Cracked your Nexus 6? Get it replaced through Project Fi
Good guy Google is at it again. If you’re prone to dropping and breaking your phones, there’s a special deal for you if you’re using Project Fi. We all know that the Nexus 6
Well, Google has announced that customers of Project Fi, will get a one-time replacement of their Nexus 6. Now there’s a little bit more to that, which is where the “Good Guy” comes in. If you break your Nexus 6, you will only have to pay $100 to get your Nexus 6 replaced. Now, the only catch that can be found, is that it seems that you will only get this coverage if you purchased your Nexus 6 through Project Fi.
This is in line with HTC’s Uh-Oh Program, where you can get a new device if you break or crack your HTC M8 or HTC M9
So if you’re on Project Fi, and ever run into this issue, Google’s got your back. If you do it again, well, get ready to shell out the dough. At least until more devices are supported by Google’s Project Fi.
Have you gotten your Project Fi invite yet? Let us know what you think about Google’s foray into the mobile network spectrum in the comments below.
Source: Android Central
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Free memory, extend your battery, and archive apps with Systweak Android Cleaner (App Review)
For today, we have Systweak Android Cleaner, one of the new Android optimizer apps on the block. Its competition includes the well-known Cheetah Mobile’s Clean Master (Boost & Applock). The purpose of these apps is to increase the device’s performance by periodically clearing cached memory, deleting junk files, and managing storage.
Setup
Setup for Systweak is quick and easy. Just head over to Google Play and download and install the app. Open it, and you’ll be met with the main screen.
Features and Functions
Systweak includes the following: phone boost, a junk files manager, a battery saver, a storage manager, and an app manager.
With phone boost, you can end running background services and their cache in order to give the system memory back. This can be done automatically at set intervals.
The junk files manager cleans external application cache and temporary files. Here, you are able to recover space from APKs, the ten largest files, and browser data.
The battery saver manages the parts of the OS that drain the battery the most (such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, background services, and auto-sync), allowing for an extended battery life of up to 50%.
And lastly, the app manager can perform two functions: archiving an app and uninstalling it. When you archive an app, a backup of its application files is created. This process frees up internal storage. You can restore the files whenever needed under the “Archived” section.
Systweak certainly is well-designed with an interface that is in line with material design. Also, I liked that I could automate Phone Boost to work every two, four, six, or eight hours and that I could specify which parts of the OS Battery Saver targeted.
I did not necessarily dislike anything about the app. However, as a suggestion, it would be a nice addition if users had the option to have Phone Boost optimize their devices as soon as they are turned on.
What We Like
- Beautiful, intuitive design
- Ability to automate Phone Boost
- Can choose which services Battery Saver manages
- Optimizer widget
What We Don’t Like
- Not exactly a negative, but optimization upon turning on the device would be nice
To conclude, Systweak Android Cleaner is a really good optimizer app. Although it has not been on the market as long as the aforementioned Clean Master has, it definitely holds its own. It does not have as many features as that one does either, which go beyond the expected optimization. For example, Clean Master has built-in anti-malware protection. However, don’t be concerned by that, especially if you already have an anti-malware app or just need the features Systweak provides.
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HTC Re Camera 50% off at Best Buy right now, that makes it $99
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Technology lets us do amazing things. However, there are still limitations set by our most used items, our phones. Surely if you have a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active or a Sony Xperia Z of some sorts, then you have a bit more freedom then most when it comes to get photos and videos where water is involved. Not everyone is keen to buy those devices just for that luxury though. That is where an accessory that costs a fraction of your device can come in handy quite a bit. The HTC Re Camera is one such little device that packs some solid specs, expandable storage, and additional abilities like using your phone as the view finder or the trigger to start recording or shoot a photo, comes in handy. At launch the little cameras were priced at $199. Considering the competition, it wasn’t a terrible price for the imitation inhaler and all that it can do. If you have yet to pull the trigger on one of these little guys, today is the day you may want to pull out that credit card and do so as it is on sale through Best Buy for just $99.
Like all good deals, this is a limited time offer that is part of the Deal of the Day promotion. They are offering the deal on all three color options; Blue, White or Orange. I personally dig the Blue one, but certainly wouldn’t regret picking up any color. The little Re isn’t perfect as low light images aren’t the best, but if you are out and about to finish up summer and want to get some great shots without the fear of ruining your phone, this is a great device to do it with. While you are at it, be sure to look at the various mounts and charging cradle too.
HTC Re Camera sale at Best Buy
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Apple Joins NFC Forum to Work on Developing Future NFC Specifications
Apple this week joined the NFC Forum as a sponsor member, earning itself a place on the NFC Forum board of directors, reports NFC World. The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum is the group that works to develop NFC specifications to ensure interoperability between different devices and services.
The team also encourages companies to develop products using the NFC Forum specifications and they make sure products with NFC capabilities comply with those specifications.
“The top tier of NFC Forum membership, sponsor membership, entitles an organisation to a seat on the NFC Forum board of directors, the association’s governing body,” NFC Forum director Paula Hunter says. “We are delighted to welcome Apple to our board of directors as an NFC Forum sponsor member.”
Joining the NFC Forum board of directors on Apple’s behalf is Aon Mujtaba, who serves as Director of Wireless Systems Engineering at Apple. According to his LinkedIn profile, Mujtaba leads the iPhone Systems Engineering team and specializes in wireless systems engineering, architecture, and design.
Other companies who are on the NFC Forum board of directors include Broadcom, Google, Intel, Nokia, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony, STMicroelectronics, Visa, and MasterCard.
Apple began using NFC with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which include the technology to facilitate wireless payments using Apple Pay. Apple has also included NFC chips in the Apple Watch, the iPad Air 2, and the iPad mini 3, and will continue using NFC in future devices.
Dear Veronica: Does Microsoft’s new browser have the Edge?
It’s a new Wednesday, which means I’m back to answer more of your questions! This week, we have Dana Wollman on to talk all about Microsoft’s new Edge browser and how it compares to IE. Read her full review here.
We also have some of your responses to our “are portable gaming devices dead?” question from a few weeks ago, plus some super-awkward social media problems!
Don’t forget that you can subscribe to the show on iTunes or via RSS, and keep sending in those questions on Twitter using #DearVeronica, or via email. See you next time!
Filed under:
Microsoft
Tags: dear veronica, microsoft, Veronica Belmont, video
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820’s GPU is primed for VR
Confirming earlier reports, Qualcomm announced today that the graphics processor in its next flagship mobile CPU, the Snapdragon 820, will be around 40 percent faster than its predecessor. And while that’s obviously going to lead to even more complex games, Qualcomm is also envisioning a much more diverse future for its latest Snapdragon and its Adreno 530 GPU. Specifically, it’s looking at “next-generation uses of virtual reality, augmented reality computer vision,” according to Qualcomm’s senior marketing manager Adam Kerin. That shouldn’t be too surprising, given the rise of mobile VR solutions over the past year, including Samsung’s Gear VR and even Google Cardboard. Even more so than mobile games, VR will push both desktop and mobile hardware to its limits — it might end up being a legitimate use for 4K screens on phones, for example — so it’s best to be ready.
Qualcomm also says the Adreno 530 GPU will also be around 40 percent more power efficient than the Snapdragon 810’s GPU. And, unlike the last flagship chip, the company also plans to bring the 820 into cars at some point. It’ll serve as the upgrade to the Snapdragon 602A, which launched over a year-and-a-half ago to improve connected cars. The big takeaway from the Snapdragon 820? It’s about a lot more than just incremental speed improvements.
The new processor will also feature a new Spectra camera imaging unit, which brings a wider range of colors, and a hybrid autofocus framework, allowing you to focus on specific portions of a scene faster. Qualcomm is also tapping into its new GPU to make digital zoom better, with better overall quality and a smoother zooming experience. Hopefully that means we’ll see better cameras from all Android phone makers, and not just Samsung and LG.
[Photo credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under:
Mobile
Source:
Qualcomm
Tags: Adreno530, mobilepostcross, Qualcomm, Snapdragon820
Google’s Android Experiments show what your devices can do
Google has Chrome Experiments to showcase what’s possible in its web browser, so it stands to reason that there should be an equivalent for Android, doesn’t it? Sure enough, the folks in Mountain View have launched an Android Experiments gallery that demonstrates what Google-powered mobile and wearable devices can do. In many cases, the 20 inaugural experiments take direct advantage of sensors and remote connections. Tilt (above) uses motion sensors to recreate the classic put-the-ball-in-the-hole game, while IOIO Plotter draws flip charts through an Android-controlled board. On Android Wear, the Time Mesh watch face twists and bends based on your movement. The hope is that app makers will use these experiments as springboards for their own ambitious projects — if you notice that Android apps are markedly more creative in the near future, you’ll know who to thank. Slideshow-311828
Filed under:
Cellphones, Tablets, Wearables, Mobile, Google
Source:
Android Experiments
Tags: android, androidexperiments, androidwear, experiment, experiments, google, mobilepostcross, smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, video, wearable
PlayStation Plus members can vote for their next free game tomorrow
If you’ve ever been disappointed with the selection of “free” PS Plus games, listen up: Sony is giving you the chance to have a say over which titles make the next cut. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to vote on three games via your PS4 — action platformer Grow Home, the board game-inspired Armello and four-player brawler Zombie Vikings. The one with the most votes on August 24th will be crowned the victor and added to the September lineup. The other two will be discounted in the PlayStation Store, so you should still get a good deal regardless of how your preferred game fares. It’s not the same as being able to freely pick a title, but it’s certainly more choice than PlayStation fans have been offered in the past. Sony says this new “Vote to Play” initiative won’t be occurring every month, however, so there’s an extra incentive to use your influence this time around. If enough people participate, maybe the company will consider making it a standard perk.
Source:
PlayStation
Tags: sony
Twitter nixes 140 character limit in Direct Messages
Twitter’s push to make DMs a full on messaging service continues. Beginning today, the 140 character limit for Direct Messages has been lifted in the iOS, Android, Mac apps, Tweetdeck and on Twitter.com. The new limit of 10,000 characters pretty much gives you license to write as much as you want in a message. The company has been expanding Direct Message features to compete with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts for some time. In January it introduced group chat support to DMs. Twitter had originally planned on removing the 140 character limit in July. But, I guess later is better than never.
Filed under:
Internet, Software
Source:
Twitter
Tags: DirectMessages, DMs, SocialNetworking, Twitter
Why Sony’s rumored Xperia Z5 Plus won’t feature a 4K display
The rumored Sony Xperia Z5 Plus could feature a 4K UHD 2160 x 3840 display and a Snapdragon 810 chipset, according to a user-agent profile. The device is codenamed E68XX (E6833, E6853 E6883), which is rumored to be a larger version of Sony’s H2 flagship. Unfortunately, this rumor has no credibility whatsoever.
The device is said to allegedly feature a 5.5-inch display packing a pixel density of 801ppi, according to Xperia Blog. Unfortunately, pushing this much power to the display could take a significant hit to battery life.
Most flagship smartphones today feature 2K displays, which already take up a large portion of battery life. It would no doubt be even worse on a 4K display pushing 801ppi.
Sony isn’t making a 4K smartphone
While Sony could be one of the first manufacturers to launch a device with a 4K UHD display, it really has no benefit to the device other than marketing tactics. After all, the human eye can only see so much detail on a smaller screen.
Secondly, it’s not likely that there will be much content available for a 4K display on your smartphone. It’s still a fairly new technology, and if you plan on streaming 4K content, chances are, the average person doesn’t have the bandwidth to support the ungodly amounts of data 4K content will chew through.
Keep in mind that this is merely a rumor. It’s highly unlikely to happen, given the cost of 4K technology. It’s also hard to believe that Sony will bring a 4K display to the rumored Z5 Plus considering that the Z4 didn’t even feature a 2K display. It would be quite a leap as far as technology goes, and most consumers would no doubt be able to afford that, especially with the risks that come with the Snapdragon 810 chipset.
Besides, Sony has said in the past that 2K is useless, so why would they have a 4K option in development? It doesn’t add up.
In other words, this is just another useless clickbait rumor making its rounds.
source: Xperia Blog
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