Treat your home to an ECOVACS DEEBOT N79 Robovac for just $160 today

Let it do the work.

Right now you can grab the ECOVACS DEEBOT N79 RoboVac for just $159.98 when you use coupon code ECOVACS1 during checkout at Amazon. With over 4,500 reviews, this RoboVac has a 4.2 out of 5-star rating, which is rather impressive.

You can use the free ECOVACS app to create a schedule, monitor cleanings, receive error alerts, and much more. It has four different cleaning modes and a 3-stage cleaning system to ensure your hard floors and carpets are nice and clean once it finishes.

See at Amazon

Pay once to host your website for life with Dragify

As business moves online and people’s attention moves to the web more and more, having your own website is more than an asset — it’s almost a necessity. But maintaining a website means paying monthly or yearly hosting fees which can quickly add up over time.

Fortunately, there are companies like Dragify Website Hosting which will keep your website hosted and domain registered for a one-time payment of just $49.99.

This deal from Windows Central Digital Offers is here to alleviate frustration and to alleviate the strain on your bank account. Dragify is also a custom website designer that lets you create your own website the way you want it, which is included for free to allow you to create professional-looking sites without scripting or coding. Typically this service would cost you upwards of $600, but with this deal, you’ll save 83%.

Dragify uses Litespeed Web Servers which handle traffic spikes and neutralizes DDoS attacks with ease, while CloudLinux prevents individual sites from using too many resources while also providing better security. You’ll also be able to create as many 500MB email accounts, forwarders, and auto-responders as required for your business or site.

Having your own website, whether it’s for personal promotion or for your business, is an important tool to have in your promotional arsenal. And if you’re creating a site just for fun or to have as a creative outlet, then it’s even more important that Dragify is incredibly easy, since you want to get to the fun and creativity sooner rather than later. And why continue to pay monthly hosting fees get a lifetime subscription to Dragify Website hosting for only $49.99 at Windows Central Digital Offers?

See at Android Central Digital Offers

Google ‘Chat’: Everything you need to know

Google might have finally found a way to fix online chat for everyone after years of trying.

Google Chat is said to be the latest messaging solution from the company and if the rumors are true, every problem with online messaging could disappear. That’s a pretty bold statement, but what Google Chat is (and what it isn’t), as well as how it’s different from previous attempts, makes me believe that there’s nothing else any one company can do and it this doesn’t work nothing ever will.

Let’s have a look at what it is and why it’s different than previous attempts to “fix” online messaging.

The current problem

Right now online messaging is a digital battlefield filled with companies who only care what’s best for themselves instead of making it easier for us. Services like iMessage and WhatsApp are great, but only if both sides of any online conversation are using the same app. There are several different standards that can be used and two of them we’re all familiar with — SMS and XMPP — but that doesn’t seem to matter because no service seems to want to use them the right way. SMS has been corrupted by companies like Verizon who try to use their version as a marketing tool and XMPP (what old apps like Jabra or Google Talk used) has been all but abandoned.

As usual, corporations are being corporations and making money comes before what’s best for users. Same as it ever was.

The solution

RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a standard that can enhance and replace SMS and is able to give users an experience like iMessage or WhatsApp without both parties needing the same app, being on the same platform or through the same carrier. It’s based on the premise that both users will have an active data connection and messages can be sent like they would through an instant messenger client using a set of protocols about how and what can be displayed. There’s also a fallback that can use SMS for a “lesser” version of a message if a user doesn’t have a data connection for a short period of time.

More:What is RCS and why is it important to Android?

SMS is one of those things that needs to die. We use it because it works, but it’s expensive to maintain and horribly insecure and your phone company would be very happy for it to go away forever. That’s not really feasible just yet, so the next best thing is for SMS to be a last resort when all the better ways to chat won’t work. That’s exactly what services like iMessage or Verizon Advanced Messaging are doing right now. When both sides are using it you’ll have a nice messenger experience but if one side isn’t the chat falls back to a text-only affair. Apple and Verizon both use this as a way to let you know how much better things would be if you used their products in the way they want you to use them.

RCS would make this become universal. No matter what app you are using on any phone, you’ll have that enhanced experience as long as you have a data connection.

Where Google comes in

Google has tried all sorts of ways to give users a rich service for chatting that doesn’t depend on SMS. This started with Google Talk (which used the XMPP standard) then Hangouts became a thing then Allo arrived and each service was a little bit better than the last. But each had a problem, and while that problem was different each time it always went back to one thing: Google was trying to fix it with an app and not a standard.

This has one major flaw — both sides need to use the app. Google made the app free and available for everyone, but everyone already had an app for chat and there was no incentive to change. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Allo is a wonderful app that everyone would love if there was anyone else using it. But nobody is ever going to switch away from iMessage or WhatsApp or Verizon Advanced Messaging and use Allo, and they shouldn’t; switching from one app that locks you in to another that locks you in is silly.

What needed to be done is to find a way to get every company to adopt the same universal RCS protocol, and that’s what Google seems to have accomplished. Mostly.

There have been a handful of carriers that jumped on the RCS train as soon as it became available. Sprint, Orange and Claro are names that come to mind and are also not the major players in each of their markets (that’d be AT&T, Vodafone and Vivo) so you always had more users unable to use a fully RCS capable messenger than you had that were. Android, Windows and iOS are all able to use RCS capable messaging clients but without carrier support that doesn’t mean much.

Google Chat looks like it will just be a rebranding of the Messages app that already exists (and is already RCS-ready) and it’s not the important part of of all this. The important part is that Google somehow convinced carriers to adopt the RCS universal profile and got Samsung to include it in their Messages app. These are the two things that kept us all from having a good chat experience by default all along and if the reports about Google Chat are true, we’ll all be able to have that rich messaging client we want by using the same messaging client we’ve been using all along for texting.

The one unknown

It’s important to remember than Google hasn’t said much of anything just yet. Google Chat is one of those things that exists as a leak or rumor that looks to be 100% legitimate and comes from a trustworthy source. But there will probably be more details once Google makes it all official.

With that in mind, there is one big piece that will still be missing and that’s the iPhone. iMessage is not RCS capable and actually uses the fact that it’s not fully compatible with any other messaging service as a selling point. Because you can’t change the default messenger app on an iPhone, this means that messages between an iPhone and everything else will still fall back to just text. Google can’t fix this and it would take Apple adding the RCS universal profile abilities to iMessage to make things just work.

We expect more details about Google Chat and the RCS solution to come up at Google I/O 2018 in a few weeks. There are certainly a handful of unanswered questions and once we get any more details we’ll add them right here. In the meantime we can think about all the extra space we’ll have once we can uninstall all the various messaging apps we use now and just use one really good one for everything.

These are the best Android apps of 2018 nominated for a Google Play Award

Check out the apps Google thinks are the best available today.

There are millions of great apps on the Google Play Store, so it can be tough for apps to get noticed and pick up the traction they deserve. That’s one of the reasons why Google runs a yearly “Google Play Award” system, where it picks a couple dozen apps to highlight for outstanding design, user experience, performance, innovation and overall quality. Google just released the full list of nominees for the award, which in itself is a huge deal for these developers, but at Google I/O 2018 we’ll see the actual award winners.

Here are all of the nominated apps, divided up by category — there are nine categories in total, and five nominees for each one.

Standout well-being app

• Clue by BioWink GmbH
• Fabulous by TheFabulous
• Headspace by Headspace, Inc.
• Lifesum by Lifesum
• Simple Habit by Simple Habit, Inc.

Best accessibility experience

• Audio Game Hub by Sonnar Interactive
• Be My Eyes by Be My Eyes
• Open Sesame by Sesame Enable
• Universal Copy by Camel Corporation
• Voice Volume Catcher by LITALICO lnc.

Best social impact

• Forest by forestapp.cc
• Khan Academy by Khan Academy
• Otsimo by Otsimo
• Tala by Tala Mobile
• TODXS by TODXS

Standout indie

• Agent A by Yak & Co
• Bridge Constructor Portal by Headup Games
• Flipping Legend by Noodlecake Studios Inc
• Old Man’s Journey by Broken Rules Interactive Media GmbH
• OPUS: Rocket of Whispers by Sigono Inc.

Best community building game

• Clash Royale by Supercell
• Episode by Pocket Gems
• Lineage 2: Revolution by Netmarble Corporation
• Pokémon GO by Niantic, Inc.
• PUBG MOBILE by Tencent Games

Best AR or VR experience

• ASTEROIDS! by Baobab Studios
• BBC Earth: Life in VR by BBC Worldwide (Ltd)
• Brickscape by 5minLab
• Figment AR by Viro Media
• Porsche Mission E by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

Standout build for billions experience

• Cricbuzz by Cricbuzz.com
• Flipkart by Flipkart
• Mercado Libre by Mercado Libre
• Moovit by Moovit
• Viki by Viki, Inc

Standout startup

• Astro by Astro Technology
• Canva by Canva
• Drops by Language Drops
• Kredivo by FinAccel Pte Ltd
• N26 by N26

Best breakthrough hit

• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp by Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• Cooking Craze by Big Fish Games
• Empires & Puzzles by Small Giant Games
• Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition by SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.
• PUBG MOBILE by Tencent Games

We’ll see the awards for each category handed out on May 7 at Google I/O, but you don’t have to wait until then to check out these awesome apps. Google has created a handy link to the Play Store where you can see and download all of the nominated apps in one place.

Moto E5 Play vs. Moto E4: Should you upgrade?

Last week, Motorola refreshed its wildly popular Moto G and Moto E series, among which is the new Moto E5 Play — an ultra-low-cost device targeted at prepaid customers who don’t want to spend much more than $100.

Everyone’s heard the old adage “you get what you pay for,” and a few years ago that might’ve been true to some extent with inexpensive phones. These days, though, you can get a lot of bang for just a little buck; last year’s Moto E4 impressed us with surprisingly nice design and performance, and the Moto E5 Play looks to continue that tradition. But if you already have the E4, is there any reason to upgrade to the newer model?

What’s new with the Moto E5 Play?

The Moto E5 Play takes on a newer look and feel that closely emulates its more expensive counterparts. While the display is still 16:9 and 720p, it’s been upsized from 5.0 to 5.2 inches, and the fingerprint sensor now rests on the back of the phone, hidden in the Motorola logo. The camera has also been upgraded, keeping the same 8MP resolution while seeing a bump in aperture from f/2.2 to f/2.0.

The Moto E5 Play is also running a newer version of Android — specifically, Android 8.0 Oreo —which could be a significant consideration for some shoppers given Motorola’s poor track record with software updates. If you’re on a Moto E4 right now, upgrading could be the only way you’ll be able to move on from Nougat.

See at Motorola

Why you might not need to upgrade

Save for the redesign and newer software, there’s honestly not a whole lot that’s changed since last year’s model. The Moto E4 sports the same Snapdragon 425 chipset, the same 2GB of RAM, and the same 16GB of internal storage, expandable via micro SD. It has the same splash-proof coating, the same 2800mAh battery, and the same Micro-USB port.

You probably don’t need to upgrade quite yet.

So with all the specs almost identical across devices, what reason is there to upgrade? In all honesty, software might be the only factor — and for most people shopping in the sub-$200 range, that’s likely not reason enough to justify the Moto E5 Play. The E4 is still an extremely capable device, all things considered.

None of this is to say that the Moto E5 Play is a bad buy. If you don’t have either phone and you’re simply in need of an upgrade from an older device, It’s probably worth it to wait for the E5 Play to launch so you can enjoy the newer Oreo software. But if you’re already rocking a Moto E4, you might be better off waiting for next year’s model before upgrading.

See at Amazon

Which is right for you?

Do you have a Moto E4 right now? Are you planning to upgrade to the Moto E5 Play? Let us know in the comments below!

Today’s best deals you won’t want to miss

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

Today you can get big discounts on TP-Link smart plugs, Ninja’s popular blender, snack sample box, and more! Don’t pass these up.

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

Instagram users can download a copy of their data

We’ve known about Instagram’s plans to create a data portability tool for a while now; it was created to better comply with the UK’s upcoming Data Protection Bill and gives its users the ability to download a copy of everything they’ve put on the photo sharing service. The tool is now live on the Facebook-owned company’s site: when you enter your email address, Instagram will send you a “link to a file with your photos, comments, profile information and more.”

You’ll need to have your Instagram password handy, as the web form asks you to authenticate to get your data. Once you hit the submit button, you’ll see a message that says, “We’ve started creating a file of things you’ve shared on Instagram and will email a link to [your email address]. It may take up to 48 hours to collect this data and send it to you.” According to TechCrunch, you can also access the data download tool via the mobile app’s privacy settings. While making user data available for download might be seen as a way for those users to jump ship, it’s more likely that they’ll all feel better about having a copy of their data, just in case, and stick around.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Instagram

iOS 11.3.1 fixes unresponsive third-party iPhone 8 displays

Apple has just released iOS 11.3.1, which promises to fix a bug affecting iPhones that shipped with iOS 11.3. The update unfortunately made the touch input on some iPhone 8 devices unresponsive when serviced with non-genuine replacement displays.

It’s unclear if the update will also resolve the issue regarding repairs done with genuine replacement Apple displays, which apparently affects the automatic brightness level when placed by third-party repair companies. According to our report, this is an issue that dates back to iOS 11.1, and could somehow be tied to the company wanting to lock downTouchID and FaceID sensors for security reasons. Or, as some aftermarket companies claim, could also be a way to damage trust in third-party repair shops.

iOS 11.3.1 will likely be available to customers soon. Apple is also running a beta version of iOS 11.4 for developers, which 9to5Mac says will likely be out in late May or early June.

Source: 9to5 Mac

Instagram Releases New ‘Data Download’ Tool for Downloading Photos, Videos, Messages and More

Instagram today released a new Data Download feature which is designed to let Instagram users download a copy of their photos, videos, stories, profile info, comments, and messages to comply with the European Union’s upcoming GDPR privacy law.

While the privacy law is only applicable in Europe, Instagram has made the new download tool, accessible here as long as you’re signed in to an Instagram account, available to all of its users.

An Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch that while the Data Download tool is “currently accessible to everyone on the web,” access via Android and iOS is still rolling out.

Once a data download request is submitted to Instagram, it takes some time for the data to be prepared. The company asks users to input an email address, with a download link set after the data is gathered. Instagram says data requests can take up to 48 hours to be fulfilled.

This is the first time that Instagram has offered users an option to download all of their data, including their photos that have been uploaded to the social network.

Instagram parent company Facebook has had a download data option for quite some time, and people have been surprised to find what kind of data Facebook is collecting. It appears the Instagram tool will be more limited in scope, but it will include all of a user’s personal information.

Tag: Instagram
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Purism’s privacy-focused phone will support Ubuntu Touch

Purism’s security-focused smartphone, the Librem 5, will come with support for Ubuntu Touch when it ships next year. According to the company, which made its mark building ultra-secure, open platform laptops, the operating system will be “well-supported and tightly integrated,” with future compatibility assured.

This means users will now have three choices when it comes to the Librem 5’s operating system. It’ll ship with free Software Foundation-endorsed PureOS by default, although KDE Plasma Mobile is also on offer. Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism, said that it makes sense to include community-developed Ubuntu in its open-platform offering. “While we develop, support, and recommend PureOS, allowing an alternative to users that is supported by Purism can only help the cause of improving digital rights for users.”