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Google Pay now supports Washington DC Metro travel passes
Metro SmarTrip cards can now be loaded and reloaded in the app
Google has been working hard to expand the utility of Google Pay, not just across thousands of banks, but for more types of transactions. One of these is public transit payments and passes, previously available in select cities in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, Russia, and Ukraine. Today Google is adding support for the transit system of the United States capital, Washington DC.
T-Mobile's bringing its freebie subscriber perks to Metro
Starting next week with a subscription to MLB.tv
Metro by T-Mobile has been an Un-carrier subsidiary since 2013, well before its official rebrand. However, Metro customers haven't had the opportunity to participate in any deals through T-Mobile Tuesdays, the rewards program that offers weekly giveaways and savings. Beginning next week, Metro users can finally redeem the same deals as T-Mobile and Sprint customers, starting with a free subscription to MLB.tv.
OnePlus Nord N10 5G and N100 come to the US later this month at surprising prices
$300 and $180, respectively
OnePlus is finally bringing both of its latest budget phones stateside. Available on Friday, January 15th, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G will cost $300, while the N100 rings in at $180. Both phones will be available at OnePlus's online storefront and T-Mobile — the exclusive US carrier for the devices.
PUBG Mobile 1.1 update adds a Metro Exodus theme, two unique maps, new gear, plus more (APK Download)
Metro Exodus + PUBG Mobile = patch 1.1
PUBG Corporation has announced the arrival of patch 1.1, and this update brings with it a slew of changes, including a new Metro-themed crossover that offers a brand new game mode called Metro Royale. Players can also expect a new underground world to explore as well as Metro-themed rewards when season sixteen launches later this month. Of course, new maps, new gear, and tons of bug fixes are also included with today's free update to version 1.1, which I'll detail after the break.
Google Maps offers a lot of crowdsourced information. Some of it is based on user input and some other info is calculated automatically by Google's algorithm, such as the crowdedness of an attraction, difficulty to find parking, and more. While it's relatively easy for an algorithm to tell if you'll face traffic on your drive — and with decent accuracy — it's much more difficult for it to know if your underground subway will be crowded or not. You need a reliable source for that info, and Google seems to be working on that.
MetroPCS, now named 'Metro by T-Mobile,' received a fair bit of negative attention last year after it began charging all customers a $15 fee for the privilege of activating a new phone — even after putting a SIM card you already owned into another device. The company reversed the policy after enough customers complained, but there seems to be some confusion about the company bringing back the fee.
Read update
- SIM swaps are now free on Metro, see this post for more details.
Back in September, the T-Mobile-owned MetroPCS was rebranded to 'Metro by T-Mobile.' Along with the name change, the carrier refreshed its available plans, which looked great on paper; $60/month gets you unlimited LTE data, 100GB of Google Drive storage, Amazon Prime, and other goodies. However, there's a new catch if you plan on switching — you'll have to pay $15 any time you put your SIM card in a new device.
We've been seeing signs for a little while that Google Pay was readying transit ticket support, with the website even being updated to confirm as much. We've been furiously checking the app to see if there's any sign of the feature, only to be disappointed each time. Now, Google has made transit tickets on Google Pay official.
MetroPCS isn't seriously considered by many because of its reputation as a second-tier, prepaid carrier, but it's now offering some pretty enticing deals on its unlimited plans. Two lines with unlimited LTE for $75 is a pretty good deal, and the T-Mobile subsidiary has decent pricing on other plans as well.
So here's the thing, Skype just received a major 4.0 redesign introducing a whole new look and feel that would feel at home on any Metro device. It just so happens that Metro's UI is pretty Holo-friendly. Windows Phone influence or no, the new version of Skype should still feel right at home on your Android phone of choice.
Whether you use Windows Phone or not, chances are at some point you're going to have to get used to the concept of tiles. Microsoft's putting them everywhere. On your Xbox, PC, tablet... They're unavoidable. If you like the idea of tiles over icons, though, here's an app you might want to try out: Tile Launcher Beta. While it's not quite a clone of the MS-borne smartphone interface (for example, you can still have a custom background), it does place brightly colored squares on a continuous scrolling homescreen.