Let's Talk Tech
The quality of phone you can buy at the sub $300 price point is improving rapidly. Alcatel offers up a compelling option for folks wanting to shop an inexpensive Android handset. Let’s take a look!
Shop the Idol 3 on Amazon.
Idol 3 Speaker Test.
Idol 3 Camera Review.
Services like Lyft and Uber have been disrupting the market for traditional taxi and town car service in a number of cities, thanks to lower prices and timely notifications through apps.
Today Waze took the wraps off of their solution for ride sharing named “RideWith”. Focused on reducing business commuter traffic, RideWith seeks to pair up drivers and riders who are already traveling in the same direction at the same times. It’s a 21st century version of the bulletin board a company might use for coordinating an employee carpool.
This is not a spur of the moment service, as Waze recommends passengers book a trip at least a day in advance, and the app will help calculate and pay drivers for fuel costs per ride. As Google now owns Waze, it’s no surprise that the service is launching first on Android, with iOS “coming soon”.
If you were hoping to try this out, you might have a bit of a wait. RideWith is currently in very limited BETA, only servicing Israel at the time this article was posted. You can pull up more info and an FAQ by heading to the RideWith website.
Is this the solution for alleviating traffic congestion during rush hour? Leave a comment below.
Google continues to move forward with cardboard, bringing some really fun features to the low budget VR platform which uses your phone and an inexpensive cradle (often made out of cardboard) to surround you with immersive content.
The newest update to the Android Youtube app builds in native support for Google Cardboard. Now when you fire up a 360 degree video, a small cardboard icon will appear on the overlay. Tapping on that icon will split the screen automatically for stereo view through the VR headset of your choice.
Hitting the switch built into Cardboard viewers will pause the video, and moving your head along a timeline will let you fast forward or rewind the video. Very handy controls as you wont be able to touch the screen.
It’s a super fun feature to bring to the Android ecosystem, tying together the new Youtube 360 rollout and the improved developer tools for Cardboard. You can try it out with a video below, which we shot using the Kodak SP360, driving around Hollywood.
The Youtube app update should be rolling out to devices soon, or if you’re impatient you can grab it from APK Mirror and install it manually.
Google’s monster phablet is getting a price cut!
The Nexus 6 has dropped $150 from its price tag on the Google Play store, and Amazon has followed suit. This applies to both the 32GB and 64GB models which are currently selling for $499 and $549 respectively.
It’s unknown whether this is a permanent price drop, a special sale being run for Father’s day, or a promotion to line up with the first round of invites for Project Fi (Google’s MVNO phone service). However, if you were shopping a stock Android phone, the price just got a LOT sweeter.
We still think the Asus ZenWatch is one of the more attractive smartwatches on the market today, but Asus has already taken the wraps off of their follow up.
The Zen Watch 2 will come in more color options, and have more straps available in plastic, leather, and metal. The front face will now be made out of Gorilla Glass 3, the build will be more durable with an IP67 rating, and a new magnetic charger will be included.
It doesn’t look like a dedicated heart rate monitor will be included, which might be a good thing for folks with skin conditions, but the ZenWatch 2 will get a crown button, which has proven very useful on the LG G Watch R and Moto 360.
You can catch the Asus teaser vid and full press release below.
Android Wear 5.1 Review (on Asus ZenWatch)
Continue reading “Asus Announces ZenWatch 2 Android Wear Smartwatch”
Borrowing inspiration from Apple Photos and Lumia Storyteller, Google has given their Photos app a fresh coat of paint. Combined with Unlimited storage for compressed photos and videos, it’s a nice step in the right direction for cleaning up the disparity between Manufacturer photo gallery apps and Google Plus. Let’s take a full tour through all the new features and tools!
I’m not a fan of how Chrome handles browser tabs by mixing them into the main list of apps when multitasking. I think it’s very poor design for a smartphone, cluttered and a waste of space. Thankfully there’s a way to fix this!
For Android fans, this will likely be the biggest fight of the year!
Samsung and LG have produced very different phones for this generation of flagship Android. The Galaxy S6 is a radical departure from the GS5. The G4 is more of a refinement over the G3. Which manufacturer is traveling down the better path? Let’s take a look!
Shop the Galaxy S6 on Amazon.
Shop the LG G4 & accessories on Amazon.
LG G4 Full Review.
Galaxy S6 Full Review.
LG G4 Camera Review.
Galaxy S6 Camera Review.
LG G4 Speaker Test.
Galaxy S6 Speaker Test.
LG G4 Front Facing Camera VLOG.
Galaxy S6 Front Facing Camera VLOG.
LG G4 vs GS6 Camera Comparison.