Google Pixel represents 7.5% of Verizon’s device activations in the last month

Verizon's reputation as an exclusive Google Pixel reseller may have proven to be a success for the carrier. Based on data from research company Wave7, Fierce Wireless reports that the Pixel accounted for "7.5% of activations at Verizon stores" over the last month, while other carriers are trailing behind.

The Pixel isn't inherently tied to Verizon: it's also available unlocked from Google and Best Buy. However, Google partnered with Verizon to get the devices out in stores, and it's the only carrier listed on Google's store page as an official reseller. What's more, both Google and Verizon made significant attempts to market the product, with Verizon spending an estimated $12 million and Google an estimated $15 million on Pixel advertising in a single week.

The result is the comparatively high ratio of activations on Verizon, while activations in other carrier stores, like T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint are said to be in the "0-2 range" (we assume this means percent but have reached out for clarification).

See also:

Best Verizon prepaid Android phones (November 2016)

6 days ago

In an attempt to steal the spotlight from Verizon shortly after the Pixel launch, T-Mobile announced that it would offer a $325 discount to Google Pixel owners who took out a T-Mobile One plan. Google hasn't commented on the overall sales numbers for the Pixels, but said that the pre-order demand had exceeded its expectations.

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By the end of the year, almost half the world’s population will be online

A new report on the connected world predicts that by the end of 2016, 47 percent of the world's population will be online. Considering the internet has only really been commercially available since the early 90s, spreading across half the world in a quarter-century is an impressive feat. But the scales of internet access are decidedly tipped in the developed world's favor.

The United Nations' International Telecommunications Union reveals that in developed countries, around 80 percent of the population have access to the internet. That percentage drops to 40 percent in developing countries with just 15 percent of less-developed countries (LDC) being able to go online.

See also:

Europe promises free Wi-Fi for all, faster internet at home, and 5G

September 14, 2016

These figures are based on the expansion of 3G and 4G mobile networks and lowering device costs. As the report notes, "in 2016, people no longer go online, they are online". But even 47 percent of what is rapidly approaching seven and a half billion people is still more than 25 percent below the UN's target for 2020.

By the time the U.S. votes for its next President, the UN expects 60 percent of the world to be online. But it seems unlikely the world will reach that target in time. "Internet penetration levels in LDCs today have reached the level enjoyed by developed countries in 1998, suggesting that the LDCs are lagging nearly 20 years behind the developed countries," the report notes.

However, ambitious internet delivery projects like Facebook's internet.org or Google's Project Loon aim to bypass the most impractical and costly barriers of delivering internet access to remote and rural areas. When these projects take off, countries where as few as one in ten people currently have access to the internet, will finally be able to benefit from the potential that online access makes possible.

What is the longest period of time you can go without internet access? How many hours a day are you online?

Related:

• Mobile to represent 75% of internet traffic next year
• Google's search domination is only going grow

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Xiaomi’s GPS-equipped Amazfit PACE smartwatch coming to the US for just $129

If you've been eyeing that affordable, GPS-equipped Amazfit PACE smartwatch that was unveiled a few months ago, we're happy to say that you'll be able to get your hands (well, wrists) on one soon. Huami, a sub-brand of Xiaomi, has just announced that the Amazfit PACE is headed to the United States. It's now available for the promotional price of $129 throughout Cyber Monday on Amazfit.com in both Black and Red color options. It will jump up to its standard MSRP of $159 following Cyber Monday, and will also be available on Amazon at that point.

See also:

Best smartwatches

2 weeks ago

What makes this new smartwatch so special? For starters, the Amazfit PACE is packed with features we normally don't see in this price range. Since this is a smartwatch, it will of course be able to tell the time and display weather information. It runs on a proprietary operating system (aka not Android Wear or Tizen), but will be able to interact with your Android or iOS device via its own app. You'll be able to get email, text notifications and more.

The Amazfit PACE will provide weather, email, text notifications and more

The smartwatch sports a 1.34-inch circular display with a 320 x 300 resolution, a 1.2GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. There's also 4GB of on-board storage, which is enough to store a few music playlists for listening on the go with some Bluetooth headphones. The Amazfit PACE isn't just a smartwatch, though – it also has a bevy of fitness tracking features. For starters, it has a built-in GPS, which Xiaomi says is using the world's first 28nm GPS sensor. Not only that, it also comes with a heart rate sensor and an IP67 water resistance rating. It basically has all the features we like to see in a smartwatch and fitness tracker.

As mentioned, this smartwatch is on sale from today at Amazfit.com for $129. If you're interested, head to the link attached below.

Buy now from Amazfit

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and Snapdragon 660 specs leak

An image obtained by Chinese tech site anzhuo.cn might have revealed the specs for Qualcomm's next-generation mobile processor, the Snapdragon 835. Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 835 – previously thought to be called the Snapdragon 830 – last week, but didn't delve into details concerning its hardware. Now the finer details may be out in the open.

The image, which also references a Snapdragon 660, was reposted by Gizmochina and suggests that the Snapdragon 835 will be based on a revised Kryo 200 CPU architecture, featuring an octa-core design with four large and four small cores (clock speeds unknown), an Adreno 540 GPU and the company's X16 LTE modem. For comparison, this year's flagship 14nm Snapdragon 820 features a quad-core Kryo CPU, Adreno 530 GPU, and X12 LTE modem.

The Snapdragon 835 will provide peak LTE download speeds of up to 1 Gbps, and four-channel LPDDR4X-1866 RAM, in addition to UFS2.1 flash memory.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 660 processor appears to be built up Samsung's 14nm FinFet LPP manufacturing process, with four 2.2 GHz cores and four 1.9 GHz cores. The chip would also employ an Adreno 512 GPU, X10 baseband, and two channel LPDDR4X-1866 memory and UFS 2.1 flash memory. The Snapdragon 660 looks set to be the successor to the mid-range octa-core Snapdragon 652.

See also:

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 835, built on Samsung's 10nm process

5 days ago

During its unveiling last week, Qualcomm confirmed that the Snapdragon 835 would feature Samsung's 10-nanometer FinFET process – an industry first – and said that its Quick-Charge 4.0 technology could provide five hours of battery life in a five-minute charge. Smartphones carrying the new chipset are expected to launch in the first half of 2017.

Thanks for the tip XaErO!

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OnePlus 3T now available in the US and Canada for $439 and $479

Last week, OnePlus announced the OnePlus 3T, its newest flagship device. When compared to its now discontinued predecessor, it brings a few hardware upgrades, a new color option, and a slightly higher price tag to the table.

Starting today, the OnePlus 3T is available to consumers in the US and Canada. The 64 GB version will set you back $439, while the 128 GB model can be yours for an additional 40 bucks – $479. At this time, the device is only available in the new Gunmetal color. The Soft Gold color option should hit the market in late December.

According to OnePlus' website, the 3T will ship immediately, which means you'll get it delivered to your front door in 3-7 days (standard shipping) or 1-3 business days (priority shipping). Standard shipping is free, and in case you don't like the device, you can return it hassle-free within the first 15 days.

See also:

OnePlus shows how fast its OnePlus 3T charges compared to the Google Pixel XL

5 days ago

The OnePlus 3T comes with a 1-year warranty, but you're also able to pay extra for an On-Guard protection plan, starting at $20 for 12 months' coverage. Unlike the standard warranty, On-Guard has you covered in case of accidents like drops, spills, and cracks and not just manufacturing defects and the like.

OnePlus also has a selection of accessories for the OnePlus 3T, which will also fit the regular OnePlus 3. You can pimp it out with a few different cases, a screen protector and similar products.

So, there you have it. If you want to get your hands on the new OnePlus 3T as soon as possible, head over to OnePlus's website to place an order by clicking the button below — US and Canada only. In case you're from the old continent, you'll have to wait for a few more days. The device will be available in Europe starting November 28.

Any takers?

Get the OnePlus 3T

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CES 2017: what we’re going to see

The Consumer Electronics Show (aka CES) is one of the largest technology trade shows in the world. Taking place every January in Las Vegas, Nevada, CES is chock-full of interesting gadgets, toys, drones, and much more. Android Authority and our host of sister sites will, as always, be on deck for CES 2017, bringing you in-depth coverage of all the latest and greatest gadget announcements.

When is CES 2017?

What better way to kick off a new year than with a bunch of new electronics announcements to drool over? CES 2017 takes place between January 5-8. Early previews and major device announcements typically happen on the two press days before the show officially starts, so stay tuned from January 3 onwards.

You can see the full CES 2017 schedule here.

What to expect from CES 2017

We're still a little too early to rattle off the full list of press conferences, device announcements and other related news, but we can give you a rough idea of what to expect based on past years at CES.

This year, we'll have not only the Android Authority team on the show floor, but we'll also be covering all the latest VR, tablet, laptop, audio and electric news for our sister sites. If you haven't already checked them out, feel free to do so.

• VR Source
• Tab Times
• Sound Guys
• Charged

Mobile

Compared to massive mobile shows like MWC in Barcelona and IFA in Berlin, CES doesn't have quite as many mobile announcements from the major players but there's always enough to keep us coming back.

LG will be on deck as always, at the very least with some mid-range smartphones and possibly another smartwatch, seeing as LG hasn't announced one in two years. LG at CES 2017 will still have tons of televisions and other consumer electronics to demo, but we'll be there primarily to see new K series devices, audio gear and any other weird gadgets like 2015's Rolly Keyboard.

Samsung will likely hold the Galaxy S8 launch either at MWC 2017 in March or at a standalone event a little while after. But there will still be some mobile news from Samsung at CES 2017, with the possibility of new tablets and wearables.

In January 2016, Samsung made Samsung Pay and Gear smartwatch announcements at CES and dropped several new laptops and Chromebooks. There will also be the usual range of TVs, notebooks, smart appliances, audio and other electronics to keep an eye out for.

Asus usually unveils new Zenfone options at CES, but there's no telling what to expect from Asus at CES 2017 considering the odd schedule of Zenfone launches of late. There will probably be new phones, a couple of new laptops, more mini PCs and hopefully a new Chromebook or two.

Lenovo and Motorola will be at CES 2017 in some form or another. Lenovo will have some new laptops and hybrids on show and we might get treated to some updates on Project Tango for the Phab 2 Pro.

There will be some new Android-based tablets as well as others running Windows but we have absolutely no idea what might happen with Motorola announcements based on 2016's effort (fortunately that decision has recently been reversed).

At CES 2016, Huawei delivered women's versions of the Huawei Watch, the new MediaPad, the Mate 8 and a gold variant of the Nexus 6P. With the MediaPad M3 already out, the Mate 9 announcement recently behind us and no rumors about the Huawei Watch 2 (other than that it might switch to Tizen), we can't say for sure what Huawei has planned for the new year.

Xiaomi has officially confirmed it will be at CES for the first time ever, and will have a global product release to announce. Considering the vast array of products Xiaomi makes, there's no guaranteeing this announcement will be of a smartphone or even a mobile device of any description. But either way, we'll be the first to tell you what it is.

The known unknowns

Likewise, LeEco, ZTE, Oppo and Vivo will also be at CES 2017, along with HTC and Sony, but we'll have to flesh out those expected announcements in the coming days and weeks (if indeed there are any).

There's going to be more drones that you can shake a stick at, but we'll cover all the best of them on Charged, where you can also swing by if you want to stay on top of all the latest innovations from the world of electric vehicles and other forms of futuristic transportation. If we know one thing about CES, it's that automotive often steals the show.

There will also be a huge amount of virtual reality news we'll detail over at VR Source, while all the best audio announcements at CES 2017 will be covered on Sound Guys.

If tablets, laptops, ultrabooks and other non-smartphone tech is more your game, then Tab Times will have you covered from the first press conference until they kick us out almost a week later.

We can't wait for CES 2017 and we hope you'll join us for the ride.

What are you expecting from CES 2017?

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Deal: Moto 360 Sport smartwatch, $99 on eBay (originally $299)

The Moto 360 Sport is currently on sale at eBay for just $99. The Android Wear smartwatch, which originally went on sale for $299, features an AnyLight hybrid display to help it remain visible both indoors and out, and IP67 certification for dust and water resistance.

The Moto 360 Sport was released last December and in our review, we said that it fell short of being a fitness tracker but excelled at being a smartwatch, with quick charge times, a lightweight construction and good performance.

Here's a list of the core specs:

• 1.37-inch IPS LCD display, 360 x 325 pixel resolution (~263 ppi) with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
• Quad-Core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• 4 GB internal memory
• 512 MB RAM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g; Bluetooth: v4.0, LE; Optical Heart Rate Monitor (PPG)
• 300 mAh Battery

You can pick up the smartwatch in white or flame orange for 99 bucks from a top-rated eBay seller. There's no indication of how long the sale will last, though the eBay listing states that only a limited quantity of units are available.

For more tech bargains, check out our list of the best Black Friday deals of 2016.

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