Google Gives Other Countries A Chance To Earn Play Store Rewards

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Google opinion Rewards is probably one of the best apps I have on my phone and my tablet. Why is that? Because for just a minute or two of my time of answering some survey questions, Google gives me Play Store credits that I can use to purchase other apps and games, books, media, etc. Even IAP. It instantly became the most useful app I had because it would allow me the potential opportunity to grab other apps without having to pay for them out of my own pocket. How could I say no to that? While I and many others have been enjoying the benefits of Google Opinion Rewards for some time now, there are plenty of people that haven’t had the chance to do so, and those people are basically anyone outside of the US.

No longer is that the case though because as of today Google has opened up the awesome nature of Google Opinion Rewards to three other counties outside of the US. Sorry in advance to anyone who still won’t be able to take advantage of this app. We know that stuff like this is frustrating. Google often pilots stuff like this in the US though and then moves things outward to other regions. As of today, android users that reside in the UK, Australia, and our friends up north in Canada will be available to opt in to Google opinion Rewards with the app and start answering surveys to gain some free play store credits. You don’t have to do much to get started, just download the app and install, and then begins the waiting game. Yes, it’s likely that you won’t have any surveys available to you right away, and in many cases for lots of people they don’t get surveys very often. I am a testament to this. I maybe get one every few weeks. Once in a while i’ll get a two a week a couple times in a row, then nothing.. for a while. My girlfriend on the other hand would get them often, which is how she has amassed enough to buy numerous apps that cost well over $0.99 each. At this current time she has around $13. The point of this is just to illustrate that you may get quite a few and often, and sometimes you’ll get none for a while. Others may barely get them at all, and this may have to do with the way you answer the questions within surveys.

Once you install the app you will get notified when a new survey appears, so there’s no need to constantly check the app like a mad man just as we sometimes do within settings when a new software update has launched. Sometimes surveys will only be a question or two, and those usually net you about $0.25. Other times you’ll get some that are 6 or 7 questions, which usually get you closer to a $1. If you never really buy apps, then you can probably rack up a good amount easily just by never spending, however play credits through rewards now have an expiration date of a year, so make sure to spend them before then.

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New People Section In The Play Store Shows You What Your Circles Are Into

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We love the idea of seeing relevant content within the Play Store. That’s why were excited to see that Google has added in a new section within the Play Store called People, that allows you to see what others are interested in, have commented on, or give the coveted +1 to. On the flip side, others can also see content from you as well, so whatever you’re into will show up for those who decide to take a peek inside the people section looking to see what others enjoy using. You won’t find content from just anyone, as the section only shows you stuff from people that you have circled, but they do also have suggestions of people to follow who are likely people that are followed by people that are in your circles. So if a friend has left a review for a game or app that they have absolutely loved, hopping into the people section would pop up that particular app or game, alerting you to its existence.

Before this feature was implemented, the only way to see relevant content like games for instance was to open up Google Play Games, and look through your list of circles to see what others were playing. That only worked for games though and not apps so this is infinitely more useful if you’re trying to remember that one app a friend told you about 6 months ago, but you seemingly forgot. You could also see which people from your circles had +1′d certain apps as long as you were already looking at that apps description page, but the new people section takes all of this information and puts in one place for you. If you’re interested in knowing all the kinds of apps that your friends, family, and followers are into, it seems that this section will be able to service those needs.

That particular section doesn’t seem to be live on either of my devices so it seems that the Play Store will need to update to include it. It appears to be live for some and not for others. We’re not sure what the reasoning is behind that. Some who have this section live and accessible are on build version 4.6.17, while others like me are on the same build and can’t seem to find it. The section is found by swiping in from the left edge of the Play Store where you find your My Apps section, so if you’re interested in checking it out open up the Play Store app and see for yourself what others in your circles enjoy using.

Update: After finishing this publication the people section randomly showed up, so it seems just closing the app and restarting it may have kicked into gear.

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HTC One M8 Benchmarks

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OnePlus One to be Priced Under 350€ in Europe

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The OnePlus One is a phone that has been demanding attention as of late. We’ve heard rumors and teasers directly from OnePlus, the new company that will be manufacturing this device. We recently heard that the OnePlus One will be part of a smartphone revolution that will combine good specs, excellent price and features that consumers want. The device will be running CyanogenMod and is set to be announced this month on April 23rd.

OnePlus wanted everyone to know that they’ve taken consumer’s wants and needs into consideration when designing this device. That consideration also includes price ranges. According to a tweet today from OnePlus, the OnePlus One will be available for under 350€. Pete Lao, the company’s CEO, stated that people in Europe appear to be very interested in the device. Because of that interest, he wanted to assure possible European consumers that the device would be priced pretty well. There hasn’t been much information about pricing here in the United States, but Steve Kondik did state that the device would be available at a “reasonable price”. As far as what that reasonable price is, we’re not entirely sure yet.

The OnePlus One is rumored to have a 5.5-inch screen, 13-megapixel rear facing camera, and a 3100 mAh battery. Other information on the device comes straight from OnePlus and Steve Kondik, stating that the device will be top of the line with 90% of the features that consumers want. The company hasn’t exactly been very tight lipped with information regarding their new flagship. They’ve been teasing and comparing their device to flagships for the past few months.

With pricing being one of the main things that we didn’t really know about the device, hearing that it’ll be less than 350€ for Europe is a pretty good sign. We’ll just have to wait and see what the price for the OnePlus One in the US is. We’ve got just shy of three weeks until the announcement, so it’s possible that we might be hearing that pricing very soon. If the OnePlus One turns out to be a good phone with good specs, what would be the price that you’d be willing to pay?

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T-Mobile HTC One M8 Unboxing

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Jw Player Begins Beta Testing For Chromecast Support To Bring more Web Content To Users

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Chromecast is starting to ramp up its functionality as more and more apps become equipped with Chromecast support, and soon the Chromecast will even be better equipped to handle tons more web video content online. While you can already cast from the web to your Chromecast via the tab casting feature, or the beta cast entire desktop feature, it still isn’t quite the same as having official support for casting hosted web videos. That’s where the popular flash and HTML5 video player called JW player comes in, announcing today that it’s beginning a beta program for testing Chromecast support with it. This could end up opening up the Chromecast to much more content through the web than we have available now as many sites already use JW player to host videos.

Right now there is a limited number of official Chromecast partner apps that Google themselves has set up, and an influx of new supported apps are making their way into the hands of many users as the Google cast SDK was made open to the public and developers earlier this year. There is a decent number of media streaming options available to users of the HDMI dongle but when it comes to web content the support is fairly limited. YouTube has Chromecast support built into its website now but when it comes to other types of flash media and HTML videos from other sites, the support is somewhat lacking.

For those who may not know, the Chromecast is a tiny media streaming dongle from Google that you can plug into the HDMI port on a tv or monitor, to stream videos, and music, and other content to that device over the Wifi network in your home. The device costs just $35 on Amazon, and it’s small, lightweight, and easily portable. Having even more content through JW player makes the value for those who get their video content from the web that much higher. While today marks the opening of even more web video content to Chromecast users, JW has stated that they are limiting the beta testing to a handful of publishers who already use their video players, while they plan to open up access to the rest of the publishers who use their players later on.

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Google Said To Be Contemplating An Entry Into The Wireless Network

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Google Fiber is slowly but surely beginning to make its way into more areas, and Google has already plotted out many more cities that it plans, or at least hopes, to roll out Fiber to in the future. There may be more to Google’s interest in Fiber than just offering customers extremely high speed internet at competitive rates though, as there are reports that Google may be interested in and already looking into the possibility of rolling out a wireless network in the areas where Google Fiber is already live. The word is that Google has already approached at least two existing wireless carriers here in the US, Verizon and Sprint, with talks on the Sprint side happening sometime last year before the official Softbank buyout had finalized, and Verizon talks happening sometime in the beginning of this year.

Right now there are only two cities where Google has already either rolled Fiber out to completely or has at least begun the process. Kansas City, MO and Provo, UT and Austin, TX is planned to get the next rollout, with other major cities like Portland, OR and San Jose, CA on the list of places where Google would like to see Fiber make its debut in those areas. Although they already compete with wireless carriers to some degree with video chat through hangouts and Google Voice VOIP, having a proper wireless network to offer customers another option to high priced competitors like ATT and Verizon would put them in direct competition.

The source suggests that Google could be looking to have their wireless network partner up with wireless access points, which might be part of the reason behind the deal with Starbucks locations where internet access is provided by Google. With wireless hotspots available from Starbucks in the areas where Fiber is already provided, customers could seemingly move between the wireless network and the wifi hotspots for cell signal and coverage much like the wifi calling features of T-mobile and now Sprint. It’s unclear if this was their goal from the start but it wouldn’t be a bad idea. With Google rolling its Voice service features and functions into Hangouts, we have to wonder if they would be looking into some way to give customers a seamless transition between a regular call and a hangout call when users move from the network to a hotspot. It’s probably highly unlikely but just some interesting food for thought.

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