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Showing posts from July, 2018

Analysts Cautiously Optimistic About T-Mo/Sprint Merger Chances

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T-Mobile and Sprint will be providing investors with an update on their efforts to merge on Wednesday morning, before trading begins, with Wells Fargo analysts being cautiously optimistic about their chances of eventually having the consolidation approved. Due to a general lack of major, highly concentrated opposition, the company's industry watchers gave the tie-up a 60-percent chance of going through, marking the first occasion on which a major financial institution in the country made a non-neutral prediction on the outcome of the proposed deal valued at some $26.5 billion. Sprint and T-Mobile will provide their shareholders with an update on the situation as part of their consolidated financial reports for the second quarter of the year, with both being scheduled to publish them tomorrow. The merger is also likely to be one of the main topics of their subsequent earnings calls, with investors and analysts being expected to push the two wireless carriers on their expectations...

Google Clock app integrates with Spotify for musical alarms, but where’s YouTube Music?

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Google has updated its Clock application on the Play Store, which is honestly a pretty boring app that gets pretty boring updates. Normally, anyway. This time, though, the Clock app is getting Spotify integration. Weird? We'll explain. Set your alarms with Spotify Songs Some people like to wake up to music by setting particular songs […] Come comment on this article: Google Clock app integrates with Spotify for musical alarms, but where's YouTube Music? Visit TalkAndroid #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Google lays out standards for notches on Android smartphones

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Last year Apple introduced the smartphone market to a new concept in screen design – the "notch" used to house sensors and lenses on the front of a device while having the display wrap around that area to get all the way to the edge. Since then, several Android smartphone manufacturers have jumped on board […] Come comment on this article: Google lays out standards for notches on Android smartphones Visit TalkAndroid #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Our August Talks at Google roundup: the ultimate spectator sport

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Editor's Note:  Talks at Google  is our regular series that brings interesting speakers and brilliant minds from all industries and backgrounds to Google campuses. Each month, we select a few favorite talks from that month, or about a particular topic. While the world spent the past couple of months watching the World Cup, we dug through our Talks at Google archive to find inspiration from athletes who have stopped by Google. Check out a few of our favorites: one athlete rides waves, another crushes miles, two play on a field, and the other does his toughest work off the court. And they all have stories to share. Bethany Hamilton Born and raised in Kauai, Bethany Hamilton lost her arm to a shark attack at age 13, but she didn't let that stop her from riding the waves she's surfed her whole life. After waiting a month to get the go-ahead to get in the water, she learned how to surf with one arm and she didn't stop there. She founded a nonprofit,  Frie...

Verizon Updates Samsung Galaxy Note 5 & Galaxy S6 Edge Plus

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A new update is rolling out for the Verizon model of Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, according to listings published to the carrier's website. That may be moderately surprising, given the age of the two devices, but these are not big firmware changes. Instead, the updates bring each device up to date with the July 2018 Android Security Patch. For the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, the new software version is bumped to NRD90M.N920VVRS3CRG1. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, on the other hand, will see its software version moved to NRD90M.G928VVRS3CRG1. With that said, that's still good news for users who are still holding out before upgrading to a new iteration of the popular flagship handsets. There aren't many details to be pulled from the update announcements themselves and don't appear to be any functional changes at all. Verizon simply states that each will deliver further device optimization for performance and alleviate known issues with the underly...

Galaxy Note 9 release level dummy in-hand size analysis

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was close enough to its release date that in-hand dummy models began to arrive this week. A video from MrWhoseTheBoss showed a screen protector, a case, and a phone this week, all apparently prepared for the final release event. You won't be able to buy this model on pre-order or anything – it's basically a … Continue reading #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Google Search results can now display tables from data journalism articles

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With the Google News Initiative  announced earlier this year, the company is working to support journalism with features throughout News , YouTube , and of course Search. A new feature today for the latter product will display data tables right at the top of result pages. Nintendo Switch After working with 30 of the top data journalists in the world, Google will begin displaying data tables right in Search results. This requires some work on the part of publishers as detecting, understanding, and displaying tables as relevant results isn't an easy task for Google. Sites will need to add additional structured data to datasets to help Google identify the table for Search. In one example from ProPublica , Google Search will directly display a specific line of a table with monetary figures as the first entry. Previously, only a text description starting at the top of the page was available, while users can now get the results immediately, with a link t...

Sprint begins sending out Android 8.0 Oreo update to the LG V20

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If you are a Sprint subscriber still totin' the LG V20, we have some news that you are going to want to hear about. Starting today, the wireless provider is pushing out an OTA update to the phone that contains Android 8.0 Oreo. The update is version LS99720a and includes build OPR1.170623.032. Besides Android 8.0, the Sprint LG V20 is also receiving the latest Android security patch dated July 1st, 2018. Android 8.0 includes the picture-in-picture feature, which allows users to stream video while still interacting with an app in the background. Notification dots appear ... #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Fairness matters: Promoting pride and respect with AI

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We think everyone should be able to express themselves online, so we want to make conversations more inclusive. That's why we created tools like Perspective , an API that uses machine learning to detect abuse and harassment online. Perspective scores comments based on their similarity to other comments that others have marked as toxic. However, sometimes the labels we use to describe ourselves and our loved ones can be used in a negative way to harass people online. And because machine learning models like the one used for Perspective are sensitive to the data sets on which they are trained, that means they might make the mistake of identifying sentences that use words like "gay," "lesbian" or "transgender" in positive ways as negative. (Within the ML community, we talk about this as insufficient diversity in the training data .) That's why we created Project Respect . We're creating an open dataset that collects diverse statements from...

Apple's AirPods, rechargeable lighters, Amazon Key bundles and more are all discounted today

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Whether you're looking for new tech gear or household items, we've got you covered. We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on Apple's hard-to-find AirPods, Amazon Key bundles, rechargeable lighters, and more! Most of these prices will be gone when the day ends, so don't miss your chance to save big! View the rest of the deals If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you'll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter , and sign up for the newsletter , because missing out on a great deal stinks! #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Waymo’s self-driving taxis will reportedly cost as much as Uber or Lyft

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Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, has been mum about the fare prices of its soon-to-be-launched commercial ride-hailing service in Phoenix, Arizona. But according to Bloomberg , riders can expect prices to be about the same as the cost of taking an Uber. In interviewing members of Waymo's "Early Rider" program, reporters from Bloomberg got to see a mock-up of the company's still-underwraps ride-hailing app, complete with probable fare prices. And, unsurprisingly, the fares appear to be aligned with preexisting services like Uber and Lyft. According to Bloomberg : All rides are free for volunteers, but the Waymo app recently started to show hypothetical prices. A view of the app by Bloomberg News offers the first indication of Waymo's early experiments with pricing. A ride to Kyla's nearby school shows up as $5, for example, while a longer 11.3-mile trip lists a cost of $19.15. That's similar to the cost of a ride from Ub...

Honor Note 10 goes official w/ a 7-inch screen in a smartphone-sized body

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Smartphones that come out of Huawei's sub-brand Honor come in all shapes and sizes , and today the company is debuting its latest big-screen device. The Honor Note 10 has gone official, delivering a screen the size of a tablet. The best gifts for Android users Looking back a few years, 7-inch screens were very common in smaller Android tablets such as Google's own Nexus 7 . One of the biggest things that has contributed to the death of the tablet market, though, has been larger and larger screens on smartphones. With the Honor Note 10, its safe to say smartphones have bridged the gap completely. This isn't the first smartphone with a 7-inch display, but thanks to its very slim bezels all around, it's one of the first that is actually still usable as a smartphone. The dimensions here land at 177mm x 85mm. By comparison, Google's Pixel 2 XL is 157.9mm x 76.7mm. Clearly, the Note is considerably bigger, but really not by much. As fo...

LG Stylo 4 Joins Amazon’s Prime Exclusive Smartphone Lineup

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Amazon has added another smartphone to its Prime Exclusive lineup of smartphones. This time around it's the LG Stylo 4, which is the successor to one of the most popular mid-range smartphones last year, the Stylo 3. LG announced the Stylo 4 a few weeks ago, and it's already available on some prepaid carriers such as Cricket, MetroPCS and Boost Mobile. Amazon will be selling the Stylo 4 for $249, which is $50 lower then the regular price of the smartphone. The LG Stylo 4 features a 6.2-inch Full HD+ resolution display, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 under-the-hood, along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. There is also a micro SD card slot available for expanding storage here, should you need some extra space. The Stylo 4 runs on Android 8.1 Oreo – the latest version of Android currently available, and will also have Alexa pre-installed. LG has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera on the Stylo 4. Finally, there is a 3300mAh capacity b...

Best Chromebox in 2018

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Why trust us? We don't just write about Chromebooks and Chromeboxes; we use them every day. Whether you want to watch a video, play a game, or get some work done, these are the best Chromeboxes you can buy. The ASUS Chromebox 3 is the best Chromebox you can buy. Available in several configurations from the modestly priced Intel Celeron version to a powerful — and ready for Linux applications — Intel Core processor and all models feature a true M.2 SATA SSD for years of worry-free storage and upgradability should you need it. Our Pick ASUS Chromebox 3 Amazon — $429 $429 from Amazon A powerful and secure desktop computer This is ASUS' newest Chromebox. It's pricey, — our pick is the Intel Core i3 version at $429 — but it's also a very powerful computer that can handle every task you need it to today as well as any future tasks as Google rolls out Linux program support to Chrome OS devices. This Chromebox simply can do everything. It's loa...

Download Sony Xperia XZ2 Ringtones for Any Android Phone

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Right ahead users can download complete Sony Xperia XZ2 ringtones for their smartphones. The Japanese giants, Sony, haven't really being doing great in terms of sales but the brand is still pushing on. The latest flagship series from the company, Xperia XZ2, carries exceptional camera quality, premium materials and amazing audio. Also, introduced with Xperia […] The post Download Sony Xperia XZ2 Ringtones for Any Android Phone appeared first on Team Android . #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Vivo NEX A battery test: huge display guzzles energy

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The Vivo NEX A is a massive smartphone that the manufacturer has equipped with a powerful 4,000 mAh battery. But will a battery of this capacity make the Vivo NEX A an endurance athlete, or does the huge 6.58-inch display drain all the power? Our battery test answers this question. I would like to protect myself from ransomware for free. Do you agree? A large smartphone battery won't help much if the integrated hardware and software aren't adapted well. In the case of the Vivo NEX A, the hardware used actually indicates that the smartphone with the battery capacity of 4,000 mAh is designed to survive more than one working day. Disappointing benchmarks As always, when we test smartphones, the devices are given numerous benchmark results. These tests allow us to objectively compare how smartphones perform under the same conditions. You could almost say the data from benchmarks are analogous to performance tests on cars. ...

Oppo and Xiaomi join foldable smartphone race

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The flexible smartphone race has started. After Samsung revealed its plans to deliver the first ever foldable smartphone with flexible display, Huawei committed to beating it to the punch . Now a new report claims that two more major Chinese manufacturers are joining. Xiaomi and Oppo are reportedly looking for display manufacturers to supply their foldable handsets. The options, for now, are rather limited - BOE, Visionox and LG Display. But instead of following, Xiaomi is planning on leading in the segment by being the first manufacturer to bring a working flexible device by kicking off mass production immediately after the announcement. In contrast to Samsung and Huawei's strategy, Xiaomi is going to focus on China at first and will be looking to undercut its competitor's pricing. It's important to note that the report mentions more than one foldable Galaxy phone and price is expected to range between $1,788 and $2,652 while its Chinese rivals will bring the...

Google Play Games still doesn't work with Family Link

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Google Family Link, a way for parents to create supervised/limited accounts for their children, has been slowly rolling out to more regions over the past year. It's largely feature-complete at this point, but there's still one pressing issue - it doesn't work with Google Play Games at all . Child accounts are unable to log into Play Games, which prevents many titles from saving progress - and some from working at all. We mentioned in our initial Family Link hands-on from over a year ago that Play Games was incompatible, and it appears this has not changed. One thread on the Google Play support forum is filled with complaints from parents: "Family Link completely disallows the use of Google play games for the monitored account. This is pretty nuts since Google has pushed hard for developers to integrate play games into their software. Some games, like Clash Royale, will only allow you to backup (or transfer) your account with a google play games acco...

How to Get Refund from Google Play Store Purchases

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Users looking to get refund from Google Play Store can use this detailed guide. Sometimes, purchasing apps or other media from Google Play Store is not always a good experience. Either the app isn't what it claimed to be or the purpose you bought it for no longer exists. In any case, if you want […] The post How to Get Refund from Google Play Store Purchases appeared first on Team Android . #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews