The new in the world of technology

Google promised  that all Chromebooks shipped in 2017 and beyond would support Android apps, but the company has been a bit slow to deliver on that claim. However, Google has just updated  its list of Chrome OS devices compatible with the Play Store , and a whopping 16 more devices can now run Android apps officially. For the time being, you'll have to switch to the Beta channel on the below devices to use the Play Store. But switching Chrome OS channels is  extremely easy , and I've been using Chrome OS Beta on my ASUS Flip C302CA for a while now with no problems. Without further delay, here's the list of added devices: Acer Chromebook 11 N7 (C731, C731T) Acer Chromebook 15 (CB3-532) Asus Chromebook C202SA ASUS Chromebook C300SA/C301SA CTL NL61 Chromebook Dell Chromebook 11 (3180) Dell Chromebook 11 Convertible (3189) Dell Chromebook 13 (3380) HP Chromebook 11 G5 EE HP Chromebook 13 G1 Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook Lenovo N23 Yoga Chromebook Lenovo N22 Ch...

Let's face it - LG phones have had problems with long-term use in the past. Many former phones from the company experienced  the famous bootloop issue , which plagued the G4, Nexus 5X, G5, V10, and others. This was especially a problem for phones outside the warranty period. LG wants you to know that it's confident in the G6's longevity, and as a result, the company has extended the phones' warranty period to two years. President of LG MobileComm USA, Chang Ma, was quick to point out to  The Verge that the new warranty doesn't cover accidental damage like cracked screens (like HTC's Uh-Oh Protection does). It simply extends the normal warranty to two years, covering manufacturing defects - like bootloops. Fittingly enough, LG is calling this the "LG G6 Second Year Promise." If you already own a G6, you simply have to  register your device on LG's website within the next 90 days. If you're planning on buying a G6, you have 90 days after ...

Not to be forgotten to the passing of time, it appears that the Sony Xperia XA Ultra has started receiving a substantial update. Nougat is finally coming to the year-old phone, and not a moment too soon, either. I don't want to insult your intelligence by rehashing what Nougat will bring, but at least owners of this 2016 device can look forward to expanded notifications, split screen, and an improved Doze mode. For now, the only reported versions to have received the update are F3211 (Europe) and F3212 (dual-SIM) — the variants for Asia and the U.S. are likely on their way. If you're still rocking your XA Ultra, be sure to keep an eye out for the Nougaty goodness.

Alright, even as a self-professed coffee snob, I go to Starbucks sometimes. OK, like once a week - it's convenient, consistent, and I really like the cold brew iced coffee. Anyway, for as long as I've been going to Starbucks, I've lamented what I assumed was a lack of NFC payment support. Starbucks does not advertise that any of its stores support NFC payments in the US, and the card readers at most of its stores in the US, like the one pictured above, don't feature any iconography to suggest NFC is accepted. The terminal in the hero image of this post does show an Apple Pay icon on the screen, and maybe that is shown at Starbucks locations, but I can't say I've ever noticed it. What I did notice was this notification popping up every time I went in a Starbucks and then being profoundly confused. Anyway, if you go to a Starbucks in the US and they have this Verifone chip-style reader (photo via  Reviews.com ), it accepts contactless payments. I had no idea...

We learned a few months ago that T-Mobile spent big in the FCC's recent 600MHz spectrum auction. The carrier dropped $7.99 billion on the spectrum licenses, which it has now officially been granted. It's wasting no time putting them to use. T-Mobile says it will begin rolling 600MHz coverage out to select markets over the summer. T-Mobile's launch of the 700MHz band 12 spectrum several years ago was a game-changer for coverage, especially indoors. The new spectrum is an even lower frequency, which should further improve indoor reception. T-Mobile also has licenses for this block of airwaves in all 50 states, with an average of 31MHz of space. In some places it's as high as 50MHz, but other markets are only 20MHz. The new spectrum will be used to improve LTE coverage in the short term, but T-Mobile also plans to use some of this spectrum for its upcoming 5G network. It has not announced which markets will get 600MHz coverage yet, but there aren't any device...

Here in the US, unlocking policies are pretty lackluster. Sure,  they've improved over time , but these regulations still aren't something we can be proud of. But up in the Great White North, the CRTC (Canada's telecom commission) is hard at work. Starting on December 1st, 2017, all mobile devices will have the capability of being unlocked for free, and all new devices will be unlocked out of the box. Getting a phone unlocked is still pretty complex stateside. Surprisingly, Verizon is actually doing the best with this out of all four major US carriers, with their phones having come factory unlocked for several years now. But with other carriers, it's still a bit of a problem. For instance, with T-Mobile, if you don't satisfy their eligibility requirements (at least 40 days on the line, must be fully paid off, you can't even pay a third party to unlock some of their phones since the process is done through a T-Mobile app. Canada, on the other hand, is m...

The first Developer Preview for Android Things OS was  released at the end of 2016, as a lightweight version of Android intended for Internet of Things devices. Since then, it has been updated multiple times to support more hardware and fix bugs, and today Google has released Developer Preview 4.1. As the minor version change might imply, this isn't a massive release. The first new feature is support for the Pico i.MX6UL revision B board, with support for earlier revisions (such as those made available to beta testers) being dropped. Secondly, DP4.1 includes a new smaller variant of Google Play Services specifically optimized for IoT devices. Finally, there are some boot optimizations for i.MX7D-based hardware. Developers can find more information, as well as downloadable images for DP4.1, at the links below.

Working off of feedback from users for a year, Twitter has made some welcome design updates to its web and mobile apps, as well as to TweetDeck and Twitter Lite. First off, there are simpler icons for things like replying to tweets (it’s now a chat bubble instead of a backward-facing arrow), and cleaner typography. Twitter has also jumped on the rounded profile picture bandwagon, which I’m on board with. Of course, if you’re using a logo for your brand’s account, you might want to adapt it to suit the new shape. Next, the  iOS  app is catching up to its  Android  counterpart with a navigation menu that’s hidden away in a side panel on the left. That puts your Profile, additional accounts and settings in one place, and cuts down on the clutter in the tab bar at the bottom of the screen. Plus, it’ll use Safari’s viewer to open links so you don’t have to log into sites you’re already signed into on that browser. If you prefer using the Reader view, you can set...

There’s an ambitious new app that wants to help you to find a couple of new friends. The app is called  Me3  and was developed by two guys who wanted to bring the ease-of-use of Tinder  to help people create same-gender, non-romantic friend groups. Instead of matching you with a bro, or sis, who likes the same stuff as you it matches you in ‘tribes’ of three. The developers insist that with three people it’s less likely to feel like an awkward ‘trying to fill the silence’ situation. The app is awaiting the implementation of machine learning algorithms, CEO  and co-founder Julian Ilson told me: We have the infrastructure already in place to start using machine learning. However, we don’t have enough data just yet to start acting on it. We have formed 1000 Tribes now, but we need more data on Tribe successes and failures to confidently let the genie out of the box so it can start doing some self-learning The plan is to apply machine learning to sift throu...