Tag: Android

If you are looking to have the new Pixel 2 launcher look and feel on your current phone, the latest update to Action Launcher is your ticket.  The update, version 30.2 for those keeping score at home, brings all of the goodness that is in Google’s new default launcher to any phone without rooting.  In fact, looking at it side-by-side with the Pixel 2 launcher, it is all-but identical plus you have a lot of tweaks that you can do that are not available in the Google launcher.

Action Launcher in this update has brought the At A Glance feature, giving you the date and weather at the top of the display on your Home page and updating with calendar notifications when you have an upcoming appointment.  Functionally, it is the same as the Pixel 2 launcher and it looks identical.

To say that the launch of the Google Pixel 2 lineup is off to a rocky start would be an understatement.  There has been a huge amount of debate about the display on the devices and audio issues that have cause distorted audio or “popping” sounds.  Google’s addressed the display issues both with an explanation and some software tweaks that will be coming to the devices.  Now we know that there will be fixes for the audio challenges too.

According to CNET, Google has told them that fixes for the audio issues on the Pixel 2 are in the works and will be rolling out “in a few weeks”.  When is a few weeks exactly?  Not sure but it is unlikely to be bundled in the November Android Security Update.  That should be released next Monday, November 6th.  It will likely be a supplemental update for the phones.

For those of you who have not tried out the Photo Book service through Google Photos, now is a good time to consider it.  Today through November 9th, you get free shipping on any hardcover photo book that you order through the service.  Photo Books start at $9.99.

The service allows you to select any photos from your Google Photos library and add them to a book.  You can then edit those photos, arrange them on the pages and through various templates to create a truly personalized book for yourself or as a gift.  In all, you can have up to 100 photos in a book a

I personally have ordered several Photo Books through Photos and I’ve not been disappointed in the quality of the product.  They make a great gift.

For those of you who have been waiting for Netflix to drop Season 2 of Stranger Things, your wait is over.  The 9 episode second season is now listed in the Netflix app and online so you can start binge watching while at the office today.

Stranger Things, for those who haven’t watched, revolves around a young boy disappearing, his friends, a strange girl, and the unraveling of the mystery behind it and secret experiments.  By their own admission, Netflix did not expect much from the series but it won five Emmy awards last year for its first season.

The release of the Google Pixel 2 lineup should have gone much better.  The phones were highly touted, packed with a lot of power and Artificial Intelligence.  But it hasn’t been a smooth road.  Users of the phones started reporting screen issues, popping sounds and other issues with the flagship devices.  Google, who began investigating the issues immediately, has now indicated their plan to address the issues.

First, the Pixel 2 lineup will come with a two year warranty.  This is to put people at ease when considering the phone and is one of the longest warranties out there for a smartphone.  Google clearly thinks that the phone’s operations and design are fine and are backing it up.

Second, Google plans to address the popping sound and some of the screen items through software updates.  Those should start rolling out as soon as November.  But it should be said that when Google explained the display issue in their Product Forums, it didn’t satisfy everyone.  The reality is, Google’s response and how they plan to address the issue is spot-on.

Amazon today has added four new LG phones to their popular Amazon Prime phone lineup.  The four phones join the nine other phones already in the lineup but are the first from LG to be added.

Like the other phones in the program, they will have adverts on the lock screen for the discounted price but, if you want, you can opt to pay a bit more and not have the ads.  They are also unlocked and will work with AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint or Verizon depending on the model.

The four phones added are the LG X Charge, LG Q6, LG G6 and the LG G6+.

The entry level X Charge is a 5.5″ 720p display phone powered by the MediaTek MT6750 SoC.  It has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a MicroSD slot for memory expansion.  It has a 13MP main camera and a 5MP selfie camera.  The X Charge will work with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and runs Android Nougat 7.1.

The phone is $199 without the ads and $149 with the ads.

Next is the LG Q6.  It is more-or-less a “lite” version of the G6.  It has a 5.5″ 18:9 FHD+ display and is powered by the Snapdragon 435 SoC.  It has 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and can expand thanks to the MicroSD slot.  Like the X Charge, it also has a 13MP main camera and 5MP selfie camera.  The phone will work on AT&T and T-Mobile and it is running Nougat 7.1.

The Q6 is $299 without adverts while the subsidized version is $229.  Note that the LG Q6 will be available to ship starting November 9th.