Wednesday
Aug072019

Samsung supersizes Note10 series, launches 2 models

Samsung officially unveiled the newest iteration of the Galaxy Note series. The Galaxy Note10 now comes in two models: the Note10 and the Note10+. The latter is its biggest yet, with a 6.8-inch QHD screen. It's also the first Note to get two variants. The regular size isn't such a small device either, with its 6.3-inch Full HD display. Like the Note devices that came before it, both have S Pen stylus, which can now convert handwriting to digital text and supports up to six gestures to let you control the phone using the stylus.

Both devices run on either Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9825 chipsets. Different regions get different chipsets. Both come with 256GB storage as standard and with 512GB version available. The Note10 has 8GB of RAM as a standard and 12GB in its 5G version (which won't be available here), while the Note10+ gets 12GB of RAM as its standard.

Click to read more ...

Tuesday
Aug062019

Google shuts down its Trips mobile app

Google's Trips mobile app is going away, but that doesn't mean you can't use the search giant's other apps and features to help you plan upcoming trips. Google is bringing many of its features to Maps and Search. As long as you're signed in to your Google account, you can head to google.com/travel and head to the Explore tab. Or you can just simply search for things on Google. Google's Travel site will let you browse past and upcoming reservations. You can edit details over there as well. A shortcut would be to search for "My trips" on Google. You'll also be able to find saved attractions, flights, and soon hotels for your upcoming and past trips. Another feature you can look forward to is being able to add and edit your notes from Google Trips into the Travel site.

In Maps, if you're looking for a destination or specific iconic places, guide lists, events, or restaurants, you can head to the Explore tab to find these. If you tap the menu icon, you can find saved places under the Your Places section. And soon Maps will include upcoming reservations organized by your trips and those will be automatically available offline, so you don't need to manually download them.

Tuesday
Aug062019

Netflix cancels 'The OA'

Brit Marling stars as Prairie Johnson in The OA. She also co-created and co-produced the show. (Nicola Goode/Netflix)

Mystery/sci-fi drama series The OA is the latest Netflix show to get axed. Just months after the second season of the show was released, the streaming service has decided to cancel the show. While the show has been generally received well by critics and viewers, it seems the show wasn't getting the viewer count Netflix was hoping for. The show's creator Brit Marling confirmed the cancellation in a statement she released on Instagram. Brandon Perea, who plays French on the show, says on Twitter that the story was supposed to wrap in five seasons. Fans are already asking the show's creators to shop it around to other services and networks. While that isn't an unusual move, we can't say if this will happen. 

Tuesday
Aug062019

Spotify tests out new personalized playlists: On Repeat & Repeat Rewind

Spotify’s personalized playlists are usually designed for music discovery. But this time it looks like the music streaming service is trying something different. Android Police discovered two new playlists that are populated by songs you frequently listen to. The two playlists are called On Repeat and Repeat Rewind. On Repeat focuses on the “songs you love right now,” while Repeat Rewind focuses on “some old favorites.” According to Android Police’s Ryne Hager, the playlist appeared on his Android app under the “Uniquely yours” section in the Home tab. It also doesn’t seem to be available to everyone yet. We haven’t seen it show up on our app either. But Spotify is known to do extensive A/B tests for everything, so that might be the case for this playlist.