Much like the Amazon Fire line, Barnes & Noble used to sell NOOK-branded Android tablets modified with a custom interface specifically for consuming B&N media. But unlike the Amazon Fire line, the NOOK didn’t do so well and was cancelled. Now the NOOK line is back, but with a less proprietary approach this time around.

Barnes & Noble have partnered with Samsung to create the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK, which is simply a variant of the standard Tab S2 with some B&N software on it. The UI is optimized to be simple and consume B&N media, but the tablet runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with the Google Play Store, so you can use it like any other Android tablet.

Inside you’ll find the same specs as the standard Tab S2. It features an 8.0-inch 2048 x 1536 Super AMOLED display, a 64-bit Exynos 5433 octa-core processor with four 1.9GHz cores and four 1.3GHz cores, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage with a microSD slot, dual 8MP/2.1MP cameras, and a 5,870 mAh battery. It’s definitely a competent tablet. It goes for $399 on the Barnes & Noble site.

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Google health conditions search is a nifty feature that pops up relevant information when you search for various health conditions. Instead of having to look through sites, Google has gathered this info and shows a card for easy access to the info you need. And now the feature has gotten even better.

Google has updated this search with support for more diseases, totaling over 900 conditions and their symptoms, treatments, and more. The company has also refined the search so adding “symptoms” to the search will take you to the symptoms tab of the card. And lastly, a “Download PDF” option has been added so you can take this info to your doctor.

While Googling health conditions and self diagnosing isn’t always a good idea, staying informed is. So the new improvements can really help those who feel ill, or those in the middle of a disease outbreak.

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I know a lot of Moto 360 users swear by Motorola smartwatches, for many reasons. An ambient light sensor, a high display-to-body ratio, a sleek and beautiful look, and much more. So a lot of us will be upgrading to the second gen Moto 360 soon, which is currently up for pre-order. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to use our old chargers.

The new Moto 360 may not look so different from the original, but apparently it’s different enough so that the old charger will not charge the new device. The new charger won’t charge the old device either. As you can see in the photo, the charger has been redesigned significantly. It’s unfortunate, but that’s part of progress. Thankfully, the second gen charger is already up on the Google Store so you can buy spares if you need them when the smartwatch launches.

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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.

KingsRoad

Description: Answer the heroes call. Leave the safety of the hearth behind as you fight to prevent the warriors of evil from dominating the realm. Play KingsRoad for free in the most addicting Action RPG!

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Tiny Empire

Description:  Launch cannonballs and blow tiny orcs into thousands of pieces in this intuitive fantasy-themed puzzle shooter! Embark on an epic medieval journey that will take you from the grasslands of the empire to the forgotten desert ruins, facing ever stronger enemies under the leadership of your beloved king.

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Walking War Robots

Description: Participate in epic, explosive multiplayer robot battles in Walking War Robots! Pilot a tough, towering battle robot and join the fight with your armored goliath to crush anyone who dares stand in your way. 

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Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville

Description:  Rebuild 3 is a strategy sim game with a good helping of narrative and dark humor. It’s a thoughtful game that’ll make you fond of your survivors before you send them to their deaths for the greater good.

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Pokemon Shuffle

Description: Pokémon Shuffle Mobile is a puzzle game where you line up three or more Pokémon vertically or horizontally to battle against wild Pokémon.

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Cliffy Jump

Description: Anyone can enjoy this game for easy control. Cute but brave characters who want to go forward! Collect every hidden character while you are exploring!

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Deer God

Description: The Deer God is a breathtaking 3D pixel art adventure that will challenge your religion and your platforming skills. It’s a game about survival, reincarnation, and karma; all set in a breathtaking and unique 3D pixelized world. 

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Infestor

Description: Get ready for a fun puzzle platformer created by the award-winning studio Ravenous Games! As the INFESTOR you need to reach the exit in each level by taking over your enemies and controlling their body. Each human has a special ability associated with it that you will need to take advantage of to overcome obstacles.

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SkillShot

Description: Show your skill and beat your friends in this fast-paced arcade game. Clean, crisp graphics. Fast and twitch-based gameplay. Easy to learn, hard to master. Flip the game area to fit your needs. Easy-to-understand picture-based ingame tutorial. Beat your friends and the world with integrated leaderboards.

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RPG Asdivine Dios

Description:   Play a grand RPG through to the end for free! Welcome to the new Asdivine and get ready as a tale about divine encounters with mankind and mankind’s encounters with the divine is about to unfold…

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Samsung has a big presence at this year’s IFA event in Berlin. It’s currently showing off the brand new Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic smartwatches, but that’s not enough for the company. It now wants you to keep your attention turned to October, when it plans on announcing yet another new thing.

Samsung was coy on the details when it began teasing a brand new mystery device, which it’s calling the “Galaxy View.” While the initial view of the device seems to indicate a pretty large tablet, the other teaser images start to show other hints, like that it could be just an accessory, like a kickstand. Unfortunately, Samsung wasn’t privy to divulge any additional information on what it might be, and told those in attendance to wait until October to hear more.

Based on these images, what do you think the Galaxy View is? A new tablet? A kickstand?

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Like another company that shall not be named, Samsung kept its last iteration of smart wearables locked to its own ecosystem. So while owners of an HTC, Motorola, or LG smartphone may have wanted to use one of Samsung’s non-Android Wear wearables, it simply wasn’t in the cards.

There’s a big change on the horizon, though. As confirmed by Android Central, Samsung’s newest smartwatches running Tizen, the Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic, will work with non-Samsung devices right out of the box. Of course, there are some things to consider, like differing APIs which will make some features not work at all (the dialer is specifically named in this instance), as well as a few hangups here and there.

It sounds like it won’t be a perfectly seamless experience, but at least it’s not locked down anymore.

On top of that, you’ll need to be running a device that’s loaded with Android 4.4 or later, and your phone will need to have at least 1.5GB of RAM. There will be a companion app to help control the Gear S2, too, but no word on a launch date just yet. It’s also unknown at this time whether or not Android users will be able to download that companion app from the Play Store.

What do you think of Samsung’s change of heart?

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Last week, Sprint made a great deal with DirecTV that offered DirecTV customers one year free of talk, text and 2GB of data if they switched over to Sprint. The response was overwhelmingly positive, but many customers asked if there was a way to get more data with the deal, even if they had to pay for it. Sprint has listened and given them a couple of options.

The original offer still stands, but customers who want more data can now get 4GB of data for $10 per month, per line. For those who need even more, there’s also an option to get 6GB of data for $20 per month, per line. If you’re interested in taking part in this great deal from Sprint and want some more info, you can simply follow the source link below.

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T-Mobile is known as the Uncarrier, as it’s garnered a reputation for taking steps to shake up the wireless industry and take risks that other carriers won’t. Today, the company is introducing T-Mobile Video Calling, which allows video calling to be integrated right into the software of some phones. Rather than needing to install an extra app to enable video calling, T-Mobile is baking it right into the phone software, so right next to the call button in the dialer, there will also be a video call button.

If you receive a video call and you have a capable device, you can simply swipe the option to answer it as a video call, or you can choose to answer it as a standard voice call. As most phones and carriers aren’t yet compatible with the technology, contacts who can receive video calls will have a small camera icon next to their contact info to let you know if you’ll be able to video call them.

The video calls can be placed over LTE or Wi-Fi and will seamlessly transition from one network to the other. Should you drop to a slower connection, such as HSPA+ or 3G, the video call will automatically transition to a voice call to preserve quality. The technology is currently available on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ and will arrive on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge next week. T-Mobile says that three other phones will also be updated to support T-Mobile Video Calling by the end of the year.

While T-Mobile Video Calling seems fairly interesting, it’s hard to imagine it being widely used, particularly with the lack of supported devices and carrier. We’ll have to see how it takes off in the next couple of months.

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