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9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG Watch Urbane (refurb) $155, Amazon 6-inch Fire HD $90, free Chromecast w/ Spotify Premium, more

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: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

LG Watch Urbane Android Wear smartwatch (refurb): $155 shipped (Reg. $200+) | A4C

Amazon’s 6-inch Fire HD Wi-Fi tablet: 8GB $70 or 16GB $90 shipped ($30 savings)

Spotify tempts new Premium subscribers with free Google Chromecast offer

Spigen micro USB cable 5-pack $7.99 Prime shipped (Reg. $10) w/ code KGCS66BA, USB car charger $3.99 Prime shipped (Reg. $9) w/ code AFFK33YM | Amazon

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Games/Apps: Mario Maker Wii U + game of choice, amiibo, more $309 ($390+ value), more

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Cambond 10-ft. Braided Nylon MFi Apple-Certified Lightning Cable $11 (Reg. $17), USB-C Cable, more

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

The Coleco Chameleon retro gaming console is sure to appeal to any Millennial

NERF’s Fall 2016 line includes battery-powered 70MPH blasters, Alien designs, more

Freedom 251 $4 smartphone reportedly rips its home screen icons straight from iOS

Update: A new hands-on video shows the $4 iPhone clone in all its glory (embedded below).

We told you earlier today about the insane $4 Freedom 251 phone, and now at least one publication has managed to get their hands on the device. Initial impressions aren’t great, and it looks like this phone — unsurprisingly — is just a mess of copyright infringement. Not unlike many other low-end offerings from dozens of overseas manufacturers, the phone pulls a lot of “inspiration” from the Cupertino company’s smashing successes…


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‘J’ in Alphabet is now ‘Jigsaw’, formerly Google Ideas

Google Ideas, Google’s think tank, has officially split off from the rest of the Google products to become its very own sub-division of Alphabet. J, in the company’s ever growing list of companies, now stands for ‘Jigsaw’. Jared Cohen is Jigsaw’s newly appointed president, having run as the Director of Google Ideas for some time. Eric Schmidt announced the move in a Medium post.


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD $90, ad-free Trivia Crack $0.10, more

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: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD for Android phones: $90 shipped (Reg. $100) | Amazon

The popular ad-free version of the Trivia Crack app for Android drops to just $0.10 (Reg. $3)

USB Power: KMASHI 20,000mAh Quick Charge 2.0 Battery $25 (Reg. $40), 10-ft. Braided MFi Lightning Cable $11, more

Daily Deals: D-Link AV2000 Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit $60more

Aukey 2-in-1 Mini Clip-on SmartPhone Camera Lens Kit $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $15)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Home: Hoover Upright Vac $79 (Reg. $130), MIU color-changing humidifier $30 (Reg. $40+), more

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Beats by Dr. Dre Solo 2 On-Ear Headphones now half off: $100 w/ free shipping (Reg. $200)

Beats by Dr. Dre Solo2 Wireless Headphones Active Collection: $230 (Reg. $300)

Beats Studio 2.0 Over-Ear headphones (multiple colors) $150 (Orig. $300)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

The new Assault on Hoth LEGO Star Wars kit recreates every detail with flawless execution

The latest Monopoly goes digital with an ATM to manage properties & bank accounts

Glass: Enterprise Edition appears again in newly-granted Google patent [Gallery]

Earlier this year, we told you across several exclusive reports that new Glass hardware was in development, namely a variant of the device reworked with the enterprise in mind. Now, a couple months after getting our first look at the device in the flesh, a newly-granted Google patent provides us yet another look at the elusive remnant of a less than ideal Glass of the past…


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Sony has already discounted the hard-sell Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact by $50+

Sony has had a lot of pricing problems with the Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium. It seems like the company thought that its phones somehow stood out from the crowd (which they do in some ways), but it’s clear that the market just doesn’t see it. After reducing the phones’ prices before even launching them, Sony has now dropped them yet again by $50 and $60…


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Project Loon has successfully delivered video-capable speeds as it moves into carrier testing

Google’s parent company Alphabet told a TED conference in Vancouver that its Project Loon Internet-delivery balloons had successfully delivered speeds of 15Mbps – fast enough for streaming video. It is preparing for carrier tests in Indonesia and elsewhere this year.

Alphabet X head Astro Teller said that the company tried a lot of unsuccessful balloon designs before finally finding one that was up to the job, reports Re/code.

There were shiny balloons and round balloons and balloons that looked like giant pillows. But eventually the company found a design that could be made cheaply and still navigate precisely. That balloon, Teller said, last year travelled around the world 19 times over 187 days last year.

Teller also shared a key part of the company’s approach to Alphabet X projects, along with details of two which the company has abandoned …


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Google’s latest Android ad is just as beautiful as it is simple [Video]

Google has today uploaded its latest “Be together. Not the same.” ad to YouTube, and it’s a profound statement of how the company views its mobile platform, as well as how it views competitors. In the ad, dubbed “Monotune,” an unnamed pianist plays a tune in two versions: one using all the piano’s normal variety of keys, and the other on a special piano Google rigged to play the same note on all its keys…


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Opinion: Can the LG G5’s ‘modular’ features breathe new life into the smartphone market?

When looking at the landscape of Android flagship smartphones, I rarely find it easy to pinpoint a single manufacturer that, in one way or another, has consistently been able to meaningfully innovate one year after the other. More often than not, the OEMs have a go at things that are then removed the following year, or that in some way fail to broadly introduce a proper trend, like for instance the first attempts at fingerprint sensors or stereoscopic cameras…


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Report: Alphabet seeking an R&D site for its self-driving cars near Ann Arbor, Michigan

According to a report over the weekend from Crain’s Detroit Business, Google/Alphabet is seeking an R&D site for its self-driving cars near Ann Arbor, Michigan. This report comes as FCC documents last month revealed that the Mountain View company was planning to bring the cars to four new cities. Kirkland, Washington officially became one of those locations two weeks ago, and as we noted, a location near Ann Arbor makes perfect sense to be one of the next bunch…
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BandPage, a startup that helps artists connect with fans, has been acquired by YouTube

BandPage, a startup whose goal is to make it easier for artists to connect with their fans, has today announced that it has been acquired by Google’s YouTube. “More than 500,000 musicians use BandPage to reach & build deeper relationships with music lovers everywhere,” the company says, and now it’s going on to build those relationships for YouTube instead…


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Latest update to Google’s Clock app lets you resize its home screen widgets

Google recently pushed out an update to its Clock app, and this one’s a game changer. You know the clock widget that lets you put analog and digital clocks on your home screen? Until now, dragging it around and resizing the widget simply changed its alignment. Now, when you resize the widget, the clocks themselves actually change size too…


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Nest (2nd gen.) $170, Fitbit Charge $80, 5-Port USB hub $24, more

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: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Daily Deals: Nest 2nd Gen Learning Thermostat $170, Cable Modem $50, more

Fitbit Charge Wireless Activity & Sleep Band w/ OLED display: $80 shipped (Reg. $130)

Tronsmart Titan 5-Port USB Charger: $24 shipped w/ code USBTITAN (Reg. $38) | Amazon

Beats Studio 2.0 Over-Ear headphones: $150 shipped (Orig. $300)

Free MP3 downloads from hit artists like Adele, Ed Sheeran, 1D, more

Anker mega-review: PowerCore+, PowerDrive+, and PowerPort+ USB Quick Charge 2.0 & 3.0 gear is some of the best money can buy

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

RAVPower USB-C/A Charger $38 (Reg. $56), uNu w/ Lightning Cable $12 (Reg. $20)

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/697817821871521792 align=’center’]

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Moto X Pure Edition 32GB Unlocked Smartphone: $375 shipped (Reg. $400+)

Amazon offers rare 25% discount on Kindle Unlimited subscriptions: 6-months $45 (Reg. $60), more

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

OMBEE’s modular standing desk turns any table into a upright workstation

The new Andy Warhol Where’s Waldo book is perfect for any Pop Art connoisseur

Google to comply more strictly with EU’s ‘right to be forgotten’ act

Following a series of pressures by European regulation and privacy authorities, Google will soon start removing unwanted results from all of its domains. Despite having complied with the EU’s rules regarding the so-called ‘right to be forgotten‘ act, the search giant has so far only removed the results within the specific country’s domain.


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Opinion: Samsung’s Galaxy S7 is shaping up to be a monster, but is that enough?

We are about two weeks away from this year’s Mobile World Congress, which means we are entering the first of the two big periods of the year where all the major OEMs refresh their lineup of high-end devices. On February 21st, just a day before MWC kicks off, Samsung is expected to announce both the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge.

Unlike last year, where the edge variant was simply a curved version of the 5.1-inch screened flat sibling, this year’s model should bump up the panel size to 5.5-inches, making it closer to the Galaxy S6 edge+, which made its way to the store shelves alongside the Note 5 later last September…


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Moto X Pure Edition (unlocked) $375, LG Watch Urbane $180, more

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: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Last Call Updates:

Acer 11.6-inch Chromebook 2.16GHz/ 2GB/ 16GB (Refurb): $85 shipped (Reg. $179)

Moto X Pure Edition 32GB Unlocked Smartphone: $375 shipped (Reg. $400+)

LG Watch Urbane Android Wear Smartwatch: $180 shipped (Reg. $259)

 

Amazon offers rare 25% discount on Kindle Unlimited subscriptions: 6-months $45 (Reg. $60), more

Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (Newest Version) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,600 shipped (Reg. $1,999)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Internal 2.5-inch Solid-State Drives: Samsung 850 EVO 1TB $280 (Reg. $300+), PNY 240GB $60 (Reg. $80)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Luminid Touch light-up charging cable is ideal for plugging in at night: $10 (Orig. $20, CA Tax only)

A .edu email can get you the Sharp 32-inch 1080p HDTV for $150 shipped (Reg. $170)

Add 2TB of portable storage to your Mac, PC or Xbox One w/ this WD USB 3.0 Hard Drive for $73 (Reg. $90)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

3Doodler Start reimagines the popular Kickstarter project with a focus on children

BearTek’s new Smart Gloves offer iPhone/Android controls + GoPro support

Latest U.S. smartphone market numbers show Apple in the lead, but Samsung is catching up

According to the latest U.S. smartphone market share numbers from Parks Associates, Apple is still well in the lead compared to competing manufacturers, holding a beefy 40% of the smartphone market. But the latest figures also show that Android OEMs are gaining ground on the dominant Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker. Now, Samsung holds around 31% of the market and LG is next in line with 10%…


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U.S. government says that Google’s self-driving car system will be treated like a normal driver

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The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, has announced today that it will recognize Google’s self-driving car system as a legal driver. The announcement comes after Chris Urmson, the head of Google’s self-driving car project, petitioned that the government treat the initiative the same as it does normal driver cars.


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New Google/Alphabet patent describes putting self-driving delivery trucks on the road

A new patent that surfaced on Tuesday (via Qz) suggests that Google/Alphabet could have plans to use its self-driving car technologies for a truck-based delivery service. The patent describes an “autonomous delivery platform” for an autonomous truck with lockers (not unlike an Amazon locker), driving to a customer’s location to deliver a package…
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LlabTooFeR contradicts oft-reliable Evleaks, says HTC One M10 will be 5.2-inch

A couple weeks ago, Evan Blass came out to unveil pretty much all of the upcoming HTC One M10’s specs, saying that — among other details — the phone is going to ship with a 5.1-inch display. Now, famed Android leaker LlabTooFeR has come out on Twitter to challenge Evan’s great track record. Apparently, the M10 is going to ship with a display not 5.1-inches in size, but 5.2-inches.


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: 32GB LG G3 $210, 40% off Google Nexus 9 from $240, more

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: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

LG G3 D850 32 GB unlocked (new) 32 GB: $210 shipped (Reg. $300+) | eBay

HTC offering 40% off Nexus 9, free Logitech keyboard w/ 32GB LTE variant

Free TV HD Digital Downloads at Google Play & iTunes: Rehab Addict, Cake Boss, Empire, more (Reg. $3)

The best-selling SONOS PLAY:1 Wireless Music System is on sale today in both colors for $161 shipped (Reg. $199)

Get into home automation with TP-LINK’s Smart Plug for $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $30)

Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (Newest Version) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,600 shipped (Reg. $1,999)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

A .edu email can get you the Sharp 32-inch 1080p HDTV for $150 shipped (Reg. $170)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Add 2TB of portable storage to your Mac, PC or Xbox One w/ this WD USB 3.0 Hard Drive for $73 (Reg. $90)

Amazon’s 7-inch Fire tablet is now even more affordable, get it on sale for $40 shipped (Reg. $50)

It’s time to ditch your cable bill! Get the AmazonBasics 35-Mile HDTV Antenna for $20 (Reg. $25)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

BearTek’s new Smart Gloves offer iPhone/Android controls + GoPro support

Review: Incase and surfer Kelly Slater team up for the ultimate GoPro-focused backpack

Deal: HTC offering 40% off Nexus 9, free Logitech keyboard w/ 32GB LTE variant

HTC is today offering 40% off all variants of the Nexus 9 tablet, bringing its price down to $239.40 shipped (Reg. $399) for the lowest-end 16GB WiFi model. The Taiwanese company is also offering the highest-end 32GB LTE model for $359.40 shipped (Reg. $599), while also throwing in a free Logitech keyboard for the first 200 buyers…


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