For those collectors of Android Mini Figures, have some coin ready for the newest little guy dubbed the Android Webcrawler. This mini figure is the ultimate web-crawling spider bot! Indexing sites, logging server changes and biting unsuspecting sysadmins all night long. This occasionally toxic species is most readily identified by the distinctive hourglass mark on it's abdomen.

Coming 10/23 @ 11AM EDT

Source: deadzebra

HBO Now subscribers can plug into Google Assistant in just a few steps. HBO Now is the standalone paid streaming subscription for HBO. If you are a subscriber, head into the Assistant settings (or Google Home app) to add your account.

Continue Reading @ AndroidPolice

Button Mapper has been updated with a work-around that will let you change it, though it’s not as simple as just installing an app and tapping on a couple of things. Instead, you have some work to do, including a bit in adb.

Check out the video below or continue reading @ Droid-Life

Today, iFixit published its teardown guide and repairability score for the phone and gave us a look inside the device. The phone gets high marks for its modularity. Now we can see exactly how modular the components are and which parts will be the hardest to replace. Points were deducted from the repairability score due to how tightly walled-in the battery is.

Continue Reading @ androidauthority

I think this comes as a shock to no one. Apple shares have dipped 1.5% after a report showed that Apple has cut down on their November and December production orders of the IPhone 8 and 8 Plus. The phones were launched last month. The design is the most uninspired aspect of the phone only differing from the 2014 counterpart with a glass back. The newly designed iPhone X will be released in just two weeks and it seems that normal iPhone users are either waiting for that device or have ditched Apple in favor of the many Android flagships that have been released in the past few months.

The production cuts are pretty major. The report suggest that Apple is cutting production by an unprecedented 50%. I guess we will find out if Apple can recover when the iPhone X releases on November 3rd.

via BGR

Another major flagship has released and Zack has put it through is torture test... I mean durability test. He starts things off unboxing the phone proving that it is brand new and has not been doctored in any way. He follows up with a scratch test. The Gorilla Glass 5 front scratches at a level 6 which is to be expected. The fingerprint scanner is scratchable. Once scratched the fingerprint scanner won't work. The rear camera is covered in glass that won't easily scratch. The fire test rendered pixels on the front of the device useless. They never recovered. During the bend test the phone does flex slightly, but survives. Overall the phone seems quite durable!

If you are looking for the ultimate streaming device you shouldn't look much further than the NVIDIA SHIELD TV. The latest SHIELD TV can tackle your favorite 4K HDR content from services like Netflix and Amazon Prime TV. You can cut the cord with streaming services like Sling TV. It's one of the best possible devices for your favorite KODI addons, and you can play some of the best Android games on it. This is also the very best spec'd highest performing streaming devices I have ever used. If you are more than an average gamer you can even play full fledged PC titles on the device with GEFORCE.

The Shield TV with remote is now available for just $179. This version comes loaded with 16GB of on board storage and a remote. It does not come with the game remote controller. You can actually play games on the Nvidia Shield with just a remote.

The following games can be played with just a remote:

• Jackbox Party Pack 3
• Jackbox Party Pack 2
• Jackbox Party Pack
• Alto’s Adventure
• Riptide GP: Renegade
• Real Racing 3
• Crossy Road
• Mousebot: Escape from CatLab
• Red Ball 4
• PAC-MAN 256 – Endless Maze
• Skeletomb
• Afterloop
• Table Top Racing
• AirAttack 2
• Epic Heroes War
• PAC-MAN
• Beach Buggy Racing
• Riptide GP 2
• Power Hover

If you don't already have one of these powerful devices now is a...

Now Playing is a new Google Pixel 2 feature that can automatically detect songs that are playing in the background. When Now Playing detects a song playing it will display information on the lockscreen. The ambient lockscreen feature can work even while the phone is off line. The data base is able to recognize more than 10,000 songs. Of course the database will be updated with even more songs in the future. If you were wondering which songs can be identified by the new feature XDA has uploaded the entire database. The file is 53MB in total. You can find the list at the DA link below. Is "Now Playing" a feature that excites you?

via XDA

The other day we discussed the fact that Google had finally started charging cards for Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL orders. This generally means that they are preparing devices for shipment. Google started to send out shipment notifications yesterday which means some of those who paid extra for overnight shipping will begin receiving their devices today. My shipment notification came through this morning. I should have mine by Friday! Has everyone else received their shipment notification?

Last year Google decided to show off their Pixel and other Google devices at various Pop Up stores. You could go to those stores and get your hands on the device to help you make your decision as to whether or not you would buy those devices at Google's online store. There was no option to buy in store last year. This year Google has confirmed they will offer the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL for sale at the Pop Up stores. There will be a store at 8552 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood in LA and at 110 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in New York. The stores start October 19th and will be open each day from 10AM to 8PM until December 31. If you are near one of these stores it may be a way you can get your hands on a device that may currently be on backorder online.

via The Verge