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Monday, January 11, 2016

DEAL: Just $249 for Nexus 6 32GB, $299 for 64GB

Didn’t take advantage of the waves of Nexus 6 deals that popped up prior to the holiday shopping season? That’s cool, only because you still have a chance to land one at a ridiculously low price.

Amazon is selling the 32GB model (both white or blue variants) for $249 and the 64GB model for $299. Again, as I’ve said a half-dozen times – this phone originally retailed for $649. And yes, it’s still a heck of a phone, especially at that price. It has the latest version of Android before all other non-Nexus phones and will continue to for a long time to come.

Amazon Link

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Galaxy S7 Edge Reportedly Hits AnTuTu, Shows 12MP Camera and 5.1″ QHD Display

As we push steadily into 2016, the info on upcoming flagship devices from Samsung is beginning to heat up, and if the latest info from AnTuTu is to be believed, then we may have a few specs for the upcoming Galaxy S7 Edge. According to the spec benchmark, the device could feature a 5.1″ QHD display (which differs from a previous report that stated a size of 5.5″), Snapdragon 820 processor, along with other reported features such as water resistance and an SD card slot. 

In addition to possible display size and processor to be used, the AnTuTu info claims that the device will feature 4GB of RAM, along with a 12MP rear-facing camera. But wait, only 12MP, you ask? The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge featured a 16MP shooter, so the drop in megapixels may be a downer to some, however, a drop in megapixels may not mean an exact drop in picture quality, just overall resolution. It was previously reported that the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge would have a camera with an aperture of f/1.7, so folks should not be alarmed yet.

The last little bit of info concerns the OS, but it’s no shocker – the latest devices from Samsung will all run Marshmallow. No surprise there.

What is your take on a possible megapixel downgrade? As long as the quality of images produced is not hindered, are you okay with that move by Samsung?

s7-edge-antutu

Via: SamMobile

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DEAL: ExoMount Car Dock is Just $19.99

The ExoMount Touch car mount has been slashed to just $19.99 in the DL Deals store. That’s roughly $10 off the full price or about $5-9 cheaper than you will find it at Amazon. That’s a solid deal for those of you looking at car mounts for your oversized smartphones.

Why the ExoMount Touch? It can mount to just about any surface (flat, smooth, textured, curved, or rounded) thanks to its super strong suction. Once attached to your dash or other surface, the ExoMount quickly grabs a hold of your phone without the need to press a button. All you have to do is press it against the mount and the non-slip arms/pads will grab it. To release, you need a finger to loosen its grab, giving you true 1-handed access to your phone.

The ExoMount is also washable, has a swivel head, and should work with just about any phone, including oversized big boys like the Note 5 or Nexus 6P.

Deal Link 

DEAL: ExoMount Car Dock is Just $19.99 is a post from: Droid Life



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Ugh, John Legere is Back Explaining Binge On Again, Apologizing, Dodging, and Probably Holding Back the F Word

Last week, T-Mobile CEO John Legere acted a fool after the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called out his Binge On service for throttling all video data and potentially threatening net neutrality rules. He basically pulled out the, “Who the f*ck are you?” card, as if the EFF has some hidden agenda, is below him, and because no one is allowed to talk to King Legere that way. It was embarrassing, if I’m being honest. It was embarrassing because the EFF is one of the few good organizations out there that stands up for sites like this one and for consumers against companies who want to do terrible things.

Today, probably after the entire PR department of T-Mobile told Legere to shut the f*ck for a minute before he does massive damage to the company’s reputation and recent success, Magenta released a “Open Letter to Consumers about Binge On” that is penned by Legere. It is mostly a re-hashing of what he said last week, though it lacks the expletives and attacks on organizations aimed at doing good. 

In short, Legere is still praising Binge On as a product that wants to do nothing but good and isn’t trying to violate any net neutrality rules because it’s “free” and can be turned on or off. He apologized to the EFF. He also, at least on paper, is still completely oblivious to the fact that the original arguments against Binge On, the ones that got this whole firestorm cooking, are still out there needing answers.

Here’s the deal – and I hope this is the last time we have to write about this. The general basis or idea of Binge On isn’t a bad one. In fact, it’s quite good for most consumers who have limited pots of data and would like to conserve them. Dropping the quality of video down to 480p (“DVD quality”) on phones to conserve data isn’t the worst idea I’ve heard, depending on how it is implemented. But that’s the thing. The implementation here is pretty much garbage.

For one, T-Mobile shouldn’t have turned on Binge On for everyone without asking. Forget John Legere telling you that they wanted all of T-Mobile’s customers to experience it right away without hassle; that argument is bullshit and doing so was the wrong thing to do. If people want to deal with lower quality video, that should be a choice they get to select, not have T-Mobile select it for them. We like opt-in services, John, not opt-out. In his argument, he tosses out the idea that people may not have known to turn it on and experience the benefit. Same goes the other way, my friend. People could go for months with throttled video that they didn’t ask for, before realizing that there still is a world with HD quality.

Second, T-Mobile needs to stop throttling services that are not official partners of Binge On. Remember YouTube throwing that fit a couple of weeks ago, about T-Mobile throttling their video quality without their permission? Yeah, T-Mobile shouldn’t be doing that. T-Mobile shouldn’t be doing that to anyone unless they give them permission to. You know why? Because it hurts the experience on those services and the first place customers will turn to bitch about it, is the apps themselves, not T-Mobile.

Again, the goal of trying to save some data for people by giving them the option to degrade (or throttle) the quality of video isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever heard. But for Binge On to get out of headlines, it needs some pretty serious tweaks. How about, giving us the ability to turn it on or off for individual services? How about not even giving the option to unlimited users who don’t need it? How about, not burying the switch for it in a My Profile setting, a place that makes absolutely no sense for it to be? In other words, how about making it easier to turn off or on? How about, just admitting that your shit isn’t perfect, John, and that you will make it right? It might go a long way.

Via:  T-Mobile

Ugh, John Legere is Back Explaining Binge On Again, Apologizing, Dodging, and Probably Holding Back the F Word is a post from: Droid Life



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The Room Three, Now Available on Android for $4.99

It has been nearly two years since the launch of The Room Two, and now, finally, The Room Three is available for Android devices through Google Play. Exactly like the first two The Room games, The Room Three will have you scratching your head in an attempt to solve the game’s puzzles. Scattered throughout a variety of different rooms and levels, puzzle boxes are the main antagonist in this series, while there is still an overall plot happening simultaneously. 

The Room Three brings enriched graphics and detail to the series, and you can expect the difficulty of a few puzzles to be rather mind numbing. There was a point in The Room Two where I almost completely gave up and never played the game again, that is, until I ran off to YouTube in search of help.

The Room Three is priced at $4.99, which is the standard price when The Room titles launch. However, if $5 seems a bit steep, the developers tend to offer discounts on their titles from time to time, so don’t despair.

And seriously, if you haven’t played The Room, or The Room Two, go pick those up before trying The Room 3. Is it a requirement? No, but they are all awesome.

Play Link

The Room Three, Now Available on Android for $4.99 is a post from: Droid Life



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DEAL: Amazon Discounts on Aukey, Tronsmart QC 2.0 Products, MicroSD Cards and Power Banks Too

We were stumbling around Amazon earlier today, looking for deals that you could throw cash at, now that you have likely all returned back to work following the holidays. Because, if we’re being honest, focusing on work after that couple of week stretch is nearly impossible and your mind probably still wants to buy gadgets and things that people refused to buy your for X-Mas.

So here you go. We have microSD cards up to 128GB in capacity as low as $34.99, along with a bunch of power-related products from Aukey, Anker, and Tronsmart. From desktop chargers with Quick Charge 2.0 to massive power banks, you’ve got options below. 

Amazon Links:

DEAL: Amazon Discounts on Aukey, Tronsmart QC 2.0 Products, MicroSD Cards and Power Banks Too is a post from: Droid Life



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Official Bootloader Unlock Comes to Verizon Moto X (2nd Gen), Could Open Way to Marshmallow

Motorola will not update the Moto X (2nd gen) on AT&T or Verizon to Marshmallow. Since Motorola has gone completely silent on this decision, we don’t really know where to place the blame. My guess is that there are a couple of reasons. One, Motorola doesn’t have the resources anymore to support either and is instead focusing on the “Pure Edition” unlocked model which they control completely. And two, they don’t want to deal with the “partner” side of it, which means they don’t want to go through the ridiculously lengthy and possibly, mostly unnecessary “testing” process from AT&T and Verizon in order to get the update out to you. Unfair or not, that’s the situation we are in.

With that in mind, something is brewing in the bootloader unlock community that may be a way to Marshmallow on some level, at least for the Verizon variant of the Moto X (2nd gen). 

A whole bunch of Verizon Moto X (2nd gen) users noticed that the official bootloader unlock tool on Motorola’s site is now producing unlock codes for the carrier-tied phone, something that hasn’t been the case until recently. To confirm, I just walked through the process without a hiccup and now have a bootloader unlocked Verizon Moto X (2nd gen) of my own. The picture above is of the phone. (Note: My VZW Moto X was on Android 4.4.4 at the time of unlock, so I don’t think it matters which version of Android you are running.)

How does this relate to Marshmallow? Well, folks over at XDA, after unlocking the bootloader, are working on ways to either “convert” their Moto X (2nd gen) phones over to the Pure Edition, which is already running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, or flash something like CM13 (a custom ROM, but still Marshmallow). By converting over, at least in theory, you could then trick Motorola’s servers into sending you the official Android 6.0 Marshmallow update. There are issues here in that the Pure Edition is a GSM phone and the Moto X on Verizon is CDMA. Early attempts to make a run at this process have come up empty (with soft-bricks included). The CM13 route could be the best bet, though that is still to be determined.

Either way, a bootloader unlock on this phone gives it new life after it was abandoned just a year in. This is all just happening as I type this, so if you own the Verizon variant of the Moto X (2nd gen), you may want to follow-up in all of the threads we have listed below. I would be shocked if there isn’t a solution before long.

Via: MotorolaXDA [2] [3]
Cheers Matthew and Asad!

Official Bootloader Unlock Comes to Verizon Moto X (2nd Gen), Could Open Way to Marshmallow is a post from: Droid Life



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Report: Amazon to Launch Portable Version of Amazon Echo

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has developed and is set to launch a more affordable, portable version of Amazon Echo in the coming weeks. Reportedly shaped like a Beats Pill portable speaker, but able to stand vertically, the portable model of Echo will not feature always-listening software, so as to cut back on power usage. To interact, users will need to press a button in order to give voice commands to Alexa. 

The idea of a portable Echo would be for users to either carry one with them at all times, or to have multiple units – one for around the home, one for the office, car, etc. Given the portability aspect, users will need to charge the device via a dedicated dock. Speaking on the design, sources state it will fit in a user’s hand comfortably, possible resembling the size and shape of a beer can.

The standard Echo seems to be popular among owners, at least according to the Amazon reviews. People like the provided weather overviews, listening to Prime Music, and adding items to their shopping list. On top of that, Amazon is constantly adding new features to Echo.

No mention of a price was reported, but really, how much could Amazon charge for this? $50? $99? If I have to press a button to interact, and need to charge it every now and then, why would I not use my phone for these tasks?

What’s your take on it?

Via: Wall Street Journal [Subscription]

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Android Wear Joins Twitter.

Android Wear is now on Twitter, folks. That means all the hot and heavy Wear news you can handle from a single account. To stay up to date on all of the latest in Android-powered smartwatches, this account is probably worth a follow. Not that you won’t get your news from us as well, but you know, Twitter or something. 

You can follow Android Wear on Twitter at @AndroidWear.

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Verizon’s Galaxy Note 4 Gets Android 5.1.1, a Version of Android Introduced 9 Months Ago

Verizon, as of this morning, is pushing out an update of Android 5.1.1 to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. In case you were wondering, Android 5.1.1 was first introduced by Google in April of last year, some 9 months ago.

The update drops in as build LMY47X and software version VRU2BOK3, for those keeping track. 

Verizon isn’t providing much in terms of details on the update, but it does include upgrades to Samsung Knox and removes Amazon’s appstore and Amazon widgets. Yay, right?

To check for the update, head into Settings>About phone.

Via:  Verizon
Cheers Steve, Justin V, Jason, Jim, and everyone else!

Verizon’s Galaxy Note 4 Gets Android 5.1.1, a Version of Android Introduced 9 Months Ago is a post from: Droid Life



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HTC Vive Pre-Order Reportedly Confirmed for February 29

After a full week of demos at CES, HTC’s CEO, Cher Wang, has confirmed to Telegraph that the Vive VR System will go up for pre-order on February 29. It was previously announced that a general launch is set for April 1, but even with this information, there is still a lot we don’t know, such as pricing and complete technical requirements. 

We were finally able to get our hands on Vive after months of hype from tech media, and while the experience was very cool, I didn’t leave with the notion that I needed it in my house anytime too soon. They say the future of gaming is VR, and it most certainly might be, but only for a few. According to NVIDIA, only one single percent of the world’s computers are capable of handling the power needed by these next-gen VR systems, so unless a large group of people in the world plan on upgrading to $1,000+ machines soon, 2016 may still not be the year VR takes the world over.

For those with no intention on upgrading machines solely for VR purposes, there are other options coming from PlayStation and Oculus, as well as the already available Google Cardboard and Samsung’s Gear VR.

HTC has yet to announce the exact technical requirements for Vive, but we have learned you will need a very powerful graphics card, such as an option from NVIDIA, to have it run at a smooth 90 frames per second.

Is Vive on your list of purchases for 2016?

Via: Telegraph

HTC Vive Pre-Order Reportedly Confirmed for February 29 is a post from: Droid Life



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TAG Heuer to Introduce New Connected Watch Faces From Tom Brady, Other Ambassadors on January 20

During CES, there is all sorts of fun that happens behind closed doors, in “exclusive” or private settings, most of which is never meant to go public. Last week, though, we attended a private event by the folks at TAG Heuer, who were there to make an announcement involving their Connected smartwatch, an announcement that is now public. On January 20, the luxury watchmaker will introduce new watch faces via Android app, all of which were made in partnership with their brand ambassadors. 

Through a collaboration with Tom Brady, Jeremy Lin, and Giancarlo Stanton, we’ll see at least three new watch faces in a new TAG Heuer app that will hit the Play store later this month. Each watch face is “not only personalized and exclusive, but also contains cues to their individual sports universe.”

This is what they look like.

ef02e93f56a4f6f68098341b67d570f123b6fc0c c54b80bb07ae1e842fcab2a28fd2d27b813740df f86db0b3d7cc8cbe2d2419e32653be76f8cafe57

TAG says to expect more from other ambassadors in the “coming months.”

Have you read our TAG Heuer Connected review? You should.

tag heuer event1

tag heuer event3

tag heuer event4

tag heuer connected kellen


TAG Heuer, presenting an exclusive and groundbreaking collaboration with its Ambassadors, unveils the first personalized watch faces for its “TAG Heuer Connected” watch at CES Las Vegas 2016.

Las Vegas, United States – 7 January 2016 – Today, as an advance preview symbolically at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show), the most important trade fair and expo dedicated to technological innovation in consumer electronics, TAG Heuer unveiled the first fruits of a collaboration with brand sports ambassadors Tom Brady, Jeremy Lin and Giancarlo Stanton that is as exclusive as it is groundbreaking.

Each in his own way, these four stars of the world of sports in the US, and TAG Heuer Brand Ambassadors became involved in the adventure that is the “TAG Heuer Connected” watch and designed a watch face which is not only personalized and exclusive, but also contains cues to their individual sports universe.

These first personalized original watch faces were exclusively developed for the TAG Heuer Connected watch and will be available as of January 20th through the TAG Heuer app on the Google Play Store. Watch this space, we will be unveiling new ambassador-designed watch faces in the coming months.

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AT&T Introduces New Unlimited Data Plan for Those With DIRECTV or U-Verse

Did you ever think Verizon or AT&T would re-introduce unlimited data to this wireless world of ours? I can’t say that I saw it coming this soon, but AT&T is the first of the two to decide that overpricing the hell out of data for years was probably unnecessary. This morning, AT&T announced the “New Unlimited Plan” for AT&T customers who also “have or add” DIRECTV or U-Verse TV. The new plan is available beginning tomorrow, January 12.

Yes, that is the important qualification here. This unlimited plan isn’t for everyone – it’s only for those who also plan to use one of AT&T’s cable services too. So as long as you already have or plan to add DIRECTV service, or AT&T U-Verse, into your monthly billing schedule, you can ignore this and move on with your day. If you do use (or plan to) one of those TV services, then read on! 

The AT&T unlimited data plan starts at $100 per month. The break down there is a $60 fee for the data and another $40 for the device access. If you add one additional lines, you are looking at just $40 more per line. For now, AT&T is tossing in the fourth line for free, so you could have a family of four on AT&T’s new unlimited plan for $180 per month (before taxes and all that jazz). It is my understanding that you can add more than four lines, but only the fourth is free.

The plan includes unlimited “video streaming, data, talk, and text,” in case you were wondering.

Here is a breakdown of the base plan, plus additional potential costs, depending on the devices you add:


AT&T UNLIMITED PLAN
Device Type Monthly Access Fee Per Device
1st Smartphone $100
Additional Smartphones + $40

(Fourth line free after bill credit)

Tablets + $40 (or $10 for 1GB)
Watches + $10
Basic/messaging phones + $25
Select connected devices + $10

Pricing includes $60 per month plan charge plus per device access charge.


What are the catches? Well, we’re still talking with sources, but we know these things.

  • You get at least 22GB of high speed data per line. After you hit the 22GB mark, AT&T “may” throttle you for the remainder of a billing cycle “during periods of network congestion.”
  • I mentioned this above, but a “eligible” TV service is required. AT&T will give customers who sign-up 60 days to get their “eligible” TV service in order or they will automatically remove them from the unlimited plan.
  • As a bonus, AT&T  is giving a $10 discount per month for those who combine their wireless and DIRECTV/U-Verse bills.

Finally, here is a competitive pricing breakdown that AT&T is pushing.

at&t unlimited plan

Interested?

Via:  AT&T

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