Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Best Cases for Huawei Mate 9

What are the best cases you can buy for the Huawei Mate 9?

The Huawei Mate 9 is a big phone, but just because it's well-made — full of precisely-machined metal and Gorilla Glass — doesn't mean it is unbreakable. If you're concerned about damaging this new-to-the-U.S. smartphone, here are some picks for the best cases you can buy right now.

Ringke Fusion Bumper Case

Get that brand new flagship into some covering — stat! If you're buying the Huawei Mate 9 from Amazon, add the Ringke Fusion Bumper Case to your cart. This particular case adds a bit of thickness to the Mate 9 so that there's ample space between the phone and what it's laying on. It also features a couple of elements that other cheap cases don't typically include, like covering for the headphone jack and charging port. It comes in four color varieties.

See at Amazon

Vinve Ultra Slim Hard Cover

I am obsessed with cases sporting a built-in phone stand like the one featured on the Vinve Ultra Slim Hard Cover case. Not only is it shaped like a bear, but you can hook your fingers through it so that the Huawei Mate 9 doesn't slip out of your hand and fall to the floor. The case is available in chic black or rosy pink.

See at Amazon

Feitenn Huawei Mate 9 case

Don't like showing off your screen to the world? The Feitenn flip case shields offers a window for notifications and a spot on the back for the Huawei Mate 9's 20-megapixel rear-facing camera and fingerprint sensor. This case lets you prop up the device for video watching, too, and it comes in five different colors.

See at Amazon

Spigen Rugged Armor Case

Give the Huawei Mate 9 that carbon fiber appeal with the rugged armor case from Spigen. The case is made of flexible plastic and features an interior spider-web pattern for a neat design effect. It also comes with a raised lip that keeps the screen from touching the ground when it's laying down. At present, the rugged armor case is only available in black.

See at Amazon

Your pick?

Is your Mate 9 sporting a case not mentioned here? Want it represented? Leave a comment below and we'll check it out!

Huawei Mate 9

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Plex has acquired newscast aggregator Watchup because people are watching news again

Plex has acquired a new app that helps people stream traditional news broadcasts.

Plex, the well-known U.S.-based consolidator of all things media, has acquired newscast aggregator Watchup, which brings together video from news channels around the world in an Android (and iOS) app, for an undisclosed amount.

Watchup was launched in 2012 on the iPad but later spread to Android and various set-top boxes, including Amazon Fire TV, Xbox and PS4, as Americans cut cords and began to find most of their news online. The company has aggregation deals with many of the top U.S. media companies, including CBS, PBS, CNN, Fox News and WSJ, as well as international sources like Euronews, Sky, Financial Times and others.

Plex plans to make Watchup part of its media portal, which is increasingly relying on external streaming sources rather than its more traditional focus on local media consolidation. Plex says that the Watchup deal is perfectly timed given the resurgence of video news as part of people's daily routines.

Watchup makes watching news easy by using suggested categories and themes to learn what people want to watch and, like Stitcher in the audio space, creates a continuous playlist of content that people can peruse during a commute, meal or workout.

Download Watchup (free)



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Nintendo delays Android version of Animal Crossing to focus on Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes

Animal Crossing Mobile is coming to Android, but you may have to wait a bit longer than expected.

Nintendo is poised to release its third mobile game after Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, but it will be slightly later than anticipated.

While Android users can expect the former in early March and the latter on February 2, a mobile version of the beloved Animal Crossing series will have to wait up to a year from now. The intensive upkeep of Super Mario Run and the anticipated maintenance of Fire Emblem forced the company to push back Animal Crossing's release.

Nintendo mentioned this during its Fiscal Q3 earnings call, noting that the company's $569 million (equivalent) net profit stemmed from successes in Pokemon Sun and Moon, Super Mario Maker on the Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Run, where it was downloaded "tens of millions of times" on iOS.

While Fire Emblem: Heroes, which marries a blend of tactical role-playing with more modern free-to-play elements, Animal Crossing a a far more relaxed, exploratory game where you create a village full of cute animals and companionable human friends. It's unclear when in the company's new fiscal year, which begins in April 2017, Animal Crossing will be released, but we do know that it will be a freemium title.

Super Mario Run for Android: What we know so far



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Pixel 2: A Google phone for the post-bezel generation?

The first round of Pixel 2 rumors claim an entirely predictable array of upgrades. What's going to make the next-gen Googlephones exciting?

Google's first Pixel phones are barely 3 months old, but already we're starting to hear the first rumors of what the next generation of Pixels will bring. Reports from 9to5 point to (entirely unsurprising) improvements to the camera and CPU, along with a slight price bump and possible water resistance.

That's all well and good, but those are things I could've taken a guess at at any point after the Pixel's release. Obvious feature omissions (water resistance) will be addressed. The usual parts will get a yearly refresh. And further progress will be made in the areas where the current Pixels excel, like camera performance.

Here's the more interesting question: What's coming in these next-gen Pixels to bring the fight to phones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8? And what'll be Google's take on the major smartphone trends of 2017, like AI, minimal bezels, and the looming possibility of 4K displays?

Dem bezels.

The current Pixels are at odds with the coming wave of handsets, like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6, with the tiniest sliver of a border around the display. The iPhone is said to be going that same way — one of many rumored upgrades for that phone's tenth anniversary. Google had a relatively easy time against a relatively boring iPhone upgrade cycle in 2016, but the iPhone 8 is going to be another matter altogether.

The obvious path for Google to take is the one now being worn by Samsung and LG — keep the phone roughly the same size, bump up the display dimensions significantly, and in the process switch to a weird new (taller) aspect ratio. (The other, less likely option, is to lop the top and bottom bezels off and have less space for things like the battery and camera.)

Google's gotta do something with an extra-tall phone, right?

So then the question becomes: What will Google do with an extra-tall Android phone? The company has often used its own handsets to show what's next for the ecosystem as a whole — features like NFC and USB Type-C made their debut in Nexus devices. So there's a possibility that Google may choose to do something extra with a new, taller aspect ratio and code it in at the OS level so other manufacturers can build upon it. We've already seen some possibilities in LG V20's "second screen", although none of these approached killer app status. Equally, a taller screen might simply serve to make multi-window more palatable on a phone-sized device. Things can become a little claustrophobic, even on the 5.5-inch Pixel XL.

With a new (and sure to be heavily hyped) iPhone on the way, a new, hungrier Samsung fielding a Note 8 in the third quarter, and leaner upstarts like OnePlus becoming stronger, it'll be fascinating to see how Google reacts.

Will it run into a sophomore slump? Or will the second-gen Pixels retain the crown? Stick with us in the coming months to find out!

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

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Telstra rolls out the world's first Gigabit LTE network

The world's first Gigabit LTE network goes live in Australia.

Last October, Qualcomm announced that it is partnering with Netgear, Ericsson, and Telstra to roll out the world's first Gigabit LTE netowrk in Australia. In an event in Sydney, Telstra has announced that the network is now operational. The carrier showed off demos of the network in action, with download speeds in excess of 930Mbps and uploads of over 130Mbps.

The first device to support Gigabit LTE speeds is Netgear's Nighthawk M1 mobile router. The router features a Snapdragon X16 LTE modem, which offers 4X4 MIMO, and 4-band carrier aggregation. The portable router can connect up to 20 devices, and has a built-in battery that is rated for up to 24 hours of continuous use.

The router can even charge your mobile device while delivering Gigabit-class speeds, and comes with two USB ports (Type A and C) along with an Ethernet port. The router will be available starting next month for AUD360 ($270) outright, and there's also the option of bundling it through Telstra's plans.

The network itself is now live in CBDs (central business district) of Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, and will be rolled out to more areas in mid-February. Here's what you'll be able to do on the Gigabit LTE network:

  • Download a typical 3.5MB song in a fraction of a second
  • Download a 20MB PowerPoint presentation in as little as one second
  • Download a 300MB one hour TV episode in as little as sixteen seconds
  • Download a 3GB HD Movie in as little as 3 minutes

From Qualcomm's President of North America Mike Finley:

We are proud to support the launch of the world's first commercial Gigabit LTE product through our close workings with Telstra, NETGEAR and Ericsson. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem is the first commercial modem in the world to make these game-changing speeds and user experiences possible.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 also uses the same X16 LTE modem, so all phones that feature the SoC — with the LTE modem enabled — will be able to take advantage of Telstra's Gigabit LTE. As for when other carriers will implement Gigabit LTE, Qualcomm has stated that it is trialing the service with 15 carriers in 11 countries.



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How to enable lock screen notifications on the Huawei Mate 9

Here's how to add app notifications to the Huawei Mate 9 lock screen and fix one of the phone's biggest out-of-the-box issues.

I really like the Huawei Mate 9. It's a great phone with a lot of things going for it. But one of the things that, by default, is missing from the phone is lock screen notifications — those incredibly useful cards that let you know, when you turn on the display, what's coming through.

By default, most apps have their notifications disabled in EMUI 5.0, as Huawei aims to keep the lock screen clean and to force people to unlock their device to see exactly what's happening with their notifications. If you want to change that, and I suggest you do, you'll need to enable lock screen notifications manually for each app you want to see.

Here's how to do it.

How to enable lock screen notifications on the Huawei Mate 9

  1. Swipe down on the notification shade from the home screen.
  2. Tap on the Settings icon.

  3. Scroll down and tap on Apps.

  4. Select the app you want to change from the list.
  5. Tap on Notifications.

  6. Enable Display on the lock screen.

That's it! There's one more thing you can do to customize the experience: If you want the notification on the lock screen without the actual information, you can enable the confusingly titled "When locked", right underneath the toggle above to hide the content until the phone is unlocked.

Huawei Mate 9

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Indian government is bringing free Wi-Fi to over 1,000 villages

Wi-Fi hotspots will be installed in 1,050 villages over the course of 2017.

Internet connectivity has seen a meteoric rise in India in recent years thanks to the proliferation of low-cost 3G- and 4G-enabled phones and wide rollout of data services. India's internet users are in excess of 450 million, and while that number is second only to China's 750 million, a mere 34% of the population is connected to the internet. In a bid to boost connectivity in rural areas, the Indian government has announced that it introduce free Wi-Fi hotspots in over 1,000 villages.

Dubbed Digital Village, the government has earmarked 423 crores ($62 million) for the initial phase of the project, which will be carried out over the next six months. The move is the latest in a series of initiatives taken up by the government to boost internet usage in rural areas. In 2011, the government introduced a five-year plan to roll out fiber optic cable to over 250,000 villages with the National Optic Fibre Network project, providing broadband access to millions of people. However, at the end of 2016, the government was able to connect just over 60,000 villages.

Providing basic internet access is the first step toward a cashless economy.

With the broadband initiative taking longer than usual, the government is now looking at Wi-Fi hotspots as a way to bridge last-mile connectivity. In a statement to Economic Times, Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said:

The project is a public/private partnership, and will be driven through the common service centres (CSCs). We'll be partnering with different service providers to do it.

We are looking at all options. We're looking at a major WiFi push, which need not necessarily be only fibre optic but taking connectivity from the nearest place using WiFi to reach remote villages while fibre can take a little more time.

The country's demonitisation push — which invalidated 86% of the currency in circulation — has led to an impetus in the adoption of digital payments and mobile wallets. The first step in going cashless is providing basic internet access, and with Digital Village, the government is doing just that.

This isn't the first initiative aimed at providing free internet access to those in India. Facebook rolled out its Free Basics program in 2015, but it was eventually banned by the country's telecom regulator for violating net neutrality laws. Free Basics was available to customers on a single carrier — Reliance — and Facebook had final control over the apps that would be allowed in the service.

Facebook is now tying up with local carriers and internet service providers to "help expand connectivity" to rural areas with its new Express Wifi service. Unlike Free Basics, Express Wifi is a paid service, through which customers will be able to buy "fast, reliable and affordable data" to access the internet.

Google is also collaborating with the government's RailTel project to offer free Wi-Fi at train stations across India. Public Wi-Fi is now available at over 100 railway stations, and Google will be bringing the service to over 400 stations over the course of the year.



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