This could be the Google Pixel Stand — a new accessory for the Pixel 3
It’ll charge the Pixel 3 and turn it into a mini Smart Display.
Google’s October 9 event is quickly approaching, and to literally no surprise at this point, the Pixel 3 and 3 XL will be the stars of the show. To go along with the new phones, Google appears to also be working on a new charging stand accessory called the Google Pixel Stand.
The folks over at 9to5Google got their hands on a short GIF showcasing the Pixel Stand, and while it doesn’t reveal any specifics about the mystery product, there are a few key details we can pick out from it.
The stand itself appears to have a circular base that the Pixel 3/3 XL docks into. Based on the charging indicator in the photo and GIF, it likely docks into the stand via USB-C so it can charge up while connected. The GIF also shows various slides of different photos, indicating that the Pixel Stand will kick the Pixel 3 into a Smart Display-like interface to show pictures, weather, calendar appointments, and more.
We don’t know how much the Pixel Stand will cost or if it’ll work with phones other than the Pixel 3, but even so, it is exciting to see Google expanding its first-party accessory support for its hardware.
Do you think you’ll pick up a Pixel Stand?
Google Pixel 3: News, Rumors, Release Date, Specs, and more!
The best car chargers for the Galaxy S9
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is designed to let you do more — as long as your battery doesn’t run out! With USB-C and wireless charging capabilities, there’s more than one way to keep your phone topped up while in the car. We love the Aukey 27W USB-PD option but all the below choices are great.
Quick Charge pick
Aukey Car Charger with 5V/3A USB-C and Quick Charge 3.0 USB-A
Aukey makes two slightly different versions of its compact car charger. This version has a USB-C port with 15W of output, and the USB-A port is branded for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0. With charging speeds on both ports that can fill up your Galaxy S9 at the maximum rate, this charger makes it easy for you and your passenger to charge up with whichever cable they need.
$15 at Amazon
Futureproof pick
Aukey Car Charger with 27W USB-C PD and 5V/2.4A USB-A
Aukey’s charger features the best of both worlds — a USB-C port with Power Delivery 2.0 and a more traditional USB-A port with AiPower adaptive 5V/2.4A charging — and either port will charge your S9 at a respectable rate, so whichever cable is in your bag, you can still top off. With 27W of output on the USB-C port, this Aukey charger can charge up USB-C tablets and laptops, which is another big plus.
$20 at Amazon
Double USB-A excellence
Spigen 30W Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB-A car charger
While Spigen’s charger is not USB-C PD compliant since it uses USB-A, it supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 standard, offering swift charging for the Galaxy S9 and most other Android phones. It supports a total of 30W between the two ports, so even with two phones plugged in, they’ll both charge up at the maximum rate.
$14 at Amazon
Go wireless
iOttie Easy One-Touch 4 QI Wireless Charging Mount
The Galaxy S9 allows for wireless charging, and this car mount from iOttie is one of the best wireless car chargers I’ve tested, even working with a case on. It includes a 12V adapter with a hardwired cable for supplying power to the mount, and a telescopic arm and adjustable mounting options make it easy to affix to your dash or windshield.
$50 at Amazon
While there are a multitude of car chargers out there — and a growing number of cars that come with USB charging ports built into directly into their center console or radio — a dependable car charger is an affordable investment that can easily outlast your phone or car so long as you’re not throwing a massive purse at it every time you get in the car.
Updated September 2018: The list now includes two great Aukey options, which can charge up your Galaxy S9 and another device at two different price points.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
- Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
- Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
- Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
- Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
- Join our Galaxy S9 forums
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Huawei hands out battery packs and apple-free juice to iPhone XS buyers
Trolling at its finest.
Today’s Friday, September 21, 2018. In other words, it’s iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4 launch day. Fans around the world are lining up to be among the first to own Apple’s latest phone and wearable, and as such, Huawei used this opportunity to troll Apple by promoting itself while folks wait in line.
At the Apple store in London, Huawei arrived with a juice van offering “ju%ce that lasts.” Actual juice was given out to people in line that had “no traces of apple” in it, in addition to charging outlets so people could top up their phones.
Additionally, Huawei employees handed out 10,000 mAh battery packs to Apple fans in Singapore. On the packaging for the packs reads “Here’s a power bank. You’ll need it. Courtesy of Huawei.”
Is this too cheeky? Perhaps. But then again, it’s not like Huawei was hurting anyone. Who doesn’t want free juice and battery packs? The iPhone XS brings a lot to the table that we’d like to see come to the Android space, but on October 16 when Huawei unveils the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro, you can bet it’s going to do what it can to top Apple in every way it can.
Huawei Mate 20 rumors: Release date, specs, price, and features!
Add some illumination with Luminoodle LED bias lighting as low as $7 today
Inexpensive way to improve your lighting.
The Power Practical Luminoodle LED bias lighting strips are all on sale today, and they have never dropped this low before. These strips help reduce eye strain and can help improve the contrast of the screen you’re watching. The Power Practical Luminoodle 13-feet LED TV bias lighting strip is down to $18.74 on Amazon. This is the largest available strip, and it usually sells for around $25.
While these strips are designed to be easily cut to the size you need, you might not need one that long. Try the 9.8-foot strip for $14.99. It normally sells for around $20 and has never gone lower than $16.
The medium-sized 6.5 foot strip is down to $10.50 today. That’s a $7 price drop and one of its lowest ever. The smallest strip is only 3.3 feet, and it’s currently about $3 off its lowest price at $7.49. That’s a good place to start if you haven’t used one of these before and just want to see what the fuss is all about.
See on Amazon
Score three months of Mint Mobile’s 2GB plan for just $45 total
Pricing this low is hard to pass up!
Mint Mobile is no stranger around here. We’ve talked about them a bunch in the past, and even reviewed our experiences with the service, but it’s been a bit since we reminded you just how affordable your phone bill can be. The MVNO currently has packages starting at just $45 for three months of service that includes 2GB of high-speed data. That’s just $15 a month, which I am pretty sure is a huge savings compared to your current bill.
Not everyone can get away with 2GB of data per month, but that’s why Mint Mobile also offers a plan that includes 5GB of data for $60 or 10GB of data for $75 for the three-month period. After the promotional period, each plan does go up by a little, but the prices still remain way under the competition. To put it into perspective, MetroPCS’ base plan starts at $30 per month for 2GB of data, and AT&T’s base plan offers only 1GB of data for the same monthly cost.
With Mint Mobile being an MVNO that operates on T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network, it means that you can likely pop your current SIM card out of your device and simply replace it with one from Mint Mobile. If you’re in the market for a new device as well, Amazon’s Prime-exclusive devices are a great value, though just about any unlocked phone will do.
From time to time Mint Mobile offers additional discounts, which we keep track of, so be sure to check back on that page every so often to see if you can save a little extra on top of the already-low prices.
See at Mint Mobile
The Microsoft Excel Master Certification Bundle is now just $49!
Microsoft’s Excel, the spreadsheet tool in its Office suite, has an incredible amount of depth that most people never touch. Figures and graphs are what Excel is usually used for, but there’s so much more potential if you have the correct knowledge.
Master Microsoft Excel for less than $50! Learn more
Whether it’s PivotTables, Pivot Charts, macros, or powerful formulas, in-depth Excel training to automate spreadsheets and solve complex problems can be quite expensive. There’s a lot of content to cover, and there are many questions to answer.
If you’re interested in extensive spreadsheet training, Android Central right now has a Microsoft Excel course that includes over 28 hours of content spread over nine courses. Instead of paying the regular price of $1,066, you’ll instead pay just $49. That’s 96 percent off the regular price!
Give your resume a boost with some valuable Excel skills! Learn more
Access to this course remains open forever, so even if you don’t have the time at this moment, you can jump in whenever you’d like. At just $49 for extensive Excel training, how can you go wrong?
Grab the new Amazon Echo devices in discounted bundles in the UK
Amazon Alexa is now integrated into even more home essentials.
Alexa is getting a makeover! Amazon announced several new Echo devices last night which incorporate the Alexa voice assistant. There are new editions of the Echo Dot and Echo Plus, an Echo Sub for stereo sound and even an Echo Input to add Alexa to speakers you already own! Plus other gadgets such as a Smart Plug, Echo Wall Clock, an Alexa-enabled Microwave and more. Newly announced products rarely receive discounts, but you can already save on many of the new Amazon devices by purchasing them in varying bundles.
One such bundle packages together the new third-generation Echo Dot with Amazon’s Smart Plug for £64.98. While the set doesn’t see a release until October 11, it’d be wise to place your order now and ensure you receive that £10 discount off what they’d cost separately. Another bundle features the Echo Sub with two new Echo Plus devices for £239.97. That’s a £100 discount off what they’d cost on their own.
Other bundles include:
- 2 Echo Dot 3rd-Generation for £89.98 (£10 off) – Must add two to basket to apply discount
- Echo 2nd-Generation and Amazon Smart Plug for £104.99 (£10 off)
- Echo Dot and Philips Hue Colour Starter Kit for £119.99 (£30 off)
- 2 Echo Show 2nd-Generation for £339.98 (£100 off) – Must add two to basket to apply discount
- Echo Show 2nd-Generation and free Philips Hue bulb £219.99 (£15 off)
- Echo Sub and 2 Amazon Echo 2nd-Generation for £239.97 (£60 off)
- Echo Plus 2nd-Generation and free Philips Hue bulb for £139.99 (£15 off)
These devices work best if you have a Prime membership at Amazon, considering Prime members can stream over two million songs with Prime Music at no additional charge. Having a Prime membership can also save you monthly on an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.
For more UK deals coverage, be sure to keep an eye on Thrifter UK, sign up for the UK newsletter and follow the team on Twitter.
See at Amazon UK
Resident Evil 2 for PlayStation 4: Everything you need to know
The battle of the G-Virus starts all over again
Close your eyes and imagine yourself back to 1998. You’re on the couch eating Cookie Crisp when you load up your PlayStation and Resident Evil 2 starts up. Now, you won’t have to imagine you’re playing one of your favorite childhood games, you’ll actually be able to play it in real life. This year at E3 2018 Capcom took the world by storm by showing us a trailer for their upcoming game, Resident Evil 2: the remake.
Not only will you be able to play this classic edition of Resident Evil, but you’ll be able to do so on your shiny PlayStation 4. With improved graphics and gameplay I’m ready to lose a few days out of my life to binge this game. If you’re interested in the new remake of Resident Evil 2, read on below to learn everything you’ll need to know!
What’s new with Resident Evil 2?
Ahead of the acclaimed survival horror’s anticipated remake, keep up to date on all new information that we receive, from trailers to gameplay details and everything in between.
September 18, 2018
While E3 gave us our first look at Leon’s gameplay, Gamescom 2018 graced us with new footage showing off Claire Redfield. As Claire is in the midst of a vicious boss battle, the developer also took part in an interview with IGN discussing how it felt to return to these iconic characters with a more robust engine.
For players looking to have a more difficult or easier experience, Resident Evil 2 is implementing a feature similar to that which debuted in Resident Evil 4 to do just that.
“In terms of the standard difficulty, it does adjust based on player performance,” said producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi in an interview with VG247. “I’d like to believe that you were doing really well and so the difficulty ramped up even more. But we have it tuned so that no matter how well you’re doing, there’s always going to be that sense of dread and tension there.
“Also, we are definitely implementing things that assist the player if they choose to utilize that stuff such as auto game. If a player thinks, hey, I’d rather have an easier time going through this, we will have those sorts of options as well.”
In terms of performance, Capcom confirmed that the game would support 4K on both PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X with “a stable, high-framerate experience.”
Earlier comments from brand manager Mike Lunn regarding its performance seemed to indicate that players would have a choice between either 4K or 60FPS on higher-end consoles, but could not play with both simultaneously. It’s unclear if Capcom is working to enable a 4K at 60FPS mode.
Update June 13, 2018: Capcom confirms both Fourth Survivor and Tofu modes will be included in the game.
Everyone remembers how hard and outright ridiculous it was to try beating Resident Evil 2 as a massive piece of Tofu. You read that right. After you completed the main campaign of the game you unlocked the Tofu Mode, which allowed you to take the form of a giant piece of Tofu and make all the zombies go Vegan. Another mode you could unlock if you completed both Leon and Claire’s campaigns with A rankings, was the Fourth Survivor mode. This is a mode where item boxes weren’t connected, aiming was manual and included a few proto-type only options that weren’t available on other modes. Capcom has confirmed that both of these modes will be included in the remake and I don’t think I’ve stopped screaming yet.
Gameplay
The second trailer shown at E3 gave us glimpses of gameplay. One thing that’s been confirmed from this video is that you’ll be playing from a (now) popular third person view from the perspective of over Claire or Leon’s shoulder. The old Resident Evil games were played from a fixed camera angle which was bittersweet to say the least.
During the press release Capcom confrimed we would still have some gameplay modes from the original game, but with modernized controls.
A look into the world
Another big mention during the press release was “- the characters themselves appear sharper than ever and the grotesque hordes of zombies are brought to life with a horrifyingly realistic wet gore effect. Zombies now react in real time as they take instant visible damage, making every bullet from the player count. Stunning lighting brings the familiar rooms and corridors of Raccoon City Police Department to new life.”
This means it’s not just a simple remaster where they took the told game and threw some new graphics updates on it. The remake for Resident Evil 2 is built from the groud up and I can’t wait to see what it looks like.
A few familiar faces
We’re back in Raccoon city and it looks like we’ll be revisitng our old friends Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as playable characters in this remake, much like we were able to in the original. Not just that, but from the looks of the trailers I see Mr. X and WIlliam Birkin as well. I know some people aren’t a fan of playing remastered or rebuilt games, but hear me out on this one.
Capcom officials have noted, “- has been completely rebuilt from the ground up for a deeper narrative experience. Using Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, Resident Evil 2 offers a fresh take on the classic survival horror saga”
So this most certainly won’t just be another remasted game. Details are thing but I’m willing to bet with all the information we have now that you’re going to see aspect of the story you’ve never seen before. And, if that’s the case, it will have to come with all new missions that you won’t know all the answers to because you beat the game 100 times when you were twelve.
Release date and pre-order options
Mark your callenders, January 25, 2019 is the date you want to save for this game to release. If you’re interested in pre-ordering the game for yourself you can check out your options here.
Standard edition
The standard edition of the game is available for preorder for $59.99.
See at Game Stop
See at Best Buy
See on Amazon
Deluxe edition
The Deluxe edition of the game is available for preorder for $69.99 but, since there is no information on any upcoming DLC the Deluxe edition might not be worth ordering as of yet.
See at Game Stop
See on Amazon
Thoughts
What are you most excited for with this new release? What are you least excisted for? We don’t have a whole lot of information as it stands, but as soon as we get more we’ll keep this post updated. Be sure to keep checking back in for updates and, as always, tell us what you think in the comment section below!
Updated September 2018: We’ve updated this with a new gameplay demo from Gamescom featuring Claire Redfield as well as information regarding the game’s difficulty and performance.
Is the Samsung Galaxy Watch a good health tracker?
Best answer: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch is not only stuffed with health tracking features, but you have a lot of control over how you use them to benefit you every day.
Amazon: Samsung Galaxy Watch (46mm) ($349)
The flexibility to focus on specific parts of your health
Due in no small part to their enormous popularity, when most people think about fitness they think about a Fitbit or an Apple Watch. Fitbit is the original motivating fitness tracker, giving you goals to reach and making it easy to compete with friends. Apple took this concept and expanded upon it dramatically, giving its users multiple goals to reach every day even if those goals weren’t based in measurable health benefits. The entire fitness tracker industry followed suit, and for a while that included Samsung with its wearables.
If you want to control everything from your wrist, even tracking your meals, you can.
But the Galaxy Watch represents a shift in the way Samsung helps you track your health. The shift is toward flexibility, making it easy to define specific goals and control what the Watch is tracking for you. If you just want to measure how many calories (or kilojoules) you burn in a day, without counting things like steps taken or how long you were considered “active” by your heart rate, there’s a watch face for that. If you just want to count how many glasses of water you’re drinking, there’s a quick way to do that. If you want a full fitness dashboard on your wrist with every possible fitness metric there for you to see, there’s not only a watch face for that but an easy way to set your own goals.
Perhaps most importantly, if you don’t ever want your fitness tracker to tell you it’s been too long since you’ve been active, you can quickly turn that off. Galaxy Watch isn’t picky about how you adjust these settings, either. If you want to control everything from your wrist, even tracking your meals, you can. If you’d prefer to control everything from your phone, it’s just as easy.
All of this flexibility is cool, but there’s a downside. Super serious fitness buffs may notice there aren’t nearly as many popular fitness apps available on the Galaxy Watch. Samsung Health does a good job offering something for everything, but if you’re capturing a lot of specific data from an app you’re comfortable with, you may not find that app on the Watch. In some cases there are workarounds. For example, the popular cycling app Strava is not available on the Galaxy Watch but Samsung Health does a really good job sharing data to Strava after a ride. In that specific instance, the kind of information Strava gets is almost identical to the information the Apple Watch version of the app would capture in the same period. And because the Galaxy Watch has its own GPS radio, you can leave your phone at home and share that information later if you wanted.
Our pick
Samsung Galaxy Watch
$349 at Amazon
One of the most capable wrist computers you can buy today, and sometimes it’s a pretty good watch.
Samsung has crammed just about every feature you could want into this watch, including an LTE radio for when you want to leave your phone at home. As long as you don’t mind a larger watch, this will suit you well.
MrMobile on the Samsung Galaxy Watch: Buy it, but do it soon
In a sea of Gear Fit 2 Pros, Apple Watch Series 4s and Casio WSD-F30s, the name “Samsung Galaxy Watch” is something of a relief, isn’t it? It has the dual advantage of simplicity and cachet, with Samsung’s premium “Galaxy” brand not having been seen on a smartwatch since 2013. Paired with the early rumors that the Galaxy Watch would ditch Samsung’s proprietary platform for Google’s WearOS, many of us in the tech space expected it to be a real game-changer.
But the Galaxy Watch, it turns out, isn’t here to shake things up. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Samsung is content to continue leveraging it — in the form of a rotating bezel that’s become the company’s trademark. Instead of Google’s recently-revamped WearOS, the Galaxy Watch sticks with the tried-and-true TizenOS (app gap be damned). It adds features — casing sizes, battery life — and it takes some away, too (RIP, MST).
The smartwatch that arises from this amalgamation of advances and compromises is still one of the best you can buy today, but with Apple pushing the boundaries of health monitoring and Google poised for a big comeback in 2019, is it a smartwatch fit for your wrist, or too much of a Torso Twist? Watch MrMobile’s Samsung Galaxy Watch review above, then check out Android Central’s deep dive to find out!
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