Verizon releases Kyocera Brigadier with Sapphire Shield

With rumours swirling about that the new iPhone will be using sapphire crystal glass for its display screen among others, it seems that another OEM has gotten ahead of them. Verizon has officially announced that the Kyocera Brigadier, which has the sought after Sapphire Shield, is now available exclusively with the carrier.

While the Japanese brand may not be at the forefront of mobile devices, Kyocera released a teaser video a few days ago showing just how tough the sapphire display really is. The Brigadier specs are not on par with most new Android phones now, but it is pretty decent. It has a 4.5-inch screen with a 720p display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and runs on a 1.4GHz quad core SOC.

But remember that Kyocera manufactures smartphones that are for rough terrain and this one is no different as it has a lot of great ruggedisation features. It has IP68 dust and water resistance and can be submerged up to 30 minutes in six feet of water without suffering any damage. It is US MIL-STD-810G-rated which means it has protection against several environmental conditions like strong vibration and temperature extremes. But of course everyone is looking forward to the Sapphire Shield, which is "virtually scratchproof" and can even survive if you drop it screen-first onto rocks below.

Verizon is offering the Brigadier at $99 under a 2-year agreement and at $19.99/month if you want to split it into 20 payments. The price is not bad, despite the aforementioned simple specs, since you could expect to keep the phone for years due to its "rugged good looks".

SOURCE: Verizon

LG G Vista arrives with Verizon Wireless

After few leaked photos and details, Verizon Wireless has officially launched the LG G Vista, which comes with a 5.7-inch qHD display (960 x 540) and Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The phablet is slightly larger than the 5.5-inch LG G3, but share the similar back buttons design.

Available at $99.99 with 2 year service contract, the G Vista is powered by a 1.2GHz quad core processor. If you would like to get it without contract, the full retail price will be $399.99. Other specs include a 1.5GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi a/b/g/n and a 3200 mAh Li-Ion battery. Although there isn’t any specific processor info on the Verizon page, the LG G Vista’s processor should be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 according to previous leaks.

Like LG G3, the G Vista has rear key control for power and volume adjustment. There is no Laser Auto Focus and dual LED flash on G Vista. Instead, it comes with a 8 megapixel camera, single LED flash and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera.

Along with the new minimalistic GUI with Android KitKat, LG’s unique tools like QuickMemo, QSlide 2.0, Knock Code and Mini View are available on G Vista too. Improving on KnockON, Knock Code allows you to set a pattern of taps to wake up and unlock your phone from standby mode.

Check out this page on Verizon Wireless for more info

Better Open With gives more knobs when opening files

It's great that Android doesn't tie you down to a specific app for different types of files, but sometimes the default "Complete Action With" behavior is annoying, if not limited. For those who want a bit more control over this part of the Android OS, Better Open With gives you better options, including the option not to do anything at all.

The Android platform is already powerful and flexible enough that it will present you with a list of compatible apps when opening a certain file type and even lets you set the default app for that action. However, there might be cases when you want to use a different app from time to time but having to choose an app every time can also be equally cumbersome. There are also times when you click on a link or file and don't realize that the Complete Action With window popped up. It is exactly for those situations that Better Open With was made.

When you select Better Open With as the default app for opening files, you do still get the Complete Action With window, except now you have a few more features available. For one, there is a configurable timeout that will automatically select your preferred app when you don't do anything after, say, 5 seconds. You can also set your favorite app for each file type right from Better Open With, so you won't have to wait for the system to ask you about it when the time comes. This gives you more flexibility when opening files but at the same time lets you be lazy and it will still take action even if you don't.

Better Open With also has other customizations options, like choosing between light and dark color schemes to match your theme or choosing between a list or a grid view when displaying available apps. The app is completely free, comes with no adds, but is still in beta. The developer already has a todo list of upcoming features, including basic ones like sorting apps, hiding apps, or even just more supported filetypes.

Download: Better Open With on Google Play Store

VIA: XDA

Marvel Contest of Champions game promises many things

The annual San Diego Comic Con just passed us by, so naturally some are up to their ears in news, gossip, and teasers on what's what or what will be what in the comics industry. Not to be outdone in the mobile industry as well, Marvel let it be known that it will have a mobile game coming this Fall. But will Contest of Champions be able to match up to the promises that it makes.

Contest of Champions is a one on one arcade-style fighting game. There will be attacks in three intensities of light, medium, and heavy. There will be also be combos and special powers. But we've seen that type of mobile game before. Marvel, however, promises that there will be no virtual buttons or joysticks to mash. Controls will be "intuitive", but that term has been misused and abused more times than we care to count. It can also mean anything. Hopefully it won't just be a twitch-based swiping disappointment that was Injustice.

Contest of Champions has multiplayer as well as RPG elements. Considering how much we're inundated with multiplayer games ranging from competing indirectly via leaderboards to dishing it out in arenas, we can perhaps be forgiven for being more interested in the RPG part of the equation. There will be a story mode, not just one that feels artificially slapped on, but one that is deep, engaging, and memorable. Or so Marvel says. In charge of this aspect of the game is Marvel's own Sam Humphries, responsible for such story arcs and titles such as Avengers A.I., Ultimates, Uncanny X-Force, and John Carter, just to name a few.

Contest of Champions will be based on a classic Marvel universe event of the same name. There have actually been two Contest of Champions, though we'll presume they were referring to the older 1982 one. After all, classic means classic, right? Either way, the basic premise of both series is the same: heroes and villains get to dish it out against each other in one on one battles, fighting either for the fate of the universe or for their very lives. Or even both. What this means, though, is that the mobile game will have a rich roster of Marvel characters to pull from. We already see some staples in the screenshots and the trailer below, including Captain America, The Vision, Spiderman, Mohawk Storm, Deadpool, The Hulk, Thor, Blackbolt, Daredevil and many, many more. There's a promise of more to come from teams such as the Avengers, Thunderbolts, X-Men, Inhumans, Guardians of The Galaxy, the Brotherhood, and X-Force.

This definitely sounds like a checklist for "the best Marvel mobile game ever" and we seriously hope that Marvel and mobile game developer Kabam, of The Hobbit and Wartune fame, will be able to live up to that. This isn't (yet) a movie tie-in, unlike Marvel's existing games, so there is hope that it will be different from all the Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America titles out there. In any case, expect Contest of Champions to burst into action sometime this Fall.

SOURCE: Marvel

VIA: Droid Gamers

Story Timeline

• Iron Man 3 game Review: what you need to know


• Injustice: Gods Among Us finally hits Android but isn't the game you were expecting


• Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a cel-shaded team-based action game


• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game has you slinging over a gorgeous New York


• Spider-Man: Unlimited mobile game unveiled ahead of E3

Nokia XL updated with 4G LTE edition in China

Six months after the Nokia XL announcement, China Mobile and Nokia are launching the Nokia XL with 4G LTE connectivity in China. Sadly, the 4G LTE edition will not work elsewhere as it supports LTE Bands 38, 39 and 40 (TD-LTE or TD-SCDMA) only.

Other than added with 4G LTE supports, the Nokia XL is also updated with more RAM memory and a better processor. It now comes with 1GB RAM (768MB previously), and powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor instead of a 1Ghz dual core processor on the original Nokia XL. Interestingly while the Nokia XL 4G LTE edition measures in the same size, it is only weighted at 158 grams. The original Nokia XL is much heavier at 190 grams.

Other specifications remain the same, there is a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g/n, 4GB internal storage and a microSD card slot.

Microsoft has recently announced that Nokia X series’ future products will be powered by Windows instead of a custom Android OS. The Nokia X2 introduced last month and Nokia XL 4G LTE edition are likely the last Android smartphones from Nokia.

VIA: GSMAreana

Story Timeline

• Nokia X2 improves on previous X models


• Select Nokia X designs to become Windows phones


• Nokia X update gives endangered phone one last hurrah

Root your LG G3 easily with PurpleDrake

If you have been using IOroot and TowelRoot to root your LG G3, check out the new PurpleDrake rooting tool on XDA forum. Created by IOMonster, jcase and autoprime, PurpleDrake supports most of the LG G3 variants on T-Mobile (D851), AT&T (D850), international model (D855) and more!

Available for Linux, OSX and Windows, the rooting process with the PurpleDrake is pretty straight forward. You would need to first enable the USB debugging option on your phone, download and run the appropriate tool for your OS. Note that if you got the LG G3 from Verizon Wireless (VS985), IOroot is the only tool you can rely on now.

Not all LG G3 variants are tested yet, you can refer to this spread sheets on Google Drive for a detailed compatibility list.

Unfortunately, the rooting process will trigger LG’s built in root flag, which will affect your phone warranty when you need to send it to service center. This can be solved by restoring the root flag to its original status. Check out this post for the full instructions.

DOWNLOAD: PurpleDrake-lite (for all) / PurpleDrake-full (for T-Mobile G3)

Backup your smartphone photos with SyncMe Wireless

While the smartphone cameras are still not as good as a professional digital camera, it is the most convenient tool for us to take a quick snapshot anytime. If you have already synced your camera photos with cloud storage services, here’s what you should do to add another layer of local backup with SyncMe Wireless app.

What you need:

- SyncMe Wireless on Google Play Store (free with IAP)

- A shared folder from your desktop or NAS

We will be skipping the steps to create a shared folder. Depending on whether you are using a desktop or NAS, SyncMe Wireless works with Windows shared folders, Samba on Linux and CIFS (SMB) protocol. Once you have prepared the shared folder for the photo backup, you can start to add scheduled backup job with the app in your Android smartphone.

Adding a computer

When you launch the SyncMe Wireless app for the first time, you need to first add a computer (or NAS) with the backup destination. You have to also make sure your phone is connected to the same network as the computer. Now choose “Add computer” and select “Computer Name”.

The app will scan the network and give you a list of the connected computers on the network. Next choose the computer you want to send the backup to. If a user account is needed, key in the user name and password after the computer is selected. You are ready to create a backup job!

Adding a Sync Folder

What we are going to do next is to add a scheduled backup job, running at 9pm every day. First, click on the computer name and select “Add sync folder”.

There are a few settings you would need to set:

- Device folder: choose the folder in your phone where the camera saves all the photos

- Computer folder: choose the backup destination on the computer or NAS

- Schedule: to schedule a 9pm daily backup job, you just need to set the “Run at” to 21:00

- Copy to: choose “Copy to computer only”, this will backup your photos to the computer

- Overwrite same name files: disable this option to skip the photos that have already been backed up previously. This will make the backup job much faster.

- Track deletions: default option is “No”, photos that you deleted on your smartphone won’t be removed from the backup

That’s it! You have now completed the setup and your photos will be backed up daily to your computer automatically! You can also run the backup job immediately with the “Run” option. Of course, this is just one of the example to use the SyncMe Wireless. The job scheduling options are good enough for all your other files to backup or sync with your home computer. Let us know if you have any questions!