This year’s Mobile World Congress — the CES for Android device makers — was awash with 5G handsets. The world’s No.1 smartphone seller by marketshare, Samsung, got out ahead with a standalone launch event in San Francisco, showing off two 5G devices, just before fast-following Android rivals popped out their own 5G phones at launch […]
View More 5G phones are here but there’s no rush to upgradeCategory: Android
Samsung lets you remap the Galaxy S10’s Bixby button to everything but the one app everyone wants
Since the Galaxy S8, Samsung has included a physical button to activate its Bixby digital assistant on its flagship phones.
And for just as long, Samsung users have been asking for a way to program the button to do something else — something they’ll actually use — like launch another app or activate a smarter digital assistant such as the Google Assistant.
Now, with the introduction of the Galaxy S10 family, Samsung finally caved to the request — sort of.
Ahead of the S10’s global release on March 8, Samsung’s updated phone review units (including ours) with a new setting that lets you change the function of the Bixby button. Read more…
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Volvo Polestar 2 is the first car to include Google’s native dashboard
On Wednesday, Volvo’s performance brand debuted its first all-electric car, the Polestar 2. But the new Tesla Model 3 competitor is causing a stir in the auto industry not only for its performance, but for being the first car to feature Google’s native version of Android built for cars.
The first Polestar vehicle (aptly named Polestar 1) was a plug-in hybrid two-door coupe that came out in 2017. The brand’s second car is a bit more practical with four doors and longer battery range, mimicking the price, design, and capability of the Model 3 — Tesla’s more affordable sedan that starts at $42,000. Read more…
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View More Volvo Polestar 2 is the first car to include Google’s native dashboardPolestar unveils its all-electric response to the Tesla Model 3
Volvo’s standalone electric performance brand Polestar introduced Wednesday its first all-electric vehicle — a five-door fastback that is gunning for the Tesla Model 3. In the past few years, every time an electric vehicle — concept, prototype, or production version — has been unveiled, the term “Tesla killer” has been tossed about regardless of whether […]
View More Polestar unveils its all-electric response to the Tesla Model 3Nubia’s Alpha watch phone is the most ridiculous gadget at MWC 2019
Mobile World Congress is crawling with outrageous new mobile devices like Huawei’s foldable Mate X and Energizer’s gargantuan phone equipped with an 18,000 mAh battery, but none was as ridiculous and over-the-top as Nubia’s Alpha watch phone.
Kudos to Nubia for literally bending a 4-inch display around a watch band to fit around your wrist. But, wow, is the Alpha ugly. It’s beyond hideous. And the software — it’s so terrible that I was left wondering why the Alpha even exists.
I hate to be the guy who awards any product the worst of Mobile World Congress, but I think the Alpha earns it without competition. The Alpha is the perfect example of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Read more…
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Ford partners with geocoding startup what3words
Ford is partnering with what3words to give drivers access to the startup’s novel addressing system. Under the partnership, drivers will be able to connect to the free what3words app — on an iOS or Android device — to their vehicle via their SYNC 3 infotainment platform. Drivers can find the three-word address on website contact […]
View More Ford partners with geocoding startup what3wordsThe best tech of Mobile World Congress 2019
Mobile World Congress returned in full force with the most interesting mobile innovations we’ve seen in years.Foldable phones and 5G stole the show in Barcelona. It was all but impossible to escape these two big trends at the year’s largest mobile ev…
View More The best tech of Mobile World Congress 2019More passwordless logins are coming to Android
The FIDO Alliance and Google today announced that Android (from version 7.0 up) with the latest version of the Google Play Services, is now FIDO2 certified. At first glance, that sounds rather boring, but it will enable developers to write apps that use a phone’s fingerprint scanner or a FIDO security key to authenticate users […]
View More More passwordless logins are coming to AndroidSony’s new Xperia phones have the widest screens we’ve ever seen
It’s impossible to ignore certain trends like foldable phones, hole-punch displays, and 5G at Mobile World Congress this year.
Every company seems to be chasing the same things, except Sony. Instead of copying the same trends, the beleaguered tech giant going widescreen — really widescreen with its new flagship Xperia 1, Xperia 10, and Xperia 10 Plus Android phones.
Like LG and HTC, Sony was once considered a formidable phone maker. The last few years have seen the Japanese tech giant release some well-spec’d phones, but nothing that screamed wow. Many of its phones like the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 were more like catchup than class-leading. Read more…
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View More Sony’s new Xperia phones have the widest screens we’ve ever seenGoogle will bring its Assistant to Android Messages
It’s only been a few weeks since Google brought the Assistant to Google Maps to help you reply to messages, play music and more. This feature first launched in English and will soon start rolling out to all Assistant phone languages. In addition, Google also today announced that the Assistant will come to Android Messages, […]
View More Google will bring its Assistant to Android MessagesGoogle brings its Assistant to your text messages
Google is once again finding new places on your phone to put its Assistant.
The company is adding Google Assistant to its Android Messages app, in a move that will make Google’s texting app more like the now-defunct messaging app Allo.
The change will let you “inject” Google Assistant suggestions into your conversations — no “Hey Google,” command required. If you you and a friend are chatting about a movie, for example, the assistant could suggest a card with showtimes. The same with weather conditions, location info, and other details you may normally rely on a Google search for. Read more…
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View More Google brings its Assistant to your text messagesThe Google Assistant gets a button
Traditionally, the Google Assistant always lived under the home button on Android phones, but as the company announced at MWC today, LG, Nokia, Xiaomi, TCL and Vivo are about to launch phones with dedicated assistant buttons, similar to what Samsung has long done with its Bixby assistant. The new phones with the button that are […]
View More The Google Assistant gets a button