Android N comes with emergency info screen

As you probably heard, Google made a developer build for the upcoming Android N OS available, a little earlier than expected this year and since then, Android tinkerers, us included, have been busy playing around with the early version.

And while some new features were apparent and nicely detailed in Google's release notes, there are naturally quite a few little things hidden here and there to be discovered. One such interesting feature, that we didn't cover in our initial features overview is a new emergency information screen.

What it is, is basically a way for you to store vital personal info, so it can be easily available to anyone who picks up your phone in case of emergency. And this time around, Google has made it a little bit more elaborate than the already available emergency lock screen message.

The feature allows you to enter personal info like your name, address and date of birth, but also vital medical facts, like blood type, known allergies and any other special condition you may have or medication you may be on. This could be invaluable to a first response or medical team in case of a crisis. It never hurts to be prepared.

You can setup the info insider the Android N Developer build under Settings > User in the menu or by opting to go through additional steps at the end of the initial device setup process. Currently the menu only has the Emergency info option listed, which leaves room for more interesting new features yet to come. Once set up, the info can be brought up by a couple of taps on the "Emergency" button that appears on the lock screen of the device and is naturally accessible regardless of the lock security in place.

It is also worth noting that since Android N is still very much in its infancy when it comes to public builds and exposure, the feature might be altered or even dropped at any point.

The new OnePlus gallery app is a straight-forward as it gets

If you are the proud owner on a OnePlus 2 handset and have been aching for a new gallery experience, then you can rejoice as the company just announced its new OnePlus Gallery app. It is available now on the Google Play Store, but currently only for the aforementioned top end model, running OxygenOS v2.2.1. Support for the manufacturer's other pair of phones, as well as other handsets is possibly on the way.

OnePlus describes the app as streamlined so if you are a power user needing advanced features and tricks for your extensive photo library, you will undoubtedly find it a bit basic.

The OnePlus Gallery app offers all the fundamentals you would expect from a default gallery - nothing more, nothing less. It comes with a clean black interface, automatic collections and a quick editor that can crop, rotate and if you are feeling particularly adventurous - doodle.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge put to the test: water, drops and bends face the flagship duo

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is having a Sarah Connor moment - bots are out to get it. Square Trade, which sells warranty on your gadgets, tested the S7 and S7 edge to see if it lives up to Samsung's claims of durability.

The flagship duo was faced with two new bots. Deep Water Dunkbot places phones under 5ft / 1.5m of water and keeps them there for half an hour (that's the IP68 level).

Both the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge survived the ordeal, but not without paying a price - their audio was "permanently muffled and distorted". The iPhone 6s lost all audio and its screen suffered water damage while the iPhone 6s Plus handled it even worse - it malfunctioned after 10 minutes and completely died at the 24-minute mark.

Then came the TumbleBot. As the name suggests, the bot continuously tumbles phones at 50rpm for 30 seconds. The iPhone 6s came out unscathed, but the 6s Plus screen shattered. The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge had significant damage to their back panels; the screen had only minor cracks.

Things got more aggressive with the drop test - the S7 screen shattered on its first face-first fall and survived only four edge-first falls. The Galaxy S7 edge did better, lasting two face-first plunges and seven corner drops.

The final round of the gauntlet was the bend test, where Square Trade found Samsung hasn't improved much. The Galaxy S7 edge bends at 110 pounds and snaps at 170 pounds while the smaller S7 withstood 170 pounds (matching the iPhone 6s).

Amazon Daily Deal: SanDisk 200GB microSD for $60

200GB of microSD storage for $80 was a good deal, but for the next 18 hours, you can get the same storage for just $60.

Amazon.com is running a promotion on the SanDisk card. The card is rated at 90MB/s read speed ("1,200 photos in a minute") and can hold 200 hours of FullHD video.

Adorama is selling the same card at $80. Soon, Amazon will be back on that price too.

Sony's Concept N headphones can provide a soundtrack, without isolating you from the crowd

Sony and audio innovation have always been a perfect fit. Nowadays, the pace might have slowed down a bit, but the Japanese giant still has some interesting concepts to offer from time to time, like the new N headphones.

The device more or less follows the neck bracelet form factor, like on the LG Tone or the Samsung Level U. However, the band itself holds speakers that are specifically designed to direct sound upward to the listener. This produces an interesting effect, where the wearer hears the music and also his or her surroundings, while advanced acoustics help keep splash out noise at a level that Sony claims will generally be drowned out easily in most every environment.

This seems to be the primary goal of the Concept N headphones - providing some background music, while still allowing you to be aware of your surroundings on the street, where is is most important or even during a conversation - a personal soundtrack for your life! As an added bonus, Sony has also included a pair of more traditional ear buds that connect to the main device and take the music a little closer to your ears. However, traditional might not be the best term here, as the ear buds feature an odd cone shape with a hole in the middle. The end goal is the same - retain awareness for the surroundings.

In keeping with current trends, Sony has also extended the functionality of Concept N beyond simply being a Bluetooth audio accessory. The device also comes with a camera and voice controls, which the OEM has programmed to respond to instructions beginning with "Arc". This way, you can snap shots instantly and we have no doubt that there will be some form of smartphone device control integrated in the future.

Concept N was demoed at SXSW and is the brain child of Sony's newly formed R&D outfit - Future Lab. It is still in beta phase and we can definitely expect similar concepts and refinements in the near future.

Telegram gets public groups, pinned posts, and 5000 member supergroups

Telegram has released an update which brings important features to group users.

Those who use supergroups might be glad they can now contain up to 5000 members from the previous 1000 member limit.

Supergroup admins can now also pin posts. These posts stay at the top of the screen and can also alert users even if they have muted the group.

Supergroups can now also become public. You can share the URL, allowing anyone to join. If someone gets annoying, you can use the admin controls to delete their messages, ban them, mark them as spam, and remove all their messages in the group at once.

These features are limited to supergroups but you can convert any group to a supergroup now.

The update is live on the App Store and Play Store but the public group feature is only available in Europe and America for now.

Microsoft Store stops accepting Bitcoin payments for Win10

Microsoft has announced that its online store has stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment option - the change only applies to Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. The announcement came in the form of an updated FAQ on the software giant's website.

Image credit: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"You can no longer redeem Bitcoin into your Microsoft account," the Redmond, Washington-based company wrote. "Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can't be refunded."

This comes just a few months after Microsoft started accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. The exact reason behind the move is currently not known as the company is yet to issue a formal statement on this.

Select Surface Pro 4 models get $100 price cut in US

Microsoft has given select Surface Pro 4 models a price cut in the United States. Specifically, the Core i5 variants are now available for $100 less than their usual price.

The Core i5 Surface Pro 4 with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage is now listed for $899 on the Redmond, Washington-based company's online store. Similarly, the 8GB/256GB variant is being sold for $1,199. The deal is available until March 26.

In case you aren't already aware, the Microsoft Surface 3 is also being sold at discounted rates in the country.

Spotify for Windows Phone is no longer officially supported

Music streaming company Spotify has announced that its Windows Phone app will no longer receive any official updates. Of course, you'll still be able to use the app but without any new features, improvements, or fixes - the app was last updated in February this year.

"We can confirm Windows Phone 8.x is no longer supported. You can still use our Spotify application on the associated devices but it will no longer receive any further updates and download the application. We apologize for the inconvenience," Spotify said.

When asked about Spotify for Windows 10, the company said, "Regarding Windows 10, we can’t say at the moment if or when any specific release will be out, but as soon as there is something new, you will receive a notification on your device that an update is available and prompted to download it."

The Google Store is turning one, so the Nexus 5X and 6P come with $50 off

If are currently on the market for a shiny new Nexus device then now's definitely the time to strike. The Google Store is celebrating its first anniversary and is offering $50 off both the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P. This means that you can get the former for as little as $299 and the latter starts at $449.

The deal is also not limited to the US alone, as the Canadian store has the offer as well. The search giant is pretty generous in terms of time constraints, as the deal will be live all the way to March 27. It is also worth noting that the slashed price does not affect other current promotions for the devices. This means that purchasing a Nexus 6P will still get you $50 of credit towards a Huawei Watch.

And as an additional deal reminder, signing up to Project Fi can get you up to $150 off the Nexus 5X and over in India, the device also comes with a special price - about $60 down and now retailing for INR 27,900 ($415) for the 16GB model .

LG G5 up for pre-order at BestBuy starting March 18

Pre-orders of the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge have already shipped, and the smartphones are also available for immediate purchase now, but the LG G5 is still nowhere to be found. A step in the right direction will be made on March 18, in the US at least, when BestBuy will start accepting pre-orders.

In all fairness, the date and retailer have been known since day 1, but now a landing page has cropped up on BestBuy's website confirming the initial announcement. That said, there's still no official word on actual availability, but April 8 has been sort of confirmed for the UK and Canada, so the US should be getting it around that time, though rumors of an April 1 launch have been heard.

One thing's for sure, however, the G5 will ship with an extra battery and a charging cradle, to better make use of that modular design. The rest of the G5's friends you'll have to buy separately, though.

Samsung Galaxy S7 keeps region lock, but that shouldn't concern you

Its officially happening, the first wave of Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge units have reached eager customers across Europe and a small storm seems to be brewing online. It concerns a rather inconspicuous black sticker, found on the box of unlocked units, reading - "EUROPEAN SIM CARD ONLY".

Why would the Unlocked phone, you payed top dollar for be locked after all? Is it a mistake? It must be serious since it is all caps. Well, it is all natural and nothing to get alarmed over. Your phone has a regional lock in place, bounding it to only European SIM cards, but it is very temporary. To be exact, it only takes five minutes worth of call time on a compatible network and then all restrictions are off.

This is actually something Samsung has been doing for a few years now and it was only natural that the SM-G930F and SM-G935F would have the protection in place as well. It is a protection mechanism aimed at gray market re-sellers, who might try to offer Unlocked EU units in places they weren't meant to go.

The bottom line is, if you are from Europe and currently have a Samsung Galaxy S7 box in front of you with the infamous sticker, you should simply relax and enjoy your shiny new phone. You've probably removed the lock by the time you finished bragging to all your friends about it.