Tag: Android

For those of you who use Mint for managing your household budgets and finances, there is a nice update out for you this morning.  The update, version 4.14 for those keeping score at home, brings support for fingerprint authentication.  Mint joins an ever increasing number of apps that support fingerprint authentication as it for the most part will be safer than PINs or passwords.  The new feature is not enabled by default and, as expected, you won’t see it as an option if you have the app installed on a phone that doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner.  To enable it, go to Settings>Security and there is a new checkbox to enable it.  The next time you start up Mint, you will be prompted to scan your fingerprint to get into your financial information.

Today’s Deal is on your choice of external battery packs from RAVPower.  Over at Amazon, they have three different models ranging from $19.49 up to $37.49 but all are anywhere from 51 to 63% off the regular price.  The 12000 mAh model has dual USB ports and 2.4A of output for $19.49.  This is the new model of this pack which is 20% smaller and 15% lighter than the previous model.  It will give you 3 charges of a Galaxy S7, has a combined 3.4A output (2.4A max each) on its dual USB charging ports and has RAVPower’s iSmart technology for fast, safe and efficient charging of your devices.  This pack is also using the lates Li-Polymer technology for higher performance and better protection against short circuits and over-charging.  At $19.49, this is a solid deal.

Next up is the 16750mAh model that also has dual USB ports but higher total energy output.  This $23.99 model can charge a Galaxy S7 3.5 times and claimed to have the hight output of any external pack on the market in this capacity.  It features 4.5A of total output which makes it capable of charging 2 tablets at the same time.  It too features batteries that have over 500 charge cycles, have short-circuit and over-current protection to keep you and your device safe.  Normally this model is $41, so at $23.99 you are saving about 61%.

Skype for Android has a small but nice update rolling out in the Play Store this morning.  The new build, version 7.24.0.255 for those keeping score at home, brings some UI refinements as well as some useability improvements to the long standing video and messaging app.  Probably the biggest change is the Calls tab interface.  It has been updated with a quick call option and a new dialer button.  Those of you who use Skype for calls, particularly international calls where the service really shines, will enjoy this update as it is much cleaner.

Read on for more details

I appreciate that I’ve told readers about this deal already – twice in fact.  But it is one of those deals that is just too good to pass up.  Over at Amazon you can still pick up the Nextbit Robin for $169.  Originally the deal was only on the Mint color but now it is also on the darker Midnight color option.  Regardless of which color you choose, you are getting a solid mid-range phone with great specs and performance.  I reviewed the Robin a few months ago and at the time I said it was a pretty good deal at $299.  At $169, it is one of the best deals on a phone with these specs out there.

For those that don’t recall, the Nextbit Robin has some great features and offers a unique device-meets-cloud storage solution.  It has 32GB of onboard storage merged with 100 GB online storage, so you always have the space you need. Robin seamlessly backs up your apps and photos, intelligently archives the stuff you’re not using, and easily restores items when you need them.  The idea is that you never run out of space.  Those less used apps are backed up into the cloud but then are instantly available when you want them.  You’ll know an app has been backed up into the cloud as it will be grey on your Robin.

Continue reading after the break for more details

Google is in the process of rolling out updates to their Android apps for Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides.  The updates, mainly aimed at G Suite customers, brings a lot of improvements to each app individually but collectively brings them all in-app notifications.  Today, the way it works, is if you are collaborating with someone on a document, you get a notification that they have updated it – in Google Drive.  With the update to the apps, now you get the notifications within each app.  It is a bit of a no-brainer really.  Each app’s notifications are separate from the others so you will only see notifications for Google Sheets in Google Sheets.

Read on as there are other improvements beyond notifications.

OnePlus has had an active community of users and fans since their break into the market a couple of years back.  There is likely no better example of that community then the company’s user forums.  They are always teeming with activity, from those who are seeking help and those providing it, to company announcements about new software updates and hardware.  On the OnePlus 3, their latest phone, built into OxygenOS was a community forums app so users could get quick help or provide help right from their phone.  Now that app has made its way to the Play Store for anyone to install on their phones.