Tag: Android

A little over a week after the initial Nougat-based OxygenOS 4.0 release, OnePlus has released a small update for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T.  The new OxygenOS 4.0.1 build is rolling out to both devices currently and is primarily focused on addressing bugs and stability issues with the OS on these devices.  As OnePlus does, the update will be released to a small number of users first then roll out to the larger population as confirmation all is well with the update comes into them.

As for what is addressed, probably the biggest news is the updated APN settings.  After the initial OxygenOS 4.0 update, many 3 and 3T owners had network connectivity issues with their carrier.  This update should resolve those issues.  However, in the posting announcing the update, OnePlus is saying that if you still have issues, to manually adjust the APN settings or, worst case, report it to the product team at OnePlus with your phone model and carrier involved so they can help identify the issue and resolve it.

Today’s Deal is on another great charging product from AUKEY.  Today you can pick up the AUKEY Amp USB charger which has two USB-C ports and four USB-A ports for $21.99 on Amazon.  That’s a savings of 37% off the normal $34.99 price.  This is a great charger for those who have a Nexus 5x, Nexus 6P, Pixel C or one of the new Pixel phones as you can charge those devices USB-C to USB-C for faster charging.  All your other devices can use the USB-A ports, two of which are Quick Charge 2.0 compatible.

AUKEY has built in technology on this charger to optimize the charging of your devices without excessive current, overheating and overcharging.  Excessive current and overcharging are the number one challenges when it comes to Lithium-Ion batteries and can damage them or worse, cause them to catch fire.  AUKEY protects against those challenges with their AiPower technology.

The Amp USB charger is designed to sit on your desk so it isn’t necessarily a travel charger.  It comes with a 3′ USB-C to USB-C cable, a two year warranty against defects.  If you have mixed devices when it comes to charging cables, Amp Charger could be the right one for you.

To order yours or to get more information, head over to the AUKEY Amp USB charger page on Amazon.  If you are an Amazon Prime customer, shipping on this accessory is free too.

Today’s Deal over at Amazon is on the solid performing BLU VIVO 5R phone from BLU.  This 5.5″ phone with 3GB of RM and 32GB of storage is down to $197 if you pick it up in white and gold trim.  While BLU has always been known for their budget friendly phones, over the past year the company has made great strides in the quality and performance that you get for that budget price.  The VIVO 5R is a great example of this fact.

The phone comes with a 5.5″ Full HD curved glass display that gives you an eye appealing ~401ppi.  It is powered by the MediaTek 6753 octa-core processor running at 1.3GHz and is coupled with 32GB of internal storage and 3GB of RAM.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 64GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.  Powering all of this is a 3150mAh battery which should keep you going all day.  The phone ships with Android Marshmallow but it is expected that BLU will update it to Nougat at some point – but when or if is unclear.

As the BLU VIVO 5R is sold unlocked on Amazon, cellular frequencies become part of the equation.  For those of you on GSM networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket and others, you should be good-to-go.  Here are the supported bands on the phone:

• 4G LTE 2/4/7/12/17
• 4G HSPA+ – 850/1700/1900/2100)

Unfortunately the phone does not support CDMA carriers like Sprint or Verizon.

If you have manually flashed an Android phone before or have unlocked your bootloader, then you are familiar with the ADB and Fastboot commands that you use to make those changes to your Android devices.  The challenge, till now, is that you either had to download the entire Android Developer Studio, all 1.6GB of it, just to get the official ADB or you had to go off piste and get it from a 3rd party.  That, of course, opens you up to all kinds of fun like malware.  Now you have a third option:  Download these platform tools directly from Google.

Google has finally made it where you can download just these tools along with a few others without having to bother with the developer tools.  Frankly, unless you are a developer, those tools eat up a huge amount of storage on your PC or Mac and are somewhat dead to you.

Good news again today regarding Android Nougat.  T-Mobile has released the Nougat update to the HTC 10 for customers with that device on their network.  The update comes 6 weeks after the release of the update for the unlocked version of the phone which is a fair amount of time given T-Mobile has a good reputation on getting updates out to their customers.  If you have the HTC 10, you are looking for software update 2.37.531.5.  It should be hitting devices over the next few days via an OTA update.

Because this update is going from Marshmallow to Nougat, the update is hefty.  It comes in at just over 1GB so you will want to make sure you are on Wi-Fi to download it.  Once it is downloaded, you will need about 30 minutes to complete the upgrade process.

To help you keep track of your exercise goals, Google has announced a new integration between Google Calendar and Google Fit.  The change is behind the scenes and once it rolls out to everyone, you can track your exercising in Google Fit and it will automatically mark your time slot for exercising in Google Calendar as “done”.  It is a nice and easy way to keep track of your exercise routine while making sure it is built into your daily schedule.

Goal tracking in Google Calendar is not new.  It has been there since April of last year and allows you to track anything from exercise to reading time to learning a new language.  The goals are quite handy actually and the app is smart enough to look at what is on your calendar and schedule that goal in a time period where you don’t have other activities.  You can also tell it to set a time for the goal in the morning, afternoon or evening for even more refinement.  Now, on your exercise goals, you can tie them in with Google Fit so when you complete an exercise there, it update Calendar automatically as the goal being complete.