Amazon Video now lets you download TV and movies to your SD card
Amazon has updated its Video app for Android, making it easier for customers to take their favorite movies and TV shows with them wherever they go. Customers can now download videos to their SD cards, giving them more flexibility for offline viewing.
This new capability is available for both purchased video and Prime Video. Videos can be downloads to an SD card on a per-item basis, or the card can also be selected as a default destination for downloads.
You can currently take advantage of this capability in the U.S., UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan.
Yelp gets in on the Pokémon Go action with its own PokéStop filter
Yelp just got a little more helpful to all of your Pokémon trainers out there. The service will now let you know which restaurants have Pokémon Go PokéStops nearby. The new capability is part of Yelp’s filter options.
From Yelp:
As you head into a weekend full of wild Zubats and Charmanders, remember to open up your Yelp app or search Yelp.com for businesses with a nearby PokéStop. To do this on mobile or desktop, simply search for a type of local business (“bars,” “restaurants,” etc.), swipe through the filter options at the top, hit “PokéStop Nearby,” and voilà! You can now find places to simultaneously run errands AND stock up on materials needed to catch that Eevee you’ve been eyeing.
The feature is only available in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. at the moment. Additionally, availability of the filter is limited to certain areas within those countries. To help expand its implantation, Yelp is asking people to check in at businesses with PokéStops nearby and answer a question to let people know that a stop is near that location.
You’ll find the PokéStop filter in Yelp now, with no new update required.
Pokémon Go
- Join our Pokémon Go forums!
- How to deal with GPS errors in-game
- Which team should you choose?
- How to play without killing your battery
- The Ultimate Pokémon Go Game Guide!
What I’m using: LD West smartphone holster
My phones don’t fit in my pockets.
I’m not talking about an Galaxy S7 Edge or a Nexus 6P, either. My HTC 10 does not fit comfortably in my front pockets. My Nexus 5X does not fit comfortably in my front pockets. And when I go look for other jeans, short of baggy cargo pants or a few jumpsuits, they don’t fit well in those pockets either. And that’s a problem, because I, like so many of us, spend just about every waking moment with my phone on me. I might not be using it every moment, but I need it on me as I walk around my apartment or around my TV station.
And now, doing that is about five times easier thanks to a gadget I never would’ve considered a year ago: the LD West smartphone and wallet holster.
If you’ve seen these around before, that’s because the LD West holster has actually been around since 2014, but has flown relatively low on the radar. Considering their admittedly bold look, not to mention starting prices of over a hundred dollars, it’s understandable that most people wouldn’t give LD West a second glance… that is, until you see one in public.
My moment seeing one in public came this March, at the Mobile Nations workshop where I finally met most of the colleagues I had only known as bylines on our site and tiny avatars on Slack. While he hadn’t yet officially joined us as MrMobile yet, Michael Fisher was outside Atlanta with us, and he was packing an LD West holster. And it was a beauty.
After spending the weekend, nay much of the previous year, ferrying my phone around in the pocket of my hoodie or in my back jean pocket, having to take it out every time I sat down, the LD West holster didn’t look goofy. It looked downright perfect. Yes, it’s a bit odd, but I’ve never shied away from an odd look if it was functional.
LD West agreed to send me one of my own to try out after fawning over Fisher’s. When my grey holster arrived, I felt more anxious about opening it up and using it more than some of the phones I’ve received over the last two years. Part of that anxiousness was the environment where I’d be wearing this holster. Texas is an open-carry state, and I did have some trepidation about someone mistaking the bulge in my jacket for something deadlier than a Nexus 5X.
As I warmed up to wearing the holster in public, and Texas warmed up from it’s mild winter’s nap, I quickly saw that fear was unfounded. Sure, I got a lot of looks from passersby, but apart from my mother telling me I look silly, no one seemed all that concerned with my packing a pair of smartphones rather than a pair of six-shooters.
The one glaring exception to this rule would be during my trips to Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Skipping up to the security checkpoint with the LD West holster bouncing under each arm, I’d be picked for the “random screening” just about every time. Not that it wasn’t easy to sling off the holster and empty my pockets, but I couldn’t help the roll of my eyes every time I’d pass the bag check and be waved away from the turnstiles to the metal detector.
That said, an extra minute of screening was absolutely worth the convenience of have the LD West in the park. Rather than having to dig my phone out of my purse every time I wanted a photo, I could just slip it out of my holster, snap off a few quick shots, then slip it back in. Rather than having to take my phone out of my pocket every time I sat down on a ride and stuff it into my purse or a pocket on the seatback, my phones stayed safely in my holster. I wore it on Radiator Springs Racers, Test Track, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train with no problems, though I may have held my holster down on a few of the drops out of an abundance of caution.
I had several other guests ask me about my holster (one of my co-workers told me just last week that he needs a photo of me wearing it at work, probably to satisfy a bet), with many going beyond the usual double-take and wondering where one could fit in their life.
And fit in my life, the LD West certainly does. While it was designed for one smartphone and a wallet, I find myself using this with two phones. It may seem extreme, but I’ll be writing about the Nexus 5X sitting in the wallet pocket (which is admittedly a little smaller than the L pocket on my right side) much more frequently now that it’s rooted and tinkering with Xposed and Layers. Besides, unless your wallet’s as heavy as your phone, the balance is better with two phones anyway.
While many wear the LD West holster low and loose, I personally prefer having the phones higher up on my side, near my bust. It steered me away from a few shirts with wider necklines as the buckle on the adjustable elastic straps can chafe while you’re getting used to it. The holster is also great for in the car, as rather than my phone sitting in a dirty cupholder, or in a dash mount under the blistering Texas sun, it is in my holster, where I have absolutely zero temptation to pull it out and see who buzzed me at 75 miles an hour.
Also, if you’re into Pokémon Go, the LD West holster is great for hatching eggs, as you can leave the screen on in the holster and walk around normally without phantom touches, something else I can’t say for most of my jean pockets.
Did I need this holster back in 2014 when it came out? Absolutely not, nor did many of us who were packing smaller phones. But as phone sizes have grown and pockets sizes have shrunk, this holster is a solution to a problem that has arisen for many more people. At $119.99 for most of the traditional models, it is indeed a bit of an ask.
But you have to ask yourself: how tired am I of taking out my phone every time I sit down at my desk? Every time I get into the car? A mother of four remarked about wanting one to keep her phone in place while she wrangled the daily chaos. A salesman was tired of having one phone in his pocket and one in an ugly belt holster for work. All of a sudden that price doesn’t seem so crazy.
See at LD West
Photography by Michael Schneider
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now available on Netflix in Canada
Netflix-using Star Wars fans in Canada, rejoice! Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now available on the streaming service in your country, and you can start streaming the latest entry in the saga right away.
The Force Awakens takes place more than 30 years after Return of the Jedi, continuing the story of the galaxy far, far away. It centers on new characters like Rey and Finn, along with returning favorites, like Han Solo and Chewbacca. The film was originally released in December 2015 to rave reviews and massive box office success.
Disney and Lucasfilm will follow up The Force Awakens later this year with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, while continuing the sequel trilogy next year with Episode VIII.
Android Central 297: Ze Moto Droid
We’re on the road this week, with Phil and MrMobile himself — the one and only Michael Fisher — attending Verizon’s Moto Z Droid event. We’ve got a few new nuggets out of that one, and a few things we have to wait a little longer for.
Thanks to this week’s sponsor:
- Harrys: Use promo code AC to save $5 off your first purchase — start shaving smarter.
Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral297.mp3
#PokemonGoMadeMe: See all the funny and unbelievable things Pokemon Go is making people do
Pokemon Go is making people do a lot of strange shi stuff.
In an attempt to catch Pokemon, people have fallen off cliffs, and they’ve even been in car accidents. Browse our gallery of the worst and dumbest places people have found Pokemon. And if you want more examples, just search the #PokemonGoMadeMe hashtag. It’s now trending on Twitter, which isn’t surprising since the augmented-reality game is quickly sweeping the world.
The app, which has been leading in the app stores after debuting in the US, enables you to find and collect Pokemon all around the globe, as you wander about in real life, so there are plenty of options for tomfoolery. Here’s some of the best (and strangest) examples we’ve found.
#PokemonGoMadeMe
#PokemonGoMadeMe realize that loitering, trespassing, and breaking and entering doesn’t apply to those wanting to be the very best
— Molly Ligon (@mollyligonn) July 14, 2016
When you get hit by a car crossing the highway playing #pokemonGo #PokemonGoMadeMe pic.twitter.com/dRtasuCc93
— Y1 (@y1forprez) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe by a 20,000 mAh battery and water proof pouch for my phone while I go on my beach trip.
— S. Perez Ramirez (@SAPerezRamirez_) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe tie my phone to a ceiling fan so I can hatch an egg????
— shawn smith (@ssmithq) July 15, 2016
Me???????? #PokemonGoMadeMe pic.twitter.com/v0ACkOlhdS
— ♔steffany♚ (@Wolfeyesz) July 15, 2016
Stop it. Who else is here right now? There’s gotta be at least one person I know here. ???????????? #PokemonGoMadeMe pic.twitter.com/TyCoNAHKEA
— Camille Edralin (@missTsacamilla) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe go back to see my therapist. Because there was a Metapod in his waiting room.
— Christine WorldWeary (@googlygirl98) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe catch a Charmander in a hospital’s burn ward
— The Grim Rieper (@RiepTide1999) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe realize we have too many distractions while driving pic.twitter.com/3QaawdOtYi
— G (@GettiGina) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe lose my job
— richard (@TheCatch_) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe post pictures of #PokemonGoZombies focused on his phone not the road. Help me shame the Zombies pic.twitter.com/kY0cMAXzog
— Mathew Delicata (@Mat_Delicata) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe clean the litter box pic.twitter.com/5lNbldMyDm
— Sean (@OddNMacabre) July 14, 2016
What is it with these #Pokemons spawning at Churches? #PokemonGoMadeMe go to church ???? pic.twitter.com/2r5cWjbNge
— Laughing Coyote (@LaughingCoyotee) July 15, 2016
You realise it’s time to clean the bathroom when a Pokemon called Gastly appears in it #PokemonGoMadeMe
— Antonio Ciniglio (@_antcin_) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe recover my shape!!! pic.twitter.com/sPp8sRonO0
— Julio L. (@JLA_DC) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe walk around on a nice day staring at an iPhoneSo, nothing different basically
— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe visit a gym for the first time ever
— Sheepy Shoulders (@josh_ill_us) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe set up an illegal email server and then delete the emails when I got caught -Hillary probably
— Jeff Dwoskin (@bigmacher) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe enter the delivery room where I was mistaken for a doctor. BTW it’s a girl. pic.twitter.com/zJoGj9SuV0
— Taco Eater (@tacoeater) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe type “what the hell is PokemonGo???” in Google search. @HashtagGiants
— MyLittleGarrone (@MyLittleGarrone) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe Say, “I’m going to hit the gym.” without lying.
— Taylor Monroe (@neuroticjoker) July 15, 2016
Now when I see a car crash I think: “I wonder if they caught that Pikachu?” #PokemonGoMadeMe
— Sasha Garron (@sashagarron) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe interrupted a funeral for a squirtle pic.twitter.com/0MBgLJxNpA
— JUSTAN0TH3Rd00d (@ee444086c02d4fa) July 15, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe look at politics more differently???? pic.twitter.com/fvdn54szUZ
— Muzammil VagoZz (@Musammilkv) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe realize that, as a society, we’re doomed.
— leftystrat (@leftyguitar1) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe walk more in one day then I have in the past year.
— Aidan Durias (@pixelfish34) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe go to Victoria’s Secret. Don’t know who it was more awkward for, me or the dozen kids in there.
— Tommy Campbell (@MrTommyCampbell) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe single. Very very single.
— Ryan Broems (@ryanbroems) July 14, 2016
#PokemonGoMadeMe live the dream I had as a kid of going out and catching Pokemon in the real world. I’ve been a fan my whole life. Thank you
— Night-Star (@Night_Star_Pro) July 15, 2016
Want more?
Browse Twitter Moments:
Excuses, excuses. #PokemonGoMadeMe https://t.co/OKmTNgHNUo
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) July 14, 2016
If you’re looking for extra information about Pokemon Go, because maybe you didn’t catch some of the inside jokes in the tweets above, be sure to read these pieces about how to play and why everyone’s talking about the game:
- Pokemon Go: How to play and other tips and tricks
- Can’t get Pokemon Go in your country yet? Here’s how to download it now
- What is Pokemon Go and why is everyone talking about it?
- London through the eyes of Pokemon Go
- Pokemon Go: 11 amazing, mind-boggling facts about the AR game
- Pokemon Go: How to catch Pikachu as your first Pokemon
- Pokemon Go: How to find and catch rare Pokemon
Don’t believe the ‘Pokémon Go’ privacy hype
When the Pokémon Go obsession reached full saturation this week, privacy concern whispers became full-blown hysterical shrieks when a researcher’s blog post accused the game’s maker of taking over its users’ Google accounts. As it turned out, the app’s iPhone permissions were just poorly implemented, and fixed immediately.
Unfortunately that didn’t stop the privacy and security hysteria machine. All week long, headlines made a mountain out of the molehill, scaring some people into uninstalling the app altogether.
Pokémon Go, a phone game released by Niantic Labs and Nintendo, has been an astonishing success. The game is basically a GPS-guided treasure hunt using a smartphone camera. It sends people out into the world around them, gets them interacting with others, and has brought the US some much-needed distraction and smiles.
The stories emerging through social media might be more entertaining than playing the game itself. Pokémon have been “caught” at gay bars and churches, people have been shooed out of police stations and courthouses trying to catch the little beasts. Someone found a dead body, people have been robbed, and some police departments have even been forced to issue safety guidelines. On the plus side, there are some mental health benefits. Meanwhile, Pokémon Go has added nearly $11 billion to the value of Nintendo since its release.
Naturally, a few hackers became interested in what was going on under the app’s hood. But before anyone had a chance to publish detailed findings, researcher Adam Reeve rushed to make a post that set off the chain reaction of hysteria.
Reeve wrote that if you signed into Pokémon Go with Google, the app was given full permission to access your Google accounts. He claimed that the company could read your Gmail, see your Google search and Maps history, access your private photos, delete things in Google Drive, and more.
He also indicated that it wasn’t possible to sign in alternately, by creating a Pokémon account, and sort of made it sound like something suspicious was going on. News outlets rushed to write hyperbolic headlines without bothering to note that this was only happening on iPhones.
That’s how we ended up with hysterical, misleading headlines like, “Pokémon Go is a major security risk for your entire Google account.” And it’s why we had people screaming white frothy rage on social media that Niantic was backdooring user accounts. It’s also how we ended up with Senator Al Franken sending a letter to Niantic demanding answers about Pokémon Go’s privacy practices.
To their credit, Gizmodo contacted Adam Reeve, who then backtracked on his claims, saying he wasn’t “100 percent sure” his blog post was actually true. He also admitted that he didn’t test any of the claims in his post.
In fact, it turned out that Pokémon Go was never able to read people’s Gmail, or any of the really scary things that Reeve and some trigger-happy media outlets claimed. Dan Guido, CEO of security company Trail of Bits did the deep-dive analysis that was needed before any digital ink was spilled in histrionic headlines.
Guido and his team not only cast serious doubt on Reeve’s claims, he talked to Google tech support. Imagine that! They told him the “full account access” everyone was freaking out about doesn’t mean a third party (in this case, Niantic, Nintendo, or Pokémon) can read or send or send email, access your files or anything else being claimed.
It did mean that Niantic could read so-called biographical information, like an email address and phone number. What Trail of Bits also discovered was that Pokémon Go’s Google authorization process was using the wrong permission “token.” Their post linked to another researcher who said, “I believe this is a mistake on Google and Niantic’s part, and isn’t being used maliciously in the way that was originally suggested.”
Before the Trail of Bits post was even published, Niantic had reacted. The company put out a press release explaining that there had been a permissions snafu with the social login process, and they fixed the internal mistake in record time. Their statement said:
“We recently discovered that the Pokémon GO account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. … Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon GO or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon GO’s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon GO needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves.”
Further, it turned out the mystery about Pokémon’s account signup process being suspiciously unavailable at the time of Reeve’s post wasn’t a conspiracy after all. To the surprise of no one, Pokémon’s servers were getting hammered by all the new traffic.
It’s quite interesting to see so many people wig out about an app’s over-reach of permissions. Which is, incidentally, a big deal. And it’s about time.
But it’s really frustrating to watch the outrage flames get fanned and Senators spring into action over something that feels more like crying wolf — when there are flashlight apps that dubiously “need” to know where you are, or must have access to write arbitrary code to your phone. Or, how about a little outrage and action over our recent discovery that popular running app Runkeeper records your location after you’ve turned the app off? (Runkeeper is in trouble for this in Europe, but not here.) Better yet, how about a senator demand answers from Facebook over tracking user locations without consent and matching it with strangers locations? Because we sure as hell don’t know when Facebook did that, or to whom, (or for how long) the company did that. Nor can we can trust that they’ve actually stopped doing this, or won’t do it again in the future.
So this week, everyone we know basically joined a geocaching cult. We already knew that no one reads or understands the terms they agree to for apps and websites, even if they demand giving up your first-born child as payment. We learned that setting up social login permissions is actually really fussy, and difficult to do right. And everyone learned that signing in with your Google or Facebook account means putting some kind of access to your personal stuff in someone else’s hands. Which, by the way, is why I recommend never, ever in a million years signing in to any app or website in this manner. Seriously, if you do that, just stop locking your front door and get it over with.
If only the entire internet, security’s brighter minds, and our elected representatives would level this amount of scrutiny at all apps.
But as one forum commenter wisely explained, “iOS users using Google Account sign-up affected by Pokémon Go permissions bug, Android unaffected” just doesn’t make a sexy headline.
Moto G4 and G4 Plus review: Bigger and (mostly) better
When it comes to getting the most smartphone for your dollar, the Moto G line has been your best choice for the past few years. We adored the previous model, which came in at a mere $180. Now with the Moto G4 and G4 Plus, Motorola is literally aiming to make its budget lineup bigger and better. They’ve got larger and sharper screens, improved cameras and, of course, speedier processors. With those upgrades come compromises, though. For one, they’re more expensive: The G4 starts at $200 and the G4 Plus at $250. Motorola also made some curious design decisions, which in many ways feel like a step back. Still, they both manage to carry the mantle of Smartphone Value King.
Hardware
You won’t find any premium aluminum or chamfered edges on the G4 and G4 Plus. They’ve got practical and simple plastic cases. Still, they don’t feel like budget phones. Their curved edges make them easy to hold, and the slightly textured rear cover feels a bit luxurious against your palm. Both phones are also noticeably larger than any previous Moto G, thanks to their 5.5-inch 1080p screens. At least they’re thinner than their 11.6mm thick predecessor, clocking in at just 7.9 millimeters to 8.9 millimeters. Strangely enough, they weigh the same 155 grams (0.34 pounds) as before.
The G4 and G4 Plus feel pretty solid for plastic encased phones. There’s little flex or creaking when gripped tightly. Long-term durability might be a concern though — somewhere during my week of testing I nicked the top of the G4 Plus’s plastic edge. I never dropped it, so your guess is as good as mine as to how it got damaged. It does make me worried about how well they’d stand up to months of everyday use.
Both phones sport removable back covers, just like all the previous Moto G models. In addition to the nano-SIM slot, there’s a microSD slot for up to 128GB of additional storage. They pack in 3,000mAh non-removable batteries, a nice bump from the last Moto G’s 2,470 mAh offering. It’s a shame that the battery can’t be swapped out, but it’s also large enough that that shouldn’t be a huge issue. (We didn’t have a problem with it last year, either.)
Powering all of this budget goodness are 1.5GHz Snapdragon 617 octa-core processors. Both phones offer 16GB of storage by default, but you can bump up to 32GB with the G4 (a no-brainer $30 premium) or 64GB with the G4 Plus (for another $100). They come with 2GB of RAM, though the 64GB G4 Plus gives you a luxurious 4GB of RAM.
Given that they both share so much hardware, you’re probably wondering what makes the G4 Plus, well… Plus? The most obvious difference is the fingerprint sensor on its front, which sits right below the software home button. The G4 Plus also packs in a 16 megapixel rear camera with phase detection and laser autofocus. The G4, on the other hand, has a 13 megapixel shooter without the added niceties.
One unfortunate downgrade from last year: Neither phone is waterproof. Instead, Motorola is calling them “water repellant,” thanks to a “nano-coating” technology that protects them from spills. That means they should be fine during light rain, or if you spill coffee on them. Just don’t go fully submerging them in anything.
Display and sound
There’s nothing budget about the 5.5-inch 1080p displays on the G4 and G4 Plus. They’re not quite as fancy as the quad HD displays we’re seeing in some flagships, but they still pack in 401 pixels per inch, which is plenty sharp for typical usage. Colors were bright and bold, even in direct sunlight, and viewing angles were surprisingly great. I didn’t notice much of a difference between my iPhone 6S while reading long articles from Pocket and the New York Times app. Videos also looked uniformly great. The big downside is that they’re less capable when it comes to mobile VR. It’s no wonder they’re not Google Daydream ready (though nothing is stopping you from plugging them into a Google Cardboard headset).
On the sound front, Motorola made the curious decision of replacing the last Moto G’s solid stereo speakers with a single one. It’s plenty loud, but it doesn’t sound nearly as good as before. Now that Bluetooth speakers are cheap and small, I’d recommend just snagging one as an accessory.
One nice feature that I never thought I’d have to call out in 2016: both phones have headphone jacks! For the uninformed, you use them to connect a wide variety of audio devices, including headphones. Someone should tell Motorola that these audio ports, which have been universally supported for decades, would be a nice addition to their flagship Moto Z lineup. That’s especially true for the Z Force, which is thick enough to fit a headphone jack. (Yes, the Moto Z comes with a dongle, but that comes with plenty of compromises. You won’t be able to charge the phone when the dongle is plugged in, for example.)
Software
Motorola delivered a nearly stock OS on the G4 and G4 Plus, specifically Android 6.0.1. Marshmallow. The phones are devoid of the junkware and sponsored apps you often find on budget devices. None of this is new for Motorola, it’s been trying to deliver vanilla versions of Android since it was under Google. But it’s nice to see the company stick with that philosophy under Lenovo.
Motorola’s unique gestures, which made their debut on the original Moto X, once again make an appearance. Twisting either phone twice, similar to turning a door handle, quickly loads up the camera from anywhere in the OS. Making a double-chopping motion turns their flashlights on and off. What’s particularly nice is that both features work consistently even when the phones are in standby mode.
Camera
This is where the Moto G4 and G4 Plus truly diverge. Should you settle with a 13 megapixel camera, or spend the extra cash for the G4 Plus’s 16 megapixel one loaded with autofocusing upgrades? Based on my testing, the G4’s camera is a bit hit or miss. Sometimes it delivered sharp and vibrant photos, but sometimes its color rendering was all off. It was also a constant disappointment in low light. The G4 Plus was a lot more consistent — it was able to lock onto subjects much more quickly, and it was actually useful in low light. Looking at both phones shows how far we’ve come in the world of mobile cameras. But, if I had to choose, I’d opt for the G4 Plus’s shooter without any hesitation.
While Motorola used a light touch with most of the software, its camera app is a very different experience from Google’s stock entry. There’s a radial exposure meter right next to the focusing ring, which lets you lighten or darken the image by dragging it up or down. Flash, HDR and timer settings are also on the left side of the screen, instead of the top. If you want to take panoramic photos, or simply want manual controls, you’ll have to use a separate app, like ProShot or Open Camera.
Performance
While I was bracing for a slow experience with the Moto G4 and G4 Plus (due to increased rendering demands for 1080p screens, last year’s display was only 720p), both phones surprised me with their relatively smooth performance. Sure, they’re not as instantaneously zippy as expensive flagships, but they also don’t feel like “budget” devices. Browsing around Android Marshmallow, launching multiple hefty apps like Pokemon Go, and juggling through them was relatively painless. There was the occasional slowdown on the G4, but nothing show-stopping. If anything, their performance feels more in line affordable mid-range phones like the Nexus 5X.
And when it came to demanding usage, I was surprised by how well both phones held up. I was able to capture 1080p videos of both phones’ displays using the AZ Screen Recorder app while running Pokemon Go and jumping through several apps. The Moto G4 showed a bit of slowdown, but Pokemon Go was still totally playable. And the resulting video didn’t have any major hiccups or dropped frames. The Moto G4 Plus with 4GB of RAM fared even better, with no slowdown during screen recording.
Moto G (2014)
AndEBench
16,159
16,371
4,259
3,929
Vellamo 3.0
2,762
2,819
1,992
1,669
3DMark IS Unlimited
9,841
9,851
4,518
4,679
GFXBench 3.0 Manhattan Offscreen (fps)
6.6
6.6
1.7
N/A
CF-Bench
61,030
60,998
20,999
14,470
The benchmarks for both phones reflect the strong performance I saw. Compared to last year’s Moto G, they scored four times higher in AndEBench, three times faster in CF-Bench and they were more than twice as fast when it came to the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited. Of course, benchmarks aren’t everything, but huge performance bumps like these are noteworthy. I wouldn’t have dared play a complex 3D game on the last Moto G, but the G4 and G4 Plus ran games like Racing Rivals without any issue.
The fingerprint sensor on the G4 Plus was easy to set up, and it had no trouble accurately recognizing my fingers. Its placement on the face of the phone is confounding, though. Motorola would have been better off placing it on the rear of the phone like LG, or making it an actual home button like Samsung and HTC.
As for battery life, neither phone disappointed. Their 3,000mAh offerings had no trouble lasting me throughout a full day, even when I decided to go on some impromptu Pokemon hunts. In our test, which involves looping an HD video at 50 percent brightness, they both lasted around 12 hours and 30 minutes. The previous Moto G, lasted 10 hours and 40 minutes.
The competition
At $200 for the Moto G4 and $250 for the G4 Plus, both phones are practically in a class of their own. There are cheaper phones out there, including Motorola’s own Moto E and HTC’s $179 Desire 530, but they all have significantly worse performance in every respect. If you wanted a big upgrade, you could step up to the Nexus 5X, which currently sells for between $280 and $350, and remains one of the best Android phones on the market. Beyond that, there are the affordable high-end options like the $399 OnePlus 3.
If you’ve only got $200 to spend, there’s no better option than the Moto G4 right now. Stepping up to the G4 Plus gets a bit more confusing. If you want the 64GB version with 4GB of RAM, you’d have to shell out $300. At that point, the Nexus 5X is more tempting thanks to its faster hardware, though you’d have to live with its smaller 5.2-inch screen.
Wrap-up
Motorola’s big problem with these new phones is that the last Moto G was simply too good. In pushing for larger screens and other upgrades, it also introduced some compromises. Ultimately though, the good outweighs the bad. The Moto G4 and G4 Plus offer plenty of power and versatility without breaking the bank. And they show that, once again, nobody does budget phones better than Motorola.
CBS News is coming to Apple TV as a free app
If you’re a cord cutter who owns an Apple TV and is on the hunt for live news coverage, then you’re in luck. CBS News has launched an app for the streaming device that will provide 24-hour news programming. It also curates video playlists and news stories for users based on previously watched videos.
The app won’t require any sort of authentication, allowing anyone — with or without a cable subscription — to watch CBSN. It takes advantage of the 4th generation Apple TV’s Siri integration, letting viewers launch the live stream by telling Apple’s personal assistant they want to “Watch CBS News.” While the stream is playing on the top left-hand corner of your screen, users can also browse and bookmark related videos.
CBS launched its digital streaming channel back in 2014 and is only now releasing it on Apple TV. But the app has long been available on most mobile devices and connected TV platforms, such as Roku and iOS.
CBS is launching the news-focused channel just in time for its coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions, which kicks off on July 18th and ends on the 25th.
Source: CBS
Create Netflix movie and TV show ‘mixtapes’ with Flixtape
If you’re looking for a weekend activity, Netflix has another option to guide your streaming habit. The company has a new Flixtape generator that takes a subject or phrase that you enter and compiles a mixtape-like playlist of three titles. You’re free to add more to keep the marathon going as well as re-order or nix the streaming service’s recommendations entirely for your own picks. Though the mixtape sentiment is there on the surface, when a TV show is selected, Flixtape lists the series as a whole, rather than specific episodes. It would be kind of like adding an entire album to the collection.
That being said, the tool is still handy for getting some suggestions. The list you see above was what I got when I asked for a baseball Flixtape. Not too shabby. A colleague typed in “I give up on life” and the results included ABC’s Scandal and the Netflix original Making A Murderer. Once you have the movies and shows selected and in the proper viewing order, you select an image from one of them to be the Flixtape cover, because the artwork is mandatory for this process. If you don’t want to make your own list, the service already has a few to choose from ranging from The Summertimes Flixtape to The Besties or Frenemies Flixtape. As always, once you have the final list, you’re free to share it on all those social channels for all the internet to see.
Source: Netflix
AIVAnet 