Last month, Samsung launched an Ultimate Test Drive promotion to tempt iPhone owners to go Galaxy. That offer left Android users out in the cold, but now Samsung has a new promo that we can take advantage of.
Samsung’s Phone Payments On Us promo will do exactly what its name implies, which is covering the phone payments on a new Galaxy device. More specifically, it’ll cover the payments on a new Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, or Galaxy Note 5 until 2016. The deal will pay up to $120 on your new device, regardless of whether you got it on an installment plan or a lease.
If you do happen to have an iPhone laying around or know an iPhone owner that wants to make the switch, they can take advantage of this deal, too. Not only will Samsung make the first few payments for an iPhone user that trades in their Apple device and buys a Galaxy, but they’ll also give ‘em a $100 Google Play credit to fill that new phone up with apps.
This deal runs from September 25 through October 9. It’s worth noting that AT&T devices are excluded from the offer, and if you do end up trading in an iPhone as part of this deal, you’ll need to buy a Galaxy phone on the same receipt. It’s also worth noting that the iPhone models that are eligible for this promo are the 4s, 5, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus.
If you’re looking to treat yourself to a new smartphone, hit up the link below to see if Samsung’s promo is for you.
We’ve been hearing about a YouTube subscription program for some time now, but if a new report is to be believed, the service may finally be close to launch.
According to Re/code, YouTube may launch its subscription program in late October. The program will reportedly be made up of two parts: a refreshed YouTube Music Key and the ability to watch any video on YouTube ad-free. The cost? It’ll purportedly be $10 per month.
While YouTube has yet to confirm anything, an email that it sent out to creators supports the rumor that the ad-free YouTube subscription will launch in late October. The email tells creators that YouTube “will be launching a new ads-free version of YouTube, available to fans for a monthly fee” and that if they don’t agree to the new YouTube terms by October 22, their “videos will no longer be available for public display or monetization in the United States.”
For as long as reports about an ad-free YouTube subscription have been floating around, it’ll be nice to see the program finally launch. Obviously not everyone is going to pony up $10 per month to avoid ads on YouTube, but if you spend a lot of time watching videos on the site, the subscription could be worth the investment.
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.
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.
Sky
Description: Fly, Jump and Clone yourself into a fantastic adventure with SKY. In this new game developed by the same team behind Phases and The Line Zen, you’re in control of multiple characters as they run through a 3D mystical world filled with trouble.
Description: Celebrate the World Cup in style with the most realistic Rugby game on mobile – Rugby Nations 16! Live events and fantastic new gameplay will get you into the celebratory spirit just in time for the biggest Rugby event this year.
Description: Fun and addicting game featuring extreme speed single and online multiplayer rage quit racing. Rage quit alone or rage quit against friends and family via online multiplayer games! That’s right with eyes twitching, shout, scream and anger all those around you when you discover that this game will smash you to bits!
Description: HoPiKo is an intense speed run platformer where you get to save gaming. Jump from platform to platform avoiding death, exploiting shortcuts and ripping through 100s of hand-crafted levels, each one dropped into a 5-stage mini run designed to break your mind!
Description: Story about Little Ponchy which mission is to ride a long as it can. While playing, you’ll be avoiding over bombs and attempting to beat your top score.When you enter into the red arch you will get stars to unlock new characters, also you can buy more stars via IAP.
Description:Build your own monster hotel with Drac and all your favorite monsters from HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2! Customize your city, enjoy adventure-filled quests, decorate your own monster hotel, and play fun mini games in the official game for the HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 movie from Sony Pictures Animation.
Description: Hack through enemies as the mighty Warrior, slash them with the lightning-fast Assassin or rain down fire upon them as the unstoppable Mage. Choose which hero best fits your play-style and jump into the action!
Description: Commander Cool 2 is a mobile jump and run that is destined to be one of coolest games in 2015! Press your screen to make him jump, then use your weapon and blast that chump. Grab some shiny coins and shoot cavemen in their groins!
Description: The Lost Qubixle is a perspective puzzle game. Your task is to reconstruct a figure from three perspectives. This game requires that you use your perception skills and that you make the best use of your logical thinking.
Description: Blast through 30+ levels of shoot’em up / arcade platforming gameplay! Test your reflexes, avoid obstacles and take aim at the corrupted machines of the Blasttopia INC. factory.
If you’ve been longing for a new Android phone with a physical keyboard, BlackBerry’s got what you need.
BlackBerry has announced that it’s working on an Android phone called the “BlackBerry Priv.” The Priv will be BlackBerry’s first Android phone, with a launch expected to take place in late 2015. BlackBerry hasn’t spilled any of the Priv’s spec details, but the company describes it as a “flagship slider device.”
So why go Android? BlackBerry CEO John Chen explains:
“At the same time, we are focused on making faster progress to achieve profitability in our handset business. Today, I am confirming our plans to launch Priv, an Android device named after BlackBerry’s heritage and core mission of protecting our customers’ privacy. Priv combines the best of BlackBerry security and productivity with the expansive mobile application ecosystem available on the Android platform.”
It sounds like BlackBerry isn’t happy with how its own BlackBerry 10 devices are improving its bottom line, so it decided to turn to Android to give its profitability a boost. Whether or not the Priv will do that remains to be seen, but Android is the biggest mobile OS in the world and Android phones that have a physical keyboard are basically non-existent, so there’s a chance that the Priv could do well for BlackBerry.
The Moto X Pure Edition is no developer device, and Motorola wants us to know it. A Motorola rep on the company’s forums has commented with clarification on the warranty and bootloader unlocking policy. And just like with most devices, unlocking the bootloader will result in a voided warranty.
It’s not all bad. The rep says that obviously defective hardware like broken buttons and speakers, when not caused by physical abuse, will still be covered if your device has an unlocked bootloader. This will be under Motorola’s discretion, but it is a glimmer of hope for those who want to tinker with their device.
The same will apply to the extended Moto Care warranty, so paying extra won’t allow you to tinker freely. But this is everything we’ve come to expect from a device with an unlockable bootloader, so people shouldn’t be upset with Motorola.
The launch of Android 6.0 Marshmallow is nearing (allegedly it’ll launch October 5), and Google is preparing for it early. Google Play services has been updated to 8.1 in preparation for the new version of Android, but it includes improvements that are available to everyone.
The biggest change is support for the new Marshmallow permission system, which allows you to revoke permissions for apps. Developers will need to upgrade their apps to support this using the new SDK. Also included are app invites, which can allow users of your app invite others to check our the app via email or SMS.
For Android Wear users, Ambient Mode Maps is now possible. Your map will show up and move in Ambient Mode to save some battery by keeping things dark and simple. Google Nearby is also included, so apps will be able to take advantage of those around you in a new social way.
For more information (especially if you’re a developer), hit the source link and read up on the update. For everyone else, just wait for it to come to you!
Generally when you think of luxury smartphones, you think of budget phone specs wrapped in leather and diamonds, purchased by rich people that don’t care that they’re getting a fraction of the specs a regular flagship device offers. But those times are no more, and the Vertu Signature Touch really impresses.
It offers an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with an included 64GB microSD (upgradeable to 2TB), a 5.2-inch 1080p display coated in sapphire, a 21MP phase detection auto focus main camera with dual tone flash, a 2.1MP front-facing camera, a 3,160 mAh battery, Quick Charge 2.0, Qi wireless charging, and dual speakers.
Does that sound nice to you? It has fewer compromises than many of our current flagships (it includes a microSD slot!), and it’s also coated in titanium and your choice of a few premium materials, like leather. It even has two awesome doors on the back that open to reveal the SIM and SD slots on one side (engraved with the name of the person who built the phone) and a custom engraving on the other.
Another cool feature isn’t in the phone, but an included service called Vertu Dedicated Concierge. You get your own personal assistant at Vertu. No having to go through different people each time, you get your own. This service is free for 18 months.
If you’re looking to get one, they’ll go for about $9,900 to $20,900, depending on the model and materials. Who’s interested?
Google’s services are constantly being worked upon. From a company with an advanced search engine that works better than any other, this is expected. Google has been working hard at making voice searching an everyday thing for most people, integrating it into every device and even on the webpage. And it just got a whole lot better.
Google posted on its Google Research Blog about the new voice recognition system, which it claims is faster, more accurate, cancels out noise better, and is even easier on hardware. It sounds like an amazing improvement, so update your Google Search app on your Android and iOS devices are give it a try for yourself!
If you’re interested in all the details on how Google made this work, hit the source link. There’s quite a lot of info.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow doesn’t have an official launch date just yet, but if we want to take the word of the second largest wireless carrier in Canada, you might want to prepare to circle a date on the calendar.
According to an updated software release schedule, Telus says that Android 6.0 will begin rolling out to the current Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 on Monday, October 6. As it stands, nothing is official just yet, but as Mobile Syrup points out, that particular release schedule would make sense. We already expect Google to unveil the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P on September 29, so rolling out Android 6.0 a week later for current devices would make sense.
So if you have a Nexus 5 or Nexus 6, then there’s a date to look forward to, even if Telus does admit that dates are subject to change.
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