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There was a period of time when we thought the microSD slot was about to disappear from flagship smartphones, but luckily, it's made a comeback. PNY's 256GB Elite-X microSD card is currently just .99 from Amazon, making it a cheap way to add storage to your mobile devices. Other sizes are discounted as well.These Elite-X cards are U3-rated, meaning that the minimum sequential write speed is 30MB/s, compared with most other cards' U1 (10MB/s) base speed. If you intend to perform a lot of file transfers or film a lot of 4K video, this rating is pretty much a must. Like most other cards, the maximum read speed is 100MB/s.
The flagship smartphone competition is always fierce, and LG's phones haven't exactly been among the best lately. It was virtually impossible to recommend the G8 at its $849.99 MSRP, but it's one hell of a phone with the latest and greatest specs for 9.99.The G8 is equipped with a 6.1" 1440p AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM, 128GB with microSD expansion, a 12MP + 16MP rear camera combo, an 8MP selfie-shooter, and a 3,500mAh battery. In our review, we liked the design, the performance, the cameras, and the great-sounding headphone jack. Our only real qualm was with the display, which is still decent, but doesn't get as bright as the G7's.
The Sony Xperia 10 isn't a bad phone, but it was certainly difficult to recommend at its $349.99 MSRP. For Black Friday, however, Amazon and B&H have slashed the price by more than half to just $169.99, making this a pretty enticing phone for the money.Specs for this phone include a super-tall 21:9 6.0" 1080p LCD, a Snapdragon 630, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with microSD expansion, a 13MP + 5MP rear camera combo, an 8MP front-facing camera, and a 2,870mAh battery. Other features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and Android 9 Pie.
16:9 aspect ratios were the norm for years, but that's not the case anymore. These days, we don't even bat an eye at 18:9, 18.5:9, and 19:9 ratios. In a curious attempt to stand out from the crowd, Sony slapped some ridiculously tall 21:9 displays on their latest phones, including the Xperia 10 Plus that is being discounted to ~$330 right now.The Xperia 10 is equipped with a 6.5" 1080p LCD, a Snapdragon 636, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with microSD expansion, dual 12MP + 8MP rear cameras, an 8MP selfie-shooter, and a 3,000mAh battery. It also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and *gasp* a headphone jack. Our own Taylor called the Xperia 10 "really long and really boring" in his review, with his biggest complaints being the tall aspect ratio, the cameras, and the price. It should be noted that this has Verizon support in addition to being GSM unlocked, though Sprint compatibility is absent.
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- YouTube says that its test was "successful" and that this Masthead ad is now available globally on all TV screens for advertisers to buy. If you have a Premium subscription, you'll be spared, but if you don't, prepare to be bombarded with a large, loud, auto-playing ad each time you open YouTube on your TV.
Do you like seeing massive ads that take up half of your TV screen? No? Too bad, because you'll soon be forced to watch the company's signature Masthead ads on your television's YouTube app. This is bound to be a huge moneymaker for our pals at Google.
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- Like Amazon, Best Buy is offering a $100 gift card with pre-orders of the unlocked Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. If you decide to go with a carrier activation on Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint, you get a $150 gift card instead.
Most new flagships come with pre-order offers upon debut these days, and the Pixel 4 is no different. With the pre-order of any Pixel 4 or 4 XL, Amazon is offering a $100 gift card, which will probably be more useful than the credit that the Google Store and B&H are giving out.You're probably all familiar with the Pixel 4 by now, but if you aren't, you can catch up on all the news here. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL are priced at $799 and $899, respectively, with the 128GB models commanding $100 premiums. The $100 Amazon credit is pretty straightforward, but the listing makes sure to mention that the gift card itself doubles as a bookmark. Fancy.Amazon says that the phones will be released on October 21st. You can find all the links you'll need below:
The Pixelbook Go has already been victim to a pretty comprehensive leak, but our friends over at 9to5Google have just gotten a full hands-on with a prototype of Google's upcoming Chromebook. Price aside, pretty much every detail has now been leaked, meaning that the October 15th event probably won't be all that interesting.
TCL's TVs are perhaps best known for offering great bang for the buck, but the company's new 8-Series TVs are taking a different approach. These new 4K Roku units are the world's first TVs with mini-LED backlights, and they're available for pre-order today.
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It turns out that the folding phone isn't the only weird form factor these days. Andy Rubin, the man behind Essential, just posted the first photos of the company's upcoming phone on Twitter. It's quite the departure from the PH-1, but if you like how tall Sony's 21:9 phones are, you're in for a real treat.
After years of pining from enthusiasts, more and more Android apps are starting to get dark modes. Most of Google's offerings now have them available, and Nova Launcher just added official support yesterday. Instagram has now become the latest application with an official dark theme, though only for Android 10 (and iOS 13) for now.
Google has updated many of its apps with dark themes, with Gmail being the most recent entrant. It looks like the Play Store is, at long last, receiving a dark theme of its own. Like Gmail and other Google apps, the Play Store's dark theme is a dark grey, and it looks pretty nice.
Google wouldn't be Google if it didn't break stuff from time to time. If you've been wondering why your Updates tab in the Play Store app is blank, rest assured knowing that you're not alone; it's an issue affecting pretty much everyone.
A new wallpaper is a quick and easy way to freshen up your phone. If you're a fan of OnePlus's wallpapers, you're in luck — Hampus Olsson, who designs them, has just made the three new 7T backgrounds available for download on his blog.
Ever heard of Google Play Points? Unless you live in Japan or South Korea, the only two countries that the rewards program is currently offered in, we're guessing you probably haven't. Anyway, Google has just added promo codes to the Play Points program portfolio.
Google Assistant offers 11 (yes, eleven) different English voices in the US, but the rest of the world doesn't get as wide a selection. However, Google is now adding more voices in nine more languages, including English (India), English (UK), German, and French.
Adding a bunch of nonsense into a writing assignment to meet the minimum word requirement is no doubt an experience that many of you have endured. Docs is a great word processor overall, and it's an even better one now that Google has just added a live word count.
It's not atypical for new OS releases to have teething issues, and Android 10 is no different... at least for Verizon users. Those on Big Red who just updated to the latest Android software have been experiencing severe call delays on their Pixels, and it turns out that the My Verizon app is to blame. The issue can be alleviated by revoking some permissions or deleting the app altogether.
Samsung's trade-in programs are usually pretty appealing, but they're not the most reliable in terms of paying out. If you've been looking to get some decent money out of your new phone, Microsoft Stores are currently handing out up to $650 with in-person trade-ins towards the purchase of a Note10 or Note10+.
Many of you are probably familiar with the ASUS Chromebook C434, which we found to be a great 360-degree laptop in our review earlier this year. For those of you who don't need a touchscreen, though, ASUS introduced the C425 about a week ago. It's already been discounted by 0 to 9.99 on Amazon.The C425 sports a 14" 1080p IPS LCD, an Intel Core m3-1800Y, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC with a microSD slot, and it's rated for up to 12 hours of battery life. It also has two USB-C ports, one Type-A port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.0. It is worth noting, though, that the C425's construction seems to be inferior to the C434's all-aluminum build. Additionally, the C425 is a standard clamshell laptop with a 180-degree hinge.
A voice assistant isn't something most people look for in a car charger, but it turns out that the combo makes for a decent product. Anker's Roav Viva integrates Alexa into a dual-port charger, and it's currently just .99 — nearly 50% off its $49.99 MSRP — on Amazon.First released nearly two years ago, the Roav Viva was the first of its kind. On the charger side of things, it has two USB-A ports with Anker's PowerIQ tech (not Quick Charge). But for Alexa, it also has a light bar around the perimeter, a (mediocre) speaker, two microphones, and a mute button to turn off said mics. If you've been looking to add some tech to an older car, the Roav Viva is a pretty cheap way to do so, especially with this discount.