‘Upfront’ Uber pricing replaces estimates with guarantees
Soon, when you open up Uber and request a ride you’ll see the pricing in a different way. Instead of its current method of displaying the rate (and multiplier, if surge pricing is in effect), with a fare estimate in a second screen, it will just display a guaranteed price to take you to your destination. Of course, that doesn’t mean surge pricing is going away, just that it will already be figured in to the price you’re quoted (with a “Fares are higher due to increased demand” note.)
Of course, if you need to make a change during the ride, either you or the driver can update it with a new destination, and immediately see what the new price will be. Also, the quoted price will still be in effect even if your driver gets lost or takes a different route. UberPool riders already see pricing this way, and Uber says it’s been flipping the switch in some cities since April with hundreds of thousands of trips taken so far.
Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego and Seattle are the first US cities where it’s rolling out, and other areas should see it in the next few months. The only question now is if seeing the actual price up front will make riders more likely to use the service.
Source: Uber Newsroom
Adele’s ’25’ heads to streaming services now that you bought it
Chances are you’ve already purchased Adele’s 25 if you really wanted to hear it or obtained it through other means. Now that the artist has enjoyed seven months of albums sales, the collection of songs will debut on streaming services tonight at midnight ET. According to Billboard, Apple Music, Amazon Prime, Spotify and Tidal confirmed that the album will be available in their respective libraries this evening. Mashable reports that Google Play is a landing spot for the singer’s latest work as well.
The popular British singer decided to skip streaming services entirely when her album debuted last November. In a Time cover story in December, Adele explained that she looks at streaming as a “disposable” way to listen to music. “I know that streaming music is the future, but it’s not the only way to consume music,” she said in the interview. “I can’t pledge allegiance to something that I don’t know how I feel about yet.” 25 spent 10 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, and now that streaming is factored into those rankings, it stands to get a boost at the end of the week.
Via: Mashable
Source: Billboard
Apple Discontinues Thunderbolt Display
Apple today told several news sites that it plans to discontinue it Thunderbolt Display, which has been available for purchase online and in Apple retail stores since it was first introduced in the summer of 2011.
“We’re discontinuing the Apple Thunderbolt Display. It will be available through Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last. There are a number of great third-party options available for Mac users,” said an Apple spokesperson.
Apple will continue to sell existing Thunderbolt Display stock so long as it remains available, but once stock is exhausted, the Thunderbolt Display will no longer be available as production is ceasing. It is not clear why Apple has decided to make an announcement concerning the discontinuation of the display and if it means a new 4K or 5K display is on the horizon.
Stock shortages ahead of WWDC sparked rumors that Apple might be planning to introduce a new display at the event, but no new hardware appeared and Apple instead focused on software for iOS devices, Macs, Apple TVs, and Apple Watch devices.
Rumors have suggested Apple is still working on a 5K display set to launch later in 2016, which could feature a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels, USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, and a design that mimics the latest iMacs. Speculation suggests it could come equipped with a built-in GPU or use a DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Stream Transport setup to stitch two halves of a display together to make one seamless display.
If a new Thunderbolt Display is in the works, it could launch alongside next-generation Skylake Retina MacBook Pros, which are rumored to be in the works for late fall.
Related Roundup: Thunderbolt Display
Buyer’s Guide: Displays (Don’t Buy)
Discuss this article in our forums
Acer Chromebook 14 review – CNET
The Good The inexpensive Acer Chromebook 14’s aluminum body is much nicer than the plastic competition. The matte-finish, 14-inch full HD IPS display is a great size for work and play, but still keeps this laptop’s footprint small enough for commuting.
The Bad It has no SD or microSD card slot for expanding its 32GB of storage. The keyboard isn’t backlit and shallow. Power users will want to step up to the Work version of this Chromebook or look elsewhere.
The Bottom Line The Acer Chromebook 14 stands out for its stylish design and big screen at an affordable price. If you’re looking for a classier Chromebook, this is it.
Chromebooks — laptops running on Google’s Chrome operating system — are more known for being small and cheap than for stylish design. The majority of them have 11.6- or 13.3-inch screens and are plastic, which keeps the prices low. That’s what makes the Acer Chromebook 14 all the more remarkable: Not only does it have a 14-inch screen, but it’s thin and clad in aluminum and sells for less than $300.
The Acer Chromebook 14 has a starting price of $280 (£250, AU$450) with different configurations featuring:
- 14-inch screen with either HD (1,366×768) or full HD (1,920×1,080) resolution
- Intel Celeron processor, either quad-core N3160 or dual-core N3060
- Either 2GB or 4GB of onboard memory
- Either 16GB or 32GB of storage (eMMC)
Standard for all configurations are:
- Intel integrated HD Graphics 400
- 720p forward-facing camera
- 3.4 pounds (1.6kg) and 0.67 inch (17mm) thick
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2
- HDMI-out, headphone/mic jack and two USB 3.1 ports
View full gallery
Acer’s all-aluminum Chromebook 14 sports a thin profile.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Reviewed here is the CB3-431-C5FM, a $300 configuration with a full HD IPS display, Intel Celeron N3160 quad-core processor, 4GB of memory and 32GB of storage. (Note: Pricing and configuration availability varies by region and this particular configuration was not available in the UK or Australia.) These aren’t powerful components, but it’s enough for the Chrome OS and web apps. It should also be enough to run Android apps when support is added later this year, but I won’t know for sure until then.
Under what I would consider a normal load — six to 10 open tabs while streaming music or video — the Chromebook 14 was reasonably quick and responsive. Pushing it beyond this by working in more than a dozen tabs and leaving a couple web apps running in the background while streaming music from Spotify caused the music to frequently stutter or there’d be some lag when switching and loading tabs.
Basically, power users will need more power, which Acer does offer with its Chromebook 14 for Work that has Core i-series processors, better graphics and more memory as well as a sturdier case and spill-resistant keyboard.
Acer claims a battery life up to 12 hours for this configuration (14 hours for versions with an HD screen). We hit 9.5 hours with our streaming video test, which is in line with what Acer told us to expect using wireless to rundown the battery. Playing video on the laptop, you should be able get to that 12-hour mark, but it’s safe to say you’ll get about 10 hours with mixed use.
Steam’s summer sale: All the best game deals and hardware discounts
Summer is here!
You know what that means? It’s time to sit inside all day and play Steam.
Steam has announced that 12,845 games are now on sale as part of its annual summer sale, which is called the Steam Summer Picnic Sale this year. It went live at 10 am PST on 23 June and will last until 4 July. You’ll find lots of great deals on some of the most popular PC games today, and you’ll even notice steep discounts on Steam hardware.
We’ve rounded up the most notable sales and listed them all below.
Steam’s summer sale: Game deals
NBA 2K16 – $11.99 (80 per cent off)
Call of Duty – 50 to 67 per cent off every game and bundle in franchise
Assassin’s Creed – 35 to 75 per cent off every game
Fallout 4 – $29.99 (50 per cent off)
Doom – $35.99 (40 per cent off)
Dark Souls 3 – $44.99 (25 per cent off)
Deus Ex – 75 per cent off every game
Hotline Miami 2 – $3.74 (75 percent off)
Steam’s summer sale: Hardware discounts
Steam Link – $34.99 (30 per cent off)
Steam Controller – $34.99 (30 per cent off)
House sit-in shows the power and potential of livestreaming
Forget the final few minutes of the NBA Finals. Forget BuzzFeed tying rubberbands around a watermelon until it exploded. Forget a woman trying on a Chewbacca mask in a car. Sure, these are all moments that have been livestreamed, sometimes to millions of viewers. But it’s events like the sit-in by House Democrats that have truly shown the power and potential of live internet video.
When the sit-in protest started, House Republican speaker Paul Ryan called for a recess and turned off the cameras and microphones. That means that C-Span, the network that typically broadcasts congressional sessions, wasn’t able to show the protest in progress. But in the age of smartphones, this wasn’t a deterrent.
Aside from taking to Twitter with the #NoBillNoBreak hashtag, a few representatives opted to livestream the event. In particular, Congressmen Scott Peters and Eric Swalwell broadcasted the sit-in via Periscope, while Congressman Beta O’Rourke did the same over Facebook Live.
Suddenly, not having cameras wasn’t a problem. This was a momentous occasion, and the only way anyone could see it, was through their computers or their smartphones. Soon, C-Span simply changed its feed over to the congressmen’s livestreams, because that was the only source of the news. CNN and MSNBC reported the event with that same broadcast.
LIVE on #Periscope https://t.co/WRxWGI67xH
— Scott Peters (@ScottPetersSD) June 22, 2016
This is the potential of mobile livestreaming realized. As long as you have a smartphone and an internet connection, you can offer a window into a world immediately, no camera crew required. Paul Lewis, a reporter for The Guardian used Periscope to broadcast interviews from the Baltimore riots last year. Christal Hayes from the Orlando Sentinel did the same in the aftermath of the shooting in Orlando.
Of course, livestreams don’t always have such noble purposes. More often than not, livestreaming videos tend to veer toward the trivial, like behind-the-scenes footage of a Jimmy Fallon show or silly antics to promote a particular brand. Most of the time people tend to use it just to broadcast their lives, which certainly could be interesting — perhaps it’s a video of a skydive or a Beyonce concert — but they’re still just using it like a personal vlog. Worse still are those that use livestreaming to broadcast horrific deeds like rape or suicide. It becomes a cry for attention in the worst way possible.
And yet, if it wasn’t for livestreaming, nobody would have seen yesterday’s historical sit-in take place. The same way social media like Twitter and Facebook was crucial to the Arab Spring movement, Periscope and Facebook Live have the potential to be a powerful democratizing force. It’s unclear if livestreaming will be particularly sustainable or profitable going forward, but as the House sit-in demonstrates, it’s important — perhaps even vital — that it exists.
How to set up, control Family Profiles with an Eero Wi-Fi system – CNET
Eero’s Wi-Fi System began shipping earlier this year, with the promise of fixing Wi-Fi in users homes. Our own Dong Ngo found the system to “create a seamless Wi-Fi network that covers a large area with reliable Internet access,” but ultimately was left disappointed by Eero’s lack of features, such as parental controls in his review.
Recently, Eero updated its system to include a new Family Profiles feature. Within this new section of the app, you can label and assign devices to a specific family member, or device group and set schedules to disable or enable Wi-Fi access.
First things first
You’ll need the latest version of the Eero app on your Android or iOS device. The update was released in mid-June, but it’s a good idea to double-check you’re running the latest version through your respective store.
Creating profiles, identifying devices
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Open the app, then slide out the menu from the left side of the screen. Tap on Family Profiles, followed by the “+” symbol.
Give your profile a name. For me, I set up a profile for each of my kids, along with another profile specific to our Xbox One. After naming your profile, a list of devices currently connected to your network, followed by devices previously connected to your network. Scroll through and select the device(s) you’d like to add to the profile.
To make it easier to identify devices on your network, you can add a nickname to each device. You can do this by tapping on a profile, then a device assigned to the profile. Alternatively, you can tap on the connected devices section on the main screen of the app, then select a device and add a name.
Create a schedule, or hit pause
Enlarge Image
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
With devices assigned to your freshly created profiles, you can create a schedule to disable Wi-Fi access for specific profiles. For example, say you want to keep your kids off of their tablets after bedtime — create a schedule that disables access at bedtime, and turns it back on in the morning.
Another handy use of Family Profiles is the ability to pause Internet access on demand by tapping the pause button within a specific profile.
Kids haven’t done their chores for the day? Ah, that’s too bad…turn off their connection.
How to make your Android look like a BlackBerry
In recent weeks, I’ve shown you how to make your phone feel like a Nexus, a Windows Phone, even an iPhone. Next up was BlackBerry, but in all honesty, some things just can’t be replaced and replicated. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few tweaks that bring back a little of that old BlackBerry magic — and I’m gonna share them with you — but there’s no magic icon pack or launcher that just pulls it together into a real complete BlackBerry theme.
That’s a testament to BlackBerry’s unique design — and its (sometimes painful) simplicity.
BlackBerry fans, if you haven’t jumped over to Android yet (or you jumped over a few years ago and are in the market to upgrade), you can buy a phone that’s entirely Android yet distinctly BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Priv has the best physical keyboard on an Android phone in years, is getting security updates just as fast as Google’s Nexus phones. And there are decent deals to be had if you know where to look. So if you want BlackBerry design, BlackBerry security, and a BlackBerry keyboard, this is your answer.
If you don’t have that much room in the budget for a phone, or the Priv just isn’t an option for you, all hope is not entirely lost. You won’t have an exact BlackBerry theme, because BB10 was — how do I put this delicately?— unique. Even our friends over at CrackBerry who gave me the reference material for this post said BB10 was rather basic. And to that end, here’s how to bring some of that basic beauty back to your phone.
Home screen
While it’s not quite the same system as BlackBerry 10 (which was little more than a recents page and an app drawer), the closest I’ve come to the BlackBerry layout for a launcher is the newly beta’d ADW.Launcher. ADW is still very much a beta, but contains the numbered home screen and app drawer pages. If you really want it to feel like a BlackBerry, you’ll keep the first home screen page clean except for maybe a date/time widget, and you’ll put all your apps on pages 2-5.
For icons, you can take one of two paths. The first path is to download what few stock BlackBerry icons you can and apply them to system apps as custom individual icons and then just take the stock Google icons for the rest, the same way BlackBerry itself has done on the Priv. The second path is to forget the BlackBerry icons and just grab a consistent, good looking icon pack that’s dark, has depth, or both. Here are a few often touted among the CrackBerry community and of our own choosing:
Belle UI Icon Pack, left, and Moko icon pack
Retro icons pack, left, and Stealth icons pack
- Belle UI Icon Pack (Free) is all very rounded squares with soft shadows and subtle depth to them. Belle UI supports an impressive number of launchers and while we always wish it themed more icons, it’s a beautiful pack to start with.
- Moko – Icon Pack ($1.00) is another rounded rectangle icon pack, but this one is a bit more pastel, a bit more a bit flatter, and absolutely adorable. It features over twice the number of icons Belle UI does, and has supports icon masking on most launchers to keep things consistent.
- RETRO ICONS Pack (Free) gives all its icons a faded, far-out, retro vibe (hence the name), and is based off the awesome, now open-sourced Moonshine icon pack. It’s a definite departure from the polished, businessy look of BlackBerry, but this was a pack that was recommended a fair bit in our CrackBerry forums.
- Stealth Icon Pack ($1.99) however, was the most recommended icon pack we came across on CrackBerry, with the dark, shadowy pack showing up time and time again in icon pack recommendation threads and home screen threads.
I’ll repeat it as long as I have to, but I implore you to use a wallpaper that brings some personality and life to your device. But if your heart is set on using one of BlackBerry’s wallpapers, they’re all right here… Please at least use one of the fun ones!
Lock screen
The lock screen that best brought back the BlackBerry magic — and used by CrackBerry editor-in-chief Chris Parsons in his own quest for a BlackBerry theme — is Next Lock Screen by Microsoft, another company that knows a thing or two about productivity. We covered it last week in our Windows theme, it’s not so much a lock screen replacement as it is a layer atop your lock screen, and so long as you’re using a fingerprint to lock your phone or frequently using Smart Lock, you shouldn’t notice the dual layers much.
Next offers a quick launch bar for your most-used apps and shows your latest notifications and appointments on your lock screen, giving you a glanceable way to check your phone without having to unlock it during a meeting or do a lot of swiping. The only major change for most users will be swipe down to unlock rather than the traditional swipe over/up.
A quick word on BlackBerry apps
I would love nothing more than to direct you to all of BlackBerry’s apps for Contacts, Passwords, Calendar, and all their other services. Unfortunately, while they’re all listed in the Play Store for easy updating, they are not available for any other device besides the BlackBerry Priv. Sorry, folks, but BlackBerry really wants you to buy a Priv, as opposed to Google or Microsoft who want you to use their services in the hope that you’ll buy more services or hardware from them. The only BlackBerry app available to non-Priv Androids is BlackBerry Messenger, which is actually published under a different account.
It’s not as though the Priv is a bad phone, it has the best keyboard on the Android smartphone market and is one of the most secure phones to boot. It’s just not a phone everyone can use, or afford. But whatever phone you’re using, you’ve got plenty of options for bringing a bit of BlackBerry nostalgia to your handset.
So, what BlackBerry touches have you been missing on your Android phone? Are there are more tweaks you have for getting that old BlackBerry magic on your device? Share you tips, tricks, wants and desires in the comments below!
Enter to win a Moto G4 Plus from Motorola Canada and Android Central!
Do you live in Canada? Want to win a Moto G4 Plus? You’re in the right place!
We’ve teamed up with the awesome folks at Motorola Canada to give away an awesome Moto G4 Plus to one lucky Canadian. As we’ve talked about already, the Moto G4 Plus is a great phone for its price, or any price, and is a big improvement over the company’s previous Moto G line. With a fingerprint sensor, a huge 32GB of internal storage, and an excellent 16MP rear camera, even the most critical of Android users will be happy with this handset.
The Prize: One new-in-box Moto G4 Plus (also known as the Moto G Plus) in black, unlocked.
How to win: That’s easy! Just head to the widget at the bottom of the page and complete as many tasks as possible. You’re automatically entered if you comment on the post below, but there are a number of ways to increase your chances to win, including following Android Central and Motorola on various social media platforms.
The contest ends on Thursday, June 30th! Good luck to everyone who enters!
Win a Moto G4 Plus from Motorola Canada and Android Central!
Please note that service is not included with the phone. Also, this contest is only open to Canadians. If you don’t live in Canada, instead of complaining — we have lots of international-friendly contests — tell your Canadian friends about the awesomeness that is Android Central, and bring them here.
Best T-Mobile prepaid phones
Shopping T-Mobile’s prepaid plans? Get the best phone to match.
What’s awesome about T-Mobile’s prepaid plans is that you can shop their selection of phones or bring your own unlocked phone. We’re running down the best phones you can buy or bring to T-Mobile to use with its prepaid plans.
- Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
- LG G5
- HTC 10
- OnePlus 3
- iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge
Of course, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge top our list of the best T-Mobile prepaid phones. Samsung built on what was already outstanding about the Galaxy S6 and made it even better.
The camera is at the top of the Android phone game, especially when it comes to low-light shots and the Quad HD Super AMOLED displays on both phones show off your photography skills in crystal clarity, which makes video watching a vivid experience.
The battery life has been improved significantly so your phone will keep up with you, no matter how busy your day gets. Samsung still has a way to go with some of their software but overall its Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are tops.
Need to know more? Check out our reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.
See at T-Mobile
LG G5
Another contender in the great camera category is the LG G5. The two rear-facing cameras take excellent shots; one is the 16-megapixel main camera and the other is an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, though the front facing camera still snaps terrific selfies.
The modular design from LG is unique and the removable battery is an added bonus. The 5.3-inch Quad HD quantum display is ideal for video viewing and game playing and the Snapdragon 820 processor is powerful and makes multitasking a breeze.
Added perk? You’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of LG’s Friends ecosystem, which is set to expand in the near future.
Want to learn more about the LG G5? Have a look at our review to get in the know.
See at T-Mobile
HTC 10
If music is your soul food, you should get your hands on the HTC 10. The BoomSound Hi-Fi set up gives you a front-facing tweeter and a bottom-facing woofer, each with a dedicated amp and the headphone jack has a dedicated amp that makes earphone listening an impressive and powerful experience.
The HTC 10 is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM and also supports adoptable storage, which lets you mount your microSD card as a permanent part of your phone.
The 5.2-inch SuperLCD5 screen is well laid-out but a bit challenging in bright, outdoor light. The phone features a fingerprint scanner that doubles as a home button, but watch for the back and recent apps keys surrounding the home button; their order is in reverse compared to Samsung, if that’s a style you’re used to.
Learn more about the HTC 10 by reading our extensive review.
See at T-Mobile
OnePlus 3
The latest phone from upstart manufacturer OnePlus offers superb value, selling for just $400 unlocked and SIM-free. And naturally, the U.S. version of the phone will work great on T-Mobile with prepaid service.
So what does your 400 bucks get you? How about the latest Snapdragon 820 processor, a premium metal design, a 5.5-inch 1080p Optic AMOLED display and a 16-megapixel camera with OIS (optical image stabilization.) Meanwhile OnePlus’s proprietary Dash Charge tech lets you charge to 60 percent in just 30 minutes.
So that’s more hardware than is on offer from many rivals around this price point. What’s more, the OnePlus 3 also boasts OnePlus’s OxygenOS software, which closely matches the look of stock Android, while adding useful shortcuts and tweaks throughout.
For even more on the OnePlus 3, check out our full review.
See at OnePlus
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
We may be on Android Central but we can’t leave out the offerings from Apple when we’re looking at the best phones for T-Mobile’s prepaid plans.
First and foremost, let’s talk size. The iPhone 6s has a 4.7-inch screen and the iPhone 6s Plus screen comes in at 5.5 inches. Both feature the Retina HD display that has become Apple’s calling card.
If you can’t do without photo and video-taking on a daily basis, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are just as much cameras as they are phones. For example, the iPhone 6s shoots in 1080p, which is already outstanding, but the iPhone 6s Plus shoots in 4K and features optical image stabilization to compensate for the subtle movement of your hands when recording.
There’s more to know about both phones. Check out iMore’s reviews of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
See at T-Mobile
The more you know
Still not convinced by any of our selections? Have a look through a few more options suitable for T-Mobile on our list of the best unlocked phones and take your pick.
AIVAnet 