Deal: This VPN will block hackers and annoying ads for the rest of your life, now just $40

Posted on by Pocketnow Deals

Browse anonymously, lock out hackers, and prevent annoying ads from polluting your internet experience with a lifetime subscription to Windscribe VPN, offered to Pocketnow readers for just $39.99. That’s 90% off the retail price, and a small fee to pay for a service that will have you covered for life.Windscribe is different from other VPN’s. While those other services exist online only, Windscribe is a desktop application and ...

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Garmin Vivofit Jr. is a colorful $80 motivator and activity tracker just for kids

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Still substantially trailing Fitbit in terms of actual wearable device sales, GPS technology pioneer turned activity tracker rising star Garmin sure likes to keep busy, carving out niche after

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Samsung insists there’s nothing wrong with battery inside Chinese Galaxy Note 7

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Samsung’s smartphones will probably be scrutinized for many years to come on the heels of a Galaxy Note 7 overheating scandal that refuses to go away even as the Korean tech giant makes decent headway towards taking ...

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Google is ‘actively working’ to fix issue preventing Android Wear watches from pairing to iPhone 7

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

It may feel like an unnatural alliance to some, but Google’s Android Wear smartwatch platform supports both fellow Android handhelds and iPhones. Basically, if you’re not a hardcore fan of either Big G or Apple, don’t particularly understand the appeal of “iWatches”, yet still own a new or old iPhone, plus

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Spotify officially becomes Japan’s first ‘freemium’ music streaming service

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Believe it or not, the world’s most popular mobile and desktop music streaming app has somehow managed to reach and retain that dominant position within an increasingly competitive industry sans making its freemium services available in a number of key markets.At long last, you can cross Japan off the list of unsupported countries today, with Spotify live on an ...

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Updated: Android Wear watches aren’t playing nice with the iPhone 7

Posted on by James Rogerson
Updated: Android Wear watches aren't playing nice with the iPhone 7

Update: Google has alerted us that its product forum post incorrectly listed affected watches and has since been updated.

Devices that are currently experiencing pairing issues are the Asus ZenWatch 2, Moto 360 2nd Gen, Moto 360 Sport, TAG Heuer Connected and Fossil Q Founder. Michael Kors watches are not on this list, Google says, and the Fossil Q Founder is the only watch from the brand affected. What's more, only the ZenWatch 2 is listed, not all Asus watches.

This post has been updated accordingly.

Original article below...

Despite running a Google operating system, many Android Wear watches can link up with iOS devices, offering limited functionality. Or, at least, they could, but owners of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are reportedly unable to get their Android Wear watches connected to the new phone.

Google has acknowledged the problem on its product forums, stating that it's a "serious pairing issue", affecting the Asus ZenWatch 2, Moto 360 (2015), Moto 360 Sport, Tag Heuer Connected, and Fossil Q Founder.

Though the product forum initially called out Michael Kors watches as experiencing issues, Google has since alerted us that those watches were incorrectly listed. Additionally, only the ZenWatch 2 and Fossil Q Founder are experiencing issues in the Asus and Fossil lines.

Google hasn't stated what the exact problem is, but claims to be working to fix it as soon as possible, as well as having reported it to Apple.

Not built for Wear

It's likely a hardware problem, given that users with other phones don't seem to be experiencing the issue, even after updating to iOS 10.

But some claim that after trying to pair their smartwatch to an iPhone 7 they're now unable to pair it with any iOS device, even ones running older versions of the software. So until there's a solution or more information you might want to hold off on linking your Android Wear watch up to your iPhone 7 if you have an alternate phone you can use it with.

  • The Apple Watch 2 has no problems with iOS, but doesn't work with Android

Slowly but surely, Samsung closes in on Galaxy Note 7 recall completion

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Roughly four weeks ago, Samsung dropped the bombshell. But (way too) many Galaxy Note 7 owners either didn’t care about the risks of hanging on to their potentially explosive phablets, or simply missed the news of the voluntary global recall.Once the Consumer Product Safety Commission was brought in to ensure the US exchange process would eventually be done by the book, and

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Apple’s new partnership shows that it means business

Posted on by Darren Allan
Apple's new partnership shows that it means business

Deloitte is to help Apple show businesses how they can work better if they adopt iOS devices in the workplace, with the creation of an 'Apple practice' boasting a huge staff of advisers, and a new service called Enterprise Next.

The Apple practice will have in excess of 5,000 advisers – iOS specialists including designers, developers and industry experts – who will be on hand to push the benefits of the iPhone and iPad, and to underline exactly how companies can make them work best and use iOS hardware to ramp up their levels of productivity.

There will be dedicated teams of iOS experts across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions, advising firms on how to improve every aspect of their business from dealing with customers through to recruitment, research and development, managing inventory, supply chains, and running back-office systems.

As for the Enterprise Next service that will be the second major pillar of this Apple and Deloitte partnership, that's designed to ensure customers take full advantage of iOS, via tools and workshops which help organisations spot where custom-built apps could help push their business forwards, and then to swiftly realise those apps through rapid prototyping.

Value maps

Value maps

The overall idea is for iOS specialists to help companies spot opportunities using processes such as 'value maps', and subsequently build "high-quality native apps that integrate seamlessly with existing business platforms", with libraries of pre-integrated solutions on offer to further accelerate the design and deployment of software.

Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte Global, commented: "We know that iOS is the best mobile platform for business because we've experienced the benefit ourselves with over 100,000 iOS devices in use by Deloitte's workforce, running 75 custom apps.

"Our dedicated Apple practice will give global businesses the expertise and resources they need to empower their mobile workforce to take advantage of the powerful ecosystem iOS, iPhone and iPad offer, and help them achieve their ambitions, while driving efficiency and productivity."

Surprise: OnePlus X already gets official Marshmallow update with OxygenOS 3.1.2

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

We know, we know, it’s been long enough. Roughly a year since both the OnePlus X and Android 6.0 were released to the general public, similarly hard to come by off the bat. The affordable mid-range 5-inch phone and Lollipop’s sweet OS successor tried their best to go wide in the first half of 2016, but then OnePlus decided to

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iOS 10 share nearing half as it overtakes iOS 9

Posted on by Jules Wang

It’s been fifteen days since the release of Apple’s latest version of its mobile software platform. As of 3pm Eastern Time today, more actively used iPhones and iPads had iOS 10 than any other version of iOS. Easy pickings, given that the only real competition was iOS 9.Analytics firm MixPanel’s hourly observations more than 240 billion records show that 48.34 percent ...

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BlackBerry QWERTY phones still ahead says CEO

Posted on by Jules Wang

While BlackBerry has officially wrapped up its mobile hardware division, it’s still going to sell phones — Android smartphones — with its name and software on it.CEO John Chen has continued to insist that the company will be calling shots for the design of the phones and we may see another attempt at

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LG V20 pre-orders in US begin with B&H on October 2

Posted on by Jules Wang

One of the first US retail outlets to let people know it has the LG V20 rearin’ for release is B&H Photo. Yep, that camera place off Ninth Avenue in Manhattan that’s closed Saturdays.But come this Sunday, October 2, just as it opens back up for another week, the store (at least the online version of it) will be up and running with pre-orders of the first smartphone

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Fresh iPhone 8 rumors point to improved camera, more

Posted on by Michelle Fitzsimmons
Fresh iPhone 8 rumors point to improved camera, more

The iPhone 7 is still warm from the oven, but already whispers are starting to surface about next year's iPhone.

An employee at an Apple hardware development office in Israel spilled some juicy secrets to Business Insider, giving us a clearer picture of what the tech giant may have in store for the iPhone 8.

The anonymous employee said workers were tinkering with what's "next" for Apple, and specifically referred to the iPhone 8. This is a key detail because Apple's naming convention would traditionally put the 2017 iPhone 7S after the iPhone 7.

However, it's thought the next iPhone will take a bigger leap forward in design and innovation than a typical incremental S update, so Apple may have decided to go a full number up instead.

More iPhone 8 changes

In addition to its name, the new iPhone will reportedly be "different" from Apple's last two phones. That doesn't mean much - and really could mean anything - but it is an indication Apple may take greater risks with the forthcoming iPhone, such as adopting a glass back, as previously rumored.

Finally, the employee noted the iPhone 8 camera will be an upgrade over the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7. That's not unexpected, but one possibility is for the the iPhone 7 Plus' dual camera system to be stuffed into the regular iPhone.

We have just under a year before Apple unveils its next-gen handset. Some were disappointed by the iPhone 7's risk-adverse design and features, so Apple may go all out for the iPhone 8. It is the 10th iPhone, after all.

GoTenna Mesh evolves off-grid network to extended ranges

Posted on by Jules Wang

Consumer-side mesh networking solutions have been popping up more often recently. Perhaps the idea of spreading stronger, singular networks has met its time and price, right?But what about a solution that takes things off the grid when the situation strikes, be it in a foreign country or in a humanitarian crisis?Well, GoTenna, the makers of a namesake product that enabled peer-to-peer ...

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CEO wants to open 1,000 Xiaomi stores in three years

Posted on by Jules Wang

Xiaomi‘s physical footprint is set to expand exponentially through 2020 after spending most of its incorporation doing business online.CEO Lei Jun said that the company will expand from 25 retail stores to 1,000 by 2020. All of them will sell the televisions, drones, routers, air purifiers, kitchenware and, yes, smartphones that the company has made itself known for. We’re not sure if that total will include foreign stores as other OEMs, like

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