Coin’s newest credit card replacement adds built-in NFC
After delays plagued the initial launch of Coin’s Bluetooth single-card solution to slimming down your wallet, the company is back with version 2.0. The new option still stores credit card info for taking care of the bill after lunch, but there’s a big addition in tow: NFC. With the addition of NFC tap to pay, you can make contactless payments with the cards stored on Coin. While the new version is starting to ship today, the company is still working on “additional partnerships” with banks and financial institutions, though, so it’ll arrive with an Early-Access-Mode. Basically, your options for tapping to pay will be limited at first, but as more banks opt in, you’ll be able to enable EMV compatibility through a software update. Speaking of EMV, those Chip and Pin cards will work with the new Coin, too.
In addition to the swipeless payment option, the thinner Coin 2.0 adds the ability to assign each stored card a four-character nickname, like “BofA” for example. It’s also said to be twice as fast as the original, accepts over-the-air updates for new features and carries an improved electronic stripe that works better at gas pumps. Folks who’ve already received the first card can claim a free upgrade via the Android or iOS companion app. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, you’ll get the second edition at no extra charge too, and can check on the ship date through the app or Coin’s website. Haven’t splurged for one yet? You can pre-order one now for $117.50.
Filed under:
Misc
Source:
Coin
Tags: coin, coin2, coin2.0, creditcard, creditcards, nfc, payments
Mini review video: our verdict of the OnePlus 2 in under a minute
It wasn’t an easy task following up on a phone that people already loved, but OnePlus has done just that with its second-gen flagship. Mostly, anyhow. The OnePlus 2 is an improvement over its predecessor in just about every way, with fast performance and solid build quality, all for a reasonable starting price of $329. That said, OnePlus faces stiffer competition in this price range than it did a year ago. Meanwhile, this updated model makes a few missteps, including a lack of NFC, a flaky fingerprint sensor and some early-build bugs. Given that OnePlus seems to be working on fixes for those lingering software issues, we still strongly recommend this, with a score of 86 out of a 100. It’s definitely worth a look, provided you don’t care about NFC and don’t mind the lack of expandable storage. Learn about all that and more in our mini review video, and if you have time for a deep dive, check out our full review.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile
Tags: mobilepostcross, oneplus, oneplus2, review, reviewvideo, video
New game from ‘Gears of War’ creator breaks the moon
LawBreakers is not a post-apocalyptic shooter.
It is a shooter. It does star a group of Marine-like soldiers out to gun down people in the name of justice and it does take place in the future. But creator Cliff Bleszinski is adamant that this isn’t a standard futuristic, kill-streak kind of game. As the mastermind behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, he knows all about those. Instead, LawBreakers takes place in a post-catastrophe world: Human experiments on the moon cause it to shatter, which triggers devastating earthquakes and breaks gravity in certain spots. Humanity rebuilds, bigger and better than ever, and then violent gangs begin to attack the new world. The LawBreakers are deployed to fight the gangs, using super-human supplements and special maneuvers made possible by the low-gravity zones.
LawBreakers is a free, class-based, multiplayer-focused shooter that appears to take cues from games like TitanFall and Battleborn, and it’s due to launch in 2016 for undisclosed platforms. The game includes specific characters with unique abilities, such as the assassin, who has a double jump, Bleszinski and his colleagues at Boss Key revealed today in a live stream.
The game world is a mix of old and new: After the moon explodes and humanity attempts to rebuild, the US government is broke and sells off parcels of national land to the highest bidder. This is why, Bleszinkski explains, the Yakuza are able to set up shop on one edge of the Grand Canyon, surrounded by rocks floating in the low-gravity zones.
Boss Key promises a gameplay trailer for LawBreakers will drop on Friday at 9AM ET. For now, the cinematic announcement video shows a gorgeous new Earth under attack from the stars and citizens alike.
Tags: badastronomer, bosskey, CliffBleszinski, CliffyB, earth, earthquake, hdpostcross, lawbreakers, moon, philplait, scifi, shooter
Apple Starts Selling Third-Party Apple Watch Accessories in Retail Stores
As of today, Apple has begun selling third-party Apple Watch accessories in its retail stores. The first third-party Apple Watch product Apple is offering on store shelves is ElevationLabs’ NightStand for Apple Watch.
Priced at $29.95, the NightStand is a simple, affordable Apple Watch stand that was one of the first Apple Watch stands on the market. The NightStand was originally offered only in blue, black, and red, but it appears the company partnered with Apple to offer stands that match each of the Apple Watch Sport bands. Apple is selling the NightStand in pink, blue, green, black, and white.
We visited an Apple Store in North Carolina, where the NightStands are on display next to the Apple Watch Sport bands, Apple Watch chargers, and matching Beats headphones.
The NightStand is one of the few Apple Watch stands available for purchase that supports iOS 9’s upcoming Nightstand Mode, which may be one of the reasons why Apple chose it for retail stores. With Nightstand Mode, the Apple Watch is able to serve as an alarm clock while charging.
According to a source that spoke to MacRumors, the NightStand from ElevationLabs is the only Apple Watch accessory Apple is offering for now, but additional accessories might start appearing in stores in September. ElevationLabs’ NightStand is currently only available in retail stores and is not yet being offered online.
Apple’s decision to begin offering third-party Apple Watch accessories comes amid a major revamp of its retail stores. As of today, Apple retail stores no longer have iPad “smart signs” that display pricing information and product details next to each product for sale.
Instead, Apple’s display products, such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs, now include a dedicated “Pricing” app that users can open up to get pricing information.
In recent months, Apple Stores have been undergoing some significant transformations. Along with the removal of the smart signs to reduce clutter and confusion, Apple has also slimmed down on the number of accessories for a more refined look. In the future, many accessories will also feature Apple-designed packaging.
Lenovo Mobile to merge with Motorola and then go away
Lenovo Mobile Group President, Chen Xudong, has went on to state that Lenovo Mobile will be incorporated into Motorola in the near future. Following the merge, Lenovo Mobile will no longer continue as an individual company.
In the future, Motorola will be designing all of Lenovo’s smartphones. Motorola plans to shift its own focus to high-end international markets. Do you think this is the right move? Motorola has already rolled out its Moto G handset in many countries around the world and plans to launch the Moto X Pure Edition (Moto X Style) in the United States next week. The company is now working with partners on its successor to the Droid Turbo.
Source: XiaomiToday
Come comment on this article: Lenovo Mobile to merge with Motorola and then go away
Is the Moto G 2015 the King of mid-range devices?
As the last week has proven, the majority of everyone cares more about those high-priced, powerful phones that dominate headlines for weeks. Not only do those devices dominate headlines, but they also dominate our wallets. However, even with these high-profile devices taking our wallets hostage, there are more economical devices becoming more and more relevant.
The OnePlus One shocked everyone with flagship-like specs while only costing about $300 for the base 16GB version. Naturally, the OPO was dubbed the flagship killer of 2014, and OnePlus just released their sequel, the OnePlus 2. However, in 2013, Motorola started hitting our pockets in a different manner.
A few months after the release of the original Moto X in 2013, Motorola debuted the Moto G. The premise behind this device was to provide a very solid alternative to flagship devices which would be an easier hit on our wallets and make everyone think twice about getting those high-priced flagships. The past two years have been no different, and Motorola has really followed through on improving the Moto G since its inception.
Motorola is trying to combine these mid-range internals while still providing one of the best experiences for a mobile device, while hitting a sub-$200 price mark. Speaking of those internals, let’s take a quick peek.
The Moto G doesn’t have the most impressive spec sheet, but that’s the point. Since their remodeling, Motorola has been trying to drive the point home about software integration by showing everyone how well these devices can perform without having the top of the line specs. The Moto G is the epitome of this new initiative..
Design
I loved the feel of the original Moto X. I thought the smaller form factor, with the smooth back was a dream to hold and use. However, I have since switched to larger phones, and even though the Moto G 2015 is taller, this phone is feels really good in the hand as well. The back-plate has a textured feel to it, making it easier to grip, which in turn makes me worry less about dropping it. In fact, I never once felt that the Moto G was going to slip out of my hands and on to the ground, desk, or anything else.
The rest of the Moto G 2015 has the appearance of the Moto X 2014, with the slightly curved back and the metal sides. However, the sides of the Moto G are not made of metal, instead, they are plastic but maintain the appearance of the silver sides found on the Moto X. The back of the device has a silver strip going down the middle with the camera nestled at the top and the flash right below. The signature Moto dimple can be found at the bottom of this silver strip
The back-plate does come off, and while you can’t replace the battery, you can get access to the microSD card slot, and SIM card tray. Motorola also is allowing users to be able to swap the backs around to suit your personal style. Be careful through all the switching and such, because this device is IPX7 water-resistant, you don’t want to forget to snap the back all the way on and get water damage in your device.
Speaking of which, whenever the back plate is removed from your device you will get a notification stating that you need to ensure that the case is fully snapped on. This is to make sure that you won’t ever encounter any water damage on account of everything not being put back into place.
Software Integration
The 3rd Generation Moto G is rocking stock Android 5.1 Lollipop with a few of Motorola’s added features. The biggest addition to the Moto G was the introduction of Moto Display. Moto Display was already introduced back with the original Moto X and basically has turned into an extension of your device.
For those who are new to the Motorola game, Moto Display is a baked in replacement for your lock screen. Instead of having to turn your display on every time you get a notification, Moto Display takes care of that for you. Once you receive a new notification, you are presented with interactive icons. When pressed, you will see a preview of the message and either swipe up to open the application, or down to just unlock the device. Of course, you can just let the notifications pile up and view them one by one, without ever unlocking your device and wasting that precious battery life.
Out of the box, the Moto G is using Google’s stock launcher that was introduced with Android Lollipop. You don’t have to worry about any overlays or anything that is unnecessary while navigating through your home screens. What you do get is the goodies of stock software with SOME of the Moto Display features. You also get the gestures for quickly turning on the flash light (chop-chop) and activating the camera (flicka-da-wrist).
In my time with the Moto G, I never experienced any lag while navigating the home screens, scrolling through my apps, or switching quickly from one app to the next. I did experience a bit of stutter when I played Mountain Goat Mountain, but since that game has the ability to change the frame rate, I just bumped it down and kept going stutter free. However I did play hours worth of Riptide GP 2, which is graphically challenging, and never had a single issue. Even when I was playing for hours, the back of the phone only felt warm, and was never uncomfortable.
Battery
Speaking of the battery, it’s amazing. While testing the Moto G, I never once ran out of battery, and there would be times I would take it off the charger at 530AM and would still have about 20-30% of battery left at midnight. The battery really impressed me, and I’m not sure if it’s a combination of the lower-res display with the Snapdragon 410, but I couldn’t get over how much I could use the G without it running out of juice.
I would deliberately try and run the battery out, and only succeeded after using the Moto G for tethering capabilities with my laptop while I was out and about. There also were never any issues encountered with random battery loss from standby time. The Moto G is a beast in just about every manner when it comes to the battery.
One thing to take note of with the 2015 Moto G: there is no quick charge capability built-in, so you can’t get that extra fast charging when you’re low on power. However, with the stunning battery life on this device, the chances of you needing quick charge, is slim-to-none.
Camera
I wanted the camera to be better than the one found in the Moto X 2014, but it seems that it’s more on par with that camera. The camera is definitely nothing spectacular, and you can tell as soon as you try and take your first picture. The built-in camera software is still a little off when it comes to focusing, and unless you try a different app, you’ll have to just hope you can get the picture to focus at the right time.
It definitely felt like I was playing a game of cat and mouse when it came to trying to focus, but we knew that going in. Hopefully, Motorola can get their stuff together and make the app better while removing the focusing issues.
As stated above, the camera is nothing to write home about, but for what you get in an 13MP camera, you can’t really expect too much. This will do just fine with your run-of-the-mill pictures, but they won’t be “featured” in anything important. I would say that the camera is perfect for the price range that the Moto G is set in.
Moto Maker
When Motorola was generous enough to shock the world with Moto Maker for the Moto X everyone was super stoked about it. You mean to tell me I can customize my device to the T, and don’t have to settle for just black or just white? Well Motorola did something pretty awesome with the Moto G 2015. After bringing Moto Maker to the Moto 360, and the Moto X, you can now customize your Moto G on Moto Maker.
With a slew of different combinations, Motorola really has taken customizing your device to a whole new level. There are two color options for the front, 10 different options for the back-plate, and 10 different options for your accent color, the possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
The Moto G 2015 follows in the steps of its predecessor and big brother, by offering a great combination of specs, decent camera, and customization options to bring one of the best mid-range devices to the forefront. Now, just as a note, there are two different variants of the 2015 Moto G. The first is one that features 8GB of storage with 1GB of RAM for $179, or the version that was reviewed today with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM for $219.
If you can afford the extra 50 dollars, I would definitely opt for the extra storage and extra RAM so you can have that extra boost when you need it. No lag is always a good thing, and you won’t have that issue when it comes to the 2GB variant of the Moto G 2015.
With the introduction of these mid-range specs, addition of Moto display features, and the inclusion of the Moto G to Moto Maker, the Moto G really deserves a chance. Let us know what you think about this awesome device from the folks at Motorola in the comments below.
The post Is the Moto G 2015 the King of mid-range devices? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Pocket gains a handy new Recommendations feature in version 6.0 update
Pocket, one of the most popular read-it-later services available on Android, is receiving an update today that brings a handy new feature to the application. The new feature is called Recommendations, and it aims to deliver content that’s geared specifically to your interests. Recommendations will be based entirely on what you save, read and watch in Pocket.
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To access Recommendations, simply tap on the new tab located in the main page of the app. Your own Recommendations will change throughout the day, so if you don’t find anything that interests you, just check back later and you might find something new.
Version 6.0 of the app is rolling out now, so head to the Play Store link below to try it out.
[TA Deals] Name your own price for this game developer bundle
Want to learn how to develop games? Head over to Talk Android Deals and name your price for the Game Developer Bundle.
The bundle’s courses are meant to take you from a starter without experience to a person that can use HTML/HTML5 and Unity 3D to produce games.
What’s included:
- Unity 3D Game Development & Design 4-Course Bundle — $225 value
- HTML5 App & Game Development 6-Course Bundle — $186 value
- ‘Game Development for Non-Coders’ 5-Course Bundle — $128 value
You’ll save a ton of money since this is a ‘Pay What You Want’ deal. That obviously means that you pay what you want! By paying above the average price, you get all three items. Anything less will only give you access to the third item. Want to be the Giving Leader? Then pay more than the current one and you’ll have the top spot on the leaderboard.
Around 5,000 bundles have been sold already and 10% of the proceeds go to Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization promoting legal use of digital properties.
Come comment on this article: [TA Deals] Name your own price for this game developer bundle
Samsung hints at two upcoming smartphones likely to be included in the new ‘O’ series
According to a new report from Sam Mobile, mobile tech giant Samsung is prepping yet another line of smartphones. Today we get details on two smartphones to come in the previously reported O lineup.
The Samsung Galaxy Grand On and the Galaxy Mega On are expected to include budget specs and Android 5.1. These will be the first smartphones in Samsung’s new O series. O being short for “On” in this case. Today we received some rumored specs of the two handsets.
The Galaxy Mega On has model umber SM-G600 and will be the larger of the two handsets. It will feature a 5.5-inch 720p display, powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with 1.5GB of RAM. On the back you can expect to see a 13MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP snapper will be included at the front. The handset will have 8GB of expandable storage space, a 3000mAh battery and weigh in at a near 145 grams. The Galaxy Mega On has dimensions of 151.8 x 77.5 x 8.2mm. No word on pricing and availability.
The smaller of the two handsets will be the Galaxy Grand On or SM-G550. It will include a 5-inch 720p display, a quad-core 1.3 GHz Exynos 3475 chipset, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear-facing camera, a 5MP front-facing camera and 8GB of internal storage space. A 2600 mAh battery is expected to be removable from the back. So far there is no word on when and where the handset will be launched nor its pricing details.
Source: Sam Mobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung hints at two upcoming smartphones likely to be included in the new ‘O’ series
Huawei teases Force Touch technology for the Huawei Mate S
Earlier this week the Huawei Mate S was mistakenly listed on Oppomart which revealed all of its specifications and an all-new Force Touch technology. Today, Huawei has began teasing the upcoming Force Touch sensor as ‘Incredible Touch.’
Huawei is racing to release a smartphone with an integrated Force Touch sensor before competitors. Huawei teased two images today revealing the upcoming Force Touch technology. The company will release the Mate S at IFA 2015 according to the teaser pictured above. The saying translates to “Can pressing be different?” This indicates the technology can tell the different between a hard tap and a light tap.
The second teaser shows us an image of a persons finger drawing the letter “C.” It reads, “Now, camera really starts with a “C.” It also notes ‘Incredible Touch’, thus further indicating Force Touch is on its way. Maybe we’ll see a feature that allows users to open apps by simply drawing the first letter of an apps name. Only time will tell.
Source: Weibo
Come comment on this article: Huawei teases Force Touch technology for the Huawei Mate S
AIVAnet 