Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Google Home will get its own $5 million Super Bowl TV ad on Feb. 5

Are you ready for some… AI assisted speaker action? Google hopes you are while you also spend time watching Super Bowl LI. The NFL football championship between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots will also see the company show off its Google Home connected speaker as part of the huge TV commercial festivities.

See also:

Watch two Google Home speakers share a deep conversation

4 weeks ago

Ad Age reports that Google is keeping the content of the Google Home ad a secret until the big game itself on Sunday, Feb. 5. Advertisers are spending $5 million for each 30-second Super Bowl commercial, so you would think Google has something pretty cool to show off, especially since the speaker itself has been available to buy for a few months now.

Google joins a number of tech companies who will be running ads during Super Bowl LI. They include wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile, chip maker Intel, and software services like GoDaddy, SquareSpace, Wix.com and TurboTax. It will also feature an ad for the mobile game strategy game Evony: The King's Return, and that particular commercial is supposed to be full of celebrities.

Why do you think Google is spending $5 million to promote Google Home? Will it be worth all that money or is it a waste of its marketing budget? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!



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Samsung hints at new Galaxy Tab with its MWC 2017 teaser

Samsung has just confirmed it will indeed be holding a press event as part of the 2017 Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. The reveal also came with a teaser image. It hints strongly that one of the new products that will be shown during the event will be a new Galaxy Tab tablet model.

See also:

Samsung DeX: Can the Galaxy S8 really help Samsung take on Windows?

1 day ago

Recent rumors claim that the tablet in question is the Galaxy Tab S3, the successor to the Galaxy Tab S2. Those same unconfirmed rumors claim the S3 will have a thinner body than the S2, along with a 9.6-inch display with a resolution of 2048×1536. Inside, the tablet is rumored to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, along with 4GB of RAM, a 12MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing selfie camera. It's also suppose to have Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Samsung will be live streaming the Feb. 26 press event for the vast majority of the world who cannot attend.

Samsung has already stated that its MWC 2017 media event will not be the time to show off the Galaxy S8 smartphone, but we would bet some serious money that the company might mention it as part of the Feb. 26 press conference. Samsung is rumored to hold another event to introduced the Galaxy S8 in late March, ahead of a official launch in mid-April.



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TANKOUT is a retro multiplayer shooter from the maker of Galcon

Who doesn't like shooting stuff with tanks? No one, that's who. Now you can shoot blocks, other blocks, slightly different blocks, and other tanks in TANKOUT. It's a new online multiplayer game from the maker of popular strategy game Galcon.

TANKOUT is a top-down shooter taking place in a retro block-based world. You and the other tanks do battle, while also collecting coins to buy more blocks, weapons, and other objects.

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TANKOUT is a retro multiplayer shooter from the maker of Galcon was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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OnePlus 3 vs. OnePlus 3T: Which phone should you buy in India?

Unable to decide between the OnePlus 3 and the newer OnePlus 3T? We're here to help.

OnePlus moved away from its usual summer release window last year by unveiling the OnePlus 3T in November — five months after the launch of the OnePlus 3. The OnePlus 3T is a mid-cycle refresh, offering a slightly faster SoC, 128GB storage option, larger battery, and a new front camera, accompanied by a minor price bump to the tune of $40.

OnePlus has since discontinued the older OnePlus 3 in most markets, and is now selling just the 3T. However, that isn't the case in India, where both the OnePlus 3 and 3T are up for sale on Amazon, OnePlus' exclusive sales partner in the country.

The OnePlus 3 is available for its launch price of ₹27,999 ($410), with the newer OnePlus 3T debuting for ₹29,999 ($440). The OnePlus 3 is sold in Graphite and Soft Gold color options, and the OnePlus 3T is available in a Gunmetal variant along with the Soft Gold option. Below are the major differences.

Category OnePlus 3T OnePlus 3
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Quad-core 2.35 GHz
Adreno 530 GPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Quad-core 2.2 GHz
Adreno 530 GPU
Storage 64/128GB 64GB
Front Camera 16MP 3P8SP, 1-micron pixels
f/2.0, fixed focus
1080p video
8MP IMX179, 1.4-micron pixels
f/2.0, fixed focus
1080p video
Battery 3400 mAh
Non-removable
3000 mAh
Non-removable
Colors Gunmetal
Soft gold
Silver
Soft gold
Price $439 (64GB)
$479 (128GB)
$399 (64GB)

Newer hardware, same software

Visually, the OnePlus 3T is identical to the OnePlus 3. The OnePlus 3 didn't break new ground with its minimalist aluminum design, but it set the bar for other mid-range phones thanks to its execution.

The craftsmanship and premium design made the OnePlus 3 stand out in this segment, and the same holds true for the OnePlus 3T. If anything, the gunmetal color option makes the phone look even more gorgeous.

Along with hardware similarities, both phones are on the same update cadence, and run the same version of OxygenOS. Both devices have picked up the Nougat update, and the user interface is clean and devoid of any bloat.

You do get a lot of customizability in the form of gestures, a system-wide dark mode, and other additions, but for the most part, OxygenOS is uncluttered and a lot of fun to use.

Similar camera, larger battery

The back camera is the same on both the OnePlus 3 and 3T, but it's the front camera where you'll notice a difference between the two devices. The OnePlus 3T has a 16MP sensor up front, an upgrade from the 8MP unit on the OnePlus 3. Photos from the rear camera are identical on both devices, and although the front camera is of a higher resolution on the OnePlus 3T, it doesn't lead to better photos.

OnePlus 3 on the left, OnePlus 3T on the right.

The 3400mAh battery on the OnePlus 3T is 13% larger than the 3000mAh unit on the OnePlus 3, and it makes a difference in day-to-day usage. There were times when the battery life on the OnePlus 3 was flaky, but the OnePlus 3T lasted a day consistently without fail.

In situations where you need to top up the phone quickly, you can turn to Dash Charge. OnePlus's proprietary charging tech is amazing, offering ridiculously-fast charging times. The only drawback is that you need to carry the OnePlus charger to use it.

Dash Charge offloads a bulk of the charging circuitry to the charger, and as a result you won't get lightning-quick charging speeds without it. That said, you can it to rejuvenate your other devices around the house, since it's backwards compatible with regular USB charging standards.

Which should you buy? OnePlus 3T

If you're looking to buy a OnePlus phone, it's an easy choice: just get the OnePlus 3T. The OnePlus 3 turned out to be one of the best mid-range phones of 2016, and the updates to the OnePlus 3T make it an even more compelling device.

For under ₹30,000, there isn't a handset available today that offers as much as the OnePlus 3T. The 128GB variant is costlier at ₹34,999, and if you're one to store a lot of media locally, the higher-storage variant is a better option considering the phone doesn't have a microSD slot. Either way, you're buying the best mid-range phone available in the market today.

See at Amazon



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Samsung sets its MWC press conference for February 26

Phone nerds like us love February (me especially... it's my birthday month) because of the Mobile World Congress. Every year, most of the big players in the industry, and a lot of small ones, make their announcements for their product lineups in Barcelona. Samsung, being no stranger to the event, has scheduled its press conference for February 26.

Usually, Sammy announces its Galaxy S device(s) at MWC, but we are expecting the Galaxy S8 to make an appearance later this year.

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Samsung sets its MWC press conference for February 26 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Facebook may be coming to a TV set-top box near you

best new android apps

If you like to watch videos on Facebook with your phone or tablet, you may be soon get that same experience on a bigger screen. A new report claims that Facebook is working on a video-themed app specifically for TV set-top boxes, along with plans to license long-form TV content.

See also:

How to permanently delete your Facebook account

May 20, 2016

The report comes from The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources. It states that this new app is part of Facebook's overall plan to move to a "video-first" business. The company has already been pushing its Facebook Live video streaming features for some time. An app specifically for TV set top boxes like the Android TV-based NVIDIA Shield could also generate more ad revenues for the company compared to ads displayed on its standard News Feed.

The story says that in addition to video content created by its many users, Facebook may also try to license out longer form TV content from media companies. That could also include scripted shows and sports events that would be exclusive to the Facebook app.

All of this sounds like Facebook wants to compete head-to-head with the current leader in the online video space: Google's YouTube. In fact, the company is reportedly experimenting with adding brief video ads inside its live videos. Unlike YouTube's ads, which normally appear just before the main clip begins rolling, Facebook's video ads would start about 20 seconds after the main clip begins, and would last about 15 seconds. The story claims Facebook plans to run these ads as part of all of its videos eventually, but there's no word on if the company also plans to offer an option to turn the ads off for an extra fee, as Google does with its YouTube Red service.

How do you feel about the prospect of watching Facebook Live videos on your big-screen living room TV, with ads? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!



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Snapseed version 2.15 adds new curves tool and more

Google continues to release regular updates to its Snapseed photo editor for Android. For the first big update of 2017, the company is adding a new curves tool to version 2.15 of Snapseed, among other things.

See also:

Best Photo Editor Apps for Android

4 weeks ago

 

Many PC photo editors have curves tools of their own, so it's great to see something like that make an appearance on a mobile editor like Snapseed. As you can see in the screenshot above, the tool puts a straight, diagonal line on an image. Moving that line around can change a photo's brightness level and colors to alter its overall tone with more precision. The tool in Snapseed offers up some presets that are designed as a guide for the more advanced photo editor to use Curves.

In addition, Snapseed's Face filter now allows you to "ask" it to try harder if it has issues detecting a face (we assume if you ask nicely, you get better results). The Text tool has also been updated to let you choose where to wrap lines in all multiline styles. Finally, the grain quality in Black and White mode has also been improved in version 2.15.

All in all, this seems like a solid update for Snapseed, and we suspect the curves tool will be used a lot by more advanced editors. Be aware that the update is still rolling out so it may take a little while to reach your device.

Get it at Google Play


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Samsung teases tablet on MWC 2017 event invite, announcement set for Feb 26

A tablet announcement is a lock for the end of February.

On the same day that we saw our first major spec leak of a purported Galaxy Tab S3, Samsung has sent out invites to its MWC 2017 event with a sneaky image of a tablet on it. The event will be held on February 26 at 7 p.m. in Barcelona, which translates to 1 p.m. in New York and 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

The image doesn't do much to give us an actual clue about the design of the tablet aside from what looks to be a standard Samsung physical home button. The earlier specs leak points to solid internals on par with a mid-2016 phone, which would be a great improvement over what we have in the current-gen Galaxy Tab S2

We'll be at the event, of course, covering whatever comes of it — though at this point we can expect to see at least one tablet, probably named the Galaxy Tab S3 unless Samsung wants to call an audible on us. The whole thing will be streamed over at Samsung's website.



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Pixel C 32GB model is no longer sold on the Google Store

The Google Pixel C is still one of the best Android tablets you can buy, even after it's been on the market for over a year. However, it looks like the option to get the cheaper 32GB version is no longer available directly from the company. The Google Store has stopped listing that model of the Pixel C, though the 64GB version is still available for $599.

See also:

Best Android tablets

2 weeks ago

While it's possible that you can pick up the 32GB version of the Pixel C through third-party retailers, the fact that Google is no longer selling the model likely means that it has run out of its inventory and will not be making any more to sell to the public. We suspect the same will happen with the 64GB version in the not too distant future, so if you have been waiting to pick one up, now might be a good time to do so.

You can also still purchase the optional keyboard for the Pixel C via the Google Store, but it will add another $149 to the price tag. The good news is that while it shipped with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, Google has offered OTA updates to get the tablet up to speed with Android Nougat, including the upcoming 7.1.2 OS update.

As a refresher, the Pixel C has a 10.2-inch LTPS LCD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1800, a 1.9GHz octa-core NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor, 3GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera, a 2MP front-facing camera and a 34.2Whr battery that is supposed to offer up to 10 hours of battery life. The tablet has Wi-Fi support but no built-in cellular wireless hardware, and it also does not have a microSD card slot, which means you are stuck with its 64GB of storage.

So far, there's no word on if Google will launch another first-party Android tablet. However, it recently announced that it will soon allow companies to make tablets and 2-in-1 devices with Chrome OS that will be able to run Android apps, so perhaps Android tablets won't be going away after all.

Get it from Google Store


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The cheapest smartphone plans in the United States

headerEvery day we seem to be inundated with ads about who has the absolute cheapest data plan. Online, television, billboards, junk mail, even old-fashioned radio - it seems I can't go five minutes without each carrier telling me how much cheaper they are than everyone else, going so far as to hire old Verizon spokesmen and make dubious claims about reliability.

You know what? To hell with all of that. I've looked at every smartphone plan from every nationwide carrier in the country, big and small, to find the absolute cheapest plans.

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The cheapest smartphone plans in the United States was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Leaked images reportedly show off an early LG G6 prototype

Last week, we may have seen our first real glimpse at the upcoming LG G6. The leaks aren't stopping there, though. Earlier today, reported images of an LG G6 prototype have leaked out, confirming some, but not quite all, of its previous rumors of this next flagship device.

See also:

LG G6: all the rumors in one place

2 weeks ago

The images were first posted at Droid Life, and they were clearly taken with much haste and secrecy from the photos' creator.  They show a rather dirty looking large screen, and it's not clear if the display has the curved corners that were shown with the previous LG G6 image leak. They do, however, show that the device has a very tiny bezel, with almost none on the sides of the screen.

The image on the back side shows a development shell, but the phone's dual cameras are indeed visible, along with what looks like its headphone jack. An image of this alleged prototype's bottom shows a speaker and a USB Type-C connection. We do not have any independent confirmation that these photos are indeed of a prototype G6, so do take them with a pinch of salt.

The new images come just a few weeks before the company is scheduled to hold a press event in Barcelona, Spain on February 26, the day before the official start of 2017's Mobile World Congress. LG has confirmed that the display on the G6 will feature a 5.7-inch QHD+ screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio, while unconfirmed rumors claim it will be the first third-party smartphone that will support the Google Assistant AI. LG has promised the phone will be made with new safety measures designed to reduce overheating with the use of heat pipes, in an apparent attempt not to have the same issues that occurred with the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

We will be on the ground to attend LG's MWC 2017 press event and will have first-hand coverage and impressions of what the company will be showing off at the trade show, so stay tuned.

Next: What to expect from MWC 2017



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RCS for T-Mobile subscribers could be here any day now

Users have reported seeing the RCS support option sprout up in Messenger for Google's settings panel.

T-mobile users, your text messaging prowess is about to get more rich — in the sense of Rich Communication Services, that is.

T-Mobile customers have mentioned on Reddit and Google Plus that they're seeing the RCS option pop up in the settings panel on the Messenger for Google app. But it's been difficult to parse whether RCS is ready on the network given the lack of confirmation that it's life. Other subscribers have suggested that with Digits in beta, the functionality is inevitable.

RCS as often been poised at the "SMS Killer," and that's partially true. The standard will essentially infuse your plain old text messaging app with the same powers as Apple's iMessage. Here's how my colleague, Jerry Hildenbrand, explained it:

Combined with FaceTime, iMessage already offers exactly the things RCS is trying to achieve. Voice and video calls are simple and messages are rich with great media sharing and read receipts and typing indicators and everything else. And it uses SMS in tandem with regular data to do it. It's the best SMS app you'll ever use until RCS becomes ubiquitous (if it ever does.)

Spring, T-Mobile, and AT&T were the three carriers who had initially signed on to the standard last year. But at present, only Sprint and Canada's Rogers has signed on. If T-Mobile is indeed ready to adopt, it'll be great news for RCS for the rest of us.



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10 best password manager apps for Android

best password manager apps
Password managers are becoming more and more popular. The ability to keep all of your passwords in one spot is highly appealing. With mobile, you can have them on you at all times and the security isn't half bad anymore. There are tons of password managers on PC, Mac, and mobile. Here are the best password manager apps for Android.


aWallet Password Manager

Price: Free / $2.99
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
aWallet is one of those password manager apps that have been around for a very long time. It stores passwords, banking info, credit card info, and custom data if you need it to. There is also a built-in search, custom icons, and an auto-lock feature. There is even a built-in password generator so you don't have to think of one. It covers all the basics, includes AES and Blowfish encryption, and seems to do everything right. You can download the app for free and pay for the pro version as an in-app purchase.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Dashlane

Price: Free / $2 per month
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Dashlane is another app that has been around for a while. It features the basics, including support for passwords, credit cards, and other sensitive types of information. It also handles support for auto-filling passwords on websites and apps. You'll be able to make backups locally or over the cloud. The encryption is 256-bit AES which is definitely good enough. You can use most of the features for free, but you'll need to grab the subscription if you want all of them. It's one of the more solid password manager apps.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Enpass Password Manager

Price: Free / $9.99
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Enpass is a fairly powerful password manager. It covers the basics and there are even desktop versions available for Mac, PC, and Linux. It also boasts no subscription fees which is a nice tough. Alongside that, the app can backup and restore your info, includes 256-bit AES encryption, cross-platform syncing, and you can even import from other password managers to make migration easier. You can also have it auto-fill your passwords into Google Chrome if you use that browser. It's free to download and use with a single $9.99 payment to unlock everything.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Keepass2Android

Price: Free
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Keepass2Android is one of the more basic password manager apps. It has the basics and you'll be able to backup passwords and such. However, it doesn't have a lot of the more complex features of many of its competitors. The app's main claim to fame is that it's completely free and open source. It's based on the code for Keepassdroid (which is another excellent free, open source password manager) and the two are compatible with one another. There is also a completely offline version as well if you need that.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Keeper

Price: Free / $29.99 per year
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Keeper is a password manager app with a lot of features. Its main feature is having both 256-bit AES and PBKDF2 encryption which definitely helps one feel safe. Along with that, it covers the basics and includes auto-fill passwords in various apps and websites. Along with passwords, it also includes a photo and video vault where you can store sensitive images or videos. It also includes fingerprint lock support which is always nice. You can also sync between devices and store your data in the cloud if you want to. It's a pretty decent option although you'll need a subscription to get all of the features.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

See also:

The best Android apps, ever!

2 days ago

LastPass

Price: Free / $48 per year
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
LastPass is about as mainstream as it gets when it comes to password manager apps. It has a metric ton of features, including auto-filling passwords into apps, sites, and even forms. It also allows you to store photos and audio notes securely. There are several other more unique or uncommon features such as fingerprint scanner support, a password generator, a password auditor to let you know if your password is weak, and even the ability to grant emergency access to a friend or family member. You can use the core app for free but you'll need a subscription if you want to sync to your computer. You can also grab LastPass Authenticator in Google Play to add 2-factor authentication for added security.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

mSecure Password Manager

Price: $9.99
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
mSecure is one of those password managers that has been around forever. However, it's seen several updates since its inception and its look and feel is still relatively modern. On top of that, it supports the basic stuff, 256-bit AES encryption, an auto-lock, a password generator, and the ability to backup your data to your SD card. It even has a self-destruct feature that you can enable if someone guesses your password wrong too many times. It's a solid all-around option, although the lack of a free version may give some people pause. We recommend looking up some reviews and trying it out within the refund time limit if you try this one out.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

Password Safe and Manager

Price: Free / $3.99
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Password Safe and Manager is a good middle-of-the-road option when it comes to password managers. This one boasts absolutely zero connections to the Internet as well as a 256-bit encryption which should help you feel relatively safe. It also has Material Design which looks and acts wonderfully. You can put your passwords in, categorize them for easy browsing, and even generate new passwords on the fly. Additionally, it comes with auto-backup. There are many more features if you decide to buy the pro version for $3.99. It's not the most powerful, but it's still pretty good.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Password Safe and Manager

RoboForm Password Manager

Price: Free
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
RoboForm is older than dirt but it's still one of the best password managers out there. It does what it's supposed to do pretty well and includes bookmarks so you can find your most used passwords quickly. The app can also learn new passwords as you create them and login which is pretty nifty. It also has support for multi-step logins which fairly convenient. It works with Chrome and Firefox out of the box with an additional add-on for Dolphin Browser. It's completely free and it works really well.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY

SafeInCloud Password Manager

Price: Free / $2.99
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
SafeInCloud is a cloud-based password manager with a lot going for it. It stores all of your data on its cloud where you can sync with it using any device by logging in. The app includes Material Design, 256-bit AES encryption, fingerprint scanner support, Android Wear support, a password generator, and a password strength calculator. You can also auto-fill on select browsers as well. You can get most of the features in the free version or pick up the pro version for a very reasonable $2.99
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
SafeInCloud Password Manager

Related best app lists:

If we missed any of the best password manager apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.



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