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Order pizza from Donatos and get a free Samsung smartphone (Bigfoot certified promo)

Alexandra Arici
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Ever wanted to order pizza and receive a smartphone (alongside your pizza, naturally)? Well, now you can.

To celebrate the launch of their new Android mobile app, Donatos Pizza is now offering free Android smartphones with the purchase of …you guessed it, pizza!

All you need to do is place an order for pizza. When the food arrives (or you go pick it up) you’ll be awarded a 4-digit code which you enter here alongside some basic personal info.

Your prize

After which you’re supposed to just receive a free Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) in the mail – provided you agree to a 2-month $100 worth of service with T-Mobile.

Don’t worry, after the 2-month period passes you’ll be free to take your smartphone to any carrier you prefer.

It sounds too good to be true? If you don’t believe us maybe Bigfoot can convince you of the authenticity of this awesome deal! Hear him out below:

Also, in case you don’t remember, the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016 edition) arrives with a 5-inch AMOLED display with 1280 x 720 resolution and a Spreadtrum quad-core processor clocked 1.5GHz in combination with 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage (with microSD available for memory expansion up to 128GB).

The phone has Android 5.1.1 Lollipop by default but you can upgrade it Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

So, craving some pizza yet?

Moto X4 will be Project Fi’s middle-range phone

Alexandra Arici
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A few days ago Google revealed that a new Project Fi-compatible device with an affordable price will become available later this year.

We were told the device will come from Google or one of its partners and now thanks to a report coming out of Venture Beat we can tell you which phone will come to join the Project Fi family.

The phone in question is the upcoming Moto X4 – and according to sources familiar with both companies’ plans, the device will make a debut on the market in the fourth quarter of the year.

Motorola put the Moto X lineup on hold in 2016 and decided to focus on the Moto Z family instead. But in 2017, Motorola is bringing back the Moto X brand.

According to earlier leaks, the Moto X4 is going to be a middle-range phone with pretty worthy specs. If rumors are correct, the phone will arrive with a 5.5-inch display with fullHD resolution (1920 x 1080) and glass+metal build. The phone will feature a Snapdragon 660 processor working in concert with 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

On the back, the Moto X4 is expected to include a dual camera setup said to be consisting of two 13-megapixel sensors with f/1.7 and f/2.2 respectively. The product will also have IP68 rating and will rely on a 3,800 mA battery with Fast Charging. Sadly, industry insiders don’t expect the phone to offer Moto Mods compatibility.

Considering that Project Fi uses both GSM and CDMA carriers (T-Mobile/Sprint/US Cellular) we can assume the Moto X4 will be compatible with most major carriers.

Are you excited about the prospect of getting the Moto X4 from Project Fi?

LG G6 mini to be released as the LG Q6 with 3GB of RAM, single 13MP main camera

Alexandra Arici
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Back in May, word surfaced that LG might be looking to introduce a mini version of its G6 flagship.

Now a report coming out of TechnoBuffalo who talked to a trusted source comes to re-affirm the older rumor. Yes, the Korean company is gearing up to unleash the LG G6 mini.

Instead of the 5.7-inch display, the new phone is said to be featuring a 5.4-inch screen with a screen-to-body ratio of just under 80% (the G6 features a ratio of 78.6%) However, the aspect ratio will remain 18:9, like in the case of the flagship.

Prolific leakster Evan Blass (@evleaks) also shed some light on the upcoming phone over the weekend. Most importantly he revealed the product will land on the market as the LG Q6. Secondly, Blass tells us the phone will pack only 3GB of RAM and a single 13-megapixel on the back –  so it’s going to be merely a middle-range product.

The big LG G6

Other specs haven’t leaked yet, but given what we know so far, we’ll have to assume the phone won’t carry a Snapdragon 821 chipset, but a more middle-range one like the Snapdragon 660, maybe.

We’re also told the LG Q6 recently passed the FCC as model number M700. Which means the phone is not far from being released on the US market.

Moto E4 now available at Republic Wireless for $99

Alexandra Arici
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Are you on the market for a budget phone this summer? Mobile virtual network operator Republic Wireless has your back. The carrier recently announced the availability of the new Moto E4 budget handset.

The Moto E4 is offered with a $99 price tag – although for a limited time – or for $17/month with financing from Affirm. Customers can pair the phone with one of Republic Wireless’ affordable plans which start at $15.

The MVNO is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to have a decent smartphone without having to pay a fortune for it, especially for data they don’t need or use. Their plans are also super affordable.

For example, for $20/month customers get unlimited talk, text and Wi-Fi and 1GB of data. And in case you’re wondering if 1GB would be enough for you, Republic Wireless has provided a helpful of all the things you could do with just 1Gb of data:

•    Download 2,323 photos
•    Watch 2,342 minutes of cat videos
•    Read 30,234 emails during your “power lunch”
•    Make 2,343 posts on Facebook
•    Listen to 4,453 minutes of Spotify, house party!
•    Drive 5,000 miles with Google Maps
•    Surf 45,324 pages on Google Chrome
•    Talk until you run out of words
•    Text until your thumbs fall off

This is the carrier’s most basic data plan, but there are other options for those who need more. For example, for $90/month you can get unlimited talk, text, Wi-Fi, and 10GB of data.

You can pair any of Republic’s plans with the new Moto E4. Which by the way arrives with a 5-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution and a Snapdragon 425 processor working in combination with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD).

The phone also includes an 8-megapixel main camera, as well as a 5-megapixel one. It relies on a 2,800 mAh battery and runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. It takes advantage of a fingerprint scanner included in the physical home button.

If you think the Moto E4 might be a great match for you, (or a member of your family) hurry up and head to Republic Wireless while the deal is still available. The device is available for $99 for now, but once the promo expires the phone will be available for $129 a pop.

Tip: How to speed up your Samsung Galaxy J5

Dan Bartram
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The Samsung Galaxy J5 shows Samsung can still make a great budget device and it great for those not looking to spend a lot of money on their device. However, the device isn’t the most powerful, despite having a fantastic battery. With apps getting more resource demanding you could find the J5 to be slowing down. Luckily there is a hidden feature that you can change that will instantly speed up your device.

The tip will help speed up your Samsung Galaxy J5, helping reduce the impact of the aging processor and resource hungry apps, as well as the lower processing power in the device. The best bit is there’s nothing extra to install or tons of settings to change, just a simple case of changing a setting with developer options enabled.

The little hack revolves around the animations applied to transitioning between windows and turning the device on or off. By simply turning this off, it contributes to making the device seem extremely snappy and fast by reducing the delay applied to the animation.

First, you’ll need to enable the Developer Options hidden menu. To do this, go into Settings -> About Device and scroll down to “Build Number”. Now, tap on “Build Number” five times and you’ll see a notification saying that “Developer mode has been enabled”.

With that hidden menu now enabled, we can head on into it to begin fastening up our Samsung Galaxy J5.

  1. Head on in to Developer Options in Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the Drawing section.
  3. Of interest here is the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale.
  4. Click on them individually to change the scale.

You are able to turn the animations off completely, or set them to 0.5x (default is 1x) so the animations will be double speed for those who would like to retain them.

You’ll notice your J5 feels substantially quicker without any hacks that affect your software, warranty, or device battery life. Let us know your comments in the section below.

Samsung launches exclusive limited edition ‘Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition’

Dan Bartram
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0

We all wondered what would happen to the Note 7 units that were recalled following the unfortunate incidents last year with the device. Samsung has brought the device back to life as a ‘Fan Edition’.

The Galaxy Note 7 Fan edition is almost identical to the Note 7 but has a few alterations. The exterior looks exactly the same except for the Samsung logo on the front of the device that has been removed like on the Galaxy S8. The branding on the rear has been modified to include the words Fan Edition to identify the new device.

Internally, the specs are mostly the same. The FE has a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and Android Nougat. Interestingly, Samsung have taken the opportunity to enhance the software by including Bixby with the new Note 7 FE. You’ll see the same 5.7-inch AMOLED display, 12MP camera, iris scanner, IP68 water resistance, USB-C,  and wireless charging. The S-Pen is also obviously included.

What about the battery I hear you say?

Instead of the 3,500mAh unit that powered the original, the Fan Edition will offer a 3,200mAh battery that Samsung is keen to highlight is subjected to a rigorous 8-point safety test.

Samsung is launching the Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition on July 7th as a limited release in South Korea. Only 400,000 units will be available in the country but Samsung have said further markets may be opened up but will be decided at a later date.

Tip: How to speed up your HTC One M9

Dan Bartram
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0

The HTC One M9 is still a great device and perfect for those looking for an Android smartphone on a budget. However, the device is not as new as it once was and with apps getting more resourcing demand you could find the M9 to be slowing down. Luckily there is a hidden feature that you can change that will instantly speed up your device.

The tip will help speed up your HTC One M9, helping reduce the impact of the aging processor and resource hungry apps. The best bit is there’s nothing extra to install or tons of settings to change, just a simple case of changing a setting with developer options enabled.

The little hack revolves around the animations applied to transitioning between windows and turning the device on or off. By simply turning this off, it contributes to making the device seem extremely snappy and fast by reducing the delay applied to the animation.

First, you’ll need to enable the Developer Options hidden menu. To do this, go into Settings -> About Device and scroll down to “Build Number”. Now, tap on “Build Number” five times and you’ll see a notification saying that “Developer mode has been enabled”.

With that hidden menu now enabled, we can head on into it to begin fastening up our HTC One M9.

  1. Head on in to Developer Options in Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the Drawing section.
  3. Of interest here is the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale.
  4. Click on them individually to change the scale.

You are able to turn the animations off completely, or set them to 0.5x (default is 1x) so the animations will be double speed for those who would like to retain them.

You’ll notice your M9 feels substantially quicker without any hacks that affect your software, warranty, or device battery life. Let us know your comments in the section below.

LG V30 may get wireless charging

Dan Bartram
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0

The LG V30 is shaping up to be an incredible device and it seems it will take inspiration from the LG G6 by featuring wireles charging.

A new leak that shows the internal chassis of the device shows the coil contact pads necessary to facilitate wireless charging on the LG V30.

LG tend to use the V series as a demonstration of the technology capabilities of the company and almost as a test bed to see which features are most popular for inclusion in the G series. Wireless charging is one of the most convenient and sought after technologies when it comes to the latest smartphones so it’s no surprise LG are looking to include it in the V30.

Unfortunately this could mean that LG may be ditching the removable battery in favor of a glass back to accomodate wireless charging in the V30. This might not land well with enthusiats who have gravitated towards the V series previously for the removable battery. However, it may be that more consumers prefer the wireless charging than a removable battery as that is the way most devices on the market seem to be going.

Let us know in the comments below – would you prefer a removable battery or wireless charging?

Android Pay adds support for another 72 US banks

Dan Bartram
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Android Pay is constantly expanding support and has just added another 72 US banks to the list. It was only last week that 60 banks were added to the list of supported banks for Android Pay and now we see a further 72.

The full list of the new banks who have added support for Android Pay is below:

  1. 1880 Bank
  2. 1st Summit Bank
  3. Adirondack Bank
  4. Align CU
  5. Argent Federal Credit Union
  6. Bank of Hawaii
  7. Bank of Marin
  8. Bank of Tennessee
  9. Bank7
  10. Brown County State Bank
  11. Capital Communications FCU
  12. Citizens & Northern Bank
  13. CommonWealth One
  14. Community Choice CU
  15. Community First CU
  16. Consolidated Community FCU
  17. Cumberland County Federal Credit Union
  18. CU of America
  19. Del Norte CU
  20. Fairwinds CU
  21. First Bank of Berne
  22. First Security Bank
  23. Fort Community CU
  24. Freedom CU
  25. Granite State Credit Union
  26. Heritage Family CU
  27. Hilltop National Bank
  28. Horicon Bank
  29. IAA CU
  30. Ideal CU
  31. Illiana Financial Credit Union
  32. Kings FCU
  33. La Capitol FCU
  34. Level One Bank
  35. McCoy FCU
  36. Member One FCU
  37. Members 1st
  38. Metuchen Savings Bank
  39. Mid Carolina Federal Credit Union
  40. NAFT FCU
  41. Nassau Educators FCU
  42. Natco CU
  43. New Dimensions Federal Credit Union
  44. New England FCU
  45. OnPoint CU
  46. Point Loma CU
  47. Prestige Community Credit Union
  48. Purdue FCU
  49. Redstone Federal Credit Union
  50. Resource Bank
  51. River Valley Bank
  52. River Valley Credit Union, Inc,
  53. Royal Bank
  54. Sandia Laboratory FCU
  55. Scenic Community CU
  56. Seamen’s Bank
  57. Sikorsky Financial Credit Union
  58. Snake River FCU
  59. Solidarity Community FCU
  60. South State Bank
  61. Spire FCU
  62. Statewide FCU
  63. Sterling Bank
  64. Streator Onized CU
  65. Tennessee State Bank
  66. Texas Bank
  67. Texas Capital Bank
  68. TNConnect CU
  69. University of Kentucky
  70. Visions Federal Credit Union
  71. Voyage Federal Credit Union
  72. West Milton State Bank

The technology is readily becoming the standard for contactless payments and is great to see further support being added.

Disable system apps on the Samsung Galaxy S8 without root using these apps

Dan Bartram
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Up until very recently the only way to disable system apps that come bundled as bloatware with Android devices was using a method that required root access. This is especially relevant on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ that come with some apps that are less than desirable.

Rooting Samsung devices is still possible and a way to go to disable apps, but by rooting the device and tripping KNOX voids your warranty to a point of no return. There’s still a way to disable system apps and services that you don’t want without root.

The two apps that you can use to disable unnecessary packages are Package Disabler and Adhell. Both apps list out all the apps and services installed on the device and let you disable or enable them with a single tap. Most importantly it’s completely reversible.

It’s a simple case of highlighting what you want to disable – Bixby I’m looking at you – and switching it off. Do proceed with care since you can cause some serious damage by disabling services that are integral to the device running correctly.

Adhell is free while Package Disabler costs a little over $1. You can get Adhell or Package Disabler from Google Play here or here.

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