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Avatar for Stephen Hall

Stephen Hall

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Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. You can find his current work at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google 9to5Toys, Electrek, and more. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.

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Google’s new location-aware voice search would have been great to debut at I/O

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 10 2015 - 8:55 am PT
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Quietly, Google introduced some new location-aware search functions in voice search over the last couple of weeks. The feature lets you perform several searches based on your location, with Google looking at its Maps data to figure out what you’re talking about. For example, you can voice search “how tall is this?” and looking at your location, Google can tell you the height of the building that you’re looking at.
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G Watch $50, Huawei SnapTo (unlocked) $130, Learn to make apps for $6, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:52 am PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

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LG G Watch Android Wear smartwatch refurb: $50 shipped (Reg. $200) | eBay

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Huawei SnapTo 4G LTE 8GB flash (unlocked): $130 shipped (Reg. $180) | Best Buy

Pay what you want-MobileFirstBundle

‘Pay what you want’ Mobile-First Developer’s Bundle ($1,740 value, currently $6)

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Father’s Day: Tommy Hilfiger, Nordstrom, more up to 50% off, DEWALT tools & gift cards from 20% off, more

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Review: Mohu Channels tries to bring your TV services together, Leaf antenna goes on sale

More new gear from today:

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Brother Wireless Multifunction Laser Printers from $85 shipped

Harman Kardon SOHOi Premium On-Ear Headphones in black or white-sale-01

 Headphones: Harman SOHOi on-ears $150, Sennheiser HD439 over-ears $40, JBL S500 over-ears $68, more

More deals still alive:

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Canon refurbished cameras w/ 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, PowerShot SX510 HS $130, more

New products & more:

Gibson-headphones-new-Usain Bolt

Gibson’s new Trainer Bluetooth headphones designed by Usain Bolt are available for pre-order today

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AT&T LG G4 owners reporting that an OTA update was just pushed without permission

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:25 am PT
4 Comments

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Update: AT&T has confirmed that they are the source of the update, but hasn’t said why it was pushed or what it contains.

According to several angry reports swirling around on Reddit, Twitter, and elsewhere, either AT&T or LG (or both?) seemingly just pushed a mysterious update to the LG G4 without asking permission. Some users even had their calls dropped while talking and saw their LG G4 reboot in front of their eyes, without a notification that this would happen or any dialog box asking permission…
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Facebook Messenger becomes the 10th app to pass 1 billion installs on the Play Store

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 11:08 am PT
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Following Google Play Books passing 1 billion installs earlier today (the 9th app on that list), Facebook Messenger has now officially passed the same landmark, making it the 10th app on the Play Store to do so. I think it’s fair to attribute this to Messenger’s growing adoption since Facebook required that it be installed on iOS devices. It’s still not required for messaging on Android, however.

While several other apps have also passed this mark, only two other apps not created by Google have done so. Facebook’s own official Facebook client is one, while the other is the Facebook-owned WhatsApp client (which notably passed the 1 billion install mark long before Messenger). It’s clear that Zuckerberg and co. have a foothold on the Play Store that no other company does.

Cyanogen OS 12.1 coming to OnePlus One soon, but OxygenOS w/ Android 5.1 will have to wait for OnePlus 2

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 10:46 am PT
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Cyanogen, along with announcing a couple of contests aimed at finding 3 people to give exclusive early access to the OnePlus 2, has this morning taken to its forum to give us an update on the current state of software for the OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2. The company says that Cyanogen OS 12.1, updated with Android 5.1 Lollipop is on the way and should arrive soon:

CM12.1, updated to 5.1, is on its way. We have a preview build that’s undergoing factory testing and google certification. You will have it soon.

Sadly, though, if you were hoping for the Android 5.1 updated version of OxygenOS, it looks like you’re going to have to wait for the OnePlus 2. It will be coming to the OnePlus One, however—just after it comes to the OnePlus 2 later this fall. A new build of OxygenOS will be landing soon with touchscreen fixes (also included in the above COS release).

…we won’t have an OTA for the community build of OxygenOS we released back in April for the OnePlus One until after the OnePlus 2 release. We will put up a new build very soon with the touchscreen fix for those of you who are experiencing this problem but we won’t have an official update until we have the resources to do a proper job.

While the company has been talking about the OnePlus 2 a lot this week, we still don’t really know anything about the upcoming handset. That said, the two contests that OnePlus announced today suggest that we might be hearing about the phone sooner than expected, so be sure to keep an ear out for the announcement—with OnePlus, we know it’s going to be teased (a lot).

 

Google Play Books passes the 1 billion install mark on the Play Store

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 10:09 am PT
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Update: Facebook’s Messenger has also now passed 1 billion.

Google Play Books, an app that comes pre-installed with stock Android, has now become the ninth app to pass the 1 billion install mark. It’s not exactly an amazing achievement considering it ships with most Android phones, but it’s a huge number nonetheless.

Notably, only two non-Google apps, Facebook and WhatsApp, have ever passed this milestone. As you might expect, some of the more popular Google-made apps like Google Maps and Gmail passed 1 billion at various times over the last couple of years.

Google’s family-friendly app section launches on the Play Store

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 9:40 am PT
1 Comment

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We first heard about Google’s “Designed for Families” Play Store program in mid-May, and Google officially announced that it would be adding new family-focused features to the Play Store at Google I/O 2015. Now, a new section labeled as “New Family Fun” is popping up on the Play Store, featuring the friendly star mascot, iconic character categories, and more…
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Side-by-side: How Apple’s new Transit directions compare to those in Google Maps

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 9 2015 - 8:54 am PT
10 Comments

Yesterday, at WWDC 2015, Apple introduced transit directions to its native Maps application for the first time. It’s a feature that has long been in the works, and it’s still not actually coming to consumer devices until later this year. But those who have access to the iOS 9 beta can try out the feature in select cities, including New York City, San Francisco, and others.

Transit directions aren’t new, though, and you probably know that Google has offered them in its own official Maps app for many years. But since Apple split off from using the Google-powered Maps app with iOS 6, the company has been struggling to match Google’s offerings. Here, we take a look at Google’s transit directions in comparison to Apple’s new offering…
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9to5Toys Last Call: Galaxy Note 3 (unlocked) $255, Chromebooks $30 off, Father’s Day deals, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 3:06 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB (unlocked): $255 shipped (Reg. $500)

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Save up to $30 on select Chromebooks from the Google Store

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Father’s Day: Tommy Hilfiger, Nordstrom, more up to 50% off, DEWALT tools & gift cards from 20% off, more

trainer-gibson-headphones

Gibson’s new Trainer Bluetooth headphones designed by Usain Bolt are available for pre-order today

mohu-channels-receiver-input

Review: Mohu Channels tries to bring your TV services together, Leaf antenna goes on sale

More new gear from today:

Canon refurbished cameras w: 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w: 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, PowerShot SX510 HS $130, more | 9to5Toys 2015-06-08 16-53-07

Canon refurbished cameras w/ 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, PowerShot SX510 HS $130, more

More deals still alive:

fitbit-charge-dealFitbit Charge Wireless Activity and Sleep Wristband for $100 (Reg. $130)

New products & more:

bose_soundlink_mini_speaker_ii-3

Bose updates its best-sounding Soundlink Mini II portable Bluetooth speaker

Apple Music is coming to Android, and it’s launching this fall

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 12:24 pm PT
6 Comments

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Apple today announced its self-branded music streaming service, and the Cupertino company also mentioned that—for the first time ever—it is launching an Android app made in-house. While the Beats Music app has remained on the Google Play Store since the Apple acquisition, the fruity company didn’t create it and has barely updated it and mostly ignored its existence. Now, though, Apple is planning to launch an official Android app made for Apple Music to be released later this year—specifically in the “fall”. 
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Android Lollipop is on the way to Sprint’s LG G Flex 2

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 11:19 am PT
0 Comments

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Even though Android M was announced more than a week ago at Google I/O 2015, many devices across carriers are still only now getting Android Lollipop. Now, adding to that list, Sprint’s LG G Flex 2 is about to get Google’s Material Design-filled release.

As noted on Sprint’s website, the device is getting updated directly to the latest build, version 5.1.1. Additionally, Sprint says that the LG G Flex 2 is getting factory reset protection. Keep your eyes out for the update to start rolling out starting today.

LG’s G4 gets an iFixit teardown, beats all of this year’s flagships in repairability

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 10:13 am PT
0 Comments

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This year’s Android flagships have really gotten the beating from iFixit. The group gave the HTC One M9 a 2/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 a slightly-better 4/10, just as two examples. But the LG G4, which many believe to be the best Android handset introduced this year as of yet, seems to have an advantage in terms of repairability as well. At least partially due to the fact that it’s one of the only handsets left that has a removable back, iFixit has graced LG’s flagship with a repairability score of 8/10.
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Nest’s plans for a Dropcam successor possibly outed by new FCC documents

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 9:09 am PT
3 Comments

PRO

Nest sent out press invitations last week to an event on June 17th, and we speculated that it might mean that the company is ready to announce its first Dropcam successor since being acquired by Google in June of 2014. Now, thanks to an FCC filing that we’ve uncovered (published to the FCC website on May 28th), it seems more likely that the company is getting ready to announce the next generation of its security camera…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: 22,400mAh power bank $29, 480GB Pro SSD $200, Galaxy Tab Pro $200, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 5 2015 - 12:55 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

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EC Technology 22,400mAh Ultra High Capacity Power Bank $29 Prime shipped (Reg. $39)

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SanDisk Extreme Pro 480GB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive $200 shipped (Reg. $230+), more

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Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4″ 16GB Black tablet: $200 shipped (Reg. $300) | Best Buy

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Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone 32GB (unlocked) GSM: $580 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

Nexus 6

Motorola Nexus 6 from $499 shipped for 32 GB and $549 shipped for 64 GB (Reg. $649, $699) | Amazon

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Get $50 in Google Play credit when you buy a Nexus 9 from $399 | Google Store

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 32GB (unlocked): $400 shipped (Reg. $700) | eBay

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Bose updates its best-sounding Soundlink Mini II portable Bluetooth speaker with (almost) everything we asked for

More new gear from today:

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Amazon Gold Box – up to 68% off iconic actors/directors collections: Clint Eastwood 22-Disc Blu-ray set $47, more

More deals still alive:

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Klipsch Quintet 5-Channel Home Theater System: $160 shipped (orig. $550)

New products & more:

microdiacomputex

Microdia plans a microSD card with 512GB of storage space, release in July

Here’s how Hound beta compares to Google Now (Video)

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 5 2015 - 11:16 am PT
3 Comments

Hound beta vs. Google Now - YouTube 2015-06-05 13-02-12

We told you earlier this week about a new voice assistant called Hound, and if you take SoundHound’s internal demo at face value, the app seems like it’s almost too impressive to be true. That video actually went somewhat viral (despite being recorded with a potato), and we wanted to put Hound through the paces to see if it lives up to the hype. We decided it wouldn’t hurt to put Google Now in the mix too and see how SoundHound’s new app compares to Google’s trusty voice assistant…
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HTC introduces a 24-karat gold One M9, takes its photo with an iPhone

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 5 2015 - 9:57 am PT
3 Comments

Introducing smart devices made of gold isn’t exactly a new concept (and it’s gone mainstream to a new degree as of late), but now Taiwanese phone maker HTC is on board. Some think the phone is gorgeous in gold, and some think it’s absolutely disgusting. Either way, the company’s flagship smartphone, the One M9, isn’t going to make its way up to par with the Android flagships with a 24-karat gold body.

Oh, and it looks like HTC also managed to accidentally reveal that photos they took to unveil the phone… were taken with an iPhone.
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Nest sends out invites for mysterious press event on June 17th

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 4 2015 - 1:32 pm PT
1 Comment

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Nest hasn’t made any substantial announcements since the company was acquired by Google last year, but it looks like that might change soon. In a press invite that’s very short on details, the company asks a select few publications to join for “a Nest press conference” scheduled to take place Wednesday, June 17th, in San Francisco…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Galaxy S6 (unlocked) $580, Galaxy Tab Pro $200, Bose Soundlink Mini II release, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 4 2015 - 12:55 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

$_57

Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone 32GB (unlocked) GSM: $580 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

csm_de_SM-T320NZWADBT_000228237_Front_black_be44efff16

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4″ 16GB Black tablet: $200 shipped (Reg. $300) | Best Buy

bose_soundlink_mini_speaker_ii-3

Bose updates its best-sounding Soundlink Mini II portable Bluetooth speaker with (almost) everything we asked for

Nexus 6

Motorola Nexus 6 from $499 shipped for 32 GB and $549 shipped for 64 GB (Reg. $649, $699) | Amazon

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Get $50 in Google Play credit when you buy a Nexus 9 from $399 | Google Store

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 32GB (unlocked): $400 shipped (Reg. $700) | eBay

HTC Hot Deals | HTC United States 2015-06-04 15-38-11

Various HTC deals are worth taking a look at

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Father’s Day Gift Guide: top picks, exclusive discounts and a $482 giveaway

More new gear from today:

 klipsch-quintet

Klipsch Quintet 5-Channel Home Theater System: $160 shipped (orig. $550)

More deals still alive:

gopro-hero4-black

Save 20% on GoPro’s HERO4 Black Action Camera: $399 shipped (Reg. $500)

New products & more:

logitech-mx-anywhere-2

Logitech’s new Anywhere 2 wireless mouse follows the design of the popular Master MX

Taking a look at all the little Android M features that really make it great [Gallery]

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 4 2015 - 11:22 am PT
0 Comments

Android M is now available in developer preview, but only for those that own a modern Nexus device. Specifically, owners of the Nexus 5, 6, 9, and Player can grab the latest developer build of Android M, and the dozens of new visual and functional features that the operating system brings.

But while Google spent a while at I/O going over the big-picture changes it hopes to bring with M (granular app permissions, fingerprint support, better battery life, and more), there are a lot of smaller changes coming to the OS as well that reimagine how some of the most basic user-facing functions of the OS work. In many cases, these changes are more than welcome.

Google said at I/O last week that they’re putting a “big focus on quality end-to-end” with Android M, so let’s find out what that means in terms of the general user experience…
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Motorola says performance ‘not quite there’ for Moto 360 Android Wear 5.1.1 update

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 4 2015 - 9:33 am PT
4 Comments

Moto 360

While many Android Wear devices—including my own LG G Watch R—have already gotten the latest Android Wear update, the Moto 360 is lagging behind. Motorola has come out to say that it’s “working with Google to ensure the software works great on Moto 360,” and that “Performance is not quite there yet.”

And while this still leaves things kind of open-ended, we should be seeing the update hit sometime over the next couple of weeks. Google said in April that the update would begin rolling out after a “few weeks” and we’re going on two months since that initial announcement. It looks like Motorola has just hit a little bit of a snag along the way.

We’ll keep you updated as the update rolls out (hopefully soon), and be sure to check out our roundup of OTA download links if you need to manually update your G Watch, G Watch R, or Asus ZenWatch.

Blind dancer wows the America’s Got Talent crowd thanks to Google Glass (Video)

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 4 2015 - 7:33 am PT
0 Comments

Benjamin Yonattan: Young Blind Dancer Inspires Audience - America's Got Talent 2015 - YouTube 2015-06-04 09-25-36

Benjamin Yonattan, from Guatemala, is legally blind. With very limited field of vision, he can only see through what is effectively a hole the size of a straw. But that’s not stopping him from taking to the America’s Got Talent stage as a dancer, first thanks to his courage and secondly thanks to the first generation Google Glass.
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Nest founder Tony Fadell talks design and habituation in newly-uploaded Ted Talk

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 3 2015 - 2:53 pm PT
0 Comments

Tony_Fadell.jpg (3692×3880) 2015-05-19 12-03-20

Tony Fadell, founder of Nest and current head of Google Glass, presented in March at TED2015 to share his thoughts and experience designing for Apple, Nest, and now Google. A few months after he first gave the talk, it has now been uploaded to YouTube and is open and viewable by everyone…

He doesn’t spend any time talking about Glass, unsurprisingly, but he does talk about now Google-owned Nest. He spends several minutes talking about how to notice things around you—things that have become daily pains—that have may be victim of habituation and worth finding a solution for.

It’s interesting and worth a watch:

9to5Toys Lunch Break: GoPro HERO4 Black $399, Sony Bluetooth/NFC speaker $50, Nexus 6 from $499, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 3 2015 - 12:41 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

gopro-hero4-black

Save 20% on GoPro’s HERO4 Black Action Camera: $399 shipped (Reg. $500)

Sony SRSX3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker w/ hands-free calling (refurb) $50 shipped (Orig. $150)

Nexus 6

Motorola Nexus 6 from $499 shipped for 32 GB and $549 shipped for 64 GB (Reg. $649, $699)

469828_o03_current_nexus9_white_34r_r4_lowres

Get $50 in Google Play credit when you buy a Nexus 9 from $399

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 32GB (unlocked): $400 shipped (Reg. $700)

amazon-fulfillment-warehouse

Amazon now ships some smaller items for free even if you don’t have a Prime membership

tm-1985-rolltop-backpack-9to5toys

Father’s Day Gift Guide: top picks, exclusive discounts and a $482 giveaway

More new gear from today:

dmc-devil-may-cry-sale-01

Games/Apps: DmC Devil May Cry, XCOM, Remember Me $4 ea, more

More deals still alive:

tile-bluetooth-tracker

Keep tabs on anything with Tile Bluetooth item tracker: $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $25)

New products & more:

game-boy-xxl-nintendo-giant-02

Game Boy turns into a giant, Raspberry Pi-powered console that can play NES/SNES games