Runtastic app now has direct integration with Google Play Music

If you happen to be an avid runner, you more than likely use a running app on your smartphone to help keep tabs on all of you runs. These apps are great tools for tracking calories burned, steps taken, average speed per mile, etc. However, with so many different choices out there when it comes to these apps, it can sometimes be a bit difficult to figure out which one will help meet your needs the best. If you’re a user of Google Play Music, the latest update to the Runtastic app for Android adds a pretty sweet feature that we think you’ll be a big fan of.

With the latest update, users will be able to listen to music from Google’s own streaming service directly within the Runtastic application. Simply navigate over to the music section of the app and you’ll then have the option to play a set of free playlists that are made specifically for going on runs. Google’s added a ton of custom playlists to listen to, and many of them like the Today’s Running Hits one feature songs that are all over 130 beats per minute to help you keep a fast and steady pace. It’s a pretty sweet feature to have baked into the Runtastic app itself, and makes it incredibly convenient to start listening to tunes without having to jump into a separate app.

Playlists being offered in the Runtastic app are free for all users – not just subscribers of Google Play Music All Access. However, as a user of Runtastic, Google is offering a a two-month free trial of the service to runners on both Android and iOS. There’s no word as to if or when the actual integration of Google Play Music in the Runtastic app will makes its way over to iOS, so we’re looking at this being an exclusive to Android for the time being.

The update is available now to all users of the Runtastic app on Android.

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AT&T and Sprint will let you swap your replacement Galaxy Note 7 for any other handset

The brown stuff appears to be hitting the proverbial fan once again for Samsung, whose Galaxy Note 7 recall has been thrown into jeopardy by reports of replacements also exploding. As authorities investigate a recent incident involving supposedly ‘safe’ Note 7 on a Southwest flight, many businesses are taking matters into their own hands, and some U.S. carriers have also reacted by allowing worried owners of Samsung’s phablet to swap the device for a different handset. 

Samsung is cooperating with the CPSC to get to the bottom of the highly-publicised plane incident earlier this week. Meanwhile, those on AT&T and Sprint can go ahead and swap their device for any other phone, even the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Sprint’s offer stands for the duration of the “investigation window,” while AT&T has informed 9to5Google that “customers with replacement Note 7s are able to exchange them for another device.”

There’s no word from Verizon as yet, but T-Mobile is sticking to its ‘Uncarrier’ motif and going against the grain for now. With that said, all phones sold by T-Mo are subject to a 14-day ‘remorse return’ policy, so many should still be able to obtain a new handset. It’s likely that many carriers and retailers across the world will be running similar offers right now so if you’re outside of the United States, you may want to contact the place of your Note 7 purchase. 

We’ll keep you updated on the Verizon situation. If Big Red does join AT&T and Sprint, it’ll be interesting to see if the Google Pixel and Pixel XL are included in the pool of devices on offer.

In the meantime, let us know if you’re planning to replace your Note 7 (again) in the comments. 

Saga: the Galaxy Note 7 may be recalled again

Saga: the Galaxy Note 7 may be recalled again

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Oppo R9s stars in Chinese television commercial

Earlier today, we showed you a promotional poster for the Oppo R9S. The phone is expected to feature a 5.5-inch screen with a 1080 x 1920 resolution. A Snapdragon 625 SoC is under the hood carrying an octa-core CPU and the Adreno 506 GPU. 4GB of RAM is inside along with 64GB of flash storage. A 16MP camera adorns the back of the handset, while a 13MP front-facing camera handles selfies and video chats. A 3010mAh battery keeps the lights on, and Oppo’s Super VOOC technology quickly adds juice to the cell.

Speaking about a 13MP selfie snapper, a 15-second television spot for the Oppo R9S centers on a selfie being snapped by a motorcyclist who takes the picture, and drives away. Later this month, we expect to see both the Oppo R9S and Oppo R9S Plus unveiled. The latter should come with a 6-inch screen carrying a 1080 x 1920 resolution. The Snapdragon 652 SoC powers this model with an octa-core CPU and the Adreno 510 GPU. 4GB of RAM is inside along with 64GB of native storage, and a 4120mAh battery.

You can get a look at the Oppo R9S by viewing the ad which has been leaked from Weibo. All you need to do is click on the video at the top of this article.

via AndroidPure

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LG V20 arrives at Sprint on October 28

Following T-Mobile and AT&T, Sprint today announced that it, too, will be launching the LG V20 this month. The smartphone will be available via all Sprint retail channels starting October 28, though pre-sales should begin one week earlier, on October 21.

For a limited time, Sprint will let you trade in your old smartphone for an LG V20, and receive up to $200 credit, plus a free pair of Bang & Olufsen H3 earphones (valued at $149).

The LG V20 is the world’s first handset to run Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and, unsurprisingly, it will also be the first Nougat device on Sprint.

With its 5.7-inch Quad HD main display and its 2.1-inch secondary screen, the LG V20 is quite a large smartphone, so it’s not for everyone. Powered by a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, the V20 is made out of metal, further featuring 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of expandable storage space, fingerprint scanner, dual rear camera (16 MP + 8 MP), and a 3200 mAh battery. For a closer look at the phone, you should check out our LG V20 preview.

Sprint did not say how much the LG V20 will cost. Hopefully, the handset won’t be as expensive as on AT&T, which asks $27.67 per month for 30 months (that’s a total of $830) for its V20.

LG V20

source: Sprint

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Deal: B&H selling the Microsoft Lumia 550 at just $59.99 for a (very) limited time

If you act fast, you can get the Microsoft Lumia 550 from B&H at a price of $59.99.

A few days ago, we told you that Microsoft is selling the entry-level Lumia 550 at $99, down from the handset’s usual price of $139. That was already a good deal on a decent phone, but it turns out that B&H is currently selling the Microsoft Lumia 550 at an even lower price.

AT $59, the handset is offered at an impressive 57% discount compared to the standard pricing. In our eyes, this is a very good deal for one of the best entry-level smartphones around. Just note that the deal expires tonight, meaning that you only have a few more hours to place a purchase. 

The price is good for an unlocked version of the phone, which will work just fine with GSM carriers such as T-Mobile or AT&T. Sprint and Verizon subscribers should look elsewhere! 

If you’re in need of a secondary phone, getting the Lumia 550 at just $59.99 should be tempting. The handset comes with raw specs that include a 4.7-inch display running at 720 by 1280 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 SoC paired with 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of expandable storage. In the imaging department, the Lumia 550 features a 5MP primary camera on the front as well as a 2MP selfie shooter on the front. Other specs include a 2,100mAh battery and Microsoft’s Windows 10 Mobile.

Here are some more details about the Microsoft Lumia 550:

What do you guys think of this deal? 

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Samsung Ruled to Pay Apple $119.6 Million Over Slide-to-Unlock Lawsuit

Dating back to 2011, Samsung and Apple have been duking it out in courts over a variety of different patent and copyright issues between them.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has won an appeals case against Samsung, which focused on a patent infringement case around the slide-to-unlock feature found on previous-generation iOS devices. This new ruling states that the initial panel was wrong for throwing out the judgment against Samsung, and has reinstated the $119.6 million owed to Apple from the company.

The decision was made in an 8-3 ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, who stated that the panel back in February that threw out the judgement was wrong. On top of that, this new ruling also stated that the trial judge should consider that the judgment should be increased based on any “intentional infringement” made by Samsung.

“In this case, Apple claimed that Samsung infringed patents for the slide-to-unlock feature, autocorrect and a way to detect phone numbers so they can be tapped to make phone calls. The bulk of the award, $98.7 million, was for the detection patent that the earlier panel said wasn’t infringed. The February decision also said the other two patents were invalid.”

On Tuesday, October 11, the same appeals court will also look at the case from 2011 where Apple alleged Samsung infringed on copyrighted patented designs of the iPhone to build its own smartphones.

[via Bloomberg]

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Inside Apple's new audio adapter: X-Rays reveal its hidden components

Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus do not feature a 3.5mm headset jack, and yes, that’s annoying many people out there. After all, your home speakers, car stereo, headphones, and so on all seem to rely on it.

However, Apple is not leaving you without a way to connect to those systems: the company provides a handy adapter free in the box with every iPhone that connects to the Lightning port on one end and provides an outlet to a 3.5mm jack on the other. If you lose it, you can buy a new one for $9, the cheapest for an Apple adapter.

All of this suggests that there might not be much to that adapter. However, recently released X-Ray images of it, reveal quite the opposite. A lot of the space right below the actual connecting pins is occupied by an integrated circuit, a chip that obviously is tasked with some important feature.

Officially, there’s no explanation by Apple as to what it does, but the most obvious guess is that it contains a digital-to-analog converter, or a DAC, in addition to an amplifier and an analog-to-digital converter. That is needed because Apple’s Lightning connector is digital, while headphones require an analog signal. It’s the DAC that makes that conversion.

Interestingly, additional testing revealed that while that new DAC inside the adapter delivers a slightly worse audio quality than the built-in solution before, the difference might not even be audible to most people. With this, a lot of the mysterious around the curious adapter are finally unraveled.

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Why don't we have a phone with triple rear cameras?

The Apple iPhone 7 Plus is the first mainstream smartphone to come with a secondary telephoto lens and this turned out to work out great for it: early reports say that people are buying more iPhone 7 Plus devices than the smaller iPhone 7, and the camera is one significant reason to pick the larger one for many.

While this new dual-camera system with a secondary telephoto lens is new for the smartphone world, dual-camera systems per se are not: even the cheapest Chinese phones from Xiaomi these days feature a secondary sensor that helps with computational photography, and the higher-end Huawei P9 has a monochrome sensor that works great in low-light.

LG’s G5 brings a super wide-angle, 10mm additional lens that captures stunning images

These are all great ideas, but probably the most impressive and useful implementation of the secondary camera idea in the Android world comes from the LG G5. Its secondary rear camera is a wide-angle one, or should we say super wide-angle one? It features a 135-degree view that is not only impressive, but also genuinely useful for a ton of video and image enthusiasts out there. Ask vloggers who record their videos in a small room, those who need to sell their car or brokers that want to take pictures of various rooms and need the widest angle camera, fitness and dance instructors trying to showcase their routines in tight spaces. The list just goes on and on, and not least reason to have a wide-angle camera is to get that extremely cool wide view for landscape shots.

So yes, it might be a bit too early and there certainly are technical intimidations to make this a reality: but the idea of a triple camera system, one that combines a regular lens, something similar to the iPhone’s telephoto lens, and a super wide-angle lens a-la LG G5, would really make for an extremely versatile photographic tool. Imagine a camera that would allow you to shoot at 10mm, 28mm, and 56mm, a versatility that even DSLRs can only achieve using two separate lenses and requiring lengthy and tiresome lens swaps.

So who will be the first company to actually be this bold and make such a smartphone? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, let us know: do you think that this would be a valuable feature?

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Nokia phone stops a bullet, saves a man's life

You know the memes and back in the days you just seemed to almost expect it from Nokia phones: the Nokia 3310 was built like a tank, after all, and it would not only stop a bullet, but survive all sorts of torture tests.

These days, Nokia-branded phones are quite rare. That, however, does not mean that they have lost their miraculous abilities.

A Nokia 301 just saved someone’s life by stopping a bullet and preventing it from hitting its target. The man is said to be someone in Afghanistan and the event is reported to have happened just last week. With all the exploding ultra-expensive flagships around that tend to have their displays shattered in pieces with even milder falls, it’s reassuring to know that a cheap phone from the past can be that tough.

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week.  The embedded bullet…. pic.twitter.com/O2zBxadkDO

— peter skillman (@peterskillman) October 5, 2016

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Sony Xperia Z3+, Z4 and Z5 series get firmware update

If you happen to own the Sony Xperia Z3+, Z4 Tablet or Z5 series device, a new firmware update is on its way to your device. The new build number 32.2.A.0.305 replaces the previous 32.2.A.0.253 edition, and brings a couple of welcome tweaks and enhancements along with the latest Android security patches.

Unfortunately for those who like exciting new features, this particular update is of the housekeeping variety. Once installed, you probably won’t find anything new with the Marshmallow-based build, but this doesn’t mean you should disregard it completely. If you care about security and prefer an overall experience with less potential hiccups, this firmware update is one you’ll want to have on board. 

As per the changelog, build 32.2.A.0.305 adds the following:

• The latest security enhancements included


• All of our latest bug fixes and improvements


• Audio volume enhanced in notifications and ringtones


• Improved handling of Bluetooth connected devices

The firmware update is worth installing for the Android security patches alone. The previous build was only updated as far as April’s official Security Bulletin from Google, and many dozens of potential holes have been filled since then. It’s intended for the Xperia Z3+, Z5, Z5 Premium, Z5 Compact and in all likelihood, the Z4 Tablet.

The update is rolling out over-the-air, so should reach your device shortly if it hasn’t already.

Firmware update: the Sony Xperia Z5

Firmware update: the Sony Xperia Z5

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Samsung working with feds to investigate new Galaxy Note 7 fire on U.S. flight

The never ending Samsung Galaxy Note 7 saga opened another chapter a few days ago when another smartphone caught fire in on a Southwest Airlines flight.

The new chapter will probably be closed the moment Samsung completes its investigation and provides us with the results. The malfunctioning of another Galaxy Note 7 doesn’t come as a surprise, but what’s really mind blowing is the fact that this particular unit has been tagged with all the recognition signs to show customers that it’s a “safe” model.

The smartphone’s packaging has a small black square and if you enter the IMEI number on Samsung’s website, it will tell you that it’s a new, safe Galaxy Note 7 model. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like these supposedly safe units are really safe, hence the following statement coming from U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman Elliott F. Kaye.

As you’ve probably noticed, Kaye’s statement suggests that customers should rather ask for a refund than replace their faulty Galaxy Note 7 unit with a new one.

So, while we’re waiting for the investigation to commence, we’ve got to ask: are you willing to purchase a Galaxy Note 7 phone knowing that even the “safe” ones aren’t really safe?

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Deal: the Avantree PowerHouse 4 charging dock goes for $35.99, save $14

This post is part of a promotional series of tech deals through our partnership with StackCommerce. PhoneArena does not necessarily endorse the products on offer.

GRAB IT HERE

If you’re anything like us, you likely have a few mobile devices on you, one or probably two smartphones, a tablet, and probably a wearable. Needless to say, you need to keep those charged at all times, and let’s face it, no one’s keen on heaps of tangled cables lying around on the floor in their bedrooms. This is where charging docks come into play, as they allow you to charge multiple devices simultaneously.

If we’ve got your attention, then you should know that you can now get yourself a charging dock on the cheap – the Avantree PowerHouse 4 charging dock can be yours for $35.99 at the moment. That’s a 28% slash over its regular MSRP of $49.99.

Now, to the details! This charging station has 4 USB charging sockets and enables you to charge 4 devices at the same time. The total power output is up to 4.5A, shared between all four ports. The dock arrives bundled with two micro USB cables, but you will need to supply your own cable if you own a device equipped with a USB Type-C or a Lightning port. When you’re not using it, the Avantree allows you to tuck the cables neatly with the supplied velcro straps.

Avantree PowerHouse 4 Port Fast USB Charging Station (Black)

Avantree PowerHouse 4 Port Fast USB Charging Station (Black)

Product	Location	Item Condition	Current Price
Avantree PowerHouse 4 Port Fast USB Charging Station (Black)	PhoneArena Shop	New	$35.99 ($49.99) 28% off MSRP

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Update to Pokemon Go will allow you to train at the Gym with up to 6 Pokemon

An update to Pokemon Go will allow a Pokemon trainer to carry up to 6 Pokemon when he/she is training at a gym. Currently, one one Pokemon could be involved in such battles, which takes place when you are fighting against a gym that is controlled by your own team. Thanks to the update announced by Niantic, you will soon be able to bring as many Pokemon to gym training sessions as you can to gym battles.

And just for gym training, the CP of your stronger opponent will match the CP of your pocket monsters. This way, you can train against stronger competition, but not have to worry about getting overmatched. Once training is over, the CP numbers return to normal.

This is the second update announced by Niantic in two days. The other day, Niantiuc announced that players who receive medals for catching certain Pokemon like Kindler, Psychic and Gardener, will get catch bonuses which makes it easier to snag Pokemon of a related type. As Niantic said in its blog, “For example, as you reach a higher tier for the Kindler Medal, your bonus to catch Fire-type Pokemon such as Charmander, Vulpix, and Ponyta increases.”
Niantic hasn’t said when the pair of updates will be available, so keep checking in. As soon as we know, we will pass the information along to you.

Another update is coming soon to Pokemon Go

Another update is coming soon to Pokemon Go

1. You can now bring 6 Pokemon into a gym training session…

2. …and the opponent’s CP ratings will be reduced to match your Pokemon’s figures

source: Niantic

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Samsung Electronics Q3 operating earnings to show gain thanks to chips and displays

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it expects third quarter operating earnings to have risen 5% year-over-year to $6.9 billion. That would be 4% above a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate of analysts’ expectations. Revenue is forecast to have slipped 5% in the three-month period to $43.9 trillion. The final third quarter numbers will be announced later this month.

The figures do not take into account the cost of the manufacturer’s recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. No sooner had the device launched to strong demand than a number of units caught on fire leading to a voluntary recall on September 2nd. An official recall in tandem with the U.S. CPSC was announced less than two weeks later.

While the cost of the recall and device exchange could be as high as $1.8 billion, some analysts say that this cost will be more than made up by sales of the company’s chips and high-end smartphone displays. According to SK Securities analyst Kim Young Woo, profit generated by Sammy’s mobile business in the third quarter was its lowest over the last three quarters. However, earnings from components will more than make up for the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. “We’ll see an earnings surprise in the display and memory chip businesses,” said the analyst. “The numbers will show that they are the two growth engines for Samsung.”

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

source: Chron

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Wacom's newly announced MobileStudio Pro features Windows 10 and 3D cameras

If you happen to be someone that’s involved in the field of graphic design, CAD, game design, or anything else along those lines, you’re more than likely familiar with the Wacom brand. Wacom is easily one of the biggest names out there when it comes to creating tools for digital design, and their drawing tablets and styluses are easily some of the most popular gadgets of the company’s. Wacom has always been about providing designers and artists with the tools they need to create artwork in the digital world, and the company is continuing that legacy with the MobileStudio Pro.

Wacom’s MobileStudio Pro might look like a traditional Windows 10-powered tablet on the surface, but there’s a lot more going on here than a simple computing device. One of the most notable inclusions with the MobileStudio Pro is the Wacom Pro Pen 2. The Pro Pen 2 features pen accuracy and pressure sensitivity that’s 4 times greater than what was found on the previous generation, so this should prove to be the ultimate stylus when it comes to drawing, sketching, etc. Wacom has 2 different variants that they’re offering the tablet in (MobileStudio Pro 13 and 16), and each variant also comes with its own separate models.

The 4 models included in the Pro 13 series feature a 13.3-inch display with a 2.5K resolution, IPS panel, and an Adobe RGB rating of 96%. The remaining two models (the ones in the Pro 16 series) feature 15.6-inch displays with a 4K resolution, IPS panel, and an Adobe RGB rating of 94%. And, if you happen to opt for either the MobileStudio Pro 13 or 16 that has a 512 GB SSD, you’ll also get a 3D camera. 

As for the exact pricing of the various models that Wacom is offering, here’s what they look like –

MobileStudio Pro 13 series

• 64GB SSD = $1,499


• 128GB SSD = $1,799


• 256GB SSD = $1,999


• 512GB SSD = $2,499

MobileStudio Pro 16 series

• 256GB SSD / 2GB VRAM / NVIDIA Quadro M600M CPU = $2,399


• 512 GB SSD / 4GB VRAM / NVIDIA Quadro M1000M CPU = $2,999

Those prices are certainly on the higher side of things, but you’ve got to remember that these are tablets being made and marketed for the professional market. Wacom has built the MobileStudio Pro to be the “ultimate creative tool” for professional artists and designers, and it really doesn’t look like Wacom held any punches at all with this one. If you’re interested in the Wacom MobileStudio Pro, you can pick it up both online and from certain retail stores starting sometime in November.

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Sharp's new Corner R concept phone sports a bezel-less curved edge display

Sharp, the electronics company that was purchased by contract manufacturer Foxconn for $6.2 billion last February, has unveiled a new concept handset. Dubbed the Sharp Corner R, the phone features a bezel-less and curved-edge display. Using the IGZO technology that carries up to 1000ppi, the Corner R features a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920. That works out to a 425ppi. The display makes up 90% of the front panel with virtual buttons underneath.

The phone was introduced during the CEATECH 2016 technology expo in Japan on Thursday. There is no word on when the device will be offered to the public. A full list of specs was not revealed.

What was can show you are some photos of the rounded bezel-less curved-edge screen that gives the Sharp Corner R a unique look. Feel free to peruse these photos by clicking on the slideshow below.

The Sharp Corner R is a concept phone with a bezel-less curved-edge display

The Sharp Corner R is a concept phone with a bezel-less curved-edge display

source: GizmoChina

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UK Royal Mail tells staff to refuse shipment of the Galaxy Note 7

For a very brief moment, it seemed like Samsung had somewhat managed to weather the storm after an eventful September with the Galaxy Note 7 battery saga. But reports of new devices catching fire has the world on tenterhooks once more, and with Sammy having recently obtained a Hazardous Material permit to transfer faulty devices home, the UK’s Royal Mail is completely refusing to ship parcels containing the device. 

Despite being a very good, well-reviewed device with strong early sales, the Note 7 is becoming firm’s greatest mobile disaster — if it isn’t already. To have over two million units recalled globally is bad enough. But with Samsung and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission investigating the cause of the recent Southwest flight incident, it may transpire that a second Note 7 recall is deemed necessary. 

Meanwhile, the Royal Mail in the UK won’t ship parcels carrying the Galaxy Note 7. There are numerous alternative means to send items, but a large portion of Brits tend to stick with the old faithful by default. Royal Mail has apparently directed Post Office employees to inquire about parcels prior to shipping and subsequently refuse those containing the Note 7. According to AndroidAuthority, a few Post Office branches are taking this a step further and turning down any and all Samsung handsets, though this is not part of the official instruction. Indeed, even if the customer wants to send a recalled device back to Samsung, they’ll have to make other arrangements. 

There have been a number of Note 7 bans on airlines over the past few weeks and recently, some cruise lines have stopped travelers from boarding with the Note 7. These heavy-handed approaches indicate just how paranoid many have become, and with Apple and Google having just launched new flagships, two of Sammy’s fiercest rivals will be among those looking to benefit from the Note 7’s ongoing woes.

The Galaxy Note 7 in pictures

The Galaxy Note 7 in pictures

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Free Internet? Facebook is in talks to bring its Free Basics app to the USA

The Washington Post reports that Facebook has been talking to the U.S. Government in a bid to bring its Free Basics app in America. Available in developing countries, Free Basics provides free access to essential websites and online social services without counting traffic against users’ data plans. In other words, this is free internet, and while deploying it could be beneficial for users who can’t afford cellular data, it also presents certain regulatory challenges.

According to the report, the U.S. version of Free Basics will target low-income and rural Americans who cannot afford high-speed Internet at home or on smartphones. It will offer free Internet access to content such as online news, health information, and job listings, with the cellular data supplied by Facebook in partnership with wireless carriers. Reportedly, Facebook has been trying to partner up with numerous small and rural wireless carriers to support Free Basics and waive data charges incurred by the app. However, there are possible controversies involved.

Facebook’s incentive is beneficial, but also controversial from a business standpoint

For example, Indian regulators banned the app in February, as consumer advocates argued that Facebook is hand-picking the services accessed via Free Basics, which potentially puts competitors and nonprofit groups left out of the program at a disadvantage. Moreover, exempting services from data caps favors business with the resources to participate in the program, which creates an unequal ground for companies.

Facebook has a resolution for such problems, though. It lets any organization offer its services via Free Basics, as long as the content served by them doesn’t include high-definition images and video, which consumes greater amounts of mobile data. The company is also eschewing talks with the national wireless carriers in the USA, as it’s concerned that regulators might perceive them as anti-competitive. Rather, Facebook is pursuing partnerships with smaller service providers.

The social network believes that carriers have an incentive to participate, as Free Basics users can be converted to paying customers. Facebook says that half of those who get online for the first time via Free Basics end up subscribing for a data plan within 30 days of use. The app is currently available in 49 countries. Bringing Free Basics to the U.S. will be beneficial, but the diplomacy involved in establishing the service will likely prolong the time we’ll have to wait before it becomes available – if it does at all.

source: Washington Post

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This is why you shouldn't buy your new Pixel phone directly through Verizon

If there’s ever been a phone to create for a rift in the Android community, it’s the new Pixel and Pixel XL from Google. Although the Google Store has already completely sold out of the 128GB XL, a lot of you out there have voiced your opinion that you won’t be purchasing Google’s latest handset. No matter what your opinion is on Google’s first official smartphone, you really can’t deny that there’s some pretty interesting things going on with the handset. Between the tight integration with the Google Assistant, fancy new launcher with Android 7.1, unlimited storage for full-resolution photos/video, and so much more, there’s a lot of new to be had with the Pixel handsets.

At the Made by Google event that took place last Tuesday, the company announced that Verizon would be the exclusive carrier for the new Pixel phones in the United States. Verizon doesn’t have the best history at all when it comes to Google’s now deceased Nexus line, so there’s good reason as to why there’s a bit of concern surrounding Google’s decision to allow Verizon to be the only carrier to offer the Pixel and Pixel XL for the entire country. We recently got word that Verizon-branded Pixel phones would come with considerably less bloatware than any other Verizon smartphone to date, but there’s still one door open that’s yet to be addressed – the software updates.

The fine folks over at 9to5Google recently reached out to Verizon to get an official word from the company in regards to how software updates will be handled with Pixel and Pixel XL phones that are purchased directly through the carrier, and this is the response that they got –

With this statement, we’re left with a little bit of good news, and a rather large amount of bad news. The good news is that Google will be in charge of the monthly security updates, so the integrity and safety of your Verizon Pixel phone will be handled through Google itself. However, since Verizon will be in charge of the actual system updates, Pixel phones that are bought directly through Verizon will more than likely take longer to receive firmware updates as they’re released. Why is this though? Once Google has new firmware that they’ve made publicly available, Verizon will have to first get their hands on it, make any tweaks that they see fit, and then release it to Verizon-branded Pixel phones.

If you remember anything at all about the Galaxy Nexus from 2011, you’ll know that Verizon’s handling of software updates for that phone was completely and utterly atrocious. We’re praying to the high Heavens that this won’t be the case with the Pixel phones, but if you aren’t a risk taker, do yourself a favor and just purchase the Google Pixel or Pixel XL directly through the Google Store. Even though it’s unlocked, the phone will still work perfectly fine on Verizon’s network. You can either purchase the phone outright or use the financing options that Google has available, so there really isn’t any reason to buy the phone directly through Verizon. 

Do yourself a favor and just purchase the Google Pixel or Pixel XL directly through the Google Store.

What are your thoughts on Verizon handling software updates for the Pixel phones? Do you think things will go without a hitch? Or do you think we’ll be looking at another Galaxy Nexus?

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Best new Android and iPhone games (October 1st - October 6th)

If you are wondering about the best new Android and iPhone games, and you don’t want to go through hundreds of new games in the app stores, we have picked the very best new releases from the past week right here.

The games included in this round-up are selected only by their quality and with no regards to genre: you will find casual games, puzzlers, racing games, strategy and everything in-between. The paramount criterion is quality and an engaging gameplay. With no further ado, here are the best new games right now in the beginning of October 2016.

Jade Empire: Special Edition

Price: $10

Genre: Action RPG

Download on iOS

Jade Empire: Special Edition is an action RPG from the makers of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, where you go on a journey through the myths and legends of ancient China. Experience a unique combination of fast paced martial arts action with a gripping, character driven story set in a mythical land. Each decision builds your reputation, changing the course of interactions with other characters and followers. Take the role of a master of martial arts, and recruit followers to your cause in an interactive, living world.

PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator

Price: Free (IAP)

Genre: Sim

PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator is a new 2.5D isometric retro-themed game that has you competing to become an internet star. Your goal is to get followers and gain views and subs, and the way to go there is by buying new equipment, furniture, clothes and pets. With that signature PewDiePie humor and real voice acting by the man himself, this will land on a soft spot for those who follow the renowned YouTuber.

Bullet Hell Monday

Price: Free (IAP)

Genre: Bullet hell shooter

Download on iOS

An authentic bullet hell shooter, this game features more than 50 levels and a point system that allows you to upgrade your ship with time and achievement.

Dan The Man

Price: Free (IAP)

Genre: Side-scrolling brawler

A village lies in peril. An evil organisation has emerged from the shadows. Your girlfriend, Josie, is fighting for survival. Can Dan the Man save the day? Only time will tell! In this side-scrolling brawler, you get to punch, kick, and blast your way through 12 action-packed levels.

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