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T-Mobile to offer the LG K10 (2017) as the K20 Plus

Alexandra Arici
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CES 2017 is coming up in a few weeks and all the big names in the industry are going to be present at the event showing off their latest and greatest products. LG included.

Even if the company’s smartphone sales have been faltering for a while now, the Taiwanese device maker seems to be unfazed by the setbacks. Actually LG is expected to come to CES 2017 in Las Vegas and unveil not one smartphone, but six new devices.

ces-2017

Most of these handsets will carry middle-range specs, like the LG K10 2017, the successor of this year’s LG K10.

According to @evleaks, the phone will be picked up by T-Mobile, but the carrier will be selling it under a different naming scheme. Granted, the LG K10 2017 isn’t exactly creative, so the Magenta company will put the phone on sale as the K20 Plus.

Previous rumors will have us believe the K20 Plus is going to make it out into the world with a 5.3-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution and 2.5D glass (which indicates the phone is slightly curved) on the front and back. The phone will have a fingerprint reader and a 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera onboard. Hopefully the phone will launch with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

lg-k10-back

As you can see the phone is not exactly super impressive when it comes to specs, so we expect that T-Mobile will price it quite affordably. The current K10 is currently available for $175 a pop.

T-Mobile Logo

The phone which was unveiled in January 2016 comes equipped with a 5.3-inch display with 720p and a Snapdragon 410 processor under the bonnet. LG also offers between 1GB and 2GB of RAM (depending on model) and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card slot to 32GB). The phone features 8MP/8MP camera combo and runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box.

The K20 Plus seems to be offering an incremental update over last year’s model and should be priced in similar fashion.

BLUBOO to release first Android smartphone with dual front and rear cameras

AndroidGuys
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As you’ve no doubt picked up over the last year or so, phones with a dual-camera setup are getting more and more common these days; quite many manufacturers are working on models with this technology.

It seem as if the latest BLUBOO dual camera phone, the BLUBOO Dual, is doing well in the market and, so far, the customer feedback is positive. As such, that stuff has motivated BLUBOO to beef up its dual camera lineup. Yes, we’re talking about doubling down on the double camera setup.

The second, or next, phone in the BLUBOO Dual camera lineup figures to retain the same dual rear camera setup as the previous Dual model. In other words, two cameras working in close collaboration, allowing you to get pictures with professional level, almost DSLR-like effect. And, from what we understand, the device will also be equipped with dual front-facing cameras. If it proves to be true, it would be quite heartening for selfie lovers. Moreover, the phone appears to feature a true edge-less design, which surely would take the visual enjoyment to a new level aside from enhanced beauty.

Currently, other details about the BLUBOO phone remains unclear. Aside from the rumors, all we have to go on right now is the accompanying image. Please stay tuned for further reports.

In case you are interested, you can find more details about the Bluboo Dual model at BLUBOO’s website. Also, you can still get a BLUBOO Dual for only $129.99 in BLUBOO’s official AliExpress store. Other licensed online stores will have it for about $150 once the pre-sales end in the coming week.

How an Android parental control app can help you give a better smartphone experience to your kid

AndroidGuys
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Kids start asking for a personal tablet or a smartphone before they enter their teen years. As they start making plans about how they are going to use their cool gadget, parents worry about the different online risks they have thus far been avoiding. A personal device means the kids would be able to use them the way they want; they often expect the parents to respect their privacy as well.

Kids are entitled to a degree of privacy and freedom, but they also need to mature, too. The online world, for various reasons, can hold dangers that kids don’t always understand. Parents’ concerns are real and they should be worried about teens exchanging sexual photos, talking to complete strangers online, or becoming a target of cyber-bullying. Worse, parents might fear their child being the one bullying others or ruining their health after repeated all night gaming and extreme device use.

So what should parents do? They can prolong the inevitable of giving them smart devices but they cannot completely ignore it. Neither is it advised to. Kids are growing up in a smart age and they need to be acquainted with it. Keeping that in mind it is advised to let the kids use such devices but actively make the experience safe for them.

How do you make it safe?

You can make smartphones safe for them by using a protective measure like an Android parental control app. Before handing them their personal gadget, sit with them and have a talk. Tell them the dangers and tell them your plan about dealing with the dangers. If you tell them why and how, they are more likely to cooperate with you or understand when the various scenarios present themselves.

familytime

FamilyTime figures to be a solid parental control app for Android devices. It doesn’t work like traditional spyware apps and technology and doesn’t hide itself from children. On top of that, it provides multiple parenting facilities under a single roof. Check the details:

  • Screen time limits
  • Mobile apps management
  • Text message and Contacts monitoring
  • Contacts mirroring and Watchlist contact alert
  • Web history monitoring
  • Location history
  • Location reporting through Geofencing
  • SOS and pick-me-up alert

Blocked app alerts

With these features, you can easily keep an eye on your kids’ cell phone and online activities and restrict extreme behavior with the app blocker and screen time limits. It keeps you updated with your kids’ whereabouts and plans and you can also catch sexting, suspicious contacts, or other risky activities before they get out of hand.

Smart technology is good for kids just so long as we expose them to the benefits and educate them on how to avoid the perils. Know the troubles, talk about them with your kids, and use an Android parental control app for added protection. It will not only make the whole experience safe for them but also give them a digital role model to follow that will cause them to have a responsible attitude throughout their lives.

Note: This is a guest contributed post and/or sponsored content; AndroidGuys does not endorse the material nor does it claim responsibility for the external links beyond the time of publish.

Pokémon Go developer tipped to be working on Ingress wearable

Alexandra Arici
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0

Pokémon Go Plus wearable launched back and September and stocks were depleted in a few seconds. The device allows users to catch Pokémons without having to open the mobile app in order to do so.

Cued by all the success, it looks like the studio behind Pokémon Go is looking to expand even more into wearables. According to a new report coming out of 9to5Mac, Niantic is working on wearable built specifically to interact with its games.

pokemon-go-plus

Sources familiar with the matter claim that Niantic is working closely with the company behind the Nex Band to produce an Ingress-branded smart band sometimes next month. We’re even treated with an image of this purported product.

The Nex + Ingress Band is supposedly the reason why Niantic has postponed or even canceled the development of the Apple Watch version of Pokémon Go.

According to the sources the Nex + Ingress Band will feature five touch sensitive displays (separate?!) with multi-color LEDs for customization and icons. The device is expected to offer a long battery life of up to 4 days and fitness tracking feats. An Ingress-oriented model will be launched first, but surely a Pokémon Go version will follow soon enough.

modular-nex-band

What do we know about Niantic’s partner, Nex? Earlier this year, the company launched a crowdfunding campaign designed to gather funds for the Nex Band, which mysteriously disappeared. Nex’s website seems to be functional still and teasing a “Evolution”. Passersby are invited to join the Waitlist, but that’s about all the information we are given.

The Nex Band was built on a pretty interesting concept. The wearable was supposed to allow users to add charms of “Mods” – each adding a new set of features. The wrist-bound device supported five different modifications including offering the ability to track fitness or sending coded messages to other NEX users.

more-nex-band

We can see there’s an obvious resemblance between the Nex Band and the purported Nex + Ingress Band. Anyway, according to the leaked image the upcoming Niantic wearable will come with five collective Mods including Enlightened, Niantic, Anomaly Medal, Map Location and Resistance.

If the story turns out to be true, more details about the upcoming wrist-bound device are likely to surface in the upcoming weeks, so keep checking back with us.

HTC X10 with Helio P10 chipset, 3GB of RAM leaks out

Alexandra Arici
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HTC’s mobile division continues to struggle a great deal. Even so here at AndroidGuys we really appreciated the HTC 10 and we’re excited to see what the HTC 11 will bring along.

In recent days, HTC has also unveiled the Bolt model which is a Sprint exclusive and an altered version of the HTC 10. According to recent stats, the phone hasn’t made a grand impression on customers, not yet at least.

Soon to be previous-gen HTC One X9

The company continues to deny rumors it plans to sell its mobile division, saying it is working on new models. Today a new piece of information has popped into the rumor mill. It seems HTC is not only focusing on working on its next-gen flagship, but also has plans for a middle-range device.

According to information coming out of Chinese website My Drivers, the HTC One X9 will soon be replaced by the HTC X10. The phone is said to arrive with a 5.5-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution.

The upcoming X10 will tap into the power of a MediaTek Helio P10 SoC clocked at 2GHz and working in combination with 3GB of RAM and unknown storage (hopefully 32GB). We’re also told the phone might feature a main 13MP camera. It’s not sure yet, but the phone should make it out with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Expect it to cost approximately $288 and to be unveiled next month.

htc-11-concept
HTC 11 concept

As for the company’s next premium phone, the HTC 11 is rumored to come boasting a 5.5-inch display with 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution and a brand new Snapdragon 835 chipset. The HTC 11 might be among the first to arrive with 8GB of RAM, to be offered in combination with a hefty 256GB of internal storage.

Other specs include a dual camera setup featuring 12MP sensors plus an 8MP front facing camera, a 3,700 mAh battery and Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

More Galaxy Note7 units remain in use than LG V20s, research firm says

Alexandra Arici
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The Samsung Galaxy Note7 disaster was one of the year’s most controversial stories in tech. As you may as well known, the phablet was recalled from the market about two months ago and Samsung has been actively trying to pursue customers to return the remaining units.

But despite Samsung’s efforts, it seems that there are still a lot of Note7 phablets that are currently still in use. Actually according to research firm Apteligent, there are more Note7 units in circulation than there are LG V20s.

galaxy-note7-in-the-wild

Samsung has recently announced it is working hand in hand with the top 4 US carriers in order to send out an update which will eliminate the Galaxy Note7’s ability to charge. T-Mobile will be the first to start rolling out such an update on December 27, while the other carriers will unleash the kill switch come January.

However, it’s quite clear that a lot of Note7 owners aren’t willing to renounce the phablet, event at this late stage. Just look on Reddit, there are dedicated subreddits where people are actively discussing how to ditch the disabling update.

lg_v20_colors

In other countries like the UK, Samsung has been a bit more permissive sending out an update that limits the Galaxy Note7 charging to 30%, thus still letting owners use the device somewhat. So the Apteligent report doesn’t come as a big shock after all.

How does Apteligent get its intel? Well their reports are generated as devices “check in” with the company’s analytics, meaning you’ll need to have an active, working smartphone in order to be taken into account by Apteligent’s statistics.

While Apteligent’s chart is bad news for Samsung, it’s certainly a lot worse for LG. As you can see from the graph, it seems the V20 is barely holding on to dear life.

the-google-pixel

Despite earlier reports by LG which claimed the company sold 200k V20 units in just 10 days after launch, Aptelgent’s stats beg to differ.

The V20 was actually the first non-Pixel device to make it out into the world with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, but that didn’t seem to matter to consumers too much. The V20 features a nice sheet of specs, but maybe the premium price-tag is what deterred users from it. Although we can’t say the same about the Google Pixel or the Note7.

motorola-moto-z-droid

Other handsets present in the charts are the Moto Z, which seems to have lost momentum in recent weeks. Motorola is certainly focused on the Moto Z family, as the company pledged to launch up to 12 new Moto Mods next year. If Motorola keeps its promise, we might see the Moto Z rise in popularity once again.

Interestingly enough, the only phone which seems to be doing great is the Sony Xperia XZ, even better than the Google Pixel, OnePlus 3T and HTC Bolt. It’s no secret that Sony’s mobile division has been struggling to maintain afloat for quite a while now, but according to the Apteligent’s stats there might be hope for the company after all.

Facebook Messenger now lets you group video chat with up to 50 people

Alexandra Arici
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1

Not spending the holidays with your family this year? Facebook has just made it easier for you to stay in touch via a new feature that debuted in its popular Messenger app.

Similar to Skype, Facebook is now allowing users to host Group Video Chats in Messenger. All you need to do is open a group conversation or create a new one and then tap on the video icon located on the upper right part of the screen to start the video chat. All friends and family members will receive a notification alerting them a new video chat session has begun.

facebook-group-chats

The update is being rolled out across the world, for iOS and Android users alike. A group video chat can accommodate up to 50 participants, but only up to six people can see each other at one time. The remaining 44 can listen in and respond by using texts, stickers, emojis and GIFs.

The new feature will be available in the desktop version of the app too. Don’t worry if you don’t see it just yet, it might take a few hours before everyone gets it.

facebook-messenger-logo

Recently Facebook updated the Messenger app by adding a bunch of new, powerful camera effects that enable to users to have the time of their lives while chatting. Also, Facebook fans have been given access to a dozen new games via Messenger. Now users can play games like Words with Friends: Frenzy, Pac-Mac, Space Invaders, Galaga and more against friends and family members.

Facebook Messenger boasts a user base of more than 1 billion active monthly users with 10% of all worldwide Voice over call being made through the app. With the addition of the new group video chat feature, more people are bound to take up the Messenger app. Competing services like Skype, Google and Kik also offer this functionality.

Getting the most out of your GBoard update [How-To]

AndroidGuys
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Last week Google released the GBoard update as an apk for users to try on their android devices. On Saturday, Google released the official update through the Play Store. Since Google has given us this early Christmas present we figured a little How-To was in order to showcase some of the great features of this app.

Prerequisites:

Fortunately, There is not too much to do here. Simply make sure that GBoard is installed through the Play Store.

Insert Links:

In case you did not read either of the linked articles above, one of the nicest things about Gboard is that it gives you the ability to insert links and directions directly from the keyboard.

  1. With they keyboard open, tap on the “G” in the upper left hand corner
  2. In the search bar, type whatever you are wanting to search for
  3. Simply tap the page you would like to send and watch the link appear in your text box
  4. Tap send in your app to share the web page.

Insert GIF’s:

Not only can you insert links, but in certain applications you can also insert GIF’s.

  1. With the keyboard open, tap on the smiley face next to the space bar
  2. Tap the GIF button at the bottom of the screen
  3. search for the GIF you want by taping the search button in the upper left
  4. tap on the GIF you want to insert into the chat

If you have not already, give Gboard a try. Let us know how you like to use these new features in the comments below.

A month after spyware scandal, the BLU R1 HD returns to Amazon for $50

Alexandra Arici
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0

US-based cheap smartphone BLU maker came into the spotlight lately, after it was revealed that some of its smartphones housed a spyware that sent users’ private information to China.

Following the discovery, class action lawsuit firm, Rosen Legal started inviting BLU customers to file legal action against the smartphone company. BLU played the innocence card, explaining it had no idea its handsets were “infested”.

blu_r1_hd_lockscreen

But the scandal hit BLU hard and the company was forced to remove one of its most popular products, the BLU R1 HD off virtual Amazon shelves.

Since then BLU has done everything to remove the prying software from the BLU R1 HDand other devices. And now, surprise-surprise just one month after the scandal the R1 HD is once again back with Amazon selling for $50.

The phone features a 5-inch display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and runs on the power of  MediaTek 6735M quad-core processor plus 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. This is the standard version. For those who want more, there’s a 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage if you’re willing to pay $60 for the Prime Exclusive model.

blu_r1hd_back

Other specs include an 8MP/5MP camera combo, 4G LTE and a microSD card slot for memory expansion.

As you can see the phone offers a dignified set of specs, but another reason why BLU was able to sell the phone so cheap is the “Amazon Exclusive” lock screen. Basically if you buy the BLU R1 HD you should expect to see lots and lots of Amazon ads.

more-blu-r1-hd

Amazon does sell an add-free version, but you’ll have to pay $50 extra if you want it.

Now the question rises, will be customers able to trust BLU products again? Probably. Once one of Amazon’s most popular devices, the BLU R1 HD will probably do just fine, given that no additional spyware talk has surfaced in the last month. The super attractive price-tag will probably continue to attract lots and lots of customers.

Check out these discounts and deals on phones at AT&T

AndroidGuys
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Time to purchase a new smartphone? Is this an upgrade from an existing device? We want to help you out either way.

To save you money, we’ve gathered up all of the promotions we could find from AT&T. Regardless of where you’re thinking of going for service, or what phone you are looking to pick up, you owe it to yourself to check below.

What follows is a mix of phone, rate plan, and accessory promotions worth checking out. It might not be an exhaustive list, but it’s a good collection of what’s currently offered through AT&T.

Although we’ve listed known expiration dates, we have no idea how long some of these other deals will last.

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AT&T Deals

Prepaid

Accessories

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