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.
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The computer in your pocket can do amazing things like play HD videos, access all the knowledge of mankind, and send messages all over the world. It can also do math with a calculator app. Google's Calculator app has been updated to v7.2, and it includes a long, long, loooooooooong overdue feature—history.
Modern routers can do some cool things, especially if you're using the new Google WiFi mesh routers. They can cover your home in a healthy glow of electromagnetic waves, intelligently connect to devices, and keep track of your data usage. However, linking Google WiFi with an OnHub can result in some weird data usage stats. Google now says it's aware of the issue and is working on a fix.
You don't have to look far to find a home security camera with big names like Logitech, Google, and Netgear all offering up systems for keeping an eye on things. There are also some newer players with cameras you might want to consider. For example, the Xiaomi-funded Yi Technology. This Chinese firm has released a few home cameras, but the new version of its Dome Camera stands out from the crowd. Unlike other cameras, this one can actually rotate to get a full 360 degree view of a room, and it has built-in motion tracking. Unlike the old Dome Camera, this one also shoots 1080p video.
Meitu claims it's collecting user data because it's in China and needs to do ad tracking
The anime-styling selfie app Meitu has exploded in popularity recently, then someone got to wondering why it was asking for so many permissions. It turns out the app is grabbing your IMEI and MAC address and sending them to a server in China. People were understandably concerned, and now Meitu has issued a statement meant to assuage our fears. It kind of doesn't, though.
The Pixel is a great phone, and as such, a lot of people want it. Although, Google seems to be dropping the ball with regard to making that possible. The Google Store is constantly sold out of the Pixel XL (and sometimes even the regular one), and this has led to price inflation. It's not unusual to see Amazon marketplace sellers listing items for well over MSRP when they're hard to come by, but this is Amazon asking $1,500 for a Pixel XL.The Pixel XL listings sold and shipped by Amazon are currently sitting at over $1,500 (plus tax) for both black and white models. You get free Prime shipping, though. I guess that's a small comfort. If you could buy that same device on the Google Store, it'd be $869 plus tax. The only official sales channels for the Pixel are Google and Verizon, so you'd naturally expect some variation in the price from another retailer. Still, this is ridiculous.
[Deal Alert] Get a free Moto Z Droid or half price Moto Z Droid Force (after Verizon credits) at Best Buy
Motorola took a leap with the Moto Z this year by focusing on the modular accessories known as Mods. That meant a few design sacrifices had to be made, including a small-ish battery on the Moto Z and a non-ergonomic flat back panel. I don't think these phones stand up to the competition at full price, but at half price or free, it's hard to complain. That's the deal at Best Buy right now for the Verizon-branded versions.
Motorola started pushing Android 7.0 Nougat to the Moto G4 and G4 Plus in some markets, but not everyone has it yet. OTA updates are nice, but developers also want to have access to the open source code for system updates. At least that's available to everyone now in the form of a kernel source download.
The new SHIELD Android TV has just launched with a smaller chassis, revamped controller, and a few new software tricks. One trick no one much cared for was the one where the remote would just stop working. NVIDIA says it's addressed this bug in the latest update.
Odds are that your phone has some Qualcomm silicon in it, and even if it doesn't the baseband processor (modem) probably includes some technology licensed from Qualcomm. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now says that the way Qualcomm manages those patents amounts to anti-competitive behavior, and it's taking the company to court over it.
NVIDIA is getting ready to roll out Android 7.0 to the SHIELD Android TV, and of course it's shipping the new SHIELD with Android 7.0 pre-installed. But what of the SHIELD Tablet and Tablet K1? There's been little word on what's up with these devices, but NVIDIA's SHIELD Hub account on Google+ says that update is happening. It's not the strongest confirmation you can get, but we'll take anything we can get right now.
Verizon will block Note7 holdouts from placing calls, may bill them for the phone's full price
The Galaxy Note7 was a spectacular failure for Samsung that has turned into a customer service nightmare for its carrier partners. People are still using the Note 7 even after a series of OTA updates designed to reduce the phone's charging capacity and finally stop it from charging altogether. Verizon says thousands of people are still using the Note7 on its network, and it's looking to put a stop to it by blocking all outgoing calls. The carrier may also be delivering some bill-shock to holdouts.
Not everyone demands a high-end phone that costs as much as a computer. Maybe you only need a basic smartphone that'll let you poke around on the web and send some WhatsApp messages. If that's the case, there's the new LG Aristo on T-Mobile and MetroPCS. The price is low, but so are the specs.
Roku players come with remotes, but the remote isn't always within reach when you need it. Or perhaps it's gone missing someplace in the black hole that is your couch. No matter, there's an app that can control your Roku, and it just got a big update. It's now quicker to navigate and makes it easier to find stuff to watch.
Samsung announces Galaxy C9 Pro in India with 6-inch AMOLED, 6GB of RAM, and a 4,000mAh battery
Samsung sometimes reserves low-power hardware for the phones it launches exclusively in India, but the new Galaxy C9 Pro looks downright respectable. It's big, has a ton of RAM, and the battery is huge. It even has a fancy new USB Type-C port. It is a little expensive, though.
Owners of NVIDIA's Android devices are no strangers to exclusive titles with somewhat higher than average prices. The latest release is notable in a few ways, though. The Witness has been available on Steam, PS4, Xbox One, and other platforms, but it's only about a year old. It's also one of the more expensive games available for the SHIELD at $20. That might still be worth it, based on the reviews.
LG has not launched an Android Wear device since the troubled LG Watch Urbane 2, but it appears to be prepping one now. A mysterious new LG watch has passed through the FCC with support for cellular connectivity. LG has requested confidentiality for the external device photos (of course), but there are a few details available in the reports.
Every time it seems like Android Pay must now, finally support all the banks, there are more of them. Google has just confirmed support for 40 more banks in its payment service. That's in addition to the 46 that were added just a few weeks ago. Let me just save you the trouble of scanning the list and being disappointed—Simple Bank is not among them.
Yahoo is going through some changes right now. Not necessarily the good kind, either. Verizon is buying a chunk of the company, and the rest is changing its name to Altaba. So, there are some changes in the Flickr app, which Yahoo has been accused of neglecting in recent years. For the first time in several years, you can sign into Flickr without a Yahoo account.
There's an update rolling out to the Axon 7 Mini today that will be of particular note to anyone using the phone on T-Mobile. This device is finally getting support for T-Mobile's VoLTE calling. There are a few other tweaks and improvements, but that depends on the version of the device you have. And no, it's not Nougat.
UK smartphone maker Wileyfox has been one of Cyanogen Inc's most consistent partners lately, releasing new budget smartphones running the software on a regular basis. Cyanogen is over, but Wileyfox is forging onward with a new phone called the Swift 2X. It's running Cyanogen OS right now, which might be a problem, but it's also the most powerful (and expensive) phone the company has made.