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As part of Hangouts' long, drawn-out death, Google is also pulling the plug on the imaginatively titled Call Phones feature, which lets you place a phone call in Hangouts via Google Voice. It was mostly free, but you did have to pay for certain call types. With the feature set to expire by next month, Google is now sending out emails regarding refunds for any remaining balance you might have, and you can trigger the process manually as well.
With your inbox inundated by plenty of promotional deals, coupons, and order confirmations from the Black Friday weekend, you may have missed the extra little gift Google floated your way last Monday. Right now, select users can save $10 on their next Google Store online purchase, but they only have until the end of 2019 to redeem it. Here's what you need to do to see if you're eligible for these savings.
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Last week, Google went on a cleanup spree and deducted large chunks of Play Store credits that people had raked over time in Opinion Rewards. Our tips mailbox quickly filled up with reports of balances unexpectedly shrinking by tens of dollars, while Google stayed mum on what appeared to be a widespread concern. The company just broke its silence on this issue with a short explanation appearing for many within the Rewards app.
Earlier this month, Cody discovered evidence for a loyalty program in a teardown of the Google Play app, and now we're seeing the first official word about it. The rewards scheme is called Play Points and has gone live in Japan, according to a support page for the app.
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- Google has now announced Google Pay for Germany in a post on its blog. It confirms the list of banks mentioned above, and says that support for Landesbank Baden-Württemberg / BW Bank and Revolut is coming “soon.”
Google Pay has finally landed in Germany with support for four local banks. Users can download the app from the Play Store and start adding supported credit and debit cards today.
Last month, Google announced that it would be unifying its storage service under a new name: Google One. The transition from previous plans to better-priced One options was to take place "in the coming months," and reports of the rollout have been gradually spreading. If you're among those with a paid Google Drive storage plan anticipating the move, you might want to check your email, as some that have been welcomed into Google One are seeing a complimentary $5 credit hit their inbox.
Project Fi offered the Pixel 2 XL at a $150 discount back in April, but that sale was for one day only. If you missed that deal and were hoping to grab a 2 XL for use with Fi, a very similar deal has now presented itself: a $150 service credit with the purchase of a Pixel 2 XL.
It's been almost three months since Android Pay was replaced by Google Pay, but the new name still sounds so foreign. In an attempt to alleviate that and introduce more users, Google is running a promotion in which you and someone you refer both get $10 in Play credit once the referred party makes a purchase. Bear in mind that this promo is still running (and ends at the same time).
When Google started its recent trade-in program, the most common gripe was that the packaging provided by the company was seen as insufficient protection for your phone. In fact, there were multiple reports of devices being damaged in transit as a result of the flimsy envelopes. Well, that shouldn't be a problem anymore, as Google has now switched to padded boxes.
The Moto X4 is the first non-Google phone to arrive on Project Fi, but the $399 price tag was asking too much. David referred to it as, "a $400 G5 Plus with NFC in a metal and glass sandwich," which I think is fairly accurate. Project Fi has now made the price more tolerable, by including $100 of service credit when you buy an X4.
Fresh off the acquisition of its Pixel team by Google, HTC has announced interest-free financing on purchases from HTC.com. That means you can grab HTC's latest devices and pay nothing up front. Instead, you pay a little bit every month until the device is zeroed out. There are a few caveats, but this'll make HTC's phones much easier to buy.
Google Voice is an invaluable tool, even if it still has a few quirks. It makes juggling multiple numbers just a little bit easier and provides a great cross-platform voicemail and messaging tool independent from your carrier. And the Google Voice app for Android was recently updated with two new features. Now when the app is re-opened, it can resume from the last tab you had open, and you can now top-up Google Voice credit from the app itself.
Google added an interesting option for gift giving occasions to the Play Store in late 2015—electronic Google Play gift cards. This feature has been available in the deep recesses of the Play Store ever since... until recently when it seems to have disappeared. Google support is confirming to people it pulled the feature.
Amazon is throwing some developers a bone with a promotional credit on AWS for Alexa skills to help cover any incurred usage charges. Most of them use the free tier, but some do end up exceeding those limits and incur charges. Any that do can apply for a $100 promotional credit to help cover those costs.
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Dear Starbucks: thank you for existing. Not for your overpriced smoothie-coffee or your approachable yuppie atmosphere. No, thank you for being a Wi-Fi-soaked escape from my rural family's home during the holidays - T-Mobile service is still crappy out there. And while I'm extending some holiday thanks, I might as well give a shout-out to Visa, which is giving Starbucks customers of free credit via the Starbucks app. That's approximately 2.5 Frappuccinos.
Your opinion is worth something. Not much, but something. Companies are willing to pay for consumer feedback, and in this area, Google is no exception. It is happy to reward people for answering a few mundane questions. And now that offer extends out to people in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Changing carriers can be a real pain. In fact, a lot of people probably stick with their current carrier just to avoid the headache — even if they're unhappy with the service. AT&T wants to ease the pain and frustration a little bit by offering users who switch from another carrier up to $650 in credit per line. For a family, that can potentially be a huge savings. Here's how it works.
Last Tuesday I got a top of the line McLaren F1 from earning $16020 these last four weeks while working 3–4 hours a day, all in the comfort of my living room couch. This is definitely the coolest work I have ever done. Without any question it's the most financially rewarding I've had. I started this 4 months ago and practically straight away began to bring home over $97 per hour. Visit this weblink to start immediately.
When a cell phone carrier wants you to sign a two-year contract or tries to sell you a phone for cheap on a financing plan, there's usually an asterisk at the end of the offer. To take part, you need to have good credit, which is typically defined by a third-party bureau. Building credit takes a long time, and it's easy to ruin, leaving large numbers of Americans with less than stellar scores. Today T-Mobile has announced "Smartphone Equality," which opens up the carrier's deals to people who wouldn't otherwise qualify.
The Nest Protect made its Play Store debut recently, yet this was far from its first appearance. The device originally launched last fall, but following the discovery of a safety issue, Nest recalled it a couple of months ago. The company then pushed out an update that fixed previously sold units. Now it's also giving out $33/£20 to people who purchased a Nest Protect prior to June 15th. This should make up for the $30 price drop that accompanied the re-release of the device.