| Samsung "Protection Plus" may be a warranty plan to cover just about anything Oct 21st 2013, 23:35, by Nate Swanner If a recent filing made by Samsung holds any water, the Korean tech giant may be looking to mimic Apple in more ways than one. The filing, which was made with the USPTO, notes Samsung would like to trademark "Samsung Protection Plus", with the scope of the program painting a broad stroke. 
Said to be for "providing extended warranties on consumer electronic products and consumer appliances", the warranty plan offers little distinction for a company with such a wide array of products. The current status quo for products is a one year warranty, though Samsung does offer an extended warranty on some products.
While it sounds a bit far-fetched, it may not be. Samsung already has an entry into the retail market, so it wouldn't be hard for them to offer an Apple-esque experience. Bring your device to a Samsung Experience Shop, and you'll be walked through a fix or offered a new device. That's how Apple does it, and it's easily the best method for consumers to get a grasp on. Nothing confirmed yet, so we'll patiently wait for more news, but this is interesting when you consider the sheer volume Samsung does. Coupled with a dizzying array of products, we'll be interested to see just how Samsung implements such a program.
|  | Xiaomi Mi3 goes back on sale in just a few hours Oct 21st 2013, 23:05, by Nate Swanner The Xiaomi Mi3 sold out in roughly 90 seconds last week, prompting many to clamor for info on when the device would be on sale again. A stellar device at an even more impressive price, the Mi3 promises to be a huge hit for Xiaomi. Now, we have news on when the next round of sales will begin. 
Starting tomorrow (tonight here in the U.S.), the Xiaomi Mi3 will be on sale via the Chinese portal of the Xiaomi website. If you're interested, the sale starts in roughly five hours. If history is any indication, the long wait will precede a quick landrush for the Mi3, which Xiaomi calls the "fastest phone from Xiaomi. Ever."
If buying a Chinese phone has you concerned, you may not need to be. We've shown you how to get the Play Store on your Xiaomi Mi3, so it could be the offbeat device you've been looking for. Running the Tegra 4 or Snapdragon 800, the Xiaomi Mi3 is quick, slim, and gorgeous. For $330, you just can't go wrong. Of course, this is Nexus season, and the Nexus 5 is right around the corner. With a Snapdragon 800 and 5-inch screen, the newest Nexus may be the low-cost device you're looking for. We've seen it in the Play Store for $350, so for a short wait and an extra $20, you could be enjoying a Nexus device. Of course, that's usually a landrush, too, so take your pick.
| | Aviate launcher hands-on Oct 21st 2013, 22:34, by Robert Nelson Launchers have been a rather hot topic for Android users lately. There has been two recent arrivals, though, they are both still in private beta at the moment. The launchers are Themer and Aviate. We took a took at Themer last week and more recently, an invite to Aviate has arrived. We have only spent about a day with Aviate so far, and while we have some issues, there does appear to be some potential. 
Aviate brings the promise of simplicity and intelligence. The developers behind the launcher have said it will be able to automatically change throughout the day. Basically, Aviate is supposed to adapt to you and provide what you need, when you need it. Part of that comes in with the different spaces. Overall, the app has a clean look, is pretty simple to navigate around and perhaps key for us — was easy to setup and get going with. From the main screen a swipe to the right (to access the left menu) will bring up those different spaces. In our case we are seeing Home and Work as well as Going Somewhere and Settings. Again from the main screen, one swipe to the left will bring up your app collections. These collections allow you to group apps by type and the apps can be adjusted within each collection. You can also move the collections up or down to have them listed in your preferred order. 
From the collections screen, another swipe to the left will bring up an alphabetical list of all your installed apps. Back on the main screen, you can also swipe down for more information. Aviate offers a light or dark theme and the main screen contains a favorites app drawer (with space for up to 10 apps). Sitting above the favorites is a single large box (to start). That box can be set as a widget or image from your gallery. You can also add extra widgets or images, though, any additional means they all just shrink down in size as that initial single box is as big as it gets. All said and done, we found Aviate to be interesting. It seems like a launcher that has some potential, but for now there are some customizations that are missing. For example, there is a “nearby” section which is rather nice. This offers a list of business locations that you are near and a tap of that takes you a bit deeper. From here you can get tips, check-in, capture an image and post. The issue, the check-in is limited to Foursquare. Most of the issues that we have are small. For example, it would be nice to rename an app collection. But for now it appears you can only add/remove the ones that are pre-named. Thankfully though, you can add/remove any apps from each collection. The other issue for us was more important, it was battery life. Without any real nice way to say this, Aviate seems to be dropping our battery rather quickly. Anyway, while the Aviate launcher remains available on for those with an invite, it can be found and installed by way of the Google Play Store. And while we generally dislike installing apps we cannot use, an installation does allow you to not only request an invite, but also easily enter the code when it comes available. | |
