Archive for January, 2020

Google Nest Wifi review

Jan 31

Posted by AndroidGuys in Google, Hardware Reviews | Comments off

We’re a few years into mesh networking systems and things continue to get better. Not only that, but they’re getting less expensive, too. It’s quite easy to set up a home network that covers all rooms in all floors, regardless of the size of the house. And we don’t have to spend a ton of money in the process.

The Google Nest Wifi is Google’s second foray in this space, as it follows the 2016 Google Wifi. The 2019 experience gains a few upgrades with more powerful hardware, and also features a more modern design.

Google offers a number of Nest Wifi options, including a two-piece (router and access point) and three-piece (router and two points). Additionally, it sells the router and Wifi points separately. As to which one you’ll want or need largely revolves around the size of your home. Indeed, the router alone is reported to provide coverage up to 2,200 square feet.

Nest Wifi router – 2,200 square feet
Nest Wifi router w/ one point – 3,800 square feet
Nest Wifi router w/ two points – 5,400 square feet
Nest Wifi point – 1,600 square feet

Google provided us with the two-piece (router and point) system which covers up to 3,800 square feet. Here is our review of the Google Nest Wifi after spending a few weeks with the bundle.

Design

For a company who didn’t produce hardware until a few years ago Google really does have a particular design language. The router and point fit right in and look right at home in any environment. They’re unobtrusive, simple, and easy on the eyes.

Gone is the puck-like shape as this generation features a taller, marshmallow-esque design. The router is 4.3-inches tall and houses a WAN port, gigabit LAN port, and power jack in its base.

The point, available in Sand (tan), Mist (soft blue), and Snow (white) colors, is just a smidge shorter and contains a Bluetooth radio and Google Assistant-powered smart speaker. In essence, you get an extra Nest Mini with each point.

Inside the point are four far-field microphones and a 40mm speaker driver which offers 360-degree audio. There’s also a power jack, an LED ring that surrounds the base, and a privacy switch to disable Google Assistant. The light ring glows white when you ask questions of the speaker.

Setup

The Nest Wifi is not a modem, so you’ll be plugging into an existing modem. Your internet provider likely offers at least a basic model that may or may not provide for wireless connectivity.

The process is more or less plugging into the modem, opening the Google Home app, and following the instructions. If you’ve ever set up devices in the Google Home app, you’ll find this hassle-free stuff.

Should this be your first attempt at setting up a Google Home, you’ll need to log in via your Google account or create one first. You’ll want to download the Google Wifi app for more control over the network, including seeing which unit a device might be connected to or configure port forwarding.

The Google Wifi app also helps determine the best location(s) for your points, set up and test its speaker(s), and test speeds between the router and the point. It can also test the overall speed of your home connection.

Configuration and Usage

If for no other reason, parents ought to love where we are with today’s WiFi network capabilities. We appreciate controls over specific devices, blocking access to adult websites, and/or creating schedules. And, perhaps most of all, we love being able to hit the pause button any time we want.

The Nest Wifi provides all of these features and in a way that’s user friendly and intuitive. None of these are exclusive, of course, but we like that we don’t need to dig deep to make adjustments.

It’s worth noting here that the router only has one Ethernet port and that points have none. This could prove troublesome for people who like to physically connect devices like a PC, game console, Shield TV, and/or Chromecast Ultra. While some love the flexibility of going wireless, there are others who’d rather connect directly.

One of the cooler features that comes with the Nest Wifi is how it can help others connect to the network. Have friends over for game night? You can have your smart displays show a QR code that automatically lets them connect with the proper credentials.

Right around the time we started reviewing the Nest Wifi we also received and started testing out Google Stadia. As some may know, the game streaming service requires a rather solid (read: fast and stable) internet connection.

Nest Wifi can be optimized for Google Stadia with its “Gaming Preferred” mode. When enabled, it prioritizes gaming over Stadia or consoles instead of PC, Chromebooks, phones, etc. Sure, this feature is readily available for most wireless networks and mesh systems, but it’s not always this easy and obvious.

One thing we’re starting to see become popular in mesh networks is the advent of WiFi 6 support. It’s the newest protocol and a standard by which many new products will adhere. We’ll see it in laptops and other devices as they roll out over 2020 and beyond.

Unfortunately, there’s no support for WiFi 6 in the Nest Wifi. While this might be a deal-breaker for some, we’re reminded that very few people know what it is nor do they have a data connection that even comes closes to fully taking advantage. It’s a non-starter for all but the most serious, and demanding user.

Another feature that’s new for the Nest Wifi is that the Nest Wifi Point doubles as a smart speaker. It’s usually just $30-$50 for a Nest Mini; adding them to your home is cheap and easy.

Here, though, the sound that comes from the point is great — better than what you might get out of the low-cost Nest Mini. Hell, we like it better than the first-gen Google Home speaker.

Music is loud, clear, and punchy. In fact, you may wish to adjust the equalizer to dial bass down if you’re using it for music. The Google Assistant, and any podcasts or playlists sound excellent and particularly surprising for a device that’s first purpose is for WiFi.

Conclusion – Should you buy Nest Wifi?

Even though our homes aren’t getting physically bigger, we find that single routers and modems just don’t work any longer. And while you might be paying for a great internet package, you’ll probably run into dropped connections, buffering, and poor reception in parts of the home.

If you’ve added a handful of smart speakers, displays, lights, or anything similar in the last year or two, you’ll want to consider a mesh system. The same goes for a home with multiple family members. By the time you add in phones, tablets, computers, TVs, game consoles, and other WiFi-connected products, you could be looking at dozens of things nipping at your network.

That’s a long way of saying that you should be looking into a mesh system. But, what about Google’s Nest WiFi? If the Google Assistant is your preferred virtual/digital assistant, the Nest Wifi is a no-brainer. You absolutely should be looking at this as a possible solution.

Things are super simple from the time you take it out of the box to the time your friend jumps on as a guest. You can’t ask for a much easier or more intuitive interface. Additionally, you’d be hard-pressed to find an option that has the same range and features. In fact, there are no other options on the market which add a Google Assistant-ready speaker.

We appreciate that consumers can select from different options and that it’s not just a “one size fits all” package. There’s no risk of buying too much network, and if your needs change, you can scale to meet demands.

Availability

Nest Wifi comes in the following options:

One piece: (Router) for $169
Two pieces: (Router + Point) for $269
Three pieces: (Router + Two Points) for $349

Consumers can find the Nest Wifi at their favorite retailers including B&H Photo, Amazon, Best Buy, and online at the Google Store. Color choices include Snow (white), Mist (light blue), and Sand (light pink).

Tags: nest, nest wifi

Pagico: streamline tasks, projects, and data to get more done

Jan 31

Posted by AndroidGuys in deal of the day, Project Management, task management, to-do lists | Comments off

Things are incredibly messy between emails, files, and tasks alone. You know it. We know it. Toss contacts, to-do lists, and calendar appointments and it’s tough to keep afloat. It’s weird how much less efficient we feel when compared to people who relied solely on paper, Rolodex, and physical calendars.

Yes, we know you have an app for this and an app for that. And while some might be free, others might have subscription fees. And they don’t all talk to each other.

Pagico, available for just $25 from the AndroidGuys Deals Store right now, does the work of multiple apps, services, and clients. It’s a task manager, data manager, and all-in-one tool that streamlines your life.

Pagico Features

Turn to-do lists into meaningful timelines
Visualize the health status of your projects in a simplified & intuitive way
Prioritize & reschedule your tasks by simple drag-and-drop
Have your vacation itineraries stored right next to restaurant menus & action items right on top of meeting notes
Quickly travel through multiple levels of your tags to find the right projects
Cross-link menus, travel itinerary, phone call actions & more
Find & group your stuff automatically based on criteria such as tags and keywords
Use the Pagico browser extension & turn webpages into tasks

Pagico lets users oversee every aspect of a project from start to finish, all in one place. Create a task, store the files and documents go with it, and cross-link between them.

Planning to attend a conference? Break down your to-do lists, manage your travel itinerary, client meetings, and dinner and hotel reservation all within the same interface.

If you’re looking to clean up up your digital life, or get more efficient with your time in 2020, Pagico is a perfect starting point.

Purchase a lifetime license to Pagico 9 from the AndroidGuys Deals Store for just $25 right now. That’s half off its normal price, but it won’t last forever.

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Not looking to spend any money today? No worries. You can still visit the AndroidGuys section for freebies and pick something anyhow.

Tags: pagico

Moto G Stylus images and specs surface in fresh leak

Jan 30

Posted by AndroidGuys in Moto, motorola | Comments off

The first images of Motorola’s stylus-toting Moto phone have appeared online, arriving only days after first leaking earlier in the week. The picture, which comes via 91Mobiles, gives us a glimpse of the rear of the phone. In addition to the images, the source offers up preliminary specifications.

Looking at the back of the device, we see a camera configuration that’s not unlike the Moto G8 Plus. That phone, for its part, has a 48-megapixel main primary sensor.

According to the report, the phone will have a secondary 117-degree wide-angle camera with two other sensors.

Interestingly enough, there are no pictures of the stylus. So, for all we know, we could be looking at the Moto G8 Power, one of two other phones also expected from Motorola in the near future.

The so-called Moto G Stylus looks to run Android 10 and feature a screen size of around 6.3-inches. Reportedly, it should have a 6-series Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage.

There’s no indication on when or where the phone will be announced, but Mobile World Congress is at the end of February. That venue is as as good as any for a formal introduction.

Tags: moto g stylus, News and Rumors

Cool gear under $50 (February 2020)

Jan 30

Posted by AndroidGuys in logitech | Comments off

Try as we might, there’s simply too much cool technology to keep up with. New products hit the market every day and, as much as we’d love to write extensive reviews about all of them, we just don’t have time. To that end, we’re happy to share bite-sized reviews of technology and gear that we find interesting or worth a closer look.

SEE: Cool gear you can get for less than $100

Below you’ll find products that we’re impressed with that all share one thing in common – they’re all under $50. While these aren’t purely electronics or gadgets, we think they’re awesome.

ANNKE 1080 PT Camera

We no longer need to spend hundreds of dollars up front, or subscribe to monthly plans, to keep an eye on things. The ANNKE HD Smart Wireless PT Camera is an example of a smart camera that doesn’t cost all that much yet provides the fundamentals of home security.

A camera capable of recording pictures and video in HD (1280 x 720) resolution, the unit offers up a 60.5-degree wide-angle picture with two-way audio. Users can speak to the camera and have their voice heard or drop in on it to listen or monitor the environment.

Lightweight to be sure, it can sit flat on any surface or mount to a wall via the included attachment pieces.

Scenarios where it makes sense to have one of these: using as a baby monitor , check on your elderly parents or grandparents, or to see how your pets are doing while on the go.

Motion detection is a nice feature that can be enabled if you’re looking to use it as a security camera. In a related note, the infrared/night vision is an extra bit of peace of mind, too. $40 at Amazon

BESTEK Power Strip with USB

Look around your house and you might find that open wall outlets tend to come at a premium. Thanks to things like smart speakers, smart displays, and Bluetooth speakers, we’re routinely using outlets that were otherwise unused just a year or two back.

If outlets are important to you, you might want to check out this cube-like solution from Bestek. It lets you turn one power outlet into three outlets, and adds in another three USB ports. Oh, and a USB Type-C port, too. That’s seven ports in one.

Bestek Power Strip w/ USB

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Given that we tend to use our outlets for charging phones, tablets, watches, and other gadgets, it makes sense to clean up cables and chargers. Put those bricks aside and plug your USB cables directly into the power strip.

You can mount the charger directly on a wall in most orientations using the included screws and/or two-sided sticky tape. Alternatively, you can disconnect it from the mount and use it freely, too. $27 at Amazon

Logitech M325C Mouse

While Chromebooks and laptops have touchpads and displays that register touch, nothing feels as intuitive as an actual mouse. Add a Bluetooth one to your backpack or bag and you’ll find it really helps speed things along.

Fortunately, we don’t have to spend a bunch of money on a quality optical mouse. Even better, we’re not relegated to boring black or grey mice, either. You can pick up one that speaks to your style and sensibilities on the cheap.

The Logitech M325c is a wireless mouse that’s compact, stylish, and incredibly accurate. Powered by a single AA battery, you’ll get up to 18 months of usage and not have to worry about plugging in every so often.

It might look small, but it’s got the goods where it counts. Features include five buttons, tilt wheel with middle clicking, and a range of up to 10 meters. Choose from a whole range of colors and designs. Prices start as low as $13 at Logitech, Amazon, depending on collection. “Color Collection: Himalayan Fern” displayed here.

MK470 Slim Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo

Take your mobile productivity to new levels with a combination kit that includes a wireless mouse and keyboard. If you have a tablet and spend any amount of time with emails, writing, blogging, or schoolwork, you owe it to yourself to add a physical keyboard.

This Logitech bundle is a lightweight way of adding a full-sized Bluetooth keyboard with a number pad and an optical mouse. The best part? It’s just priced affordably.

It’s not only slim and compact, but it’s quiet, too. You’ll be able to blow through emails and homework without drawing unwanted attention in the library.

The keyboard is powered by a pair of AAA batteries which offers up to 36 months of usage. The mouse relies on a single AA power source which ought to be good enough for up to 18 months. $49 at Logitech and Best Buy

Catalyst Case

We spend a lot of money on really fancy and beautiful smartphones so why is it that we’re so quick to hide them behind protective cases? Today’s handsets are gorgeous and often feature stunning colors and gradients. Forget those boring, utilitarian phone cases.

Grab a Catalyst Case for flagship phones (Apple, Samsung, or Google) and you’ll find that you can get solid protection that doesn’t obscure your beloved device.

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Built precisely with your phone in mind, the protective case allows for drops up to three meters (9.9 feet). There’s a non-slip rubber ring that envelopes the handset that’s really only seen on the outer edge. Other than that, you can see all those sharp colors and design choices.

The case protects against dirt and debris, but still allows for wireless charging. It’s thin and doesn’t add any unnecessary bulk, and comes with an optional wrist strap. $40 at Catalyst Case

Braven BRV-MINI

For years Braven was known primarily as a brand that produced large, waterproof, rugged speakers. And while that was pretty much its bread and butter, the company has evolved and shifted away to other audio products.

Braven BRV-MINI

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The BRV-MINI, while pint-sized in stature, is a rough and tumble, waterproof Bluetooth speaker that still pushes out an impressive amount of sound.

With up to 12 hours of playtime per charge, the speaker is a perfect hiking companion. Indeed, it even comes with a lanyard so you can attach it to your hip or backpack.

We’re also fond of the USB Type-C charging and wireless pairing which let you pair two of these speakers together for a stereo experience. Oh, and it also floats, too. So, not just showers and canoe trips down the river, but it can also hang out in the pool with you. $40 at ZAGG/Braven

Braven Flye Sport

Braven has quietly amassed a solid portfolio of earbuds and headphones with prices to suit all budgets. Its Flye Sport is an example of a low-cost and feature-rich pair of earbuds.

Braven Flye Sport

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Though not truly wireless, you can drape these behind your head for when hitting the gym or knocking out a few miles. They’ll probably last longer than you do to, thanks to a battery that lasts up to 12 hours per charge.

They’re offered in three colors and come with three sizes of ear tips for the perfect fit. Like its speakers often are, these Braven earbuds have an IPX7 waterproof rating.

Other features we’re impressed with include the ability to take hands-free calls, access to your smartphone assistant, and a two-year warranty. $30 at ZAGG/Braven

Tags: annke, bestek, bestek power strip, BRAVEN, brv-mini, catalyst, catalyst case, flye sport, logitech m325c, mk740, The Best, wireless smart pt camera

The best Android phones available at Tello

Jan 30

Posted by AndroidGuys in lg, motorola, Samsung, sprint | Comments off

Sprint is one of the largest wireless network providers in the United States, serving more than 54 million subscribers. As you’d expect, it features quite the handset selection, including models with 5G support. But what about its prepaid brand, Tello?

Tello, as is the case with other MVNOs, has its own rate plans, customer service, and phone selection. Here, we’ll dig into the devices offered at Tello.

READ: Tello Buyer’s Guide

We’ve gathered up a handful of the best phones you can purchase at Tello today. Although we do select one as the best overall (Editors’ Choice), the list below offers phones that work for a variety of user types.

For what it’s worth, the handset selection at Tello is rather light. To that end, we always suggest buying an unlocked phone for use with a carrier. The options are plentiful in both directions and you’ll likely get something more powerful.

Samsung Galaxy S9

The Samsung Galaxy S9 may be nearing its two year anniversary but that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful enough. Considering the target demographic isn’t a heavy user, there’s plenty of performance to go around.

For the money users get a 5.8-inch display, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

Powering things are an octa-core processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB internal storage. Need more room for media? Toss in a microSD card and move your games, files, and documents. And that 3,000mAh battery? Well that’s likely going to last users nearly two days per charge.

Samsung Galaxy S9

LG Stylo 5

Big, practical, and affordable, the Stylo 5 provides users with a large (6.2-inch) screen with stylus support. It’s perfect for scribbling notes, marking up documents, editing, and more.

Running Android 9 Pie, the phone is powered by a 1.8GHz octa-core processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. A microSD expansion card slot blows the door wide open for up to 2TB external media.

Wrapping things up, the LG handset has a 13-megapixel rear camera, front-facing 5-megapixel selfie camera, and a 3,500mAh battery with USB Type-C charging.

LG Stylo 5

Motorola Moto G7 Play

We absolutely love what Motorola does with its Android phones. They run a bare bones software experience that leaves things the way Google intended, and feature affordably priced alternatives to flagships.

Here, you get a big (5.7-inch) screen, a very modern build of Android, and respectable smattering of mid-range hardware. Key details include an octa-core processor, 32GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot for external media.

Other things we appreciate? A water resistant coating, USB Type-C charging, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Motorola Moto G7 Play

Tags: tello, The Best

Data rules over everything – These courses teach you how to manage and analyze data

Jan 30

Posted by AndroidGuys in deal of the day, Excel, python | Comments off

If there’s one constant in business in 2020 it’s that data rules over everything. Numbers are numbers and facts are facts. The trick is whether you know how to use, analyze, or leverage data.

How do you grow a business if you don’t fully understand what works and what’s a waste of resources? Is it worth the money to acquire that business? Well, what does the data bear out?

The ability to analyze data is becoming increasingly important. In fact, a recent survey found that two-thirds of those polled believe that data analytics will be more important than having people skills. Where to start?

Introduction to Data Analytics Training Course – $399 Value
Tableau Certification Training Course – $599 Value
Data Science with Python Training Course – $549 Value
Business Analytics Certification Training with Excel – $399 Value
MongoDB Developer & Administrator Certification Training – $699 Value

The Data Analytics Expert Certification Bundle, just $49 right now, is your five-course training on all things data. Spanning some 74 lessons, it provides tools on how to use data to solve real-world problems, identify trends, organize data, and more.

Included in the the bundle is content on Excel, Power Bi, ANOVA, Python, Tableau Desktop 10, Mongo DB, and other platforms.