Google’s latest Android ad is called “Monotone,” and it’s a comparison of a musical piece played on a regular piano and a piano modified so that every key plays middle C. It’s an interesting ad, showing that it’s better to be “together and different” rather than all the same.

It’s likely taking shots at iPhone users, who all use the same phones. Android, on the other hand, has a huge variety of different phones from different manufacturers that run the same software and are all compatible with each other (for the most part). It’s a clever ad. What do you think of this video? Leave a comment!

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1XwgFYz
via IFTTT

Samsung has been pushing its payment service pretty hard. Samsung Pay has had multiple promotions so far, with free chargers and even money being offered to those who sign up for the service. Now Samsung has another promotion going on, and you can get a pair of free Samsung Level U wireless headphones for adding your first card to Pay.

To take advantage of the promotion, open up Samsung Pay and add your card to the app. Then hit the button in the upper right corner and hit Events, where you’ll see more info on how to get your promo code for the free headphones.

The headphones retail for $70 on Samsung’s site, though they’re $35 on Amazon. It’s a good deal for doing almost nothing, though it only applies to Samsung phone owners (and even then a limited amount of Samsung phones) and those who haven’t signed up for Samsung Pay yet. Let us know if you get the code!

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1WqhSiV
via IFTTT

Sony has announced a new camera sensor that will soon hit the market, and it’s pretty impressive on paper. The company is already the leader in mobile camera sensors, so this new one should be just as great and it’s likely that many manufacturers will adopt it for their high end devices.

The Sony IMX318 is a stacked CMOS image sensor packed with features. It features a 1.0μm pixel size, which makes the sensor smaller than its 20MP predecessor despite having more pixels. However, Sony claims this has not reduced effectiveness in low light.

The sensor also features hybrid autofocus, which combines image plane phase detection AF and contrast detection AF to achieve focus times as fast as 0.03 seconds, or even 0.017 seconds when shooting 60 FPS video.

The sensor also supports 3 axis image stabilization for video, using the built-in hyro to stabilize 4K video pretty impressively. The processing hardware is inside the image sensor, so it won’t have to use the device’s processor to achieve stabilization.

The shipment date for this sensor will be May of 2016, and samples will cost 2,000 yen, or $17.55 USD. Hopefully we’ll start seeing the sensor in phones late 2016, because it looks quite impressive.

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1VkWnQl
via IFTTT

LG has announced a new successor to the G4 Stylus simply called the Stylus 2. It’s meant to be a mid-range device with pen capability, sort of a step under the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 both in specs and in price. It has many Note-like features, such as a popup menu when you remove the stylus, an alert when you leave your stylus behind, and popup apps for note-taking.

The device features a 1280×720 5.7-inch display, a 1.2GHz quad core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of storage with a microSD card, 8MP front and 13MP rear camera, a 3,000mAh battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It’s definitely no powerhouse, and the display seems to be the weakest link here.

The device will be shown off at Mobile World Congress, and hopefully we’ll get more details on it. A price would be useful in seeing where the device stands in the LG lineup. Though it’s not the high end device most of us want, it’s still good that LG is bringing mid range devices with high end features like the stylus. There’s definitely a market for that.

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1LsbZf8
via IFTTT

Android 6.0 Marshmallow is a few months old now, but many major devices are just now receiving their update to the latest version of Android. We just saw the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 begin receiving their updates, and now it’s time for some carrier-specific devices to start receiving their Marshmallow updates.

Verizon customers have three different devices receiving updates to Marshmallow today. These include the HTC One M9, LG G3, and LG G4. The updates look to be fairly standard across all three devices, with no major variations from the new features of Marshmallow. The only change of note is that this update will add Wi-Fi Calling support for the LG G4, which is definitely a perk.

On the T-Mobile side, the HTC One M9 update is now receiving its update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. One M9 users should be happy about that, but One M8 users still have some time to wait, as T-Mobile hasn’t given a specific date for the update yet.

Check out the respective source links for more info.

Source: Verizon HTC One M9, LG G3, LG G4, T-Mobile HTC One M9

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1Xw1HSq
via IFTTT

The Big Four US carriers are in a constant war of trying to outdo each other. While Sprint and T-Mobile may be the most aggressive in their offers, the other two have also responded with their own deals. Verizon is offering a new promo today with its two largest plans, the XL and XXL plans.

New or existing Verizon customers can score an extra 2GB of data every month when they activate or upgrade to a new phone on a Verizon XL or XXL plan. That means that customers can get an extra 24GB of data per year, and the deal stays for life if you keep a phone active on the XL or XXL plan.

Additionally, the data is shareable and up to four lines can take advantage of the deal. That means that you’ll get an extra 8GB of data each month with four lines, leading to 96GB of free data each year.

It should be noted that the free data offer extends only to smartphones, as tablets and other connected devices are not eligible to receive the free data. They can still use the extra data in the allotment, but they won’t add to it.

This is a decent deal from Big Red, although it’s a bit impractical for anyone other than families and power users. Check out the source link for more details from the carrier itself.

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1PD77YH
via IFTTT

Not that it should be surprising anymore, but another flagship has found its way in front of a camera before it can be officially announced by the manufacturer. And the world keeps spinning.

This latest leak is focused on LG’s G5, which is showing off its metal frame and dual-camera system on the back. The phone was apparently imported from the United States and subsequently posted by someone to Dubizzle, a site that lets folks sell things in the United Arab Emirates. There’s an obvious “G5″ brand on the back of the handset, and it does indeed line up with previous reports and rumors of what the handset will supposedly look like when LG unveils it later this month.

We can also see the rear fingerprint reader and power button, and volume buttons on the side. The front of the handset does look like the LG G3, for what it’s worth, but that’s not necessarily an indicator that this isn’t a G5 out in the wild.

As of the time of publishing, the original post on the selling site has been removed, but when it was live the seller was asking for 2,500 dirhams ($681 USD).

Waiting until February 21 might be tough, considering the rumors point to the G5 being one of the most impressive smartphones to date, but hopefully the leaks will tide you over until the big reveal.

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1RK52wC
via IFTTT

Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 App Updates on Friday. When Monday rolls around, we look back to see which apps were the most appealing to our audience. Read on for the five most popular Android apps from last week. These apps are ones that are most likely new and haven’t appeared in the top five list more than three times.

1. GTA Liberty City

App info: Get ready to head back to the East Coast as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories returns to mobile devices. 

//playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js

2. Adblock Fast

App info: Adblock Fast runs an optimized filtering ruleset to accelerate webpages more but consume less disk space, CPU cycles, and memory than other ad blockers do.

//playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js

3. Laserbreak 2

App info: Laserbreak 2 is the much anticipated sequel to the very popular Laserbreak – the highly addictive and original puzzler that has hooked millions of players worldwide.

//playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js

4. Qapital

App info: Save more money easily! Simple, automated and fun, Qapital will change how you manage your money. Create an account and start saving for the things you want.

//playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js

5. Draw My Story

App info: Draw My Story allows you to create unique animated drawings, presentations, game plan or instructional videos similar in style to Draw My Life videos on YouTube.

//playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js

Note:  To ensure that all apps receive a fair chance to make the list, we will retire any app that has made the list for three consecutive weeks.

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1Qhfw7u
via IFTTT

We’re fast approaching the launch dates for this year’s hottest flagships, and the rumor mill isn’t slowing down one bit. We’ve seen all sorts of leaks regarding the LG G5, HTC One M10 and Samsung Galaxy S7, and today’s leak brings us another look at one of the Galaxy S7′s variants. New pictures posted on Chinese microblogging site Weibo give us a look at the upcoming Galaxy S7 edge.

The pictures are blurry, but we can clearly see the curved edges of the display. The display seems to be curved a little more around all of the edges, rather than just the sides, which gives it a more natural look. Samsung also looks to be using a true black color for the device this time around, rather than last year’s dark blue color option. Additionally, we can see that the physical home button has changed a little bit, becoming larger and rounder.

All in all, we’re looking forward to seeing the official launch of the Galaxy S7 edge. It should be a powerful and interesting partner for the Galaxy S7. It also packs in some extra uses with Samsung’s new Edge Screen features for curved display devices, which offer plenty of quick functions utilizing the edge of the display.

February 21 is the announcement date, but stay tuned for more leaks before then.

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1Kl4aNs
via IFTTT

Switching carriers isn’t an easy decision for everyone, especially with family lines involved, but AT&T is hoping its latest switcher offer will help alleviate the pain just a bit.

AT&T is stacking up the promotions. Earlier this month the big blue carrier announced a buy one, get one offer for new and existing customers. To help sway potential new subscribers, AT&T is now offering a switcher promotion, which, like other carriers, will offer up to $650 in credits to cover the costs associated with switching to AT&T.

There are some hoops to jump through to get the credits, though. First, you’ll need to get your new smartphone on AT&T Next, and you’ll need to port your number over from Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile. You will also have to trade in your current smartphone when you get the new one. Finally, you’ll need to send in your final bill from the old carrier.

Once all of that is done, you’ll get a Visa prepaid card with up to $650 to cover your early termination fee/installment plan, minus the value of your trade-in smartphone.

AT&T is actually the last of the major carriers in the United States to offer a switcher promotion like this, but better late than never, especially for anyone who has been considering moving over to the big blue network.

Do you plan to switch?

from Android and Me http://ift.tt/1R4xLtK
via IFTTT