Subscriptioned to death! | Podcast 041
Joe Hindy and Jonathan Feist get together this week with Josh to talk about the topics of the week, but there weren’t too many things to talk about during another slow news week. With the holiday season fast approaching, the guys talk about Black Friday one more time, pondering what items they might want to get if they got out of the house to actually battle the crowds (Joe has already decided that he won’t).
But after a few check-ins and some talk about Josh’s experience appearing on TWiT’s All About Android, the gang checks on their subscription services and risks realizing just how much money they’re burning on what has become a micro-payment, subscription-based world. Join us for a really chill but enjoyable episode of the Android Authority Podcast!
Also, this week we will be getting together for a special Thanksgiving episode – so stay tuned!
The Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every week.
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Andrew Grush
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Nirave Gondhia
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Recorded on November 20th, 2015 – Hosted and Produced by Joshua Vergara
10 best cloud storage apps for Android
We’re quickly moving into an era where cloud storage is going to be a must have service for everyone. It’s efficient, doesn’t take up your storage, and it’s far more convenient than carrying a hard drive around everywhere. You can get ahead of the curve with these awesome cloud storage apps for Android! You might also like:
- The best Android productivity apps to get more work done!
- The best file manager apps to keep your internal storage in check!
Amazon Cloud Drive
[Price: Free app, $12/year, $60/year]
Amazon Cloud Drive is a good start for anyone who uses Amazon Prime. Those with Amazon Prime will already get 5GB of free storage along with unlimited backup for photos and videos. You can upgrade to unlimited storage for about $60 per year. You can also use it if you don’t have Amazon Prime but the 5GB of storage and unlimited photo backup will run you $12/year. The app is a bit buggy at times, but it works well enough and you can access your files online anytime.
Get it now on Google Play!
Box
[Price: Free, $5/month, $10/month, and $15/month options + enterprise options]
Box.com is an up and comer in the cloud storage world and many apps already include Box integration for users. New users can sign up for personal accounts for free and get 10GB of free storage while $10/month gets you 100GB. Business prices range from $5-$15/month and include far more features. The app works pretty well and it puts an emphasis on simplicity and organization.
Get it now on Google Play!
Copy
[Price: Free / $4.99/month, $9.99/month + enterprise options]
Copy is a lesser known cloud storage site that gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Users get 15GB of free cloud storage just for signing up and you can upgrade to 250GB ($4.99/month) or 1TB ($9.99/month) as your needs require. There are also enterprise options through their sister site, called Cude Drive. The app is decent and uses some basic Holo/Material Design elements. It can be buggy for some but the general consensus is that it works well.
Get it now on Google Play!
Cubby
[Price: Free, large variety of paid options ranging from 100GB to 200TB (enterprise only)]
Cubby is another lesser known option that could be good if your storage needs are simple. What makes Cubby so special are its intense list of very customizable plans. Users can get 5GB of free storage anytime, but personal accounts can get anywhere (literally) from 100GB to 2.5TB extra for between $3.99 and $99.75/month. Enterprise users can get five users on 1TB for $39.99 up to 1000 users sharing 200TB of storage with plenty of options between. The app is solid, even if the interface is a tad antiquated. It works well enough for most people and this is a service to look into if you need a really specific amount of storage.
Get it now on Google Play!
Dropbox
[Price: Free, $9.99/month, $15/month, $75/month + enterprise options]
Everybody knows about Dropbox and there’s a good chance that some of you have this app pre-installed on your devices already. For normal users, you get 2GB of free cloud storage when you sign up with an option to upgrade to 1TB for $9.99/month. Businesses can get unlimited storage for about $15/month per person while enterprise users will have to contact Dropbox. The app comes with auto-photo upload, easy sharing options, the latest Android design elements, Microsoft Office support, and the ability to send files to others. It’s a very solid option with more features than most.
Get it now on Google Play!
See also: 15 best Android apps of 2015
Google Drive
[Price: Free, $1.99/month, $9.99/month + business options]
Google Drive is one of the most well-known and popular cloud storage apps available. Users get 15GB free out of the gate with unlimited photo and video backup via Google Photos if they so choose. There is also an assortment of office apps available for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can upgrade to 100GB ($1.99/month) or 1TB ($9.99) for fairly cheap and there are options for businesses as well. Most Android devices have this pre-installed so it’s worth a shake to see if you like it.
Get it now on Google Play!
MediaFire
[Price: Free, $$4.99/month, $49.99/month]
MediaFire started out as a file sharing service but has become a pretty decent cloud storage service in its own right. You can upload whatever you want and the service revolves around sharing and playing with those files in the cloud. Free users get 10GB and you can upgrade to 1TB for $4.99 ($3.79/month if you pay annually), and $49.99/month is the going rate for businesses. The app is a bit antiquated and a few users have had some issues, but it seems to work well enough overall.
Get it now on Google Play!
Mega
[Price: Free, 4.99€/month, 9.99€/month, 19.99€/month, 29.99€/month]
Mega is the sequel to the now-defunct Megaupload, a cloud storage service that was taken down by the authorities a couple of years ago. Mega is an up-and-coming service that gives users 50GB for free just for signing up which is easily the largest sign-up bonus we’ve seen. It comes with a range of storage options that span from 200GB to 4TB. The app is quite flashy but there are a few bugs here and there that some people have experienced.
Get it now on Google Play!
Microsoft OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive)
[Price: Free, $1.99/month, $3.99/month + other options]
Microsoft OneDrive is a popular option because it integrates directly with a variety of Windows products. For starters, can get 5GB of free cloud storage and you can upgrade to 100GB for $1.99 or 200GB for $3.99. OneDrive storage is also included in every Office 365 subscription, be it for personal use or for businesses. In most cases, each Office 365 subscriber will get 1TB of storage and access to Microsoft Office. The app follows most of the Android design guidelines and has a decent rating on the Google Play Store. There is also full integration with Microsoft OneNote.
Get it now on Google Play!
Yandex Disk
[Price: Free, $1/month, $2/month, $10/month]
Yandex Disk is a lesser-known but potentially great option. They offer up 10GB of free cloud storage for signing up and you can get 10GB more (total of 20GB) for $1/month or you can add 100GB for $2/month. There is also a “server package” that gives you 1TB for $10/month. The app is also surprisingly good with Material Design elements and one of the few instances where yellow actually works in an application design. There are bugs but most people seem to be happy with this underrated option.
Get it now on Google Play!
Wrap up
If we missed any great cloud storage apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments! If you want to stay up to date on the latest Android apps and games news, you can sign up for our apps newsletter using the form below!
- The best tablet apps that all Android tablet owners should have!
- The best free Android apps!
- Or you can view all of our best app lists here!
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- Android Weekly
- Apps Weekly
Ceramic OnePlus X on its way this Tuesday
The limited-edition Ceramic version of the OnePlus X we got to see last month will be hitting Amazon India Tuesday, according to a recent tweet from the startup company. Only 10,000 of these units will be made, due to the production difficulties of working with this material, It also costs significantly more than the Onyx version, which runs Rs. 16,999 ($256). The Ceramic OnePlus X will cost you Rs. 22,999 ($346).
The OnePlus X is an interesting device with a 5-inch, 1080p AMOLED screen. It’s built from two glass panels held together by a metal frame. These materials give it a distinct heft for such a small device. The OnePlus X supports an extra microSD card and the ability to support dual SIM cards. OnePlus is releasing a line of gorgeous cases ranging from Kevlar to wood to let owners personalize the device a bit.
The Ambient Display feature which is now supported by the device’s Lollipop-based Oxygen OS lets you see your notifications at a glance, and waving your hand over the screen is enough to trigger it. This uses very little battery and is one of the perks of going with an AMOLED device. Oxygen OS offers a very close-to-stock Android experience. The alert slider opposite the volume buttons allows you to quickly adjust what notifications to let through: none, priority, or all.
Under the hood, the device runs a Qualcomm 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 processor. 3 gigs of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage. The main camera is 13MP and the one for selfies is 8MP. This solid range of specs combine with the sturdy physical construction of the device to mean that you could probably enjoy quite a long period of ownership with the OnePlus X.
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Although the Onyx version of the device is fully available, the number of Ceramic versions of the OnePlus X will be globally limited. If you’re looking to grab one of these gems, the time to act is Tuesday.
What do you think? Mouth-watering or meh? Let us know what you think of the OnePlus X Ceramic in the comments!
CBS’ streaming video service comes to Amazon’s Fire TV
Your Fire TV (or Fire TV Stick) just became much more useful as a cord-cutting device… at least, if you watch a lot of CBS shows. The TV network has launched an Amazon-native app for its All Access service, giving your Fire TV the same mix of live and on-demand viewing that CBS is offering on rival set-top boxes. You’re still paying $6 per month and don’t get any hardware-specific features, but look at it this way: you’ll definitely be ready when the new Star Trek series begins streaming in a couple of years.
Source: CBS Interactive
Snapchat’s new feature lets users dive deep into ‘Stories’
Following on a series of recent upgrades and UI improvements, Snapchat began rolling out a new feature for its users on Monday, called Story Explorer. With it, users will be able to more fully examine and interact with the events that they’re most interested in, similar to Twitter Moments. Simply swipe up from the bottom of any curated Story and the app will load up more Snaps relating to it. The new feature is currently only available for New York and Los Angeles Live Stories but the company plans to expand it to other Stories “very soon.”
Source: Snapchat
Your future smartphone’s screen will hardly need any power
As you’re likely all too aware, smartphone screens chew up a lot of power — that’s why turning down your brightness frequently does more to save energy than closing an app. If Bodle Technologies has its way, though, your display will be a virtual non-issue. It’s developing a phase change material that uses virtually no power, but is still sharp, vivid and visible in bright sunlight. While lot about the technology remains a secret, it revolves around sending electrical pulses to flexible, transparent layers.
Via: The Telegraph
Source: Bodle Technologies
T-Mobile is giving the gift of unlimited data to all Simple Choice postpaid customers
T-Mobile has been really nice to its customers lately. Not too long ago the carrier announced Binge On, a video streaming service that lets customers stream Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go/Now and more for free without taking up any mobile data whatsoever. Now, as part of its Un-carrier Unwrapped holiday promotion, T-Mobile is giving the gift of unlimited data to the majority of its customers. That’s right, if you happen to be an existing Simple Choice postpaid customer, T-Mobile is giving you unlimited 4G LTE data for the next three months. Pretty awesome, right?
From Tuesday, December 1st until March 1st, 2016, you can enjoy free, unlimited 4G LTE data as long as you keep your existing T-Mobile plan with Binge On active. The promotion applies to all personal and business accounts. It should be noted that your unlimited data will only kick in after you eat up all of your existing data and Data Stash pool, so you don’t get to keep your stored data after the unlimited promotion is up. Even so, this is a great deal, and we wish more service providers would offer its customers promos like this.
T-Mobile says we can expect a full month of holiday gift-giving as part of Un-carrier Unwrapped. There will also be a number of discounts on smartphones and tablets starting later this week. For more info, follow the source link attached below.
Contest: Win a Zeblaze Crystal smartwatch from TalkAndroid! (UK-only)
Smartwatches are handy little things, notifying us of messages, calls, appointments and many other things while allowing us to keep our smartphones in our pockets. It’s something that can be extremely handy when in meetings or at the gym. If you don’t already own one, you’ll be glad to find our that we have joined up with the online retailer, Pandawill, to give away a Zeblaze Crystal smartwatch. Join us after the break for details on how to enter the giveaway.
The Zeblaze Crystal smartwatch is compatible with both Android and iOS devices thanks to the FunDoWear app that is available on both the Play Store and the App Store. Besides being platform agnostic, the smartwatch also features the following specifications:
- 1.54-inch display (240 x 240 resolution)
- MediaTek MTK2502 processor
- Heart rate monitor
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Pedometer
- IP65 waterproof, dustproof
- Microphone
- 1W Speaker
- Remote camera
- Weight: 80 grams
- Charging dock and cable
- Genuine 22mm leather strap (plus spare)
Here’s how the contest works:
- Leave a comment below telling us which phone you will pair with the Zeblaze Crystal smart watch if you win. Make sure your account is using a valid email address since that is how you will be contacted.
- Only Comments posted before Sunday, November 29, at 11:59 PM GMT will be eligible
- On Monday, November 30, we will select the winner at random and make contact via email
- Another winner will be selected if we do not hear from you within the 48 hours of being contacted
- Participants must be UK residents
- We will update this post once the winners have been selected, so check back on November 30. Good luck!
If you aren’t the lucky winner, you can always snag the Zeblaze Crystal smartwatch directly from Pandawill for just £44 ($64).
Come comment on this article: Contest: Win a Zeblaze Crystal smartwatch from TalkAndroid! (UK-only)
Satechi Review: Type-C USB Hub is Hit-or-Miss, Smaller Adapter is Reliable
When Apple launched the new 12-inch MacBook earlier this year, some of the first accessories for the laptop — which uses USB Type-C exclusively — were various adapters and dongles that allowed customers to expand the initially limiting capabilities of the hardware with access to traditional USB, HDMI, and SD card ports. Apple itself launched a line of expansion cables for USB Type-C devices, and now third-party accessory company Satechi has its own Type-C line of USB hubs and adapters for customers to choose from.
Satechi’s Type-C USB 3.0 3-in-1 Combo Hub
Satechi sent me two of the company’s new accessories focusing on the connectivity between USB-C devices and more traditional inputs, mainly USB 3.0. One of the accessories is a complex “Hub” ($39.99, on sale for $34.99) with three USB 3.0 ports along with one SD and one microSD card slot, while the other is a simple dongle ($14.99) with a USB-C connector and a traditional USB-A 3.0 port. Each product comes in three different colors to match the shades of the new line of Retina MacBooks: Gunmetal (Space Gray), Gold, and Silver. Because neither dongle offers an additional USB-C port, there’s no passthrough charging feature.
Satechi’s Type-C USB Adapter
Overall, Satechi successfully mirrors Apple’s visual aesthetic with the two accessories, and although I was sent Gold accessories that didn’t exactly mesh well with my Space Gray MacBook, it seems when color-matched the new USB hubs would blend right in with their respective MacBooks.
Apple and Microsoft’s advocacy group is against encryption backdoors
Following Tim Cook’s lead, the advocacy group behind Apple, Google, Microsoft and plenty of other big tech firms has come out against calls to weaken encryption, which authorities argue would make it easier to track criminals. “Weakening encryption or creating backdoors to encrypted devices and data for use by the good guys would actually create vulnerabilities to be exploited by the bad guys,” said Dean Garfield, the CEO of the Information Technology Industry Counsel (ITIC), who also represents Facebook, Twitter and AOL. It “would almost certainly cause serious physical and financial harm across our society and our economy,” he added. The backlash against strong encryption is particularly heated today, following the recent Paris attacks. While secure communications are generally a good thing for consumers, governments (including the US and UK) have argued for backdoors that would allow them to intercept encrypted data. Naturally, that would make life easier for intelligence agencies, but it defeats the point of having encryption at all.
Via: The Guardian
Source: ITIC
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