Amazon will refund Note7 accessories even if outside return window

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The Galaxy Note7 is dead: what could have been one of the greatest Android phones ever became instead a self-combusting disaster. And with the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note7, its accessories have become no longer useful. Amazon knows this and is apparently offering customers who bought Note7 accessories a full refund even if they're outside the normal 30-day return window.

According to one user on Reddit, Amazon is treating Note7 and Note7-related returns as special cases:

I just got off a chat with support for amazon requesting a refund on the wireless charger dock and case I bought for my note 7. I bought them back a week before the phone initially launched and they were both well outside the 30 day return window but it seems like they're treating this as a special scenario and sent me return labels for those 2 items. Would have otherwise been about $90 bucks down the drain.

It's good to see that Amazon is doing everything it can so that consumers aren't negatively affected by Samsung's mishap. However, the question remains, "What happens to all the third-party accessories that aren't sold?" Surely the Galaxy Note7 fiasco is a huge blow to Samsung, allegedly costing the company around $17 billion, but its implications extend beyond just Samsung. Case makers, especially, probably have thousands of refunds to process and thousands of unsold products sitting in their warehouses.

At any rate, if you've purchased something for your Note7 through Amazon, be sure to give them a call – especially if you are outside that 30-day return window. Amazon should email you a few slips that contain a prepaid shipping label.

See also: What caused the great Galaxy Note 7 defect? Here are the leading theories.101

If you've bought and returned Note7 accessories via Amazon, tell us about your experience by leaving a comment below!

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ZTE has five quirky design concepts and you get to pick which one gets made

ZTE has picked the top five mobile device concepts that have been submitted for its Project CSX crowd-sourced program. The general public can now vote for which of these concepts they want to see become an actual consumer product.

ZTE first announced Project CSX (Crowd Sourced X) at CES 2016, and began taking device concept ideas from people from all over the world in August.  The final five concepts range from the ordinary (a new stock Android smartphone) to the extraordinary (a powerglove that connects to your phone). Here are the finalists in the Project CSX program:

EYE TRACKING, SELF-ADHESIVE PHONE: A true hands-free experience that allows you to scroll based on eye movement and a self-adhesive back that allows the phone to stick to a flat surface.

INTELLIGENT SMARTPHONE COVERS: Extend the power of a smartphone through functional cases such as a gamepad, stylus or e-ink flip cover.

POWERGLOVE: An exo-glove that controls your fingers for use in learning or rehabilitation settings, all powered by your Android smartphone.

STOCK ANDROID FLAGSHIP PHONE: The next generation of Axon to include stock Android as well as improvement in performance and camera.

VR – INTERACTIVE DIVING MASK: A waterproof VR mask allows you to swim in a pool or lake and feel like you're in the open ocean.

See also: Underwater VR? That crowdsourced ZTE project is coming up with some wild devices5

ZTE is taking votes on these product concepts from now until Wednesday, October 19. It says that the winning device concept, which it claims will be selected solely on the public vote, will be officially revealed at the end of October, and the product itself will be shown off in Las Vegas as part of the company's CES 2017 device lineup.

Which ZTE device proposal is your favorite and why? Do you think ZTE will really decide to make a product like a powerglove if the public votes for it?

Submit your vote

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Sprayscape from Google turns your phone into a wild VR photo collage maker

This post originally appeared on our sister site, VR Source.

Sprayscape is Google's latest virtual reality app for Android. It's also an odd mix of photo creation and art as the app is designed to create wild-looking image collages that can be viewed in a full 360-degree perspective.

Sprayscape itself is Google's own contribution to its Android Experiments program, which puts the spotlight on apps that are designed to break out of the norm with some creative and innovative features. In this case, Sprayscape uses your Android phone to smash up and even "spray" photos that you take inside a virtual sphere that can be shared later with others.

Google says that the app uses the company's Cardboard SDK to access a phone's gyroscope data. When Sprayscape is opened, you simply move the camera around and touch the screen to take a picture of what's in front of you, and it's placed inside the sphere. Pressing your finger on the phone's display while you move your camera around "sprays" an image in the sphere, like paint from a spray gun.

See also: The best VR apps for Google Cardboard27

While the app stores the collected images in a flat panorama, it's turned into a 360-degree sphere when it is shared with someone else. The shared Sprayscape collage can be viewed in a virtual reality headset like Google Cardboard, or you can simply move, pan or tilt the smartphone around to get  the full effect.

Google says:

The GPU makes it all possible. On user tap or touch, the camera feed is rendered to a texture at a rate of 60 frames per second. That texture is then composited with any existing textures by a fragment shader on the GPU. That same shader also creates the scape you see in app, handling the projection from 2D camera to a 360 sphere.

Sprayscape is now available from the Google Play Store, and the company has also released the code for the app as an open source project for developers to access for themselves. The code can be downloaded at GitHub. What do you think of Google's latest VR app for Android and do you plan to use it to make your own psychedelic photo collages?

Get it on Google Play

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OnePlus: “we are still making the OnePlus 3”

Some of you will have seen (quite a lot of ) rumors recently claiming that OnePlus has stopped manufacturing the OnePlus 3. Amidst claims of AMOLED shortages, a possible new device to replace the OP3 and all manner of other speculation, a OnePlus spokesman has confirmed to Android Authority that the company is indeed "still producing and selling the OnePlus 3".

See also: OnePlus 3 community build v3.5.3 brings cellular data firewall, expanded screenshots and more40

I can't go so far as to say this means the AMOLED supply chain issue has miraculously sorted itself out though. OnePlus CEO Carl Pei posted the response below on the OnePlus forum in answer to questions about the AMOLED supply chain.

Pei also admitted that there is a month-long delay between OP3 orders being placed and units being shipped due to an unexpectedly high demand for AMOLED panels in 2016 that has resulted in delays in meeting demand. Switching to LCD thus makes a lot of sense.

But a completely new replacement for the OnePlus 3 with a next-gen chipset? I don't think so. Swapping out display tech due to problems meeting demand is one thing, discontinuing a flagship for a new device with a different display type and chipset doesn't make a lot of sense. If OnePlus is thinking "successor", it should be the OnePlus 4, not something to take out a mid-stride OP3.

Whether you believe OnePlus is secretly working on a new variant of the OnePlus or not, at the very least you can rest assured that production of the OnePlus 3 has not stopped and you will still be able to buy one. You might just have to wait a little while for the privilege and you might be getting an LCD version instead.

Does display type matter to you? What do you want to see in the OnePlus 4?

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Pixel and Pixel XL bought from Google Store can use Verizon’s Wi-Fi Calling and HD Voice

People who purchase the Android 7.1 Nougat-based Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones directly from the Google Store and then decide to use Verizon's network will still be able to access two of the carrier's big features.

According to what both Google and Verizon have told Android Police, unlocked Pixel phones from the Google Store will be able to utilize both Wi-Fi Calling and HD Voice features when they are using Verizon's network. That also includes Pixel phones that are purchased via Google's Project Fi service.

See also: Verizon: Google Pixel will come with no bloatware. Okay, maybe just a little…58

Verizon and Google have already confirmed that any Android system and security updates for the Pixel phones will be released simultaneously for both Verizon and unlocked Google Store owners of those products. The upshot of all of this is that Google Store buyers can get a fully unlocked Pixel phone, use it on Verizon and still get all of the carrier's features. It will also still get quick updates from Google, but without  the carrier's unlockable bootloader.

There's no reason not to get the Pixel phone from the Google Store to use with Verizon

If you decide to buy the Pixel phones from Verizon  that also means three of the carrier's bloatware apps will be pre-installed on those devices, although Verizon has also confirmed they can be deleted at any time, so there's that.

So if you want to stick with Verizon but also want to be free of all the carrier's bloatware out of the box, you really should get the Pixel phone from the Google Store. Are the Wi-Fi Calling and HD Voice features big enough to influence your decision to use the unlocked Pixel phones on Verizon's network? Would you rather buy the unlocked Pixel phones to use on another carrier instead?

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Sony Xperia XZ now available from Three UK

Starting today, Three UK is now offering the Forest Blue variant of the Sony Xperia XZ in physical stores and online. The announcement, conveniently timed with Samsung's decision to halt the global sales of the Galaxy Note7, comes six days after the flagship first arrived in the UK.

The phone's UK rollout was ill-timed, however, as it occurred before the dust could even settle following the launch of the Google Pixel phones. Still, the Xperia XZ carries every hallmark of a modern flagship, including impressive laser-autofocus sensors, so we can give its poor timing some slack.

See also: Sony Xperia XZ goes on sale in the US for $700, sans fingerprint scanner32

One interesting perk for the Three UK Xperia XZ is the inclusion of its Feel at Home service, an add-on to the handset that allows subscribers to use their Sony Xperia XZ in 42 countries worldwide without incurring extra charges.

As a quick refresher on the specs, the Sony Xperia XZ is powered by a Snapdragon 820 with 3GB RAM, offers 32 or 64GB storage, a 5.2-inch IPS LCD display, a 23 MP rear cam, a 13MP front cam, a fingerprint scanner, and 2900 mAh battery. These specs are nothing to sneeze at, but how much will they cost you?

The Sony Xperia XZ will set you back £32 (~$39) per month on a 24-month plan, with £149 (~$182) upfront cost. You can also buy the phone for £42 (~$51) per month with a £49 (~$59) upfront payment, if you don't mind the lean 4GB of data that comes with that pricing.

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Three UK is also offering up a sweet deal to drum up interest in the handset: for the price of an 8GB data plan, customers will receive a whopping 30GB of data on the advanced plan as part of its I Heart Data deal. It's a limited offer, though Three UK didn't say when the promotional data bucket would run out.

Don't miss: European Xperia XZ pre-orders come with free Sony wireless headphones17

Anyone picking up the phone from Three UK? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments.

Buy Sony Xperia XZ from Three UK

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Verizon won’t drag its feet in releasing Pixel system updates from Google

Verizon now says that any Android system and security updates released by Google for its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones will be rolled out for both its devices and ones not sold by the carrier at the same time.

Last week, Verizon said in an official statement it would manage the system updates for its versions of the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, while letting Google handle the security updates. That lead many people to assume that OS updates for those phones could be delayed on Verizon's Pixel models, while folks who bought the unlocked phones directly from the Google store would get those same updates first.

See also: Google Pixel XL vs Nexus 6P first look95

As it turns out, Verizon now says that those worries are unjustified. Ars Technica received a statement from a company representative that said:

First and foremost, all operating system and security updates to the Pixel devices will happen in partnership with Google. In other words, when Google releases an update, Verizon phones will receive the same update at the same time (much like iOS updates). Verizon will not stand in the way of any major updates and users will get all updates at the same time as Google.

Verizon's statement added that the Pixel phones themselves will be carrier unlocked, although Google has confirmed that the phones' bootloaders cannot be unlocked. In addition, while the phones will have three Verizon apps pre-installed, the carrier says they can be deleted by the user.

In a separate statement, a Google spokesperson confirmed Verizon's update plans to Ars, saying:

OS updates and monthly security patches will be updated on all Pixel devices (Verizon and non-Verizon versions) simultaneously.

This is obviously a big relief for any Verizon customers who might have feared they would get Android updates later than their unlocked Google counterparts. Does this new statement from the carrier make you more willing to purchase the Pixel phones from Verizon?

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