Samsung Pay finally gets Capital One

On essentially any article we publish regarding Samsung Pay, someone in the comments will point out that they'd be willing to give the service a shot, if only they supported Capital One. Well my Capital friends, the day has finally arrived.

It doesn't look like all Capital One cards are available yet, but a good number of them are. Samsung Pay now supports Venture, Venture One, Quicksilver, QuicksilverOne, Platinum, Journey, Secured Mastercard, Spark Cash, Spark Miles, Spark Cash Select, Spark Miles Select, and Spark Classic.

See also: Samsung Pay getting iris scanning and cloud sync25

If you're a Capital One user who has been sitting around twiddling their thumbs in a Samsung Payless world, now's your chance to start checking out with your smartphone essentially anywhere you would use a card. Click the button below to snag the app from the Play Store. You will of course have to have a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, S7, S7 edge, S7 active, S6, S6 edge, S6 active, S6 edge+, or Note5.

What do you think of Capital One finally joining the ranks of major banks participating in Samsung's mobile payment system? Let us know your opinion in the comments!

 

Previously: Samsung Pay nears 100 million transactions on first anniversary15

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 passes 2.3 million sales in India

Xiaomi has once again achieved another milestone. The Chinese phone maker has just announced that it has sold at least 2.3 million units of Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 in India, making it the bestselling in the country online to date.

That's up more than 31 percent from August when Xiaomi reported that the Redmi Note 3 crossed 1.75 million in sales just five months after the phone's launch in India.

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 officially announced

The latest figure means one Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is sold every 7 seconds in the country, a no small feat for a mobile phone company that has been trying to gain a vast footing on a global scale. The flash sale strategy seems to have worked a treat for Xiaomi lately as it did in May when the Chinese company announced the sale of more than 600,000 Redmi Note 3 units in just two months of weekly sales.

Flash sales – where a single product becomes available for sale on a website for a limited period – have grown in popularity over the last couple of years, though critics are apprehensive of the concept's longevity, not to mention concerns over the financial growth of businesses adopting this model.

As it did, Xiaomi is leveraging the one-deal-a-day business model to its advantage. To celebrate the latest milestone, Xiaomi has put up a challenge on its website, where users get the chance to win a Redmi Note 3 and coupons worth Rs 100 (~$1.5) by just typing a sentence provided by Xiaomi within 7 seconds. If you fail this challenge, you can instead head to Xiaomi's Facebook page and share its post to get more chances.

The 16GB Redmi Note 3 is currently on sale in India for Rs 9,999 (~$150) and the 32GB variant for Rs 11,999 (~$180). Do you own a Redmi Note 3? What do you think of the handset? Share your opinion below.

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Plex Cloud is everything you love about Plex without the hardware

As tablets, notebooks, and smartphones become increasingly ubiquitous, and more work is done on laptops and Chromebooks, the role of the blocky old PC has become – at least for many – little more than a home media storage device. Now Plex Cloud wants to steal even that utility from the old vanguard.

Plex Cloud essentially takes the hardware out of media storage. It's kind of like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon Drive, except that it's set up exclusively to facilitate quick and easy media streaming.

Those who have been using Plex on their physical server or NVIDIA Shield at home know what to expect here. Aesthetically organized files that are easily categorized, filtered, and searched through: everything from home videos to digitally downloaded movies and tv shows. Except now, there's no need to run the physical server in your home or mess around with Networked Attached Storage (NAS) devices. You can stream uploaded media from practically any smart device.

See also: Big NVIDIA Shield Android TV update rolling out, brings Plex Media Server support and more13

One cool feature regarding Plex Cloud is that when you upload content, Plex will automatically attempt to locate related material to enhance your experience. If you upload some of your favorite movies, for instance, Plex will gather posters, trailers, and other bonuses you might normally expect from a Blu Ray purchase.

Plex Cloud piggybacks off your existing Amazon Drive account and has unlimited storage. You need a Plex Pass subscription to be able to use it, and these are available for $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. If you don't have a subscription to Amazon Drive, then you'll need to fork over another $60 a year for that service.

Plex will automatically attempt to locate related material to enhance your experience.

There doesn't appear to be a way to directly transfer your existing Plex media server to this cloud-based platform, so it looks like you'll have to manually upload your files.

Right now, Plex Cloud is still in invite-only beta, but if you're interested you can sign up to participate over here. Plex says they'll be expanding the beta over the next few weeks, so if you don't get in at first, your invitation may be coming soon.

What do you think of Plex Cloud? A worthwhile service, or not something you'd be interested in? Let us know your take in the comments below!

Previously: Shield update v3.2 will turn your Shield Pro Android TV into a Plex Media Server16

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This is what the Chromecast Ultra will look like

Google is ramping up for their major October 4th event. In addition to seeing the Pixel and the Pixel XL formally unveiled, we're also expecting a new Chromebook and the Chromecast Ultra. Until today, we had no idea what to really expect from the new Chromecast device in terms of design, but now we're finally getting a sneak peek.

Thanks to veteran leaker Evan Blass, we've finally gotten our hands on official images of the Chromecast Ultra and… it looks essentially identical to the last iteration of the Chromecast. All we're really seeing different here, in terms of physical appearances, is a removal of the Chrome branding in favor of Google's increasingly used "G" logo.

See also: Mysterious Google statue appears in Brooklyn, foreshadowing Oct 4. event45

Now, the Chromecast Ultra is expected to launch for a whopping $70. The reason for this is that the device supports 4K video, which justifies it's twice-as-expensive price tag. If you look closely you can also see that this device has a tiny button on the back, but we're not sure what it's purpose could be. Perhaps a reset feature?

Anyway, normal HD Chromecasts, which go for around $35, are expected to stick around for quite some time, so if you don't have a 4K television, there doesn't appear to be any need to fork over the extra cash for the Ultra variant. At least that's what we're seeing so far. Perhaps Google has something else up their sleeve with the Chromecast Ultra, but we won't know until October 4th. Be sure to tune in then for all the hottest coverage as it happens.

What are your thoughts regarding this glimpse at the Chromecast Ultra? Will you be springing for it? Let us know your take in the comments below!

Recent Deal: Grab a Chromecast Audio for $25 from the Google Store or Best Buy10

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Google may launch a Huawei-built ‘Nexus’ tablet running Andromeda, too

The Nexus line may not be dead after all.

Earlier today, a report surfaced stating that Google plans to preview its Android/Chrome OS hybrid operating system called Andromeda at its upcoming October 4 event. The original report stated that Andromeda would be showcased on a 'Pixel 3' laptop (codenamed Bison) that wouldn't actually come to market until Q3 2017. In case you missed the earlier report, Andromeda is Google's new operating system that integrates Chrome OS into Android, instead of the other way around as is the case with ARC for Chromebooks.

Now another report has surfaced regarding yet another Andromeda-powered device.

The Huawei-built Andromeda-powered tablet will reportedly feature Nexus branding

The folks at 9to5Google are reporting that Google will also showcase Andromeda on a Huawei-built 'Nexus' tablet alongside the Bison laptop. The report states that the new tablet, made by Huawei, could perhaps be a developer-focused device that features Nexus branding. This is most likely the same tablet @evleaks was talking about a few weeks ago. In terms of hardware, 9to5Google doesn't have any set-in-stone details, though @evleaks' original tweet detailed that the tablet would feature a 7.0-inch screen and 4GB of RAM. And unlike the Bison laptop that's rumored to launch in Q3 2017, this Huawei-built tablet will supposedly launch before the year's end.

It should be noted that 9to5Google's Stephen Hall can't say with 100% certainty that the Huawei tablet will feature Nexus branding, so that detail should be taken with a grain of salt.

See also: Google Pixel and Pixel XL caught in the wild304

So why is this a big deal? With all the recent talk about Google shifting its smartphone branding to Pixel, many assumed that marked the end of the Nexus line as we knew it. But as you may remember, Google's Nexus line started as a developer-focused line of devices. Perhaps that's what we'll get with this upcoming Huawei tablet.

October 4 is going to be a lot of fun: the first Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, a new 4K-capable Chromecast Ultra, a Daydream View VR headset, and probably a lot more will be showcased. What are you most excited about? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Report: Note 7 to relaunch in India on October 7 with big marketing campaign

Samsung is reportedly relaunching the Galaxy Note 7 in India on October 7 on the strength of a big-ticket marketing campaign meant to dispel the public's negative perception of the handset.

Interestingly, Apple is also set to launch the iPhone 7 in the country on the same day, making for an interesting confrontation over the Indian market.

Galaxy Note 7's planned rollout in Indian stores didn't go through after Samsung moved to recall a huge number of Note 7 said to be plagued by a battery defect that caused handset to overheat and catch fire.

After announcing that replacements are now ready for shipment, Samsung appears all set to rekindle the Indian market's longing for the device. The relaunch is supposed to hog the headlines in major print, digital and television outlets. But whether Samsung will succeed to win back the trust of consumers remains to be seen, especially after the company's image was painted in a negative light by various bans and a lawsuit filed in Florida.

Delays of the Galaxy Note 7 relaunch in its home country also caused major headaches for Samsung, after the phone maker announced on Sunday that it had to put off the restart of Korean sales until October 1. Meanwhile, new stock of Galaxy Note 7 is expected to hit the European store shelves in November.

More than the aggressive advertising campaign, Samsung must also reassure consumers that its new batch of Galaxy Note 7 is safe. Will you buy the Galaxy Note 7 replacements set to reach your country? Let us know below.

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Report: Google to launch a ‘Pixel 3’ running Andromeda OS in Q3 2017

All of a sudden, we're hearing quite a bit of talk about Google's in-development Andromeda operating system, which is said to be an Android / Chrome OS hybrid. Now, two separate sources have come forward to declare that Google is planning to release a laptop running the new OS sometime in Q3 2017.

According to the report, the new Google laptop is known internally as 'Bison' and has been given the informal 'Pixel 3' nickname. The laptop will apparently be the first device to showcase Google's Andromeda operating system in a laptop form factor. Andromeda is Google's new operating system that integrates Chrome OS into Android, rather than the other way around as is the case with ARC for Chromebooks. Even so, this development might explain why Google doesn't appear to have any plans to release a new Chromebook Pixel this year.

While clearly very early days and likely subject to change, the Bison is said to sport a 12.3-inch display which features a touch-screen so that the laptop can work in tablet mode. The laptop may also be powered by either an Intel m3 or i5 Core processor, 8 or 16GB of RAM, and come in 32 or 128GB internal storage options.

Bison's extras are said to include two USB Type-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a selection of senors, stereo speakers, built-in microphones, and a battery boasting 10 hours of use time. All of this will fit into an ulta-thin package that measures less than 10mm thick. This laptop won't come cheap like today's Chromebooks though, the retail price is expected to start at $799, with a Wacom stylus available to purchase separately.

See also: Google tests "Andromeda" Android/Chrome hybrid OS on the Nexus 94

If true, these specifications and price point suggest that Andromeda powered products will be Google's answer to higher end products from Apple and Microsoft. It finally looks like Google is ready to make a move into the main laptop and 2-in-1 markets, and the project looks set to go far beyond the company's current efforts to bring Android apps to Chromebooks. It's quite likely that Google would decide to drop the Chromebook branding from Bison, instead starting up a new range for Andromeda.

Speaking of which, it isn't clear what Andromeda means for Chrome OS, or Android for that matter, but it's likely that all of these ecosystems will coexist, at least in the medium term. While the extra Android features packed into Andromeda might make Chromebooks seem obsolete, there's still a market for low cost laptops, particularly in the education sector, that Andromeda might not cater for.

Either way, Andromeda is shaping up to be Google's big new idea for the laptop, 2-in-1, and tablet markets, which could usher in a new exciting era for high-end computing. Unfortunately, Bison's debut looks to be a long way away, but we may hear something about Google's plans for Andromeda at the event scheduled for October 4th.

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