Android Police

Corbin Davenport-

Corbin Davenport

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About Corbin Davenport

Corbin is a tech journalist and developer who worked at Android Police from 2016 until 2021. Check out his other work at corbin.io.

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Google upset quite a few people when it discontinued the Chromecast Audio earlier this year, but there are plenty of alternatives. Amazon's Echo Input turns any speaker with a 3.5mm audio input into a Wi-Fi enabled speaker, and now you can get it for just $9.99, a drop of $5 from the already-low Black Friday price.The Echo Input is actually more useful than the Chromecast Audio was, as the included microphone allows your speaker to function just like a full-blown Echo smart speaker with the Alexa voice assistant. It can also pair with Bluetooth-enabled speakers, if a wired 3.5mm connection isn't possible for some reason.

Canada has a lot to appreciate: maple syrup, scenic landscapes, a flag with a leaf on it, you name it. But until now, the country was lacking one thing: the Samsung Galaxy Fold. I have no idea how the people of Canada managed to survive without access to Samsung's latest flagship, but now the phone has officially arrived in the country.

What's better than a projector the size of a soda bottle? How about a projector the size of a soda bottle that runs Android TV? That's exactly what the Anker Nebula Capsule II is, and today only, you can get it for $200 off the usual price from Amazon-owned Woot.

Justin Uberti is best known as the head of Google Duo, a role he took on after helping to develop the underlying technology that powers Duo and other web-based video products — WebRTC. After years of steering the development of Duo, Uberti has taken on a new role in Google's game streaming service.

Google's Stadia game streaming platform is off to a rough start, with quite a few features missing at the moment, but the company is slowly fixing that. One problem is that the only way to browse and purchase games was through the Stadia mobile app — but not anymore.

Even all these years after its introduction in 1995, Craigslist is still the top place to find cars, houses, and outdated furniture for sale near you. After a short beta period, official mobile apps are now available, but the Android version hasn't been well-received.

The desktop Vivaldi browser has become popular over the years for its customization abilities, allowing people to fine-tune every part of the browser to suit their needs. The first beta of Vivaldi for Android showed promise, but it was still light on features. Beta 2 is here to fix that, as it adds plenty of new functionality while fixing some bugs.

When it comes to Android TV streaming boxes, there are really only two options: the Nvidia Shield TV, and if you're not playing games, the Xiaomi Mi Box S. Now you can grab the entry-level Xiaomi box for just $35, a drop of $25 from the original MSRP (though it has gone for $40 a few times in recent history).

Electronic Arts released an adaption of the classic board game Monopoly for Android back in 2011, but that version was de-listed years ago, presumably due to expiring licenses. A new version of Monopoly for Android and iOS was announced last month, and now you can pre-register for it on the Play Store.

Plex started off as a way for you to stream your own content to other devices, but the service has gradually evolved into a more complete media hub. The customizable 'Plex News' video feed was added in 2017, and integration with the Tidal music streaming service arrived in 2018. Now Plex will finally have content of its own, in the form of ad-supported movies and TV shows.

Android's Digital Wellbeing service can be updated independently of the OS, since it's distributed through the Play Store, so Google can add new features outside of major Android releases. That has just happened, as the new 'Focus Mode' feature has finally left beta, and is heading to all Digital Wellbeing-compatible devices.

The Galxay Tab S3 is getting to be pretty old, as it was originally released in 2017, but it's still a perfectly capable tablet for media consumption and light work. Now you can get the Tab S3 for just $299.99 from Amazon, a drop of $178 from the previous price.While the Tab S3 is a bit old, it's still fast, thanks to its Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM. Other specifications include 32GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), a 9.7-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1536x2048 in a 4:3 ratio, and a 6,000mAh battery. An S-Pen is included, which is a nice touch.

What's better than a portable projector? How about a portable projector that runs Android? Two of Anker's projectors, the Nebula Mars II Pro and Nebula Capsule, have their prices slashed until the end of today.First up is the Mars II Pro, a lunchbox-sized projector that is now $370, a $180 drop from the usual price. The main selling point here is the super-bright 500 ANSI Lumen lamp, which is brighter than pretty much every other portable projector you can buy. Sadly, it doesn't run the nicer Android TV-based software like Anker's Nebula Capsule II—instead you get a heavily-modified version of Android 7.1 with a third-party app store.

Essential is in a strange place right now as a company. Its latest phone is still its first model, the 2017 PH-1, with no direct replacement in sight. Still, Essential is keeping its remaining users happy, as it has once again rolled out monthly security patches at the same time as Google's Pixel phones receive the OTA.

Opera has a handful of different browsers for Android, each with a slightly different use case. Opera Touch is an experimental app, with a gesture interface reminiscent of Paranoid Android's "PIE' gestures from back in the day. If you're using the browser on Android 10, you might be happy to know it can now sync with the system theme.

Google released the Pixel Stand last year, to coincide with the first Pixel phones capable of wirelessly charging. The dock was definitely overpriced when it first went on sale for $80, but now you can get it for a slightly better price: $61.99.

If you're on the hunt for a cheap Chromebook this Black Friday, you may want to jump on this deal. One of Asus' large 15-inch models, the C523, is now just $174.99 refurbished from Amazon-owned Woot. That's roughly $100 less than the new price.This is an entry-level Chromebook, with a low-power Intel Pentium N4200 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC storage, and a 15.6-inch 1080p screen. The CPU isn't anything special, but the 1080p screen is better than the display on just about every other Chromebook around this price range.

The Samsung Galaxy A50 is a great mid-range phone, though it's something of a sleeper hit here in the United States. Now you can get the device from B&H photo for just $274.99, a $75 discount from the original price, and $25 cheaper than the last time it was on sale.

What's better than a universal remote? How about a universal remote with a touch screen that also controls your smart home stuff? Logitech's super-versatile Harmony Elite remote is now down to $230 at multiple stores, a $40 discount from the usual price.This remote includes Alexa for voice control, a full-color touchscreen with shortcuts for devices and TV channels, and physical buttons for common actions. The included Harmony Hub handles the actual smart home management, and can also function as an IR blaster, in case you want to control media devices out of the remote's line-of-sight.

Smart plugs are a bit like Google Home Minis: you probably have more of them than you need. If you have a genuine desire for more internet-connected outlets, a 4-pack of TP-Link's excellent Lite plugs is now just $39.99 for Black Friday. That's $10 off the usual price.

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