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Poncho: Let this cute cat be your weatherman [Review]

AndroidGuys
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Overview

In the world of weather apps, there are many to choose from. Many present you with every measurement that you could want and then some. There are also many that give you a minimum information for a quick reference. Poncho leans more towards the minimal side of the spectrum, but it’s how the information is presented that makes this app different.

Developer: Poncho Inc

Cost: Free

Review

Poncho was first developed as text and email-based weather service, but quickly realized they needed to develop an app since people were using it as an alarm of sorts. It first launched on iOS and became available as a beta application for Android during Google I/O. So what makes this one cool app? Let’s find out.

Poncho
Poncho

First, Poncho is a cat weatherman. Yes, a cute little cat that will deliver your weather updates when you want them. He (not sure of the cat’s gender) allows you to set up what time you want the weather delivered to you in the morning, afternoon and once a day on the weekends. I have encountered one hiccup, though I haven’t received an afternoon one yet, not sure why.

There are a few different settings for your weather report. They include pollen count, barometer, and wind speed. There are some more neat little features like “Hair”, which lets you know if the weather will mess up your hair. Alternate side parking (which is only available in New York City currently) shows you where available parking is, and information on your public transit (if you’re in one of the supported cities).  All these settings can be turned off if you wish.

Poncho then takes all your settings and creates a report for you which is delivered at the times you wish. You may also pull this report at any time by simply going in the app. He always has some silly Gif or picture with something clever. It also has the current temp, hourly forecast, five-day forecast, and anything else that you have turned on in your settings.

It also is packing a couple extra features. It comes with a built-in alarm clock that you can

Yes, that's my referral code. Feel free to use it, wink wink.
Yes, that’s my referral code. Feel free to use it, wink wink.

set up for as many days of the week as you wish. They also have a free stuff section. That’s right, free. They offer sunglasses, water bottle, and a backpack. All you have to do is refer people. Five people get you the sunglasses, ten gets you the water bottle and fifteen lands you the backpack.

Conclusion

This app isn’t super loaded with tons of weather information, but it does give you a good overview of the day, in a cute way. One thing I think they are missing out on is a widget. This cat is too cute not to be able to have him on your screen giving you weather, so I think they do add that.

I also need to mention that it’s in open beta for now so you will need to opt in to get the app. I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention you can also use Poncho in Facebook Messenger just by giving him your town name or zip code. It’s fun, it’s free, and you get the chance to get free stuff so you have nothing to lose.

Join the Beta for Ponch

Verizon is beefing up its audio offerings with exciting new waterproof products

Matt Adams
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Big Red is going big for summer. The country’s largest carrier is ramping up its audio offerings this month to help you keep the tunes rolling when the heat goes up. Notably, we’ll be seeing some IP certified accessories that you’ll able to use around the pool or at the beach when you’re cooling off.

Here’s a rundown of what you’ll be able to pick up on June 6

Altec Lansing Mini H2O

  • IP67 rating
  • Can be submerged up to 3 feet for 30 minutes
  • Floats
  • Shockproof
  • Sandproof
  • Available in two colors (red and black)
  • Price: $39.99
  • Website

UE BOOM 2 Limited Edition

  • Two exclusive Verizon colors (Cubic Waterfall and Cubic Night)
  • 360-degree sound
  • IPX7 rating
  • Waterproof
  • Can withstand drops from 5 feet
  • $199.99
  • Website

Read More: UE Boom 2 Review

Verizon isn’t stopping there. On June 6 we’ll also be seeing two unnamed sweat-proof and noise-cancelling headphones. On the June 16, Verizon will release the JBL Charge 3 and JBL Clip 2. June 30 will see UE Roll 2 also join Verizon’s lineup.

JBL Charge 3

  • IPX7 rating
  • Waterproof
  • Built-in USB port to charge your phone
  • Five colors (black, blue, red, gray, and teal)
  • $149.99
  • Website

JBL Clip 2

  • Built in carabiner
  • Wirelessly connect two Clip 2 speakers
  • Five colors (black, blue, red, gray, and teal)
  • $59.99
  • Website

UE Roll 2

  • 360-degree sound
  • IPX7 rating
  • Waterproof
  • Included blow-up floatie
  • Shockproof
  • Sandproof
  • Four colors (volcano, sugarplum, reef, and atmosphere)
  • $99.99
  • Website

 

T-Mobile is about to launch Uncarrier 11 and wants you to watch live

Matt Adams
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T-Mobile has famously unveiled its new customer-friendly at Uncarrier events. We’ve already seen 10 great new programs like Binge On, Music Freedom, and Data Stash, and now T-Mobile is doing it again. On June 6 T-Mobile will release details of Uncarrier 11.

Now, T-Mobile wasn’t kind enough to give us any hints as to what we’re going to be seeing, but we do know how we can see it. The country’s third largest carrier has decided to stream the event live on its Facebook, Twitter, on YouTube, and on its website, T-mobile.com. The event will kick off at 1 PM eastern, and if we know John Legere, it’ll be a fun ride.

T-Mobile has seen increased competition in the first half of 2016 from its carrier brethren. Sprint is continuing its promotion where they promise to halve (most) plans offered by its competitors and Verizon continues to tout its excellent network. AT&T is standing still either offering lower bills and unlimited plans for those customers who subscribe to both AT&T for their cellular service and DirecTV for the home television service.

Whatever is in store for Tuesday, we know it should be good. T-Mobile has repeatedly rolled out consumer-friendly plans that push other networks into following suit. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to hear a CEO will drop the f-bomb from time to time.

Backdrops review: Material to the max

Jack McNenny
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Overview

There’s a wide variety of quality wallpaper apps on the Google Play Store, and there’s even no shortage of wallpaper apps that feature the Material Design style in their offerings. These apps are typically well designed with a modern “Material” interface, offering sleek animations and a fluid UI. Within the wide array of wallpaper apps, Backdrops attempts to best them all.

Backdrops offers hundreds of wallpapers made in-house by the Backdrops team, as well as many more from the user community. Users can upload wallpapers themselves to be approved by the Backdrops team and shared with others. Backdrops updates the wallpaper offerings daily and offers a “Wall of the Day” which is hand-picked daily by the Backdrops team.

User Interface

As we have come to expect from most wallpaper apps, Backdrops is developed with Material Design in mind, and allows the user to navigate the app with three sections located at the top. The first section is Community, offering a pool of third-party wallpapers uploaded by the users themselves. After extensively checking many of the wallpapers I liked, I was pleased to see all of them were offered in very high resolutions which can take advantage of today’s sharpest screens. While scrolling, users can tap the heart on the bottom right of the image to save to the user’s Favorite collection, or tap the image to dive into further options like saving it to the device or setting it as your homescreen wallpaper.

BackdropsImage

The Explore tab features the “Wall of the Day” followed by all of the Backdrops exclusive wallpapers, created by the team themselves. I must say, there should be a wallpaper for everyone in here. There’s a wide variety of pictures including minimal, Material, abstract and more for just about anybody. I immediately added quite a few to my favorites after moments of scrolling.

Scroll over to the last tab brings you to your Favorites, and gives you the option to use Muzei to cycle your favorites on your homescreen periodically.

In-App Purchases

Yikes, we all hate those words. Backdrops does need to support itself though, as it displays ads throughout the app and offers certain collections of wallpapers only available through purchasing them. The Collections tab, which can be accessed by the app’s hamburger menu on the left, offers the “Trinity” collection, “Be Together”, and “Pro Pack”.

The Trinity collection is really just for Pink Floyd fans, or users who really like having a colorful triangle as their wallpaper. Be Together offers pictures for die-hard Android fans that mostly feature the Nexus logo and the Android mascot, but this collection is free anyway. The Pro Pack… is nice and all, but don’t purchase the pro version of this app just for those. It’s a bonus, but they aren’t much better looking than the ones you’ll find in the rest of the app.

Conclusion

Backdrops offers the best of what a modern wallpaper app should be, from a beautifully designed interface to an arsenal of eye-pleasing content. I liked the design of this app so much that I purchased the pro version just so the ads wouldn’t ruin it for me. Backdrops definitely takes the spot as my go-to wallpaper app.

Download Backdrops for free from the Play Store here 

AT&T has a new program to thank its customers

Andrew Orr
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Called AT&T Thanks, it’s a customer appreciation service that lets AT&T show how much its customers mean to the company.

Starting this summer, the company will roll out the service that focuses on “entertainment experiences and other exciting benefits”, such as:

  • Ticket Twosdays: Customers of AT&T postpaid plans can qualify to get a free movie ticket from AT&T when they buy one at full price for a Tuesday showing. Exlusively from movietickets.com.
  • LIVE NATION Priority Pre-sale: Get pre-sale access to concerts and events, and get exclusive experiences with your favorite artists.
  • Unique Content: Certain DirecTV subscribers will get access to special content to their TVs and mobile devices.

The program is designed to evolve over time and tailored to customers based on their services and packages with AT&T, and will include tickets to live events, device and accessory perks, data giveaways and more.

Glittery facade aside, this new program is surely an attempt to placate customers after its recent move to battle cord cutters. Last month they introduced a new series of broadband caps for U-Verse customers. These caps can range anywhere from 50GB to 1TB depending on speed. If customers want to avoid the cap and stay unlimited, AT&T wants you to pay an extra $30/month or subscribe to its DirecTV service.

MetroPCS now offering Samsung Galaxy J7, LG K10

AndroidGuys
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MetroPCS recently began offering a pair of lower-cost smartphones as part of its prepaid portfolio. The duo run Android 6.0 Marshmallow and offer enough hardware to satisfy most of the average user demographics. Neither will necessarily break any benchmark scores but the price tags are in line with the specifications.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Details:

  • 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display
  • 1.5 GHz octa-core processor
  • 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
  • 5-megapixel selfie camera with LED flash
  • 16GB internal storage
  • 3,000mAh battery
  • $180 after a $50 mail-in rebate

LG K10 Details:

  • 5.3-inch HD IPS display with 2.5D arc glass
  • 1.27 GHz quad-core processor
  • 8-megapixel rear camera
  • 5-megapixel selfie camera with flash
  • 16GB internal storage
  • 2,200mAh battery
  • $99 after instant and mail-in rebates

[Review] Lock up your valuables with the LockSmart Mini

Andrew Orr
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No more fumbling with your keys in the dark. With Bluetooth-enabled locks, Australian-based company Dog & Bone envisions a “keyless future”. I spent a week or so testing the LockSmart Mini, a slim padlock that gives a glimpse of a future filled with the Internet of Things.

Features

  • Keyless: for bikes, lockers, sheds, gates, fences and more.
  • Shared Access: one lock, multiple users, define user access
  • Tracking: know when + who opened the lock
  • Secure: 128-bit advanced encryption + 256-bit cloud generated private key
  • Long lasting: up to 2 years before re-charging; app prompts you to re-charge. Uses Bluetooth low energy.
  • Tough: hardened steel shackle + die-cast alloy body
  • Weatherproof: rain, hail, snow, or shine – from -4° F to 158° F

Both the app and lock are simple to use. Download the app, turn on Bluetooth, turn the lock on with a button on the bottom, and pair it with your phone. The lock is rechargeable with a microUSB port on the bottom, hidden under a flap.

locksmart-padlock02

In order to conserve energy, the padlock stays off unless you press the small button on the bottom, hidden under a rubber-sealed flap along with the microUSB port. Thankfully, you don’t need to open the flap in order to press the button, which saves the USB port from rain or snow.

Due to whatever chemicals are used in production, the padlock gives off a not-unpleasant smell of gummy bears. Dear readers, if you know of a chemical that smells like gummy bears, please let me know in the comments.

Dog & Bone offers three types of padlocks: the full-sized padlock, the mini, and the LockSmart Travel. You can find the LockSmart Mini for $70 on Dog & Bone’s website. The LockSmart app is available on iOS and Android.

Setting up Google Authenticator is as easy as scanning a QR code

AndroidGuys
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Some time ago we posted the steps to enable Google’s 2-Step Verification for any of your Gmail accounts. This all-important setting provides a layer of protection to your account, and gives us peace of mind, know that if someone comes across our password, they cannot get into our account.

Similarly, installing other apps on our handsets, particularly those with access to sensitive material or online accounts, need to be protected. Take cryptocurrency apps like Coinbase, for instance. You’ll want more than one layer of protection between you and your holdings, right?

Thanks to Google’s Authenticator app, our lives become a little less troubled as we can have our phones generate security codes. Google Authenticator is used widely and trusted by many as one of the more secure ways to safeguard your accounts with a second layer of protection.

Here we’ll show you how simple it is to set up the Authenticator app on your mobile device and use it with your Google account.

Prerequisites

There are a few things that must happen before you can continue with this setup.

  1. You must have 2-Step Verification set up for your Google account. If you have not completed this yet please click the link and follow the tutorial.
  2. You must install the Google Authenticator app on your mobile device.

Setup

Now that you have completed the prerequisites lets jump right in and set up your device to be your mobile authenticator.

  1. From your favorite browser, open the Google account security page
  2. Click on “2-Step Verification”
  3. Under the Authenticator App section, click “Setup”
  4. Choose your device type (Android, iPhone) and click “Next” to reveal a QR code
  5. Open the Google Authenticator app on your device
  6. Tap on the symbol in the bottom right corner to add a new code
  7. Tap “Scan a QR code”
  8. Scan the QR code that is open in your browser

There you have it, you now have the added security of a 2-step login process with the ease of a code generator (Google Authenticator) on your mobile device.

A few things to remember

  1. You are only allowed to set up one device at a time under Google Authenticator. It is possible to export your settings from one phone to another.
  2. Never set this up on a publicly shared device
  3. Keep a strong password on your device if you set up this feature and do not share it. Security is only as good as the person keeping it.

Now that you have this setup, tell us what you think. How are you using this in your daily life? What other security measures do you take? Hit us up in the comments to share the knowledge.

Updated: August 24, 2021

MiMedia: A worthy contender in the storage battle (Review)

AndroidGuys
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Overview

In today’s world, there are many different companies that deal with media storage, but you need a few different ones to make sure you can store it all. MiMedia is a mass media storage solution that can handle all your digital storage needs.

Developer: MiMedia Inc
Cost: Free ( In-app upgrade for more storage)

Highlights

  • Cloud Storage of all types of media
  • Cross Device/Platform compatibility
  • Private sharing
  • One Click Uploads from Flickr, Facebook Dropbox, and Google Plus
  • Easy organization of media.
  • Built in Rediscovery

Review

Start Screen
Start Screen

Mass storage is an area covered by a few big names. There are a couple that come to mind like Google, who brings two different products to the game, and Dropbox. To be competitive, you have to try and set yourself apart. The biggest advantage MiMedia is its ability to cover all media in one product. Some may cover photos and video while some may cover all media but may be more expensive. This product covers all your digital files with pricing options that fit your budget.

There are quite a few things to cover, but let’s start with design. It’s very clean and beautiful and feels like there is the spirit of material design in the animation, such as tapping the menu button and the menu slides from the left side. However, they put their own spin on it like holding down a photo to “flick” it add it where you want to like sharing or moving it to a MiDrive. Everything is clear and easy to understand and locate.

The process of uploading and sharing content is made easy. You are given the option of uploading from the device you’re on or from other services like Facebook and Dropbox. Music and documents are the exceptions to this as they need to be uploaded from your computer. Sharing is a two click process. Simply tap the media you want to share and the tap the service you want to share it on.

MiMedia also offers you the options of building collections of media as well as what they call

MiDrive
MiDrive

their Midrives. While both of these options are similar what separates them is Midrive’s ability to create a drive that can be shared with others in a way that the people you share with can chat and add media to the drive.

Depending on the amount of files you have stored in your MiMedia, it can be hard to find certain files which is why it has the ability to favorite those files you want easy access to and stores them in a favorites folder. Of course, once you can always change your mind and unfavorite it.

With MiMedia being cross platforms there are some limitations. The aforementioned Music and documents only being able to be uploaded from a computer being one of those. Documents present another problem as well. Not only can you only upload them from the computer, but you can only view them from the computer. Even if you favorite the document it only shows up on the computer version.

Another limitation is when you upload media you are limited to Facebook and Dropbox in the app. If you are uploading from a computer you also have the ability to upload from Flickr and Google+ as well. This feature is coming to the app later so it’s only an inconvenience for a while.

The biggest thing that needs to be fixed is the lack of editing. None of the media you upload can be edited inside the service, this includes documents. This means you will still need another program for that which kind of sucks, but I’m sure the team will rectify this. Hopefully sooner than later.

New Update
MiMedia11Today MiMedia has announced a brand new feature that none of the other services easily offer, Live Wallpaper. This is the way the process works. From any Photos, Collections or MiDrive you set the photos you want as a live wallpaper, and how often you want the to rotate and you’re done. What’s cool about this update is if you set an entire shared MiDrive as your live wallpaper, anybody you have shared that drive with can add photos and it will show up as your wallpaper.

 

 

Price Options

MiMedia off you a range of affordable options that can easily fit your budget.

  • Starter
    Offers 10 GB Free
    2,500 Photos
    125 Videos
    2,000 Songs
    10,000 Documents
  • Basic
    Offers 500 GB $7.99/Month or $85/Year
    125,000 Photos
    6.250 Videos
    100,000 Songs
    500,000 Documents
  • Plus
    Offers 1 TB $9.99/Month or $99/Year
    250,000 Photos
    12,500 Videos
    200,000 Songs
    1,000,000

Conclusion

MiMedia is not a name that pops up on many people’s radar when discussing media storage, but it should. Even with its flaws the entire product is just as good if not better in some aspects than others. If nothing else it’s worth trying out with the 10GB of free storage.

*Note: While MiMedia is more than an app, it’s a service. It should be noted that I only tested out the Android App and the PC-based versions. No Apple products were tested. *

Download MiMedia in the Play Store

Facebook Messenger is rolling out new diversified emojis

Andrew Orr
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Facebook is rolling out a new 1500 piece set of emojis with new skin tones, women and same-sex couples.

When you get the new update, the app will ask your preferred skin tone for emojis and automatically apply it going forward, although users can go into settings to change this preference.

Like Google, Facebook will feature a new set of emojis centering around woman in more realistic roles, like a police officer, runner, pedestrian, surfer and swimmer (because women are only now doing these things).

messengeremoji04

All of the new emojis will work on all platforms: web, Android and iOS, which means no more awkward boxes when a platform can’t figure out the code.

Facebook is also acknowledging the existence of red heads for the first time, and will soon have emojis representing this underserved group.

The Messenger composer will have a new emoji icon and make it easier to toggle between your regular keyboard and an emoji keyboard. The new emojis will start rolling out tomorrow, so keep an eye on your updates.

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