A few Nexus 6P users have reported spontaneously breaking rear glass panels
Some Nexus 6P users have reported on Reddit and Twitter that the rear glass panel that covers the camera, flash and laser autofocus module of the device spontaneously cracked during normal usage. The users have reported that the panel would just brake on its own, without any impact.
Another user has reported that the front glass panel of his Nexus 6P spontaneously cracked during an airline flight while the device was left untouched. After delaying the shipments of the Nexus 6P to customers, Google and Huawei might have found another way to further irritate their customers, as the Nexus 6P might be suffering from a design flaw. Although there is no certainty that the panels did actually brake on their own, there is no way to be sure that this is a design/technical engineering issue. The Nexus 6P’s body is primarily made out of aluminium, which is prone to expanding and contracting during changes in temperature, humidity and air pressure.
For those who had their glass panels crack spontaneously, the positive side of things is that the repair should be covered under the standard hardware warranty that will get your panel replaced for free.
Let us know if your Nexus 6P front or rear glass panel cracked by itself!
Source: r/Android
Via: Android Police
Come comment on this article: A few Nexus 6P users have reported spontaneously breaking rear glass panels
BlackBerry’s Android phone is coming to Verizon, too
You won’t have to jump to AT&T or get an unlocked phone just to give the BlackBerry Priv a try in the States. Verizon has teased that BlackBerry’s first Android smartphone is “coming soon,” and it’s taking sign-ups if you want to know just when the slider will be available on its network. There’s no mention of a release date or pricing, but AT&T is selling the Priv for $250 on a 2-year contract, or $25 per month on a similarly lengthy installment plan. We’d expect something comparable with Big Red.
Via: 9to5Google
NSA discloses most security flaws, but that’s not the whole story
The National Security Agency is opening up a bit about how it discloses security exploits… though not by much. Officials have posted an infographic boasting that the NSA shares details about 91 percent of the security flaws it finds, with the remaining 9 percent either fixed by vendors first or held back for “national security reasons.” As it argues, it’s in the country’s best interests to protect the internet by “responsibly” letting software developers know about these dangerous bugs. There wouldn’t be much point to holding back on these details if it wrecked the internet, the surveillance outfit says.
Via: Reuters
Source: NSA
Talk Android Apps of the Week: November 8, 2015
It’s Sunday, the time of the week when Talk Android brings you a report on some of the very best applications we’ve been using over the course of the past seven days. Today we’re focusing our attention on a fantastic Trivia game, a gorgeous live wallpaper, a great third-party keyboard and a stunning icon pack.
QuizUp
If you’re a fan of Trivia, then you’re going to love the first application we’re showcasing this week. QuizUp is a unique head-to-head question and answer game, which enables you to not only compete with your family and friends worldwide, but with millions of other registered players, too.
What makes this title stand out from the crowd is its wide range of topics. Whether you’re a lover of the hit TV show The Big Bang Theory or a quantum physics major, there’s a set of questions and an opponent out there just waiting for you to play against. It’s pretty rare that you’ll search for a subject with no results.
Compared to other mobile trivia games I’ve played, QuizUp proved to be the most enjoyable. Having the facility to message other players and add them to your friends list, means that you have the tools to build and communicate with a community of people who share the same interests as you all around the world.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Forest Live Wallpaper
We’ve never featured a live wallpaper in our Apps of the Week column before, but this one is just too good not to. Forest Live Wallpaper is a contemporary Material Design abstract background illustrating a selection of animated trees blowing in the wind, and a sky that changes throughout the day.
Ever since I made the switch from iOS to Android, I’ve been a huge fan of live wallpapers and have tried many of the greatest offerings on the market, but Forest is by far the most customizable. My favorite feature is the recently-implemented day/night cycle, which lets you set the scene to reflect the current time of day and weather in your location.
Fleksy
Truth be told, I’m addicted to third-party keyboards. I’m always sifting through the Play Store looking for new submissions, but for some reason I always find myself switching right back to Fleksy, which is probably due to its abundance of useful functionality and great looks.
When you first download Fleksy, you’ll find it a pain to use. There’s no spacing between keys and it’s pretty hard to navigate, but as time goes by you’ll get more familiar and be spewing out more words per second than you ever imagined.
Personally, I love having the facility to install extensions for my keyboard. Whether you’re after a fully-fledged GIF keyboard or would like a calculator shortcut next to the spacebar, there’s an extension to suit your needs.
Materialistik
Last up this week we have Materialistik, which is a gorgeous icon pack for anyone who uses one of the 28 most popular launchers available, like, for example, Nova, Apex and Trebuchet. In total, the theme currently consists of over 2,850 High Definition icons, including Facebook, Twitter, Falcon, SoundCloud, Spotify, Instagram, Skype and YouTube.
The process for installing an icon pack is a little different to a standard application, but it’s still incredibly easy. Here’s what you need to do:
- Install one of the 28 compatible launchers. A list of all of them can be seen below.
- Purchase Materialistik from the Play Store and download it.
- Navigate into your launcher’s theme settings, select Materialistik , then tap the apply button.
Previous Apps of the Week editions:
Come comment on this article: Talk Android Apps of the Week: November 8, 2015
5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly! Yes, we’re giving Sunday a shot. Here’s hoping you like it!
Sponsored by Jump’n’Roll Eyeball
[Price: Free / $1.99]
This week’s episode of Android Apps Weekly is sponsored by Jump’n’Roll Eyeball. This is a 2D, side-scrolling platformer where you play as a giant eye with legs. Your goal is to maneuver obstacles and avoid danger to complete the levels. The game play is simple to learn but challenging to master as you’ll be both jumping and rolling a whole bunch.
Despite its simple look, the game can be quite difficult at times. It also comes with Google Play Games leaderboards so you can keep track of who has done it best. It’s a great little time waster and it’s free to download with a single $1.99 in-app purchase to remove ads. Give it a shot and show your support for Android Apps Weekly.
Get it now on Google Play!
Let’s get to those headlines!
- Facebook has mandated that many of their employees must switch to using Android devices over their iPhones. The idea behind the switch is so more of them understand what the Android experience is like. Here’s hoping their batteries die as quickly as ours when using Facebook and the app gets some much needed improvements.
- Scott Games has announced that there will be another Five Nights at Freddy’s game except this one will be an RPG. A trailer has been put out but otherwise not a lot of details are available right now. There’s no time frame on release yet but there will be a free demo to play eventually.
- In a surprising move. Activision has purchased King, developers of Candy Crush Saga, for $5.9 billion. We’re not entirely sure why but this gives Activision a gigantic mobile presence that it did not previously have. For now, everything’s going to stay the same but expect to see some stuff next year as a result of this.
- The latest Humble Bundle is now live! It currently includes six games with a seventh coming soon. Some of the games include Ys Chronicles 1, Block Legends, Rocket ROBO, and more. You can pay $1 and get three games or pay the average and get everything. Give it a shot and don’t forget to give to charity!
- Microsoft made a lot of people angry this week with some unsavory changes to their OneDrive policies. Free storage has been dropped to 5GB and unlimited storage is gone. This is due to people backing up their pirated movie collections and using way too much space.
For even more Android apps and games news, updates, and new releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter. There we’ll have all the extra stuff we didn’t have time for this week! If you would like, you can sign up with your email address and we’ll send the newsletter to your inbox once per week!
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- Android Weekly
- Apps Weekly
Custom Quick Settings
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
First up this week is Custom Quick Settings. This is an app for Marshmallow users that allows you to create custom tiles in your Quick Settings menu. One of the lesser documented features of Marshmallow is the ability to do exactly this and the developer has put together this nifty app to make it easier for everyone. It’s free to download and it does not require root.
Get it now on Google Play!
Dead Effect 2
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Dead Effect was one of the most popular first-person shooters on Android a long time ago. Now its successor has arrived on the Google Play Store. It’s a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic shooter complete with horrific beasts, zombie-type monsters, and plenty of things for you to shoot and kill. The graphics are pretty good and the mechanics seem to be solid for a touch screen shooter. It’s free to download with in-app purchases, just be careful of those early bugs!
Get it now on Google Play!
Beats Pill+
[Price: Free]
Oh boy, here we go again. Apple has released their second application in as many months. This one is called Beats Pill+ and it’s a simple application that can be used by Android owners to control their Beats Pill speakers. Like the last Apple application, it seems to work well and do its job but the Android community’s louder members wanted to let Apple have it yet again. For what it’s worth, the app is free.
Get it now on Google Play!
Fallout Pip-Boy
[Price: Free]
The long-awaited companion app from Bethesda called Fallout Pip-Boy has been released to the Play Store. In a show of good sportsmanship, the company released the app to everyone, even if you didn’t pick up the optional armband. The app itself lets you interact with your Fallout 4 game and check out stuff like stats, inventory, map, radio, and there are even some mini-games. It’s free and if you’re getting Fallout 4, you should definitely have this.
Get it now on Google Play!
Signal Private Messenger
[Price: Free]
Last and certainly not least this week is Signal. This app gained quite the following after Edward Snowden put his official endorsement into the application. It’s a messaging app with a plethora of security and encryption features to help keep those prying eyes away from your messages. It’s completely open source which is good and includes group chatting, phone calls, and more. If you want security, give this a shot.
Get it now on Google Play!
Wrap up
If we missed any great news from the Android apps and games scene, tell us about it in the comments!
Android 6.0 update reaches the HTC One M8 Google Play Edition
So far, there have been only a select few that have been able to update to Android 6.0. These include the HTC One A9 and Google’s Nexus devices. However, HTC is adding to that list with the extension of the HTC M8 Google Play Edition.
This past week, HTC begun pushing out the Android 6.0 update to its M8 Google Play Edition, not to be confused with the standard HTC One M8. This is due to the lack of HTC’s pre-loaded skin called Sense. This makes it easier to push out the update because it’s handled by Google. The update comes in at around 450MB in size and requires users to have at least 50% battery life prior to installing. It’s also recommended to connect your M8 Google Play Edition to a Wi-Fi network to avoid a high data consumption.
We should see Android 6.0 hitting many high-end devices across many manufacturers in the coming months. We’ll let you know as soon as we can when we’re provided with the details.
Source: GSMArena
Come comment on this article: Android 6.0 update reaches the HTC One M8 Google Play Edition
Those who pre-ordered the BlackBerry Priv will receive a bonus case and car charger
For those of you who wanted a taste of BlackBerry Android, it might be your lucky day.
CrackBerry stated that all who pre-ordered the BlackBerry Priv handset will receive a bonus, free of charge, case and car charger with their purchase. If you haven’t already, you should receive an email if you pre-ordered the Android flavored handset that your device is shipping soon. Some orders have been backtracked a little, but BlackBerry promises it won’t be too long before you get your hands on the new device.
The BlackBerry Priv has been one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2015, let’s just see if it lives up to our expectations. With the addition of the free accessories, it has sweetened the deal for those who pre-ordered. Has your Priv arrived yet? Let us know in the comments below.
Via: CrackBerry
Come comment on this article: Those who pre-ordered the BlackBerry Priv will receive a bonus case and car charger
UK wants all residents to have access to broadband by 2020
The UK certainly has fast broadband access in some places, but ubiquitous access? Not so much. However, that might change if the British government has its way. It’s developing a Universal Service Obligation that, by 2020, would give all residents the right to request at least a 10Mbps internet connection — providers would have to connect you, even if you live in a remote village. Consultations for the plan won’t even start until early 2016, but the hope is to eventually make broadband a basic utility like electricity or water.
Via: BBC
Source: Gov.uk
Kirin 950 gets benchmarked, shows off major improvements in GPU
The newly introduced Kirin 950 processor shows off a major improvement in GPU. Here are the results from the chipset’s benchmark results.
The benchmark reveals a significant improvement over the past generation Kirin 935. The new Kirin 950 beats out the Kirin 935 in just about every aspect. However, the new Mali T-880 graphics chipset drastically outperforms the older Mali 628, which can be found in many current Huawei models such as the Mate S. The T-880 was able to out perform the GPU of the older by doubling the frame rate and Gflops. This should make for a much better gaming experience on devices coming up with the included processor, and we can’t wait to test them.
The new four-core 2.53GHz Cortex-A72 brings increased power and speed to the Kirin 950 for a better multitasking experience. The additional four 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 cores will focus on maximizing performance for your basic everyday tasks. We should see the new processor in many Huawei models coming up and it should provide the boost in performance many users have been looking for. 
Source: Xiaomi Today
Come comment on this article: Kirin 950 gets benchmarked, shows off major improvements in GPU
The After Math: Pop culture phenoms
Quentin Tarantino is taking some serious flack this week for his comments on the #BlackLivesMatter debate. As such, we’re taking a look at some other franchises that are sure to get your geek blood pumping harder than the first time you listened to Gangnam Style. Here are the numbers you deserve, not the numbers you need right now.
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AIVAnet 