We've compiled a 'Top 10' list of our favorite iOS apps to hit the App Store in April 2017. The apps highlighted in this video include Cafe WiFi, Oilist, Pictionary, Microsoft To-Do, Full of Stars, Olli, Prizmo Go, HelloChinese, Funnel and Invert. Which app is your favorite?
Between the LG G6 and the Samsung Galaxy S8’s recent releases and constant presence in headlines, it’s easy for the mobile enthusiast to get that “new phone” itch that needs to be scratched – and for good reasons, too. Both devices have some great features, specs, and designs. They both also cost a pretty penny, which can be a hard sell for some, especially if their current phone really isn’t in that bad of shape. If you’re torn between picking up a new phone and sticking with your old one, consider spending less money sprucing up your old phone before taking the plunge on a new phone for hundreds of dollars more.
In my opinion, a brand new case can make a world of difference in the way a phone looks, particularly if your phone has visible wear and tear from use. I also consider a good case a smart investment for protecting your phone, which can become quite costly to replace.
This mostly applies to Android users. I’ve found that dedicating a few hours to personalizing your homescreen can make a big difference in how favorably I view my phone. Finding new widgets (I recommend Month and Zooper), wallpapers (Backdrops), launchers (Evie is my newest go-to, but ASAP, Nova, and Apex are popular as well), and icon packs are all great ways to give your phone an entirely new look and feel.
Sometimes I get the new phone itch because my phone’s performance starts to slow down, which is inevitable once you’ve accumulated months or years of photos, videos, files, and apps. Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to do a little spring cleaning like clearing app cache data, deleting apps you no longer use, and cleaning out your unused or unwanted files.
Depending on your phone, you may also have optimization options for your battery and power that are worth visiting every once in a while. It’s also not a bad idea to Google battery optimization tips and tricks for your specific phone. Subreddits and XDA forums dedicated to specific smartphones have been extremely valuable resources over the years for me as well.
A daunting task, sometimes a good ol’ fashioned reset is the best medicine for an ailing and aging smartphone. Creating a backup of all of your information beforehand is advised so as to not lose anything important (which I would advise to do frequently whether you reset your phone or not, just to be safe), but clearing all of that out and starting completely over is a good way to ensure that nothing is holding your phone back. Sometimes I just go straight for the reset because after it’s all said and done, my phone runs like a champ afterwards every time.
If none of the above solutions get rid of the new phone itch for you, you can still save money by buying either “old” models or secondhand. I’ve seen countless sales on the Galaxy S7 and LG G5 over the past couple of months, in some cases decreasing the price by more than 50% of their full retail price. Phones that are older than 6 months old aren’t nearly as obsolete as they used to be at this point, and are worth considering if you’re in the market for something new but don’t want to break the bank.
To be frank, when smartphones are your vice nothing perfectly emulates the feeling of taking a new phone out of the box. However, these methods can at least stave off the feeling of needing to buy the latest and greatest for a little while, and allows you to enjoy your initial investment for that much longer.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,477 lives were claimed in 2015 from distracted driving alone. Additionally, 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents involving texting and driving. Although distracted driving is not a new concept by any means – anything could become a distraction, after all – mobile devices and their high status in society have had their role in exacerbating the issue. Considering all we can do with our phones these days and our dependency on them, it isn’t exactly surprising to learn that distracted driving is getting worse rather than better.
It’s not a topic that is being completely ignored. AT&T launched their “It Can Wait” campaign back in 2010; UK citizens have had recent law changes that make phone usage while driving both expensive and extremely risky to their legal driving status; and just recently, Samsung unveiled their upcoming Android app, called In-Traffic Reply, that does precisely that: the app automatically responds to calls and messages letting people know they’re driving. But will any of these measures make much of a difference in texting and driving? Perhaps, but I’m not hopeful.
Reading about Samsung’s new In-Traffic Reply app made me angry, not because the app exists, but because the app has to exist. It makes me more angry that the people that need to use it more than likely won’t. After all, it’s not as if Samsung is the first company to come out with such a thing. There are plenty of apps out there already that allow drivers to text and make phone calls without ever touching their phone or taking their eyes of the road, yet the epidemic keeps growing. If they don’t use those tools, what’s one more going to do? Most people I know say there’s no excuse for drinking and driving, not even inebriation (and I agree), but many of those same people have a million perfectly conscious reasons as to why using their phone while driving is a-ok. It’s not, and it never will be.
Samsung’s In-Traffic Reply seems like a simple, useful tool, just like “It Can Wait” was a good message to send, and I’m on board for stricter texting and driving laws, but I don’t think any of these will ultimately do much. Raised awareness and time seem like the best solutions for now. It has taken MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) nearly 40 years since its debut to cut drunk driving deaths in half, so it would seem like we have a long road ahead of us yet. With autonomous driving supposedly well on the way, there’s hope that the implementation of such technology could eventually do a lot to solve the issue, but it may also prove to be more harmful in the process of getting there.
Truthfully, there is no silver bullet – or one magical solution - to solve the issue. I speak about my concerns for smartphone usage and driving from time to time because I care, and awareness and a soapbox to stand on are all I have right now. I care about my family, and I care a lot about other people and their well-being because I have more empathy than I know what to do with. From experience, I know that this is a significant issue that is often played down due to our dependency on our smartphones. I value my phone as much as the next person, but I value the lives of myself and others infinitely more. Cars are heavy, fast, and in the wrong situation they’re deadly. When we decide to get behind the wheel, it’s our responsibility to ensure the safety of not only ourselves, but others around us. I may not know you, reader, but know that I care enough about you to know that I don’t ever want to read about you or anybody getting seriously injured or killed due to distracted driving, and I care enough about you to never touch my phone while driving. It’s just not worth the risk.
It's only been a year and a half, or so, since Amazon launched Underground Actually Free, or Amazon Underground, for Android apps. Not all Android apps, of course, but enough to get the attention of quite a few users since its debut, I imagine. The idea was to make apps, and some apps with in-app purchases, "actually free" for users, and Amazon had planned on it being a long-term project with plenty of sweet benefits unveiled along the way.
Things change, though. Recently Amazon announced that it would be phasing out the Underground Actually Free program, with plans to completely shut it down by 2019. When that year rolls around, there won't be any apps available in the program, and it'll shutter its doors completely.
It's good to see that users will still get to access the apps they've already downloaded, but it is sad to hear that the service is going dark.
Amazon didn't give any clear indicator why they decided to go this route, so speculation is ripe. Maybe it just wasn't something the company wanted to pay for anymore, or maybe it wasn't as popular as Amazon would have liked -- which could ultimately lead to the first reason, really. Whatever the reason, it's here.
The service was a bit of a boon for me, honestly, and I'm sad to see it go. I've spent so much money in the iOS App Store that, when I have made the switch back to Android, buying games and apps again just doesn't seem like much fun. Amazon Underground helped with that quite a bit. I was able to get some of my daughters' favorite games again without spending anything towards them, which made the switch to Android easier as well.
But the program was a good one in general, not just for folks who didn't want to buy the same apps again when switching from one platform to another. So I can't help but wonder, did you ever use it? If you did, how many apps do you think you downloaded from it? Or, on the other hand, did you not even know Amazon Underground existed at all? Let me know!
When Vizio unveiled its “new” 2017 P-Series and actually-new 2017 M-Series TVs on Tuesday, it seemed as though the company was making a quick return to the old smart TV approach of preloading apps like Hulu, Vudu, and others onto the sets. Last year, no apps were included on Vizio’s TVs out of the box; instead, they were designed as great looking displays that hooked into Google Chromecast, allowing owners to stream content from hundreds of apps using their own smartphone. But despite Vizio going so far as to bundle an Android tablet in the box, this concept likely confused some consumers.
So it is true that Vizio is making a change this year. A select few apps will come included out of the box to make things more convenient for people...
One day after officially launching, the BLU R1 Plus has gone on sale.
The BLU R1 Plus is now available from Amazon and Best Buy for $109.99. Amazon Prime customers can get free two-day shipping with their order, while Best Buy customers can get free standard shipping.
This deal is only good today, April 29, so you’ve got about 14 hours as of this publication to take advantage of the offer.
BLU’s R1 Plus comes equipped with a 5.5-inch 1280x720 display, 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel cameras, 32GB of storage, a microSD slot for adding more storage, and a 4000mAh battery. It’s powered by a MediaTek 6737 quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM and runs Android 6.0 out of the box, but BLU says an update to Android 7.0 is planned.
This R1 Plus is sold GSM unlocked and is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. BLU says that VoLTE support for T-Mobile is included, but Wi-Fi Calling is not.
If you’d like to see the BLU R1 Plus in action before pulling the trigger on this deal, you can watch our video review of the device right here.
We've compiled a 'Top 10' list of our favorite Android apps to hit the Play Store in April 2017. The apps highlighted in this video include Skimcast, Boomerang, Flick Launcher, Invert, BixRemap, Walls for Reddit, Blocky Castle, Halo Icon Pack, and Pictionary. Which app is your favorite?
About a year and a half ago, Amazon launched its Underground program that promised “Actually Free” apps that didn’t cost the user anything. Fast-forward to today, and Amazon has revealed that the program is coming to an end.
Amazon says that it’s going to discontinue the Underground Actually Free program, with plans to completely shut it down in 2019. Different parts of the program will shut down before then, though.
Amazon will stop taking new app submissions for the Underground Actually Free program on May 31, 2017. However, developers already in the program can continue submitting updates to existing apps until 2019, and they’ll continue to get paid for the time that customers spend in their apps, too. Android devices will lose access to the Underground Actually Free store in summer 2017, but they’ll continue to be able to shop for physical goods, access Prime Video content, and use previously installed apps.
Owners of Amazon Fire tablets will be able to access the Underground Actually Free store and use their previously installed apps until 2019. However, Fire tablet access to the store won’t extend beyond current devices, so any new tablets that Amazon launches won’t have access to that shop.
Amazon said that the Underground was a “long-term program” that’d continue to gain new benefits, but it looks like the company changed its mind about those plans. The good news is that customers that’ve already downloaded apps through the program will still be able to use those apps and developers will continue to get paid for them. If you’ve been using the Underground Actually Free program to score free Android apps in the past, though, know that you don’t have much more time to download other apps before the program shuts down for good.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are notable smartphones for many reasons, one of which is that they’re Samsung’s first flagships to have on-screen navigation buttons. Now it’s been revealed that Samsung cooked up something special for those buttons.
Samsung has made it so that the Galaxy S8’s on-screen home button moves ever so slightly from time to time. This is likely to prevent burn-in, something that used to affect older CRT computer monitors and can still affect OLED screens like the one found on the Galaxy S8.
You’re probably not going to notice the movement in your day-to-day usage, but if you use paper or something else to physically mark where the button is, you can see that the button moves. This is how the folks at GalaxyClub confirmed that the home button moves.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 isn’t the first mobile device to have a burn-in prevention feature, as Android Wear as a Display Burn-in Prevent feature so that watch faces don’t get burned into your wearable’s display. That doesn’t change the fact that this is a smart inclusion by Samsung, though. The Galaxy S8 is a flagship device, and I’m sure a lot of owners would be frustrated if they discovered that their phone had a home button icon burned into their screen.
Part creation tool, part social network, the popular Musical.ly app lets users make and share their own music videos using segments of songs. Thanks to a new deal with Apple, the service's users will be able to add songs from the vast Apple Music library to their latest masterpieces.
Via: Recode
Source: Apple Music (Twitter)
BLU today launched the follow-up to the R1 HD.
The new device is called the BLU R1 Plus, because many of its features are beefed up compared to last year’s R1 HD. The screen is now larger, measuring in at 5.5 inches and with a resolution of 1280x720, while the battery has gotten an upgrade to 4000mAh.
Other features of the BLU R1 Plus include 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front cameras, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, a microSD slot, and a MediaTek 6737 octa-core processor. The R1 Plus comes preloaded with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but BLU says that an upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat is planned.
The BLU R1 Plus is an unlocked GSM smartphone that’s compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. BLU also notes that the R1 Plus supports VoLTE on T-Mobile, but not Wi-Fi Calling.
If the BLU R1 Plus sounds like a device that you’d like to add to your arsenal, you can buy one right this very second from Amazon. Pricing is set at $159.99, but BLU says that it’ll be available for $109.99 for 24 hours starting tomorrow, April 29. Best Buy is expected to offer the R1 Plus, too, but the retailer’s site currently shows the R1 Plus as being out of stock.
To see how the R1 Plus performs before plunking down your hard-earned cash on one, you can check out our video review at the top of this post.
I'll admit it: I'm an unabashed Apple fanboy. I spent far too much on a Macbook Pro with specs that would cost half as much in the Windows world, I love my pair of ridiculous-looking and easily misplaced AirPods and I may or may not have a box full of old Newtons and Mac 512K parts. There's a term for folks like me, and Merriam-Webster just made it official: "Sheeple." The dictionary's editors just added the term, calling out its sick burn to Apple fans in a tweet.
Via: MacRumors
Source: Mirriam-Webster/Twitter
It’s almost time for another Android phone to get its Nougat update.
T-Mobile Product Manager Des Smith today announced that T-Mo has approved the Nougat update for the Galaxy S6 edge+. The update is slated to begin rolling out to customers early next week.
We’ll have to wait for the update to begin hitting devices before we know exactly what’s included, but we do know that the Nougat update includes new features like quick replies from your notifications and an improved Doze mode for saving battery life. The Note 5 also got updated Android security patches with its Nougat update this week, so it’s possible that the Galaxy S6 edge+ will get them, too.
Are you still rocking a Galaxy S6 edge+?
California regulators will soon be able to test select Airbnb hosts to determine whether they’re discriminating against users of the app based on race, according to The Guardian. The state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing announced a first-of-its-kind agreement with Airbnb yesterday, which will apply fair housing testing — something that traditional housing providers (landlords) have long faced — to the home-sharing service.
Airbnb has for years grappled with claims of racial discrimination from users who’ve had bookings cancelled or worse. In late 2015, Harvard University researchers found that guests with African American-sounding names had a more difficult time renting rooms through the popular app.
Last September, Airbnb...
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a powerful smartphone, one of the best in the flagship market by a large margin, and anyone who picked one up at launch is hopefully more than happy with their purchase. Then again, you might've heard about that special variant of the Galaxy S8+ that exists out there in the world. The one that made its debut in South Korea, and, eventually, will land in Hong Kong.
This model is a device that boasts a couple of important changes: 6GB of RAM on board, instead of the 4GB of RAM that's available in the standard Galaxy S8/Galaxy S8+. The other key difference is 128GB of built-in storage, rather than the 64GB models that are available everywhere else.
Both of these changes aren't huge, but, depending on the person wanting to buy a new smartphone, they might be important.
Samsung has taken flack in the past for launching too many phones, as have the majority of manufacturers out there, but they've started to limit themselves quite a bit. While they still launch cheap handsets, or mid-range devices, their main focus is clearly on high-end smartphones. With that being said, I don't think it would be egregious of them to launch a 64GB and 128GB Galaxy S8/Galaxy S8+ at the same time for multiple markets.
Instead, the 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant is available locked to carriers in South Korea. Or, if you want to wait a bit longer, you'll see an unlocked model show up in Hong Kong, which means it's possible you could import that handset if you really want to get your hands on a Galaxy S8+ with more RAM and storage.
Importing phones isn't as big a deal as it used to be. I can remember several years ago when some phones were just simply not available, in any variant, here in the United States (at least at launch), but were readily available in places like Europe. So while network technologies made it difficult in most cases, it was at least possible to get a phone you wanted, only if you were willing to pay a little extra to ship it across the pond.
This special version of the Galaxy S8+ got me thinking about importing a phone again, or at least the last time I did it. Way back when the original HTC Hero was around -- and before its State-side variants cropped up. I loved that phone and I was glad to have paid what I did to get it over into my hands. But I haven't imported a phone since.
So I'm wondering, when is the last time you imported a device, and which one was it? How was the experience? Let me know!
The R1 Plus is the latest budget-friendly smartphone from BLU. For $160 off-contract, it features a 5.5-inch HD display, MediaTek 6737 processor with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 13MP rear and 8MP front cameras with LED flash, 4G LTE and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Will the R1 PLUS be your next smartphone?
Screensavers were originally a way to prevent burn-in on older CRT monitors. The now-classic moving images in early operating systems were created to keep any single pixel on the screen from remaining in place for too long, leaving behind a ghost on the display. Modern screens like the OLED ones on Samsung's Galaxy S8 can also suffer from burn-in. Since the new flagship's Home button is virtual now, the company had to do something to prevent it from getting burned in to your display. The solution? Moving the Home button image around a little bit.
Via: The Verge
Source: Galaxy Club
Uber is making removing the hurdles to deleting your account entirely. Like so many other services, simply uninstalling the app from your phone doesn't wipe your data on the company's servers. Not any more, according to The Verge. Rather than having to contact Uber support to eliminate your personal information, a forthcoming update adds the feature to the app itself. From the privacy settings you'll apparently be able to start a 30-day countdown, and after the clock hits zero your customer data will go the way of the dodo.
Via: The Verge
Source: Uber
Qualcomm's ongoing legal dispute with Apple today took a new turn after the chipmaker accused its device-making partner of further withholding patent royalties. According to a statement, Apple recently stopped paying licensing revenue to manufacturers of the iPhone because it believes it's been overpaying for important 3G and 4G patents.
Source: Qualcomm (PDF)
HTC continues to tease its upcoming Android flagship ahead of next month’s reveal.
HTC has posted a new video teaser for its upcoming U smartphone. The brief clip shows people squeezing all kinds of things, including a lemon, ketchup and mustard bottles, someone’s muscles, a trumpet, and more. The caption for HTC’s tweet reads “Natural. Intuitive. Effortless. A new way to interact with your smartphone is coming. May 16, 2017 #BrilliantU”.
Natural. Intuitive. Effortless. A new way to interact with your smartphone is coming. May 16, 2017 #BrilliantU http://pic.twitter.com/f2jyDHn11L
— HTC (@htc) April 28, 2017
It’s expected that on May 16, will show off the HTC U 11. This device is rumored to offer a feature called Edge Sense that’ll let you perform actions by squeezing the sides of the phone or swiping along its left or right edges.
The HTC U 11 will reportedly offer a high-end spec list that includes a 5.5-inch 2560x1440 display, Snapdragon 835 processor, 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX362 sensor, 64GB/128GB of storage, and a microSD slot. The phone is expected to run Android 7.1 Nougat below HTC’s Sense 9 UI.
It has taken its sweet time, but Pictionary (with all the appropriate copyright branding), has landed on iPhones, Android devices and, oh, even Amazon's app store. The game has two modes. For one, you're given plenty of time time to draw overelaborate masterpieces in a turn-based game, while in the other you're playing in a real-time, two-vs-two challenge, which is obviously why you downloaded the app, right? Categories cover people, places, animals, objects, actions and a spicy "Difficult" category, while you can pick and choose from pencils, crayons, paintbrushes and more to communicate that this is obviously an olive tree, why can't you see that? Stares and stern pen-tapping noises are currently are not supported.
Source: Pictionary
Facebook devoted much of its annual developer conference to the concept of augmented reality — using technology to place a digital layer on top of the real world, either for creative or functional reasons. Starting with our smartphone cameras, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, we’ll begin placing virtual objects in our physical surroundings, until eventually glasses and other wearables do it for us. He and his deputies went on to show examples of AR objects created using the smartphone, such as a group of cartoon sharks circling an actual cereal bowl. But to me, none of what was shown onstage was quite as compelling as Gabsee.
Gabsee, a free app now available for Android and iOS, lets you place a three-dimensional avatar of yourself into the...
It's that time of the year again -- one of the most important dates in the smartphone launch calendar. Today, the UK gets its hands on Samsung's new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, and whichever size you're eyeing up, you won't be disappointed. They are easily two of the best handsets on the market right now, with the lack of bezel around their gorgeous "Infinity" displays a particularly striking feature. Though Samsung's Bixby assistant still needs some training, they are both blazing fast with batteries big enough to get you through two days of normal use. And if you didn't pre-order one right away, these are all the places you can pick one up from today.
The launch of LG's latest smartphone, the G6, has been somewhat staggered. First there were pre-orders, and then a prerelease specifically for those eager customers. But over the last few days, the G6 has gone on general sale pretty much everywhere. After last year's ambitious but tepidly received, modular G5, LG has gone back to basics -- if you can call ample power, a big and beautiful display and two primary cameras "basics," that is. Intrigued? Well, here are all the carriers and retailers in the UK that'd be more than happy to sell you one.
From the text-only Facebook Zero way back in 2010, to more recent Project Aquila, Mark Zuckerberg and company have made it clear that reaching the developing world is a huge priority for the company. So there was little surprise when it announced Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite, which offer stripped-down, low-bandwidth versions of Facebook's two main products for users in emerging markets with spotty service and expensive data rates. After officially launching in just five countries last year, Facebook is now expanding the rollout of Messenger Lite to another 132 countries.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Facebook
Days after launching the Echo Look with a built-in camera, a report has surfaced that says that Amazon may have another Echo device with a new feature in the works.
Amazon is reportedly working on a new Echo device with a built-in screen. The device is codenamed “Knight”, says a report from CNET, and it could be revealed as soon as May.
The details of this Knight device haven’t yet been revealed, and a source couldn’t confirm whether or not its screen is a touchscreen.
An Amazon Echo device with a built-in display makes sense. While using your voice to issue commands to a tube is convenient, having a display can make things go much faster since it can display several different options to you at once. And while the source of today’s report couldn’t confirm that the Knight has a touchscreen, it’d be pretty shocking if the display didn’t support touch given that the vast majority of smartphones today have touch displays.
Nintendo is dropping the NES Classic from its lineup, but it has new hardware on the way with this just-announced New Nintendo 2DS XL. The portable system will cost $150 when it goes on sale July 28th, with the same large screen of the 3DS XL, but as its name implies, it will only display "Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS" games in 2D.
Developing...
Source: Nintendo (Businesswire)
Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone, the Galaxy S8, officially went on sale last Friday. And while some folks out there got their device a bit early, for most of the new owners out there, it's been just under a week since the handset has made its big debut in their lives.
That means the majority of Galaxy S8 owners out there have been using the newest flagship smartphone every day since they've picked it up, testing out all the features they want to try out, showing it off to anyone that will look, and probably taking in as much content on that big, beautiful display as they can. It's hard to argue that the Galaxy S8 is not an impressive handset, and for the people who picked one up --and liked it-- there's certainly no reason not to show it off or be excited about such a standout handset.
As a brief aside here, it's also hard not to look into the future a bit, and just be genuinely excited again for smartphones. While it's going to be inevitable that our smartphones start to look all alike again, thanks to reducing bezels and just getting big phones with displays dominating the front, at least we're at a place where big bezels are going to start disappearing. So while it's great that, right here and now, Samsung has a great looking handset on the market, I can't wait to see what happens next. Even from a hardware and specifications standpoint.
In any event, I've been hearing glowing things from the friends I know who picked up the Galaxy S8 last week. They're generally enamored with the device, and they won't stop trying to get me to pick one up. "You'll definitely love it!" And what not. And, in the brief time that I've spent with the handset, they're right -- for the most part. I'm a big fan of the Galaxy S8's design. It feels great in the hand, and, as I've pointed out in the past, that display is ridiculous.
If there's one thing I would change? That fingerprint reader on the back. It's even worse when you're trying to use it. It's way, way out of the way, generally uncomfortable, and accidentally smudging the camera to unlock your phone is less-than-great design. I know Samsung has their reasons for going this route, but I really, really dislike it.
What about you, though? If you've spent time with the Galaxy S8, what would you change about the flagship smartphone? How would you improve it, if given the chance? Are you a fan of that fingerprint reader at all? Let me know!
The new BlackBerry KEYone has arrived! Check out our unboxing of the new BlackBerry running Android 7.1 Nougat and rocking a full QWERTY keyboard!
The dating app Feeld, previously known as 3nder and commonly known as “Tinder for threesomes,” has just announced a Slack integration. Oh boy.
According to the Feeld site, the bot works like this — just open a direct message conversation with Feeld and @-mention someone you “have feelings for.” For them to find out that you did that, they’ll have to initiate a conversation with the bot and mention you. Otherwise, Feeld promises, your secret dies in Slack. It doesn’t mention how long the bot will wait for your crush to reciprocate.
Feeld includes some tips on how to keep things professional, including a brief reminder that “work is work.” In other words, please do not get so distracted by flirting that you get fired and their product...
Last year, Google launched a support page to show Nexus owners when their devices would cease getting Android version updates. Now Nexus and Google Pixel owners can learn when they’ll stop getting updates, too.
Google says that the Pixel and Pixel XL will no longer be guaranteed to get Android version updates after October 2018, two years after their launch. They’ll no longer be guaranteed any security updates after October 2019, three years after their launch.
Google previously committed to releasing Android version updates to Nexus phones for two years after their release date, so it’s no surprise to see this policy extended to Nexus phones. Google will tack on an additional year of guaranteed security updates for Nexus and Pixel phones, which is great because most people keep personal information on their smartphones, and so it’s important for them to stay secure. Now Nexus and Pixel owners can rest easy knowing that their phone will be secure for at least three years after its launch.
Google Assistant began life in the Google Allo app before spreading to Google’s Pixel phones, Android Wear watches, and other Android smartphones. Now Google is taking steps to help spread Assistant even farther.
Google today launched the Google Assistant SDK in a developer preview. With this SDK, developers can begin building hardware prototypes and include the Google Assistant with them. In a video demo, Google shows off a DIY mocktails mixer robot with the Google Assistant built-in.
We’ll just have to wait and see what kind of devices come to market with Assistant built-in, and since today is the first day that the Assistant SDK preview is available, it might be a little bit before we start seeing Assistant-equipped devices launch to the public. Still, this is exciting news, as it means that the number of devices that offer Google’s voice assistant could greatly expand, giving users more ways to integrate it into their lives.
Do you use Google Assistant? If so, which devices do you use it on?
It's been just over two years since the BlackBerry Classic launched, and, confession time: I picked one up. I don't even remember what phone I was using at the time as my daily driver, but as soon as I could get my hands on the Classic, with that physical keyboard, I jumped at the opportunity.
It didn't last long, though.
Truth be told, while the BlackBerry Classic was a solid device, it lacked in a lot of key areas. The most obvious was the fact that the device simply didn't have the app support that BlackBerry needed to get a successful handset off the ground. BlackBerry 10, the operating system on the handset, was the company's last real effort, and, well, we know how that worked out.
But the Classic lagged in the camera department, too, which, to this day, is still one of the most important elements of a smartphone when I'm considering my next device. So while it was great to return to the physical keyboard for a little while, it wasn't meant to last. And now, just over two years later, I realize that I don't miss that physical typing experience, either.
I'm reminded of all this because we now know the BlackBerry KEYone, manufactured by TCL, will be available to buy on May 31. And while the handset seems like a pretty solid mid-range device, which will probably have a pretty great camera on the back, I can't find any excitement for the smartphone. The inclusion of Android on board is great (as has been the case for BlackBerry's smartphones for quite some time now), but, still, that physical keyboard just isn't something I'm looking for these days.
The stock software keyboard on smartphones are pretty great right out of the box, but even if you don't prefer that experience, there are so many great options to choose from by third parties. Even iOS now supports third-party keyboards! And for anyone that misses the clicking of a physical keyboard, sound effects are easy to turn on for software 'boards.
We've seen a lot of features and specifications in smartphones disappear over the years, and, for all intents and purposes, the physical keyboard is one of them. However, BlackBerry is making a point to revitalize the feature with the upcoming KEYone, and it's happy to do so. My question to all of you is this: Are you actually eager to adopt it? Is the physical keyboard something you actually miss these days? Let me know!
A new, limited edition Apple Watch has hit physical and virtual shelves today.
The Apple Watch NikeLab edition is now available. The Apple Watch itself is the same as the regular Series 2 model, complete with water resistance, a built-in GPS, and a brighter display. What’s notable about this model is its band.
The limited edition band features a main Light Bone color with Black holes punched throughout it. What’s notable is that that while Apple sells other Nike Sport Bands for the Apple Watch separately, it doesn’t appear that this limited edition band can be purchased on its own.
This new Apple Watch NikeLab model is available from nike.com as well as NikeLab stores, and the Apple Watch Store at Isetan Shinjuku in Japan. Pricing is set at $399 for the 42mm model and $369 for the 38mm version.
McDonald's already tried delivering Quarter Pounder combo meals via Uber in Florida and now the fast-food restaurant it ready to expand the option. Crain's Chicago Business reports that McDonald's will launch its delivery option in more cities before the end of June. And yes, it's still powered by UberEats.
Source: Crain's Chicago Business
Apple currently lets you use your phone to pay for goods at stores, and soon it could also let you pay money to your friends.
A new report claims that Apple could launch a Venmo competitor that’ll let iPhone owners send money to other iPhone owners. Details on the service are still light, though. One source suggested that Apple’s new service could launch later this year, but another suggested that a launch date hasn’t yet been set.
Apple has reportedly also talked with Visa about crafting its own prepaid card on the Visa debit network, says Recode. The Apple card would be tied to this new peer payment service and let you spend money that’s sent to you without waiting for it to be cleared to your bank account. The card could also be added to your Apple Pay wallet to pay for goods at stores and on websites.
While still a rumor, an Apple service that let you send money to friends could be a nice compliment to Apple Pay. The service would likely be more deeply integrated with iOS than competing services would be and it could help to boost usage of Apple Pay, especially if Apple got that prepaid debit card that it’s rumored to be in talks with Visa about.
Do you use services like Venmo, PayPal, and Square Cash? Would you use a similar service from Apple?
Apple began considering its own peer-to-peer payment system back in 2015. Since then, however, nothing seems to have come of it. Today, however, Recode reports that Apple is again in negotiations to launch its own money-transfer system to rival competing services like PayPal's wildly popular Venmo. Apple's new service, likely a feature for Apple Pay, could enable you to send money to a friend's iPhone from your own.
Source: Recode
TL;DR: Better battery, thinner body, and non-exclusivity.
It recently dawned on me that throughout my life, Apple has had a constant, underlying presence in the background. From the bland “platinum gray” computers in my elementary school’s computer lab to the colorful iMac G3s that all of my friends seemed to have once upon a time, Apple managed to leave a lasting impression on me before I even realized that Apple was both a fruit and a company.
Nothing would solidify Apple’s name more than the reveal of the iPod, which took the world by storm in the early 2000s. Apple would have a solid string of iconic gadgets for the next decade including the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, making the company hands down one of the most quintessential in my life thus far.
However, as they say, all good things must come to an end – even if just for a short while – and one recent Apple gadget has yet to impress the consumer market on the same scale as the rest of their products: the Apple Watch.
Perhaps it’s due to the nature of smartwatches themselves. While more manufacturers are devoting more time and resources to the peculiar gadget, hype for them is growing at a snail’s pace. Do people really need (or even want) another gadget to keep track of? After all, didn’t smartphones become so popular largely due to the fact that they made for a decent all-in-one device that negated the need for a separate music player, camera, phone, GPS, PDA, etc.?
While it’s true that a smartwatch's purpose is muddled - is it a smartphone accessory or a replacement? - they can be useful for some. I believe that the overall desire and demand for smartwatches are lower than expected, but I think a bigger reason for this is simply that smartwatches are not a good purchase for the money for most people currently, and where Apple has previously succeeded in “borrowing” an existing idea, fine-tuning it and making it successful, they have failed to do so with the Apple Watch. Which isn’t to say that the Apple Watch isn’t successful for a smartwatch, but it hasn’t been as successful on as grand of a scale in comparison to other Apple products at launch.
Despite being content with my Pebble watch for the time being, I found myself casually browsing smartwatches the other day. Despite the “Best Smartwatches” and “Top Smartwatches” list, of which all featured the Apple Watch somewhere, I never once considered buying it. For me, that's weird; I always consider Apple when comparison shopping. Not the Apple Watch, though. Not only do I not currently use an iPhone, making the potential purchase useless, but its overall design, price, and performance weren’t tempting, either. In order to win me, a generic consumer of the utmost caliber, over with the Apple Watch, here are the changes I would like to see:
This is a given, but it’s also a biggie. The reason that Pebble had me from the get-go is because I only have to charge it once or twice a week. I can sleep with it on, track my sleep habits, use it as an alarm, and use it for notifications throughout the day for at least 5 solid days without worry that my watch will die on me at some point. While likely a trade-off between the Pebble Time’s ePaper display and Apple’s OLED display, I much prefer the one that gives me a longer battery.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but considering all of Apple’s efforts to make its other iGadgets as thin as possible, the Apple Watch is the one that needs it the most but doesn’t have it. I’m not a watch person because I’m not a fan of how they feel on my wrist. If I could bet on anybody to implement the values of thinness and lightweight material in a gadget, it was Apple. Although this probably directly conflicts with my first proposed change of better battery life, I would say this is almost equally as important.
I get it. Apple wants to keep Apples to Apples. It’s almost always how it has been (with the exception of Apple Music) but I think it’s time for the company to swallow its pride and allow Apple Watch to be compatible with other platforms.
I don’t know about other smartwatch buyers, but the last thing I want is another gadget that I feel compelled to upgrade every year or two. I want to buy a smartwatch for the long haul. Without knowing whether my next smartphone will be an Android, iPhone, or dare I say it, Windows Phone, buying an Apple Watch that only works with Apple products is a big commitment that I’m not willing to make anytime soon. The iPhone isn’t the be all, end all smartphone that it used to be; Android brought some serious competition to the table in recent years, and they’re not letting up anytime soon.
Those are pretty much the three big things keeping me from buying an Apple Watch. Taking recent rumors into consideration, it would seem that these changes will be me made sooner rather than later, as it is said that the company will be switching out its OLED displays for micro-LED displays instead, which require less power and may allow for the watch to be thinner. However, even if Apple were to make their smartwatches thinner and more power efficient, I’m still not sure I’d be convinced to buy it still knowing that it only works with Apple products. I feel non-exclusivity is an equally important change to make at this point.
It’s possible that the Apple Watch may never take off, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think smartwatches have a real future, just not so much in their current state. I’m used to seeing Apple succeed from the get-go, so it will be interesting to see if the company can get this relatively struggling product to take off before somebody else beats them to the punch.
Readers, what are your thoughts on Apple Watch? Do you think that the product will eventually live up to the hype that other Apple products have, or do you think that it’s doomed to fizzle out?
Ready for another iOS 10.3.2 beta?
Apple today released iOS 10.3.2 beta 5, days after launching beta 4. The update is now available to registered developers, who can grab it by going to Apple’s Developer Center or over the air on their device.
The update to iOS 10.3.2 contains some fixes for SitiKit car commands, but other than that, the contents of the update remain a mystery. iOS 10.3.2 is likely focused on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes, though.
Apple hasn’t announced when iOS 10.3.2 will be released to the public, but now that we’re on the fifth beta release, the public launch could be coming soon.
It's a testament to how topsy-turvy the mobile world is that a company can make its seventh successive quarterly loss and still feel good. That's because LG's mobile division, which managed to burn almost 500 billion Korean won in the last three months of 2016, has managed to stem the flow of blood from its neck. In fact, in the first quarter of 2017, the division managed to lose just 200 million Korean won, or $176,206.
If you’ve been waiting patiently to get your thumbs under the BlackBerry KEYone’s physical keyboard, today it’s been revealed exactly when you’ll be able to do just that.
The BlackBerry KEYone will launch in the US and Canada on May 31. In the US, an unlocked KEYone will be sold for $549 that’ll work on GSM and CDMA carriers. The KEYone will also be sold by carriers, including Sprint, sometime this summer.
In Canada, pre-sales begin on May 18. The KEYone will launch on Bell, Bell MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, and TELUS Business starting that $199 CAD on a two-year term.
Meanwhile, folks in the UK can get a BlackBerry KEYone right now, but only if they visit the Selfridges store on Oxford Street in London. The KEYone is priced at £499. The phone will also be available at Carphone Warehouse stores on May 5, and UK networks will sell the KEYone at some point in the future, too.
The BlackBerry KEYone runs Android 7.1 on a 4.5-inch 1620x1080 display, and it’s got a 12-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus and dual LED flash as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. Inside the KEYone lives a Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a microSD slot, and a 3505mAh battery with Quick Charge.
Google has made a few seemingly minor tweaks that could make Gboard on Android much easier to use. The keyboard now comes with a new text editing mode with arrow keys that you can use to quickly go to the part of your text that you want to edit or delete. You'll also find huge select, cut, copy and paste buttons right next to those keys, so you won't have to long press on the text box and to drag the text pointer around. You can access all these by pressing the G button and tapping the new text edit icon that looks like a "I" in between two pointers.
Source: Google
Prosecutors have charged a group of inmates at a federal prison in New Jersey for downloading child porn from the dark web to their smuggled phones, according to NBC News. They even stored videos and photos that show kids, including babies and toddlers, being sexually abused in a cloud account they all shared. While the prosecutors announced charging five people to the public -- and all five were imprisoned for child pornography -- one of them secretly collaborated with the investigation.
Source: NBC News
To say that the launch of the BlackBerry KEYone has been protracted would be an understatement. BlackBerry and TCL teased the high-profile phone in January, dished out proper details in February, and has left people wondering about a specific US release date ever since. At last, you can relax: BlackBerry and TCL have revealed that the keyboard-equipped Android phone will reach both the US and Canada on May 31st. Americans will be limited to buying the $549 unlocked CDMA or GSM versions at first, but take heart -- there will be carrier deals, including a Sprint launch sometime in the summer. If you thought the up front price was too much to swallow, you'll have a way of softening the blow.
Source: BlackBerry
What's next for high-end audio company Bang and Olufsen following last year's handheld BeoPlay A1 speaker? Making a smaller model, of course. The Beoplay P2 fits in the palm of your hand and perhaps more closely resembles an earbud case than it does a speaker. But maybe don't fret that sound quality diminished because the speaker's size did. Like the A1, the P2 blasts sound out in 360 degrees and it inherited a tweaked version of the mid-woofer from last year's model. 2016's sound carries forward in another way as well -- the P2 shares its 0.75-inch tweeter with the A1.
Source: BeoPlay
Google Trips isn’t the only Google app that’s getting an update today, as Gboard for Android is also gaining some new tricks.
New to Gboard for Android is a new text editing mode with buttons. With it, you can easily control the cursor and the ability to select text, cut, copy, and paste. You can access this mode by tapping the G button or arrow in the suggestion strip.
Gboard for Android is also gaining support for resizing and repositioning the keyboard. Tap the G button or arrow in the suggestion strip to get to the quick features menu and then click More (three dots), then tap the one-handed mode button and you’ll be able to adjust the size and position of the keyboard.
Finally, Google is adding support for more than 20 new languages to Gboard for Android. They are:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo (Devanagari, Bengali), Dogri (Devanagari, Arabic), Gujarati, Hindi (Devanagari, Hinglish), Kannada, Kashmiri (Devanagari, Arabic), Konkani (Devanagari, Latin), Maithili (Devanagari), Malayalam, Manipuri (Bengali), Marathi (Devanagari), Nepali (Devanagari), Odia, Punjabi (Gurmukhi, Arabic), Sanskrit (Devanagari), Santali (Ol chiki, Latin), Sindhi (Devanagari, Arabic), Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (Arabic), Kinyarwanda, Waray
All of these new features are now rolling out to Gboard for Android users. Keep an eye out for this update in the coming days.
Google Trips launched last year to help you keep your trip info organized so that you can spend more time enjoying your destination, and now Google is updating the app to make it an even better travel companion.
The Google Trips app now lets you manually update a trip with new details on flight, hotel, car, and restaurant reservations. Just tap the “+” button in the bottom right corner of the Reservations section and enter your info, like a flight number or name of your car rental. Also included is a section for free-form notes if you’d prefer to go that route.
Google Trips is also gaining support train and bus reservations. All of your past and upcoming train and bus rides will be organized for you in the app alongside your flight, hotel, car, and restaurant reservations.
Finally, if you’d like to share the reservation details of a trip, you can do so by tapping the arrow button in the Reservations tab. The recipient will get an email with all of your details and see them in the app, too.
These are some nice additions to the Google Trips app. Lots of folks still travel by bus and train, so it’s good that those travel methods are finally included, and the ability to quickly share your reservation info can be helpful if you’ve traveling with friends that aren’t using the app or you want to keep your loved ones up-to-date on your travel.
Have you tried Google Trips yet?
