Google’s biggest blunders

When you think of some of Google's contributions to the today's technological landscape, failure is probably not the word that comes to mind. The company's roots extend back to 1995 when co-founder Sergey Brin met Larry Page, Google's other co-founder, at Stanford University when Brin was coincidentally assigned to give Page a campus tour. The duo first collaborated on BackRub, which could be seen as the first incarnation of the search engine that was essentially the Plymouth Rock of the digital age.

Look back over the company's illustrious history and you'll see one groundbreaking, game-changing success after another. We take it for granted today, but the introduction of Google's image search in July of 2001 was momentous and made more than 250 million images available with just a quick query. Google added Blogger to its résumé in 2003, which was largely the jumping-off point for the blogging craze that remains one of the most important digital communication tools today. And that's without getting into Google Maps, Android, virtual reality, and some more recent innovations that have become or are becoming part of the technological zeitgeist.

But as innovative as Google has been, not every risk the company has taken has paid off. When you're a perpetual boundary-pusher, there will inevitably be times when you've pushed the limit just a bit too far. Or perhaps the world isn't ready for one of your big ideas. Or maybe something gets lost in translation between your good intentions and the mess that comes out on the other side. With that in mind, we're going to take a moment to reflect on some of Google's biggest blunders.

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Google Answers (2002–2006)

Before the launch and quick popularity of Yahoo Answers, Google launched its own Q&A platform in 2002 by the thrilling name of Google Answers. However, while the Yahoo version would be more like a forum in that knowledgeable users are motivated to answer other users' questions by the accumulation of reputation points and notoriety, Google's idea was to make Google Answers a paid service. In essence, users would post their questions and have to pay as little as $2 or as much as $200 for answers from "experts".

Google Answers was widely panned almost from the start. A few years after the start of Google Answers, Yahoo Answers was launched and effectively squashed what little appeal Google Answers had to offer. The platform languished in obscurity for another year while hoping the Google name would allow it to at least compete with Yahoo Answers in terms of popularity. Actually, it was Google's hope that the promise of more high-quality answers would drive revenue, but that was definitely not the case. The plug was pulled on Google Answers in 2006 with Google referring to the failure as a "great experiment" that provided them with lots of "material for developing future products".

Google Wave (2009–2010)

Before there was Google+, Hangouts, Google Docs, and Inbox, Google had a platform that strived to be a combination of all of the above. The platform was a confusing mess called Google Wave, a real-time collaborative editing, instant messaging, blogging, file management and sharing, emailing, and social networking client that was a little overzealous in its ambitions.

At a glance, Wave appeared to be a standard email inbox; however, imagine receiving emails at the speed with which you'd receive instant messages in a group chat with your entire social media friends list.At the same time, anyone in your address book could go back through all those messages and make changes at any and all points in the conversation. Wave users found it impossible to keep up with the barrage of conversations by themselves, and who knew what changes your contacts were making in the far corners of your inbox. It was like cyber hide-and-seek. Apparently, someone at Google took a productivity idea, attached it to a collaboration bomb, and hoped something resembling utility or productivity could be pieced together in the aftermath.

While there were a select few users who appreciated what Google was trying to do with Wave, the majority of people who gave the client a chance found it convoluted and unusable. Google would go on to break Wave down into the half a dozen or more separate apps that we all know and love today, just a year after the client's launch.

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Google Buzz (2010–2011)

Remember Google Buzz? It's okay. Nobody else does either.

The easiest way to describe Google Buzz would be as the ancestor to the ever-unpopular Google+. Buzz gave you many of the essential social media functions known and loved today: sharing links, sharing media, leaving comments, sending messages. Obviously, the best way to make Google Buzz accessible and make sure people used it would be to pack all those features right into your existing Gmail inbox. No muss, no fuss.

Understandably, this made Google Buzz pretty convoluted from a usability standpoint. There were also some concerns over privacy and whether adding Buzz into Gmail would make your Gmail vulnerable. As well, many of the social features were provided by accessing very private information. For instance, the social graph feature tapped into users' address books, which was a major point of contention. And when it came down to it, Buzz didn't offer anything that wasn't done better (in most cases embarrassingly better) but the social media powerhouses with which Google has desperately tried to compete.

Although Google would come to realize that you can't jam a social network into an email inbox and has fared better with Google+ — which was born from the ashes of Google Buzz — it's becoming blatantly clear that social networks aren't the search engine giant's strongsuit. And there's no shame in that. (Do you hear us, Google?)

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Google Nexus Q (2012–2013)

The year was 2012 and streaming video was taking off in a huge way. Although the idea of streaming media from the web wasn't exactly novel since the Apple TV debuted in 2007, it took a while before market competition resulted in some truly impressive streaming media players. By 2012, Roku and Google TV were two of the biggest competitors of Apple TV, but Google had hoped to up the ante by debuting the Nexus Q at I/O 2012. The Nexus Q was a streaming media player that made media consumption an interactive group activity, which was seen as a very creative — albeit somewhat confusing — concept at the time.

Google's Nexus Q was praised for having impressive, powerful internals and an eye-catching, orb-like design (like "a Magic 8 Ball designed by Porsche"), but usability was a problem that plagued the Q from day one. For one thing, the concept of group media conception — which meant that everyone with an Android smartphone could control the device via an app — was better in theory than in practice. Users complained that the shared control of the device took the focus away from media consumption, which was an area in which the device was actually quite limited. The Nexus Q supported only Netflix, YouTube, and the Google Play Store, leaving out other popular services — like Hulu, Crackle, and others — and severely hindering the potential of the Q. Some of the device's quirks might not have been so devastating to its sales performance if the Nexus Q didn't have a price tag of $300, higher than even the Apple TV.

Despite the praise it received for even attempting such an innovative approach to media consumption, the Nexus Q was abandoned before it really ever had the opportunity to hit many customer hands. However, a number of the ideas behind the Nexus Q went into Google's Chromecast, which debuted in 2013 and features much better implementation of the queued media for group consumption.

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Google Glass (2013–2015)

In theory, it's a brilliant idea, but Google Glass was a little ahead of its time and never caught on the way Google had hoped. The idea was simply to give users a computer that they can use anytime and in a way that integrated their usage of the device into their daily life. By wearing the glasses, you could see a map seemingly projected onto your field of vision or scroll through your Twitter feed. It's a concept that you've surely seen in countless sci-fi movies; however, there were a couple problems with Google Glass that doomed it from the start.

First, the price tag. Although it didn't see a mainstream release, virtually anyone could purchase the initial incarnation Google Glass — called the "Explorer Edition" — directly from Google for a cool $1,500. Obviously, that's not the kind of money that people are willing to pay for a prototypal device that hasn't really had its functionality established. Another major problem was that what little development that was occurring for Google Glass was slow and very incremental. Google hasn't officially pulled the plug on Glass, but there's basically no longer any active development currently being done for the device. As well, Google is known to have filed a number of patents for a potential follow-up to Google Glass last year, which is a pretty clear indicator that Google has either abandoned Google Glass or is pursuing an alternate version of the experimental device (Time Magazine suggests the latter).

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Google Helpouts (2013–2015)

Many people thought Google Helpouts would have some serious legs. Like several of Google's other gambles, however, the subpar marketing and availability of more popular alternatives eventually led Google to pull the plug on Helpouts on Friday the 13th in February of last year.

You might say that Google Helpouts was a cousin of Google Answers.

It had a similar Q&A foundation while reflecting the recent popularity of video chat. As with Answers, users of Google Helpouts could pay a fee to post questions that needed answering. Meanwhile, anyone who could pass for an expert in any particular fields could sign up to answer those questions via video chat in Hangouts, getting paid in the process. Alternately, a user could peruse through the directory of experts and pay to schedule video chats according to the experts' schedules. This might sound promising, but there were some major limitations that, in hindsight, spelled death for Google Helpouts from the beginning.

For one thing, both users and experts had to have Google+ accounts since Helpouts worked by capitalizing on how Google+ is essentially the apex of all Google integrations. You signed up for Helpouts through Google+, synced your Google Calendar to Google+, used Hangouts through Google+. If you were staunchly against Google+, it was impossible for you to use Helpouts. And then there's the fact that Google made a 20 percent royalty from each transaction, which rubbed people the wrong way since Helpouts mostly utilized Google services that already existed and were free. Also, because the experts were essentially the sole reason for any revenue Helpouts could've netted. Oh, and you had to use Google Wallet to pay or get paid for chat sessions.

Depending on the length of the chat session, the cost would either be predetermined or calculated per minute. As well, there were steep cancellation fees (of 50 percent or more) if a user needed to cancel or reschedule a chat session with an expert. With all these caveats, it's really not surprising that Google Helpouts didn't last very long.

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Google Wallet Card (2013–2016)

Google Wallet is the infamous precursor to Android Pay that was a much less refined and less capable mobile payment solution. Whereas many of us are making mobile payments using NFC on our phones, Google Wallet was initially designed around an actual, physical card: the Google Wallet Card.

The Google Wallet Card made its first appearance after a leak in 2012. This first iteration of the card would have been a real game-changer as a "programmable" payment card. In effect, you could leave all but your Google Wallet Card at home. At any given time, you could choose which of your debit or credit cards to link to the Google Wallet Card via the Google Wallet app; upon swiping the Google Wallet Card, the charge would be forwarded to the debit or credit card of your choosing. This essentially would have combined your entire wallet into a single card, so it's not surprising that a lot of buzz surrounded this initial Google Wallet Card leak. But that's not the card we got.

When it was released in late-2013, the Google Wallet Card was essentially a prepaid MasterCard that used your Google Wallet balance like any other prepaid debit card. Whatever funds you deposited or received to your Google Wallet account was the amount you could spend with your Google Wallet Card. What it really boils down to is Google attempting to take on PayPal: Youcould receive online payments, make payments with a physical card, and send money to or receive money from family and friends. If this wouldn't have given you cause to doubt the longevity of the Google Wallet Card, the release and relatively quick adoption of Android pay all but sealed the fate of the Google Wallet Card, which paid its final transaction just two months ago on June 30.

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Google+ (2011–20??)

The determination that Google has exhibited to capitalize on the popularity of social media has resulted in the last blunder on our list. Although Google+ is still functioning, the platform has never been the success that Google had hoped it would be despite aggressively pushing Google+ at us every chance the company got. According to insiders, by the early 2010s, the creation of the next big social media network was at the top of Google's to-do list. It's said that Vic Gundotra — who would become the chief architect of Google+ — told Larry Page over and over again that the company would need to create a social network or be overthrown by Facebook. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons Page returned to his more proactive position as CEO after a number of years in a more hands-off role.

"We're turning Google into a social destination," Gundotra said in a 2011 interview. Sure enough, Google cobbled together a rudimentary interest-based network that offered something of a combination of LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Unfortunately, the hodgepodge of features shamelessly plucked from other social networks lacked cohesion and purpose. One of the network's calling cards was its unintuitive and disjointed navigation. Even trying to navigate around your own profile is made much more confusing than it should be. Aside from Hangouts integration and Google+ communities, which would become the network's most well-known and praised feature, most everything that Google+ offered could be found on other networks where it was usually put to much better use.

It remains to be seen how much longer Google+ will be around, but there's no question that the network's days are numbered. Less than 1 percent of all Google users are active on Google+. Of course, there are still many holdouts who refuse to attach Google+ to their Google accounts, so that may not be the most representative figure. The average Google+ user spends just 7 minutes using Google+ each month. The network accounts for just 3 percent of all social sharing in the U.S. More than 90 percent of all Google+ accounts are inactive without so much as a single post. Meanwhile, Google is spinning out many Google+ features into their own, separate entities like they've done with Google Photos. Even Hangouts On Air is now a YouTube rather than Google+ feature. As well, users no longer need Google+ accounts to write Play Store reviews and you can now use Google instead of Google+ when signing up for accounts on various websites.

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What do you think about Google's aforementioned failures? Do you consider G+ one of them, or are we still too early in predicting its fall? Were you ever a user or fan of any of them? Do you think any of them would be more successful today? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Lenovo debuts Lenovo K6 family of phones

It's not just laptops and tablets that Lenovo is showing off at IFA 2016. In addition to yesterday's announcement of the Moto Z Play, Lenovo has also revealed a series of metallic mid-rangers as part of the new K6 family. There are three models in total, the Lenovo K6, K6 Power, and K6 Note.

Under the hood, the trio offer many of the same specs including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, microSD for expansion, dual-SIM support, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Dolby Atmos certification, fingerprint scanners, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based software. Where the phones differ is in the RAM, camera packages, batteries, and screen sizes.

The base Lenovo K6 and the K6 power both offer up either 2GB or 3GB RAM, depending on if you pick the 16 or 32GB storage model. Meanwhile, the K6 Note has 32GB storage and your choice of either 3 or 4GB RAM.

See also: Best cheap Android phones (August 2016)423

On the display front, the K6 and K6 power rock 5-inch 1080p displays, while the Note gets a bump to 5.5-inches with the same 1080p resolution. Turning to the camera, you get an 8MP front cam on all models, with a 13MP main shooter on the K6 and the Power and a 16MP shooter with phase detection autofocus on the Note.

Lastly, the K6 the smallest battery at 3000 mAh, with the Power and Note both offering a 400mAh battery.

Details on pricing and availability aren't clear just yet, though we can pretty much bet they will never make their way stateside. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to Android Authority, where we will do our best to bring you more great IFA coverage.

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Carphone Warehouse offers customers £25 credit for Galaxy Note 7 delays

You've probably heard that Samsung is recalling its new Galaxy Note 7 handsets by now, due to an issue related to potentially dangerous batteries. As a result, pre-order shipments and store stock is going to be delayed around the world while Samsung replaces handsets. If you happened to pre-order a Note 7 from the UK's Carphone Warehouse, the company will credit your account with £25 for the inconvenience.

Unfortunately, the Carphone Warehouse doesn't give any indication about when Galaxy Note 7 shipments and sales will recommence in the country, as this will all depend on how long it takes Samsung to address the issue and begin re-filling its supply chains. Carphone Warehouse customers who don't want to wait or have been put off their purchase can contact the company to cancel their order.

The UK isn't the only country affected by a halt to Galaxy Note 7 sales. In the US, Verizon has announced that it is delaying shipments of the Note 7 until September 7th. Samsung has stated that it is suspending handset sales worldwide while it investigates and takes action on the malfunction. It's likely that other retailers will make their own announcements and may offer similar compensations seems soon.

See also: Galaxy Note 7 recall: what you need to know11

With rival smartphone launches from LG and Apple right around the corner, this development has come at a particularly bad time for Samsung. But at least the company is taking consumer safety seriously enough to put a full brake on sales until the problem is fully understood.

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Qualcomm’s Snapdragon VR820 headset could make VR more affordable

At a small press-conference at IFA in Berlin, Qualcomm has been outlining its plan to slash the costs of virtual reality hardware. The mobile processor giant has unveiled a reference headset design, called the Snapdragon VR820, that is built around its Snapdragon 820 processor. The aim is to allow manufacturers to cut development costs, which should make VR cheaper for consumers too.

Along with four of Qualcomm's custom Kryo CPU cores and an Adreno 530 GPU, the Snapdragon VR820 comes with a pair of 1440×1400 AMOLED displays with 70Hz refresh rates. The headset features eye-tracking hardware, six-axis motion tracking, and two forward-facing cameras. Interestingly, these cameras can transmit data to the display, allowing the headset to double up for augmented reality applications too.

The added upside of Qualcomm's design is that, just like other headset that use smartphone technology, the VR820 will be free from cables, offering up superior freedom of movement. However, the hardware tucked inside the headset is much less capable than top-notch PC hardware, so customers shouldn't expect the same gaming performance and titles as the Rift of Vive. Even so, there are lots of potential uses for mobile-based VR products.

"The Snapdragon VR820 integrates key technologies and features for an exceptional VR experience and provides a springboard for OEMs and developers to usher in the  next generation of truly portable and untethered devices that we think are necessary for mass consumer adoption of VR," – Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, IoT, Qualcomm

Given the huge costs of high performance PC hardware and a Rift or Vive, or a flagship smartphone and a Samsung Gear VR headset or equivalent, there's certainly room in the market for cheaper competitors. By focusing on just the necessary hardware and providing support dedicated to a single reference design, Qualcomm's strategy should help to make cheaper hardware a reality.

Importantly, Qualcomm isn't looking to sell its own headsets directly to consumers. Instead, the Snapdragon VR820 will act as a blueprint for other manufacturers to design around, which could generate extra chip sales for Qualcomm.

This article was originally published on our sister site VRSource.com

Show Press Release

Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon Virtual Reality Reference Platform for Immersive User Experiences on Standalone Head Mounted Displays

SEP 1, 2016 BERLIN, GERMANY

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced at IFA 2016 that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., has introduced its first virtual reality (VR) reference platform, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ VR820. Based on the powerful Snapdragon 820 processor, the Snapdragon VR820 enables OEMs to quickly develop standalone head mounted displays (HMDs) optimized for VR content and applications while meeting the processing and performance demands of an all-in-one, dedicated VR headset.

"Consumers everywhere are captivated by truly immersive VR experiences, and Qualcomm Technologies' capabilities in graphics, displays, video, audio, computer vision and sensor technologies, as well as power and thermal efficiencies proven over years of smartphone innovation, uniquely positions us to help customers bring these experiences to life," said Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, IoT, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. "The Snapdragon VR820 integrates key technologies and features for an exceptional VR experience and provides a springboard for OEMs and developers to usher in the  next generation of truly portable and untethered devices that we think are necessary for mass consumer adoption of VR."

Developed with Goertek, a leading global ODM, the Snapdragon VR820 includes advanced features such as integrated eye tracking with two cameras, dual front facing cameras for six degrees of freedom (6DOF) and see-through applications, four microphones, gyro, accelerometer, and magnetometer sensors, all contained in an elegant, sleek and comfortable design. The reference platform combines Goertek's innovative system design including mechanical, electrical, optical, acoustic, and firmware development with the groundbreaking computing, graphics, sensor fusion, audio, connectivity, power management, VR software and system capabilities of the Snapdragon 820.

The platform is built upon the groundbreaking Snapdragon VR Software Development Kit (SDK) providing OEMs and developers with access to optimized, advanced VR features, to help simplify development and improve VR performance and power efficiency with the Snapdragon 820 for standalone VR HMDs.

Snapdragon 820: Designed with VR in Mind

The Snapdragon VR820 is built upon the powerful Snapdragon 820 mobile processor, which is designed to support and advance the requirements for immersive VR. The Snapdragon 820 processor is an ideal solution that allows the platform to provide compelling visual and auditory experiences, as well as intuitive interactions.

• Visual Quality:
  • Qualcomm® Adreno™ 530 GPU for next-generation console-quality VR gaming and apps, while delivering up to 40 percent improvement to graphics performance and compute capabilities compared to its predecessor
  • Smooth, stereoscopic 3D, with foveated rendering, and support for the latest graphics APIs
  • 1440×1440 resolution per eye, AMOLED panel that supports up to 70Hz
  • 360° 4K video playback processing with HEVC compression and display refresh rates at 70 FPS
  • Qualcomm® TruPalette™  display gamut mapping, color enhancement comprehensive control over colors
  • Qualcomm® EcoPix™ pixel compression, with variable refresh for extended battery life
• Sound Quality:
  • Stereo, binaural positional audio, and 3D surround sound, powered by Qualcomm Aqstic™ audio technologies
  • Four microphones with Fluence™ HD noise filtering and active noise cancellation
• Intuitive Interactions:
  • Dual Qualcomm Spectra™ camera ISPs combined with Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP for advanced vision features such as look-through imaging and 3D reconstruction, eye-tracking and hand gestures
  • Predictive, monocular visual motion tracking with full 6DOF at 800Hz for smooth tracking of head motion in movement as well as rotation
  • Ultra-fast sensing, processing with average motion to photon latency under 18ms
• Powerful computing:
  • Custom-designed 64-bit Qualcomm® Kryo™ quad-core CPU for high-performance computing
  • Integrated Hexagon 680 DSP for efficiently processing advanced vision, audio, and Qualcomm All-Ways Aware™ ultra-low power "always-on" sensor technology without impacting CPU processing load

The Snapdragon VR820 is anticipated to be available in Q4 2016 with the first commercial devices based on the platform expected to be available shortly thereafter.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 30 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

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Galaxy Note 7 recall: what you need to know

By now, you've probably heard that Samsung is recalling all Galaxy Note 7 units it has shipped so far due to the risk of malfunction and fire. Samsung has come out with an official confirmation today, but the details about the Note 7 recall are still a bit murky.

Here's what you need to know about the Galaxy Note 7 recall process and the Note 7 battery fire issue.

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Wait, what happened again?

Samsung has discovered an issue with the battery of the Note 7 units it has shipped so far. By Samsung's count, the issue has caused at least 35 incidents where the Note 7 dangerously overheated or caught fire while charging, or soon after charging.

The problem is estimated to affect one device in every 42,000 units. Samsung says it shipped around 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 units so far, so if the estimate is correct, only a few dozen phones sold worldwide are at risk.

Samsung said it's recalling every Note 7 unit it has shipped so far out of an abundance of caution.

This sounds bad. Should I be worried?

If the "one in every 42,000 units" estimation is correct, the risk of your Note 7 being defective is very, very low. While it's good to be cautious, there's little reason to be worried about your phone exploding, catching fire, or even breaking.

Why do phones even catch fire or explode?

Smartphones (and other modern electronic devices) from all manufacturers have been known to catch fire, usually while charging (often through a third-party cable or charger). These incidents are relatively rare, but with hundreds of million units being sold every year, they are bound to happen occasionally.

Here's an in-depth explanation of what happens when a phone catches fire and the most common reasons behind these incidents.

What is Samsung doing about it?

Samsung is recalling all Note 7 it shipped so far, worldwide. This includes devices that are already in the customers' hands and devices that have been shipped to carriers and retailers but haven't been sold to end-users yet. The total number of recalled Note 7 units is around 2.5 million, according to Samsung.

When will the Note 7 recall start?

Samsung said it's working on manufacturing Note 7 replacement units for the recall. The process will take two weeks, according to the company. That means that, in the absence of any change, the first replacement units will reach customer hands in a few weeks.

Keep in mind that the recall process will differ from market to market. The speed of the process will also depend on the retailer or carrier you bought the phone from, and potentially on the model.

How long will the Note 7 recall take?

Samsung did not say how long the recall process will take, but it did confirm it will issue replacements instead of repairing units that are brought in. That should make the process faster.

Will I get a new device?

Yes, Samsung said it will replace your Note 7 with a new unit of the exact same model.

Will there be any compensation for my trouble?

Samsung did not offer any details about that, but it's possible. Some carriers or retailers may also offer partial refunds, credit, or other forms of compensation for the recall or the cancelled orders. For instance, UK's Carphone Warehouse has already announced a £25 account credit for every customer who pre-ordered the Note 7.

I have a Note 7, what should I do to get it replaced?

Samsung will announce details about the recall process for every market. For now, the only thing you can do (other than returning the phone and asking for a refund, if possible) is to wait for further news. Keep an eye out for announcements from the retailer or carrier you've bought the Note 7 from, as well as the Samsung branch from your country.

Should I keep using my Note 7?

Again, the risk of anything bad happening is very low, statistically speaking. But if you're very worried about your Note catching fire, the safest thing to do would be to shut the phone down and put it in a safe place until you can get it replaced.

What can I do to stay safe until I get a replacement?

There are a few common sense precautions you can take in order to keep safe, which are valid for any electronic device. To boil it down:

• Stop charging your phone it if becomes too hot.
• Stick to first-party chargers.
• Don't charge your phone in bed.
• Be mindful of where you charge your phone.

More details about how to stay safe are available here.

I don't want a Note 7 anymore, can I get a refund instead of a replacement?

Samsung did not specify, but your retailer or carrier may give you the option to ask for a full refund. Since the Note 7 only launched two weeks ago, your purchase might be protected by your local customer protection laws.

My Note 7 is arriving soon, what should I do?

If your Note 7 order is under way, you may want to cancel it, just to avoid the hassle of dealing with the recall. We advise against buying a Note 7 until the situation becomes clearer, especially from random individual sellers on Craigslist, eBay, or other similar sites.

Are other Samsung devices affected?

No, there is no information to suggest that other Samsung devices might be affected by the same issue.

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Missed anything? Do you have questions about the Galaxy Note 7 recall? Ask away in the comments!

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How to start using AdMob with Firebase to monetize your app

These days, more and more app developers are eschewing the pay-to-download business model in favor of making money from their creations in other ways. This is particularly true on Android, where users are highest in number but not quite so keen to dig deep for their favorite apps (compared with iOS users).

AdMob is one alternative option available to those developers. This is a form of PPM advertising, which means 'Pay Per Impression' and that means you get paid simply by displaying ads on top of your app content. AdMob is the biggest platform of its kind on Android, which is no surprise seeing as it is owned by Google. Let's take a look at just how it works, how to set it up and whether or not it's right for you.

How AdMob works

Monetizing with ads allows you to attract more downloads by keeping your app free but this also means you need a very actively engaged audience that will use your software regularly if you're going to make any serious money. This is because the profits you make from AdMob are directly tied to the number of views and clicks the ads receive. This is why it is referred to as 'Pay Per Impression'; each time your ad is displayed and seen by a user, that counts as an 'impression' and will contribute to your overall earnings. If your app gets downloaded once and never used again, you're not going to earn much at all.

The precise amount of money that a click or impression gets you will depend partly on what kind of ad you choose. When setting up, you'll have four different types to choose from:

• Banner ads
• Interstitials
• Rewarded interstitial
• Native ads

Banner ads are simple banners that can appear over the top of your content. These are less intrusive because the user can carry on with what they're doing. Generally, they will encourage your users to try other apps or products. When the user taps the ad, it will expand to fill the screen. Banner ads can come in a variety of sizes, to suit your UI.

Interstitials on the other hand are always full-page and will normally be inserted at natural break points in your app. So if your app focuses on written content, then your ad might show after several pages as the user transitions from one screen to the next. Alternatively, a game might place interstitial ads between levels, or when the player dies and respawns.

Rewarded interstitials meanwhile are videos that reward you for watching them. Many games for example will let you watch the advert in order to gain extra lives or attempts at a level. Finally, native ads are ads that are better integrated into the app itself and that fit into your UI. So if you had a list of images, an ad might be seamlessly inserted between two of them as users scroll through.

Choosing the right type of ad that is noticeable but not frustrating, is a big part of winning at AdMob!

How much will you earn?

So how much can you expect to make from AdMob? The answer of course depends on how popular your app is but suffice to say that it starts out pretty small, so you shouldn't go into this thinking it's guaranteed to be your big pay day!

Nope

Revenue from AdMob is calculated as eCPM. That stands for 'Effective Cost Per (thousand) Impressions', which means on average, you are making that figure from 1,000 views. This takes into account both your PPM (Pay Per thousand Impressions) and your PPC (Pay Per Click). You tend to get paid a bit more when a user actually clicks on an advert but of course this happens less often (this metric is known as CTR or 'Click Through Rate'). eCPM gives you a useful single figure that estimates just how much you can expect to get paid when you have X amount of people using your app for T amount of time.

So what is an average eCPM? Again, this comes down to several factors but just to give you a very rough idea, something in the region of $0.15-$4 could be considered fairly normal for Android banners, while you might make about $2-$10 for interstitials. It's very hard to find any useful data on this subject though, with these estimates being based on my research trawling forums as well as my own (limited) experience. There's certainly a lot of variation between developers though.

Likewise, the position of the adverts and nature of the app can also impact on how likely someone is to click it.

So why the variation? It depends on a huge number of factors. For starters, the actual amount advertisers pay for clicks or impressions will vary based on the amount of competition. Advertisers actually bid for ad spaces in an automated manner similar to eBay, meaning that they only have to pay the minimum amount necessary to beat the competition. The more people are competing for a spot on your ad, the higher the PPM and PPC.

Likewise, the position of the adverts and nature of the app can also impact on how likely someone is to click it, which can drive your PPM up or down. Then there are regional differences, with certain markets paying a lot more than others. And finally, sometimes an odd day can throw your statistics way off. If you have a slow day with 5 impressions but they all get clicked and coincidentally have high payouts, then that data will be extrapolated to calculate the average eCPM as being very high. You really need a few thousand impressions before the data is reliable.

But, it suffices to say that some people are earning thousands of dollars per month from AdMob, while a lot of 'average' developers are getting peanuts. In short, you need your app to be a pretty big hit in order for AdMob to make you rich. But by removing the price tag for downloading your app, you increase the chance of this happening.

How to set-up AdMob

The good news is that AdMob is easy to try out if you decide you want to give it a go. First, you'll need to set up an AdMob account. You can do this here and if you already have a Google account, then you can just use that.

Go through the few easy steps and then you'll be able to get in to the main dashboard. From here, you'll then be taken through the process of creating your first advert. Simply search for your developer name using the search bar provided and then select the app you wish to try monetizing. If you want to ad an app you haven't published yet for testing purposes, then you can do this by selecting to add your app manually and then entering the package name. You can then choose if you want to use a banner add, interstitial, rewarded interstitial or native ad.

Depending on what type of ad you choose, you're now going to be given various options – whether you want to show text only, or images as well, for example. You'll also be able to name your ad unit, which is simply for your own management and tracking later on.

The refresh rate is important here because it defines how often new ads show, increasing the number of impressions that you can get from a single session. You shouldn't make this faster than 60 seconds though and note that it can be very distracting if your ad keeps changing!

Next, you can opt to link your app data to Firebase and you should go ahead and do that. This is basically a cloud service that provides more advanced data for AdMob among other things (it also offers features like push notifications and crash reporting). We've covered how you can get to know your audience better with Firebase Analytics before and you can watch the useful but cheesy video from Google here. The good news is that if you don't already have a Firebase account, Google will set one up for you automatically. You can also add a project to Firebase via your Google Analytics account by clicking 'Get Started With Firebase' which is found in the top right.

Firebase is optional and at the moment it is still possible to use AdMobs with just the Google Play Services. However, Google is pushing the Firebase option right now, so this is probably the route you should take to ensure you'll be future-proof. The good news is that the Firebase route is also pretty easy. You'll need to download the Firebase Config file (Called Google-Services.json) and the link will be shown to you as soon as you've selected to use Firebase.

You can then just drop that file into the app directory of your app project. This is important because Android Studio will be looking for it at build. Note that you need to generate unique files for each app you create and you can't just keep using the same one as they include the package name!

Now you'll need to load up Android Studio so that you can go to the project level build.gradle file of your app. Here, you're adding the dependency:

  classpath 'com.google.gms:google-services:3.0.0'  

Now head to the app level build.gradle and add a line to apply the plugin:

  apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services'  

Then you can simply add the individual services you want as dependencies in that same file. We want to use AdMob in this case and so we use:

  compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-ads:9.0.2'  

Let Gradle do a sync and you should now be all ready to go and start actually adding the ads into your code!

(P.S. What they don't tell you in the official documentation is that you also need add internet permission to your manifest file, like so: <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />. Android studio will prompt you should you forget.)

Inserting your adverts

Once you have the AdMob SDK all set up and ready to go, you can start inserting adverts into your apps. This varies depending on what type of ad you want to use and there's no point in us repeating what's in the documentation here, so as an example let's just look at banner ads.

To begin inserting banner adverts, you'll first need to create a new string in your Strings.xml. That string is going to provide your ad unit ID so that you can easily change it later.

  <string name="banner_ad_unit_id">AD UNIT ID HERE!</string>  

You can get this ID from your AdMob dashboard:

At last, you can add the banner in your XML with:

  <com.google.android.gms.ads.AdView      android:id="@+id/adView"      android:layout_width="wrap_content"      android:layout_height="wrap_content"      android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"      android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"      ads:adSize="BANNER"      ads:adUnitId="@string/banner_ad_unit_id">  </com.google.android.gms.ads.AdView>  

Don't forget to add an extra namespace at the top too:

  xmlns:ads="http://ift.tt/GEGVYd"  

Finally, you'll need to insert a couple of lines into your activity's Java file. First, you need to initialize the SDK at app launch by placing it in onCreate:

  MobileAds.initialize(getApplicationContext(), "YOUR APP ID");  

Find your app ID by clicking on 'App management' which is found in the settings menu of your AdMob control panel.

Finally, you need to load an advert into the AdView you created in your XML. You do this by adding two more lines of code in your onCreate:

  AdView mAdView = (AdView) findViewById(R.id.adView);  AdRequest adRequest = new AdRequest.Builder().build();  mAdView.loadAd(adRequest);  

It sounds like a lot but if you go through each step in sequence, then it's something you'll only really need to do once and then you can forget all about it! That said, you can get more technical by tracking your ad lifecycle events such as 'onAdLoaded' or 'onAdClosed' and you can find details on that here. You'll set this up with an AdListener but if you'd rather not, it's entirely optional.

If you recall the Crystalize app we made in a previous tutorial, this is what it should look like with a banner ad added:

So how about Interstitial Ads and Native Ads? These are a little different but thankfully, Google has provided detailed steps for inserting these as well. Check them out here. It's fairly intuitive once you start understanding the way AdMob works. Plus, it uses the fun tongue-twister 'instantiate the interstitial', so you can look forward to that!

Remember that if you're experimenting and your app isn't live, then you should use Test Ads rather than regular ads. This is intended to prevent you from accidentally generating your own clicks and thereby risking getting booted off of the platform!

At this point though, you should be ready to start tweaking your placement and settings to see how that effects your profits. It can take a little while to get it all just right but it's fun experimenting along the way and who knows, it might just lead to a nice little windfall!

When AdMob makes sense

So should you use AdMob? And what kind of app can benefit most from the platform?

The thing to remember here is that user engagement is crucial. If your app is a 'one time use' kind of thing, then you just aren't going to get the impressions, even with hundreds of thousands of downloads. In that case, you're better of charging per download. On the other hand though, if your app is a highly addictive game that you think users will want to sink a good amount of time into on a daily basis, or if it's a tool that they're going to need to use often, then suddenly AdMob makes a lot more sense.

It can take a little while to get it all just right but it's fun experimenting along the way and who knows, it might just lead to a nice little windfall!

In short, you can make money from paid downloads thanks to the impulsive nature that leads many people to make purchases. But if your app has real staying power, then ultimately that will prove to be a limited business model and AdMob could be making you more.

Of course you also need to bear in mind that users can find ads irritating and that this can harm your user experience. How willing your audience is to put up with this inconvenience is going to depend very much on the type of app and who it is aimed at. But again, this is where experimentation is key – and by trying out different refresh rates, different types of ad, different banner sizes etc., you may just find it's possible to settle on something that isn't too in-your-face but still manages to get you a fair amount of impressions and clicks.

Then all that's left to do is promote the heck out of your app!

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Why do phones “explode” sometimes, and what can you do to protect yourself?

One of the at least 35 Note 7 units that caught fire or exploded

Every now and again we hear unfortunate stories about gadget batteries catching fire and even exploding (a term that is often used even for incidents that are less dramatic), sometimes causing harm to the unsuspecting user. While very rare, Samsung has been forced to recall its latest Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after concerns were raised that a small number of its handsets are shipping with defective batteries that may explode. Once again, dangerous lithium-ion batteries are back in the spotlight, but what actually causes a battery to go haywire?

Do not miss: It's official: Samsung announces worldwide Galaxy Note 7 recall108

Causing explosions

Lithium-ion batteries seldom bulge or explode, but when they do, there are two leading causes. The first is a puncture, which might be caused by dropping your phone. A break in the thin compacted battery material between cells can produce to an internal short circuit, leading to swelling and potential explosions. Alternatively, cheaper batteries can sometimes accidentally feature rare microscopic metal particles inside that might come into contact with other parts of the battery cell, also leading to a short circuit.

With the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung and various reports suggest that the issue is caused when the device is charging, which leads us to our second major cause – heat. Excessive heat can again cause again internal short circuit within the battery, by breaking down the internal cells. However, this only usually occurs at very high temperatures, unless the battery is faulty. Overcharging may also be an issue, which is caused by batteries receiving more current than they can safely handle, causing them to overheat.

Too much heat in one area of the battery can lead to "thermal runaway".  This happens when an area of a battery can't cool down quickly enough, resulting in a breakdown chain reaction that generates more and more heat. In other words, excess heat causes a reaction that accelerates the temperature increase. Eventually, this can lead to a fire or explosion.

Typically, high-quality batteries will include safety features that can usually prevent this dangerous reaction from taking place. However, Samsung has stated that it has purchased battery packs from multiple providers, and perhaps some of these are more prone to failure than others.

Charging and heat

There are a number of potential causes of excessive heat in and around the battery in a modern smartphone. The move towards fast charging technologies is now forcing additional current into lithium-ion batteries, and with every power transfer there is always some heat generation. The more power, the higher the potential heat. While some of this heat-loss will occur at the battery itself, some heat will also be lost in the fast charging power conversion and power management circuitry, which is usually located next to the battery. This could certainly cause more heat at one end of the battery than the other.

The processors inside today's smartphones are also producing more heat than the handsets from 3 or 4 generations ago. While not usually nestled next to a battery, this could further add to the temperate inside a modern smartphone, making it more difficult for heat to transfer away from the battery area.

We should be clear though that Samsung has indicated that it is the batteries that are at fault in the Galaxy Note 7 and not any other part of the handset. It seems unlikely that the Galaxy Note 7 has be built in such a way that it is producing too much heat that makes it unsafe to stick a battery inside. Instead, it's more likely that just a small percentage of the batteries that Samsung has purchased are not coping properly with the heat produced or current provided while charging. Either by not matching up to the required charging specifications or by simply coming from a faulty batch.

Protecting yourself

Without knowing exactly what is causing issues with Samsung's Galaxy Note 7, we can't say precisely how to avoid potential problems. However, there are some general tips to follow that can help protect yourself and your device from catastrophe. General warning signs that your battery is damaged and could explode include a hissing sound, popping, or swelling.

• Stop charging your phone it if becomes too hot. Allow your phone to cool down before charging it again and make sure that you don't cover your phone to let heat escape properly.
• Stick to first-party chargers. Use the charger included in the box to make sure that your phone is receiving the optimal voltage and current. If you're using a phone with a USB Type-C port or Quick Charge, it might be wise to stick with the cable that came in the box too.
• Don't charge your phone in bed. I know it's very tempting to watch a video or read before you fall asleep, but you don't want to roll over on your phone and have it overheat. Not to mention that leaving your phone under a pillow while it charges will cause it to heat up.
• Be mindful of where you charge your phone. Avoid charging for long periods of time in really hot places, such leaving your phone on a car dashboard, next to a radiator, or in direct sunlight on hot days.

If you do happen to notice your battery swelling, unplug your phone and remove the battery, but only if the battery is user removable. Don't attempt to dispose of the battery or device in the trash. Always get rid of your batteries at authorised disposal facilities or some electronics retailers, such as Best Buy, that offer battery recycling services.

If your battery and/or device is damaged as a result of a swollen or exploded battery, take your device to the retailer that you purchased it from or get in contact with the manufacturer. A replacement battery or device will usually be issued, especially if you have a warranty.

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