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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Samsung Announces 256GB UFS 2.0 Mobile Storage Just Days After Galaxy S7

This afternoon, Samsung unveiled the mobile industry’s first 256GB UFS 2.0 internal storage chip for high-end devices, including smartphones. That’s awesome news…except for the fact that it comes three days after the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge were announced, both of which do not include this new 256GB chip. I don’t want to kill the announcement with my confusion over the timing, so let’s talk about what this new chip means.

Last year, around the time that Samsung announced the Galaxy S6, they also announced that they would be moving to UFS 2.0 storage solutions because it was not only the “future” of mobile storage, it was faster than the standard eMMC storage that most smartphones had been using for years. UFS 2.0 storage is faster at both reading and writing to storage, and can read and write at the same time. At the time of the Galaxy S6 unveiling, Samsung announced that it had created the industry’s first 128GB UFS 2.0 chip, which of course, was then made available in a Galaxy S6 variant.

With this new 256GB UFS 2.0 chip, Samsung says that it is capable of handling read speeds of up to 850MB/s and write speeds of up to 260MB/s. Those read speeds are “nearly twice as fast” as your typical solid state drive (SSD) used in PCs and the write speeds are three times as fast as high-end microSD cards. In just a year since announcing their 128GB UFS 2.0 chip, Samsung says that they have doubled the capacity and speed.

This new chip is smaller than an external microSD card, which Samsung says gives “greater flexibility to smartphone designers.”

So why not include this chip in the Galaxy S7? Honestly, I don’t know. Samsung seems to have limited storage in this year’s Galaxy S line to 32GB and 64GB models, so the timing of this is quite odd. Does this mean we’ll get a Galaxy Note 6 with 256GB of storage? Will they introduce a 256GB S7 later on down the road? Do they have something else planned to use this chip in, like a media player? Again, we don’t know. But damn, that’s a lot of internal storage and whole load of speed.

Via: Samsung

Link Bubble Officially Rebranded to Brave, Includes Ad Blocking and Tracker Protection

Launched simultaneously across multiple platforms, the Brave browser application is now available for download on Android. As users of Link Bubble will notice, their app has been rebranded to Brave, since Link Bubble was sold off back in August, 2015. The buyers were not publicly named, but it was known that it was a startup in stealth mode. Now that everything is official and released, let’s go over what Brave offers.

The app is a browser that loads webpages in the background. For example, if you are browsing Twitter and click a link, the webpage will load inside of a popup bubble that appears. Once loading is complete, you can tap on the bubble and it will expand, showing the complete webpage. In addition to being a basic bubble browser, Brave blocks ads that are seen as intrusive or track a viewer’s history, which can be good for those who are cautious about their Internet browsing. When first announced, it was stated that these ads would be replaced with “clean” ads, the profits of which would still go to the site owners. At this time, after a bit of looking around, it appears the app is only blocking ads, not replacing them.

Inside of the settings for Brave, users can choose between different themes for the app, specify domain redirects (a certain site always opens in Chrome or whatever browser you want), a color toolbar, and more. The app offers many settings for the savvy, such as HTTPS Everywhere, Tracking Mode Protection, Reading Mode, and Reading Mode and Wear.

The app is free to download from Google Play.

Play Link

Don’t Expect Another LG Nexus This Year

In 2015, Google wanted to bring back an updated take on what is arguably the most popular Nexus phone of all time when they partnered with LG for the Nexus 5X. The phone features upgraded specs over LG’s original Nexus 5, yet it is still available at a relatively similar low price. While none of us know how well the Nexus 5X has done in terms of sales or if Google considers it a success, LG is already telling the world not to expect a version 3 for 2016.

During a brief conversation with CNET at MWC, an LG spokesperson said that the Korean electronics giant is taking a break from the Nexus program to “focus on its own brand.” LG is supposedly “totally happy” with its relationship surrounding Google and the Nexus program, building a Nexus phone requires a lot of resources that may be better spent/utilized on their own phones, like the G5.

LG wasn’t up for commenting on how well the Nexus 5X has performed, but I’d imagine it’s no where near the success of the Nexus 6P. In our review, we grew frustrated over its performance issues and have heard similar stories from dozens of readers. Most Nexus fans seem to have opted to toss out the extra $100 or so to get into the 6P. Let’s also not forget that the 5X started out at $379 yet has already been reduced numerous times to as low as $299 on the Google Store.

Are you sad to see LG step away from Nexus consideration or would you like to see them come back and do a high-end Nexus?

Via: CNET

Use Your Voice to Type, Edit, and Format Inside Google Docs

Users of Google Docs can now utilize their voice to not only dictate what they want written, but can comprehensively edit and format documents. Any editing or formatting feature available in docs can be commanded with your voice, such as heading settings, alignment settings, bullet lists, numbered lists, and more.

For example, if making a grocery list or recipe, you can say “make a bullet list, add 1/2 cup of olives,” followed by “new line” and “new paragraph,” as well as pick up anywhere on the page simply by stating which word you want to continue from.

The video accompanied with the announcement does a fantastic job at detailing what all you can do with the feature.

Check out video, then try it for yourself.

Play Link

Via: Google Docs

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Accessories Include Snap-On Keyboard, Camera Lenses, and More

As is always the case whenever Samsung announces new phones, this year’s line-up for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge includes a massive list of official accessories. From snap-on keyboards, new battery packs, and jewelry, to an angled fast wireless charger, handful of cases, and a couple of swappable camera lenses, I don’t know that Samsung has missed a category.

Here are a few of the items you’ll see over the coming months.

Battery packs and chargers

Samsung has new battery packs with larger capacity and fast charging, but is also improving their fast wireless charger. The battery packs will weigh in with 5100mAh and 10200mAh capacities and fast charging. The new fast wireless charger is still fast, but it now includes a hinge or stand so that it can sit landscape (flat on a table) or portrait (propped up).

Jewelry / step tracker

Samsung is introducing a couple of smart bands that look like jewelry. They are a part of a “Charm” line that is capable of sending you notifications and tracking steps. They feature 17mAh batterys that are capable of lasting for up to 18 days and include LEDs for notifications. Take a look at this gems.

Cases

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Samsung product launch without a variety of cases and case types to choose from. We’ll see a new LED View Cover with LED display and controls via touch interface, Clear View Cover (image at top of post), S View Cover, and leather or TPU traditional cases.

Keyboard and camera lenses

On a slightly different note, Samsung is for the first time (at least to my knowledge) introducing swappable camera lens that attach over the top of the Galaxy S7’s camera. Accessories like these have been around for years from 3rd party outfits, but these are coming directly from Samsung. They will be available as either Telephoto or Wide Angle lenses.

Finally, Samsung is bringing back the Blackberry-style keyboard cover we saw with the Galaxy S6 Edge+ for those who need that physical typing experience. I don’t know that the keyboard for last year’s phones was widely available, so we’ll see what happens with this one.

Of course, Samsung hasn’t offered information on pricing or availability for any of this at this time. I wouldn’t be shocked if only half of this stuff ever actually makes it to market, but at least we know what Samsung is capable of and is working on.

Will you pick up any accessories for your Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge?

Via: Samsung

OnePlus 3 Expected to Launch Before End of Q2

Recently disclosed to CNET in an exclusive interview, founder and director of OnePlus, Carl Pei, says that the OnePlus 3 is expected to launch before the end of Q2 this year. While Pei offered no exact detail into what fans of OnePlus can expect from the device, he did mention that he hopes the OnePlus 3 will captivate users the same way the original OnePlus One did with a “new design.”

When asked about the invitation system, OnePlus’ pride and joy, Pei declined to comment on whether it would be implemented for the launch of the OnePlus, although, he did state the company expects to offer a “better buying process” to everyone.

Furthermore, Pei claims that the US will be very important to OnePlus in 2016. Last year, the company launched the OnePlus X for many global markets, although, the device lacked specific LTE bands to allow it to work properly in the US. If OnePlus intends to take the US market seriously, inclusion of these bands will be necessary.

Another feature not included in the OnePlus 2 or OnePlus X was NFC. OnePlus claimed that users did not want the feature, so instead of building it in, they left it out, which meant anyone hoping to perform mobile payments via Android Pay were unable to do so. Again, with Pei stating that the US market is important to OnePlus, NFC should be included.

Q2 in 2016 is set to end on Thursday, June 30. Mark your calendars, OnePlus fans.

Via: CNET

RIP: Sony Confirms Xperia Z Line of Phones is Dead

Earlier this week, Sony announced a new lineup of Xperia X devices that would hit the US. More interestingly, the company confirmed this morning that the Xperia Z line of devices is now no more. In a statement, Sony states that the Xperia Z line has “reached its culmination” and that the Xperia X line represents a “new chapter” of the company’s product strategy.

The latest devices in the Xperia Z line, the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact just arrived in the US earlier this month, so for those who purchased either of those phones, we do hope Sony intends to support them into the foreseeable future.

Here is the complete statement from Sony provided to Xperia Blog.

The Xperia Z line has reached its culmination – Xperia X series represents a new chapter and evolution of our product strategy. Whilst the Xperia Z series was all about bringing the best of Sony’s advanced technologies to smartphones, Xperia X series is based on bringing smart, adaptive Sony user experiences across camera, battery performance and hardware / software design.

Considering the Xperia Z line was not the most widely available lineup of devices in the US, it’s okay if this news does not affect you very much. There is a passionate group of Sony Xperia fans, and for them, this news may be sad. Don’t worry, though, as Sony has the new Xperia X line coming to the US and it might be easier to acquire them over the Xperia Z devices, but that remains to be seen.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Samsung Announces 256GB UFS 2.0 Mobile Storage Just Days After Galaxy S7

Via: Samsung

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Link Bubble Officially Rebranded to Brave, Includes Ad Blocking and Tracker Protection

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