Best Buy selling unlocked smartphones at great discounts

The holidays are right around the corner, which means the Christmas deals are about to start showing up. You don't have to wait around much longer to get a good discount, though. Best Buy is holding a savings event on unlocked smartphones right now.

The event page includes plenty of great smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the Honor 8, the Sony Xperia X Compact and more; all with discounts of up to $100! Want to sign up? Let's give you some examples of what you should expect.

• $100 off Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge – $669.99
• $50 off Honor 8 – $349.99
• $80 off Moto X Pure – $269.99
• $100 off Sony Xperia X Compact – $399.99
• $50 off Sony Xperia XA Ultra – $199.99

These are only a few of our favorite deals being featured in this Unlocked Smartphone Savings Event. There's over 15 deals in there, including one for an iPhone (if you are into that).

Just click through and take a look at what Best Buy has to offer. Some of these are great deals for unlocked devices! Then hit the comments section to let us know if you are signing up for any of these.

Check out the Best Buy Unlocked Smartphone Savings Event

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Xiaomi officially announces three Redmi 4 devices, all affordable midrangers

It wasn't too long ago that we saw the beautifully-crafted Redmi 3 series from Xiaomi. Now, the Chinese tech company has unveiled their successors: Redmi 4, Redmi 4A, and Redmi 4 Pro.

Redmi 4 (Standard Edition)

The all-new Redmi 4 doesn't feel too unfamiliar. In fact, in terms of specs, not much has changed from the Redmi 3. It sports the same 5-inch 720p screen and has the same configuration: 2GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage. Just like last year's model, it will have a 13-megapixel Phase Detection Autofocus camera – albeit a different unit – and a 4,100 mAh battery. The processor is different, however. Instead of Snapdragon 616, Xiaomi has opted for Snapdragon 430 this time around. The design seems to have changed a little with a fingerprint scanner on the back, giving it a more premium feel. However, that doesn't mean it will have a premium price tag. In fact, the Redmi 4 will cost around $100 in China.

Redmi 4A

The Redmi 4A is essentially an even cheaper version of the Standard Edition, and looks a lot like the Redmi 3 or the Redmi 3s. Just like the regular Redmi 4, it has a 5-inch 720p display with the same internal configuration (2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage) and keeps the same 13-megapixel camera module. It's powered by Snapdragon 425 and has a slightly smaller 3,120 mAh battery. It will go on sale for $70 in China.

Redmi 4 Pro

Priced at $130, the Redmi 4 Pro Edition is the most expensive of the three. In terms of design, it seems to be very similar, if not the same, as the Standard Edition. Specs differ slightly though. The Pro has a 5-inch screen with a 1080p resolution, and boasts an upgraded configuration: 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Instead of Snapdragon 430, it's powered by Snapdragon 625. The rest, however, is exactly the same.

You can check out the gallery below for more images:

Which is your favorite? The Standard Edition? Pro? Or the 4A?

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HTC is giving out a freebie every Friday in the US

The Taiwanese electronics company has a pleasant surprise for us – called "Free Fone Fridays" (who doesn't love some alliteration?) HTC is giving out a shiny toy every Friday up until the end of December.

See also: HTC posts $63 millon operating loss in Q3 2016 earnings report51

If you're feeling lucky, enter HTC's Sweepstakes to see if you can win a brand new phone or a tablet. The first one happened already yesterday, with a total of two HTC One M9 devices given out. But the offer is valid for seven more weeks, so you have plenty of time. The process itself is quite simple: fill out a form on HTC's official website within the 24 hours (PST) of any Friday in the next seven weeks, and you're in! However, there are some requirements.

In order to take part in HTC's Sweepstakes, you need to be 18 years old or older and as is the case with most giveaways, you need be a legal resident of the US unfortunately. But for those who are of age and US residents, here is the list of prizes that are scheduled for the next few weeks:

1. Sweepstakes #1 – (2) HTC One M9 (Already happened)
2. Sweepstakes #2 – (2) Desire 626
3. Sweepstakes #3 – (2) HTC One M8
4. Sweepstakes #4 – (2) Nexus 9
5. Sweepstakes #5 – (2) HTC One M9 Ink Edition
6. Sweepstakes #6 – (2) Desire 530
7. Sweepstakes #7 – (1) HTC One A9
8. Sweepstakes #8 – (1) HTC 10

In order to take part in HTC's Sweepstakes, you need to be 18 years old or older and as is the case with most giveaways, you need be a legal resident of the US unfortunately.

As you can see, it's sort of a mixed bag – on one hand, there are some older devices like the HTC One M8 and some lower-end devices. On the other, the Sweepstakes lead up to two of HTC's most recent devices, which as you may have noted, will only have one winner per device.

Will you be entering your name? Which device would you like to win? Let us know by commenting down below!

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The Pokémon Go “Nearby” tracker feature expands to a few new cites

Niantic Labs began testing a new "Nearby" tracker feature in August for its hit augmented reality game Pokémon Go, but limited the test to parts of San Francisco. Now, the company is expanding that test, but only to a few additional U.S. cities.

See also: How to track Pokemon in Pokemon Go

In a blog post, Niantic stated that the Nearby Pokémon feature is now live in the rest of the San Francisco Bay area, along with parts of Arizona and the Seattle area of Washington. The company added that it will continue to take feedback from Pokémon Go players in those regions, and make changes to the tracking feature if needed, before expanding it to more areas.

The feature allows players to see nearby Pokémon if they are close to a Pokéstop location. Tapping it shows players where to get them by switching over to a bird's eye view map. The feature is also supposed to give players a heads-up if their desired Pokémon decides to leave the nearby Pokéstop before they arrive at that location.

Do you live in one of the new areas where the Nearby Pokémon feature has gone live, and if so, has it helped you find and catch new creatures in the game?

Get it at Google Play

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General Mobile GM 5 will be the first Android One Nougat-based smartphone

Android 7.0 Nougat is currently available on a select few smartphones. Indeed, only Google's own Pixel and Pixel XL ship with the OS pre-installed at the moment. However, one company, General Mobile, says its upcoming Android One phone, the GM 5, will have Nougat installed when it is released.

See also: Nougat arrives for Android One103

According to the company's listing for the GM 5, it will have a 5-inch 1,280×720 display, and inside it will have a currently unnamed Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor with a clock speed of  1.2GHz. It will also have 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, along with a microSD card slot that can support up to 64GB of additional storage.

The General Mobile GM 5 will also have a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera and a 2,500 mAh battery. Finally, the phone will come in three colors: Golden, Space Gray and Black. A price and release date has not been announced, but the company plans to offer the phone in 20 countries, mostly in Europe but also in some markets in Africa and Asia.

This will likely be just the first Android One-based smartphone that will have Nougat out of the box, but we should see more of these mid-ranged phones with Google's latest Android OS pop up in the coming months. Would you buy a Nougat-based smartphone with these hardware specs if the price was right?

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Samsung: nearly 85 percent of Galaxy Note 7 phones in U.S. have been replaced

If you still own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in the U.S., you are definitely in  the minority compared to the folks who have traded in the exploding smartphone for something else. Today, Samsung stated that nearly 85 percent of Note 7 owners in the U.S. have replaced the device since the official recall went out a few weeks ago. It added that the majority of trade-ins were for another Samsung-made phone.

See also: Galaxy Note 7 recall: what you need to know453

Samsung's brief but official update on the ongoing effort to recall all Note 7 units stated that it will begin rolling out an update for the phone "in the coming days" to the U.S. that will limit the battery power on the phone to 60 percent of its usual capacity. It will also issue more notifications to those remaining 15 percent of Note 7 owners who have kept the phone that they really need to turn it in for something else.

T-Mobile has already revealed it will begin pushing out the Note 7 battery restriction update starting on Saturday, November 5. We expect the other major U.S. carriers will be following suit in the next few days. If you are still holding onto your Galaxy Note 7 for some reason, will these moves finally get you to turn it in and avoid any issues with the battery catching on fire?

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Skype for Android is slated to add SMS Relay features in the future

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Skype users on Android will be able to send and receive SMS and MMS messages with the VoIP client sometime in the future. Microsoft buried that tidbit of news today in a blog post announcing that SMS Relay has been added to the Windows 10 preview version of the app.

See also: 10 best video calling apps for Android12

Microsoft says that SMS Relay will allow users to see texts send from other Skype members along with SMS messages sent to their phone number. It will also support group messages along with sending and receiving photos. Microsoft did not offer a specific timeline for when Android users will be able to access this feature, saying only that it will happen and that we should "stay tuned" for more information and updates.

Microsoft recently announced it will be rolling out a number of updates for Skype mobile users over the next several weeks. Among other things, it will let calls continue with their conversations even if the person who started the call leaves temporarily. It will also be removing some features as well including custom voicemail greetings, email notifications and SMS transcriptions.

Will you be using the SMS Relay features for Skype in Android when it is made available in the near future?

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