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The big box retailer Best Buy is now another option for those of you who are looking to pick up the new Nexus 6P.  This weekend the US retailer started selling the aluminium finished 6P with 64GB of onboard storage for $499.  That is the same price as the Google Store but you can pick it up locally at many of the brick-and-mortar stores and of course order it online for delivery to your home, office or your local Best Buy.

To this point here in the US you have pretty much had to go to the Google Store to get the Nexus 6P although you have been able to find them sporadically on eBay or Amazon.  The rumor was that Best Buy would be picking up the 6P at some point but it was unclear when it would be and, more importantly, if it would be during the holiday season.  It made it – barely – which certainly is a good sign as Google works to get the phone out to other outlets.

Nexus 6P at Best Buy – 64GB $499

Over the weekend, Google released some more tweaks and enhancements to Google Plus. The updates are the second that the site has seen in as many weeks and were outlined once again by Google’s Luke Wroblewski on his Plus account.  The changes have all be based on user feedback of the new user experience on the social site which technically is still in beta but open to anyone.  The new experience is aimed at bringing communities together on the site, one of the key reasons I was drawn to the services and what keeps me there on a daily basis.  In his post, Luke outlines the range of updates that are available on the web, all of which have rolled out now.

• +1 comments with one click using the action that appears when you hover over each comment

• View precisely when posts were made with the full timestamp on post pages

• Provide additional details when reporting abuse on posts. (I recognize this adds an additional click or two but the added information we collect helps us ensure G+ remains a great place to connect around shared interests.)

Along with the description, he also posted an image of the changes which I have linked to after the break below.

If you are looking for a budget Android phone with great specs, the BLU Vivo Air LTE could be an option for you. Today over at Amazon, you can pick one up for only $149, a savings of $50 and you can still get it in time for Christmas with 2-day shipping. The US based company BLU has become known as company that offers Android and Windows Phones at a competitive price with reasonable specs.  The Vivo Air LTE is a great example of this and while the specifications aren’t going to set the world alight, they still aren’t anything to dismiss.

• Super AMOLED 4.8-inch HD Display;
• 8MP Camera with Sony IMX 219 Sensor + LED Flash with HD video recording (1080p), 5MP Wide angle Front Camera
• 16GB internal with 2GB RAM,
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, 64-Bit 1.2 GHz CPU
• 4G LTE: T-Mobile: Supported Nationwide with Bands 2/4 including MVNO’s on T-Mobile such as Metro PCS, Simple Mobile, Go Smart, Straight Talk, AT&T: Limited Support for markets where AT&T has rolled out Band 2 and 4.Does not support Band 17

Keep in mind that the 16GB of storage on board is what you will get – there is no MicroSD slot.  Again, for some this isn’t a deal breaker but you need to be aware of it if you are considering picking one up for yourself or a gift. And as you probably have sorted out for yourself, the phone is unlocked and will pretty much work with any GSM carrier.

You will also note that it will have Android Lollipop running on it.  What about Marshmallow?  More on that after the break.

BLU Vivo Air LTE – SALE $149- Amazon

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been in movie theaters for less than 24 hours but you can already pre-order the move on Google Play.  The movie absolutely destroyed opening day totals, bringing in an estimated $54m on its first day and this weekend it will likely set even more records. Now through Google you have the opportunity to pre-order the movie when it is released for download sometime in 2016.  No there is no stated release date but pre-order will assure that the moment that it is available on the store, it will be in your library, ready for you to download.

The move is available in HD for $19.99 while the SD version is $14.99.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $14.99 (SD) or $19.99 (HD) – Google Play Store