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Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu linux distribution, has been trying to make a dent in the mobile market for years. Back in 2012, it developed a feature that allowed phones to dock into full Ubuntu PCs, similar to Samsung DeX. That eventually evolved into Ubuntu for phones and tablets, a mobile OS specifically designed to work as as phone and portable PC.
Ever since the release of the first Chromecast, Google has been working hard to establish a place in your home. Last year's $129 Google Home was a major release, but it seems like Google isn't stopping there. According to a report from The Information, Google is working on an upgraded version of the Home to compete with the Amazon Echo.
For years, Netflix has used the standard five-star rating system for shows and movies. But according to the company's blog post, this wasn't very effective. Now the five-star system will be replaced by simple thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons.
The Moto G5 Plus was recently released, and is possibly the best budget phone you can buy. But if the $229.99 price tag for the G5 Plus is a little too high, you can now get the last-generation G4 Plus for just $189.99 on Amazon.Despite being a budget phone from a year ago, the G4 Plus is still a pretty decent device. It has a Snapdragon 617 processor, a 5.5" 1920x1080 IPS display, a fingerprint scanner, and a microSD card slot. The model on sale has 16GB of storage with 2GB of RAM.Motorola isn't great when it comes to updating its phones, even on the company's flagships. Nougat just started rolling out to the G4 Plus in the United States, but I wouldn't be too sure on a future Android O update (at least officially).Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better phone under $200 with full support for all major US carriers. You can buy it at the link below.Source: Amazon
You probably don't use the Google Play Games app (I sure can't remember the last time I did), but many games on the Play Store use its API. Developers can use the Play Games API to save game data to the cloud, add achievements, and integrate analytics.
Well that was quick. Just a month after the LG Watch Style went on sale, it's already being heavily marked down. Now you can get all colors of the LG Watch Style for just $179.99 - between $70 and $100 off the original price (depending on the model).
Allo has steadily added more functionality since launch, including more chatbots. The first was Lucky, a bot that can search for GIFs from a given word or phrase. Another one has now appeared in Allo, allowing users to create polls.
Android 7.1.2 was officially released today, and the rollout has started for Nexus and Pixel devices (unless you have a Nexus 6 or 9). Besides the minor new features, the release also fixes several long-known problems.
Google initially spearheaded virtual reality on Android with Google Cardboard, which evolved into the more complete Daydream VR platform. Unlike Cardboard, which could start on any somewhat-recent Android or iOS device, Daydream support requires the phone manufacturer and Google to make sure everything works.
Android O is expected later this year, but there's still (at least) one more update to Android 7.1. Google released the first 7.1.2 Beta back in January, followed by a second beta in March. We've now received multiple reports of 7.1.2 being pushed to users outside the beta program.
When it comes to Android issue tracking, Google has always used Google Code. However, Google started phasing out Code for most users in 2013, and Google's projects are the only active repositories left. Now the company has started to shift to a new issue tracker, hosted at issuetracker.google.com.
Google Map Maker was introduced back in 2008, as a way for users to make contributions to Google Maps. Features like roads, highways, rivers, and so on could be added to Maps, and users could fill in details about businesses and other specific locations. After some vandalism occurred thanks to Google's poor moderation, the feature was removed entirely, and re-appeared later with less functionality.
April Fools Day is almost upon us, but some companies aren't waiting to share their pranks. Google always does a great job, from the Pokemon Google Maps overlay to a smart mailbox, but there are a few from other companies worth mentioning. Here's a rundown of all the hilarious (or strange) tech-related April Fools Day jokes from around the web.
The Pixel C is Google's newest attempt at making a tablet. Like all Nexus and Pixel devices, it has a large number of custom ROMs available for it, but there wasn't actually an official version of TWRP recovery until now.
The Nexus 5X was one of the last devices with the Nexus brand (unless Google revives it), along with the Huawei-made 6P. Compared to its predecessor, the Nexus 5, it had a faster processor, a far superior camera, a fingerprint sensor, and more. When the 5X was released in 2015, it was easily one of the best value devices you could buy - but how does it hold up a year and a half later?
TWRP is the recovery of choice for most power users - it's super easy to use, can be themed, and works on a massive number of Android devices. Over the past few months, the TWRP team has been working to expand the list of officially-supported devices. New additions include the Honor 6X, Wileyfox Swift 2X, Yoga Tab 3, various Galaxy phones and tablets, and more.
Smart thermostats are all the rage these days, and there are plenty of options for consumers to choose from. If you want something (relatively) inexpensive, you can now buy the Ecobee3 smart thermostat for $199 on Amazon, $50 off the original price.The main differentiation with the Ecobee is the separate room sensor, which is designed to more accurately change temperatures across your house. The sensor can also detect if a room is occupied, and will de-prioritize the room if it's empty.The Ecobee3 can be controlled from Alexa, but unfortunately not through Google Assistant or the Google Home. However, you can get the basic functionality by connecting the Ecobee to either IFTTT or a SmartThings Hub, and then connecting that to Google Assistant.Source: Amazon
CodeWeavers is well-known for its CrossOver software, which allows some Windows programs to run on Mac and Linux. Back in August of last year, the company released a preview of CrossOver for Android, designed for Chromebooks with the Play Store and x86-based Android devices. Now CodeWeavers has released an update to the Preview, bringing several major improvements.
HTC isn't too bad when it comes to updates - most of the time. The company started pushing Android 7.0 Nougat to the unlocked US HTC 10 back in December, and over the past few months, has updated more variants in more countries. Now it's time for the Verizon HTC 10 to join the fun.
Android Wear 2.0 has been put on hold for many watches due to a bug, but apparently the Polar M600 watch isn't affected. The official Twitter account for Polar has confirmed that the update is now rolling out to the M600, and will take up to a week for all devices to get it.