We want to present two mobile platforms for mining cryptocurrency on a mobile phone, Android and iOS.

These two platforms are still in phase 1 of mining, and that means it is the right time to enter and start mining coins because of the fast rate. As soon as both currencies hit certain amount of users/coins, the difficulty will rise. 

The First Digital Currencies You Can Mine On Your Phone

Start earning cryptocurrency today with free, energy-light mobile apps.

 Pi is a new digital currency you can mine on your phone. To join the beta and start mining and earning Pi follow this link and use the invitation code “sikhc”.

The Accessibility of Cryptocurrencies

In the early days of Bitcoin, only a few people were mining the first blocks and anyone could earn BTC by simply running Bitcoin mining software on their personal computer.

As Bitcoin continued to increase in value, entire companies dedicated to mining sprang up. They developed specialized computer chips (“ASICs”) and built massive farms of servers to mine Bitcoin. These enormous mining corporations made it difficult for ordinary people to contribute to the network and get rewarded.

The rise of Bitcoin mining farms also quickly produced a massive centralization of production power and wealth. Currently, only 1% of the network controls 87% of all Bitcoins. As another example, Bitmain, one of Bitcoin’s biggest mining operations has earned billions in revenue and profits.

Despite its benefits, therefore, Bitcoin’s concentration of money and power present a barrier to mainstream adoption.

Solution: Pi — Enabling Mining on Mobile Phones

The Pi Core team set out to find a way that would allow ordinary people to mine. To accomplish this, they employ the Stellar Consensus Protocol, which is extremely user-friendly and enables mining on personal computers and mobile phones. Amazingly, mining Pi will not drain your phone’s battery or use up data.

Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) was created by David Mazières a professor of Computer Science at Stanford who is also a Chief Scientist at the Stellar Development Foundation. SCP uses a novel mechanism called Federated Byzantine Agreements to ensure that updates to a distributed ledger are accurate and trustworthy. SCP is deployed through the Stellar blockchain.

However, the Stellar Network consists mostly of companies and institutions as nodes. In contrast, Pi lets devices of individuals contribute to the protocol level and get rewarded. This includes mobile phones, laptops and computers.

Mobile App Users

To mine Pi all one has to do is install an app on their mobile phone. The mobile app connects to one or more nodes and checks if transactions have been recorded on the ledger. It also gets the most recent block number and hash value. The app connects to multiple nodes to cross-check this information.

Pi seeks to both avoid the concentration of wealth and reward early miners with a relatively larger share of Pi. This means that people who join the network early get higher Pi mining rewards. These rewards will decrease as the number of people in the network grows.

Right now the Pi server is operating as a faucet to simulate the behavior of the decentralized network as it will function once it is live. During this testnet phase, the Pi team is focussing on improvements in the user experience. However, all the coins minted by users will migrate to the live net once it launches. In other words, the livenet will pre-mint in its genesis block all account holder balances generated during Phase 1, and continue operating.

By Invitation Only

Pi is not yet listed on exchanges and you can’t buy it with any currency. The only way to get Pi is to install the app and let it mine. To join the network follow this link and use “sikhc” as your invitation code.

Bee Network is a new blockchain innovation that provides gamified experience for users to earn Bee, a cryptocurrency that you can mine on your mobile phone. By playing the roles of Miner, Referrer and Verifier, Bee Network players will earn rewards in Bees. In order to make Bee valuable, Bee Network is specially designed as a network consisting of genuine people which fosters players to to exchange goods, service and expertise in real life with their Bee balance and eventually list Bee on major cryptocurrency exchanges for trading Bee with fiat money.

The Bee Network economic model is built upon the following principle, i) new supply of Bee becomes 0 when the total user base has grown to 1 billion worldwide ii) earlier joiner should be rewarded better than late joiners iii) users with more contribution to the community should be rewarded better iv) contribution made by Bee Network ‘s core development team should be recognized and rewarded v) total supply of Bee is dependent on number of users.

The total supply of Bee = M + R + V + C when Bee Network ceases Bee supply when it hits the 1-billion-user mark. M, R and V refers to total Bee earned by all miners, referrers and verifiers before supply ceases. C refers to Bee rewarded to Bee Network’s core development team, which is 25% of (M + R + V). Hence, the actual amount of total supply of Bee is dependent on the total users activity before Bee Network hits the 1-billion-user mark.

As cryptocurrencies and blockchain are still relatively new technologies with vast potential yet unknown to the mass public, we at Bee Network hope our application serves as a useful tool to educate everyone on cryptocurrencies. Bee Network is free to download and play, so while learning about cryptocurrencies, players also have the opportunity to be rewarded in a growing asset without investing from their own pockets.

The Bee Network is also invite only, so you must use this link and a reffer code sikhc

Mobvoi is a company known for its line of TicWatch Wear OS smartwatches, and today it took the wraps off of two more wearable devices.

The TicWatch E2 (above) and TicWatch S2 (below) are now official. One of the highlights of the new models is their focus on swimming activity, with a waterproof rating of 5ATM so that they can withstand being submerged in water up to 50 meters. They also come preloaded with a swim-monitoring mode to track your fitness while you're in the water.

Both models also boast an improved battery over their predecessors. Mobvoi has boosted the battery capacity of both models by 30 percent, packing a 415mAh battery pack into them.

Another notable change with the TicWatch E2 and S2 is the switch to a Qualcomm processor. While the original TicWatch E and TicWatch S used a MediaTek processor, the E2 and S2 both include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 chipset.

Mobvoi's new TicWatch models also each boast a 1.39-inch 400x400 AMOLED screen, GPS, heart rate sensor, polycarbonate watch case, and interchangeable 22mm strap. They come loaded with Google's Wear OS software.

Two critical pieces of information that we don't yet have are the TicWatch E2 and S2's launch date and pricing. Mobvoi does say that both models will launch "soon after CES", though, so those details should be revealed soon. For reference, the original TicWatch S normally retails for $199.99 and the TicWatch E sells for $159.99.

These new TicWatch smartwatches look like nice additions to the Wear OS family, offering a sporty focus for folks who want their wearable to be a workout partner. The inclusion of a Snapdragon Wear 2100 over the newer Snapdragon Wear 3100 is a bit of a bummer, but if Mobvoi is aggressive with its pricing for the TicWatch S2 and E2, they could still be interesting options for folks in the market for a new Wear OS smartwatch.

source: androidandme

We don't see many new Android tablets announced anymore, but today Huawei revealed exactly that.

The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is a new tablet aimed at families. It's got features like Kid's Corner, which is a customized environment for children where parents can set time limits, control access to content, and use the fingerprint reader to create user profiles. Huawei has also included a Distance sensor to keep kids from putting their eyes too close to the tablet and a Posture Detect sensor that'll identify when the device is being viewed at a lying angle and provide posture guidance.

When it comes to raw specs, the MediaPad M5 Lite offers a 10.1-inch 1920x1200 display, octa-core Kirin 659 processor, and 3GB of RAM. There's 32GB of storage built in to the device as well as a microSD card slot that'll let you add up to 256GB of additional storage. A 7500mAh battery powers the MediaPad M5 Lite, and Huawei has included its QuickCharge tech so you can refill that battery in a hurry.

There are 8MP front and rear cameras on the MediaPad M5 Lite for taking photos or conducting video calls, and Huawei has thrown in four speakers that've been co-engineered with Harman Kardon to help give the device a better entertainment experience. And all of those features are built into a metal unibody design to give the device a more premium feel.

One other big feature of the MediaPad M5 Lite is its bundled stylus. The M-Pen lite stylus has a metal body and 2,048 layers of pressure sensitivity, and Huawei has aded a clip to help you store the pen when not in use.

The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite will launch in the U.S. in late January for $299. It'll come preloaded with Android 8.0 Oreo along with Huawei's custom EMUI 8.0 user interface.

It's nice to see another Android tablet coming to market for folks that prefer that operating system over iOS on Apple's iPad. And with its 10.1-inch screen, quad speakers, metal unibody design, and included stylus, the Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite could be a nice option for folks in the market for an affordable tablet. The good news is that it should be on digital shelves later this month, so if you're interested in Huawei's new slate, you won't have to wait long to get one in your hands.

Huawei

source: androidandme

It's been awhile since Apple announced a new iPad mini, but that may finally be changing soon.

Images that may show an updated iPad mini have made their way online. Posted to Twitter, the photos show the back of an iPad mini with a different cellular antenna than the iPad mini 4 that Apple currently sells (shown below), which is white or black plastic depending on which color the iPad mini is.

This updated iPad mini uses a new antenna design with a more minimal antenna line, helping to keep the backside more of a solid color.

In addition to the updated antenna design, it looks like this iPad mini could be a new shade of gold. The current iPad mini is available in gold, but this new model looks to be a different shade than the existing model.

Other than those two tweaks, this leaked iPad mini looks similar to the current version. There's a Lightning connector on the bottom, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a lock button up top, and volume buttons on the side.

The iPad mini currently sold by Apple originally launched in late 2015, so it's getting a bit long in the tooth. What's more, it's currently only available with 128GB of built-in storage and a starting price of $399, making it more expensive that the full-size iPad that Apple launched in 2018. A new iPad mini would be a welcome sight for fans of small tablets, especially if Apple chooses to make it a budget-friendly option like it did with the current 9.7-inch iPad.

Would you be interested in a new iPad mini from Apple?

Apple

source: androidandme

The Android gaming phone trend is officially in full swing, and the Nubia brand is getting in on it with a new device that's coming to North America and Europe.

The Nubia Red Magic Mars is a new gaming phone with all of the high-end specs that you'd want out of a performance-focused device. That includes a Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 10GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of built-in storage. There's a 6-inch 2160x1080 display on the Red Magic Mars and 3D surround sound to help immerse you in the gameplay.

Nubia didn't stop there. To boost the Red Magic Mars' gaming feature set, it gave the device two capacitive touch buttons on the sides that can be custom-mapped for use in games.There's also an "ICE multi-dimensional cooling system" that combines air cooling and liquid cooling for smoother gaming. A rear LED strip helps to give the phone a gaming PC feel, and a hardware switch to activate the Red Magic Game Space, which is a mode that'll minimize background apps to help enhance gameplay.

Other notable specs of the Nubia Red Magic Mars include a 16MP rear camera with AI-powered intelligent scene recognition, an 8MP front-facing camera, a 3800mAh battery, USB-C charging, and Android 9.0 Pie running below a custom Redmagic OS v1.6 user interface.

Nubia says that the Red Magic Mars will launch in North America and Europe in Q1 2019 at a starting price of $399 USD. It'll be available with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, 8GB of RAm and 128GB of storage, or 10GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The Nubia Red Magic Mars definitely isn't the first gaming phone we've seen over the past year or so. In fact, it's not even Nubia's first gaming phone. What makes the Red Magic Mars notable is that it offers high-end specs that you expect from a gaming phone at an aggressive price tag that's hundreds less than many other gaming phones. So if you're on a budget but you want to see what this gaming phone trend is all about, keep an eye out for the Nubia Red Magic Mars in the coming months.

source: androidandme

Samsung took the CES 2019 stage today for its big press conference, and it had some significant news to share about its Bixby digital assistant.

Samsung is working with Google to integrate Bixby with several popular Google apps. This includes Google Maps, Gmail, Google Play, and YouTube. However, Samsung didn't share much more on the effort, so it's not known when this Bixby integration will roll out.

This is pretty big news for Bixby. To date, Samsung's assistant has been a bit lacking compared to competition like Google Assistant. That kind of makes sense when you consider that Bixby launched later than some of its competition, but if Samsung wants Bixby to take off, it's got to improve it and add features that'll convince Samsung device owners to use it. By integrating popular Google services like Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube with Bixby, Samsung is making its assistant more attractive to Galaxy users who might normally just call on the Google Assistant.

Samsung Galaxy owners, how often do you use Bixby? Do you think Bixby gaining integration with these Google apps will get you to use Bixby more?

Samsung

Google

source: androidandme

We've known for a while now that 2019 was going to be a big year for 5G, but today Qualcomm has proved that with a new announcement.

Qualcomm has announced that there are more than 30 5G mobile devices set to launch in 2019, the majority of which are smartphones. These devices will be powered by Qualcomm's new flagship Snapdragon 855 processor and the Snapdragon X50 5G modem family. Devices are expected to begin arriving in early 2019.

Qualcomm went on to explain that devices powered by the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform, which includes the Snapdragon X50 5G modem and Qualcomm RF Front End solutions, will support both sub-6 and mmWave spectrum. This should help to improve the devices' compatibility with carriers' 5G networks.

Unsurprisingly, missing from Qualcomm's announcement are the names of any of these upcoming 5G devices. We have heard rumors that Samsung is prepping a 5G version of the Galaxy S10, and it's expected that that device will be available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon this year. It's also been rumored that LG is working on a 5G device, which isn't really a surprise. With U.S. carriers planning to begin rolling out their 5G networks this year, several Android device makers will likely look to capitalize on the excitement surrounding 5G with new smartphone hardware that can jump on those new networks.

source: androidandme