About Ryan Whitwam
Ryan is a tech/science writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would. He's the author of a sci-fi novel called The Crooked City, which is available on Amazon and Google Play.
Latest Articles
Rovio is most well-known for Angry Birds, even though the company has released a few games over the years not part of that franchise. None of those really took off, though. Rovio is giving non-bird games another shot today with Battle Bay. This game has been in geo-restricted testing for a while, but now it's available to all.
Google expected to discontinue YouTube Accelerator to focus on deploying WiFi networks
Google announced an interesting product last year called YouTube Accelerator that aimed to do away with buffering by caching YouTube videos on local networks. Accelerator initially launched in a handful of locations in the Philippines, but now Google is rumored to be dropping Accelerator. Instead, it's just going to work on rolling out faster WiFi in public spaces as part of the Google Station program.
[Update: Free Google Home] Pre-orders for the unlocked LG G6 are live on B&H for $599.99
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The LG G6 is a big step up for LG after the mess that was the G5. It's a good phone, and you can get if from your carrier right now. However, what if you don't want the carrier version? Well, LG is launching an unlocked North American variant in a few weeks. B&H is accepting pre-orders now, and they've knocked $100 off the price.
May 2017 Android platform distribution shows another big gain for Nougat and a small uptick for older versions
Google has updated the developer dashboard for May, giving us an overview of the Android device ecosystem. Nougat continues to inch upward at a respectable rate—it's now over 7% of devices. However, there's some strange stuff at the bottom of the heap. Gingerbread and Lollipop both saw small increases in usage share this month because math is weird.
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It's hard for a startup to get into the competitive world of smartphones, but Nextbit made a go of things for a while. The Robin was a good phone, but the company was acquired by Razer early this year. Nothing much has changed since then, but now the Nextbit community site has been taken offline. It simply redirects to the Razer home page.
Google Assistant now supports iHome, Leviton, Emberlight, and Artik Cloud smart home devices
Google Assistant launched with support for a handful of apps and services, but the number has rapidly expanded since then. Today, there are a few new markers of smart home devices that are part of the Assistant family. You can now use Assistant to control devices from iHome, Leviton, Emberlight, and Artik Cloud.
Google launched Assistant last year in Allo, and then it came to the Pixel and Google Home. The period of exclusivity for Google is over now with Assistant on tons of Android devices, and there's even an API for developers to implement on just about anything. Case in point, there is now a version of the AutoVoice Chrome extension that can call upon the power of Assistant. However, the setup process is quite a slog.
Have you been hoping for a YouTube app that would more effectively sear your retinas when you open it in a dark room? Well, Google appears to be testing a new UI that will do just that. Multiple people are seeing a new YouTube app interface that drops the red elements, going for an all black and white look.
Bixby was supposed to be one of the Galaxy S8's defining features, but it was far from ready at launch. Instead of the voice commands Samsung promised when it announced Bixby, we got a news feed, reminders, and some borderline useless computer vision gimmicks. Now, Samsung is aiming to endow Bixby with voice commands. They're only available in Korea right now, but it's a start.
Buy this Benson-approved, USB-IF certified Type-C to C cable with 10Gbps transfer support and 100W max power
Buying a USB Type-C cable is a lot more complicated than buying microUSB cables used to be. There are various subtle differences in the spec, and a bad cable can even damage your devices. This has led Google engineer Benson Leung to review Type-C accessories in order to draw attention to the ones you shouldn't buy. The latest cable to get Benson's thumbs up is the USB 3.1 Type-C cable from Veckle (formerly iOrange-E).This cable really has all the things. There's support for "SuperSpeed+" with a data rate as high as 10Gbps on supported devices. It's backward compatible with 5Gbps and 480Mbps as well. It also puts out 100W of power (20V at 5A) to charge anything from your Pixel to the new MacBooks.The Veckle cable is certified by the USB-IF, and it has a special e-marker identification chip to prove it. Benson really only has one complaint: this cable does not use the proper USB logo for the spec (a SuperSpeed 10 trident logo, apparently) to differentiate it from other cables. Still, if you need a really, really good cable, this appears to be the one. It's 3.3 feet long and clocks in at $16.99.If you're looking for something cheaper, Benson has also given his stamp of approval to the Amazon Basics Type-C cable. It's only USB 2.0, but it nails the charging spec.Source: Amazon, +Benson Leung
Developer 10tons brought us the hugely entertaining Crimsonland a few years ago, and now it's back with another top-down shooter called Neon Chrome. This game uses procedurally generated levels and an upgrade system to create endless gameplay that doesn't get stale. There are no in-app purchases, but like Crimsonland, it comes with a hefty upfront price.
EZVIZ Mini 360 Plus review: An adorable 360-degree camera, but a little light on features
Everyone and their mother seems to be making a stationary home security camera these days, but there are also an increasing number of 360-degree cameras. These small motorized units might be a preferable option, depending on what you need to keep an eye on. I tested the Yi Dome Camera a few months ago and found it to be overall pretty neat, but perhaps a little gimmicky. Lately, I've been using the EZVIZ Mini 360 Plus, which is very similar to the Yi 360. It's a low-cost camera that can rotate to get a full 360-degree view of the room.
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Android 7.0 Nougat has been out for a few months now, so we're getting to the point when older phones are seeing the update. T-Mobile project manager Des Smith reports that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is next up. This phone's Nougat update is on the way next week.
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Amazon's Appstore for Android has always been at a disadvantage compared to the Play Store. It isn't included on devices other than its own Fire tablets, and the Play Store has a lot more content. Amazon has tried to entice users to get apps from the Appstore with various promotions and free apps. Back in 2015, Amazon launched the Actually Free program, which offered paid apps and games at no cost. Today, Amazon has announced it's discontinuing Underground Actually Free.
Google has come up with a myriad of ways to help you discover content on Google+, and today you can add one more to the list. "Topics" are streams of curated content like people, communities, and collections. They appear in a special Topic card, which some of you might have seen before.
An unlocked Galaxy S8 Plus with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is headed to Hong Kong
Samsung graciously upped the Galaxy S8's base storage to 64GB this year, but it's sticking with 4GB of RAM. You want more? Hopefully you live in certain markets like China and South Korea. You might have another option that doesn't require moving across the globe very soon. An unlocked version of this phone is launching soon in Hong Kong, which means it'll probably show up elsewhere via reselling.
Samsung Pay launches in Sweden and UAE, enters early access in Hong Kong and Switzerland
Samsung has been slowly but steadily adding new markets to Samsung Pay, which is now supported in more than a dozen countries. That includes a few new ones today. Residents of Sweden (previously in beta) and the UAE can start making payments today. There's also early access (i.e. a beta) for Samsung Pay in Hong Kong and Switzerland.
Nougat starts rolling out to the Samsung Chromebook Plus, but only for Canary builds right now
Google renewed its commitment to running Android apps on Chromebooks earlier this year with the announcement of universal Android app support going forward. One of the first devices covered by this promise is the Samsung Chromebook Plus, and it's also (apparently) the first to get the latest version of Android. Nougat (7.1.1) has started rolling out, but you need to be on the bleeding edge to get it.
Chrome Remote Desktop updated with improved performance, more responsive click-drag, and more
We live in a marvelous age when you can use a computer without being anywhere near it. All you need is a remote access app like Chrome Remote Desktop on your phone. That app is getting an update today, which includes a number of cool optimizations.
The conventional wisdom is that limiting your app downloads to the Play Store will help you avoid malware. That's true for the most part, but every now and then we hear about something sketchy that fell through the cracks. For instance, the security firm Check Point says that a number of "game guide" apps in the Play Store were hiding malicious code, and they may have accumulated millions of downloads.