Home Blog Page 629

Price and availability for Moto G7, Moto G7 Play, and Moto G7 Power

Jason England
-
0

Moto’s trio of budget-conscious phones including the Moto G7, Moto G7 Play, and Moto G7 Power now have release dates and presale info. All three of these phones can be had for under $300 and that’s great news if you’re on a budget. What’s even better is they all come with Android 9 Pie and you can begin pre-ordering any of the three models starting this month.

Moto G7

Starting with the Moto G7 which is already available for purchase and will set you back $299. This midrange phone comes with a 6.2-inch 2270 x 1080 display with a teardrop notch. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 632, 4GB of RAM, and has 64GB of storage along with a microSD card slot.

As for cameras, there is a dual 12MP + 5MP shooter on the back with an 8MP camera for selfies on the front. The Moto G7 also comes with a rather sizable 3000mAh battery, water repellent nano-coating, and runs Android 9 Pie out of the box.

If you’re looking to pick up one today you’re in luck, as the Moto G7 is currently available from Best Buy, B&H Photo, Motorola.com, and Walmart.

Moto G7 Play

The Moto G7 Play will be available for pre-order on March 29 with a release date of April 5 and the starting price of $199. While the G7 Play is the more affordable option it takes a hit in most of the specs.

It still includes the same Snapdragon 632 CPU but with only 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage with an expandable microSD card slot. The display also takes a dip shrinking to 5.7-inches and a lower resolution of 1520 x 720. The cameras aren’t spared either, as the back features a single 13MP shooter but the front camera retains an 8MP selfie camera.

Look out for it at Amazon.com, Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Motorola.com soon.

Moto G7 Power

The Moto G7 Power is all about battery life with a massive 5000mAh battery and it can be yours for $249 beginning March 22. If you’re even more anxious to get your hands on one then pre-orders begin March 15.

Besides the huge battery, the Moto G7 Power features a 6.2-inch screen with a low 1520 x 720 resolution to save even more power savings. It still includes the same Snapdragon 632 but with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage with an expandable microSD card slot. While there is a single 12MP camera on the back and 8MP camera on the front for selfies.

The Moto G7 Power will be available from several stores this month including Amazon.com, Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Motorola.com.

First five things to do with your Samsung Galaxy Watch

Andrew Allen
-
0

The Samsung Galaxy lineup has become one of the best options in mobile for your smartphones, tablets, and even watches. One of Samsung’s latest watches is aptly named the Samsung Galaxy Watch. So maybe you just picked one up, but you’re not really sure where to start? We’ve got you covered!

Here are the first five things to do with your new Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Sync to the Companion App

While the Samsung Galaxy Watch does have a version with full LTE, you will most likely be syncing this with the app.

  • So, hit the Google Play Store find the Samsung Galaxy Wearable App.
  • Open the app and you’ll be prompted to connect a new device
  • Choose the device from the listed ones
  • Confirm the Bluetooth pairing on the watch

Pick a Watch Face

Another great thing about having a smartwatch is the customizations. Samsung’s default offerings for watch faces is fairly robust and you can download even more. You can also set custom colors and widgets on each face.

  • Open the Wearable app
  • Tap the Watch Faces tab at the top
  • Choose the watch face that you prefer
  • Choose the customize button to further change the watch face
  • Save the watch face

Setup Samsung Pay

You can also pay from your snazzy new Samsung Galaxy Watch via Samsung Pay. Just like your smartphone, you have the option to make wireless payments without your physical credit card. There is one caveat to the watch payments. It uses NFC to transfer the payment information instead of MST. Check this post for a better understanding of the difference.

Setup is super easy via the companion Wearable app previously mentioned.

  • Open Wearable App
  • Find Open Samsung Pay option or Samsung Pay under apps
  • This will install the Samsung Pay Plugin on the Watch
  • It will also launch Samsung Pay
  • Accept the permissions needed
  • View tutorial
  • Log into your Samsung Account
  • Add cards to Samsung Pay

Now with just holding down the top-right button on the Samsung Galaxy Watch you can launch Samsung Pay and use your preferred card at checkout.

Decide Which Apps You’ll Get Notifications

One of the best things about a smartwatch is notification triage. You can quickly sort through your app notifications without completely depending on your phone if you don’t need to. However, there may be apps that you find annoying or simply just don’t want to buzz your wrist. Thankfully, we can easily decide which apps are pushed to the Galaxy Watch.

  • Open the Wearable app
  • Find Notifications in the list of menu options
  • Then Manage notifications on the next screen
  • Toggle apps you don’t want to ping your Galaxy Watch

Setup Good Night Mode (Do Not Disturb)

Much like toggling apps on and off, you may have times that you don’t want to hear anything out of the Galaxy Watch. Like while you’re asleep for instance. Samsung has taken this into consideration and including a Do Not Disturb option, and another, called Good Night Mode.

  • Open Wearable app
  • Scroll and find Advanced
  • Find Good Night Mode
  • Toggle on or off for manually notification shutoffs

You can also schedule times with the traditional Do Not Disturb Mode

  • Open Wearable app
  • Advanced
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Manually toggle or set a scheduled times

This is an example of some classic Samsung software. I’m not sure why that both overlapping options are available, but choice, right?

Welcome to your Samsung Galaxy Watch! Obviously, there’s a multitude of other settings available, but we hope this list at least helps you hit some of the most important ones for you.

Get a first look at the new Harry Potter: Wizards Unite game; pre-registration starts today

Jason England
-
0

Wands at the ready all of you aspiring witches and wizards out there. Today, we got a first look at the new Harry Potter: Wizards Unite game. This new venture into the wizarding world of Harry Potter comes to us from WB Games and Niantic.

If Niantic sounds familiar, there is a good reason for that. Niantic created the ever popular Augmented Reality game Pokemon Go. Which means, of course, the new Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will have an AR aspect to it. This will be unlike any Harry Potter game you’ve played before.

In the game, you start your journey as a new recruit for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force with the purpose of investigating a Calamity befalling the wizarding world. In order to accomplish this, you’ll have to search the real world for foundables including artefacts, creatures, people, and even memories – trapped by Confoundable magic. Once found they’ll have to be returned to keep hidden from muggle eyes.

Just like Pokemon Go, this will require venturing out into real-world locations including parks, banks, municipal buildings, college campuses, libraries, monuments, zoos, art galleries, and more.

Not only will you be collecting items for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, but you’ll also test your combat skills in fortresses throughout the real world. Inside the fortresses, you’ll uncover dangerous foes such as Death Eaters and soul-sucking Dementors. Some of which will be too powerful for you to defeat alone and requiring you to team up with other witches and wizards. Hence the Wizards Unite portion of the game.

That all probably sounds very similar to the gyms featured in Pokemon Go and that’s not where the similarities end. In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite every spell you cast uses up spell energy. In order to cast more spells, you’ll have to refill your spell energy at inns with food or drink. Reminiscent of the Poke balls we’ve often had to collect from Pokestops to continue building our collection of Pokemon.

As you traverse the world, you’ll also come across ingredients in order to craft potions to aid you in your journey. That’s not all you’ll have to look out for in your travels. Keep your eyes peeled for Portmanteaus that can be used to unlock Portkeys which will transport you to wizarding locations. For example, you’ll be able to visit Ollivander’s Wand Shop in a complete 360 degree AR environment.

While the game isn’t ready quite yet, it will be launching in 2019 on both Android and iOS devices. If you’d like to be one of the first to try out your wizarding skills then be sure to sign up for pre-registration on Android today.

How to take a screenshot of your Wear OS watch

Jason England
-
0

We’ve all taken screenshot of our Android phones. The process is straightforward, often requiring a simple two-button shortcut or gesture. Taking a watch screenshot, however, gets a little more complicated. Wear OS lets us do it, but it might not all too obvious.

Not to worry. It may not be as simple as taking a screenshot on your phone but taking a grab of your Wear OS watch screen is not that complex.

Check out the steps below and you’ll be snapping away in no time.

Read: How to capture and edit long screenshots on Android

We begin by installing the Wear OS app and move through just a few steps.

  1. Open the Wear OS app on your phone
  2. Tap on the 3 dot menu in the top right corner
  3. Tap on Take screenshot of watch
  4. Wait for the notification to appear on your phone
  5. Select where you’d like to share or save your screenshot

While this is a fairly simple process there are some things worth noting. For starters, the watch screen will have to be active and not in ambient mode before it can send the watch screenshot to your phone. Watches typically have a short timeout period, so you’ll have to be quick to capture what’s on the screen.

There is also the issue that it doesn’t automatically save the image to your device in the same manner that a phone screenshot does. Instead, you’ll use the Android share menu and have a file manager with a save option, share it immediately, or upload to Google Photos.

Lastly, and this is a big one, every watch screenshot has the exact same name. If you’re saving them locally, you will run into an error when saving more than one screenshot. The only way around this is to rename every file manually before taking another.

Gourmia Digital ExpressPot Pressure Cooker review

AndroidGuys
-
0

We’ve come to love the various Gourmia devices that have come our way. Some are smarter than others, but each of them deserves a spot in our kitchen. This pressure cooker, the GPC965 Digital ExpressPot, is no exception as it’s packed with features.

With a six-quart capacity, it’s big enough to knock out a meal for a large family. And, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve got on the menu because there are more than a dozen cooking modes. Indeed, there are 13 of ’em, including stew, rice, soup, and simply keeping things warm.

SEE ALSO

Gourmia GPC965 Pressure Cooker Features

  • Pressure Cook, Slow Cook, Saute/Brown and Steam functions
  • Automatic pressure release upon cooking completion, or at the safe touch of a button.
  • SpeedSense Technology slashes away cooking time by 70%, while retaining maximum flavor and nutrients in meals
  • Choose from a huge variety of 14 presets, including Rice, Soup, Stew, Yogurt, Keep Warm and more!
  • Adjustable timer and pressure control from 1.5-12 PSI
  • Secure Lock lid with 12 level safety system
  • Dishwasher safe
  • 6 qt cooking pot removes for breezy cleanup
  • Recipe Book
  • 120v-60 hz , 1000w
  • Approx. 12.95″ x 13.78″ x 12.4″

The pressure cooker isn’t exactly small, but that’s fine with us because it essentially replaces a few of our kitchen devices. This means more counter and pantry space and less cleanup hassle. Simply take out the stainless steel insert and toss it in a dishwasher and you’re good to go.

If you’ve never cooked with a pressure cooker, you owe it to yourself to try one. Meat, veggies, beans, and other foods simply taste better when they’re prepared this way. Thank to the SpeedSense Technology, you can cook food 70% faster while, at the same time, retain more flavor and nutrients.

The Digital Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker from Gourmia is a quick and easy way to put dinner on the table, slashing cook time by 70%. And no flavor or nutrients get lost during the cooking process—everything is sealed in.

There’s practically zero setup to worry about and the cooking modes take the guesswork out of times and temperatures. Things couldn’t be easier. $200 at Best Buy | Shop Amazon

Five of the best productivity apps for Android in 2019

AndroidGuys
-
0

Smartphones are of the few things that most people have with them at all times. Despite being incredibly powerful and capable of performing PC-like tasks, most of us do not use them to their full potential.

If you install the right apps on your Android device, and make use of them perfectly, you can increase your productivity significantly. Bu, given there are a ton of productivity apps available for download, we often see multiple choices for apps that basically do the same thing.

We have put together a list of five of best and most useful productivity apps for your Android device. These will help you to finish tasks on time, simplify work, organize things, and be more productive.

Forest

While your Android phone may come with useful apps and features to help be more productive, sometimes they might also be the very reason why you are not focused. Whether it’s school, work, or something else, maybe you’re getting off-topic to browse social media apps. Forest app for Android has come up with a creative solution to help you focus more and use your phone less.

Essentially, Forest allows you to plant a virtual seed within the app which will slowly grow into a tree as time progresses. However, if you leave the app before the specified time, the tree will start to wither and will eventually die.

The idea is to have you use your phone less and concentrate on real-life tasks. The sense of virtual responsibility is what encourages you to do so.

The interesting thing about Forest is that if you subscribe to the pro version of the app, trees will be planted in the real world. In other words, when you are productive and grow virtual trees in the app, they’ll do the same with real trees.

The app also allows you to use a specific list of apps in your device if you whitelist them before starting the productivity timer. You can also view your progress in the form of graphs and charts to get an overview of your productivity levels on different days.

Play Store Link: Forest

Tick tick

Tick Tick is a to-do list app and, as I see it, one of the best productivity apps to create and monitor tasks require focus. The app lets you create and organize different types of tasks, reminders, checklists and more. With its free web version you can also sync all your tasks and to-do lists across multiple devices.

Tick tick also has an option to customize the tasks and get more from them. Separate them by colors and tags, for instance, or set recurring reminders, add them to your calendar, and share them with colleagues or friends if you are working on a collaborative task.

There is also a widget option for at-a-glance view of tasks on the phone home screen as well as built-in Pomodoro timer to complete your tasks within the deadline.

Play Store Link: Tick Tick

Easy Join

Are you someone who constantly switches between phone and computer to check notifications, messages or files, or check a website, your productivity is taking a hit. Further, you’re wasting a lot of time in the process.

productivity apps

If this sounds familiar, try Easy Join, an app that pairs and your Android phone with your PC and syncs all your messages, notifications and even your clipboard.

You can reply to your messages, attend to calls, view notifications, and even paste whatever you have copied on your phone. Be it something like a web link or a phone number without ever leaving your PC.

productivity apps

The app also allows you to send and receive files and personal texts between your devices even without an internet connection. Without having to constantly switch between two devices, you can significantly improve your productivity and also save a lot of your valuable time.

Play Store Link: Easy Join

IFTTT

If This Then That, or IFTTT, is one of the best productivity and autonomy apps for Android to increase productivity in a unique and an interesting way. IFTTT is basically an automation app which handles the repetitive and mundane tasks in your life for you.

For example, IFTTT can automatically create a spreadsheet with all your appointments from emails, send location-based reminders, and so on.

You can connect IFTTT with Google Home or Alexa and get reminders from your virtual assistants. There are hundreds of presets available for different use cases and you can also create your own based on your needs. I personally use IFTTT to automatically log my calls to Google Drive and also to Tweet the videos I like on YouTube.

Play Store Link: IFTTT

Notebloc

Some people are comfortable with taking manual notes whenever in a meeting or to quickly write down thoughts. Some might like to draw a picture of ideas or whatever is their on their mind. There are a few downsides, though, to manually taking notes such as difficulty in organization, searching, and, sharing.

productivity apps

If you are someone who prefers writing to typing, you might love Notebloc. In short, lets users scan and save written notes, drawings, and any other printed document.

You can use the app to scan whatever you want, saving it as a PDF or an image to share with friend or colleagues. Notebloc will automatically detect the paper, removing the unnecessary parts and enhancing the image quality as well.

productivity apps

With the OCR feature in Notebloc you can automatically extract text from the scanned document, edit, and save it in various formats. The app also allows you to rearrange the order of pages of a scanned document as well as create folders to organize related documents and other scans.

Play Store Link: Notebloc

Let us know in the comments below how you are planning to improve your productivity with the help of these best productivity apps for Android and are there any other productivity apps that you use that helps you with the same.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 review

Matt Adams
-
0

Xiaomi, the powerhouse device maker from China is back with another flagship. This time, we’re taking a look at the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. You may remember a few years ago when the first Mi Mix device hit the market, we were all blown away by just how much of the front of the device was display. This was before stretched aspect ratios, notches, and other gimmicks to gain more screen real estate.

You might say that Xiaomi was the first device manufacture on the “all screen, no bezel” bandwagon. Since then, we’ve seen a market hungry for smaller bezels and higher screen-to-body ratios. While companies like Samsung, LG, and OnePlus are playing catch up, Xiaomi has been refining its devices around this design philosophy.

Now, we’re getting a new design; a slider. Phones with a sliding mechanism were popular long ago and long before smartphones. But with the push to reduce bezels and with an aversion to a screen cut-out, this almost seems like the next logical step.

We’ve spent the last few weeks with the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 and these are our thoughts.

Hardware

The standout feature of the Mi Mix 3 is its slider design. With just a little bit a tug downward on the screen, you open up the front-facing camera and front-facing flash.

I’m impressed at how natural the motion feels. I instinctively know what to do if I want to take a selfie or if I’m just feeling a little fidgety. I’ve never once opened up the camera by mistake, which indicates that Xiaomi got the amount of force spot on. It’s not hard to open, but it isn’t easy to open on accident, either. Xiaomi also states that the slider mechanism is rated for several hundred thousand uses so this should easily last you for three or four years, even if you’re a selfie addict.

Due to hiding the camera, the face of the phone is almost entirely display. There’s a very small chin at the bottom and an even smaller sliver at the top of the device that houses the speaker. I love how this device looks with both the screen on and off. It’s really a work of art and the industrial designers over at Xiaomi should be applauded.

What I don’t enjoy is how bulk the phone feels in my hand. I don’t know if Xiaomi needed to fatten up the device due to the slider mechanics or it just wanted to fit a bigger battery in the body, but it feels bulkier than other devices I have on hand. If you’re coming from a phone from two or three years ago, you probably won’t notice this. If you have a Samsung Galaxy S9 or OnePlus 6T on hand, you will.

The right side of the device houses both the power button and volume rocker. Interestingly, there’s a quick launch button on the left side of the device. We’ve seen this with Samsung and LG and Xiaomi placed this button in basically the exact same location. But, the software implementation is different here. You can assign the button to different actions, but I have it set to open up Google Assistant because I honestly don’t really need a quick launch button.

The hardware on the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is great. I love how the phone feels in my hand, even if a little bulky and heavy. It feels premium and that’s what you want from a flagship phone.

Performance

The Mi Mix 3 packs in excellent specs and the performance wonderful. Along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, the Mi Mix 3 has up to 10 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Our review unit is the 6 GB/128 GB model.

Daily tasks are flawless. There is absolutely no lag in this device from scrolling through long menus, loading heavy graphics or downloading large files. More intensive tasks is where the Mi Mix 3 really shines. Playing graphically intense games and content creation are a joy with high frame rates, quick loading times, and decent battery life.

While battery life isn’t a standout, it’s pretty solid. I can get through a full day with about 20% remaining in the tank. That accounts for roughly 16 hours of usage and 4.5-5 hours of screen on time. While it won’t win any battery life challenges, the Mi Mix 3 should be fine for all but the most demanding users.

Camera

Xiaomi almost always has solid, if not unspectacular camera performance. The Mi Mix 3 is no different.

The rear of the device houses a dual lens setup, featuring one 12 MP f/1.8 lens and a 12 MP telephoto lens. In addition to the electronic stabilization that has become a fixture on most phones, the main lens is also optically stabilized on 4 axes (yes, I promise that’s the plural of axis) so your shots are more likely to let more light in and come out looking better.

The front-facing slider camera is a dual 24 MP + 2 MP depth sensor. This allows for the bokeh or blur effects that everyone seems to want on their selfies now. Sliding the camera out automatically launches the capable camera application. You’ll see your smiling mug immediately as the front-facing camera automatically pops up. It really is a great design for quickly taking pictures and putting your phone back away.

Software

Software has always been my gripe with Xiaomi’s devices. It runs a heavily modified version of Android 9 Pie, with its skin MIUI on top. During our testing period, we’ve received several software updates including a major MIUI update.

Xiaomi is normally one of the slower OEMs to update its phones, so these software updates were a welcome surprise. A few minor bugs were squashed and the phone feels snappier and more stable than when we first took it out of the box.

Updates aside, there are things to like about MIUI. Aesthetically, it is one of the most visually pleasing OS skins out there. The default theme makes excellent use of white space and colors. The notification shade expertly displays your most important notifications first, but also handles multiple notifications really well. It almost feels like scrolling through Twitter and reading tweet after tweet. They’re all there, easy to read and ready to be acted upon.

Xiaomi also includes lots of little software tweaks that you can find in settings. Those who would rather just turn a phone on, download some apps, and be left alone will be fine here. It’s only those who truly want to customize every part of their device that will unlock the true power of MIUI.

Unfortunately, it’s not all peaches and cream.

A bit knock on MIUI has always been the strict battery rules. Often times, apps are hibernated or put to sleep and it can lead to missed notifications. Even when apps are running without battery optimizations, we still missed notifications. We have routinely opened up Android Messages or Hangouts to see new messages we had no idea were there.

Frankly, this is unacceptable and makes us not want to use the phone going forward. Smartphones are all about connection and we feel disconnected from the world using the Mi Mix 3. Many of our news notifications never came through, alongside the previously mentioned messages. With the push for AI in phones, we see a lot of companies trying to anticipate and deliver us the content we want, the Mi Mix 3 feels like the complete opposite of that.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 does a lot of things right. It’s gorgeous, packs in class-leading specs, and damn does that design feel cool. If you want a phone that looks amazing on the spec sheet or is a conversation starter, you should begin your search here.

But, don’t stop your search here. While the Mi Mix 3 sounds good and the price is enticing, there’s more to consider than just those surface details.

The slider design isn’t going to be for everyone. Beyond the questions around putting mechanical parts that can fail in a device, there are people who just won’t like how it looks or feels. Two people I showed the phone off to remarked that they’d never buy something like that because it feels like the crappy phone they had back in 2004. While I don’t personally agree, I can see where they’re coming from.

The software is still an issue. In almost every review I’ve done for both Huawei and Xiaomi, I’ve remarked that the software just isn’t designed for a Western audience. I stand by those statements, but I do think these Chinese companies are making strides.

Still, I can’t recommend a phone that makes me feel less connected to the people in my life. Even after spending quite a bit of time in the settings making sure that there were zero settings stopping me from getting my notifications, the issues persisted. I even tried factory resetting and still had issues. If Xiaomi ever figures out software or gives users the option of using pure Android over its skin, I’ll be the first in line for its devices. Until then, buyer beware.

Weekend Recommender: Gadgets and tech we love

AndroidGuys
-
0

Can you believe it’s March already? The holiday season and ice cold weather look to be in the rear view mirror and we’re ready for spring.

As we prepare for warmer temperatures and start to break free of cabin fever, some of us are cleaning out our homes and offices. In some cases we’re de-cluttering altogether; in others, we’re replacing our old gear with new stuff.

If you’re like us, and on the hunt for new things, you’ll like what we’ve got in store for you. Before you go off blindly buying something you’ve never heard of just because it’s on sale, do a little homework. Ask around, check reviews, and turn to others for help.

The Weekend Recommender is our way of highlighting the cooler devices we’ve encountered along the way. Generally, it’s an assortment of tech and mobile-related things, but it’s also a handy place to learn about other items, too.

Gourmia Digital ExpressPot Pressure Cooker

We’ve come to love the various Gourmia devices that have come our way. Some are smarter than others, but each of them deserves a spot in our kitchen. This pressure cooker is no exception as it’s packed with features.

With a six-quart capacity, it’s big enough to knock out a meal for a large family. And, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve got on the menu because there are more than a dozen cooking modes. Indeed, there are 13 of ’em, including stew, rice, soup, and simply keeping things warm.

The pressure cooker isn’t exactly small, but that’s fine with us because it essentially replaces a few of our kitchen devices. This means more counter and pantry space and less cleanup hassle. Simply take out the stainless steel insert and toss it in a dishwasher and you’re good to go.

If you’ve never cooked with a pressure cooker, you owe it to yourself to try one. Meat, veggies, beans, and other foods simply taste better when they’re prepared this way. Thank to the SpeedSense Technology, you can cook food 70% faster while, at the same time, retain more flavor and nutrients.

There’s practically zero setup to worry about and the cooking modes take the guesswork out of times and temperatures. Things couldn’t be easier. $200 at Best Buy

Polk Command Bar

Try as we might, we can never truly get the speaker settings right on our televisions. Sometimes it’s too heavy in bass, other times it’s hard to hear dialogue. Then there’s the whole question of whether or not it’s surround sound.

Sound bars are not new, but they’re getting better with each generation. Not only do they provide increasingly more robust audio, but today’s models are smart, too.

The Polk Command Bar is an excellent all-around speaker for people looking to get a well-rounded sound. Not just from your TV, mind you, but your phone, too. Yep, it’s got Bluetooth inside so you can quickly connect your handset for blasting your favorite playlists.

That’s not all, either. This is the first speaker first third-party soundbar to offer full integration with Amazon’s MRM (multi-room music) ecosystem. In other words, the Command Bar works in tandem with your Echo Dot and other speakers for music throughout the house. Alexa, play The Dark Side of the Moon.

Of course you can also use the speaker for other tasks, including the connected home stuff like dimming lights or pulling up the next episode of a show. Oh, and there’s even an HDMI port in the sound bar that can power your Amazon Fire Stick.

There are two main components at play and they work together wirelessly. Simply install the Polk app on your phone, plug in, and walk through the process; it takes just a few minutes.

Included in the box are HDMI and Optical cables as well as a remote. The latter is convenient for hopping between sources, changing EQ levels, fine-tuning audio, or prompting Alexa.

The Command Bar provides crisp, clear, and thunderous audio no matter the source. It sounds better than anything we’ve used in the past and it’s a perfect companion to a growing smart home setup. $300 at Polk

Coal Portable Charger

Take a look at all of the various gadgets and gizmos you charge on a regular basis. What do they have in common? Unfortunately, it’s not the plug they each use. No, some of our stuff is on microUSB while others are on USB Type C. Then there’s that whole Lightning port that Apple uses. What a mess.

The Coal solution is a simple one: a single cable with a variety of tips. And, while it’s not an entirely new concept, it is among the best looking and more durable ones we’ve seen. It also happens to come with a portable charger and/or wall charger.

Available in 8,000mAh and 12,000mAh capacities, the Coal Catalyst is a portable power bank with multiple ports. Plug your preferred cable in via one of the USB ports and top off your phone, Switch, or earphones.

Don’t have a cable with you? Not to worry, this one comes with the aforementioned handy cable. It’s a nice one, too; it’s braided and won’t tangle up from being tossed in your backpack or bag.

Choose from five different designs and color palettes, each of which looks hip and modern. The finish is soft to the touch and feels better than that boring old black brick your co-worker lugs around.

With enough juice to charge your standard phone multiple times over, the digital read-out lets you know how much is left in the tank. $45 at Amazon

Withings Pulse HR

There’s no shortage in selection when it comes to wearables and activity tracking devices. Nearly every major phone maker has tried its hand at one and the old guard of traditional watch manufacturers is doing the same.

We’ve seen most of the phone companies get out of the smart watch business, leaving it to brands like Fossil and TAG Hueur. And, for good reason. They know how to craft compelling and quality hardware. The same applies in activity trackers. Sometimes you need to stick with the names who have been in the space for some time. That’s why we like Withings.

The Withings Pulse HR is one of the latest wearables from the company that is no longer under the Nokia umbrella. It’s a thin, lightweight way of keeping track of all of your activity and fitness information — and it’s packed with a few helpful extras.

Designed to go wherever you do, the Pulse HR has a stainless steel case with polycarbonate coating and water resistance up to 50 meters. In addition to the usual fare of steps, distance, calories, and sleep, you’ll find connected GPS and continuous heart rate monitoring.

The connected GPS tracks distance, pace, and elevation through assistance with your phone. As for the heart rate, it’s gathered in BPM and you’ll track how rigorous your activities get and when you’re in intense or peak zones.

When it comes to activities, the Pulse HR lets wearers keep an eye on some 30+ different modes. Simply hold down the side button and pick the activity you are about to start; among them are biking, soccer, running, yoga, swimming, and walking. Some of them are automatically detected which is great for those times you go from walking to running without planning.

Because it’s paired to your phone (via Bluetooth), the Pulse HR can notify wearers of phone calls, texts, and whatever other apps you select. Everything Withings-wise is handled in a very friendly dashboard with a modern interface.

With up to 20 days of usage per charge we love that this only comes off the wrist like twice a month. Contrast that with others which might require weekly or almost daily charging and you’ll see why we like it. $130 at Withings

Solo New York Lead Slim Brief

We’re fans of the Solo New York brand, having come to rely on its various backpacks for build quality and features. Given we like to carry around so many gadgets, notepads, chargers, and other items, we appreciate having pockets and pouches.

Sometimes we find the situation calls for us to leave all the extras behind and carry just the necessities. Often that means a laptop, charger, notepad and writing utensils. To that end, the Lead Slim Brief gets that job done.

First and foremost, this bag is incredibly light, even once filled up. There’s room for a Chromebook or laptop up to 15-inches with a few other pockets to tuck other items away. We’ve managed to toss in notepads, pens, a magazine, portable charger, and a couple of cables without fuss. Oh, and did we mention that the outside pocket is perfect for carrying the Nintendo Switch?

When we go really minimal we can easily carry the bag using its handles, but the detachable shoulder strap adds convenience. The Lead Slim is comprised of a black fabric that stays clean and wipes down in a breeze. Pick one up for about $50 from Solo New York.

JBL Everest 710GA review: Buy for sound, not for Google Assistant

Jason England
-
0

JBL has become a strong supporter of Google Assistant technology over the years. As a self-described audiophile and fan of Google Assistant, this couldn’t make me happier. JBL started with smart speakers and soon moved onto connected headphones.

They were one of the first to release a smart display and later this year JBL will even have a Google Assistant Android TV soundbar. That will have to wait for another day though, today we’re here to talk about the JBL Everest 710GA headphones with Google Assistant built-in.

Design

The JBL Everest 710GA have an unassuming design. There is nothing that really stands out or jumps out at you when you see them. The body is plastic with PU leather on the ear cups and headband.

All of the physical buttons are on the right ear cup including a slider power switch, volume controls, playback controls, Bluetooth pairing button, and the Connect and Share button.

The Connect and Share button makes use of JBL’s ShareMe 2.0 technology which allows you to pair another set of BT headphones and share audio with them. In theory, this sounds like a fantastic feature.

Unfortunately, while I could get headphones to pair successfully, each time it would disable media audio playback in Bluetooth settings. The only way to toggle media audio back on was by disconnecting the second pair of headphones. So in practice, the Connect and Share feature fell short and it became a button with no purpose.

While there is no physical button on the left ear cup the JBL Everest 710GA includes a touch-sensitive button where you’ll find the JBL logo. This easy to activate button for Google Assistant is sometimes a little too easy to activate.

If you find yourself removing the headphones often to interact with people you’ll most likely trigger it inadvertently. It can be a little annoying but overall didn’t pose much of an issue in overall use for me.

The ports are split between the ear cups with the micro USB charging port on the left side. It’s hard to believe headphone manufacturers are still using the micro USB port these days.

While I’ve all but transitioned to USB-C exclusively, products like this require me to keep some micro USB cables lying around. I can’t wait for the day that micro USB truly dies off and audio companies fully embrace the USB-C port.

The 2.5mm headphone jack is housed in the right ear cup allowing for a wired backup. As a strong supporter of the headphone jack, I’m grateful for this backup. I don’t always remember or want to charge up my headphones and the majority of the time I opt for using the headphone jack on my phone.

Comfort

The cushioned headband combined with the lightweight nature of the plastic build ensured that I never felt too much pressure on the top of my head. While the ear cups with their soft foam, PU leather, and oversized shape kept my ears comfortably enclosed.

Some headphones suffer from the headband squeezing too tightly against your melon causing discomfort, and I’m happy to report that’s not the case with the JBL Everest 710GA headphones. My only complaint would be your ears tend to get warm after a while but that’s entirely normal for closed back headphones.

Assistant on headphones

What helps the JBL Everest 710GA stand out amongst the crowd is the built-in Google Assistant integration. As an avid user of Google Assistant, using it with several smart speakers, a smart display, and my smartwatch I was excited to get my hands on yet another way to use Assistant.

The only problem was, I could not think of a way having Google Assistant on my headphones would benefit me. I was hoping once I got my hands on them that would all change. Sometimes you cannot truly understand the benefits of a product or feature until you’ve actually experienced it.

First off, the Everest 710GA provided the easiest pairing experience I’ve ever had with a Bluetooth device outside of using NFC. My phone immediately detected them, showed me a notification, and walked me through pairing them with my phone. It also set up access to Google Assistant during this process.

Activating Google Assistant was also extremely convenient. There is no physical button and no voice command is required. Simply placing your finger on the touch-sensitive ear cup on the left side activates Assistant.

Lastly, my favorite feature of having Assistant on my headphones was listening to my notifications and the ability to reply with my voice. However, the reply feature is not one I would use very often unless I was at home.

I don’t really care for people listening in on my conversations in public. This is why most times you’d find me replying to texts in public instead of taking a phone call.

For this same reason, you’d also rarely find me using Assistant on these headphones in public in general. Even though you have all of the same great features of Google Assistant and an easy way to access it, I’d prefer to not be that person talking to his headphones in public. Then when I’m at home, I’m surrounded by smart speakers and don’t generally need to use Assistant on my headphones.

Which begs the question, when would I actually take advantage of using the Assistant functionality on the Everest 710GA? To be honest, outside of listening to my notifications I rarely used Assistant on these headphones. It just didn’t fill a personal need for me. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t for you.

Sound

The Everest 710GA without a doubt have some good sound. They aren’t the best I’ve ever heard in this price range but they won’t disappoint either. The highs are clean and crisp without being overwhelming leading to plenty of detail and sound separation in music. While the bass balances out on the other end adding a little kick but not enough to please you bass heads out there.

Overall, I’d say the sound is balanced and clear. My one criticism is the soundstage is more limited than I prefer which leads to less than an immersive audio experience in my opinion. This is just a small nitpick of mine but overall the JBL Everest 710GA offer some solid sound for enjoying your tunes.

Battery life

JBL promises up to 25 hours of battery life and in my experience, the Everest 710GA headphones have been nothing short of fantastic. I’ve been using them on and off for a couple of weeks now testing out Google Assistant and listening to music.

Even with me constantly triggering Google Assistant they are still going strong. If you were to completely drain them, no worries because within two hours you can have them fully charged and ready to go.

Say you don’t have access to a charger, well that’s when the super handy wired backup comes into play. Just make sure to keep the cable in the included carrying case for emergencies.

Final Thoughts

There is no shortage of competition in the headphone market at all price points. JBL has a leg up here on most others being one of the few to offer Google Assistant built-in with the Everest 710GA.

While the Connect and Share feature fell flat for me the Everest 710GA made it up to me with fantastic battery life, comfort, and more than decent sound quality. What it really comes down to is price and whether Google Assistant support is worth $250 to you. Most headphones in this price range will offer similar sound quality, comfort, and even noise cancelation. JBL themselves sell several models that fit this bill.

However, if Google Assistant support is that killer feature for you then you can’t really go wrong for the price here. If you don’t mind picking up a pair in silver you might even get lucky to score a pair for as low as $170 on Amazon. Otherwise, the gun metal color version pictured here will set you back $250 minimum.

Buy from Amazon Buy from JBL

Master cyber threats and learn to hack ethically for just $39

AndroidGuys
-
0

It’s pretty hard to watch television or browse the internet without hearing about the looming threats or impacts of hacking. Whether it’s the US elections, Facebook data, or someone trying to remotely break into your corporate computer system, hacking is everywhere.

For all of the scary stuff that comes with the idea of hacking, it doesn’t always have to be negative. Indeed, there’s something to be said about getting out in front of things with a little preemptive strike. Hacking isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, done right, you can leverage hacking to better your life — without breaking any laws.

Not only can you safeguard your assets with some ethical hacking, but you might also develop a deeper understanding for the ins and outs of security. People tend to fear what they don’t understand and with this course you can put the fears to rest and truly empower yourself.

The AndroidGuys Deals Store has a terrific value-packed collection of training centered around the proper way to hack your life. The 10-Course Ethical Hacker Master Class Bundle is designed to arm you with the tools on both sides of hacking. Featuring some 180+ hours of content, there are 1,236 lessons to take you from zero to hero!

Learning to hack, ethically, is a necessity in today’s age of ever-growing digital threats. Whether your goal is to build your business or simply stop your secure data from being breached, learning the ropes of hacking can be the perfect leg up in sales or counter-measure against cyber thieves.

Courses

  • Certified Ethical Hacker v9 Training
  • Certified Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst
  • Certified Advanced Persistent Threat Analyst
  • Computer Hacker & Forensic Investigator Training
  • CompTIA A+ Certification Prep
  • CompTIA Security+ Certification Prep
  • CompTIA Network+ Certification Prep
  • Certified Security Analyst Training
  • Certified Ethical Hacker Bootcamp
  • Ethical Hacking With Python

Where to Buy

You can pick up a lifetime access to the 10-Course Ethical Hacker Master Class Bundle for only $39 in the AndroidGuys Deals Store. Valued at nearly $5,000, the whole kit can be yours for 99 percent off.

Save even more!

In addition to the savings above, when you buy through AndroidGuys Deals, for every $25 spent, you get $1 credit added to your account. What’s more, should you refer the deal via social media or an email that results in a purchase, you’ll earn $10 credit in your account.

If this is your first time buying, then you are also eligible for a further 10% discount when you subscribe for email updates.

How about a freebie?

Not looking to spend any money today? That’s alright, we understand. Why not visit the AndroidGuys section for freebies and take something anyhow? Go ahead, grab two!

1...628629630...1,314Page 629 of 1,314