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Android's new assistant app helps you use (and fix) your Nexus
So you just snagged a Nexus 6, and you need help navigating Android 5.0 Lollipop or figuring out why your battery life is lousy. Who do you turn to? As of today, you can turn to an app: Google has released Device Assist, a helper tool for Android One, Google Play Edition and Nexus devices. You'll get tips and tricks, like most digital guidebooks, but it'll also offer "proactive" fixes for detected issues; it'll turn down the screen brightness if it's cranked too high, for instance. If you're using a Google Play Edition device or Nexus, you also have a fast track to Google's live support. No, this won't magically repair cracked screens and other broken hardware, but it could spare you from scouring the web (or making a tech support call) to get solutions to software problems.
The curious case of the disappearing Nexus 6
For a moment the page changes, the default "out of stock" message replaced by an estimated shipping date. Quickly, you move your cursor across the screen and hit the order button, only to discover the device is no longer available. You close the tab. Better to try again later. This is the frustration many Brits have experienced trying to order a Nexus 6 from the Google Play store. One model (32GB, Midnight Blue) has been available there for just a few fleeting moments, allowing only the most eagle-eyed customers to complete a reservation. The rest have had to wait, or consider buying a unit from elsewhere.
Google's Nexus 6 is now available to pre-order in the UK
It's been a little over a month since the Nexus 6 was unveiled, and now the super-sized Android smartphone is nearly ready to make its UK debut. The 32GB 'Midnight Blue' model is now available to pre-order from Amazon, or you can reserve one through Vodafone on new contracts starting at £39.50 per month. (The carrier is also throwing in a free Moto 360 with the first 500 orders, so act fast and you might be able to snag a matching timepiece.) Alternatively, you can pre-order the smartphone on Carphone Warehouse's site for £499 (32GB) or £550 (64GB) off-contract, or with a new monthly plan with Vodafone, O2 and EE.
The Nexus Telegraph: Is WildStar's raid size change too late?
Very few people are going to contest that scaling WildStar's biggest raid down to 20 people is a good move. Some will, yes, but when 400 players are working on content five months after release, that's a good sign that it's not doing the most basic job of getting people to play it. Bringing Datascape's size down is an indisputable good thing. The question, of course, isn't about that. It's about whether it's too small a change too late in the game. Make no mistake, this is a change that is significant enough to merit an announcement, but it's one that just missed the big patch we finally received not too long ago. (My initial reaction to that is middling, for the record, neither bad nor really a break from form or something that justifies its long delay.) I would be surprised if we see this change actually live in the game before next year. And it's a change of more conceptual significance than anything else because unless someone very quietly managed to clear Datascape without telling anyone, the end of that raid has gone unseen.
Nexus 6 review: Google shows it can make a big-screen phone
Which is easier to juggle on your daily commute: a small smartphone and tablet together, or a 6-inch phone that merges features from both? Consumers once leaned toward the former, but many have lately changed their minds. The so-called phablet has come a long way since Samsung came out with the first Galaxy Note in 2011, and now it's not uncommon to see several of them as you walk down the street. Nearly every manufacturer has at least one or two such devices in their lineup, so it's about time Google stepped in with some outsized hardware of its own. The company just launched the Nexus 6, a 6-inch phone made in collaboration Motorola that comes with a winning feature list and is just as glorious as the Moto X it shares a likeness with. Aside from being a strong handset in its own right, it's meant to be a blueprint to inspire Google's partners as they work on their own devices. It's not as affordable as Nexus phones from the past two years, but at $649 it's still less than most premium-grade flagships of similar size. With that in mind, let's find out if the Nexus 6 serves as an encouragement... or a disappointment.
Google's Nexus 6 finally gets priced in the UK: £499 for 32GB, £549 for 64GB
It's been almost a month since Google officially unveiled the Nexus 6, but UK fans have been left in the dark over a price and a release date. Today, we can tick one of those off the list. In preparation for its local launch, the search giant has finally updated the Play Store to show how much the Motorola-made Nexus phone will cost. You'll need to pay £499 to get your hands on the 32GB model or £549 is the 64GB variant is more your style. Google is staying quiet on when the Nexus 6 will actually go on sale, but with Vodafone and other resellers recently announcing they will stock the device, we bet that a release is just around the corner.
Google Nexus 9 review: The first taste of Lollipop is a sweet one
It's been nearly five years since Google released its very first Nexus device, and by now we all basically get what the Nexus name stands for. It's all about building devices to show off the bleeding-edge version of Android, to give us a better sense of Google's vision of our collective mobile future. That future isn't just phones, either: It's about screens of all sizes, and that's why Google and HTC teamed up to build the new Nexus 9. Now that ancestors like the Nexus 7 and 10 have been forcibly shuffled off this mortal coil, the 9 stands alone as the sole tablet in Google's Nexus hardware lineup. So, does it live up to the standard geeks expect from the Nexus name? And more importantly, is it actually worth the asking price?
Google takes another step into your living room with its Nexus Player (hands-on)
Google's wanted a piece of your living room for ages, and now -- after two attempts that never really went anywhere -- the search giant seems poised to get what it wants. Android TV is coming to, well, a TV near you, and we just spent a few brief moments wrapping our heads around Mountain View's vision of television with its new, ASUS-made Nexus Player.
Google's Nexus 6 is a high-powered handful (hands-on)
It's a little funny to see Motorola finally crafting a Nexus phone after Google sold it to Lenovo, but hey -- life is peculiar that way. What's more important is that Motorola has taken its responsibilities as Keeper of the Nexus name seriously, and put together a phone that's as big on power as it is big in your pocket. Let's go for a quick tour, shall we?
Here's every device getting Android 5.0 Lollipop so far
If you're a die-hard Android fan, you're probably champing at the bit waiting for that Lollipop upgrade -- when will you get it? Are you going to get it? Thankfully for you, a number of companies have already promised to upgrade some of their devices to this candy-flavored OS. Google's Nexus 4, 5, 7 and 10 models are naturally first in line, as are Android One and Google Play Edition hardware; its outgoing Motorola brand is equally on top of things with plans to patch the Moto E, G and X alongside Verizon's Droid Mini, Maxx and Ultra. HTC and OnePlus don't have full details, but they're both pledging to give their recent flagships a taste of Lollipop within 90 days of receiving finished code. NVIDIA and Sony, meanwhile, are being a bit vague. While they're respectively teasing plans to update the Shield Tablet and the Xperia Z series, they won't say exactly when just yet; Sony has committed to the "beginning of 2015" for Z2 and Z3 models.
Engadget Daily: Google's Nexus 6, new iPads, standalone HBO Go and more!
What's happened in the past 24 hours of this connected life? Quite a bit: Google dropped the curtain on its new line of Nexus devices including Motorola's $649 Nexus 6 smartphone, the Nexus 9 tablet from HTC and the Nexus Player set-top streaming puck. Apple has you covered ahead of tomorrow's iPad event too with an early look at its new set of slates. We also have a review of the Galaxy Note 4 and some other wild stories for you right in the gallery below.
Here's what Google's giant Nexus 6 phone (probably) looks like
You may have already seen concepts and sketchy photos of Google's long-fabled 6-inch Nexus, but it now looks like the final veil of secrecy has been removed from this future Android flagship. Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) has posted an apparent leaked press image for the new smartphone that supports many of the existing rumors. The massive screen full of Android L imagery is likely the biggest giveaway, but the device also has the Moto X-style grilles and side trim that many have been expecting from the reportedly Motorola-made device. There aren't any new hints as to when this supersized hardware would arrive, and it's still not completely certain that this is what you'll eventually hold in your hands. However, Google's tendency to unveil new Nexus gear around October or November suggests that you won't have very long to wait.
The Nexus Telegraph Extra: WildStar's deafening silence
How many people are currently playing WildStar? I don't know. You don't know, either, beyond vague guesses based on things like Raptr numbers, which say more about what Raptr users like to play than about actual game popularity. But it seems like the sort of answer that could be used to at least deflect a great deal of criticism, doesn't it? If Carbine Studios is sitting on two million players at a reasonable level of activity, that wouldn't shut down all discussion of the game's myriad problems, but it sure as heck would demand some rethinking. That's precisely what I asked when I, at Carbine's behest, sent the team questions about the health of the game over a week ago. The bad news is that Carbine still hasn't answered my questions, nine days later. But the good news is that in the interim, Carbine was willing to tell another site that WildStar does not have a "player interest" problem, which seems like the sort of waffley question you'd answer if you really didn't want to be specific.
Six-inch Motorola phone hits the FCC looking like the new Nexus
If you believe all the rumors that've been floating around, Motorola's hard at work on a new Nexus smartphone (codenamed "Shamu") with a 6-inch screen. Well, guess what just popped in to make an appearance at the FCC? You nailed it: a Motorola smartphone with a 6-inch screen, and with support for AT&T and T-Mobile's frequency bands to boot. As always, Motorola representatives have petitioned the FCC to keep all the really juicy bits confidential, so it's far from a definitive nail in the Nexus rumor coffin. Still, it's yet another piece of evidence that points to Motorola's role in crafting Google's latest Nexus smartphone. Why, just the other day it was spotted in Geekbench's test database putting up some particularly strong numbers. The specifics of the radio should mean the GSM model comes first (which is really nothing new), but Verizon Wireless may be getting in on the fun come launch time, too. Bear in mind, those reports and appearance came to light within the past week -- pretty soon (and if we're lucky) there won't be anything left to leak.
The Nexus Telegraph: Dribs and drabs of WildStar
The past few weeks have not been a fun time to be a fan of WildStar, and we still have heard distressingly little about what's coming in the next patch. Heck, the most I can think of hearing about in recent memory is the announcement that the game will not feature any sort of holiday content this year, and as those of you who know me will probably guess I kind of wanted a Halloween event. (I like October.) But let's talk about what we do know and where we are right now, since barring any further developments, there's not much more to be said about what isn't working. Either things get addressed or they don't. So let's talk about the next drop, what we will and won't be getting from it with any measure of luck, and about the complete lack of holiday content and why anyone should care. Yes, even if you normally don't care about holiday content!
The extended Nexus family: Google's golden Android standard
Google's Nexus line has long stood as the company's ideal vision of its widely adopted, open-source Android operating system. The devices, be they smartphones, tablets or even one-off media streamers, are built in conjunction with select hardware partners and represent an ideal marriage of tech specs with an unadulterated version of Android. It's Google's way of dealing with fragmentation (read: skinned versions) in the mobile OS market it created; a reference mark for manufacturers to aspire to, so to speak. On the tail of the original Android handset's sixth anniversary and in the run-up to whatever new Nexuses come next, we take a look back at the hardware path that's been Google's gold standard for Android.
The Nexus Telegraph: How to fix WildStar
It's been a quiet couple of weeks for WildStar, which could be taken as indicating the team is making major changes, or it could just be pre-patch preparations that are taking half of forever. It'd look the same either way. We know the next patch is coming, and we have some idea of what it's going to contain, but we still haven't gotten anything resembling a release date. Still, leaving aside the obvious shift in patch schedules, I'd like to think this is the start of a paradigm shift for the game's development as a whole. This ties into the last column's topic quite well. The game has issues at the moment; it's not hitting the notes or player numbers it wants. What can actually be done to address this? How can the game draw players back and keep them engaged, especially when it's in need of some pretty serious server consolidation so early in its life?
HTC will mark its return to tablets with Google's Nexus 9
Rumors of an HTC-made Nexus device have swirled for some time, but only recently have details of a next-generation tablet started to become apparent. Not long after NVIDIA inadvertently leaked that the Taiwanese company is linking up with Google to launch the Nexus 9, the Wall Street Journal has added even more credibility to reports by stating that HTC engineers have been regularly flying to Google's Mountain View HQ in order to finalize the 9-inch device. As part of a patent lawsuit against Qualcomm and Samsung earlier this month, NVIDIA revealed that it would be providing the muscle for the Android L-powered slate, HTC's first since the Flyer, which is expected to feature its Tegra K1 processor and launch within the third quarter. However, we're now just over a week away from the end of September, so it looks increasingly likely that we'll see something official next month. Remember, Google has a history of scheduling events in October.
Infographic hilariously compares two-year-old Nexus 4 with iPhone 6
As spotted by Business Insider, Android fan and Ars Technica Reviews Editor Ron Amadeo created this amusing infographic that compares Apple's latest iPhone 6 with the Nexus 4. The image not-so-subtly implies Apple's hardware is years behind Google's cutting edge technology. As with most good digs at Apple, there is a lot missing from the presentation. We can't help but notice that the image fails to mention Apple innovations such as FaceTime, Touch ID and the Cupertino company's camera technology, which has positioned the iPhone at the top of Flickr's most used camera charts.
The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar ain't doing so good
If you somehow missed it, last week the WildStar team announced that the game will be squishing into megaservers to help bolster populations. What the hell happened? Contrary to what the developers would like you to believe, this is not good news. It's especially bad news if you're part of the roleplaying community, as you're about to get shoved into a server configuration that's almost specifically designed to prevent you from roleplaying outside of a handful of shared plots, but it's bad news for everyone. And it's bad news for the game when server merges are a reasonable reaction after less than three full months of operation. We all know that the game launched to good reviews, and it's far too early to say, "Well, it failed." At the same time, this is not a sign of a robust and vibrant future. This is the first stage of an organized retreat, and it doesn't inspire confidence. So what, exactly, took place that brought the game from the high of its launch to server mergers today?