Now pointlessly enhanced with AI
From Samsung:
Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available.
One of my associates has an original Samsung Galaxy Note7 and was in the process of getting a replacement. I guess he will have to get a new phone now.
Joanna Stern, writing for WSJ.com:
A quick camera reminder: Looking at the megapixel numbers when comparing phones won’t help you at all. An 8-megapixel camera with a superior sensor can take far better photos, even more detailed ones, than a 21-megapixel camera with an inferior one.
I’m really glad to see Joanna Stern mentions this. For years, a lot of so-called Tech Journalists still measuring the quality of a camera by the pixel-count alone.
Some few years ago, a clerk/salesperson at a store that shall remain nameless adamantly told me that a 13-Megapixel point-and-shoot camera captured better image than an 8-Megapixel DSLR Camera.
On a personal note, Joanna Stern lost one point for using the term “phablet” for a product category. Just call it a big-ass phones and it would’ve sound much better.
Nexus 6 Specs:
Display
5.96” 1440×2560 display (493 ppi)Battery
3220 mAhCamera
13MP rear-facing with optical image stabilization
2MP front-facingProcessor
CPU: Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 805 – Quad Core 2.7 GHz
GPU: Adreno 420
Memory: 32 GB, 64 GB
It is freaking huge, and a lot of pixels. Pretty sure it has more molecules too. Obviously, it will shipped with Android 5.0, Lollipop.
From The Verge:
The Motorola-made smartphone will start at $649, available for preorder later this month
Yikes! $649?
I am expecting Nexus phones to undercut the competitors, not this time. I bought a 16GB Nexus 4 for $349 before the price drop.
Nexus 6 will be available Late October in the US from Google Play Store and:
Amazon Fire Phone.
From the Press Release:
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 18, 2014– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today unveiled Fire, the first smartphone designed by Amazon. Fire is the only smartphone with Dynamic Perspective and Firefly, two new breakthrough technologies that allow you to see and interact with the world through a whole new lens.
Amazon Fire Phone will be released on July 25, 2014 and pre-order is available now.
Notable Specs:
For a limited time, Amazon includes one full year of Prime. Existing Prime members will have their membership extended for another year.
Pricing:
As a Tech enthusiast, I really want to get an Amazon Fire Phone. I want to know how this phone works, wether or not I could recommend this phone to anyone.
I have been on AT&T network for the last 4 years off-contract. I personally do not want to bound with a new contract with any phone providers anymore. My choice is to purchase an Amazon Fire Phone at full price. I am not sure if I want to spend $649 for an out of contract purchase.
Should you have multiple devices such as phones and tablets, you might want to take a look at EasyAcc 25 Watts (5V/5A) 5-Port USB Charger.
It features:
EasyAcc supports charging iPad, iPhone, iPod, and Android devices.
According to a few Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 users, Android KitKat now detects unauthorized Tethering on T-Mobile USA network.
A colleague of ours noticed that after upgrading to Android KitKat on a Nexus 4, Tethering & portable hotspot no longer works. Devices connected to the Wi-Fi hotspot are redirected to T-Mobile login page.
When an iPhone is connected to the Wi-Fi Hotspot from a Nexus 4 running Android KitKat, options to “Auto-join” and “Auto-login” appears.
The iPhone then tries to connect to a T-Mobile login page, but the page never loads.
We then use a Nexus 5 which came with Android KitKat pre-installed to create a wi-Fi hotspot. The result was the same, it forces connected devices to log in.
Another colleague of ours still has a Nexus 4 running Android Jelly Bean 4.3. The Nexus 4 is connected to T-Mobile USA network and without tethering plan. Devices connected the Wi-Fi hotspot created by the Android Jelly Bean-running Nexus 4 were not asked to log in.
We then inserted a working AT&T micro-SIM card into the Nexus 4 with Android KitKat. We had no issues using tethering through this phone.
At this point, it seems that Google has added codes in Android KitKat that detect unauthorized tethering. So far, it only affects Nexus phones (4 and 5) on T-Mobile USA network. We purchased the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 from Google Play SIM-free and unlocked.
Is it possible that Google has added this “feature” to appease T-Mobile?
After all, Google has partnered up with T-Mobile (and Sprint) to sell Nexus 5.
We recommend users to wait from upgrading to Android KitKat on their Nexus 4.
My Nexus 4 received the Android 4.4 Kit Kat update on Thursday November 23, 2013. For some reasons the update was unsuccessful. I’d blast the factory image onto it later.
