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Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Amp Prime 2 land at Cricket Wireless

Alexandra Arici
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Cricket Wireless today welcomes two new Samsung smartphones into its portfolio – the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Amp Prime 2.

The Galaxy S8 goes live at Cricket with a $699.99 price-tag with the activation of a smartphone plan, while the Galaxy Amp Prime 2 can be purchased for $144.99.  The carrier also offers the Phone Payment Plan option provided by Progressive Leasing which entails a $49.99 initial lease payment plus their first monthly plan amount.

Here’s the specs you can expect to see when you buy either the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Amp Prime 2:

Samsung Galaxy S8

  • 5.8-inch double curved display with 2,960 x 1,440 resolution (570ppi)
  • Snapdragon 835
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 64GB (microSD card slot available for expansion up to 256GB)
  • 12MP main camera OIS (f/1.7)
  • 8MP secondary camera AF (f/1.7)
  • 3,000 mAh battery
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Bixby, IP68 certified water-resistant
  • Android 7.0 Nougat

Samsung Galaxy Amp Prime 2

  • 4.5-inch display with 480 x 800 pixels (207ppi)
  • 1.3 GHz quad-core processor
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 8GB (microSD card slot available for expansion up to 128GB)
  • 5MP main camera
  • 2MP secondary camera
  • 2,050 mAh battery
  • Android 6.0 Nougat

Cricket is also taking the opportunity to remind customers of its Spring into Summer promo which awards free or discounted smartphones for subscribers willing to switch their number to Cricket. The carrier also encourages users to refer a friend or a family member to Cricket and earn up to $350 in credits each year.

Microsoft seems all too willing to replace Windows Phone with Android

Alexandra Arici
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I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard of a new Widows Phone (or Windows 10 Mobile) announcement. That’s because Windows Phone is not doing very well. Back in February, the latest analysis of Gartner found that Microsoft’s controversial mobile software made up to just 0.3 per cent of all smartphones sold across the world in Q4 2016.

And with no new Windows Phone handsets coming out, it’s hard to image the figures going anywhere but downhill in the upcoming months. But this year actually marks a change of strategy for Microsoft who seems to have all but abandoned its Windows Phones efforts in favor of …well, Android.

Is this the new logo for Microsoft’s phone division?

With its Windows Phone manufacturing dreams shattered, Microsoft probably came to the conclusion it might have future as a Android re-seller instead. Case in point, a few weeks ago, the Redmond giant announced Microsoft Stores across the US will start offering the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

Unlike the Galaxy S7, no Microsoft apps come pre-installed on these phones. However, once connected to a Wi-Fi connection the handset in question gets populated by a slew of the company’s iconic apps including Office, Skype and Cortana.

What once was

If we take a look in China, we find Microsoft has infiltrated itself even deeper into the Android camp. Last year, we heard Xiaomi and Microsoft have signed a deal in order to put the latter’s apps on the former’s handsets. Now we’re told Microsoft is selling the Xiaomi Mi 5s complete with Microsoft apps through its Microsoft Stores across China. To sweeten the deal, the company is also offering a 2-year MS Store warranty with the purchase. However, puzzling as it may seem, there’s no trace of a Windows Phone in Microsoft’s stores in China. Yes, folks it’s that bad.

The possible savior – a Surface Phone concept

Still there might be hope for Microsoft. The long-rumored Surface Phone might be the pivotal product needed to reserve these failing fortunes. Tons of digital ink has been devoted to describe the phone’s alleged specifications. A few months back we even heard the product might actually come equipped with a futuristic 2-in-1 foldable body and running Windows 10 Mobile.

But at this point there’s no real indication Microsoft actually has plans to release a Surface Phone in the near future. Has Microsoft given up altogether on smartphone production and from now on will just continue to sell Android devices? It’s quite possible, as the evidence presented above seems to indicate. The naked truth is that if Microsoft truly believed Windows Phone had a place and a future in the world, it would have sold WP products through its stores. It stopped doing so and this should tell us something.

Samsung Galaxy S8 will have Google Play Music as default music service

Alexandra Arici
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2

In order to celebrate Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+’s global launch today, Google announced it has partnered up with the Korean tech giant to make Google Play Music the default music player/service on the new flagships. But that’s not all, from now on, all new Samsung phones and tablets (including the Galaxy Tab S3) shipping out globally will come with this particular feature onboard.

So starting today new Samsung phone or tablet owners will be able to upload or stream 100,000 of their own songs to Google Play Music for free – which is twice the storage awarded to regular Google Play Music subscribers. What’s even more exciting is that new Samsung devices will come with a free three-month trail of Google Play Music and YouTube Red, just like Google’s Pixel buyers before them.

The search giant also promises its music service will support Bixby voice – once it becomes available later this spring – that is. This means music enthusiasts will be able to ask Samsung’s home grown virtual assistant to play a certain track, album or playlist – by virtue of voice commands.

As some of you might remember, Samsung unveiled its own music streaming alternative, Milk Music back in 2014, but the service failed to take off. The company soon abandoned it and with the new Google partnership in place, seems to have no further intentions of revisiting the decision.

Google Play Music is a streaming service competing with the likes Spotify and Apple Music which also offer subscription-based access to huge databases of music. Partnering up with Samsung is definitely a step forward for Google Play Music. Since the Korean tech giant is the world’s largest Android smartphone manufacturer, the service stands to see its subscription numbers rise soon.

Google Home finally adds support for multiple users

Alexandra Arici
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1

As anticipated, Google officially announced in a blog post that its popular Bluetooth speaker – the Google Home, has gained multiple users support.

Starting this week, Google Home allows users to add up to six household members which can connect with their individual accounts. Remember that in a previous article we were wondering whether Google Home would acquire the ability to recognize an user’s individual voice? The good news is that the answer is yes, it has.

To take advantage of the new Google Home functionality, users need to make sure they have the latest Google Home app installed and then look for the “multi-user is available card”. If no such card is available, Google says to click on the icon on the top right to view all the connected devices. When Google Home pops up, users will need to select the “Link your account” feature. The company notes that for certain features like personalized music or commute info, users will need to set up preferences from within the app, as well.

If you’re wondering how Google Home manages to distinguish your voice from your partner’s or your roommate, Google explains. In order for the setup to work, users will need to train the speaker by saying “OK Google” and “Hey Google” two times each.

The phrases are then analyzed by a neural network which has been designed to detect certain characteristics in a human voice. Each time you will utter a phrase, the neuronal network will compare the sounds you produce to the previous analysis, to decide whether it’s you who is addressing it or your child or partner.

The feature is currently being rolled out in the US, but will be hitting the UK in “the upcoming months”.

While the same feature is available with Amazon’s Echo speaker, for the moment Alexa can’t recognize users by their voices, so users have to switch accounts using voice commands.

Qualities of a good web host – What you should consider

AndroidGuys
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Just as it is said that “Content is King” similarly, selecting the right web host is equally important. And the saddest part is that this fact is oftentimes overlooked by most of the online business owners. Survey reports reveal that most of the online business entities end up selecting the wrong web host initially only to terminate the contract and sign up with a new web host. However, these small errors are necessary at times because they make you realize your business requirement better.

Why selecting the right web host is vital

Choosing the right web host is vital because a wrong selection can play havoc with your online business. The consequences of a wrong selection are quite disappointing and there are times when the damages that are caused are irreversible. So, you can well understand the importance of choosing the right web hosting company. What usually happens when the web hosting service provider you choose fails to give you the required boost? Let us take a look-

Return on Investment (ROI) – You start off with a big bang but gradually you realize that the profits you are expected to get from the investment are not up to the mark and far less than expected.

Malware and virus attacks – This is perhaps one of the most essential aspects that you ought to consider prior to hiring the services of a web hosting company. There are times when websites are hacked and under such circumstances, your data’s safety is at stake. But if you have signed up with a reliable company, you can be assured that your data has been taken backup of and will be restored later. Also, these reliable companies offer their technical support round the clock and also assist in maintenance.

SEO rankings – Every business entity dreams of appearing on the first page of the search results. But chances of frequent downtime are high if the web hosting company is not able to provide the required bandwidth as promised to the client. As a result, your website might suffer from frequent downtime which is not desirable for any online business.

So, what is the solution for the same? Read through these points below to understand how you can zero-in on the right web hosting company.

Right web hosting company – Selection procedure

Registering with the host only after reading the fine print is crucial. Let us say, you have settled for a company called Bluehost. Completing your Bluehost registration formalities only after finding out important aspects about the services and products offered is essential.

These aspects are as follows-

Hosting options: The web hosting options are many. But you need to understand which one is best for your business, namely, Shared hosting, Dedicated hosting, Managed web hosting, or Virtual Private Server hosting.

Round the clock support: Web hosting is a matter of uptime and downtime. So, it is not unusual if at any point of time, the bandwidth betrays you. However, under such circumstances, the web host must rise up to the situation and assist you in resolving the issue at the earliest.

Check past track record: Don’t settle for companies that you come across for the first time. In fact, referrals work best in this regard. This is because the ones that are referring have already availed the services and are well versed with the type of services offered. So, check the past track record and find out the reviews and feedback of clients, both existing and past.

Regardless of whether you are an amateur or veteran in this field, signing up with a good web hosting company is a challenge that you ought to live up to as it can be quite tricky.

Yahoo Sports adds video Headlines

Alexandra Arici
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0

If you’re a sports fan you’ve probably heard of Yahoo Sports – a mobile application for iOS and Android users which offers latest scores, stats and information for various teams and leagues.

Video consumption on mobile devices has been on the rise for the last few years, and Yahoo has duly taken note of the trend. So the media giant has introduced this week a new feature called Headlines in Yahoo Sports for Android and iOS. The Headlines tab allows users to watch high quality videos in portrait mode in order to stay up to date with whatever is going on in the world of sports.

Those who want even more info, can simply swipe up to view a related article. Videos found in Headlines can be easily shared on social media networks and user can leave comments too.

The Yahoo Sports app includes is home to a lot of sports news and stats including NFL, NBL, NHL, College Football, College Basketball, Soccer, Golf, Auto Racing and Tennis. The app delivers personalized news and updates about the sports you care about. And now with Headlines, Yahoo has added a video component to the application – which it hopes – will attract more sports fans to the service.

Yahoo tells us to stay tuned, as it’s barely starting to implement its new mobile video strategy across its products and properties.

Next-gen Moto Mods wll bring sticky notes, advanced audio to the Moto Z

Alexandra Arici
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0

With the Moto Z2 just around the corner, Motorola is working on bringing out into the world some seriously awesome, new Moto Mods. The company has invited thirteen teams including the grand winners of the Indiegogo “Transform the Smartphone Challenge” and other regional heckathons to spend time in Chicago.

During this time, the teams pitched their ideas to a panel board made out of Motorola, Lenovo Capital and Verizon executives, asking for advice and feedback. Lenovo Capital selected two teams for a chance to win up to $1 million in investment and eventual distribution by Verizon.

The winning projects include the Digiframe – a Mod which puts a widget-based sticky note screen on the back of your Moto Z. This additional display then shows important info like weather forecasts, traffic updates or calendar reminders without the user needing to open any apps on their phone. Since it’s magnetic, users ca put the sticky note screen and leave notes for themselves or their roommates.

The second selected project is the MACAY TrueSound HiFi which adds an audio converter on the Moto Z. The Mod is able can convert digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital signals and also allows users to connect their high-end speakers and pro studio equipment via a HiDef audio port.

Runner up projects include a wireless charging mod, the slider keyboard mod that got so many people excited, an edge-notification mod and a solar-charger that you can strap to your phone.

All the participants that have been invited to Chicago have been enrolled in the Moto Mods Accelerator Program and will receive engineering and design support. Teams are encouraged to continue refining their projects via Motorola’s developer portal and partnership with Indiegogo and they are ready to be launched on the market.

Motorola plans to introduce at least 12 new Mods this year and back in February, Lenovo’s General Manager for Middle East confirmed the add-ons will be compatible with the phones to be introduced over the next three years.

Ad-Blocking could be on the horizon for Google’s Chrome browser

AndroidGuys
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The Wall Street Journal has reported on the possibility of Google introducing an ad-blocking feature for their Chrome browser for both mobile and desktop platforms.

This is an interesting one as Google itself is predominately a form of advertising company and on top of that they already pay for the services of Adblock Plus enrolling onto its “Acceptable Ads” program.

It’s been hinted that Chrome’s in-built ad blocking will seek out bad advertisements as designated via the Coalition for Better Ads. It’s also looking like the feature is going to be active by default so you won’t need to go delving into the settings and messing around.

Autoplaying sound and video ads, pop-ups and those super annoying ones that take over your whole screen are the ones Chrome will look to be targeting.

I always get really nervous and feel somewhat violated when I’m innocently surfing or shopping and I get bombarded with recommendations of things I may have glanced at once or twice throughout the week.

Then there is the other side of the ads that pop up – u’no the ones….the ones telling me my teeth are not white enough, or that I’m too fat, don’t smell fresh enough, need to dye my hair…I could go on, but I won’t.

However there was ONE particular ad that popped up, now, how can I put this? Have you ever been in a situation where someone gives you a compliment and it makes you happy and then slowly the realization creeps in that maybe it wasn’t a compliment, maybe a backhanded compliment at best and leaves you wanting to just watch a movie alone and eat a whole box pop tarts??!! Well that happened to me and had such an effect I even felt the need to screenshot it. I am a bearded man, and I wear my beard with pride. Somehow the internet is aware of my bearded deposition and obviously felt this particular piece of apparel would be a great thing to recommend me spending my hard earned cash on.         (Drum Roll Please)

Now, it may not seem all that bad to you but whoever decided that I would wear a top saying I am CHUBBY regardless of whether I have a beard or not and I don’t care if it also says I am SEXY ; I certainly don’t feel sexy now I’ve been called chubby.

Anyway I digress so, I apologize.

 

Google could announce that this is rolling out any time in the next few weeks, but it is also not actually confirmed that it’s even going to be happening.

So, will it be a good thing? We certainly feel the web would be a much more stress free environment in some cases but on the other hand, we fail to see how any form of code can decide what is good for one person isn’t for another.

Is this Andy Rubin’s upcoming bezeless smartphone?

Alexandra Arici
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2

If you drive a car you’re probably familiar with the Michelin brand. The company has made a name for itself by manufacturing tires, but it has other affiliations. For example, Michelin has a long history of reviewing restaurants, but is the tire maker taking an interest in smartphones too?

We’ve been telling you that Android creator Andy Rubin wants back into the world of smartphones. The ex-Google executive has assembled a team which is now working on a bezel-less smartphone in the vein of the Xiaomi Mi MIX meant to compete with premium devices like Google Pixel.

Well it appears Rubin’s upcoming smartphone made an appearance in one of Michelin’s commercials dating back to February 2017. It’s a video where we see a lot of phones being paraded, but one in particular draws our attention – a bezeless phone with a white body. It appears to be housed in a transparent protective case that has three cut outs at the bottom, one for USB, one for loudspeaker and one for a headphone jack (probably). So what phone are we’re looking at in the video?

The Xiaomi Mi MIX is ruled out of the equation, since it has four rounded corners and the device shown in the video only has the top corners rounded. It can’t be the Sharp Aquos either, since phone has a very consistent lower bezel with the Aquos logo plastered on top.

So it might be easily assumed that the phone in question is actually Rubin’s smartphone. The phone dubbed Essential recently showed up in Geekbench revealing some of its specifications including a 5.5-inch display with 2,560 x 1,312 resolution and 2:1 aspect ratio in the vein of the LG G6. An octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor clocked at 2.2GHz will keep the Essential going in combination with 4GB of RAM and NFC compatibility. If this is indeed Rubin’s Essential phone, it’s not the first time it leaked into the wild. Previously, an image popped up online testing the device (you can see it above). Can you see the resemblance?

Xiaomi Mi 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S8 (Smartphone Showdown)

Alexandra Arici
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1

The Xiaomi Mi 6 is the fourth Snapdragon 835 smartphone to be announced after the Galaxy S8, Sony Xperia XZ Premium and Sharp Aquos R. But since the Xperia XZ Premium is not expected to ship before May and the Sharp Aquos R will most likely be limited to Japan and a few other markets, the Galaxy S8 and Xiaomi Mi 6 are the only two models who are going to see wider availability.

That’s why we thought comparing the Xiaomi Mi 6 to the Galaxy S8 would be helpful for those interesting in bringing a Snapdragon 835 flagship into their lives.

Design and Display

5.8-inch “Infinity Display” with 2960 x 1440 resolution vs 5.15-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution

When it comes to the new Xiaomi Mi 6, don’t expect any mind-blowing design changes à la Xiaomi Mi MIX. Instead Xiaomi preservers the Mi 5 look and feel. The new phone takes advantage of a glass back that curves along all four ages and a metal frame. As for the Galaxy S8, it’s also a device mostly made out of glass. But in stark contrast with the Mi 6, the Galaxy S8 lacks a home button up front and takes advantage of a minimal bezel design which gives the impression of an edge-to-edge display.

The Mi 6 is more conservative, firstly because it preserves the physical home button which also doubles as a Qualcomm Sense ID-enabled fingerprint sensor. Secondly, the phone’s side bezels are pretty skinny, but the ones on top and bottom remain quite consistent.

The Galaxy S8 features a new 18:9:5 aspect ratio that is similar to the 18:9 screen on the LG G6, but taller and skinner than traditional 16:9 screens the vast majority of phones today have, the new Mi 6 included. Basically the Galaxy S8 offers a huge screen in a very small body, one that’s comparable to the iPhone 7 in portability.

The Mi 6 takes advantage of an unimpressive 5.15-inch display with 1080 x 1920 resolution, so customers looking to buy a flagship with media consumption in mind will probably be more impressed by the gorgeous display of the Galaxy S8. Still this doesn’t mean the Mi 6’s display isn’t good for running apps and games, browsing social media and doing everything else you need to do on the phone.

Computing power

Snapdragon 835 vs Snapdragon 835

6GB of RAM vs 4GB of RAM

64GB/128GB of storage vs 64GB of stroage

In the processor department, the two phones are on-par, as they both take advantage of a Qualcomm’s first 10nm SoC, the Snapdragon 835. In case you don’t know the octa-core processor consists of four 2.35GHz Kyro cores and four 1.9GHz Kyro cores.

Still the Xiaomi Mi 6 should run smoother thanks to the presence of 6GB of RAM onboard. Like with last year’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, the Galaxy S8 only takes advantage of 4GB of RAM. It also has only a 64GB internal storage option, but owners can expand on that thanks to the microSD card slot onboard. The Mi 6 doesn’t have a microSD card slot onboard, but features a 128GB option.

Cameras

Dual main 12MP+12MP camera vs 12MP main camera

8MP secondary camera vs 8MP secondary camera

The biggest attraction of the Xiaomi Mi 6 is the main dual camera assembly onboard which is composed of a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens with 12-megapixel telephoto lens for 2x lossless zoom. Samsung on the other hand, didn’t put an emphasis on photo upgrades this year.

The phone features basically the same camera as the Galaxy S7 which is a 12MP sensor with f/1.7, phase detection autofocus, optical image stabilization and LED flash. Both handsets carry an 8MP self-portrait camera on the front.

Software

Android 7.1.1 Nougat vs Android 7.0 Nougat

Some users where quite disappointed seeing the Galaxy S7 launch with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box – given that this software version is already 8 months old. However, an update to Android 7.1.1 Nougat seems to be in the cards for the Galaxy S8.

As for the Xiaomi Mi 6 the phone comes with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, with MIUI 8 on top – which as always heavily modifies the experience. As for the Galaxy S8, its interface has been heavily cleaned up, before being re-named Samsung Experience. It’s still not near stock Android, but at least it’s a lot less cluttered.

Other features

By now almost everyone knows that the Galaxy S8 comes equipped with Samsung’s homegrown virtual assistant, Bixby. While Bixby is not fully functional at this moment, which features like Bixby Voice expected to become available later this spring, the platform seems to be quite promising.

As for the Xiaomi Mi 6 – there’s no virtual assistant baked into model. But customers will be able to take advantage of the Google Assistant, so that’s not half bad.

The Galaxy S8 makes use of facial recognition or an iris scanner to authenticate users and is compatible with DeX – a special dock which allows users to hook the phone to an external display, keyboard and mouse for a full desktop experience. Another perk of the Galaxy S8 is that it works with the new Gear VR headset with remote controller. The Xiaomi Mi 6 has none of that. This is as good as place as any to mention, the Xiaomi Mi 6 does away with the 3.5mm headphone jack, while the Galaxy S8 retains it.

The Galaxy S8 also enjoys an IP68 rating, for dust particle and water resistance, but similar info about the Mi 6 has not been made available yet. Last but not least, we should mention the Galaxy S8 has Bluetooth 5.0 onboard.

Battery

3,350 mAh vs 3,000 mAh

Given that the Xiaomi Mi 6 has a larger battery, a less demanding screen and Android 7.1.1 Nougat onboard, we expect it to be able to sustain longer battery life than the Galaxy S8. Still, well have to wait and see how the Mi 6 behaves in real life.

Pricing

Pricing is where the Xiaomi Mi 6 completely trumps the Galaxy S8. The new Chinese flagship is available for $360 and up, while the Galaxy S8 starts at $650.

Verdict

The Xiaomi Mi 6 is a Snapdragon 835-fueled phones for first time flagship buyers, who aren’t yet convinced they want to spend all of their savings on a phone. The Mi 6 has very superior specs om=and a very attractive price-tag attached to it. On the bleak side of things, it will not be officially available in the US, so you’ll probably have to order it from sites like Geekbuying. But the Galaxy S8 feels more premium and certainly brings more options to the table, the center piece being Bixby and the DeX dock.

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