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Cricket Wireless is now offering 4 unlimited lines for $100

Alexandra Arici
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Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, but that doesn’t mean you should stop expecting to see new promotions pop up. It’s December after all.

For example, Cricket Wireless just announced a new deal that gets you 4 lines of unlimited data for only $100/month. The offer is available starting today, December 1.

The deal includes 4 lines of Cricket’s Unlimited 2 plan which normally costs $55/month for a single line. So with the current offer, you will be able to save a total of $120.

But although it sounds, interested parties should be aware a few things before signing up. The Unlimited 2 plan limits download speeds to 3Mbps and offers video streaming only in 480p when on mobile. Your data cap is set to 22GB a month, so if you use more you should expect to be throttled to slower speeds in times of congestion.

On the bright side of things, the Cricket Unlimited 2 plan includes unlimited texts from the US to 38 countries, as well as data access, unlimited calling and text to and from/in and between the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Don’t need 4 lines? Cricket is also offering 2 lines of Unlimited 2 for $80.

Cricket Wireless’ direct competitors – Boost Mobile and MetroPCS area also offering similar deals that get you for unlimited lines for $100. But in contrast with Cricket’s promotion, these prepaid carriers offer 4G LTE speeds with theirs.

NUU X5 shows you don’t need to spend a ton for a decent smartphone

Dan Bartram
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Smartphones tend to be on the higher priced side of $500 to get the latest flagship features, with the cheapest possibly going to the OnePlus 5T or XIAMOI.

That could be about to change as the NUU Mobile X5 offers some big features in a $200 package. The device will be on show at CES 2018 in Las Vegas on the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th of January at Suite number 31-225.

The NUU X5 has a 5.5-inch screen with an impressive 400 pixels-per-inch, complimented by a 13MP rear wide-angle and 5MP front camera. The device launches with Android 7.0 Nougat on a 1.5 GHz 64-bit Octa-core processor and comes with 32GB of storage that can be expanded with a memory card up to 128GB. $200 will also get you 3GB of RAM and a battery that is quoted as “long-life and quick charging” so we’ll need to reserve judgment until further details around the battery are unveiled.

NUU prides itself on being a unique product with high-quality components and decent specs for $200. While not targetted to the power-user, the NUU X5 would be excellent as a burner phone or someone who wants to perhaps take another device traveling with the dual-SIM functionality.

We’ll definitely keep our eye on the NUU X5 and have some more details after CES 2018.

Google’s new Android app helps users better understand and manage data usage

AndroidGuys
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Ever get a phone bill that surprised you with the amount of data that you went through over the previous month? Or, perhaps you receive notifications that you’re on the brink of going through your data and don’t know why. If either of these situations sounds like you, then you’ll be interested in Google’s new Android app.

Called Datally, (pronounced “day tally”) it’s a lightweight (6MB) app that helps Android users get a feel for what’s chewing through your data. Moreover, it gives control over how data can be used; apps can be blocked with the tap of a button.

Available for phones running Android 5.0 or newer, Datally presents a visual glance at hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly data usage. In essence, it can identify if there are certain trends in your data consumption. Are you a heavy data user at night? On the weekends? Tuesdays? Are you slowly creeping higher and higher each month?

Datally will also tell you if there’s a public Wi-Fi nearby and help you to connect, freeing you from your carrier’s data network. Additionally, you can rate the Wi-Fi hotspot for other users so they can better understand if it’s fast or stable.

To be clear, Android does offer a lot of these tools at the platform level. The difference, though, is that this standalone app is much more direct and user friendly. The interface for Datally is simply more obvious and helps spell things out, throwing in a few helpful extras for good measure.

Looking ahead, Google plans to add in a couple of features to Datally. On the horizon are balance checking and balance expiration reminders as well as proactive usage warnings and controls.

DxO One camera for Android is now up for grabs for $499

Alexandra Arici
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DxO, the company best known for rating smartphone cameras, who is also behind the DxO One camera for iPhone and iPad, is now offering the Android version.

Launched with a lightning cable for the iPhone back in 2015, the DxO One quickly became popular with users, although its steep $499 price tag prevented a fair share of customers from trying it out.

Well, two years later the Android version has been made available via an early access program. It’s sold for the same $499 price tag and you’ll have to sign up for your email and phone model in order to be able to purchase it. Along the camera itself, early birds will also receive a waterproof case (worth $59.99) which will allow users to submerge the camera up to 45-meters, as well as DxO PhotoLab image editing software (worth $199). DxO notes support for Facebook live streaming, time-lapses, manual focus is coming in the next few months.

 

The DxO One features a one-inch sensor with f/1.8 aperture that can capture 20.2MP images. There’s also a fixed focal lens of 32mm that can shot in both JPEG and RAW formats. To use it, users can attach it to their smartphone or simply use the camera as a standalone device. The DxO One is compatible with high-end Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8, LG G6, HTC U11 and Huawei Mate 9.

Google Home can now string two voice commands together

Alexandra Arici
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Google Home is a great device that can do a lot of things. However, up until this point, the smart speaker could only process one request at a time. So if you wanted the device to play music AND dim the lights in the bedroom, you’d had to wait for it to process the first request then ask it to dothe second thing.

Not anymore. Google has quietly taken care of this inconvenience. According to the Android Police who first reported it, users can now string two voice commands together when addressing their Google Home. So now you can ask your speaker to “tell me what the weather is like and set a reminder.” For the time being it appears you can’t chain more than two voice command, but this might change in the future.

Since the functionality was introduced in an under-the-radar fashion, it’s currently unknown whether it’s available for all Google Home owners across the globe. Also, the new feat does not appear to work on phones using the Google Assistant just yet.

Note that Google Home’s ability to string two voice commands should not be confused with Routines. This feature – which was announced during the Pixel 2 event – allows a certain phrase like “Good morning” to set off a chain of actions like turning on the lights in the bedroom or starting the coffee machine.

Microsoft Edge browser for Android sheds beta status, now available for all

Alexandra Arici
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Microsoft is getting really cozy with Android. Earlier this month, the Redmond giant started selling the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 from its online store and now it has taken another step towards the Android fan base.

Microsoft previously announced its intentions of bringing the Edge browser to iOS and Android and so far, Edge was available on Android in beta form. But as of this week, the app has shed its beta status and is now available for download from the Google Play Store.

For some inexplicable reason, the final version is still called Microsoft Edge Preview, but stand assured you’ll be downloading the stable version when you hit the Play Store link.

As a browser, Edge brings a host of useful feats to the table. For starters it plugs into your Microsoft account to sync your websites across devices so that you can access them on your mobile or Windows 10-running desktop computer. It also includes features such as a QR code reader, voice search, Dark Theme and private browsing.

If you were skittish to try out Edge while in beta, you can now go ahead and download the stable version of Microsoft’s browser for Android. The app is available for free and will work on any Android phone or tablet running Android 4.4+.

So, ready to leave Chrome aside for a change?

YouTube’s new Reels feature is borrowed from Instagram

Alexandra Arici
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Stories is one of the most popular features of Instagram, which allows users to share a moment of their day in a form of picture or video snippets that disappear within 24 hours. Well, it seems YouTube is getting a similar feature too.

The new tool is dubbed Reel and is aimed at creators. Its purpose is to let users share content without the need to create a fully-fledged YouTube video. The big difference between Stories in Instagram (and Snapchat, for that matter) is that Reels videos won’t have an expiration date attached to them and they will go on to live forever in the Reels tab, separate from the main YouTube videos made by creators. Yet, there’s the option to link to videos within Reels.

Each Reel can be up to 30-seconds in length and users can add enhancements like filters, text, stickers, and links to their Reels. Viewers will get to rate Reels by giving them the thumbs up or down or write comments.

YouTube is currently rolling out the new feature to creators with more than 10,000 subscribers, so it might be a while before Reels become available for all users.

Would you like to give Reels a try?

How to use your Android smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot

Alexandra Arici
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These days Wi-Fi hotspots are available all around us – in universities, office buildings, cafés or shops – so you can always stay connected to the Internet. But even so, in some situations – like taking a trip to your parents’ cabin – you can still find yourself out of range.

The good news is that your modern Android phone allows you to easily share your mobile data connection with other devices. This way you’ll be able to share phone’s data with your laptop or tablet or help your friend, who tagged along with you, get online too.

So how do you share your Android’s internet connection as a Wi-Fi hotspot? Follow these simple steps:

Note: For this tutorial a Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) running Android 7.0 Nougat was used

  1. Open the Settings Menu
  2. Access Connection (the first option in Settings)
  3. Scroll down until you find the Mobile hotspot and tethering option and tap on it
  4. Tap on the Mobile hotspot toggle to turn it on
  5. Once on you’ll be able to set the name and password of your hotspot

 

After you’ve completed these steps, you’ll be able to connect the second device. To do so you will have to:

  1. Turn the Wi-Fi on the device that will share the main data connection
  2. Select the hotspot from the list of available Wi-Fi networks
  3. Connect to the hotspot by entering the password

A few other things to know:

  • You can connect up to 10 devices to the hotspot via Wi-Fi
  • You can create an allowed device profile and set the connection mode for it by tapping More

  • You can change the Mobile hotspot configurations by tapping More
  • Mobile hotspot increases battery consumption/data usage

Keep in mind that the instructions might vary based on the Android phone you are using. On some Android models, for example, you’ll find the “Tethering and portable hotspot” option once you tap on More under Wireless Networks.

Why do people hate productivity apps? (Promoted)

AndroidGuys
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The modern world is fast and unforgiving. We constantly have to get more than one job done whilst we’re being relentlessly bombarded by distractions that get in our way. On average, we spend only 1 minute and 15 seconds on a task before being interrupted and then it can take us an average of 25 minutes to resume a task once we’ve been distracted. It is no surprise then that today’s modern world is filled with productivity apps to help us focus on the tasks at hand, work more efficiently, and manage our days better.

Studies have shown that the average mobile user in the US uses between three and four productivity apps over the course of a month. The issue with productivity apps, however, stems from their very nature. When the problem is that the average person already checks their phone 150 times per day, are apps that make us look at our phones really the answer?

Productivity apps split opinion and are both loved and hated by the people that use them. Let’s have a look at some of the reasons why people hate them so that we can better understand these enigmas and maybe get a little more out of them or, even better, out of ourselves.

Why do people hate productivity apps?

Because they make you less productive

Using productivity apps takes effort. They don’t just magically turn your life into a finely tuned machine that outputs effortlessly and efficiently. The apps can only help you to do what you’ve told them to help you to do. This takes time that you could be spending actually getting jobs done.

If you add to this how many productivity apps there are, and that each has its own eco-system that needs maintaining, things quickly get out of hand. All of a sudden, the apps that are supposed to be helping you save time and focus are taking up a lot of your time and require your constant attention.

Because people aren’t using them properly

Notifications can be distracting rather than empowering. If a notification is going off for every little task, you need to take care of that day; they’ll distract you from taking action, rather than encourage you to take care of business. These days, notifications come in fast and hard and the more we receive the more we’re likely to ignore them.

Imagine an email inbox with 10 unopened emails compared to an inbox with 1,000 unopened emails. People are much more likely to ignore the 1,000 unopened emails than they are the 10. The same is true of notifications. Before long, you start ignoring the pings telling you to do the laundry and even start resenting them.

Because they make you pay a regular subscription

Paying for something can be tough. Especially if that something is an abstract concept like software. You already have the program but you can’t use it because the features are locked away, unless you make a regular payment.  Moreover, the program can just be copied an infinite amount of times and given to whomever wants it. What do you actually pay for?

What you pay for is the value it adds to your life. In the case of a productivity app, what you’re paying for is the increased productivity. As this increased productivity still depends on your own effort, it could be difficult to conceptualize the added value you get from your paid subscription. If you’re not using your productivity app at all, forget about it.

Because it is difficult to know where to start

There are so many productivity apps available now that you’ll need an hour or two just to make sure you’re getting the right one for you. If the simple act of choosing which app will make your life easier is a laborious chore surely the concept is defeating itself. When you have article, after listicle, after infographic, all explaining the finer points of each app that’ll make your life easier, you know you’re driving up a dead end. Which brings us to…

Because they over-complicate things

This might seem counter-intuitive in today’s modern world but the humble pen still holds its own against the mighty smartphone. Using a pen and paper to organize your life frees up your screen for other tasks that you could be taking care of. In addition, that note you’ve written out won’t be pinging you throughout the day to get things done and, as we’ve already mentioned, cutting down distractions is a sure-fire way to get more things done. A simple analog system will help you keep on top of your workload as well as giving you a visible archive of all the work you’ve done, and the satisfaction of scratching tasks off once they’ve been completed.

Google Pixel C gets more features from Pixel phones in latest Android 8.1 preview

Alexandra Arici
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We haven’t seen any exciting new developments in the tablet market for ages, but some companies haven’t completely forgotten about them.

For example, Lenovo recently partnered up with AT&T to sell the Moto Tab tablet. And Google has recently bestowed some neat features borrowed from the Pixel phones to the aging Pixel C tablet.

It wouldn’t be the first time Google does this. The Pixel C got new navigation buttons and launcher in previous updates and now with the advent the latest Android 8.1 Oreo Developer Preview 2, the Pixel C tablet gained even more features ported over from the Pixel phones.

As the Android Police notes, the Pixel C now takes advantage of a re-designed app shortcuts menu, as well as a new option for changing icon shapes and toggle notification dots. Moreover, the app drawer stretches on the whole display and is no longer confined in the middle.

The Pixel C was released in December 2015 and so far it’s the only tablet that runs Android Oreo. Despite it being almost 2-years old, we included the Pixel C in our Holiday Shopping Guide: Tablet Edition, because it remains a worthy tablet. And the latest improvements, give shoppers another reason to consider buying it this Christmas.

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