Samsung outs Galaxy Tab A (2017)

Samsung just unveiled a new mid-range tablet with a sizable 5,000mAh battery. The second-generation Galaxy Tab A comes with a quad-core 1.4GHz processor, an 8-inch 1,280 x 800 resolution display, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB internal storage that’s expandable up to 256GB via microSD. It runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box and comes with LTE support and a single nano SIM slot. Samsung packed in an 8-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front shooter in the Galaxy Tab A (2017). It launched in Vietnam for VND6,490,000, which is around CA$350. There isn’t news yet when the company plans to launch the tablet to other markets.

Source: GSMArena

The Essential Phone is now available through TELUS

If you’ve been waiting for the release of the Essential Phone, the wait is over. Here in Canada, the unit is being offered exclusively by TELUS. It comes in Black Moon and goes for $1,050 if you get it without a plan or for $290 for a $95 per month, two-year plan or $490 for a $95 per month, two-year plan. As GSMArena reports, the Camera app on this device just got an update, which fixes an issue with saving 360-degree videos. It also boosted speed of color/mono image fusion as well as other general stability fixes.

Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+ tipped to get Android Oreo soon

A new report surfaced online claiming Samsung has begun working on Android Oreo for both the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The firmware version could be G950FXXU1BQI1 on the Galaxy S8, and G955FXXU1BQI1 on the Galaxy S8+. There isn’t word on when these updates will roll out though but hopefully it’ll come in the next few months. Other manufacturers like HTC and Huawei have said they’re going to work on bringing Android 8.0 to select devices before the year ends.

Source: SamMobile

Google Drive app for PC and Mac will be shut down in March 2018

With the launch of Backup and Sync, Google finally announced its plans for the Drive app for desktop. Support for the app is ending on December 11^th before it gets completely shut down on March 12, 2018. If you’re still using the app, you might see a notification next month that it’s “going away” and that Google wants you to either use Backup and Sync or Drive File Stream, which is the enterprise version of the app.

Backup and Sync is the consumer version that can basically upload all the files you want to sync with it and works kind of like a hybrid Google Drive and Google Photos Uploader. Drive File Stream lets you access your My Drive files, Team Drives files, and even stream your files on demand right from your computer.

Source: The Verge