Fashion and technology find common ground in a new exhibition

Technology isn’t just about smartphones and 4K. In the fashion world, it comes in the form of computer modeling, laser cutting, sewing machines and, recently, 3D printing. These elements are what inspired a new exhibition called Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, which will be on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York later this year. Manus x Machina features over 100 pieces, ranging from haute couture to ready-to-wear, each showing how designers have adopted handmade and machine-made techniques throughout history.

Pictured above, for example, is Chanel’s wedding ensemble, created by Karl Lagerfeld as part of the fashion house’s Fall/Winter 2014 couture collection. The dress was handmade, but its design was manipulated by a computer to give it that pixelated look. All told, it took 450 hours to put together. At the same time, Lagerfeld has also experimented with 3D printing (sorry, Kanye), bringing a futuristic look to Chanel’s iconic women’s suit. Another dress, designed by Cristopher Kane, mixes hand and machine embroidery to make a style based on the process of photosynthesis.

“Instead of presenting the machine and hand as rivals, the exhibition presents them as equal,” says Andrew Bolton, chief curator at The Costume Institute. He says there are “times when the hand has been celebrated and the machine degraded, and vice versa,” so the goal with Manus x Machina is to show that the line between the two is blurring. Not surprisingly, the exhibition has the support of fashion icons like Anna Wintour, as well as Apple.

Bolton says Apple was the perfect sponsor of the exhibition, thanks to its emphasis on craftsmanship, particularly the ways in which a hand and machine come together as one. If you’re in New York City, or happen to be visiting, Manus x Machina will be open from May 5th to August 14th. In the meantime, enjoy this early peek at some of the garments on display.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Win Samsung’s next new phone (ahem, Galaxy S7) from Android Central!

Update: Just a few days to go, folks! Be sure to enter if if you haven’t already!

Mobile World Congress is quickly approaching, and rumors are flying regarding what Samsung will be announcing during its Feb. 21 event. We’re expecting to see at least two versions of the Galaxy S7, including a regular flat S7 and a curvy S7 edge.

So we’re going to go ahead and give away an IOU for one because we’re awesome like that. Interested in winning? Head down to the widget below and get to entering!

The prize

The winner will receive an IOU for the Samsung Galaxy S7, which does not include service. Just the phone.

The rules

Normal contest rules apply here. One entry per method per person. This one’s open to all folks everywhere such contests are legal, but we can’t guarantee the phone will work on your network. (You know how these things go.) The contest ends on Feb. 20. We’ll announce the winner here on Android Central shortly after the closing date.

That’s it! Good luck, everyone!

Win Samsung’s next new phone from Android Central!

Samsung Galaxy S7

The Galaxy S7 is expected to be announced at Mobile World Congress in late February 2016.

• Complete Galaxy S7 news
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums
• The Galaxy S7 could come in three sizes
• The microSD card slot might return in the GS7
• Fewer megapixels in the GS7 camera might be better

How to share Amazon Prime with friends and family

Willing to share some of that free quick shipping and streaming video with your crew? It’s probably easier than you think.

Your Amazon Prime account is set up with a feature called Amazon Household that allows you to share a large handful your benefits with friends and family. Add another adult to your digital household and enjoy easy features including parental controls for the kids, unlimited storage for photos, and a family library to share books, apps, and games. Here’s how to get started!

• How to add members to your Household in Amazon Prime
• How to manage your content in Amazon Prime
• What are other shareable benefits with Amazon Prime?

How to add members to your Household in Amazon Prime

Click Your Account from the drop-down menu located at the top-right side of your screen.

Scroll down to your Account Settings and click the Manage your Household option.

On the Household homepage, click to Add an Adult.

Have the adult enter their Log in Information, whether they’re a trial member or Prime member.

Add up to 4 children to your household by clicking Add a Child.

Each child’s profile can be modified by clicking Edit underneath their avatar.

Once you’ve added everyone to your household, you’re all set to share content! Keep in mind that each adult will be sharing their payment information under the same account, so it’s important to ensure the appropriate credit or debit card is selected at checkout when purchasing products or content.

How to Manage your Content in Amazon Prime

Select Your Account from the drop-down menu located at the top-right side of your screen.

Scroll down to your Account Settings and select the Manage your Household option.

Under your household homepage, click Manage Your Family Library in the middle of your screen.

Select whether or not you wish to share apps/games, audiobooks, or eBooks by clicking their Sharing Buttons.

Underneath your Family Library, select Manage your Content and Devices.

Select Show Instant Video under the Content Tab.

Click Show FreeTime located next to the sort menu under Your Content.

Choose from your Instant Videos and select Add to FreeTime.

Choose between videos and Select a Child to allow viewing access.

Click OK when finished.

That’s the basics for managing your content under your Household account!

What are other shareable benefits with Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is more than just sharing content. For your annual subscription charge you get access to a great number of perks, including reduced expedited shipping on orders:

• Free 2-day, same-day, and discounted one-day shipping
• Prime Video access to thousands of movies and TV shows
• Early access to Amazon Lightning Deals
• Unlimited storage for photos
• Free Kindle books through the Lending Library
• 20% off diapers subscriptions
• 15% off Baby Registry completion discount
• Prime Fresh benefits

That’s all there is to setting up your Amazon Prime account to share its benefits with your friends and family! There’s always the option to remove members as needed, but if you choose to leave your household, there’s a 180-day period where neither adult can add members or join other households. Setup is quick and easy, and it’s a great perk for Prime members that love to share.

Sign up for Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime

• Get a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial
• Share Prime with friends and family
• Best movies to stream on Prime Video
• Shop smart with Amazon coupons

From the forums — Why do LG G5 cases exist well before the phone is announced?

The Android leak cycle is well documented at this point. We get some feature whispers, an internal document or two, the occasional press render or blurrycam photo, and then the case manufacturers show up to the party. It happens with just about every phone now, case manufacturers listing products for sale to protect phones that haven’t even been officially announced yet. It’s not always clear if these manufacturers have already made these cases, or if they’re just trying to grab our attention early, and with the LG G5 this seems especially prevalent.

A brief conversation in our G5 forum on the subject left everyone wondering why these case manufacturers behave this way, especially when the phone hasn’t even been announced yet. For the most part, it’s about getting attention early and hoping for the best — which in their case is early sales.

Manufacturers have been lining up to tell everyone about their cool new cases for the LG G5. Some of these manufacturers have leaked actual details, like the dual-camera setup on the back and the end of LG’s “Rear Key” in the design of this phone. Other companies, who scrambled to offer a competing accessory for a not-yet-announced product, are perfectly happy to put up photos of their G4 cases as placeholders until their G5 case is ready for photography. All of these case manufacturers have two things in common: none of them have touched a G5 yet, and their cases aren’t shipping until the end of February at the earliest.

When preparing a phone for third-party case manufacturers, it’s common for device manufacturers to send those companies a blank. It’s basically a 3D-printed block in the dimensions of the phone you want to make a case for, with all the buttons and camera grooves and extra markings carved out so the case folks know where to do their thing. This blank typically includes a render of the phone, so the company can either print those cardboard fillers for the retail packaging or Photoshop themselves a model of what the actual phone would look like with the case on. You see these in the promo images on Amazon all the time, and it’s clear from most of these images that the case manufacturer hasn’t yet seen the actual phone they’re building a case for.

There are of course exceptions to every rule, but for the most part this is how the case manufacturers get little bits of information early but never seem to have the whole picture. The G5 is a little unique in this particular adventure due to LG’s participation in the leak cycle. When LG decided to leak their own case to show off features for the phone they will be unveiling in Barcelona, third party case companies are left with little option than to offer their own products as quickly as possible to attract customers. The end result is a little more silliness than usual when it comes to phone leaks, but LG seems perfectly happy with this extra buzz before a launch.

LG G5

The LG G5 is expected to be announced at Mobile World Congress in late February 2016.

• The modular, dual-everything G5 could be a big deal
• The LG G5 will have an always-on display
• Get the latest news and rumors on the LG G5
• Your LG G5 wish list
• Join the LG G5 discussion

Verizon will throw in 2GB of free data if you upgrade on their XL or XXL data plans

Verizon is once again offering an additional 2GB of data per line when adding or upgrading a device to an XL or larger data bucket. In order to get the free data, which is good for the lifetime of your account, you need to be on Verizon’s XL or XXL data buckets. The XL plan comes with 12GB of shareable data, while the XXL bumps it up to 18GB. For each line that you add, or upgrade the hardware on, you can receive an additional 2GB of data on either of these plans.

Verizon allows 10 lines per account, so if all of them upgraded or were new lines you would get a total of 20GB of data free each month, or 240GB per year. This data is shareable, and comes at no cost to you for as long as you have the line with Verizon. Remember, for a limited time Verizon is paying up to $650 per line in switching costs to get you free from your current carrier. Combine that with the free data and you may have a pretty sweet deal on your hands now.

Shop XL and XXL plans at Verizon

Source: Verizon

ARCHOS unveils new line of Marshmallow-powered Oxygen tablets

ARCHOS has announced three new Android tablets, each of which it plans to show off next week at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona. The 7-inch 70 Oxygen, 8-inch 80 Oxygen, and 10.1-inch 101b Oxygen all feature 1080p full HD displays, and each tablet will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow at launch.

Apart from screen sizes, the new Oxygen tablets mostly feature identical specifications. They run on 1.3GHz quad-core processors, and have 2GB of RAM. The 80 Oxygen also features a 4,000mAh battery, while the 101b Oxygen has a large 6,000mAh battery. They also have front and back cameras, though ARCHOS is mum on details at this time.

More information on these tablets is expected at MWC 2016. All three models are scheduled to go on sale in May. Pricing details are not yet available.

HTC to integrate Keeper Security password manager in upcoming smartphones

HTC has announced that upcoming mobile phones will feature Keeper Security, a popular password management app, built-in at the system level. There are already a number of options available, like 1Password, LastPass and others, but with this HTC will make things even easier for its customers. The integration will begin later this year on select HTC smartphones, allowing the customers to generate, store and access their login information without the need to install another app.

With the deeper integration, HTC owners will be able to access login information in Keeper by tapping a menu that will be embedded in log in screens of websites and native applications. You can check out all of the details of the new partnership below.

Press release:

HTC Selects Keeper to Enhance Mobile Device Security

Keeper Security, Inc., the creator of Keeper, the world’s most downloaded password manager and digital vault, announced today that HTC, a leading smartphone innovator, has chosen Keeper as its global partner to protect its customers’ passwords and private information. HTC conducted a comprehensive review of the best password management applications and selected Keeper based on its superior security, features and in-depth experience working with leading OEMs and mobile operators. Keeper will be available this year on select HTC models. Users will have the option to use the premium or free version.

Through this partnership, HTC customers will now have an easy-to-use and secure application that generates strong passwords and autofills login credentials across native applications and browsers. Keeper and HTC collaborated to create a unique and intuitive user experience to ensure that mobile subscribers are securely storing their information and utilizing Keeper. When consumers reach the login screen of a website or native application on their HTC device, they will be prompted to sign up for Keeper in order to manage and store their login credentials and passwords. By clicking a “snackbar” embedded into the login screen, consumers can immediately activate their Keeper account.

“Providing security on our devices is a top priority to ensure an optimal customer experience,” said Paavan Avadhanula, AVP of Corporate Development and Partnership with HTC. “Our partnership with Keeper will help protect our customers and make good password management easier than ever.”

“Smartphones are the unified devices for online access. Convenience, security and privacy are all major concerns for mobile users. With Keeper, HTC customers can access their apps, sites and private information quickly and at the same time, feel safe knowing their passwords, photos and private information are secure in their Keeper vault,” said Keeper Security CEO and Co-Founder, Darren Guccione. “HTC is one of the world’s leading mobile brands. We are proud to partner with them on their mobile security initiatives.”

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, six months on

As we prepare to welcome a new generation of Samsung flagships, what’s to be made of the Galaxy S6 edge+?

At some point or another, everyone makes a bad call — a decision that seems like a good idea at the time, but under the harsh spotlight of hindsight is just really, obviously dumb. And sometimes you look back on that choice, and how everyone told you that thing was a mistake, and think: How could I have been so stupid?

On a completely unrelated note, Samsung in mid-2015 opted to forego the release of the Galaxy Note 5 in Europe. The move unceremoniously curtailed a series of phones that had been extremely popular with European buyers. Carriers wanted to sell it. Customers wanted to buy it. But nope: Instead, Europeans would have to make do with the similar but slightly different Galaxy S6 edge+.

Just about no-one outside of Samsung thought it was a good idea to exclude the Note 5 from Europe. But whatever — the S6 edge+ was what we had, and it seemed like a pretty good phone regardless.

It boasted the same internals and screen size as the Note, but with the surprisingly popular dual-edge screens from the original Galaxy S6 edge instead of the S Pen, and a flattened glass back in contrast to the Note’s curved rear.

So six months on, as we prepare for a fresh round of Samsung flagships, how has the Galaxy S6 edge+ fared? Read on for some long-term thoughts.

I’ve been using a GS6 edge+ as my daily driver for most of the past six months. Having passed up the smaller GS6 models on account of their fairly crappy battery life, this was my first extended experience of the revolution in build and software quality that Samsung had brought in 2015. Whereas the Note 4 — which I’d used a lot previously — straddled the old and new Samsung design philosophies, the edge+ was all-new.

Picking the GS6 edge+ up felt like holding a piece of the future.

On both the inside and the outside this was more polished than any Samsung phone I had used. And more importantly, picking it up and using it felt like holding a piece of the future. Much of that futuristic feel comes not just from the improved materials, but also the gorgeous SuperAMOLED display and impressive (though largely useless) edge screens. There’s nothing that the slide-out edge panel does that couldn’t be replicated on a flat display. It’s about looking cool, not being useful.

You can pin contacts and apps to the edge screen, and use it as a glorified night clock between certain hours. But everything the edge screen does feels like it’s there to try and justify its existence. It’s not a bad thing that the edges are curved — just don’t kid yourself that there’s any real practical benefit there.

While it’s not the most ergonomic phone I’ve ever held, I haven’t had much difficulty handling the edge+ over the past few months. For a 5.7-inch phone, it’s actually surprisingly easy to hold — notably more so than the chunkier and slipperier Nexus 6P. The back glass doesn’t have any kind of oleophobic coating, which means it gets gunked up with fingerprints really easily — and that’s especially noticeable on the black model I’ve been using. But that also makes it a little easier to grip than other glass-backed phones like Sony’s various Xperia devices.

The hardware itself has held up well over the past few months, weathering several overseas trips without any major signs of wear. Nor has the software slowed noticeably over time — though your mileage may vary in this area.

As for software, it’s worth mentioning that Samsung, once again, is taking its time with updates to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and as such the GS6 edge+ is currently sitting on Android 5.1.1, Lollipop. It’s not all bad news, though, as the company has been keeping up to speed with Google’s monthly security patches — which is arguably the more important thing to keep up-to-date.

What’s more, modern TouchWiz — Samsung’s UI layer — has improved considerably in a relatively short space of time, to the point where much of the visual clutter is gone, and there’s a coherent design language throughout much of the software. Whereas TouchWiz was once the ugly duckling of the Android UI family, now it’s one of the better-looking interfaces. (We’ve come a long way from the hated TouchWiz Nature UX of old.)

TouchWiz is much improved, but some software jank remains.

A few irritations remain, however. When it comes to bugs, I’ve noticed very occasional instances of the phone just freezing up completely for a few seconds — usually when unlocking — with the only solution being to wait for it to catch up with itself. There’s no reliable pattern to this strange software jank, but it’s persisted across each software update I’ve used on my device.

The other major gripe has to do with how noisy a couple of Samsung’s software features are. All top-tier Samsung phones have an “app optimization” feature (powered by CleanMaster), which stops unused apps from taking up background resources. The only problem is when anything gets added to the list of “optimized” apps, there’s a confusingly-worded notification to deal with. And there’s no way to turn this off and simply let the feature do its thing in the background.

Secondly, Samsung’s Gallery app has grown an automatic video highlight feature, similar to Google Photos or HTC Zoe. Unlike these two, though, the feature is implemented terribly. It’ll try and pull event info from your calendar and combine it with location info from your shots. That means if you’re like me and have a shared work calendar in the stock Calendar app, you’ll get all kinds of weird descriptions for your video highlights that bear no resemblance to what you were actually doing at the time. And it’ll also pester you with notifications every so often, which, again, you can’t disable.

Fortunately the GS6 edge+ — like all phones with the GS6’s camera configuration — excels at photography. Being able to load the camera instantly with a double-tap of the home key is huge, and this feature is implemented better than any of Samsung’s rivals. (Such as the LG G4 with its double-tap volume shortcut, or the Nexus 6P with its double-tap of the power button.)

The camera itself is largely a known quantity, being identical to the that of the regular GS6 and Note 5. That’s a good thing — this camera can still go toe-to-toe with the best out there, producing crisp, clear shots with colors that range from accurate to a little over-saturated. Optical image stabilization means that the edge+ can handle low-light shots pretty well too, though there’s some tendency to overexpose night shots.

That’s one of the areas where the new manual mode comes in handy, letting you tweak ISO, shutter speeds and more to take full control over your shots. Most of the time you won’t need to, but it’s a useful option to have.

The GS6 edge+ has been one of the most capable phone cameras I’ve used to date. (And it’s been a year of pretty good cameras.) In most areas it goes toe-to-toe with the LG G4 — and it’s often faster to shoot than LG’s camera too. LG pulls ahead in low light though, with the GS6 camera tending to need a bit of manual control to bring out details and colors as well as LG does automatically.

All in all, though, it’s an exceptional camera experience, and I’ve enjoyed taking some impressive shots using Samsung’s latest hardware.

Battery life was a sore point for the smaller two GS6 models, however the jump up to a 3,000mAh cell in the GS6 edge+ (and Note 5) has alleviated this somewhat. The phone isn’t exactly a battery champion, but at least we’re at the point where a full day of use is an expectation, not a fringe case. I’ve been using my GS6 edge+ with a pair of Samsung’s official fast wireless chargers, which means the only time I end up plugging the phone in is when I’m on the go — mainly using the official Samsung quick-charging power bank. The 5,200mAh external battery is small enough to fit in a pocket comfortably (it’s around the size of the standard Galaxy S6 edge), and packs enough juice for a full charge and then some. Between wireless charging and quick charging, and the increased battery capacity, I’m not feeling really missing a removable battery.

If the rumors are to be believed, a 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 edge is about to drop at Mobile World Congress 2016, putting the GS6 edge+ in a precarious position. It’s unlikely it’ll see any direct successor, and the edge+ itself may well be prematurely killed off in favor of the larger, curvy GS7. Nevertheless, if you can find it at a reduced price, perhaps with a conveniently timed Marshmallow update, the Galaxy S6 edge+ could be worth your time, even as we step into a new generation of flagship phones.

How to shop smart and save big using Amazon coupons

Everyone likes to save a buck when shopping, and Amazon offers an extensive selection of coupons to choose from for a variety of products.

One of the great features of shopping on Amazon are the endless savings up for grabs every day on tech, personal care items, groceries, office supplies, and much more. Here’s a rundown on how to find Amazon coupons, apply them to your order, and the extra benefits available for Prime members.

• How to find Amazon Coupons
• How to use Amazon Coupons
• The Benefits of Prime Pantry
• How to use Prime Pantry Coupons

How to find Amazon coupons

On the Amazon homepage, click on Today’s Deals located right below the search bar.

Then, click on the Coupons link below the same search bar.

Find and click on your desired category in the menu on the left.

Browse the options to view various coupons.

There are plenty of categories to sift through, so spend some time finding the best deals for you. Amazon will always keep their lists up-to-date with the hottest deals.

How to use Amazon coupons

On the Amazon homepage, click on Today’s Deals located right below the search bar.

Then click on the Coupons link below the same search bar.

Find a discounted product you’re interested in and click Clip Coupon.

Then, click on that item to view its Product Page.

Below the list price of the product you’ll find your Coupon Savings.

Add the item to your cart to automatically apply the savings at checkout.

From here, you can continue shopping other deals and clipping coupons, or checkout to get your item(s) shipped!

The Benefits of Prime Pantry

A great way to save on household items is by using Prime Pantry, available for all Amazon Prime members. Using Prime Pantry, members can fill their virtual box of items and have it shipped to their door for a flat fee of $5.99 per box. Although you won’t receive free shipping like you would with normal Prime purchases, there are still amazing coupons available that you can’t find anywhere else.

How to use Prime Pantry Coupons

On the Amazon homepage, click on Today’s Deals located right below the search bar.

Then click on the Coupons link below the same search bar.

On the left navigation menu, under Popular Coupons, click Prime Pantry.

Add to your cart the desired Prime Pantry to apply the coupon.

It’s as easy at that! The coupons provided through Prime Pantry are only available to Amazon Prime members and they don’t last long, so jump on the savings while you can!

MOAR COUPONS!

There’s always a chance to save using Amazon coupons, whether you’re a Prime member or not. Of course, if you prefer to do all your shopping from home, Amazon’s Prime Pantry feature is a sweet deal that provides some amazing savings on home essentials. Either way, now you know where to get your coupon fix!

Sign up for Amazon Prime

1Password for Families lets you manage passwords for your entire clan

AgileBits, the developer of 1Password, has announced a new family program for the password manager. 1Password for Families allows passwords, secure notes, and more to be shared between up to five people for $5 per month, and you can add more people for $1 per person.

With 1Password for Families, each family member gets their own copy of 1Password, and all 1Password apps come free with the subscription. The person in charge of the shared family vault can use the Admin Console to manage members and sharing, just like with 1Password for Teams. In addition to the shared vault, each family member can store their own private information in personal vaults.

Right now, AgileBits is running a special for those that sign up before March 21. You’ll get $10 added to your family account, on top of getting the first month free. You can also get 2GB of secure document storage, up from the 1GB normally offered. Finally, you can add two more family members for free, for a total of seven.

You can sign up for 1Password for Families right now.

Source: AgileBits