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Essential Phone could finally be close to shipping

Dan Bartram
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Despite the estimated date of shipping having come and gone, the Essential Phone could soon be ready to ship after all.

Andy Ruben publicly informed those who pre-ordered the device that the delay was due to certification of the device with carriers. It seems that this delay may have finally been sorted as a new listing for the device has appeared on the Best Buy website.

Best Buy lists the Sprint and Unlocked version of the Essential Phone with a starting price of $699.99. Both are listed as coming soon as technically they are not available but does indicate that shipping could be imminent if stores are listing them.

The Essential Phone is something a little different than traditional smartphones. The distinct bezel-less display is its most notable feature but there’s also capability to attach expandable modules.

Will the device take the smartphone market by storm? Hopefully it will ship soon and we’ll find out.

myCharge AdventureUltra review: The charging companion for all of your needs

Scott Webster
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After reviewing countless portable power banks and charging solutions over the years, there are a few features I’ve come to appreciate. If anything, there are certain details I look for first when making a purchasing decision or recommendation.

I’ve spent time with a number of products from the myCharge brands over the last couple of years, each of which fills a particular void. Sometimes we need something super portable or minimal as a backup just in case we run low on a long work day. Other times we need a beast of a unit because we fully expect to deplete our batteries over an extended weekend away. Such is the case with the latest myCharge product, the AdventureUltra.

Taking up about as much space as a portable cassette player from the 1980’s, the Ultra is strong enough to power up most phones some eight times over. Thanks to its 13,400mAh internal battery, it’s everything you need to keep phones, tablets, and wearables juiced up for 2-3 days.

With this much power you might expect for it to offer even more functionality. Indeed, it does. Not only do you have the requisite USB ports (two 2.4A), but you also get a USB C port (3.0A), and an AC port (45W), as well. Yes, this means you’ll be able to power up four devices at a time — even a laptop.

Each of the charging ports is protected by a rubber boot to keep from getting dust and debris. This is convenient in cases where you might be at a beach, on a dusty job site, or spending time outside.

Given the capacity of the battery, and our likelihood of charging multiple devices at once, we’ll want to know exactly how much gas is left in the tank. The AdventureUltra offers up a great display which shows what’s remaining in terms of charge. You’ll have no problem identifying whether you need to get the charger back to a wallet out or if you can stay out and about for a few more hours — or days.

The number of use cases for the AdventureUltra is seemingly endless. Going tailgating and want to take a TV with you? This charger is strong enough to power a 32-inch television for up to three hours. So, take that TV with you to beach, Cast to it from your phone, and make sure you’re up to speed with Game of Thrones!

If you routinely spend multiple days on the road, pull marathon sessions of Pokemon Go, or go camping, hiking, then you’ll want to consider this charger. It’s built very well and ticks the marks for the things that matter. I loved that it features multiple ports for both the standard USB outlet but also the emerging USB Type C as well. Plus, who hasn’t wanted a standard wall outlet plug for a laptop, drone, or something else while on the road?

Price shakes out to around $130 for it, but it’s certainly worth it in my opinion. I’ve always had great luck with myCharge products and find them to be solidly built devices. It’s more expensive than what you might find in a larger capacity unit, but it’s the all-in-one functionality that puts it over the edge for me.

Best Buy lists the Essential Phone for $699 and up

Alexandra Arici
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Introduced back in May, Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone has yet to become available. Luckily, it seems that it won’t be long now until Essential units start flying off retailer shelves.

The Essential PH-1 showed up at Best Buy in listings for both unlocked and Sprint-bound models. Unfortunately, you can’t purchase the device just yet, as the items are listed as “Coming Soon”. However, you can register your interest for the unlocked models by clicking on the “Notify Me” button. Strangely enough, you can’t do the same for the Sprint versions.

When it lands at Best Buy, the phone will be available in Black Moon or Pure White coloring options. Now moving on to price. Interestingly the unlocked models are listed with a $699 price tag (the same rate as on the Essential website), while the Sprint models appear to cost $749.99.

A free of charge Best Buy-branded Insignia which acts like a Holder/Stand will also be included with the purchase of an unlocked Essential PH-1.

In case you missed the announcement, let us remind you the Essential Phone comes with a 5.7-inch IPS display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (expandable via microSD card slot).

The phone also includes a dual camera setup which pairs two 13-megapixel sensors, an 8-megapixel secondary camera, a 3,040 mAh battery and Android 7.1 Nougat out the box.

The device can also be paired with modular accessories like a 360-degree camera which can be bought for an additional $50 (from the company’s website, but not Best Buy).

Lenovo’s future smartphones will ship with stock Android instead of Vibe Pure UI

Alexandra Arici
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Lenovo used to be one of those Android OEMs who shipped its smartphones with its own Android-based custom UI onboard. But according to recent information shared by Lenovo’s India head of marketing, Anuj Sharma, the company is looking to phase out its Vibe Pure UI in favor of near-stock Android.

Lenovo has taken a hint from its own subsidiary Motorola who has been selling near-stock Android devices for years.

But why the change, you might be wondering? Apparently, customers have been asking for it. So Lenovo is giving the masses what they want.

Granted, not all Lenovo fans will applaud the company’s change of heart when it comes to software. Sharma explains Chinese users usually prefer custom skins to stock, but Indian ones foster a fondness for stock Android.

Apart from not bringing unnecessary bloatware to the table, having stock Android on your phone also translates into receiving faster updates. And Indian customers will be able to get a taste of the stock experience soon, as Lenovo is gearing up to launch the K8 Note with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out the box soon. The company will also be adding some enhancements in the form of Dolby Atmos and TheatreMax for a superior audio experience.

With Motorola being an active presence on the US market, it remains to be seen whether a Lenovo phone with stock Android on board would spark the interest of consumers in the country. What do you think?

Google Play Store now penalizes poorly performing apps in rankings

Alexandra Arici
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Google wants to make it easier for people to find high-quality apps and games in its Play Store.

The Play Store is home to a huge collection of apps, with thousands of them being added daily, although not all of them abide by Google’s rigorous standards. To keep these bad apps off the grid, the Alphabet-owned company announced it has updated its search and discovery algorithms to take quality into account.

The result is that higher quality apps tend to pop up more frequently when you search for something (ex. food delivery apps) in the Play Store. Google notes the change has had a positive impact on user engagement, with people installing higher quality apps being less prone to uninstalling them afterwards and using them longer.

In the same statement, Google also urges developers to take app performance into account when designing an app. It offers the example of Basuu which managed to increase its rating from 4.1 to 4.5 star solely by focusing on app performance.

Google invites developers to use the Play Console which can help find and fix a number of quality issues like excessive battery usage, slow render times or random crashes.

For example, Android Vitals automatically analyzes app reports to show devs pertinent info about app issues, while pre-launch reports show the results of testing an alpha or beta app on popular consumer devices.

According to the search giant who cites an internal analysis of app reviews, up to 50% percent of 1 star reviews list stability as the main issue with the app. Obviously performance is a very important aspect for users and if developers have any hopes of building a successful app they need to take this aspect into account.

Mophie intros new Powerstation USB-C XXL battery pack for USB devices

Alexandra Arici
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Mobile battery case company, Mophie announced a new battery pack this week, dubbed the USB-C XXL which comes equipped with both USB-C and USB-A ports, as well as support for simultaneous dual charging.

The USB-C XXL was essentially designed as a portable 19,500 mAh battery for Apple’s new MacBooks and Mophie says it can supply USB-C laptops up to 14 hours of extra juice.

Thanks to the USB power delivery technology embedded in the USB-C port, the new accessory can charge a MacBook at rapid charging rates of up to 30 watts. However, while this battery is capable of fully charging a 12-inch MacBook, it will only partially replenish a MacBook Pro.

Additionally, the new battery can be used to charge any smaller USB-C-enabled smartphones or devices, as well as iPhones and iPads through the standard USB-A port which handles up to 5W charging.

The USB-C port goes both ways, so users can keep the accessory powered. The product also ships with a USB-C to USB-C and a USB-A to USB-C cables in the box.

The accessory also includes priority charging, which means that when charging, it will send power to a connected device first and then charge itself.

Externally, the Mophie Powerstation USB-C XXL is wrapped in a premium durable housing and features a LED power indicator with four lights that shows how much battery you have left.

Mophie’s new battery pack is currently available for pre-order for $149.95 a pop from Mophie.com, Apple.com, and Apple retail stores.

How to move Chrome’s navigation bar at the bottom of your display

Alexandra Arici
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Do you often use your smartphone with one hand? With handsets getting bigger and bigger it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do so. Fortunately, there are small tricks you can employ to better navigate one-handedly on your larger than life phone.

Like enabling Chrome’s navigation bar at the bottom of your display, for easier access. You just need to follow a few easy steps. Continue reading below to find out how to:

Step 1

Open up Chrome on your mobile device.

Step 2

Type “chrome://flags” into the navigation bar. This will open up a menu of secret experimental features. Try not to change any settings you’re not familiar with, or it can result in data loss or unwanted security breaches.

Step 3

Open up your browser’s Settings (three dots in the upper right corner) and tap “Find in Page”.

Step 4

Search for Chrome Home and once you find the option “Enable it”. From there all you need to do is tap on the “Relaunch now” button at the bottom

Step 5

You’re done! Enjoy the new look of your browser!

Verizon adds the ASUS Zenfone AR, ZenPad Z8s, and prepaid Moto E4 Plus to its lineup

Alexandra Arici
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As anticipated, the ASUS Zenfone AR has finally landed on the market in the US. The Tango and Daydream-enabled phone is now available for pre-order at Verizon with a full retail price of $648.

Alternatively customers can grab it for $0 down and $27/month for 24 months. Below you’ll find the ASUS Zenfone AR’s spec list:

ASUS Zenfone AR

•    5.7-inch AMOLED display with WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution, VisualMaster Tru2Life, 515ppi
•    Snapdragon 821, quad-core, up to 2.4GHz
•    6GB of RAM
•    128GB of internal storage (microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 2TB)
•    Primary 23-megapixel camera with f/2.0, OIS, 3x zoom, phase detection autofocus, depth & motion tracking sensors
•    Secondary 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0
•    3,300 mAh non-removable battery
•    Android 7.0 Nougat
•    Fingerprint scanner (front-mounted)
•    Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2
•    3.5mm headphone jack

In addition to launching the ASUS Zenfone AR, Verizon also announced the availability of the ASUS ZenPad Z8s tablet.

The slate is available for $249.99 outright or for $10.41/month for 24 months. Here’s what you can get for the money.

ASUS ZenPad Z8s

•    7.9-inch IPS Tru2Life+ display with QXGA (2048 x 1536) resolution
•    Unnamed octa-core processor
•    3GB of RAM
•    16B of internal storage (microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 128GB)
•    Primary 13-megapixel camera
•    Secondary 5-megapixel camera
•    4,680 mAh non-removable battery
•    Android 7.0 Nougat

Last but not least, Verizon also launched the prepaid Moto E4 Plus. The handset is priced at $129.99 (apparently discounted from $199.99). Amazon has also started taking pre-orders for the phone starting at $179.99.

Moto E4 Plus

•    5.5-inch IPS LCD display with 1280 x 720 resolution
•    Snapdragon 427, quad-core, up to 1.4GHz
•    2GB of RAM
•    16B of internal storage (microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 128GB)
•    Primary 13-megapixel camera
•    Secondary 5-megapixel camera
•    5,000 mAh non-removable battery
•    Android 7.1.1 Nougat

You can now send money through PayPal in Skype chats

Alexandra Arici
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Skype this week announced it was adding PayPal integration to its Android and iOS mobile apps.

The partnership will allow users to simply send money to each other while chatting on Skype on their smartphone. The new “Send Money” feature is available only for personal use, so you won’t be able to employ it to pay for goods or services.

To try out the new feature for yourself, swipe right when chatting with someone then tap the Send Money option. If you’re using the new tool for the first time, you’ll be required to confirm your location and link your PayPal account to your Skype profile.

The new feature can also be used to send money abroad, so for example, if you’re sending money from the US to someone in Europe, you will have the option of sending the cash in Euro.

The partnership between Skype and PayPal is active in 22 countries including the US, UK, and Canada. You will need to download the latest version of Skype for Android in order to be able to send money, but the recipient can use any version of the app.

The news comes two months after Microsoft debuted a completely overhauled version of the Skype mobile app which includes add-ins for YouTube and Giphy.

As for PayPal, the service recently announced a partnership with Apple to add a PayPal payment options for users who purchase from the App Store.

Google teams up with MIT to bring automatic image retouching to your phone

Alexandra Arici
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How many times do you usually have to shoot an image before being completely satisfied with the result? If you’re like us the answer is many, many times.

But if Google has its way, soon you won’t have to worry about shooting the perfect portrait or landscape pic.

The search giant has teamed up with a group of scientists at MIT to create an advanced way of retouching your photos before you’ve even had the chance of shooting them. If it sounds a bit futuristic, it’s because it is.

The technology would employ the help of machine learning algorithms (AI) to refine images in your smartphone’s viewfinder in real-time. More intriguingly, the adjustments will be unique to every photo, as opposed to auto-adjustments which tweak each photograph in standardized ways.

The team working on the project, trained neural networks using 5,000 images that have been edited by five photographers. This way the AI learned what makes photographs better and which details are to be scraped off. It training comes the expertise.

What about the unwanted effects of having such a powerful software onboard a handset? According to MIT, the automatic image retouching system was developed as to be able to run in real-time on smartphones and not heavily impact latency or battery life.

The MIT article didn’t mention anything about commercial availability, but we’ll have to assume it’s going to be a while before the first phone that can automatically retouch images in real-life will make a debut on the market. Maybe the Pixel 3…

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