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mardi 22 novembre 2016

Deal: Google Home on sale for $99 ($30 off) at Google Store and other retailers

google-home-made-by-googlegoogle-home-made-by-google

This year, Google is launching its Black Friday sale a bit earlier. The company announced a great deal for its Home voice-activated speaker via its Twitter account. If you have been thinking of getting your hands on one, now is the best time to do so.

Launched a little over a month ago, Google Home will be available for 99 dollars, which is 30 bucks less than its original price. The deal starts tomorrow, November 23, and will be available for a limited time only. However, Google has not specified exactly when the deal will end.

The device will be available for purchase at Google's online store, but you'll also be able to snag one up at Best Buy, Target, and Walmart for the same price.

See also:

What voice commands can I use with Google Home?

2 weeks ago

So, if you're interested in getting the Google Assistant powered Home device to play around with, visit the Google Store — link below — or one the above-mentioned retailers tomorrow or in the next few days. And remember, the deal won't last forever so be prepared to move fast in order to get it.

If you think this is a good deal and decide to buy the Google Home device for yourself or a loved one, do let us know in comments below. We always love to hear from you guys.

Get the deal


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lundi 21 novembre 2016

DJI & LA Auto Show | Podcast Special

aapodcastfeatured_djilaauto

aapodcastfeatured_djilaauto

Joshua Vergara and Jonathan Feist are hanging out in LA, taking in the LA Auto Show, or at least Automobility LA, the press version of the show, and the immensely entertaining launch event for the DJI Inspire 2 and Phantom 4 Pro drones. Joined by special guest Nicole Scott (@Nicole_Scooter) the conversation started with the cars of the car show, followed by Hyperloop One and our thoughts on outdated Android tech in modern cars. Don't worry, we have Android stuff to talk about thanks to Joe and David

DJI was a major event for us, reporting the new Phantom 4 Pro and Inspire 2 on our partner site, Charged.io. With full Hollywood style theatrics, and a price tag to match, these are some impressive drones. Having said that, Josh and Jonathan were invited to a press event for the DJI Mavic Pro for the day after recording this show. Writing this up after the fact, stay tuned for our Mavic Pro coverage!

While half the team was at play, Joe Hindy led the charge with David Imel back at home, recording an informative take on the news of the week. A decent check-in turns to thew OnePlus 3T, now that it's official, the Snapdragon 835 and how Google and Facebook plan to do away with fake news.

The Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every single week.

Rough Timecodes:
No check-in from the road, just car talk, then Joe and David check in before talking Android.
00:00 – Why are we in LA? Cars!
23:00 – Mini Countryman Hybrid
30:00 – Porsche Panamera Hyrid and their 10-inch Lollipop tablets
37:00 – Hyperloop One high-speed trasnportation
43:00 – Final thoughts on the Auto Show
50:00 – Joe and David check-in
67:00 – OnePlus 3T
76:00 – Snapdragon 835
82:00 – Google and Facebook to block fake news

Links to Podcast

RSS Feed
iTunes
Stitcher
SoundCloud
Direct Download

Relevant Links

Android Authority Forums
Mini Countryman SE All4 Hybrid – Charged
Cadillac CT6 Hybrid – Charged
Chevy Bolt ev – Charged
DJI Phantom 4 Pro and Inspire 2 launch – Charged
OnePlus 3T
Snapdragon 835
Google and Facebook to block fake news

Follow our Hosts


Joshua Vergara
Twitter | Google+

Joseph Hindy
Twitter | Google+

Andrew Grush
Twitter | Google+

Jonathan Feist
Twitter | Google+

Nirave Gondhia
Twitter | Google+

John Dye
Twitter | Facebook

Lanh Nguyen
Twitter | YouTube

David Imel
Twitter | Instagram

November 2016 giveaways

Recorded on November 17th and 19th, 2016 – Hosted by Joshua Vergara and Joe Hindy, produced by Jonathan Feist.

"A fortwo-itous episode."



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HTC 10 evo (aka HTC Bolt in the US) makes its international debut

htc-10-evo

htc-10-evo

The HTC 10 evo, the international version of the previously announced HTC Bolt, has officially been announced. Rumors about its reveal made the Internet rounds last week, thanks to a invite sent by HTC to a press event earlier today in Taiwan.

See also:

The Bolt is HTC's new flagship for Sprint: we go hands-on

2 weeks ago

Aside from the name, the HTC 10 evo's hardware specs are nearly identical to the Bolt, which is already available as an exclusive in the US via Sprint. One of the only differences between the two versions is that the HTC 10 evo will be available in 32GB and 64GB storage variants, versus just the 32GB option for the Bolt. The other difference is that the HTC 10 evo has three color choices: Gunmetal, Glacier Silver and Pearl Gold. Only the first two options are available for Sprint buyers of the HTC Bolt.

The HTC 10 evo's hardware specs are nearly identical to the HTC Bolt's

The other specs are the same. The HTC 10 evo will have a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 display with Gorilla Glass 5 and Android 7.0 Nougat installed out of the box. Inside it will have a octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with a clock speed of 2.0GHz, along with 3GB of RAM. It will also have a 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, an 8MP front-facing camera, along with a fingerprint sensor and a 3,200mAh battery.

The HTC 10 evo has an IP57 rating, which allows the phone to, in theory, keep working even after it is placed under 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. The phone also has HTC BoomSound Adaptive Audio which is supposed to adapt the sound based on the audio environment around the device. It will also include USB Type-C adaptive earphones that will adjust the audio based not only on the structure of the user's ear but also on the outside environment.

The HTC 10 evo is scheduled to go on sale in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa sometime later in November. Specific release dates and pricing for those markets has yet to be announced. For reference, though, the HTC Bolt is priced at $600 without a contract from Sprint.



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Lots of Pixel resellers have had their Google accounts suspended (UPDATE: “genuine accounts” getting access back)

google pixel xl initial review aa (13 of 48) back G

google pixel xl initial review aa (13 of 48) back G

Update (11/21/16): It didn't take long for the Google Pixel fiasco to spread all over the internet. It is true the terms of service were violated, but Google's response seemed proportionally catastrophic. This is why Google has decided to change its position and return access to the affected users' accounts, so long as these are genuine.

"Hello Google user,

Your Google Account was suspended as part of our fraud prevention efforts, based on violations of our Terms of Service and Terms of Sale for Devices. After reviewing your appeal, we are re-enabling your account.

Google takes violations of our terms very seriously, and we ask that you review relevant terms and product policies to ensure that you understand them. Repeated violations of our terms may lead to account termination.

In order to access your Google account, please sign in. When you sign in, you will be asked to verify a security code via SMS. Once you verify the code, you will be able to access your account again.

Last but not least, we wanted to remind you that Google users can always export and download their data from Google products like Gmail, Photos, and Drive while their account is active. In a few easy steps, you can create an archive to keep for your records or backup your data to another service. More information about backing up your data can be found at google.com/takeout."

Original post (11/17/16): If you were thinking about buying a Google Pixel or Pixel XL smartphone with the sole idea of reselling it for a profit, you need to beware. Such actions are actually against Google's terms of service and now many of those people have had their Google account suspended.

See also:

Google Pixel XL vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

2 weeks ago

This activity was first reported on the deal monitoring site Dan's Deals. It stated it started receiving emails from people who found that they had been locked out of their Google account. All of these reports came from folks who had bought a Pixel phone and then sent them over to a reseller in New Hampshire who paid them back with a small profit, before selling those phones again to other people. The report said that over 200 Google account holders were affected.

In response, a spokesperson for Google sent the site an official statement:

We identified a scheme in which consumers were asked to purchase Pixel devices on behalf of a reseller, who then marked-up the cost of those devices in order to resell them to other customers. We prohibit the commercial resale of devices purchased through Project Fi or the Google Store so everyone has an equal opportunity to purchase devices at a fair price. Many of the accounts suspended were created for the sole purpose of this scheme. After investigating the situation, we are restoring access to genuine accounts for customers who are locked out of many Google services they rely on.

Obviously, the lesson here is that people should read the long and boring terms and service agreement when they buy any smartphone, and not just the Pixel. Will this incident make you think twice about reselling your phone for a profit?



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UltraCast technology from MediaTek streams 4K video from smartphone to TV

MediaTek Feature Image

MediaTek Feature Image

4K video is the latest buss word in technology and streaming media, and today MediaTek announced new technology that will offer a faster way to stream 4K video from a smartphone to a 4K-ready television or to a supported TV set-top box.  The technology is called UltraCast and it will be available on its MediaTek Helio smartphone processors, along with the company's 4K Ultra HDTV chipsets.

See also:

Report: MediaTek Helio X30 chipset built using 10nm process

September 22, 2016

MediaTek says that UltraCast is an extension of the Wi-Fi Certified Miracast technology. It uses the company's own video smoothing algorithm, which it says helps to preserve picture quality of 4K video while also reducing latency between devices. The company says it is offering to give access to its UltraCast technology to all third-party smartphone, TV and set-top box hardware makers.

The use of UltraCast is supposed to be an economical one for hardware makers, according to MediaTek, as it uses the existing 4K recording capabilities on smartphone platforms and 4K Ultra HDTV. UltraCast is currently available for all of MediaTek's hardware partners and customers, but there's no word on when the first smartphones or TVs will be released that will use this technology.



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Chase Pay officially launches in a crowded field of mobile payment apps

chase-pay

chase-pay

There's Android Pay, Samsung Pay and even Walmart Pay for Android users to choose from for their mobile payment needs. Now the U.S. bank Chase is entering this already crowded field with its own Chase Pay app and system.

See also:

Android Pay vs Apple Pay vs Samsung Pay Overview

April 27, 2016

In a press release, Chase says that the app is currently only supported in Starbucks and Best Buy retail locations in the US. People who own a Chase credit, debit or "Liquid" card can store it in the app and use old fashioned QR codes to pay for items at those two retailers, with Touch ID support coming in a future update.  Chase Pay will expand to other retailers in the future, including ironically Walmart, along select Shell gas stations soon, along with Phillips 66, Conoco, 76, ShopRite, and The Fresh Grocer. The Chase Pay app can also be used to check account balances and available credit and view transactions from the last 90 days.

The launch of Chase Pay at this time, and with so few retailers supporting it, is a bit odd as both Android Pay and Samsung Pay are already well established in the US, and both are adding more and more new banks and services all the time. It would seem that Chase was extremely slow to get its own mobile payment service out of the gate, and it will be a struggle for it to compete with all the other ones that are already serving millions of customers a day.

Get it at Google Play


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The latest Humble Mobile Bundle has 15 HandyGames titles

handygames

handygames

If you are familiar with the Humble Mobile Bundle deals, you know they usually offer a bunch of Android games for much lower prices than normal. Today, the latest such bundle went live and it gives Android games a chance to snag as many as 15 titles from publisher HandyGames.

See also:

Best Android games of 2016

3 weeks ago

You can pay whatever you want (that is, you can pay as little as $1) to get five games in this bundle: 1941 Frozen Front, Aces of the Luftwaffe, Aporkalypse, Clouds & Sheep, and Guns'n'Glory WW2. If you pay just $3 or more, you can access those titles and five more (Rocket Island, Ninja Hero Cats, Guns'n'Glory Zombies, Stage Dive Legends, and Devils & Demons) with more games to be added to that tier in about a week. Finally, if you pay $5 or more you gain access to those 10 titles, plus an extra 5 (1942 Pacific Front, Clouds & Sheep 2, Townsmen, Guns'n'Glory Heroes, and Dynamite Fishing – World Games).

The 15 HandyGames games in this latest Humble Mobile Bundle are all "Premium" versions, meaning you get some automatic in-game purchases with each game. Normally, all these games would cost $42 if bought together so you are getting a great deal with this bundle offer. As usual, there's also the option to donate part of your purchase to charities such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play. This deal will expire on December 5.

Get the HandyGames Humble Mobile Bundle


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