Review: OPPO R7 Plus

If the past few years have shown anything in the smartphone space, it's that interest in phablets are on the rise. The melding of phone with a screen size that borders tablet territory makes for an intriguing proposal for folks out there who wish to consume content on a large enough display, without the need to spend the extra on a separate tablet, let alone the hassle of having to take it with them while out and about.

But phablets have typically been offered with premium specs at an outlandish price-point. In Australia at least, there are few options for those after a phablet which ticks most of the boxes, while at a price you'd actually consider. The OPPO R7 ...

The post Review: OPPO R7 Plus appeared first on Android Australia.

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LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition brings cellular connectivity to Android Wear

LG shows no signs of slowing down with its smartwatches and has just taken the wraps off the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition. If you delve deep into the sands of time you will no doubt remember the launch of the original LG Watch Urbane all the way back in May of this year.

There are more changes under the hood than you might expect given this short turnaround time too. The headliner of course is the addition of LTE, a first for Android Wear. GPS has been added as well, something that we hope to see most Android Wear devices offering going forward for fitness tracking purposes.

The screen is slightly larger at 1.38-inches (up from 1.3) and the resolution has similarly been bumped up to a class leading 480 x 480. The battery was fortunately not forgotten receiving a boost up to 570 mAh (up from 410).

The Watch Urbane 2nd Edition adds quick access to critical features through the three buttons on the side of the smartwatch including the ability to flip ambient mode on and off with a touch of the crown button.

No details on pricing or a release date at this time and naturally for the LTE functionality you are going to be dealing with a carrier.

Check out LG's promo video below and let us know if you think you are ready to leave home armed only with your smartwatch.

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LG V10 unveiled, touts Second Screen, dual front cameras and manual video control

We've caught a couple glimpses of the LG V10 in recent weeks and while the secondary screen and dual front cameras were apparent, not much else was known. Thankfully LG has ended the suspense for us now with the official announcement of the LG V10.

Here's the quick specs rundown if you're interested, but the V10 does have a few unique features for us to cover as well.

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Processor
• 5.7-inch QHD IPS Quantum Display
• Second Screen 2.1-inch IPS Quantum Display
• 4GB LPDDR3 RAM
• 64GB eMMC ROM with microSD (up to 2TB)
• 16MP rear camera with F1.8 Aperture / OIS 2.0
• 5MP Dual Lens front facing cameras
• 3,000 mAh removable battery
• Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• 6 x 3.12 x 8.6mm
• 192g
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
• Bluetooth 4.1
• NFC
• USB 2.0

The ticker does do a bit more than simply act as a shortcut launcher as we had hoped. It operates independently of the main screen as you would imagine and offers an "always on" display mode that can show weather, time, date and battery status even with the main display off. Vaguely reminiscent of what we see with Android Wear. When the main screen is active the "Second Screen" as LG calls it does function as a shortcut launcher, but it can also display notifications without interrupting the content on the main screen.

As for the main screen, it is a 5.7-inch QHD IPS Quantum Display while the Second Screen is a 2.1-inch IPS Quantum Display with a resolution of 160 x 1040. Critically both displays share an identical 513ppi, meaning you shouldn't notice the transition from one to the other. Surprisingly despite the two screens it manages to come in at 6-inches tall, about a quarter of an inch shorter than the Nexus 6P.

The next feature that was noted in the leaks were the dual front cameras. No shock that selfies appear to be the prime motivator for this feature as it promises up to 120 degree wide angle selfies when employing both cameras. You can also do multi-view recording capturing from all three cameras on the V10 at once.

LG is particularly proud of the V10 where video capture is concerned with a full manual mode. This puts shutter speed, frame rate, ISO, white balance and focus under your control throughout recording. The V10 can record at up to 4K in 16:9 or 21:9 and thankfully offers microSD expansion up to 2TB (no, you still can't buy one) to capture all that video.

Rounding out some of the features of the V10 is a stainless steel frame with soft Dura Skin over the top that is more resistant to scratching. The V10 also offers a fingerprint sensor for both basic device security and Android Pay.

The V10 will be launching in Korea in October with China and the U.S. to follow along with "key countries" in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

No word on pricing at this time, but there's little question this is going to be slotting in at or near the top of the line for LG. Between the ticker display, the dual front cameras and the general focus on video quality there are certainly interesting qualities to the V10, but it definitely seems like a device that you will need to spend some time with to figure out if those pieces add up to a compelling experience.

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Huawei Watch to launch in Australia October 15 through retailers nationally

Huawei's first example of an Android Wear smartwatch, Huawei Watch will be made available through some big name stores nationwide when it launches on October 15.

The much anticipated smartwatch which brings the style and refinement many have expected from a round smartwatch for some time now, will be offered from a number of key retailers, including Harvey Norman, Dick Smith Move, JB Hi-Fi, JR Duty Free, Huawei Kiosks and even selected Jewellers, according to Huawei. A nationwide deal should mean you won't have to search all pockets of this great country to find one in store, which is exactly the kind of exposure a watch commanding such attention needs.

For the attention you'll likely receive for owning this elegant ...

The post Huawei Watch to launch in Australia October 15 through retailers nationally appeared first on Android Australia.

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Have A Blast Sliding Until You Die – Ski Safari 2 Is Now Available On The Play Store

Ski Safari was one of the first mobile games I really got into. Apparently I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it because it was downloaded over 140 million times. Who knew escaping an avalanche by sliding down a frozen hill hopping over Yetis, penguins, and snowmen could be so fun? Well, two years after the original's launch a sequel aptly named 'Ski Safari 2' has been released on the Play Store.

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Have A Blast Sliding Until You Die – Ski Safari 2 Is Now Available On The Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Steam For Android Version 2.1 Adds Community Market, Trading, Game Hubs, Discussions, And More

Steam is the #1 gaming market for PCs, and the desktop client is quite robust (and big enough that performance-minded gamers complain about its RAM and processor footprint). The official mobile version of Steam has been slowly catching up to the desktop in terms of features, and today's update to version 2.1 is the biggest that's come in a long time. A laundry list of tools from the desktop and web versions of Steam are now available in the Android app, no pop-out required.

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Steam For Android Version 2.1 Adds Community Market, Trading, Game Hubs, Discussions, And More was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Netflix Android App Updated With Chromecast Fast Play Support

It's only been one day since the new and oh-so-shiny Chromecast was announced, but it looks like app developers are jumping at the chance to take advantage of its new capabilities. First on deck in Netflix, which is a bit surprising since the company hasn't been all that quick on the draw in the past when it comes to functional updates. The latest update in the Play Store adds compatibility with the new Chromecast's Fast Play feature, getting a show or video from your phone to your TV in about one third the time that it used to take.

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Netflix Android App Updated With Chromecast Fast Play Support was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Nexus 5X Now Available For Purchase In Canada!

 

Well that was quick.  After being left out of the initial pre-order Canadians are now able to pick up the Nexus 5X via the Google Store.  As previously reported, the device starts at $499 for the 16GB model with the 32GB listed at $559.  The device comes in three colours, Carbon, Quartz and Ice, and all three are currently available.  Shipping is listed at 3-4 weeks so you'll have plenty of time to track down some cases and screen protectors while you wait for your beautiful new Nexus.

Again, the price isn't what we had hoped for but the weak Canadian dollar has a lot to do with the inflated price.  If you're not wanting to pick this up through Google's store this phone will be coming to at least one Canadian carrier, Telus, down the road.

[Google Store]

 

Nexus 5X Now Available For Purchase In Canada! is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

The post Nexus 5X Now Available For Purchase In Canada! appeared first on Android in Canada Blog.

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Nexus team members hit Reddit for an AMA on Nexus 5X and 6P

A few members of the Nexus team — Hiroshi Lockheimer, David Burke, Krishna Kumar and Sandeep Waraich — took to Reddit a few hours ago to answer those burning questions everyone had about the new Nexus devices.

There are over 1900 comments in total, so there's a good chance that if you had a question about either of the new devices, it might be in there.

We'll give you some of the highlights here, but again click through the link below if you want to read the full list.

The question as to why wireless charging was left out this time around was one of the most popular. They attributed it to the ease of plugging in USB Type-C (no more which way is up?), the speed of charging with USB Type-C and finally that wireless charging added thickness to the device that they felt could be avoided.

Another popular question was regarding why the Nexus 5X still starts at 16GB. There was the serious answer, "strike a blance between premium features/experiences and affordability." and then a less serious answer "It's a conspiracy! MOVE TO THE CLOUD!". You'll have to decide which is more plausible. The serious answer was later applied again in response to why just 2GB of RAM in the 5X.

Details on the actual panel used in the 6P were asked for and the team produced that it was the latest generation panels from Samsung. Specifically it is a Samsung WQHD AMOLED panel and they were quite proud of the "very tight spec" that they created for it.

The mystery of what the X and the P stand for is solved, "X for the core of the Nexus Brand (plus it sounds cool!), P for premium."

For T-Mobile Nexus hopefuls the team confirmed that they are working hard to get Band 12 support on Nexus devices before they ship.

The team also confirmed that both the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P support only USB 2.0 speeds and not USB 3.1 as some were reporting at the event.

Another excellent question was how Imprint keeps the fingerprints safe. They are stored on the device and processed in the "secure Trustzone protected area of memory." The API doesn't provide access to the fingerprints to apps and they are not stored by Google. Imprint was also touted as one of the team members favorite new features.

Those were some of the most interesting questions and answers to us, but there are plenty more, so feel free to share any other juicy nuggets you dig up below.

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LG V10 shows up in new leaked images with ticker display

This week is jam-packed with announcements. Now in the wake of Google's Nexus event yesterday, we can turn our attention to LG's event tomorrow, at which the company is expected to announce and release the LG V10. Rumors have pinned the V10 as having a secondary ticker display above the screen, but thanks to new images from @evleaks, we can now see the ticker display in action.

Bonus http://pic.twitter.com/d79IUJs8Eu

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 30, 2015

As you can see, the ticker display is just a little ribbon of display above the screen that will likely have a number of different uses. In the above image, we can see the ticker display holding shortcuts to a select few apps including the camera. In the featured image, we can see the same setup, as well as a second set-up that simply says, "Be you."

While the ticker display is neat, we're crossing our fingers that LG has bigger plans for it than simply holding app shortcuts. Nonetheless, the V10 looks like it'll be a solid new offering from LG. It packs in a couple thin bezels and a rather rugged, yet attractive, plastic design. The camera module is decently sized and is paired with laser autofocus and a dual-LED flash, both good features to have. Below it is LG's signature rear power/volume button combo.

We'll keep you posted when official word arrives on the LG V10

Source: @evleaks (1), (2)

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