About Kellex

Ahhh yes, website bios. What to say, what to say. Well, as the founder of Droid Life, I’ll just say that if you are reading this, thank you. This great community would not exist without readers, something I keep in mind every single day as our team pumps out post after to post in order to give everyone that visits something to talk about. This is my favorite hangout, and that’s all because of the frequent visitors that make me laugh often, and cry on occasion. This is the best job in the world. Oh, and my real name is actually Kellen.

Link Bubble Jumps to v1.3, Adds Android Wear Support

by Kellex on Jul 29, 2014July 29, 2014 Apps News

Link Bubble, the behind-the-scenes-loading-browser-alternative-chat-heads-like-floater-thingy app created by Chris Lacy, received an update today to version 1.3. The update introduces an article preview mode for displaying pages on Android Wear, adds enhanced notification controls, and improves Android L support, animations, and incognito mode. Lacy also fixed a bunch of bugs.

If you are wondering why Android Wear support was added as a new feature, Chris Lacy discussed the new add-on through a G+ post about this latest update. The basics are this – Wear is great for previewing information on, especially Link Bubble pages you have loading in the background, but this feature was not introduced so that you can read full browser-like pages on your smartwatch. (more…)

Here is Verizon’s LG G Vista and Its Real Specs, Arrives Thursday

by Kellex on Jul 29, 2014 Exclusive News

This Thursday, Verizon will launch another LG phone, though this one should only be considered as a budget-friendly option. We are talking about the oft-leaked LG G Vista, a massive 5.7-inch phone that is isn’t so massive when it comes to specs. That’s not to say that this won’t be a fully capable phone, it just doesn’t rank up there with the recently released LG G3, a phone we called the best available in our review. (more…)

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Get Material Design-styled Web Home Screens

by Kellex on Jul 29, 2014 Apps News

This isn’t directly Android-related, but Google announced this morning that Docs, Sheets, and Slides all have brand new individual home screens that are accessible through the web. As you would expect, they are certainly inspired by Material Design, with a new hamburger menu, card-like interface, and floating “+” button to create new sheets/slides/docs.

These new app home screens for Google’s office suite allow you to quickly get back to your most recently edited files without having to first enter Drive or do any sort of searching. By entering a specific app home screen, you are presented with big imagery of your recently opened files. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

To see for yourself, hit up the direct links below. (more…)

New Android Collectibles “Heroes and Villains II” Set Available at 8AM Pacific

by Kellex on Jul 29, 2014 Accessories News

The “Heroes and Villains II” set of special edition Android collectibles from Dead Zebra goes on sale in just a couple of minutes (8AM Pacific). For collectors of mini Bugdroids, this is a must-have set. First introduced last week as an exclusive to Comic-Con, the DZ crew is making a limited number available, since they know we all couldn’t make it out to the show.

The box of four (2 heroes and 2 villains) runs $40. (more…)

NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet and Controller Now Available From These Retailers

by Kellex on Jul 29, 2014July 29, 2014 Deals News

The newest members to enter NVIDIA’s SHIELD gaming family are now available at a handful of retailers, which also means that our SHIELD Tablet and SHIELD Controller review is ready for you to check out to decide if you are ready for this level of mobile gaming. In case you haven’t checked that out already, just know that we are big fans of the affordable, yet impressive gaming experience that NVIDIA has managed to put together with their line of SHIELD products.

SHIELD Tablet is an 8-inch powerhouse that runs NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 chipset. It can handle anything you can throw at it, from PC gaming to the toughest HD titles on Android streamed through an HD TV, this is the ultimate gaming tablet. Couple that with SHIELD Controller and you have an immersive mobile gaming experience that no other company can offer.

You can find many of the new SHIELD products, including accessories, at the retailers below. (more…)

Beats Music v1.2.0 Update Adds Verified Badges, Sentence History, and More

by Kellex on Jul 28, 2014 Apps News

Beats Music (anyone using it?) received an update today with four new features that the Beats crew said you asked for. The goodies include a Tune Your Taste options for switching up the “Just For You” recommendations. Sentence History has also been added, so that you can view your most recently played songs from The Sentence. Finally, Beats Music now has verified badges (to show how “legit” someone is) and improvements to the app that should fix a bunch of bugs.

The update is live, so go grab it. (more…)

Motorola Nexus “Shamu” Gets Even More Support in New Report

by Kellex on Jul 28, 2014July 28, 2014 News

Over the weekend, rumors of a Motorola Nexus surfaced suggesting that Google and the company it plans to sell to Lenovo had teamed up to produce an oversized phone-tablet hybrid under the codename “shamu.” The device is said to carry a 5.9-inch display, fingerprint scanner, and arrive some time around November. That rumor has now turned into a second report out of The Information who claim to have secured a confirmation through “three people with knowledge of the matter” that the device is coming and is a whale. (more…)

Samsung Postpones Launch of Tizen Smartphone to “Further Enhance” the Ecosystem

by Kellex on Jul 28, 2014July 28, 2014 News

Samsung’s Tizen-based smarpthone, the Samsung Z, has been postponed until further notice, according to the Wall Street Journal. Samsung would only say that the delay would allow them to “further enhance” the Tizen ecosystem, without giving further guidance on a potential launch. You now have to wonder if this device, which was slated for release at some point in Q3 of this year in Russia, is ever going to materialize in the consumer market.

“Further enhance” the ecosystem seems like PR speak for, “Our app selection is garbage at the moment and we can’t launch a phone without something for people to install or no one will buy it.” If their Russian developer conference turnout is any indication of interest, maybe Tizen will never grab the attention of app makers. I can’t say that I blame developers for not jumping on board. Android and iOS are already capable of making quality developers a ton of money, plus they have established ecosystems and tools. Tizen, well, is still mostly a big question mark. (more…)