Google Docs Update Brings Big Collaboration Changes

Google has begun the rollout of several big changes to the G Suite of apps, Google Docs, Sheets & Slides.  The updates are rolling out to the web-based versions of the apps currently but you can expect some of this functionality to eventually make it to the mobile apps.

According to the announcement from Google, there are four improvements that are rolling out now.

  1. Name versions of a Doc, Sheet or Slide. Being able to assign custom names to versions of your document is a great way to keep a historical record of your team’s progress. It’s also helpful for communicating when a document is actually final. You can organize and track your team’s changes in one place under “Version history” (formerly known as “Revision history”) on the web. Select File > Version history > Name current version. For even quicker recall, there’s an option to select “Only show named versions” in Docs, Sheets or Slides.
  2. Preview “clean versions” of Docs to see what your Doc looks like without comments or suggested edits. Select Tools > Review suggested edits > Preview accept all OR Preview reject all.
  3. Accept or reject all edit suggestions at once in your Doc so your team doesn’t have to review every single punctuation mark or formatting update. Select Tools > Review suggested edits > Accept all OR Reject all.
  4. Suggest changes in a Doc from an Android, iPhone or iPad device. Click the three dots menu in the bottom right of your Doc screen to suggest edits on-the-go. Turn on the “Suggest changes” toggle and start typing in “suggestion mode.”

All of these changes are aimed at making it quicker and easier for you to collaborate on documents and work through the change process on them.

Today’s Deal – Huawei Mate 9 Down to $435 on Amazon

For those of you who have had your eye on the Huawei Mate 9, today is your day to pick one up.  For Today’s Deal, you can pick up the 5.9″ phablet with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for $435 in Grey, a savings of $150 off its original $599 pricetag.  I reviewed the Mate 9 earlier this year and it is an outstanding device with an awesome display, great battery life and excellent cameras.  At this price, it is well worth considering.

So what does $435 get you in the Huawei Mate 9?  A lot frankly.  It is 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.  Finally, it comes with a US warranty so you are not buying an international version of the phone.

T-Mobile Fires Up 600MHz Spectrum for The First Time

T-Mobile has announced that they have turned up their first 600MHz LTE areas here in the United States.  The company rolled out the new spectrum, which they acquired at auction from the FCC earlier this year, in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The new low-spectrum will give T-Mobile a greater reach, particularly in rural areas and where they have not rolled out 700MHz yet.

The company is leveraging Nokia equipment for the rollout in Cheyenne and if you are curious as to why they started in Cheyenne, it’s a pretty straightforward reason.  600MHz, in some parts of the country, are occupied by television broadcasters.  That’s not the case apparently in Cheyenne so rolling out could happen immediately.  T-Mobile will continue to roll out the spectrum as it is cleared in other areas of the country.

Android Nougat 7.1.1 Updates Resume for The Nexus 6

After months of delays sorting out bugs and upgrade issues, the Android Nougat 7.1.1 update has finally been released by Google for the Nexus 6.  The original update for the November 2014 flagship phone almost immediately caused issues for those who upgraded from Nougat 7.0.  Issues with the original update back in March dealt with Android Pay, as in, it completely broke.  Nexus 6 owners were not able to use the tap-to-pay service if they upgraded to Nougat 7.1.1.

To address the issue, Google actually reverted the devices back to Android Nougat 7.0 which sorted out the Android Pay problem but left “Shamu” owners out of luck on the latest & greatest features of Nougat 7.1.1.

Essential PH-1 Pre-Orders to Start Shipping Within A Week

Good news this morning for those of you who pre-ordered the Essential PH-1.  Your device should be shipping to you over the course of the next seven days according to the company.  It follows delays in shipping as the Andy Rubin’s founded company had expected to ship the phones in July.

The Essential PH-1 has a titanium body with a ceramic back, a 5.7″ 2560 x 1320 Quad-HD display, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage built-in.  It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.  This octa-core processor has four cores running at 2.45GHz and the remaining four clocked at 1.9GHz.

The camera configuration on the back of the PH-1 is becoming somewhat of the standard.  It is a dual-camera setup with a 13MP RGB camera coupled with a 13MP monochrome camera.  It is has a f/1.85 aperture and hybrid autofocus (laser and phase detection).  It is capable of shooting up to 4K video.  The front facing 8MP camera is a fixed focus f/2.2 shooter that can also shoot 4K video.

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