Author: Clinton

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been in movie theaters for less than 24 hours but you can already pre-order the move on Google Play.  The movie absolutely destroyed opening day totals, bringing in an estimated $54m on its first day and this weekend it will likely set even more records. Now through Google you have the opportunity to pre-order the movie when it is released for download sometime in 2016.  No there is no stated release date but pre-order will assure that the moment that it is available on the store, it will be in your library, ready for you to download.

The move is available in HD for $19.99 while the SD version is $14.99.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $14.99 (SD) or $19.99 (HD) – Google Play Store

Just in time for your holiday break, Angry Birds 2 has been updated with new levels and a new arena competition where you can play other players from around the world.  The team at Rovio who develop the game are saying that this is the biggest update to the game so far and based on the release notes and a bit of game play this morning, I believe it.  There are a huge number of improvements and changes to the app along with the new player vs player arena.

Like in the previous versions, when you tap on the arena you have your nest of birds and you try to clear as many levels as possible before you run out of birds.  It use to be that you would simply see your score and the scores of other players on the scoreboard but now you are pitted against another player to see if you can beat their score.  Add to that the ability to collect stars which allow you to level up your birds and other rewards, it has really changed how you play in the arena – and for the better in my opinion.

Part of this update in the area and throughout the game is a new Star Ranks where you earn starts in campaigns and tournaments.  This allows you to upgrade your birds and get other rewards in the game.

That’s really only the beginning of this update to Angry Birds 2

Good news from Sprint this morning for those of you who have an LG G4 on their network.  The Android Marshmallow update is rolling out to devices starting today and while it will be a phased, users should see the update in a matter of days.  The new build version from Sprint is LS991ZV9 and brings Marshmallow 6.0 to the G4 along with Sprint Global Roaming capabilities.

The good news is once again that the updates to Marshmallow appear to be taking far less time to roll out than Lollipop ever achieved and while some carriers are still dragging their feet on it (AT&T, I’m looking at you), they too are getting updates out much faster than before.  T-Mobile here in the US has probably been the best example of it.

There are some big benefits to for LG G4 owners who get the update including what I think is the killer feature of Marshmallow, Doze, along with some other nice new features.  You can read my review of Android Marshmallow to get the highlights of the release.

Google Now on Tap continues to evolve and the latest update to the contextual information feature has had a new feature added:  Screen sharing.  The update comes courtesy of an update to the Google Search app for Android, taking that app (and the engine behind Now on Tap) to version 5.7.14.19 for those keeping score at home.  That build and this feature is specifically designed for Android Marshmallow so if that hasn’t hit your phone or tablet yet, you won’t see the feature.

Essentially what this update does it take a screen capture of whatever you are viewing on your screen.  While you can capture your screen using the combination of the Power+Volume Down key, having this just a couple of screen taps away will make it easier and faster for many users.  It has been in beta for a week or so now and there have been several posts that it is coming but now it has rolled out to the Google Play Store and is widely available.

About a week ago Google released Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 for Nexus devices including the Nexus 6.  Today T-Mobile has begun rolling it out to customers with Nexus 6’s on their network via an OTA update.  There are a few notable changes in 6.0.1 which you can read about here but the bigger picture here is the speed at which T-Mobile got this update out to their customers.  I, along with countless others in the tech writing community, have harped on endlessly about how long it takes carriers to push out updates after Google releases them.  T-Mobile, for their part, is getting the job done and getting it done fast.  That will only benefit their customers who will have up-to-date software and the latest security fixes.  Contrast this with another major carrier here in the US, AT&T, who have still not pushed out Marshmallow 6.0 to their Nexus 6 customers.

But I digress…

Of particular importance to T-Mobile users, this update to Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 contains support for the carrier’s LTE Band 12, which will give better throughput in buildings and rural areas.  I have upgraded my unlocked Nexus 6 to 6.0.1 and can confirm through LTE Discovery that Band 12 is supported.

The Google Store has really stepped up in this final week before Christmas with a great bonus for those who are looking at picking up any hardware from the Google Play Store.  Now through December 22nd, you will get free overnight shipping on any purchase made from the store.  The good thing is, it is on everything in the store.  If you are looking to pick up some USB Type-C cables, cases or a new Nexus 6P or Pixel C, the free shipping applies.  That could save you some big bucks and assure you that you get that gift for that special someone in time for the holidays.

To get the free shipping all you need to do is make a purchase.  The free shipping is automatically applied and rest assured that if you are buying a gift for someone and they want to return it, they are accepted up to January 22, 2016.

But wait, there’s more!