Android News

While most smartphone companies are taking it easy over the holiday season and are avoiding talking about new products that are just around the corner while hoping to sell their existing inventories, if there's one thing Essential Products proved to date, it's that it isn't bothered by industry conventions. Just as Christmas festivities were coming to a close, the company announced that its first Android handset — the Essential PH-1 — sold out and won't be manufactured any longer, adding that it's already working on its successor. Its decision to kill its original product family is far from surprising; the PH-1 has been on the market for nearly a year and a half, enjoying a lifespan that's usually only reserved for ultra-premium and highly successful models from major manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei. Yet it's not like the device has been in production for so long because of its popularity; on the contrary, it arguably overstayed its welcome by some...

Amazon has the PowerBlock Personal Trainer Set on sale for $199.99, which is $75 off the average price. It has excellent reviews and this price is the best in history. If you're part of the huge amount of people that set fitness goals for your New Year's Resolutions, this set is perfect for you. You'll get a pair of adjustable dumbbell weights that can adjust from 5 to 50 pounds in 2.5-pound increments. The selector pin lets you change weights easily, and these are more compact and balanced than traditional dumbbells. The padded handle protects your wrists, too. Your purchase includes a ten-year limited warranty. To keep your workout space protected, consider picking up some ProSource Puzzle Exercise Mats while they're discounted. See at Amazon This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details. #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

It's December 31, another year is behind us, and the smartphone industry has surely been through a lot over the last twelve months, even though 2018 actually wasn't that impressive in terms of mobile innovations. So, after sensibly gifting the world's top Android smartphone makers, it's time to take a look at the class of 2018 as a whole, see how their graduations went, and attempt to predict how they'll do in the big leagues moving forward, assuming no grand catastrophe takes place, which certainly isn't a given with some of these brands. ASUS - "still water runs deep" It's easy to forget ASUS is an Android smartphone maker seeing how its mobile division doesn't put out countless devices on an annual basis but this year saw the Taiwanese tech juggernaut deliver arguably the best gaming handset ever in the form of the ROG Phone . While the device hardly made significant waves in terms of sales seeing how it has yet to be released in most ...

The PlayStation Classic is Sony's buy-in for the nostalgia-filled retro console sector. While it has some issues, it's a lot of fun to use and recent hacking and modding by the online community has made it even better. Having these accessories will maximize your enjoyment. The Anker wall charger is especially helpful so you can actually play the Classic! There aren't a massive amount of accessories yet but we will update as they arrive. Wireless goodness 8Bitdo wireless adapter 8Bitdo have a proven track record of making excellent hardware for retro systems. This adapter will allow you to use any Bluetooth controller, including your PS4 controller, with your PlayStation Classic. $20 at Amazon Mobile gaming Anker PowerCore 10000 Because the PlayStation Classic runs on just five watts and one amp, you can actually power it using a battery pack. This means you could play it out on the road or design your own mobile version! This pack will also charge...

While we've already seen several literally wearable smart devices, Samsung hasn't released something that is meant for ordinary consumers. But a new patent has emerged that may seem like the OEM is planning to create smart running shoes, either on their own or more likely with a shoe brand. Based on similar or close-to-similar products as well as the patent details themselves, we can expect shoes with smart sensors plus a smartphone app to support the device. The patent is for running shoes although the smart part of it is not really detailed. What it shows is that there are sensors inside that can be activated either by pulling the tab on the back or through a button that is hidden in a panel on the back of the shoes as well. Without looking at the back, it looks like just any other running shoes. Well, at least from the pictures in the patent. As to what makes it smart, aside from tracking your steps, that is still questionable. You can use pedometers, smartwa...

At least one of the four expected ASUS Chrome OS devices expected to arrive at CES 2019 in early January could be based on Intel's Gemini Lake series chips and a direct followup to the company's Skylake-powered Chromebook C302. That's according to recent  speculation  raised by circumstances surrounding a relatively vague leak from back in November that hinted at three new ASUS Chromebooks -- models C204, C403, and C434TA -- and a ten-inch tablet. The latest expectation is fueled by the timing of the event and ASUS history of launching new Chrome OS devices at CES, in addition to commits spotted back in February in the Chromium Gerrit . Namely, several developers on a Gemini Lake-powered Chromebook are noted to have been using ASUS official emails while working on the Octopus reference board-based project called 'Ampton'. ASUS also hasn't launched a followup to its popular mid-range Chromebook C302 in nearly two years. If speculation bears out, the new dev...

Earlier in the year, Epic took the fight to Steam by launching its own PC storefront. Epic's plan is to undercut Steam by offering developers and publishers a larger percentage of their sales – while Valve starts off by taking 30% of each sale made on Steam (a cut that shrinks as games sell more copies), Epic only takes 12% … Continue reading #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

A brand new website has popped up that wants to grade manufacturers on how well they handle their Android updates , which would theoretically give some praise to companies that do a good job and shame those that don't . It's a barebones website with some questionable methodology, but hey, it's something. AOSMark gets its numbers based on how many phones a manufacturer has released and how many updates they've pushed out to those devices, typically ranging from 0 to 6 even though no company has scored a 6. Google , for example, has a score of 3.5 from 6 devices , all of which are on Android Pie currently. Samsung, on the other hand, has released (wait for it)  1153 smartphones  and has an AOSMark score of 1.28 with just two phones running Android Pie. No company besides Google has more than 3 points, and only OnePlus has more than 2 with a score of 2.75. Nokia and Sony pull up behind OnePlus with a score of 1.82 and 1.63, respectively. I don't know how you...

Fortnite creator Epic Games certainly hit a grand slam with the game. To date, Fortnite has brought in over $1 billion in revenue for the company while getting 200 million consumers to register. The Wall Street Journal said on Saturday that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has decided to do something about his contention that Apple and Google both take too big a cut from their mobile app stores. Sweeney has long been opposed to the 30% that the two tech giants keep from revenue generated by an app or game. That is why you won't find Fortnite in the Google Play Store. And now the ... #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

9to5Toys now has a new app! Download it to stay up to date on the best gear and deals on the web. Plus don't forget to check us out on Apple News and  sign up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter . Also, be sure to check us out on:  Twitter ,  RSS Feed ,  Facebook ,  Google+  and  Safari push notifications . Listen to the new 9to5Toys Daily Podcast: https://9to5toys.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/12/9to5Toys-Daily-12-31-2018.mp3 9to5Toys Lunch Break delivers the best deals every day of the week at 12:30PM EST. This includes price drops on all sorts of Apple products from iPad to MacBook and everything in between, as well as HomeKit gear, acce Get the latest Apple Watch Series 4 from $365.50 shipped at Amazon ssories of all kinds and so much more. You'll also find our daily coverage of the coolest new gear and gadgets from across the internet along with our New Toy of the Day, product reviews, giveaways and app sales. Head below for today's top...

If you're getting started with you smart home and want to add some more Philips Hue bulbs to your setup, today's deals are for you. You can pick up a pair of Philips Hue White Ambiance bulbs in A19 or BR30 sizes for just $37.99. That's thanks to a price drop to $39.99 from a regular price of $50, and an on-page coupon taking a further 5% off the price at checkout. White Ambiance bulbs from Hue allow you to not only control the brightness of your lighting, but also choose from a range of white shades from cool to warm to set the perfect mood. You can control your lights via the Hue app or hook them into your smart home with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit compatibility. To do so, you'll need to link them to a Hue hub if you don't already have one set up. Other Philips Hue items on sale today include the Philips Hue Bloom . It's a dimmable table lamp that adds indirect ambient lighting to any room and can even be used in sync with y...

Microsoft may be working on a much more powerful wearable for its mixed-reality (MR) lineup based on newly approved patent documentation reviewed by  Android Headlines . The WIPO-issued filing doesn't betray any details about what any such gadget might bring to the table but summarizes a cooling system for wearables. Excessive heat would be captured by the described invention via a component embedded within a wearable's housing and quickly moved away and dissipated via a 'noncontiguous' portion of the device that isn't necessarily part of the main housing itself. The energy would be also removed in a controlled manner while en route to its final dissipation along surface edges that a user wouldn't typically physically interact with. HoloLens or something else? At first glance, the patent would appear to apply to a new, more powerful version of Microsoft's HoloLens device since the current iteration isn't powerful enough to really require an in-depth ...

AT&T's Nighthawk 5G hotspot has seen limited availability this month in very select areas across the country, but now we're starting to get an idea for the company's 5G speeds, thanks to users on reddit who have the device positioned in their homes. From what we're seeing, AT&T's 5G, shown as 5G+ on the Nighthawk, is producing speeds nearly identical to 4G LTE. One owner on reddit , located in Indianapolis, posted the following results. 5G vs. 4G LTE   According to the Nighthawk owner who ran these speed tests, the 5G site is located directly across the street from their location, on top of a 3-story building. Being so close, you'd expect to see much better numbers, but sadly, we're continually reminded that AT&T's 5G is little more than marketing mumbo jumbo for the time being. We feel bad for continually having to be the bearer of bad news when it comes to 5G, but if anyone was expecting 1Gbps down speeds from their Nighth...