Category: Android

Google has announced the release of a new build of Chrome for Android.  Chrome 56 brings a lot of improvements and new features to the browser, most notably is a new download tab.  The new build is version 56.0.2924.87 for those keeping score at home and should be coming to your devices over the course of the next week.

The big new feature is a new downloads tab.  Now you can more easily find things that you have download within the browser with this new tab.  The aim is to allow you to find them and access them without having to exit the browser itself.  Along with this, you can now easily use email addresses, physical addresses and phone numbers within a web page by tapping them.  If, for example, you tap a phone number, it will open up your phone app so you can place that call.  Again, the idea is to make the user experience easier and faster.

Today’s Deal is on a great phone that I reviewed a few months ago.  The Sony Xperia X Compact has a lot of punch in a little package and right now, it is on sale for $369 at Amazon.  Normally this 4.6″ phone is $499, so this is a healthy amount of savings.  It is powered by the Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor.  It has four 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores &  two 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 cores.  The processor is coupled with the Adreno 510 GPU which provides good graphics performance.  The X Compact has 3GB of RAM onboard and has 32GB of built-in storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 256GB thanks to the Micro SD slot that is built into the SIM tray of the phone.

Display wise, the Xperia X Compact has a 4.6″ IPS LCD display that renders at 720 x 1280.  That gives you 319 ppi which is low compared to other devices out there.  I caution readers to consider that this device has a much smaller display so 319 ppi is actually very comfortable on this screen size.  Indeed for comparison, the iPhone 6 had 329 ppi so we aren’t talking about a massive difference from even larger devices.  The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

Google has released a nice update to their photo editing app, Snapseed.  The update brings back a popular perspective tool while adding a new export feature and other improvements.  The vertical and horizontal correction tool is back, allowing you to quickly and easily adjust the contrast and saturation of a photo just by dragging your finger across the photo.  It makes editing quickly and like other filters in the app, there are several preset ones for you to use as a starting point or final edit.

Along with this, the Face filter has been improved with a choice of styles for you to use.  In addition to the Smooth and Eye filters, there are a couple of new Spotlight as well as combination filters to help enhance the faces in your photos.

The Starbucks app for Android has an update rolling out that brings a long desired feature:  The ability to create and save your favorite drinks.  The feature is aimed at those who use the ordering feature in the app as it allows you to, with one tap, order your favorite drink then go to your local Starbucks and pick it up.  The ability to order within the Starbucks app has been there a while but every time you used it, you had to create your drink, even if you are a creature of habit and order the same thing every time.

To use the new feature, go to the Order section of the app.  It will find the Starbucks location closest to you and present you a menu of the food and drinks that are available at that location.  Build your favorite drink using the drink menu and once you have created your masterpiece, tap the heart icon to save it.  The next time you order, you can go to the Favorites tab and your drink will be there and ready to order with a tap of the Floating Action Button.

Nextbit was acquired by Razer today, ending the company’s independent status as well as ending the sale of their only phone, the Nextbit Robin.  In an announcement today, Nextbit will become an operating unit within Razer going forward.

While we have stopped selling Robin and all accessories through our official channels, we are still dedicated to supporting all of you. We will continue to fulfill warranties for 6 more months. And as promised, we will continue to provide software updates and security patches through February 2018.

The news isn’t entirely a surprise but still interesting given that the Robin has been a solid Android option that has nice specs at an affordable price.  What this means for Nextbit’s next phone, if there is one, remains unclear.

The Google Opinion Rewards app for Android has had a small but nice update to it this weekend.  The update expands the free Play Store cash app to Austria and Switzerland firstly, allowing Android users in those countries to fill out surveys and get Play Store credit in return to spend on whatever they want in the Store.  This brings the app to 17 different countries globally.

If you aren’t familiar with the app, it is pretty simple.  You are sent survey’s periodically to fill out and get anywhere from a few cents (or your local currency) up to $1.00 for completing them.  They are sent to you at random and as you fill them out, you get these credits to spend in the Play Store.  You can always check out which countries are eligible and added at this link.