We have some excellent news for Nexus 5 owners out there, though it comes without official proof. According to reports, Google has employed a new policy that will allow owners of the Nexus 5 to get one chance to replace a damaged phone. This means that if you happen to drop your device and shatter the display, you can get a free replacement straight from Google just one time.

This is similar to policies that both HTC and Motorola have enacted, both of which allow for a one time replacement due to damage. They each have their own limitations though, so know them before getting too careless with your device. But it looks like Google may be lenient about it and allow any sort of damage that may have occurred.

If you have a damaged Nexus 5, give the customer service line a shot and see if you can get it replaced. If so, it’ll save a lot of people a lot of money. Plus, such a policy is rare and very much appreciated (if not a little ripe for abuse). Let us know what you think of Google’s awesomeness!

Via: +Joshua D., Droid-Life

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With recent HTC device purchases, you were given some free Google Drive storage for two years as a promotion. For the HTC One (M8) and the One Max, it was 50GB of online storage space. But it looks like HTC decided to be generous for absolutely no reason and bump that storage up to 100GB, with the same offer extending to the new HTC One Remix.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, open the Google Drive app, hit Redeem, and follow the on screen prompts. Then you’ll get an extra 50GB of online storage, which is nothing to scoff at. Sadly, if you have unlocked your bootloader, you cannot redeem this offer.

We’re not sure why HTC decided to bump the existing offer to double the storage, but we can’t complain. If you own a mentioned HTC device, go redeem the extra storage and enjoy!

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ISIS has been a solid alternative to Google Wallet for those who want a mobile payment system. Tap your NFC enabled device to a supported sensor inside a store, and your bank card is charged. No need to carry around your wallet or fumble with cards (not that it’s very difficult).

But with growing problems elsewhere in the world, the name ISIS was more and more associated with a terrorist group, and ISIS mobile payments clearly wanted to get away from that image. Despite the group no longer calling itself ISIS, the mobile payment system will be renamed to Softcard.

It’ll take a few weeks for this change to roll out to everyone, so your app won’t be updated immediately. And with this name change, nothing else will be different. So keep an eye out for the app update and let us know in the comments how often you use mobile payments.

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We promise we’ll stop pumping out individual articles for every Gear VR game announced eventually, but for now, we’re just too dang excited. Announced via Twitter, the developers of the mesmerizing, beautiful Monument Valley, Ustwo Games, is working on a game for the Samsung Gear VR called Land’s End.

We don’t know anything about Land’s End yet, just that it’s, “a surreal trip through an archipelago of forgotten worlds.” Judging by the teaser image for the game, it will look a lot like Monument Valley. So if you’ve ever played Monument Valley and wondered what it would be like to explore the colorful landscape of the game, Land’s End may be your chance.

We were excited about the Gear VR before, but seeing this kind of developer support just hours after its announced has us dying to get our hands on one. We’ll be sure to keep a close eye on Ustwo and Land’s End’s development.

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The Sony QX10 and QX100 mountable camera systems for smartphones were met with less than stellar reviews. In theory, being able to attach a high-end Sony camera system to the back of your phone for taking pictures on the go is a great idea. But it didn’t quite work out as planned. Sony isn’t ready to give up just yet, however, as the company has announced two new camera systems today.

Improving on last years all-on-one system, the QX30 is a zoom lens system that again straps to the back of and connects to your smartphone. The QX30 features a 30x optical zoom, 21-megapixel sensor and uses F-stop values between 3.5 and 6.3. We’ll have to wait and see how image quality turns out, but we’re honestly not expecting a whole lot. The QX30 will be available October 5 for $350.

The QX1 is the slightly more interesting of the two camera accessories to be announced today. For $400, set to be released October 15, the QX1 is a lens mount with a 21-megapixel sensor and flash. Instead of using a built-in lens, you can use any Sony E lens, or with an adapter, any Sony A lens. It connects to your smartphone in the same way the QX30 does, again, it just uses Sony’s higher-end lenses. $400 seems like a good deal, but at that price, you don’t get any lenses. If you already have some Sony lenses or a cheap way to score some, the QX10 might be a serious replacement for more serious cameras available from the company.

The QX1 and QX30 are already available for preorder on Amazon and on Sony’s website.

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