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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

The Saygus V2…You Already Asked for a Refund, Right?

The Saygus V2 or V-Squared is back in the news this week, unfortunately. I don’t really have much to say about it, other than we met with them at CES and came away shaking our heads at the disaster that they have become since announcing their phone at last year’s CES. Honestly, we didn’t bother reporting on our meeting because we sort of decided to not even talk about this laughable company following their shady as hell Indiegogo campaign and 2-day, slap-in-the-face-to-backers, VIP party at E3 this past June. Not only that, but their main broseph, Chad Sayers, wasn’t around at the time we stopped by their booth and their lone PR rep wasn’t willing to just open up about how bad the past year has been.

But yesterday, they took to Twitter to basically say what they told us at CES, along with some other details. The main takeaway is that the phone is supposed to ship in Q1. It won’t, but that’s the new timeline. Rather then spend much time on this, here is a bulleted list of what’s going on for those who for some reason, have not canceled and asked for a refund.

  • Again, they “think” they are going to ship in Q1. They won’t, but they have put together some sort of in-house engineering team to build it themselves. Hah, OK.
  • Oh, they are also already blaming the Chinese New Year for a delay that hasn’t happened yet.
  • They will have some new version built for the Sundance Film Festival, because, you know, Saygus likes to party at events unrelated to smartphones!
  • They are still trying to convince people that the Snapdragon 801 is worth using. It’s 2 years old at this point and not worth using.
  • They say it’ll have Marshmallow, but that’s unlikely. Actually, they Tweeted that the latest prototype was “fresh off the plane” and running Marshmallow at CES, but it wasn’t. It was running Lollipop and had zero Google apps installed.
  • It’s “washable!” Whatever.
  • They won’t have their “newest” fingerprint scanners ready until early February. But again, they “think” they will ship Q1.
  • They are making a new phone that they hope to release later this year – towards the holiday season. At least that’s what they told us at CES.
  • They will apparently give you 50% off the new phone if you keep your order and don’t ask for a refund.
  • Why have you not asked for a refund yet?
  • Some are still waiting for refunds that were requested in September.

You can read everything through their Twitter account.

I honestly don’t know if we’ll ever talk about this company again.

The Saygus V2…You Already Asked for a Refund, Right? is a post from: Droid Life



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Iron Maiden RPG, Legacy of the Beast, Hits Mobile This Summer

Iron Maiden, the one and only, is set to license their name for an upcoming RPG title that will launch in the summer of 2016. According to the dedicated website for Legacy of the Beast, you will battle as Eddie (Maiden’s undead mascot), set to the tunes of Iron Maiden.

As for a plot, the description goes a little something like this. A mysterious force has shattered Eddie’s soul and scattered it about. As the player, you will travel through time and space, collecting the pieces as you encounter a gang of dramatic and engaging characters.

The game will include unheard live recordings, in addition to music that spans Maiden’s entire career. As stated on the website, the game is free-to-play.

As soon as this game launches, we will let you know.

Via: Iron Maiden Legacy

Iron Maiden RPG, Legacy of the Beast, Hits Mobile This Summer is a post from: Droid Life



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Latest Humble Mobile Bundle Features Titles From Bandai Namco

Humble Bundle, the easiest way to get a group of games for the lowest price, while also helping out a charity, has a new list of games up for grabs. Supporting the Save the Children charity, Humble Bundle is offering a gang of Bandai Namco games, all for the price of what you want to give. 

At this time, the price you need to pay to unlock all of the games is just $4.80, netting you a total of 6 games, plus more to come. The games included are Crush the Castle, Pac-Man Kart Rally, Flight Control, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Puzzle Quest 2, Ridge Racer Slipstream. If you pay an even $5, you also unlock Pac-Man CE DX. If you pay under the average, you will receive the first three games previously mentioned.

At checkout, you can decide the portioning of the funds, allowing you to choose where your money will go – to developers, the charity, or a Humble tip.

Follow the link below to get in on the Pac-Man gaming.

Humble Bundle Link

Latest Humble Mobile Bundle Features Titles From Bandai Namco is a post from: Droid Life



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DEALS: $15 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker, 10400mAh Portable Battery, All the USB Type-C Cables, $150 Off Watch Urbane

Deals, deals, deals. We’re always on the hunt for deals. Today, we’ve got a pretty serious list from some of the regular crew featured here on DL, which includes names like Aukey, Anker, iOrange-E, and LG. We have everything below from portable battery packs with Quick Charge 2.0 to IPX4 rated Bluetooth speakers to USB Type-C cables and the Watch Urbane with a $150 discount.

Some have codes, almost all should have Amazon Prime shipping, and most are for a limited time. 

Amazon Deal Links:

DEALS: $15 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker, 10400mAh Portable Battery, All the USB Type-C Cables, $150 Off Watch Urbane is a post from: Droid Life



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Poll: Who do You Want to Make the Next Nexus?

It’s only January, but already, Nexus rumors for 2016 are getting interesting. In the latest rumor, it is said that HTC will create two Nexus smartphones in partnership with Google, bringing the company right back to the forefront of the Android community.

In 2015, we received two Nexus smartphones, one from LG and one from Huawei, which allowed US consumers to really embrace what Huawei, as an Android OEM, is capable of. If we gave all OEMs a fair shot, it seems that 2016 should be Samsung or HTC’s year to show off what they can do with vanilla Android. However, that’s not how the Nexus program works.

If it was up to you, who would you want to create the Nexus smartphone for 2016?

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

Poll: Who do You Want to Make the Next Nexus? is a post from: Droid Life



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Pocket Casts Updated With Improved Search, Emoji, and Much More

For all of you podcast fans, a massive update has hit Pocket Casts, one which brings improved search functionality, emoji support for titles and podcast descriptions, and Marshmallow permissions. 

Once updated, listeners can use “OK Google” to start up a podcast by saying, “Listen to podcast name in Pocket Casts,” or even, “Listen to playlist name in Pocket Casts.” This should allow for quicker firing up of The Droid Life Show, which is always a good thing.

Also included is faster unsubscribing from podcasts, landscape video player fixes, a sync issue for starred shows, and much more.

Here is just a smidgen of the changelog.

  • Marshmallow Auto Backup feature added so if you have app backups turned on (System Settings app -> Backup & reset) it will backup your Pocket Casts settings and database so after restoring a phone your app should look a lot more like it did.
  • Switched to Marshmallow permissions. We now only have one permission that requires user approval, the storage permission. The app will only ask for permission for this if you change your storage location to a custom folder.
  • Stats page data is now included in your sync account so if you reinstall they aren’t lost. The stats page is now a summary of stats across all your devices.
  • Improved switching to a custom location so it picks up any existing episode files in the new location.
  • Improved the search for podcast interface.
  • Improved voice control. Give these a try after you have said “OK Google”
    “Listen to PODCAST NAME in Pocket Casts”
    “Listen to PLAYLIST NAME in Pocket Casts”
    “Listen to Up Next in Pocket Casts”

If you have yet to try Pocket Casts, allow our friend Ron to explain how awesome it is. This quote is snagged from his Google Play review of the app. “Look no further. This is the best podcast app for Android, no questions asked.” That says it all right there, folks.

Play Link

Via: Shifty Jelly

Pocket Casts Updated With Improved Search, Emoji, and Much More is a post from: Droid Life



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Starbucks Adds Spotify Integration to App – Let’s You Discover, Save, “Love” Tunes

This morning, Starbucks announced a pretty major partnership with Spotify, one that will get more users into Spotify, but will also satisfy music curiosity needs of its regular customers.

In the new Starbucks app, customers will be able to see what songs are currently playing in stores, see others that have been recently played, quickly create Starbucks-related playlists of the tunes just heard, checkout curated lists from Starbucks, checkout feature artists, and tell the Starbucks music team how much they “love” them. 

The experience of Starbucks and Spotify begins today at over 7,500 Starbucks stores.

Play Link

starbucks spotify-2 starbucks spotify-3 starbucks spotify-4

Via:  Starbucks

Starbucks Adds Spotify Integration to App – Let’s You Discover, Save, “Love” Tunes is a post from: Droid Life



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BlackBerry Priv Launches Onto T-Mobile January 26

The BlackBerry Priv is making its way to T-Mobile, available beginning January 26 for $0 down through JUMP! On Demand. After a solid amount of time with the Priv only available through AT&T, the Priv has been receiving updates here and there, focusing on the rear-facing camera and software features. The device should receive just as much love on T-Mobile, so if a QWERTY keyboard is something you have been missing, now is the time. 

For qualified buyers, if JUMP! On Demand does not sound good, you can also choose T-Mobile’s interest free financing, which will have you pay $0 down, plus $30 for 24 months. That brings the device total to $720.

The device will be available in-store and online, so you shouldn’t have too much of an issue finding it.

Check out our complete Priv review here.

Via: T-Mobile

BlackBerry Priv Launches Onto T-Mobile January 26 is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon Introduces FreeBee Data, a Sponsored Data Program…

Verizon hates the idea of net neutrality because, well, money. You already knew that, though. But let’s say for some reason, if you didn’t know that, maybe their new program will finally hammer that idea home. It’s called FreeBee Data and it’s a sponsored data service aimed at creating fast paid-for lanes or bundles of content by marketers and businesses for you to consume at no charge. 

How does this work for businesses and marketers?

FreeBee Data will arrive this month with two models. The first is called FreeBee Data 360, where businesses and marketers can offer up paid-for content for you to consume that is charged to them by Verizon on per gigabyte basis. The other is a cost-per-click model, where if you click on certain items or stream video or audio or download apps, the data used won’t count against you and Verizon will charge the businesses and marketers who have sponsored it based on “clicks.”

If you are a business or marketer, you can sign-up to be a part of the beta program of FreeBee Data 360 today. On January 25, the cost-per-click version of FreeBee Data arrives in a separate beta program. More info here.

How does this work for consumers? 

For now, nothing will really change. Verizon will stick a “bee” icon (see below) next to content around the web that has been paid for. If you tap on that content, view it, watch it, or consume it in any way and are a Verizon post-paid consumer, it will not count against your data.

At this time, the only content available is from Hearst Magazines, AOL, and GAMEDAY. I’d imagine there will be more before long.

FreeBee

Why does this suck?

Because this is potentially the beginning of something bad, especially when talking net neutrality. By allowing companies to pay Verizon for their content to be seen, we’re talking about companies potentially jumping to the front of the list or front of the page to get their content seen by you first. That’s a bad, bad, bad thing for the world and the open internet. You see, not everyone can pay for their product or news outlet or app to be seen because they aren’t a multi-billion company. So in a world where eyes and data are bought by the big dogs, where does that leave the small guy who can’t afford to buy you? You can see where this could go.

At this time, Verizon is – for obvious reasons – not talking about content showing first or faster when it has been paid for. They are just talking about paid-for content that doesn’t count against your data bucket. Hopefully, it stays that way and this will all just be some marketing, wannabe-money-maker that few will buy into and will disappear before long. (Hah, right.)

Via:  Verizon

Verizon Introduces FreeBee Data, a Sponsored Data Program… is a post from: Droid Life



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