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A first look at the Nomad Rugged Pixel Buds A-Series case

  If you didn't already know the Nomad Pixel Buds A-Series case is now available on the Google Store. I had no clue and decided to look on a random Monday and there they were. The case its self is nice. I like the blue color and the feel of the leather material. Pixel Buds A fits perfectly in the Nomad Rugged case which is what you would expect and it has a lightpipe for the LED on the front of the case. The Nomad Rugged case is exactly what I was looking for. I tend to rock cases on all of my devices because I can have butterfingers more than I would like to admit. I find the $30 dollar price point to be fair for the premium case but you may be able to find something cheaper that will suit your needs. I gravitate to build quality and premium materials so don't mind paying a little more. I believe the Nomad Pixel Buds A-Series case is worth a look if you are in the market. https://store.google.com/product/nomad_leather_case?hl=en-US

Fuchsia OS is now running on my first gen Nest Hub

  Yesterday, when I was doing a little cleaning, minding my own business, I noticed that the OG Nest Hub in my kid's room was rebooting and installing an update. But this did not seem like the average update due to the amount of time it was taking. I knew the update was significant and it was most likely Fuchsia. Google somewhat announced on Twitter last month that Fuchsia OS would be rolling out to the first-gen Nest Hub over the coming weeks and months. Everything looks exactly the same and you probably would not be able to tell if your Nest Hub received the update and I believe that's the point. Google has been working on Fuchsia for quite a while now and this is the first device to run the OS in the wild. Google does not tout any performance gains, however, the Nest Hub seems to be more responsive and smoother when navigating the UI with touch. I also noticed faster loading times when launching videos on Youtube or my Nest cameras. It's not every day a major tech firm l

Google shows the Pixel Buds A some love on its homepage

  It's not every day Google advertises on its homepage but that changed today with their newest product on full display. Clicking the link takes you right to the Google Store Pixel Buds A page where you can learn more about the product or purchase them if you are so inclined. Putting the Buds A in such a prominent position tells me Google is confident in the device and wants (needs) visibility by as many potential buyers as possible. I like the move and hope Google does more of this in the future. Link(s) Pixel Buds A

The Pixel Buds Google would like for you to forget and most likely have

  I received my Pixel Buds A this week and have been enjoying much more than I thought I would. More on my experience in a future blog post. Having the new Buds A made me want to revisit the OG Pixel Buds from 2017. For what it's worth the OG buds was an underrated and a solid product for me.  There were some design cues borrowed from the OG buds that are alive and well with the 2020 and 2021 Pixel Buds and Buds A. The outer circular design of the earbuds is genius along with the swipe gestures for volume and taps for play and pause. The OG buds also featured the fast pair capability that it later improved and enhanced. Then there was the headlining translation feature that I never used but it was there. It wasn’t all good though. The case was somewhat of a nightmare. Wrapping the cord around the inner part of the case was not ideal and proved not to be reliable. There was also the issue of having to push down the buds into the case to make sure the leads on the case and the buds t

Google App Spotlight | At a Glance Widget

  I live in the desert and it gets really hot out here in the summer. Recently, I was presented with the above pictured excessive heat warning on the Always On Display and home screen of my Pixel 5. I quickly appreciated this feature and was able to plan my day from there as checking my smartphone is one of the first things I do in the morning. Yes, I am one of those people. Generally, you are presented with the day and date with the current weather status for the area you happen to be in. This information updates throughout the day keeping you up to date with what you may have going on. You can also tap on the date to open the calendar app or tap on the weather to open up the weather app that's not really an app. The At a Glance Widget is dynamic and displays timely relevant information. Other information can be displayed in this space ranging from calendar events to reminders and even the aforementioned severe weather alerts. The concept of having relevant information displayed a

Super early impressions on the Pixel Buds A

  I’ve been using the Pixel Buds A for about 24hrs and I have some thoughts. I will upfront say that I do like them but miss some features that are available in the more premium Pixel Buds from 2020. It's very early with me using the Buds A so I will be holding off on any future plans after I use them for a while. Things I noticed Sound - sound is good but is not as good as the OG Pixel Buds. Bass is just okay and does not hit as hard or deep as the current offering. The buds A are tuned differently and lean more on the highs and mids. The Buds A seem to work better for podcasts than music. Hopefully with me breaking them in will help with improving the sound. Mic - mic quality is solid and I can not tell a discernible difference between the Buds A and the Pixel Buds. My voice comes through nice and loud and just sounds natural. Google is underrated when it comes to mic quality when compared to other brands. Connectivity - Google made some changes and now Bluetooth streams into bot

First look | Pixel Buds A

  My Pixel Buds were just delivered and I was eager to give them a quick spin. Above are my current Pixel Buds pictured alongside the new A-Series buds. Right off the back, I noticed that the box is a bit smaller. Once I got the box and got them paired to my Pixel 5 I noticed that the weight of the A-Series feels quite a bit lighter. Too bad there's no case available for them yet. At least on the Google Store. From there, I tried them on and the fit is really similar to the OG Pixel Buds. Actually, I think they feel lighter and prefer the fit, so far. Music sounds very similar to the Pixel Buds. Rich sound comes to mind with details in the mids and highs. Bass is on par with the Pixel Buds too. If there is one area where the Pixel Buds beat out the A-Series buds is with the richness of the details. Mids seem just a bit louder and clearer but not by much. I may just need to break them, I only spent about an hour with them. I’ll report back soon but will say that I believe Google has

Google delivers a feature drop but for devices running Android

  Today, Google announced six new features will be coming this summer to devices running Android. Now, if you know Google these features will roll out over time and will be hitting Android devices over the coming days, weeks, and months. Hopefully, the pace of the roll-out is not too long as there are some pretty cool things they mentioned in their blog post. More details on the announcement below. 1. Android Earthquake Alerts System is rolling out globally Last year, we embarked on a mission to build the world’s largest earthquake detection network, based on technology built into Android devices. With this free system, people in affected areas can get alerts seconds before an earthquake hits, giving you advance notice in case you need to seek safety. We recently launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System in New Zealand and Greece. Today, we’re introducing the Android Earthquake Alerts System in Turkey, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbek