King is getting ready for its initial public offering (IPO), and is hoping for a pretty substantial valuation.

King said today that it is looking for a market value of up to $7.6 billion with its IPO. The game developer wants to sell 22.2 million shares for between $21 and $24 when it goes public. If King hits this target, it would put the developers valuation right in the middle between fellow "casual" game maker Zynga, which is currently valued at $5 billion after considerable drops in its stock price, and Electronic Arts, which is currently valued at about $9.2 billion.

That may seem like quite a large amount for a developer that makes what are essentially knock-off games, but it is important to keep in mind the enormous sums of money that King generates. In 2012, King recorded just $164.4 million in revenue, but that number skyrocketed to $1.88 billion in 2013. Aiming for a valuation equal to four times revenue is actually fairly reasonable, assuming the company can keep up those numbers, which is always tricky as Zynga has shown.

source: WSJ

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