AT&T GoPhone, the prepaid arm of its tier-one service, today announced a deal for customers looking to sign up multiple lines. Starting on August 19, the carrier will discount “Multi-Line” accounts to the tune of $5-$20 per line.
To qualify for the savings, you’ll have to subscribe to a 3GB ($45/month) or 6GB ($60/month) plan and select the multi-line option.
Those who have two lines of service will see a $5 discount applied to the second line. For three, it moves to $10 off the monthly bill. Indeed, a five-line account saves $50 per month across the plan. The savings continue up to five lines for consumers and up to ten lines for business accounts.
Did you say “free phone”?
AT&T GoPhone is running a separate promotion through September 22 which gives customers a free phone when activated on service. It’s a Buy-One-Get-One deal which requires the first new line to have service on a $45 or $60 monthly plan.
Know someone heading off to college this fall? Chances are good you’ll consider purchasing a gift card for them. How do we know? A recent survey from National Retail Federation says that more than one out of every three people shopping for college students will include gift cards as part of their purchases.
Understanding this, Verizon is rolling out a limited time promotion to help make giving gift cards more appealing. Starting today and running through September 11, Verizon will reward gift card buyers with $5 and $10 incentives to select retailers and restaurants.
Below are some of the promos offered by Verizon:
So how does a Verizon customer go about sending a gift card? That’s easy; use the Verizon Messages app. Indeed, in addition to messaging, the lets users send gift cards to friends and family.
Consider the following statistics that demonstrate just how pervasive the mobile world is. First, according to KPCB mobile technology trend findings, mobile digital media time is quite a bit higher than desktop usage, at 51% versus 42%. This statistic alone is enough to show that if marketers aren’t able to adequately reach their audience through mobile devices, they’re missing out on essentially everything in today’s marketplace. Also notable is that 80% of consumers use their smartphone to access the Internet, and 47% use a tablet, according to data from Global Web Index.
Digital marketers may understand the importance of mobile in their work, but exactly what are the trends that are and should be impacting the industry?
Consumer-Driven Everything
Thanks to the astounding rise of mobile devices and their importance in the world of marketing, everything professional marketers do is driven by the customer. In the past, advertising and marketing tactics were often more driven by the company than the consumer, but that’s no longer the case, and this is one of the primary implications of big data collection and usage. Marketers are drilling down to the most minute specifics and preferences of customers, and tailoring their experience to their exact needs and wants.
Tailored Searches
This trend relates a bit to the one above, but it also stands alone in many ways. With the use of big data, marketers are able to hone in on not just what users want in terms of products, but also what they want to see in their searches. There’s a focus on the exact movements people use during the search process, and what type of interface and experience works best for them. This makes the entire mobile experience deeply optimized and personalized—not just the experience of actually buying something. Searches are increasingly becoming specified based on factors like preferred price range. It’s this kind of high-level detail that’s making it more important than ever for companies to have employees with a digital marketing certification, so they can make these decisions that go far beyond the basic mobile marketing of just a few years ago.
Socialized e-Commerce
There is becoming less distinction between mobile web usage, social media, and mobile apps, and that’s really on the rise this year. One way this is being seen is through the integration of social media and e-commerce. For example, digital marketers are increasingly working on campaigns that tie in platforms like Pinterest with the ability to buy the products seen there, in an on-demand way. It’s uniting concepts of browsing and buying in a streamlined way, and it’s driving marketing trends as a result.
Snapchat
The Snapchat trend is becoming so important to everything in the world of mobile that it’s impossible not to mention it as a standalone trend. Celebrities have been moving from Instagram to Snapchat as the visual social media platform of choice, and consumers are quickly following. Mobile experts and marketers are looking at ways to harness the power Snapchat, including the addition of location-based ads. There are also opportunities to create campaigns that feature flash sales and special events, advertised through Snapchat.
Machines at War 3 is a recently released strategy game for Android by developer Isotope 244. It’s a game with a futuristic/mechanical feel that features a lot of strategic base/infrastructure building for acquiring enough money and electricity/power, as well as troop deployment and engagement to conquer you enemies. It can be played by gamers from school-age on up, though more mature folks will have an easier time with what can be a more sophisticated interface.
Setup
The game can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, but it does cost $6.99. After download you simply open the game and you’re off & running. At the first screen you have several options with which to go with:
Campaign: 20 levels of objective-based gameplay. More on this mode in a bit.
Skirmish: Take on the AI in a almost limitless combination of difficulty, landscapes, and climate.
Multiplayer: Take on up to three other players for map supremacyTutorial: A full-on tutorial that can play almost as long as a standard game.
Gameplay
If you’ve played any strategy game before, this will feel pretty familiar in terms of play. Your success relies heavily on raising our army’s capital in terms of money, electrical power, and resources.
Money you gain over time and activity.
Electrical power you create through construction of various generators & turbines.
Resources can be found throughout the map you are playing on….these are not just game fodder, but truly important and needed to advance and win. They are key in building mega-units that are particularly effective in battle and tactics.
And yes, units. Units are the battle vehicles (there’s over 130 ones to access & build) that you create and utilize as you build your capital. Each unit has a set combination of features that can (and should!) be exploited to their maximum effect, such as ‘explore’, ‘fight’, ‘range’, etc.
Once created, you can amass multiple groups of units over your game map to set up offensive, defensive, and exploratory positions. You can only build facilities (factories, storage buildings, fixed weapons, lookout posts) where you already have units, but you can only get units by building from your facilities…..so having a good sense of balance is key.
And this building takes time; you need to and get rewarded for planning ahead in this game. And this planning and building can take some time in and of itself. It works and is very cohesive as you progress, but for me it can be a bit tedious.
Plot/Story
The plot line to the ‘Campaign’ mode goes like this: You are a military leader tasked with investigating the mysterious disappearance of an elite group of scentists and researchers known as the Omicron Initiative from their top-secret lab. The staff are missing, the lab’s been ransacked, and years of research data is gone. Your investigation mission quickly turns into a rescue mission, and you progress through the game exploring the world attempting to find the parties responsible, with the ultimate goals being 1.) rescue your scientists, 2.) recoup the lost data, and 3.) vanquish your newfound enemies.
Graphics and Sound
it’s evident that this game is originally a PC/Mac creation, ported to a mobile interface. Both the visuals and sound are very PC-esque. The controls are even more so; there are literal “keyboard & mouse” options in the setting menu. Also, while playing, there are areas of the screen where a mouse and click-and-drag & right click-ability is evidently the native option; but with a touchscreen, you end up swiping and pinching-to-zoom like a crazy person to get where you want to go quickly.
All in all it works on a touchscreen, but it’s also clear that the game didn’t start with mobile in mind.
Conclusion
I did enjoy playing Machines at War 3, but only for a little while at a time. As stated earlier, the game takes a long time to ramp up, as you spend hundreds of clicks building your facilities and units solely in preparation to actual combat. For me the combat was the great fun and easily the most fun, but that admittedly has more to do with my general patience than the actual game.
To each their own, and this game would be a great fit for gamers who enjoy building their empire in addition to defending and growing it.
If you use any kind of mobile device, including smartphones or tablets, security and safety are probably already a top concern, but this can become even more relevant if you’re using your mobile device to work. Even if you’re not using your cell phone as your primary mode for completing work, more than likely you are using it for tasks like checking email, opening documents and sending messages to colleagues.
Mobile devices are even increasingly being used as the primary mode of information and data transmission if you’re working to sell your business, make a deal, or have the need to share financial records and sensitive documents. However, despite the convenience of doing so, Firmex reports in their “Due Diligence Checklist” that security concerns continue to grow in severity and occurrence.
So how do you avoid the security threats that come with mobile devices, particularly when it involves work, financial or general business data?
Choose the Right Apps
If you’re using apps for any reason on your phone, it’s important to make sure you’re selecting ones that have a reputation for providing the utmost in security. For example, if you’re using a messaging app on your phone look for something that includes encryption. You definitely want something more secure than standard text messaging, particularly if confidential or sensitive business data is being exchanged. Business News Daily names options like Gliph and Wickr, both of which are considered incredibly secure.
Lock Your Screen
While it seems intuitive, so many people don’t have a lock on their screen, so if your phone were to be stolen, your business data would be almost instantly put at risk. This is one of the fastest and simplest ways you can keep your business information safe when you work on a smartphone or mobile device. Also, if you think typing a password into your phone each time you use it is an annoyance, consider data from Norton that says 25 percent of smartphone users have had their device stolen or have lost it.
Enable Remote Wiping
Let’s say you do lose your phone or it’s stolen. It’s important to be able to get rid of the information that may be on that device. Some apps let you wipe confidential or sensitive information from your phone remotely, so even if you don’t have your device, the world doesn’t have your information. You can also use a tracking app that will show the location of your phone if it is lost.
Get Rid of Your information and Files Before Getting a New Phone
Most people might think about the importance of maintaining a secure device while they’re using it, but what happens when you get rid of it by selling it, donating it or recycling it? It’s important to make sure all data, files, and information are completely wiped before you do so. If you’re a business owner, and you want to make sure you protect business data, consider creating a system for wiping personal devices after an employee leaves the company.
Good news hackers! ZTE has officially made it possible for users to unlock the bootloader for the Axon 7 and Axon Pro!
The Z-Community has been vocal about this, and after “the mod team performed the necessary due diligence to present your case with internal stakeholders” ZTE finally pulled through.
Caveats
First, a couple of warnings. ZTE makes it quite clear that
“this procedure is reserved for those with a high level of technical expertise and have had experience flashing custom ROMs. Furthermore, unlocking the bootloader will void the device warranty that comes free with each Axon purchase.”
As usual with customizing and hacking your gear, you’re doing it at your own risk, and you can’t hold ZTE responsible if you brick your phone.
ZTE has created a new sub-forum for developers that will eventually appear here. When you buy either an Axon 7 or Axon Pro (U.S. versions only) you’ll need to visit this forum and request an unlock code from ZTE. In this forum you can also share tips and tricks with fellow unlockers. For more information, check out this community thread.
Kyocera today introduced its latest smartphone, the DuraForce Pro, tapping it with a launch sometime in the next few months. Although it’s not set for any specific carrier just yet, we’d not be surprised if it ends up at either AT&T or Verizon – maybe, both.
Keeping in line with previous Kyocera models, this one is rugged and waterproof, with hardware that’s somewhere in the middle of the road. Running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the Kyocera DuraForce Pro offers up a 5-inch full HD display and 3,240mAh battery that allows for fast and wireless charging.
The main, rear camera is 13-megapixels, but it’s supplemented by a 5-megapixel camera with a 135-degree lens. According to Kyocera, this is the first rugged phone to boast a super wide angle action camera. Around front we find a 5-megapixel shooter for selfies and group shots.
The phone’s IP68 rating means it will withstand dust, vibration, shock, sun, rain, humidity, extreme temperatures, and more. Other features in the DuraForce Pro include a fingerprint reader, NFC connectivity, dual front speakers, a barometer, and microSD expansion card slot.
The DuraForce Pro will be offered in both GSM and CDMA versions ;look for pricing and carrier availability in the coming weeks.
Before Lenovo bought Motorola from Google in 2014, the company created a few very interesting lines of phones under the Moto brand that sought to change the way we buy phones. One of these is the Moto G line, that was introduced a few years ago and offered an very reliable and speedy phone for less than $200 unlocked. The Moto G eventually became Motorola’s highest selling phone of all time.
Fast-forward to today, Lenovo hopes to carry on the legacy of the Moto G, and offer a quality, affordable successor in a world where most other smartphone companies are offering their new phones for lower prices. The Moto G4 is here, and literally bigger than ever.
Build
The Moto G4’s build quality hasn’t improved from the previous years iterations, but it feels solid for a $200 plastic phone. At 155 grams, it has the perfect amount of heft for me. I really like the plastic back of the phone which has a slightly textured feel to it and feels almost like rubber, although the oil from your hands will visibly show up on it after just a little usage. Wash your hands at all times.
The front of the device brings the classic minimalistic style I’ve loved since the Nexus S came out a long time ago. In fact, the design of this phone reminds me so much of a bigger Galaxy Nexus – front and back. There’s nothing on the front except the secondary camera and a single front-facing speaker right above the screen. No Lenovo logo, no Moto logo. That’s a +1 right there. While I’m bummed they didn’t include dual speakers like last year’s Moto G, I can’t complain for the price. Plus, the single speaker does get very loud, and almost competes with speaker quality on flagship phones using single speakers on the bottom.
As for the power and volume buttons, someone at Lenovo should’ve spoke up about these. They feel cheap, and barely provide any feedback when pressing them. It takes more effort to press the volume buttons than any other phone I’ve used. The power button at least has a horizontal line texture on it to distinguish it from the volume.
Screen
Easily the highlight of this phone. I’ve seen quite a few cheap LCD displays on phones before, even on more expensive phones, but the 1080p LCD display on the Moto G4 rocks.
I was disappointed with Lenovo’s decision to put a 5.5 display on the Moto G, but after using it for a week, it doesn’t feel like a big phone at all. 71% of the front of this device is covered with screen, so it doesn’t feel bulky to me.
Aside from the size, the quality of this screen seriously impresses me for what it’s worth. If any of you still own the OnePlus One or OnePlus 2, the display quality is right with those. I will say, the viewing angles are not great, as the brightness decreases and colors go yellow as soon as the device is slightly shifted away from your eyes. However this isn’t a problem for me, as my phone is directly facing me 98% of the time I use it.
Comparing the screen to other LCD displays like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 5, I immediately prefer the display on the Moto G4. The colors look very washed out on the LCD Nexus devices compared to the Moto G4, which is able to produce colors almost as vivid as an AMOLED display.
The 1080p resolution is perfect for this device. I started using this phone right after using the OnePlus 3, and believe it or not, I prefer this screen. These phones both have 5.5 inch 1080p displays, but the pentile AMOLED screen on the OnePlus 3 holds it back in comparison in terms of image sharpness. Images are sharper, more accurate, and the whites on the G4 look much better. I still much prefer the deep blacks on the OnePlus 3’s AMOLED screen though.
Performance
In 2016, it’s hard to find a phone running Android 6.0 that doesn’t perform well. The Moto G4 runs on a Snapdragon 617 processor which was unveiled by Qualcomm in September of 2015. I was expecting a sluggish experience, and to this day I’m waiting for the inevitable crashes or hair-pulling slowdowns to happen. But so far, this phone runs well! If I were to compare the everyday speed of the Moto G4 to something else, I would say it’s neck and neck with the Nexus 5 from 2013 – which still runs like a champ on Marshmallow with its Snapdragon 800 chip.
After using the phone for a couple hours on AT&T LTE while browsing on Chrome, the phone didn’t get as warm as other phones have, and quick-charging it with the Motorola Turbo-Charger doesn’t make the phone as hot as previous Motorola phones, specifically the hot-plate that is the Droid Turbo.
If you’re into mobile gaming, you might want to look the other way. The Adreno 405 GPU here does not handle most games very well, and loading times are pretty terrible. I primarily play Fallout Shelter, and while I had zero hiccups and quick loading times playing it on a phone with a Snapdragon 820 chip, the loading time to get into my game on average took a staggering 72 seconds on the Moto G4. This was if the game didn’t freeze or crash mid-load, which happened 20% of the time. I experienced similar results with other 3D games.
Camera
Don’t expect miracles here, people. But also don’t expect a bad camera. The Moto G4’s 13-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture provides pictures more than deserved for a $200 phone. Pictures in daylight look a little more dim than they should be.
Low-light pictures lose a lot of detail, but having HDR mode on really helps balance out the bright parts of the photos and the darks. Notice the overexposure of the Subway sign and interior in normal capture mode.
The camera app takes a couple seconds to open, which is annoying when trying to grab a quick shot. The app comes with some useful features such as professional mode that allows for manual tweaks, slow motion mode (although the 540p resolution for this is kind of a joke) and auto-HDR.
Software
I was a little nervous Lenovo would take Motorola’s near-stock Android skin and mess it up, but things have barely changed since previous Moto phones.
This is basically stock Android with the addition of a few useful features. First, we have Moto Gestures, which includes four ways of interacting with the phone. When it’s off, you can make a chopping motion with the phone to turn on the flashlight. Keeping the phone face down immediately mutes the phone and keeps it silent. When someone calls, picking the phone off the table cuts the noise of the ringer. Finally, whether the phone is on or off, twisting it will launch the camera.
On top of this, Moto Display is back, showing your notifications when the phone is sleeping, however it;s nowhere near as useful as it is on the Moto Z, or previous Moto X phones that have sensor on the front for hand waving gestures, or the AMOLED screens that actually save battery when using the Moto Display. On this phones LCD display, you can totally tell the entire screen is on, and it just doesn’t look great.
Battery
A 3000mAh battery is becoming common for a high-end phone, so the decision to put one in the $200 Moto G4 was a great move from Lenovo. This phone lasts until the very end of the day for me with 10-15% left. To be exact, I unplug the device at 6:45 AM, stream Play Music for 30 minutes to work, browse reddit and Chrome for about an hour a day, text my imaginary friends using Textra, send between 20-30 snaps with Snapchat, and use a lot of GroupMe until I’m tuckered out at 10:30 PM. That’s 16 hours of “moderate” usage.
I haven’t felt concerned with running out of battery in a day yet, but if I do, this phone comes with a Turbo-Charger that supports Qualcomm Quickcharge. I remember when I had to pay extra for a Turbo-Charger when I bought a Moto X 2014… so I’m very pleased with this.
Conclusion
I’m satisfied with the Moto G4. I’m not blown away by it, and I’m not disappointed with it. Lenovo didn’t take risks with this device, and they didn’t push any boundaries. The build quality lives on from previous Moto G generations, and the display quality is something I never expected to see on a $200 smartphone. But is a bigger, better display worth the removal of dual front-facing speakers and a waterproof exterior? If I were to give an answer, I would say the screen is more important to me than speakers I rarely use, or having the ability to pour champagne on my smartphone.
At $199 for the 16GB model, the Moto G4 is less impressive than it was in its earlier generations, and faces serious competition from smartphones in similar price ranges, such as the all-metal, fingerprint scanner included Honor 5X. For $199, I would recommend the Honor 5X over this phone, but you won’t be disappointed with a purchase of the Moto G4, especially with the experience of customizing it through the innovative Moto Maker website.
Inbox by Gmail has always made its mission to help you wade through all of your emails and to-do lists. Today Google is adding more integrations to Inbox to make it even more efficient.
Trello + GitHub
Two new integrations are Trello – a project management app, and GitHub – a platform for software collaboration. With the Trello integration, you’ll get a brief summary inside Inbox of your projects that need to be done. The GitHub integration will let you see a summary of the latest code changes and filed issues for each of your repositories.
Google Alerts
Now you can also scan through your Google Alerts, just as you would a newsletter. These alerts are summarized inside Inbox. You can dive deeper by clicking to read more, and marking it as done.
Other Features
Several minor features are being added to Inbox as well, including:
Google Drive users can now insert Drive links into emails, check and fix permissions and save email attachments to Drive
Users can now drag and drop contacts between “to”, “cc” and “bcc” when you compose an email on the web
Deleting an email is a little easier, instead of marking it as done
Today Google added new features to Google Maps, which includes new offline features and ride service options.
Wi-Fi Only Mode
This is great for customers on limited data plans and travelers who want to avoid roaming charges. Now you can use Google Maps in Wi-Fi only mode. Right now, you can download a map for offline use. But what if you’re running out of storage?
SD Card Data Download
That’s right, now you can download maps to your SD card:
“Entry-level smartphones come with internal storage capacities as low as 4GB, while higher-end models range between 8GB and 32GB. For many of us, that’s not enough for all the videos, music, apps, and photos we cram onto our beloved smartphones. “
Ride Sharing
Finally, Google Maps adds new ride sharing options. Go-Jek and Grab covers Southeast Asia, and expansion of Gett, Hailo and MyTaxi for Ireland, Poland, Italy, Austria, Russia and Israel on Android and iOS.
Thanks to the astounding rise of mobile devices and their importance in the world of marketing, everything professional marketers do is 
There is becoming less distinction between mobile web usage, social media, and mobile apps, and that’s really on the rise this year. One way this is being seen is through the integration of social media and e-commerce. For example, digital marketers are increasingly working on campaigns that tie in platforms like Pinterest with the ability to buy the products seen there, in an on-demand way. It’s uniting concepts of browsing and buying in a streamlined way, and it’s driving marketing trends as a result.
Setup
Gameplay
And yes, units. Units are the battle vehicles (there’s over 130 ones to access & build) that you create and utilize as you build your capital. Each unit has a set combination of features that can (and should!) be exploited to their maximum effect, such as ‘explore’, ‘fight’, ‘range’, etc.
And this building takes time; you need to and get rewarded for planning ahead in this game. And this planning and building can take some time in and of itself. It works and is very cohesive as you progress, but for me it can be a bit tedious.
Conclusion
Kyocera today introduced its latest smartphone, the DuraForce Pro, tapping it with a launch sometime in the next few months. Although it’s not set for any specific carrier just yet, we’d not be surprised if it ends up at either AT&T or Verizon – maybe, both.
