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lundi 8 août 2016

Flipkart Freedom Sale starts August 10

flipkart-freedom-sale
It's raining deals and discounts for Indian consumers! Amazon India kicked off the Great Indian Sale earlier today, and by the time it ends at midnight day after tomorrow, its closest rival Flipkart will have kicked off their Freedom Sale, which actually clashes with the last day of the Amazon sale, on August 10. If previous Flipkart Sales are any indication, we can expect huge offers huge discounts on smartphones, tablets, and electronic devices, among others.

Flipkart is offering you freedom from not just high prices, but also from your old smartphones. Flipkart always has great exchange offers with their smartphones, but during the sale period, you can expect to get even more out of an older handset, so if you are looking for an upgrade, a few days from now will certainly be the best time to do it. Also on offer will be a no cost EMI option, which will allow you to purchase new handsets via easy installments.

There's more savings in store if you own an HDFC credit card, with all purchases made during the Sale with this card allowing for an additional discount of 10%. Do be aware that in order to enjoy the additional discount, your minimum transaction must be Rs 4,999 (~US$75) and the maximum discount that you can get will be Rs 2,000 (~US$30).

If you've been wondering whether you should become a Flipkart First member, then the Freedom Sale gives you a good reason to go ahead and subscribe to this service, which offers fast free shipping and early access to deals. There will be a Sneak Peek Sale today, and an Early Access Sale tomorrow, for all Flipkart First members, before the Freedom Sale opens for the general public on August 10.

It's also worth mentioning that the Flipkart Freedom Sale is limited to its mobile app, and the discounted prices will not be visible on its website. If you are looking to take advantage of these offers, you'll need to first download the Flipkart mobile app if you haven't done so already.

We'll be sure to bring you a roundup of the best deals that Flipkart has on offer on August 10!



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Deal Alert: Sony Xperia XA Ultra price falls below $300

Xperia XA Ultra 300USD price drop

Sony hasn't had much luck in the US market historically, partly thanks to a lack of handset availability, but perhaps the new sub $300 price tag for the Xperia XA Ultra will help tip the scales.

Amazon is currently listing both the black and white 16GB Xperia XA Ultra handsets, complete with a bundled 64GB Class10 microSD card, for just $298.48. The smartphone originally launched in the US back in July of this year with a price tag set at $369.99. So there's more than a $70 saving with this offer, plus the value of the free memory card.

For hardware, the Xperia XA Ultra still offers some very decent specifications for its asking price. The handset comes with a 6-inch 1080p display, an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal memory. There's also a 21 megapixel rear camera, a wide-angle 16 megapixel selfie camera, and a slightly disappointing 2,700mAh battery. Overall, that's a pretty potent combination for the cash, especially if you're looking for good smartphone camera that won't break the bank. Importantly, the XA Ultra supports all of the major carriers in the US.

YT thumb Grushie 2See also: Sony Xperia X series hands-on20

It's not clear if or when this offer will end. If you're interested, click one of the buttons below to quickly snag yourself the deal from Amazon.



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Developing Android apps with bottom sheets

bottom_sheets_featured

Bottom Sheets are a lesser known part of the Design support library. The Design support library is an Android library intended to help android developers implement the Google material design guidelines. We have covered some other design support library components and widgets in the past, including the coordinator layout.

Bottom sheets, according to Google's own definition, are views that slide up from the bottom of the screen to reveal more content. This content can be anything, depending on the individual application. Bottom sheets have been used for menus, the display of more data and information, in the place of dialogs, and can also be used to show deep linked content from other apps.

Consistent readers of these tutorials will know that I'm a big fan of the design support library's implementations of the material specs, and Bottom Sheets are another reason why.

Types of bottom sheets

There are two types of bottom sheets:

1. Persistent bottom sheets, which present bottom sheets as just another view on the displayed activity/fragment. These are usually used to show menus and other supporting content for an app. An app that uses persistent bottom sheets extensively is Google maps.

Persistent bottom sheet sample

2. Modal bottom sheets, which present a bottom sheet like a dialog, where pressing the back button dismisses the bottom sheet. This is excellent for presenting deep-linked content from other apps.

Modal bottom sheet sample

Persistent bottom sheets are displayed at the same elevation as an app, whereas modal bottom sheets are at a higher elevation than the app's content. When used the main app dims to indicate the shift of focus to the bottom sheet.

Preparation

As mentioned above, bottom sheets have been integrated into the Design support library from version 23.2. Make sure you have included the library in your project, by adding the following line to your app build.gradle file, note that 24.1.1 is the current version at the time of writing:

  dependencies {      ...      compile 'com.android.support:design:24.1.1'  }  

For our sample app, we are going to create three different bottom sheets in a single activity. Each bottom sheet will be activated by one of three buttons. The sheets are helpfully name P1 and P2 (for persistent sheets), and M1 for the modal sheet.

bottomsheets-activity_main-16x9

 

Main Activity design

The initial design for our activity_main.xml, before adding bottom sheet declarations, is shown below

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout      xmlns:android="http://ift.tt/nIICcg"      xmlns:tools="http://ift.tt/LrGmb4"      xmlns:app="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd"      android:id="@+id/bgLayout"      android:layout_width="match_parent"      android:layout_height="match_parent"      android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"      android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"      android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"      android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"      tools:context="com.sample.foo.usingbottomsheets.MainActivity">        <ScrollView          android:layout_width="match_parent"          android:layout_height="match_parent"          app:layout_behavior="@string/appbar_scrolling_view_behavior">            <LinearLayout              android:layout_width="match_parent"              android:layout_height="match_parent"              android:orientation="vertical"              android:paddingTop="24dp">                <Button                  android:id="@+id/button_1"                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="wrap_content"                  android:text="@string/button1"                  android:padding="16dp"                  android:layout_margin="8dp"/>                <Button                  android:id="@+id/button_2"                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="wrap_content"                  android:padding="16dp"                  android:layout_margin="8dp"                  android:text="@string/button2"/>                <Button                  android:id="@+id/button_3"                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="wrap_content"                  android:padding="16dp"                  android:layout_margin="8dp"                  android:text="@string/button3"/>          </LinearLayout>      </ScrollView>  </android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>  

To use a persistent bottom sheet, you must use a CoordinatorLayout as it's parent container. Let's add the first persistent bottom sheet to the layout.

Designing the bottom sheet

A persistent bottom sheet is a part of the Activity view heirarchy. So, we add the component that we intend to represent our bottom sheet. For our sample, we want the bottom sheet to be scrollable, so we use a NestedScrollView. In the activity_main.xml layout file created above, add the following NestedScrollView to the file, between </ScrollView> and </android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout>

      <android.support.v4.widget.NestedScrollView          android:id="@+id/bottom_sheet1"          android:layout_width="match_parent"          android:layout_height="250dp"          android:clipToPadding="true"          android:background="@android:color/holo_blue_bright"          app:layout_behavior="android.support.design.widget.BottomSheetBehavior">            <LinearLayout              android:layout_width="match_parent"              android:layout_height="wrap_content"              android:orientation="vertical">                <TextView                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="match_parent"                  android:text="@string/sheet_p1"                  android:textSize="16sp"                  android:textAllCaps="true"                  android:padding="16dp"/>                <TextView                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="match_parent"                  android:text="@string/long_latin"                  android:padding="16dp"                  android:textSize="16sp"/>          </LinearLayout>      </android.support.v4.widget.NestedScrollView>  

This NestedScrollView represents our bottom sheet. We want the sheet to be scrollable if the content is longer than the height we specified (android:layout_height="250dp"). The most important line in the xml above is the app:layout_behavior line. It specifies the behavior attribute for the NestedScrollView, with a value of android.support.design.widget.BottomSheetBehavior which indicates to the Design support library that the component is intended to be used as a bottom sheet.

Showing the bottom sheet

 

bottomsheets-persistent_sheet1-16x9

We want the sheet P1 to slide into view when the user clicks on the first button. Add the following code to your Activity.

      private BottomSheetBehavior mBottomSheetBehavior1;        @Override      protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {          super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);          setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);            View bottomSheet = findViewById(R.id.bottom_sheet1);          mBottomSheetBehavior1 = BottomSheetBehavior.from(bottomSheet);            mButton1 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_1);          mButton1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {              @Override              public void onClick(View view) {                  if(mBottomSheetBehavior1.getState() != BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_EXPANDED) {                      mBottomSheetBehavior1.setState(BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_EXPANDED);                      mButton1.setText(R.string.collapse_button1);                  }                  else {                      mBottomSheetBehavior1.setState(BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_COLLAPSED);                      mButton1.setText(R.string.button1);                  }              }          });      }  

Recall that in the activity_main.xml, we set the NestedScrollView's app:layout_behavior to a BottomSheetBehavior. In the code above, we declare mBottomSheetBehavior1, and then assign mBottomSheetBehavior1 to the BottomSheetBehavior for the NestedScrollView using BottomSheetBehavior.from().

Bottom sheets can be in one of five different states, but the two we are concerned about at the moment are STATE_COLLAPSED and STATE_EXPANDED. As the name's imply, the sheet is in STATE_EXPANDED when it is expanded, and in STATE_COLLAPSED when collapsed.

On every button click, we check the state of the bottom sheet. If it is expanded, we collapse it, and if it is collapsed, we expand it. Note also that the bottom sheet can be collapsed by dragging it down.

Persistent bottom sheet 1

Persistent bottom sheet P2

 

bottomsheets-peek_persistent_bottomsheet-16x9

The second bottom sheet in our demo (P2) is completely identical to sheet P1 in xml. Add the markup below to the activity_main.xml, just before the </android.support.design.widget.CoordinatorLayout> tag

      <android.support.v4.widget.NestedScrollView          android:id="@+id/bottom_sheet2"          android:layout_width="match_parent"          android:layout_height="250dp"          android:clipToPadding="true"          android:background="@android:color/holo_green_light"          app:layout_behavior="android.support.design.widget.BottomSheetBehavior">            <LinearLayout              android:layout_width="match_parent"              android:layout_height="wrap_content"              android:orientation="vertical">                <TextView                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="match_parent"                  android:text="@string/sheet_p2"                  android:textSize="16sp"                  android:textAllCaps="true"                  android:padding="16dp"/>                <TextView                  android:layout_width="match_parent"                  android:layout_height="match_parent"                  android:text="@string/long_latin"                  android:padding="16dp"                  android:textSize="16sp"/>          </LinearLayout>      </android.support.v4.widget.NestedScrollView>  

As you can see, it is exactly the same as the P1 layout above, except with a different background color. What we intend to achieve with this however, is a bottom sheet that is initially shown fully to the user, then slides down halfway out of the screen, and finally can be dismissed completely from the screen by either sliding it out or clicking the button.

The code to achieve all this is more involved than for P1, so we are going to discuss it in chunks.

Making bottom sheets peek

Persistent bottom sheet 2

Similar to the P1 sheet above, we create an mBottomSheetBehavior2 and assign it the same way. To achieve the effect where the sheet slides partially out of the screen, we set the BottomSheetBehavior's peekHeight. In the sample app, we set the peek height using mBottomSheetBehavior2.setPeekHeight(300);

When the peekHeight is set, the bottom sheet collapses to the defined peekHeight in pixels. Take note of that. The sheet would expand to it's target height, but on collapse, it collapses to the target height and remains on screen. To collapse the bottom sheet completely out of the screen, we would either need to set the peekHeight to 0 and then reset the state or, we could set the BottomSheetBehavior state to STATE_HIDDEN. For our demo app, we have elected to set the state to STATE_HIDDEN. Before setting the bottom sheet to that state, we must first set the behavior to be hideable using the setHideable(true) method.

          final View bottomSheet2 = findViewById(R.id.bottom_sheet2);          mBottomSheetBehavior2 = BottomSheetBehavior.from(bottomSheet2);          mBottomSheetBehavior2.setHideable(true);          mBottomSheetBehavior2.setPeekHeight(300);          mBottomSheetBehavior2.setState(BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_HIDDEN);            mButton2 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_2);          mButton2.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {              @Override              public void onClick(View view) {                  if(mBottomSheetBehavior2.getState() == BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_EXPANDED) {                      mBottomSheetBehavior2.setState(BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_COLLAPSED);                      mButton2.setText(R.string.button2_hide);                  }                  else if(mBottomSheetBehavior2.getState() == BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_COLLAPSED) {                      mBottomSheetBehavior2.setState(BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_HIDDEN);                      mButton2.setText(R.string.button2);                  }                  else if(mBottomSheetBehavior2.getState() == BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_HIDDEN) {                      mBottomSheetBehavior2.setState(BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_EXPANDED);                      mButton2.setText(R.string.button2_peek);                  }              }          });  

Handling swipe events

At this point, we have built two bottom sheets that are expanded and collapsed on demand. However, if you have run the app at this point, you will notice that the button text do not change if you change the bottom sheet state by swiping. For example if you click to expand sheet P2, the button text changes to "PEEK SHEET P2". But if you then swipe the sheet down to it's collapsed state, the button text still shows "PEEK SHEET P2". To get notified whenever the bottom sheet state changes, we must set a callback on the BottomSheetBehavior. The code snippet to set a callback for mBottomSheetBehavior2 is shown below:

          mBottomSheetBehavior2.setBottomSheetCallback(new BottomSheetBehavior.BottomSheetCallback() {              @Override              public void onStateChanged(View bottomSheet, int newState) {                  if (newState == BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_EXPANDED) {                      mButton2.setText(R.string.button2_peek);                  }                  else if (newState == BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_COLLAPSED) {                      mButton2.setText(R.string.button2_hide);                  }                  else if (newState == BottomSheetBehavior.STATE_HIDDEN) {                      mButton2.setText(R.string.button2);                  }              }                @Override              public void onSlide(View bottomSheet, float slideOffset) {              }          });  

For the demo, we simply change the button's text. Of course, you can perform more advanced tasks in the callback, if your app requires that.

Modal bottom sheets

Unlike both persistent bottom sheets discussed above, the modal bottom sheet is not a View that's hidden and shown within the activity_main.xml layout. Think of the modal bottom sheet like a dialog, that slides into view from, and is anchored to, the bottom of the screen. Because that is exactly what it is. To display a modal bottom sheet, we must define a class that inherits from BottomSheetDialogFragment, which also inherits from AppCompatDialogFragment.

bottomsheets-modal_bottomsheet-16x9

 

Before creating our BottomSheetDialogFragment however, let's create the layout for the dialog. We call this layout file fragment_bottomsheet3.xml.

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <LinearLayout      xmlns:android="http://ift.tt/nIICcg"      android:orientation="vertical"      android:layout_width="match_parent"      android:layout_height="wrap_content">        <TextView          android:layout_width="match_parent"          android:layout_height="match_parent"          android:text="@string/sheet_m1"          android:textSize="16sp"          android:textAllCaps="true"          android:padding="16dp"/>        <ImageView          android:id="@+id/imageView"          android:layout_width="wrap_content"          android:layout_height="wrap_content"          android:layout_weight="1"          android:src="@drawable/android_authority"/>        <TextView          android:id="@+id/textView"          android:layout_width="wrap_content"          android:layout_height="wrap_content"          android:layout_weight="1"          android:layout_gravity="center"          android:textAlignment="center"          android:text="This is a test string for the sample"          android:textSize="20sp"/>  </LinearLayout>  

Our demo layout is a simple layout with two TextViews and an ImageView.

Showing a modal bottom sheet

To show a modal bottom sheet, we need to create a class that inherits from BottomSheetDialogFragment, and call the show() method on that class.
For our sample app, which has no special actions, we simply extend BottomSheetDialogFragment, as shown below, and override the setupDialog method to set the dialog's content view.

  public class BottomSheet3DialogFragment extends BottomSheetDialogFragment {        @Override      public void setupDialog(final Dialog dialog, int style) {          super.setupDialog(dialog, style);          View contentView = View.inflate(getContext(), R.layout.fragment_bottomsheet3, null);          dialog.setContentView(contentView);      }  }  

In the MainActivity, we handle the final button click by requesting our BottomSheetDialogFragment show() itself.

          mButton3 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button_3);          mButton3.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {              @Override              public void onClick(View view) {                  BottomSheetDialogFragment bottomSheetDialogFragment = new BottomSheet3DialogFragment();                  bottomSheetDialogFragment.show(getSupportFragmentManager(), bottomSheetDialogFragment.getTag());              }          });  

Modal bottom sheets

Note that we did not set the behavior for the modal sheet to be hideable, nor did we set the peek height. The modal bottom sheet automatically computes appropriate values for both peek height and expanded height.

Conclusion

Bottom sheets have their uses, and in some situations, they provide the most elegant solution to presenting users with additional information or actions. However, in other cases, they can be a particularly poor design choice. For example, on larger screens which have more screen estate, dialogs and menus could be more useful and intuitive, compared to smaller screen devices, where apps have to make the most use of each precious pixel.

There are other methods that affect your bottom sheets behavior, which we have not covered here. Explore the BottomSheetBehavior APIs to find out more. As always, the complete source for the sample app is available on github. Live long and code hard.



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Samsung might do away with the flat-screen Galaxy S

Galaxy S7 Edge home button

Samsung's curved "edge" display has certainly given a new lease of life to the company's Galaxy S series of flagships. Not only does it produce a unique and sleek looking design, but Samsung has also managed to create a selection of useful software features that make the most of the hardware. Now the company is hinting that it may ditch the regular flat-screen option for its flagship smartphones in the future, in order to focus on its edge technology.

Demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge initially caught Samsung a little by surprise a couple of years ago, leaving the company scrambling to produce enough units and resulting in unsold stock of the regular flat-screen Galaxy S6. This time around, Samsung has been able to ramp up production of its dual-edge curved display for the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the Note 7 now comes exclusively with the curved display and has even dropped the edge moniker.

Samsung-Galaxy-Note-7-hands-on-first-batch-AA-(26-of-47)

The Galaxy Note 7 was Samsung's first smartphone launch that only featured an edge display option. Perhaps the Galaxy S8 will follow suit.

A similar situation could be heading to the company's main Galaxy S range in the next year or so. Samsung has indicated that it will put more focus on curved Galaxy S models in the future and that it may eventually eliminate flat-screen Galaxy S handsets further down the line. Production yields for Samsung's edge display are now high enough to keep up with demand, enough so that the company has been selling excess panels to rival smartphone manufacturers.

"Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions"  – Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsung's mobile business

Although this might not happen in time for the Galaxy S8 next year, the current theory is that the Galaxy Note 7 is acting a gauge to see how well consumers react to only having the single display option to pick from. This may then influence the company's decision to issue a single curved S flagship, although Koh's comment is far from confirmation that the flat-screen display model will be eliminated any time soon.

  • Samsung Galaxy Note7 vs S7 E...
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 Vs S7 Edge
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs Ga...

Where do you stand on the topic? Is Samsung's curved display technology the future of the Galaxy flagship line, or does a regular flat-screen variant still appeal to you?



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Free Spotify Premium and Google Play Music subscriptions for Chromecast owners

Chromecast Spotify subscription

Google is currently offering Chromecast owners a nice little bonus: two months of Spotify Premium and three months of Google Play Music access for free. The offer is good for existing owners of Chromecast or Chromecast Audio as well as those that buy a new device and sign up for the free subscription services.

best chromecast apps for androidSee also: The best Chromecast apps for Android58

You can only sign up for the two free months of Spotify Premium until September 15 but you've got until December 31 to register for three months of free Google Play Music access. The Spotify Premium offer is only available for U.S. citizens and you have to sign up with an email address that hasn't been used for a Spotify Premium subscription already.

The two free months of Spotify Premium will save you roughly $20 and three months of GPM will save you around $30. If you want to buy a Chromecast in order to take advantage of this deal you'll need $30 for a Chromecast or Chromecast Audio (both of which are currently discounted from $35).

Google sold 8 million Chromecast units between May 2016 and May this year (with 17 million sold prior to that), making Chromecast Google's most popular hardware product. Building on this success, and in part to popular streaming services and the rise of YouTube Red, Google has shipped a further five million Chromecasts just in the couple of months since May.

SEE THE OFFERSBUY CHROMECAST

Don't miss: Apple Music vs Spotify vs Google Play Music



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Amazon Great Indian Sale brings great smartphone deals and savings

Amazon LogoShutterstock

If you've been always wanted to buy a Nexus 6P, Google Nexus 5x, or OnePlus X without breaking the bank, now's the time. Get ready for the Amazon Great Indian Sale, which kicks off at midnight on August 8 and runs until 1:59PM on August 10 and brings huge offers and savings on smartphones and tablets, as well as laptops and PCs, apart from a range of other products.

Start shopping now

For the next three days, thousands of sellers and brands on Amazon will be offering huge discounts of as much as 50% on select products, along with cashbacks and quick delivery. Remember that some of these deals and discounts will be available for a limited period and you'll have to hurry to grab them before someone else does.

Some of the best smartphone deals available on Amazon include Xiaomi's flagship Mi 5, which sold for Rs 24,999 (~US$375) at the time of its launch earlier this year, but will be available for Rs 22,999 (~US$345) during the sale. Also, you can pick up last year's high-end phablet from Samsung, the Galaxy Note 5, at a whopping discount of Rs 10,000 (~US$150) for Rs 36,999 (~US$555). Another tempting offer is the Galaxy Note Edge priced at Rs 36,999 (~US$555).

Amazon Prime box tapeShutterstock

The Galaxy On 7 Pro gold variant is available at a discounted price of Rs 10,190 (~US$153), while the YU Yuphoria is selling for Rs 5,499 (~US$83), down from Rs 6,999 (~US$105) at the time of its launch last year. The OnePlus X (Limited Edition Ceramic) is available at Rs 18,999 (~US$285), down from its original price of Rs 22,999 (~US$345), while the Acer Liquid Jade is available at a huge discount, down from Rs 19,999 (~US$300) to Rs 9,999 (~US$150).

If you're lucky enough, you could win the OnePlus 3 by placing orders worth more than Rs 299 (~US$5) using your smartphone, as Amazon India is encouraging users to shop via mobile. Using your SBI card for shopping on Amazon India gets you 10 percent cashback if you're using the app and 7.5 percent cashback through the website. Keep in mind though that you can get the cashback only on orders worth a minimum of Rs 5,000 (~US$75) and the maximum cashback you can get is up to Rs 1,500 (~US$23).

amazon deals shipping logoShutterstock

Apart from smartphones, you can also get some great deals on laptops, PCs, networking devices, Kindle, Apple iPad, Xbox One console, Jawbone and Fitbit fitness trackers, and JBL ear headphones, not to mention televisions, cameras, home appliances, clothing, accessories, musical instruments, books, shoes, etc.

Amazon India is guaranteeing speedy delivery services and your package should reach you within one day, two days or even the same day if you place your order early in the morning. You can also look forward to receiving deliveries on Sunday as well.

There's even more reason for you to smile if you are an Amazon Prime member because you can get unlimited, free 1-day and 2-day deliveries on select Amazon products. More importantly, Amazon Prime members will be getting 30 minutes early access to all the deals. Happy shopping!

Start shopping now

Let us know in the comments below if you found some great deals on the Amazon Great Indian Sale!



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dimanche 7 août 2016

Skully is shutting down and customers might not get refunds

skully-2

For bikers, Skully was a dream come true. It brought the power of Android to a smart helmet, promising both safer and funner motorcycle rides, thanks to its integrated rear camera, display, Bluetooth connectivity and more. And though it did cost a whopping $1500, many of us would agree it was a worthy price for what you were to get.

It has been about 2 years since Skully hit Indiegogo with record-breaking support, but now it seems the company can't keep itself on the road. Money has been running out and Skully has sent emails to its customers, telling them the startup are to shut down.

Problems arose some months ago, when founders Marcus and Mitch Weller were kicked out of the company. Most of the team was then let go and sales were closed down. Some sources claim the company was trying to be acquired by LeSport (owned by LeEco), but things didn't work out in Skully's favor.

skully-50

Now, we know many of you are here to read about those refunds. This is no cheap helmet, and sadly it seems like customers might have to pay the price for investing in a startup. Skully is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and all their assets are subject to liens held by a secured creditor.

I must say I was going to purchase the Skully AR-1, and am glad I didn't. $1500 is not an amount of cash I can simply afford to lose, and we are sure whoever signed up is definitely hurting right now.

If it's any consolation, though, motorcycle accessory maker Fusar has offered affected customers a credit for the full amount of their Skully purchase. You won't be able to get the full credit all at once, but at least you are making it all up at some point. They call it the Skully Owners Stimulus (SOS) and you can learn more about it here.

Did any of you sign up for the Skully?



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