Author: Clinton

AT&T has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active will be coming to the carrier this week on June 12th.  For those who aren’t familiar, the Active is a more durable version of the Galaxy S6 lineup and follows in the footsteps of the Galaxy S5 Active from last year.  This new, updated version sports dust and water resistant design (but not waterproof) for those who are on the go.  The Galaxy S6 Active sports some nice features including a 5.1″ HD AMOLED display, a 3500 mAh battery for all day performance and a 16MP rear facing camera.

Today in San Francisco, Apple announced that Apple Music for Android will be coming in July as part of a larger announcement that the company made around iTunes.  The new service is a subscription model where you can pay $9.99 per month (or up to 6 people on the same account for $14.99 per month) will be yet another offering for Android customers but the question will be if it is too late.  There are certainly some advantages to having Apple Music on Android devices, namely the Apple catalog of music which is hard to beat.

Google has released an update to Google Calendar for Android tablets and phones which brings several improvements, especially for those who use the app on their phone.  The update, version 5.2.1-94626333-release for those keeping score at home, has mainly focused on improvements around the month views on Android phones but also has moved some of the navigation elements in the app to improve and streamline it.  Although the name suggests it is for Google’s online calendar service only, Google Calendar can be your single calendar app on your phone or tablet as it allows you to pull in data from other account types including Exchange and Outlook.com.

Google Calendar – Free – Download Now

Google has released a nice update to the Chrome browser for Android devices with several improvements and new features.  One of the new features is the ability to tap a word on a webpage and Google will provide you information about that word or phrase at the bottom of the screen.  It is a handy little feature, especially if you run across a word you aren’t sure of the meaning or usage.  This update, version 43.0.2357.92 on Android phones for those keeping score at home, is available now and includes several other updates that make it a worthwhile download.  If you haven’t tried Chrome on your Android tablet or phone, now is a good time to give it a go. I personally have it set as my default browser on all my devices as it is pretty solid and easy to use.

Chrome for Android – Free – Download Now

Google has released an updated version of the Android System WebView app that addresses several bugs around inline video playing and graphic driver bugs.  What is Android System WebView you ask?  It is actually installed on every Android device and it a Chrome powered application that allows Android apps to display web content.  It is an update that everyone should make sure they have installed on their devices, particularly if you have had some troublesome apps that won’t display web content or display it properly.  The new version is, wait for it… 43.0.2357.121.

Also note that this update is only for devices running Lollipop 5.0 or higher.  If you are on KitKat or older, you will not see this update.

Today over at Amazon you can get a great deal on the BLU Studio 6.0 LTE Phablet.  Regularly priced at $279, today you can get it for $206, a savings of over 25%.  This 6″ display device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor and has 16GB of on board storage which you can expand up to an addition 64GB with the Micro-SD slot.  It is also equipped with an impressive 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera for great photos.  While the Snapdragon 400 is certainly pedestrian by the new set of Snapdragon processors on the market, it is still quite snappy and for the price, this phone is hard to beat.

BLU Studio 6.0 LTE with 6-Inch Full HD Display, 13MP Camera, Android KitKat v4.4 and 4G LTE HSPA+ Unlocked Cell Phone – White