Author: Clinton

If you are like me you have multiple devices on your desk that need to be charged via USB.  Using your laptop’s USB ports is fine when you are on the road but at home or in the office, that can be a bit of a challenge.  First you usually don’t have enough ports on your laptop and secondly, they don’t necessarily charge your devices that fast.  Anker has been making power accessories for devices since 2012 and was founded by a group of Googlers.  Their solutions bring an elegance and style to what is very much a utilitarian need of our modern world.  The Anker 40w 5 Port USB desktop charger is no exception.  This simple but stylish desktop accessory allows you to charge up to 5 USB devices at once yet does it in a sleek, slim designed hub that sits nicely on any desk.  At only $25.99 and available directly from Amazon, it is also a great value.

Anker 40w 5 Port USB Family-Sized Desktop Charger – $25.99 – Distributed Through Amazon

The Avis app for Windows Phone has received a nice update today, bringing several improvements designed to make the app more user friendly.  The update, version 1.3.0.0 for those keeping score at home, now allows you to stay logged into the app for up to 90 days.  Previously you had to log in every time you used the app.  That’s great for security but a real pain when you are trying to get your reservation information as you walk through an airport terminal.

Avis app for Windows Phone – Free – Download Now

If you have been waiting to get Windows Phone 8.1 on your HTC 8X as a T-Mobile customer, your wait is over.  According to a Tweet from the T-Mobile USA Twitter account, the company has no plans of releasing any future updates to this device.  It’s sad news but it shouldn’t come as a complete shock to many Windows Phone fans.  The 8x was released in November 2012 so at just over 2 years old and with HTC still not fully committed to Windows Phone, it is hardly a surprise

Bing Rewards members have a great new freebie from Microsoft.  Now through the end of February members can simply click a button and get 100GB of free OneDrive storage for the next two years.  No complicated application process.  No endless hoops to jump through.  Simply click the OneDrive offer button on the Bing Rewards page and the 100GB is yours free for two years.

The assumption of course is that you are a Bing Rewards member and you have a OneDrive account.  So, if for some reason you are not, here

Bing Rewards 100GB Free OneDrive Storage

are links for you to join.

First, to join Bing Rewards, visit this link.  If you aren’t familiar with Bing Rewards, it’s a simple program that allows you collect points which you can then use for free rewards from Microsoft.  The more you search the more you earn.

Second, to get a OneDrive account, visit this link.  A free account gets you 15GB of storage (Unlimited if you also have an Office 365 account) so you see the value.  Straight away you will have 115GB of cloud storage you can access from your Windows PC, Tablet, Phone as well as your iOS, Android and Mac devices.  Plus, you will get another 15GB of storage if you automatically upload photos from your smartphone’s camera to OneDrive.

The key is that you have to do this before February 28, 2015 to get this extra storage.

The Personal Assistant Cortana that is built into Windows 10 and Windows Phone has a new Interests category that will allow you to track everything from workouts to concerts.  But this new feature isn’t available to everyone and there is no indication on when everyone will see it.  It’s another way that Microsoft continues to make the service more personalized for every individual user.

It seems weekly that Microsoft is running a great deal on the Lumia 635.  This week is no exception.  Right now on the Microsoft Store you can get a Lumia 635 free when you purchase a 1 year subscription to Xbox Music Pass.  The deal is $99 and that gets you one year of Xbox which you can stream to your device (ad-free I might add), create your own stations, download music for offline listening and sync this across all your devices.  It’s a great deal by itself but now you get arguably a fantastic music player in the Lumia 635 included.  Oh yeah, it’s a pretty good phone too.

To get this deal, follow the link below.  If you haven’t read my review of the Lumia 635, you can do that right here.

1 Year Xbox Music Pass with a Free Lumia 635 Windows Phone – $99 – Microsoft Store