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Thursday, February 18, 2016

LG and B&O PLAY Team Up for High-Quality Sound Experience on G5

This evening, LG and Bang & Olufsen announced that they have teamed up to enhance the audio experience on the upcoming LG G5. The experience is being implemented by B&O PLAY (an arm of Bang & Olufsen), though neither company is saying exactly how this will work outside of it involving “a new type of contemporary products” being involved.

A report yesterday suggested that B&O PLAY worked with LG to create a DAC called the LG Hi-Fi Plus that attaches to the phone via rumored magic expansion slot. It should improve the audio experience on the device, but also as it routes tunes through other connected products, like a speaker.

Thankfully, we are only days way from this all clearing up.

LG AND B&O PLAY COLLABORATE TO ENHANCE AUDIO EXPERIENCE ON NEW SMARTPHONE

Leading Premium Audio Company B&O PLAY to Bring Renowned Signature Sound and Acoustic Performance to LG’s Latest Smartphone

SEOUL, Feb. 19, 2016 ― LG Electronics (LG) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with premium audio firm B&O PLAY to offer its smartphone users an enhanced high-quality audio experience. Firmly grounded in 90 years of audio and design excellence, craftsmanship and product innovation from Bang & Olufsen, B&O PLAY interprets the same values for a new type of contemporary products aimed at quality and design-conscious customers perfectly fitting the continued establishment of LG as the undisputed leader in smartphone audio.

The two companies have been working closely together on the new LG G5 to ensure the best sound experience to the customers. LG will be the first company to offer the powerful Hi-Fi audio features co-designed by B&O PLAY.

“We are very excited to work with LG. With LG’s dedication to premium smartphones, the collaboration gives us the opportunity to bring B&O PLAY’s acoustic excellence to an even broader customer base,” said Henrik Taudorf Lorensen, President of B&O PLAY. “B&O PLAY appeals to music lovers who want the best available products on the market. They are uncompromisingly innovative, without boundaries and constantly on the go and they expect the same from the headphones as well as the mobile devices they choose, so this is a perfect match.”

Having already broken new ground in smartphone audio, LG plans to continue its collaboration with B&O PLAY in order to enhance the competitiveness of its smartphone audio experience further.

“By collaborating with B&O PLAY, we believe we can meet and surpass the heightened expectations of consumers seeking the next generation of enhanced audio experiences on their smartphones,” said Juno Cho, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our collaboration with B&O PLAY has proven mutually beneficial and LG will continue to work with other leading companies in a variety of different industries in order to set new standards for innovation in the premium smartphone market.”

While its collaboration with B&O PLAY is a recent development, LG has a long history of integrating high-quality audio in its premium smartphones and the most recent – the V10 – is just one of many smartphones to earn praise for its best-in-class audio capabilities.

# # #

Samsung Will Unveil the Galaxy S7 in Virtual Reality

We understand that you are probably getting a little sick and tired of us going on and on about the Galaxy S7, but hey, it’s a big deal. This Sunday, Samsung intends to unveil the latest Galaxy lineup at MWC, and to make it an even more special occasion, you can stream the whole thing in virtual reality. Yes, just what you wanted and needed.

To do this, you will need a Samsung device, as well as a Gear VR that supports said device. To download, head into the Oculus Store and download Unpacked 360 View. On Sunday, once the event starts up, open the app, attach the Gear VR headset to your beautiful face, and enjoy.

For those who couldn’t care less about VR, you can watch the stream via desktop right here on Sunday, or download the same Unpacked 360 View app from Google Play. This app is not limited to Samsung devices, so everyone can enjoy the festivities.

The same goes for mobile Android viewers as it does Gear VR viewers. When the event kicks off on Sunday, open up the app, then choose which angle you want to watch the show from.

Anyway, see you on Sunday, folks!

Play Link

Via: Samsung

This is the “HTC One M10 in White.”

I’m not going to call it an iPhone clone. I’m not going to call it an iPhone clone. I’m not going to call it an iPhone clone. I’m not going to call it an iPhone clone.

Here is the ~~iPhone clone~~ HTC One M10, in white.

Let's call it HTC One M10 in white. http://pic.twitter.com/lGfIM5SSpX

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 18, 2016

Verizon Dominates RootMetrics Latest Report and T-Mobile is Mad, Bro

Earlier in the week, we started getting notified by US wireless carriers that RootMetrics, an independent mobile analytics firm, was about to release its latest report that ranked Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile based on their 2015 end of year performance. On one hand, we had Verizon prepping us with news about their big win for the 5th consecutive report. On the other hand, we had T-Mobile in full conspiracy, damage control mode, releasing statements from CEO John Legere the minute the report went public. Boy, these are always fun times.

For those not familiar with RootMetrics, just know that they are one of a handful of groups who test US wireless carrier performance and then share with the world their results. They claim to be independent, though I think it’s clear that John Legere isn’t a believer in that idea being true. In their latest report, they performed almost 4 million tests, drove over 200,000 miles, tested 6,607 indoor facilities, and attempted to cover 100% of the population in doing so.

They release two reports per year, one to show performance for the first half of the year, followed by another for the second half of the year. Their reports are quite exhaustive, though very detailed and open in how they came to their results. Verizon has topped their rankings for five consecutive reports, including this one.

In the reports, they show state by state performance, which carriers top each, who dominates metro areas, and also who ranks the best in areas like overall performance, network reliability, network speed, data performance, call performance, and text performance.

Here are some general numbers from the report:

For first place rankings of overall performance, network reliability, network speed, data performance, call performance, and text performance in the US, Verizon topped each category. One could read that as Big Red being the best in every single category that most people care about in terms of network performance. AT&T did tie them for texting performance, though, so it’s not a clean sweep.
At the individual state level, Verizon gathered up 272 first place finishes for those same categories, while AT&T came in at a distance second with 110. Sprint and T-Mobile each grabbed 36 and 9, respectively.
In metro areas, Verizon piled up another 597 first place votes, while AT&T grabbed 424. Sprint and T-Mobile each captured 212 and 209, respectively.

Verizon’s spin:

Big Red says this win wasn’t an accident because they have invested more than $111 billion in their network since 2000 and $11.7 billion, alone, in 2015. All of this is the “result of a sustained, ongoing investment in never settling for anything less than the best network for its customers.”
Those billions spent went towards expanded XLTE coverage, expanding into additional rural areas, and handling increased traffic with the use of new small-cell systems.
Verizon is clearly thrilled with RootMetrics’ results.

T-Mobile’s reaction:

I think it’s safe to say that John Legere appreciates the work of RootMetrics as much as he does the EFF. In a statement to the press, Legere thinks that RootMetrics should be “banned as an independent source” for network testing because they have “manipulated their testing of the T-Mobile network” and their results are “worthless” because they may be up to seven months old.
Legere also asked if T-Mobile needs to start paying RootMetrics “millions like the other carriers to get them to stop deliberately turning off significant portions of our network and skewing results during their drive tests.” Yikes. See what I mean?
In his statement, Legere then tossed out a bunch of “flaws” and “facts” about this report to try and poke holes through it. For one, RootMetrics admitted that they turned off T-Mobile’s Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) during its testing of calls. They didn’t exactly provide a great reason for doing so, only that they plan to test it for the next report. As Legere points out, T-Mobile’s VoLTE handles roughly 50% of their customers’ calls, so that actually does seem like a bit of mistake on RootMetrics part to not test this feature.
Legere then goes on to point out that the data may be old and that their testing for all networks doesn’t seem to be the same or with the same devices. While I would agree that there should be some standards set (which I would imagine RootMetrics actually tries to use in almost all situations), the argument about the data being old is just a part of reports like this. This is a 2nd half of 2015 report, so yes, it includes data dating back seven months ago. That’s pretty obvious. When the 1H report comes out for 2016, it will also include data up to seven months old. Any fool understands that. The point is that even if it is seven months old, this is what the data showed for that period of time. The next report will show if T-Mobile has made a bunch of changes between now and then, which they claim to have done.

Look, I don’t get too invested in these reports, but if anything, they should just be more motivation from all carriers to continue to make their networks better. Both Verizon and T-Mobile claim that they are still heavily investing in theirs which is nothing but good news for you and I.

You can read the full report for yourself at RootMetrics’ site.

Play Games Intros Gamer ID, Unique Gaming Persona for All Mobile Players

When you hop onto your PC, PS4, or Xbox One, you are no longer yourself – you are a destroyer of worlds, killer of zombies, pwner of newbs, vault dweller in search of his/her son, or whatever type of character you want to play as. The point is, you usually play these games under an alias when online, not your real name.

Because of this, Google is introducing Gamer ID for Play Games. With this, mobile gamers can create unique gaming personas when playing on their phones, so wherever you may be with your phone, you can always be Zardoz, a mortal man sent to teach an enslaved people about sex and freedom.

Once this feature rolls out to all users, you will be able to create a unique ID, choose from many different profile photos, and then share your achievements with the world of friends you have accumulated. If you so choose, profiles can also be kept private, in case you feel bad about showing off your high scores to everyone.

Furthermore, this same announcement comes coupled with the auto sign-in feature that was detailed not so long ago. With it, when downloading new games onto a phone, you will only be asked to sign-in once, which gets you playing your games much quicker than as it is right now.

Google states that Gamer ID will be rolling out to all users in the coming weeks. To claim your ID before anyone else snatches it, be sure to update the Google Play Games app.

Play Link

Via: Android

Sprint Introduces “Better Choice” Plans to Compete With Verizon’s S, M, L, XL Offerings

This morning, Sprint announced a new line of plans called Better Choice that they are pushing as being a better value than Verizon’s “The Verizon Plan.” They come in S, M, L, XL, and XXL size packages, which of course, all offer more data at lesser prices than Big Red’s similar line.

The plans look something like this:

S: 3GB for $30
M: 6GB for $45
L: 12GB for $60
XL: 24GB for $80
XXL: 40GB for $100

Don’t forget that each line you attach to these plans will cost $20, but that line access does include unlimited talk and text. Sprint will also let you go over your data allotment by throttling you down to 2G speeds. If you don’t want 2G speeds, you can add-on extra data each month for $15 per GB.

The plans go live tomorrow, Friday, February 19.

I would attempt to add more on whether or not these are good plans, but honestly, I can’t keep up with the number of Sprint changes to plans that are introduced each week.

Via: Sprint

New Photos of Galaxy S7 Edge Confirm Samsung Hates USB Type-C

We as Android users are always hoping for the best when it comes to new phones. We want the newest processor, best camera, and any other so-called innovative tech that companies can toss into a smartphone. Let’s face it, we are optimists, pure and simple.

Last year, it was reported and somewhat expected that Samsung would incorporate USB Type-C into the Galaxy Note 5. As leaks began to happen, then as we saw at launch, Samsung decided to hold off on releasing a phone with USB Type-C, for whatever reason. Maybe they were still working out a few kinks, figuring out how to utilize Fast Charging with Type-C. It was a disappointment, but with that said, it’s not a stretch to say that many of us were hoping to see Samsung bring USB Type-C to the next Galaxy, the Galaxy S7.

We are now only a couple of days away from its unveiling, and sadly, it appears Samsung is still not ready to deliver USB Type-C on its Android devices.

USB Type-C delivers the ability to plug in your data/power cable upside or downside; there is no right way. Apple has been doing this for years now with its Lightning port. Last year, Google made two Nexus smartphones and even a Pixel tablet featuring USB Type-C. It should even be noted that LG is expected to feature Type-C on the G5. But still, no love from Samsung.

In the below images, the photo taker delivers a very clear image of the bottom side on the Galaxy S7 Edge. We can clearly see a microUSB port, shattering any hopes we had for USB Type-C. While this is not the end of the world, it seems strange that a company always talking about innovation and trying new things is still stuck using microUSB.

C’mon, Samsung.

Via: @stagueve | Weibo

Samsung Gear S2 Classic With 3G/4G Coming to Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile

Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic will soon be available as a 3G/4G model at carriers in the US including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. The device should arrive as early as March 11.

With a 3G/4G connected experience (4G is HSPA+ in this situation, not LTE), the Gear S2 Classic is capable of carrying on text conversations, receiving/placing calls, sending/receiving emails, and being prompted with other notifications, all without a phone nearby. The watch has an embedded SIM that allows it to stay connected to networks as a stand-alone device.

Each carrier will likely charge an arm and a leg for the device or force you into some sort of contract to give it service. At this time, none of the carriers have provided pricing. However, it should arrive shortly, since March 11 is only a few weeks away.

As a recap, the Gear S2 Classic is the classicly-styled smartwatch from Samsung that runs their Tizen OS. It sports a 1.2-inch Circular Super AMOLED display (360×360), dual core processor, 4GB storage, 512MB RAM, IP68 dust and water resistance, NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a 300mAh battery that can last from 2-3 days.

Via: Samsung | AT&T | T-Mobile | Verizon

#TBT: Hands-on Overview of Android 2.2 on the “OG” DROID

#TBT allows us to dive into old content, reflecting on our roots as Android enthusiasts. Looking through our old videos, we must re-share the two videos below. These were our first hands-on videos with Android 2.2 “Froyo” on the original Motorola DROID on Verizon.

Words like “overclocked” and “ROM” are tossed around, which is somewhat comical considering we don’t exactly discuss that type of Android hackery anymore. Thanks to SetCPU (which used to be all the rage back in the day), this “OG” DROID was clocked at a whopping 900MHz, and even with that, you can still see how stuttery and jankified the OS was.

We sure have come a long way.

Please, share any fond memories you might have with overclocking and custom ROMs below in the comments.

Part 1

Part 2

On Encryption, Apple, the FBI, and You

I may be an outlier in a world full of tech talking heads, many of which who really, really love to listen to themselves talk, but I don’t have a hot take on the current situation involving Apple, the FBI, encryption, other players in tech, and what all of those combined means for you. That’s not because I don’t care, it’s just not an area of life that I have ever really put much focus or effort into. Is that me burying my head in the sand? I don’t think so. The world is full of controversies and this is one, at least at the moment, I just don’t have much to offer on. So, if that disappoints you, I apologize.

With that said, you need to know what’s going on in case you need to take a stand, make choices about the products you use now and in the future, and whether or not there is anything you can do.

Confused at what the f*ck I’m talking about? Let’s catch up!

On December 2, 2015, two pieces of absolute human garbage walked into a building in San Bernardino, CA and killed 14 people, while seriously injuring 22 others. These two, who I don’t care to acknowledge by name because they don’t deserve that reward, have terrorist ties or were at the very least, inspired by terrorist groups. The two were killed within hours of the attack, leaving the FBI with an investigation into why they could perform such a terrible act.

During the investigation, the FBI obtained a phone from one of the attackers and thinks that it may contain critical information leading up to the terrorist attack. That phone is an iPhone 5c. Since it is an Apple product, it is encrypted and the FBI has no way of getting inside of it. Because that is the case, they asked Apple to help them do so. Apple declined. Shortly after Apple declined, a federal judge ordered them to cooperate. Apple opposed that order.

In an open letter to customers, Apple CEO Tim Cook laid out his company’s reasons for not helping the FBI. The entire letter is worth your time, but the basics are as follows. The FBI, for the most part, wants a backdoor into iOS. They want Apple to create a special version of iOS that allows them to brute force their way into the iPhone 5c that they obtained in this investigation. Apple argues that by doing so, they are opening up a “dangerous precedent” that could allow for any iPhone in someone’s physical possession to be unlocked. Their reasoning? Because once you create a key or backdoor, it is “only as secure as the protections around it.” In other words, because it exists and could unlock your phone, your neighbor’s phone, my phone, and everyone else’s phone, it poses a serious risk. There is no guarantee that the FBI or Apple or anyone else that is supposedly using this backdoor for a single use, could keep it safe enough.

Outside of the idea of an unlock, key, or backdoor being in existence, you also have to consider the fact that this won’t be the only time the FBI comes calling. While they’ll tell you and I that this is a one-time thing, you and I also aren’t that dumb. You give someone an opportunity today, they’ll probably come back tomorrow. So we’re now talking about not only the FBI needing this backdoor today, but then the government potentially asking for more tomorrow and the following day and month and so on. That could mean, as Cook states, the government extending “this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.”

I’ll let that soak in for a second.

Of course, today, we’re talking about iPhones. Should the FBI be given this sort of access, we’ll likely be talking about Android phones, your computers, and everything else that you probably want kept secret in life.

While Apple has penned this letter to customers, as far as I know, they still need to officially respond to the federal judge’s order. They have a couple of days still to do that and likely will shortly.

At this point, we don’t know how this will all shake out, but once Apple tells a judge “No,” things should heat up quickly. Until then, you have some time to form an opinion on the matter. If you need help finding out all of the facts, you could read this NPR article. You should also know that WhatsApp’s CEO and founder is backing Tim Cook. Google’s Sundar Pichai says, through a series of tweets, that allowing for hacking of customer devices and data could “be a troubling precedent.” This article on Gizmodo is also a quick read on why this whole situation matters to you.

So that’s where we stand with a topic that is quite important to the future of security and encryption on your personal computing devices, as well as government overreach.

As we learn more and this all shakes out, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Video: Samsung Shares a Brief History Lesson in “Unpacking Samsung”

As we near the unveiling of the Galaxy S7 on Sunday, Samsung is going through a period of reflection, which is good timing as it happens to also be #TBT. In a video called “Unpacking Samsung,” the company quickly shows off the devices from past years, dating all of the way back to 1988 and the SH-100 mobile phone.

The video details the excitement surrounding the company’s first wristwatch phone, MP3 phone, the world’s smallest TV phone, going all of the way to the Galaxy Note, Galaxy S5, and Galaxy S6 Edge.

Read Samsung’s complete description.

From the release of the SH-100 mobile phone in 1988 to the first wristwatch phone. The World’s smallest TV phone to our first MP3 phone. We introduced the S Pen with the Galaxy Note series and paved the way for Phablets. We’ve even climbed mountains to make the first 3G call from Everest. Gone underwater to test the ability of the Galaxy S5 and curved glass to create the first dual edge screen smartphone.

Wherever there’s a barrier, we see it as an invitation to go further, together.

Who knows where progress will take us.

No doubt, this video is a great piece of marketing, but as smartphone and Android fans, it is a testament that Samsung has long been at the forefront of our industry, pushing the boundaries for consumer betterment.

With that said, at the end of the day, TouchWiz still kinda sucks.

PayPal App Gets Major Redesign, Simplified Features, More

The PayPal app received a major redesign this morning that takes it from an outdated, often confusing mobile payment experience, to a slick, modern, and easy to use application. PayPal claims that the new experience is supposed to “make it simpler and more personal for you to move and manage your money.” After using it for a few minutes, I would tend to think they succeeded.

In the old app, in order to see something as basic as your balance, you had to swipe out a sidebar and jump into the activities or wallet sections of the app. In other words, it required a swipe, some taps, and a loading period in order to view your balance, a core piece to PayPal in general. With the new app, your balance is at the top of the front page, so you always know how much money you have available. How this hasn’t always been the case is beyond me, but hey, we’re there now!

The new app makes it incredibly easy to send or request money from the start page, see recent activity, and pay for items in stores. PayPal also fine-tuned fingerprint authentication in Android, shows separated account activity by pending and completed, and gives you access to the friends you send money to the most.

I don’t rave about app updates often, but this is one that was sorely needed. So far, it seems like PayPal did a great job at putting the right pieces in the right places.

Play Link

Via: PayPal

Nextbit Robin Now Available to Purchase for $399, Ships in Two Weeks

Robin, the cloud-centric smartphone from Nextbit, is now available for purchase. Amazingly, unlike any other device of its kind (you know, the semi crowdfunded kind), the Robin was not met with numerous delays or involved in any drama. Instead, Nextbit gave a target to customers, then actually delivered a product in that timeframe. For that reason alone, credit shall be awarded.

Priced at $399, Robin is not your average smart device. Instead of relying solely on built-in storage, Robin utilizes the cloud to load and offload non-used applications from your device. As each day goes by, the phone learns which apps you use the most, freeing up onboard storage whenever it can. It’s a new way of solving a problem that never quite existed (or has it?), unless you are the kind of person who refuses to purchase a device with anything more than 16GB of storage.

As for specs, Robin features a 5.2″ 1080p display, Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, 13MP rear-facing camera, 32GB of onboard storage (plus 100GB of online storage), dual front-facing speakers, fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C, Nextbit OS built off of Android, and comes unlocked with LTE connectivity. Carrier compatibility is currently listed for AT&T, T-Mobile, and International markets.

Check out Nextbit’s “Getting started with Robin” video, and if you feel the need to buy one, follow the link below. So, are you contemplating the idea of picking one up?

Robin Link

Thursday Poll: Have You Ever Run Out of Storage on a Phone?

Today, you’ll see a lot of talk about cloud storage and phones, mostly in reference to Nexbit’s Robin smartphone, as the first wave of reviews for it are out. You can also purchase it as of today for $399, though we are told they have limited quantities.

For those not familiar, the Nextbit Robin thinks we all have a storage problem. To deal with that, they have created a solution that auto-manages the storage on your phone, so that if you are running low, they will backup items you rarely use to the cloud to free up space without you doing any of the leg work. It’s an interesting idea, assuming anyone actually has storage problems.

Personally, I don’t get it. For one, most phones these days have SD card slots that allow for expansion, often up to 2TB. In a two year period, that seems like plenty of storage, especially when you combine it with the 16GB or 32GB the phone has internally. SD cards also don’t require you to backup anything to a cloud, restore it, or deal with security issues that could surround that entire process. I get why people buy phones because of their cameras, displays, speakers, processors, designs, and operating systems, but I don’t know that anyone in my 6+ years of doing this, has ever said, “Man, I really wish I had a smart-cloud backup solution on my phone because I’m always out of space.”

So you tell me, have you ever run out of storage on a phone? If so, does it happen often?

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

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Thursday, February 18, 2016

LG and B&O PLAY Team Up for High-Quality Sound Experience on G5

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Samsung Will Unveil the Galaxy S7 in Virtual Reality

Via: Samsung

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This is the “HTC One M10 in White.”

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Verizon Dominates RootMetrics Latest Report and T-Mobile is Mad, Bro

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Play Games Intros Gamer ID, Unique Gaming Persona for All Mobile Players

Via: Android

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Sprint Introduces “Better Choice” Plans to Compete With Verizon’s S, M, L, XL Offerings

Via: Sprint

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New Photos of Galaxy S7 Edge Confirm Samsung Hates USB Type-C

Via: @stagueve | Weibo

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Via: Samsung | AT&T | T-Mobile | Verizon

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