Category: Android

Google Keep, the lightweight, cloud-based note taking app, has an update rolling out for Android users.  Version 3.4.803.02 doesn’t bring a massive amount of changes but it does bring the ability to undo & redo text editing controls to the app.  Now when you are editing a note and adding text, you have the ability to more quickly edit your notes with this new feature.

The feature is only available when you are editing a note and if you change notes or close and reopen the same note, the cache for being able to undo/redo is emptied so it won’t be available.

If you haven’t tried Google Keep, it is a free app (and is available on the web at keep.google.com) designed for lightweight note taking and editing.  Keep isn’t going to give you the flexibility of apps such as Evernote or OneNote, but if you need a quick note taking app that leverages cloud storage, it’s one to consider.

Today, Sprint here in the United States has become the first carrier to sell the Blackberry KEYone.  The announcement came from TCL, the company who licenses the Blackberry name, with the price starting at $22 per month for 18 months.  Outright, the phone is $528.

The KEYone drew a lot of attention when it was announced back in January with its keyboard and after a couple of delays, it is finally available for ordering.  The GSM version of the phone is $619.99 on Amazon.

There is a new update for the Huawei P10 that is rolling out now to device owners.  The update is for both the dual-SIM and single-SIM variants of the phone and it brings an updated security patch and other performance improvements.  The update is VTR-L09C432B150 or VTR-L19C432B150 depending on which variant you have in hand.  The builds are identical in updates and are about 270MB in size.

The update includes several improvements to the device including improvements to the camera app for more natural colors and adds a Moving picture feature which creates a small movie from your photo.  There are also battery performance improvements in this update, especially for times when you use your phone over a long period.

Chalk this one up in the “about time” category.

There is an update rolling out for Google Home that finally brings the ability for Google Play Music subscribers to stream their library of uploaded and purchased music to the Smart Speaker.  The update is rolling out as a device-side to your Google Home.  There is no update to the Home app itself expected – but keep an eye out.

To this point, when you wanted to play music on Home, it would always stream stations from the service, regardless if you had that music in your Google Play Music library.  The work-around of sorts was to specifically name an album that you have in your library, say “Play the album Clockwork Angels from Rush”.  If the album you requested was in Play Music, it would play it but it was streaming from the service itself, not necessarily what you had in your library.  This becomes a problem if there is an indie artist or other music that you have in your library but it isn’t in Google Play Music.  The work-around above won’t work.  The other work-around was to cast Play Music from your phone to your Home but that somewhat defeats the point, eh?

Paranoid Android, one of the more popular custom ROMs available for a wide range of devices, has a new update rolling out.  Release 2 brings a significant number of new features and improvements to the build, which is based on Android Nougat 7.2.0.  There are several new devices that are now supported with this build.  They include the OnePlus One, the OnePlus X and Nextbit Robin (keep in mind that the official ROM for the Robin is built by the Paranoid Android team too).  Support for the Xiaomni Mi5, Nexus 6 and LeEco Le Pro 3 is also in Release 2.  Support for the Nexus 5 and the OnePlus 2 will be coming shortly, as soon as the team feels they have a viable build.

The release has several new features.  Pocket Lock, as the name suggests, locks your device by disabling input sources when your phone is in your pocket.  You can release it by long pressing the power button.  Accidental Touch is a feature that will prevent inputs from hardware buttons when the touchscreen is in use.  This is particularly handy for those who game on their devices.

Today’s Deal is on the new Nokia 6 from HMD Global.  The 5.5″ Full HD phone with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable memory is now available on Amazon for $229.  This is fully unlocked and works on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile and does not have the Amazon Prime adverts on the lock screen.  If you don’t mind those ads, you can save a bit of money as the price goes down to $179.  The 6 has been available in other regions for a few months now but has finally made its way to US shores via Amazon and for a sub-$250 phone, it’s got a lot to offer.

It is powered by the Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz.  It has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage on board.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 128GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.  It has a 5.5″ 2.5D Full HD display coupled with Dolby Atmos sound with 7.2W of output.  It has a a 16MP rear facing camera and 8MP selfie camera with the rear camera having a dual-tone flash for warmer flash photos.