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Chezz – Chess for those who like a quicker pace (Review)

AndroidGuys
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Chezz(Not the Musician) is the second game to be released by QuickByte Games, along with Blasty Bubs. Their games often focus on short, quickfire sessions that allow you to actually make tangible progress while, say, waiting for a taxi. Download links are available on their site.

Anyways, Chezz is chess. The twist is that there is no turn system – instead, you move a piece, and then a cooldown is applied to that piece before you can move it again. This twist allows you to, for example, get an entire group of units before the first one has even reached its destination.

As far as tutorials go, the one included within adventure mode is fairly clear. It walks you through how each particular piece works, and then goes into how you win. Its nothing new; A knight can move in a L shape, A bishop can move as far as they want diagonally, Rooks can move as far as the want in a straight line, and a Queen can use the same movements of a rook and a bishop – whereas kings can only move one in each direction. Most games require capturing the the king to win*. Pawns, as you may be aware, are odd little things. The first move for a pawn can be 1 or 2 spaces forward, then all other movements are 1 space forward. However, they can only take opponents in a forward diagonal.

*No checkmates, since a king can forcibly enclose himself and go on a rampage. Well, try.
Both you and the opponent can move as much as you can, just provided you let the cooldown happen.

After a few rounds, the game will start adding various game modes and modifiers. For example, you may have a best of 3 match, rather than a single round. You can also get rounds where, rather than trying to take the king, you protect your own.

Win or lose, you gain XP, which levels you up. When you level up, You can use the upgrades menu to increase the speed of moving, as well as improve cooldown, for all units except the king. The pawn shop allows you to buy skins, which effect all your pieces (for example, I’m using the Scouts skin) and crowns, which change the headgear your king wears. Pawns are also used to enter online, more on that below.

Chezz home screen

How does it look?

Actually, it looks pretty good. The flat design has given way to a good looking UI, and is easy to understand. But, more importantly….

Is there multiplayer?

In the main menu, alongside ‘adventure’ and ‘training’ (which can be oh-so useful!) Is ‘online.’ For eight pawns (earned by adventure wins, or adverts) you can challenge similar skilled players, and you can also play training and adventure while you wait for an opponent. The winner walks away with the 10 pawns. From the multitude of matches I played, you’ll only see the default game mode of Capture The King, 1 round.

Wait, speaking of pawns…..

In App Purchases

These are some of the cheapest IAP’s I’ve seen in recent history(Looking at you, Dragonstone.) You can buy pawns, the in-game currency, for:

– Watch an advert for 8 pawns

– £0.69 for 50 pawns

– £1.49 for 125 pawns

– £3.69 for 500 pawns

What’s more, you don’t feel cheated on by not buying them. If you get quite good, pawns are not that difficult to earn.

However, there’s an issue here.

Alright. While my phone was unable to run Chezz (my bad! I fixed it eventually) I asked a few friends about the game. Turns out they’ve played it too, and although they like the change of pace and the looks, they all agreed on one thing: It gets boring fairly quickly. One of them said, and I’ll quote, “If it’s a game you’ll play a few matches a week of, you’ll be fine. Much more than that, and you’ll lose the game’s value.”

I can agree with them here. Although the game has a good premise, a good way to drain any fun out of it is play it constantly, like an MMO. This seems to be a trap for quick-fire games like this – a few matches every now and then are good, but play it too much and your experience may lower in quality.

Chezz is a well-made game that I personally will be keeping around, only to play every now and then. It’s blatant that this sort of game is where Quick excels, even if the type of game they built isn’t the most popular.

Huawei Honor 9 to feature same dual camera setup as the Mate9

Alexandra Arici
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Last year’s Huawei Honor 8 is a great middle-range smartphone with dual-cameras and naturally it deserves a successor.

According to recent leaks, the Chinese company is indeed working on a model to replace the Honor 8, which will obviously be called Honor 9.

Information has today surfaced on China’s social media website, Weibo which indicates the Honor 9 will feature the same dual-camera arrangement as the Huawei Mate9.

The flagship offered a 20-megapixel monochrome + 12-megapixel RGB sensor pair and now it looks like the Honor 9 will be getting the same treatment. Although we don’t know whether these dual rear cameras will be branded by Leica like on the Mate9 or not.

Information about the Honor 9 doesn’t abound, but we do have a few alleged images of the phone to look at. It seems like Hauwei borrowed a few design cues from Xiaomi’s Mi 6 handset when building the Honor 9.

Back of Huawei Mate9

If the image showcases the real deal, the Honor 9 is going to have a glossy back side probably made of glass. Note that the fingerprint scanner no longer resides on the back, but will now be probably embedded in the home button. Recent info also revealed the phone could come without a 3.5mm headphone jack.

We’re still in the dark about a lot of things when it comes to the Honor 9, but given that the source claims the phone will be released in the coming month, it won’t be long before we know more about the device. Are you excited to see Honor 8’s successor launch?

Cricket adds more data to its Basic Plan, pricing stays the same

Alexandra Arici
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On top of announcing the availability of the ZTE Blade X Max this week, Cricket Wireless also unveiled an upgrade to its Basic data plan.

Staring May 12, subscribers will get 4GB of 4G LTE instead of the previous 3GB for the same $35 with AutoPay activated or $40 without.  The plan includes unlimited talk and text and unlimited data. Subscribers of the Basic Plan will automatically be treated with the extra data starting with their next billing cycle.

For those who crave more, Cricket also has an 8GB for $50 (or $45 with AutoPay) bundle or an unlimited plan for $60 (or $55 with AutoPay).

The prepaid band is also encouraging users to bring their number to Cricket. With this in mind, it has revealed its New Sprint into Summer Pricing list which includes phones with discounted prices:

Alcatel Streak – FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $19.99 for upgrades and new customers;

ZTE Sonata 3 – FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $29.99 for upgrades and new customers;

Samsung Amp 2 – FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $39.99 for upgrades and new customers;

LG Fortune – FREE for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $49.99 for upgrades and new customers;

LG Escape 3 – $19.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $59.99 for upgrades and new customers;

Samsung Amp Prime – $29.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $79.99 for upgrades and new customers;

LG X power – $49.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $89.99 for upgrades and new customers;

LG Stylo 2 – $79.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $129.99 for upgrades and new customers;

Alcatel IDOL 4 – $129.99 for customers bringing their number to Cricket / $179.99 for upgrades and new customers;

Boost Mobile unveils new campaign to encourage customers to switch

Alexandra Arici
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Boost Mobile introduced a new initiative this week called “Project Switch”, meant to offers customers who are ready to switch to Boost promotional rates and free phones.

To better promote “Project Switch”, Boost also launched a new TV spot in major markets such as Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and Miami. You can watch it below. The spot was filmed in one of the new “Next Generation” stores which Boost has set up around the country. The prepaid brand plans to have 1,000 such experiences available by the end of 2017.

Now you’re perhaps wondering what will signing up with “Project Switch” get you? As advertised in the commercial, Boost offers three or four lines on an account with unlimited talk, text and data service for $100 a month.

The carrier hopes to attract customers to its “Project Switch” by pointing out that at MetroPCS only offers 2GB on each line, while at Boost you get unlimited data.

Naturally, there are some limitations to the plan: you get 480p video streaming, music up to 500kbps and gaming connections will go as far as 20Mbps. While data is unlimited, traffic can be slowed down if you’ve used more than 23GB of data on one line during a billing cycle.

A fifth line can be added for $30 and Boost Mobile will also award switchers a Samsung phone free of charge for each line signed up for up to four lines while supplies last.

To compare, at MetroPCS customers can get one line for $50, two for $80, three for $120, four for $160 and five for $200.

Boost’s newly announced switching incentives will be available until June 1, so you best hurry up if you want to take advantage of them.

Smash Hit: Elegancy meets amusement in this superb arcade game (Review)

Gerson Noboa
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In an era of soulless clones being uploaded every day to the Play Store, it is always good news to see refreshing games that bring forth new ideas or consolidate previous ideas in a nice package. Or sure, why not both?

Enter Smash Hit, by developer Mediocre, who isn’t mediocre at all, since it has delivered a neat, polished game, distancing itself from the masses who offer endless games with unforgiving difficulty and pixel graphics. Instead, Smash Hit provides a relaxed but challenging gameplay with some of the most refined graphics I’ve seen in a game lately.

Developer: Mediocre
Price: Free

Overview

Think of Smash Hit as a first-person on-rails shooter. But, instead of firing bullets, you fire metal spheres. Your goal is to go as far as you can while using these spheres as protection from incoming hazards. You do this by tapping anywhere on the screen, but you have to be careful and account for gravity.

Almost all of the elements you can interact with are made of glass, so throwing a ball at them will break them. There are some pyramid-like elements that, when broken, yield three new spheres. However, the rest of the glass barriers are there for blocking your progress, so you need to break them to progress. The game is over when you run out of spheres.

And it’s easy to run out of spheres, especially if you’re not careful. This is because you lose TEN spheres when you hit a hazard. Yes, ten. That’s a lot but it makes you super cautious about your movements, increasing the tension and immersion in the process.

The game gives you some instructions to get you going, but you could figure everything for yourself.

After a certain distance, you will reach checkpoints. When you eventually die, you can choose to start your game from these checkpoints instead of starting from the beginning. To use this feature, however, you will need to pay for the premium version ($1.99). This will also unlock new game modes and add a cloud save option. If you decide to go the free route, then you’re stuck with starting from the very beginning on all of your runs.

General Impressions

This is the kind of surreal environments you’ll find in Smash Hit.

Every day we are seeing more and more games throwing insanely difficulty levels for no reason. Your mental health will thank you, then, because Smash Hit is not a difficult game in the sense that it doesn’t throw you impossible tasks. You just have to be careful and you’ll be fine.

This is not to say that it will be a walk in the park. There are a lot of things wanting to block your progress. I still have a hard time trying to hit the switches for opening doors between sections. However, this is the kind of game you would want to play to sit back, relax, and have a good time.

Levels get progressively more difficult and imaginative as you traverse the game. A lot of moving, spinning, and rotating elements will start to appear out of nowhere. There’s even some kind of electricity walls that you disarm by hitting a block on the side of them. It’s really fun to discover new stuff as you progress through the game, preventing the novelty from wearing off.

In a really strange decision, Smash Hit doesn’t log you into Google Play Games automatically. Instead, you have to do it through the options screen yourself. This means that, until you log into it, your progress will not count towards achievements.

I still don’t know how to get around these giant hammer-like things.

Make sure you do this as soon as you start playing, and let’s hope that the developer implements a more streamlined way of connecting to Play Games, as thousands of other developers have already done.

Anyways, the achievements aspect of the game is very entertaining, and there are some pretty complicated ones that should give you a decent challenge, such as gathering 300 balls or playing 2000 meters without crashing.

Graphics and Sound

What a terrible player I was at first. Not that I’m that good right now either…

Graphics are, without a doubt, the highest point of this game. The environments you fly through are very varied and imaginative, and, even though there’s a rather limited colored palette, the game’s elements look fantastic and detailed. Special mention for the animations, All animations are very fluid, even in a device with average specs as the Nomu S10.

There are several areas and each one of them has a different design theme, so the game feels less monotonous this way. Coupled with the impressive sound effects, the audiovisual experience provided by this game is absolutely top-notch.

Speaking of sound, the developer has done an awesome job in converging both audio and graphics to create a cohesive experience. Not only the music is of great quality but it does a fantastic job of bringing a distinguishable aspect to each section of the game. It features very relaxing tunes that let you enjoy the journey through this glass-ridden land.

The nice environments are coupled with great music and sound effects to create a great experience.

Also, sound effects are really fantastic and believable. It seems like there was a lot of effort put into audio and graphics, and it has paid off. I assure you that it will take a long time for you to get bored of the fantastic sound of glass breaking. It seems like there was a lot of effort put into audio and graphics, and it has paid off.

Conclusion

Smash Hit deviates from traditional offerings in the Play Store in a good way. Providing gorgeous visuals, respectable audio elements, and a fun gameplay that is as simple as it is entertaining, this game manages to offer gamers a lot more fun than the normal “endless and unforgiving difficulty” combo that we see with more and more frequency in Android’s marketplace. In order to fully enjoy the game, the developer asks for a $1.99 purchase, but I think that it is totally worth it to pay such a small fee for a highly polished and elegant game as this.

Download and install Smash Hit from the Google Play Store.

What we know so far: Motorola Moto Z2 edition

Alexandra Arici
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The OnePlus 5 is one of the flagships hotly anticipated by Android enthusiasts from around the world. But it’s by no means the only phone currently fueling our imagination.

Given the deluge of leaks we’ve seen in the past few months, Motorola is also gearing up to unveil a host of new smartphones, the most exciting being the Moto Z2 family. In 2016, Motorola ditched the Moto X in favor of the Moto Z, Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play.

The trio of phones was well received by customers, but now the time has come for Motorola to refresh the lineup. So what can we expect the Moto Z2 to bring to the table this year? Keep reading to find out.

Design and Display

Moto Z2 Force render

If all the leaks so far are any indication, all Motorola’s upcoming phones including the Moto Z2 will benefit from a design reminiscent of the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus. This means we can say good-bye to the quirky square-ish physical home button and hello to a candy-shaped one. Naturally, we expect the Moto Z2 to be made of metal.

The original Moto Z made a debut into the wild with a 5.5-inch display with 1440 x 2560 resolution, so chances are the Moto Z2 will come with a similar configuration. On the other hand, Motorola could opt to bring forth a phone with a slighter panel onboard, maybe a 5.7-incher or a 6-incher? The lower-end member of the yet-unreleased Moto Z2 lineup, the Moto Z2 Play has been tipped to arrive with a 5.5-inch display with FullHD resolution (1920 x 1080).

Following trends in the industry, the Moto Z2 could launch with really slimmed down bezels, although judging by the leaked renders we’ve seen so far, we won’t see any extreme changes compared to the Moto Z.

05/22/2017 Update: The Moto Z2 Play appeared in the Chinese regulatory agency, TEENA revealing its full specs. The phone should make it out with a 5.5-inch OLED display with fullHD resolution (1920 x 1080) and a Snapdragon 626 processor under the hood.

Motorola is also offer 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, plus a 12-megapixel main snapper.

In related news, Lenovo has confirmed the phone will carry a 3,000 mAh battery.

https://twitter.com/lenovo/status/865868819834732545

05/29/2017 Update: An official press render of the Moto Z2 Play showed up thanks to WinFuture’s Roland Quandt‏ who Twitted it:

A follow-up tweet also which included an official promo add revealed the phone could go live as soon as June 1.

Performance

So far, most of the Moto Z2’s internal specs are shrouded in mystery. However, we expect the phone to come equipped with a new Snapdragon 835 processor and at least 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

It’s quite possible Motorola will be looking to take things to the next level, so a 6GB of RAM plus 128GB storage variant might also be in the cards.

The Moto Z2’s lower-end variant, the Moto Z2 Play is rumored to arrive with a Snapdragon 625 or 622, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal memory, which is why we believe the Moto Z2 will offer more in terms of RAM and storage.

Cameras

Moto Z2 Force back view

The Moto Z features a 13-megapixel main camera, but following this year’s trend, the Moto Z2 will probably take advantage of a dual-camera setup instead. Evidence to support the theory comes via a recent leak which reveals the Moto Z2 Force will feature dual cameras on the back. Which gives us reason to suspect the Moto Z2 will boast the same. But not the Moto Z2 Play, which according to leaked images will pack a single sensor on the back.

An older rumor indicated the Moto Z2 might come with a lower megapixel count, but larger pixels and quality lenses allowing for improved low light images. Additionally, the camera should have laser autofocus and optical image stabilization.

05/17/2017 Update: A render of the Moto Z2 Play’s back showed up online (alongside that of last year’s Moto Z and Moto Z Play). As you can see, the phone won’t feature a dual-camera system.

05/22/2017 Update: Here’s a new render of the Moto Z2 Force

Other features

Moto Z2 Force with 3.5mm headphone jack visible

The Moto Z removed the 3.5mm headphone jack, but with its second iteration Motorola might be looking to bring it back. Leaked renders revealed a Moto Z2 Force featuring a 3.5mm headphone jack, so it’s quite possible the Moto Z2 will have one too.

As for battery, word on the street has it that the Moto Z2 Play will bring forth a smaller battery 3,000 mAh battery than its predecessor which features a more advanced 3,510 mAh one. Motorola will apparently shrink the battery in order to reduce the thickness and weight of the phone.

All models will probably come with at least Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box (although Android 7.1.1 is more likely) and will probably feature microSD card slots onboard too.

Of course, Motorola’s next-gen Moto Z2 lineup will be compatible with old and new Moto Mods. We expect the company to launch new Mods alongside the phones like the MACAY TrueSound HiFi mod that can an audio convertor on the back of the phone.

05/29/2017 Update: Images of the upcoming Moto Z2 Play retail package have been posted on Instagram. The pictures confirm most of what we know. The phone will come equipped with Mods (or Moto Snaps in Spanish), 5.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, as well as a fingerprint scanner, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage and a main 12-megapixel camera. The device will rely on a 3,000 mAh battery. The Moto Z2 Play box comes with a Turbo Charger, USB and micro USB cables, as well as earphones.

Pricing

At this point, we can only tell you the original Moto Z had a starting price tag of $699, so the Moto Z2 should come with similar pricing.

It seems like this year we might not have a Moto Z2 Force Droid as Verizon, as it is believe the Force model won’t be exclusive to Big Red anymore, but will also be offered by T-Mobile and Sprint.

Expect the Moto Z2 and related models to make a debut sometimes this summer.

Cheap Alcatel A30 tablet with Android 7.0 available at T-Mobile tomorrow

Alexandra Arici
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T-Mobile just announced the new Alcatel A30 tablet will become available for purchase online or from participating T-Mobile brick and mortar stores across the country starting tomorrow.

The new slate arrives just as a new IDC report has revealed that the worldwide tablet market has continued to shrink for the tenth consecutive quarter. People aren’t buying tablets anymore. T-Mobile knows this to well, so it’s not offering subscribers a high-end slate with a massive price-tag, but an entry-level one.

Customers can grab it for $5 down and then $5 month on T-Mobile’s Equipment Installing Plan. The product’s full retail price is $125.

The Magenta carrier hopes the low price will attract customers who want a cheap Android 7.0 Nougat device that can cater to their basic needs. What’s more, users can also add unlimited LTE data on their T-Mobile One plan for just $20/month when they add the tablet to their voice line.

The tablet features an 8-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution and relies on the power of a Snapdragon 210 SoC clocked at 1.1GHz to keep things going onboard.

It also features 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD) and two 5-megapixel cameras. The Alcatel A30 includes a SIM slot, so users can also make phone calls from it, as well as an IR blaster and a 4,060 mAh battery.

Garmin’s new Quatix 5 is perfect for water sports lovers

Alexandra Arici
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Garmin just introduced a new smartwatch product, called the Quatix 5. While the vast majority of smartwatches today are aimed at runners or gym workout enthusiasts, the Quantix 5 was designed to be a companion for open sea adventurers.

Garmin’s brand new “marine” watch packs compatibility with onboard boat systems (including Garmin’s chartplotters) and high-precision navigation tech in order to offer autopilot control, remote waypoint marking, as well as data streaming including speed, depth, temperature and wind.

If you’re into sail racing, then you’ll be happy to know the Quatix 5 comes equipped with features such as race countdown timer, distance to start line and time to burn.

The smartwatch can be turned into a helper for finisher men too. The product can stream up-to-date tide-data information for the particular region the user is located in. It also employs useful tools such as anchor rode calculator and anchor alarm – the first can tell users the proper length of anchor line to put out, while the second option alerts the wearer of drift.

Naturally, the Quatix is a rugged smartwatch that can be used in up to 100 m of waters. It features a round color display with an LED backlight, a built-in, high-sensitivity GPS (and GLONASS) and Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate technology. Despite being a water watch, the Quatix works on land too. It can be used to track the usual sporting activities including running, hiking, biking, swimming, rowing and more.

Garmin’s new wearable ca also do what most smartwatches today do – it can relay notifications for calls, text and email. It’s also advertised as being able to offer up to 24 hours in GPS mode, 60 hours in activity-tracking mode and up to two weeks in standard smartwatch model. However, we should note the Quatix 5 does not run Android Wear (2.0), but can pair to most Android phones out there.

The watch will become available in June with a variety of strap choices including models made of metal, leather or silicone. Garmin will sell the smartwatch in two versions, the Quatix 5 for a hefty $599.99 and the Wi-Fi-ready Quatix 5 Sapphire with scratch-resistant crystal lens for $849.99.

Strategy Analytics: OPPO’s R9s was the world’s best-selling Android in Q1

Alexandra Arici
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In a recent report, research firm Strategy Analytics revealed the iPhone 7 took the crown as the world’s best-selling smartphone model in the first quarter of 2017 with 21.5 million units shipped globally. It was closely followed by its larger brother – the iPhone 7 Plus, which sold in 17.4 million quantities.

So far, so good – no surprises here, right? Since Samsung was recovering from the Galaxy Note7 debacle during the period, so it’s natural it didn’t make the top two. But maybe it managed to grab the third position?

It didn’t. Unexpectedly the bronze metal goes to a pretty obscure Chinese device maker, which interestingly – is offering its products only in a few select markets. It’s not Xiaomi, nor is it Huawei, but OPPO with its R9s middle-range model.

Despite not officially offering the product in West, OPPO managed to sell 8.9 million R9s units – which is pretty darn impressive. The phone launched back in October 2016 and comes with a 5.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and a Snapdragon 625 processor under the hood. OPPO also offers 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage and a 16-megapixel/16-megapixel camera combo.

While OPPO is largely unknown in the Western world, it’s brand is quite popular in China and rising rapidly across India, which explains the results.

As for Samsung, the Korean tech giant was gearing up to launch the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in Q1, so it only managed to get wo models into the top five – the Galaxy J3 (2016) and the Galaxy J5 (2016). The first model sold 6.1 million units worldwide, while the second managed to sell up to 5 million.

However, it remains to be seen whether OPPO will manage to secure a position in the top permanently now that  Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have been unleashed upon the world. If sales continue to grow, OPPO might be able to take at least the fifth position.

Samsung intros 5,100 mAh Fast Charge Portable Battery Pack

Alexandra Arici
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1

Bought a Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+? Samsung has just the perfect accessory to go along with the two new shiny handsets.

The Korean tech giant just introduced the Fast Charge Portable Battery Pack which is compatible with USB, micro USB and USB Type-C devices. The package also includes a micro USB to USB cable and micro USB to USB-C adapter.

The portable battery pack also features a LED bar, so the battery can show its owner how much power it has left. It also comes equipped with a strap to help you carry it more easily.

Despite being marketed as a great Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ companion, the new battery pack can also charge a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge (as seen in the promo video) up to 1.5 x faster, according to Samsung. Actually all phones compatible with Samsung Fast Charging (charge at a standard 2A output) including the Galaxy S6 lineup and Galaxy Note 4 and up can take advantage the portable battery pack.

Samsung notes the pack should be able to provide up to two full charges on most smartphones. The pack is available for purchase in either Navy or Silver for $59.99. Customers can grab one from Amazon or Samsung. Will you be getting one?

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