The $350 Huawei GX8 is now available for purchase
Huawei is definitely on a mission to be the maker of your next smartphone. Getting its second phone out in the U.S. before Mobile World Congress is no small feat. In January Huawei launched the launched the Honor 5X which made a name for itself with its high-end build and starting price of just $200.
Huawei wants to compete in every price category and has just made the Huawei GX8 available for purchase at GetHuawei.com, BestBuy.com, newegg.com, and Amazon.com for $349.99. The GX8 was announced a month ago at CES 2016, and has quite a spec sheet for a mid-range price.
Huawei GX8 highlights:
- 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 616, 8-core processor, 64 bit
- 16GB memory (expandable up to 128GB)
- 2GB RAM
- 5.5″ 1080p 2.5D display
- US Supports AT&T, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and other GSM networks
- Colors: Horizon Gold, Space Grey or Mystic Champagne
- 13MP camera
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
The GX8 has s superior build being made from aircraft grade aluminum, and sports a fingerprint reader on the back of the phone similar to the Nexus 6P and Honor 5X. Huawei has been on a roll with fantastic devices in every price range, and should be atop your list of devices to check out if you’re interested in premium quality at budget prices. The GX8 comes free of contracts and can also be financed directly through Huawei if you can’t afford to put all $350 down at one time for as little as $20 per month.
Learn more at Huawei.com.
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Huawei GX8 arrives in the US, priced at $349 unlocked
Back in January we learned that Huawei would be bringing its GX8 over to the United States in the near future. True to their word, the phone has now landed, available through Huawei’s website and via Best Buy’s online store. The phone will also hit NewEgg and select Best Buy brick-and-mortar locations starting tomorrow.
The Huawei GX8 is a bit of a curious device, toting essentially identical specifications to the Huawei-made Honor 5X, as well as a very similar design language (it’s different, but not massively so). While having two phones with the same basic spec/design isn’t so strange, it is a bit odd that the GX8 is priced $150 higher, with a sale price of $349 unlocked in your choice of gold, gray, or champagne.
So what kind of hardware we talking about for this price point? The GX8 is powered a Snapdragon 615 with 2GB RAM. Other specs include 16GB storage, microSD, a 13MP main cam, 5MP rear cam, a 5.5-inch 1080p TFT display, Android 5.1 with EMUI 3.1, a 3000 mAh battery, and standard connectivity features (but no NFC). Like the Honor 5X, you also get Huawei’s high-quality fingerprint sensing tech baked in.
While the pricing isn’t bad for what you get, we can’t help but feel that the Honor 5X is the better deal. That said, if you prefer the Huawei brand over their sub-brand, honor, the GX8 could be worth a look.
This Pebble strap lets you pay with your wrist
It’s a crowd-funded initiative, so there’s a possibility that it will never see the light of day, but Fit Pay has put together a strap that lets you pay with your wrist in most places you could use a credit card. This NFC-ready strap looks almost indistinguishable from a normal Pebble strap, but you can load a number of credit cards or debit cards onto it and look like a wizard in your local grocery store.
The strap itself is called the Pagaré, and it was developed for Pebble Time devices by Fit Pay, a startup tech company that is focusing heavily on new payment methods and which just secured $3.1 million in funding from investors. The Pagaré will put Pebble in competitive waters with both the Apple Watch and the Samsung Gear S2 (once it gets its payment capabilities sorted out). Where this tech aims to snare an advantage over these two devices is the strap-located NFC chip, which means you don’t have to twist your wrist into an unnatural position to get it to register.
Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that we’ll be seeing the Pagaré on the mobile market. At the time of writing, Fit Pay has secured nearly $40,000 of its $120,000 goal with 644 backers, and there are still 29 days to go so the odds look good. Nevertheless, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Kickstarted tech projects, it’s that you can’t ever put too much hope in them. Early supporters can throw $49 at the project and get themselves a Pagaré smartstrap to go with their Pebble Time. If you kick that up to $199, you’ll get the Pagaré and a Pebble time to boot. Throw in an additional $50, and they’ll upgrade your Pebble Time into a Time Steel or a Time Round. Once the project makes, the company is hoping to ship Pagarés as early as July.
What are your thoughts regarding this payment-savvy smartstrap? Let us know if you think it’s worth the apparent $49 price tag in the comments below!
SpaceX could try its next sea landing on February 24th
The next sea-based landing attempt for SpaceX could be on February 24th, based on an announcement from satellite operator SES. As part of the launch of a new SES-9 satellite, which Elon Musk’s company is expected to transport to its orbital slot using a Falcon 9, SpaceX will likely try to touch base at sea — that’s if the rocket doesn’t have enough fuel to land.
SES didn’t reveal an exact time for the event that day, but it did say there’s a backup launch date of February 25th, in case any technical or weather issues may come up. For SpaceX, it’s another chance to make history, after failing to do so last month.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: SES
‘Star Wars’ is getting an official electronic music album
There are plenty of Star Wars-inspired songs and remixes (such as Meco’s disco adaptations), but the legendary space fantasy series is finally getting something official… and you might want to give it a listen. The upcoming Star Wars Headspace will include electronic tunes that are either influenced by or reworks of the movies, most of them from artists you’ll know if you’re big on digital beats. The whole thing is produced by Rick Rubin, and there are tracks from Bonobo, Claude VonStroke, Flying Lotus, Kaskade and Röyksopp, among others.
The album will be available through online services on February 19th (in physical stores March 18th), and you can already listen to a few tracks now thanks to clips from Apple’s Beats 1. From the sound of it, this isn’t a simple cash-in — it has solid tracks that just happen to include droid beeps and Darth Vader’s breathing. Bauuer (Mr. “Harlem Shake”) has a real banger, while Flying Lotus’ signature glitch-hop sound remains intact. We can think of some glaring omissions (seriously, Disney, you didn’t get RJD2 or Jedi Knights to contribute?), but this might be an album you’ll continue to enjoy once the novelty wears off.
https://embed.itunes.apple.com/us/embedded-player/idsa.aaa90357-ce8a-11e5-8295-9fc69a0a8a5b
https://embed.itunes.apple.com/us/embedded-player/idsa.1b4ad324-ce8c-11e5-8ce4-660cccbdb036
https://embed.itunes.apple.com/us/embedded-player/idsa.0de1a050-ce89-11e5-b393-b28b1d1edb63
Source: StarWars.com, Star Wars Headspace
Huawei, Best Buy, and Newegg join Amazon in selling the GX8
At the end of last week, Huawei’s somewhat new GX8 became available in the United States through Amazon. Now, the phone, which costs $349 off-contract, can be bought through an additional three retailers as Huawei is expanding their reach in the country. Huawei itself along with Best Buy and Newegg are joining Amazon in selling the GX8 to U.S. consumers.
The GX8 comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD (1920×1080) TFT display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 13MP / 5MP cameras, a 3000mAh battery, and Android 5.1 Lollipop smothered in Huawei’s EMUI 3.3 software overlay. So what’s the difference between this phone and the new Honor 5x? Not much outside of price. The Honor 5X costs around $150 less than the GX8. It’s also guaranteed that the Honor 5X will receive a software update to raise its version to Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Huawei, Best Buy, and Amazon are all selling the GX8 for $349; however, Newegg has a special promotional price where you can get the phone for $299. Newegg is also throwing in a 64GB microSD card as part of a limited time offer that might just last until the pre-order label is removed. If you prefer to buy device in-store though, head over to your local Best Buy because the electronics retailer is the exclusive in-store seller of the GX8.
While all models have the same 16GB of internal storage, you do get to choose a color. The Huawei GX8 comes in Horizon Gold, Mystic Champagne, and Space Grey.
[Huawei] [Best Buy] [Newegg] [Amazon]
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Use multiple accounts on Instagram with new account switching feature
Instagram faces little criticism from users because the service’s strategy is to just display your feed filled with photographs and videos from friends, family, celebrities, and brands that you’re interested with. This afternoon, Instagram finally alleviated the pain for users and social media managers that have multiple accounts. Now you can simultaneously use five Instagram accounts on a single app without being forced to logout of one account before singing in to another.
Here’s the official comment from Instagram:
Starting this week, you can quickly and easily switch between multiple accounts on Instagram! 🎉
Go to your profile settings to add an additional account. From there, tap your username at the top of your profile to switch between accounts. Once you have multiple accounts added, you’ll see your profile photo appear in places throughout the app so you can always tell which one you’re using at the moment.
Multi-account support is limited to a maximum of five Instagram accounts per app, and you can try it starting today because Instagram is rolling out the feature as we speak to v7.15 of the Android app.
Source: Instagram
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Best Android games [2016]
Are you in search of better games for your Android device? Maybe you want to switch up your rotation or simply discover what’s out there. Whatever the case, we’ve got you covered with a list of our favorite 20 Best Games for Android. We’ve taken a look at these twenty different games, gauging and comparing to find the best ones possible to show and recommend to you. We believe these truly are the best games for Android right now, so we hope you’ll find this list helpful!
Hearthstone
Hearthstone is Blizzard Entertainment’s first collectible card game based on its hit Warcraft franchise. In Hearthstone, players accrue cards different types of cards for each available class to take to the battlefield and best their opponents. Players can purchase card packs with real money, but many basic cards can be earned for free by leveling up, completing campaign missions, and finish challenges. Hearthstone has become a highly competitive game where many players are facing off for grand prizes of thousands of dollars, but it can also be played as a casual game as well. Grab a cup of coffee, the tablet, and sit back in the recliner and watch this game unfold!
Angry Birds 2
Angry Birds, the game we all know and love, is back and better than ever! Defeat bad piggies in all new terrain with brand new birds and power ups like never before. You now get to choose the bird you fling, but you better hope it’s the right one! In Angry Birds 2, players will need to pick the best bird for the level they’re facing. If you pick the wrong bird and can’t fully complete the level, you might not get all three starts.
Players can also challenge your friends in the Arena, and even overtake boss piggies, adding a whole new element of entertainment to Angry Birds 2!
Clash of Clans
Clash of Clans is a dynamic game that gets better as you play it, and you can play with your friends, or even people in other countries! In Clash of Clans, pillage and destroy your enemies’ villages while they’re away. Build your base and upgrade your barbarians to better protect your own army, and defend yourself against the evil forces of others. And be careful, don’t look away for too long—your friends might try to steal from or demolish your village while you’re away!
Monument Valley
Monument Valley is a simple, yet complex game where you have to guide lost, mute Princess Ida through towers and windmills, castles and mazes, and so much more. If you’re not sure about Monument Valley, don’t worry—you’ll catch on quick! The design is sleek and beautiful, but diverse and colorful in unique ways we haven’t seen with other games. Will you be Princess Ida’s next trusted guide?
Godus
In Godus, your role is the creator, the God. Mold and shape the landscape so that your people will thrive. Watch as centuries go by and humanity further develops, worshipping you and fighting their way through life. You have the power to bring goodness or destruction upon your people through an array of different powers and “blessings.” Choose wisely!
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is a game where you collect characters to build a strong team of galactic warriors fit to fight against the most powerful of enemies. Level up your characters and enhance their abilities by upgrading and unlocking new powers, choose from the Light or Dark Side, and scope out stunning landscapes! Players can go up against the AI to unlock new and old Star Wars characters on both the Dark and Light side. Once unlocked, you can then create a new squad to keep battling the AI or take the fight to other players in an attempt to overtake them in the multiplayer ladder!
Crossy Road
In Crossy Road, you start out as a chicken, and you have to cross the roads, streams, and train tracks to get to your destination. Collect coins on your way, and later you can purchase different characters! With each new character, your terrain will change and you’ll have a new set of challenges to conquer. Can you cross the road?
Candy Crush Saga
Candy Crush Saga is equipped with an excessive amount of levels and candy for your gaming pleasure! With each level comes a new objective, like collecting all of the gummy bears, or maybe just discovering a new power-up. Whatever the case, Candy Crush Saga will keep you coming back for more!
Zombie Catchers
Zombie Catchers is an adventure game, doing exactly that—catching zombies! If Earth will ever be safe again, it’s up to you. In this riveting app, arm yourself with weapons and exciting new gadgets. Prepare your lab and your pockets for your new zombie-catching business. The world’s fate lies in your hands. It’s your time to shine!
Pocket Troops
Pocket Troop is a hilarious turn-based game where you fight to get back your troop from the evil professor. Equip, level, and upgrade your team to make them stronger than ever before. By doing this and finishing side-missions, you can advance the story and eventually make your way to save your teammates. Choose from different attacks to find which one is best for the problem at hand. Collect weapons, obtain new skills, and carefully strategize your next plan of action against the enemy!
Smash Hit
Smash Hit is a spectacular, fast-moving game where you have to quickly destroy the obstacles in front of you. You’ll get a specific amount of metal balls, and you have to strategically shatter your way through the course before an obstacle runs into you. As the courses continue, they’ll get faster and faster, which makes this a race against the clock.The design and simplicity of this game will make it your go-to app when you’re in need of some R&R.
Triple Town
Triple town is a calm and fun game of elimination. Maximize the space of your town to earn the most coins by turning grass to bushes, bushes to trees, trees to houses, and houses to mansions! Beware of the bears and ninja bears that will take up needed space in your village, make sure to play the daily challenge every day, and save up for upgraded objects. One of my favorite parts about this game is that for the game itself, it isn’t timed! Begin your town before you leave for work and finish up the round when you get home at night.
Auralux
Auralux is an immersive strategy game that will keep you on your toes. With a ton of different levels to choose from, you can conquer the galaxy. In Auralux, you play as the blue constellations, and the goal is to overtake all the other constellations and planets in the universe before they overtake you. It’s a game of speed, precision, and even patience. Will you own the galaxy?
Fruit Ninja
Slash fruit to beat your high score in Fruit Ninja. Earn enough points to buy new blades and backdrops by playing in either Original or Festival Mode, which includes various different challenges and minigames that switch things up enough to keep it fun! Fruit Ninja also keeps up with the holidays, so make sure you’re always checking back for an awesome new updates.
Temple Run 2
In Temple Run 2, you will run, zip line, jump, and duck your way across the temple away from the cursed idol. There are endless new challenges, new outfits, and you can even ride the luge. See how far you can run from the cursed idol before it gets to you, and don’t forget to dodge those obstacles!
Ruzzle
Ruzzle is one of the best word games out there for word-lovers. Challenge your friends to a game, and see if you can beat your experience, accuracy, swipe distance, and word length each time! See how many words you can manage in such a short amount of time. During Christmas, even Santa Claus will challenge you to a game. The best part? As you learn to spot hidden words, you’ll only get better with time!
Pop the Lock
Pop the Lock is an addicting game of, well, popping the lock! Beat each level by cracking the “code” without missing a beat. Every ten levels, you get a change of scenery, too! And if you miss one part of the sequence, you’ve got to start over at that level. This will be your go-to game in the waiting room, at the airport, and even on lunch break.
Coin Drop
With Coin Drop’s extensive content, including 75 different levels, this game is massive. Drop coins to jail the evil pirate coins, and earn extra points by hitting all of the pins. Earn new coin skins, advance your score, and save the world from pirate pennies! With their simple tutorial, this game is easy and quick to catch on to.
The Room Three
The Room Three is a mysterious puzzle game with ominous sound effects. You will work your way through the story by unlocking the next clue. You’ll find notes from “The Craftsman,” leading you to the following objective. As you find new items and discover hidden passageways, you never know what you will find, or what will find you, next. This is a great game for anyone who loves puzzles and is up for a challenge!
Minecraft: Story Mode
The popularity of Minecraft hasn’t died down, and we don’t think it will anytime soon. Adults and kids alike have been able to enjoy this fun, block-based game on the go, but never like this! In Minecraft: Story Mode, be the hero as you tackle adventures not for the faint of heart. Ward off enemies and save your friends from destruction, including the evil Ender Dragon. If you’re a big fan of story, Telltale Games has done a phenomenal job bringing a rich and expansive story to the game in the form of Minecraft: Story Mode. It won’t disappoint you!
Closing
Whatever games you decide on, remember to have fun, and always be on the lookout for what’s coming next! With so many tools at their fingertips, developers are releasing new games for Android all the time, and so often for free, or even just a dollar.
Do you have a favorite Android game? Be sure to let us know what it is and what it’s all about in the comments below!
Come comment on this article: Best Android games [2016]
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge say hello in leaked photos
We’re in prime flagship leak season since Mobile World Congress is just a few weeks away, and we might have just gotten our first in-the-wild looks at Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. If this pace keeps up, we could all the most important details down before Samsung’s February 21st press bonanza in Barcelona.
Let’s start from the back. The first photo — obtained by ReviewDao.vn — doesn’t offer the most tantalizing view of Samsung’s new S7, but it does seem to validate a handful of reports that have made the rounds these past few weeks. Consider that camera, for instance — while we can’t tell if Samsung actually swapped the S6’s 16-megapixel sensor for a 12-megapixel affair, the hump that houses the lens is much slimmer than it used to be. Moreover, the photo matches up pretty nicely with a render shared by noted leaker/VentureBeat writer Evan Blass, while the curvy back (which should house a bigger battery than in last year’s model) syncs up with previously leaked CAD diagrams.
Meanwhile, a separate photo of what appears to be the Galaxy S7 Edge came from China and shows off the device’s trademark curved display. Weibo user JKwan managed to get the device running a benchmarking app that identifies the phone as an SM-G9350, a model number that was tied to the S7 Edge when it passed through China’s Compulsory Certification organization. Really though, none of us should be surprised that Samsung has a new Edge to go with the regular S7; the company underestimated demand for the S6 Edge last year, and it even accidentally confirmed the phone’s existence on its own site. Juicy details like the phones’ chipsets and pressure-sensitive screen have yet to be full-on confirmed, but with any luck, we’ll learn plenty before we even fly off to sunny España.
Screen Off Pro (Screen Lock) – Certainly locks screens. [Review]
Overview
Screen Off Pro does what it sets out to do; it locks your screen at the push of a software button, negating the use of the hardware button for this use. There are a number of other options within the app, including assigning vibration, sound and animation to the screen off function, but many of these are hidden behind the paywall of the $0.99 ‘unlock’ version.
Developer: Yogesh Dama
Price: Free (Unlock: $0.99 / Unlock + Tip: $1.49)
Highlights:
- Turn off and lock screen without use of a hardware button.
- Various icons to stay consistent with your theme.
- Floating Screen Off Button. (Unlock only)
- Vibration, animation, and vibration options. (Unlock only)
Setup
Screen Off Pro requires minimal effort to set up. The app guides you through the process, which is as follows:
- Tap ‘Create Screen off Shortcut.’
- Activate Device Administrator* (Tap button, tap ‘Activate.’)
- Choose Icon and Label.
- Tap ‘Create Shortcut to home screen.’
- Enjoy.
* See below.
Opening splash screen.
Tap the first option to allow Administrator Privileges.
Features
As far as Screen Lock apps go, Screen Off Pro is pretty full-featured, if limited. Unfortunately, many of these features are hidden behind the paid version of the app. These features are not marked in any way as pro features; you’re only informed of such once you try to use them. At best, this is a minor inconvenience. Below is a list of the features as provided by the developer. My annotations follow in parenthesis.
- Number of best Screen off Shortcut icons (FREE)
- Change the label, name of the screen lock shortcuts (FREE)
- Play sound you like on screen lock (Pro Only)
- Vibrate on screen lock if you like (Pro Only)
- Lock with style, Choose the best animations (Some options free, most Pro Only)
- Notification shortcut to easily lock the screen from anywhere (Pro Only)
- Floating screen off button over all apps, with option to set transparency and size of floating Screen off button (Pro Only)
- Best UI design with minimal option for simple use
This app also requires Administrator permissions, which may be concerning to some. To see if it was an isolated incident with this particular app, I downloaded a number of other screen off apps – they all require Administrator permissions, in order to turn off the screen. Looks like if you’d like this functionality, you have to play ball. I also ran into a number of instances where the app force-closed on my Nexus 6P, possibly due to inactivity.
Lots of icon choices.
Conclusion
Screen Off Pro does what it sets out to do; provide an app that turns your phone’s screen off without using the hardware button. However, I find the app description and, indeed the app itself, to be misleading in that it does not mention that many features are hidden behind a paid app. If you’re looking for a free app that turns off your screen and little else, this app is for you; if you’re looking for a free app that does the features described, you’re out of luck.
Google Play Store – Screen Off Pro (Screen Lock)
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AIVAnet 