Home Blog Page 788

You can win an Honor 7X smartphone and other cool prizes until December 14

Alexandra Arici
-
0

The sleek Honor 7X mid-ranger just went up for pre-order in the US yesterday for the attractive price tag of $199.

But if you’re filling lucky, you should know Honor is giving you the chance to win a brand new 7X smartphone, as well as other prizes.

Just in time for the holiday season, Honor is hosting a sweepstake which will run up until December 14 (when pre-orders for the 7X close). In order to become eligible to win one of the prizes offered, you will have to register on Honor’s official US website, subscribe to the company’s email list and share the Honor 7X sweepstakes on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the #HONOR7X and #EARLYBIRDOFFER hashtags.

Here is the list of prizes that you can win (if you’re lucky):

  • 10 Honor 7X smartphones
  • 3 Nintendo Switch – Super Mario Odyssey Edition gaming consoles
  • 20 Honor Band 3 wearables
  • 200 coupons to get 17% off the Honor 7X
  • 5,000 Lords Mobile gift coupons worth $100 to use while playing Lords Mobile Android game

If you find any of the prizes listed above appealing, you can go ahead and visit the Honor official website and register to become eligible to enter the contest. Remember, you can do so until December 14. Good luck!

Google updates its Search app to help you discover new information faster

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Searching for something often leads to the discovery of new knowledge and Google is aware of that all too well. So, in an effort to make it easier for people to learn new things, the Mountain View-based company has updated its Search app with expanded snippets, improved Knowledge Panels and advanced suggested content.

Now when you search for a specific topic – let’s say you want to find out more information about the historical figure, Ivar the Boneless – the results will come to you as a Feature Snippet – an algorithmically generate box that appears at the top of the page when you search. Snippets already exist in Search, but now they have been updated to include more images and related searches.

On top of that, Google has also improved the Knowledge Panels in Search to include related content. So for example, when searching for skiing, you’ll see people also searched for related sports such as snowboarding or slalom skiing.

Last but not least, Google has improved the Search function so now when you search for two related topics, you’ll find additional recommendation links at the top of the search page. We’re given an example: let’s say you are looking for more info about World Cup football, so you perform a search on Neymar, immediately followed by one for Messi. Google will take note of the connection between the two searches and display other football players on top of the results page like Ronaldo or Suarez.

Google is currently rolling out the new improvements, so they should start showing in your Search app any time now.

Instagram now lets you save Stories and highlight your favorite ones

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Instagram is providing its userbase with more Stories-related features. This week the Facebook-owned app unveiled two new tools called Stories Highlights and Stories Archive.

Let’s take each in part and see what they do, although you probably have already deduced for yourself. With Stories Archive enabled, your Stories won’t disappear after 24-hours anymore. Instead, they will be saved in your own private Archive.

The Archive is presented as a grid with Stories being arranged in reverse-chronological order, so you’ll get to see the most recent stories at the top. Once you select a Story, you can re-share it as a post to your profile or a direct message.

The second novelty introduced by Instagram is Stories Highlights which allows users to put the spotlight on a group of their favorite Stories. Stories Highlights will be available for you to try out on your profile page below biography.

To get started just tap on the “New” circle and choose the Stories you want to “highlight” from the Archive. Then add a name to the collection and select a cover. Once that’s all done, your Highlights will show up as a circle on your profile. Note that you can create as many Highlights as you wish and they will remain on your profile until you delete them.

Instagram says the updates represent the biggest change to profiles since 2013. The new features will be available soon for Android and iOS users in the 25 version of Instagram

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9 may have 512GB of storage

Dan Bartram
-
0

Samsung could be gearing up to use its new storage chip in the upcoming Galaxy S9 and Note 9 that could see the largest internal storage capacity to date in Galaxy devices.

Long gone are the days when 16GB of storage on a smartphone would cut it and you’ll likely find 32GB as the standard but even that is getting tough to fit all your media on. While some prefer to stream media and store things in the cloud, others prefer to store all their stuff locally and for that you need a ton of memory. Android benefits from the ability to install an external memory card in most devices to provide additional storage but that could be a thing of the past thanks to the internal storage capacity in Samsungs new chip hitting 512GB.

Samsung’s new 512GB embedded Universal Flash Storage module is said to be coming next year and the Note 9 and S9 could be the first devices to benefit from them.

“The new Samsung 512GB eUFS provides the best embedded storage solution for next-generation premium smartphones,” said Jaesoo Han, executive vice president of Memory Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “By assuring an early, stable supply of this advanced embedded storage, Samsung is taking a big step forward in contributing to timely launches of next-generation mobile devices by mobile manufacturers around the world.”

While I personally prefer to stream most of my media and utilize Google Photos, having 512GB of storage available for larger applications would certainly come in handy.

Verizon’s $300 deal off the Pixel 2 goes live online

Dan Bartram
-
0

Verizon were offering a $300 deal with a purchase of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL at the end of last week but was an in-store exclusive. The same deal is now live on the online store allowing you to take a net $300 off the RRP of the new Pixel devices.

You’ll need to finance your device over 24 months to get the $300 off but in addition to the discount, Verizon are offering up 50% off a Google Home device.

To get the discount applied, just head over to the Verizon site and pick either a Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL and add it to your cart. Once there, choose the finance option that spreads the cost over 24 months. At this point make sure the Google Home is in your basket as well if you’re interested in taking up the 50% off offer. Proceeding through the checkout process will automatically pick up and apply the relevant promotions.

With this deal, you are looking at a Pixel 2 64GB for $14.58/mo, Pixel 2 128GB for $18.74/mo, Pixel 2 XL 64GB for $22.91/mo, or the Pixel 2 XL 128GB for $27.08/mo. The Google Home will cost you $65 which isn’t technically 50% off as Google has already dropped the price of the Home to $79.99 but Verizon is doing the promotion on the previous RRP of $129.99.

Honor 7X launches in the US for $199, pre-orders start today

Alexandra Arici
-
0

During a media event today, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor launched its latest mid-ranger, the Honor 7X on the Western market.

The successor of last year’s Honor 6X, the Honor 7X shows a lot more promise mainly due to its modern design and sleek metal-clad body. Indeed, like most in vogue smartphones today, the Honor 7X also boasts a bezel-less (5.93-inch) display with 18:9 aspect ratio.

On the inside, a middle-range Kirin 695 processor keeps the lights on on board of the device, aided by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. This is the version that will be available in the US, whereas Europe will get a more advanced model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Both will include a microSD card slot for memory expansion.

Like its predecessor, the Honor 7X aims to be an affordable dual-camera phone, so it includes a 16-megapixel+2-megapixel combo on the back. On the front lives an 8-megapixel selfie snapper.

Even as it launches months after the launch of Android Oreo, the Honor 7X runs EMUI 5.1 out of the box (based on Android Nougat). Bummer!

That being said, pre-orders for the Honor 7X in the US start today and end on December 14. Interested parties will be able to pick up the phone in Aurora Blue or Midnight Black for only $199 a pop. Any takers?

Google is gifting Pixelbook, Samsung Chromebook Pro/Plus owners with 6-months of free Netflix

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Introduced alongside the Pixel 2, the Pixelbook is a Google’s latest and greatest Chrome OS laptop, and the very first to come with the Google Assistant built in.

Now just in time for the holiday season, Google wants to reward those who have spent (or are about to spend) $999+ on a Pixelbook, by offering six months of free Netflix as an additional bonus. Oh, and the offer is also available for those who have purchased a Samsung Chromebook Plus ($449 and up) or Pro ($549 and up).

The Pixelbook

The deal means you get six months of Netflix’s Two Screens at a Time Streaming Plan for free. Normally the plan costs $10.99/month, so you’ll be saving $65.94 in total. However, you may apply the value of the offer to a different plan, or other services offered by Netflix.

The promotion is available for new Netflix subscribers, as well as current ones who own one of the three Chromebooks listed above.

Samsung Chromebook Pro

What’s more, Chromebook users will also receive a $20 Google Play credit, as well as 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years, exclusive content in Asphalt 8 and 90 days of unlimited Google Play Music streaming.

You have until December 31, 2017, to redeem the Netflix, Google Play credit, and Asphalt 8 offers, but you can get free access to Google Play Music until February 28, 2018.

Android 8.1 Oreo stable build to rollout starting today

Dan Bartram
-
0

Google revealed that a final stable build of Android 8.1 Oreo will be rolling out to users starting from today, keeping its promise that the build would be finished by the end of the year.

The news that Android 8.1 Oreo had hit a stable build came as part of the Android Go Edition announcement and marks the end to a number of previews that started on October 25. The latest stable release opens up a new feature that allows developers access to the Visual Core image processing chip inside the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

The access will allow developers to improve their apps and take full advantage of the hardware on the latest Google devices to result in better image processing capabilities.

Android 8.1 will begin rolling out to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL today, alongside the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, and Nexus 5X.

The release also marked the introduction of Android Go editon of Oreo that is designed for devices with less than 1GB of RAM. The release is incredibly important to improve the user experience pan-Android by optimizing the performance of budget devices running Android. Android Go emcompasses a set of specialized Google apps and a special version of the Play Store.

Blu issues software update to unbrick affected Life One X2 smartphones

Alexandra Arici
-
0

Last week, we reported that US smartphone maker Blu released a faulty software update for their Life One X2 model which basically locked users out of their devices.

The company was soon made aware of the issue and started an investigation into the matter. Well, it seems that Blu managed to get at the bottom of the problem. In a recent Tweet, the device maker notes it will start providing affected users with the software update that fixes the bug and grants access to the device.

Already did a factory reset on your Life One X2 or exceeded the number of pin attempts? Then you’re out of luck and the fix is not for you.

Blu provided no additional details on what caused the problems in the first place, but we guess the most important thing right now is restoring these devices.

Ironically, admits all these complaints, Blu has quietly introduced the bricked phone’s successor, the Life One X3. Puzzling as it may be, the phone already has a product page set up on the Blu Products official page, although it’s not available for sale just yet.

The new kid on the block

In case you’re curious, the device takes advantage of a 5.5-inch fullHD display, a 1.3GHz octa-core MediaTek 6753 processor, along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It also includes a 13MP/13MP camera combo and a pretty alluring 5,000 mAh battery.

But given what has happened with the Blu Life One X2, would you trust to make a purchase from Blu ever again?

Motorola to launch limited edition Star Wars Moto Mod soon

Alexandra Arici
-
0

It’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan right now. In a few weeks, the latest Star Wars chapter will start showing in theaters, and along with it, tech fans will be given the opportunity to purchase some Star Wars limited edition items.

For example, OnePlus will release the OnePlus 5T Star Wars edition in India, but it won’t be the only tech company paying tribute to the galactic saga. A few months ago, Motorola unveiled a series of special edition Transformers Moto Mods to honor the release of the latest Transformers movie, the Last Knight.

Well, it seems that history will repeat itself. But this time we’re going to see a limited edition Star Wars Mod make a debut on the market. But before you get all excited thinking about the possibilities, let us tell you the Mod isn’t exactly going to bestow any special powers to your Moto Z2 Force or Moto Z2 Play, as it is merely a Style Shell decorative back cover. Even so, it loos like a pretty fun accessory to own, especially if you are a huge Star Wars fan.

Unfortunately, the Star Wars Style Shell will only go on sale in China for approximately $20 a pop. But given that the Style Shell is only a phone cover, we guess you could order one from China and it would work with your Moto Z just fine.

Motorola’s limited edition Star Wars Mod is bound to make an appearance in a few weeks. We don’t know the exact date, but we guess it will be around the December 15 date, when The Last Jedi is expected to launch.

1...787788789...1,316Page 788 of 1,316