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After delaying for “consumer safety” reasons (uh, what?), Verizon has finally thrown the kill switch on the Galaxy Note7.  The carrier is rolling out update MMB29M.N930VVRS3APL2 which prevents the Note7 from charging.  The charging had already been hamstrung by Verizon and other carriers but to really, really get the point across that you need to turn this exploding phone in, now you can’t charge it.

Game over.

Verizon joins others like T-Mobile and AT&T who have already issued the no-charging update but it wasn’t without some controversy.  Samsung issued the software update in December but Verizon said they wouldn’t issue it as they didn’t want consumers to be left without a phone.  I, along with many other tech blogs and writers, bashed Verizon on this as the phone itself, which explodes when charging, is itself a danger to consumers.  The sooner it is gone the better.  Thankfully, and likely through a lot of FCC and CPSC pressure, they have released the update.

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.