Samsung and PayPal strike deal for new in-store and online payment methods

You now have even more ways to pay.

Samsung is continuing to build partnerships to drive even more payments through Samsung Pay, adding PayPal support. Now you can make tap-to-pay purchases all over the U.S. and fund them with your PayPal balance, rather than adding your credit and debit cards individually to both services. You’ll still continue to earn rewards through Samsung Pay as well.

Even though PayPal actually has its own in-store purchasing system, it’s nowhere near as pervasive or simple as just using the existing payment terminals found in pretty much every store today. For those who typically use PayPal for online purchases, they can now seamlessly take that system to stores now as well.

This is a win-win for both companies.

This deal goes beyond in-store payments, though, and seriously benefits Samsung. The partnership also means that merchants will be able to accept Samsung Pay for in-app and online payments through PayPal’s Braintree payments service. So as long as a company is using Braintree, it will be a seamless move to accept Samsung Pay payments from people with modern Samsung phones using their app or website.

Much in the same way that Samsung is ahead of PayPal when it comes to in-store payments, PayPal’s Braintree is far ahead of Samsung Pay’s online payment system. It’s a win-win, really.

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Press release:

Samsung Pay Announces Partnership to Allow Users to Pay via PayPal

Samsung Pay users will be able to use PayPal as a payment method In-App, Online and In-Store

Samsung Electronics today announced an expanded strategic partnership with PayPal Holdings, Inc., adding PayPal as a payment method within Samsung Pay wherever Samsung Pay is accepted – in-app, online and in-store. Access to PayPal will be available for all Samsung Pay users in the United States and will expand to other countries soon. Additionally, through Braintree, a PayPal service, merchants will be able to accept Samsung Pay as a method of payment in-app and online.

Bringing More Benefits to Samsung Pay Users

Customers will be able to use their Samsung Pay to access and use their PayPal wallet, letting them make a payment in millions of stores. Users simply add their PayPal account to Samsung Pay, and can then spend the balance anywhere Samsung Pay is accepted . Additionally, users will continue to benefit from Samsung Pay’s unique value-added services, including gift cards, membership and loyalty cards.

Thanks to Samsung’s NFC and proprietary MST technology, Samsung Pay is the most widely-accepted mobile payment platform on the market and works almost anywhere you can swipe or tap a card today. Now, with the integration of PayPal wallet, customers can continue to use Samsung Pay in the most convenient way possible.

Benefits to Merchant Partners

Additionally, Samsung Pay will be available via Braintree Direct, allowing merchants to accept Samsung Pay as a payment method. With just a few lines of code, merchants will be able to easily integrate Samsung Pay, offering their customers greater flexibility in how they pay and reducing friction through faster and more secure checkout experiences.

Strategic Partnerships

This strategic partnership between Samsung and PayPal will mutually benefit both organizations’ customers. PayPal users will now be able to use their PayPal wallet for offline payment transactions at millions of merchants where Samsung Pay is currently accepted, while Samsung Pay customers can leverage PayPal’s Braintree assets for easier online checkout.

“At Samsung, we pride ourselves on our open model of partnership and collaboration, which helps us deliver the best experiences to our customers,” said Injong Rhee, CTO and Head of R&D, Software and Services of the Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to be partnering with PayPal, one of the largest payment platforms in the world, to offer our global consumers a richer mobile wallet experience. This partnership furthers our commitment to providing customers with a more convenient payment experience that is simple, secure and available almost anywhere.”

“At PayPal, we are focused on creating the best mobile commerce experiences for our customers, and partnering with technology leaders, like Samsung, to create experiences that our millions of joint customers love and can utilize no matter where they shop,” said Bill Ready, PayPal’s Chief Operating Officer. “By adding PayPal to Samsung Pay, we will combine Samsung’s ubiquitous payment solution with PayPal’s seamless and secure mobile wallet – delivering easy access to a simple, secure payment experience.”

Simple, Secure and Almost Anywhere

In addition to helping reduce form fill friction, merchants and users will continue to benefit from the simple, secure and easy to use features of Samsung Pay:

• Simple: To make a payment with Samsung Pay, simply swipe up from the home button, scan a fingerprint or verify with iris scanning1 (which can be different from the authentication registered to unlock the device), and tap the back of the phone on a POS machine.
• Secure: Samsung Pay is built with three levels of security— biometric authentication, card tokenization and Samsung’s comprehensive mobile security platform, Samsung Knox, providing multi-layered protection from the device down to its kernel. In case users lose their phones, the FMM (Find My Mobile) feature enables users to lock Samsung Pay remotely with a preset password.
• Accepted Almost Anywhere: Samsung Pay works with Near Field Communication (NFC) as well as with Samsung’s patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology. MST replicates a card swipe by wirelessly transmitting magnetic waves from the supported Samsung device to a standard card reader, allowing Samsung Pay to work almost anywhere cards are accepted.

Tips and tricks for comparing wireless plans and finding the perfect plan

Here’s how to make sure you have the right service plan for your phone, at the right price.

We all want phone service that works just right each and every time we need it. And of course, we don’t want to overpay for it, either. That’s a tough find, but you can get close and find a plan that’s good for you with a little legwork. Don’t worry, it’s easy legwork!

The perfect plan

The perfect phone plan may be a unicorn and something that most of us will never see, but in this case, close enough is probably fine. Ideally, we want a plan that lets us buy what we need at a good price, then refunds us for what we didn’t use at the end of the billing cycle. And it has to give us great service everywhere we go.

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A plan like this almost exists (we can’t vouch for the good service everywhere part) with Google’s Project Fi. It’s not exactly cheap, but you do get refunded for any data you paid for and don’t use in a month. It’s unfortunate that you have to have a Nexus (6 or higher) or Pixel to use it, as this makes it a non-starter for most people.

For everyone else, you need to do a few things before you start shopping around for service to make sure you get something that suits you well and comes in at a price you like.

What you need to do

The most important thing is to get service that works where you are. Not just where you are most of the time, but where you are regularly. If you commute or spend weekends away or whatever, make sure the service you buy gives you a good signal. Plenty of us here at Mobile Nations travel a good bit, so trust us when we say nothing is as frustrating as not having service when you need to contact someone. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: paying for service that doesn’t work is not a bargain no matter how cheap it is. Don’t be discouraged if you have to pay a little more for something that works.

Coverage maps don’t tell the whole story — ask your friends and family.

And don’t rely on a company’s coverage map. Ask your friends what company they use and how they like it. You might even have to try it for yourself for a month and then try something else if it’s not up to snuff. Porting your number is easy and free.

Know what phones work on which carriers. Whether you want to bring the phone you have or pick up another one, you need to be aware of what carrier networks will work for it. Plenty of models work seamlessly for any carrier that uses AT&T’s or T-Mobile’s network, but Sprint and Verizon-branded phones can be a little different. If you have a phone from Sprint or Verizon, that doesn’t mean you can’t use a network from AT&T or T-Mobile. Plenty of them are fully functional, but plenty aren’t.

You can usually find out the answer of which phones and which carriers are compatible online. I’ve found the WillMyPhoneWork website to be a great resource and the first place you should look.

• Complete list of AT&T MVNOs
• Complete list of Sprint MVNOs
• Complete list of T-Mobile MVNOs
• Complete list of Verizon MVNOs

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Know how you will use it. You need to know how many minutes you use the phone on calls, how many texts you send, and how much data you use each month on average so you know what plan to choose. You’ll find plenty of plans with unlimited calling and texting (not including roaming or international use) as well as a choice of different amounts of data. Get the average, then pick the next higher plan to start with. Unless you’re signing a contract you can change it next month if you need to. Be sure to find out how to add more data in the middle of the month, too.

Finding out how much you use is fairly easy. You can use an app, check with your carrier either online or over the phone, or even check the settings of the phone itself.

These are all the ways you can save data and monitor your data usage

Find out what costs extra. Many cheap prepaid plans are no-frills offerings. If you want to call or text internationally, will be roaming outside the coverage area every now and then or want to tether your phone’s data connection to a laptop or tablet you need to check and see if these services are covered. They probably aren’t.

The good news is that many smaller carriers offer these services on top of their basic plans, and things can still be a good bit cheaper than what you’re paying now. You’ll find this information on the company website, and if you can’t, don’t be afraid to give them a call. They want your business and should be happy to answer any questions.

We’re here to help answer any questions you might have.

Here’s a final tip that doesn’t directly apply to the plan or the costs, but is important. Know what to do if you need help. You’re going to find that customer service isn’t the same on a smaller carrier compared to one of the Big Four. You’ll get answers that cover the service itself and find a few tutorials for things like setting up your SIM card online, but if you need help with your phone don’t expect your carrier to give it to you. These companies are in the business of selling service with a minimum of overhead. That means customer service is there for general questions about the network or the plan, but nothing further.

Thankfully, there are plenty of web sites like Android Central that can help. And if you can’t find an article to walk you through your issue, chances are you’ll find it in online forums. Or at least find someone to help you through it.

Don’t get discouraged! Wading through all the information about different carriers and different plans can feel a bit overwhelming. Narrowing down your choices using these tips can help. When you’re saving money every month, you’ll know it was worth it!

Alternative carriers (MVNOS)

• What is an alternative mobile carrier?
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• How to make sure your phone works on a prepaid alternative carrier
• 8 Important Considerations When Switching To An MVNO
• These are the cheapest data plans you can buy in the U.S.
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Flagship Nokia 8 breaks cover with familiar hardware, top-end specs

It’s time to break out from the budget segment.

The Nokia brand, reborn under the company HMD Global, is set to release a proper flagship phone above the previously released Nokia 3, 5, and 6 — it’s the Nokia 8. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has some early details over at VentureBeat.

The Nokia 8 is a slightly larger phone that stylistically fits in the same family as the 3, 5, and 6 but has top-end specs to compete with other leading flagships. It’s expected to have a 5.3-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835, at least 4GB of RAM, and of course a dual camera with Carl Zeiss optics in front of 13MP sensors. It’s all expected to run Android 7.1.1, and its current set of phones have shown HMD isn’t interested in messing with the software much.

Up to this point the refreshed release of Nokia-branded phones has been in the budget segment and almost entirely leveraging the recognition of the Nokia name. It will be interesting to see how a phone that is likely to sell for $600 or more can differentiate itself in its actual components or experience, as the Nokia name alone isn’t going to be enough to take down the fantastic set of flagships in 2017.

Rumors point to a proper announcement of the Nokia 8 on July 31.

These Galaxy S7 Battery Cases Can Keep You Powered Up

Keep your S7 charged up when you’re on the go with these battery cases.

If you’re finding that your Samsung Galaxy S7’s battery life is lacking these days, you might be in the market for a quality battery case to provide you some extra juice as you go about your day.

There’s a number of things to consider, depending on your specific needs such as budget, style, and which phone features are most important to you. While these cases help you keep your phone charged throughout the day, many of them affect your ability to use QI wireless charging, which might be a deal breaker for some.

Let’s take a look at your best options.

• Samsung Galaxy S7 Wireless Charging Battery Pack
• Mophie Juice Pack
• Trianium Charging Case
• ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case
• Bastex Charging Case

Samsung Galaxy S7 Wireless Charging Battery Pack

We’ll start with this charging pack option from Samsung themselves, which we’ve previously highlighted in our list of the best accessories for the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Like all the products features in this list, this battery pack from Samsung is going to add some substantial girth to your phone, but it’s also designed to be easy to install or remove. This makes it an ideal accessory to keep handy in your bag, so it’s always on hand if you need a boost to get through the rest of your day. It’s also worth noting that this is called a charging pack — not a case — so don’t expect this one to provide much protection for your phone in the case of an accidental drop.

This pack actually uses Qi technology to wirelessly charge your phone, which is great for keeping the Micro-USB port clear, but it also slower charging speeds — expect to get a 50% charge over 2 hours of charging time. That’s going to be disappointing for some, but for its current price of under $30, it’s still a worthwhile accessory to have handy for those times when you’ll need it.

See at Amazon

Mophie Juice Pack

Looking beyond Samsung’s own battery case, Mophie offers your next best bet — although it’s also the most expensive case on the list. What you get in terms of features might make the premium price tag worth it though.

AC’s Andrew Martonik went hands on with the Juice Pack and found that it outperformed the Samsung battery pack, adding 60% to the phone’s battery in roughly one hour and 20 minutes. It’s compatible with wireless charging and includes pass-through charging so your Galaxy S7’s battery is topped up before the Juice Pack. Beyond the overall bulkiness, the design of the case is smooth and sturdy, with tactile feedback for the covered power and volume buttons.

The downside here is the considerable amount of bulk that this case adds. The phone is thicker and taller with the case installed, which is to be expected for most battery pack cases and the one big trade off you’ll have to accept. Still, if you’re looking for a reliable battery case to give your phone the juice it needs to get through the day, Mophie knows what they’re doing!

See at Best Buy

Trianium Charging Case

This charging case from Trianium offers 4,100mAh of backup power in a slim yet protective case that should also keep your phone protected from minor drops. The build offers much more grip than the slippery glass of the naked Galaxy S7. You can charge the case and your phone at the same time using a Quick Charge 2.0-compatible wall charger, or sync your phone to your computer with the case on via the included Micro-USB cable.

You’ll find the LED power level indicators on the back near the bottom of the case. The added bulk at the bottom of the phone blocks access to the headphone jack, so Trianium has included a headphone jack adapter — because that’s an important feature most of us can’t live without.

With a fully-charged phone and battery case, you should expect to get up to 18 hours of heavy use with this combo. This case interferes with the wireless charging capabilities of the Galaxy S7, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.

See at Amazon

ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case

ZeroLemon claims that this is the world’s highest-capacity Samsung Galaxy S7 charging case — and with a capacity of 7,500mAh it’s certainly the best we’ve found.

But all that added power means that this thing is THICK. With it installed, your phone will be 0.82 inches, so don’t even think about wirelessly charging your phone with this puppy on. It’s a three-piece case that might be a little tricky to install at first, but once you’ve got it on, your phone is protected from drop damage as well as running out of juice. Power level indicators and the charging button are located on the top-half of the back, and it also support pass-through Quick Charge 2.0 capabilities for the phone itself.

Some users have reported an issue with the charging port flap not properly closing, which might be something worth keeping an eye on. Otherwise, if you don’t mind carrying around a brick in your pocket or bag, the ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case offers the most capable charging case available — as long as you’re willing to deal with all that added bulk.

See at Amazon

Bastex Charging Case

Balancing price, functionality, and style, the Bastex charging case offers 4,200mAh of charge that’ll easily top up your phone from the low battery to full.

In terms of protection, this case leaves the sides of your Galaxy S7 completely exposed, which is good for accessing the power and volume buttons but bad for drop protection. Your phone also sits nearly flush with the front edge of this case, with the two parts of this case popping together on the back of the phone case popping together. If you’ve used one of these two-piece charging cases before, you know that a drop might cause the case to come apart, which is obviously less than ideal.

There are pass-through charge and sync capabilities, with priority given for charging your phone before the case recharges itself. And there’s also a handy kickstand build into the back of the case, so you can use that extra battery power to stream more media for hands-free viewing. It’s also available in three color options — black, gold or white — to match your phone or your personal style.

See at Amazon

How do you keep your phone topped up?

Do you have any opinions on the cases we’ve outlined? Found a better option than our picks? Let us know in the comments below!

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Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’ tops Billboard 200 chart following wider release

Clearly, Jay-Z learned a lot about the perils of permanent streaming exclusives from former Tidal buddy Kanye West. Jay-Z’s 4:44 album has topped the Billboard 200 chart for the week ended July 13th, or the first week after its brief Tidal exclusive came to an end. The release managed the equivalent of 262,000 album sales (1,500 song streams are equal to one album) in the US, which makes it the fourth-largest release at this point in 2017. And significantly, he did this after ditching Spotify in April — the tally comes largely thanks to Apple Music, iTunes downloads and (to a lesser degree) old-fashioned CD sales.

The chart-topping success underscores the limited effectiveness of online music exclusives, even when the artist owns the service (as is the case with Jay-Z and Tidal). While they might drive sign-ups in the short term, an artist ultimately needs to make their work available on at least some popular services if they want a chance at a number one hit. Don’t be surprised if you see fewer long-term exclusives going forward, at least on smaller services.

The performance might also raise alarm bells at Spotify. While it’s still the largest streaming service by a comfortable margin (Apple Music had ‘just’ 27 million paying customers as of June), it’s not likely to be happy that one of the biggest albums of the year led the Billboard 200 without its help. This isn’t such an issue outside of the US (where Spotify has more sway and Billboard has none), but it indicates that Spotify isn’t as vital to making a modern hit as its size would suggest.

Via: Pitchfork

Source: Billboard

Samsung Pay will soon tap into your PayPal account

Samsung Pay has been steadily increasing its payment options since it debuted two years ago, and now it’s adding a new vendor to its services. Soon, Samsung Pay users will be able to use PayPal in-app, in-store and online.

Users can add their PayPal accounts to Samsung Pay and use their PayPal wallet anywhere Samsung Pay is accepted. And because it uses proprietary MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology, which allows you to use Samsung Pay at terminals that don’t accept NFC, it’s accepted more places than any other mobile payment platform. Merchants will also be able to accept Samsung Pay online through PayPal’s Braintree.

Using PayPal wallet with Samsung Pay is only currently available in the United States. However, Samsung is working on expanding PayPal wallet support to the 18 other markets it serves, including Spain, South Korea, China and India, soon.

This is a good move for PayPal as well. The service has been moving more and more into mobile payment methods. With these integrations, you may soon be able to use your PayPal account just like a real bank account.

Source: Samsung

Researchers discover one of the brightest galaxies ever seen

Scientists at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, a research institute in the Canary Islands, just discovered one of the brightest galaxies we’ve ever come across. It’s around a thousand times brighter than our galaxy, has a very high rate of star formation and is 10 thousand million light years away.

The researchers found the galaxy using the gravitational lensing effect wherein really massive objects in space, like galaxies or galaxy clusters, warp and enhance the light of smaller objects nearby. This phenomenon has helped researchers track down exoplanets, black holes and unexpected galaxy types. This discovery, which was recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, was made possible by a galaxy cluster that lies in between us and the newly observed bright galaxy. “Thanks to the gravitational lens produced by a cluster of galaxies between ourselves and the source, which acts as if it was a telescope, the galaxy appears 11 times bigger and brighter than it really is, and appears as several images on an arc centred on the densest part of the cluster, which is known as an “Einstein Ring,” Anastasio Díaz-Sánchez, an author of the article, said in a statement.

The light amplification and multiple images of the galaxy produced by the gravitational lensing effect helped the scientists see the galaxy and will help them analyze more details about its composition in the future. The researchers have dubbed this galaxy the Cosmic Eyebrow because of the similarities to another galaxy called the Cosmic Eyelash. That galaxy got its name because it was found near a young galaxy called the Cosmic Eye, which looks like its namesake due to its image being warped by gravitational lensing.

The Cosmic Eyebrow, which because of its distance we’re seeing the earlier stages of, will help researchers understand the formation of large distant galaxies and how they evolve into elliptical galaxies that exist today. Susana Iglesias-Groth, another author of the study, said, “This type of objects harbour the most powerful star forming regions known in the universe. The next step will be to study their molecular content.”

Source: Astrophysical Journal Letters

ESL eSports makes cable TV debut on Disney XD

For the first time, eSports league ESL is coming to cable TV, broadcasting ESL Brawlers and ESL SpeedRunners on Disney XD. The two series will feature on Disney’s D|XP, a summer programming block devoted to gaming. ESL Brawler pits the best Street Fighter V players in a first to 10 match, with winners defending their title against a new contender each week and fighting it out in a final Vainglory championship on week seven. The SpeedRunner event is more of a free-for-all, pitting the best players against each other to finish the game fastest, while chasing a world record.

Though the shows are appearing in a very nichey spot on Disney XD, their arrival heralds a mainstream breakthrough for eSports. The D|XP programming spot is aimed at students on summer break, showcasing not just eSports but “games, publishers, events and prominent personalities across the gaming landscape,” ESL said in a news release.

Disney will also broadcast the EVO 2017 fighting game championship finals for Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros. on ESPN2 and Disney XD. The network recently aired its many of its own-branded games at D23 on the web (its D23 site, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook), including Kingdom Hearts III, Insomniac’s Spider-Man and Star Wars: Battlefront II.

ESL Brawlers will debut on Thursday, July 20th and ESL SpeedRunner will happen at some point in August. D|XP debuted on July 15th, with a programming block running between 9PM and 3AM every Saturday Night. That’s not exactly prime-time, but it does let Disney air some content not appropriate for younger kids. The network will no doubt keep its on the ratings and possibly expand it if things are looking good — pushing gaming and eSports further into the mainstream.

Take a peek at the new iOS emoji arriving later this year

If you’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for the 56 emoji approved by the Unicode Consortium last month to hit your iPhone . . . well, you have to wait a bit longer. But for World Emoji Day, Apple has hit us with a preview of what these emoji will look like when they finally arrive.

The emoji include new smiley faces, more diversity options and new animals. There’s the addition of a sandwich emoji (FINALLY) as well as mythical creatures, such as a zombie, and a tiny-armed T-Rex. You can also find emoji for a woman with a headscarf, a bearded man and a woman breastfeeding.

You’ll likely have to wait until the release of iOS 11 to enjoy these emoji on your device. With the release of the Android emoji preview, however, it’s nice that Apple followed suit.

Source: Apple

Anyone can steal your old Myspace account by guessing your birthday

You probably haven’t touched your Myspace account in ages, but you might want to pay it a visit just in case — as it turns out, it’s trivially easy for someone to take control. Security guru Leigh-Anne Galloway has discovered that Myspace’s account recovery site only validates your real name, user name and birthday. Given that the first two are easily obtainable, you only really have to guess the birthday to hijack an account — and that’s not necessarily hard depending on how publicly someone celebrates the occasion. In theory, someone with a knack for Google searches could impersonate you with little to no warning.

We’ve asked Myspace for comment. Time’s social network hasn’t exactly been responsive so far, though. Galloway says she emailed Myspace about the issue in April and hasn’t had a response. In the meantime, though, she suggests deleting your Myspace account if you’re at all concerned about it. A data thief or prankster could use it to get further insights into your personal life (albeit from several years ago), and they could tarnish your online reputation by messing with your profile. If nothing else, this illustrates how crucial it is to constantly update security measures — it shouldn’t be possible to recover an account this easily, especially not in an era when data breaches are a seemingly regular occurrence.

Via: The Verge

Source: Leigh-Anne Galloway