Enter now to win one of two Sprint Samsung Galaxy S8’s

It could be your lucky day!

Whether you’re locked into a contract or don’t have the cash to pick up a Samsung Galaxy S8 from Sprint, we have you covered. We have both an Arctic Silver and Midnight Black version to give away, and entering couldn’t be easier. Simple tasks like following Thrifter on Twitter or Instagram could be all it takes for you to win one of these.

Enter to win a Sprint Galaxy S8 from Thrifter!

These phones are locked to Sprint. The contest will run through February 11.

This app makes the Pixel 2’s ‘Now Playing’ feature just about perfect

This simple app makes the Google Pixel 2’s ‘Now Playing’ feature so much more useful.

I love the now playing feature on the Pixel 2. The fact it’s just there telling me what tracks I can hear when I’m out and about is terrific. As lame as it sounds, there have been times I’ve been in a supermarket and wondered what that great track playing over the in-store sound system is.

But it’s not a perfect feature. However, with this app, just called Now Playing List, it becomes as close to perfect as I’d want.

The clue is in the title: It lists every track that the now playing feature on the Pixel 2 has picked up. Not only this, but you’ll see the exact date and time you heard that song and it’ll show the location you were on a map, too. All of this information is just pulled from the phone, but you can turn off the location in the app settings if you don’t want to see this.

Personally, I like that it’s there. If I’ve heard a song while I’m out somewhere, I can probably remember where I was more than the name and artist of a song if it’s something I’ve never heard before. With Now Playing List I can just go into the list and figure it out pretty easily.

If you want to highlight any favorites, you can, and from within the app you just tap a button and you can go off and listen to it from the service of your choice. In my case, I set Spotify as default so I just tap on the songs and can go right out to the Spotify app to listen.

If your list gets a little unwieldy then you can simply delete entries on it, and there’s a pretty nifty dark theme, too, that you’ll probably want to enable. Ultimately, if you like the now playing feature on your Pixel 2 but wish it could do more, then the $0.99 asking price is well worth it for what you’re getting here.

Download: Now Playing List ($0.99)

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

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• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Amazon has a neat trick for keeping Alexa quiet during its Super Bowl ad

There’s more to Amazon’s Super Bowl ad than Cardi B trills.

Shortly after releasing a brief teaser, Amazon uploaded its entire 90-second Super Bowl commercial for the world to see ahead of the big game. The ad showcases a number of celebrities filling in for Alexa after she loses her voice, and during the whole thing, the hot word “Alexa” is said 10 different times.

Previous commercials from other companies have used assistant hot words in intrusive ways, but Amazon’s done something special to ensure that your Alexa doesn’t continually go off when its ad is airing.

Undetecable audio cues keep Alexa quiet during commercials.

All the way back in September of 2014, Amazon published a patent by the name of “Audible command filtering.” The patent describes two different methods for preventing Alexa from waking up when its name is said, and of the two, Amazon went with one that sends out an acoustic tone – not noticeable by humans – to cue Alexa to remain silent.

Amazon started to really push its Echo speakers with short advertisements about a year ago, and shortly after this, Reddit user Aspyhackr decided to investigate why the ads weren’t triggering their Echo even though they clearly say “Alexa” at one point or another. After running a few tests, they were able to conclude (and confirm through tests), that the commercials send out audio signals anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000Hz so that Alexa doesn’t respond with a command.

The same technique will be used during Sunday’s game, and while it’s not technically new, it’s a nice reminder that there’s more to Amazon’s commercials than meets the eyes (or voice).

Amazon Super Bowl teaser hints at new Alexa voices

Amazon Echo

• Tap, Echo or Dot: The ultimate Alexa question
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See at Amazon

When is Google going to release Android P?

Android P is coming, and probably much sooner than usual.

If there’s one thing you can always count on from Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O, it’s a healthy dose of what’s next for Android. Google takes a large amount of its conference to help developers prepare their apps for the new features coming to Android, and show off where it can for visibly new things. We know to expect lots of information about Google’s next steps in software instead of hardware these days, because the software part is released in phases over several months as Developer Previews.

Considering Google is hyping its I/O conference a little earlier this year, and a few other bits of information we’ve scrounged up, it seems likely the initial Developer Preview for Android P will be here sooner than you think.

Chromebooks and Android P: Jerry has some thoughts!

Android P DP1

Unlike previous years where Google announced the next version of Android at I/O, last year the Developer Preview came long before the conference. By the time Google took to the stage in the middle of May 2017, developers had been playing with Android O DP1 for nearly two whole months. The final version of Android Oreo looked very different by the time it finally launched on the Pixel 2 in October, but the playground had been open for quite a while in the mean time.

With Google I/O starting on May 8 this year, it’s likely we’ll get the first Developer Preview for Android P a little earlier as well. Last year we saw Android O DP1 initial release a couple of weeks into March, which isn’t that far away at all. If Google’s schedule has been accelerated due to the earlier launch of the conference, we could be a few short weeks away from the first taste of the next version of Android.

Android P is already here for some

Like every company, Google internally tests lots of things before sending it out into the world. Part of that testing includes visiting websites like this one from those super secret versions of Android. Each year we see a slow buildup of traffic from that unreleased version of Android leading up to the initial announcement. It starts with a couple of pings over a week, and build up to several pings per day. By the time a Developer Preview is released, there’s a nice graph in our analytics of mystery Android users in a steady upward trend.

This information doesn’t guarantee much, after all anyone can tell their browser to report itself as anything if they know how, but it’s a steady ramp up every year that gives us a fairly good idea of when Google is going to be doing its thing. We know Googlers are playing with early versions of Android P, and we know they’ve been using it more and more over the last two weeks. Based on the traffic we are already seeing for Android P, it’s possible Google will announce the Android P Developer Preview earlier than last year. In fact, it’s possible we’ll hear more about Android P from Google before the end of February.

What does all of this mean?

Based on previous timelines from Google and some of the activity we’re starting to see, it looks like Android P will be made available to developers earlier than last year. If it were to start at the beginning of March instead of closer to the end like last year, it would likely move the entire cycle ahead by a month. If Android P is ready to go a month earlier than usual, it could mean something more dramatic like the next Pixel phones coming up to a month earlier as well.

The whole timeline could have been moved up by a month.

Given what we’re seeing with Samsung making the Galaxy S9 available earlier this year as well, it could also mean the next big phone from Samsung — such as the Galaxy Note 9 — launches with the next version of Android instead of waiting for an update like usual. Remember Google regularly provides its partners with access to new versions of Android much earlier than public developers, making it possible Google’s ultimate goal for 2018 is to do away with the visual stigma associated with the latest version of Android having so few people using it by the end of the year.

A lot of this is speculation, based largely on prior experience with Google’s behavior in the past. A new version of Android is always fun to play with, and when it comes to encouraging developer and hardware partner support earlier is always better. Until then, we can sit around and think some deep thoughts on what the P is going to stand for.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Project Fi

Deal: Android One Moto X4 available on Project Fi for $249 ($150 off)

Just makes sure you activate the phone within 30 days to get the sale price.

If you’re in the market for a solid, mid-range Android phone, it’s hard to do much better right now than the Moto X4. The X4 may ditch the customizable nature of past Moto X devices, but it still offers an incredibly well-rounded smartphone experience with a very fair retail price of $399.

We’ve got no problem recommending the X4 at that price, but if you’re on Project Fi, you can now pick it up for a mere $249. That’s the lowest price we’ve seen on the Moto X4 yet, even outdoing the Prime Exclusive variant that requires you to sell your lock screen to Amazon ads. Also, for comparison’s sake, that makes the Moto X4 the same price as its less powerful Moto G5 Plus sibling.

It’s also worth noting that this is the Android One model of the phone, so while you won’t have access to Alexa like you do with the regular unlocked version, you do get a more stock-like Android experience with faster software updates.

You will need to activate the phone on Project Fi within 30 days of shipment in order to qualify for the deal, and failing to do so will result in you being charged the full $399. However, since there’s no minimum activation time, you could technically buy the X4, activate it for $20, pause or cancel your Project Fi subscription, and the take the phone to another carrier.

If you’re interested in this deal, it’s available now until February 14 at 11:59 PM PDT.

See at Project Fi

HTC U11 giveaway! Enter now at Android Central!

We’ve teamed up with HTC and have not one but two red HTC U11 phones to give away to you and your sweetheart!

HTC often runs some sort of sale with each major holiday, and just in time for Valentine’s Day, the company has announced its latest promotion. Now through February 15th you can score a new HTC U11 with a $100 discount, which is a smoking deal. On top of that, we’ve teamed up with HTC and have not one but TWO red HTC U11 phones to give away! Keep reading to get yourself entered!

THE GIVEAWAY: Head down to the widget at the bottom of this page. There are multiple ways to enter, each with varying point values. Complete all of the tasks for maximum entries and your best shot at winning! Keep in mind that all winning entries are verified and if the task was not completed or cannot be verified, a new winner will be chosen. The prize does not include service, and we cannot guarantee that the device will work on all carriers. International winners will be responsible for any customs fees incurred during shipping.

The giveaway is open until February 13, 2018, and the winner will be announced right here on Valentine’s Day. Good luck!

Win a red HTC U11 for you and your sweetheart in this Valentine’s Day giveaway!

Action Launcher v34 adds new animations and improved adaptive icon support

The v34 update has a new folder animation, better adaptive icon support, and more.

A little less than a month ago, Action Launcher v33 was released with a highlight feature called “AdaptiveZoom.” AdaptiveZoom is a new app-opening animation that gradually fills your phone’s screen with the background color of each app icon, and with v34, there’s a new zoom animation that perfectly compliments it.

The new zoom animation features the same gradual zoom of AdaptiveZoom to reveal all of the apps present in a given folder, and when used alongside AdpativeZoom for opening individual apps, the end result looks darn good.

In other AdaptiveZoom news, the v34 update also introduces a new API to give developers more control over how their apps work with this. AdaptiveZoom can look a little messy if an app already features a branded launch screen, and with the API, developers will be able to ensure a much smoother and cleaner animation for folks using AdaptiveZoom.

Action Launcher v34’s new folder animation.

Sticking with the whole adaptive theme, Action Launcher v34 introduces a couple new tools for its AdaptivePack companion app. First off, a new “AdaptivePack Fallback” can be used on phones running Android Oreo. This will tell Action Launcher to prioritize an application’s native icon if it’s adaptive, but if it’s not, a themed version will be used. Additionally, if an icon doesn’t have a first-party adaptive icon and isn’t supported by AdaptivePack, a “faux adaptive icon” will be used to ensure you’ve got adaptive icons no matter which apps you have.

Rounding all of this out, you’ll also see Oreo’s drag animation when moving apps around on your home screen, Action’s Launcher’s calendar icons are now adaptive, app boot time has been reduced, and the launcher as a whole is more stable to use.

Action Launcher: Everything you need to know!

UK doctors plan country’s first three-person fertilization procedure

UK officials have approved two women for mitochondrial replacement therapy, the fertilization procedure that results in a baby technically parented by three people, the Guardian reports. The procedure, which still isn’t approved in the US, was legalized in the UK in 2015 and the Newcastle Fertility Centre, where the two women will be treated, was granted a license to perform the procedure last March. While it’s not the first time a procedure like this has been done, it is the first time it will happen in the UK.

The two women reportedly carry genes that cause a condition called MERRF syndrome — a rare disorder affecting the muscles and nervous system that can result in recurrent seizures, movement issues and dementia. The genes that cause the syndrome are transferred to offspring through a mother’s mitochondrial DNA, and that’s where mitochondrial replacement therapy comes in. To remove the risk of MERRF, doctors use the father’s sperm to fertilize an egg from both the mother and a donor who doesn’t carry the genes. Then, the nucleus, which carries most of our genetic material, is removed from the donor egg and replaced with the nucleus from the mother’s egg. This way, the mitochondria with the tainted genes are left behind in the mother’s egg, which won’t be used. All of the genes that determine what we look like are provided by the mother and father, while healthy mitochondria, which contain only 0.2 percent of our genes, are provided by the donor. The result is an embryo with three people’s genetic material.

In 2016, a baby was born from a similar technique. It differed in that it swapped the mother and donor nuclei before the eggs were fertilized rather than after, because the parents objected to wasting an embryo due to religious regions. But it was successful. It was done in Mexico since the US, where the doctor who performed the treatment was based, doesn’t allow the procedure. A similar technique called cytoplasmic transfer also results in three-parent children and it has been performed dozens of times around the world. Instead of swapping nuclei, mitochondria from a donor is injected into a mother’s egg. It was pioneered in the 1990s by US embryologist Jacques Cohen, but the US Food and Drug Administration halted use of the procedure due to safety concerns. While it’s unclear if it was a result of the treatment, a small number of fetuses and children born through cytoplasmic transfer developed genetic and developmental disorders.

Mitochondrial diseases aren’t curable and many are very hard to treat, so treatments like mitochondrial replacement therapy stand to help a lot of people and save lives. “It is absolutely fantastic that we have got to this point in such a well-regulated and controlled way,” Sian Harding, director of the British Heart Foundation Imperial Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Centre in London, told the Guardian. “It is going to be so important now to follow up and understand whether this is successful and how we can take it forward. If you don’t follow up the children, we just won’t know whether this is the right thing to do.”

Via: MIT Technology Review

Louisville wants a fleet of drones to survey areas after shootings

Earlier this week, the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky told reporters that he wants the city to field a fleet of drones that automatically survey areas after guns are fired. The city would detect firearm discharges using its existing ShotSpotter system, WDRB reported, and immediately send the UAVs to the scene, potentially before emergency responders are even called. But this isn’t coming out of nowhere: Louisville could just be the first of over 300 cities that have applied to a federal program that provides funding for local governments that are trying to start their own drone programs.

Cities had to apply for the FAA and DOT’s US Unmanned Aerial System Integration Pilot Program by the end of last November, but of the hundreds of applicants, only five will be chosen. So far, only Louisville is proposing this particular use for a drone fleet, according to Gizmodo.

But the city’s mayor and civic innovation chief believe a host of UAVs buzzing in to photograph or video record a location and leaving thereafter would be less of a privacy violation than blanketing the city in security cameras — and be cheaper, too. Louisville won’t know if its pitch will be be accepted for the program for a couple months, according to WDRB.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: WDRB

Apple to repair iPhone 7s with ‘no service’ bug for free

Today Apple announced it’s launching a repair program for a “small percentage” of iPhone 7 owners who are affected by a “no service” issue. Late last year MacRumors said Apple was investigating the problem and appeared ready to replace affected devices, which would display “No service” in their status bar even when cell signal was clearly available. The cause of the problem is apparently a failed component on the logic board, and Apple says affected units (with model #s A1660, A1679, and A1780) extend through its entire production run from September 2016 until now.

If your unit is on the list then Apple will fix it free of charge (within two years of the original purchase date) by sending it to a repair center. If you’ve already paid for a repair then look out for an email about reimbursement, and if it doesn’t show up then give Apple a call. This is hardly the first recall/repair program we’ve seen for various iPhone issues, which have recently included battery problems (that preceded the software update that slowed down affected phones) for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 Plus “touch disease.”

Source: Apple