AT&T, T-Mobile have halted Galaxy Note 7 sales

The Galaxy Note 7 debacle shows no signs of ending and Samsung looks like it is losing carrier faith in its ability to turn around the fortunes of its beleaguered flagship smartphone. All four major US carriers have begun offering full refunds and exchanges to all Galaxy Note 7 users but AT&T and T-Mobile have gone one step further by ceasing Galaxy Note 7 sales entirely.

In a statement, AT&T said:

Based on recent reports, we're no longer exchanging new Note7s at this time, pending further investigation of these reported incidents. We still encourage customers with a recalled Note7 to visit an AT&T location to exchange that device for another Samsung smartphone or other smartphone of their choice.

T-Mobile then released a press release stating:

While Samsung investigates multiple reports of issues, T-Mobile is temporarily suspending all sales of the new Note7 and exchanges for replacement Note7 devices. Customers can still bring their recalled Note7 or the new replacement Note7, along with accessories they purchased from T-Mobile, to a T-Mobile store for a full refund and choose from any device in T-Mobile's inventory. We'll waive any restocking charges, and customers who purchased during pre-order can keep the free Netflix subscription and Gear Fit or SD card they received.

For Samsung, this represents dire straights indeed, although it's not overly surprising given that replacement Galaxy Note 7 units are also catching on fire. Within hours of the latest spate of issues, Samsung looks set to have halted production of the Galaxy Note 7 temporarily, as it attempts to find out and rectify a problem that risks leaving the company's reputation in tatters.

We'll update this post as we get further information from the other major US carriers, as well as other markets around the world.

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Samsung has stopped Galaxy Note 7 production

Samsung has had a hard couple of months and the Galaxy Note 7 recall looks set to cause even more trouble for the company, with a new report suggesting that Samsung has temporarily halted production of the Galaxy Note 7.

According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the Korean manufacturer has halted production as it investigates a spate of fires with its supposedly-safe Galaxy Note 7 replacement units. The outlet cited an unnamed source at a Samsung supplier as saying that the decision was reached in cooperation with authorities in China, the United States and Korea. Rather tellingly, the source goes further to say:

...this measure includes a Samsung plant in Vietnam that is responsible for global shipments (of the Galaxy Note 7)

We've reached out to Samsung for an official comment but the company has not yet responded. However such a decision isn't overly surprising; an unprecedented global recall over explosive fears may have been bad enough, but the company assured all users that the replacement units fixed the issue. Instead, over the past couple of days there have been seven different cases of replacement handsets spontaneously catching fire.

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Even if Samsung does manage to fix the issue, there's no guarantee it'll have carrier support with all four major US carriers offering refunds for any Note 7 user. AT&T and T-Mobile have gone further and stopped selling or exchanging the Galaxy Note 7, and recommend that concerned Galaxy Note 7 customers come into store to discuss changing to another handset.

We're waiting for an official statement from Samsung on this and will update this post with more information as we have it.

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Crowdfunding project of the week: Betterspot VPN router

Sunday has come around and that means we are here to share another 'Crowdfunding project of the week'. In this article series we highlights the most exciting funding campaigns from Kickstarter and Indiegogo. You probably have a busy life and don't have much time to be searching around for cool innovations, so we do all the hard work for you. Shall we get started?

Other featured campaigns:

• The H1 meets all your projector needs
• The Blade4000 is a portable charger that also expands storage
• iBand+ induces lucid dreaming and helps you sleep better
• LIVALL smart cycling helmet

Today we are taking a look at Betterspot, a VPN router that promises a secure, private and less limited internet experience. But before we go into detail you have to understand what VPN and TOR are, as these are the two main solutions Betterspot works with.

What is VPN?

First things first – what is a VPN? It stands for Virtual Private Network. This solution pretty much re-routes your web traffic through a remote server, allowing you to browse privately. It is mostly used by those who want a secure connection that will leave no trace of their online history, private information, location and other delicate information. VPNs are also handy for those who want to bypass geographical blocks on websites (like Netflix, Hulu and others).

What is TOR

Otherwise known as The Onion Router, TOR was originally developed by the U.S. Navy to allow private communications over the internet. Now its an organization that aims to research and develop privacy tools. But TOR is still a functional product that routes your traffic through multiple servers, as well as encrypting it.

This method will hide your identity, traffic, location and other private information. It is used for security and its main purpose seems to be protecting internet privacy from governments and organizations which try to limit the web.

What does Betterspot do?

The Betterspot router uses these two technologies to allow private browsing. You can use TOR for free, but keep in mind this service was intended for communication, and not faster transfer speeds or heavy browsing. If you want top-level internet you can also take advantage of Betternet's premium services, but this will require a paid subscription.

The Betterspot router has a WAN connection to give it internet access. After plugging into the web, simply set up the router using the official app and get started browsing securely. From the app you can select whether you want to use VPN, TOR or neither.

It is a convenient way to surf the web securely and privately, but we notice most consumers use them for accessing geographically blocked websites, such as Netflix and Hulu. You may travel often or live in a country that is not supported by these services. With this router you can easily enjoy what they have to offer, from any of your devices.

Most times VPN services requires a device-by-device set-up, whether it is through the settings or an app. Betterspot makes VPN and TOR browsing super simple. Any device that connects to it via WiFi will be browsing securely.

Interested? Early Bird specials are running out, but you can currently get a Betterspot with one month of VPN services for as low as $115 CAD. Upgrading to a year of VPN services will bring the price up to at least $165 CAD. Are any of you signing up?

Check out Betterspot on Kickstarter

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replacements keep catching fire

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 made it to the no-fly list during its recall. And for good reason; we don't want anything catching fire on planes, right? That is exactly what happened in Southwest Airlines flight, but the main problem is that the Galaxy Note 7 that ignited on the plane was a replacement… which was supposed to be safe.

It turns out this is not really an isolated event. Multiple other incidents of replaced handset burning up have been surfacing. KSTP news reports a melting phone in Farmington, Minnesota. The device was replaced and supposed to be the safe solution, but it melted on a teenager's hand, leaving a small burn in her thumb.

Another incident was reported in Nicholasville, Kentucky, where a man's Galaxy Note 7 replacement unit caught fire last Tuesday. The phone was sitting in his room, unplugged and not in use. The user then noticed his room was filled with smoke and walked in to find the Galaxy Note 7 in flames. Later that day he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis.

Also read: 

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• How to officially identify a safe Galaxy Note 7, as units arrive in the US, UK and Korea

Samsung wanted to take the phone to further investigate the matter; a request to which the owner declined, but Sammy did pay to have it x-rayed. That was all good, until he mistakenly got a text message from Samsung that wasn't intended for him. It read: "Just now got this. I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter, or we just let him do what he keeps threatening to do and see if he does it".

Not so friendly, right? To make matters even worse, a fourth report in less than a week is showing up this morning. This time the affected device is in Virginia and caught fire on Shawn Minter's night stand. It was also a replacement. Similarly to the previous case, the owner's room was filled with smoke, causing panic. He has now replaced his phone for a Samsung Galaxy S7.

Meanwhile, AT&T has halted sales and replacements of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. You can, however, exchange your replacement device for another model, which may be the smartest choice to take at this point.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is an amazing device, but by now it has proven to also be dangerous. Maybe new customers should wait until everything is completely settled before buying a Note 7. Either that or opt for another phone.

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Must read: top 10 Android stories

This week Google launched the Pixel and Pixel XL, Daydream View, Google Home and the new Chromecast Ultra! Plus, we heard the first serious rumors about the Galaxy S8. Here are the other top stories!

Who wants to win a Pixel XL ?

Be one of the first people to get your hands on the freshly announced Pixel XL.

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Google Pixel XL International Giveaway!

Welcome to the Sunday Giveaway, the place where we giveaway a new Android phone or tablet each and every Sunday!

A big congratulations to last week's winner of the Honor 8 Giveaway: Kmmgta. (Morocco). Enjoy your new Honor 8 phone.

This week we are giving away a brand new Pixel XL Smartphone!

The Pixel XL features a vibrant 5.5-inch QuadHD AMOLED display alongside a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 3,450 mAh battery and an all-new 12MP Pixel XL camera with phase detection and laser autofocus. The standout feature is Google Assistant, a new incredibly-clever AI assistant that also powers Google Home. To see how the Pixel XL compares to flagships new and old, check out our Pixel XL vs Galaxy Note 7 and Pixel XL vs Nexus 6P comparisons!

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Pixel XL International Giveaway!

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Winners Gallery

Terms & Conditions

• The giveaway is an international giveaway (Except when we can not ship to your Country.)
• If we can not ship to your country, you will be compensated with an online gift card of equal MSRP value to the prize.
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• We are not responsible if your giveaway prize malfunctions.
• You must be age of majority in your Country of residence.
• We are not responsible for any duties or import fees that you may incur.
• Only 1 entry per person, do not enter multiple email addresses. We will verify all winners and if we detect multiple email addresses by the same person you will not be eligible to win.
• We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
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• The prize will ship when it is available to purchase.

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5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly

Welcome to the 161st edition of Android Apps Weekly! Here are the biggest headlines from the last week:

• The Google Play Store is apparently rolling out a new feature that lets you stream games before you buy them. It should be rolling out over the next couple of weeks. For now, it's only available on a few devices and for a few games. The premise is that you get a 10 minute window to play the game before you buy it so you can see what it's like first. It's a bit buggy according to reports. It's a neat little feature that may help people buy more games.
• The once-popular driver game Carmageddon released an update this week that made it completely free. The caveat there is that every version of the game has advertising, even if players previously bought the game to avoid ads. The ads that show now are for Carmageddon: Max Damage which is their latest Xbox One and PS4 title. The advertising could be a lot worse, but we understand why it could make some people mad.
• Word on the digital street is that the Google Cast app is about to undergo yet another evolution. Starting soon, the app will go by the name of Google Home and it'll be an app that helps you connect with your Chromecasts and with your Google Home device. At least, that's what we're assuming since it kind of brings all of their streaming devices under one umbrella. Keep an eye out for the update which should be rolling out sooner or later.
• Samsung is looking to re-enter the digital assistant space with their acquisition of Viv Labs. For those who don't know, Viv Labs is a startup that specializes in digital assistants. It's also worth noting that the creators helped build Siri. We're not certain exactly how Samsung is going to use their new acquisition. The popular opinion is that they'll compete with Siri and Google Assistant in the years to come. Here's hoping it does better than S Voice did.
• Along with all the new hardware, Google also announced Actions on Google this week, which will give third party developers the chance to integrate their apps with Google Assistant. There are two types of actions. One is called Direct while the other is called Conversational. Direct actions are simple, one-phrase commands. Conversational actions are interactions that require more than one command or additional input from the user. There are some big names like Netflix and IFTTT on board already and we can't wait to see how that will work.

For even more Android apps and games news, headlines, and new releases, don't forget to check out our latest newsletter by clicking here! You'll find all of the stuff that we didn't have time for here. If you'd like, you can use the form below to sign up for the newsletter and have it delivered straight to your digital door every Sunday! You can also check out the Android Authority app for even faster updates!

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Dan the Man

[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Dan the Man is the latest game out of Halfbrick Studios, makers of the popular Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. It's an action platformer that will have you jumping around, killing bad guys, avoiding obstacles, and taking on tough bosses. You'll also have weapons and upgradeable attacks, daily events to earn rewards, and plenty of secret areas with extra treasure. It's a freemium game so there are some pitfalls. However, with the extra game modes and plenty of content, it's a title that's worth checking out.

Download now on Google Play!

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Ivy

[Price: Free]
Ivy is a sidebar app that allows you to pop open a sidebar to access your favorite apps. It's kind of like the Edge feature on the Galaxy S7 Edge where you swipe in from the side and it'll open the bar. You can configure which apps go in that space and you can even have an RSS feed that pops up from the bottom. There are other configurations that you can make as well. It's a bit buggy which is normal for early releases, but it's worth keeping on your radar.

Download now on Google Play!

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Burly Men at Sea

[Price: $4.99]
Burly Men at Sea is a beautifully done storybook-style game that takes place in 20th century Scandinavia. You'll play as three ungainly heroes who have set off on a journey for adventure. The game is fairly short, but it's actually supposed to be. According to the developers, you're supposed to play through the game once and then play through multiple times to find all of the various parts of the story. It features simple graphics, an engaging story, and best of all, no in-app purchases.

Download now on Google Play!

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Giphy Cam

[Price: Free]
Giphy Cam is a GIF camera that allows you to make your own GIFs. The app will take several photographs in burst form and string them together to form your GIF. From there, you'll be able to decorate it with buttons, stickers, filters, and other special effects. As a GIF camera, it's actually pretty good compared to its competition even if its special effects aren't that great. It's a free app with no in-app purchases if you want to give it a shot for yourself.

Download now on Google Play!

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Legend of the Skyfish

[Price: $2.99]
Legend of the Skyfish is an adventure puzzle game that is similar in mechanics to games like Legend of Zelda. You'll play as Little Red Hook and, along with your fishing pole, you'll conquer puzzles, defeat bad guys, and ostensibly, catch some fish. It features 45 levels, grappling hook mechanics with your fishing pole, and quaint, hand-drawn style graphics. There is also gamepad support if you need that. It's a pay-once game with no in-app purchases.

Download now on Google Play!

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Related best app lists:

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If we missed any big Android apps or games-related news, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.

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