Amazon announce Alexa-powered Tap and Echo Dot gadgets

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 William Judd Mobile Accessories, News

Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant is at the heart of its coolest recent product, the Echo home speaker. The virtual assistant is improving quickly to rival Siri and Cortana, with lots of useful integrations that let it control your lights, answer questions, order an Uber or adjust your house’s temperature. Amazon announced Alexa is coming to two new devices this week, the Amazon Tap and the Echo Dot. Both are interesting takes on the original Echo, designed to be used in slightly different environments.

Android N gets surprise developer beta, here are the new features

March 11, 2016 William Judd Android, News

A developer beta of Google’s next version of Android, codename N, was released without fanfare earlier this week. We’ve been playing around with N, and we like what we’ve seen so far. Here are the top features and changes in Android N!

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge reviews roundup

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 William Judd Android, Mobile Accessories, Reviews

The Galaxy S7 Edge has the potential to be the most popular Android smartphone this year. Our hands-on impressions are definitely favourable, but what do the critics think? Here’s our roundup.

Top 10 Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge Tips & Tricks

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 William Judd 8 Comments Android, How to Guides, Mobile Accessories

The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are technical marvels, packed full of cool features and interesting additions. Here are ten must-know tips and tricks that’ll let you make the most of your shiny new phone — plus three exclusive tips for Galaxy S7 Edge owners.

No Quick Charge 3.0 on Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge or Xperia X Performance

March 9, 2016 William Judd Android, Mobile Accessories

Qualcomm announced the Quick Charge 3.0 standard last year, billing it as ‘next-generation fast charging technology’. The new standard is 38% more efficient than Quick Charge 2.0, and offers support for a more granular range of voltages from 3.6V all the way to 20V.

The only problem is that the new standard isn’t being added to new flagships — out of the ‘big three’ flagship phones announced in 2016, only one has Quick Charge 3.0 support, the LG G5. The other two — the Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge and Sony Xperia X Performance — don’t support the standard, despite coming with Qualcomm chipsets that are compatible with Quick Charge 3.0.