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Google will expand support for Phone app to even more phones on the Play Store, Verified Calls feature rolling out
Another step in the fight against spam calls
Despite attempts by legislators and carriers, spam calls are still a problem for most people owning phones. Some don't pick up their phones at all unless it matches someone in their contacts, which can be a problem for legitimate businesses attempting to quickly reach customers. Google's solution to the problem is Verified Calls, which is now rolling out to the Google Phone app. At the same time, the company is allowing some devices to download the Phone app from the Play Store that didn't originally come with it.
Android Q has plenty of major changes, but also many smaller tweaks that take a while to get noticed. Despite smartphones being used less and less for actual phone calls, we've received many tips that Android Q has a new sound effect for ending calls.
Put lightly, Google's latest pair of flagship phones have had some issues since their launch, and based on reports we've seen, we have yet another problem to add to our growing list. Many Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL owners are reporting a wide variety of issues related to phone calls, behaviors which cover a range of things from more "basic" call sound quality problems like choppy or inconsistent audio and tinniness to long call connection times and intermittent microphone failure.
Last month, it started to look like Duo would add its own calls to your phone's call history. While the app asked users for permission to manage the call history, it didn't actually work yet. As part of the Duo 14 app update, this feature is now operational.
Netflix is a pretty straightforward service, but sometimes things go wrong. Whether it's trouble with accounts, billing, or stuff failing to stream despite a strong Internet connection, occasionally folks need to ask for help.
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A few weeks ago, WhatsApp's Call feature made a small appearance for a few users, but at the time almost no one was able to trigger it reliably and keep it activated. The company appears to have flipped a few switches in its servers and the function is confirmed to work for those running version 2.11.528 from the Play Store, or 2.11.531 from WhatsApp's website (also uploaded to APKMirror).
Reddit user Ponkers posted an interesting find to /r/Android today, pointing out a significant privacy hole in Skype that essentially allows users to force an Android device to answer a call, making eavesdropping nearly effortless.
Right now, in the slide-out "hamburger" menu of most Google apps, there's a Help button, with a tiny circled question mark icon. If a user needs help with the app (or anything else), this button will pull up a web page. Once on the web page, users can browse through categories for help articles and potential solutions or, if all else fails, request a support call from Google.
According to a post by David van Tonder earlier this evening, CyanogenMod's 4.3-based 10.2 iteration will be able to boast a "Global Blacklist" among its features.
VoIP App 'Viber' Gets A Major Holo-clad Makeover, Releases Desktop Application
It's a pretty big day for Viber, the popular VoIP application that brings "free messages and calls" to your mobile. Seems that the guys behind the app
It's a pretty big day for Viber, the popular VoIP application that brings "free messages and calls" to your mobile. Seems that the guys behind the app (appropriately named Viber Media) have been hard at work preparing not only major updates to the Android and iOS applications, but also on an all-new desktop client for Windows and Mac.
You've gotta hand it to the folks in Mountain View. When NORAD decides to pass Google over for Santa tracking data, the company isn't one to sit on its hands and let someone else handle Christmas. This isn't the first year that the data giant has kept you up to date on the comings and goings of everyone's favorite fat bearded man in a red suit, but this Santa tracker may just be the best yet.
ÜberConference, simply put, is a service that makes conference calls better. It adds not only a visual element to the call, but an extra dimension of functionality, allowing users to record, mute, have private conversations with, and even research call participants, all while keeping track of various in-call statistics. After taking a look at the service, it isn't hard to see why it won TechCrunch Disrupt NYC in 2012.
Heroes Call THD Lands In Play Store, Lets You Loot Dungeons And Fight Monsters For Free
You may remember the name Heroes Call from E3, when NVIDIA touted it as one of the major upcoming games that would sport customizations to take full advantage
You may remember the name Heroes Call from E3, when NVIDIA touted it as one of the major upcoming games that would sport customizations to take full advantage of their Tegra chip. The Tegra HD (THD) version of the game was released last night at the low, low price of free. Thankfully, this might just be one of those rare cases in which "free" gets you quite a lot.
As our address books become more advanced and we become more and more inundated with information, it can become difficult to keep up with all the people we need to interact with on a regular basis. NextCall augments your address book by letting you rank important contacts, set alerts for when you need to call them, and sort your contacts into business and personal categories.
Sprint customers now have one more self-service option when managing their account online. A couple of days earlier than its official launch, the carrier has begun allowing users to change their phone number online, thereby avoiding the $15 fee charged when switching numbers via phone or in-store.
Going above and beyond their promise to save "time and annoyance" when screening, placing, or receiving calls, CallApp recently released their namesake app (a TechCrunch Disrupt 2012 finalist) to Google's Play Store.
Calling a support line sucks. You're already in a bad situation, or why would you be calling in the first place? As Google demonstrated with its support of the Nexus One, though, the only thing worse than calling a support line is not having one at all. Thankfully, Google now has a phone-based support system that lets users talk to a real person 24/7 about problems with the Play Store. Like most things Google, it's actually a pretty interesting take on the old tech.
People who constantly wear Bluetooth headsets annoy me. I'll admit it. Yep, it's probably pretentious, judgmental, and just kind of mean, but nonetheless, that's where I stand (see: this highly relevant video). I figure it's only fair warning for you, our readers, going into this review. So, when Samsung offered me a chance to spend some time with their latest high-end Bluetooth headset, the HM7000 (the product naming department was on vacation), I accepted with a good deal of hesitancy.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a new wireless brand Republic Wireless, a division of Bandwidth.com, announced earlier this month that it would revolutionize and shake up the mobile industry by introducing a Hybrid Calling plan that costs only $19 a month. This plan has indeed gone live today over at RepublicWireless.com, together with the first and only mobile device the company is offering (for now) - the LG Optimus.
Skysoft... errr, I mean Skype updated its previously measly Android device support from 5 devices to more than 20 today with the introduction of version 2.1 of its Android app. There are no new features outside of expanded device support, which was badly needed in order for the app to climb out of the sea of 1-star reviews (although stability and quality improvements would have made today's release even sweeter).