Are you having a hard time finding the right gifts for friends and loved ones this year? Do you have a friend who is always tapping his/her foot or humming to a certain obscure tune? The advent of technology has drastically changed we experience music, giving fans a chance to listen to their favorite music anywhere they go.
That being said, you can take advantage of the technology revolution and buy your music loving friends a piece of hi-tech which will enable them to enjoy their most loved tunes at all day everyday. Here’s a few ideas on what to get them:
Sennheiser HD 800 Headphones
If you have a more generous gift budget at your disposal this year, we recommend you consider purchasing the Sennheiser HD 800 headphones for your loved one.
Sennheiser needs no introduction, as it’s probably one of the best known audio companies in the world. It was founded in Germany 1945 and since then spread out across many countries. The Sennheiser HD 800 have been crafted with a singular goal in mind – perfection. The ear accessories are said to be able to break down the barrier between audio recording and playback equipment connecting the listener to the artist’s original performance.
Granted, the headphones don’t come cheap and you can pair for $1,024 a pop.
Portable Mini DJ Mixers
For those who have always wanted to be a DJ, but never had the necessary money to invest in heavy equipment, the Mobile Mini DJ Mixer is just perfect. Now your friend can be the life of the party.
The mixer is compatible with every device that features a headphone jack be it a MP3 player or an Android phone or tablet. The mobile mixer offers a wide range of controls and comes in different color choices including Black, Red, Gold and Blue.
It can be yours for $95 a pop plus approximately $8 shipping (from Germany).
oSound Gesture Control Bluetooth Speaker
If your audiophile friend is a fan of minimalist house accessories, then the oSound Bluetooth speaker could be the ultimate gift. More specifically, the oSound is a wall mounted Bluetooth audio system shaped like a sunrise that would look amazing in any room.
What’s more oSound lets owners use gestures in order to complete actions like jump to next/previous song, play/pause and adjust the volume. Play music from your phone, tablet or stream it from the online music services you subscribe too.
The audio system can be acquired for $525, but if you want to get it in time for Christmas you better order now, since international deliveries take up to 2 weeks.
Sony NWE395 MP3 Player
With smartphones being so wide spread, most of us tend to keep our music libraries on our handsets. However, there are a few reasons why you might want to stick to a MP3 player instead. For example, “walkmans” can support your high-end headphones and will have dedicated music controls.
The Sony NWE395 MP3 player is a great gift choice if you’re on a budget. It comes with a battery that can support up to 35 hours of music listening without needing to pop the device in for a charge. The player also features FM radio, Apple iTunes integration and 16GB of storage – more than enough to house all your favorite albums. The Sony NWE95 MP3 is compatible with earbud style headphones only.
You can get the device today with 16% off from Amazon, meaning you’ll have to pay only $79.99 for the 16GB version.
Jamstick+
So maybe your friend wants to be a guitarist? Why not give him a mock instrument he could practice on before going for the real deal? Then the Jamstick+ is what you will need. The smart guitar gizmo pairs each note to your Android phone (including Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, LG G4 or HTC One M9 and more), no tuning necessary.
Once the Jamstick+ is connected to your phone or table, you can play the guitar using a host of compatible apps which allow you do things like change the guitar sound from classic to electric. You can also learn the absolute basics of guitar playing via a series of intuitive lessons.
The Jamstick+ sells for $299 (save $10 with “HolidaySavings10” code) and comes available in different color options.
Jack Rabbit Headphones Splitter
Is your friend someone who loves sharing his/her favorite song with those around? Then why not buy him/her the adorable Jack Rabbit headphones splitter, which allows other parties to plug in into your phone’s music library?
The accessory costs only $12 and is oh! so adorable!
Major Scale Musical Wine Glasses
With this 2 piece wine glass set, your friend can relax while creating beautiful music at the same time. All you need to do is fill your glass to the desired note, moisten your finger and start creating amazing sounds as you run it across the rim of the glass.
The musical wine glasses are sure to get the party going and you can purchase a pair for $65.
Running Vest with Speakers
Ok, so your friend might be an avid runner who doesn’t like the feel of earbuds or headphones while she/he runs. The Running Vest with speakers incorporated might be an alternative.
The high-tech running vest features a storage pouch that holds your smartphone or MP3 player, while the lightweight speakers positioned just below your ears stream your favorite tunes. Yes, some passersby might get annoyed, but then it’s a good thing the vest is designed for people who love to run. Acquire it for $59.99.
Chromecast Audio
Google’s neat Chromecast Audio lets you stream from the cloud to your speakers with your phone simply acting like a remote. Simply tap the Cast button from your apps on your phone/tablet to cast songs, radio stations and podcast to your speaker. Chromecast Audio sells for $25.
Pandrora Premium Subscription
Pandora has recently announced it will be offering an add-free, all-you-can-stream plan called Pandora Premium for $10 a month. The revitalized service will recommend tracks by understanding and anticipating users’ wants and needs.
While the $10/month Pandora Premium subscription is due to launch officially next year, you can still opt for the current Pandora Plusoption for $4.99 this Christmas.
In an world where every company tries to come up with an ever thinner device than last year’s, sacrificing battery life for looks, leaving out plasic and using metal and glass instead, it’s nice to see a manufacturer like Nomu. Its whole lineup of devices is aimed at people that are normally in harsh environments.
With IP68 water resistance rating, utilitarian design and a mind-boggling 5000mAh battery, the Nomu S10 is not aimed at someone working a run-of-the-mill office job.
Specs
The specs for the Nomu S10 are very respectable for 2016 standards. And look at that battery.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
5.0-inch display at 1280 x 720 pixel resolution; Gorilla Glass 3
Quad-core Mediatek 1.5GHz processor
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage; microSD expansion card slot for 32GB
8-megapixel (interpolated to 13-megapixel) rear camera
MicroSD support is also nice in an era where more and more phones leave this feature behind in favor of internal storage. You’ll have to make a compromise though: it’s either a microSD or two SIM cards, but not both.
Initial Impressions and Setup
Pretty straightforward packaging.
The packaging is pretty straightforward. It’s just a brown box with the Nomu logo on it, devoid of any other branding or indication of the phone itself. Curiously, the Nomu S30 comes in exactly the same box, even though it is much bigger.
Inside you will find the phone, a pair of headphones and a charger. This review unit came with a charger compatible with European plugs, something which wasn’t a problem for me but could be a minor inconvenience for those who live in the US.
Something peculiar about this phone is that, upon powering on, it doesn’t take you to the normal setup screen that you’re used to when booting an Android device for the first time. Instead, you’re greeted with the phone’s main screen. You can effectively use the phone without configuring. As a person who dislikes long setup processes, I like this approach.
If you actually want to use your Google account with your phone, accessing any Google-made app will take you to the configuration you’re used to. From then on, everything will work exactly as expected. As a side note, some Google apps you’re used to don’t come installed by default, including YouTube and Google Drive; you’ll have to do that by yourself.
Hardware and Build Quality
First, let me address the elephant in the room: this is the thickest phone I’ve used since my Nokia 3590 back in 2003. Probably the massive 5000mAh battery has something to do with it. But let me get something straight: this is actually not a bad thing.
Sure, Apple, Motorola, Samsung and company have us think that a thinner phone is better (which, to an extent, you can say it is), but there’s also a market for people looking to, you know, actually use their phones. What’s more, they don’t want to turn off every shiny new feature to make it through the day. Sure, there’s a trade-off, and that’s something Nomu has obviously accepted, but kudos to them for favoring function over form.
Upon holding the device, you will immediately notice its ruggedness. This is a heavy-duty phone, aimed at people who work in harsh environments, where a power outlet is not available for hours and/or water is a serious concern.
Corners are not rounded, but very angular and sharp instead. It tries to alleviate the thickness factor by reducing it around the edges, something which works to some extent.
Except for the Gorilla Glass 4 screen, the whole device is made of some kind of rubberized plastic. While many phones these days opt for metal and glass casings that can make the phone slippery, the Nomu S10 is almost impossible to drop by accident under normal conditions.
The device itself is black with orange accents, which, combined with its rugged elements, makes it look futuristic and it has certainly garnered attention when using it throughout my review process.
The orange accents makes it a pretty looking device.
Its IP68 water resistance rating means that it can be submerged for 30 minutes under a maximum of 1.5 meters of water. That’s A LOT of time, so feel safe knowing that this phone will survive that drop into the toilet.
All of these characteristics and focus on ruggedness makes the phone feel incredibly sturdy. Your immediate reaction would be to think that this phone is more expensive, because it sure feels like it is.
For those wondering, the volume keys and the power key (in that order, from top to bottom) are all located on the upper right side of the device, while the speaker is at the back.
The 3.5mm headphone jack is present (thanks Nomu for not being “courageous” enough to remove it) and located at the top, while the microUSB port is located at the bottom. Both of them are covered by rubber flaps in order to achieve its water resistance rating. I actually didn’t try submerging the phone with the flaps open, but I’m pretty sure that is one of those “don’t try this at home” situations.
Screen
Being a $100 phone in this era means that some corners have to be cut. The first place where you notice this is by looking at the screen. The 1280×720 5.0″ Sharp IGZO screen does a decent job under normal conditions and you can perform your tasks without your eyeballs bleeding. However, sometimes you can see some icons and colors being displayed in a weird way. Picture an image compressed 5 times: this is how the S10’s screen displays stuff sometimes.
This was really noticeable for me while taking a closer look at the default wallpaper. At first I thought “Wow, that’s a really crappy picture,” but then I changed it to a different one and saw the same kind of artifacts. It’s a shame, because otherwise this panel would be decent enough for a $100 device.
It gets really bright (there’s almost no direct sunlight in Estonia at the moment, but trust me, the screen can get very bright) and the 720p resolution is good news for battery life. Unfortunately, in its current state, the screen leaves something to be desired.
Speakers and Audio
Speaker is located at the back of the device.
As previously mentioned, the speaker is located at the back side of the phone. The last phone I owned that had this configuration was the LG G3, and I sure hated that speaker. I just can’t stand speakers there because you have to lie your phone on its screen for the speaker to be useful. That simply doesn’t make sense.
Anyways, the good news is that it gets extremely loud. If loudness was the only factor, then actually I would use this phone over my Bluetooth speaker. However, as we know, quality is the other side of the story, and unfortunately some distortion and loss of quality can be heard when the speaker is at its maximum. It’s not a deal-breaker, but something to note anyways.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that this may be noticeable to us who actually care about this kind of stuff. I tried the speaker with a couple of friends and both noticed the loudness first, and made no mention about the loss in quality.
When actually connecting the phone to a pair of headphones, output was good enough. Note that I’m not able to detect any significant improvements in quality since my only pair of headphones are Apple Earbuds, but I can definitely notice a reduction in said quality, something that didn’t happen while listening Epica’s latest masterpiece, The Holographic Principle, or a really nice 80’s music playlist I found the other day.
Connectivity
If you didn’t get the message when talking about the charger that ships with the S10, then you will definitely notice it here. Clearly, Nomu is not focused on the US market for now. Why? In short, it’s because its phones doesn’t have the required bands for 4G to work there. That is really a shame for our US readers; the phone will get 3G speeds at best. However, here in Estonia, Telia uses bands 3, 7, and 20 to deliver its 4G service, so I could test it.
Be careful about the bands your carrier uses, since there’s limited support for bands in some regions.
Overall, I got good signal everywhere I went. Call quality was exactly as you might expect, so, if you have the required bands, the phone behaves exactly as you expect it to. Be sure to check this beforehand, though.
Regarding WiFi, I could achieve the same download speeds as on my other devices, so there are no surprises here either. A thing to note, though: there’s no support for 5.2GHz WiFi networks as only 2.4GHz is supported.
Software
The launcher is not Google Now or Pixel.
Do you like stock Android? I have good news for you. Nomu has decided that Google’s implementation of Android Marshmallow is good enough for its purposes and decided to leave it partially unchanged. That is normally good news regarding updates, since it means less things to test and update for new versions, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for a Nougat update.
However, let me tell you that this Android 6.0 implementation works pretty well. Since you already know the main features of Android 6.0, I will tell you the deviations from Google’s original software.
First, there is the launcher. I know what you might be thinking: “First, he says that Android is largely unchanged and then he says that the launcher is different?” I know, let me explain. This is neither Google Now Launcher nor the shiny new Pixel Launcher introduced in Android 7.0. This is a generic launcher that has home screens, an app drawer and nothing more. It is pretty bare-bones and, frankly, not that good of an experience. Fortunately, the Play Store has a plethora of options from which you can choose, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Also, a weird thing about this Android build is that, even though it is Marshmallow, the icons for some apps look like their Jelly Bean era counterparts. I can’t for the life of me understand the reason behind this.
Regarding other aspects, you’ll see that the quick settings has two new members: Audio Profiles and Supershot. The former lets you change your sound profile from four predefined options: General, Silent, Meeting and Outdoor. The latter lets you take a screenshot without having the Volume Down + Power Button combination.
Many useful options have been added.
When taking a screenshot, you will get the option of editing it too. You can crop it in a rectangular shape, with a lasso tool, or with a graffiti function (the image becomes your canvas and you select parts of it by making lines over it). You can also create longer screenshots by using the scroll function.
The problem with this is that the phone doesn’t generate screenshots correctly. It compresses its height a little bit, making the image look distorted. It seems like it is a problem with the implementation of the navigation bar, since making it hide and then opening an app results in screenshots being captured correctly. I’m sure this can easily be corrected with an update, but it’s inadmissible that this kind of faults have made it through QA and into production software.
There are some really useful options in the settings screen. Stuff like tap to wake, hiding the navigation bar and turbo download (download big files using both data and WiFi) are present there for your pleasure.
Also, there’s this neat feature in which you can draw a letter on the screen while it is off, and, upon detection, the phone will open the related app. For example, I configured the C to open the camera. It works exactly as advertised, although it could benefit from opening the app faster. The current implementation wastes time making an animation based on the detected letter.
Performance
I know that benchmarks tell us nothing about the performance under daily use, but here is the AnTuTu benchmark score in case you were wondering.
With its score of 37396 points, the Nomu S10 is ranked among devices like the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), Huawei Honor 5X, Blu Vivo XL and OnePlus One. For reference, the Google Nexus 5 scores 23225 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 scores 76912.
Using it for a couple of weeks, though, I can say that I could easily use this phone as my daily driver. It is really snappy when doing normal activities, like checking Facebook and Twitter, watching YouTube videos and streaming Spotify. It struggles when there’s a lot of things going on (for example, when downloading apps), but then again, a lot of phones do.
Games is a different matter, though. Stuff like Star Knight performs superbly, since it is not a graphic-intensive game. However, things change a bit when launching N.O.V.A 3. It’s likely my fault for trying to run such a game on a $100 phone, but results are decent at best. The game gets laggy in a lot of instances and skips a lot of frames. If you’re the kind of person that plays heavy-load games, then you won’t be interested in this mid-range phone.
Camera
Continuing with the list of components that were hindered in order to reduce costs, we arrive at the camera. I don’t want to blame the camera only, since the screen actually makes pictures look worse than they are, but the results are not stellar either. The 13 MP shooter with a single flash does a modest job in daylight conditions, but it is especially bad in low light.
The camera is decent at best under conditions with lots of light, but struggles in dark environments.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a single clear day to take pictures in which the sky was blue, but you can clearly see that colors are not bright enough on any of the samples anyways. Also, you have to move the phone as little as possible when taking pictures, because if not, the photo will turn out blurry.
Low-light images look like they were printed on sandpaper and the camera does an awful job with colors too. Also, focusing sometimes takes a really long time, something that, in my opinion, is as annoying as the quality itself. This is specially true on low-light conditions, when focusing is sometimes downright impossible.
The camera app is not Google Camera but a different implementation which actually has some nice options. There’s a mode in which you can capture a picture with both cameras at the same time, and the software will superimpose one on top of the other. There are also different filters like mono, sepia, negative, whiteboard and similar.
Stuff like scene modes, timers, ISO and video quality can be changed at the touch of a button. Unfortunately, it can’t aleviate the camera’s inefficiencies, which is a hardware problem that no software might be able to resolve.
Battery
Battery life is superb on this phone, thanks to its 5000mAh battery.
The phone can easily last three days on a charge with location, several social networks constantly pinging home for no reason, some light gaming, some YouTube videos, and Amaranthe’s Maximalism looping for hours on Spotify.
There’s one small thing though: standby time could be better. Sometimes, when leaving the phone at home with WiFi and Bluetooth on, the phone discharges just a bit slower as when actually carrying it with me and using it appropriately, something that makes no sense.
Actually, the phone has a function called “Standby Intelligent Power Saving,” which I tried to turn on and off for a few days but it made no noticeable difference. Another thing, the battery screen appears to be kind of broken, since it always displays “Phone idle” as the most expensive process, with a disproportionate amount of computed power use.
Charging the phone takes a lot of time, even with the included charger. We’re talking about 4 hours easily. Also, the phone tends to get warm when charging, especially when the battery is almost depleted. This is an increasingly common thing these days thanks to Quick Charge, so you probably shouldn’t worry about it.
Conclusion
The Nomu S10 is certainly a peculiar device. It has no middle ground: its ups are superb, but its downs are almost catastrophic. On one side you have a really sturdy, rugged, Bear Grylls-worthy build, but the screen then fails to display some patterns correctly. The battery is the best one I’ve used by far (at least since the dawn of the smartphone era), but its camera is not dependable at all. Even within the same category, there are some superb stuff and some unbearable aspects. Take as an example the speaker: really, really loud but on the back of the phone, and some quality is lost at high volumes.
Recommending this phone is as hard as it gets. Do you care about a phone that will last through use and abuse? Then buy it. This is the S10’s main market, and, it is really good at that. Do you want to buy a phone that will accompany you through your son’s first years in this world? Then don’t but it. You will probably want to take pictures of his first steps into this world, and this camera will produce pictures that will leave you as disappointed as the kid will be when he realizes he has to study for the next 20 years.
There are some situations in which this phone is almost perfect, and some in which it’s not up to the task. For $100 though, this phone is good to have as a backup (which actually has longer battery life than the phone it is backing up).
If you’re looking for one, you can get it from the following shops:
Prices vary from shop to shop, but they won’t ever surpass $130 dollars (or euros, depending on where you are). If you want more information about the phone, then Nomu’s official site has more information.
Blocky Cars Online is a multiplayer car battle game that allows you to build a car and compete against others online in a collection of modes, level up, and unlock rewards.
Playing Blocky Cars Online immediately brought me back to 1999, where I’d be found playing Lego Racers on my N64 in my pajamas. That game allowed you to build your own car in classic lego-brick fashion and race around in az Mario-Kart inspired kart racer. It was wonderful to my seven-year-old mind, even if it isn’t as great as I remember now.
Blocky Cars Online has a similar story, build your own car to compete in various game modes, except now you can play online with other players and the cars are not made of Legos. The game does have some unique elements as well, like the ability to leave your car and battle on foot, as well as unique vehicle movement like flying. Also, much like Lego Racers, Blocky Cars doesn’t quite hit the mark every time but gets a few things right, and for some, that’s more than enough.
Blocky Cars Online’s main focus is the cars themselves, and in that department, they do a fairly good job. Car customization is simple and easy to use, and the selection of blocks available is pretty extensive. There are different material blocks to build with; boosters, engines, and weapons to choose from; and a bunch of cosmetic items to make it your own. Building a simple car that I was pleased with took only a few minutes, and there are multiple slots in the garage for you to have a few different designs. Unlocking the various blocks does take a bit of time and in-game currency, but the starting equipment you’re given is plenty to make something cool with.
Gameplay-wise, Blocky Cars is solid, if a bit frustrating at times. The controls for the car are pretty simple, but sometimes navigating terrain is a chore, due to slow steering and imprecise touch controls. This is especially apparent in attempting to make your car fly. Multiplayer sessions are often a mess with cars all over the place, making it difficult to get a bead on anyone or go exactly where you want to. It works just enough for me to say it isn’t unplayable, and for a free game, that’s just fine.
There are a few game modes, including dueling, capture the flag, a drivers-only mode like team deathmatch, and a few other car combat modes as well. They all generally involve shooting the enemy player with your weapons, and there aren’t any real surprises to be found here.
Visually, the game looks pretty good. The graphics are, well, blocky, but they look alright and they are colorful and varied in style and theme depending on the level you’re playing in. The blocks are primarily square-shaped, with few other geometric shapes to speak of, which works with the aesthetic of the game. Overall, the graphics are simple but effective without being too crude. Same can be said of the sound, with decent sound effects for the weapons and cars, but some pretty uninspired musical accompaniment.
One thing that really holds Blocky Cars Online back is its lack of a user base. The matches I was a part of rarely had more than 2 or 4 players at a time, and I often waited more than five minutes to get into a game. That’s a bit too long for my liking, and the game doesn’t have a single-player component to give me something to do when there’s nobody around. Time will tell if this improves as the game ages.
Conclusion:
Blocky Cars Online is an all-around solid game. It runs well, is simple and easy to pick up and play, and has a decent amount of depth in its game modes and car customization. The only thing really holding it back is it’s small user base, but that can change over time. This is definitely a great game for kids and lovers of car games and fans of Legos as well.
To save you money, we’ve gathered up all of the promotions we could find from Sprint. 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 Sprint.
Although we’ve listed known expiration dates, we have no idea how long some of these other deals will last.
If you wanted to switch from iOS to Android a few weeks ago, you didn’t have much choice but download Google’s services like Google Music or Google Photos for iOS and upload your entire collection there.
But this week Google has updated its Switch page to support Google Drive. Google says all you need to do is install Google Drive on your iOS phone an then open app and find the backup wizard by selecting Menu > Settings > Backup.
From there, users can simply choose the content they want to back up. When they are done a simple tap on “Start Backup” will get everything started.
Google warns the process could take several hours and advice users to have a Wi-Fi connection in their vicinity.
Once everything is done, get your new Android device and sign in the same Google account you use to back up your iPhone info.
However, there’s a small caveat to be considered. It doesn’t seem at this time that Google is offering any means to port existing iMessages to the new Android devices, so you’ll need to use your OTG adapter for that.
Google has made Switching to Android better in the wake of Santa’s descent into the world, who will certainly have a lot of new Android phones to give this year.
Google wants to put Android on everything. Android is available for phones and tablets, Android Wear for smartwatches and Android Auto for your car. Well now Google is launching the newest version of Android today called Android Things which wants to will rule over all your home connected devices including speakers, routers and so on.
Google has released a Developer Preview of Android Things – thus inviting developers to build loT products using the power of Android. The new initiative creates a safe work frame in order to allow devs to create smart devices using Android APIs and Google the company-based services.
Naturally, Google itself will be delivering the updates to the OS, including patches, bug fixes and new feature additions.
Do you remember Brillo? It’s the company’s previous attempt at building an loT OS which has now been re-branded to Android Things. The expertise acquired by Google as it worked on Brillo, is now put to good used, while mixing in other tools such as Android Studio, the Android SDK, Google Play Services and Google Cloud Platform.
On top of that, Google says it’s taking steps to update the Weave platform in order to make it easier for all type of devices to tap into cloud and interact with the various Google services. We’re reminded Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings are already taking advantage of Weave, but other important manufacturers as Belkin WeMo, LiFX, Honeywell, Wink, TP-Link and First Alert are also looking to implement it.
Additionally, Google invites you to start building things using supported hardware development kits like Intel Edison, NXP Pico and Raspberry Pi 3.
A few years ago, the industry was hotly discussing loT and its endless possibilities, but since then it seems enthusiasm has weaned. Hopefully the advent of Android Things will bring it back, because loT continues to be a very interesting niche that needs to be explored.
Have a smartwatch laying around somewhere? Then let’s try and breathe some new life into it. How? The easiest way is to try out some new watch faces.
Select Android Wear owners and Apple Watch users have been able to tap into Facer’s extensive 15,000 watch face database for some time now. But now the app has added support to a third platform, Samsung’s Tizen OS – which comes pre-installed on the recently launched Gear S3 smartwatch and the older Gear S2.
Owners of these Samsung wearables can now benefit from the “always-on” mode which allows Facer to display watch faces in colors and featuring animations 24/7.
On top of adding Tizen Support, Facer has announced it is now coming to other Android Wear devices including the ASUS ZenWatch 3, Moto 360 Sport, Michael Kors (presumably the Access Dylan?), Polar M600 and Nixon Mission.
Last but not least, the new Facer version introduces Color Match – a fun features which allows to swiftly match your watch face to the color of your outfit.
While wearables haven’t had the best year, some companies continue to believe in their potential. While not so many OEMs have shown intentions of launching new smartwatch products in 2017, it’s a good thing that existing options are still given new customization options.
Those of you who re bored of using Android Wear, can go ahead and install AsteroidOS instead – a Linux-based wearable operating system which aims to make things more interesting on your wrist.
Sprint might soon become your favorite carrier. This week at a New York media event, Sprint Chief Technology Officer, John Saw revealed the company has ambitious plans when it comes to your high-end smartphone.
Come 2017, Sprint wants to roll out a software update for premium phones such as the Galaxy S7, LG G5 and Google Pixel in order to unlock a hidden capability meant to boost connection speed.
In a few months these high-end phones will be allowed to tap into a wireless technology which will allow them to work with 3x carrier aggregation. In laymen terms, Sprint is looking to enlarge the pipe it uses to deliver traffic to customers, making it spacious enough to accommodate larger streams of data flow.
Sprint is unique among carriers due to the fact that it uses three different frequencies including the higher 2.5GHz frequencies. While higher airwaves have their deficiencies like the inability to penetrate buildings, 3X carrier aggregation allows Sprint devices to use all three bands, thus delivering the best the three frequencies have to offer.
In New York, Sprint demonstrated what 3x carrier aggregation means by showing handsets delivering peak downloads speeds of 200 Mbps. But the carrier admitted that the typical user shouldn’t expect to see such blazing speeds, although one can expect about three times improved performance.
Remember that last month when Sprint unveiled the HTC Bolt, the carrier said the phone was its fastest phone (despite it running on a Snapdragon 810). That’s because HTC Bolt is the first device to take advantage of this tech out of the box. But in a few months, other high-end phones will be able to enjoy the same perks.
This week Sprint also unveiled a new technology called High Performance User Equipment (HPUE) which is expected to extend the range of its cell towers by 30%. This means more users will be able to connect to higher frequencies like the elusive 2.5GHz band. As the update stars rolling for premium smartphone users, Sprint customers won’t be able to get enough of their phone (in theory).
Sprint says it’s looking to roll out the HPUE to 250 LTE Plus markets in 2017 and that Samsung is expected to embed the technology in its next-gen flagship, the highly anticipated Galaxy S8.
Ulefone is a Chinese smartphone maker that is trying to make it in today’s extra competitive mobile market. The company has been offering great bang-for-the-buck Android phones, like the Power model. Well this week Ulefone has unveiled a new wallet-friendly device called the Ulefone U008 Pro.
The Chinese handset maker claims the newcomer is the best priced metal 4G product. So let’s see what the new product is all about. The Ulefone U008 Pro makes a debut into the world with a 5-inch HD display (1,280 x 720 pixel resolution) and a quad-core MediaTek MTK6737 chipset clocked at 1.3GHz.
Ulefone also throws in 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. In the photography department the device takes advantage of an 8MP main camera (interpolated to 13MP) plus a 5MP selfie snapper.
While other devices launched by Ulefone like the Power had a huge 6,050 mAh battery pack, the new U008 Pro features a more modest 3,500 mAh juice pack. The phone ships out with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, but don’t get your hopes up about Nougat.
Ulefone has made efforts to make sure the U008 Pro comes equipped with some unique software feats. The new device rocks a new gaming mode which disables the menu and back keys in order to avoid any mis-touches. Ulefone also bundled the phone with gesture recognizer, float video player, double-finger volume control and smart screenshot mode.
The U008 will be launched with Grey, Black and Pink for an unspecified priced, but given the company’s track record the handset should feature a sub $100 price tag.
When you think of a first-class gaming experience, mobile gaming is not usually what comes to mind. There have been quite a few really fantastic mobile games, but most are just for a quick gaming session, with very few offerings for the serious gamer. If you’re into serious gaming or eSports, you’re probably going to be on a powerful PC or console. Vainglory looks to change the face of mobile gaming with a massively multiplayer experience and an up-and-coming eSport focus. Does it’s gameplay live up to its ambition? Let’s take a look.
Vainglory is a MOBA, which stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. The basic idea is there are two teams made up of three players each, and each team is trying to destroy the others base. To do this, they need to travel down a center lane and destroy giant turret guns protecting the enemy’s base. There is a constant stream of minions pouring out of each base that will do little more than distract the enemy. It takes teamwork, quick thinking, and powerful hero skills to win the battle.
Setup
Vainglory is a big game with lots of moving parts and many things to learn before you can just jump in. To help with the otherwise steep learning curve, the game walks you through several tutorial missions that cover everything from basic movements and maneuvers, several different special abilities, unlocking heroes, and some light strategy to help you win. All of this takes about an hour, but it’s worth your time to really understand all of the things going on in battle, as they can get quite fast-paced.
To really get the most out of the game, you need to create a profile to be able to access all the features and events. At the time of this writing, there’s a tournament coming up where you could win an iPhone 7, so we’re not just talking about in-game currency or a unique character, but actual real life prizes. There’s also an active community, friends list, and even an eSport league, so when it asks if you want to register, do it.
Gameplay
Some of the many, many characters available from the huge roster
The gameplay is solid and really easy once you’ve learned how to play. There are around 30 different heroes to choose from, each with multiple unique abilities, so playing around with all of them is key to discovering which characters skills fit your play style. I’m partial to Saw and his giant minigun, but there are quick run-and-gun characters, sword wielders who get up close and personal, and even little mage dragons who look like they came right out of Digimon. No matter your playstyle, there’s something for everyone. Each week there are new free-to-try heroes, which can be unlocked through collecting in-game objects or can be purchased through in-app purchases, so if there’s someone you really like, you can have them available, but for me personally, I enjoy playing with all of the different character types and trying them out for the week. If during that time there is a character that you especially like, you can purchase them for 10% off their regular price, which is a great system.
Depending on your match type, each round could take anywhere from 5 minutes up to 30+ minutes. At the start of each round, you have a small amount of money to buy one piece of equipment with, but as you mow down minions and enemy heroes, you’ll gradually gain both gold and experience. Gold can be use at your base or as item shops on the battlefield to purchase new equipment that will increase your attack, defense, speed, or grant new abilities, such as short speed bursts. Experience allows you to upgrade abilities and unlock new abilities for the round. Each round starts you off with little equipment and gold, allowing you to rebuild in different ways depending on what is needed for the round. If a certain enemy is resilient to your first ability but crumbles against your second, you can tailor your build during that game to boost the damage and level of your second ability. There’s also gameplay modes that will start your character at level 4 with a good sum of gold from the start so you can jump right into the action.
The biggest draw to Vainglory is the fact that the game is centered around multiplayer. There are some bot modes to play but they are just considered practice rounds, and your AI controlled allies can pretty much be forgotten about because they will be off lollygagging about and will not be much help. Connecting to other players and working together to overthrow the other team is the heart and soul of this game, and when you find players that you play well with, the game really shines. A strong team usually consists of characters that can cover each other weaknesses, but I’ve played matches where my teammates and I overwhelmed the other team through sheer force alone. The variety of character you’ll be playing with, both on your team and against, always keeps matches fresh and fun.
This game is beautiful. There are brilliant colors everywhere on the battlefield. All around you are lush bushes, pathways that have been trampled by war, and incredible masonry surrounding each base. Character animation is smooth and using abilities is fun with leaps and dives and uppercuts that all transition seamlessly into one another. All the characters have unique looks and multiple costumes.
The Verdict
Vainglory is all the fun of the MOBA games on PC only in a pocket format. The characters are varied and unique, and with a heavy focus on multiplayer and events, there’s always new content to discover. In-app purchases are available but hardly necessary, which is great for those who want things right away and don’t mind paying, but it’s also great too for those on a budget. If you are a fan of MOBAs, action games, or enjoy serious gaming on the go, download this now.
With its score of 37396 points, the Nomu S10 is ranked among devices like the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), Huawei Honor 5X, Blu Vivo XL and OnePlus One. For reference, the Google Nexus 5 scores 23225 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 scores 76912.
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