HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free

With tepid reviews of the HTC One M9 abound, and the HTC GRIP, the new wearable created with Under Armor, the HTC VIVE, the company’s new VR headset could be HTC’s ace in the hole it’s using in order to branch out from the smartphone industry. The HTC VIVE operates like the GEAR VR from Samsung, however, unlike Samsung’s unit, this headset does not require the user to strap their phone into the headset for it to work. This device is an all-inclusive virtual reality experience, like the Oculus Rift. The VIVE sports what some people have described as “a more immersive experience”.

The smartphone manufacturer’s VR headset is available to select developers through an application process. To be eligible for the headset, you must have a registered account with Valve. Valve has announced on its website that the developer program for the VIVE is now open. Oculus currently sells the developer versions of its Rift headset to the public for a price of $350. However, in this case, Valve and HTC will choose the developers who will receive early access to the VIVE, free of charge. After all the time and attention this product got at MWC this year with it’s enclosed system and great performance, this could be HTC’s key to success by generating much-needed revenue for the struggling company.

So, if you’ve got a great idea for an application to use the VIVE headset that could be innovative and interesting to Valve and HTC, apply over at the Steam Community website.

Source: Valve

 

The post HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Ed Modlin via AndroidGuys » AndroidGuys | HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free

Things to know about Project Fi

Today Google announced a new project to help simplify your carrier plan: Project Fi. Google is looking to challenge the current mobile carriers such as Verizon and AT&T by revolutionizing how a plan is done, much like they’re doing with Google Fiber. So, how does someone get Project Fi? Well, there are some things you should know before you go looking to be a part of it.

Invite Only

At the moment, Project Fi is still in the development stages with an Early Access Program, and Google wants to slowly roll it out to test it before allowing public access. At the moment, you cannot simply sign up for the service and give them your credit card. As in the past with previous Google projects, you have to sign up for an invitation at first. Once you have an invite, there are some other things to consider.

Nexus 6 Only

Once approved for service via an invite, you must purchase, or already have a Nexus 6 smartphone. If you have previously purchased one, it will work. Google will send you a special SIM card.

If you do not have a Nexus 6, you can purchase one through Project Fi, and either buy it outright, or pay for it over 24 months. Paying for it over 24 months will be very similar to T-Mobile Equipment Installment Plans, where you can pay for as much of the phone at any time as you’d like.

$10 per Gigabyte

Tired of paying for overages with your current carrier? Or, are you tired of paying for data that you don’t completely use and goes to waste? Google will only charge you at a rate of $10 per gigabyte, regardless of how much of it you use. If you don’t use all of it, you’ll get credited for it. So if you pay $30 for 3 GB, and only use 1.5 GB, you’ll get a $15 credit to use on your next bill.

Otherwise, the service starts at $20/month, and that includes unlimited talk, text, Wi-Fi tethering, and international coverage. So, $30/month will get you all of that and 1 GB of data, $40/month gets you 2 GB a month, $50/month  gets you 3 GB a month, and so on.

You can port your number

Google will let you bring your existing phone number to Project Fi. No need to worry about changing numbers and making sure all your contacts get your new information.

Access your plan from any device

Another cool feature of Project Fi is the ability to access your plan from any device. Whether it be your phone, your tablet, or your computer! You can make calls and text, even if you don’t have your phone. So no need to worry about losing your phone and not being able to make and receive calls.

No Contract

Project Fi not suiting you the way you imagined? No worries. You can drop your plan and walk away anytime you’d like. The only thing you’d need to worry about is if you are paying for a Nexus 6 over the course of 24 months, you’ll need to pay that off in full before canceling your service.

Google won’t pay Early Termination Fees

Speaking of canceling service, assuming you break your contract with another carrier, you can port your number into Project Fi. However, Project Fi won’t pay off your cancellation fees like T-Mobile and Sprint have been advertising. You’ll still be stuck with those. So make sure you look into what it takes to leave your carrier before you try to go to Project Fi.

Network coverage

Unlike with other carriers, you will have a secure network coverage in more places than just Project Fi’s reach. Project Fi will mostly look for Wi-Fi hotspots that Google has opened up for your phone to connect to, but if that’s not available, then Project Fi will connect you to either T-Mobile or Sprint, depending on who has the best available service at the time. This makes Project Fi have an amazing outreach in service, since it depends on Wi-Fi hotspots, and two carriers.

Google Project Fi Overview | FindTheBest

The post Things to know about Project Fi appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Benton Trerise via AndroidGuys » AndroidGuys | HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free

Google launches Project Fi, its no-contract MVNO

As expected, the service piggybacks off T-Mobile and Sprint

Google on Wednesday announced its latest mobile endeavor, Project Fi. The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) launches with a number of options for customers.

The plans are no-contract and start as low as $20 per month for unlimited calling, texting, and WiFi tethering. Additionally, customers receive low-cost international calling and service in 120+ countries.  Ideally, you can start a call on WiFi and hop to a network seamlessly.

Should you want data for your plan (really, who doesn’t?), you’ll be able to add it in for $10 per gigabyte per month. Need 5GB of data? Your total plan comes to $70 per month. Should you not use all of the data that you anticipated, you’ll be refunded for the unused amount. Yes, you can change usage from month to month and not have to pay stupid overage fees.

As for the coverage, the Fi service will piggyback off Sprint and T-Mobile and switch to whoever has the best coverage in the area.

To get started with Fi you’ll have to request an invitation first. Also, you will need a Nexus 6 smartphone as it’s the first and only device capable of handling the Fi seamless network switching.

Google Fi

Google Project Fi Overview | FindTheBest

The post Google launches Project Fi, its no-contract MVNO appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Scott Webster via AndroidGuys » AndroidGuys | HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free

What is Quick Charge and how do I use it with my Android device?

Quick Charge is a feature in your Android phone’s processor that enables it to charge up to 75% faster than normal. How does it do that you wonder? Well in your standard wall adapter there is a little piece called a flow regulator, and what the flow regulator does is it prevents the unregulated AC power from the wall from frying your battery and possibly ruining your phone. Now with Quick Charge, from Qualcomm, you can charge your phone quicker because of a faster regulator on both the charger and in your phone’s CPU. This in turn enables people to spend much more time not tied down to their charger.

Now you may be wondering what you need to have in order to use this wonderful feature. This part is two fold, first you need a Quick Charge compatible device. Most flagship devices including, but not limited to, the HTC One M8, the Sony Xperia Z3, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the Google Nexus 6, and the Motorola Moto X 2014 to name a few, all have the required Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU in them. The other part may be a little tricky, depends on whether or not you still have your charger that came with your phone when you bought it. Now there are other chargers that are Quick Charge Certified, and an easy way to spot those that are Quick Charge Certified have either “Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0″ on the side or a little marking that looks like a ‘Q’ with a lightening bolt tail. Now this is not limited strictly to wall adapters: Quick Charge can also be found in car chargers as well, just look for the little marking. Now that you have both of those aforementioned items the next part is quite literally plugging your phone in to charge.

For more information on Quick Charge 2.0 click here.

The post What is Quick Charge and how do I use it with my Android device? appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Nick Kramr via AndroidGuys » AndroidGuys | HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free

5 reasons you shouldn’t root your new Galaxy S6

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are Samsung’s newest devices and they are definitely packed with power. They feature QHD displays with over 570 ppi, an amazingly powerful Exynos 7420 processor backed by 3 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and a top of the line 16 megapixel camera. Not only are the insides of these devices revamped, but aesthetically, it’s completely a device.

With all that power and prowess, one of the first things that comes to Android users minds is whether to root their device or not. This article is here to give you 5 reasons NOT to root your Galaxy S6. I’ll be sure to follow this up with 5 reasons to root your Galaxy S6, but this is just here to give you both sides.

Disables OTA updates

One of the biggest reasons not to root devices is that it disables OTA updates. That means, once you root your device, whether it is from the Chainfire method or something else, your device will no longer receive incremental updates automatically. This is one of the main reasons not to root, so you’re going to want to think about this ramification.

If you aren’t going to flash a custom ROM on to the device, it is hard to come by the latest Samsung firmware. SamMobile does have a great repository, so all hope is not lost. If you do find the latest firmware for your device, you will have to flash over the top of the existing one, which leads to loss of data, so be sure to back-up if you plan to do so.

Rooting trips the KNOX counter

Tripping KNOX is another big factor on why to not root the Galaxy S6. KNOX is essentially a service employed by Samsung to give after-sale service a better idea if the device has been tampered with. There are also rumors that the counter can keep track of how many times the device has been flashed with different ROMs, although that is unconfirmed.

Since KNOX is capable of detecting changes to the device, once root privileges are enabled, the KNOX counter will be tripped and there will be no way of reversing it (there are some exceptions). This means that if you ever have to warranty your device, they have right to refuse service if they feel that rooting and or flashing was the culprit of the issue.

Lose out on KNOX capabilities 

Samsung’s KNOX is a misunderstood service as it brings more to the device than just helping Samsung detect if you tampered with your device. If someone were to find your device or steal it, this said person cannot use it. Without your account, the thief will not be able to factory reset the device or flash a new ROM to it. With a $700+ device, I’d take all the help I could get.

Along with helping deter potential thieves, KNOX also protects your data and information by using technologies that are patented by the National Security Agency (NSA). I had to throw that one in there just for the heck of it. If you are curious about KNOX and its capabilities, here is the actual overview from Samsung.

Disables Samsung Pay

One of the newest features on the Galaxy S6 is Samsung Pay, which is Samsung’s direct competitor to Apple Pay. If you plan on using Samsung Pay, it was just reported by SamMobile that when users root their device, this feature will not work anymore and is disabled.

SamMobile states that “when you root your device, the integrity gets breached, which is necessary for important and sensitive features like mobile payments.” This has been seen on many other apps as well, such as banking apps, media apps such as TiVo, and other apps that have sensitive data.

This may sound like it’s not a big deal, but Samsung has completely revamped their fingerprint sensor to be used on mobile payments, similar to Apple Pay. Gone is the sliding fingerprint sensor, replaced by a touch-based sensor, which is much more accurate and much more convenient.

TouchWiz isn’t the same as years past

The Galaxy S6 is one of the, if not, the top performing device on the market right now. Samsung’s in-house processor blows the competitors away, and scored an insane score of 68,000 on the AnTuTu Benchmark. Couple the amazingly fast octa-core processor with a slimmed down version of TouchWiz and you have yourself a pretty fast device.

One of the strong reasons for rooting a Galaxy device in the past was to de-bloat TouchWiz and speed it up. It has always been knocked for being a performance hog, but the latest version is quite different. Samsung took the complaints about their UI to heart and have drastically improved TouchWiz. They have also made it easier than ever to disable pre-installed apps, but you still can’t completely uninstall them.

Since having the Galaxy S6 for nearly a month, I can say it is one of the best performing devices I’ve ever used… even with TouchWiz. It comes free of any stutters or lags that have been seen in the past, plus Samsung adopted much of Google’s Material Design.

Conclusion

All in all, the Galaxy S6 is not like any Samsung device we have seen in the past. Once you root your device, there is no turning back, so you better be in it for the long haul. Not only will it disable key features on your device, it will also void your warranty.

I advise that if you do decide to modify your device, READ UP on everything, especially if you are new to rooting and flashing. All it takes is one wrong move and your $700 flagship device is a great paperweight.

 

The post 5 reasons you shouldn’t root your new Galaxy S6 appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Matt Kinne via AndroidGuys » AndroidGuys | HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free

Samsung hopes to sell 70 million Galaxy S6 smartphones

Huawei Smartwatch Giveaway

Sure, the Apple watch is a big deal right now and drawing a lot of attention to the smartwatch community. To that, we say bravo! Anything that raises awareness about developing technology and progresses the wearable lifestyle is terrific. It’s important to remember, however, that Apple isn’t the only shooter in the West. In fact, there had already been a handful of successful smartwatches on the wrists of Android folk worldwide before the Apple watch was even a rumor on your Grandpa’s Facebook wall. In fact, we’re giving away one of those watches — the Huawei Smartwatch — for FREE!

That’s right! We’re drawing one lucky reader to be the new owner of this luxurious and sophisticated timepiece from Huawei. There’s no purchase necessary and sharing the giveaway on social media only increases your chances of taking this beauty home. So what are you waiting for? Enter now!

See more at deals.androidguys.com

The post Huawei Smartwatch Giveaway appeared first on AndroidGuys.

by Shawn Collins via AndroidGuys » AndroidGuys | HTC and Valve to give Vive VR headsets to select developers for free