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Clash Royale – a deck-building/tower defense hybrid [Review]

AndroidGuys
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8

Overview

Clash Royale is a deck-building/tower defense hybrid that pits you against players from all over the world to battle for crowns, trophies and chests.

Developer: Supercell

Cost: Free (In-app purchases)

Highlights

  • Google Play Games support
  • Awesome graphics
  • Addictive gameplay

Setup

Clash Royale is very easy to set up. Follow these steps to get yourself into the battle and start earning chests:

  1. Download the game from the Google Play Store
  2. Find the game in your app drawer and click on it
  3. Choose your Google Play Profile when prompted, or you can add a new account
  4. Play through the game’s tutorial battles

Impressions

I would liken playing Clash Royale to buying lottery scratch-off tickets; once you start, you don’t want to stop. As will be seen later in the review, it’s this very sense of excitement and addiction that supercell ingeniously leverages to get you to spend your real money.

Clash Royale is basically a hybrid of a deck-building building game and a tower defense game. Battles take place on a small arena, against an online opponent. Much like Hearthstone and other deck-building games, the cards you use in battle have a casting cost. In Clash Royale, the casting cost is referred to as “Elixir.”

The combat in Clash Royale is not turn-based like most deck-building games, but is instead “real-time.” There are no turns. At the bottom of your screen, below your cards, is your elixir gauge. The battle will begin with you and your opponent having a small amount of elixir. Unlike the casting cost formula in game’s like Hearthstone, where you have to wait until your next turn for more of your casting currency, Clash Royale instead has your elixir gauge gradually refilling throughout the battle.

The cards in your hand have an elixir cost, and the more powerful the card, the more the elixir cost will be. This is where clash Royale begins to deviate from the combat in standard deck-building games.

There are two ways to win a battle in Clash Royale:

  1. Earn more crowns than your opponent before the match timer ends
  2. Destroy your opponent’s Crown Tower

You and your opponent will each have three total towers. Your two outside towers are used to defend your Crown Tower. You gain crowns by destroying your opponent’s defense towers and crown tower. As previously stated, if you are able to earn more crown’s than your opponent before the match timer ends, you will win the match. You can also instantly win the match by destroying your opponent’s Crown Tower. However, outside of using a spell card, you cannot attack your opponent’s Crown Tower until you have destroyed at least one of their defense towers. This makes up the tower defense element of the game.

You use your cards to summon creatures and spells onto the battlefield. If the opponent has no creatures on the board, your creatures will immediately go after the opponent’s towers. If your opponent does have creatures in play, most of your units will default to attacking your opponent’s creatures rather than going after their towers. There are exceptions to this, like Giant cards. You will also, more than you like, end up having to use your creatures’s for defense rather than offense. This game really requires you to strategize and think about what cards you use, when you use them, where to place them, etc.

At the end of a battle, if you lose, you will receive one crown and lose trophies. Trophies are used to unlock new battle arenas. Crowns can be used to unlock special chests.

If you win a battle, you will be awarded with three crowns and either a silver, gold, or magical chest. Chests are how you unlock new cards, obtain more Gold, and, on occasion, unlock green gems. Chests are also where the game’s In-app purchases come into play.

In-app Purchases

One of the things that keeps you coming back to Clash Royale is the thrill you experience when opening a chest. The problem is, these chests, which are so essential to success in this game, are going to cost you either your time or your money.

You have four slots that can hold a chest. When you receive a chest, in order to unlock it, you must click the chest and start a countdown timer. This is your pay wall. You can only unlock one chest at a time, and the better the chest, the longer you have to wait to open it. For example: Silver Chests take 3 hours to open, Gold Chests take 8 hours to open, and Magic Chests take 12 hours to open.

If you have all four chest slots filled, you will no longer be able to earn chests in battle, although you can still earn trophies. In order to start earning chests from battles again, you must free up at least one of your chest slots.

There is, of course, one quick way around the pay wall: real money, either through purchasing a Clash Royale account with everything, or through gems.

Chests can be instantly unlocked using green gems, which act as an in-game currency. Of course, your supply of green gems at the beginning of the game will be quite limited. It will be up to you how you decide to spend your initial supply and whether or not you would like to purchase more.

You will occasionally unlock green gems in a chest, but this does not happen often and you usually get no more than 3 or so. The game also has a Gold system that is used for upgrading and purchasing cards. If you run low on, or run out of Gold, you can obtain more by opening chests or by buying more with green gems. Gold is a valuable commodity in this game and you will find yourself running short of it quite often if you choose not to spend real money for green gems.

Graphics and Sound

Clash Royale looks great! I love its cartoony style and it ran quite well on my mid-range ZTE ZMAX 2. The game sounds as great as it looks. The music is fun and contextually appropriate, and the creature sound effects are often humorous and fit the creatures they belong to quite well. Everything about Clash Royale’s design is top notch.

Conclusion

For the sake of brevity, I have not covered every nook and cranny of Clash Royale. There’s a clan system, card upgrade system, and there’s even a feature similar to Twitch.tv where you can watch recordings of other players’ battles.

Even with its pay walls and in-app purchases, Clash Royale is just plain fun. It’s deep enough to appeal to hardcore players, but also simple enough to appeal to casual players. There’s something here for everyone and because the game is multiplayer-based, the replay value is limitless. Give Clash Royale a try as soon as you can. I have a feeling it’s going to be a contender for 2016’s mobile game of the year.

Clash Royale – Google Play Store

7 reasons you should switch to Verizon

Andrew Orr
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7

With the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge today, Verizon is offering even more reasons to be on their network, along with a few offers.

The Offers – starting TODAY for a limited time

  • $1 smartphones: You can buy a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge on device payment and get a Samsung Core Prime on device payment for $1/month for 24 months at 0% APR.
  • Get healthy with Fitbit: Enjoy a $20 Visa gift card when you trade in your old Fitbit for a new one priced $99 or higher.
  • Waived activation fee with $20 bill credit: If you have a line on another carrier, or a spare phone after upgrading, you can add it to your account and Verizon will waive the activation fee. If you bring your own device and activate with Verizon, you’ll also get your activation fee waived.

Galaxy-S7-Edge

7 Reasons To Switch – starting TODAY for a limited time

  • Get a $100 bill credit if you buy a DROID Turbo, Turbo 2, Maxx 2, Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge if you switch to Verizon or if you’re a new customer.
  • RootMetrics network report rates Verizon #1 for the fifth consecutive time, although according to OpenSignal, Verizon has better LTE coverage while T-Mobile has faster LTE speeds.
  • Get up  to $300 in trade-in value when you trade in a smartphone in good condition and upgrade or add a line and activate a DROID Turbo, Turbo 2, Maxx 2, Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge.
  • Free Samsung Gear VR or Samsung Gear S2 (possibly). If you buy a Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge, you’ll be eligible to receive a free Samsung Gear VR or Samsung Gear S2.  For all free Gear VR offers, you can also get a 6-game bundle from Oculus.
  • 24GB of free data every year for LIFE when you upgrade or activate a new phone with device payment on Verizon Plans XL or bigger. The data is shareable and is added as 2GB of monthly bonus data as long as your line remains active on your current XL or bigger plan.
  • Switch to Verizon and get up to $650 to pay off your old phone or contract if you’re switching from a discount provider or a provider with a poor network.
  • Save money on tablets if you buy an Ellipsis 8, Ellipsis 10, Ellipsis Kids tablet, Samsung Tab Galaxy E 8″ or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.
Source: Verizon

 

Hercules Run: Nothing more than a short sprint [Review]

Gerson Noboa
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0

Endless runners are one of the most popular categories in the Play Store. Ignited by some big hits like Temple Run and Subway Surfers, the category has seen a massive boost in recent years. However, they’ve had to evolve throughout the years to keep their current users, so elements like special events and story modes were added on top of the original formula. Hercules Run tries to capitalize on the popularity of the genre and incorporates some features to stand out among its competitors.

Developer: Launchship Studios

Price: Free (with in-app purchases for in-game currency)

Setup

hercules run main screen
Hercules Run’s main screen.

After a brief loading screen, the game asks you to connect it to Google Play Games. After allowing (or denying) the permissions it asks, you are shown the main screen. Pretty straightforward and typical for a game with Play Games integration.

Features

The first thing you’ll notice is a steroids-infused guy on flip flops is dancing on the main screen. That’s the main character, called Hercules. He is wearing a bright orange… Dress or something. Anyways, this main screen has a plethora of options to choose from, such as an in-game shop, missions, and statistics. To start playing, you only have to tap the screen and the game will unfold.

When you play for the first time, the game will show you a tutorial with the basic controls needed, which aren’t complicated at all. Swipe to the left or right to move your character across the three lanes, swipe up to jump, and swipe down to slide. In-game, they’re pretty responsive and I didn’t have to fight against them in order to succeed.

The gameplay is pretty simple. If your character hits an obstacle, falls into the water, or one of the moving elements hits you, it’s game over. In addition, there are coins scattered throughout the level, which can be used to buy power-ups and new characters. Power-ups will also appear in the field, and they range from giving you twice the coins you collect, to your Hercules growing wings and flying across the scenery. They do a good job in spicing things up a bit.

hercules run tutorial
The tutorial shows Hercules Run’s simple controls.

hercules run gameplay
Hercules can grow wings and glide through the field.

However, the variety of the gameplay stops there. Aside from buying new characters, there’s no sense of progression in the game, such as special seasonal events, level increases or progression through a story. This is something other endless runners have already incorporated in order to boost their replay value. There are some daily challenges in which you collect letters that appear while running, and there are some missions that you can accomplish (such as collecting a certain amount of coins or running a certain distance), but they provide coins or gems, not progress.

There are very few moving elements and, after running for some meters, the exact same locations repeat. And I’m not only referring to the environment, but also to the obstacles. They appear in the exact same places. This is blatantly apparent in a section where you run through platforms on top of water. I’ve run my fair amount of kilometers and have encountered only two variations of this particular segment, but it has appeared several times.

Going through other aspects of the game, I can say that graphics are really colorful and its tropical theme is consistent throughout the game. It’s not the most detailed app, but graphics are adequate nonetheless. However, I found some instances in which my character hit some objects but the game didn’t register it (good for me, but bad for the game). Sound is also competent, with the right amount of sound effects. The music is definitely something you’ll love or hate. I personally don’t like it, but I won’t blame you if you do.

hercules run gameplay
My high score while Hercules is dancing, as always.

hercules run features
Hercules Run tries to add replay value in the form of daily missions.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that, even though the game is definitely not pushing the GPU to its limits, I’ve found some performance issues. For example, I lost a game once because the game lagged and a giant rock rolled towards me in that small period. There’s also the previously mentioned errors when detecting hits. I had an instance in which I resumed the game from the recent apps menu and it never loaded. There was also a text that said “High Score” that never disappeared from the top of the screen, while other times it did. 

For those of you who don’t like ads, let me tell you that you’d better not die, because when you do, you’ll be shown a full-screen ad the first two or three rounds after launching the game (and not just the first time), and an annoying dialog to connect the game to Facebook.

Conclusion

When Temple Run launched back in 2011, it caught everyone by surprise because of its addictive gameplay and responsive controls. However, things in the genre have evolved, and now more elements are being added to the core mechanic in order to add replay value. Hercules Run has failed to incorporate these elements, and while the gameplay is solid, it’s lack of distinctive features makes it difficult to recommend in a category filled with better contenders.

Download from the Play Store.

JDS Labs C5D portable DAC review: Big things can come in small packages

Josh Noriega
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1

JDS Labs is one of those manufacturers that are fantastic at what they do, but don’t have to boast. It has its fans for the right reasons, by pumping out solid devices that accept nothing less than a considerable standard.

The company is most known by its successful Objective desktop DAC (or ODAC). It brought very accurate, “reference” sound that audio lovers ate up, and at a very reasonable price for the performance. Since great audio is going mobile, it was only a matter of time before JDS Labs jumped on the bandwagon and launched a portable solution. Let me introduce the C5D DAC.

JDS_DAC_6

JDS Labs has shrunk down its components and stuffed in a battery. But did it compromise audio quality for the sake of portability? Let’s find out.

Design

The C5D comes in a small, inconspicuous box. All you’ll find inside is the unit and a mini-USB to USB cable.

JDS_DAC_1
JDS_DAC_2

The use of the DAC is pretty simple, so there’s not much more that you would need. The size of the unit is reminiscent to a deck of playing cards. The actual dimension are: 3.9″ (L) x 2.4″(W) x 0.5″ (D), so it’s very compact.

The metal casing feels very industrial. There’s a smooth, black finish on most of the chassis, with the exception of exposed, raw metal on the sides.

JDS_DAC_4

On the right side, you have a mini-USB port for the digital audio input, switch for power from either the built-in battery or connected device, and on/off power switch.

Flipping the C5D over, we see the 3.5mm headphone jack, bass booster switch, 3.5mm analog audio input, and volume switch.

JDS_DAC_5

There is also an LED light, located between the headphone jack and bass switch. It uses green and blue colors for indications: green for when unit is on, flashing green when low on battery, and blue when charging.

Features

The nice thing about portable DACs these days is that they can interface with Android, via OTG audio out from the charging port of the phone or tablet. That means that you can use your mobile device as the digital music source and pass the audio processing to the DAC. That then means that you can have a HiFi audio system while you’re out and about.

A bad part about the C5D’s packaging is that the micro-USB to mini-USB cable isn’t included. Fortunately, they’re not expensive, but you’ll need to buy one before your awesome portable HiFi setup is ready to go.

OTG connection with third-party micro-USB to mini-USB cable
OTG connection with third-party micro-USB to mini-USB cable

An important tip: make sure that you set the DAC to operate in battery mode when connected to a mobile device, or it will draw power from it. The C5D has its own battery, and speaking of which, the 1,200 mAh capacity is rated for 6-8 hours of playback (depending on volume level).

Interestingly, the volume control is digital, rather than a conventional analog knob or wheel. You push a notch left or right to decrease or increase the volume by fine steps, respectively. Considerately, JDS Labs put in the ability to hold it down to continually go in one direction (so you don’t have to sit there pressing it a million times). Oh, and something I didn’t discover until some time is that gain can also be controlled by the volume switch. If you push it in, it changes the gain between low and high. Moral of the story: read the manual!

The C5D doesn’t have much in the way of audio features, but there is a bass booster. It’s pretty simple to use (once you know the positions); there’s three options. The upper position is no bass boost, the lower position is medium bass, and the middle position is high bass.

Sound

JDS_DAC_8

I had a high expectations for the C5D upon first hearing about it. So I reached to JDS Labs for a chance to try it and they were nice enough to loan us a unit. And I was happily not disappointed from the first listen. It’s such a clean sound. Clean and crisp.

I can hear that “reference” sound that JDS Labs aims for. The sound signature is balanced and you can tell that accuracy was a huge focus. Vocals sound natural and notes have a detailed extension. The imaging of different sounds within the perceived space is just a pleasure; they really convey a 3D space around your head. It’s fabulous that I can talk about the audio quality in terms of the sound detail as much as the depth…from a compact DAC.

I want to also say that although the C5D strives to be true to the music, it’s not done so in a boring way. The overall sound is full and notes are impactful. That said, I can imagine where the bass would not enough for bass-lovers. As I mentioned before, JDS Labs thought about that, with a bass booster switch. The bass boost mostly amplifies mid-bass. So if you have headphones that are shy in that region, it will help out. If you have headphones with strong mid-bass (I happen to have a pair of SE846 that fit the bill), the boost can get out of control. I found the medium setting to be a good oomph when I was in the mood, but the high bass setting boomed its way in front of the spectrum.

I can nitpick and say that the C5D is a little on the warm side. That is, the treble emphasis is just short of the level that I think it should be. That could be a minor concern to folks who like a brighter sound.

Final Thoughts

You can probably guess that the C5D left me impressed. The quality pushes past its size, and I would say that it represents the company’s passion for excellent sound. If you’re looking for a portable, compact DAC solution, I’m convinced that this one is among the best that you can buy right now.

The C5D retails for $249 and comes in either black or red colors.

JDS Labs C5D product page

There’s a huge sale happening on Nexus phones RIGHT NOW

Andrew Orr
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1

Our friends over at B&H are having a Nexus sale! The sale started at 12 AM EST, and it allows customers to grab any of the phones below for a hot deal. Buying any of the Nexus 6P phones will get you $50 off plus $50 in B&H store credit, while buying a Nexus 5X will get you $50 off.

Phones For Sale

Huawei Google Nexus 6P 32GB (unlocked, aluminum, graphite, gold)

Huawei Google Nexus 6P 64GB (unlocked, aluminum, graphite, gold)

LG Google Nexus 5X 16GB (black, mint)

LG Google Nexus 5X 32GB (black, mint)

Special Additional Sale

Get $50 instant savings PLUS an additional $50 off by using the PROMO CODE: BHNEXUS5X for the LG Nexus 5X 32GB White phone. Final price will be $299.

LG Google Nexus 5X 32GB (unlocked, white)

ACT FAST for your chance to buy one of these great phones at a great price!

Nexus-5x-6p-colors

Nexus 6P Spec List

  • Battery: 3450mAh
  • Camera: 12.3 rear/8MP front; f/2.0, laster autofocus, dual-tone flash, 1.55µm pixel size
  • Color: graphite, aluminum, gold
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy
  • Dimensions: 159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm (6.27 x 3.06 x 0.29 in), 178 g (6.28 oz)
  • Display: 5.7 inches, AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1440 x 2560 pixels (~518 ppi pixel density)
  • Memory: 3 GB RAM
  • Processor: Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810, Quad-core 1.55 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A57
  • Software: Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
  • Storage: 32/64/128 GB
  • Other: USB-C, fingerprint sensor

Nexus 5X Spec List

  • Battery: 2700 mAh
  • Camera: 12.3 MP, f/2.0, laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
  • Color: black, mint, white
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy
  • Dimensions: 147 x 72.6 x 7.9 mm (5.79 x 2.86 x 0.31 in), 136 g (4.80 oz)
  • Display: 5.2 inches, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1080 x 1920 pixels (~423 ppi pixel density)
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Processor: Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808, Quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53 & dual-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57
  • Software: Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
  • Storage: 16/32 GB
  • Other: USB-C, fingerprint sensor

 

 

How to block ads on your new Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge

Josh Noriega
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3

If you’re picking up a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge soon, you’re probably ecstatic (I certainly am). We have some news that may sweeten that fact for Galaxy S7 fans who also happen to not be fans of ads. Adblock Plus has announced that its ad blocker app, made to work with the Samsung browser, will be available as soon as you pick your new, shiny Galaxy S7.

Adblock-plus

The developer has quickly worked to getting its app functioning in the Android Marshmallow version of Samsung’s software, which the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will run out of the box. Just bear in mind that the ad blocker is coded in concert with Samsung’s browser, specifically. So the app won’t benefit Chrome users or any other third-party browser.

If you’ve never used Adblock Plus, don’t worry, it’s not complicated. There’s just two steps to get blocking. After you install the app, in the Samsung browser, go to: More -> Settings -> Advanced -> Block content, and then turn it on. That’s all!

Ad_block_5

If you want, you can choose for acceptable (nonintrusive) ads to still go through or just block all of them completely. Also, there are a couple other benefits that come along with it.

[row][double_paragraph]Ad_block_2[/double_paragraph][double_paragraph]Ad_block_1[/double_paragraph] [/row]

Keep in mind that any Samsung device that moves on to Android Marshmallow can use Adblock Plus. Hit up the source link below for the official word, and the Play Store link to the Adblock Plus app for the Samsung browser.

Source: Adblock Plus | Play Store link

BlitzWolf Quick Charge 2.0 and 3.0 chargers review

Josh Noriega
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1

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it seems like I can’t have too many chargers. When that low battery notification hits, I just want one to be readily nearby. It’s also nice to have options when you travel.

Thankfully, there are a variety of third-party choices these days, even for Qualcomm’s latest standards. Many folks don’t want to buy an additional fast charger from the phone OEM, because they typically charge an arm and a leg. So with that, let me introduce two excellent chargers from Blitzwolf.

BlitzWolf_charger_8

One of them is capable of the Quick Charge (QC) 2.0 speed and the other future proofs you for the next wave – QC 3.0. Let’s check them out.

[spacer color=”264C84″ icon=”fa-power-off”]

Design

These two chargers are the same but different. They both have a cube design, but the finishes on the plastic are different. The QC 2.0 model is glossy all around while the QC 3.0 model is matte. I would say that the latter feels less cheap, and it doesn’t leave fingerprints.

[row][double_paragraph]BlitzWolf_charger_4[/double_paragraph][double_paragraph]BlitzWolf_charger_3[/double_paragraph] [/row]

The QC 2.0 unit is thicker and wider, but that’s because of the extra features. There’s an extra USB outlet and the prongs can fold (a nice feature for traveling). The functionality of the QC 3.0 model is more direct – just one charging port and rigid prongs.

[row][double_paragraph]BlitzWolf_charger_5[/double_paragraph][double_paragraph]BlitzWolf_charger_2[/double_paragraph] [/row]

Despite the different in-hand feel, they’re both constructed solidly and give no indication that they won’t hold up.

Functionality

I briefly touched on the difference in functionality between the two. The QC 2.0 model has an extra charging port, but sadly, only one of them charges at the QC 2.0 speed. The other port has a 2.4A output, which is at least faster than what the pre-QC 2.0 days were.

BlitzWolf_charger_7

When you plug in the QC 2.0 charger, you see a blue hue emit from the charging ports. While it’s cool, I wonder if the light would bug anyone while they’re trying to sleep. You don’t see anything flashy on the QC 3.0 of the sorts.

As expected, the chargers work as advertised. I get the “fast charging” indication and speed on my phone. But note that I could not test the QC 3.0 speed, because there aren’t any phones out yet that utilize it (not even the newly launched Galaxy S7). Fortunately, it’s backwards compatible with QC 2.0, so you would buy it at this point to be future-proof.

Both units also have overcharging and overloading protection for your devices. Dubbed Power3S, the charger is said to intelligently detect the connected device and deliver the appropriate power.

[spacer color=”264C84″ icon=”fa-power-off”]

Final Thoughts

You can’t really go wrong with BlitzWolf’s charger offerings. They’re solidly build and function as they should. The prices are also decent. You can pick up the QC 2.0 and QC 3.0 models for the same $11.50 price (and free shipping) from Banggood.com.

In my experience with them, I really don’t see any reason for someone to pay 3x more for an OEM charger. The functionality is the same.

Special thanks to Banggood.com for supplying the review units!

Day One Apps: The first apps we install on every new Android (Volume 6)

Donovan Jeska
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6
Continue

U.S. Cellular is offering $300 for switchers

Andrew Orr
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0

Looking to switch carriers? U.S. Cellular has begun offering $300 in credit to customers who port their number and trade-in their phone – even if the phone has a cracked screen. In addition, U.S. Cellular is offering its home solution products for one penny, along with the first two months of service FREE, which includes Home Phone, Router + Home Phone, Hot Spot and Modem devices that normally run $20-$30 per month each. If a current customer refers a friend and the friend activates a phone on a Shared Connect plan, both parties will get $50.

US Cellular coverage map

This is a great deal for customers who are either looking for a new carrier, or those without phone insurance and wanting to upgrade a cracked device. U.S. Cellular is even offering an unlimited buy-out of customer’s contracts after they submit their final bill from their carrier. Joe Settimi, vice president of marketing for U.S. Cellular, says:

“We know that there are people who are looking to change wireless carriers, but they have broken screens that have no trade-in value, and therefore can’t afford to make the switch. We wanted to remove that barrier for people and give them an easy way to upgrade…”

I know what you’re thinking: since U.S. Cellular is a prepaid carrier, they probably have crappy phones right? WRONG! Customers can buy premium devices, including the iPhone 6s/6s Plus, Samsung’s Galaxy S7/S7 Edge. They also have tablets like the iPad Pro, iPad Mini 4, Galaxy Tab E, and more. Although “prepaid” carrier isn’t technically correct, as U.S. Cellular has regular Individual Line plans, as well as Shared Data plans and the prepaid options.

Source: U.S. Cellular

 

 

LG G5 and Friends are going on sale in April

Andrew Orr
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0

After winning the “Best New Smartphone” award (and 33 other awards) at Mobile World Congress 2016, LG is not standing still. Today they announced that the LG G5, as well as the collection of companion modules called “LG Friends” are coming to the US market in early April. The devices will be sold on all of the major carriers and retailers, which include AT&T, Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile Stores, B&H, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon.

Quick Spec Rundown

[graphiq id=”i3EkYvCMwM5″ title=”LG G5″ width=”600″ height=”473″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/i3EkYvCMwM5″ link=”http://smartphones.specout.com/l/5086/LG-G5″ link_text=”LG G5 | SpecOut”]

LG Friends

  • LG VR Headset
  • 360 Cam
  • Rolling Bot

They’re called “friends” because they’re meant as extensions of the G5 while being easy to set up and connect. The VR headset is a stereoscopic piece light enough to wear comfortably. It connects to the G5 via USB-C cable and has a 1.88-inch IPS screen with a 639ppi pixel density. Most standard VR apps and games, such as those available for Google Cardboard, will work with LG’s headset, including the photos from the 360 Cam.

342693

If you’ve ever wanted a robot pet, LG’s Rolling Bot is a good contender. Called a “drunken, headless BB-8“, it’s roughly the size of a bowling ball. The Bot can take 8 MP photos and videos of its own, which can function as a home security cam or by checking on your pets, as the Bot can stream the video via Wi-Fi straight to your G5.

The 360 Cam has two 13MP cameras and 4GB of local storage (with microSD support). The Cam also has three microphones to enable 5.1 surround sound to pair with the videos you take. LG makes it easy to upload your videos to YouTube 360 and Google Street View.

The main premise of the G5 is the modular design. LG hopes to entice customers by letting them swap the battery on the fly, adding a high-fidelity speaker, and attaching a camera grip. It’s up to customers to decide whether these modules are a gimmick, or if they truly add extra functionality to the phone.

For a limited time, LG is offering early adopters that buy the G5 a free extra battery and battery-charging cradle.

Note: The article was updated to provide more detail on the LG Friend devices.

Source: PRNewswire | Engadget
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