Deal: $250 gift card when you purchase Moto Z Droid at Best Buy

The Galaxy Note7 might be dead, but that doesn't mean there are no other options. Among them is Lenovo's all-new Moto Z or Moto Z Droid as it's known in the US. It is one beautifully-designed modular phone, and right now, Best Buy is offering a $250 gift card with every Moto Z Droid purchase you make.

See also: Returning your Galaxy Note 7? Here are some other great Android phones you should check out92

The Moto Z Droid is exclusively on Verizon here in the US, and if you get one through Best Buy, you will get a $250 Best Buy gift card that you can use on anything in the store. If you've been looking to buy the device for its modularity, it might be the perfect opportunity to save some money on Moto Mods, which can be quite expensive.

The phone can be had for $699.99 off-contract and $201.99 on a two-year contract. If you opt for a monthly payment plan, that's going to be $26 a month for two years.

Just to quickly recap, the Moto Z Droid is an ultra-slim modular phone with a 5.5-inch Quad HD display protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 4. It has a 13-megapixel low-light rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. And yes, for our selfie-enthusiasts, the front camera has an actual LED flash. The phone is powered by the good ole Snapdragon 820 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. Unfortunately, the battery capacity is on the lower end at 2,600 mAh. And perhaps even more unfortunate is the absence of the 3.5mm headphone jack.

However, the phone does come with a headphone adapter, and more importantly, the Moto Z Droid is arguably the only phone that really gets the whole modularity thing right. You can simple snap a Moto Mod onto the back of the device, and it will attach itself magnetically. Moto Mods range from an extra battery pack to a full-on Hasselblad camera replacement.

Are you interested in buying the Moto Z Droid? Head on over to Best Buy and get your $250 gift card!

Buy Moto Z Droid from Best Buy

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New Google app update adds widget support under the search bar

The Google app for Android is quietly rolling out a small but pretty neat new feature. Users will be able to receive small sub-widgets underneath the search bar of the Google app to get quick and easy access to items like commute, weather, local information and more.

Android device owners can check out the new 6.6.14.21 version of the Google app which adds the widget feature. Inside the app, they can go to Settings, and they should see a Widget option. Tapping on that should turn on the feed.

It's worth noting that there won't be a widget under the search bar at all times. We've only been able to make a small weather widget appear once, and it went away after only a few minutes. We imagine there will support for more cards from the Google Now pane in the future, but for now we've only seen weather and traffic widgets.

The new widget feature for the Google app is still rolling out.

Keep in mind that this new version of the Google app has just been released and may only be rolling out to a small number of Android devices at this time. As a result, you may not see the new widget option immediately.

What do you think about this new feature? Will you use it when it becomes available on your phone?

Get it in the Play Store

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Nude-free Playboy magazine makes its Google Play Store debut

Playboy has finally released the digital edition of its 63-year old print magazine. It can now be bought in the Google Play Store. Buyers can pick up a subscription to the digital edition for $17.99 a year, or they can choose to purchase individual issues for $5.99 each.

Playboy has been trying its best to reinvent itself as more of a men's mainstream media property in the past few years, thanks in part to the internet making it much easier to find photos of naked ladies. As a result, the magazine's print subscription has dwindled down to less than 600,000 readers, versus its peak of 5.6 million in the mid-1970s.

As part of this change to the mainstream, the magazine recently made the once unthinkable move of ditching nude pictures as part of the classic pictorials of its monthly Playmates, although the photos are still very racy. That likely allowed the magazine to make its long awaited way to the Google Play Store, which does not allow magazines that are considered to be pornography to be sold in its Newsstand section.

Playboy recently ditched publishing the traditional nude pictures of its Playmates

Playboy is using the ZINIO Pro platform to publish the digital edition, starting with its October 2016 issue. If you decide to download the Playboy magazine app this month, you will also get access to the previous six print issues for free, starting with the first non-nude edition which was released in March 2016.

While Playboy may have just launched the digital edition of its traditional print magazine, it already has two mobile apps in the Google Play Store. One is Playboy Now, which is a companion to its website. The other is Playboy Classic, which includes articles and nude-free pictorials of its older Playmate pictorials from its long history.

What do you think about Playboy's magazine becoming available in the Google Play Store? Would you buy a subscription "just for the articles?"

Get it from the Play Store See also: New SFW 'Playboy NOW' application brings the news to your smartphone4

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Huawei Mate 9 leaked in flat and curved-screen variants

Evan Blass has leaked renders of two variants of the upcoming Huawei Mate 9: a flat-screened and dual curved screen version that looks an awful lot like the Galaxy Note 7. While the wrapping will come off the new phone/s on November 3 in Munich, these renders are apparently the real deal and Blass' sources have confirmed that the previously leaked Mate 9 specs are legit.

See also: Huawei files trademark for 'SuperCharge', likely for the Mate 9 battery26

The two devices are codenamed Manhattan, for the flat-screened version with no physical home button, and Long Island for the curved display variant with a Samsung-esque home button. According to Blass, the curved screen version may only be scheduled for a Chinese release, while the flat version will be available worldwide.

The high-end, curved screen version with Daydream VR support may only be scheduled for a Chinese release.

Unfortunately for everyone outside China, Long Island is the high-end variant, with a QHD display and support for Google's Daydream VR platform. Considering the Galaxy Note 7-sized hole in many U.S. carriers websites, on retailers shelves and in consumers pockets though, Huawei would be wise to bring their Note 7, I mean, Mate 9 with a curved screen to the U.S. as quickly as possible.

The specs of the Mate 9 are reported to include a 5.9-inch QHD or Full HD display, 64-bit, octa-core Kirin 960 chipset and a variety of memory option topping out at 6 GB of RAM with 256 GB of on-board storage. The dual Leica camera setup is reported to be on deck too, but with a wider f/2.0 aperture and 20 MP resolution.

Thoughts on the curved-screen Mate 9? Will this be the phone to beat?

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There’s still time to save $150 on the HTC 10

As one door closes, another opens. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 might be gone, but it's not all bad news because HTC is here to cheer us up. The Taiwanese manufacturer has extended its sale of the HTC 10, arguably one of the best phones it's pushed out in the last few years, due to it not selling enough in the first run 'popular demand'.

See also: HTC 10 review!191

In a sale now running until October 16, you can get an HTC 10 in one of four colors for $549 instead of $699. The deal comes straight for HTC website, putting you in a good standing should you ever encounter warranty troubles.

The HTC 10 is an aluminum clad, Snapdragon 820 wielding, 5.2-inch QHD display bearing flagship with a 12-megapixel low-light rear camera. In our review, we called it 'the comeback we've been waiting for', but the hefty price tag might have been a stumbling block for some people. This sizeable reduction should now make it a more attractive prospect.

Go over to www.htc.com if you're interested in picking it up, and watch our HTC 10 video review at the link. 

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Google Pixel after-sales service in India will be provided by HTC

Google has announced that it is partnering with HTC on after-sales service for the Pixel phones in India. This means that if you're ever in need of some in-person assistance, you'll be able to visit one of 56 HTC walk-in service centers in 30 cities throughout the country. Redington India is the national distributor for the Google phones.

See also: What does the Google Pixel's IP53 rating mean in real life?180

Google has also announced that the Pixel and Pixel XL will be sold not only online but also through HTC's existing retail network of over 1000 physical stores. By partnering with HTC on after-sales service in India, Google manages to avoid the costly infrastructure it requires while adding another layer of customer service to Pixel owners.

Being able to walk into a bricks-and-mortar store when you have a problem with a phone is a huge comfort for a lot of people, but it's a comfort Google isn't able to offer on its own. Alternatively, you'll be able to call up a toll-free customer care number.

You can pre-book a Pixel or Pixel XL via Flipkart tomorrow or you will be able to buy one in person from major retailers like Croma, Vijay Sales, Jumbo, Reliance Digital, Spice Mobility, Poorvika and Sangeetha Mobiles later this month.

Will you pick up a Pixel? How important is after-sales service to you?

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Blue Coral version of the Galaxy S7 Edge heading to Verizon

Images of a Blue Coral back plate for the Galaxy S7 Edge have appeared displaying a Verizon logo, indicating there might be a new color option at Big Red in the near future. The Vietnamese source of the images claims Verizon will be getting it first, indicating it won't necessarily be a Verizon exclusive. A second, Verizon logo-less version can be seen in the background.

See also: Best Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge accessories18

According to recent reports, Samsung is going to beef up production of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in order to attempt to fill that Galaxy Note 7-sized hole on retailer's shelves. While it's too late in the game to do much other than wait until the Galaxy S8 is ready for prime time (please don't rush it though, Samsung), dropping a much-loved new color option might go at least a little way toward plugging that gaping hole in Samsung Mobile's final quarter revenue expectations.

While I wasn't much of a fan of the Blue Coral color personally, it was certainly a very popular option among Note 7 pre-orders. I'd much prefer the kind of fire engine red the HTC 10 appeared in or the Nextbit Robin, or an all-new color entirely, but to each his own. There's no timeline for when the baby blue S7 Edge will be hitting Verizon's stores, but keep an eye out, because it certainly won't be long.

Do you think a new color will push sales of the S7? What do you think Samsung should do?

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