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9
Feb

Paint the town with Splash Cars on Android


Splash-Cars-Game (1)

Craneballs studios is following up their massively popular Overkill series with a quirky driving game. Splash Cars is something of a departure for this game development company, which is more well known for its action games like those in the Gun Master series. However, although Splash Cars starts out relaxing, upgrades and more challenging maps quickly escalate it into a twitch-happy whirlwind of frenetic, paint-splattered action.

You are… meh, it doesn’t really matter who you are. You’ve got a car, and you’re in a drab, boring neighborhood, and you’ve had enough of the pace of life around here. From the first tap, you slam your foot on the petal and never look back. As you cruise recklessly around the neighborhood, magic paint of some kind splashes in your wake, returning the grey landscape and pallid houses to their original vibrancy.

Splash-Cars-Game-3

But, there are those who would consider such behavior dangerously non-conformist. Swing close enough to a cop, and they’ll engage in full pursuit. These officers of the law have been educated at the Los Santos Police Department Training Academy, so the only course of action they know to take when they witness someone committing a minor infraction is to ram their vehicles into the offender until it is completely destroyed.


Android Action GamesSee also: 10 best action games for Android!18

What’s worse is that trundling dump trucks putter in and out of the map, spreading boring grey paint over your hard-won territory. However, if you can get close enough to splatter one of these foes, they’ll start seeing things your way and begin spreading your gospel of polychromatism for you.

Splash-Cars-Game-4 (1)

The controls are deceptively simple. There is a turn left button and a turn right button. That’s it. No breaks, no slowing down – your character has his foot on the accelerator until the vehicle runs out of gas or is destroyed. Fortunately, there are jerry cans of gasoline scattered about most maps, giving you precious additional energy to continue your paint slinging. Collect coins and buy new vehicles and upgrades to face the challenges of increasingly dense and complex maps.

Splash-Cars-Game-1

The game is free to play with some in-app purchases. If running from the cops while pouring paint from a moving vehicle sounds like your kind of party, click the button below to download it from the Google Play Store.

Get it in the Play Store!

best 3d games for androidNext: 10 best 3D games for Android6

9
Feb

1Password just got a significant update


 

1password splash

1Password is a fairly popular password manager that the Guardian called one of the best Android apps for 2014. However, development on the Android platform kind of went neglected for a little bit there. Now, however, developer AgileBits has released version 6 of the app, launching it into 2016 with updated design, interface, and features.

What you’ll notice immediately about 1Password after getting the update is that it no longer looks like an app that was created in the pre-Material Design era. Google’s papery aesthetic in now going full blast on the app, meaning you’ll be able to appreciate a more consistent visual experience moving between 1Password and the slew of apps taking cues from the Material Design philosophy.


Chrome browser teaser 1See also: How to manage your saved passwords in Chrome for Android3

The update is more than just aesthetics, however. Fingerprint support has been improved, and it now works with the the official 1Password keyboard. AgileBits is also playing around with a 1Password for Teams service that is currently in beta. They want this to be a unique way to selectively share information with co-workers, family members, or friends. Wi-Fi Sync has been optimized, an always-on toolbar while you’re in the app makes navigation easier, and they’ve added a floating button that lets you quickly and easily add new items.

You can read more about this update by checking out AgileBits’ official blog post regarding the update, and if you want to give 1Password a spin for yourself, click the button below to download it from the Google Play Store. If you’re 1Password user, let us know what your experience so far has been. If not, what password manager do you recommend? Tell us in the comments below!

Get it from the Play Store

Google Play passwordNext: Are you using one of 2015’s worst passwords? Find out here12

9
Feb

What’s on your HDTV: NBA ASG, ‘Vinyl,’ ‘John Oliver’


We’re finally past the big game, and now the NBA is ready to take center stage with its All-Star weekend. Besides sports, AMC is kicking off the second half of this season of The Walking Dead, and anyone who has been keeping up knows some big events from the comics are right around the corner. HBO has Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, following the premiere of its new Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese-created show Vinyl, which follows a record exec in the 1970s. The latest James Bond is out on Blu-ray, and Firewatch is here on both PC and PS4. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

  • Spectre
  • Crimson Peak
  • MI-5
  • The Leftovers (S2)
  • Love the Coopers
  • Star Trek: TNG Movie Collection
  • Pokemon: The Movies 1-3 Collection
  • Freaks of Nature
  • Sheba Baby
  • Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
  • Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Collection (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
  • Firewatch (PC, PS4)
  • Dying Light: Enhanced Edition (PS4, Xbox One)
  • Siralim (PS3, PS4)
  • Unravel (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
  • Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (PS4, Xbox One)
  • Neverwinter: Underdark DLC (Xbox One)
  • Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PS4)
  • Arslan: The Warriors of Legend (PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Monday

  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, CW, 8PM
  • The Fosters, Freeform, 8PM
  • Supergirl, CBS, 8PM
  • Superstore, NBC, 8PM
  • X-Files, Fox, 8PM
  • WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
  • American Dad, TBS, 8:30PM
  • Telenovela, NBC, 8:30PM
  • War & Peace: Part 4 of 4, Lifetime, 9PM
  • Homegrown: The Counter-Terror Dilemma, HBO, 9PM
  • Lucifer, Fox, 9PM
  • Jane the Virgin, CW, 9PM
  • The Magicians, Syfy, 9PM
  • Top Gear, BBC America, 9PM
  • Billion Dollar Wreck (series premiere), History, 10PM
  • Castle (winter premiere), ABC, 10PM
  • Lost Girl, Syfy, 10PM
  • Independent Lens: In Football We Trust, PBS, 10PM
  • NCIS, CBS, 10PM
  • Almost Royal (season finale), BBC America, 11PM

Tuesday

  • Fresh off the Boat, ABC, 8PM
  • New Girl, Fox, 8PM
  • Finding Your Roots, PBS, 8PM
  • The Flash, CW, 8PM
  • Pretty Little Liars, Freeform, 8PM
  • Here We Go Again (series premiere), TV One, 8PM
  • 60 Minutes Sports, Showtime, 8PM
  • The Muppets, ABC, 8:30PM
  • Grandfathered, Fox, 8:30PM
  • iZombie, CW, 9PM
  • The Outsiders, WGN, 9PM
  • Brooklyn Nine-nine, Fox, 9PM
  • Shadowhunters, Freeform, 9PM
  • Chicago Med, NBC, 9PM
  • Marvel’s Agent Carter, ABC, 9PM
  • Moonshiners, Discovery, 9PM
  • NCIS: New Orleans, CBS, 9PM
  • Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9PM
  • Teen Wolf, MTV, 9PM
  • The Grinder, Fox, 9:30PM
  • Tosh.0 (season premiere), Comedy Central, 10PM
  • American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, FX, 10PM
  • Chicago Fire, NBC, 10PM
  • Limitless, CBS, 10PM
  • Not Safe with Nikki Glaser (series premiere), Comedy Central, 10:30PM

Wednesday

  • The Middle, ABC, 8PM
  • Unsung (season premiere), TV One, 8PM
  • Arrow, CW, 8PM
  • 2 Broke Girls, CBS, 8PM
  • American Idol, Fox, 8PM
  • Young & Hungry, Freeform, 8PM
  • The Mysteries of Laura, NBC, 8PM
  • Mike & Molly, CBS, 8:30PM
  • Baby Daddy, Freeform, 8:30PM
  • The Goldbergs, ABC, 8:30PM
  • Supernatural, CW, 9PM
  • Dual Survival, Discovery, 9PM
  • Criminal Minds, CBS, 9PM
  • Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
  • Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9PM
  • The Next: 15 (series premiere), TV One, 9PM
  • Black-ish, ABC, 9:30PM
  • Suits, USA, 10PM
  • Chicago PD, NBC, 10PM
  • American Crime, ABC, 10PM
  • Code Black, CBS, 10PM
  • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FXX, 10PM
  • Man Seeking Woman, FXX, 10:30PM
  • Teachers, TV Land, 10:30PM
  • NFL Turning Point (season finale), NBC Sports Network, 11PM

Thursday

  • You, Me, and the Apocalypse, NBC, 8PM
  • Grey’s Anatomy (winter premiere), ABC, 8PM
  • American Idol, Fox, 8PM
  • DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, CW, 8PM
  • WWE SmackDown, USA, 8PM
  • The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8PM
  • Life in Pieces, CBS, 8:30PM
  • Scandal (winter premiere), ABC, 9PM
  • The Blacklist, NBC, 9PM
  • The 100, CW, 9PM
  • Mom, CBS, 9PM
  • Angel from Hell, CBS, 9:30PM
  • How to Get Away with Murder (winter premiere), ABC, 10PM
  • Baskets, FX, 10PM
  • Portlandia, IFC, 10PM
  • London Spy, BBC America, 10PM
  • Workaholics, Comedy Central, 10PM
  • Shades of Blue, NBC, 10PM
  • Elementary, CBS, 10PM
  • Colony, USA, 10PM
  • Shades of Blue, NBC, 10PM
  • Nightwatch, A&E, 10PM
  • Idiotsitter, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
  • Dark Net, Showtime, 11PM

Friday

  • NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, ESPN, 7PM
  • The Amazing Race (season premiere), CBS, 8PM
  • Sleepy Hollow, Fox, 8PM
  • The Vampire Diaries, CW, 8PM
  • NBA Rising Stars Challenge, TNT, 9PM
  • Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 9PM
  • The Originals, CW, 9PM
  • Grimm, NBC, 9PM
  • Second Chance, Fox, 9PM
  • Shark Tank, ABC, 9PM
  • Blue Bloods, CBS, 10PM
  • Vice, HBO, 11PM
  • Animals, HBO, 11:30PM
  • Childrens Hospital, Cartoon Network, 11PM

Saturday

  • NASCAR Sprint Unlimited at Daytona, Fox, 8PM
  • Mythbusters, Discovery, 8PM
  • Wrong Swipe, Lifetime 8PM
  • Campaign 2016: Republican Debate, CBS, 9PM
  • Black Sails, Starz, 9PM
  • Saturday Night Live: Melissa McCarthy/Kanye West, NBC, 11:30PM

Sunday

  • 60 Minutes, CBS, 7PM
  • The EE British Academy Film Awards, BBC America, 7PM
  • Bob’s Burgers, Fox, 7:30PM
  • The Bachelor at 20: A Celebration of Love, ABC, 8PM
  • The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth, Showtime 8PM
  • Madam Secretary, CBS, 8PM
  • The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
  • Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, Fox, 8:30PM
  • NBA All-Star Game, TNT/TBS, 8:30PM
  • Vinyl (series premiere), HBO, 9PM
  • The Walking Dead (winter premiere), AMC, 9PM
  • The Tonight Show Valentine’s Day Special, NBC, 9PM
  • Family Guy, Fox, 9PM
  • The Good Wife, CBS, 9PM
  • Long Island Medium, TLC, 9PM
  • Shameless, Showtime 9PM
  • Downton Abbey, PBS, 9PM
  • Bordertown, Fox, 9:30PM
  • Castle, ABC, 10PM
  • CSI: Cyber, CBS, 10PM
  • Talking Dead (winter premiere), AMC, 10PM
  • Billions, Showtime, 10PM
  • Mercy Street, PBS, 10PM
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (season premiere), HBO, 11PM
  • Comic Book Men (winter premiere), AMC, 11:59PM
9
Feb

Google has the best-paid CEO in the US


Google is an enormous company by most standards, but it now has one more notch under its belt: the US’ best-paid CEO. A company SEC filing has revealed that Sundar Pichai received the equivalent of $199 million in stock earlier in February, giving him a total $650 million stake in Alphabet. He won’t get to cash that in all at once (the shares vest in quarterly phases through 2019), but that’s a lot of money for three years’ work. In comparison, Apple’s Tim Cook got “just” $376.2 million when he assumed the CEO role.

Pichai isn’t the wealthiest person in Alphabet. As the Guardian explains, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are both worth about $34 billion; ex-CEO Eric Schmidt has about $3 billion in stock. However, the avalanche of shares says a lot about Alphabet’s determination to keep Pichai around for the long term. It really doesn’t want to lose the executive that has taken Android, Chrome and web search to new heights, especially not when rivals like Facebook could afford to poach him. Unless Pichai has a sudden change of heart, he’ll have plenty of incentives to stick around for a long, long while.

Via: Bloomberg, Guardian

Source: SEC

9
Feb

Best Moto X Play Cases


Motorola Moto X Play 2015 -18

Along with their 2015 flagship smartphone, Motorola also took the wraps off of an even cheaper alternative, the Moto X Play. This device falls squarely in the “premium mid-range” category that saw its rise last year, but by retaining key aspects of its flagship sibling, including a great camera, a simple but feature-packed software experience, and fast charging capabilities, the Moto X Play certainly brings a lot of value to the table for its price. Full Moto Maker support really lets the user make this device their own, and serves to make the deal even sweeter.

All said and done, the Moto X Play is certainly one of the best bang for your buck smartphones out there.

As is true with most smartphones and tablets around, an extra layer of protection is always a good idea to keep the device safe from accidental bumps and drops. Which is why, we’ve rounded up some of the best protective cases and covers currently available for the Moto X play!

Diztronic Full Matte Flexible Case for Motorola Moto X Play

Diztronic Full Matte Flexible Case for Motorola Moto X Play
Looking for a slender case for your Moto X Play? Introducing Diztronic Full body Matte Slim Case, designed specifically for your Motorola Moto X Play. Made with durable and elastic Thermoplastic Polyurethane which gives a better feel, comfortable grip and prevents the phone from slipping from your hand. Exact cutouts allow quick access to the ports and features, while molded volume and power buttons are easy to press. The matte finish on this case reduces finger print marks while maintaining a classic look. It’s a case that allows you to carry your phone with you, without the extra bulk.
Buy At Amazon

$9.89

SupCase Water Resistant Rugged Case for Motorola Moto X Play

SupCase Water Resistant Rugged Case for Motorola Moto X Play
Looking for a sporty and rugged case for your phone? Introducing Supcase’s Full Body Protection case, custom designed for Motorola Moto X Play. Built with Polycarbonate hard frame and elastic Thermoplastic Polyurethane which work together to form an impact/shock absorbing case. Comes with a front cover screen protector for added scratch and dirt protection. Accurate cut outs give quick access to the ports, features and buttons. Easily change how the phone looks by choosing from 3 interchangeable back covers. It’s a scratch proof, water resistant case, that you can use everyday.
Buy At Amazon

$14.99

SupCase Heavy Duty Belt Clip Holster Case for Motorola Moto X Play

SupCase Heavy Duty Belt Clip Holster Case for Motorola Moto X Play
Looking for a heavy duty case for your Moto X phone? Introducing the Unicorn Beetle Pro series case by SupCase, custom and innovative designed for your Motorola Moto X Play. A two layer design made from polycarbonate hard frame and flexible high quality Thermoplastic Polyurethane combined to form an ultimate impact absorbing case. A built in screen protector gives added scratch protection without decreasing touchscreen accuracy. All features, ports and buttons are easily accessible, while port coverings keep dust and dirt from entering. It also comes with a belt holster clip you can rotate up to 360 degrees, enabling you to conveniently bring your phone with you wherever you go. A case that will provide ample protection while maintaining a classic sporty look.
Buy At Amazon

$14.99

i-Blason Halo Series Hybrid Clear Case for Motorola Moto X Play

i-Blason Halo Series Hybrid Clear Case for Motorola Moto X Play
Looking for a clear case that will protect and fit your Motorola X Play phone? Introducing i-Blason Halo Series Clear Bumper Case, specifically designed for your Motorola Moto X Play. Made with Thermoplastic Polyurethane, a flexible and high quality material which wouldn’t stretch, and provides better grip of your phone. Exact cut outs give access to the phone’s ports, buttons and features, while front raised edges give added protection to the screen from scratches, allowing you to lay your phone on the table, even face down. If you’re looking for a slim, lightweight and transparent case which wouldn’t change how your phone looks, this is the perfect case for you.
Buy At Amazon

$10.99

Tudia Ultra Slim Bumper Protective Case for Motorola Moto X Play

Tudia Ultra Slim Bumper Protective Case for Motorola Moto X Play
Looking for a slender and protective case for your phone? Introducing Tudia’s bumper case, specially designed for your Motorola Moto X Play, it comes in 4 colors to choose from. Made with high grade Thermoplastic Polyurethane, an elastic material that snugly fits, and gives added grip support so the phone doesn’t accidentally slip from your hand. Accurate cut outs provide easy access to the phone’s features, buttons and ports. Raised edges give additional protection to the touchscreen, keeping it scratch free no matter how you lay it on the table. This case will be a perfect everyday case for people on the go.
Buy At Amazon

$9.90

Monoy Flip Leather Wallet Case for Motorola Moto X Play

Monoy Flip Leather Wallet Case for Motorola Moto X Play
Looking for a slender folio type phone case that carry your cash and cards as well? Introducing Monoy’s Wallet Leather Case, created to specifically fit the Motorola Moto X Play. Made by high quality polyurethane leather, forming a folio type case that protects the phone completely, a strong magnetic clip keeps the lid closed. Exact cut outs will allow access to the phone’s features and buttons. Has 3 slots for your important credit cards and identification, and a slot for cash as well. Fold the leather cover and it will work as a stand for hands-free viewing and typing. It’s an all in one case, that allows you to conveniently carry your daily essentials at the same time.
Buy At Amazon

$10.88

Caseformers Duo Armor Combo Case and Holster for Motorola Moto X Play

Caseformers Duo Armor Combo Case and Holster for Motorola Moto X Play
Combine function with protection and you get a perfect case! Introducing the Duo Armor Combo Case and Holster for the Motorola Moto X Play by Caseformers. Worry no more about drops, this case will protect your smartphone against drops, sudden impacts, scuffs and scratches. It also features an adjustable belt clip and an independent kickstand for better viewing. The case consists of shock absorbing layer and a hard exoskeleton layer that adds stiffness and protects all the internal parts of your smartphone. This case feels great in your hands as your fingers wrap around all the grooves and the soft silicon for a tight grip. The precise cutouts provide full access to all Motorola Moto X Play buttons, jacks, and features.
Buy At Amazon

$7.99

See more popular Moto X Play cases at Amazon.

What do you think of these Moto X Play cases? Which is your favorite?

9
Feb

Instagram now lets you swap accounts in-app


instagram multiple accounts AA 2

Previously, those who wanted to run two Instagram accounts were in a bit of a pickle. If, for instance you had a personal account that you liked to use to showcase your lunch, but you also had a business account for keeping in touch with your customers and expanding your brand, you basically had to log all the way out and log all the way back in every time you wanted to swap between them. Now, however, a feature has finally been added that takes the hassle out of maintaining multiple accounts.


Instagram-husbandSee also: Comedic video highlights the woes of being an ‘Instagram Husband’2

Today Instagram announced that they are rolling out complete support for managing multiple accounts at the same time, with easy-swapping capabilities provided in-app. The feature looks a lot like Gmail or Inbox’s change account function. Multiple accounts will be supported for version 7.15 of the mobile app on both iOS and Android, and making the swap is a cinch. Once you have the update, just go to your profile settings and add an extra account. All you have to do now is top the username that you want to start posting selfies with. Instagram has made sure to prominently display the active user throughout the app’s interface so you won’t ever forget who you’re supposed to be posting as.

If you want to manually make the update or get your first start on one of the world’s largest photography-based social networks, click the button below to download it from the Google Play Store.


LeTV-LeMax-Pro-10Next: How to take better pictures with your Android smartphone25

Get it in the Play Store!

9
Feb

Clash of Clans creators release Clash Royale (Update: coming in March)


Update (2/8): Last month we told you that Supercell launched Clash Royale to the iOS App Store, with an Android launch likely coming down the pipeline sometime very soon. Thankfully we won’t have to wait much longer, as the developers have just announced that Clash Royale will make its way to Android and iOS devices around the world in March! We still aren’t sure of an exact release date, though we do know it’s coming soon.

Original post (1/4): Clash of Clans has been one of the largest mobile games to date, but it wasn’t enough for the crack development team Supercell to rest on the laurels of their previous success. Today, Supercell launched a soft release of their new card-based, direct competition game Clash Royale.

Clash of Clans allured players with a number of effective gameplay components. First, there’s a sense of creativity that goes into designing a base. Strategy also plays a role, as it’s important to be able to assess and attack bases intelligently. Group dynamics got into the mix with the titular clans pitting themselves against each other, and the set-it-and-forget-it nature of much of the gameplay let even players with a busy schedule get in on the action.

Clash Royale splash


best Android gamesSee also: 70 best Android games157

However, as games like Hearthstone have demonstrated, there’s clearly a market for one-on-one, live multiplayer with card-based mechanics. Clash Royale seeks to bring users the same feel of creativity by letting players assemble their own deck filled with Clash of Clans characters and elements, but with all the immediacy and engagement of a card dueling game.

Now, this isn’t so much a sequel to Clash of Clans as it is a completely different game of its own. Clash Royale looks like it might even have a radically different demographic than its forerunner, and Supercell reports that the team working on the project is totally different than the one that is still actively developing Clash of Clans. So far, Clash Royale has only been released on iOS, but there is no doubt that we’ll see it hitting the Android operating system some time in the near future.

What are your thoughts on Clash Royale? The primary complaint leveled at Clash of Clans is that some claim it falls in the “pay to win” camp of mobile gaming. Will the same criticisms be leveled at Clash Royale? Let us know in the comments below!

Next: 10 best Android games released in 2015!

9
Feb

How to manage your saved passwords in Chrome for Android


Chrome browser teaser 1

One of the many great things about using Chrome as your primary browser across devices is that all your saved passwords get synced. That takes away the hassle of having to enter long and complex passwords while using Chrome on your Android device, which can be a real pain sometimes. Not only that, many times you may have accidentally hit the save password button for a bank transaction credentials page or something else that you did not intend to save. Which brings us to this guide.

Chrome for Android, as it turns out, has a rudimentary password manager built-in, and we are going to show you how to access it and what you can do inside it from your Android smartphone or tablet. So why don’t you fire up the Chrome browser and we can get started right away!

Accessing Chrome for Android’s password manager

It’s hardly a challenge to find the password manager inside of Chrome. Check out this quick picture guide below:

1

Open the Chrome browser app on your device. Navigate to the top right corner and tap the options button, following which you have to select ‘Settings’ from the list of options. Select the ‘Save passwords’ option from the menu, flip the button and enable the feature if it isn’t enabled already.

Toggle ‘Save passwords’ feature in Chrome

At any given point, you can choose to toggle the ‘Save passwords’ feature off so that Chrome stops prompting you whenever you log in to a website with new credentials, or log in to a new website altogether. Seeing how cumbersome it can get to repeatedly enter passwords, not to mention having to remember all of them, it is almost a no-brainer to leave this feature enabled.

2

The fields that have been redacted in the screenshots aren’t actually the passwords, but only the usernames against which Chrome has saved passwords.

Viewing/managing saved passwords in Chrome for Android

Unfortunately, using the Chrome for Android app, it is not possible to actually view your saved passwords. You can however see the list of websites and the corresponding usernames for which Chrome has saved your passwords. As of yet, you can only view passwords using the Chrome desktop app.

3

Chrome for Android’s password manager is rudimentary at best, as described earlier. You can’t modify a saved password, or perform any other operations on it. The only option that the browser presents to you is the ability to delete a saved password. So in case you accidentally saved a password on a friend’s phone, or for a webpage that you didn’t intend to, you can always fire up the password manager and delete that last saved entry.


Google Play passwordRead next: Are you using one of 2015’s worst passwords? Find out here12

Do you use a password manager app?

Chrome’s password manager feature is clearly not powerful or flexible, which means many people who require more flexibility would move to more accomplished and powerful apps such as LastPass, Dashlane, or Enpass.

Do you use a password manager app on your smartphone? Or, does Chrome’s barebones implementation satisfy your requirements entirely? Let us know in the comments below!

 

9
Feb

Efficient Business with Fast 4G and 3G Data: Problems and Solutions


Efficient Business with Fast 4G and 3G Data: Problems and Solutions

3g_1A modern business without reliable mobile Internet connection is like a traveler in the desert without water.  Nowadays each second company conducts a huge number of processes online, saying nothing about online businesses which simply do not exist without the web. And when 3G or 4G data speeds are close to zero, it’s easy to imagine what panic embraces the companies. No one likes to lose money.

But let’s start from the very beginning: where 3G and 4G come from and why they happen to be unsteady?

What is 3G, 4G and LTE?

Mobile providers worldwide offer 3G, 4G and LTE data services. All the three networks are used to provide data transfer to your smartphones and other portable devices. By the way, it’s also possible to call and text on 3G and 4G.

3G, 4G and LTE are network technologies of different generations. 3G is the oldest one, 4G is its successor and the latest is 4G LTE. It’s common delusion, that 4G and LTE and the same things. In fact, it’s not exactly like this. Bare 4G stands for High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and is slower than 4G LTE or Long Term Evolution technology, but quicker than 3G. Some mobile operators can play trick on that, mentioning 4G service instead of LTE, while their download speeds differ. Generally the main difference among 3G, 4G and LTE networks are in the speed of data transfer.  As you can suppose, 3G is slowest, while LTE is the fastest.

Why do we lack fast 4G and 3G?

man

Mobile carriers are always boasting of their super-fast speeds.  Needless to say, that most of them exaggerate much. There’re a number of reasons why 3G, 4G and LTE data throughput can be rather disappointing.

  • Many companies base out of the city where mobile network is hardly accessible. It’s especially typical for private farms and producing factories. If they are located far from the nearest mobile base station, mobile phones in the area won’t be able to pick up the signal. As a result, 3G and 4G data speeds are quite slow.
  • Some networks have blank spaces in the coverage. If your building or house happened to run into it, you’ll have to struggle against poor signal reception.
  • If your office, café, shop or any other business is located underground in some basement area, it may be hard for mobile signal to reach your place.
  • Thick walls, heavy construction of your house can become an obstacle for smooth 3G signal reception as well.

What is the solution?

  • In order to improve 3G and 4G quality you can install high gain directional 3G and 4G antennas. The most complicated is to align them to the mobile base tower so that they could pick up the signal. In order to double the result, specialists even advice to mount two antennas at a time.
  • There’re also special mobile applications for Android and IOS. Upon their installation developers promise that 3G and 4G speeds on your mobile phone will increase greatly. Their efficiency hasn’t been proved yet though.
  • To sum it up, the revenues of your business depends on 3G and 4G quality. So, whatever method of its improvement you choose, it’s definitely worth trying.There’re also more professional solutions available, like 3G and 4G mobile signal boosters. They are more costly, but quite effective. Cell phone signal boosters increase 3G and 4G data throughput by repeating strong signal from the outside and transmitting it to your cell phone. 3G and 4G repeaters differ by coverage and frequencies.F10F-GW

    The best way to find a proper booster is to choose it in the online shop of some verified producers like Huaptec Corporation with HiBoost Brand repeaters, Wilson Electronic, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9
Feb

Apple Open Sources Swift Benchmark Suite


swift.pngApple today announced that its Swift benchmark suite is open source, just over two months after making its Swift programming language open sourced as promised at the 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple’s Swift benchmarking suite is designed to track Swift performance with 75 benchmarks that cover multiple important Swift workloads, libraries with commonly needed benchmarking functions, drivers for running benchmarks and displaying performance metrics, and a utility for comparing benchmark metrics across multiple versions of Swift. The Swift benchmark suite is available on GitHub.

Introduced in 2014 and launched alongside iOS 8 and OS X, Swift is Apple’s programming language built for iOS, OS X, watchOS, and tvOS, designed to work with Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks along with Objective-C while also being widely accessible. In 2015, Apple debuted Swift 2 with new features like advanced error handling and syntax enhancements.
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