Raleigh, NC-based Republic Wirelessdeclared its independence from Bandwidth a little less than a year ago, and the first year of independence can prove to be a make-it-or-break-it experiment for any company. With the GooglePixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL having been announced a day ago, Republic isn’t wasting any time working hard to secure the interests of Pixel 2 buyers.
The carrier has announced that, in the same way it brought the first-generation Pixels to its Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP) lineup last year, Republic is back to declare that the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are BYOP-compatible.
“From the beginning, our hallmark has been to use innovation to unlock value for members. That began with Wi-Fi calling, and today extends to the newest high-end Android smartphones on the market,”
Republic Wireless Product and Marketing Senior Vice President Jon Schniepp.
Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are the best phones Google has unveiled yet, with IP67 water and dust resistance, super fast charging, their octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoCs, and 64GB of base storage – all arriving on the Pixel series for the first time.
The Pixel 2 retains the price and 5-inch display of the first-generation 5-incher, but the Pixel 2 XL brings a 6-inch POLED (plastic OLED) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio for $849 (64GB), with a $949, 128GB storage option for multimedia junkies. And now, you can have your very own Google Assistant-integrated Pixel Buds for $159 (none come in the box, and the headphone jack is absent).
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have been given the highest rear camera rating (score of 98) by photography expert DxOMark, putting them at the top of mobile photography currently available on the market. While it goes without saying, both Pixel 2 phones arrive with Android 8.0 Oreo pre-installed and have the promise of the fastest updates and security patches given on the Android platform.
Republic is known for its Wi-Fi Calling (what the carrier calls Bonded Calling) that allows users to rely more on Wi-Fi networks and conserve their data consumption when in places where local Wi-Fi is strongest.
During the Pixel 2 launch event, Google also unveiled a new Daydream View headset, which like last year’s iteration arrives all wrapped in fabric. Well this year, customers will get to choose from more color options including Charcoal, Fog, and Coral.
The new Daydream View headset will be offered for the price of $99, which is slightly more expensive than last year’s $79 model, but there are a few reasons for this price upgrade.
You see this year Google has added a controller, as well as a removable head strap. The headset is also now capable of offering a wider field of view. It measures 6.6 x 4.6 x 3.9 inches and weighs 9.2 ounces.
At launch, the new Daydream View headset will be compatible with certain Daydream-certified Android phones including the new Pixel 2 models, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Motorola Moto Z and Moto Z2. You can check out the full list here.
Google also said a lot more content will be available on Daydream. Right now the Mountain View-based company is promoting a YouTube series called Austin City Limited Backstage which stars popular musicians like Ed Sheeran, a VR original from Felix & Paul and a Discovery series called “TRVLVR”. Google also said it is working to bring movies designed for IMAX dome theaters to Daydream as well.
The new Daydream View headset will be launched in 11 countries including US, Canada, and the UK. In the States (but also in the UK and Korea) anyone who buys a View before the year comes to an end will get a free bundle of popular games with the purchase.
On top of introducing the new Daydream VR headset, Google also demoed a few new AR software features which aim to offer greater augmented-reality experiences through the company’s new Pixel 2 smartphones.
Last month, Google launched ARCore, an augmented reality development platform for Android, which replaced Tango – the company’s previous AR project. Now, Google is previewing new ARCore experiences alongside its partners. For example, Houzz is using ARCore to let users see how different pieces of furniture fit in their living spaces. Users will also be able to watch League of Legends gameplay through an AR map, while LEGO is allowing fans to build virtual models.
Moreover, the search giant has also announced a new feature called AR stickers which lets users add virtual emojis to their images. Partners like YouTube, NBA, Stranger Things, Star Wars or Saturday Night are also developing their own crop of AR stickers. This will be exclusive to Pixel phones for the time being.
Google Home is a speaker that offers a personal assistant in any room and has been an extremely popular alternative to Amazon Alexa.
Google today introduced two new speakers to the Google Family. The first is the Google Home Mini which as the name suggests is a smaller version of the speaker to provide hands-free voice control in any room. The second is the Home Max which is a bigger version of the speaker that packs a bigger punch for those who prefer a better sound.
Both come with Google Assistant integrated and can be operated by your voice.
The Google Home Mini is a sleek design with rounded corners to make it look like an ornament and seemingly integrate into a room. It projects 360 sound out of its fabric enclosure and has LED status lights. Mini comes in at just $49 and is available in Chalk, Charcoal, and Coral.
The Google Home Max features dual 4.5-inch excursion woofers to provide a great sound. Google say it’s 20 times more powerful than the previous generation Google Home. With Smart Sound, the speaker will also adapt to your surroundings to dynamically tune itself. It also has Bluetooth and AUX support and comes in two colors Chalk and Charcoal.
Google Home Max will launch in the U.S. for $399 and comes with 12 months of ad-free YouTube Music.
The Google Pixel 2 series announcement brought a number of significant hardware for both mobile and the smart home, but Google also unveiled more mobile hardware than we expected.
The Google Pixel Buds are Google’s wireless, Bluetooth earbuds that are in sync with the company’s Pixel 2 phones (the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL lack the 3.5mm headphone jack). Instead of placing the audio playback controls on the wire (as is usually the case with jack headphones), Google placed them on the right earbud to keep the earbuds as convenient as possible.
You can swipe forward or backward to adjust music volume, or tap to pause or play. The Pixel Buds provide up to five hours on a single charge; when they’re running low on battery, place them in the portable charging case that gives you 24 hours of battery life. The charging case will let you run with your Pixel Buds all day long.
The Pixel Buds have two surprises though that just might make you get out your wallet: Google Assistant and Google Translate. First, Google Assistant lets you do all the things on your Buds that you’ll do on your Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL: everything from answering phone calls, to playing music, answering emails, having your news read to you, and so much more.
Google Translate may just prove to be one of the revolutionary features of the Pixel Buds, as you can now use the Google earbuds to any of the 40 supported languages into your native tongue. The Pixel Buds can perform the functions of Assistant and Translate independent of your Pixel phone.
We know, we know: you want to know the cost. Expect to pay $159 for the Pixel Buds, with pre-orders beginning today and mass availability beginning in November. Singapore, Australia, Germany, and the UK will get the Pixel Buds in November. Pixel Buds come in three colors: Just Black, Clearly White, and Kinda Blue, the same as the Pixel 2
We’re excited to see the spread of AI, the next big mobile trend, into other mobile hardware outside of smartphones. Google brought its AI to Bose with the intention of unveiling hardware of its own at a more affordable price ($159 is a more lovable price than the QuietComfort 35 II earbuds for $349). We know Bose has its fans, but unless you’re really devoted to Bose hardware, get the Pixel Buds.
Sonos on Wednesday introduced its all-new smart, voice controlled speaker in the form of the Sonos One. Available for pre-order today, the $199 speaker will begin shipping later this month, on October 24.
Out of the box, the Sonos One is equal parts Sonos and Alexa. Users can leverage the speaker in all of the same ways that an Echo might. This includes checking weather, traffic, adding to shopping lists and more.
At launch, music fans in the US, UK, and Germany can ask Amazon Alexa to control Sonos One out of the box, with full voice support for Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, SiriusXM, and TuneIn. Alexa voice control for Spotify on Sonos One will be coming soon after launch. Voice transport controls like pause, skip, volume up and down, and even asking what’s playing will be available for all other music services Sonos supports.
As for the music side, it’s a perfect marriage. Sonos One is compatible with music, podcast, and audiobook sources from more than 80 streaming services. Want to play a bedtime playlist from Google Play Music? Looking to kick off your day with a little news from Stitcher? Whatever you’d expect to do with Sonos, you can do via voice — and the app, of course.
Although the Sonos One launches with Amazon Alexa, it will ultimately support Google Assistant, too. An update due in 2018 figures to add the competing and equally cool voice assisted service.
Google today revealed a number of new devices and gadgets at an event in San Francisco. Among the bigger products is its latest Chrome OS laptop, the Pixelbook.
As the thinnest (10.3mm), lightest laptop (2.4 lbs) to come from Google, the Pixelbook starts at $999 and offers up a 4-in-1 form factor. Having combined the best elements of a laptop, smartphone, and tablet, the Chromebook boasts a downright impressive set of hardware.
Key specifications include a 12.3-inch high resolution 2400×1600 (235 ppi) display with touch capability, at least 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and an aluminum unibody. Customers can purchase even more powerful configurations with 256GB and 521GB storage capacities.
Opting for the 256GB option brings the price up $200; the 512GB model also packs 16GB RAM and the processor gets bumped up to an Inctel Core i7 chip. The premium for this edition is some $650 on top of the base. The standard chipset is no slouch, though, with an Intel Core i5 CPU powering things.
The Pixelbook comes with a 10 hour battery which can be charged up quickly. Spend 15 minutes on the charger and you’ll add two hours of life.
Smarter than anything before
The Pixelbook is the first laptop to come with Google Assistant built in. Accessing the smarts is a simple as saying OK Google or pressing a dedicated key. Indeed, you can use the laptop to schedule reminders, check weather and sports scores, find a document, and much more.
Beyond Pixelbook
In addition to the Pixelbook, Google today also introduced the Pixelbook Pen. Priced $99, it is a smart stylus that uses machine learning for writing and sketching. With latency down to 10 milliseconds, it’s an almost real-time experience which mimics pen on paper.
Pixelbook Pen is also great for drawing and designing in your favorite apps. Illustrate with Infinite Painter, design with AutoCAD, or jot down thoughts with Squid and Evernote. You can even take notes right from the lock screen with Google Keep.
Perhaps one of the coolest features demonstrated today was using the Pixelbook Pen with Google Assistant. Press and hold the button on the stylus while circling an image or text and you’ll learn more about whatever is on the screen. A picture of a celebrity, for instance, could tell you who the subject is, where to learn more about them, and how to follow them on social media.
Availability
If you are interested in purchasing the Pixelbook, you can place a pre-order starting immediately. Both the Pixelbook and the Pixelbook Pen are offered in the Google Store and at major retailers such as Best Buy. It is not clear as to when shipments will begin.
As anticipated, Google today unveiled its next-generation smartphones – the “radically helpful” Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
The smaller Pixel comes with a 5-inch HD OLED display and retains the traditional design aesthetics, meaning it comes with pretty prominent chin and forehead, while the Pixel 2 XL boasts a 6-inch OLED display, curved glass and the modern 18:9 aspect ratio.
Both Pixels 2 preserve the glass accent around the camera for easier signal reception. Google made the glass window smaller than on last year’s models, so now the fingerprint reader lives right on the metal body. And in the case of the Pixel XL 2, designers have decided to spice things up by introducing an antithetical dual-tone color scheme that makes the glass window much more noticeable.
While on the outside the two new Pixels look quite differently, Google made a big deal in highlighting that the smaller Pixel 2 and bigger Pixel 2 XL will offer pretty much the same features. Here are the main specs for the two phones:
Pixel 2
5-inch OLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
Snapdragon 835 clocked at 2.35 GHz
64GB/128GB of storage
Main 12-megapixel camera with 1/2.6 sensor, f/1.8, OIS and Dual-Pixel autofocus
Secondary 8-megapixel selfie camera
Android 8.0 Oreo
No headphone jack
Water-resistant
Front-facing stereo speakers
Pixel 2 XL
6-inch OLED display with 2880 x 1440 resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio
Snapdragon 835 clocked at 2.35 GHz
64GB/128GB of storage
4GB of RAM
Main 12-megapixel camera with 1/2.6 sensor, f/1.8, OIS and Dual-Pixel autofocus
Secondary 8-megapixel selfie camera
3,520 mAh battery
Android 8.0 Oreo
No headphone jack
Water-resistant
Front-facing stereo speakers
Ok, now that you have the raw specs, let’s talk about what Google hopes will differentiate these phones from the crop of Android flagships out there. Behold:
Edge Sense comes to the Pixel 2 family
Google borrowed HTC’s Edge Sense pressure-sensitive frame and re-named it Active Edge. So users will be able to give the Pixel 2 (or Pixel 2 XL) frame a squeeze and the Google Assistant will start listening to there commands and queries. What’s more, this even works even if the phone is off.
Naturally, users will be able to create shortcuts for other actions as well. For example, a Pixel 2 owner will be able to squeeze the phone to open the camera app.
New Pixel Launcher
Google has adorned the new flagships with a new home screen which has the Google search bar living at the bottom. A new top widget that shows upcoming appointments has also been added.
Obviously, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will ship out with the latest version of Android 8.0 Oreo and will be first in line to receive any new updates immediately after Google pushes them out.
Camera
Last year’s Pixels took advantage of one of the best cameras on the market (DxOMark can confirm) and, in 2017 Google has improved upon it.
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL ship with a 12-megapixel camera with a large 1/2.6-inch sensor, digital + optical image stabilization (unlike last year’s models), f/1.8 and Dual-Pixel autofocus.
The Dual-Pixel technology can supposedly divide every pixel in two, which means Pixel 2 users will be able to take advantage of a blurred background effect, even as the phone lacks a secondary primary camera.
Google also introduced an alternative to iPhone’s Live Photos, dubbed Motion Photos. Its functionality is pretty much the same, as it allows the Pixel 2 to record a three-second clip around each photo and output in the form of a file.
Google Lens
The Pixel 2 phones will be the first to ship out with Google Lens, a visual search feature that uses the phone cameras to tell you what you are looking at. The tool was unveiled back at Google’s I/O back in May, but it will only become available to users now. Lens can identify things like emails, phone numbers, artworks, movies or plants.
ARCore
During the Pixel 2 presentation, Google also talked about some of its new projects powered by the ARCore platform (rebranded from Tango).
The company showed off a new feature called AR Stickers which lets users create scenes with 3D stickers in the environment around them. At launch, the tool will be available only on the Pixel 2.
Google provided viewers with one example in which cartoon Stranger Things characters came to life in AR on stage.
Shazam-like feature + Always On Display
The new phones support an always-on display that shows notifications and time. On top of that, this year the Pixel 2s will take come equipped with “Now Playing” – a built-in Shazam-like feature which listens to music playing around you and shows what’s playing on the phone’s display automatically.
How much do they cost?
The Pixel 2 will be available in Clearly White, Just Black, and Kinda Blue. Google will ask $649 for the 64GB model and $749 for the 128GB version. The Pixel 2 XL will just be available in Black or White (with an adorable orange home button). Pricing starts at $849 for the 64GB version. As for the 128GB model, it will take you back with a hefty $949.
Google says the phones will start shipping on October 17. Order one until October 19 and you’ll receive a Google Home Mini free of charge (worth $49.99).
Technology is advancing all the time and it is changing all areas of our lives for the better. Most would agree that technology is making it faster and more convenient for us to go about our lives. In addition, our entertainment systems have come a long way in a very short space of time. For gaming fans, there are a number of ways that technology is improving the experience of playing, from useful online guides to teach you new ways to play, like the Ladbrokes’ casino guide for complete beginners, to new tech that changes how we play.
Apps
Apps have made it easier and more convenient for gamers to play their favorite games whenever and wherever they want. The Ladbrokes’ casino app can be downloaded from Apple app store and the Google play store, meaning you can play classic casino games and the latest slots at any time. Apps are a great way to pass the time, particularly on a long commute to work or during your lunch break, and many apps have an ongoing storyline so you can continue from where you left off each time. Overall, apps are a handy way to play games when you’re on the move.
Remote Play
A number of popular consoles, like the PlayStation 4, are offering remote gameplay options. This means that gamers can play all of their full console games wherever they are. This improves the gameplay experience just in terms of the convince factor, as you players will no longer have to carry all of their games whenever they go away or go to a friend’s house. All you need for remote play to work is a PlayStation TV or a PlayStation Vita. Other gaming platforms offer the ability to play anywhere that you have an internet connection.
Capture Equipment
If you’re interested in streaming, a pastime which has become extremely popular in the gaming community, capturing equipment can really enhance your gameplay experience. The technology allows you to seamlessly stream your game in high definition as you play. Most consoles, including Xbox, allow players to add streaming equipment through their HDMI signal. The PlayStation 4 even comes with its own in-built streaming facility, although if you’re looking for the best quality possible it’s worth investing in some capture equipment.
Headset
A good quality headset can allow you to interact with other players from around the world. Within online multiplayer games, communication is essential as you need to work together with your team to devise a relevant strategy. A headset allows you to talk to people and listen to them, it’s far easier than using a separate microphone and headphone setup.
SSD Upgrade
If you’re really looking to improve your gameplay experience and you have the technical know-how it’s worth installing an SSD. This will reduce your games loading times and allow you to play quicker with higher graphics and performance settings. It’s important to remember that if you upgrade the drive on your console you might void the warranty, so decide if this is a risk you’re willing to take.
Editor Note: Our editorial stance on including links to apps or games with gambling and/or casino links is as follows: We will only consider them if there is an official app in the Google Play Store and/or Apple’s iTunes. The sentiment being that if it’s good enough for those outlets, it’s good enough for us to mention. Ladbrokes Sports Betting can be found in iTunes now. For what it’s worth, its mobile page indicates there’s an Android version however the link only goes to a mobile-optimized page.
Back in June, Google introduced the Android Excellence program in the Play Store. Curated by Google’s editorial team, Android Experience includes a rotating collection of apps that deliver great design, an engaging user experience, and strong app performance.
Well this week, Google has released the latest batch of apps which have been welcomed to the Android Excellence family.
This autumn’s selection of titles includes familiar titles like Asphalt 8 or Bubble Witch 3 Saga, but will also allow users to discover new apps they haven’t tried out before. Here are the best Android apps to download this fall, according to Google:
Have an iPad mini that you are not using so much anymore? Then you might want to take advantage of Amazon’s new trade-in program.
Amazon wants to turn your iPad mini into a Fire tablet for kids, so it will exchange your Apple tablet with an Amazon.com gift card for the appraised value of the device, plus $20 bonus credit to be used towards purchasing a new Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet or Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet.
All iPad mini models launched between 2012 and 2014 and eligible for Amazon’s new trade-in program. Note that you will have to answer a few questions related to your iPad mini’s current condition, but Amazon says that even non-working devices are eligible.
Then you’ll have to ship your iPad mini in (for free) so that Amazon can verify its condition. Once the tablet is accepted, you’ll receive an Amazon Gift Card equal to an appraised value of your iPad mini, and $20 towards buying a new Fire Kids Edition tablet.
Amazon’s 2017 Fire Kids Edition tablets come with a kid-proof case, 2-year guarantee, and one year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited which gives kids access to up to 15,000 popular apps, games, videos, books and educational content.
