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Friday, July 10, 2015

Don’t Miss These Android Stories: 7/10/15

What a week, right? We got Android M Preview 2, I’ve found love for the Nexus 6 again, DROID Turbo owners are basking in Lollipop sweetness, and T-Mobile really wants you to travel to Canada and Mexico. But not only that, we had new rumors surrounding the Galaxy Note 5, new Motorola phones to keep an eye on, and fresh OnePlus 2 specs to talk about.

Below, as is always the case on Fridays, you will find a recap of all of the biggest stories in case you missed anything. 

Try not to melt out there.

Don’t Miss These Android Stories: 7/10/15 is a post from: Droid Life



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Here is Another Report Claiming That Huawei is Making a Nexus Phone

Back in March, we first heard a rumor that Huawei was making the next Nexus smartphone (or at least one of them). We leaned towards believing it at the time, because a source of ours gave us the equivalent of a virtual wink when asked about it. Since that initial report, we have seen at least three others, all claiming to have heard similar stories. 

In case you needed another, take yesterday’s report from The Information’s Amir Efrati as the fifth in the past four months to suggest that Google and Huawei are holding hands in Nexus land. Efrati has a solid track record when it comes to Google-related inside info, so I wouldn’t take this latest report lightly.

If you were looking for juicy new details, though, you won’t find them here. This new report simply mentions that Huawei will become the “first mainland China” manufacturer to get Nexus making duties. It also talks about Huawei using this partnership with Google to make better phones going forward.

So, yeah, Huawei Nexus! (Again.)

Via:  The Information (subscription)

Here is Another Report Claiming That Huawei is Making a Nexus Phone is a post from: Droid Life



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Video: Android M Preview 2 Overview!

Yesterday, Google gave us an updated Android M Developer Preview 2 that had a good handful of tweaks and changes that we pointed out through a series of Android M feature posts. But since we realize that not everyone wants to read through each individual post, we went ahead and put together a quick video of each of the changes in action.

In the clip below, you’ll see the tweaked app drawer, new Storage and Memory areas in settings, fully-featured System UI Tuner (with status bar options!), and how you can quickly delete screenshots. None of this stuff is game-changing or even ground-breaking, but it certainly adds some polish to that original preview.

Should find other little goodies, we will be sure to pass along that info. 

Video: Android M Preview 2 Overview! is a post from: Droid Life



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Here is a Reversible Micro USB Cable on Kickstarter, Just in Time for USB Type-C

With the next round of flagship phones from OnePlus, Google, and Samsung almost upon us, we are about to usher in an era that ditches the microUSB port in favor of the much more user-friendly and feature-rich USB Type-C. USB Type-C is not only reversible, but it also transfers data and power faster, while acting as an extender for all sorts of dongles. It’s going to be awesome when our phones have USB Type-C ports.

But what about current phones that won’t ever be able to access the fun that is a reversible UBS Type-C? Well, they could turn to this newly launched Kickstarter for a product called the Micro-Flip, which is a reversible microUSB cable. 

The campaign kicked off this week, jumping out to a early $7,000 in funding within a few hours. It hasn’t moved much in the last 24 hours, but with a funding goal of $15,000, it could get there in a matter of days depending on how the tech crowd reacts to it.

The Micro-Flip doesn’t offer any additional features outside of being reversible, but that may be enough of a reason for some of you to buy it. I have seem some concern over at reddit from folks who think this could put too much pressure or odd angles on your phone’s microUSB port if used enough times, and that it may reduce the port’s life. That would not be good for obvious reasons.

The Micro-Flip can be had for as little as $12. Its creators hope to close funding by mid-August before shipping in October.

Via:  Kickstarter

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Here’s Another Mystery HTC Device at the FCC on Its Way to Verizon

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed two new HTC smartphones that had stopped off at the FCC on their way to Verizon. Today, another revealed itself, and yes, it’s also on its way to Big Red. What Verizon and HTC are doing with three new phones is beyond me, but that is the scenario here. 

The newest phone to show itself is, again, a “smartphone” under FCC ID NM80PM9300. If that sounds familiar, that’s because one of the other devices dropped in as NM80PM9400. The third from a couple of weeks back was NM80PM3100, so it’s not fitting our scheme here.

In this new filing, we are getting a bit more information, though, and that’s by way of a model number attached to the FCC label. That model number is HTCD200LVW (VW for Verizon Wireless). After looking at the “D200″ section and also the fact that this phone doesn’t even have 802.11ac WiFi, I’d be willing to guess that this, like the other mystery phone, is a mid-ranger – maybe even a new Desire model.

Screen Shot 2015-07-10 at 9.22.24 AM

If you needed further confirmation that this is a Verizon phone, look no further than the chart below that shows all of Verizon’s bands (both CDMA and LTE) being tested. Yep, this is a Verizon phone.

Screen Shot 2015-07-10 at 10.03.28 AM

Move along.

Via:  FCC

Here’s Another Mystery HTC Device at the FCC on Its Way to Verizon is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon’s LG G3 is Getting an Update Today, Hopefully to Fix All of Its Many Issues

The LG G3 on Verizon did not benefit from Lollipop. Sure, everything on the phone looks prettier without KitKat, but that prettiness, unfortunately, has also meant having a phone that hardly performs normal (and critical) smartphone functions. Don’t believe me? Go look at Verizon’s community forum for the G3. It’s all lawsuit threats, complaints about this or that bug, and users asking how they can go back to Android 4.4. Almost immediately after the phone received its update to Android 5.0, the complaints started. Here we are almost three months later and they haven’t even slowed.

With that said, I may have good news, frustrated G3 owners. An update is ready to rollout to your phone! 

Verizon approved the update yesterday during all of that Android M madness, so we are just now sharing. But yes, this update is ready as VS98524B or “24B.” The changelog speaks of Bluetooth, Interruptions, and Advanced Calling tweaks that you probably do not care one bit about. If this update doesn’t also include a massive amount of bug fixes, then it is a complete failure.

Go grab the update and then tell us if your phone is stable again for the first time in three months.

To try and pull the update, head into Settings>About phone>Check for updates.

Screen Shot 2015-07-10 at 7.30.02 AM Screen Shot 2015-07-10 at 7.30.09 AM

Via:  Verizon

Verizon’s LG G3 is Getting an Update Today, Hopefully to Fix All of Its Many Issues is a post from: Droid Life



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Report: Samsung Will Release the Galaxy Note 5 in August, Because Apple.

The Wall Street Journal reported late last night that Samsung is going to move up the launch of the Galaxy Note 5 because it wants a cushion between the launch of its next flagship and the refreshes that Apple will likely introduce in September. The phone will now be unveiled (and potentially launched) in mid-August instead of during September’s IFA conference, which has long-been the spot for Samsung to give us a new Note. 

As a recap, the Galaxy Note 5 is largely thought to feature a USB Type-C port and no micro SD slot. Most of the rest of the features are still a mystery at this point or are fluffy rumors floating around forums. Samsung is also expected to finally debut Samsung Pay alongside the Note 5.

I wouldn’t be opposed to an early release, that’s for sure. The summer can often be painfully long without smartphone releases, so yes, bring it on, Samsung. Also, the Galaxy Note 4 (our review) was a fabulous device that should only get better, assuming Samsung takes the focus it put into the Galaxy S6 and drops a bucketload of it on this new Note.

Via:  Wall Street Journal

Report: Samsung Will Release the Galaxy Note 5 in August, Because Apple. is a post from: Droid Life



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