All Posts by Andrew Martonik | Android Central

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All Posts by Andrew Martonik

Announcing the 'AC Photo Contest: Light bulb' winners!

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 1 Jul 2015 12:49 pm
AC Photo Contest: Light bulb
Another great photo contest has come to a close, and there are dozens of wonderful entries in the forums all meeting the contest prompt of "light bulb." We've gone through each entry and narrowed it down to the two that will receive prizes — read along and see them for yourself.

Sprint quickly removes 600 kbps streaming video limit from new 'All-in' plan

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 30 Jun 2015 10:11 pm
Sprint Zone
With videos of David Beckham clouding everyone's vision, Sprint quietly introduced a rather odd limitation on its new $80 "All-in" plan — a 600 kbps streaming video speed limit at all times. Well it took less than a day for Sprint to back off on that clearly poor decision, and tonight put up a blog post explaining that it had chosen to remove the limitation based on "customer feedback."

This week's sidebar poll: Do you have Galaxy S6 active regret?

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 30 Jun 2015 4:46 pm
This week's sidebar poll: Do you have Galaxy S6 active regret?
We've had over two months with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge readily available from just about any carrier or retailer you could've wanted to buy it from, and that means it was the perfect time for another GS6 variant to be announced. The Galaxy S6 active came onto the scene after a brief period of being rumored, and the big stat that stuck out was the battery. 3500 mAh in the Galaxy S6 active put...

Half-Life 2: Episode Two, three other titles arrive for Shield Android TV and Shield Tablet

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 30 Jun 2015 12:00 pm
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
NVIDIA has another round of big game announcements today, with the headliner being Half-Life 2: Episode Two arriving on Android exclusively for the Shield Android TV and Shield Tablet. The latest in the Half-Life franchise to arrive on Android will only set you back $7.99, and is joined by Q.U.B.E: Director's Cut ($9.99), Never Alone ($14.99) and Funk of Titans ($4.99).

A beginner's guide to the Samsung Galaxy S6

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 30 Jun 2015 12:41 pm
Samsung Galaxy S6 in blue and white
Ever the 800-pound gorilla in the room, Samsung has released yet another high-end Galaxy S device in 2015 to lead it through the year. This is the sixth iteration, and the Galaxy S6 has a lot of great new features. Dramatically improved hardware, a stunning camera and a software experience that's familiar to the hundreds of millions of people who already have a Samsung phone. There are plenty...

In pictures: Samsung Galaxy S6 vs. Galaxy S6 active

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 26 Jun 2015 2:35 pm
Samsung Galaxy S6 vs. Galaxy S6 active
These two phones share the same core, and not much else in terms of design. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 active are made for people with different design sensibilities. One is sleek, smooth, shiny and maybe even beautiful — the other is built to take a beating, and doesn't necessarily care that it's a little bigger than other phones. We've talked about the subtle differences between the two...

I actually don't like the LG G4 — here's why

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 26 Jun 2015 12:31 pm
LG G4 and other phones
Everyone around here seems to be gushing over the LG G4. I dare to have a different view. When LG took the wraps off of its latest G-series flagship, I immediately wanted to get one to put it up against my favorite phone at the time, the Galaxy S6. After being relatively unimpressed by the G3 with its performance issues and lackluster software, LG really had me excited with new internals and a...

Every Moto X (2014) Pure Edition in the U.S. is now receiving Android 5.1

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 26 Jun 2015 12:29 am
Every Moto X (2014) Pure Edition in the U.S. is now receiving Android 5.1
No more waiting. No more asking or thumb twiddling. Every Moto X (2014) Pure Edition in the U.S. is getting the Android 5.1 OTA right now. Motorola's David Schuster — who has been great about keeping us up to date with the progress — announced on Google+ that the flood gates have opened.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 active: What's the difference?

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 25 Jun 2015 2:34 pm
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 active
The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 active look very different, but in reality they're almost the same phone. Of course at first glance you wouldn't guess much about these two phones is shared beyond the name and manufacturer — one with metal and glass all around it, and the other looking like it belongs in a tool belt. But actually, the Galaxy S6 active is nearly identical inside to its...

Samsung Galaxy S6 active review

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 24 Jun 2015 3:24 pm
The Galaxy S6 active matches the standard GS6 in many ways, and even bests it in some crucial areas. The quick take The Galaxy S6 active takes a proven great device in the Galaxy S6 and beefs it up just a tad. Metal and glass are replaced by rubber and plastic, giving the GS6 active water, dust and shock resistance while only adding minimal thickness and weight. The extra space also gives the...

Social polling app Straw updated to v2.0 with fresh design, StrawCast global stream

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 23 Jun 2015 1:16 pm
Social polling app Straw updated to v2.0
In its biggest update since launch, Straw is adding some polish and new social options The app, which lets you pose quick polls to get feedback from friends and strangers alike, is hitting version 2.0 with a general design refresh and a few new features. The headline addition is StrawCast, which lets you send your poll to everyone using the Straw app in addition to sending it to your own...

HTC One M9 photo comparison: Before and after the latest firmware update

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 21 Jun 2015 2:00 pm
HTC One M9 in silver and grey
The camera experience isn't the strongest feature of the One M9, but HTC hopes that updates are making it better. European versions of the HTC One M9 received a pretty substantial update at the start of June that claimed to improve many aspects of the phone, most importantly in the camera department. The fixes centered around better automatic exposure to keep photos in bright environments from...

Android Central Photo Contest: Light bulb

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 17 Jun 2015 8:00 pm
Android Central Photo Contest: Lightbulb
Lights are pretty important for keeping our lives functioning smoothly, but they can also be worked into designs that really light up your day. While you may not think about taking photos of light bulbs at first, once you start looking around you can find some really interesting subject matter. We're sure you can come up with something great. Two people will win prizes for their entries in...

Announcing the 'AC Photo Contest: Caption this photo' winners!

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 17 Jun 2015 6:12 pm
AC Photo Contest: Caption this photo
We mixed things up in the latest photo contest, providing you with the photo and seeing what great captions you could come up with. We kept it open for a full two weeks and watched the captions flood in — filling up 20 pages in the forums in the end. We laughed, we cried and honestly looked a little puzzled at some of the entries. In the end it came down to the 10 winners — read along and see...

Saygus pushes back V2 launch, opens Indiegogo campaign to fund fresh start with new features

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 15 Jun 2015 2:18 pm
Saygus V2
Saygus has pushed back the launch of its new V2 smartphone citing manufacturing issues, and wants your help funding the project this time around. Though we've held the phone in our hands and the V2 actually went up for pre-orders at one time, Saygus says that manufacturing problems are going to push back the launch of its dual-SD card behemoth. In a press release today, Saygus explained that...

How to move your OneDrive pictures to Google Photos

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 15 Jun 2015 1:45 pm
How to move your OneDrive pictures to Google Photos
OneDrive has its draws as a photo locker, but if you've chosen to move to Google Photos it's a simple process. With great cross-device syncing — particularly if you use Windows devices — and very cheap storage options, OneDrive is a great choice for storing photos and plenty of other things. But if you're ready to give Google Photos a try instead, it's a simple move that will only take a few...

MetroPCS adds unlimited texting and 20 free minutes to Cuba in international add-on

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 15 Jun 2015 1:55 pm
MetroPCS
MetroPCS is expanding its World Calling plans to include unlimited texting and 20 free minutes to Cuba. Falling in line behind Boost Mobile's changes recently, the new addition will give MetroPCS customers who have the World Calling add-on on their plans new ways to connect with friends and family in Cuba. Unfortunately MetroPCS is only giving you a paltry 20 free minutes of calling to Cuba,...

Here's what comes in the Project Fi welcome box

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 15 Jun 2015 11:30 am
Project Fi welcome box
If you're waiting for a Project Fi invite, this is what you can look forward to when you sign up. Google has done some neat packaging for its Nexus devices and accessories (Google Glass was particularly high-end), hardly cutting back on the presentation. Project Fi is no slouch here, and Google sends out a very large box when you sign up for the new carrier to help make sure you have a good...

Shield Android TV update brings 4K picture sharing, streaming improvements

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Posted by Andrew Martonik on 15 Jun 2015 9:41 am
NVIDIA Shield Android TV
The first big maintenance release since launch makes fixes and adds features. Software version 1.2 is hitting the new Shield Android TV now, and it tightens the screws on the software that came on the box at release. The new software is primarily made up of fixes, including improvements to SD card support, better streaming for Netflix and Google Play Movies, and firmware upgrades for the...

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