Wouldn’t it be cool if Google let us vote on it? The Nexus One was launched a whole six years ago (crazy, huh?). Since then, Google dipped its toes into partnerships with many of the stapled phone manufacturers – HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Huawei, and Asus on the Nexus 7 tablets. It was a neat opportunity to show off Google’s established “Be together. Not the same” motto for Android.
As we get underway in 2016, Android fans can’t help but wonder what Google will do next. Will the software giant move on to a new OEM for the next flagship Nexus? Will there be another price-varied Nexus pair and repeated partnership, such as with LG on the Nexus 5X? Or will Google say enough is enough and take matters into its own hands (i.e. Pixel C)?
We really don’t know what to expect, which is both frustrating and exciting for Android enthusiasts. But we can ask: Who do we strongly think should be the chosen one? I imagine that opinions will most fall on a manufacturer who has done it before; there aren’t many top-end OEMs left who haven’t. This fact does however set sights on Sony. Xperia phones are among the best in the flagship realm. But Sony’s lacking presence in the U.S. may make this possibility difficult.
Sony Nexus concept
We also can’t forget the turn of events in the tablet space. Instead of a renewed Nexus tablet, Google gave us a home-brewed Pixel convertible. Could this be a foreshadowing of things to come for Nexus phones? If Google now has in-house capability to manufacturer hardware, why should it continue to go to a manufacturer? Wouldn’t it be more efficient for Google to control the production of its own device?
We’d like to hear what our readers think. Vote on the poll below!
Verizon on Monday confirmed it has brought back its 2GB bonus data promotion for users on the XL and XXL plans. Available immediately, both new and existing customers on the 12GB and 18GB data plans will receive extra data each month.
The way it works is pretty simple: all phone lines on either of the two plans receive 2GB of data per month. Sharing across 5 lines? That’s 10GB of extra data on top of the bucket you’re already getting. Verizon will allow up to ten lines on these plans.
According to Verizon, the data can be shared across existing tablets and hotspots but cannot be used for new ones. The bonus data will stay on a user’s account as long as they remain on the XL or XXL plan.
In addition to the extra data, Verizon is offering up to $650 in credits to attract prospective customers. Should you port your number from another carrier, Big Red will pay off your early termination fees and any remaining balances on equipment.
It is not clear how long Verizon will be offering the limited-time 2GB data promotion.
If you’re reading this review, you’ve probably been there: you’ve posted something for sale on Craigslist. After a bit of time, you get a hit; someone has messaged you and want to meet to deal. So after some back-and-forth, you agree on a place and time. You show up, wait 45 minutes, and the other party is a no-show. For a few of us, the other party does show and the ensuing exchange is anything from uncomfortable to seemingly dangerous.
Public sites like Craigslist have been great for personal re-sale, but they leave their users vulnerable to misleading or downright nefarious humans looking to take advantage of a situation.
The app VarageSale looks to solve this vulnerability. They do this by creating a more closed community of members in a small geographical area, using their Facebook accounts to verify identity as well as giving other members a preview of who they’re dealing with.
Setup
To gain access to the community, there a few steps involved:
Choose your community(ies) by local area (using your zip code). Generally each community gives themselves a cute/clever name.
Setup your account, including name and email.
Link your Facebook account. Â As stated, this allows other members to confirm you are who you say your are, and gives others a profile pic to see who they’re dealing with. Per the app, they do not post anything to your Facebook account.
Daily Use
Using the app works a lot like most other resale websites in that various items are listed by individual community members, with usually a photo, title, and price listed.
The app uses flat design, with the listings that look and scroll down a lot like Google Now cards. That is to say the design is clean, with enough color and shape to give a great and welcoming aesthetic.
For each listing you can share with others (via Facebook, email, or other), comment on the item, or click the “Interested” button, which contacts the seller and saves it for your later viewing. Â Once you contact the seller and negotiate the price and meeting time/place, off you go to complete the transaction.
In my short truncated experienced with the app, the biggest hurdle to user happiness is currently the dearth of users in a given community, and therefore the variety of items to find.
For every item of a given category in my chosen community in VarageSale, you can find 10-20 of a similar item on the big boys like Craigslist or eBay. Also, the range of items seems to be very limited, mostly to second-hand clothing and crafty, Etsy-type stuff.
Given my particular area of residence, downright rural compared to those living in a bigger cities like Chicago, but still the lack of people and stuff was off-putting for me.
It’s analogous to patronizing a local store instead of going across the street to Target. Yes, it feels good to be doing business with someone you know who is local, but did you find what you really wanted? And how did you do on price?
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Conclusion
The vitality of any community, virtual or otherwise, is defined by the engagement of its members. While VarageSale is really a great idea to solve the potential problems of the public re-sale sites, the greatest hurdle for this and other such apps is traction amongst their potential user base. Right now the question is, “why use VarageSale when Craigslist has so much more to look at?”. The tipping point will be when that question gets reversed.
As we prep for LG’s inevitable G5 reveal at Mobile World Congress next week, we’ve been watching for any other potential devices launching in Barcelona along with the newest flagship. A pair of press releases on LG’s newsroom website have confirmed that we’ll be seeing several new handsets announced with the G5 at MWC. First, the South Korean company plans to release a new series of smartphones under an “X Series” line next week. The X Series will feature two Android 6.0 devices at launch, though we expect additions to be announced down the road.
Beginning with the X Cam, LG looks to incorporate the dual camera system that has been rumored to launch with the G5. The X Cam, as the name indicates, will sport both 13MP and 5MP rear cameras, along with an 8MP front-facing shooter. Ideally, the dual camera system will produce more precise images than a single lens could on its own.
The X Cam will ship with a 5.2-inch FHD display, an unnamed 1.14GHz Octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Powering the device will be a 2,520 mAh battery. The X Cam will be available in Titan Silver, White, Gold, and Pink Gold.
The X Screen, as expected, will make use of the second screen made popular by LG’s V10 smartphone launched in 2015. The main display on the X Screen will be 4.93 inches, and the secondary screen will sport a resolution of 520 x 80, at 1.76 inches. For reference, the V10’s secondary display sits at 2.1 inches with a 160 x 1040 resolution.
Under the hood of the X Screen, LG has packed a 1.2GHz quad-core chip paired with a 2,300 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. The device will also feature a 13MP rear camera and 8MP front camera. The color options are slightly different for the X Screen, which will be available in Black, White, or Pink Gold.
A few things are worth noting with these devices. Based on the specs given in the press release, it is not known if a MicroSD card slot will be included in either X Series device. With only 16GB of storage, the lack of a slot may prove problematic. In addition, the X Series devices will only be available in key Asian, European, and Latin American markets starting next month. LG has given no indication of the probability that these devices will hit the U.S.
The X Series devices won’t be alone at MWC, as LG has plans to introduce a successor to the G4 Stylus that launched in early 2015. The LG Stylus 2 sheds the “G” series from its name and brings a few new software features to the table as well. The hardware for the Stylus 2 is actually nearly identical to the G4 Stylus. The successor will feature the same 5.7-inch 1280 x 720 display, 13MP rear and 8MP front cameras, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, MicroSD card slot, and 3,000 mAh battery.
The real difference between the two comes in a slightly higher amount of RAM for the Stylus 2 (1.5GB, a bump from the 1GB found in the European and Asian G4 Stylus variants), as well as software: the Stylus 2 will launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. LG’s press release also touts some impressive new software features coupled with the stylus that gives this device its name.
When the stylus is removed, the device will trigger a popup menu that displays shortcuts to Pop Memo and Pop Scanner. Another new feature is Pen Keeper, which detects when the Stylus 2 is moving out of range of the stylus itself. This of course is meant to prevent users from forgetfully walking away from their stylus. Finally, the Calligraphy Pen font will reportedly enable users to write with the stylus as precisely as they would with a fountain pen.
The LG Stylus 2 will be available in Titan, White, and Brown colors. No release date or pricing information has been released yet, but LG may be holding that information until MWC next week.
AT&T on Monday confirmed it is paying customers up to $650 per phone line to switch from another carrier. The idea, of course, is to pull subscribers away from Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint.
The promotion, which starts today, is a limited-time affair that runs through the end of next month (March 31, 2016).  In order to qualify for the credits, customers must do the following:
Port a phone number (from Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint) to AT&T and activate a new line of post-post service
Purchase a new device through AT&T Next plan
Trade in old phone
Submit final bill from previous carrier to AT&T
The credit itself is an AT&T Promotion Card or Visa pre-paid card.
Little Robot Adventure is the story of a tiny robot that journeys through various stages, crushing enemies and collecting pieces of a world. As you collect pieces, your world becomes more complete.
This app supports Google Play Games, so you’ll be prompted to log in at the launch of the game. After initial setup, there are no additional steps to perform.
Features
Little Robot Adventure will be familiar to anyone that’s ever played a Mario game. The controls are extremely simple – lateral movement left and right, and a jump button; that’s it. You begin the game in a completely grayscale world, completely without enemies. The only source of color beyond the little robot is a treasure chest at the end of the level. why is it there? Why does it have color when nothing else does? No idea. but when you open it, enemies populate the world from then, on. At the end of each level you unlock more and more pieces of the world, eventually creating a vibrant environment to explore.
Throughout the world you will collect screws, a sort of currency with which you can purchase a few upgrades for your Robot. In addition, there are also some in-app purchases that you can use to eliminate ads, purchase additional screws, or buy extra lives. If you enjoy the game, I highly recommend purchasing the ad-free version, because this game has a lot of ads. Oh, you died? Have an ad, maybe two – heck, maybe a video! There’s ads in the banner, there’s ads in the footer…basically, anywhere you might insert an ad, there is one.
I encountered a few frustrating quirks in my expedition through Robot’s world; On my very first level, for instance, I fell through the environment and became trapped inside one of the bricks! Then it happened again, on the next level. And again, on the third. After that it seemed to only happen intermittently, but definitely enough to be frustrating. The controls are, at times, unresponsive, and the game itself suffers from some performance issues, even on a Nexus 6P. I also ran into an issue where the achievement for unlocking a world did not unlock despite my being in that world.
The graphics are ridiculously simple, but grow more vibrant and at times beautiful as you progress through the game. The sound design is also simple, but not nearly in as charming a way as the visuals.
What I like
Platforming.
Creating a world.
What I don’t
Too many Ads.
Performance issues.
Glitchy controls.
Conclusion
Little Robot Adventure is a fun, frustrating, glitchy adventure with a unique, if simple, style and a frustrating amount of ads. The controls can be a little wonky at times and you will die. A lot. If you intend on owning the game for an extended period of time, do yourself a favor and buy the ad-free version. You’ll be significantly less frustrated.
Price:Â Free (Ad-Supported, $1.99 to remove ads; micro-transactions)
Highlights:
Real-time competition with players around the world.
Credit-based betting system.
Offline mode.
Three variations of the classic dice game to play.
Setup
Yatzy Ultimate has a relatively simple, if slightly counter-intuitive setup. It does not support Google Account login (hence counter-intuitive) or Google Play, but it allows you to create and account with either Facebook or Game.IO. If you don’t feel like creating yet another game account, you can always play as a guest, and you will retain your credits persistently. There is also a handy tutorial/training mode right at the home screen, if you don’t feel like using your credits right away.
Features
Having played Yahtzee extensively with my mother as a child, this app triggered a giant tsunami wave of nostalgia. It plays exactly as I remember, minus the pen-and-paper scoring and the irreplaceable feel of pouring the dice out of the shaker. If you haven’t played Yatzy, this app probably isn’t for you. If you’re curious about the rules, this is probably a good page with which to start. Yatzy Ultimate offers three different variations of the game to play: Yatzy, Maxi-Yazty, and American Yatzy.  The variations offer different rules and scoring, though, they all essentially play the same way.
Yatzy is relatively generous with their credits, starting you out with 5000 right off the bat. You’re able to bet as many as 750 credits and as few as 100 per game in the basic single-player stage, and you can buy additional credits via in-app purchases ($0.99 for 2,000, and up to $19.99 for 500,000). In addition to changing how much you can bet each round, you are also able to increase the score threshold you need to reach in order to win; thereby increasing the payout if you reach it.
There are currently seven different stages of betting, each one requiring significantly more than the last to qualify to enter. I am fundamentally wary of a game relies on random number generation (RNG), for a number of reasons:
1) No number is every truly random.
2) As such, the game could theoretically alter your results, and
3) therefore directly alter your ability to earn credits.
Those things being stated, I feel that Yatzy Ultimate does a good job of making sure that your results feel fair, and not like you’re being robbed of your credits. Sound and visual design are okay, not phenomenal. The graphics look a little grainy on my Nexus 6P, which is a simple enough fix that I hope is remedied soon.
What I like
Classic dice game.
Decent production value.
Fair-enough RNG.
What I don’t
Ad-supported AND micro-transactions.
Graphics get a bit grainy on higher resolution screens.
Conclusion
Yatzy Ultimate is a perfectly acceptable recreation of the classic dice game. To me the game will always be known as Yahtzee, but the spirit of the game is captured well, and is actually easier than playing the physical game due to built-in scoring and dice rolling. The game is free and you never need to purchase micro-transactions to advance, though the ads occasionally grate nerves.
Does your device run out of storage, forcing you to painstakingly go through your phone and delete your contents ? Too busy or just too tired to go through your contents? Worry no more! Duplicate Files Fixer(free), available and rated 4.5 stars on the Google Play Store, does all this for you.
Objective View
Entailing a simplistic and easy to use interface, this is a user-friendly application that can be operated by anyone. Within the program, you are met by several options including Scan Audio, Scan Videos, Scan Pictures, Scan Documents and Full Scan.
Upon inspecting the miscellaneous categories, your device will scan each for the respective content and display a screen with all the duplicates. It then has all the duplicates selected and gives you the ability to unmark the duplicates you intend on keeping. After pressing the delete button, you are asked to confirm your decision in the event of you making an error.
Although the purpose of this application is to optimize your tech by cleaning duplicate files, it does not include the option to delete the original file. Sometimes when choosing what to clean, you may come across files you have no intention of keeping and want to delete it as well as the duplicate, but alas, you can only remove the duplicate and have to locate the original afterwards. Perhaps developers would take a look into that matter.
 Summary
I used this application for a mere few hours and found that it is an absolute blessing. I was able to delete approximately 800 megabytes of duplicate files alone, including pictures, voice notes, music tracks and documents. It’s a really simple program and has only one screen excluding the help menu which includes a basic tutorial of pictures. Despite the few flaws and improvements which could be made, Duplicate Files Fixer was definitely well thought out and has a smooth and polished UI.
In conclusion, this simple program is definitely worth downloading, and it will most definitely help you clean up your device and free some space for your more important information, but more so, it will help save your time.
The world of professional sports has become the linchpin in many lives around the world. From the “Big 5” – American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Football – to the more obscure Golf, Lacrosse, NASCAR, and others, sports are everywhere. We all have our individual preference when it comes to the industry – I, personally, am a huge NBA fan – but one thing binds us all in sports fandom; the need to keep up with it all.
Some of us are one-team guys (Go Kings). Some of us follow anything within our geographical location – which, if you live in the San Francisco Bay, for instance, can get pretty wild; between the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland As, the Oakland Raiders, the San Fransisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors and the San Jose Sharks, you’re looking at following six teams just in the primary four sports in the U.S.
Some of us follow teams that represent where we come from. Perhaps you moved as a child, and you root rabidly for the team the plays in the area from whence you came.
But I digress; we all need a way to keep track of all these sports, and let’s face it; the newspaper doesn’t cut it anymore. So, without further delay, I present the top 5 apps for tracking all your favorite sports teams;
With the recent acquisition of SwiftKey by Microsoft, interest in alternative keyboards has sparked. There’s a wealth of alternatives in the Play Store, including household names like Swype, TouchPal, Fleksy and Google Keyboard. In a category where companies rely on licensing or micro-transactions to sustain themselves, Smart Emoji Keyboard (by the appropriately-called Keyboard Apps Developer) offers a completely free alternative, albeit with very heavy advertising, along with features that users have come to expect from a keyboard.
Highlights:
Unbelievably high number of ads throughout the app
Support for four languages in different variants
No micro-transactions: all themes are free
Normal options (auto-complete, auto-capitalization, suggestions, etc.) are included
New emojis are nowhere to be found
Setup
Clearly, the design is Holo-inspired.
For those with limited internal storage, you’ll be happy to know that Smart Emoji Keyboard weighs only 8.99 MB. With competitors such as SwiftKey and Google Keyboard clocking at 20+ MB, it’s a big advantage for users that make each MB count.
If you’ve installed a third-party keyboard before, you know what to expect from a keyboard setup. In case you haven’t, the 2-step process involves enabling Smart Emoji Keyboard from a list of installed keyboards, and then setting it as the default one. Unfortunately, upon opening the app for the first time, you’ll begin the ad-riddled journey that this app offers with a full screen ad. After ignoring it, you’ll finally be presented with the app’s setup screen.
Features
The app’s main interface focuses on customizing the keyboard through themes. This is a necessity, given that the default, Holo-inspired theme makes your keyboard look like it was shipped four years ago. There are some bundled themes, with more options available through the Play Store, completely free of charge. There’s a Material Design theme (curiously called Android L) among the downloadable offerings to bring it to our times.
Main screen, showing the available themes.
Unfortunately, testing new appearances is a chore because every time you change a theme, a full screen ad shows up. I’m aware that the keyboard and its themes are provided for free, but seeing so many full screen ads in such a short span of time left a bad taste in my mouth. If it wasn’t enough, there’s a screen dedicated to promoting other keyboards, and each time you swipe to it, another full screen ad shows its ugly face.
Using the keyboard itself, I found an acceptable performance throughout different apps. It’s not as snappy as Google Keyboard, and it definitely doesn’t have beautiful animations like Fleksy, but it gets the job done. However, the key press pop-up tends to lag and display erratic behavior, especially when pressing the space bar. To change between languages, you can swipe the space bar.
It’s worth noting that auto-correct tends to be more effective in English than in Spanish, and that there’s no next word suggestion whatsoever. There’s English-only voice input, though, which uses Google’s voice recognition.
Emojis are undoubtedly one of the main features of the app (it’s even named after them). Even though it certainly has emojis (which are easily accessible through a button at the left of the space bar), the keyboard doesn’t feature the newest ones introduced by Google and Apple at the end of 2015.
The options screen.
The keyboard options can be accessed by pressing the gear icon at the bottom of the app, or by long-pressing the emoji key. After enduring the now-predictable full screen ad, you are shown settings such as auto-capitalization, suggestions, auto-complete and input languages.
Dictionaries are available for different variants of English, Spanish, French and Portuguese only. There’s also options to add a number row, a hugely requested, but rarely acknowledged feature. However, contact suggestions, dictionary improvements through social media analysis or different layouts are nowhere to be found.
Conclusion
If Smart Emoji Keyboard sounds like a run-of-the-mill keyboard, it’s because it is. There’s no feature that makes it stand out, and you know things aren’t good when one of the biggest talking points about it is the unrestrained amount of ads.
In a hypothetical world where Google Keyboard, Fleksy and Swiftkey are sold for a hefty fee, customers may put up with pesky monetization methods in exchange for a free experience. However, that’s not our world, so Smart Emoji Keyboard must find an alternative way of making money and a killer feature in order to stay relevant.
