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Monday, September 28, 2015

BuzzFeed News App Hits Google Play, Filled With Material Design

BuzzFeed has launched the official BuzzFeed News app to Google Play, bringing their “easy to understand” take on the world’s news to the Android masses. In the app’s description, the developers highlight the app’s ease of use, as well as the ease of sharing stories you read with friends. 

Android users will be happy to see that BuzzFeed did not stray too far from Google’s Material Design elements, bringing a sliding tab design design, floating action button for notifications, as well as a card-like look for each separate story on the landing page.

For those who enjoy to get their global news from BuzzFeed, go check it out.

Play Link

BuzzFeed News App Hits Google Play, Filled With Material Design is a post from: Droid Life



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Google Ups APK Limit on Google Play to 100MB

Developers, Google is increasing the size of APK files that you can upload to Google Play to 100MB. This doubles the previous 50MB limit, giving you the opportunity to speed up the install process for your customers. 

Going forward, this also means that Google is upping the limit before you see a warning about the data you are about to swallow. Previously, Google would warn you if you were about to download something over 50MB, but that is now increased to the new limit of 100MB. Of course, the default setting for Google Play is still to auto-update over WiFi, so as bigger APKs make their way onto your phone, you should be safe from destroying your data plan.

Finally, if you have apps that have are larger than 100MB, you can still host the rest through expansion files.

Via:  Android Developers

Google Ups APK Limit on Google Play to 100MB is a post from: Droid Life



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Google to Announce ‘Family Plan’ for Google Music, $14.99 a Month for Six Accounts

For anyone hoping there would be a few surprises at tomorrow’s Google event, it does not appear that will be possible. As recently detailed by Android Police, Google will announce a new tier for Google Music All Access users, one which allows for six Google accounts to be tied to the same plan, all for $14.99 a month. 

A family plan is exactly what has been missing from All Access, and when compared to Spotify or even Apple Music, Google’s music streaming service is priced to sell. On Spotify, six accounts for streaming will run you $29.99 a month, while Apple Music and Google Music will be priced identically.

The change is reported to not only be announced tomorrow, but made available tomorrow as well. So, if you have a family who is already paying individually for streaming access, get ready for your monthly price for music to go down substantially.

Will you be rocking this immediately?

Via: Android Police

Google to Announce ‘Family Plan’ for Google Music, $14.99 a Month for Six Accounts is a post from: Droid Life



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A Few Moto 360 (2nd Gen) Pre-Orders Delayed, “Technical Difficulties” to Blame

For a few folks who pre-ordered the Moto 360 (2nd Gen), you may have received an email directly from Motorola, stating that your order has been delayed. A personal email from Motorola’s Bjorn Kilburn, VP of E-Commerce, reads that technical difficulties with the company’s ordering and shipping system has led Motorola to be late in delivering customized Moto 360 devices. 

From the few emails we received, there does not seem to be any consistencies between the materials used and the delay. One reader ordered a standard, 46mm watch in black steel, while another had his order delayed via a Best Buy pre-order. With any new device launch, there are bound to be hiccups.

Here is the email being sent out to those with affected pre-orders.

Dear ___,

I am very sorry we’re late delivering your customized Motorola device. We experienced technical difficulties with our ordering and shipping system. We are working hard to get your device to you as soon as possible, and we will send you an updated estimated shipping date as soon as we can.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and I am grateful for your patience.

Sincerely,

Bjorn Kilburn
Vice President, E-Commerce
Motorola Mobility, LLC

Was your order affected? Fingers crossed that everyone gets their shiny new smartwatch in a timely manner.

Cheers Mark, Tom, and Seth! 

A Few Moto 360 (2nd Gen) Pre-Orders Delayed, “Technical Difficulties” to Blame is a post from: Droid Life



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Report: Nexus 5X Starts at $379, Nexus 6P at $499 – Pre-Orders for Both Open Tomorrow

If there was one last piece to this Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P puzzle that we were awaiting word on, it would probably be pricing and availability. Thanks to a report 24 hours before each phone is announced by Google, it sounds like a dream scenario awaits of both value and accessibility. 

Google, according to Android Police, will open up pre-orders for both the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P tomorrow, September 29. The Nexus 5X will start at $379 for 16GB of storage and the Nexus 6P will start at $499 for 32GB of storage.

We don’t know the price of the 32GB Nexus 5X or the 64GB and 128GB Nexus 6P, but a $50 jump between each sounds likely.

The phones will reportedly be available only online instead of through carrier partners. That means the Google Store will be your option for purchase, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Amazon or Best Buy were to carry both at some point down the road. Since each phone is sold unlocked with support on all major US carriers, this makes sense for Google to not deal with anyone else.

My guess (thanks to info from sources) is that the phones will ship around October 5.

Via:  Android Police [2]

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Report: Nexus 5X Starts at $379, Nexus 6P at $499 – Pre-Orders for Both Open Tomorrow is a post from: Droid Life



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Samsung Pay Launches in the US Today!

Samsung Pay, the mobile payment system from Samsung that I would argue is actually a game changer, launches today in the US. I say that it’s a game changer because it’s not just another NFC payment system that requires retailers to have NFC-ready payment terminals. With Samsung Pay, you can (theoretically) pay at almost every credit card terminal you encounter, because it uses magnetic secure transmission (MST) that emulates a credit card swipe. It’s awesome.

Anyways, here are the details for today’s launch in the US. 

Carrier Support

As of this morning, Samsung Pay works on the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, and Galaxy Note 5 in the US on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. And no, we didn’t leave Verizon out on mistake. Big Red is still “evaluating” Samsung Pay or something.

Credit Card Support

As for which cards Samsung Pay supports, you will need a card issued by Bank of America, Citi, American Express, or US Bank. Samsung has a partnership with MasterCard and Visa, but it’s going through card issuers for individual card support. If you don’t have a card from one of those four I just mentioned, you will have to remain patient.

How it works

To use Samsung Pay, you get the choice of how to pay depending on the situation. If you are at a retailer with NFC-ready terminals, you can pay by tapping your phone to the NFC spot like you would with Android Pay or Apple Pay. If you are at a terminal that doesn’t have an NFC pad, you then press your phone up against the credit card swiping slot and let the phone do its emulation magic.

It’s a bit confusing at first, but trust me, once you find that tapping sweet spot on a credit card swiper and it works, you might be a little blown away.

samsung pay-3

Anyone had a chance to try it out?

Samsung Pay Launches in the US Today! is a post from: Droid Life



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Nexus 6P Hits FCC as Well With Support for All US Carriers, Including Verizon

Following the Nexus 5X’s appearance at the FCC on Friday, the bigger, more premium brother has done the same in preparation for tomorrow’s event. Yep, the Nexus 6P has arrived. Not that this FCC document is giving us much in the way of new information, thanks to that mega leak that showed up over the weekend, but still, it’s nice to see the phone become official and ready for launch.

So what do we know now? A couple of things. 

Like the Nexus 5X, there are North American and international models. The NA model is the Huawei H1511 and the international unit is H1512. Both stopped at the FCC and are linked in the source section.

In this first image, we have measurements for the device that much up to the leak over the weekend for the most part as 159.2×77.8mm. The image also shows the location of the fingerprint sensor and the antenna design.

Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 6.41.23 AM

The NA model supports all of the major US carriers, just like the 5X, and yes, that includes Verizon. It has both GSM, WCDMA, and CDMA support, so it will work everywhere. As for LTE bands, you have support for band 2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 30, and 41. See for yourself in the chart below.

Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 6.39.31 AM

Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 6.45.13 AM

If you want to start firing up some conspiracy theories, check out the section we have included above, which mentions “micro SD card” slot a couple of times. The two references are included in the device’s General Description area, where FCC filings tend to describe some of the functionality of the phone being tested. The odd references speak of an external interface, as well as an internal one with reference to removal storage. I wouldn’t think that documents would mention this if they weren’t testing it on some level and if it wasn’t an included technology, so take it as that. There is a chance the Nexus 6P has an SD card slot. Slight or maybe even better than slight chance.

Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 6.41.37 AM

Finally, here is a confirmation on the battery size of 3450mAh and also the band support for the international model.

Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 6.48.41 AM

If anyone of the wireless carrier band talk confuses you, hit up our US wireless carrier band cheat sheet.

Excited?

Via:  FCC [2]
Cheers Justin!

Nexus 6P Hits FCC as Well With Support for All US Carriers, Including Verizon is a post from: Droid Life



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