Use Samsung Pay on your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, get a free $30 gift card

Samsung has launched yet another promotional offer hoping to help the adoption of its mobile payments service. This one is aimed at fresh owners of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge duo, handsets which only became available today (though pre-orders have been shipped three days ago).

It's simple, really. Set up Samsung Pay on your S7 or S7 edge, make an in-store payment using the service, and you'll receive a free $30 gift card. If you use Bank of America debit cards or private label cards to complete that first transaction though, you won't be eligible for the gift card.

As for the gift cards themselves, you can choose one from the following merchants: Best Buy, eBay, Whole Foods, Nike, or Regal Cinema. After you've made the aforementioned qualifying transaction using Samsung Pay, you'll see a pop-up informing you about the gift card offer, which is when you choose one of these merchants.

The pretty obvious caveat is that the promo is US-only. Also, it's only going to be valid until March 31.

Samsung's 18.4-inch Galaxy View tablet is now available at Verizon

If you've wanted to pick up one of Samsung's huge, 18.4-inch Galaxy View tablets but for some reason decided to make your purchase from a carrier, then this is for you. The tablet which was initially announced back in October of last year is now up for grabs from Verizon.

You can get it using a device payment plan, in which case you'll shell out $24.99 per month for two years. Or if you want to just pay the whole sum upfront, that will be $599.99. On the other hand, if you sign one of those old-fashioned two-year service agreements, the tablet will be yours for $499.99. You can add the Galaxy View to an existing Verizon plan for an amount that starts at $10 per month.

The tablet comes with 4G LTE support, of course, as well as an 18.4-inch 1080p touchscreen, the Exynos 7580 chipset (with a 1.6 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 2GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 2.1 MP front-facing camera, and a 5,700 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Apple software SVP says closing recent apps does not improve battery life

It is a question that seems to bother most smartphone users at one point or another - what happens to an app once its closed and is it eating away at that all-important battery life. It is a pretty valid concern and you can easily hear pretty convincing arguments on both sides, so it is quite understandable that one iPhone user decided to take it up with Tim Cook himself.

We are far from the idea that this is the first such question to arrive on Apple's email servers, but it is one of those rare occasions when the person actually got a response. It wasn't from Tim Cook, but rather from Apple iOS chief Craig Federighi, who is arguably even more qualified to provide an answer. The response itself was short and straight to the point, leaving no room for hesitation - a resounding NO.

This is probably the firmest somewhat official stance Apple has ever taken on the issue and the reply does fit nicely with previous examples of such email responses, like the ones Steve Jobs used to send out quite frequently. Plus, the email headers have already been verified for authenticity and everything checks out.

The only thing missing from the response, however, is any form of clarification. We won't dig too deep into the matter, but we do feel it is necessary to mention that background tasks and services are very much a thing on iOS. That being said, a closed app is pretty much suspended and not using any notable resources on your device, but any app that has background syncing of any sorts, still uses up resources, battery and data, just take Facebook for instance. Thankfully, iOS has the Background App Refresh menu to help you with managing such activities, so you can generally mend any such drainage yourself, assuming the lack of app bugs that is.

And as for forcefully closing Apps, Apple suggests you only reserve that as a drastic measure when something hands or misbehaves in any way.

Sony is seeding an early Marshmallow build to Z3, Z3 Compact and Z2 Xperia Beta participants

Sony is working hard to bring Android Marshmallow to its users. Naturally, the process started with the Xperia Z5 and more recently, the Z5 Compact, with the Z5 Premium is expected to join in any time now. However, the Japanese giant has also made a commitment to bring Android 6 to a slew of other devices across its lineup, going as far back as the Z3, Z3 Compact and even the Z2.

Today, these three models are seeing their first taste of Marshmallow, but there are a few clarifications to be made. Sony is indeed seeding an Android 6.0.1 build for the Z3, Z3 Compact and Z2, but it is an early Beta release and only available for devices participating in the Xperia Beta program.

For those who aren't in the know, the test was launched a few months back and limited to the following European countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany.

The build in question bears the number 23.5.A.0.486 and although it is a higher version than the 6.0 ROM currently seeding to the Z5 and Z5 Compact, they actually contain security patches up until December 2015, instead of the current February 2016 ones. This is because, as we already mentioned, the builds are very early and intended as a beta test for future OTAs on these older Xperia models. It is also worth noting that we are talking about a release candidate software of sorts, that should eventually make its way to a full release, as opposed to the conceptual builds from last October, which were more or less and idea playground.

We are happy to report that users will not only be getting the Google-provided new features, like Dozing and runtime app permissions, but also new Xperia software, like the much-needed camera app overhaul, as well as the new Xperia Launcher.

Samsung quietly outs the Galaxy Tab A (2016)

We have been having a pair of Samsung tablets on the radar for quite some time now - the Galaxy Tab A and Galaxy Tab E. Now we learn that the former was quietly announced and is now listed on the company website.

The listing in question can be found across a multitude of Samsung regional websites, but the German one seems to have the most details.

In terms of specs, the device is rather modest and features a 7-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. Underneath the hood is a quad-core processor, clocked at 1.3 GHz and 1.5GB of RAM. On-board storage is just 8GB, but thankfully there is a microSD card slot as well.

The camera setup consists of a 5MP main shooter and a 2MP selfie one. The Galaxy Tab A boots Android 5.1 Lollipop, possibly with an all new Kinds Mode by Samsung and is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery.

Available color options seem to include the basic black and white and we didn't manage to spot a network-enabled version to add on to the natural Wi-Fi connectivity, but maybe it will be made available as well. As for pricing, some early retailer listings suggest €169,00.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge now on sale

No more pre-orders - the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are now on sale. This also means some of you missed your chance to score a free Gear VR.

Not US buyers, though, there you get a free Gear VR and a 6-game bundle (an estimated value of $150).

Vodafone Germany will also throw in a Gear VR if you buy a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge. O2 Germany is giving you a free 32GB card instead.

In the UK, O2 offers a half deal - the Gear VR is half price when you buy an S7 (before April 21). EE is throwing in a 32GB microSD, a Juice Wireless charger and a screen protector.

Nexus 5X discounted on the Google Store till March 27 in India

While India gets ready to celebrate Holi, Google decided to join the festivities with a sizable discount on the Nexus 5X.

If you buy the Nexus 5X from the Google Store, you can get an INR 4,000 ($60) discount on the MRP. Currently, the phone is priced at INR 27,900 ($415) for the 16GB model and INR 31,900 ($475) for the 32GB model without the discount.

Of course, some of the other retailers like Amazon and Flipkart have been offering the Nexus 5X at even lower prices for a while now but this discount does close the gap a bit.

The discount is valid until March 27. Unfortunately, it is limited to the Nexus 5X and not available on the Nexus 6P.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 gets 20% price cut in India

Launched in India just a couple of months ago, the Surface Pro 3 has received a solid price cut in the country. The 2-in-1 detachable is now listed on Amazon India for INR 58,990 (around $880), down from its launch price of INR 73,990 (around $1,100).

For those who aren't aware, the Surface Pro 3 landed in India in January this year, although only in a single variant that comes with Core i3, 4GB RAM, and 128GB storage. The 12-inch device runs Windows 10 Pro out-of-the-box.

A quick look at the Microsoft US store reveals that the same variant is currently available there for $599, down from its usual price of $899.

Q Motion is Fossil's first wearable that tracks sleep

Watch and accessories company Fossil has updated its Q series of wearables with a new device. Dubbed Q Motion, the wearable is basically a cylindrical shaped tracker that not only tracks user's activity, but sleep, too - making it the first wearable fitness device from Fossil to do so.

Being an activity tracker, the Q Motion obviously tracks your movements. In addition, it also vibrates whenever user receives smartphone notifications - the device is capable of filtering notifications through its companion app installed on the user's phone.

The wearable also includes a "smart tap" feature that, as the name suggests, lets you tap on the device a set number of times to initiate actions like playing music on your phone, finding your phone, and taking a selfie.

The Q Motion will be on display at SXSW next week. It will go on sale sometime this summer carrying a $95 price tag.

Reminder: 3G-enabled Samsung Gear S2 Classic goes on sale tomorrow

Everyone seems to have forgotten about Samsung’s 3G-connected smartwatch which is also set to go on sale at the same time as the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

March 11, the same day as the official release of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Among all the madness of news surrounding the impending launch of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic will be going on sale at AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

The only carrier who didn't bother to put a pre-order link on its website was T-Mobile. AT&T shows the pricing at $250 with 2-year service agreement. Which is still crazy for such a device but I guess when you consider the monthly service fee for maintaining a connected watch, it KINDA justifies it?

Verizon lists the price as 350 with a 2 year contract or 400 outright. You're better off paying the device off and you'll make the 50 dollars back in 10 months seeing as it costs only $5 per month to maintain a connected device.

The Gear S2 Classic is a smartwatch which features a more traditional watch design on the rotary-style dial and metal bodies with interchangeable bands.

LINE introduces new group calls for up to 200 people

LINE brings you a new way to talk to people, a way that you might never have to use, but if you want to, you can! LINE is bringing group voice calls to chat groups of up to 200 people.

“Calls can be initiated from within group chats or multiple person chats, and a notification message will be sent to all of the users participating in the chat. The number of people currently participating in the call can also be confirmed from within the chat. An icon is displayed above the user icon of the person currently speaking at the time, enabling users to easily communicate with each other.”

The feature is first rolling out to all countries outside of Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia. These countries will follow soon after. These countries hold a huge chunk of LINE’s users and an update like this needs to be rolled out in stages.

The feature is expected to come to LINE for Mac shortly after.

Huawei P9 leaks in more live photos

The Huawei P9 hasn't exactly been keeping a low profile despite the fact that it is yet to be announced. The smartphone has been featured extensively in various leaks over the past few months, which is generally a good thing, but once overdone is now causing more confusion than anything else.

We've seen a couple of different renders of the P9 with rather contrasting design features, but a newly leaked set of live photos seems to coincide quite closely with the most recent batch of renders, finally providing some proof of the alleged final design.

The Huawei P9 will have a thin metal body, with a plastic insert on the back, quite reminiscent of the Huawei P8 or the P8lite. The dual rear camera setup also seems to be confirmed, although we are yet to learn any definite specifics about the shooters. There have been rumors stating that in light of the recent partnership with Leica, the P9 could be the first mobile device to feature camera tech and possibly even software by the photography legend.

As for the rest of the specs on the Huawei P9, the rumors are abundant but also somewhat confusing. There might be as many as four variants of the handset, but we have come to expect something along the lines of a 5.2-inch display, the company's latest Kirin 950 SoC and 4GB of RAM, perhaps even a whopping 6GB in the top-tier model.

Huawei recently announced an unveiling event for April 6 this year where the P9 will be the star attraction.