Add a microSD card to your phone, camera, or tablet with prices starting at $13

Amazon has a slew of SanDisk storage products on sale today as part of its Prime Day deals, including a bunch of microSD cards. These cards are quite versatile and can be used in a variety of devices, including Fire Tablets, phones, action cameras, dash cameras, and more. There are a bunch of different size options available, starting at 64GB and going to as high as 400GB.

Some of these have never dropped this low before, so you’re going to want to check them out while they are still available.

• 64GB Ultra – $19.49 (Was $25)
• 128GB Ultra – $26.36 (Was $35)
• 200GB Ultra – $45.60 (Was $65)
• 256GB Ultra – $73.56 (Was $150)
• 400GB Ultra – $139.99 (Was $185)

Be sure to grab one now, before they start to sell out.

Amazon Fire 7 vs Fire HD 8: Which should you buy?

In the battle of Amazon’s small tablets, which is the right one for you?

Amazon’s most popular tablets continue to be the 7- and 8-inch offerings, in no small part because they offer a compelling package at exceptional value.

And better still, while the hardware gets a little bit better over time, the price stays the same. So, once again Amazon has two affordable tablets that are actually worth buying. But which should you go for?

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Spec comparison

Here’s what makes up the two newest Fire tablets:

Which should you get?

The two Fire tablets are very much alike, but the Fire HD 8 has some important upgrades for that extra $30 asking price. For starters, there’s a higher resolution display, and though not a massive increase in PPI, it looks noticeably better than the 7-inch model. There’s also more RAM and more internal storage, along with a fairly significant boost in battery life over the smaller one.

For media lovers, the Fire HD 8 is also going to deliver better audio, with stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos support for an all-round better experience watching video content or listening to music. The HD 8 like the HD 10 also supports Show Mode which, with the optional dock, turns your tablet into essentially an Echo Show you can then take outside with you.

Here’s the thing, though. The Fire 7 is a better choice for a tablet to give to your young ones. At 50 bucks it’s verging on impulse buy territory, and the new model has a better screen and dual-band WiFi support to boast over its predecessor. For someone looking for the cheapest tablet possible that isn’t garbage, the Fire 7 is still the one we recommend, especially for young ones.

Both of these also come in child-friendly Kids Editions, but if you’re looking for a decent, low-cost tablet to consume media, browse the web, check your email and even play some games on, the Fire HD 8 is the one to get. The $30 difference is small enough that the improvements you get are well worth the extra investment.

Both are still excellent low-cost tablets, though.

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Updated July 2018: We’ve added information on the new Show Mode for the Fire HD 8, new for 2018.

Do it yourself with this $16 Sugru moldable glue 8-pack

Finish up your projects.

Amazon has an 8-pack of Sugru moldable glue on sale for $15.97 thanks to the automatic $4 discount that’s applied at checkout. The deal is exclusive to Amazon Prime members; click here for a free 30-day trial if you need one. This normally sells for $22 and hasn’t sold for cheaper than this since last year.

Sugru is a self-setting rubber which can form to the shape of your choosing to repair, modify or add onto another object. When you first remove Sugru from its package, it has the consistency of Play-Doh allowing you to mold it into whatever you wish. After 30 minutes of being out of the package and up to around 24 hours afterward, the Sugru will harden and stay in the shape you formed permanently.

Many people use Sugru to accomplish simple tasks such as covering up exposed wiring of cables or re-attaching tiny pieces to broken household items, but really there are countless ways to use this product if you put your mind to the task. The restrictions of this product are slim, and Sugru will even stay firm in wet places like your shower and laundry machine making it applicable in every room of your house.

Check out this article about all the things you can do with Sugru.

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ARK: Survival Evolved: Everything you need to know

Become a dino-master in this epic prehistoric survival game!

ARK is an open world survival game that’s best described as Minecraft with better graphics and dinosaurs. Originally released on PC last summer, the full game has been ported to Android and will have you scavenging for food and materials, building weapons and shelters, and hunting and taming dinosaurs — hell yes!

It’s a massive game that’s going to take a ton of time for you to get acclimatized to the game world, the user interface, and how to optimize the game to be easy to play. There’s an online mode where you can play in a big map inhabited by other players, but you’re definitely going to spend your first chunk of time playing offline and building up your skills and abilities — the game itself tells you that you should play until level 20 in the offline mode before going online.

Ultimately, the choice is yours, but hopefully, this guide will help you get started on the right path towards in-game success.

What’s the story? What do you do in the game?

There really isn’t a story in ARK — only survival. And yet, as you play it’s really fun to use your imagination to create your own story as you play. It’s very similar to Minecraft in terms of its open world and crafting system.

You start the game with nothing — just a naked human with a mysterious crystal embedded in your arm who has been dropped onto a tropical island inhabited by prehistoric creatures of all sorts. It’s up to you to forage for food and supplies with your ultimate goal being to not only survive but thrive.

Right off the bat, you’re going to want to familiarize yourself with the inventory menu, specifically navigating the menus for accessing items in your inventory, crafting new supplies, upgrading your character traits, and unlocking new “engrams” which are crucial to build structures and better weapons. The game does not pause itself when you’re using the inventory, so being able to quickly switch between weapons or eat food when you’re in a battle with a dinosaur could mean the difference between life and death.

Tips for getting started

In ARK, you start out naked on the shores of an island brimming with deadly dinosaurs. Knowing that, it should come as little surprise that you are going to die a lot early on, especially if you become prey for a larger predator.

Prepare to die early and often.

The thing is death isn’t permanent in ARK. When you die, you have an opportunity to follow a glowing green beacon to loot your corpse for all the items you had in your inventory when you died. It’s a bit morbid, but it also removes much of the anxiety when you die after crafted a whole bunch of awesome stuff.

Early on, your re-spawn points are entirely random, so depending on where you died you might have a bit of a trek to reach your old body. This changes when you start to build your own shelter and unlock the ability to craft sleeping bags and bed. Beds are re-spawn points in ARK, so the sooner you can collect enough hides to build one for yourself, the sooner managing deaths becomes that much easier.

Collecting 40 dinosaur hides will be a tall task in and of itself, but if you stick to smaller beasts and use your weapons effectively it’s simply a matter of hoarding resources and building out a base camp for yourself. You will spend a ton of time foraging for resources in ARK, crafting supplies, and building up a stockpile of resources so that you can manage your character’s health metrics and eventually become the alpha predator that strikes fear in the fiercest dinosaurs.

You’re also going to want to get familiar with the quick-select menus. By swiping from the left side of the screen, you’ll be able to change the view from first-person to third-person, access your inventory, and control your tamed dinosaurs. The right side is where you’ll access items stored in your hot bar.

If you’re thinking that swiping from the side of the phone held in landscape orientation will pull up the navigation bar you’d be correct, so it’s a bit clumsy at times but still something you’re going to need to master to get good at this game.

How to train your own dinosaur

One of the coolest features of ARK is the ability to tame a dinosaur to become your pet. This is done by knocking a dinosaur unconscious and then feeding it food to get it to warm up to you. The dinos are very subservient once tamed and can be used to help defend your home base or as an extra attacker for hunting bigger game.

You control your dinosaur pet via the pet menu which is reresented by a whistle in the left-side quick menu. You can call your pet to you if they’re in listening range and can set them to attack any targets that you attack, or tell them to hold back.

Some dinosaurs can be set up with a saddle which allows you to ride them around, but you must first unlock the proper engram to craft a saddle for your dinosaur, and not all dinosaurs are able to be mounted.

Stepping online

The offline version of ARK can be challenging enough, but nothing will quite prepare you for when you play online. Online mode places you in an island server inhabited both by the same dinosaurs in the offline mode along with other players. How you interact with other players you come across is up to you, but ideally, you’ll want to make friends and team up with other players to create a tribe and start to build up base camps for yourself.

Working together is the best way to survive in ARK online, as you’re able to share resources and plan out attacks on bigger targets that simply would be too hard to take down all by yourself.

The developers recommend you wait until you’ve reached level 20 before treading online so that you’ve got a firm grasp on the controls and gameplay. There’s nothing stopping you from jumping right into online play, but it won’t be near as fun of an experience if you’re having a hard time keeping up with other players.

Will it run on my phone?

ARK is available for touchscreen Android devices (no Android TV support, sadly) and, as you might expect, is a bit of a resource hog. The developers recommend using a device running with at least 3GB of RAM and running Android 7.0 or later. That means it should run well enough on a phone as old as the Samsung Galaxy S6 running on Nougat, but any flagship phone released in the past two years should be more than capable of running ARK.

What do you think of ARK on Android?

It’s pretty amazing to see a big and expansive title like this come to Android. Have you had a chance to play ARK: Survival Evolved on Android? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals

AeroGarden Sprout LED with Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit

$44.99


$70.00


Save $25

Have a green thumb you prefer to keep indoors? AeroGarden is a neat little way to grow your own herbs on your counter.

theBalm Schwing Liquid Eyeliner

$12.92


$16.75


Save $4

This cult-favorite liquid eyeliner has an easy-to-use felt tip so you can master the cat eye look.

Anker PowerLine+ Lightning Cable

$10.00


$15.00


Save $5

The Lightning deal on this Lightning cable is selling out lightning-fast.

Google Wifi

$239.00


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This Google Wifi mesh router system can cover up to 4,500 sq. ft with Wi-Fi coverage.

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• Smart Home
• Unlocked Smartphones
• Kitchen
• Audio & Headphones
• Gaming
• Home Improvement / DIY
• Everyday Essentials
• Kids & Toys
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Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!

Android Gaming

• Best Android games
• Best free Android games
• Best games with no in-app purchases
• Best action games for Android
• Best RPGs for Android
• All the Android gaming news!

Chromecast upgrades its ambient mode

One of the best things to watch when you’re not watching video just got even better.

When it comes to using your TV as a bit of an art piece, Chromecast is right up there — especially when it comes to customization. And now it’s got a new ambient mode that allows for even more options, and more control — and an even better experience. Here’s what’s up:

Within the Google Home app (you’ll need the most recent update on Android or iOS) you’ll find new ambient mode settings for a given Chromecast target. From there you’ll start with three options for background images.

First is “Photo frame,” which uses your own images as the Chromecast background when it’s not otherwise in use showing video or slideshows. You still have full control over which photo albums are used, the better to avoid the obvious embarrassing situations. (Pro tip: Make a dedicated album specifically for this purpose.)

You also can still chose the “Art gallery” function and use images picked by Google. And, yes, they’re still very good.

And finally there’s the option for Facebook or Flickr images. It’s “experimental,” though. So adjust your life accordingly.

We also still have options for weather and time info, and whether to show data on images being used as the background — who shot it and what album it’s in. (Again, title things like a grown-up, folks.)

And, finally, you can chose how often images cycle through — from 10 seconds to 10 minutes.

There’s also a secondary option that lets you see the history of all the images shown in ambient mode, so if you see something cool you can grab your phone and figure out what it was.

And that’s it. A new coat of paint, a new option or two — and still a very useful Chromecast.

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals

AeroGarden Sprout LED with Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit

$44.99


$70.00


Save $25

Have a green thumb you prefer to keep indoors? AeroGarden is a neat little way to grow your own herbs on your counter.

theBalm Schwing Liquid Eyeliner

$12.92


$16.75


Save $4

This cult-favorite liquid eyeliner has an easy-to-use felt tip so you can master the cat eye look.

Anker PowerLine+ Lightning Cable

$10.00


$15.00


Save $5

The Lightning deal on this Lightning cable is selling out lightning-fast.

Google Wifi

$239.00


$299.99


Save $61

This Google Wifi mesh router system can cover up to 4,500 sq. ft with Wi-Fi coverage.

• Top Deals
• Amazon Devices
• TVs
• Smart Home
• Unlocked Smartphones
• Kitchen
• Audio & Headphones
• Gaming
• Home Improvement / DIY
• Everyday Essentials
• Kids & Toys
• Entertainment
• Fashion

Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!

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Prime Day is a great time to save while restocking essential items you use every day

Don’t miss out on the “boring” deals.

Sure, Prime Day is an awesome opportunity to #TreatYoSelf and buy the fun things you want, but what about the boring things? I’m talking about the shampoos and dish soaps of the deal world. They’re not exactly exciting, but that’s what makes saving money all the more enticing. You’ll have to buy laundry detergent at some point in the future. Why not save some money (and skip the store) in the process?

Let’s start out with the chores. If you need dishwasher detergent, air freshener, laundry soap, or a floor cleaning system, you’ll want to check this offer out. Amazon’s giving Prime members $20 off when they spend $60 or more. As an added bonus, several of the included items are on sale or have coupon offers. You can save on Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, too. Four 80-count containers fall to only $9.11 after the coupon offer is clipped. Boom. Fresh air and fresh clothes, done and dusted.

How about food? Feed the cats with up to 40% off feline favorites, including treats, food, and watering devices. Dog food is on sale, too. Purchase the pooch this 5-pound bag of Wag dog food for just $9.09.

People food is on sale, too. Amazon-branded everyday essentials are discounted by 30%, including snacks and coffee.

We can’t forget the health and beauty must-haves. Lipstick is an everyday essential, right? You’ll want to check out this offer for up to 30% off luxury beauty items. There’s even a coupon for free samples if you spend $50 or more. You can also score this Waterpik Aquarius Water Flosser for only $40 instead of the usual $80 price tag.

As the Prime Day deals keep rolling in, we’ll keep adding to the everyday essentials roundup. Keep checking there for even more great discounts on the things you use every day.

The NVIDIA Shield TV media player is $139 for a limited time

Blends perfectly with all your other Android gear.

The NVIDIA Shield TV streaming media player is down to $139 on Amazon. This is a Prime Day Lightning deal, so you’ll definitely need a Prime membership for this one. The average street price for the Shield is around $179. While it has dropped in price a couple times in the past, we have never seen it go for less than $149. Of course, since it’s a Lightning deal we’re dealing with limited supply and limited time before this deal is done for good.

The NVIDIA Shield TV just updated to Oreo 8.0 recently, so it’s got the most up-to-date Android operating system. Read more about it in our review including how it has improved its hardware over older generations and its potential applications with your smart home.

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Save $60 on the Google Wifi 3-pack this Prime Day

Blanket your home with Wi-Fi.

Google’s Wifi mesh router system is one of the most popular options from last year, and for good reason. Right now you can pick up a 3-pack for only $239 via Amazon, which is almost as much as it would be if you bought two of them individually, except you get three access points. This set regularly sells for up to $300 when not on sale.

This deal is exclusively available to Prime members as part of Amazon’s Prime Day. If you’re not a member, you can still get in on this deal by starting a free 30-day trial.

The Google Wifi mesh router system offers seamless Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home and helps eliminate dead zones. A set of three can cover up to 4,500 sq. ft and more can be added if you need additional coverage. You can pick up just one of these devices on sale today as well for $99 each.

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Google Cloud Platform outage took down many popular apps, but it’s mostly back to normal now

Experiencing issues with apps today? Don’t necessarily blame the developer.

If you noticed an issue with one (or many) of your apps not working properly today, you weren’t alone — and it wasn’t your, or your phone’s, fault. Google Cloud Platform had an outage today, around 12:15 p.m. PT, that limited the ability for many popular apps to connect with the cloud that they’re reliant on. We don’t often talk about the cloud backend that runs all of these apps on our phones, but Google Cloud Platform has some of the world’s biggest apps, services and websites as its customers — names like Snapchat, Spotify and even Apple’s iCloud. The technical wording for what went wrong initially was a bit more … wordy:

We are investigating a problem with Google Cloud Global Loadbalancers returning 502s for many services including AppEngine, Stackdriver, Dialogflow, as well as customer Global Load Balancers. We will provide another update by Tuesday, 2018-07-17 13:00 US/Pacific.

And, before that 1:00 p.m. PT deadline, Google had another update to indicate that the issue was resolved for a “majority” of users. “Users” in this case is the apps themselves as a whole rather than individual end users, so whole apps could still be experiencing problems — which of course manifest themselves in end user issues.

The issue with Google Cloud Load balancers returning 502s should be resolved for majority of users and we expect a full resolution in the near future. We will provide another status update by Tuesday, 2018-07-17 13:30 US/Pacific with current details.

We don’t always think about it, but most of the apps on our phones are just about useless without a connection to the internet — and going a step further, that internet connection doesn’t do much unless the cloud infrastructure is in place to handle all of the requests and computation the app needs. We don’t really expect Google’s servers to have issues all that often, and neither do developers, so we all rely on it inherently — but when problems do arise, the app developers themselves can’t do anything. If you experienced the outage today in the form of one of your apps not working properly, cut the developer a break — this one was on Google.

Even though Google says it has resolved the issue for the most part, you may experience lingering effects for the next couple of hours. Be patient, and the service will be restored shortly.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumors: Release date, specs, price, and features!

Here’s everything we know about the Galaxy Note 9!

Now more than ever, Samsung’s Galaxy S+ phones are becoming eerily similar to the Note series. The Note used to be Samsung’s way of touting all of the latest and greatest tech it had to offer, and while this is still the case, the same can be said for this year’s Galaxy S9+.

Samsung needs more than just the S Pen to make the Note 9 stand out from its own phones and the rest of the competition, and luckily, all signs are pointing to something exciting for this year’s release. Here’s what we know so far!

July 17, 2018 — A new render and in-hand photos show the Note 9 once again

We already have a pretty good idea as to what the Galaxy Note 9 will look like, but thanks to a new render and a couple hands-on photos, the picture’s now clearer than ever before.

Starting first with the render, Evan Blass took to Twitter today with the above photo. It shows the Note 9 in a blue paint job with a blue and yellow S Pen to accompany it, and the combo looks downright fantastic.

hmmm pic.twitter.com/Q7uI2iWKB0

— 萌萌的电教 (@MMDDJ_) July 17, 2018

As for the hands-on photos, these line up perfectly with the render and showcase both the front and back of the phone.

What’s your take on these?

July 16, 2018 — Galaxy Note 9 spotted out in the wild with Samsung’s CEO

Not too long after DJ Koh spilled some beans about the Note 9’s S Pen features, he’s back in the news once more as he was recently spotted using the phone during the media event mentioned below.

Koh can be seen using the Note 9 in the above photo, and while most of the device is hidden, we can confirm that it is, in fact, the Note 9 due to the placement of the rear camera and fingerprint sensor.

What will the Galaxy Note 9 look like?

Quick answer — a lot like the Note 8.

We’ve seen one collection of renders for the Note 9 so far (pictured above), and save for the fingerprint sensor being moved below the rear camera sensor, the phone’s shaping up to be nearly identical to last year’s model.

As such, we can expect a large Infinity Display with slim bezels, an all-glass back, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Samsung’s event teaser suggests that we’ll get at least one bright yellow color option, but I’m still crossing my fingers the Galaxy S9’s Burgundy Red gets a wide release on the Note 9 🤞.

What specs can we look forward to?

Samsung’s Galaxy Note phones are always home to some of the best specs around, and the Note 9 shouldn’t be any different.

Based on the current rumor mill and what we’ve seen from other 2018 flagships, here’s what we think we’ll see this year.

When will the Galaxy Note 9 be released?

The Galaxy Note 9 will be announced on August 9, 2018, at an Unpacked event in New York City.

We can expect retail availability to come in a 1-2 week time frame after the announcement, if any previous launches are any indication.

How much will the Galaxy Note 9 cost?

Pricing for the Note series has steadily been going up each year, as has the majority of the smartphone industry.

The Galaxy Note 8 costs $950 unlocked, and I’d expect the Note 9 to cost either the same or slightly more. Apple proved with the iPhone X that people aren’t afraid to shell out $1000+ for a new smartphone, and I don’t consider it to be out of the question for Samsung to follow suit with the Note 9 – especially if it adopts newer technologies like an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+: Everything you need to know!

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals

AeroGarden Sprout LED with Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit

$44.99


$70.00


Save $25

Have a green thumb you prefer to keep indoors? AeroGarden is a neat little way to grow your own herbs on your counter.

theBalm Schwing Liquid Eyeliner

$12.92


$16.75


Save $4

This cult-favorite liquid eyeliner has an easy-to-use felt tip so you can master the cat eye look.

Anker PowerLine+ Lightning Cable

$10.00


$15.00


Save $5

The Lightning deal on this Lightning cable is selling out lightning-fast.

Google Wifi

$239.00


$299.99


Save $61

This Google Wifi mesh router system can cover up to 4,500 sq. ft with Wi-Fi coverage.

• Top Deals
• Amazon Devices
• TVs
• Smart Home
• Unlocked Smartphones
• Kitchen
• Audio & Headphones
• Gaming
• Home Improvement / DIY
• Everyday Essentials
• Kids & Toys
• Entertainment
• Fashion

Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumors: Release date, specs, price, and features!
• Is it best to buy the Galaxy S9 or wait for the Note 9?
• Do you plan on upgrading to the Note 9?
• Galaxy Note 8 review
• Join our Galaxy Note 9 forums

Updated: June 29, 2018: Updated the spec sheet to coincide with latest rumors.