You may have noticed by now that we have a theme going with Google Photos How-To’s; we have things like how to backup your pictures, editing pictures and creating a slideshow. Today we continue that with creating and sharing albums with Google Photos. Albums are sort of like folders, they allow you to group photos together for easier viewing and sharing.
Prerequisites:
The prerequisites are the same as what we have for the other Google Photo How-To’s
Initially introduced in late 2016, the Huawei Mate 9 is a 5.9-inch phone with some of the best hardware available. Powered by a HiSilicon Kirin 960 processor, the flagship device boasts 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.
The Mate 9 runs Android 7.0 Nougat which puts it on a pretty short list as of its launch. It does run Huawei’s custom Emotion UI (EMUI 5.0) which gives users a few extras over the stock experience. Starting in February 2017, the Mate 9 will gain Amazon Alexa support in the United States.
In terms of cameras, the phone packs a dual module on the rear which is powered by Leica. The main camera is comprised of an f/2.2 12-megapixel color camera and f/2.2 20-megapixel monochrome camera, which combine to produce images with more detail. Around front is an 8-megapixel shooter.
Rounding out the specs are microSD expansion card slot for up to 256GB, fingerprint sensors, IR blaster, stereo speakers, and capacious 4,000mAh battery.
[vc_custom_heading text=”Where to Buy” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center|color:%23d70060″ google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”]
[vc_cta h2=”Amazon” h2_font_container=”color:%23444444″ h2_google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” shape=”square” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”Shop” btn_shape=”square” btn_i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-shopping-basket” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” h2_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F2ibo8QJ||target:%20_blank” btn_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F2ibo8QJ||target:%20_blank” btn_add_icon=”true”]Amazon sells the Moonlight Silver and Space Gray versions of the phone; both cost $599.99 at launch. International versions of the Mocha Brown and Champagne are available but do not come with warranties.[/vc_cta][vc_cta h2=”B&H Photo Video” h2_font_container=”color:%23444444″ h2_google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” shape=”square” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”Shop” btn_shape=”square” btn_i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-shopping-basket” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” h2_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1300843-REG%2Fhuawei_51091bkv_mate_9_mha_l29_64gb.html%2FBI%2F20229%2FKBID%2F14505||target:%20_blank” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bhphotovideo.com%2Fc%2Fproduct%2F1300843-REG%2Fhuawei_51091bkv_mate_9_mha_l29_64gb.html%2FBI%2F20229%2FKBID%2F14505||target:%20_blank” btn_add_icon=”true”]Customers can choose from the Space Gray and Moonlight Silver colors of the phone with both of them retailing for $599.99 as of publication.[/vc_cta][vc_cta h2=”Best Buy” h2_font_container=”color:%23444444″ h2_google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” shape=”square” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”Shop” btn_shape=”square” btn_i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-shopping-basket” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” h2_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2Fhuawei-mate-9-4g-lte-with-64gb-memory-cell-phone-unlocked-space-gray%2F5709704.p%3FskuId%3D5709704||target:%20_blank” btn_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fsite%2Fhuawei-mate-9-4g-lte-with-64gb-memory-cell-phone-unlocked-space-gray%2F5709704.p%3FskuId%3D5709704||target:%20_blank” btn_add_icon=”true”]Best Buy offers the Huawei smartphone in Space Gray and Moonlight Silver, both of which run $599.99.[/vc_cta][vc_cta h2=”Newegg” h2_font_container=”color:%23444444″ h2_google_fonts=”font_family:Oswald%3A300%2Cregular%2C700|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” shape=”square” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”Shop” btn_shape=”square” btn_i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-shopping-basket” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” h2_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16875606089%26cm_re%3Dhuawei_mate_9-_-75-606-089-_-Product||target:%20_blank” btn_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16875606089%26cm_re%3Dhuawei_mate_9-_-75-606-089-_-Product||target:%20_blank” btn_add_icon=”true”]Newegg offers both the Space Gray and Moonlight Silver flavors of the phone, each retailing for $599.99.[/vc_cta]
When it comes to virtual private network (VPN) apps, the online market is brimming with available options. However, to truly benefit from what the technology has to offer, it’s imperative that you don’t settle for any unnecessary compromise.
Choosing the right free VPN app for your Android or iPhone isn’t really that complicated as long as you’re aware of the factors that must be taken into consideration. In case you’re oblivious to what those factors are, here’s a quick run-through:
Security Protocols
If you’re contemplating the use of VPN apps to keep hackers and snoopers at bay, then you really need to pay attention to the tunneling and encryption protocols its security framework is based on. The aforementioned protocols are basically security technologies that hide data from prying eyes and/or convert them into an unreadable form.
The technical details of this feature can become a bit overwhelming, which is why we’re going to keep everything simple and suggest you look for OpenVPN or IPsec/L2TP in a VPN app before giving it any further thought. There are other security protocols as well, but these two are generally believed to be the securest.
Log Policy
While a VPN service may be well-equipped to mitigate the risk of data interception and surveillance, you really shouldn’t consider yourself fully secure until you’ve confirmed its log policy. It’s not uncommon for VPN providers to retain at least some information about its users. This may be something harmless, e.g. non-personally identifiable information and session timestamp, to something far more revealing like browsing history and online activities.
Since you’ll be entrusting a VPN service with what could be really personal or sensitive information, make sure you go through its privacy policy thoroughly to learn exactly what sort of information it will be logging, how long the information will remain stored on its servers, how the information is used, and whether the VPN provider has taken necessary precautions to secure its data storage centers from foreign threats.
Server Locations
A lot of internet users turn to VPN apps to bypass geo-restrictions and access content that is either only available in a specific country or is banned by their government or local internet service provider (ISP). This is achieved by shifting virtual location, which involves tunneling the traffic to a VPN server in a country of choice and then accessing the desired content from there.
If attaining easy and unhindered access to geo-fenced content perfectly describes your intent, then be sure to pay close attention to the locations where the VPN app you’re considering has its servers located. For example, if you want to access US-specific content, then make sure there’s a server located there.
Connection Speed and Bandwidth Limitation
No matter what VPN service you use, it will almost always throttle your internet’s speed. That’s inevitable so you really shouldn’t hope for a miracle. However, this dip in speed doesn’t have to be too significant, which is where the make of the app and its network of servers come in. To find out how well a VPN app of your choice ranks in this area, you will need to do a bit of research and read reviews written by users and professionals.
Another factor that you need to consider is the amount of bandwidth that you’ll be getting. It doesn’t really make a great deal of sense to be paying money to use a VPN service that imposes a limit on the amount of data you can transfer during a specified time. In case a VPN provider provides some kind of logical justification for this limitation and compensates for it through additional features, or if you don’t plan on using VPN too frequently, then your willingness to settle for a slight compromise may increase.
Device and OS Compatibility
You would probably want to keep your data protected and enjoy an unrestricted internet access on more than just one device. That is why you must always ensure that the VPN service you’re considering supports multiple simultaneous connections. This way if you later change your device or start using an additional device for online browsing and transferring sensitive data over the internet, you won’t need to invest in another app.
OS compatibility is also a crucial consideration. You may be using an Android device at the time of investing in a VPN, but what if you later switch to an iPhone? Irrespective of the unlikeliness of that happening, keep yourself future-proof by refraining from completely ruling out the possibility. Therefore, be sure to confirm a VPN app’s support for multiple OS.
Price
Although there are plenty of free VPNs around and even some of the most renowned VPN providers offer an abbreviated version of their actual product, you may still find yourself leaning towards the paid version due to premium features. This, of course, makes price an integral factor since you will need to be paying a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual subscription fee.
Before you commit to any app, make sure it justifies the price. Go through its list of features, compare them to what it’s offering in its free version, and read user and professional reviews to decide whether investing in the paid version is worth it or not. It has generally been observed that paid VPN apps perform much better than their free counterparts. Therefore, try not to let the price of a VPN service influence your decision too much.
In a time where we have reached a plateau in terms of innovation in the smartphone segment, companies have to resort to doing things differently in order to stand out in a sea full of choices. Nomu has built its brand around ruggedness, about getting things done in environments where no other phone can, about not worrying about the well-being of your device in certain conditions. The Nomu S30 is the company’s flagship device, packing the best specs out of the trilogy (completed by the Nomu S10 and S20). As such, Nomu has tried to incorporate everything it’s got, from NFC to useful software features, from a 16MP camera to an impressively loud speaker, from a 1080p screen to an elegant body design.
Specs
Being the flagship phone by Nomu, the phone packs really good components under the hood.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
5.5-inch display at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution; Gorilla Glass 4
Octa-core MediaTek 2.0GHz processor
4GB RAM
64GB internal storage; microSD expansion card slot for 32GB
13-megapixel (interpolated to 16-megapixel) rear camera
5-megapixel (interpolated to 8-megapixel)front-facing camera
Dual-SIM
5000mAh battery
2G GSM:850/900/1800/1900(B5/B8/B3/B2)
3G WCDMA:900/2100(B8/B1)
4G FDD-LTE:850/900/1900/2100(B5/B8/B2/B1)
FDD-LTE:800/900/1800/2100/2600(B1/B3/B7/B8/B20)
WiFi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4GHz
Bluetooth: 4.0 BLE
NFC
Unlike its smaller, less powerful brother, the Nomu S30 actually has two SIM slots and a microSD card, so you won’t have to compromise anything.
Initial Impressions and Setup
The back of the device is plastic, with a nice carbon fiber pattern.
Nomu tried to keep the device packaging as uncomplicated and straightforward as possible. The box is a light brown package with the Nomu logo on the center and not much else. Inside, you’ll find the phone and, below it, some instruction booklets, a pair of headphones and a charger. Keep in mind that it is designed for European outlets, so, in order to charge your phone in the United States and some places of Latin America, you will need an adapter.
Unlike the Nomu S10, the S30 takes you to the usual Android configuration process. This means that you can’t use your device until you finish the lengthy setup process. I can’t figure out with the S30 has a different setup process than the S10, but I like the S10’s approach much more.
Hardware and Build Quality
Just as Scott mentioned on his initial impressions article, the Nomu S30 doesn’t look like a rugged device. You can see elements that both the S10 and the S30 share, such as the distinctive corners of the device or the flaps that protect the ports, but other than that, they look very different.
At the bottom of the Gorilla Glass 4 screen, you’ll find three capacitive buttons: Menu, Home, and Back. More on these buttons later. The front of the device is only disrupted otherwise by the front-facing camera and the earpiece. A hole for the microphone can be seen at the bottom left of the device, something I haven’t seen in a phone for a while.
The device has a plastic shell with carbon fiber patterns on the back. There’s also a door just below the camera/flash combo that houses the ports for the SIM and microSD cards. At the top of the device is the headphone jack, while at the bottom you’ll find the microUSB port (which is curiously aligned to the left of the device and not to the center). Both are covered by rubber flaps.
The sides of the device are covered by a silver metal frame. The right side is the home of the volume keys and the power button, while the left side has a button that can be mapped to different functions (more on that later).
Personally, I dig the aspect of the device. It looks elegant, different from the glass/metal craze that is invading several OEMs these days and does a good job in hiding the ruggedness of the device behind its looks. Something I dislike is the huge bezels that the device has. It makes the phone unnecessarily big, and it is more noticeable when you compare it to other 5.5-inch devices. Sure, most of them don’t pack a 5000mAh battery, so that’s the tradeoff you have to make in order to get a phone with a big battery.
Also, I have to mention that the device is heavier than you might me accustomed to. I’m coming from an iPhone, but before that, I had a Nexus 6, which is probably the heaviest device I’ve ever owned. At 260 grams, it is a full 76 grams heavier than the Nexus 6 and more than 100 grams heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S7. Keep in mind the battery that this device has, though.
The IP68 water resistance rating this phone holds means that you can submerge it in water for 30 minutes up to 1.5 meters. This means that you can pour your favorite liquid over it and the S30 will be fine.
The device has capacitive keys that weren’t working correctly for me.
Here’s the problem: my capacitive keys are nuts. They just love to press themselves for no reason. You think that you finally got the perfect angle for that shot? It would be a shame if the back button presses by itself. In the middle of a very important conversation on Telegram? Home button for you, sir. Sometimes when you are on the home screen, you see the phone struggling with itself, pressing the menu button and then the back button repeatedly with no reason at all. It’s sad and thus, it diminishes my enjoyment using it. Scott reported this same thing as well.
We don’t know the reason, but if it was because of water or shipping, then this leaves the company in a bad position. Being a phone that is supposed to handle water with ease, while being shock resistant, and then breaking at the first sign of unfavorable conditions doesn’t speak well about its ruggedness. We will work with Nomu to see if they can find the source of the issue and update the article if we get some news.
Screen
The Sharp-produced 5.5″ 1080p panel manages to produce very vibrant images. Everything seems to pop out of the screen. Sure, this is no Samsung AMOLED, but the screen on this device is very respectable and more than enough for whatever activities you plan to do on the device. I feel like it could get a little bit brighter, but that is a minor thing that doesn’t cut away from the enjoyment of using it.
Also, it’s good to know that it doesn’t have the weird defects the Nomu S10 has, so that’s a plus. I certainly was expecting an improvement from the S10, but the vibrant colors, deep darks and overall clearness of the screen left me pleasantly surprised.
Unfortunately, the screen is almost unusable when wet, even if it is just a little bit. True, most screens can handle just a certain amount of water before they have no idea of what is going on, but the Nomu S30 is particularly bad at this. It’s a real surprise since the phone is supposed to fare well under conditions that are not ideal.
Something that surprised me is that the screen is weird under normal conditions, too. If I want to change the home screen’s page, but I just drag halfway and keep holding, the icons jump around until I let go, something I have never seen in a modern smartphone. Sometimes, it registers my scrolls as clicks too, leading to a lot of undesired actions and navigation. Sometimes it doesn’t register my touches at all. Since the screen is the main source of user input, having a panel that doesn’t work obliterated the enjoyment I got out of this device.
Speakers and Audio
Since the speaker is at the bottom, the device doesn’t have to be in a specific position to get the most out of it.
The bottom-facing speaker means that you can actually leave your phone on the table and it will work flawlessly. It seems like loudness is pretty high on Nomu’s list of priorities because, just as the Nomu S10, this speaker can get very loud. Unfortunately, at high volumes, some quality is lost, but it is not as bad as with the Nomu S10.
Being a drummer, I pay close attention to the drumming lines in songs, so I was disappointed when I could barely hear the drums in Kamelot’s “Insomnia” or Delain’s “Fire With Fire.” However, quality is decent enough to use the phone as a speaker for some nice background music in one of those improvised moments where you don’t have a proper speaker nearby.
Quality from headphones was good enough too. When I don’t have my iPod nearby, Spotify is my product of choice, and I had no issues outputting music through my headphones while walking to my lectures.
Connectivity
This aspect of the phone could make or break it for you. Apparently, Nomu has very few intentions of penetrating the US market, since its phones don’t include some of the necessary bands for LTE connectivity. This means that you could be stuck in 3G (or even in 2G!). As I live in Estonia, the phone actually has the bands necessary for LTE reception.
Remember checking the compatible bands before clicking the Buy button.
I think these days, very few phones have problems with call quality or connectivity. Some get a bit more reception than others, but that’s about it. This phone got the same signal strength as my iPhone 6 and the Nomu S10 review unit. Also, WiFi behaved the same as with other devices I have (not laptops, obviously), so there’s no surprises in this area.
Software
Stock Android!
Thank you, Nomu! The company decided to ship the S30 with an almost stock Android 6.0 build. Also, the few things that were added are actually useful! Weird, right? Let’s dig further.
The stock launcher is pretty barebones. Also, for some reason, it isn’t the same as the S10’s launcher. In the S30, the app drawer features horizontal paged navigation, which is a deviation of what Google is doing with the Google Now Launcher and the Pixel Launcher. Other than that, the minimum features are included and not much else. A problem with the S10 was that some of its apps had icons from the Jelly Bean era, and some Google apps were not installed by default. This is not a problem from the S30, as the only missing app is YouTube. Even Android Pay is included.
The quick settings have a new member that is not included in stock Android: Audio profiles. This lets you change quickly from four different presents: General, Silent, Meeting and Outdoor. It is a very useful and fast way of changing from different environments.
Curiously, one of the highlights of the Nomu S10, Supershots, is not included here. You can only take a screenshot and it will be saved for you. That’s it. No editing, no cropping, no scoll, nothing.
Also, Nomu has included some gestures when the screen is off. This includes double tap to wake, swipe up (lights up the screen and unlocks), launch apps by drawing letters on the screen while it is off and control music through gestures. I’m glad to say that all of them work extremely well and add to the experience. More OEMs should consider adding this kind of useful stuff to their Android builds.
Other interesting features added to the software are Glove Mode, Flip to Mute (incoming calls, alarm, music, and videos), and a built-in task cleaner. Also, you can change what the previously mentioned left button does. You can choose between triggering an app or an SOS situation. To expand on this last feature, the S30 lets you call an emergency number and send an SMS to it. We hope you never have to use that function, but it’s there for you anyways.
Performance
For those of you interested in benchmarks, the phone scored 52149 in AnTuTu.
This puts it fairly above the Meizu M3 Note, Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8. The difference between the S30 and the Xiaomi Mi 4s is almost 9000, while it has similar values to devices like the HTC One M9, Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and the Nubia Z9 Max.
Fortunately, this is translated into good performance in real life. Every task is a breeze, the phone never lags (except when using Facebook, but that isn’t the phone’s fault) and gaming on it is really good. Even when trying some N.O.V.A. 3, the phone was able to keep up a produce great graphics. I didn’t notice any slowdowns or skipped frames, even when there was a lot going on.
Going from one app to another through the task switcher is swift, thanks to the 4GB of RAM. Unless you’re doing something extremely heavy and processor-demanding, there’s no way the performance of the S30 will leave you disappointed.
Camera
The 13MP (interpolated to 16MP), Sony-produced, f/2.0 lens camera aided by a single flash behaves exactly like me in university (and almost every human being, for that matter): really good in some situations, decent in some of them and laughably bad in others. If you are here looking for a Samsung Galaxy S7 camera experience, then you will have a bad time. However, if you just want to take some shots of things happening around you, then the S30 does a pretty good job at it… Except in nighttime.
Living in a place that has been covered in snow almost every day since the end of October, the pictures that I can take are mostly white with cloudy skies. I noticed that the camera sometimes struggle to capture the sky. It just gives up and gives you a white thing on top. If you are patient enough, then the camera can actually make peace with it and capture its details. Other than that, the camera behaves decently enough, although it tends to blur things a little sometimes without no reason.
The problem comes when the sun sets. Night pictures are so unbelievably bad. You can judge from the samples yourself.
I had a Siemens C66 that behaved better than this in night time. Well, not really, but I can’t recall a camera that performed so poorly in night conditions.
Also, on both situations previously mentioned, the camera was really slow to focus and to actually take the shot. This was exacerbated in night shots, where the camera just stood there doing nothing for 2-3 seconds.
Indoor shots performed much better and are definitely the strength of this camera. Photos taken inside are detailed and have very vivid colors. Also, almost none of the lag found on other situations was found here.
Regarding the front camera, as long as you are not planning on printing them or something similar, you’ll be fine. Just don’t rely on it for taking decent pictures of that once-in-a-lifetime trip you’re about to make.
Battery
Nice functions have been added to the software and they don’t affect battery life in a noticeable way.
As with the Nomu S10, battery life is one of the S30’s strongest points. Featuring a massive 5000mAh battery, it puts my iPhone 6’s battery to shame (but then, which phone doesn’t?). I reported that the Nomu S10 could last three days on a single charge easily. The S30 has less endurance, with two days being easily achievable and maybe two and a half if you are careful enough. Still, two days is pretty good and I have no complaints about it.
Something to note, when I received the unit, it was fully discharged. I failed to bring it back to life using the phone’s included charger. On a last try to revive the phone, I used my iPhone’s charger, and then it worked. Not sure if this is something about my device or if it is a widespread issue, but either way, I’m still worried about the QA process that this company has.
Conclusion
Just as the S10, the Nomu S30 left a bitter taste in my mouth. Even though it has everything to succeed, it has these punctual but almost unforgivable mistakes that keeps it from reaching the glory. While some stuff is really good, such as performance, battery life, software and the speaker, other aspects like the poor camera, dodgy screen and build quality issues are very evident and make this device difficult to recommend.
If they can get these issues sorted out, then Nomu will have a winner in their hands. In it’s current state, however, the bad things outweigh in importance the good things. Sure, it’s nice to have a phone with a big battery so you don’t have to worry about charging it every day, but it’s of no use if your capacitive keys keep messing with you and your actions.
If you still want to buy the phone and see if you have better luck than I do, you can do it from these outlets:
Prices vary from $230 to $270, but you shouldn’t pay more than that. To get more information about the phone, head to Nomu’s official site. They have everything laid out in a nice way.
Remember we told you the 128GB Pixel XL was in high demand at Verizon? The carrier started sales of the Pixel in October 2016, but those who ordered the beefier Pixel XL model were notified their phone might not arrive until early 2017.
Well it appears Verizon is still having a hard time keeping up with high demand for the smartphone. You’re not going to like this. A Phone Arena reader received an email from Verizon which alerted him his Pixel XL won’t be shipped until March 3. The user purchased the phone during Verizon’s Black Friday sale on November 26.
The previous shipping date was January 6, but now it looks like 128GB Pixel XL buyers are being slammed with an additional 3-month! waiting time. Which is quite outrageous! Four months waiting for a phone? We wouldn’t blame customers if they get fed up with all the waiting and decided to go for another phone. That’s the only sensible solution to this mess!
Now if you look at the Verizon page, you can see that the estimated shipping date for the 32GB Pixel XL is March 3, as well. Now if you truly want a Pixel from Verizon, your best bet would be to order a 32GB Pixel. The 128GB Pixel’s estimated delivery date is January 27 and there’s no guarantee that won’t change.
For customers who want a Pixel, but haven’t decided where to buy it from we recommend looking towards Google’s own Store or Project Fi, unless you want to play the waiting game with Verizon for God knows how long.
Google and HTC should do something about speeding up the production process. It seems customers really love the Pixel, but if such delays keep happening we’re afraid users might migrate towards other smartphone providers.
While companies like Motorola are taking a step back from Android Wear smartwatches in 2017, other device makers like ZTE are more than willing to give this niche a go.
According to CNET, the Chinese company is looking to introduce its very first Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch sometime this year. ZTE says it will improve on existing products in the category by designing a smartwatch capable of delivering an improved battery life. With most intelligent timepieces needing to be recharged at least once a day, a smartwatch with a longer life cycle might indeed attract some attention.
ZTE wearable
Device manufacturers like ASUS have claimed in the past their smartwatches can sustain advanced battery life. For example, at launch the ZenWatch 3 was said to be capable of offering a 2-day lifecycle. However, some reviewers found that this is not the case and the wearable can only be used for around twenty-four hours per charge. We’ll have to wait and see whether ZTE can pull it off better than ASUS and we don’t mean just on paper, but in a real-life scenario too.
ZTE also said it is partnering up with one of the US four major carriers to launch the smartwatch, which means the wearable will take advantage of LTE and users will be able to use it independently from their smartphone.
If ZTE manages to deliver an affordable, LTE-equipped smartwatch with a long battery life, chances are customers will be interested. At least in theory.
The allure of this product category has been diminishing at an alarming rate for the past year. Important players in the market like Motorola or Huawei are taking a break from releasing any new Android Wear smartwatches. Which opens up a door for companies like ZTE to try their luck.
For its part, Google is still trying to convince users Android Wear is worthy of their attention. The company is currently working on two self-branded smartwatches which should launch with Android Wear 2.0 onboard. Actually we were expecting to see them at CES 2017, but they failed to make an appearance.
Released back in November, the OnePlus 3T represent an incremental update over the OnePlus 3. With a slightly better processor, selfie camera and chunkier battery, the OnePlus 3T proves to be quite an interesting middle-to-upper ranger smartphone.
But the handset is going to see some competition from Samsung’s newly released Galaxy A (2017) line, especially the Galaxy A7 (2017) which is in the same price range. In what follows we’re going to compare the two models to give you an idea about the differences between the two premium mid-range devices.
Display
5.7-inch with 1080 x 1920 resolution vs 5.5-inch with 1080 x 1920 resolution
As you can see the Samsung Galaxy A7 features a larger display compared to the OnePlus 3T, but both phones take advantage of a FHD panel. That means that the Galaxy A7 bundles 386ppi, while the OnePlus 3T has 401ppi, meaning the latter’s display should be crisper. But those of you who prefer larger phones will probably like the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) better.
Computing power
Exynos 7880 clocked at 1.9GHz vs Snapdragon 821 clocked at 2.35GHz
3GB of RAM vs 6GB of RAM
Mali-T830MP2 vs Adreno 530
In terms of power and performance, the OnePlus 3T should run smoother than the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017). There’s double the RAM capacity on the OnePlus 3T and the processor is faster too. While the Snapdragon 821 is a top of a line chipset, the Exynos 7880 is roughly in the Snapdragon 620 range. It has a big.LITTLE configuration of Cortex-A72 and Cortex A53 cores.
However, the A7 (2017) has good enough specs to guarantee a seamless experience when browsing the web or accessing apps and playing games.
Cameras
16MP/16MP vs 16MP/16MP
Here’s where the OnePlus 3T and Galaxy A7 (2017) are extremely similar. Both phones feature a 16MP/16MP camera combo. The main camera on the Galaxy A7 features f/1.9, autofocus and LED flash, while the selfie snapper has the same aperture plus 1080p video recording capabilities.
As for the OnePlus 3T, the back shooter takes advantage of f/2.0, Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF), OIS, LED flash, while the selfie cam has the same f/2.0 plus 1080p video recording.
Software
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow vs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
While the OnePlus 3T launched with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, the Android 7.0 Nougat-based update has been pushed recently. The Galaxy A7 (2017) will ship out with the same mobile OS version, but there’s no information related to whether the phone will be updated to Nougat, although it probably will at some point, as well as the Galaxy A (2016) family.
Battery
3,600 mAh vs 3,400 mAh
The battery on the Galaxy A7 (2017) is a big chunkier, but keep in mind it’s sustaining a slightly larger display. Although the processor inside the phone isn’t as demanding as the Snapdragon 821. So we expect that both handsets will deliver approximately similar battery life.
Other features
32GB of storage vs 64GB/128GB of storage
Those you habitually need a lot of free storage on their phone, will probably like the OnePlus 3T more. Although the Galaxy A7 (2017) does come with a microSD card slot which allows for memory expansion up to 256GB. As for the OnePlus 3T it does not have a microSD card slot, so what you see is what you get.
Pricing
Around $500 (?) vs $439
Samsung hasn’t confirmed the price for the Galaxy A7 (2017) but we expect it to be around the $500, which is quite a lot. By contrast, the OnePlus 3T offers a more advanced processor and more GB of RAM, while keeping the cost affordable.
Verdict
While the Galaxy A7 (2017) doesn’t take advantage of an exciting processor and offers half the RAM capacity compared to the OnePlus 3T, there are some perks the device bring to the table like IP68 certification for water and dust resistance, Samsung Pay support and a microSD card slot.
On the other hand, the OnePlus 3T is faster and takes advantage of Android 7.0 Nougat. In the end it’s up to you and hopefully this spec showdown will help you make the best decision.
Puzzle games are aplenty on the Google Play store. It’s rare to find one that really pulls you in to the point where you want to play for more than 10 minutes at a time. Thankfully Color Glide, from Eternal Studio, is a game that is fun and addicting early on. The premise is simple, but the complexity quickly ramps up.
Think you have what it takes to solve puzzles like this?
As the player you must solve each puzzle by “gliding” colored squares into the appropriately colored goal. Simple physics allow each colored square to slide up, down, right or left. Later on, puzzles test your skills by creating walls that only certain colored blocks can pass through, or by forcing players to combine two colors to create a new color. It’s a rewarding experience when you use a little bit of wit to figure out the correct combination of moves.
Each level has a goal, or par, for the amount of moves to solve each puzzle. If the level is completed at or close to par, the player will receive a bronze, silver or gold trophy. This adds to the replay-ability as you can return to any level you’ve completed to best your previous score.
Before you know it, you’ll be combining colors to reach new goals
Music is minimal and soothing. This is not a fast paced, frantic puzzle game like Tetris–it’s more thoughtful and calculated, so the ominous, gentle music fits right in. The sound effects are sparse with chimes, dings and effectively what could be described as shattering glass. Overall, a nice complement to the overall aesthetic.
Color Glide does implement leader boards in a very minimal way. You can see scores from friends you have within the Google Play games network, but outside of that, the leader boards are quite limited. The game also has an option to pay to remove those pesky ads (which I did not do), to tweet out to your followers about the game, or to link to and like Eternal Studio on Facebook.
More levels can be purchased with gems at any time. Gem prices range from 100 for $.99 to 600 for $4.99, or can be supplemented by ads. Also, you have the option to play the Daily Level, which is a unique level that is updated each day. Color Glide offers 37 levels from the start, which should be a good amount of challenge for most players. After that, if you still enjoy the game and want more, feel free to spend your gems on more levels.
For fans of the puzzle genre, it’s hard not to recommend Color Glide. It’s simple enough for a child to understand, yet deep enough for the most intellectual player to exercise his or her mind a bit. Check it out in the Google Play store if you’re up for a fun and colorful challenge.
Earlier this week we told you Nokia is expected to launch 6 to 7 new Android smartphones this year. Well it seems the deluge has already been unleashed. HMD, the Finnish company that holds the rights over the Nokia brand has announced the first all-new Nokia smartphone.
And as previous rumors indicated, the freshly squeezed handset called Nokia 6 is a budget-friendly device, albeit advertised as “premium”.
“Our ambition is to deliver a premium product, which meets consumer needs at every price point, in every market”.
With the Nokia 6, HMD targets the Chinese market – the largest and most competitive smartphone market in the world. The Finnish device maker has partnered up with JD.com to bring the phone in the country – a seller with an upwardly mobile consumer base, which has been a massive supporter of the Nokia brand in China.
Now you’re probably pretty curious about what the Nokia 6 is all about, so we’re going to go straight to the juicy party. The phone comes equipped with a 5.5-inch 2.5D display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. A Snapdragon 430 with Adreno 505 GPU are nestled under the hood and keep the device working. HMD also throws in 4GB of RAM and 64GB of native storage.
In the photo department, the mid-ranger features a sensible 16MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture plus PDAF laser auto-focus plus an 8MP selfie snapper with the same aperture. The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, which is pretty good news.
The Nokia 6 will launch in China as a JD.com exclusive in the first part of the year. It will be priced at $245. No word whether the Nokia 6 will make it into the US, but we guess it’s not going to make it state side any time soon.
No official images of the device were revealed, but we do have a video teasing the device for you to look at (and now some pictures):
Previously, HMD announced the Nokia 150 feature phone which is destined for Europe, Asia and Africa markets. Come MWC 2017, HMD will probably announce a global Nokia product, so stay tuned.
So 2017 is going to be your year, eh? You’re going to lose some weight, kick a nasty habit, learn how to take better pictures, and develop the next big mobile game. That’s awesome stuff, sure, but you might need a little bit of help along the way.
Udemy, an affiliate partner of ours that we’ve highlighted a few times over the years, is here to help you start and stick to your new year’s resolution. No matter what you plan to do, chances are very high that Udemy has a course to help. With some tens of thousands to choose from, they’ve got expert training and resources to assist in any area of life, especially self improvement.
Udemy is currently running a promotion which sees its classes discounted to only $10 each. Normally priced up to $200 each, this means you’re getting them at a 95% discount. You’ll have to act fast, though, if you want purchase some courses. The deal only runs through January 10 and then it’s back up to the typical rates.
We’ve gathered up a handful of some of the most popular personal development courses offered at Udemy. Additionally, we’ve collected some mobile-related and Android developer-based classes as well.
