Taking screenshots isn’t always easy due to the strange and different button combinations different manufacturers use. Plus, you don’t always want to save a screenshot. The information you’re sending to people is often stuff that you don’t need to keep.
An update rolling out to Google Now on Tap (seemingly backend rollout rather than app update) adds a new share button at the bottom left corner, which will share a screenshot of your display without showing your status bar or saving the screenshot to your device.
It’s definitely a useful addition, and may give people more of a reason to use Now on Tap. Let us know when you get it!
AT&T is having a sale, and it’s a significant one. When buying a select smartphone, you’ll be able to get $650 in bill credits for another device, making it free if it’s under $650. The Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB would end up being free, though the deal can be used for $650 towards other devices like the Galaxy Note 5, S6 edge, S6 edge+, S6 active, and even the iPhone 6s Plus.
The device won’t be entirely free, as you’ll have to pay tax on it, but the monthly charges on your AT&T Next plan will be covered. Getting a more expensive device or a higher storage level means you’ll only have to pay the difference in monthly cost.
You’ll also need to be using a qualifying service of at least $70 per month, and you’ll have to start another line. In the end, while it’s a good deal, it’ll still cost you more. But hey, if you needed another line anyway, this is perfect.
Do you have any questions about the new Google Pixel C? If so, you should know the team behind the Pixel C hosted a Reddit AMA where they answered people’s questions.
The Reddit AMA is over, but all the questions the team wanted to answer have been answered. Of course, there are a few questions you might have that the team skipped over, and there are questions that were answered vaguely, but it’s still a good source of info if you’re interested in the Pixel C and the team behind it.
Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most frequently upgraded apps for the week. We’ve found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to find the ones that are actually being updated by the developers rather than selecting the apps with the most installs. As in the past, we’re going to filter out minor updates for the super-popular apps that have over 10 million installs, but we’ll make exceptions for apps that have had significant updates. We hope you enjoy this weekly feature and that you discover some apps that end up being useful.
Pocket – Version 6.11.0
What’s new in this version:
Follow your friends and other interesting people to see what they’re recommending on Pocket.
Recommend the most interesting things you’re reading and watching in Pocket to those that follow you, by tapping the Recommend button on any item in your List.
Free Lightroom! Unleash your creativity with free access to all the editing capabilities in Lightroom for as long as you’d like on your smartphone or tablet.
The whole app has been redesigned from the ground up to offer a brighter, more beautiful, and more streamlined 500px experience. The photos you love have never looked better on a mobile device!
We’ve also added an awesome new feature called Galleries
Merged Likes and Favorites into one action: the Like.
Connect Gmail mailboxes to read, organize, search and respond to your Gmail messages within the Yahoo Mail app
Select all messages in a specific folder on your device – just tap on the select all icon in the upper-left corner when moving or deleting multiple messages
Interface improvements for account switching, settings, touch targets, and message list readability
Apple got a lot of attention earlier this week when it released its iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case. The product category isn’t new, as Mophie has been pushing battery cases for years, but the case’s unique design definitely grabbed more attention that Apple might have hoped for. While Mophie’s cases typically increase the thickness of the phone from top to bottom, Apple chose to only increase thickness where needed, creating a hump in the middle where the battery is. Suffice to say, the internet exploded to thousands of different jokes about the iPhone Smart Battery Case’s unsightly hump.
LG and ASUS though it would be a good idea to join with a few clever pieces of their own. LG chose to promote the LG V10 with a new promotion image that read “no bumps, just goosebumps,” while ASUS took a more civilized approach, pointing out that 5,000mAh battery in ASUS ZenPhone Max delivers 22 hours of video playback – no case required. We do enjoy seeing Android manufacturers have a little fun at Apple’s expense, but we’re also aware that iPhone battery case will sell better than ASUS ZenPhone Max and LG V10 combined.
Google Wallet has been a good way to transfer money to people for a long time, and now, an email won’t even be necessary. In the latest version of the app, you’ll be able to send money to people using just their phone numbers.
When you send money using a phone number, the person will get a text message with a secure link at which they can enter their debit card and have the money will be transferred to it. It looks simple and elegant in design, though we’ll have to see how well it actually works.
To give this a shot, update the app using the Play Store and let us know how it works!
Are you a Star Wars fan? If so, and you also happen to be a Verizon customer whose contract has just ended (we know, it’s a bit of a stretch), you’re in luck. Verizon has announced that the Droid Turbo 2 will be getting Star Wars-themed customizations starting December 11th.
Some of the options you’ll have are character themes like BB-8, a First Order Storm Trooper, Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron, and Rey. Each will have a custom color palette and backplate. You’ll also get some Star Wars wallpapers through an app on the Play Store.
Verizon will also be hosting a livestream of the red carpet of the world premier of The Force Awakens. Using Twitter, people will even be able to ask questions that a Verizon correspondent will ask the stars during the premier. The carrier is also giving away 12,000 opening weekend tickets to the movie for Verizon customers on TheoryWars.com
Welcome back to Android Gaming Weekly, our weekly recap of new game releases. We still plan to cover upcoming releases and games we’re playing, but this column is dedicated to new games that you can start playing right now. Check out our top picks and let us know in the comments section if you have any suggestions for next week’s post.
Battle Bros – Tower Defense
Description: Battle against hordes of minions in this action packed tower defense (TD) game with real-time multiplayer co-op gameplay. In this never-ending, fast-paced survival game, progress through all 4 seasons of the year and discover new enemies and strategies.
Description: Maestria is a new kind of puzzle game in which you will help Fugue bring back Harmony in eight enchanting worlds. In order to win, you just need to ring the bells in the correct order. Easy enough… But will you find a solution to the 160 levels of the game?
Description: The all-time favorite Age of Empires real-time strategy series with over 20 million copies sold worldwide can now be played on your smartphone. DOMINATE the WORLD in this next generation mobile Real Time Strategy game!
Description: Color has disappeared from all the world! There’s only one thing that can be done in this sheep game: throwing colored angry sheep to buildings to paint them.
Description: Epic MMO strategy like you’ve never seen it before is now available for Android! Join millions of players and thousands of clans as you battle it out across the frozen North in one of the biggest gaming communities in MMO strategy!
Description:Experience a great adventure with little Max, as you go on a hunt for all the numbers of uncle Pong’s secret formula together! In a lovingly designed point and click adventure you explore the village Rightaroundthecorner as well as uncle Pong’s house and many other places.
Description: In TruckSimulation 16 you will take true-to-life control of one of seven real trucks. Start out with a rickety old clunker and earn your first coins in a variety of supply contracts across a large road network in Western and Central Europe.
Description: Mad Aces is one of the fastest, toughest and most exhilarating runner to hit the Google Play! Fly across the dangerous space, ramming and dodging spiked bricks, discovering new ridiculous characters!
Description: The Beggar’s Ride is a unique and innovative Platform Puzzle Adventure Game where the player can manipulate the environment to solve puzzles in a deep and intriguing story of discovery.
Description: Command an army of snowball wielding children in a battle of epic proportions to take over your neighborhood. Build and upgrade snow forts and snowmen to recruit more kids to your cause, and use your recruits to take over the enemy snow forts and win the battle.
Smartphones have nearly replaced the personal digital camera, with a vast amount of users ditching their point-and-shoots for the convenience of a smartphone. As a result of that, smartphone users now have enormous amounts of photos to deal with, which becomes even more complex when you’re looking to share and organize the photos with others. Google has been looking for ways to ease that process and it’s now adding a new feature to Google Photos to make collaboration easier.
Shared albums are a simple concept. They allow users to send other users a link to their albums. In the past, the users who received this link could only view the photos, but with shared albums, these users can now collaborate and add their own photos and videos, while also receiving notifications when other users upload photos and videos to the album. Users in the collaborative album will also be able to save and download photos and videos from the album, making it easier to hold onto memories.
Shared albums works across all platforms with Google Photos, so you can use it on Android, iOS or anything with an internet browser. With greater collaboration, Shared albums adds a very nice feature to Google Photos and makes it much easier to work with friends and family to organize photos from an event.
Shared albums is now rolling out, so you should see the feature very soon.
Mobile payments have begun to take off in a big way and Samsung is helping to lead the charge with Samsung Pay, its mobile payment solution that works at nearly any existing card reader, rather than only at NFC terminals. Today Samsung is announcing an even broader reach for Samsung Pay with gift card support for 50 different merchants. Samsung Pay users can purchase, store, pay with and share gift cards right from their phone.
Customers can load their gift cards into Samsung Pay to use them at any supported retailer, but they can also purchase gift cards directly within Samsung Pay thanks to a new gift card store that Samsung has built into Samsung Pay. The list of merchants on board includes some big names like Dominos, Nike, Bass Pro Shops and more, making it a feature that should be useful to people in all different walks of life. More gift cards and merchants will be added to Samsung Pay over the coming weeks and months, so if your favorite isn’t supported yet, you’ll want to keep an eye out, as it could be coming soon.
Samsung Pay is a great technology and this new feature only expands its appeal. Drop a comment down below if you get a chance to try out Samsung Pay’s new gift card support!
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