This week the folks at Motorola have revealed the Moto Z2 Force Edition alongside a Moto Mod that sees the world from all angles. This is the Moto Mod called "Moto 360 Camera", and we've seen it before - albeit very briefly. This piece of work delivers spherical video with two lenses that, together, create a 4K-sized video captured at 24-frames per second.
AT&T is finally adding the DirecTV NOW features we all want and arguably need from a modern television service, and chief among them all is cloud DVR. Yes, the entire existence of DVR on a streaming platform is a bit odd, but it's the only way you're able to skip commercials (unlike on-demand), and it'll soon be available to DirecTV NOW subscribers via a beta. Joining the cloud DVR feature are 4K HDR video options and more.
The Galaxy S8 Active's existence is really no longer in doubt.Even Samsung pretty much confirmed it before yanking out its only "official" leak. But now that the smartphone, with a model number of SM-G892A, has appeared at the FCC, that not only means that it exists, it might also be coming soon. And though we don't exactly have more details to work with, the filing does at least show what the rugged Galaxy S8 variant will look like, at least from the back.
AT&T has announced a big upcoming expansion to its DirecTV NOW television service, adding a large number of local affiliate stations. This channel expansion will take place starting next week; once it happens, DirecTV NOW's local station offerings will cover nearly 70-percent of households in the US with television. The local stations, of course, are the same as the local FOX and similar stations you get through traditional cable and satellite, bringing local news and more.
AT&T's Fixed Wireless Internet service has just expanded into 8 new states, extending connectivity options in more rural regions through the US. Fixed Wireless Internet is designed specifically for AT&T's rural customers, and involves the company installing an antenna on the customer's property that then works with the closest cell tower. The result is wireless Internet that is at least 10Mbps in speed.
Hotels are notorious for blocking guests' ability to connect their own devices to in-room TVs, and that includes streaming sticks and Google Chromecast devices. AT&T is helping change this alongside SONIFI Solutions' StayCast, allowing hotels with DirecTV service to order StayCast for their rooms. Hotels that take advantage of this will enable guests to cast content from their phone or tablet to their hotel room's television.
AT&T's Internet-streaming live TV service will soon be exclusive to the Chrome browser, assuming you prefer to stream on your laptop or desktop. Users are reporting seeing a message when attempting to stream on PC that advises them to download and install Google Chrome, saying it is necessary in order to get the 'best streaming experience.' You have until the end of this month to make the transition.
AT&T has announced the arrival of DirecTV NOW on Roku set-top boxes and streaming sticks, bringing the relatively new service to one of the most popular cord-cutting devices on the market. The service is available via the newly launched DirecTV NOW Roku app, which is available for download in the U.S. now in the Roku channel store. In addition to launching the app, AT&T is offering Roku owners a long trial period to give them a taste of the service.
LG has announced that its latest X-series smartphone, the LG X Venture, is launching in the United States through AT&T. This handset is designed for 'active lifestyles' and others who require a rugged phone capable of withstanding demanding use. The LG X Venture, among other things, is MIL-STD 810G tested and includes things like a waterproof design able to handle submersion in up to 1.5m of water for up to half an hour at a time.
There's a new version of the LG G6 available as of this morning, one without a lock on it. This unlocked LG G6 is the first able to work with all major US carriers interchangeably. That includes GSM and CDMA carriers, the top three in the USA including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. This version of the device is the "North American Variant" of the unlocked phone, and includes mostly identical specs to that of the carrier editions.
The red tint fix for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones is rolling out now on AT&T. Galaxy S8 owners on the network should check for an update to see if it has arrived yet; once it does, users will be able to manually adjust the colors on their display, decreasing the amount of red on affected displays. The fix was first announced in late April and it rolled out a short while later on T-Mobile. Unfortunately, not all users find the solution satisfactory.
With all the attention being lavished on the Galaxy S8, you'd presume that Samsung and carriers have probably forgotten about older devices. That is especially true if said device is about 2 years old. Barely making it to the cut, the Galaxy S6 family, launched in 2015, got their Android Nougat update way back in March. That is, at least the European ones. Catching up before it forgets, AT&T is finally rolling out the same update to the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, and Galaxy S6 Active.
