Pokémon Go breaking records, LG woes, and viewers take the wheel | Pocketnow Weekly 209

Posted on by Juan Carlos Bagnell

Pokémon Go is already huge and it’s getting huger! LG is whittling back expectations for the G5, but can a V20 pull the company out of its doldrums. Plus this week our viewers take the wheel. Ask us anything (tech related), and we’re going to answer it! Make sure you’re charged and ready for episode 209 of the Pocketnow Weekly!Watch the video broadcast from 2:00pm Eastern on July 14th (click here for your local time), or ...

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Version 11 of Hangouts ends SMS merged conversations

Posted on by Jules Wang

Another piece of Google Voice has bit the dust, thanks to an update in Hangouts.If and when you get version 11 of Hangouts, you’ll see that SMS and Hangouts-based conversations have been split. You’ll have to talk to John Doe in separate threads for the different technologies. Why the change? Google said that the merged conversation feature “caused user confusion and had low usage.”You can ...

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You shouldn’t need five chat apps

Posted on by Joe Levi

When the Internet was coming into its own back in the ’90’s, we were migrating from “classic” uses (Archie, Finger, Ping, Usenet, FTP, Email, web browsing, etc.), to a more “modern” set. Chances are that you’ve heard of a couple of those, whereas the others have all but faded out of commonality. Today web technologies power most of what we do, and it looks like email is next on the chopping block. If that’s the case, will chat apps replace ...

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Google’s Allo and Duo will join Hangouts and Messenger

Posted on by Jules Wang

You might think that we wouldn’t need Hangouts or Messenger with Allo and Duo coming around, right?Well, Google has confirmed that it will have four messaging applications in its roster. Remember that both Hangouts and Messenger can handle SMS texts while both

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Google’s already updating apps to take advantage of Android N features

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

We’ve only had one short day to play around with the Android N developer preview, but it’s already clear to even our eyes that this next release of Android is going to be a big one, changing the way a lot of familiar parts of the platform work – for the better. While features like split-screen mode may be among the more eye-catching of the changes, we’re seeing evolving interfaces across ...

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Tim Cook takes his ball and goes home | Pocketnow Weekly 187

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Alcatel One Touch might be shipping the new Idol smartphone in Virtual Reality packaging, iPhone error 53 is frustrating users who have had their home buttons repaired, and Tim Cook takes his ball and runs home after people tweet mean things about his Super Bowl photo. Another week of mobile technology news has passed, and we’re going to talk about all of it, on episode 187 of the Pocketnow Weekly!Watch the video broadcast from 2:15pm Eastern on February 3 (click 

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Google improves Hangouts call quality with direct peer-to-peer connections

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Doing even the simplest-seeming thing on our smartphones can involve a lot of little moving parts. Information needs to be gathered from input sources, interpreted, passed to the right processes, ferried off to remote cell towers, routed to the right servers – and that’s just getting started. Every step along the way is another opportunity for things to go wrong, messages to get dropped, and lag to slow the whole process down. In the spirit of believing that simpler might just be better, Google’s rolling out a change ...

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Android Mirrors, fancy Fitbits and a VAIO Windows phone | Pocketnow Weekly 186

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Fitbit gets a fancy new band, manufacturers old and new are picking up the Windows Mobile mantle and a phone that’ll probably never see the light of day changes up its OS. It must be another week in mobile technology, and that must mean it’s time for another episode of our little pow-wow. Join us as we get ready to get techy on episode 186 of the Pocketnow Weekly!Watch the video broadcast from 1:15pm Eastern on February 4 (click 

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Google Hangouts users pushed Messenger for SMS

Posted on by Jules Wang

Are you using Hangouts for text and media messages? You may have to head over to another app soon. And Google has an idea about which app you should use.After ditching its Messaging app two years ago in favor of said SMS integration with internet-based Hangouts, it looks like Mountain View is beginning to

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The immortal UltraPixel | Pocketnow Weekly 185

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Our CES followups are done, our convention-center head colds are almost dribbled out, and the first small scents of jamon are starting to waft over from Barcelona. It must be almost springtime for Pocketnow, and you know what that means: the MWC 2016 rumor reactor is humming its way up to 100% power. Join us for HTC Perfume, LG Magic Slot, and Oppo world-domination promises –plus your listener mail– as we get ready to get techy on episode 185 of the Pocketnow Weekly!Watch the video broadcast from 1:00pm Eastern on January 29 (click 

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Perfume, Islandwood and other crazy codenames | Pocketnow Weekly 184

Posted on by Michael Fisher

HTC Nexus phones, a free smartwatch with your smartphone and iOS apps coming to Windows Phone. Who says the post-CES lull has to be dull? All of the above –plus a special announcement from Pocketnow’s Editor-in-Chief and your listener mail– awaits on episode 184 of the Pocketnow Weekly! So put on your Perfume and varnish up your Islandwood; we’re about to pay another visit to the techno club that is the Pocketnow Weekly podcast.Watch the video broadcast from 1:00pm Eastern on January 21 (click 

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Picking up the pieces post-CES | Pocketnow Weekly 183

Posted on by Michael Fisher

The comfortable Airbnb with the log burning in the fireplace is gone, as are the dry sandwiches and free coffee of the press room. We’re back in our respective cities following the crazy hallway podcasting days of CES 2016, most of us wiser, all of us older, and at least one of us with a big ‘ole post-Vegas beard. And now that you’re caught up with where we’re sitting … we’re gonna catch you up with what’s new in mobile tech.Sweet, sweet news on smartphones, tablets, wearables and VR headsets –plus your listener mail– awaits on episode 183 ...

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Google Hangouts may be getting ready to drop SMS support

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Just where does Google want Android users sending and receiving their text messages? Back in 2013 Google merged its IP-based messaging and SMS as it brought the latter to Hangouts with the launch of KitKat. For a while it looked like that might be the end of it, and Hangouts might be Google’s one-stop-shop for users’ messaging needs. But then last year we got a hint that change might be on the way, as

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Bumpy batteries and Star Wars Droids | Pocketnow Weekly 178

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Update: BB-8 is overr8’d. See you next week!An Android tablet that doesn’t quite belong. HTC news on both sides of the good/bad divide. An ugly-as-sin Apple accessory. And a Droid Turbo 2 that looks like Star Wars’ own BB-8! Where are you going to find talk like this anywhere else on the internet? If you answered “anywhere I look,” you’re right indeed … but you ended up here so welcome to the party. All of the above – plus your listener mail – awaits on episode 178 of the Pocketnow Weekly!Watch the video broadcast from 1:30pm Eastern on ...

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Black Friday mobile deals and the quest for Inbox Zero | Pocketnow Weekly 176

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Here in the US, Thanksgiving is just around the corner – and right after the turkey and tryptophan comes the crazy consumerism. To help you figure out what mobile tech to spend your money on this holiday season (whether it’s for yourself or for a lucky family member), we’re rounding up all the Black Friday mobile deals we could sift from the internet’s tech trove. Then we’re raiding Pocketnow’s Listener Mail account – because it’s almost the end of the year, dammit, and we’re getting to Inbox Zero one way or the other. It’s all lying in ...

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