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- Nextbit has officially announced that its Android 7.0 Nougat beta is rolling out to testers and, perhaps in a surprise twist, that they've been working closely with the team behind Paranoid Android to bring up this latest update of their OS. That's cool, I suppose. You can read more about it on the Nextbit forums, and on their official blog here.
The Nextbit Robin was released earlier this year, and shipped with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The phone received a fair bit of publicity for having the unique ability to back up unused apps to the cloud (and retrieve them at any time), as well as simply being a good inexpensive Android device.
Instagram, once a social network dedicated purely to posting pictures of food, has become prone to feature creep (not unlike Facebook's other properties). Back in August Instagram added Snapchat-like stories, and earlier this month Boomerang support. Today the company announced two new features for the app - Live video on Instagram stories, and disappearing photos/videos in direct messages.
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- Motorola has made the update official on its company blog, announcing that Android 7.0 Nougat will be rolling out this week to the Moto Z and Moto Z Force (not just the Droid editions). Motorola seemed to forget about the ZTE Axon 7 when it called the Z and Z Force, "the first smartphones from another manufacturer to be recognized by Google as Daydream-ready devices." Oops.
Despite being released on August 22, hardly any devices outside of Google's Nexus and Pixel lineups officially run Android Nougat. In fact, only about 0.3% of all Android devices with the Play Store actually have it. Many Verizon customers have reported that their Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Droid Force phones have received OTAs to Nougat.
Just this month alone, a revamped UI, a new trending section, Netbanking support for India, changes to search results, and minor tweaks to app installations have all shown up for some users. This latest change was first spotted in June, but appears to be rolling out to even more users.
When you enable two-factor authentication on your Google account, you have three options for logging in with a phone. The first is with a code generated from any 2FA application, such as Google Authenticator or Authy. Secondly, you can have Google send you an SMS message. Lastly, Google can prompt you on your phone to approve a sign-in attempt (as long as your phone has Google Play Services).
Google's YouTube Kids application launched just under two years ago, as an attempt to make YouTube a bit more children-friendly. The app has been somewhat successful, with a few bumps along the way. Now Google is introducing a feature that frankly should have been there from day one - the ability to block channels and videos.
TWRP has long been the leading custom recovery for Android smartphones. You can flash ROMs, manage local files, install custom themes, and backup/restore your whole device. TWRP is also great because it's easily ported to other devices, and as evidence of that, the project has begun supporting three new phones.
One of the more unique features of Snapchat is the ability to generate QR codes for your account. When you have the Snapchat application open, you can simply hold your camera over another user's code (or select the code from your local images), and instantly add them as a friend. Now Twitter has added the same functionality to its mobile apps, albeit not as easily accessible.
Google has published numerous experiments with its cloud AI technologies, but 'Quick, Draw' is perhaps the most fun one yet. Using the same technology that interprets written symbols in Google Translate, the game attempts to guess what you are drawing. When you start, you are prompted to draw a specific thing, and the game continues making guesses until it wins or time runs out.
To say Allo had an underwhelming release would be an understatement. The Allo 2.0 update helped matters slightly, and today Google announced three new features - chat themes, Smart Smiley, and stickers from the upcoming "Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them" film.
Barnes & Noble has had limited success with their tablet lineup over the years. Although the company's e-ink readers have always been very good, its LCD tablets have had less luck. In 2014, B&N completely gave up making its own tablets (besides the e-readers), instead choosing to sell various Galaxy Tab models with Nook software pre-installed. Now the company has a surprise for Black Friday shoppers - a $49.99 Nook tablet.The specifications are pretty much what you would expect from a $50 tablet. You get a 1024x600 IPS display, 8GB of expandable storage, dual-band WiFi, a microUSB port, and a headphone jack. The front camera is 2MP, and the back is 5MP with auto-focus. Unfortunately, the tablet comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. The tablet does have the Google Play Store, as well as the Nook reading app and other minor Nook additions.The Nook Tablet 7" seems like a direct competitor to the Amazon Fire Tablet, also priced at $49.99. The tablet will go on sale Black Friday, November 25, and you can pre-order it from the Barnes & Noble website.
Firefox is one of many third-party web browsers available on Android, and today the desktop and mobile browsers have been bumped to version 50.0. The changelog for the Android version is much smaller than for the desktop, but there are some notable improvements.
Texting while driving can be extremely dangerous, but replying to messages with your voice is probably the safest way to do it. I've used Google Now (well, it's not called Now anymore) on my Nexus 5X countless times to send SMS and Hangouts messages while driving. Facebook today announced that the Facebook Messenger application for Android has added support for Android Auto.
Google Wifi, the company's latest wireless router, was one of many devices announced at the company's October 4th event. It has much in common with Google's previous attempt at routers, OnHub - painless setup, prioritizing specific devices, a mobile app to manage your network, etc.The main selling point of Google Wifi is mesh networking - you can buy multiple Wifi stations for better network reception for a large area. It uses the IEEE 802.11s mesh standard to broadcast the network from all stations, and the additional stations do not need to be connected to each other with wires. If you already have an OnHub, you will be happy to know that OnHub routers are intercompatible with Google Wifi.At long last, pre-orders for the Google Wifi have finally gone live. You can order one right now from the Google Store, B&H, Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. One unit is $129.99, but you can buy a three-pack for extended coverage for $299. Let us know in the comments if you're picking one up.Google Wifi - Single unit ($129.99)
Twitter took to its company blog today to talk about abuse. It's no secret that Twitter has done a less-than-stellar job at preventing abuse on its social network for a while now. In fact, continued harassment on the platform was likely a primary reason companies like Disney neglected to purchase Twitter. Now the company has announced three changes it hopes will more effectively reduce harassment.
You probably know as well as I do that the internet is littered with low-resolution images, either a limitation of a device's camera or purposely-downgraded for faster loading on slow connections. Unfortunately, enlarging an image many times over while still preserving detail is something only possible in episodes of CSI. But thanks to the magic of machine learning, Google has been developing a solution - RAISR, short for Rapid and Accurate Image Super-Resolution.
Do you love to #engage with your favorite #brands on social media? Android already has a Google Plus page and a Twitter account, but now there is an official Instagram account as well. With the username @android (as you might expect), the only upload so far is the above six-image collage.
Samsung's SmartThings is one of the most popular smart home product lines. The company has developed outlets, light bulbs, sensors, and more all designed to work seamlessly together. Tying everything together is the SmartThings Hub, which acts as the bridge between your smart devices and your home's internet connection. Now you can get the second-generation SmartThings Hub (the latest model) for $50 on Amazon, half off the original $100 price tag.The SmartThings Hub not only works with Samsung-developed smart home products; it is also compatible with dozens of other devices. Phillips Hue, Leviton switches and outlets, Arlo cameras, Honeywell/Ecobee thermostats, and more can all be controlled from the SmartThings Hub (and thus, the SmartThings app). If you happen to have a Google Home or Amazon Echo, you can control SmartThings with voice commands.In addition to the single Hub, the Home Monitoring Kit is down to 0 on Amazon ($100 off). The kit includes the Hub, two multipurpose sensors, a motion sensor, and a smart outlet. There's also a Hub and Leviton dimmer bundle for $99 (normally $120) and a Hub and outlet bundle for $105 (normally $110).Source: Amazon
Back in August, RunGunJumpGun arrived on Steam for Windows and Mac. The game is an incredibly difficult platformer with a "gravity-defying weapon," which you use to both shoot and fly. You have to fire the weapon downwards to propel upwards, while occasionally firing the weapon forward to blast through walls and other obstructions.
Security cameras can get fairly expensive, and 'smart' cameras that connect to online services and mobile apps even more so. Arlo is Netgear's brand of smart security cameras, and right now you can get a bundle of four Arlo cameras and the base station for $350.That may still seem expensive, even at $150 off the original asking price of $500. But the price-per-camera comes down to about $87.50, whereas a single camera kit (with the base station) normally costs $179.99. That's a pretty substantial value, if you're willing to spring for the larger bundle.As you might imagine from us posting the deal here, you can monitor and control the cameras from the official Android application linked below. If you are interested, head on over to Amazon to buy it.[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netgear.android[/EMBED_APP]