Nexus ‘5X’ and ‘6P’ boxes leak out ahead of Google’s Android event
Names, specs and pictures of the next Google-brand phones have already been floating around, and now Android Police has what it says are the retail boxes for the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. If you’ll recall, these are the rumored LG (5X) and Huawei (6P) devices that Google will introduce at its Android-flavored breakfast meeting one week from today. Of course, most of our speculation is about what else might be there (new Chromecast?), but this peek can help you get an idea of how the eventual unboxing process will begin.
Source: Android Police
Instagram hits 400 million users strong
Instagram today took to a blog post to unveil that it has 400 million users strong. The company says the last 100 million to join come primarily by way of Europe and Asia, but that’s not the most impressive aspect.
75% of Instagram’s users come from outside of the United States, with Brazil, Japan, and Indonesia being the countries to add the most users as of late. It’s certainly hard to believe that Instagram launched five years ago, and in that time, it’s gone through quite a few crazy transitions, such as being bought by Facebook for $1 billion.
One thing’s for certain: Instagram is becoming a new medium for sharing news across the globe, especially as Instagram’s community grows larger. If you haven’t tried Instagram before, it’s a free download–just hit the download link below.
source: Instagram
Come comment on this article: Instagram hits 400 million users strong
Google adds more useful features to its Clock app for Android
With Google’s focus on improving the custom Android experience, standalone applications like Camera, Calendar and Messenger continue to get better over time. Today, the search titan updated its Clock app with a number of features that will come in handy to many Android users, including those who own a companion Android Wear device. One of the main additions is new progressive alarms and timers, which will gradually increase their volume as they’re set off. You can also choose your favorite ringtone, control timers from a notification and dismiss an alarm preemptively — in case you wake up ahead of time, as any responsible human would do. On the Android Wear side, the Clock app now further integrates with Android Wear, giving you easier management options and interactive alarm notifications. And best of all, it’s all free for the taking.
Source: Google Play
Microsoft’s Xbox Beta app hits the Windows 10 store
A few days ago, Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 users could soon help it shape its Xbox app for the new OS. And well, that’s happening today. The Xbox Beta app is based on the popular Xbox One Preview Program, which gives people access to features before they’re released to the public and lets them provide feedback based on their experience with those. Similarly, Microsoft says the goal with this new application is to have fans provide early input on features and enhancements that are intended to come to the Xbox app for Windows 10. If you’re interested in checking it out and being a part of the program, you can download Xbox Beta now from the Windows Store.
Xbox Beta app now available in W10 Store – includes real-time activity feed in friends list. https://t.co/XY8lhqhq87 pic.twitter.com/Ts5RonejWD
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) September 22, 2015
Source: Xbox Beta (Windows Store)
T-Mobile trade-in promo gets you an iPhone 6s for $5 per month
You can be sure that carriers will be trying hard to get your iPhone 6s purchase when the device launches on September 25th, but T-Mobile may be trying harder than most. It’s launching a promotion that day which will drop the cost of an iPhone 6s when you trade in your old iPhone and go with the network’s Jump On Demand upgrade program. If you hand in an iPhone 6, you’ll pay as little as $5 per month for the new handset; turn in that ‘old’ iPhone 5s and you’ll get the 6s for a still-reasonable $10 per month. Giving up any other device will lower the payments to $15 per month. You can pay more if you want something beyond the base model, of course. While you’ll likely want to look at Apple’s own installment plan if you insist on a factory-unlocked iPhone, the rate is low enough that it may well lure you away from Sprint and other providers with Apple-specific deals.
6/ YES – you read it right! Trade-in an iPhone6 & get a new #iPhone6s for $5/mth or trade-in your iPhone5s & get a new one for $10/mth!
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) September 22, 2015
Source: John Legere (Twitter), (Periscope)
Apple Notifying iPhone 6s Pre-Order Customers About Shipping Delays Ahead of Pope Visit
Apple has started sending emails to customers who may be affected by shipping delays caused by Pope Francis’ visit to the United States, letting them know that they may not be able to receive their iPhone 6s and 6s pre-orders on launch day.
Based on an image shared by Sam Biddle on Twitter, Apple is informing customers that while there may be delivery issues on Friday in restricted areas, Saturday deliveries will be available in most areas. Any customer in an affected area can expect to receive an email from Apple and from UPS or FedEX.
As MacRumors reported over the weekend, Pope Francis will be visiting New York City and Philadelphia this week, with all of the major shipping companies planning to shut down deliveries in select areas during his visit. UPS, FedEX, and USPS will all be following security protocols that will delay package deliveries in the following ZIP codes:
New York City: 10001, 10007, 10017, 10021, 10022, 10023, 10029
Philadelphia: 19102, 19103, 19104, 19106, 19107, 19109, 19123, 19130, 19146, 19147
Package pick ups and deliveries will be unavailable in areas of New York City on Thursday and Friday, and in areas of Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday. With Saturday delivery available, many who are not able to get their phones on Friday may be able to have them delivered on Saturday instead, and both UPS and FedEX may allow customers to route packages to an area where deliveries are available.
For customers outside of New York and Philadelphia, the first iPhone 6s and 6s Plus pre-order shipments will be arriving on Friday, September 25.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
T-Mobile Offering iPhone 6s Starting at $5/Month With iPhone 6 Trade In
T-Mobile CEO John Legere has announced on Twitter that it will offer the iPhone 6s for $5 per month through JUMP! On Demand with an iPhone 6 trade in, or $10 per month with an iPhone 5s trade in. The exact monthly payment will range between $5 and $15 per month depending on both the iPhone model you purchase and trade in.
If you do not want to trade in your current iPhone, T-Mobile has a JUMP! On Demand promotion that offers the 16GB iPhone 6s for $20 per month for 18 months with zero dollars paid upfront, totaling $360 under the agreement the device is returned in good condition. To keep the iPhone, you must pay an additional $164, bringing the total cost to $524 — a savings of $125 and the best deal for those willing to join T-Mobile.
6/ YES – you read it right! Trade-in an iPhone6 & get a new #iPhone6s for $5/mth or trade-in your iPhone5s & get a new one for $10/mth!
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) September 22, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsT-Mobile will begin selling the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus on September 25. The smartphones will support T-Mobile’s Extended Range LTE on the 700MHz spectrum, which extends the network’s LTE signal twice as far from its cellular towers and works four times better in buildings. T-Mobile Extended Range LTE is live in 170 markets and covers more than half of the American population.
Google updates its Clock app with new alarm features for smartphones and smartwatches
Google today has updated it Clock app for Android with an array of new features. The update should be hitting your Android device soon, if it hasn’t already.
Google’s Clock app is one of the better clocks on the Play Store, and today it’s getting even better in the alarm clock department for smartphones. There’s been a few additions to the application for Android Wear, too.
Here’s the full changelog outlined by Google:
- Gradually increasing volume for alarms and timers
- Choose your favorite timer ringtone
- Preemptively dismiss alarms within the Clock app
- Control timers from a notification
- Easier alarm and timer management on Android Wear
- Interactive alarm notifications on Android Wear
Anyone get the update yet? Be sure to let us know what you like and dislike in the comments below!
source: Google (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Google updates its Clock app with new alarm features for smartphones and smartwatches
Google Nexus smartphone retail boxes leak, confirms Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P naming convention
We’ve seen plenty of leaks leading up to Google’s September 29 event, and as such, we know almost every detail about Google’s upcoming Nexus handsets. An earlier rumor indicated that they would be called the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, and now images coming by way of Android Police offer concrete evidence of the purported model names.
The Nexus 5X box is pictured above and the Nexus 6P box below. Interestingly, the Nexus 5X box takes on more of a square design while the corners are rounded on the Neuxs 6P box. You can see the Nexus logo on bottom right of both boxes along with the model name and storage size on the top left of each.
Google’s expected to announce the two devices at its September 29 event, along with some other goodies. Suffice to say, we’ll only see more concrete leaks from hear on out, as Android fans all around are excited to see what’s next from Google.
Interestingly, the Huawei Nexus 6P will allegedly be the first Nexus device to sport 128GB of internal storage, but as a caveat, it’s said the device won’t sport a microSD card.
Which Nexus device are you planning on getting come launch day?
source: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Google Nexus smartphone retail boxes leak, confirms Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P naming convention
EA’s FIFA 16 Ultimate Team now available in the Google Play Store
It’s been a long time coming, but EA has finally released its latest soccer game, FIFA 16 Ultimate Team, to the Google Play Store. First announced a few months ago, the new title aims to bring a console-like experience to mobile devices.
In the game, you’ll be able to build and manage your own team with the players you want. You can choose from over 10,000 players from over 500 licensed teams. Once your team is built, you can play against the best FIFA soccer teams in quick matches and tournaments. You’ll even be able to recreate challenges from current live-event soccer matches with a feature called Dynamic Accomplishments.
Related: E3 2015 demo: EA Sports’ FIFA takes the console experience to your phone
We were lucky enough to go hands on with the game back at E3 2015 in June. In our short time with it, we found that the graphics are just about as good as they can get when it comes to mobile games. It’s optimized and built from the ground up to be played on smaller displays, but will also look really great when played on a tablet. The joystick and buttons are large and pretty easy to find. Just like most other soccer titles, simple swipes can be used to pass and shoot the ball, or you can tap on another player to pass the ball to him.
Be sure to check out our full hands-on demo with the game below:
One thing to note is that this game features some great graphics, so it may not perform extremely well on all devices. The developer says it works well on more recent Android devices like the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, HTC One M8, Galaxy S6, etc. You’ll also need a massive 1.4GB of free storage space to download it.
FIFA 16 Ultimate Team is now available from the Play Store for free with optional in-app purchases. These will allow you to purchase in-game currency to help speed up your progress, but these aren’t necessary to get the full FIFA experience.
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