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Samsung Galaxy S5 available in Electric Blue at Best Buy

If you’re thinking of getting a new Samsung Galaxy S5 and blue is your favourite color, you might want to head on over to Best Buy instead of your preferred electronics or carrier store. They are offering an exclusive Electric Blue edition of the S5 and they are the only retail outlet that will be offering this in the United States starting August 17 and until supplies last.



Aside from the color, everything else is exactly the same as the earlier releases of the Galaxy S5. Samsung’s flagship device runs on Android KitKat 4.4, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM 8974AC processor. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera while its front-facing one is at 2-megapixels. The display is at 5.1 inches and 1080p and the smartphone also has a fingerprint scanner under the home button. When it comes to connectivity, it works with 4G/LTE and of course WiFi as well.


For the launch next week until August 23, Best Buy is offering it at $99 (that’s $100 off) for those with two-year contracts with AT&T and Verizon. If you want to get it at a monthly instalment plan, you can pay for it in 20-24 months at $0 down and you even have the option to change your phone after 12 months. This also applies to all other colors of the Galaxy S5.


As for the regular pricing of the S5 after the promo period (and beyond Best Buy), it depends on your carrier. AT&T offers it at $199.99 with a 2-year contract while Verizon is at $149.99 with a 2-year extension. If you don’t want a contract, you can get on at MetroPCS at either $649.99 or $599.99, depending on which color you get. But if Electric Blue is your jam, head on over to Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile specialty stores or BestBuy.com.


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VIA: SlashGear

SOURCE: Samsung, Best Buy





NVIDIA SHIELD Portable gets Wireless Controller support

NVIDIA is pushing out a firmware update to the SHIELD Portable, the new name of the Android gaming handheld formerly only known as the SHIELD. While this update brings a number of improvements to the overall gaming ecosystem, its key point is that the SHIELD Portable can now be controlled using the new NVIDIA SHIELD Wireless Controller.



A wireless controller for the SHIELD Portable might sound redundant. After all, the SHIELD Portable is practically a controller with a clamshell-type display. This integration, however, does serve one purpose. If you want to play your Android games on a larger screen, you can connect the Portable to the TV and leave it there. You can then play and enjoy from your couch or chair using the wireless controller. The SHIELD Wireless Controller also has it's own 3.5 mm audio jack and built-in microphone so that you won't have to use the Portable's equivalent ports when it is a few feet away.


The update also brings in other changes, like the new SHIELD Hub app that rebrands and replaces the former TegraZone app. GameStream, which lets you play some of your PC games on your SHIELD Portable or Tablet, has also been improved, now with new onscreen controls. Netflix HD now also supports 1080p quality video when streaming in Console Mode. Plus, unique to devices that have wired connections, the SHIELD Portable's notification bar now sports an Ethernet icon of its own. That is, when connected via Ethernet and not WiFi or mobile.


With the integration of the SHIELD Wireless Controller into the SHIELD Portable, NVIDIA has practically come full circle, completing its new SHIELD Triumvirate. It will be interesting to see how the Android gaming market, and the entire gaming market in general, respond to this new thrust. While the SHIELD Portable was regarded to be well-favored and popular, it wasn't considered exactly a retail success. The SHIELD Tablet, with its hybrid gaming and note-taking purposes, is still too new and might be too niche to make a dent. The SHIELD Wireless Controller, on the other hand, is too exclusive to the SHIELD to make it of any use beyond NVIDIA's currently limited ecosystem.


SOURCE: NVIDIA





Chrome for Android Beta closes door on LastPass feature

It's only normal that software developers would patch up security holes in their apps. Unfortunately, there are rare times when such fixes actually break existing third-party features. That seems to be the case here when Google introduced a patch to the beta version of Chrome for Android which has effectively blocked LastPass from applying its autofill feature on web page forms.



The issue revolves around how both Chrome and LastPass on Android work. LastPass provides a service that will remember and automatically fill in passwords on websites, relieving users of the stress of having to remember and manage all those (hopefully strong) passwords. It's like what built-in browser features do except LastPass works across different browsers and platforms. LastPass implements this functionality as a plugin for browser such as Firefox, Opera, and even Chrome on the desktop. Unfortunately, Chrome for Android doesn't have provisions for plugins and addons, unlike Firefox for Android. What LastPass did, then, was to use a process called Javascript injection to get that same functionality to work.


The thing is, such a process is basically a "hack", that is, it's not a real solution. Even worse, it is, for all intents and purpose, a security exploit. If LastPass can use that door, then so could malicious software. Google can't really be blamed for wanting to close that door, which it did in the latest beta of Chrome for Android version 37. It has disallowed injecting Javascript into the browser, which means LastPass can no longer auto-fill passwords and forms, leaving users with a broken workflow.


Neither can really be blamed in this unfortunate situation and Google can hardly be expected to reverse that critical security fix just for the sake of LastPass. The good news is that there is still some time left before Chrome beta becomes the next stable release and LastPass developers are trying to work with Google to see if a win-win solution can be found or if the patch can be reverted. In the meantime, LastPass users on Chrome should switch to the stable version 36 of the browser or some other Android web browser that supports plugins.


SOURCE: LastPass

VIA: Liliputing





Leaked Moto 360 pictures show smartwatch’s secret charger

The upcoming Moto 360 smartwatch, the first one with a circular watchface, is already stirring up much anticipation. The latest leaked pictures show for the first time an idea of how users will charge their device, giving a small glimpse of the “secret charger”. The smartwatch, which will only be the 3rd one to run on the Android Wear platform, is rumored to come out this fall.



Based on the leaked photos on an Italian website, how the Moto 360 will be charged is a bit different from most smartwatches. One of the photos show a cradle where you place the smartwatch outwards so that you can still look at it even when it’s charging. There is still no confirmation which type of wireless charing will be used, although some FCC docs before showed it will be using the Qi standard.


Some photos show the smartwatch’s back unobstructed, revealing a few more details about it. Looks like it will be the expected stainless steel, but it also has other standard smartwatch things like the pedometer and the water resistant IP67. The photos show a bit more than what was reportedly revealed during the Google I/O last July and it will make the waiting for the official announcement even more intolerable.


Aside from the fact that it is circular, some features of the Moto 360 are highly anticipated. A hands-on video from Tech Crunch last month showed that it has ambient light sensor, which will automatically adjust the device’s brightness depending on the available light in your environment. The design also seems to be more sophisticated compared to other smartwatches in the market. Now the only question is: how much will we need to shell out to own this baby (and when are we actually going to get it!)


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VIA: Android Central


SOURCE: Android World Italy





Kyocera Brigadier videos show how crazy tough it is

The cat is out of the bag and Kyocera indeed has in its repository the world's first non-luxury wallet-friendly sapphire glass toting smartphone. And just to show what it means when it says "tough", Kyocera has pushed two new YouTube videos that summarize the Brigadier's key rugged features as well as demonstrate the excruciatingly painful things you can do to this smartphone.



Who better to know what tough really means than tough man Bear Grylls himself. This British adventurer is best known for his Discovery Channel series "Man vs. Wild" and, according to him, the Brigadier is crazy tough. After all, it meets IP65/68 dust and waterproof ratings as well as the US military's MIL-STD 810G standard. But the Kyocera Brigadier has one special trait not found in its Kyocera brethren: a Sapphire Shield display that is tough enough to withstand anything less than a diamond.




But if Grylls' word isn't enough to convince you, then maybe the battle scars, or lack of it, on the Brigadier will. The video below puts two Brigadiers, one with impact-resistant glass only and another with Sapphire Shield, to the ultimate torture test. Scratch or drop, the sapphire-clad Brigadier survives unscathed. This is practically the same torture video leaked before that hinted at Kyocera's next rugged smartphone, this time without the secrecy and with a clear Verizon branding.




In all other aspects, the Kyocera Brigadier is a decent mid-range smartphone, carrying specs that match the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini or the HTC One mini 2. These include a 1.4 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, a 4.5-inch 720p display, 4G LTE support, and Android 4.4. Of course, with all its rugged features and especially Sapphire Shield, the Brigadier pretty much surpasses those. And only at $99.99 a month, $399.99 in full, available exclusively from Verizon.


SOURCE: Kyocera (YouTube channel)





Humble Mobile Bundle 6 brings 6 into the fold

Can't get enough of Android games? Well here, have six more! Humble Bundle is offering three or six, depending on how much you want to pay for them, titles to keep you company while you whittle down the hours. And at a price of "pay what you want", it's a practical giveaway!



The usual Humbe Bundle system is, of course, at play here, no pun intended. You pay what you want for these games but, depending on how much you actually pay, the number of games you get differ. For the minimum amount, you get your hands on three games. Eliss Infinity turn your fingers into galactic gods, deciding the fate of planets by fusing them together or splitting them apart. Careful not to let same colors touch, though, or you'll have a cosmic mess in your hands. Combo Crew Special Edition, which includes some unlockable content for free, is a cel-shaded fighting game that eschews virtual buttons and d-pads for more touch-friendly controls. Swipe and tap your way to combos and to glory. Making its Android debut, Duet Premium is a rather creatively unique game where you try your best to keep two dots, one red, one blue, out of harm's way. The only problem is that these dots' movements are constrained on the circle they're on. The "Premium" in this Humble Bundle offer is no joke either, as the game comes with all unlocked content and even disables in-app purchasing to prove that point.


If you pay more than the average, however, you unlock even more games! At the front of the line is Threes!, the insanely addictive and intricately beautiful puzzle game that has mesmerized even usually hardcore gamers on their fancy Xbox Ones. Mines of Mars isn't Minecraft on Mars, but this mining-themed RPG has its own enticing feature. Maps are procedurally created so that each time you play, you are greeted by a different one and a new gaming experience. Last but definitely not the least is Joe Dever's Lone Wolf, an RPG based on the gamebook series of the same name. The great news about this Humble Bundle offer? It contains both Acts 1 and 2 of the game, the latter of which is unlocked only after finishing the first one. But wait, there's more! Acts 3 and 4, which are still in development, will be added to the game when they come out.




Humble Mobile Bundle 6 will be around for two weeks, so there's really no need to rush. That said, the average to beat, which now only stands at $4.28 as of this writing, rises ever so slightly as each day passes, so it might be wise to get in early. One other advantage of paying more than the average is that you get access to future titles that will be added to this bundle. And based on the dozens of bundles that have gone before it, that will happen here too.


SOURCE: Humble Bundle





Pebble comes out with #FreshHotFly limited colors edition

Smartwatches are becoming not just sought-after wearable gadgets but even fashion accessories as well. The fashion-conscious would not just be content wearing the usual black, gray or white devices on their wrist but would prefer something cooler and even changeable. Pebble has come out with limited edition colors for their smartwatches in a campaign they’ve dubbed #FreshHotFly.



Two years ago, the wearable brand conducted a #ColorMyPebble competition where they asked users to submit their nominations for the the next color ideas for their smartwatches, to add to the existing Jet Black, Cherry Red and Arctic White. The winners were for the colors Orange and Black, which they then produced. But it looks like there’s a demand for more colorful options, and so they’ve added Fresh Green, Hot Pink and Fly Blue in their smartwatch line, but for a limited time only.


But it’s not just the colors that they’ve tweaked. Pebble has also added new watchfaces that are available in their App Store, which includes of course a Fresh, Hot and Fly editions, plus a weather watchface from the Weather Channel. Later this year, they will also be releasing a Reading Rainbow watchface with an 8-bit Levar Burton, after their kickstarted campaign to bring back the children’s TV series has finished and backers have received their Special Edition Pebbles.




So if you feel like getting yourself a #FreshHotFly Pebble smartwatch, head on over to their website to choose among the three colors. You just need to shell out $150 and a green, pink or blue wearable will be yours, while supplies last at least.


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SOURCE: Pebble


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