Some Nexus 6P shipments delayed, but at least you are getting cash back
Today some Nexus 6P customers are getting bad news in their email inboxes… or they could be good news, depending on who you ask. In either case, it seems Google can’t handle the high demand for their new Nexus flagship as well as they thought.
Google’s sorry letter states that certain customers will not be seeing their shiny Nexus 6Ps until November 7-14. And though the Search Giant doesn’t specify much, it seems to affect only specific color and storage options.
The good news is you might be saving some money from this otherwise unfortunate situation! Google is making up for your inconveniencces by refunding $25 to affected parties. Pretty neat, right? That is, if you don’t mind waiting another week or two.
Thank you for buying a Nexus 6P from the Google Store. We’re really excited about this phone and we hope you are too. But we have some not-so-great news: It’s going to take a little longer to get the 6P to you than we would have liked. We’re working hard to meet the strong demand we
’re seeing for the color and memory size you ordered, and we promise it will be worth it! Rest assured that orders will still be shipped in the order that they were received.As of now, we’re expecting to deliver your 6P order between 11/7/2015 and 11/14/2015, and we’ll send you a notification as soon as it goes out the door. As a courtesy, we’ll give you a $25 refund on your purchase, which we’ll process soon after your phone ships.
We know that waiting a bit longer can be inconvenient, though remember we won’t charge you until your order ships. We also want to make sure you’re aware that you can cancel your order. We’d hate to see you go, but if you need to, just follow the instructions here.
We apologize for this news, and thank you again for your order.
Sincerely,
The Google Store Team
Have any of you guys received this email? Do you mind waiting a bit for a $25 discount, or would you rather have gotten your phone in time?
Brain-controlled Nexus 9 helps paralyzed users take advantage of Android
Many of us call Swiftkey a mind-reading service, but this commonly used term is taken quite literally with the solution BrainGate has been working on. Using a Nexus 9 and other brain-reading technology, this Stanford sub-division has manged to allow users to control the Android experience with their thoughts.
But why would anyone want to do this? This is not just a silly gimmick we will enjoy in the future; it represents a whole new era for paralyzed people who many have lost (or never had) the ability to easily communicate with the world.
Eye tracking technology and tapping mechanisms have so far been the only couple viable solutions for those who are paralyzed. But the issue is that these technologies tend to be painfully slow. Not to mention tiring for the user. These inconveniences have inspired scientists to aspire for a better method, and it seems mind reading is the best form of input they can come up with. And guess what? It works!
This pimped up Nexus 9 was first tested on patient T6 (as they call her), a brunette lady in her 50s. She suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that causes progressive motor neuron damage and has her paralyzed from the neck down.
There are multiple parts to this system, though. For starters a 100-channel electrode has to be implanted into the left side of the brain, in an area responsible for movement. A neuroprosthesis device is then placed on the user, allowing the system to track brain signals.
In a way, you can think of this project as some kind of mental cursor. It works much like a mouse in that you can move your selector around and easily select. The team soon realized touch devices were probably the best fit for something like this, not to mention users doesn’t want a customized UI that looks like it was made in the 80s.
This is how they opted for the Nexus 9, and Android tablet that is modern, smooth, powerful and runs an open ecosystem BrainGate can customize to their liking. The popular Android tablet seems to have been the right fit, too. The service was easy to customize into the OS, and the neuroprosthetic conveniently communicates via Bluetooth.
Patient T6 was up and running in no time, Googling gardening information and taking advantage of auto completion to speed things up. Even navigating through small links was no issue, which makes this a total success.
The device is said to function at least two years without extra maintenance, and the team claims they are taking this endeavor and pushing forward with it. The plan is to proliferate it by making it accessible and adding support for other platforms.
Targeting the disabled audience is definitely a top priority, so we have to give props to BrainGate for all their hard work. All things considered, it seems like some kind of sci fi story. Tablets that can read your mind? Imagine what else we could do once this technology matures. Users may need an implant, but that is definitely worth it to someone who can’t even move and wants to stay online.
This is something that likely won’t help any of us, and doesn’t hold much consumer value, but it shows how far technology has gone, and the extent in which it can change our lives. To those won can’t enjoy the abilities we take for granted, this will mean the world. I say that is more important than us whining about specs, features and ugly designs – right?
Google taps in big marketing strategy for Android Pay
At the Money20/20 being held in Las Vegas, Google’s senior vice president of ads and commerce Sridhar Ramaswamy spent some time talking about the progress Google is making with Android Pay. Ramaswamy also described several facets of a marketing strategy being implemented to help drive growth for the payment platform, including the forthcoming introduction of a new loyalty program.
The new loyalty program will kick off with the help of partner Coca-Cola. Users who make use of Android Pay to purchase a Coke from one of the 20,000 NFC-enabled vending machines out there will get reward points that can be used for additional Coke purchases. Ramaswamy says company marketers like these types of programs because it helps improve customer retention rates and at the same time provides valuable purchasing data.
Google is also looking at helping carrier partners Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile promote Android Pay by training their sales reps to push it. On the other side, Google’s card partners American Express, MasterCard and Visa, along with card-issuing banks, will benefit from a marketing drive sponsored by Google.
These initiatives are expected to help Google continue to grow Android Pay. Although detailed numbers were not provided at the conference, Ramaswamy did reveal that “millions” of accounts have been setup on Android Pay with linked card information. Even better, more than 60 percent of these users are new in that they had never used Google Wallet.
Has anyone out there had any success using Android Pay?
source: Re/code
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HTC One A9 review: Not the winner this company needs
After the year HTC has had, you almost can’t help but feel bad for them. Don’t. The Taiwanese phone maker can’t take your pity to the bank, so it sequestered itself behind closed doors and tried to build a new smartphone that would excite people the way the last-gen One M9 simply couldn’t. The end result is the One A9, a “flagship” smartphone that traded some of the One series’ signature features for a divisive design and a seemingly mid-range brain. If this were any other company, I’d have written it off already. The thing is, HTC jumped straight into the big leagues with the One M7 two years ago and I so want it to make a comeback with another brilliant smartphone. Sadly, though, the One A9 seems not to be that device.Slideshow-335127
Google adding podcasts to Google Play Music
Google Play Music is a fantastic music streaming service, especially when it comes to music curation and radio stations. Now it looks like Google is interested in expanding its curation and mood suggestions to podcasts, adding an entirely new dimension to the service.
You’ll soon be able to select stations if you want to hear something funny, or listen to a new story, or any number of new suggestions, and you’ll get a list of curated podcasts to check out. Google has already opened up a portal for podcasters to get their material uploaded, so we should see content creators start taking advantage of this very soon.
Google is teaming up with a handful of top podcasters to get the ball rolling, but anyone can upload their podcast at Google’s portal.
This means for $10 per month, you’ll get access to Google’s enormous music library, ad-free YouTube videos, and podcasts. That’s a tough price to beat.
source: Official Android Blog
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Google’s new ASUS OnHub router can be sped up with the wave of a hand
It was just two months ago that Google debuted the first OnHub Wi-Fi router made in partnership with TP-LINK, and now the Mountain View company is introducing yet another one. Boasting faster Wi-Fi speeds, an easy set-up process and simple management with the Google On application, this new ASUS-made router aims to bring some notable improvements to the table over the first device.
The ASUS OnHub does everything the TP-LINK router can do, only with a slightly altered design and one handy new feature called Wave Control. This will allow you to wave your hand over the router to boost the Wi-Fi speed for a particular device. Pretty cool, right?
Just because there’s a new addition to the OnHub family, that doesn’t mean Google is forgetting about the first device. In the coming week, Google is rolling out the TP-LINK OnHub’s first software update which will bring several performance improvements, including a new “smart antenna algorithm.” What does that mean? Basically, whether you’re on a smartphone in the kitchen or on your laptop in the living room, OnHub will be able to intelligently select the best combination of antennas to direct to your Wi-Fi devices, based on their location and orientation. If you already have the TP-LINK OnHub, it will receive the update automatically when your network is quiet so it won’t interrupt your connection.
For those who aren’t familiar, Google has released a new promotional video for the OnHub, which you can find attached below:
You’ll be able to pre-order the new ASUS OnHub starting this week from various retailers for $219.99 in a Slate Gray color option. As of now, pre-orders are live on Amazon and Newegg, with pre-orders going live later this week through the Google Store, Best Buy, Walmart and Micro Center in the United States. If you’re interested, be sure to head to the link below to order your new router!
Hands-on with Motorola’s shockingly sturdy Droid Turbo 2
Motorola’s new Droid Turbo is here, and its arrival might be a tough pill to swallow for Verizon customers who just shelled out cash for a new Moto X. After a bit of hands-on time, though, it’s clear that the Droid Turbo 2 has plenty of compromises of its own. Slideshow-335140
The Droid Maxx 2 is a Moto X Play with loads of Verizon bloatware
Verizon and Motorola didn’t just announce the Droid Turbo 2 today — the two smartphone buddies also confirmed the arrival of the Droid Maxx 2. The thing is, the Maxx 2 is really just a Verizon-customized version of the Moto X Play, a neat little mid-range device we reviewed earlier this year. In case you hadn’t read Aaron’s full report, it’s a solid addition to the Moto X line up with a badass battery, and the changes we got in the American version are minimal. Well, most of them are, anyway.Slideshow-335152
Google Play Music finally gets into the podcasting game
For the plethora of musical choices offered on Google Play Music, one genre has been noticeably absent: podcasts. Not anymore! Google announced today on its Official Android Blog that the streaming service will soon offer a variety of popular podcasts including Nerdist, Earwolf, How Stuff Works and StarTalk Radio, to name just a few. A proper consumer-side service appears to still be a few months away so, for now, Google’s created a portal for US-based podcasters to begin uploading their personal content.
Source: Android Blog
Google’s second OnHub router is built by ASUS, goes on sale this week
Google introduced its OnHub router this summer, promising that it would be just the first in a series of routers designed to be easier to set up and use. Now, the company has taken the wraps off the newest OnHub, the $219.99 ASUS OnHub. Much like the original, the ASUS OnHub is a tall cylindrical device meant to be placed out in the open; its base is much wider than the original and it tapers off as it gets taller, with the now-signature OnHub LED ring at the bottom instead of the top.
Source: Google
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