$9 for a 32GB microSD card from Sony seems like a really good price for an item that will double the storage of your 32GB phone, right? You can pick one up right now from Amazon (with Prime shipping).
If 32GB isn’t enough space, the 128GB card from Sony is also down to just $33.49.
DEAL: This 32GB Sony MicroSD Card is Just $9 is a post from: Droid Life
We have seen a ton of opinions flying around today regarding the leaks on upcoming devices from Motorola. If you somehow missed it, this morning, we got potential specs for a couple of new devices from Moto, as well as multiple digital renders of the phones. Turns out, the renders match that of a prototype device we saw in December and completely shrugged off, thinking it was just a really bad Photoshop job. I mean, really, it looks like a Moto 360 (1st Gen) glued onto the backside of the phone. It’s pretty funny how things turn out.
Anyway, with rumors of modularity and possible specs floating around, we want to know your opinion. Does an ultra-thin Moto device with 2,600mAh battery and QHD display interest you? What about the hockey puck camera component?
Maybe the most potentially upsetting design choice is the removal of the Moto dimple on the backside, which would have been the perfect spot for a fingerprint reader.
Share your like and dislikes below.
Question of the Day: What Do You Like or Dislike so Far About the Moto Leaks? is a post from: Droid Life
Backing items on crowdfunded sites is almost always a pretty bad idea. That’s not to say that there haven’t been some good ideas and products come through your favorite host – like Kickstarter or Indiegogo – over the years, but the true success stories are few and far between. In many situations, products are delivered late, arrive as something far inferior to what you expected, or never materialize at all, leaving you wondering if you’ll even get your money back. Because of the uncertainty and risk, PayPal has decided that it is no longer willing to protect your funds if they are used to back crowdfunded items.
Through a policy update sent out to PayPal members over the weekend, changes highlighted in section 13.3, which is a list of items “ineligible” for Purchase Protection, PayPal has added in “Payments on crowdfunding platforms.” That means that if some crowdfunded yahoo tricks you into a fresh bottle of snake oil, PayPal doesn’t want to hear you come-a-crying for money back.
The new policy update also makes gambling and anything purchased from a government agency “ineligible.”
PayPal is Done Protecting the Crowdfunded Garbage You Keep Backing is a post from: Droid Life
I don’t typically watch YouTube videos worthy of sharing on this site, but with the popularity of VR (Virtual Reality) going on, I might as well share this one. Over the weekend, a tornado touched down in Colorado, and thanks to the support of 360-degree video on YouTube, those who go out and chase storms can now put viewers right in the middle of all of the action. This video does just that.
Posted to the AccuWeather channel, a 360-camera (model unknown) is placed on the top of a vehicle which is in pursuit of the tornado. At one point, the tornado is directly in front of the vehicle’s path, and a bit later, the occupants (and other pursuing vehicle passengers), get out and begin to take pictures of the magnificent site. Seriously, the pure destructive power of these occurrences hardly take away from their beauty.
If you have a Cardboard viewer, Gear VR, or something along those lines, give this video a watch. Definitely worth the 8 minutes. If you don’t have a headset, don’t worry. Using your mouse, drag the video to an angle you want to watch and get right up in that tornado with the storm chasers.
I usually talk plenty of smack on 360-degree cameras and VR in general, but for this purpose alone, the tech is so worth it.
Watch: Grab Your VR Headset and Watch This Tornado Chase is a post from: Droid Life
Set to be revealed tomorrow on May 10, Google is partnering with Jeff Koons to create Live Cases for Nexus phones. If you did not already know, Jeff Koons is an American artist, known time-to-time for working with pop culture subjects. On Twitter and Instagram, a few musical artists have been hyping the hashtag “KoonsXGoogle,” which is in direct reference to the soon to be unveiled collaboration.
So, which artists can we expect new Live Cases from? If the artists hyping the collab are any indication, we can possibly expect a few from Bono, Lady Gaga, and other big-time names. If you will recall, Google did a similar project with Skrillex when they sold cases for the Nexus 6.
A landing page has been posted to the Google Store for this collab, but no designs or official list of artists has been made available.
Tomorrow, May 10, we will know what exactly is going on.
Google and Jeff Koons to Partner to Create Limited Live Cases for Nexus Devices is a post from: Droid Life
According to details sent to VentureBeat from sources, we should expect two phones from Lenovo and Motorola in the near future (the two seen in this post), two phones that will also be some of the first in the industry to tackle modularity. Currently dubbed (and these better be codenames because they are awful names) Vertex and Vector Thin, but should be sold under the Moto or Moto X brand, each phone will be able to expand capabilities through a suite of modules called “Amps.” Each phone should have solid internals as well, along with almost unbelievable thinness.
In terms of specs, the higher-end Vector Thin (pictured above) is said to feature a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 820 processor, 32GB internal storage and either 3GB or 4GB RAM, likely depending on market. We should see a 16MP camera with both laser-assisted and phase detection autofocus, 2600mAh battery, and a body that is 5.2mm thick (!). The Vertex (pictured below) will also feature a 5.5-inch display, but with a Full HD resolution instead. It should also get models with either 16GB storage and 2GB RAM or 32GB storage and 3GB RAM, along with a Snapdragon 625 (octa-core) processor, and 13MP camera with laser autofocus and optical image stabilization. It’s battery is thought to have a 3500mAh capacity and will squeeze into a 7mm thick frame.
While those specs sound on-par with other flagships, it’s the modular aspect of each that is going to make headlines. According to this report, the rear-situated pins you see in the image below will indeed, as we suggested earlier, be used as a connector to add on “Amps” or modules. Moto and Lenovo are purportedly set to release six at launch, including a colored back plate that ships with the phones. We could also see modules that introduce stereo speakers, battery pack, camera grip, pico projector, and a rugged cover with wide angle lens attachment.
With these attachments lying across the back of the phone, they could help reduce the exposed portion of the large camera puck and maybe even aid in hand feel, which might be an issue if these phones really are 5.2mm and 7mm thick.
Because of the pin connectors, the module experience here could actually be something to get excited about, unlike the implementation that LG has gone with through the G5. As you all know, LG tried to go modular by utilizing the phone’s removable battery compartment, which may have limited the convenience and point of a modular phone. Pins allow for quick attachment or unattachment and might also make for a more flexible module platform that 3rd party developers could easily adapt to. Consider the fact that a similar solution is powering Project Ara and you have to wonder if other developers aren’t lining up with Lenovo already.
Don’t be shocked if we see a DROID Turbo 3 and DROID MAXX 3 that are nothing but re-branded Vector Thin and Vertex exclusives for Verizon.
With modules like these apparently ready for launch, any new interest?
Report: Specs and Modules for Moto’s New Device Line-Up Emerge is a post from: Droid Life
Over the weekend, a bored and curious reddit user decided to test various body parts on the fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S7, seeing if it would recognize something other than just a fingertip. Not too surprisingly, a few interesting parts of the human anatomy do indeed function just fine on the fingerprint reader.
Let’s take a look at the findings.
Stated by the reddit user, “Tonight, I discovered that you can successfully register and unlock a Galaxy S7 with a penis as a fingerprint.” That’s right. This individual decided to test if he could register his penis as a fingerprint. Lo and behold, it worked. Will this application be usable in daily life while out on the town? I sincerely hope not. If I ever see someone using their junk to unlock a cellphone, we will have problems.
After comments poured in on reddit, the OP decided to test more body parts, which lead me to come up with different titles for this article. The first title I had was, “You Won’t Believe Which Testicle This Guy Used to Unlock His Phone.” To save you from the clickbait, it was his left testicle. Yes, your Galaxy S7 can recognize the skin on your testicular sack (aka scrotum). Fantastic. According to the OP, while the left testicle was registered, he had a hard time using the testicle to unlock the phone. I can’t imagine why. It’s entirely possible that the skin on the sack doesn’t have enough grooves or uniqueness for the scanner to work properly.
Thanks to these scientific findings, we have also learned that left and right nipples, elbows, and pinkie toes should work, too.
Pray you never find yourself bored enough to test these things on your own phone.
Sorta NSFW: Yes, the Fingerprint Reader on Your Phone Can Recognize Things Other Than Fingers, Like Your Penis is a post from: Droid Life
The new Moto and DROID phones we shared with you this morning will likely be unveiled on June 9 at Lenovo Tech World. On Friday, we received an invite to the 1-day conference from Lenovo and it does indeed say to expect new products from both Lenovo and Moto, along with the launch of the first Project Tango smartphone.
Details are scarce, but the invite (and the Tech World site) both state that we will get to “watch Moto transform mobile in a snap.” That could be something camera-related, but it more than likely is in reference to modularity and “snapping” items onto those pins on the back of the phones we saw from earlier.
It’s tough to say what kinds of modules you could attach to the back of the lower portion of a phone, but it could be things like a better external speaker, battery pack, or camera grip, similar to what we saw with the LG G5.
Other teasers for the conference mention new products that will “make your life better…connect your world…let you do more…help you realize your dreams.” Those are lofty, fluffy descriptors, so I wouldn’t put too much into them. I think the focus here is on Project Tango finally becoming a reality and new Moto phones bringing forth the modular mojo.
Excited yet?
EDIT: Confused Project Tango with Project Ara and have edited post to fix.
On June 9, Lenovo Will Show Off New Moto Products and First Project Tango Phone is a post from: Droid Life
The DROID MAXX 2, a phone that has been vulnerable to at least 6 months worth security exploits since it was first introduced because of Motorola and Verizon’s failures to apply any of the patches from Google, received its first update over the weekend to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Hooray for security!
The update will arrive on MAXX 2 owner’s phones in two parts, first as software version 23.44.3 before the important part (the Marshmallow part) shows up as 24.64.4. After updating, the MAXX 2 will get access to Google Now on Tap and Doze Mode (for better battery life), see better app permissions controls, utilize adoptable storage with an SD card, and more. It’s a big update, one that should have shipped on the phone from day 1.
To check for the update, head into Settings>About phone>System updates.
Anyone see the update yet?
6-Month Old DROID MAXX 2 Finally Receives First Update, Which is Marshmallow is a post from: Droid Life
Alright, so remember back in December when a photo surfaced of a supposed Motorola phone we dubbed the Franken-iPhLumia360 (that’s pronounced eye-floom-ee-uh-360)? It was of a phone so distant in design from Motorola’s previous efforts that we stated something that didn’t seem all that outlandish at the time – that we were going to be beyond shocked if it was on any level real. Welp, it might be real! Check out all of these fabulous new renders that were posted by the folks at hellomotoHK over the weekend that look identical to that phone.
My, oh my.
So what are we looking at? Well, there is a lot to talk about here.
First, the phone up top has both DROID branding and Verizon’s new check mark, so we are just assuming that it is the next Turbo or some new DROID phone that you shouldn’t buy if you like software updates or security. The phones pictured below look almost identical, but lack the Verizon and DROID marks and could very well be the next Moto X (2016).
In terms of style, these phones look thin, really thin. They have fingerprint sensors situated on their bottom chins, lower IR sensors next to them to activate Moto Display, rear-facing speakers, and metal-ish looking exteriors. The fronts also have cameras with accompanying flashes and potentially more robust Moto Display capabilities, with options for wallpapers and/or colored widgets.
There are a variety of designs at play here, so it doesn’t seem like Moto Maker is going anywhere, even with the drastic changes from last year’s Moto X Pure Edition to what we are seeing in these new images. We have white or black fronts, along with white, gold accented, and multi-colored backs. I’m going to guess there will be even more, though I’m not sure if the leather or nylon backs can return with this design.
Each phone has a bulging disc camera setup that seems to be taking a playful approach to the Moto 360’s famous flat tire. I don’t even think we can call this a “hump” as it really does just look like a hockey puck slapped onto the back of a phone, ignoring any thought of a non-wobbly table presence. Obviously, the camera isn’t a dual setup like we have seen from Huawei and LG recently, but does appear to have a flash and a couple of other sensors, potentially a laser autofocus system.
As for other highlights, the bottom USB port seems to have some sort of cut-out on the backside. Is that something to keep an eye on or just an odd design choice? Tough to tell. Also, check out the terrible volume/power button situation. Ugh. Remember when HTC thought it was a good idea to put volume in two separate buttons and located them right up against the power button? Yeah, well, apparently Motorola didn’t get the memo on “How to Fail in Smartphone Button Setups” and is going that route here. Good luck ever figuring out which is which on the fly, in the most important of times.
See, there is a lot going on here. I’m still trying to take it all in on whether or not I like the new design or dislike it. There is a lot to like, but also plenty to raise an eyebrow or two at. Like, the lovable Moto dimple is gone and a fingerprint sensor has been placed on the front chin. For years and years and years, we have talked about the dimple being the perfect spot for a fingerprint reader and likely was going to be at some point, yet here it is gone and switched. I, obviously, hate that button setup and am not excited about a puck hump thingy on the backside. But the phone does look thin, appears to have an improved Moto Display experience, and Moto Maker will be back.
Man. Thoughts?
New 2016 Moto X, Motorola DROID Phones Surface and Look Mighty Familiar is a post from: Droid Life
