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OnePlus introduces “Referral program” for old and new shoppers

Alexandra Arici
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The OnePlus 5 is one of the most anticipated phones expected to arrive this summer and ahead of the grand announcement the Chinese company introduced its own Referral program.

Now if you purchase a OnePlus smartphone (or you bought one in the past) you’ll receive a promo code which you can send your friends or anyone interested in purchasing a OnePlus product. Using the code will get them $20 off an accessory of their choosing, while you receive 100 referral points to be spent towards buying gear, accessories, and coupons.

OnePlus notes these referral points will be added to a user’s referral hub in up to 30 days.
It’s very important to note that in order to be eligible to participate in OnePlus’ Referral program your phone needs to have been purchased exclusively through OnePlus.net. So if you got the handset through some other channels, you won’t be able to get your hands on a referral link.

In the official announcement post, OnePlus confirms owners of the OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus X, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T can generate their unique link. The code can be used as often as you like, but bear in mind you’ll only get points when a friend actually uses the link to buy a OnePlus smartphone.

Samsung’s new SoundAssistant app lets you personalize audio on your Galaxy phone

Alexandra Arici
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This week Samsung unveiled a new app called SoundAssistant designed to allow Galaxy phone owners to better customize sound on their device.

With the new app onboard, users can now set volume finer than ever before thanks to the 150 steps of adjustments. What’s more, there’s a floating launcher which facilitates faster reach of audio settings, as well as an option to customize volume levels for different apps.

The SoundAssistant can even remap the hardware volume keys, so they control media volume instead of ringtone. It also offers support for mono audio and left/right balance. What’s more, the app comes with an option called Scenarios which allows users to set volume levels and vibration modes on specific days.

Owners of the Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ get a special feature, as the app allows them to set different outputs for different apps. For example, you could use a Bluetooth speaker for Pandora and the phone’s speaker for the game you’re playing.

Samsung doesn’t offer a complete list of Galaxy devices that are compatible with the SoundAssistat, but so far we can tell you it works with the Galaxy S8/S8+ and the Galaxy S7.

Since the app’s availability is currently limited to Android 7.0 Nougat devices, owners of most Samsung mid-rangers won’t be able to access it. Still, Samsung might open up the SoundAssistant to more devices, soon enough.

App Highlight: Evie Launcher

Dan Bartram
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The App

Developed by Evie Labs Inc, Evie Launcher is an established app with over 1,000,000 installs. Having been updated on May 23, 2017, the developer is constantly fixing various bugs with the latest update bringing new folder styles. Evie Launcher is one of the best Android replacement launchers there is.

What it does

One of the best features of Android is its customization options and that includes being able to replace the stock launcher with third-party software. There are a ton of options that are available but Evie Launcher keeps it simple. With universal search and quick navigation, the design is simplistic and most important fast. Supporting custom shortcuts and app drawer reorganization, Evie Launcher features everything you’d expect a launcher to have but cuts back on the unnecessary to provide a pure experience.

Some of the features include:

  • Faster and better-designed app drawer, supporting both grid and list sorting
  • Live Wallpapers
  • Home screen management
  • Dock with custom grid
  • Unread badges
  • Folder redesign – faster, unique, and adaptable to your home screen grid
  • Widgets redesign – visual previews and organized by app
  • Backup and Restore – save your home screen and restore it on any device
  • Double Tap To Lock with more complete custom gesture support coming soon
  • Removable icon labels

Why we like it

As fans of customizing our devices here at AndroidGuys, we’re always looking for that launcher that does something different and Evie Launcher is certainly that. With tablet optimization and and backup/restore feature, I can have a consistent layout across devices in sync. With the essential customization options I can make it feel my own but I’m not overwhelmed with hundreds of options and can simply install it and go.

How to get it

Evie Launcher is available for free from the Google Play Store. You can download it right here.

Grace Digital BTTV 100 Bluetooth TV speaker review: Awesome concept, but needs some work

Matt Adams
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I don’t know about you, but I never seem to be satisfied with the current audio solutions that I have. Right now, I have a decent receiver running the show, but it’s nothing special and it comes with its own challenges. Since I have a smart TV, I’ve been keeping my eye on Bluetooth products out there that might replicate or replace my receiver. Enter the Grace Digital BTTV 100.

Grace Digital, if you didn’t know them already, is known for really high-quality stuff. It’s Mondo+ is an example of a cool device packed with a ton features. The BTTV 100 seems like one of those devices too, high-quality with lots of features packed in. The whole idea behind the BTTV is to hook the Bluetooth receiver then place the BTTV 100 anywhere you want it. It still needs to be powered by a wall outlet, but if your TV is across the room and you want a speaker closer to where you’re sitting, this is supposed to solve this.

And yeah, I can see the utility there. If you have an older family member who may be a bit hard of hearing, putting one of these next to them instead of jacking the TV volume all the way up is an awesome solution. No-one wants to hear grandpa watching Jeopardy, right?

Setup

Setup, for the most part, was really easy. Plug the receiver into your TV, plug the speaker into power and pair them. After that, you can find your desired volume with the big knob up front or using the included remote. The remote, while not the biggest or sturdiest thing in the world, does let you control the volume, but also lets your play with the EQ of the device to fine tune.

After plugging the device in, I turned my TV speakers off and that was it. I was all set up. The setup was incredibly simple and I would feel comfortable with letting an older family member try it out with just the instruction manual.

Sound

Proper expectations are going to be important here. You shouldn’t walk into this thinking that the BTTV 100 is going to replicate the sound you’re getting from your Bose speakers or anything.

That being said, I think the BTTV sounds pretty good. Voices were definitely clear, and that’s something Grace Digital hangs its hat on. Big, over the top sounds like explosions, screeching tires, and breaking glass came through but seemed a bit muted. I don’t know if Grace is somehow limiting the loud noises to keep them closer to voices, but it definitely felt different than both my home theater setup and just using the TV speakers.

When you crank the bass, it can boom a bit. Again, this isn’t going to compete with standalone Bluetooth speakers that sit in the price range, but if you have one of these for your TV and decide to play some music through it, it’ll be a good experience.

Issues

So, there’s one huge issue that I knew would cause me to box up the Grace Digital BTTV 100 after my review period. The sync is off. When watching TV, you take for granted that you’re getting audio at the same time as the video. When you see someone’s mouth move, you expect to hear the audio at the exact same time. From my time working in television, I can tell you that even a frame or two (there are 30 frames per second in television) can make a noticeable difference. Unfortunately, I could never figure out how to get this thing synced up with my TV.

I’ve gone over the reviews on Amazon for the device and while only a few mention this type of issue, it is something you should look out for. One of the reviews mentioned a reboot fixed the issue, but I had the issue from the moment I turned it on until I turned it off, with multiple reboots in between.

I also had an issue with the speaker just refusing to work after a while. It only happened twice in the 20 hours or so that I used the speaker, but each time I would have to get up and pull the power and reboot the speaker.

Conclusion

I’d love to sit here and recommend the Grace Digital BTTV 100. I’m a big fan of the company and I love it’s outside the box thinking, but this one just doesn’t cut the mustard for me. The speaker is a fine speaker, but nothing exceptional and the issues I had with the it really kill any kind of enthusiasm I had for it. It feels like a first-gen product that I hope Grace Digital keeps refining until it gets it right.

Easily handle your emails with the Newton skill for Alexa

Alexandra Arici
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Despite the ludicrous amount of apps available for download in the Google Play Store, finding a third-party email client that can provide you with all the services you need might prove quite a complicated task.

In a recent piece, we discussed AOL’s recently improved Alto email experience which among other things, includes better Amazon Alexa integration. If the idea of checking emails by voice appeals to you, you should know there’s an alternative to Alto.

It’s called Newton (formerly known as CloudMagic) and provides a pretty straightforward email experience while embedding a few interesting features like reading receipts, send-later function, and snoozing messages.

And recently Newton was added to Alexa’s extensive Skills library. According to the company behind the app, users can now read receipts, undo send, send later, access connected apps or unsubscribe by virtue of one click, all by issuing voice commands directed at the Amazon Echo speaker.

Once users enable the Newton skill in the Alexa app, they will be able to say things like “Alexa, ask Newton if I’ve got mail.” When Alexa ask back “What do you want me to do with this email” users will be able to pick from a list of answers including “Mark as read”, “Delete”, “Archive” “Snooze till later”, “Snooze till tomorrow”, “Snooze to Desktop” and more.

On top of playing nice with Alexa, Newton also comes with support for third-party apps like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, iCloud, Office365, Google Apps, Microsoft Exchange, Hotmail/Outlook so you’ll be able to have all your emails in one place. The app also allows you to do things like schedule emails to be sent at particular times or see more info about people who’ve been emailing you via Sender Profiles.

But be warned, Newton comes with a $49.99 annual subscription fee attached. While you’re allowed to try the Newton email experience 14 days for free, you’ll need to pay afterward if you want to keep using it to the fullest.

SongCast is a viable music discovery option for fans and bands alike (review)

AndroidGuys
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As a music listener and fan, while a great choice of upper-tier music streaming services is out there, it can be difficult to find a new venue to discover independent music….it can be lost in the grand sea of mainstream artists and playlists.

And believe it or not, as an independent artist or band, it can be equally difficult to get airtime (and screen-time) to the masses of music fans. It’s analogous to a Christmas shopper looking for a unique crafted gift and the target craft business trying to find each other in the sea of Black Friday madness.

Add to that cost. For a listener, to gain true freedom on a mobile device requires monthly subscription costs. And for the bands & artists, long and costly up-front costs and contracts can be common. All this leaves a true need for an alternative music discovery service that allows bands and fans to find each other, and is financially friendly to both in the process.

Enter SongCast, an Android radio app (think Pandora here) that aims to solve these problems for music fans and artists alike. For us fans, SongCast is a free app that plays only independent music for our discovery and consumption. For artists, SongCast provides a reasonable cost and flexible way to upload music for distribution and purchase.

Setup

How does this work? Well, for us fans it’s easy enough: simply download the SongCast app from the Play Store (link here). Then you are taken to a setup screen looking for your name, email, age, etc. SongCast will then ask you to highlight your preferred genres of music to get you started down the right road. You can also link your Facebook and Twitter accounts for sharing purposes.

For artists, you set up an account, and are free to upload music as you wish. You can upload individual singles or whole albums; up to you.  And you pay-per-month for each single or album uploaded and active. No long-term contracts.
Plus, SongCast distributes your music to all the popular online retail outlets (Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, etc..).

App Usage

The interface and use of the SongCast app is pretty simple and upfront. Once in, you are greeted with the option to explore music, including categories “Today’s Picks”, “Artist Spotlight”, “Trending”, and “Radio”. Once you select an artist to check out, you are presented with a list of songs to check out. Your options for moving through the music (such as repeats) are limited, but you can expand your options with certain actions such as sharing a particular song on Facebook or Twitter. Otherwise, you’re free to back out of an artist you’re not digging and check out others in the main screen. You can also save specific songs with a heart button, or block artists entirely if you really don’t like it.

For artists, you are provided a dashboard to follow in essentially real-time how your music is being received (number of streams, streams-to-completion, blocks, etc). On the payment side of things, you are paid at the same level as you would be on the mainstream sites (see SongCast’s FAQ page for more info). SongCast also sends a monthly sales report, detailing how your music is performing across each retail outlet.

What We Liked

As a music fan, SongCast is valued for its simplicity, cutting through the clutter to let you peruse and find new music that you may otherwise never even get exposed to. It operates as a hybrid radio/streaming service, avoiding the extraneous features to focus on the music. I personally ran across several bands and/or songs that I’ve saved and plan on exploring more in Spotify.

There is also a dedicated website (songcastradio.com) that allows you to explore on your desktop.

What Could Use Improvement

In my opinion, the interface could be a little too simple, in that there isn’t a lot of tutorial options available to you….you’re left to figure it out on you own. Which was fine by me anyways (I’m an app fiddler); but others could get a bit frustrated in getting the lay of the land. And given the competitiveness of this app market, that could spell trouble for getting a bigger footprint.

A small thing that was both frustrating and a bit laughable; upon entering my personal information to set up an account, there is a box to enter your birthday. But when you click on it, it takes you to a monthly calendar view, set to today. The ONLY way to get to your birthday is to tap the month-back button. I’m in my 40’s, which equates to 50-plus taps on this button to simply input my birthday. I have no idea why this exists, but I do hope it gets rectified, and soon. Again, a small but frustrating, and laughable, issue.

Conclusion

I really enjoy the SongCast app; it gives a true break from the usual music streaming interface and main music selection formats. While the interface can be a bit barren in terms of guiding the user, it also excels in trying to stay in the background, allowing the artists and the music to stand front-and-center. For both music fans looking for new favorites, and for artists/bands looking to become a favorite of more fans, it could be a true match made in (Stairway to) heaven.

Download SongCast from the Play Store here.

LG taking steps to ensure LG G7 will have Snapdragon 845 onboard

Alexandra Arici
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This year, LG tried to outsmart the competition by launching its flagship, the G6 ahead of anyone else. A strategy which had a few disadvantages – perhaps the most notable one being that the Korean company had settle for last year’s Snapdragon 821 instead of Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 835.

While LG has claimed the Snapdragon 821 guarantees a more stable, optimized experience, it’s quite clear the company doesn’t want to make the same mistake again. Which is why, according to a new report, it has already teamed up with Qualcomm to work on the Snapdragon 845 for the LG G7.

Industry sources believe this move is of uttermost importance for the phone maker, especially since emerging VR and AR solutions require the presence of more advanced CPUs, thus hinting the LG G7 will be focused on these aspects more than the current flagship.

It’s believed the Snapdragon 845 will be based on a 7nm process, although a recent leak claims the chipset will be manufactured using 10nm chip manufacturing tech just like the Snapdragon 835. It will supposedly also pack new A75 and A55 CPU cores.

Current LG G6 with case

Qualcomm’s next-gen top-tier chipset should be 30% more powerful than the existing Snapdragon 835.

While the LG G7 is still in our distant future, in a few months we expect the Korean giant to unleash its second flagship for the year, the V30. The phone should arrive with a Snapdragon 835 under the hood and it’s already considered by some LG’s true flagship for 2017. We also recently saw that the LG V30 might shed the secondary ticker display and take up a slider form factor instead.

New Google Play Music subscribers are now offered 4 months of free, unlimited service

Alexandra Arici
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There are a lot of different music services out there, most of which come with a subscription fee attached. In a bid to differentiate itself from the competition, Google is now offering a promo for Google Play Music that offers users four free months of unlimited service.

Up until now, Google offered music fans a 90-day free trial (three months) after which it asked them to pay $9.99 per month. Now those willing to try the service can enjoy an additional month of access.

The deal is available for US residents only and since Google hasn’t revealed how long the promotion will last, you should try and sign up as soon as possible. But you’ll need to be a new subscriber, so if you paid for the service at some point in the past you won’t be eligible to take advantage of the current promo.

Google Play Music unlimited gives users access to an extensive library of 40 million songs featuring artists from around the globe but also allows music fans to upload up to 50,000 of their own songs and even download music from the service for later offline listening. It also removes the annoying ads which are present in the free version.

On top of the free Google Play Music Unlimited access, new subscribers are also offered 4 free months of YouTube Red (the best version of the streaming service).

While music fans have a wide range of choices when it comes to music streaming services, not many allow them to mix their own curated playlists with the music available via the app like Google Play Music does. Which is reason enough to try out the service, especially now that it’s available free of charge for the first four months.

Cricket Wireless now offers switchovers $50 bill credit

Alexandra Arici
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Cricket Wireless has a new offer for customers looking to switch carriers. Port your number to the prepaid wireless provider now and you’ll receive $50 switcher credit. New subscribers can bring their own device or pick from one of the four free 4G LTE smartphones available including Alcatel Streak, ZTE Sonata 3, Samsung Amp 2 or LG Fortune.

In order to be eligible to get the $50 bill credit, users need to activate a new line on a qualifying plan, as well as make two monthly service payments with a minimum of $30 per month within 45 days. Cricket notes customers are bound to receive the credit within 60 days from activation.

Those who bring over a full family plan, are eligible to receive up to $50 in credit plus a special Group Save discount.

Existing Cricket subscribers haven’t been forgotten either. Now if you refer a friend or family member to Cricket, you’ll be able to get $25 credit via the Cricket Rewards app. But note this only happens if the referee activates services and keeps it active for 60 consecutive days (aka two whole billing cycles).

Not everyone will be able to join the promo. For example, AT&T switchovers aren’t eligible, nor are folks holding on to basic, dumb phones. All accounts must be activated and in good standing at least for the first 45 days.

That being said, if you want to switch to Cricket you’d best do it now, as this is a limited time promotion that might expire soon.

New LG V30 renders show complete design overhaul

Alexandra Arici
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Back in February, we heard the LG V30 might not come with a secondary display, as its V10 and V20 predecessors.

Well over the weekend a bunch of images showing a bunch of old-ish mockups of Project Joan aka the LG V30 have appeared online courtesy of reliable leakster @evleaks. The pictures reveal this year LG might be looking to implement the secondary display theme quite differently.

Instead of embedding a relatively small display strip on top of the device, the LG V30 might come with a secondary lower screen which slides out. Even though the slider mechanism appears to be quite similar to the one used in the BlackBerry Priv, it reveals an additional display (complete with a virtual keyboard) instead of a physical keyboard.

Keep in mind these renders aren’t exactly new, so @evleaks warns us the final version of the phone could end up looking very different.

At the moment we can’t be 100% sure whether the LG V30 will indeed bear a resemblance to the mockups depicted in these images or not, but we’re guessing fans of the LG Chocolate series are quite excited at the prospect – given the resemblance.

We expect LG’s next-gen flagship to launch in a few months with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chipset onboard, as well as at least 6GB of RAM, improved DAC and a more capable dual-camera setup.

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