Articles by Jeramy Johnson

Chatting with the AC forums.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup offers some intriguing options at more accessible price points than last year, and each of the three sizes — the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra are strong candidates already for the best Android phones of the year. Samsung announced and launched its flagship series earlier this year than in recent memory and begun shipping them out to customers over the past few weeks.

While browsing through the AC Forums this morning, we noticed several posters commenting that recent shipping delays were influenced by the unusually severe weather in Texas and other parts of the southern U.S. Did these storms delay your Samsung Galaxy S21, or are there other factors involved? Or, were you one of the lucky ones who’ve gotten their S21s in a timely fashion?

maverick96
02-27-2021 02:50 PM

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Ordered a S21 Ultra 128gb from Samsung and it’s not expected until March…

The Galaxy S21+ is in the sweet spot in Samsung’s new lineup of flagship smartphones. As nice as the device is, though, if you want to keep it looking sweet, you’re going to need a protective case. Here are the best heavy-duty cases that we could find for the Samsung Galaxy S21+. Which one is going to grace your Galaxy S21+?

Best in class

ArmadilloTek Vanguard

Staff Pick

It seems that we always have an ArmadilloTek case on our roundups these days, and that’s for a good reason — the case manufacturer knows how to protect your smartphone. The Vanguard series is rated for twice the military drop-test standards, but it’s thin enough to allow for wireless charging and NFC payments. Plus, it comes with a built-in kickstand. In addition to the matte black version, you can also find a bright, vibrant orange option.

From $19 at Amazon

First-party strong

Samsung Rugged Protective Case

If you like your industrial cases from the first-party manufacturer, you might want to con…

The best Samsung Galaxy S21 cases will not only keep your new smartphone protected, but they’ll keep it looking as stylish as you are. Whether you prefer a clear case, a flip case, something colorful, or something rugged, with a phone as popular as the Galaxy 21, you have options. Here are some of the best Galaxy S21 cases you can buy today. The best part of all is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep your Galaxy S21 looking great for the long-term!

Colorful and well-textured

Casology Nano Pop

Staff pick

The Galaxy S21 is the first Android phone to get Caseology’s Nano Pop Series, and it was 110% worth the wait. The texturing on this case is grippier than Casology’s longtime favorite Parallax, and the color combos here are bold, beautiful, and absolutely pop around the camera cutout on the S21.

$17 at Amazon
$20 at Walmart

Slim grip and grit

Ringke Onyx Series

If you just want to add some grip to your slippery little Samsung, Ringke’s Onyx series has …

Amazon first introduced Alexa to us through its original Echo smart speaker in late 2014. To this day, if you’re looking for the best Alexa speaker, you’re probably going to look first at the company’s Echo line of smart speakers. In fact, Amazon recently announced updates to its entire Echo product line, and we will be covering and reviewing each of these new speakers shortly. There are also many great Alexa-enabled speakers are made by other companies such as Bose, Sonos, and Ultimate Ears that you may wish to consider. This guide will help you make the best purchase decision as you consider the best Alexa speaker for your household.

Best Alexa Speaker from Amazon

1. Amazon Echo (4th Gen) ($80)
2. Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) (From $50)
3. Amazon Echo Show 8 ($130)
4. Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) ($250)
5. Amazon Echo Studio ($200)
6. Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition (4thGen) ($60)
7. Amazon Echo Flex ($25)

Best Third-Party Alexa Speaker

1. Sonos One (Gen 2) ($199)
2. Sonos Move (…

You will still be able to buy the Sorta Sage Pixel 5 variant for the foreseeable future.

What you need to know

The Google Store and various online retailers have been running out of the popular Sorta Sage Pixel 5 phone.
Android Central has confirmed that the green color is not being discontinued at this time.
Those interested in purchasing the Sorta Sage Pixel 5 should continue to check stocks at online retailers.

There were mild rumbles of panic around the Android Central virtual water cooler this morning as we realized that the beloved Sorta Sage Pixel 5 color variant was not available for purchase on Amazon, the Google Store, and was even listed as discontinued at B&H. Many of us were even afraid that Google was killing off our favorite color of the Pixel 5, but thankfully these concerns were short-lived.

Our ace videographer and UK correspondent Alex Dobie confirmed that the green phone was still available on Google’s UK online store, and we later heard directly from…

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is clearly the top dog in the S21 series. It’s the biggest, fastest, and best-equipped Galaxy you can buy. If you’re going to spend top dollar on a top phone, then you probably want to do everything you can to protect your purchase. Following is a roundup of the best heavy-duty cases to cover your Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Whether you prefer to wrap your S21 Ultra up like RoboCop or let some of its personality shine through, we’ve got a tough case to match your tough phone.

Speck-tacular

Speck Presidio2 Grip Case

Staff Pick

Smartphone buyers have loved Speck cases for years, and one of the company’s most popular offerings is the Presidio line. We love it because it’s thin yet still very durable, offering protection from drops of up to 13 feet. Best of all, it discourages bacterial growth with Microban technology, and yet it’s still easy to hold onto thanks to the groves on the back and sides.

$34 at Amazon (Blue)
$45 at Amazon (Black)
$35 at Amaz…

This new Echo Show is a real head-turner.

The smart speaker market has grown quite a bit since Amazon introduced the first Echo in late 2014. However, after introducing the first Echo Show in 2017, the evolution of smart screened devices hasn’t progressed nearly so quickly. There have mostly been incremental updates to the devices put out by Amazon, Google, and others like Lenovo, adding bigger screens and (marginally) better speakers, but nothing has really moved the category forward. As it has done several times before, Amazon is poised to usher in the next paradigm shift in smart speaker tech with its latest Echo device, the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen).

I’ve had the pleasure of using just about every Alexa and Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker over the past few years, so I feel well-suited to write this Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) review based on that background. I’m not going to get too far into the argument of which smart assistant is better — by now, you’ve probably made …

The messaging app that you use most might surprise you.

Personal messaging apps have been top of mind lately, what with Facebook implementing new data collection policies for WhatsApp and the subsequent flocking of tens of millions of people to apps like Signal and Telegram. But for many of us, especially those of us who have been working remotely since the pandemic started (over a year ago!), the messaging apps that we probably spend the most time in are ones like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Wait… what you say? Slack and Microsoft Teams as messaging apps? You betcha.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years and don’t know what I’m talking about, Slack and Microsoft Teams are two of the most popular professional communication platforms on the planet. Each has tens of millions of daily active users, and each is owned by mega-sized, multinational tech corporations: Teams by Microsoft (of course), and Slack by Salesforce.

Both platforms allow for synchronous (liv…

Look no further, for we have the definitive listing of the best Amazon Fire tablets to help you make your purchase decision. Can you believe that Fire tablets have been around for almost a decade? When the original Kindle Fire was released way back in 2011, many thought Amazon was onto something with a low-cost, easy-to-use tablet experience. You know what? They were right! Today, there are no fewer than six Fire tablet devices on offer from Amazon if you count the Kids Editions. Out of them all, we think the Fire HD 8 (2020) is the best overall value thanks to its size, improved processor, charging, storage capabilities, and ability to still hit an affordable price point. Here is a list of some of the best Fire tablets out on the market right now.

Best Overall Amazon Fire Tablet: Fire HD 8 Tablet (2020)

The Fire HD 8 sits in between the Fire 7 and Fire HD 10 in more ways than one. It’s roughly in the middle of the two sizes, of course, but it’s also priced in the middle. Those t…

We love just how flexible the Chrome browser and Chrome OS feature sets are. From myriad extensions and web apps to how useful it makes devices like Android phones and Chromebooks, Chrome OS is feature-packed. One of the most valuable tools that Chrome has to offer is the Chrome Remote Desktop, which allows you to access your computer (Mac, PC, Linux) from anywhere in the world using your Android or iOS phone, or another computer or tablet running Chrome and the Remote Desktop app. We’ll show you how to set up Chrome Remote Desktop on Chromebook and other machines so that you can access your own files from far away, provide remote tech support, or receive remote tech support.

How to set up Chrome Remote Desktop on a Mac, PC, or Linux computer

If you’re planning to access another computer from your Chromebook, you’ll need to set up Chrome Remote Desktop on that computer.

Open the Chrome browser on the computer you wish to access remotely.
Type in remotedesktop.google.com/access.
F…