Google Hangouts has never been an extremely successful messaging service. Most people use apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, and many others. And with the rumors of Google removing SMS support from the Hangouts app, it seems that Hangouts isn’t getting much attention.

The latest rumors say that Google is working on an entirely new messaging service, but instead of just providing messaging capabilities, it will also feature chatbots. You’ll be able to message these chatbots questions and get results based on web searches. There might even be third-party chatbot support so that you can use services other than Google.

Not only will it potentially get people using a Google messaging service, it’ll also help Google keep its search engine dominance. With other chatbot services in the works or already out to a degree, people will be using other services over Google’s for some tasks.

While it’s all just rumors so far, it makes sense for Google to be working on this. As a master of search engines, it’s a natural progression. Hopefully it’ll be more successful than Hangouts! What do you think of this new rumored service? Do you see a use in chatbots? Leave a comment!

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Hot on the heels of Sprint’s free TV offer, Best Buy has decided to also offer a free Samsung 32-inch TV with the purchase of a qualifying device. But instead of being Sprint exclusive, this offer applies to AT&T and Verizon as well.

If you purchase, lease, or pay monthly installments on a Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, or Note 5 with AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon, you’ll qualify for the free TV. It’s a $230 value, according to Best Buy, which is a pretty good deal. The deal is only up while supplies last, so if you’re planning to upgrade, get your free TV soon!

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To celebrate the holidays, Google is giving us a small deal on music. Using the link below, you’ll be able to buy any one album for 50% off its original price. It really isn’t much, but it’s still nice for those of you who purchase music on Google Play to own forever. Google Play Music All Access is temporary, of course. This is on top of other deals Google is hosting.

The offer is valid until midnight of January 4 and is valid in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Russia and United States. Hit the link below to get started!

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The original OnePlus X that went on sale in November features black front and rear panels, with a silver trim for a bit of an accent. If that color scheme isn’t your cup of tea and you’d prefer something a bit brighter, OnePlus has you covered.

OnePlus has confirmed in a forum posting that the OnePlus X Champagne is now available in Europe and Hong Kong as part of it’s invite-free sales initiative. That means it’ll be available every week without an invite, but the company will only have 2500 units of the Champagne variant to offer potential owners.

It retails for €269 in Europe, so it’s the same price as the Onyx version of the OnePlus X. The Champagne model also boasts the same specs, meaning it features a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor under the hood, with a 13MP camera on the back and an 8MP camera on the front. The Champagne model has a white front and back panel with gold trim.

As far as availability goes in North America, OnePlus says the X will become available sometime in January 2016 for $249.

Do you plan on picking up the Champagne version?

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Hate passwords? If so, you’ll probably love the new login method that Google is testing.

Reddit user Rohit (rp1226) recently received an invitation from Google to try a new method of signing in to his account. After enrolling in the Google Group and setting everything up, Rohit was prompted to enter his email to sign in like normal. After that, though, his Nexus 6P popped up a message that said “Are you trying to sign in from another computer?” He then tapped “Yes” and was ready to roll.

In its email, Google says that you can still use a password to log in to his account if his phone is dead or not nearby. The My Account settings also include options for changing the phone that’s linked to an account in case you change phones or decide that you want to stop using this login method. And if Google thinks that something unusual is happening with a sign-in, it’ll add a couple of extra steps to confirm that it’s you that’s signing in to the account.

This new login method sounds pretty neat, because entering passwords can be a pain, and some folks may not be comfortable with storing their passwords in a third-party utility. Google’s new method eliminates the password altogether, opting instead to use the one device that’s probably almost always on you or within arm’s reach. The bad news is that right now, it’s unclear how many people are getting into Google’s test, nor does anyone seem to know how you can enroll. So now we’ll all just have to sit and watch our inboxes, hoping for an invite to appear.

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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. Phone

App info: Update the Phone app for your Android Marshmallow device* to improve your calling experience and gain control over calls with features like caller ID and call blocking.

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2. Contacts

App info:  Contacts helps you stay in touch with the people you care about.

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3. Breakneck

App info: Master your speeder and defeat your pursuers in high speed action across a world ravaged by an alien occupation.

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4. Action Launcher 3

App info: Action Launcher 3 replaces your homescreen with a colorful, customizable and speedy app you’ll quickly learn to love. Try it out for free!

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5. Lost Horizon

App info: The classic point ‘n click adventure by Animation Arts and Deep Silver FISHLABS comes to Google Play in a beautiful mobile version fully optimized for your smartphone or tablet!

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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.

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HTC has announced that it will be unveiling a new HTC Vive Developer Kit at CES in two weeks. While we still don’t know what the “very, very big technological breakthrough” is that was teased by HTC’s Cher Wang, the images in this post do show the new HTC Vive headset and controller design for the next generation developer unit. The updated headset and motion tracking controllers are a lot more refined than the original ones HTC has been sending to developers since they were first shown off at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. That being said, there’s still a chance that the final consumer version (expected in April) may have even more tweaks.

The only obvious feature enhancement that we can spot in the new design is the inclusion of a camera on the front of the HTC Vive headset. The camera could be used to allow the HTC Vive to act as an augmented reality headset by displaying a real-world image onto the headset’s display. The inclusion of the camera may be the “technological breakthrough” that will be announced at CES. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Microsoft’s Cortana finally made its official debut on Android a few weeks ago, but Microsoft has just released an update to the app which disables its “Hey, Cortana” voice activation feature. The feature was pulled after Microsoft (and thousands of Cartana users) discovered that it was causing conflicts with Android’s voice recognition system and often rendered phones completely unresponsive or simply wouldn’t allow them to make calls.

There’s no indication as to when Microsoft plans to reinstate Cortana’s voice activation feature, but we’re hoping that it’s soon. Cortana still has a long ways to go before it’s as good as Google Now, but it’s a good app and a great alternative for those who use Android but live their lives within the Microsoft ecosystem.

If you’re a Cortana user, will you keep using the app without its voice activation feature?

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The HTC Vive has been delayed from its original Q1 release date to April of 2016, but for all the right reasons. CEO Cher Wang says that, two weeks ago, the team made a “a very, very big technological breakthrough” that will greatly improve the Vive when it releases. Instead of shipping the planned product, the delay will mean a better product will be released.

Information on the breakthrough is being withheld, but we should see it at CES next month. If it’s really such a big upgrade, I’m sure people won’t mind waiting a bit longer to get their hands on it.

On the topic of price, the CEO only hints that it is “affordable” to HTC’s software engineers. It gives us no idea of an approximate price, but it’s something.

Are you excited for HTC Vive? Leave a comment!

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The OnePlus 2 is getting a holiday update, though it isn’t a major one. It’s mostly bug fixes and security updates, but in the holiday spirit, OnePlus threw in some holiday wallpapers to get you in a festive mood. Here is a full list of changes in OxygenOS 2.2.0:

• Fixed dual SIM preference selection issues in settings
• Added NTFS and exFAT support for OTG
• Fixed Google Camera photo-sphere and panorama bugs
• Screen temperature can now be adjusted from quick settings
• Added hide search bar option in launcher settings
• Security patches
• Holiday wallpapers
• General bug fixes and optimizations

The update is going to be rolling out gradually, so not all OnePlus 2 users will get it at once. Check for updates, and if it isn’t out, be patient. It’ll get to you soon. Or you can refresh the update setting every 20 minutes. I know I would.

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