Bertel King, Jr.
Contributing since April, 2013
-
3518articles
Page 12
About Bertel King, Jr.
Bertel is a Linux user who likes budget smartphones more than flagships, uses a custom ROM, and gets his apps from F-Droid. When he isn't writing short stories for Android Police, you might find him penning the fictional kind. Otherwise, look for him reading pixels that were converted to ink and paper.
Latest Articles
The PDF format is a common and open standard that works with many programs, but many people still turn to Acrobat Reader when the time comes to open a document. Adobe has given such folks another reason to keep the app around. Reader now integrates with Dropbox accounts.
It's not often here at Android Police that we talk about good old-fashioned phones. No, not pocket computers. Not portable game consoles. Not point-and-shoot cameras. Just plain old, hold-up-to-your-ear, talk-using-your-mouth, keep-in-place-with-your-shoulder-instead-of-your-hands phones. But Google Fiber is giving us a reason.
Millions of people turn to Waze as their go-to navigation app. It tells them not only how to get to their destination, but how to avoid the cops in the process. Now it will also let users know when they've crept over the speed limit.
When you connect something to Wi-Fi, it becomes a smart thing. When you connect multiples, they become smart things. SmartThings took this concept to heart and made this the name of the company and its products. SmartThings makes things that make your home smarter by transmitting data over Wi-Fi.To kick off spring, SmartThings is selling all of its products for 20% off. This includes the hub, home monitoring kit, and a multitude of sensors. Just head to the company's website and enter the complex coupon code SPRING at checkout. This discount still applies if you add multiple items to your cart.
Read update
The Google Admin app is the go-to mobile tool for managing Google for Work accounts. This piece of software provides system administrators with the ability to add or remove users, change their passwords, and perform other puppet master-like tasks. If you're a person with such responsibilities, the latest update puts a few more tricks in that bag of yours.
AT&T customers looking for another hotspot option will have one come April 1st. And no, that's no April Fools' joke. It would be a very bad one if it were.
As was the case with Marshmallow, some of the most exciting aspects of Android N aren't things you can see, but changes that are taking place in the background. When the next version comes to your phone, you're going to see a performance boost.
My first computer was an old laptop with a dead battery and a dial-up modem. It ran Windows XP, but I didn't have the money to buy expensive software like Microsoft Office or PhotoShop. I discovered OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, and GIMP. I used Firefox, Thunderbird, and Pidgin.Back then free cloud services weren't yet around, and I didn't have a strong enough Internet connection even if they were. Without an understanding of what open source software was, such applications gradually formed the majority of what I used. When I later went to college, I embraced Linux, and my appreciation for open source software grew.The last time I wrote one of these things, I was using a Chromebook Pixel as my primary computer. I considered this an experiment with a commercially viable Linux distribution. It was fun, but I ultimately didn't like some of the changes Google made to the experience in order to push its online services. I knew I was giving up some control just by buying a Chromebook, but these instances made me feel even more powerless over my machine.Android has put me through some of the same emotions. During my time at Android Police, I've watched applications and services come and go, again and again. Some have undergone such drastic changes that they are hardly recognizable. Many solutions have shifted to the cloud, where they're particularly impacted by the need to turn a profit, acquisitions, and corporate decisions. Then there are all the data breaches. And even when things are working as planned, it's all still dependent on having Internet access.Being from rural America, and still having family there, I continue to find myself in a situation where Internet access isn't guaranteed enough for me to trust my computing in the cloud. The connection is great where I live and in the area around me, but I don't have to drive far before I find myself back in the sticks.So, at the beginning of this year, I returned back to my free and open source software-using ways. I've made some changes to my workflow that mark a return to my comfort zone. I am again in a position where I feel empowered, productive, and in control. And frankly, the software I use now reminds me that computing can be fun.With that out of the way, let me show you my stuff.
Smartphones do many things, but underpinning most of what makes these phones smart is an Internet connection. Struggling to connect to Wi-Fi makes a phone significantly less intelligent.
Athletic smart watch users, a new option has popped up on the Google Store. It's the new smartwatch that Casio announced back in January, along with the promise of up to a month of battery life. The watch is still listed as Coming Soon, but the page is there to keep an eye on. The price will be $500, and you will have your choice of black, green, orange, and red.
Samsung has a bunch of phones spread across a bunch of carriers, and those released in the last year or two need Marshmallow updates. Sprint has begun to roll out the latest version of Android to customers owning three of those devices: the Galaxy Note 4 and 5, plus the S6 Edge+.
Amazon's little black cylinder likes for you to call it Alexa, and when you do, it's willing to do whatever you say. Well, whatever it can understand, anyway. And one thing it understands is how to adjust volume and pause media after you say its name. This includes the ability to mute and unmute. Pausing, naturally, would be useless without the option to play.
Files in Drive aren't actually stored on your device, but Google is continuing its effort to make the experience feel as though they were by giving you quicker access and more control.
Android N is going after the notification shade in a big way, and one of the primary examples is notification bundling. This feature expands an alert to show each individual new message recently received. The Hangouts 8.0 update shows this functionality in action.
The LG G5 is coming. Judging from this weekend's poll, quite a few of you are dead set on buying this phone as soon as you get the chance. For those of you on AT&T, that time is now. The carrier has started accepting pre-orders for the phone, which will become available in stores starting April 1st.
Google Now's purpose is to give you useful information before you even think to ask, and additions continue to roll out that make the service better at its job.
I don't consider unboxing videos to be a particularly exciting form of entertainment, but at least they give you an idea what to expect when you bring a gadget home. Well, not all of them fit this mold. T-Mobile's latest video shows employee Des unboxing the LG G5 in the passenger seat of a rally car.
The LG Watch Urbane launched at a starting price of $350. For that amount of money, you got one of the most attractive smartwatches on the market at the time. Nearly a year later, it remains one of the best Android Wear devices you can buy.
For people looking for a small high-end phone, there's the Xperia Z5 Compact and that's it. Sony's latest version comes with a 4.6-inch screen, a Snapdragon 820, a 23MP camera, and plenty of reason for people who like hand-sized phones to fall in love.As usual, small size does not mean small price. The Z5 Compact typically costs half a grand. But right this moment, Amazon is offering the handset for $100 off. That brings the price down to $399.99.The Z5 Compact is available from Amazon in black or white. This is the US model sold with a warranty. It only works with GSM carriers, so don't try picking one up if you're on Sprint or Verizon.The device is Prime eligible, so shipping should be fast. Hop on the deal while you can.
For many young kids, Disneyland is a dream come true. And if they're old enough to dream of going on Disney rides, they're probably also old enough to know that Gameloft is a game developer to approach with caution. Some games are good. Others are ripe with in-app purchases. And the ones that are good tend to have IAPs too.