Like it or not, the holiday season has officially turned from the shopping season to the deal season. Every retailer under the sun is already offering deals and sales leading up to this year’s ridiculous Black Friday event. And most of them aren’t really deals at all.

Where do you go to find the best deals? Here’s a short, simple guide to finding real deals this year.

eBay

for phones

If you’re trying to find a deal on a phone this year, chances are eBay will be the best place to look. Retailers on eBay have been consistently offering the best deals on everything from the year-old Nexus 6 to the relatively new Samsung Galaxy S6.

Manufacturers like Motorola always offer great deals on their handsets around this time of year as well, but unless you’ve got something specific in mind, it’s worth checking in with eBay to see what pops up.

Visit eBay.

Amazon

for accessories

Amazon offers the best deals on smartphone and tablet accessories this time of year. Gold Box deals are unending and consistently feature phone cases, headphones, memory cards, battery banks, and more.

Some deals on Amazon aren’t the greatest, but even their lesser savings are usually cheaper than other retailers. Keep your eye out for the truly killer deals from Amazon, because they tend to sell out quick.

Visit Amazon.

SlickDeals

for the truly best deals. period.

SlickDeals is a deal-laden paradise. With one of the most active and strict self-policing communities on the web, SlickDeals is an entire forum-powered site dedicated to hunting down and tracking the best deal on anything and everything. Period.

If you want the truly best deals, download the SlickDeals app and check in frequently. Make sure to read the comments on posts to get a feel for past prices, possible future discounts, and other related info.

Visit Slickdeals.

Bonus

Android and Me

Surprise! Android and Me is another great place to check for deals. When a deal is good enough, we’ll be sure to share it. If not, don’t expect to see it hit our front page. Honestly.

Good luck, and be sure to let us know what killer deals you find this year.

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The list of senior executives who have left HTC to peruse other career opportunities just got a little longer. Jeff Gattis, director of global marketing for HTC’s Connected Devices division, has taken a new position at Magic Leap as head of product marketing. During his short stint at HTC, Gattis oversaw the final details of the HTC RE launch and was responsible for HTC’s global marketing efforts around the HTC RE, HTC Vive and the HTC Grip (which never actually launched). Under the marketing direction of Jeff Gattis, HTC was hoping its Connected Devices category would expand the company’s reach and allow for broader growth opportunities that were not tied specifically to smartphones and tablets. 

As you may know, Magic Leap is a Google-backed VR startup that managed to raise more than $500 million last year alone. Magic Leap is still in its development phase and most of the details of the project are still secret. In an interview with UploadVR, Jeff does give a little insight as to what Magic Leap hopes to accomplish without giving away any clue as to what the hardware is or how the technology actually works.

“(Magic Leap) is actually going to impact lives and it’s something that we could have with us all the time as we move throughout the world. They talk about replacing screens. This is just from a business standpoint, we’re talking about a huge potential market, and then the application scenarios under that are almost infinite.

Again, I’m just talking about the breadth of the potential for Magic Leap. That’s what excites me. It’s not just about creating a great gaming device, but actually doing something that could potentially change the world.”

The only reference for what Magic Leap’s virtual/augmented reality will be like comes from a demo video that was released by Magic Leap last month. The disclosure in the video would have you assume that what’s shown is exactly what someone would experience while using Motion Leap.

Video disclosure: “Shot directly through Magic Leap technology on October 14, 2015. No special effects or compositing were used in the creation of these videos. ”

It’s disappointing to see yet another top-level executive say goodbye to HTC. We’re sure HTC will survive Jeff Gattis’ departure, but we’re hoping that this doesn’t have an impact on HTC’s plans to launch the Vive before the end of the year.

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In T-Mobile’s quest to change what mobile service providers look like, the company has raised a few eyebrows with the introduction of Music Freedom and its new Binge On feature. If you have T-Mobile service, streaming music and video from specific services does not count against your data allotment, allowing you to watch as many videos or stream as much music as you want. On the surface, the services are a huge benefit to consumers since many will be able to purchase cheaper plans that include lower data caps, but many have voiced their concerns, pointing out the new features could be detrimental to the services that provide streaming music or video if they are not bundled into T-Mobile’s Music Freedom and Binge On service. T-Mobile already includes most major streaming services and is working to add more to the list. That being said, consumers may opt to stop using lesser known streaming services that have not yet made T-Mobile’s list in an effort to reduce their data usage.

Fortunately for T-Mobile, the FCC’s Chairman doesn’t agree with the concerns that have been raised so far. After the latest FCC meeting, Tom Wheeler mentioned that the FCC is “pro competition and pro innovation,” adding that T-Mobile’s new Binge On feature is “highly innovative and highly competitive.” There’s a good chance that Binge On could negatively impact smaller video streaming services, but that’s not T-Mobile’s intention.

What’s your take on T-Mobile’s Music Freedom and Binge On? Do you think these features which give priority to specific content providers will hurt consumers in the long run?

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Last month it was confirmed that a Pepsi-branded smartphone was in the works, but at the time there weren’t many official details about it. That’s changing now that the Pepsi phone is officially being offered to consumers.

The Pepsi Phone P1s has launched as part of a crowdfunding campaign in China. As of this writing, you can snag a Pepsi Phone P1s for ¥699 ($109 USD), though there are only another 894 units available at that price. The final price of the Pepsi Phone P1s will be ¥1299 ($203 USD). In all, the Pepsi Phone P1s has raised ¥598554 ($93,821 USD), with 14 days left to reach its goal of ¥3,000,000 ($470,239 USD).

If you do choose to buy a Pepsi Phone P1s, you’ll get a smartphone running a Pepsi-fied version of Android 5.1 Lollipop on a 5.5-inch 1920×1080 display. The P1s is powered by a combination of a 1.7GHz MediaTek MT6592 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 3000mAh battery. Also included are 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front cameras, 16GB of storage, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, and dual SIM slots.

This whole Pepsi Phone P1s thing seems kind of strange, what with the whole crowdfunding thing and the Pepsi-branded hardware and software. The phone itself seems like a decent device, though, offering a big ol’ display, a fingerprint reader, and large-ish battery in a package that’s pretty easy on the wallet, especially if you get in on this crowdfunding campaign. Is getting all of that worth carrying a phone with a Pepsi logo on it? That’s up to you.

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The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE launched on AT&T last week and was slated to hit Verizon today, but it looks like the device is straight up going to be pulled from store shelves.

LG has announced that it’s canceling the release of the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE following the discovery of a hardware issue “which affects the day-to-day functionality of the device.” LG doesn’t say exactly what the issue is, but it does describe it as “complicated.” The issue is so bad that LG is considering scrapping the new Watch Urbane entirely: “Whether the device will be available in the future will be decided at a later time.”

The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE is the first Android Wear smartwatch to offer built-in cellular connectivity, making it a big deal for the platform. However, it looks like the wait for the first cellular Android Wear smartwatch will continue now that LG is axing the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE’s launch and possibly killing it altogether. This news comes as a bummer because it comes just as the Marshmallow-powered smartwatch is hitting stores and consumers’ wrists, but if its hardware problem is so bad that LG might scrap its new product entirely, you know that the issue is a bad one.

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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.

Kill Shot Bravo

Description: Welcome to the premier first person shooter experience for mobile phones and tablets. It is time to load out your weapons and get your 5-star FPS fix! Arm yourself with deadly assassin sniper weapons, assault rifles, machine guns and the latest military gear to complete covert combat missions deep inside enemy territory!

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Lifeline 2

Description:  The second story in the Lifeline series connects you with Arika, a young woman on a deadly quest to avenge her parents and rescue her long-lost brother. Your choices will keep her alive and help her succeed as she faces mortal danger on her way to a final, fateful showdown against the forces that threaten all of humanity.

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Triangle 180

Description: Triangle 180 is Fingerprint Studio’s original triangular twist on the puzzle genre! Fall into a calm, peaceful state with the intuitive connect the dots gameplay and array of pleasant colors and sounds.

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 RAVENMARK: Scourge

Description:  Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion is a turn-based wargame, where strategic troop placement is essential to succeess. Battles employ a dynamic “we-go” system where the actions of allies and enemies unfold in a simultaneous battle phase.

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Horizon Chase

Description: Horizon Chase is a simple racer with a behind-the-bumper setup in the vein of SEGA’s classic Outrun, but with the basic 2D scrolling graphics transformed into razor-sharp, low-poly designs.

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Artificial Defense

Description: Artificial Defense is a real-time-strategy, orbital-shooter game in an artificial, virtual reality setting. You are the machine, a mighty computer-system, defending its servers against swarms of intruding creeps.

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Skill Wave: Endless Fun

Description: Explore an abstract world with dynamic landscapes and sharp obstacles! Avoid obstacles and collect power ups in this new endless action game. How far can you get?

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Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee

Description:  Experience the classic game Munch’s Oddysee in high definition. Improved graphics and sound make for an even more thrilling ride! Play as the Munch the Gabbit as he hops and swims his way to bringing his species back from extinction.

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 Chromatic Souls

Description: The fall of the Chromatic Dragon marked the end of a bloody era. A decade later, scouts have reported strange disturbances in the wasteland. Journey across Maldrago and discover the cause of the rising unrest.

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 Wizard Academy VR Cardboard

Description:  Wizard Academy is an immersive action and learning games in virtual reality. We launches you into a magical land where you can experience learning and gaming in a brand new way.

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The bigger our phones get, the more power hungry they are. And the bigger batteries we have, the longer they take to charge. Thus the invention of quick charging was brought upon us, to charge our devices rapidly so we can get back to Snapchatting our lives away.

Though you may not be actively using your phone in your car (nor should you!), streaming music over Bluetooth and using Google Maps can be a real drain on your battery. Regular USB chargers don’t cut it anymore, so Quick Charge in the car is a big deal.

Overview

Price: $17.99
Ports: 1 Quick Charge 2.0 USB, 2 2.4 amp USB
Size: 85x45x20mm
Included in box: car charger, micro USB cable
Where to buy: Inateck, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK)

The charger is really simple, with basic lines and a piano black finish. Though it’s bigger than other slimmer chargers, it looks pretty good and is well made. Instead of the cheap springs on the sides, it uses more solid metal contacts.

The face simply has three USB ports with cables. The Quick Charge 2.0 port is bright green, while the others are black. There’s also an LED there.

The USB cable is very basic, but it is slim and will fit almost any case. Seeing thick ends on cables is an endless frustration.

Charging

For the review, I used a Moto X Pure Edition. It supports both Quick Charge 2.0 and the Motorola Turbo chargers. It also has pretty mediocre battery life, so I find myself charging my phone on any long trip. I stream music using Play Music over Bluetooth and use Google Maps, which isn’t easy on any device.

The Quick Charge 2.0 port charged the device very quickly indeed. With that heavy load on the Moto X, I still got almost 1% per minute of charging. It varied from 8% to 10% per 10 minutes, which is quite impressive.

Of course, the other two ports are just regular old USB ports. They’re great for extra devices and passengers who tag along with their own cable. It’s always nice having more than one USB port.

Interstingly enough, the Moto X recognized this charger as a Turbo charger according to the popup when I plugged it in.

Conclusion

Honestly, I have nothing negative to say about this charger. It does what it’s supposed to do, looks decent, and comes with a USB cable. I can’t find a fault in that. It’s a little big, but for three fairly powerful USB ports, I can’t complain.

If you’ve been looking for a Quick Charge 2.0 enabled car charger, check out this one for the extra ports. You can find something cheaper with a single port, but it’s always nice to have extras for the people you’re lugging around.

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Google Hangouts has become a go-to option for video calls over the years, and as such, its feature list has only gotten better to match demand. Now Google is updating Hangouts with yet another feature that will make it easier than ever before to simply hop into a video call or conference.

The announcement was made via the official Google For Work blog, and states that joining up with a video call — whether it’s a one-to-one or conference session — will now be as simple as following a link and filling in a name. There won’t be any need to fill out a form, and the people joining in the call don’t even need a Google account to access it.

The process is straightforward enough: Simply invite those you want into the call via Google Calendar, which includes a link to the call within it. They’ll click that link, fill in their name, and then will be included in the call. The owner of the session will be able to accept or deny incoming participants as well.

Google making it even easier for groups or individuals to use Google Hangouts should go over well enough. How often do you use Google Hangouts’ video features?

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Mobile payments aren’t entirely new, but there is certainly a new focus on the option these days. Google got into the business with Android Pay, and even Samsung managed to put its hat into the ring, too. And now, after some reports out of the rumor mill, LG is moving forward with its own plans.

Yesterday a rumor cropped up that suggested LG was teaming up with a few credit card companies in Korea to launch the service, and sure enough it looks like that is indeed the case. By way of its official Facebook age, the Life’s Good company has announced that LG Pay is real, and that it will be coming at some point in the future. As far as partnerships go, LG will be teaming up with Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card out of the gate.

However, LG didn’t say anything about a finalized launch date, so for anyone keeping an eye on LG’s mobile payments service, there’s no date to circle on the calendar just yet.

What do you think of the idea?

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With Sprint’s promise to cut your cellphone bill in half (only for customers who switching from T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon), there are certainly a lot of people considering the offer. Saving money is a huge draw for a lot of people, but T-Mobile CEO John Legere went of a rant last night, highlighting ten different reasons why switching from T-Mobile to Spring is a bad idea. We suggest jumping over to Twitter to read all of Legere’s Tweets on the matter, but we’ve also listed out his main points below.

1. T-Mobile customers get access to whatever plan they want. On Sprint, you have to leave and come back take advantage!
2. T-Mobile customers get 4G LTE in 500+ cities. Not on Sprint. #Spark…I mean #LTEplus
3. T-Mobile customers get America’s Fastest 4G LTE network. Sprint’s get America’s slowest (@Ookla).
4. T-Mobile customers don’t have activation fees. Sprint charges $36 per line!
5. T-Mobile customers get unlimited data and text in 140 countries. Not on Sprint.
6. T-Mobile customers use their phone in Mexico & Canada just like they do in the US. Not on Sprint.
7. T-Mobile customers get tethering included in their plans. Not on Sprint’s new 50% off offer.
8. T-Mobile customers get #DataStash (unused data rolls forward). Not on Sprint.
9. T-Mobile customers get Unlimited music streaming w/ their plans. Not on Sprint.
10. T-Mobile customers get Unlimited video streaming w/ their plans. Not on Sprint.

Looking for the moral of today’s story? Yes, switching from T-Mobile to Sprint will save you money, but you’ll be giving up quite a few benefits of being on T-Mobile’s network.

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