All Posts by Phil Nickinson | Android Central

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All Posts by Phil Nickinson

Moto Z Droid & MotoMods unboxing!

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Posted by Phil Nickinson on 14 Jul 2016 2:36 pm
Buried deep inside the boxes of the Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Force Droid editions, we find what lurks in the hearts of smartphones. Or something. As the Moto Z edges ever closer to its release ... sometime ... we're getting a fresh look at what of the year's most anticipated (and, frankly, interesting) Android smartphones. Specifically, today we're taking a look at Verizon's versions — the Moto Z...

This is the Moto Z's USB-C headphone jack adapter

104 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 14 Jul 2016 12:45 pm
Moto Z Droid headphone adapter
The Moto Z doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack. But this little doohickey will take care of that for you. One of the biggest stories from the announcement of the Moto Z at Lenovo's TechWorld event in San Francisco back in June was that the phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack and instead relies on the USB-C port to pump out audio. Most folks are in two camps on this. That's either a...

Pokémon Go passes 10 million total installs on Android

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Posted by Phil Nickinson on 12 Jul 2016 5:59 pm
Pokemon Go in the Play Store
Need any more evidence as to just how damn popular Pokémon Go is? How about this — we're a week out from the game graduating from beta status. And today it crossed the 10 million downloads threshold on Google Play. That puts it in the 10 million-to-50 million category. So it could be a little while before we see it jump to the next level. Or it may come sooner than we think, especially once it...

Which Pokémon Go team should you pick?

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Posted by Phil Nickinson on 12 Jul 2016 3:00 pm
Pokémon Go teams
Instinct, Mystic and Valor. Three teams from which you'll choose. And you'll want to choose wisely. So you've finally reached Level 5 in Pokémon Go. That opens up an entire new world of gameplay. Gyms are now a huge deal. You can actually do things with them. But more important is that you can now join one of three teams. (Remember factions from Ingress? Same sort of thing.) And once you're on...

This one post nails the popularity of Pokémon Go

62 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 11 Jul 2016 1:29 pm
Pokémon Go
You can't go anywhere right now without running into Pokémon Go. Or running into someone playing Pokémon Go. Simple fact is there are a ridiculous number of people playing this game right now. And that means there's an even more ridiculous number of folks reading about it. So we're writing about it. A lot. I started a thread in our Pokémon Go forums to warn folks that, yes, there's going to...

Watch the Mr. Robot 2.0 premiere right here until you can't!!!

21 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 10 Jul 2016 8:54 pm
We have released the #mrrobot season_2.0 Premiere early, but it won't be here long. Watch while you can, friends. https://t.co/ztye2bhfVB— Mr. Robot (@whoismrrobot) July 11, 2016 Enjoy. Catch up on Mr. Robot on Google Play

When words just won't do

103 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 10 Jul 2016 10:00 am
There's not a single word I can type here today that doesn't feel trite after the week we all just had. We've seen us at our worst. We've seen us at our best. We've all got a lot of work left to do. We won't fix ourselves in a day. There undoubtedly will be more horror. More heartache. We'll allow ourselves to forget just long enough for it to happen again. But I do have hope. And I continue...

What is Pokémon Go? Let MrMobile show you

38 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 8 Jul 2016 9:23 pm
Are you an Old? Do you not know the difference between Pikachu and a Pokémon? (That's a trick question, of course.) Are you struggling to figure out what all the fuss is about when it comes to Pokémon Go? You are not alone. Fortunately, we have MrMobile. If you've got a friend or loved one who appears to have started wandering somewhat aimlessly this week and mutters things about gyms...

Android Central 296: Pokemon Politics

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Posted by Phil Nickinson on 8 Jul 2016 4:00 pm
We kick things off this week with a look at how our gadgets are playing an important in the political process — both bad, and good. And in a 180-degree turn, Russell catches us up on on why Pokemon Go is so damned popular.  Plus, we catch up on some really good emails. (Send yours to podcast at androidcentral dot com!)

The Galaxy S7 Active failed Consumer Reports' water test, twice

270 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 8 Jul 2016 2:00 pm
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, in less than 5 feet of water
The Galaxy S7 Active is supposed to be able to withstand up to a half hour in water about 5 feet deep. It failed Consumer Reports' test. Twice. Here's what that means. Nothing. That's what it means to me that the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active twice failed Consumer Reports' water immersion test. While that will come across as apologetic, it's simply the case. It matters not to me that Consumer Reports...

An exhaustive list of 'OK, Google' commands is exactly what we don't want

76 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 7 Jul 2016 3:00 pm
OK-Google.io
OK-Google.io is an excellent site for getting a feel for what you can ask your phone to do. But it's also something that Google likely wants to make irrelevant. Someone put some serious work into this. Twenty-one categories so far. I don't know how many different commands. Basically everything you can ask Google, all in one place. It's wonderfully done, and one hell of a tool. It's also exactly...

HTC Desire 530 is coming to the U.S.

11 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 7 Jul 2016 9:00 am
HTC Desire 530
Will the $179 mid-ranger make as much of a splash as its paint scheme? That's the question. HTC has announced that one of its mid-ranger Desire models — the Desire 530, to be exact — is coming to the United States. Verizon and T-Mobile will carry the phone, and HTC will make it available unlocked as well. The Desire 530 was one of four new phones HTC announced back at Mobile World Congress in...

Pokémon Go is ... GO!!! (as in, available)

95 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 5 Jul 2016 7:56 pm
Pokemon Go for Android
We've worn the hats. We've played the beta. Now it's time for everyone to get their download on. Pokémon Go is now available for Android. OK, so it's almost available. It's now got a proper listing in Google Play, completely with a whopping 50,000 installs (thanks, beta!) and in-app purchases. But as of right this second it's not available for any of my devices. (And I have a lot of devices...

Verizon's new 'SafetyMode' would offer 128Kbps throttle instead of overages

103 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 5 Jul 2016 4:20 pm
Verizon wireless
Verizon on Wednesday is preparing to "transform the wireless experience," according to the heads up it gave the media on Tuesday. CNET apparently has been slipped the news a bit early, however, and does a good job of rounding up the changes. The short version? A higher monthly allotment of data, but it'll cost more money.

The single reason I trust Google with my data

135 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 5 Jul 2016 3:00 pm
Google MyActivity
Transparency isn't everything, but it goes a long way toward earning my trust. And Google lets me see exactly what data I'm giving it. I'm a trusting person. Maybe it's my age — having grown up as part of a generation that was still allowed to play outside unsupervised. Or maybe it's a Southern thing. Or maybe I just see the glass half full of cold, refreshing beer. In any case, I tend not to...

The best phone to use with Android Auto

42 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 4 Jul 2016 10:00 am
Android Auto
An updated list of what works with Android Auto. A lot of phones cross my path every month. OK, often every week. Occasionally more than one a day. And that means they also at some point end up in my car. And in my car I have a head unit that supports Android Auto, which undeniably has made me a safer driver. (And Android Auto has the added bonus of having a much better user interface than...

N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-nougat

208 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 3 Jul 2016 8:36 am
And suddenly it was as if everything I knew from my childhood was wrong. Snickers doesn't really satisfy, Pepsi wasn't the real thing, and I'd been mispronouncing "nougat" all this time. So it turns out I've been mispronouncing "nougat" all my life, eh? Noo-get. The blame lays squarely, of course, on Snickers. Well, that and the Southern bastardization of the English language. In any case, we...

Amazon locks in the exclusive on streaming PBS Kids shows (sort-of)

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Posted by Phil Nickinson on 2 Jul 2016 11:00 am
PBS Kids on Amazon Prime Video
Amazon this week announced that it and PBS "they have entered into a multi-year agreement that makes Amazon Prime Video the exclusive premium subscription streaming home for a broad collection of PBS KIDS series." That's a bummer for folks who had been watching via Netflix and Hulu, and a boon for Amazon, which is (of course) pushing for the entire world to sign up for Amazon Prime. So if you...

Android Central 295: Nougat Unlocked

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Posted by Phil Nickinson on 1 Jul 2016 4:00 pm
There's no such thing as a slow week in the Android world. And in the span of a single morning we've gotten both the nickname for Android N — Nougat — and a long-overdue unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy S7 in the United States.  Plus we weigh in on some recent stories that probably have been blown way out of proportion, and we answer some excellent questions via email.  Thanks to this...

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