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Mint SIM now offers unlimited talk, text and 2GB of 4G LTE for $15/month

Alexandra Arici
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The competition among the four major carriers may be heating up, they are not the only options. For example, have you heard of the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) called Mint SIM?

Developed by UltraMobile, a company specialized in selling plans for international travel, Mint SIM is basically a no-contract service provider that offers unlimited talk, texting, and data at very low prices.

Mint SIM’s adorable FOX

Today Mint SIM announced updated prices for its trio of introductory plans which according to the company offer the “nation’s absolute lowest monthly price of any 4G LTE provider”.

The MVNO’s entry-level plan offers 2GB per month for the first three months at $15/month. The plan is perfect for those just starting out with Mint SIM, as it’s also risk-free for 7-days with a newly introduced money back guarantee. The other two plans include the following:

•    5GB per month for three months at $20/month
•    10GB per month for three months at $25/month

Apart from the new pricing schemes, Mint SIM also announced it has exclusively partnered up with Best Buy. Starting the 1st of August, all nine Mint SIM plans will be available for purchase at Best Buy. What’s more, customers acquiring an unlocked device now have the option of pairing it with a Mint SIM plan and get $20 off the plan.

The remaining plans offered by Mint SIM span over 6 months or 12 months:

•    2GB per month for six months at $18/month
•    5GB per month for six months at $24/month
•    10GB per month for six months at $30/month
•    2GB per month for twelve months at $15/month
•    5GB per month for twelve months at $20/month
•    10GB per month for twelve months at $25/month

Any takers?

This is the Moto G5S Plus

Dan Bartram
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The latest device to appear from the new Motorola is the Moto G5S Plus. The rather badly named mouthful of a model name is really just a bigger version of the Moto G5.

The G5S Plus retains the same metal body as the current G5 lineup but is slightly improved thanks to the anodized aluminium design that also has a water repellant nano-coating. Under the hood, the G5S Plus is powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor and Adreno 506 GPU. There’s a micro-USB port and also a 3.5mm headphone jack with a 3000mAh battery. The fingerprint sensor stays below the screen but now also supports a number of gesture controls.

The display is 5.5-inches but retains the 1080p resolution and sees 3GB of RAM accompany the 32GB option with 4GB for the 64GB option. The wide-angle front camera goes from 5MP f/2.2 to 8MP f/2.0 with front-facing LED flash, and the rear 12MP shooter is replaced by a dual setup with a 13MP regular lens and an 8MP wide-angle one for depth-of-field effects. The device will also ship with Android 7.1 out of the box.

The Moto G5S Plus is unlocked so it should work on both CDMA and GSM networks with LTE compatibility for Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Price and availability for the US is yet to be disclosed but Motorola say the device will be available in Europe this month starting at EUR 299.

What we know so far: Nokia 8 edition

Alexandra Arici
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Ever since it was revealed Nokia will be making a comeback into the world of smartphones, fans have been hotly anticipating the release of a true flagship, one that could compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

With the Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 already on the market, the stage is set for the premium Nokia 8 to make a debut into the world. And if our predictions are correct, we should see the handset make an appearance by the end of this month.

Below you’ll find all the rumors and leaks related to Nokia’s upcoming flagship, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Design and Display

According to the leaks we had so far, the Nokia 8 will make a debut into the world with a slim metal shell, and curvy edges. The design is not unlike the one of the Nokia 6, although the curvature on the edges is more pronounced in this case.

The phone will take advantage of a physical home button which also doubles as a fingerprint sensor, as well as two capacitive buttons for navigation.

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy S8 or LG G6, it doesn’t seem the Nokia 8 will boast a modern design with extremely slim bezels and atypical aspect ratio. Instead, Nokia and HMD are betting on the standard (but pretty boring) design with their first flagship.

If recent leaks are correct, the Nokia 8 will arrive with a 5.3-inch QHD display (2560 x 1440 resolution) using a 2.5D curved glass. Although some have argued the phone will bring a more spacious 6-inch display to the table.

Hardware and Battery

Like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and HTC U11, the Nokia 8 will take advantage of a powerful Snapdragon 835, as well as 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

It’s possible a variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage could also be released. And who knows even a really high-end Nokia 8 edition with 8GB of RAM might end up in some markets at some point in time.

When it comes to battery, we don’t have much info available except that it will support fast charging.

Cameras

Nokia and Carl Zeiss have recently renewed their partnership, so the Nokia 8 will take advantage of a Zeiss-branded camera on the back. It’s actually a dual camera setup comprised of two 13-megapixel sensors arranged as a vertical strip.

But according to a recent leak from GFXBench, the phone should include a dual 12-megapixel main camera (could be a mistake?), as well as a 12-megapixel selfie snapper which can shoot 4K video. The last part is pretty impressive, given that there aren’t a whole lot of secondary cameras out there that can do that (the one on the Essential phone can).

Other features

The Nokia 8 will arrive with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box (and will be updated to Android O) and could feature some sort of certification for water and dust resistance (IP57 or IP68).

We’re also told the phone will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack, unlike some phones launching in 2017.

Based on the leaks we’ve seen so far the phone will be sold in Blue, Steel, Gold/Blue and Gold/Copper color variants.

When will I be able to get it and for how much?

HMD recently sent out invites for a press event scheduled to take place on August 16 in London. We believe that’s when the Nokia 8 will be announced.

A recent report suggested the phone will be priced for around €589 / $696 in Europe, which positions it as more affordable than Samsung or Apple flagships.

Win a Huawei Watch 2 in Carbon Black with Facer

Alexandra Arici
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If you’re a smartwatch fan, then you’re probably familiar with Facer. The app allows you to customize your intelligent timepiece with a variety of unique watch faces.

Facer also provides watch face designers with the Face Creator Tool in order to encourage the constant creation of new watch faces for their supported smartwatches.

If you too have designed watch faces in the past, Facer wants to reward you. To celebrate the launch of their “Follow” button – which now appears on each user’s profile, Facer has partnered up with Huawei to award a gorgeous Huawei Watch 2 to the first designer who gets 1k followers. There’s no time limit to achieve this goal, but you need to be first.

Facer also offers a few suggestions on how to get more followers including adding a profile photo and bio, becoming active and visible in the community, sharing your profile URL with friends and on social networks and selecting a category and multiple tags for your watch faces. Obviously, you first need to create and publish great watch faces.

As for the prize, the Huawei Watch 2 in Carbon Black is one of the most stylish Android Wear 2.0 wearable that launched this year. The smartwatch comes equipped with the latest features including Android Pay, Google Assistant and the ability to download and install apps from the Play Store right from your wrist.

Amazon Echo can be turned into a spying device, security researchers reveal

Alexandra Arici
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Security researchers have recently shown that the popular Amazon Echo speaker can be hacked to eavesdrop on conversations without permission.

Security firm MWR InfoSecurity claims it was able to exploit a vulnerability which turns the Alexa-fueled device into a “wiretap” without altering its standard functionalities.

But before you get all alarmed, let us tell you the vulnerability was found to affect only 2015 and 2016 versions of the Amazon Echo. On top of that, in order to successfully hack the speaker, a hacker would need to have physical access to it. So you might want to lock your Amazon Echo away when your computer wiz cousin comes over for a visit.

You were saying?

Seriously speaking, the attack can be carried out by removing the Echo’s rubber base to reveal 18 debug pads which can be used to easily debug the device. From there, hackers would be able to boot directly into the firmware by attaching an SD card or install malware without leaving any actual physical traces.

MRW InfoSecurity researchers were also able to develop scripts which leverage the functions within the Echo to stream audio to a remote server. This allowed them to remotely monitor and listen in on users and steal private information without Echo owners realizing what was happening.

Me? A spy?

Even if the likelihood of your Amazon Echo being attacked in this matter is pretty low, MRW InfoSecurity recommends users turn off the Echo’s microphone when they are not using the device to avoid someone potentially listening in.

Additionally, customers should avoid purchasing an Echo from third-party retailers and go straight to Amazon if they want to have one in their home.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 leak shows off the unreleased device

Dan Bartram
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With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 only around 3 weeks away, we’re today treated with the clearest picture of what the device could look like so far.

Coming courtesy of notorious leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) on Twitter, he shows what the Note 8 will look like. There’s not many surprises – the device features the same infinity bezel-less display as the Galaxy S8. Perhaps of most interest is that the Note 8 doesn’t appear to share the same rounded edges that the S8 has.

The Note 8 under the hood is expected to share a similar spec setup to that of the Galaxy S8. The main difference is that Samsung intend on providing 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage option with the Note 8 as well as obviously the accompanying S-Pen. We’re also expecting to see Samsung equip the Note 8 with Samsung’s first dual camera setup with two 12MP sensors with lenses of different focal lengths and both optically stabilized.

What do you think? Do you prefer the S8 or the squarer looking Note 8?

BlackBerry KEYone now available in Sprint brick and mortar stores

Alexandra Arici
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Since July 14, the BlackBerry KEYone has been available at Sprint, but only online. Well as of this week, you can pick-up the handset from brick and mortar Sprint locations, as well.

The smartphone offers support for all major GSM and CDMA networks, so it should work with any carrier. It costs $528 a pop.

For those of you who don’t know the story behind the phone, the BlackBerry KEYone arrives with a 4.5-inch display with 1620 x 1080 resolution and 3:2 aspect ratio. Below the screen sits a 4-row QWERTY physical keyboard with keys that feature touch gesture support for flick typing, as well as 52 customizable shortcuts for your favorite apps.

The KEYone positions itself as a middle-ranger when it comes to performance. It is fueled by a Snapdragon 625 clocked at 2GHz in combination with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

The phone also carries a 12-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash, as well as an 8-megapixel front facing camera.

It relies on a 3,505 mAh battery and runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box.

At Sprint you can get the phone with a Black/Silver paint job, but according to recent leaks, an all-Black version might be on the way too.

Amazon stops selling (some) BLU phones citing potential security issues [Updated with BLU’s statement]

Alexandra Arici
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Back in November 2016, news broke cover that some of BLU’s affordable smartphones were apparently sending sensitive user information to China.

Following the discovery, BLU was forced to remove some of its spyware-infected products off Amazon’s virtual shelves. But a month later, the products were once again available, this time no prying software onboard.

However, despite BLU’s claims that it has taken care of the issue, researchers from Kryptowire present at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas last week revealed that some BLU products are still sending data to the company’s server located in Shangai without users’ knowledge.

BLU’s R1 HD

The culprit is a third-party app called AdUps which apparently is still alive and well on some BLU devices, although the Chinese company who build the software allegedly disabled the spying functionality on the two devices it was originally discovered on.

In the aftermath of the announcement, Amazon issued a statement saying it has suspended sales of BLU phones on its website. BLU’s R1 HD was part of Amazon’s Prime Exclusive Phones program, but now the device is listed as “Currently Unavailable”. Amazon isn’t taking any chances and says customers should contact BLU’s customer support.

“Because security and privacy of our customers is of the utmost importance, all BLU phone models have been made unavailable for purchase on Amazon.com until the issue is resolved.”

Amazon statement to CNET

BLU denied any wrongdoings, explaining it stopped including AdUps in its product software package since 2016, although some older devices still use it.

Yet, it seems not all BLU models are listed as “Currently Unavailable” on Amazon. For example, I can still place an order for the BLU Studio X8 HD or the BLU Grand 5.5 HD. So maybe Amazon only stopped selling the BLU phone models that have been found to be infected like the BLU R1 HD? Even though the BLU R1 HD is not an “older” device.

Update: BLU has sent a statement regarding Amazon, which you can read below:

“Since Nov 2016 when the initial privacy concern was reported by Kryptowire, which BLU quickly remedied, Amazon has been aware of the Adups and other applications on our BLU devices which were deemed at the time by BLU, Amazon, and Kryptowire to pose no further security or privacy risk”

“Now almost a year later, the devices are still behaving in the same exact way, with standard and basic data collection that pose no security or privacy risk. There has been absolutely no new behavior or change in any of our devices to trigger any concern. We expect Amazon to understand this, and quickly reinstate our devices for sale.”

Bluetooth battery level indicators are finally coming to Android

Dan Bartram
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It’s a feature that has been on the Apple iPhone forever and if you’re reading this and thinking “well, my Android device has that”, then that’s because some OEM’s have included it in their skin. However, officially, stock Android does not include a battery level indication for connected Bluetooth devices. This simple icon provides an incredible amount of information for devices like headphones that perhaps don’t have an obvious battery level indicator.

That could be about to change as a new API has been added to AOSP that will make it seemingly a lot easier to establish the charge level of your Bluetooth headphones, namely:

  •  Add BluetoothDevice.getBatteryLevel() API to retreive battery level information of remote device
  • Add BluetoothDevice.ACTION_BATTERY_LEVEL_CHANGED intent to notify user that remote device’s battery level has changed
  • Add backend service methods for BluetoothDevice.getBatteryLevel()
  • Add battery level field in DeviceProperties with getters and setters
  • Add updateBatteryLevel() method in RemoteDevices
  • Add resetBatteryLevel() method in RemoteDevices
  • Reset battery level for device when device is disconnected in aclStateChangeCallback() to ensure a BATTERY_LEVEL_CHANGED intent when device first report battery level information after connection
  • Add tests for updateBatteryLevel() and resetBatteryLevel()

While the API has been added, we know it won’t be in Android O as Google have finalized the APIs but we could see the indicator appear in a minor point update shortly after Android O goes public.

Comix Zone (Review)

AndroidGuys
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Ah, Sega. No introduction necessary for them, I hope!

Comix Zone was originally made for the Sega Genesis back in 1995 and has since been released on Steam, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, as well as Android and IOS. It follows the story of Sketch Turner, who… gets trapped in his own comic book by the main villain, Mortus, in order to kill Sketch so Mortus can escape into the real world. Not the most normal of plots but it’s a plot!

In order to install Comix Zone, you will need approximately 100MB of storage, as well as granting it the storage and… Wait, location? That one is optional if you are a privacy fan like myself.

Tutorial?

Older games had a habit of including tutorials in the manual, rather than in game. as such, here are the controls:

 

D-pad: the four directions let you move, the diagonals put you into stances for high/low kicks and punches.

A button – You’ll be using this one a lot, as it is used for attacking people and things. Also used for using items that you have selected (see C button)

B button – You jump. Me and jumping in games never mix.

Yes, Thanks Mr. Turner!

C Button – use this to scroll through the 3 items boxes in the top. When you do, you can press A to use the highlighted button. To pick said items up, just crouch on them (D-Pad down) Keep in mind you do get some items at the start, so grab ’em and go!

LOOT!

Oh, and there is a save button on the top corner. Unless you pay for local saves, your saves are stored on the cloud via Google Play Games. Mind the AD on that menu if you do not have ad-free.

How does it play?

Exactly as you would expect from an emulated game – i.e. “results may vary.” My Older phone (A Bush Spira B3) had some struggles, while my Wileyfox swift 2 plus (Name hopefully more familiar) ran it A-OK. As far as visuals and audio go.. its an emulated game from 1991. It’s not about the how it looks and sounds as that department was really limited back then-but still pretty fitting for each other, and that’s what matters.

Oh, and it’s surprisingly cruel. Firstly, you only have one life – you die, game over. Secondly, Health from what I’ve seen is rare- I had one health item. Oh, and thirdly? Punching any blocks, barrels, etc. damages you. It’ll be a fun day where I die again because I need to get rid of a barrel to continue progressing. Ah well, it’s part of the fun!

I have an issue with the saving mechanic. Not only do you have to pay or watch an advert to save or load, but you have to sign into Google Play Games Every. Single. Time. You can pay £1.99 to have Non-Sega adverts removed, although I’m not 100% sure if this affects saving. There was a way to buy local saves, but it seems to have disintegrated after I said no to it after the first launch. Not great.

Conclusion

While I can’t say much that hasn’t already been said, Comix Zone is a fun, albeit frustrating to some people. It’s good to see older games get a new lease of life through emulators, and CZ is not an exception to this. The use of adverts is annoying, however, and the saving system makes free users both be online and put up with adverts.

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