Get the training required to pass the CompTIA Security+ exam for just $59!

When it comes to data security, CompTIA is the golden standard of certification. If you’re interested in a career in data security, you’ll need to pass the Security+ (SY0-501) exam

The problem here is that the training covers a broad range of topics and the courses required are usually not cheap. Right now, however, Android Central Digital Offers has a deal on the 2018 CompTIA Security Certification Training Bundle, you’ll pay just $59. That’s 98 percent off the regular price!

This training bundle contains 14 courses with over 140 hours of content included, which covers everything from everything you need to know to pass the various IT certification exams.

If you’re interested in becoming a certified data security specialist, this is the course you need. Don’t wait too long — this price is only here for a limited time.

See at Android Central Digital Offers

HMD Global, the company behind Nokia phones, just raised $100 million

Around 70 million Nokia handsets were sold in 2017.

Last year, a company by the name of HMD Global revived the Nokia brand and started releasing a heap of Android and feature phones under the iconic name. 2017 proved to be rather successful for HMD, and to ensure things stay that way, the company recently raised an additional $100 million in funding.

According to Reuters, new investors include FIH Mobile (a subsidiary of Foxconn) and DMJ Asia Investment Opportunity. Jean-Francois Baril, a former Senior Vice President at Nokia, lead this latest round of funding.

HMD Global sold around 70 million Nokia phones in 2017, resulting in total sales of $2.1 billion.

Per HMD Global CEO Florian Seiche —

Our aim is to be one of the leading players in the global smartphone market, and our initial success strengthens our confidence that we can continue on our growth path in 2018 and beyond.

Nokia’s already announced a heap of phones for this year, with some of the highlights being the Nokia X6, Nokia 7 Plus, and the alluring Nokia 8 Sirocco. HMD’s been using the Nokia brand to do exciting things in the Android space, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

Nokia 1 review: Android Go has a lot of potential

Google Keep vs. Google Tasks: Two productivity extremes

Google has two to-do apps in its arsenal, and the difference between them is clear.

Google believes in giving its users choice, which may be part of why it has two email clients, four reminder systems, an ever-growing number of chat apps, and now two music subscription services. Google has two to-do services — Google Keep and the newly-revived Google Tasks — with two remarkably different feature sets and integrations. If you’re wondering which one you should trust to keep you on task, the choice is pretty easy.

Google Tasks takes minimalism to the limit

Google Tasks was given a shiny new look as part of the recent Gmail redesign, but unfortunately wasn’t give any new features apart from the publishing of a standalone app for Android and iOS. You can make tasks add descriptions, subtasks, and a due date, but you can’t add a due time to a due date. You have to date every subtask in a task to the same date to have them stick together when sorted by date, and you can’t give anything a priority.

You can make separate lists in Google Tasks, but you can’t view tasks from all lists in one master list view. You can’t archive tasks to get them out of the way; you can send them to the trash or you can keep them in the Completed section at the bottom of the list. Oh, and you can only access the Trash folder of Google Tasks by going to the original Google Tasks site, which has not received the shiny new look the Gmail panel and app are sporting, making it look very 2003.

Google Keep has everything but the kitchen sink

Google Keep, by comparison, looks the same on just about every platform it’s available on, from its website to its mobile app to Wear OS to Google Docs, where you can summon a Google Keep toolbar on the right side of the Docs editor and even drag and drop Google Keep notes into your document. The only place Google Keep is a little different is in the newly redesigned Gmail, where Keep notes have more softly rounded corners, the same font as Gmail, and an extremely simplified creation/editing interface.

Where Google Tasks has very few options and features, Google Keep has just about everything but the kitchen sink. You can give your notes one of 12 colors, you can label your cards using hashtags, and you can have simple text notes, list notes, doodles, image notes, and even voice notes on the mobile app. You can add people to notes in Google Keep, such as adding your significant other to your grocery list or adding your classmates to an outline for your midterm project.

You can clone notes in Google Keep or copy them to Google Docs when you’re close to the 19,999 character limit on an individual note — line breaks and list items count towards that limit, by the way. You can set a location-based reminder to a card or a time/date reminder to a card, and reminders can be recurring, so my end-of-shift checklist pops up as a reminder on my phone and my watch 15 minutes before I clock out every day.

You can archive cards that you’ve finished so they’re out of the way, but still accessible and searchable if you need to dig them back up later. You can filter notes by color, date, note type, labels and of course using the search bar at the top of Google Keep. You can also pin important notes to the top of your Google Keep feed, where they will sit above all the other notes you take.

The winner is clear — for now

Google Tasks looks shiny and new with its new app and Gmail refresh, but it’s just too bare bones compared to Google Keep. Google Keep may have a lot of bells and whistles, but it’s also got more robust reminders to keep you on-task, and it allows you to do more than just jot down a goal. Google Keep is a fantastic brainstorming and planning tool; one that I use almost every day, be it for organizing my thoughts for an article, building my grocery list, or whatever else I need it to do.

At the same time, Google Tasks is just getting started, and it’s likely Google will add features to it quickly, as it did for Keep when it debuted a few years ago.

In the meantime, let us know which you prefer — ultra-minimal or the kitchen sink?

Read more: Everything you need to know about Google Keep

How to reclaim phone storage with Google Photos’ Free Up Space feature

Google Photos has a great way to get back some of your phone’s storage!

The best feature of Google Photos is the hassle free backups: all your photos and videos are automatically up to the cloud, so you won’t lose your favorite memories. If you’re moving to a new phone, all of your old photos are available just by signing in.

A side effect of this is it means your photos and videos don’t need to take up space on your phone. 256GB phones are a thing, but you can save a good bit of money by getting phones with less storage. Videos — especially 4K videos — can fill up your phone fast, so if you can offload them to the cloud you’ll keep your phone from filling up.

Here’s how to free up space in Google Photos!

Open the Google Photos app.
Tap the three-line icon in the upper left corner.
Tap Free up space.
You’ll see a summary of how much space can be freed from your phone. When you’re ready, tap Free up X MB.

This will remove photos and videos from your phone if they have already been backed up to Google Drive. Everything that hasn’t been backed up on your phone will stay there, and will be uploaded the next time you’re on WiFi.

That’s it! Your photos and videos are still safe in the cloud, and you get back a bit more space on your phone.

How often do you delete photos that have been backed up? Let us know down below!

Schedule Teckin’s Mini Smart Plug to enhance your daily routine for just $8 each

Venture into the world of Smart Home tech with this single device.

Teckin’s Mini Smart Plug drops to just $8.49 at Amazon when you enter promo code 62P73ULU during checkout. It sells for $15 on average and hasn’t dropped lower than $10 without a coupon before.

This smart plug lets you control your home appliances via the Smart Life app or even voice commands (using a device with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant) from anywhere in the world. You can monitor and control its energy usage and costs whenever. No hub is required either. Schedule it to turn on your lights before you arrive home each night, or set it to turn off at sunrise. Having the app on your phone is like having a wireless remote for whatever is plugged into the smart plug. Plus, they’re so compact, you can plug two in at the same outlet.

Close to 175 customers at Amazon reviewed this smart plug with 4.6 out of 5 stars collectively.

See at Amazon