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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Sprint Already Dropped That Ridiculous Video Streaming Throttling “Limitation” From Its New All-In Plan

This morning, we told you about Sprint’s new All-In plan that included the most ridiculous footnote in recent memory, a footnote that sneakily revealed to customers who bought into this plan that Sprint would throttle all of their video streaming to 600kbps. As you can imagine, the world clowned on Sprint for this move, because well, it was a dirty, dirty move in a day where video streaming is a major part of the mobile data experience.

Tonight, Sprint has already caved to customer complaints and removed the “limitation.” I’d give them credit for removing this insanely bullsh*t cap so quickly, but the fact that they tried to slip this by everyone removes them of any praise for the time being. 

Their CEO, Marcelo Claure, had this to say about the sudden change of heart:

“At Sprint, we strive to provide customers a great experience when using our network,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “We heard you loud and clear, and we are removing the 600 kbps limitation on streaming video.”

“During certain times, like other wireless carriers, we might have to manage the network in order to reduce congestion and provide a better customer experience for the majority of our customers.”

Wait a minute, so you still plan on throttling? You “might have to manage the network in order to reduce congestion?” I give up.

This is Sprint, folks. This…is Sprint.

Via:  Sprint

Sprint Already Dropped That Ridiculous Video Streaming Throttling “Limitation” From Its New All-In Plan is a post from: Droid Life



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Here is a Peek at Facebook’s New Android Tablet UI

Thanks to reader Mike, we have our first look at an upcoming change in the Facebook app’s UI for tablet devices. Just as we saw for smartphones, Facebook is switching things up, making a more compact, yet easy-to-view- interface for users of the service. 

As it is for most users right now, the top links to your Newsfeed, People, Messages, Notifications, and slide-out menu are dragged across the entire display. Once this new UI hits your device, you will find all of these links nestled together in the top right, as well as a more card-like view on your Newsfeed. This should make for easier browsing among your friends’ status updates.

If history proves anything about Facebook app updates, changes to the UI are mostly done server side, meaning that even if you are running the latest build of the app, you may not see the changes. It’s a really lame thing to do by Facebook, but hey, it is what it is.

Take a look at the photos below, then share your thoughts on the updated UI below. Is it something to be excited over?

facebook tablet facebook tablet-5 facebook tablet-4 facebook tablet-3 facebook tablet-2

Facebook

Cheers Mike!

Here is a Peek at Facebook’s New Android Tablet UI is a post from: Droid Life



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Deal: Android Hale Dreamer Alarm Clock for $48, 50% Off Retail

Everyone needs a good alarm clock. If you are like other people, you might use your Android device as an alarm clock, but really, shouldn’t you have something a bit more proper? On the DL Deals Store, you can pick up a Android Hale Dreamer Alarm Clock for $48, down from its usual price of $100, perfect for turning your basic Android smartphone into a beasty alarm clock at night. 

The device is simply an attachment for your phone, but is a nice looking alarm of sorts. It features a 2.25″ mono 10-watt speaker, capable of waking even the soundest of sleepers. The Hale Dreamer features a few special touches for when your device is hooked up. For example, if someone calls you, the machine will auto reply with an SMS saying, “call back later,” or another phrase. You can also utilize it as a speakerphone for taking calls.

If you need to step up your alarm clock Android game, check it out.

Features

  • Customize & program who and what warrants being awoken
  • Set specific callers to ring & others to remain silent
  • Send an auto SMS asking the caller to reply “e” for emergency or kindly, “call back later”
  • Utilize the real-life snooze button & highly customizable alarm features
  • Use as a speakerphone
  • Accommodate any size phone, even with a case
  • Enjoy amazing sound quality from a 2.25″ mono 10-watt speaker

Deal Link

Deal: Android Hale Dreamer Alarm Clock for $48, 50% Off Retail is a post from: Droid Life



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Here Comes Android 5.1 for the Moto X (2nd Gen) on AT&T

Funny story here. AT&T just updated their Moto X (1st gen) support page to show that the device is getting an update to Android 5.1 starting today. While that would be fine and all, we have to point out that it appears they updated the wrong page. The Moto X (2nd gen) is actually the phone getting the update. Why would we say that? Well, because the “Verifying the Update” section on the support page details a phone under codename “victara,” which is the 2nd generation Moto X. The 1st generation Moto X actually carries the codename “ghost.” 

So yeah, even though you will probably see others report that the Moto X (1st gen) on AT&T is getting updated to Android 5.1, it’s not. The 2nd generation version, which is currently going through a soak test, is the phone getting the update. Again, XT1097 is getting updated to Android 5.1, not XT1058.

The new software build is 23.16.2 and weighs in at around 507MB in size. AT&T says that you will need a WiFi connection in order to grab it.

Be on the lookout through Settings>About phone>System updates.

Via:  AT&T (but they’ll likely fix it soon)

Here Comes Android 5.1 for the Moto X (2nd Gen) on AT&T is a post from: Droid Life



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Facebook Messenger Payments Available to All in the US

Facebook jumped into the mobile payments game back in March when it introduced payments through Messenger. At the time, they would only acknowledge that the service would launch within a few months, but that all changes today. Facebook Messenger users in the US can now send money to their friends and family and drug dealers acquaintances.  

In order to send money to another person, you will need the Messenger app installed on your phone (for real!). After that, start a conversation with someone and look for the dollar sign at the bottom of the conversation window, buried between smiley faces and the “…” button. Tap on that, enter an amount, and then hit send. If you don’t already have a debit card added, you will be prompted to do so. Fill out the debit card form and be on your way to settling up.

And that’s it.

Via: http://ift.tt/1T2KnlQFacebook

Facebook Messenger Payments Available to All in the US is a post from: Droid Life



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Tuesday Poll: What’s the Perfect Smartphone Display Size?

Last year, we posed this same question, asking which display size our community preferred. Taking a look at the results, we find that the majority of our readers prefer a 4.6″-5″ display, with the aforementioned range dominating the field at 55%.

Interestingly enough, we asked that question before the release of Shamu, aka the Nexus 6, with its 6″ display. Now, with that device and other phones available with monstrous-sized displays, we should see a different outcome to the same question, given that we surely do have a few Nexus fans here.

As for me personally, I like an easily manageable 5″ display size. If I need something more, I’ll just grab a tablet. I don’t want to stretch my fingers anymore than I have to.

For this poll, select your preferred display size range, then comment below with your perfect size. If you see your size posted already in the comments, vote it up.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Tuesday Poll: What’s the Perfect Smartphone Display Size? is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon: DROID Turbo Lollipop Update Goes Live Tomorrow (Updated: List of Changes)

With the DROID Turbo’s Android 5.1 Lollipop update arriving via soak test to members of the Motorola Feedback Network, the rest of you are probably wondering when the update will be available to your phone. The answer – starting tomorrow. 

Verizon pinged us moments ago, stating that the “actual push will begin tomorrow afternoon.” Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone will see the update pop-up on their phones. Instead, the update will rollout in phases, but you can always manually check to see if it’s available through Settings>About phone.

Motorola posted a full changelog for the update that can be found here. Verizon has not posted theirs, but we should have it later tonight or in the morning.

IT’S HAPPENING.

Also, here is a video we did of the original Lollipop update for the Moto X (2nd gen). If you haven’t been keeping up on all that is new in Android 5.0+, this is a good video to check out.

UPDATE:  Here is Verizon’s changelog.

droid turbo lollipop1

droid turbo lollipop2droid turbo lollipop5

droid turbo lollipop3 droid turbo lollipop4

Verizon: DROID Turbo Lollipop Update Goes Live Tomorrow (Updated: List of Changes) is a post from: Droid Life



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Sprint Intros “All-In” Wireless Campaign, $80/Month Nabs You Plan, Device, and Throttled Video Streaming

Sprint has a new campaign to get potential customers excited about wireless plans. Titled All-In Wireless, Sprint offers a single $80 a month agreement that features the plan and a smartphone, all for one price. 

To break it down, users pay $60 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data, plus an additional $20 a month to lease one of Sprint’s most popular smartphones. There is a one-time activation fee of $36, and it will help if you are a well-qualified buyer.

In the footnotes of the press release, Sprint also details the treatment your data goes through, which does not sound too pleasant. As noted, “to improve data experience for the majority of users, throughput may be limited, varied or reduced on the network.” This leads to streaming video speeds being limited to just 600Kbps at all times, which will definitely affect playback.

Additionally, “Sprint may terminate service if off-network roaming usage in a month exceeds: (1) 800 min. or a majority of min.; or (2) 100MB or a majority of KB.” These are things to keep in mind.

Sprint has a fancy new ad campaign to celebrate, starring none other than David Beckham.

Sprint will promote All-In Wireless with advertising featuring international sports star and entrepreneur David Beckham. In the ads, Beckham goes from store to store, asking for a simple wireless plan with a consistent monthly cost. He is met with confusion and frustration at every stop – until he gets to a Sprint store, where he is offered All-In Wireless.

The ad premiers tonight during the US Women’s World Cup match, so that’s cool. But if you don’t want to wait, we have placed an extended version below.

Via: Sprint

Sprint Intros “All-In” Wireless Campaign, $80/Month Nabs You Plan, Device, and Throttled Video Streaming is a post from: Droid Life



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Tip: Don’t Forget to Hide the Android Wear Watch Faces You Don’t Want to Deal With

You know how your Android Wear watch came with a whole bunch of pre-installed watch faces that you can’t get rid of, most of which you wouldn’t be caught dead with on your watch in public? Guess what? You can hide them! I know that hiding is much different than uninstalling or removing, but at least you can shrink down that ever-growing list of watches on your watch to those that you actually like. 

To hide watch faces on your watch, head into your Android Wear companion app, tap on the “more” button in the “Watch faces” section, and then start hiding each individually by tapping on their menu buttons and choosing “Hide on watch.” Boom! Unwanted watch faces, now hidden on your watch.

Here are some pictures to help with this simple process.

Screenshot_2015-06-30-09-57-10 Screenshot_2015-06-30-09-57-19

Still a fan of your Android Wear device? Feel free to share any of your favorite watch faces in the comments.

Tip: Don’t Forget to Hide the Android Wear Watch Faces You Don’t Want to Deal With is a post from: Droid Life



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Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut, Never Alone, and Funk of Titans Launched for NVIDIA SHIELD

Owners of the NVIDIA SHIELD have four new game titles they can check out this morning on Google Play, one of which may lead to rumors surfacing that Half-Life 3 is actually confirmed.

Continuing its push to bring console and PC-class gaming titles to the Android TV platform for its consumers, NVIDIA announced the availability of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut, Never Alone, and Funk of Titans. 

I don’t believe I have to explain too much about Half-Life 2, but as for what you do need to know, it requires a game controller and is currently exclusive to SHIELD and the SHIELD Tablet. Priced at $7.99, it’s the classic you all remember.

Other games include Never Alone, a game I had previously never heard of before, but it looks absolutely fantastic. Set as a puzzler, you play as a young child who is friends with an arctic fox. You two set out across a snowy landscape, meeting interesting characters, hoping to solve the case of an eternal blizzard that threatens the planet’s existence. It sounds intense, looks intense, and that fox is adorable.

To grab one of these titles, hit the links below. Do note, not all may be live in Google Play just yet, but keep checking back periodically. It takes time for some titles to populate Google’s servers.

Play LinksHalf-Life 2: Episode Two ($8), Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut ($10), Never Alone ($15), and Funk of Titans ($5)

Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Q.U.B.E.

Never Alone

Funk of Titans

Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Q.U.B.E. Director’s Cut, Never Alone, and Funk of Titans Launched for NVIDIA SHIELD is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon LG G4 Update Live, Brings Enhanced Advanced Calling

An update is rolling out for the LG G4 on Verizon, bringing a few features to owners, but nothing all that special. The software version is labeled as VS98611A.

Included is an enhanced Folio display while a call is taking place, an updated consistency for displaying contacts and non-contacts in the Dialer app, and an enhanced Advanced Calling feature. That’s it. 

If you rock the G4 on Big Red, keep your eyes open for the notification to download the update.

www_verizonwireless_com_dam_support_pdf_system_update_benefits-lg-g4-6-29-15_pdf

Via: Verizon

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Sprint Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Receiving Update to Android 5.1 Today

Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge variants on Sprint are receiving an update to Android 5.1 this morning, according to Sprint support. The updates are quite large in size, hovering around 563MB for what we thought would have been a minor upgrade.

After the update, users should expect to see minor UI enhancements throughout, factory reset protection, performance improvements, and “new and/or enhanced features.” 

The Galaxy S6 will be bumped to software version G920PVPU2B0F7, while the S6 Edge will end up on G925PVPU2B0F7.

The update appears to be live for at least one of our readers, so feel free to check through Settings>About device.

Screenshot_2015-06-30-09-13-04

Via:  Sprint [2]
Cheers Steven!

Sprint Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Receiving Update to Android 5.1 Today is a post from: Droid Life



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Pushbullet Receives Biggest Update Ever, Basically Becomes the Ultimate File-Sharing Messenger App

The folks at Pushbullet pushed out a massive update today across all of their apps. In fact, they are calling this their “biggest update ever.” That’s a bold statement for an app that we can’t stop writing about because each update seems to be awesomeness big. This time, though, things really are taking a turn towards the new, as the app is more organized than ever, almost in a messenger-like way. 

On Android and iOS apps, Pushbullet is now organized by where your file shares came from, meaning you have columns for Friends, Me, and Following. In the Friends section, this is where you have everything sent to and from a friend, so you have history and the ability to have further conversations (see, like a messenger app). The Me section is all of the stuff sent to yourself and all of your own devices.  The Following section is a list of all of your channels.

It’s pretty great, especially if you use Pushbullet to send and receive files to/from others.

Screen Shot 2015-06-30 at 6.20.17 AM Screen Shot 2015-06-30 at 6.20.06 AM

Outside of mobile apps, the Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera extensions also make sending and sharing links with friends easier, but you can also pop-out windows to continue conversations. The Pushbullet team made all of this more reliable as well, so if something goes wrong in the middle of a share, these extensions should now tell you.

Finally, the Pushbullet Windows app and website received makeovers with all of the stuff we just mentioned. Also, the website has drag & drop of as many files as you can force yourself to send. Below, you can see a short video of the new Windows app in action.

The updates are live. Go grab them!

Play Link

 Via:  Pushbullet [2]

Pushbullet Receives Biggest Update Ever, Basically Becomes the Ultimate File-Sharing Messenger App is a post from: Droid Life



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Monday, June 29, 2015

Lollipop is Finally Coming to the DROID Turbo.

Motorola says so. The soak test kicks off today, according to multiple readers of ours. Yep, the DROID Turbo is actually about to get Android 5.1 Lollipop. 

We’ll update this as we have more.

Lollipop is Finally Coming to the DROID Turbo. is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon’s Motorola “Kinzie” Shows Up at GFXBench With 5.5-Inch QHD Display, Snapdragon 810

Motorola has done a pretty good job in recent years of keeping their upcoming flagship smartphones under wraps. Sure, we see a leak here or there that gives us a clue or two, but never anything like how HTC phones see full reviews before they are even announced. Motorola has been able to hide most of the details of their last few phones up until the last minute. But as we inch closer to a potential late August-early September launch of a new Moto X, puzzle pieces are starting to arrive.

Remember back in May where I told you to keep an eye on Motorola model numbers XT1585 and XT1578? Well, they are back in headlines today, thanks to a benchmark that showed up over at GFXBench

The specific device that showed up is the XT1585, which is carrying a codename of “Kinzie.” The benchmark reveals a phone that has a 5.5-inch QHD (2560×1440) display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB RAM, 21GB storage (which probably means 32GB), 20MP rear camera, 4.8MP front camera, and Android 5.1.1. Sounds decent, right?

Here is the benchmark.

motorola kinzie xt1585

Now, we are calling this a Verizon phone because of a purported leak through reddit from the same person who gave us those model numbers so long ago. According to this redditor, the “Kinzie” is set for launch on Verizon. He describes the phone similarly to what this benchmark shows.

On a related note, since his mention a month ago of the “Kinzie” seems somewhat legitimized by this benchmark, we should point out that he also attached the name “Clark” to Motorola phone XT1578. That phone is also supposedly coming to Verizon with a Snapdragon 808 on board. Industry pundits think that the “Clark” may end up as the new Moto X (3rd gen), while the “Kinzie” may end up as new DROID.

I can’t say that I have a feeling for either, but I’d be willing to buy into that idea. What about you?

Via:  GFXBench | WinFuture | reddit

Verizon’s Motorola “Kinzie” Shows Up at GFXBench With 5.5-Inch QHD Display, Snapdragon 810 is a post from: Droid Life



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Moto G (3rd Gen) Showcased in Leaked Press Renders

New images of the Moto G (3rd Gen) have hit the web, showing off its new backside design, but an overall unchanged frontside. The images are press renders, posted by TechnoBuffalo, giving us a possible best look yet at the upcoming mid-range device from Motorola

Besides what it looks like, not much is known about the phone, including specs and release information. It is rumored the Moto G will feature a 5″ HD 720p display, Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 13MP rear-facing camera.

On the backside, we see Motorola has a plastic-looking piece going vertically up the housing, giving the phone a rather unique look. Why Moto did this, we do not know. Could it be a button? Possible, but rather unlikely. Early reports suggested that the Moto X (2nd Gen) would feature a button, but it turned out to be just an odd design.

Share your thoughts on the new design below. Is this what we should expect from the new Moto X, as well?

Via: TechnoBuffallo

Moto G (3rd Gen) Showcased in Leaked Press Renders is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon’s Moto X (2nd Gen) Gets Approval on Android 5.1 Update, Ready for All

The soak test of Android 5.1 for the Moto X (2nd gen) on Verizon must have gone well, because Verizon approved the update (version 23.16.3) for all this afternoon. They posted release notes for the update to their support site, which is almost always a sign that they are about to press “Go!” on the rollout. 

As a recap, in Android 5.1, you get easier controls over WiFi networks and Bluetooth connections through quick toggles, new Interruption controls, tweaked volume control access, and factory reset protection.

To check for the update, head into Settings>About phone. If it’s not there, expect it within the next day or so.

Let us know if you get it!

Screen Shot 2015-06-29 at 4.00.59 PM Screen Shot 2015-06-29 at 4.01.05 PM

Via:  Verizon

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LG Chem Intros Hexagonal Batteries for Smartwatches

To better fit round smartwatches, LG Chem has introduced hexagonal batteries, granting a larger capacity given their shape. Instead of a little square or rectangular battery inside of your round watch, a battery featuring a roundish shape can fit better inside, delivering more juice to end users. 

As of right now, LG has not named any customers for this new technology, but there are plenty of OEMs diving into wearable technology. For future buyers of a round smartwatch, ones which may hold this LG battery inside, you should see extended battery life when compared to other round smartwatches currently on the market.

This is exciting news for smartwatch fans, and hopefully, this innovation does lead to happier customers.

Via: Engadget

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Hangouts on iOS Just Got Updated to V4.0 – Bring on the Android Version

A couple of weeks ago, we saw Hangouts version 4.0 leak for Android as a completely revamped application in terms of user experience. We still haven’t seen the update arrive on our favorite mobile platform, but it did hit iOS this afternoon. Actually, v4.0 that looks almost identical to that Android leak showed up on our iPhone 6, giving us all sorts of hope that the Android version isn’t far behind.

Below, you will see a series of screenshots from the application that should look quite familiar if you saw that v4.0 leak for Android. 

First, the conversation experience is quite similar. You have a bottom row of icon shortcuts for image attachments, launching the camera, stickers, and location sharing. Also, as you type a message, the send button appears almost like a floating action button, splitting the input box and conversation.

hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios

When navigating the app, we do have some differences, most notably in the number of columns. On v4.0 for Android, we saw almost everything buried in a slideout navigation drawer, whereas on the iOS version, you have four shortcuts for Contacts, Favorites, Hangouts, and Calls. This likely differs because this is an iOS design guideline.

hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios

We are seeing an option for setting your status (which is supposed to come in v4.0 for Android), plus there is a FAB throughout the app for starting a new conversations. Punching that FAB doesn’t give you the options like we expect on the Android version, but it’s still there, for whenever you’d like to start something new and then choose from contacts.

hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios hangouts 4.0 android ios

Maybe #updatewednesday will bring us this bundle of joy?

Hangouts on iOS Just Got Updated to V4.0 – Bring on the Android Version is a post from: Droid Life



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Sprint HTC One M9 Approved for Android 5.1 Update, Rollout Begins July 1

According to a tweet sent out from HTC’s Mo Versi, the One M9 on Sprint has received technical approval for an update to Android 5.1. The update is scheduled to begin rolling out to owners on July 1, and folks should be happy to know that it includes “camera improvements.”

On top of fixes for the camera, users should also expect to see slight improvements to the battery, but we will need to wait for an official build number and changelog to get the skinny on what exactly is new.

On July 1, be on the lookout. If you own a One M9 on a different carrier, we will keep you posted if info is released.

Mo_Versi_on_Twitter___HTC_One__M9__Sprint_Owners__We_have_received_technical_approval_on_Lollipop_OS_5_1_which_includes_camera_improvements__OTA_to_start_on_7_1__

Via: @moversi

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Pebble Time Review

The Pebble Time is an important product for a few reasons, but the most important is that it is the only serious contender for the space on your wrist besides Android Wear and Apple Watch. For most users, Android Wear and Apple Watch make more sense on their respective platforms. Really, the only reason the Pebble Time exists is because the original Pebble did a lot of what many users wanted in a smartwatch far before Android Wear and Apple Watch were a thing nerds argued about and normal humans looked at briefly as they passed through their mall.

Now that Android Wear and Apple Watch are here, though, can Pebble stay relevant with the Time?

This is our Pebble Time review.

The Good


Pebble - 6

The User Interface

Designing a fun to use, beautiful user interface is incredible difficult, but I think Pebble did a great job with this. They took a technology that Amazon has managed to make feel exhaustively slow and made it display text and iconography in a magical way. Text and icons fly on and off the screen, watch faces smoothly animate, and while the colors are limited, they feel native to the device. In short, the user interface feels delightful to use.

The new timeline interface is great, particularly if you schedule a lot of your life. With a simply press of the bottom button I can see what’s coming up next in my schedule, when and where. I can press the middle button when an event is at the top to see even more detail and with a press or two of the left button I’m back at right now with my watch face. I think that mental model works really well. Even if you don’t schedule anything you can use timeline to see upcoming weather and sunrise/sunset times.

Water Resistance

Even though the Pebble time is less water resistant than its older siblings (by twenty meters to be exact), it’s still really nice to have a smartwatch that I don’t have to worry about taking off. Being able to just jump in the pool or rinse off after a run is pretty freeing. It’s also nice to know that if you have an Android phone and a Pebble Time you can still send voice replies to texts while you’re in the pool. Life changing? Maybe not, but definitely convenient.

Battery Life

Pebble still promises up to seven days of usage with the Time. My original Pebble never lasted for seven days and the Time still doesn’t either. With normal usage I think it’s safe to expect three to four days of battery life, which is definitely better than any other smartwatch available on the market. With that battery life come plenty of trade offs, but it’s there if that’s more important than, say, legibility.

The Band

The band on the Pebble Time is great. It feels like it’s a slight revision over the original with more flexibility. I liked the band on the original and I like this one too. The really nice thing about the band is how easy it is to remove. Pebble added quick release pins, which means you can very easily slide the pins out and replace the band with something else. Normally you need a removal tool to swap these out and you will probably want one if you’re going to put a normal watch band on your Pebble Time, but at least the stock one removes easily.

Somewhere-in-the-Middle


Pebble - 18

The Display Resolution

One of my biggest complaints with the Pebble and Pebble Steel was that the display had too low of a resolution. Pebble tried to make that work to their advantage by featuring iconography and watch faces that looked like they could have been taken from a Sega Genesis, but on any watch face that features a second hand (an important feature to many, including myself) it just looked bad. I don’t want to see pixels in 2015 and neither should you. The Time does not fix this issue at all, featuring a still too low for this age resolution screen of 144 x 168. While many watch faces look fine at this resolution (especially if they feature larger elements that don’t have many angles), classic watch faces and smaller information elements like the date or weather just look bad. Pebble uses a good font so everything is legible, but you never get the sense that this is something that is designed to look good, which brings us to the rest of the hardware.

Color Display

Pebble Time features a colored e-ink display (64 colors to be exact). This is an improvement over the previous displays in the right lighting, but its also a detriment in the wrong lighting. Because lighting is such a huge factor with e-ink displays, there are times when colors work against legibility on the Time. With the backlight on in the right lighting it makes watch faces look much more appealing and adds to the experience by allowing users to more easily differentiate different parts of the watch faces when allowed by the face designer. One of my favorite watch faces, TH3, allows you to change the color of the hour, minute, and second hands as well as the color of the dials, day, and date. That kind of customization is great, especially with colors, but I found myself limiting the colors I used because so often some of them made the face harder to read due to lighting.

The Hardware

I don’t want to say the hardware on the Pebble Time is bad, because it isn’t. It’s fine, but compared to something like the Moto 360 or the Apple Watch, its glaringly cheaper between its plastic body, dim, low resolution screen, and large bezel. While the battery life makes the Pebble Time a better fit for users who want longer battery life than the competition can offer, I wouldn’t wear the Time when I’m going to a function where I want to look good. Is that a problem for Pebble? Perhaps not if the Pebble was marketed more as a fitness device, but much like the original Pebble I don’t always feel comfortable wearing it in public because I’m not confident in its looks. It’s not just that it’s obviously made out of plastic, but also that it doesn’t look serious. I usually wear a $50 Seiko watch. It doesn’t look expensive, but it does look like a serious watch whereas the Pebble looks like a toy I got out of my cereal box.

Pebble - 19 Pebble - 23 Pebble - 20 Pebble - 21 Pebble - 22

Pebble Time App

The Pebble Time app for iOS is useful for finding watch faces and apps, although it is a drag to use since it’s essentially a web wrapper. The Android app features a lot more functionality, but browsing apps and faces is still not as good as it should be. With the Android app you can set a default music player (which should be Google Play Music unless you’re a monster) and even canned responses for replying to messages.

Apps

Pebble has a small ecosystem of apps that allow you to use your watch instead of your phone, but like most things on the Pebble the functionality is limited. This isn’t always Pebble’s fault, but rather a limitation of what you can really do on a device this size. The best apps, not surprisingly, are fitness related, although there are some decent check list apps out there as well. Essentially, if you want to use a lot of apps on a smartwatch look elsewhere.

Watch Faces

There are some good watch faces for Pebble, but the vast majority of them are garbage. That’s to be expected when you have a free-for-all with the content created. The vast majority of apps on iOS and Android, for example, are garbage, too. I found myself using TH3, Revolution, and FIWatch most of the time.

Voice Replies

In their launch video Pebble revealed a new voice feature which allows Android users to send replies to certain notifications with their voice (Pebble has promised this will come to iOS in a future update). Voice replies worked decently in my experience, but the lack of integration with Google Now or Siri (something Pebble says they’re experimenting with) means this is a function that will enjoy little use from most people. It’s also not nearly as quick and easy to use as demonstrated.

To use Voice Replies you have to have Android Wear installed. Once it’s installed, when you get a notification that you can reply to press the middle button, select Reply, and select Voice. Pebble will then say that it is listening and you can dictate your response. After dictating, the Pebble will transcribe the response and display it to you before sending. If you’re good with the response you can press send. I adore the send animation (a paper airplane flying away). Several times I tried to send a reply it would say that an error occurred, but whenever I retried it would get it right. Some responses took longer than others to transcribe, but that’s par for the course for transcription. Every time it worked, however, the transcription was accurate.

For Voice Replies to be truly useful, Pebble should have implemented their own phrase to initiate a reply. As it stands you have to press too many buttons just to get to voice reply and then hope that it all works after that. At the bare minimum Voice Reply should be accessible with a long press of a button. Right now it’s just not seamless enough.

The Not-so-Good


Pebble - 1

Display Brightness

The display brightness on the Pebble Time is abysmal. On my drive home today my wife was calling me. The Time started vibrating and it was displaying who was calling, but I couldn’t see who it was. I shook my wrist, thinking the brightness might increase enough so that I can read who was calling, but to no avail. Finally I just looked at my phone, which was plenty bright so that I could see it was my wife and I answered the call.

There have also been plenty of times when the watch is simply illegible, especially in low light conditions. When you turn the light on in dark conditions the screen is easy to read and in direct sunlight it’s legible, but in low light and at various angles it is incredibly difficult to read. When I walked my dog this morning I was able to see the display fine, even in the shade, but in the office and on the drive into work it was very difficult to read, even with the back light on.

Display Glass

There are two problems with the glass. First, the glass is a smudge and fingerprint magnet. I’m constantly having to swipe the screen to improve its already abysmal legibility. Second, the glass is super reflective, which again, makes legibility difficult in certain scenarios. That’s going to happen with any object with a glass face, but it affects the Pebble Time even more than it ought to.

Display Lamination

Wow, Ron, you sure are talking about the display a lot. Yes, because it’s the most important part of this product and it’s not very good. On top of the poor resolution, brightness, glass, and endless bezels, the display is not laminated very close to the glass. Why does this matter? I want to look at my watch from multiple angles. When I’m typing with my Seiko I can move my wrist just a bit to quickly see the time. With the Pebble, I have to move it even more. Now granted, the screen brightness has a huge impact on legibility already, but if the display was laminated closer to the screen it was save me some millimeters when I need to glance at my wrist.

Video


Gallery


Pebble - 5 Pebble - 16 Pebble - 14 Pebble - 11 Pebble - 4

The Verdict


So who should buy this watch? Most people should pass on this watch. If you use an iPhone you should absolutely not get the Pebble Time because none of the advanced features work on iOS yet and they may never work. If you have an iPhone, get an Apple Watch; you’ll be much happier. If you use an Android phone then the only reason you should get the Pebble time is if you want a smartwatch that lasts longer than Android Wear watches and you’re always in very well lit rooms or very dark rooms. In other words, most Android users would probably be happier with an Android Wear watch.

I enjoyed using the original Pebble, especially when I just wanted to know why my phone was buzzing, but it didn’t age well (mostly due to the plastic screen), I couldn’t wear it when I needed to look nice, and it didn’t integrate with my iPhone very well. The Time doesn’t solve any of those problems. Even though the Time is more capable on an Android device, the realities of using an e-ink display make it so difficult to recommend, especially when you get get an Android Wear watch that will look just as good for less money or better for the same or a little more money.

If Pebble had increased the resolution, changed the display technology or dramatically improved it, and worked with Google to make Google Now integration work then they may have had a compelling product, but as it stands it feels like Pebble just wasted their time for the past year. They had their opportunity and they did pretty well despite the limitations of the first Pebble, but I don’t think e-ink screens are the future of smartwatches, which means Pebble probably won’t be a part of that future either.

Pebble Time Review is a post from: Droid Life



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Android 5.1.1_r6 Heads to AOSP as Build LMY48G, Factory Image of It Posted for Nexus 7 (2013)

Google just posted Android 5.1.1_r6 to AOSP this morning as build LMY48G. Shortly after that happened, they posted a factory image of LMY48G for the Nexus 7 (2013).

This new version is likely just a bug fixer, but it could also mean another round of updates for all of our favorite Nexus devices. 

We’ll keep you posted if anything changes.

Via:  AOSP | Google

Android 5.1.1_r6 Heads to AOSP as Build LMY48G, Factory Image of It Posted for Nexus 7 (2013) is a post from: Droid Life



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Samsung Galaxy S6 Active Review

What happens when you take the best Android phone you can buy today and toss a protective shell on it, enlarge its battery, and make it waterproof? You get the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, an AT&T exclusive that is aimed at the “active” crowd who enjoys working out, has a job that requires a tougher phone, or those who want a little extra protection around a phone without giving up flagship-level specs and experiences.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks with the Galaxy S6 Active, taking it on daily runs and a couple of hikes, to try and put it through what I would consider to be “active” tests. I also used it as a daily phone for checking email, messaging, cruising YouTube, playing music, and running my favorite apps, which is the way most will use it, since most of us aren’t working out or smashing our phones with hammers 19 hours a day. I didn’t drive over it with a car or throw it off of a building, because well, that’s just stupid. I used it like an active person would.

This is my Galaxy S6 Active review. 

About this review


Before we get into this, understand that this review is going to be much shorter than a typical review of ours. After all, this phone really is just a Galaxy S6 with a bigger battery and water/dust/shock-proofing. There are some obvious design tweaks, new buttons, and no fingerprint scanner, but the processor, display, camera, and software are all identical to the other Galaxy S6 phones. So we won’t be talking about those areas, necessarily, because well, we wrote up a massive Galaxy S6 review that touched on all of them. So if you want to catch up on all of those areas, be sure to read our Galaxy S6 review.

In this review, we’ll focus on what has changed from the S6 to this Active version. We’ll talk design, using the phone, battery life, and whether or not this would be a good phone for the active crowd, a regular person, or both.

Ready?

galaxy s6 active-4

Design

The design of the Galaxy S6 Active certainly wants you to believe that it is ready for battle. It sports a metal-esque outer protective frame with exposed screws, noticeable texture throughout its body and sides for extra grip, and a camo paint job on some models. Nothing screams “Active!” like camo, right? I wouldn’t necessarily call this phone pretty, but “manly” would pass. This phone wants you to think it can withstand a punch or drop or hammer smash and it probably can. Not that I took a hammer to this review unit, but I’d imagine that if this phone dropped from your hand to a hard surface a number of times, it would survive them time and time again. In fact, AT&T claims that this phone “Meets U.S. Mil-STD-810G for water-resistance and to withstand dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, humidity, and high altitude.” See, it’s pretty tough.

In terms of size, the Galaxy S6 Active is slightly taller, wider, thicker, and heavier than the regular S6. The size and weight differences are due to the fact that it sports a bigger battery and has a protective layer around. I wouldn’t call this phone “big” when compared to something like the Galaxy Note 4, but if you go from regular S6 to this, you will notice a difference in the size.

Outside of the appearance, this phone differs from the regular Galaxy S6 in that it has three physical navigation buttons and an additional “Active” button above the volume rocker on its left side. I am in no way a fan of this navigation button setup. I can get used to a single, physical home button on the Galaxy S6, but having to fully press a back and app switcher is just not an enjoyable experience. It adds extra time when you want to do something as quick as going back a screen or hiding the keyboard. And not only are they not fun to use, but they look pretty ugly as well. Seriously, look at the random symbols and design of these things. And look, physical buttons aren’t a deal-breaker when you look at the rest of the package here, it’s just that I would 10 times out of 10 prefer the regular Galaxy S6’s setup over this.

galaxy s6 active-2

As for the “Active” button, you get an additional button that can be programmed to quickly launch apps. I don’t know why this has anything to do with a person being active or not, but it’s there and does indeed open apps quickly. You can set it to open one app on a short press, along with a second app on a long press. For the most part, you need your phone awake and unlocked in order to take advantage of this, but you can tell it to allow these presses to work with the screen locked too. I used the button all of two or three times I think. I could see how this could be useful, but in the way I use my phone, I just didn’t see a need for a new button.

Overall, the phone isn’t the ugliest phone on the planet, but it’s not exactly a looker either. With its combination of ruggedness and odd button designs, it’s neither modern nor industrial. It’s kind of a mix of “Hey, I think I’m tough so I need a tough-looking phone” and “Dude, at least my ugly phone will survive if I drop it in the toilet.” But hey, maybe you don’t care what your rugged phone looks like as long as it can survive some hurt. After all, that is sort of the point here.

Using the phone

If you talk about a software experience on the S6 Active, outside of its “Active” button and the lack of a fingerprint scanner, it’s identical to the regular S6. This is the same supposedly toned-down TouchWiz, same notification pulldown and lock screen, the same settings experience, the same stock apps, and you even have the double-tap-home to quickly launch the camera. I really couldn’t tell you a difference between the two.

Now, if you talk about in-hand, hardware use, it does differ. As I mentioned above, the phone is slightly larger and heavier, plus it has that new Active button. As a runner, I tend to run with my phone in hand, so that I can quickly control apps, check my run stats, etc., and so I noticed the change in thickness when going from the regular S6 to the Active over the last couple of weeks. I got used to it, though, and those extra grippy spots throughout the phone’s frame really help.

galaxy s6 active-3

What I didn’t care for, is that new Active button. Not that I don’t see a use for it, but because it was added, Samsung had to slide the volume rocker down the side of the phone a bit. Because of this adjustment, I found that I was constantly accidentally adjusting the volume when I didn’t want to be. With the regular S6, the volume rocker is placed up high so that it is out of the way when holding your phone. On the S6 Active, that damn volume rocker is exactly in the place where I hold my phone with a full grip. This silly move is as comically bad as the one HTC made with its volume rocker/lock button setup on the One M9.

Samsung, for whatever reason, also tossed the headphone jack back up on top of this phone, even though they moved it to the bottom on the regular S6. As you probably know, I’m always going to be on #teambottomjack and so this move doesn’t make me happy. With a top headphone jack, the cord on your headphones is constantly in the way, making for a hell of a frustrating experience, especially when you are out doing something active, like running.

This phone isn’t a disaster to use or anything, it’s just that Samsung made some small tweaks that unfortunately, hurt the overall experience when compared to the regular S6.

Battery Life

How pissed were you when you saw that the S6 Active had a bigger battery (3,500mAh) than your recently-purchased regular S6 (2,550mAh)? Hold that thought, because it’s going to get worse. In my time with the S6 Active and its massive 3,500mAh battery, I came away incredibly impressed by the fact that this phone can easily pull you through a heavy day, yet Samsung hardly increased size or weight.

battery 1 battery2 battery3

During my testing, with over two hours of screen-on time each day (a mix of WiFi and LTE), I could have easily hit the 25+ hour mark without needing a charge. Since I live in an AT&T black hole of signal death that destroys all batteries, that’s pretty incredible battery life. For a normal user, with a good AT&T connection, I could see this phone getting you well into a second day. Even on days where I went straight terrible LTE connection, I was pushing to 20+ hours of use.

After having spent the last couple of months with an S6 and its mediocre battery life, I can’t tell you how refreshing it has been to use a phone that doesn’t need to take advantage of fast charging twice per day. If there was ever a time for a company to release a “MAXX” version of a phone, it would be Samsung doing a Galaxy S6 MAXX, that kept everything about the regular S6 the same, outside of a slightly thicker body that could house this big of a battery.

galaxy s6 active-12

The Active side

As an “active” phone, this phone totally passes the test. As I mentioned, I took it regularly on sweat-filled runs, packed it around on hikes, dropped it a couple of times, tossed it regularly in the bathtub to confirm that it can withstand some water, let my son throw it around the house, and even spit beer all over it (on accident). I never felt like this phone was going to be in trouble. Not only does the battery last forever, but I always felt a sense of security while using it. If I was in a situation where it could drop or I might spill on it, I wasn’t worried. I can’t say the same for my regular Galaxy S6.

galaxy s6 active

Camera

Samsung tossed the same 16MP camera into the S6 Active as was used in the regular S6. Since the camera used in the regular S6 is considered by many (including us) to be the best in the business, I can’t imagine you will be disappointed in this area. The UI is the same. The quick launch shortcut is the same. The speed of the focus and shutter are the same. It’s awesomely the same.

If you want differences, you’ll find it in the pre-loaded Sports and Aqua modes. The Sports mode you can download on the regular S6, but the Aqua is (for obvious reasons) exclusive to the Active line. In this mode, you are basically just activating the Active and volumes buttons as your shutter and video record, respectively, when underwater

Here are some samples that I captured.

galaxy s6 active samples

galaxy s6 active samples-2 galaxy s6 active samples-3 galaxy s6 active samples-4 galaxy s6 active samples-5 galaxy s6 active samples-6

Full resolution: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Other notes

  • No fingerprint sensor:  Nope, no fingerprint sensor on this phone. Most of you probably don’t care, but this is one of the differences from the regular S6, which does impact the level of convenient security that we bragged about in our S6 review.
  • Performance:  Thanks to that Exynos 7420 processor and 3GB RAM, this phone is absolutely fine in terms of performance. It’s fast, apps load and switch quickly, the camera fires right up when you want it to, and it reboots in a hurry should you need to bypass Samsung’s memory leak.
  • Storage:  This phone comes with 32GB of storage and that’s it. There isn’t a microSD slot and you don’t have options for more storage in more expensive models. Hopefully, 32GB is enough for you.
  • Fast and wireless charging:  This phone features both wireless charging (both standards too) and fast charging. Trust me, you’ll need the fast charging on a battery this big. Well, you’ll need it when you actually end up charging this battery beast.
  • AT&T exclusive:  We hate carrier exclusives, but this Active line has been exclusive to AT&T for years now. It won’t shock anyone that you can only buy this phone through AT&T, it’s just too bad, because there are plenty of customers of other carriers that could benefit from this phone.

Gallery


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Video


Final thoughts


The Galaxy S6 Active is for the most part, a really great phone. It has almost all of the good stuff from the Galaxy S6, yet is also equipped with a massive battery that will last you more than a day, and can withstand some water and rough play. The camera on this phone is awesome, as is the display.

If you want some negatives, I’d say that the design itself is quite ugly, but that’s my personal opinion. I don’t like the button setup either. But really, the biggest downside here is that this phone is an exclusive to AT&T. Options like this need to be available to more people, especially when this phone specifically addresses some of regular Galaxy S6’s biggest weaknesses.

I’d pick up a Galaxy S6 Active if I really needed a phone that was super tough and water resistant, because it’s every bit as good as the regular Galaxy S6 in the other areas that matter.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Active Review is a post from: Droid Life



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