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An overview of Snapchat’s growing pains and how they can outlast them (Promoted)

Guest Blogger
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It’s hard to believe there isn’t enough room for many social media outlets to thrive, considering how many people use them regularly. But the truth is that the field is becoming ever more competitive, especially with Wall Street watching every move the top players make to see if they have the legs to sustain long-term growth. And one company that has been in a bit of a downward spiral recently is Snapchat, in large part because of stiff competition with Facebook and Instagram.

In any cases, Snapchat has been an innovator, as it was the first to see a desire among users to have a social media experience that is temporary and has many of the same elements of a messaging service. But Facebook quickly responded with their own features along the same lines, putting Snapchat on the defensive once again. When going up directly against Facebook, the company always has its problems due to the simple fact that Facebook is the bully on the block, the company that with a firm footing that the upstart can’t quite undercut.

For those wary of the way this particular site might be abused, a Snapchat Spy app is an excellent tool to make sure your kids or you’re significant other isn’t misusing the unique features available to them. As Snapchat continues its battle against its rivals, it needs to acknowledge its weaknesses and fortify its strengths.

The Money Factor

In many ways, Snapchat has run up against many of the same problems that have bedeviled Twitter in the past. Both sites receive a lot of buzzes and seem to make the news a lot, and that kind of publicity is always valuable. But neither has been able to consistently turn that buzz into revenue. And investors are far more interested in seeing earnings reports that they are concerned with some fancy new feature being developed. Snapchat has to find ways to consistently keep Wall Street impressed.

Compete or Coexist

The question for Snapchat is whether or not they should try to outdo Facebook and Instagram or simply be happy occupying their own niche in the market. Should there be an effort made to court an older demographic and go up against Facebook’s longstanding advantage in that area? Or should they steer into the curve, continue to concentrate on engaging the teens that have long been their core audience, and try to prove to Wall Street that there is great worth in that?

Counterpunching the Bullies

What has to be frustrating for the Snapchat brain trust is how Facebook has been able to mimic their most popular features and smoothly integrate them into their existing features. What Snapchat has to continue to do is be inventive and come up with more new ideas like their popular “Stories” feature. In that way, they can position themselves as the true innovators among the big three.

It should be interesting to see how Snapchat develops in the near future. That time period will likely determine whether they’re fighting to stay relevant or occupying the same rarefied air as their entrenched rivals.

Android Oreo stable build rolling out to the OnePlus 5

Dan Bartram
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OnePlus 5 owners are set to get an extra Christmas present in the form of Android Oreo. You’ll recall Oreo has been in beta while the kinks are ironed out but now the stable build of Android Oreo has been published.

The OxygenOS 5.0 update weighs in at a solid 1.5GB and includes the December security patch to keep your device right up to date. Bundled in with this update is obviously Andriod Oreo 8.0 as well as a new camera UI design, optimizations for photo quality, and a new beauty effect for Portrait Mode. There’s also a new places tab in the gallery for viewing photos on a map. There’s also a few system enhancements:

  • Added Parallel Apps feature
  • New design for Quick Settings
  • New design for Lift up display
  • Added “Adaptive model” screen calibration
  • Optimizations for Wi-Fi
  • Optimizations for Battery Saver
  • Updated Android security patch to December

Something that isn’t included that was rumored could make it into the stable build was Face Unlock for the OnePlus 5 that was introduced on the OnePlus 5T. It’s yet to make its way fully onto the OnePlus 5 but Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus, took to Twitter to confirm it is on its way.

The update will be hitting devices via an OTA and is staged so will gradually be released to geographic areas over the next few weeks. You can also skip the wait and just flash the OTA directly on your device, which you can grab here.

How to get rid of unwanted apps on your Android device

Alexandra Arici
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Most device manufacturers bundle their phones and tablets with a series of pre-installed apps. And if you purchased your device from a carrier, chances are there’s even more “bloatware” on board.

Now, even if some pre-installed apps might prove to be of some use to you, the majority just end up sitting there unused. So it’s no wonder most users look for ways to remove them from their Android device. Especially since removing these apps will have the positive effect of improving your phone’s performance and freeing up some storage.

While the majority of apps can be simply uninstalled from your Android device, it’s a bit harder to get rid of the baked-in bloatware. If you have downloaded an app from the Google Play Store you can simply go ahead and uninstall it. But with apps that came with the device, you’ll need to use a different method. It’s called disabling and it does not require root.

How do you disable an app? Follow the instructions below to do so:

  1. Open up Settings on your device and go to Apps
  2. Find an app you want to remove (in this case Samsung Health) and tap on it
  3. You will see two buttons: Force stop or Disable (or Uninstall)
  4. Tap Disable
  5. Select Yes/Disable
  6. You’ll see the app gets Uninstalled

You can also Force stop the app and Clear Data before uninstalling it. If you change your mind, there’s a way to bring back the app. Just tap Enable in the app page.

In case you own a Samsung or LG phone, there’s another way to do this.

  1. Open the app drawer to see all your apps
  2. Tap on the three-dot menu located on the top right
  3. Tap on Edit
  4. You’ll see that the apps that can be Disabled/Uninstalled will now feature a minus icon
  5. Tap on them to uninstall them

You’ll notice that some apps like Samsung Internet can’t be disabled. Well if you really want to get rid of these apps and you know your way around smartphones, you can try rooting your device and then you’ll be able to completely uninstall any apps.

However, bear in mind that the action of rooting your device will lead to the voiding of your warranty. You also need to be careful, as uninstalling some apps could have the effect of making other apps stop functioning properly.

How to set parental controls on Google Play Store content

Dan Bartram
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With the vast array of content in the Google Play Store it can often be difficult to find what you’re looking for with apps being buried deep in the various categories and you may find yourself wanting more control over what is displayed in each of those categories.

Google makes it a pretty simple task to filter content in the Play Store to find exactly what you want, or to restrict certain apps and games from other users of your device.

How to filter content in the Play Store

  • Open up the Play Store app on your phone or tablet
  • Pull out the menu from the left and open “Settings”
  • Under “User controls” look for “Parental Controls”
  • Select it and you’ll see the options for content filtering after setting a PIN.
  • The sections are organized into content type, and you’re able to set a filter for each.

You can read the full breakdown of what each content filtering setting does here. It’s a great way of filtering out certain apps for your kids in the Google Play Store, as well as setting password protection to keep your content filtering secure.

Google does a great job of filtering out and classifying apps with the appropriate marking but sometimes what you may consider appropriate may not necessarily align with what Google marks the app as. Applying your own filter provides a next level of customization to give you extra control.

Let us know if you have used this and have found the feature useful.

Get a free 12-day preview of Tidal, starting December 25

Alexandra Arici
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Jay-Z’s Tidal music service, Tidal seems to has failed to live up to initial expectation. Recent rumors have even claimed the company is close to having only six months of cash left in the back.

This is perhaps the reason the reason why Tidal today announced that users will be able to try the music and video streaming service for free starting on Christmas, December 25 until January 5, 2018. Tidal is hoping that 12 days is enough to get new users hooked and wanting more.

The 12-day preview offer is going to be available in all the 52 countries where Tidal is currently available. If you’re not sure whether Tidal has made it in your area/country, then you should check the official website and see whether you have access in your region or not.

The free trial offers access to the entire Tidal platform including the Hi-Fi and Premium services. During the 12 days, interested parties can download and use Tidal on their phones, tablets, and PCs. A pretty cool way to start your Christmas celebrations, right?

In related news, Tidal recently released its Tidal TV application for owners of Android TVs, as well as Apple TVs. The new platforms are the latest in a series of expansions for Tidal, who is still hoping to be able to get its business back on track.

Q5 True Wireless Bluetooh Earbuds – wireless music at a great price

Dan Bartram
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Manufacturers are making the move to remove the audio jack port from many of the latest smartphones putting the reliance entirely on Bluetooth headphones if dongles aren’t your thing.

One such offering for Wireless Bluetooth earbuds are the Q5 earbuds from SMARTOMI.

These little 4.5 x 1.9 x 3.7-inch earbuds weigh in at only 0.2 ounces and provide Bluetooth connectivity to enjoy your music. Despite the lightweight and size, the earbuds can maintain 3.5 hours of playtime at 2/3 volume and 2.25 hours at full volume.

The fit of the Q5 earbuds is extremely comfortable and they look the part too. I had no trouble with the Q5’s falling out during a workout and the sound quality is good with some decent bass. There’s also a low battery alert as well as a dedicated method of triggering a virtual assistant utilizing Bluetooth 4.1 for wireless connectivity.

In the package, you’ll get a number of additional attachments to make the Q5’s more comfortable depending on how you wear the earbuds. You’ll also get a USB cable for charging the Q5’s with a dual micro-USB connection.

At only $39.99, the Q5’s aren’t designed to compete with offerings from Beats for example, but given the lower price, they are certainly a great option for someone looking to not spend a ton of money on wireless earbuds.

Just in time for Christmas, SMARTOMI has provided an exclusive discount code for an additional 35% off. Simply use coupon code MERXMS35 at checkout to get the Q5 wireless earbuds at a cracking price for the holidays.

Samsung still makes a nice little chunk of cash from the iPhone X

Dan Bartram
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Apple is responsible for the smartphone that poses the biggest competition to Samsung in the form of the iPhone X but Samsung still stands to benefit from the success of the iPhone.

The iPhone X is super popular, and to meet the demands it only seems Samsung is capable of meeting the supply. While Apple is rumored to be on the lookout for another supplier of its OLED displays for the next generation of iPhone, it is stuck paying Samsung to supply the iPhone X.

According to a new report, Samsung will supply Apple with between 180 million and 200 million displays for the iPhone X and for upcoming models. That’s set to net Samsung in the region of $20billion in revenue around the equivalent of selling 23 million Galaxy Note 8 units. That puts the cost of the displays at around $120 to Apple to cover the glass and the touch sensor to give an idea of the kind of markup that must be applied for that $1000 price tag of the iPhone X.

Samsung has put the ability to meet the demand of the iPhone X thanks to increasing the yield rate of its A3 production plant that went up from 60 percent earlier this year to 80 percent. Samsung ended the year with a 90 percent yield rate what saw 224 million six-inch OLED panels shipped.

Samsung has achieved these numbers in addition to building all the necessary parts to meet the demand of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, which is pretty impressive.

Considering all the associated costs of designing, building, and marketing a device like the Note 8, for Samsung to be making those kinds of numbers from the iPhone X is pretty incredible.

Mandrake Linux creator working on new fork of Android without Google services and apps

Alexandra Arici
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Once upon a time, Cyanogen Inc. partnered up with smartphone manufacturer BLU for a phone that should have landed on the market without any of Google’s popular apps baked-in.

Unfortunately, the product never became a reality and Cyanogen Inc. fell apart in 2016 after spending three years attempting to make Android ROMs into a viable business and dreaming of “putting a bullet through Google’s head”.

Well, you might not be surprised to hear that the dream in question is very much alive. In the heart and mind of Mandrake Linux founder, Gaël Duval who is apparently currently developing an open source version of Android called eelo.

Duval’s take on Android is currently in its infancy – at this point it’s merely a forked version of LineageOS with a custom app launcher and apps. But eelo still has a long way to go before becoming a fully-fledged product.

Duval has outlined his vision concerning the open source alternative in a series of articles. The main idea is to replace Google’s own services with third-party alternatives. Instead of the Google Play Store, eelo will use F-Droid and APKPure, Google Maps will been replaced with OpenStreetMaps and NextCloud/OwnCloud will probably take the place of Google Drive.

For those wondering why Dual doesn’t just use LineageOS, he explains that while the core of ASOP/LineageOS is usable and performing well, it’s lacking in certain areas. For example, the design quite unattractive. Wht’s more, he claims LineageOS is not realistically usable if you don’t want Google inside.

Duval has created a Kickstarter campaign page for eelo, so if you’re interested in supporting the cause or simply curious to find out more details, go ahead and visit the website.

OnePlus 6 rumored to arrive as early as March 2018 with in-display fingerprint sensor

Alexandra Arici
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Well, well, well the OnePlus 5T has barely been around for 2 months and we’re already seeing the first OnePlus 6 rumors appear.

A new report coming from GizmoChina claims the OnePlus 6 might come earlier next year. Traditionally, OnePlus unveils a new flagship in summer, but if the sources speaking to the publication are correct, we might see the OnePlus 6 launch as early as early March. It will subsequently go on sale by the end of the month.

We’re told the source in question has been right about OnePlus flagships before, but even so, you should still take this information with a grain of salt.

The current OnePlus 5T

Furthermore, the insider reveals that the OnePlus 6 will take advantage of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 chipset, which is not a big surprise. What’s more, the phone is said to arrive with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the display.

A few weeks ago, Synaptics announced it has parented up with a top-five OEM to produce the new Clear ID DS95000 in-display fingerprint sensor for one of the company’s flagship phones. While many assumed this OEM in question was Samsung, many were surprised to find out it in fact Vivo – a Chinese company which is part of the BBK Electronics conglomerate – who scored the deal with Synaptics.

But here’s where it becomes interesting. OnePlus is also part of BBK Electronics, so maybe just maybe the source is not wrong in making this prediction. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Instagram’s latest update allows you to send live videos in direct messages

Alexandra Arici
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With a few days to go before the kickstart of Christmas celebrations, Instagram announced a new update which allows users to share live videos in Direct Messages.

This new tool is meant to easily encourage people to watch your live videos and make it easier to share cool videos you’re watching with your friends.

Now when you’re recording video, you should notice a new Direct icon. All you need to do to share your live video with friends and followers is to tap that icon.

Instagram explains that viewers will be able to see the video if you’re currently live. When the show’s over, a message indicating that the video session has come to an end will appear.

If for some reason you don’t like the new feature, you can go ahead and disable the option from your stories settings. And if you have a private account, only your approved followers will be able to see your live videos.

To be able to see the new feature, you’ll need to have installed the latest Instagram version 26. You can grab it from the Google Play Store.

Earlier this month, Instagram pushed out an update which allows users to follow hashtags just like you would Instagram accounts. Previously in December, the Facebook-owned app made it possible to save and highlight favorite Stories.

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