Author: Clinton

The team at LineageOS continues to shine with more new devices added to their supported device list this week.  The headliner of those new devices are the Google Pixel C tablet and the GSM unlocked and Sprint variants of the LG V20.  On the latter, with these two added, it means that the company now supports all US-based variants of the V20, a first for them.

The ROM builds for the Pixel C will be available starting on Monday, June 5th while the other ROMs for the other devices are now available.  The new devices include the BQ Aquaris U Plus and the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus while owners of the Motorola Photon Q and eEco Le Max 2 are now on the Android Nougat based 14.1 train.

Artist Hampus Olsson has released a set of six new wallpapers in support of the latest update to Paranoid Android.  For those who may not know Olsson’s work, he is the artist behind the colorful and creative wallpapers for OnePlus and Paranoid Android.  Chances are you have seen them, you just may not know the creator behind them.

The new wallpapers are available on his site and you can download them directly from there for all your devices, even if you aren’t running Paranoid Android.  He also has other artwork and wallpapers available on his site and a bit of history on his creative works.  You will also see the extensive list of clients he has who use his artwork.

Today’s Deal is on the slim, 4-port USB 3.0 hub from Anker.  This hub supports USB 3.0 on all four ports and right now it is $9.99 on Amazon.  That’s a savings of 50%.  The hub also supports SuperSpeed Data which can give you 5 Gbps throughout for data transfers.

The hub is small and lightweight, weighing less than an ounce, and has a reinforced cable to connect it to your PC or Mac as well as heat-resistant connectors within the hub.

As with all Anker products, you get a 18-month warranty on the hub and as one who personally uses Anker products, I never have a hesitation in recommending them.  They work and they last.

The deal over at Amazon is today and there is no limit to the number you buy.  If you are an Amazon Prime customer, shipping is free for you.

Canada’s largest mobile provider Rogers has begun taking pre-orders for the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus.  The carrier is offering both phones at a variety of different payment options to their customers including the ability to purchase the phones outright.

The 5.1″ P10 is available in Black or in the Rogers exclusive color Prestige Gold for $649 without a contract while it will cost $499 on a 2 year on their Talk & Text Plan.  The 5.5″ P10 Plus is $749 without a contract and $599 on a 2 year Talk & Text plan.  Their are other plans available from the carrier for both phones.

Just a day after launching in Canada, Android Pay has expanded to another new country today.  Taiwan has now been added to the list of 13 countries where you can use your phone to tap-and-pay for products & services.  While it is good news for Taiwanese and for Android Pay in general, it does have some pretty significant limitations in the country.  Namely, at launch, the support of only two banks.

CTBC and First Bank are the only two banks that are supporting the service today but Google indicates in their post that other banks like EnTie, Hua Nan and Shin Kong are coming soon to the service.  Adding those three major banks would bring the service to a significantly larger number of users.  This limited bank support also puts them behind Apple Pay which is currently supported by 7 banks in country.

It took a lot longer than anyone expected, but Canadians can finally get going on Android Pay.  The tap-to-pay service has added the country today, with the support of eight financial institutions.  That list will grow over the summer.  With the addition of Canada, Android Pay is now in 12 countries globally.

Over the next several days, Android Pay is rolling out with support from eligible Visa and MasterCard credit cards from BMO Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Banque Nationale, Scotiabank, Desjardins, President’s Choice Financial, ATB Financial, and Canadian Tire Financial Services in Canada, and prepaid Scotiabank and Desjardins cards. Support for Interac-branded debit cards will begin roll-out on Monday, and support for American Express cards and Tangerine is coming later this summer.

Like other countries, there are already a long list of retailers that can accept payments by touching your NFC compatible phone to a terminal.  These include Tim Hortons, Loblaws, Petro-Canada, McDonald’s, Indigo, Pizza Pizza, Sears Canada.  You can also use it in Telus, Rogers and Freedom Mobile retail locations.