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All Posts by Florence Ion

Honor 6X vs. Moto G5 Plus: When things just come together

9 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 14 Sep 2017 8:00 am
If you want to go barebones, there's the Moto G5 Plus. But if you want real value, the Honor 6X is it. Buying a budget smartphone may not seem as daunting a task as dropping a massive wad of cash for a pricey flagship, but shopping from the low-cost device market can be quite a doozy when you consider the breadth of offerings. There are some genuinely decent device deals out there. Motorola...

Honor 9: Should you import it if you live in the U.S.?

14 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 30 Aug 2017 8:00 am
This sub-$500 device is worth wielding stateside, as long as you don't mind making a few compromises. I'm digging the latest trend of sub-$500 smartphones that are worth using. These aren't just generations-old flagships offered at a discount; they're marquee devices in their own right. One particular phone that fits into this category of "worth it for the price" is the Honor 9. It's the...

Android Oreo's mascot is a woman

Posted by Florence Ion on 23 Aug 2017 3:00 pm
But you'd have no idea unless you read the marketing material behind the superhero cookie. There is plenty of other Android news we could be talking about this week. I was initially going to write about Allo on the desktop, and how it's effectively changed the way I communicate with my friends. But it hasn't changed anything; my parents are stuck on using WhatsApp, everyone else is an iPhone-...

Huawei Mate 9: Big, bold, and still beautiful nine months later

29 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 21 Aug 2017 10:05 am
The Chinese company's flagship smartphone is still a great buy, though the competition has vastly increased in the nine months since its debut. Plenty can happen in nine months. A human baby gestates over the period of nine months, for example, or you can try to grow over four inches of hair. Nine months is also a good time to check in with a smartphone after its initial launch. That's plenty...

How to use App Twin on the Huawei Mate 9

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Posted by Florence Ion on 18 Aug 2017 7:00 am
You can clone Facebook or WhatsApp to log in with two different accounts at the same time. Running a business from your smartphone? That's pretty cool, but I bet you feel like switching between personal and business accounts is kind of a pain in the butt. Fortunately, some Android devices offer the ability to make an "app twin," essentially emulating an existing app so that you can log in with...

Best Car Chargers for Google Pixel

49 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 16 Aug 2017 2:00 pm
Keep your Pixel charged while out on the road. Here are our favorite USB-C car chargers. We've all been there (some of us more than others): You hop in your car ready to rev on the road and then you check your phone — it's dying at a rapid pace! You've barely enough battery life to get to your destination. Well, that's what car chargers are for, and if you've a Google Pixel, this next list...

Inside the battery-free cell phone of the future

13 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 16 Aug 2017 8:00 am
The battery-free phone runs on ambient light and RF signals, though it's not enough to power your favorite game. Batteries: You can't live with them, you can't live without them, and I recite that cliche because I know you're nodding along with me right now. Smartphone battery packs have become bigger so that they last longer, and a majority have been infused with fast charging technology. But...

ZTE Blade Z Max hands-on: A giant smartphone for any budget

32 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 14 Aug 2017 9:00 am
The Blade Z Max is a big phone with a 4,080mAh battery that doesn't cost all that much. Don't turn your nose up at a budget device. For many smartphones users, that's often the only kind they can afford, and they shouldn't have to settle. The ZTE Blade Z Max is one of those devices that may seem like it skimps on features because of its comparatively meager price tag, but it's a nice little...

Two platforms, one house: Choosing between Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa

36 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 11 Aug 2017 1:00 pm
I have a Google Home and Amazon Dot in my house, and their core differences are making it difficult to choose between a connected ecosystem. I live in a multi-platform household. It's incredibly jarring at times, particularly when I find myself unable to choose between platforms. Do I stick to Google and its Assistant, because my devices are all Google-born and tied to the search engine's...

This is how Android Oreo is going to be more user-friendly

70 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 9 Aug 2017 8:00 am
Brighter colors and simplified iconography help make Android Oreo one of the more appealing versions of the mobile operating system yet. I confess: I've only been living with Android Oreo for a couple of days. I know that plenty of Pixel and Nexus users have already had the opportunity to roll with the new notification dots and bright white notification shade for a while now. They've also had...

OnePlus 5: Which model should you buy?

51 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 7 Aug 2017 12:25 pm
OnePlus 5 colors
Do you require 64GB or 128GB of space? And is the extra RAM really that necessary? OnePlus has certainly figured out its formula for selling smartphones: take a no-fuss design, shove in an all-day battery along with the latest processor, and keep the Android software tweaks at a minimum. The OnePlus 5 is a great depiction of that vision as it's equipped with all the components that fit in with...

Fleksy's new developers strive to revive the app as the next keyboard platform

14 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 7 Aug 2017 8:00 am
Fleksy isn't dead. Instead, it's being ushered into a new direction by ThingThing in a bid to make the smartphone keyboard app into a platform of its own. Consider the fact the way you type to a friend or family member is kind of like a language of its own. Think about it: the emoji you use, the shorthand you elect, and the sentences you choose to complete are all part of a system of rhetoric...

I'm just not that excited about the upcoming Pixel 2

213 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 4 Aug 2017 9:00 am
With the original Pixel already my daily companion, why should I imagine trading it in for something else? Who needs a good smartphone when you've already got a great one? If you've been a longtime reader of Android Central, then you've likely seen the dozens of stories on how capable the Google Pixel is at being a daily companion. It takes great pictures in a variety of situations; its...

How to control Samsung SmartThings with Google Assistant

1 Comment
Posted by Florence Ion on 2 Aug 2017 7:00 am
It's easy to automate your life with a small investment in Samsung's connected smart accessories and a free app from Google. I figured that the easiest way to turn my home into an automated abode was to find out which platform would best pair with the existing power of Google Assistant. Samsung's SmartThings like the right fit considering the breadth of accessories it has to offer. I...

Samsung Connect Home review: Two products for the price of one

4 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 1 Aug 2017 9:00 am
Turn your "dumb home" into a smart one and expand your Wi-Fi network all at the same time with Samsung's mesh router system. There's nothing worse than when someone comes over to your house and complains that your Wi-Fi is slow, especially if you consider yourself a seasoned tech-head. Fortunately, we live in an era of mesh Wi-Fi networking systems, which exist to not only help simplify the...

The future of augmented reality may actually be in shopping apps

5 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 28 Jul 2017 9:00 am
How the technology is implemented matters more than the device it arrives on. We've already established that it's the pervasiveness of online shopping apps killing the shopping mall. But what about augmented reality? Could that change the way we purchase things in the future? I spent an hour this week at a pop-up showcase for the ASUS ZenFone AR. It's been nearly eight months since the...

How to get started with Samsung SmartThings

3 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 27 Jul 2017 8:00 am
Samsung SmartThings are a great addition if all you're looking to do is automate a few simple things around the house. Did you know you can automate your home in about an hour? That's how long it took me to set up the Samsung SmartThings Hub and two additional SmartThings helpers. I set up an outlet and a multipurpose sensor, though you can take your pick from the litter of available...

A smartphone user's guide to staying focused throughout the day

12 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 26 Jul 2017 1:00 pm
Plenty of Android apps are distracting, but some can be helpful at keeping you productive, too. "Get off Instagram and stay off Twitter" has become my mantra as I work in silence at home, with every distraction at my whim and no one around to hold me accountable. Frankly, this is the perfect time for AI to come into play and save me from myself, but until I can command something like Google...

U.S. Department of Labor investigation into Google gender pay gap could change Silicon Valley

70 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 21 Jul 2017 12:00 pm
Android's maker has been ordered to hand over 8,000 employees' contact info for failing to adhere to equal pay laws. It's been a few days since a judge ruled that Google had to hand over 8,000 of its employees' contact information to the U.S. Department of Labor, but the reason for it remains a prescient matter — and one worth studying up on before heading into the weekend. Android's maker is...

From blah to blob: The history of Android emoji

29 Comments
Posted by Florence Ion on 19 Jul 2017 12:00 pm
A reflection on the yellow-bellied emoji that many of us have come to love over the years. If you've been following along with what's to come in Android O, then you've likely heard that Google is retiring its line of blob-like emoji. Plenty of loyal Android users have expressed their joy over the upgrade to circular emoji, conforming to the rest of the emoji standards set forth in the mobile...

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