dbrand’s skins make my Nexus 5X look awesome and unique
I’m not one who normally uses cases or skins on my phones, but I recently came across MKBHD’s(Marques Brownlee) line of skins from dbrand on Twitter, and thought his stuff looked pretty sweet. It’s been awhile since I have even looked into skins for smartphones – if I was ever looking to cover my phone I would typically choose a case over a skin. I HATE putting on skins. But since dbrand’s skins looked so cool, I really had to try a set out for myself for my Nexus 5x.
Design
With dbrand’s custom ordering website, you can literally make hundreds of different combinations of custom skins for your devices. dbrand offers complete coverage by offering back, front, frame and camera skin coverage. At dbrand, they only use authentic 3M vinyl on LG Nexus 5X skins and will guarantee no adhesive residue will ever be left on your device if you ever decide to remove it.
“What does that mean for you? It means that whenever you decide to take off your Nexus 5X wrap, there won’t be any adhesive residue left on your device. Guaranteed. We’re committed to providing our customers with uncompromising quality. You can relax, we only use the highest grade materials on the planet.” – dbrand customer service.
I even saw a customer on reddit who had a rare experience with a skin pulling off some of the paint on his Nexus 5, but the user was beyond satisfied with dbrand’s best in class customer service. They sent him a new Nexus 5 cover in addition to 15 sets of skins of his choosing. That’s pretty awesome.
From carbon fiber, to leather, metal, colors and wood(our own Henry Wigyul love’s wood) dbrand has just about every person’s taste covered with their multitude of options.
Installation
This is one area I dread with skins. I used to try putting skins on my devices a couple of years ago, in addition to screen protectors, but I am really impatient with detailed work like this. It’s the main reason why I stopped looking into skins altogether. Skins and screen protectors usually end up as one massive fail.
Since dbrand sent me the latest skins, I figured it was worth a try since the new skins look really awesome.
I went to dbrand’s website and looked up how to install the skin and luckily they had the best instructional video you could ask for. It literally walks you through installation step-by-step, and within ten minutes you will have your entire skin installed. I’ve got the images to prove just how easy the dbrand skin was to apply to my Nexus 5X.
1. Wipe down the device with the included cloth
2. Align the flash, laser sensor and fingerprint reader.
3. Flip the device around and align the 3.5mm headphone jack. Remove the backing and use a hair dryer to heat the adhesive and make it stick to the device.
4. Remove each individual letter and use the backing to align each insert.
5. I found tweezers to be much easier.
6. Once everything is in place, I used a heat gun(I do not own a hair dryer) to warm the skin and smoothed it out.
Completed installation in less than ten minutes.
Summary
As you can see in the pictures, dbrand’s skins look awesome. The skins turned my drab Nexus 5X, in Frost White, into a slick carbon fiber device with a properly Google colored X in the center of the Nexus logo. I happened to put my own touch on the layout by using the silver S instead of the white one, to show you really can do whatever you want with customization.
dbrand did not provide me with the side skin pieces, nor the front skin. It doesn’t really matter as I think the back carbon fiber skin looks fantastic. The skin kit for the back, Nexus logo, limited edition colored X, and camera costs less than $15 which is an incredible value considering the kit dramatically improves the look of your device. I highly recommend dbrand’s skins as they offer complete customization, super easy installation, high-quality materials, and excellent durability. They’ll keep your phone protected against scratches while giving you a whole new look.
dbrand makes skins for a wide variety of devices. If you want to learn more head on over to their website by clicking here.
dbrand.com
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TAG Heuer’s Android smartwatch is (relatively) popular
TAG Heuer’s $1,500 Connected smartwatch may have been a big gamble, but it’s paying off… relatively speaking. LVMH watch chief Jean-Claude Biver tells Bloomberg that his company is upping production of the Android Wear timepiece to meet demand from retailers, and it’s even freezing online sales until May or June for the sake of giving physical stores a better shot. However, the numbers aren’t about to keep established smartwatch makers awake at night. Production is increasing from 1,200 per week to a not-so-whopping 2,000 — for context, IDC estimates that Apple sold 3.9 million smartwatches in the third quarter, or about 43,000 per day. TAG’s device is successful in the luxury world’s terms, but numerous smartwatch brands will easily outsell it.
Source: Bloomberg
Amazon’s Prime Music offers over a million songs and is free with a Prime account
The music streaming business is big. Google, Apple and Amazon are fighting are battling for the music space with the likes of Spotify, Pandora, and Tidal, just to name a few. Amazon has squeezed its way into the music streaming business by offering over 1 million free songs with a subscription of Amazon Prime. They’ve also added other free features like free cloud storage, and free movies and tv shows with a Prime membership as well.
Considering I just bought into HiFi audio streaming with Tidal at $20 per month, and also subscribe to other services such as Netflix (four displays) at $11.99, Google Play Music at $9.99(no ads on YouTube as well), Hulu at $7.99 and pay for Uverse cable TV(too much), I really started to wonder why I haven’t bought into Amazon’s free Prime Music with my Prime Subscription at$99 per year. I use Amazon Prime Now which offers free same-day shipping within two hours of ordering, I occasionally watch free movies on Amazon so why not Music which is free with my Prime subscription?
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Let’s go over what I have been missing.
Amazon.com Prime Music Collection
“With Prime Music, you can listen ad-free to over a million songs from top artists like Taylor Swift, Daft Punk, Kanye West, Bruno Mars, Blake Shelton, Katy Perry, The Rolling Stones, Lady Antebellum, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna.”
And just like with Amazon Prime’s video service, they frequently add more music every month. Another nice feature is you can upload your own collection of music that can be streamed to any device with the compatible Amazon Prime Music app on iOS, Android or Fire devices. It can also be streamed to computers running Windows or OSX. Amazon’s Music service is full-featured just like the other music apps.
Features
Ad-free with unlimited skips
Start a station and enjoy uninterrupted music
No Interruptions
Enjoy one great song after another in Prime Stations. The music keeps playing until you stop it, and won’t be interrupted by ads.
Unlimited Skips
Not in the mood for a song? Simply skip it and move on to the next song. Enjoy unlimited skips to continue playing your favorite songs.
Personalized for You
The more you listen, the more personalized your stations get. Simply tap a thumbs up to hear more songs like the one playing, or thumbs down if you don’t like it. Prime Stations will learn from your feedback to create the perfect soundtrack for you.
Song Lyrics
Songs with lyrics feature a Lyrics label next to the song title, and an X-ray or Lyrics panel on the “Now Playing” screen.
Lyrics for the currently playing song display line-by-line, in time with playback, within the lyrics panel. Tap or drag this panel to expand to a full screen view, or to hide the lyrics. To view lyrics on Amazon Music for PC or Mac, click the album icon or the lyrics badge next to the playback controls while a song is playing to bring up the “Now Playing” screen.
If you’re like me and like to sing along, but frequently have a hard time understanding lyrics, Amazon’s lyrics feature offers a built-in way to read the lyrics along with the music playback.
No additional cost
With Prime Music, there is no cost. You can listen to the entire Prime Music for free – it’s included with your Amazon Prime membership.
No Internet connection? No problem
Download songs from the Prime Music catalog to your mobile devices for offline playback on a plane, train or anywhere without an Internet connection.
Why you should give Amazon Prime Music a try
Amazon Prime Music offers the biggest names in the industry with a Prime account. I will admit I do not listen to the latest music, and I realize that is one of the biggest draws to services like Google Play Music, but that costs me $120 per year at $9.99 per month. Prime Music doesn’t necessarily offer the latest hits for free, but by saving $10 a month by not paying for Google Play Music, and possibly saving $12 a month for Netflix, you could theoretically buy the latest music you want for 99 cents per song. The cost of a Netflix and Google Play Music subscription costs $264 per year, so you could be buying your music from Amazon while listening to other hits for free with their catalog of over 1 million free songs.
In addition to free music, you get these other benefits just for $99 per year:
- FREE Two-Day Shipping on eligible items to addresses in the contiguous U.S. and other shipping benefits. For more information, go to Amazon Prime Shipping Benefits.
- FREE Same-Day Delivery in eligible zip codes. For more information, go to Order with Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery.
- Prime Instant Video: unlimited streaming of movies and TV episodes for paid or free trial members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information, go to About Prime Instant Video.
- Prime Photos: Secure unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive. For more information, go to About Prime Photos.
- Prime Pantry: Access to Prime Pantry, where members can purchase and ship to addresses in the contiguous U.S. low priced grocery, household, and pet care items for a flat delivery fee of $5.99 for each Prime Pantry box. Prime Pantry orders cannot be shipped to addresses in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
- Amazon Elements: Access to Amazon Elements products, Amazon’s own line of everyday essentials.
- Prime Early Access: Get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals on Amazon.com and new events on MyHabit.com. For more information, go to About Prime Early Access.
- Kindle Owners’ Lending Library: access to members in the U.S. For more information, go toKindle Owners’ Lending Library
- Kindle First: Early access for members in the U.S. to download a new book for free every month from the Kindle First picks. For more information, go to Kindle First.
- Deals and Discounts, Compliments of Amazon Mom: These include 20% off diapers through Subscribe & Save and 15% off eligible products from your baby registry. For more information go to Get 20% off Diaper Subscriptions or About the Completion Discount.
- Membership Sharing: Two adults living in the same household can create an Amazon Household to share certain Amazon Prime benefits. For more information, go to About Amazon Households.
So if you already pay for a music subscription service or pay for a monthly video streaming service, you should really give Amazon Prime Music a try. It’s free for 30 days for new customers and free for current Prime subscribers. It’s definitely worth giving a shot for 30 days.
You can also win $25,000 just by listening to Prime Music now through tomorrow.
Check out Amazon Prime Music here.
Google Play Store link for Android.
Apple App Store link for iOS devices.
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Chrome beta for Android can beam presentations to Chromecast
Whether it be on the desktop or mobile, Chrome’s beta browser is a handy way to preview features before they hit the mainstream crowd. In the most recent release for Android, there’s now the ability for sites to send presentations to Chromecast devices — something developers can implement using Google’s corresponding API and SDK.
Source: Google
BlueStacks 2.0 is launching: What you need to know
Mobile company BlueStacks yesterday announced a new iteration of their popular Android Emulator “BlueStacks 2”. After hitting multiple major milestones with the original version, the platform has now counted 109 million downloads, with its users consuming over one billion apps per month.
As so many people use BlueStacks, it’s not surprising that their Android user base recently surpassed both Xiaomi and Sony in terms of users to become the 7th largest Android distributor in the world. “I’ve watched this company come up as Android has come up over the years,” said Tim Bajarin, an Analyst and President of Creative Strategies. “Both have exceeded almost everyone’s expectations.”
“When we started, mobile apps, with their crisp resolution looked and sounded gorgeous on PC and TV,” said BlueStacks Product Manager, Shashi Kant Sharma. “What we’ve learned is that the wider visual space lends itself more naturally to app discovery. It’s accelerated our growth and retention massively over the past year. The average Bluestacks user spends 89 minutes playing on their first day. In addition, once someone discovers apps on PC or TV they tend to use them across all of their devices, giving the BlueStacks platform a powerful reach for developers.”
They have taken all this into consideration and have been working hard at the new version. BlueStacks 2 adds several new features to marry gameplay and app discovery. For example, it has a new browser-like interface with tabs, where, upon clicking an ad, a new tab opens where people can view the ad later without interrupting gameplay. This represents an entirely new type of ad unit. BlueStacks 2 also incorporates the ability to run multiple apps at the same time in different tabs for the first time ever. The company states that many users are running messaging apps and gaming apps simultaneously.
The tabs are visible at the top of the emulator
“As our product and platform has matured, it has attracted a new genre of gamers,” said BlueStacks CEO, Rosen Sharma. “Hardcore PC gamers we find are also into playing midcore mobile games. These users spend a lot of money, which has attracted app developers to our platform in droves. On the other end of the spectrum, apps like messaging and eCommerce also tend to get heavy usage and attract high-value users. The platform has been a boon for advertisers.”
BlueSacks is based in Silicon Valley with offices in Beijing, Delhi, London, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. They would like to mention their sponsers; Andreessen-Horowitz, Samsung, Redpoint, Qualcomm, Intel, Ignition Partners, Radar Partners, Presidio Ventures (a Sumitomo Corporation Company), Citrix, AMD and Helion Ventures.
The 100-person company launched in May, 2011 and the first version of its Mobile Gaming Platform was released in March, 2012. You can join the company’s 1.3 million Facebook fans here or follow BlueStacks on Twitter at @Bluestacksinc.
BlueStacks on the Surface Pro 4
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Google crams fully-functional smartphone apps into mobile ads
You probably ignore most of the mobile ads that pop up on your smartphone — “Cookie Jam” may promise to be a engaging, fun experience but you’re not going to hunt down the app to find out for yourself. Now you don’t have to: starting today, Google will embed 60-second trials of smartphone apps directly into some of its mobile ads.
Source: Techcrunch
Letv is a brand you need to keep an eye on. You may own one of its phones in 2016.
It’s a personal goal of mine to bring more content to you on phones outside of the typical brands you’re familiar with like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and LG. Huawei is proof that the lesser known phone manufacturers can make devices that are better than almost every device out there. Most importantly these devices can literally save you hundreds to thousands of dollars a year. If T-Mobile is blowing up carrier pricing, the unlocked smartphone companies like Letv, Nuu Mobile, Blu, Xiaomi, etc. are blowing up the the likes of Samsung and LG. And if history provides any lesson remember how big Nokia and Blackberry were just a few years ago? The industry changes quickly and we are going to be at the forefront of bringing real and unbiased reviews to you of these up and coming devices.
The problem with the lesser known brands is we really don’t much about them except for what’s on paper from their websites and there are very few reviews of the actual devices.
Letv is a brand YOU NEED to look out for. They recently started making smartphones in the last year and have been destroying the market in China. Here are some interesting results from its recents sales:
– 1 million Le Superphones sold in November 2015 alone (including 780,000 Le 1s units), which is the fastest time by a smartphone brand in China to reach that mark
– Le Superphone users on average consume up to 1.2G of data per month (for comparison’s sake, the industry average is under 800 MB)
– 56.7% of Le Superphone users are male; 41.27% of Le Superphone users were born in the 1980s; 36.14% were born in the 1990s
I have yet to try a Letv smartphone, but plan to very soon. I have a Letv 1s on pre-order from Gearbest.com. I want to know what I am missing because Letv’s phones look great on paper. There is a major concern with unlocked phones that they may not get Android updates, but you can also make that same argument for most phones in the sub $300 category. Even with Motorola’s latest Moto E, they said they wouldn’t update it to Android 6.0 because “customers were more focused on value than software.”
Check out the specs below on a couple of Letv’s phones. They can make all metal budget devices to high-end phones that can compete with anything here in the U.S. But keep an eye on Letv. With devices like these we may be seeing them here in the U.S. sooner rather than later.
If you have tried any of these unlocked smartphones, let us know in the comments the benefits and downsides to owning an unlocked smartphone if you don’t mind. Anyways, look out for reviews of budget and mid-range devices soon.
All metal Letv 1s sub $200 unlocked.
Letv 1s 5.5 inch 4G Phablet Android 5.1 MTK6795 64bit Octa Core 2.2GHz 3GB RAM 32GB ROM 5.0MP + 13.0MP Cameras – LINK
Main Features:
Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 FHD Screen
CPU: MTK6795 64bit Octa Core 2.2GHz
GPU: PowerVR G6200
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Camera: Dual Cameras, front camera 5.0MP camera, back camera 13.0MP
Sensor: Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor and Fingerprint Sensor
Bluetooth: 4.0
Features: GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Beidou
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, one Nano SIM Card, one Micro SIM Card
Letv One Max 2K Screen Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64bit 4GB RAM 64GB ROM – LINK
- Display: 6.33 inch 2K screen (2560 x 1440 pixels)
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Octa core 2.0GHz
- GPU: Adreno430
- System: Android 5.0 Lollipop
- Storage: 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM
- Camera: 4.0MP + 81° wide-angle F2.0 camera, 21.0MP AF face beauty with dual flash lights F2.0 camera
- Sensor: Light sensor , G-sensor , P-sensor, Hall Sensor,Proximity sensor
- Feature: Gyroscope,Infrared Remote Control,Electronic Compass
- Bluetooth: BT4.0
- GPS: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Battery: 3000mAh Bulit-in Battery
- SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Micro SIM + Nano SIM
- Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
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[Deal] Save 60% on the BACtrack Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer
If you’re over the age of 21, you’ve probably been in a situation that you weren’t 100% sure that you were capable of driving safely. Maybe you went out to dinner with some friends, and had a little too much, but weren’t really confident in being sober enough to drive. Today’s deal will help you figure out where your limit is and if you should just call a cab before drinking and driving.
The BACtrack Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer is a portable breathalyzer that can be used with either your Android or iOS smartphones. It will quickly tell you what your Blood Alcohol Level is so that the decision can be made about whether you should drive or find an alternate means of getting home. Additionally, the results come back in real-time so there’s no having to worry about waiting any longer and the decision can be made in the moment.
- Input & save BAC results, including what you drank and where
- Receive accurate results due to internal air pump
- See real-time BAC results from other users across the globe
- Uses ZeroLine Technology to estimate how long until your BAC returns to 0.00%
- Easily share results via text message, social media, and more
- Live a healthier lifestyle by monitoring consumption
- Clearly view how your body processes alcohol
Something that’s cool about the BACtrack Breathalyzer is that it allows for users to input what you drank, where you were, and attach the BAC results to the event. This would allow you to have an idea of what your limit is, so that going forward you can adjust how much you drink when you’re out on the town.
Normally priced at about $200, you can jump on this deal over at the AndroidGuys Deals page for 60%. That brings the total price for the BACtrack Breathalyzer to about $70. 60% off is a whole lot of money off of something that could save you from some jail-time.
Drop us a line below and let us know what you think about this great deal, and whether you signed up for it or not. You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
AndroidGuys Deals: Get the BACtrack Breathalyzer for 60% off
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Android’s new emoji arrive next week on Nexus devices
Android head Hiroshi Lockheimer said new emoji were on the way, and now they’re right around the corner. The Google exec revealed that next week Nexus devices will be updated with the new taco, unicorn and lion face emoji that are part of the Unicode 8.0 standard. The change will require a “new keyboard, new font, new code” so it means a full system upgrade is on the way (as far as any other changes, Lockheimer is declining to “ruin the surprise”). If you don’t have a Nexus phone, you’ll have to wait for your manufacturer to push the upgrade… eventually. No matter how long that takes, emoji addicts will be happy to see Android picking up the pace on its Unicode support, following Apple which added the latest standard to iOS 9.1 and OS X El Capitan.
Source: Hiroshi Lockheimer (Twitter)
Galaxy A 2016 brings Samsung Pay to budget phones
Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note smartphones usually get the most fuss, but it’s arguably the Galaxy A series that matters most. These are the affordable phones that you’re more likely to see in some parts of the world, and they’re what keep the company going. It’s a big deal, then, that Samsung just launched 2016 upgrades to the entire Galaxy A line. The 4.7-inch A3, 5.2-inch A5 and 5.5-inch are all sleeker than their ancestors, with narrower bezels and other cues clearly borrowed from the Galaxy S6. However, the real selling point may be shopping. Both the A5 and A7 are the company’s first non-flagships to support Samsung Pay — you no longer need to splurge just to use a Galaxy phone in place of your credit card.
Source: Samsung
AIVAnet 