Category: Android

Google has pushed an update to Google Drive for Android that has several small but nice updates.  The most notable change is the ability to pin files or folders to your phone or tablet’s home screen.  This gives you quick access to that file without actually having to open up the Drive app itself.  To use this new feature is pretty simple.  Once you have open up the app, next to the file or folder in the list will be an overflow menu (3 vertical dots).  Tap that and you will see an option “Add to Home screen”.  Tap that and it will be added.  To remove it, just tap-and-hold then drag it to Remove.

A couple of weeks ago, a new feature rolled out in Google Plus (G+) that allowed you to leave images in comments on posts.  This was very well received by users on the social platform as it gave a bit more of a personalized response to something (with an image or a GIF) instead of just text.  Now the Google Plus team has expanded that a bit further.  In the latest update, version 8.7 for those keeping score at home, you can now view those images in the replies in full screen and yes, you can save them to your phone to add to that awesome meme or GIF library.

In other words, the images in comments are treated and act like images in an original post on the site.

Microsoft and their mobile devices, Microsoft Lumia, were in the news again this week and not in a good way.  The company has all-but confirmed that they will be killing off the devices and brand by the end of 2016.  As a long time H/PC, PocketPC, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone users (I started this site back in 2004 writing about Handheld PCs and PocketPCs), it is a shame to see a company with the resources of Microsoft so utterly screw up their mobile strategy around devices.  There are a lot of reasons for this of course and I could spend a lot of digital ink on it.  But the bottom line is, from a device perspective, Microsoft made a long series of major missteps that has led to where we are today:  Virtually no Windows powered phones.  Sure there is the new HP Elite X3 but at the price point it has ($799), it will see very few and really, it’s aimed at the enterprise anyway.

But to suggest that Microsoft’s mobile strategy is dead because their phones are dead is a bit of a stretch and dare I say, false.  Their strategy is very much alive and well across both Android and iOS and proves that you don’t necessarily have to have phones in the mix.  Microsoft’s focus has been pretty clear for the last two years.  First, they want you using Microsoft services on whatever devices you want to use.  Second, they want you to have the apps to make you productive and give you near the same level of functionality as you have on the desktop.  These two things not only make up a mobile strategy but it makes a pretty solid one.

There is another new update to Skype for Android, the second such update in as many weeks.  The latest build, version 7.16 for those keeping score at home, brings some fixes and improvements to the messaging app but more importantly, brings Accessibility support to Bot cards.  As you might remember from the last update, Microsoft and their partners added a new Bots feature where you could get automated information and even place orders with some companies.  Now the company has enabled those Bots to work with the accessibility features of your phone.  If you have those features enabled, Skype will now support it and allow you to interact with the Bot properly.

Today’s Deal is literally today only and it is on the current (at least this week) flagship Nexus device, the Nexus 6P.  Today over on eBay you can pick one up either in Aluminum or Graphite with 32GB of storage for $399.  That is $100 off the regular price for this model and as a 6P owner, I can’t say enough good things about this phone.

There is nothing to really frown upon once you start digging into the specifications of the Nexus 6P.  It is powered by a Snapdragon 810 processor that is made up of a quad-core Cortex-A53
running at 1.55 GHz and a quad-core Cortex-A57 running at 2.0 GHz.  That processor is coupled with an Adreno 430 graphics processor and 3GB of RAM.  The 6P on eBay comes with 32GB of storage but unlike some other manufactures, the 3GB of RAM is in all of the storage options.  Like previous Nexus devices, the 6P does not have any expansion options for memory.

Budget friendly phone manufacture BLU has announced their latest phone, the VIVO 5R, which is well appointed for a phone that is $199.  The new 5R will be available starting September 21st in either grey or gold and will be available through Amazon or Best Buy.

Feature wise, the 5R is not too shabby.  It has a 5.5″ Full HD display that renders 1080 x 1920 for just over 400 ppi.  It is powered by the MediaTek 6753 1.3GHz Octa Core processor and is coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.  That storage can be expanded an additional 64GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.  The VIVO 5R also has a fingerprint scanner for additional device security and is powered by a 3150 mAh battery.