Weekend Contest: Win a Satechi Spectrum iQ Bulb from Talk Android!
Every room needs light because windows can only get the job done during daylight hours. Regular light bulbs, though, are awfully boring. You need something that can illuminate a room with color! That’s why we are giving away a Satechi Spectrum iQ Bulb this weekend. Satechi’s bulb offers 16 million different colors and lasts 25,000 hours. And the companion app allows you to create a schedule, so you’ll be using one less switch at home. The Spectrum iQ Bulb costs $39, but our contest can have you taking one home for free.
Hit the break to enter.
We’ll update this post once a winner has been selected, so check here often on August 3. Good luck!
Come comment on this article: Weekend Contest: Win a Satechi Spectrum iQ Bulb from Talk Android!
Alcatel OneTouch offering awesome back-to-school deal!
To celebrate the back-to-school season, Alcatel OneTouch is offering a great deal for students who want the newest tech but are 
living on a student’s budget. Right now, you can grab the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 and the Alcatel OneTouch Watch for a combo price of $299.
We reviewed the Idol 3 here at AndroidGuys, and it is one awesome budget flagship. It’s 5.5″ full-HD screen, front-facing speakers, expandable storage, solid camera, and near-stock software make the Idol 3 a fantastic smartphone for just about anyone. Games play great and look fantastic on the Idol 3. Its 8 megapixel front camera is great for video chatting with friends or taking selfies for social media. The front-facing speakers powered by JBL make listening to music and watching videos extremely enjoyable. Plus, the 2910mAh battery keeps the phone running even through your more demanding days. For a student looking for a reliable smartphone, this Idol 3 deal should be music to their ears and wallets.
The Alcatel OneTouch Watch is the company’s first smartwatch, and it looks pretty sharp. Viewing notifications on your watch makes sure you do not miss that important text or email while sitting in your boring economics class. The OneTouch watch has a long battery life compared to most smartwatches with many users claiming almost going a whole week on one charge. With a host of activity tracking features such as a compass, stopwatch, pedometer, heart rate sensor, and more, this smartwatch can make sure you are burning enough calories to keep of the Freshman Fifteen. With its round watch face and sleek design, it would be a great accessory to any student’s back-to-school look. However, it should be noted that only the M/L black band of the Watch is applicable to this deal.
At full price, the Idol 3 and OneTouch Watch sell for $400 total, so this deal saves you a cool $100. You can take advantage of this deal at the Alcatel OneTouch website or Amazon. Follow the links in this article for the deal in order to take advantage of the deal because simply adding the items to your cart individually does not seem to give you the discount.
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Samsung: We’ll give you $200 or more for your old phone
Samsung is offering $200 or more towards the purchase of a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge for consumers who trade in their qualifying smartphones.
Although, there is a catch. The phone has to be fully functional, branded for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, or US Cellular and has to be a Galaxy S 4 or 5 or an iPhone 5 or newer in order to get the $200 offer.
The promotion lasts until 11:59:59 PM ET August 11, 2015 and is only offered to citizens of the U.S., the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who are 18 years or older.
You’ll need to buy one of the newest Galaxies by this time and upload your receipt to Samsung’s promotion website by August 18, 2015. There, you will find the instructions for the ‘Make the Six Switch’ promotion and the full terms of service, as well.
Of course, Samsung would give its deal to customers of its previous devices, namely the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5, in order to keep them within their own ecosystem. While it appears the company only extended this to iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6+ users based on the taglines and fine print, it is taking in smartphones from other manufacturers, according to this page.
I went through the process and selected two phones, the 32GB LG G3 on Verizon and the HTC One M8 on Verizon, both of them in working condition. I was offered $85.00 and $93.56, respectively, less than half than what Samsung is offering for older, functioning Galaxies and working iPhones.
It would seem that the $200 offer only stands for old Galaxy S devices starting at the S4 and old iPhones starting with the 5 that are fully functional and branded for the popular carriers listed above.
Nevertheless, if you’ve been waiting for a deal on either S6 and are willing to trade in select, now’s a good chance to get a new Galaxy, especially if you have one of the main phones listed or a new device in general.
Source: Samsung
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NVIDIA calls for NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet recall over fears of a fire hazard
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There haven’t been many high profile device recalls in the last couple of years but it appears there is going to need to be a NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet recall after NVIDIA identified a risk that the battery could overheat and pose of fire hazard.
It’s obviously a bit of a set back, not only for NVIDIA but for the image of the NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet, which is actually a fantastic device, with a processor (Tegra K1) specifically designed for gaming and impressive battery life. Despite the fact that not every device is likely affected, NVIDIA is doing the right thing by its customers and asking that they check if their device is one of the ones in question – if you do have a device, you can follow the instructions here to see if you have been affected by the recall.
What do you think about the NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet recall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post NVIDIA calls for NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet recall over fears of a fire hazard appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
OnePlus is doing something right: OnePlus 2 pop-up in Times Square kills it
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While I don’t think we’re ever going to stop being skeptical about OnePlus’ marketing stunts, their latest device, the OnePlus 2, appears to have garnered quite a lot of attention from the masses in the lead up to the device’s launch – it managed to pack out one corner of Times Square when they put up a OnePlus 2 pop-up in Times Square to show off their device to the public. As you can see from the photo, there are literally lines of people waiting to get a glimpse of the phone – the possibility of getting an invite also probably helped.
Join these NYC fans at our Times Square pop-up experience, and see the #OnePlus2 in person #NeverSettle pic.twitter.com/sBojfmhGHp
— OnePlus (@oneplus) July 31, 2015
New York isn’t the only place that OnePlus is hosting a pop-up store – San Francisco, London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, New Dehli, Bangalore, and Jakarta will also be seeing tents, presumably filled with OnePlus’ executives and the OnePlus 2. Regardless of what you think of the “2016 Flagship Killer”, it’s hard to argue with results – particularly with 1 million people signed up for invites – and that number of genuinely interested fans is hard to fake.
Source: The Verge via Phandroid
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FDA tells hospitals to ditch IV pumps that can be hacked remotely
The Food and Drug Administration “strongly encourages” hospitals to stop using Hospira’s Symbiq Infusion System, because it’s vulnerable to cyberattacks that would allow a third party to remotely control dosages delivered via the computerized pumps. Unauthorized users are able to access the Symbiq system through connected hospital networks, according to the FDA and the Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. ICS-CERT reported the vulnerability on July 21st and the FDA released its own safety alert on Friday, July 31st. Thankfully, there are no reported incidences of the Symbiq system being hacked.
Hospira does not sell the Symbiq system anymore, but it’s still available for purchase from some third-party retailers and the FDA warns against buying it. The network vulnerability would “allow an unauthorized user to control the device and change the dosage the pump delivers, which could lead to over- or under-infusion of critical patient therapies,” the organization says.
This safety alert marks the FDA’s entrance into cybersecurity territory. Recently, corporate giants GM, Fiat Chrysler, Anthem insurance and United Airlines (to name a few) have faced reported hacks. Last month, the US Office of Personnel Management was the subject of a cyberattack that put the social security information of 21.5 million Americans at risk. Welcome to the digital age.
Via:
Reuters (via Yahoo Finance)
Source:
FDA
Tags: CyberAttack, fda, hack, hdpostcross, Hospira, hospital, InfusionPump, symbiq, us-cert
OnePlus 2’s ‘System’ seems to take up quite a bit of RAM
With the OnePlus 2 just being announced, you can expect it will have its rounds of testing. The OnePlus 2 will have two versions available, a 16GB and 64GB version with the 16GB having 3GB’s of RAM and the 64GB version having 4GB’s of RAM. In theory, either version you get will have more than enough RAM for the average user. Though according to Twitter user @iSubhamBapna, the amount of RAM actually available to the user is going to be less than usual because it appears the ‘System’ in the OnePlus 2 takes up a whopping 1.1-1.3GB’s of RAM. In comparison, my HTC One M9’s ‘System’ takes up about 800mb’s of RAM. Of course, for all we know what he’s using could still be beta software for the OnePlus 2, and the actual software that will be on the device once released could be different. Either way, definitely something to keep an eye on.
What do you guys think? Could this be a small problem, or is this much-a-do ’bout nothing?
source: Twitter
Come comment on this article: OnePlus 2’s ‘System’ seems to take up quite a bit of RAM
Grab the OnePlus 2 without an invite from Gearbest
OnePlus has been making a lot of noise in the mobile tech industry. First, they shocked the world by announcing the OnePlus One at a seemingly impossibly low price point while maintaining top notch specs.
Following that, they quickly turned their positive press into negative press with their juvenile contests and a primitive invite system. It seemed to a lot of people that the only way to get a OnePlus One was to either be a OnePlus lapdog and jump through all of their hoops, or pay ridiculously high resale prices. (Retail – $299, Resale – $500+)
The invite system infuriated a lot of potential buyers who couldn’t get their hands on an invite so that they could purchase the phone. Fast forward to current times, they FINALLY removed the invite system and announced their second phone. The OnePlus Two. This thing is still market as a flagship killer even though that is highly debatable this time around.
Another thing OnePlus did is bring back the invite system for the OnePlus Two much to everyone’s dissatisfaction. They claim to be confident in their product, but apparently they are still afraid of the risks involved with selling a phone.
The good news is that the invite system can be avoided by purchasing the OnePlus Two off of Gearbest! Gearbest is offering the OnePlus Two at a bit of an upcharge, but you won’t have to wait until OnePlus finally offers you an invite to buy a phone.
For $397.89, you can purchase the 16GB model of the OnePlus Two that comes with 3GB of RAM and you can purchase a 4GB RAM 64GB internal memory device for $477.89.
Other key features of the OnePlus Two are a 5.5-inch display with a 1080 x 1920 screen resolution. The OnePlus Two is powered by a 3,300mAh battery that powers a Snapdragon 810 CPU (underclocked at 1.8 GHz) and an Adreno 430 GPU.
Pair that with its 16MP back camera and 5MP front shooter, you have a pretty good device. The Two features a USB Type-C port and is void of Qualcomm’s Quick Charging 2.0 and wireless charging. Another notable feature missing is NFC. Some people aren’t perplexed by the lack of NFC or other features because they claim to not use it much, but that is up to you.
The OnePlus Two runs a version of Android called OxygenOS which is created by former ParanoidAndroid team members. Their goal was to create a ‘pure Android experience with powerful enhancements’. OxygenOS actually is a pretty sweet operating system and works great with the OnePlus Two.
OnePlus also tossed in a fingerprint scanner on the front of the device where the physical home button would be on a Galaxy S6 or iPhone 6. However, the OnePlus Two fingerprint scanner isn’t an actual button that you can click. It is more like a capacitive button with added functionality.
While not a flagship killer, the OnePlus Two is still a solid device. For an increased price, you can purchase a OnePlus Two without an invite from Gearbest! Quick note, this is a preorder. The devices won’t start shipping until after September 7th.
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You can delete Samsung’s phone bloatware in China
Samsung isn’t waiting around for the verdict of a Chinese lawsuit over bloatware to take action. The company will offer patches in August that let local Android phone owners delete unwanted pre-installed apps on both the Galaxy Note 3, the example cited in the suit, as well as more recent phones like the Galaxy S6. It’s not clear just which apps you can purge, but it’s safe to presume that many of the non-essential apps are now eligible.
Not that this necessarily lets Samsung off the hook. The Shanghai Consumer Council is waiting to see if Samsung will “meet its own promise” before dropping its legal action, and it’s even threatening to expand its campaign if the Galaxy maker drops the ball. Either way, this won’t mean much if you live outside of China — that American or British smartphone will still have just as much non-removable cruft as it does today.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source:
The Korea Times
Tags: android, bloatware, china, law, mobilepostcross, regulation, samsung, smartphone
ZTE Overture 2 review
When those of us who aspire for the latest and greatest see a budget phone, it’s only natural to shrug our shoulders and move on to something more interesting. With that said, I don’t think the latest and greatest in smartphones has been that inspiring lately. I’ll actually argue that there’s more action going on in the budget space right now. As the gain of top-level components are slowing, entry-level components have way more advancement to be had. And as that gap narrows, you get much more value with the inferior smartphone.
And this is exactly the perspective that I took with the entry-level ZTE Overture 2. ZTE is no stranger to value in the smartphone space, and the Overture 2 is no exception with a price tag of $50, on Cricket Wireless. What made this review particularly interesting to me is that fact that it runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop and sports a Snapdragon quad-core processor. Time to see how narrow that gap really is!
Design/Build
When you consider an entry-level smartphone, it’s not reasonable to expect a design that impresses, but rather, one that works. It will be basic, but sturdy. And if it excels, the user won’t be thinking about the cheap price tag. I’m happy to report that this precisely describes the Overture 2.
Yes, the design is reminiscent of older plastic Android handsets, back when removable back covers were commonplace. However, not once did I loathe holding the Overture 2. It feels solid, doesn’t flex or creak, and the material doesn’t indicate that it won’t last.
I appreciate that the plastic back cover has a textured weave-like pattern. It helps considerably with the grip. There’s a small notch on one of the corners for easy removal of the back cover. The cover easily snaps back into place.
It’s a bummer that while the back cover is removable, the battery isn’t. I always dislike when manufacturers do this, it’s almost like a tease. All is not lost, as there is a microSD card slot under the cover. The SIM card slot also resides here.
Although, the Overture 2 runs on the latest Android OS, you won’t find the latest method for navigation buttons. On the front you have capacitive soft keys on the bottom (in Lollipop style, at least), a ZTE logo smushed between the display and earpiece, and a front-facing camera. My only gripe here would be the screen-to-body ratio of the phone. At 62.9%, I feel like a 4.5″ device should be smaller than this.
Around the perimeter of the phone, we have a microUSB charging port on the left, separated volume buttons on the right, power button on the top right, and headphone jack on the top left. There is only a microphone on the bottom of the phone.
The usability of the power and volume buttons were done well. They’re clicky, instead of mushy. Neither too hard nor too soft to press.
Performance
I was excited to put the Overture 2’s hardware through its paces. Although this a budget phone, it’s running the latest version of Android (Lollipop 5.1). Powering it is the current entry-level quad-core processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 410 (1.2 GHz). In other words, I was curious to test out how much performance I would lose in comparison to my top-end daily driver.
Confirming my suspicions, the difference wasn’t stark. The Overture 2 is sufficiently snappy with basic operations (sifting through panels and apps, opening/closing applications, web surfing). There are some executions that do have a second or two delay that shouldn’t, but certainly nothing to cry about. This could be attributed to the low 1GB of RAM.
And while we’re on the topic of low memory, something I dislike that’s common on budget smartphone is low internal storage capacity. Unfortunately, the Overture 2 suffers the same fate, with only 8GB of storage space. After installing a handful of standard apps (Facebook, FlipBoard, Pandora, etc.) and taking a few pictures, I was down to 1.38GB available.
Bear in mind that the OS takes up a chunk of the overall capacity. Fortunately, Overture 2 is helped along by a microSD slot (expandable up to 32GB).
I loaded up a game (Leo’s Fortune) on the Overture 2, to test out the on-board Adreno 306 graphics chip. I wanted to try either Modern Combat or Asphalt 8 to stress test the system, but unfortunately with that little storage space, you won’t be able to install big games on this device. But for what it’s worth, Leo’s Fortune played smoothly, without a hitch.
Display
The largest red mark I would have to give the Overture 2 is on the display. Its Achilles heel is without a doubt the display quality. Let’s cover the specs first.
We have a 4.5″ LCD screen (protected by Dragontrail glass), with FWVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels). While the resolution is yesteryear, it is not unexpected for an entry-level smartphone. The same ideal extends to the display quality, but here I’m particularly left feeling that ZTE could should have done better.
The display has this strange phenomenon that occurs at viewing angles. I’ve seen this happen in cheaper screens before, so I don’t think it’s a screen defect. When you tilt to one side you see dimmed color degradation (almost like inverted colors) and when you tilt to the other side the image is washed out (a more typical effect of cheap displays).
Both effects seem to converge at the middle (looking at the phone straight on), to give an OK image, but my eyes can tell something is not right. The big problem is the viewing angle sensitivity. It only takes a slight tilt for the image to quickly degrade in the manner determined by the direction you tilted it. I have to keep the device steady and straight, or my eyes get a shot of unpleasantness.
If you can look past this issue, colors are alright, resolution is sufficient but not ideal, and outdoor visibility is modest.
Camera
The Overture 2 is equipped with a 5 MP rear camera with single LED flash. You can record at 720p. I was impressed by all the features that ZTE through in, separated by three categories:
- Fun mode – Special effects (filters), smile detection, HDR, automatic image capture at set time intervals, panorama, and multi-exposure to collate images.
- Auto mode – Simple point-and-shoot operation.
- Manual mode – Where you can control white balance, ISO, or exposure.
The quality of the images are in line with what I would expect for a phone at this price range. In good lighting, we can get respectable capture. But in situations with dynamic range, the camera can blow out lighting a bit. Colors are decent, but lean a little on the dull side. Detail matches what I would expect from a 5 MP shooter. Image quality drops drastically in lower light, but this is not unexpected from a budget camera.
The front facing camera is VGA (0.3 MP). It is similar to other VGA sensors I’ve seen, which produce grainy selfies.
Battery Life
The battery capacity is a respectable 2,100 mAh. Although the back cover is removable, the battery is sealed in. So you won’t be able to carry around extra battery packs.
On the bright side, it may be that you don’t have to. I was left very impressed by the battery life this little guy managed to pull. One day I charged it up in the morning and was out and about for half the day and only used 38% battery. This was with typical operations: Streaming music in the card, checking Google Maps, web browsing, and taking a few pictures.
I used it on and off connected to Wifi the rest of the day and went to bed with 35% battery. My overnight test (leaving it on, connected to wifi, while I sleep and checking it first thing when I wake up) produced an average result of 15% battery drain.
The Overture 2 also has ZTE’s power saver option. Testing it produced similar results as the power saver that comes in stock Lollipop, unsure if it’s the same or not. What’s different are the very welcomed power management controls.
Software
ZTE is known to add their own little touches to Android, and it’s not different with the Overture 2. However, I do appreciate how minimal they keep it. I can still we remnants of stock Lollipop in places, such as the sound priority control when you press a volume button, the drop-down notification/quick settings panel, and the dialer.
The most drastic changes are the following:
- Instead of swiping up to unlock the screen, you press and hold.
- ZTE’s custom app drawer, folder, and icon appearances
- ZTE apps in place of Google apps (camera, browser, gallery)
- Available options when you tap and hold a panel. ZTE included theming and and different panel transitions to choose from.
I really like that ZTE’s alterations to Android don’t feel like they’re deep in the system. I don’t feel bogged down, or that stock Android is handicapped in some way. There are a few apps installed by default (bloatware): Evernote, AccuWeather, Deezer, AskMD, and several Cricket apps. As with other carriers, you can disable them but not uninstall them. This is especially annoying when you consider how little internal storage you’re given.
Final Thoughts
I’ve very glad to have taken the Overture 2 through its paces. The performance that today’s entry-level Android can pull has left me quite impressed. If it weren’t for the main concerns I’ve raised (poor display, camera lighting issues, and miniscule internal storage space), I could go as far to say I wouldn’t be too unhappy using this instead of my flagship phone.
But from the perspective of a consumer on a budget, I still consider the Overture 2 a great value despite the some of the weak hardware. You can’t ignore the $50 price tag, and you’re getting a solid build, a terrific performer, respectable battery life, and the latest version of Android.
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AIVAnet 