How To Make the Most of Extra Screen Time

These days, it goes almost without saying that anyone with a smartphone spends quite a bit of time on it. Smartphones have become nearly everyone's go-to way to kill extra downtime at work or make that time spent waiting in line at their favorite coffee shop a little less boring. That said, whether you use yours mostly for communicating with family and friends or keeping up with the daily news, you probably spend over three hours every day on your phone. However, you can only waste so many hours playing Angry Birds before you're chomping at the bit for something more enriching to try. The following options are some great ideas for making more of your smartphone screen time.

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Google confirms new orange Pixel 4 colour with Times Square billboard ad

We've seen a leak of the rumoured orange version of the Pixel 4. But now Google itself confirms the existence of the new Pixel 4 colour. It does so in the most obvious way it could: through a billboard on Times Square. Aside from learning about the new colour, we now know that the Pixel 4 is coming on October 15th. What isn't clear at the moment is if this new colour will be available for both the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL. The other colour options of the Pixel we've seen going around are black and white, which we have seen in past models. 

Source: Reddit

Facebook is reportedly working on a device to take on the Apple TV

We reported earlier last month that Facebook has been in talks with streaming services for a streaming device it's creating. And we now have more details on said product. Variety adds on the report that this Portal device could run a modified version of Android's mobile operating system instead of the purpose-built Android TV OS. It'll also come with a camera for video calls, far-field microphones to detect audio, and built-in speakers. The device will stream content from the likes of Disney and Netflix. And it's going to take on the likes of the Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Facebook is reportedly even working on some Apple Animoji-like features, allowing you to put a virtual mask over your face right from your television. 

Facebook has been keeping this project secret, going to lengths of using a shell company to submit all the necessary regulatory filings to the FCC. We still ask whether people will be keen to use a Facebook device with a camera in their living room considering Facebook's rep in the privacy space. But for those interested in this product, it looks like it might be coming sooner than we think.

Here's a look at Lenovo's double-folded 'clamshell' smartphone

Before we talk about anything, we're going to say that it's a patent, for now. But Lenovo hinted in the past that a foldable RAZR phone is in the works—and this might be what it looks like. In March last year, Lenovo filed a patent for a "flexible electronic device" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It was a double-hinged folding phone design for the RAZR phone, and it was due for launch at this year's Mobile World Congress. But the deadline proved to be too tight to present the final product.

This week on September 10th, the patent was published in both the USPTO database and the World Intellectual Property Office Global Design Database. It shows 14 sketches of a folding phone with a clamshell design. The device comes with two separate hinges, letting you fold it in a way that shows the very top of the screen or to fold and show more of the display. The sketches show a thin device with rounded edges and small bezels. The upper bezel houses the front camera and speaker, while the bottom bezel has a secondary speaker. There looks like light-ribbed plastic material at the back along with the fingerprint sensor and a single rear camera. The RAZR phone is rumoured to come out in Europe between December 2019 and January 2020 for around €1500 (approx. CA$2,200).

Source: MSPowerUser