Author: Clinton

Huawei has released an updated firmware build for the Huawei P10.  The new version is VRT-L09C432B133 for those keeping score at home.  The key part of Huawei’s naming convention is the last four figures, in this case B133.  The earlier part of the build will change depending on which model you have (dual-SIM versus single SIM for example).

The update brings a handful of optimizations to the phone along with the April Android Security Patch.  Unfortunately the update does not bring Android Nougat 7.1.1 or a newer security patch.  As for those optimizations, they are in several key areas.  First, power consumption has been optimized when you are using the P10 for an extended period of time while Wi-Fi performance has also been optimized.  Optimizations have also been made to the UI content display on some screens.  As mentioned, the April 1, 2017 Android Security Update is a part of this new firmware and Huawei also removed the TripAdvisor app from the firmware.

Today’s Deal is on an excellent flash drive for USB-C.  The SanDisk Ultra USB-C flash drive allows you to have external storage with super fast transfer speeds and storage up to 128GB.  Right now you can pick up the 64GB model for $21.39 on Amazon.  As the name suggests, this flash drive has the new USB-C connector, not the older USB-A connector you see on most flash drives.  This allows this to work with the latest lineup of Macs and Chromebooks easily.

Because this drive is leveraging USB-C, transfer speeds are impressive.  You get up to 150mb/s using this drive so moving files to and from this drive is fast and efficient.  That USB-C port is also protected by a sliding cover that is built into the chassis of the drive.

The SanDisk Ultra USB-C drive is offered in four different sizes to meet your needs.  Here are the prices and savings on this deal today.

• 16GB – $11.85
• 32GB – $13.78
• 64GB – $21.39
• 128GB – $39.00

At the time of this post, all sizes were in stock although quantities were limited on the 64GB model.  If you are an Amazon Prime customer, you get free shipping on these too.

The Chromium team in Google has pushed out a minor update to the Chrome browser for PC, Mac and Linux.  The updated version 59.0.3071.104 has already started rolling out and brings a handful of security fixes to the browser.  Users are strongly encouraged to update to this version.  You can manually check for the update by typing chrome://help in the browser bar.

Of particular note is a high priority bug that allows code to “escape the sandbox” in IndexedDB.  Google paid a $10,500 bounty to the developer who found this (a reminder that Google does indeed pay for finding bugs in their code) and it along makes this update important.  There are also two other noted bugs in the release notes that are high or medium priority.

Canadians are waking up to good news this morning.  The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ruled that starting December 1, 2017, all phones sold in the country are to be unlocked and carriers are banned from locking them to their network.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that as of December 1, 2017, all individual and small business wireless service customers will have the right to have their cellphones and other mobile devices unlocked free of charge upon request. In addition, all newly purchased devices must be provided unlocked from that day forward.

Canada mobile users pay some of the highest tariffs when it comes to mobile data usage and the ruling is aimed at creating competition between the carriers and to allow customers to more easily move from carrier-to-carrier to get the best deal.  This should, hopefully, have the knock-on effect of driving costs down for consumers.

Google has quietly released Developer Preview 4.1 of Android Things, the Android-based Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform, to developers.  The update primarily focuses on adding new hardware that is supported to the platform as well as addressing bug fixes and performance improvements.

On the new hardware front, the new Pico i.MX6UL revision B board is now supported.  That board supports external peripherals from the likes of Adafruit and Pimoroni which dev’s can use to build their IoT solutions.  The release notes point out that the beta version of this board is not supported.

Yesterday, through some estimates made from the downloading of the Pixel Launcher from the Play Store, several reports surfaced on the number of Google Pixel phones that have been sold.  Based on the listing of the launcher in the Store, it is estimated that 1 million units have been sold since the phone launched in October 2016.

On the surface, given the vast number of Android devices in the market, this seems like a low sales number.  And it is frankly.  Samsung has sold some 5 million Galaxy S8 units in just a handful of months while other phones like the Huawei P10 have also pushed well past 1 million units.

But who cares?  While many will get wrapped around the axle on this low number, it is important to keep in mind Google never intended this device to be for the masses.  It is a flagship device with a premium price and I suspect that Google themselves aren’t too flustered over the low numbers.  Neither should you.