Category: Android

Over the weekend, Google pushed a behind-the-scenes update to the Google Play Store.  Now, once the update hits your account, you will see a new Free App of the Week section in the store.  Now you will be able to download a normally pay-to-play app at no charge.  It is certainly not a new concept but it is great to see Google getting on board with such programs.  Apple has had this for some time now while Amazon likely has the most aggressive free app model with their Amazon Underground.  There you can not only get apps for free that you normally have to pay for but also get free in-app purchases.  The Google offer does not give you free in-app purchases.  Those are still on you.

This week’s free app is Card Wars from Cartoon Network.  Normally it is $2.99 but for the rest of this week, it is free.

Google has sent notifications out to G Suite customers that in starting next week, a warning will show up in Google Hangouts that SMS will no longer be supported.  That support will end on May 22nd.  The notification and change is part of the overall strategy of Google to move their G Suite customers to the new Google Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat while leveraging Android Messages for SMS on Android devices.  For consumers, the focus is on Google Allo and Duo to meet these communications needs.

For those readers who are on Project Fi (I am one of them) or using Google Voice, this change does not impact you.  This change only impacts G Suite customers who are using carrier numbers to send and receive SMS messages.  This fits along with what Google told me earlier this month at the Google Next Cloud event in San Francisco.

Over at Amazon you can still pick up the Nextbit Robin for $149.   I reviewed the Robin a few months ago and at the time I said it was a pretty good deal at $299.  At $149, it is one of the best deals on a phone with these specs out there right now.  Over the holidays the phone was $169 on Amazon so this price drop makes it the lowest price the phone has ever been available.

For those that don’t recall, the Nextbit Robin has some great features and offers a unique device-meets-cloud storage solution.  It has 32GB of onboard storage merged with 100 GB online storage, so you always have the space you need. Robin seamlessly backs up your apps and photos, intelligently archives the stuff you’re not using, and easily restores items when you need them.  The idea is that you never run out of space.  Those less used apps are backed up into the cloud but then are instantly available when you want them.  You’ll know an app has been backed up into the cloud as it will be grey on your Robin.  You can read my review of the Robin to see all my thoughts on this great little phone.  I also think it is perhaps one of the most underrated phones of 2016.

The day has finally arrived Star Wars fans.  Rogue One:  A Star Wars Story is now available for purchase in the Google Play Movies & TV Store.  The movie has been available to add to your wishlist since January and was one of the most successful movies of 2016.  The movie is set between the much maligned prequels and A New Hope, the original Star Wars movie, focusing on a band of Rebels who are trying to steal the plans to the Death Star.  If you haven’t seen it yet, rent it and see what you missed.  It has become one of my favorite movies in the franchise.

The movie is $19.99 in HD.  Right now there is not a rental option nor is there a UHD option for the movie.

Google Trips has seen its second update this week, bringing two new features that users will appreciate.  First, you now have the ability to manually add hotel and airline reservations to a trip.  Previously, there was no way to do this and the only way to get reservations into a trip was by having it automatically added via Gmail.  Now when you go into a trip within the app, you will see a FAB (Floating Action Button) which will now let you add flight and hotel information.

The other big change in this update is that Google Trips will now watch your Gmail for bus and train travel and add those automatically to your trips.  This expands the apps ability in searching Gmail as previously only hotel and airline information was automatically added.

Wells Fargo, the third largest bank here in the United States, is rolling out the ability to use your Android phone or iPhone to withdraw funds from any of their 13,000 ATMs nationally.  The new feature will be in place starting Monday, March 27th.  It is yet another step towards technology in the banking sector, a sector notoriously slow at adopting new technologies.  That is particularly true here in the US where Chip-and-PIN terminals are just now making their way into retailers.

How the new system will work is straightforward.  In the Wells Fargo app, you will be able to request an 8-digit code which you then enter into the ATM.  You will then have to enter your personal PIN for your account and once it is verified, your funds will be provided.  This means that you can withdraw cash from your account even if you forgot your bank card.