Tag: Android

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Android 5.1 Brings Better Device Protection for Lost or Stolen Phones and Tablets

Android Lollipop ForestTrying to steal a few headlines from Apple today, Google officially and publicly announced Android Lollipop 5.1.

Alongside bug fixes and performance improvements, Android 5.1 brings a much improved security with Device Protection. We’ve detailed Device Manager in the past, which can be used to locate a missing phone or wipe it clean in the event it’s stolen.

Device Protection now includes the ability to lock a device to your Google ID. Even after wiping and hard resetting a phone, Android will require you to enter in your Google account password before the phone can be used again. This follows recent state legislation in California and Minnesota mandating a “Kill Switch” on phones. The idea being a stolen phone will be far less valuable if it’s essentially a brick without the victim’s password. Continue reading “Android 5.1 Brings Better Device Protection for Lost or Stolen Phones and Tablets”

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Android 5.0 “Lollipop” Update Rolling Out to LG G3 on AT&T

Google’s newest phone operating system has only made it to around 5% of the Android handsets out in the ecosystem, but that’s set to improve soon as the Lollipop update is starting to roll out to AT&T LG G3’s.

The update brings the slick new Material Design, and the ability to use USB Audio hardware, which I just tested on my G3 with a Zoom H4n. Pretty exciting to use professional grade recording equipment with my smartphone.

As with most rollouts, expect it to be delivered in stages, so fret not if you go into your settings and you don’t have an update ready to install. It should be on its way soon.

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Sunday Fun: Fighting FUD One Comment at a Time…

It’s a fact that many people stop reading an article after they finish the headline. Makes it rather difficult to discuss nuance when some people trust the “knowledge” they glean from click bait or sensationalized headlines.

Case in point, last week a story started circulating about a new type of malware that can track you and the contents of your phone even when your phone is off. Sounds freaky right! RIGHT! OMG! NO!!!

Screenshot (6) cropWe were treated to a bunch of “falling sky” editorials, a number of people trotted out old talking points about Android and the security of “open” platforms, but few mentions of the actual exploit were made beyond a pithy “requires root access”.

Thankfully this is the internet where we can often turn to the comments for more info.

Screenshot (9) cropRekt.

Just a bummer though that many people stopped at the headline…

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OtterBox Leak Points to Camera Refinements on HTC One M9

HTC One M9 Otterbox LeakWe still don’t have a lot of information on what will be coming for HTC’s next flagship phone. No confirmation on screen size or resolution. We don’t even know yet if it will use Qualcomm’s new 810 chipset.

This leaked line up of cases from OtterBox however do show some detail as to what we might expect from HTC. Cut outs show they’ll be keeping the front facing stereo speakers. Also the button arrangement looks like HTC will yet again be “inspired” by Nokia, which would be a welcome change from the top mounted power buttons on the M7 and M8.

Most interesting however is the large square-ish cutout for the rear camera. We don’t see a secondary port for a duo camera sensor.

My biggest complaint with the M8 came from the camera quality, walking away from Optical Image Stabilization (a feature which greatly improves video and low light photos) in favor of a fun gimmick which developers never really embraced. We obviously don’t know the particulars of what will go into HTC’s next camera, but a return to a single sensor with OIS would be a welcome change.

And I’m always glad to see accessory manufacturers ready to support new phones. OtterBox’s Commuter case has seen regular rotation on my M8.

We’ll need to wait until March for the full scoop! What are you hoping to see in HTC’s next flagship phone? Drop us a comment below!

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Google Quietly and Oddly Pushes Lollipop 5.1 Update to Android One Devices

android oneThe 5.1 update isn’t a typo. It’s real and it’s already available on entry level Android One devices designed for emerging markets.

In the nomenclature of updates, it’s a fairly large jump from 5.0.2 to a full 5.1, though we don’t have an official changelog on whats included. AndroidPit published a list in December on what was coming in 5.1. They expect we’ll see the Silent Mode return alongside improvements to performance, RAM utilization, and radio management.

It’s just somewhat odd that Google would launch a decimal point update like this with virtually zero fanfare, though it’s interesting to see what phones Google selected first to receive the new software. Android One is one of the few areas that Google can almost completely control the software experience on a smartphone. It’s an area where even the Nexus experiment can falter when carriers get involved in support. Continue reading “Google Quietly and Oddly Pushes Lollipop 5.1 Update to Android One Devices”

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T Mobile price cut on the LG Optimus L90!

sgtmobaner copy

Are you looking to save some dough on a new phone? T Mobile just cut the price of the LG Optimus L90 from $168.99 all the way down to $49.99! The LG Optimus L90 features a 4.7 inch qHD screen, a quad core 1.2GHz processor, LTE ready, a front facing camera and a 5mp rear camera with LED flash.

The LG Optimus LG90 is running Android 4.4 Kit Kat with 1 GB of ram and a 4GB expandable memory slot.  The back cover features self healing powers if you scratch it although if you gouge it with your car keys it may not heal. Not a bad little phone for $49.99 to have as a back up phone or for someone who is new to the smart phone world!

Grab the LG Optimus L90 here from T Mobile!  Continue reading “T Mobile price cut on the LG Optimus L90!”

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The Long Awaited Moto 360 Smartwatch Review – It’s Just OK…

One of the most popular posts we published last year was the announcement for Motorola’s boundary breaking watch the Moto 360.

Now that we’ve spent some time playing with it, has it lived up to the hype? No. It has not, and here’s why…

Shop the Moto 360 on Amazon.
Shop the Moto 360 on Google Play.

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Microsoft FINALLY brings Tablet Optimized Office Apps to Android!

After we saw a demo of an iPad running Office apps, Android fans wondered, rather vocally, when we would also get to take part in the business grade festivities.

Oh sure we had an Office Phone app for basic viewing, editing, and formatting, but it lacked proper tablet support.

Microsoft office word document for android tablet app somegadgetguyAll that changed yesterday when Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and Powerpoint tablet apps were finally approved on Google Play. Each service is an individual app, and downloading the apps is totally free. When not linked with an Office 365 subscription, the apps function as viewers, and wont allow you to edit docs or spreadsheet. Though with unlimited cloud storage coming to OneDrive with an Office 365 subscription, it’s not a bad value when compared to other cloud storage solution.

Linking to Office 365 opens up a full world of document and presentation creation and editing, very similar to what we saw on the iPad version. The full toolsets of Office are included, with advanced formating and formula support, and are well optimized for touch screen use. Tied directly into Office Online, OneDrive, and can be linked to DropBox, it’s a fairly robust ecosystem for sharing and collaborating.

Microsoft office excel for android tablet app somegadgetguy

As they’re beefy services, the download sizes are pretty large. Expect all three apps together to clock in at around 370MB. There’s also an issue with compatibility. Most of the tablets I ave lying around are not yet approved to install the apps. No Asus Transformer, no NVIDIA Shield, even the newer Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 was a no go, so my first impressions were performed on a Nexus 7.

Still it’s a great collection for Android, and now Windows Tablet and Phone fans can start the waiting game as we should see touch optimized Office apps arrive with Windows 10.

Microsoft Word on Google Play
Microsoft Excel on Google Play
Microsoft Powerpoint on Google Play

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