Ventev powercell 6000c Battery Charger review
The market is crowded with low cost battery banks and chances are you have already owned a few. As mobile enthusiasts, it seems that manufacturers always mange to outpace battery technology by designing faster and more power hungry mobile phones and devices. That, and the fact that we are all using mobile devices more hours than ever before. But really, do I need to come up with a reason you need help to get you through a single day?
The Ventev powercell 6000c is a cool looking, solid battery bank. It fits well in the hand and is primarily made of nice metal that doesn’t show fingerprints. The color also nicely matches the rest of the unit. The LED charge indicator across the top is perfectly functional and provides an at-a-glance view of remaining charge.
Key specifications:
- Can charge 2 devices at once
- Built in durable micro USB cable plus standard USB type A port
- Micro USB charges at 2.1 A and USB at 1A
- 6000 mAh capacity
The durable non-removable micro USB cable is rubbery and just the right length to reach a phone without leaving slack. The cable fits snuggly back into the powercell just enough so that it will not fall out. The other side has the micro USB port for charging the battery as well as a USB A port for charging whatever else you might have. Indeed, you can plug in a second device to charge at the same time.
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During my testing the unit functioned well and exactly as expected. During charging and discharging it never smelled odd or got warm to the touch. I found that even with my old Nexus 4’s battery, this was a welcome companion that can get me through the heaviest two days of usage I could throw at it. I really liked having the integrated microUSB cable; I couldn’t lose it.
At 6,000mAh, this is enough to charge most of today’s flagship and larger smartphones two times over. Older models and those with smaller capacities may get a third charge out of the unit before having to replenish.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed using the Ventev powercell for this review. If you are in the market for an aesthetically pleasing, well-built power bank in the 6,000mAh range than this will serve you well. When shopping around for this unit, you will find cheaper products that have higher capacities, cooler power gauges, flashy colors, and other features you probably don’t need. In essence, you are paying for the build quality for this powercell. Like everything else we’ve seen from them, Ventev’s is a no-frills solution that delivers on its promises.
Where to buy
As of today you can pick up the Ventev powercell 6000c direct from the manufacturer’s website for $70. Newegg also offers the device for roughly the same price.
The post Ventev powercell 6000c Battery Charger review appeared first on AndroidGuys.
T-Mobile’s BOGO promotion is one of its biggest sales ever
Are you looking for a new smartphone? Could someone else on your plan use an upgrade? If so, T-Mobile is going to save you a ton of money. For a limited time you can walk into a T-Mobile store and pick up a flagship phone from LG, Samsung, or Apple for half off.
Here are the details. You must purchase one phone at a full price, and the second phone must be from the same manufacturer. For example, if you want to pick up a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, your second phone must be a Samsung phone and equal or less value. Pretty simple, right? In that scenario, you can get a Samsung Galaxy S6 for about $12 a month, and over 24 months that’s a $290 savings. If you want to grab two LG V10’s, your second phone will only be $12.50 a month and save you $300 off the purchase price.
This deal is NOT limited to just new customers. Current customers are eligible for the deal, and even though you can trade in your phone for a discount, you don’t have to. T-Mobile doesn’t give the best value for phone trades so you can easily sell it for more on sites like Swappa. Depending on what type of phone you currently have, you could sell it and end up making enough to pay off your phone you just got for half price.
Click here for the top 10 Android phones on T-Mobile
T-Mobile says they’re offering this sale because up to 70% of people don’t upgrade when they can due to price or upgrade restrictions. This leaves many teenagers with hand-me-down phones. Their motivations may not be all that altruistic, but this is a great deal to get your kids a phone. For a family of four, walking in and getting the entire family phones means you’re going to end up with four phones for the price of three. You can’t beat free.
The deal starts today, January 27, and T-Mobile hasn’t stated when it will end. Both family and business accounts on T-Mobile’s Simple Choice plans qualify for the promotion, and you can get up to six half-priced phones. The available models are the Apple iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 5 and the LG G4 and V10. You can read here why we here at AndroidGuys think the V10 is one of the best phones of 2015.
Source: T-Mobile
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ExxonMobil to Support Apple Pay at Gas Pump in Speedpass+ App
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed during the company’s first quarter earnings conference call that ExxonMobil will be rolling out Apple Pay support in its Speedpass+ app to conveniently pay at the pump with your iPhone.
Speedpass+ is currently supported at ExxonMobil gas stations in Salt Lake City, Houston, Charlottesville, Philadelphia and Nashville. The app supports all major credit cards and select debit cards, and it can also link with your personal checking account.
Most ExxonMobil gas stations across the U.S. are also equipped with Speedpass technology at the pump for RFID payments, and it is possible that Apple Pay support with an iPhone or Apple Watch could be introduced in the future.
Petro-Canada gas pump with NFC payment terminal for Visa and MasterCard
Last year, rival gas station Chevron launched an Apple Pay pilot program in the Bay Area that allows customers to pay for their gasoline directly at the pump by tapping their iPhone, or an Apple Watch paired with an iPhone 5 or newer.
ExxonMobil also operates gas stations in multiple countries outside the U.S. under its Esso brand, including Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and many are equipped with NFC readers that are compatible with contactless payment solutions such as Apple Pay, MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave.
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T-Mobile Offering ‘Buy One, Get One 50% Off’ on iPhone 6 or Later
T-Mobile has announced a new BOGO promotion that offers qualifying Simple Choice customers half off all iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, or any iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with the purchase of another iPhone of equal or greater value. The savings are applied instantly at the point of sale.
Eligible devices can be purchased for full retail price, or through T-Mobile’s Jump financing program, and smartphone trade-in is required. T-Mobile continues to offer up to $650 towards a balance owing or to pay off early termination fees to new customers that switch to the carrier.
The limited time offer is available in the U.S. at T-Mobile stores nationwide starting today, while supplies last, and also applies to Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note5 lineup and LG’s G4 and V10 smartphones. The promotion can also be requested over the phone by calling 1-800-TMOBILE.
Simple Choice customers with approved credit are eligible to purchase up to 12 devices, meaning 6 devices at half off. T-Mobile@Work customers can also take advantage of the offer. The promotion does not allow customers to mix and match iPhones and Android-based smartphones.
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6 phones we look forward to in 2016
Another year brings with it a huge range of new smartphones to look forward to. From top of the line flagships to pleasantly surprising budget offerings, we are sure to see plenty of interesting devices announced throughout 2016, but here’s a short list of 6 handsets that are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Samsung Galaxy S7
It’s impossible not to kick off our rundown with the biggest yearly announcement in the Android hardware world, Samsung’s next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S7. Whether you’re a Samsung fan or not, the unveiling of the S7 is going to set the bar for this year’s flagship smartphones and it will no doubt sell millions of units.
While the latest rumors suggest that Samsung will be sticking with a very similar design for the Galaxy S7 and its curved Edge variant, we are expecting a number of hardware improvements to this year’s phone. Camera technology will likely see another leap forward, with Samsung rumored to either be interested in the 25 megapixel Sony IMX300 sensor or using its own 12MP BRIGHTCELL technology, which features larger pixels for superior light capture. Other tweaks could include a USB-Type C port, a higher quality audio DAC, and a pressure sensitive display, with many more also rumored.
The Galaxy S7 will also be the first smartphone packing Samsung’s Exynos 8890 processor. This will be the first chip to feature four CPU cores designed specifically by Samsung, accompanied by a Mali-T880MP12 for some serious graphics performance and Samsung’s ModAP modem which supports Category 12 LTE speeds and carrier aggregation. With Qualcomm releasing its own Kryo CPU powered Snapdragon 820 around the same time, which is rumored to feature in some Galaxy S7 variants too, we are looking at some major competition between the two SoC designers.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S7 rumor roundup: release date, price, specs, features
Along with hardware, Samsung itself has decided that it needs to focus on improving its software experience in order to differentiate itself from other manufacturers. Practical ideas like Samsung Pay are great for consumers and some other new software features, along with tweaks to TouchWiz, could address some people’s complains about Samsung’s flagship smartphones.
HTC One M10
In contrast to Samsung’s successful Galaxy range, HTC’s One M series has gradually declined in momentum, leaving the Taiwanese company’s smartphone business in a tough spot. The manufacturer clearly needs to switch things up to have a major impact this year and the HTC One M10, or whatever the M9’s successor is called, could just be the smartphone to do it.
There aren’t that many M10 rumors floating around right now, so really almost anything could happen. We are certainly expecting high-end hardware, such as a QHD display, Snapdragon 820 processor and a fingerprint scanner, and hopefully some better camera technology too. While some still love HTC’s familiar design language, it has become increasingly tough for the general consumer to tell each generation apart. Perhaps this flagship range is in need of an aesthetic redesign in order to kick start consumer interest, but only HTC knows how many radical changes it is prepared to make.
The M10 could be the smartphone that reignites HTC’s mobile success or it might be the swansong from a former industry leader. Either way grab the popcorn, it’s going to be interesting.
Huawei P9
Huawei was one of the big movers in 2015, gaining not only a bigger market share in China, but also further expanding its presence in Europe. The company recently announced that its Honor 5X, Mate 8 and a smartwatch will be heading to the US. The next big announcement from Huawei is expected to be its flagship P9 smartphone. If this handset also heads to the US, Huawei will be going right up against the biggest Android brands in every major global market.
The Huawei P9 won’t just be a big deal for the company’s US ambitions though, it’s also a showcase for the best technology that the Chinese brand has to offer. The latest hardware rumors point to a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 3 or 4GB of RAM, and a fingerprint scanner, basically making it a smaller version of the company’s recently released and rather good Mate 8. The smartphone will likely feature the company’s latest in-house Kirin 950 mobile SoC as well.
Although not quite designing its own CPU cores like other mobile SoC designers, Huawei’s custom Kirin chips are helping to keep the company ahead in the cost effective smartphone market and certainly make a statement about competing with household names like Samsung.
See also: Huawei Mate 8 review
According to another rumor, the company may be preparing to release four slight variations on its P9 flagship. Along with the main model, there’s talk about a budget oriented P9lite, a presumably larger P9max and an “enhanced” edition P9, which apparently packs in some additional hardware features, including a deal rear camera and additional RAM. A slide spotted in China suggests that the P9 may arrive in April.
Huawei was a brand to watch in 2015 and no doubt this will remain the case throughout 2016.
BlackBerry mid-ranger
Speaking of more reasonably priced smartphones, BlackBerry CEO John Chen not long ago indicated that the company will release at least one new Android phone in 2016 and he previously mentioned that this may be a mid to high end smartphone.
The phone likely won’t appear until the second half of the year and probably won’t be a budget offering. Instead, BlackBerry may be developing a “super-mid” tier smartphone, which could grab the attention of value seeking customers across the globe. The slow and limited global availability of the Priv has been acknowledged by Chen and might be the biggest complaint that the company will look to address with its next smartphone.
It’s too early to talk about potential hardware specifications, but surely BlackBerry intends to keep its iconic physical keyboard. Chen also recently confirmed that it was continuing to work with Samsung regarding display technology, but didn’t confirm if this partnership would extend to BlackBerry’s next generation smartphones.
Not quite perfect: 7 problems with the BlackBerry Priv and how to fix them
The Priv may not be selling in huge numbers, but it seems to have done well enough to encourage BlackBerry to try its hand at another smartphone or two. With a physical keyboard and some top notch security and productivity features, perhaps BlackBerry’s mid-range smartphone will bring some new supports to the mobile old guard.
Lenovo’s Project Tango
One of the more interesting looking smartphones that we know is on the way is Lenovo’s Project Tango handset, which was confirmed at this year’s CES. While we don’t have the device specifics, Project Tango integration will open up a load of interesting new augmented and virtual reality applications , along with some other truly unique software experiences.
In case you missed it, Project Tango is a Google run platform based around computer vision technologies. The software uses motion tracking from accelerometers and gyroscopes, along with a specialized camera setup to collect 3D information about a space, such as depth and distance. From this data, application developers can do things like overlay augmented information on top of an object within the camera’s field of view or recreate a real space in virtual 3D.
Google has already released two developer kits, one tablet and one smartphone, the latest of which made use of an infra-red depth camera and specialized image processing chips to calculate all of this data. Lenovo’s smartphone will likely be the first consumer product to make use of Google’s technology, which is very exciting indeed.
Lenovo’s Project Tango smartphone is scheduled for release in the summer of 2016.
HTC Nexus?
While we’re on the subject of slightly more out their ideas, we have heard rumors about not one, but two Nexus smartphones that might be manufactured by HTC later this year. Given HTC’s rather poor smartphone performance sales lately, a couple of Nexus branded smartphones might give the company a sorely needed revenue boost as well as some extra global brand exposure.
The only hardware rumors that we have right now are that there might be two variants, one low and one high cost, with 5-inch and 5.5-inch display sizes respectively. This would follow in Google’s 2015 Nexus strategy of releasing two Nexus smartphones at different price points.
However, the HTC designed Nexus 9 seems to have been a bit hit and miss with consumers last year, as were its smartphones. This especially applies when it comes to camera quality verses the recently Nexus releases, which boast some of the best image sensors in the business. This rumor could go two ways, some input from Google combined with HTC’s eye for design could produce some wonderfully well put together Nexus phones. However if HTC can’t revive itself with the One M10, does Google really want a company that looks to be on the way out designing this year’s Nexus handset?
2015 saw some excellent smartphones, but we have high hopes for even better models this year.
Of course, this barely scratches the surface of the major releases heading our way this year, and there is plenty more to be excited about. Will the LG G5 surpass the Galaxy S7, can the Mi5 boost Xiaomi to topple some of the big players, or perhaps the OnePlus 3 will finally see the little company breakout into mainstream success?
What devices are you most looking forward to this year?
Apple’s Safari browser is broken
iOS and OS X users around the world are experiencing serious issues with Apple’s Safari. Many are reporting that typing into the browser’s search box crashes the browser instantly. The issue was highlighted by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who worked out it has something to do with Apple’s search suggestions feature. It seems likely a server somewhere is down and that’s ruining things for people. Problems have been reported over three continents, and we’ve confirmed the bug ourselves.
Merely tapping the address bar on iOS 9.x crashes Safari right now
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) January 27, 2016
Although Apple has yet to solve the issue, there is a simple fix: head to the relevant menu and turn off “Safari Suggestions.” In iOS, that’s within the main Settings page under Safari. In OS X, open the app, head to Preferences, and then to the Search tab. If that sounds like too much work, you could always just install another browser like Chrome.
There’s no word on when Apple will fix things — the company hasn’t acknowledged there’s a problem yet. We’ve reached out for more information on the bug and will update you once we hear back.
Update 9:50AM ET: Still no word from Apple, but it appears the crashing is fixed for some people that were previously affected. Hopefully everything will be in working order soon.
Source: Steve Troughton-Smith
VAIO’s new laptops look a lot like the old ones
Sony stopped selling laptops two years ago, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at the latest VAIOs. Though the company’s PC line has new ownership, the machines’ design and even naming convention remain the same as when Sony was in charge. Case in point: The VAIO Z and S, both of which are arriving in the US soon, and which attempt to fill the holes left by Sony’s earlier VAIO Z and S laptops. As ever, the Z is a halo product, one that puts an emphasis on both thinness and performance. All told, it weighs just 2.9 pounds — not bad considering it packs both a 13-inch 2,560 x 1,440 touchscreen and a 28-watt Core i5 or i7 processor.
Unlike other modern Windows 10 machines, which use a 360-degree hinge to flip the touchscreen back into tablet mode, the Z has a release that allows the screen to flip over the underlying panel — a design we first saw on Sony’s VAIO Flip series from three years ago. To accommodate that hinge, touchscreen and heavier-duty processor inside such a svelte frame, VAIO used a custom, shrunken-down motherboard that makes room for a bigger battery and fans. Speaking of the sort, the Z is said to last 11.5 hours on a charge. It also makes room for 8GB or 16GB of RAM and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD.
On the outside, the design looks quite familiar, with a monochrome aluminum chassis, carbon fiber bottom and a keyboard layout that looks a lot like what Sony used to offer. The designers used Sony’s own audio technology too. Heck, even the signature metal VAIO logo and glowing green, side-mounted power button are the same. This time, though, the keyboard has an anti-smudge coating, and the touchpad is crafted from a tough mica stone. The screen also supports pen input, with the same pressure-sensitive pen used on VAIO’s “Canvas” Surface Pro competitor.
The Z series will arrive in the US in early February starting at $1,799 with a Core i5 processor. There will also be a lighter, 2.58-pound variant that makes do with a lower-res, 1080p non-touch panel. In exchange, you get not just a lighter design and lower price, but longer battery life: 15.5 hours. Other than that, the internals are the same, as is the design. That version starts at $1,499.
The S series, meanwhile, remains what it always was: more of a mainstream machine, at a more affordable price. Starting at $1,099, you get a 13-inch, Full HD screen, 15-watt Core i-series processors, nine-hour battery, 8GB of RAM, up to a 256GB PCIe SSD and a lot of ports. So many ports. The list includes three USB 3.0 connections, HDMI-out and even RGB. If that’s your thing, the S series will arrive here in the states in early March, about a month after the higher-end Z.
ICYMI: UAV for land and sea, Boeing’s super rocket and more
Today on In Case You Missed It: The Drones For Good competition turned out a dual-purpose drone submission for use in search and rescue operations. The Loon Copter can both fly through the air and dive underwater — a useful trait for evading other bad guy drones in any upcoming spy movies, we’re certain.
Boeing is making progress on what will be most world’s most powerful rocket. It’s building the Space Launch System for NASA with the eventual goal of it bringing astronauts to Mars.
Evil little firestarters are going to have a harder time burning down their house if the new Plumis Automist fire sprinkler system gains popularity. It can detect hot spots with an infrared camera and targets any fires with a fine water mist. No word on what happens to the wildin’ out home chefs with kitchen torches for their special crème brûlée. But we’ll hope for the best.
Finally we had some fun with the Face Swap Live app and hope you do, too. Please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Lyft will pay $12.25 million to settle drivers’ lawsuit in CA
One company is done battling a gig economy-related lawsuit, at least in California. Lyft has agreed to grant its drivers more workplace protection and to pay $12.5 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit. The California drivers who filed the lawsuit against the company wanted to be reclassified as employees in order to receive minimum wage and benefits, as well as to get Lyft to pay for their gas and vehicle maintenance. While they’ve unfortunately failed to get their status changed — they’re still considered contractors — drivers in the state will get part of the settlement fund based on the hours they’ve put into working for the company.
Lyft also can’t drop drivers whenever it wants. The company can only terminate someone based on a number of predetermined reasons, such as low passenger ratings. Even then, the driver will be given the chance to air their side of the story. Finally, drivers who consistently get high ratings and who passengers pinpoint as their favorites will be rewarded with bonuses.
Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson told Reuters that while Lyft is losing millions, it still got off “fairly lightly.” Reclassifying drivers as employees, he said, would have cost the company much, much more. Uber wasn’t able to prevent a similar case from becoming a full-fledged class action lawsuit, but this proves it’s possible to settle with the plaintiffs without changing how the company operates.
[Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
Can drone racing become as big as eSports?
Is drone racing the sport of the future? That’s certainly what the Drone Racing League, and a growing number of followers, sponsors and event holders seem to think. Taking a page from competitive gaming, quadcopter racing pilots are self organizing into leagues (there’s also the Aerial Sports League, and Drone Worlds among others) and growing their competitions into a fully-fledged spectator sport. At least that’s the hope.
It makes sense, too. After all, race anything and it’s almost already a sport — add in potential for crashes, and dizzying, breakneck aerial turns and you’ve got a potential crowd-pleasing recipe. The FPV component (where pilots wear video goggles to see the quadcopter’s “first person view”) only serves to make the race more interesting. Not least because spectators can choose between watching the race itself, or seeing what their favorite pilot is seeing, live as they fly, in their own goggles. The difference between what the pilots are seeing, and how the spectators see them (usually a few guys with goggles, sat quietly on a bench) adds an inexplicably compelling component to live proceedings.
While small quadcopters might not have the deafening engines, or intoxicating smell of gas that lure so many to motorsport, it does have a few tricks that might entice audiences. One being that races can take place almost anywhere. Not just in a stadium, but through it, down the halls, up the stairs, past the hotdog cart and back into the main arena — in three dimensions. Also, there’s a big mental difference between pushing a multi-million dollar car around a hairpin bend, and shooting an inexpensive racing quadcopter through a tiny window frame. That’s to say, reckless moves and exciting crashes are plentiful.
The DRL claims it has six races coming up this year, with the first one taking place next month in Miami’s Sun Life Stadium, and will pit pilots against each other as they jostle towards the final, and ultimately the crown of world champion. Meanwhile, Drone Worlds in October condenses its World Championships into one week of events. The pilots involved go by names that sound like ’90s chatroom nicks: M0ke, Rekrek, Ummagawd and Kittycopter etc.. It’s clearly a fledgling sport eager to establish identity.
Racing drones isn’t new. Last year’s Drone Nationals successfully brought many smaller charters together. As for the DRL, it was set up last year. While it’s been around for a while, 2016 seems to be the year that drone kit has finally reached a stage that makes racing fast, smooth, and ultimately more presentable as a sport suitable to professional ambitions. Will there be stadiums full of baying fans like a football game, or the bigger eSports events? Possibly not, but that’s not the point. A modern sport panders to a modern viewer. Streams from races can regularly be viewed online, or through a fan’s own video goggles, for that real “in the cockpit” experience.
There will be some who are quick to call this the next Battlebots. Or slot car racing for the connected generation, but then the online critics have a history of not taking things seriously, until, of course, the money starts to flow. The sport’s challenge is to follow gaming’s lead, and secure itself some serious prize money. Drone Worlds is offering a $200,000 total kitty for its October Championships in Hawaii. If the DRL can reach similar numbers on a regular basis, no amount of nay-saying will matter. For now, all eyes are on that first race in Miami. Until then, settle for the season teaser above.
Source: Drone Racing League
AIVAnet 