Category: Android

One of the biggest benefits to Android as a platform is its flexibility.  Google, much to their credit, has made it very easy for developers – including companies that compete with them – to produce apps for Android to sell or give away.  Microsoft, much to their credit too, has taken advantage of this openness.  The Redmond, Washington company as certainly competed with Google and more directly Android but equally, have produced great apps that allow you to stay within the Microsoft ecosystem without too much pain.  In fact, really no pain.

If you are new to Android but your personal and/or work life is surrounded by Microsoft applications, take heart.  You will find that Android is more than capable of giving you a rich, powerful Microsoft experience without the sacrifices in other areas.  I’m of course referring to Windows Phone.  Clearly the Microsoft experience on Windows Phone was outstanding but even the apps on that now all-but-dead platform lacked when you compared them to those for Android or even iOS.

In this How To I’m going to highlight some of the key apps from Microsoft that will make your Android phone (and in most cases tablets) a solid performing and excellent user experience for those who have their digital work or personal lives in Office 365, OneDrive and other apps.  While those apps are expected, it is the other apps that Microsoft offers that may be a surprise to you.

Good news again today regarding Android Nougat.  T-Mobile has released the Nougat update to the HTC 10 for customers with that device on their network.  The update comes 6 weeks after the release of the update for the unlocked version of the phone which is a fair amount of time given T-Mobile has a good reputation on getting updates out to their customers.  If you have the HTC 10, you are looking for software update 2.37.531.5.  It should be hitting devices over the next few days via an OTA update.

Because this update is going from Marshmallow to Nougat, the update is hefty.  It comes in at just over 1GB so you will want to make sure you are on Wi-Fi to download it.  Once it is downloaded, you will need about 30 minutes to complete the upgrade process.

Nexus 6 owners, rejoice!  Google has just released Android Nougat 7.1.1 for the phone, bringing it line with other Nexus and Pixel phones.  The update, build N6F26Q, comes a few weeks after the initial release of 7.1.1 with a few remaining bug issues preventing it from being released on the 2014 flagship Nexus device.  Google had committed to having the update out this week and, true to their word, it has happened.

Full factory images and OTA images are now available on the Android Developer site for those who want to manually flash your devices.  For those of you who want to wait, the OTA is rolling out now and should be hitting devices over the course of the next few days.  Keep in mind however it can take a week or two before it hit everyone.

After being released in Europe in November, the Huawei Mate 9 is finally coming to the United States.  This 5.9″ phablet will be available at a wide range of online retailers, including Amazon, at the impressive price of $599.  So what does that get you?  a 5.9″ phone running Android Nougat, an octa-core processor running at 2.4GHz and Leica optics dual-camera setup shooting at 20MP and 12MP respectively with OIS.  The front facing selfie camera is 8MP shooter.  You also have 64GB of built-in storage that can be expanded up to an additional  256GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.  Not bad at all for $599.

The Mate 9 is being sold unlocked so the question is always carrier compatibility.  For those of you on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, you are good-to-go.  For those on Sprint and Verizon, the phone is CDMA compatible too. Here are the range of frequencies supported:

• GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• CDMA 800 / 1900
• HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
• CDMA2000 1xEV-DO & TD-SCDMA
• LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)

Those frequencies are going to cover every carrier here in the United States but as always, double-check with your carrier before ordering.

At CES 2017, SanDisk has announced an all new 256GB MicroSD card specifically aimed at mobile devices.  The new card supports Application Performance Class 1, or A1 for short, a new standard in the industry for storage cards.  This new standard means that this card is fast enough to run applications directly from them, not just be a storage facility for photos and videos.  The challenge with MicroSD cards in mobiles is that they are often too slow on the read/write to be able to run an application.  This new card from SanDisk solves that, with a read speed of 95MB/sec and the ability to handle up to 1500 random read input-output access per second and 500 write input-output access per second.  All this technical information simply says that this card is blazing fast and can run applications in real time with no problem.

Today’s Deal at Amazon is on the AUKEY USB Desktop Charger.  This four port USB charger isn’t much larger than a credit card and one of the ports is fully Quick Charge 3.0 compatible.   If you have a device that has this technology, you will benefit from a rapid charge, something most desktop chargers don’t built into them.  Right now this charger is only $19.99.

With this charger from AUKEY, you can charge up to four devices at one.  Each of the USB ports outputs 5v of power and can charge devices at 2.4A, making it compatible with really any smartphone out there, Android or iOS.  Three of the ports have the company’s adaptive charging technology to make sure that devices charge at an optimal rate but also protects against surges and overcharges.  The fourth port, noted with an orange insert, is the Quick Charge 3.0 port.

Like other AUKEY products, this charger comes with a 2 year warranty so you can buy confidently knowing the company stands behind the product.

Head over to Amazon to get all the details and to order.  Note that Today’s Deal is Amazon Prime eligible so if you are a member, shipping is free.