How to Use the Android TV Box

In case you haven’t heard just yet, the Android TV boxes are the one and only way through which you can bring Android TV in your home. The Android TV box allows you to stream HD movies, listen to music, play games, use Skype and basically all of your favorite smart phone applications on your TV.

The Android TV is quite a big thing nowadays, given the Smart television trend running out and about on the market. Shortly, the Android TV box is the mean by which you install the Android TV.

While the technology is quite new and it might get you confused, in this article we’re figuring out together how exactly an Android TV box can be used.



What can an Android box do?
The Android TV Box is supposed to replace your sky television- this means that you will get free television, movies, TV series on your TV, all for free. You can install apps such as Netflix, Hulu and so on, which are all platforms where you can get HD quality of your favorite movies and TV shows.

As well, the Android TV Box is supposed to bring you DVD quality movies as they’re still in cinema, sport channels, online communication and gaming, all for free. While the catch phrase ‘all for free’ is quite appealing and might attract a lot of clients, you should still be aware of the fact that the quality of your TV programs can depend both on you applications of choice and on the type of Android TV Box you’ve purchased.

Android TV can also bring you 3D movies and games, for no extra charge. But for this, you must have a 3D smart TV, of course.

In conclusion, the Android TV Box brings all the features you would get on a tablet or on a smart phone and combines it with the features you get from a smart TV.



What are the Android TV box types?
There are plenty of types of Android TV boxes, manufactured by all kind of different brands. But the two most famous Android TV boxes are XBMC (now known under the name of Kodi) and the MX Android Box.

What you get from an Android TV Box varies from box to box- you can get better quality image, bug fixes and features with some and worse with others.

Some of the boxes- but not very many- can even come with a fully installed range of applications. While these are rare, most of the Android TV Boxs come with pre-installed apps. This means that you’ll get the most popular applications such as Facebook, Youtube, email pre-installed on your device and you’ll have to install yourself all the others- not that this would be a problem!

How to install the Android TV box?
Installing the Android TV box is a lot easier than it might seem at a first glance. The tiny box comes with slots for HDMI, USB and even the plug for internet cable and of course, a TV remote.

The Android TV boxes usually work on wi-fi- all you need to do is enter your wi-fi password once that you’ve finished with the installation. But the Android TV Box can also work with the classic internet cable.

All you need to do in order to connect your Android TV box to your TV is plugging the HDMI cable to your box and then to your TV- as simple as that. After you’ve connected the box, the actual installation of the Box depends on the type of product that you’ve purchased.



So, let’s get this step by step.
Once you’ve received your Android TV Box, the first thing you have to do is to connect the box to your TV through your HDMI cable. When you’re done with that, the next step is connecting your Android TV Box to the internet. This shouldn’t be very hard as it’s quite alike with doing this on your smart phone- just that you’re using the remote controller. So, what you have to do is go the main app menu and select the Settings- difficult, I know. When you get into the settings menu, you should normally see the Network option as the first one- click on it. You’ll have to choose between wi-fi and Ethernet- obviously, tick the option that suits you, even though most of the people will have the wi-fi. Once you’ve done that, choose your network, introduce your password and you’re done.

The next step after this is installing your applications from the Play Store, of course. And that’s it, you are ready to use your Android TV.

There’s really not a big deal setting up and using the Android TV Box. Just follow these simple steps and start using your Android TV like a pro.

How to Be Fashionable in Summer?

Summer means a time when everything, starting with the cement and finishing with your style, melts. When outside its 35 Celsius degrees and the air is so hot that even your ice cream melts in nanoseconds, how are you supposed to keep your style?

But hey, regardless the impossible conditions given, a true fashionista will always seek for ways of surviving. And yes, it’s not easy- we warn you: it’s hard, but pulling effortlessly fashion looks in the summer is not completely impossible.

So, our dear fashion- obsessed reader (or simply interested in finding out how to look better then a paddle of sweat this summer) welcome to newfrog.com’s one and only guide on how to chicly survive the torrid days.




Read on for fashion trips and tricks that can save your looks and pride this season.

Drop the skintight 
Bohemian is the word- maybe you’re not exactly the type of woman to wear long, flowy dresses, but Bohemian can manifest itself in various ways that we’ll discover together in this very article.

While the word Bohemian itself may cause you itches if you are an all-put-together preppy woman, it fortunately doesn’t resume at hippie looks, dreads and straw hats. While autumns and winters mean skintight fitted dresses, summer means skin breathing. As sexy those fitted dresses would look on you, you need to drop them. Now. The double lining of those dresses will most likely get you all sweaty and uncomfortable- they are really too thick of a cloth to be worn in these doomed summer days. Instead, look for the Bohemian inspiration in your dressy choices- try fluid materials that will give you that flowy, airy feeling. There’s actually a good summer hack- turning your outfit choices in a natural ventilation system (ahem).
Now, be aware that flowy doesn’t mean that your business look will be compromised- if you search newfrog.com thoroughly, you’ll find gorgeous A-line dressy Women Dress for as little as $10, skirts from $8 and nice, summer casual pants starting from $12.




Opposite, if you don’t have to be a dressy woman in the summer, you can, well, embrace the Bohemian true style with maxi floral printed dresses, sandals, lace, short shorts, crop tops and yes- straw hats.

Summer is all about freedom, in the end- pick and match statement pieces in bold colors with different textures and patterns, take your sunglasses and off you go. By the way- sunglasses on newfrog.com starting from $3.17.

Accessorize
While in these extreme hotness conditions you definitely don’t want to be wearing too much- seriously, you just cooled off a little bit by dropping those skintight clothes, we don’t want you to replace those with Women Jewelry Accessories overdose- you can still accessorize. If in normal climate conditions you can afford wearing heavy jewelry, in the summer conditions these are well, not recommendable. Why? First of all, because it will cover up your skin- skin covered means skin not breathing; in translation, you sweat and well, try not to die of sun burn. Second of all, heavy jewelry is more than often made of out metal or plastic, or even worse- aluminum- that will inevitably heat and will- worst scenario ever- burn your skin. Or just heat yourself some more, if it is to be realistic in an optimistic way.

As well, try not to wear heavy fabrics hats. This may cause you to be heat sick.
Now that we’ve established what you shouldn’t do, let’s see what you can actually do. A nice way of accessorizing your outfit is wearing scarves- whether you decide on wearing them as they were originally meant to be worn or you wear them as a turban, bandana, purse accessory or any other creative way you can figure, scarves are a great way to cheer up your summer outfit.



You can find a large gamma of scarves to choose from on newfrog.com starting at $2.88 a piece. How many can you buy at this price? It’s a challenge.

Another great accessory- and very useful as well- is the already worldly famous hat. If your style is not classy enough for hats, you can always replace those with their cooler brothers- the caps and the tennis caps. You’ll find them all on newfrog.com for less than $10.

And, as an alternative to the shiny metal pieces, you can replace them with wooden jewelry- what can be more chic then wooden jewelry that looks like ages passed over it, simple, beautifully polished pieces or even playful, colored wood? These are the epitome of summer, indeed.

Experiment
While summer might sound a little scary, with all the warmth and fuzzy feelings, it can be a wonderful season for fashion experiments. Therefore, don’t get your head filled with disgust for the warmth, but think how you can make summer your perfect fashion buddy. And hey, when you’ve got newfrog.com around, always bringing such good prices and quality fashion, how could summer still look so horrifying?

How to Use Your Android Phone to Play Video Games on the TV?

Odds have it that you already heard about the newest trend on the gadgets market- the Android TV. While we absolutely don’t want to make this article about what the Android TV is and how are its numerous, miraculous uses, we shall still provide you with some definition.

The Android TV is basically a smart TV- one of those fabulous TVs that allows you to connect your TV to the internet via wi-fi. These TVs are pretty much Android smart phones taken to the next level- the big screen.

So, what you can do with an Android TV? All the things that you can do on your tablet of smart phone and all the things that you can do with your regular TV. That means that you can watch TV programs as well as connecting to the internet and using your favorite applications, including gaming, online streaming apps, Skype, Facebook, online shopping apps, Youtube and everything else.


For the sole reason of the smart TV being such a complex device, you can replace a good bunch of electronics with this one product. For example, you can skip buying a new video player and instead simply watching all the movies you want directly on your TV from the internet. The same thing works with gaming- you don’t necessarily need to have a gaming console if you have a smart TV. You could simply connect your phone to your smart TV and play your favorite games directly.

There are several options that you can use in order to connect your Android Smart Phone to your smart TV and, consequently, to be able to play your favorite video games on the big screen.

So, let’s see how to connect your smart phone to the TV in order to be able to play games.

Connect via:
Mini- HDMI
Not many phones come with a mini-HDMI port, but if your phone does, then this is your lucky day. There is nothing simpler than connecting your phone to the smart TV. Usually, Sony or Motorola phones will have this function.

Now, all you have to do is taking a HDMI Cables and a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable, connect those and then put the smaller end into your phone and the larger one into the TV.

And here you go, your TV is now connected to you smart phone.


MHL/ HDMI adapter
This adapter is the saving solution for those who don’t have a mini-HDMI adapter built-in to their smart phones. It works the same way as the mini-HDMI.
If you don’t want to purchase a cable or you simply don’t fancy the idea of connecting your phone through a cable, you can simply mirror your displays.
One of the most recent apps that can help you mirror the displays is Chromecast . You just have to install it on your devices and then connect them and here you go- you’ll have your smart phone display casted on the smart TV.

Chromecast can be purchased for $35.
Another way of connecting your devices is using Clik . This app is actually quite similar to Chromecast and it does quite the same thing.

As well, if you have a Samsung Smart TV and a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can mirror your smart phone display very easy with the help of Samsung’s AllShare program, which will allow you mirror and pair any Samsung devices.

You do have to choose between wired and wireless ways of connecting your devices. While wireless is a lot more comfortable than the wired option, using cables to connect your smart phone to the TV can prove to be a little cheaper, especially if you are lucky enough to have the cables included in your original smart phone package.
Once you’ve done this pairing, you are ready to play your favorite games from the smart phone on your TV.


The actual gaming is no different than playing on the small screen- the only notable difference is the fact that you have all the benefits of the big screen at your pinky finger.

If you do plan on playing games with other friends, you should be aware that everything that might normally appear on your small screen will now appear 100 times magnified on the big screen. Therefore, you should make sure that you’re not receiving any personal texts or emails. As well, make sure that your smart phone’s display isn’t going to deactivate too soon- if it does, the TV screen will deactivate as well.

Also, if you plan on gaming for a long time, plug in your charger, as you don’t want your smart phone to shut in the middle of the game.

In conclusion, the TV screen will now act like its your smart phone’s screen, without any kind of notable difference.

Due to this thing, games in landscape mode will appear in landscape on the TV as well and the same works with the portrait mode one.

Newfrog Website Launches the Mobile Site!

Thank you so much for all your support and attention over the years.As you might have noticed,our website has changed.

Yes we know we are late, but here it is a mobile version of our Newfrog.com site.

To provide you with the best user experience, we successfully implemented a mobile version of Newfrog website online.

You do not need to install any software or app, just simply enter site newfrog.com into the browser on your smartphone. After that you will be able to browse our site(www.newfrog.com) updates anytime anywhere. From the latest tech gadgets reviews to a wide range of products news on discounts and inventory.

This mobile version is applied visible on any device: iPhone, Android smartphones and various tablets PC, and it guarantees speed and stability, and flexibility.

In the coming days, we will continue to develop and add more features to the site, making the site more user- friendly.

How to Buy the Best Android TV Box?

Whenever we talk about any electronic products, the first consideration is the quality of the product. Most of the people tend to refer to the famous brands in the particular industry. But the best way to analyze some electronic products is to consider your personal requirements. This approach makes it easy to find what you are looking for.

As far as Android TV box is concerned, it is important to consider the quality of the picture and other features one by one. The smooth streaming without any interruption should be the major factor to be checked among all the available options. There is nothing more annoying as compared to the interruption in the streaming process.


Initially, the market was largely captured by Apple. The set-top boxes from Apple attracted a huge market all over the world. But now people have more options in this regard and the best option to be considered these days is the Best Android TV Box. Before we move forward, it is important to know what exactly is an Android TV Box and what purpose does it serve.

Android TV Box
As far as the proper definition is concerned, you cannot limit an Android TV Box in a few words or lines. It is called a Box due to the compact size of the device. It makes it easy to take it from one place to the other. Generally, Android TV Box comes with a compact size of 5*2 inches. Now there are even smaller Android TV Boxes available in the market. The general perception is that these Boxes contain ARM processors which are mostly assisted by the Cortex A9 procession unit. The older version of the Android TV Boxes also features an A5 processor.

The best thing about the processor in an Android TV Box is that it can easily handle the 1080 Pixel resolution without any distortion in the streaming. This is what makes Android TV Box a suitable option for most of the customers who cannot purchase Apple products due to higher prices. The RAM in an Android TV Box is mostly of 1GB capacity which is again suitable and recommendable for the excellent procession. As for as ROM is concerned, the Android TV Boxes come with either 4GB ROM or 8 GB ROM. These features are quite handy for any TV Box to process quality streaming.



Keep in mind that Google is trying hard to compete against Apple in this field. Until now there has not been a huge success going in Google’s way and there are still a lot of things to be improved with the passage of time. Google TV Boxes could not attract a huge market because of lacking the features offered by Apple TV Boxes. Despite a low price, Google has not yet managed to come close to Apple’s products. Even then, a lot of manufactures are seeking success by introducing Cheap Android TV Box. One reason is that the Asian market, especially India is full of customers who like Android platform and they are used to it due to the years of experience with Android operating system on smartphones.

Apparently, Android TV Boxes seem to resemble the Apple TV Boxes. They are smaller in size and the outer body is simply made of plastic which is fine. They contain remote controls to utilize different features. The quality of the picture depends upon the TV with which these boxes are attached.

Keep in mind that different manufacturers use different applications to assist the Android TV Boxes. It is not mandatory for these Boxes to work with Google Play Store. One of the most important reasons for this is that it allows the manufacturers to reduce the cost of the product ultimately offering the TV Boxes at a low price. In this way, they are trying to compete in the market. But there are some disadvantages of this practice. Not assisted by Google Play Store means that some of the applications may not run properly. Or there might be the case where the users are deprived of getting complete features of the applications. Sometimes the language problem becomes evident if the TV Boxes are manufactured in China. The instructions or options on the screen are displayed in Chinese which makes it hard impossible for the users to configure the device properly.

Keep in mind that Android TV Boxes are not the same as Android Mini TVs. This confusion is basically created because of the shape and design of these devices. They seem to be quite similar to each other. Customers also need to be careful because some manufacturers are selling their Mini TV by calling it Google TV Box. It is necessary to check these products before making the payment.

The processor used in these devices is mainly the Cortex A9. But Android TV Boxes use a dual processor whereas Mini TV Boxes do not use dual Cortex A9. The real difference can be judged by experiencing the actual performance of the devices rather than relying on the appearance, designs and shapes.

How to Protect Your Cell Phone from Cracks and Damage?

Purchasing a cell phone is expensive itself- you definitely don’t need extra costs in repairing a broken display or in replacing a shattered back. While you decided to buy a pricy smart phone, you might as well be interested in how you can protect it from cracks and damage and as well, how you can protect yourself of useless charges.
Cracks and damage can occur at all times, either that your phone fell on the street and got some nasty scratches or even a broken display, either that you spilled water over it or you dropped it in your tea mug. These kinds of things are simple accidents and while you can’t really see them coming in order to avoid destroying your Android Phones you can totally take some precaution measures that will reduce or prevent the damage.

The most frequent damage that occurs amongst phone users is the broken screen. How can you prevent your screen from getting broken when you drop it on hard surfaces? Well, that’s actually quite simple and neither will it cost you a fortune.


1. Avoiding broken screens
For this purpose, it is advisable that you purchase a screen protector- there are several types of screen protectors. First, there are really thin screen protectors that look like a plastic foil that you have to stick over the display. These will mostly help in avoiding scratches but they are not guaranteed to protect your display from actually shattering. Therefore, even if they are more expensive than the standard foil screen protector, the next category of protectors can actually prevent the screen from breaking. These are the thicker screen protectors- they look like a thin piece of glass that comes over the initial display. Basically, these are fiberglass display cases.
The fiberglass case will definitely bring protection to your screen, but that’s not all you need in order to keep your phone protected. Remember that there are always the corners and the back that need to be protected as well- not only that you want to keep those in a good shape, but if these are not protected, the screen’s probability to break if dropped raises.

Completing the protection kit with a phone case
Once you do protect the corners and the back as well, the display fiberglass case is going to be secured, bringing you a plus of protection for the screen. The thing that you can do to this matter is purchasing a phone case.


When it comes to Phone Cases, you can either buy a bumper- which is a rubber case that will protect your phone from cracking, or a flip-flop leather cover that will further bring protection to the screen.

When you purchase a phone cover make sure that you don’t choose something made out of solid plastic- this isn’t likely to protect your phone from getting damaged. Choose something made out of soft, elastic material that will keep your phone in place in case of dropping.

The padded bag
If you don’t like the idea of purchasing a screen protector and pairing it with a bumper, you can always choose other types of phone ‘cases’. Another option is purchasing a padded bag and putting your phone into it. This will cover your phone entirely and it should keep it relatively protected. When you are looking to purchase one of those, make sure that it is fabricated out of soft material at the inside and hard material at the outside. Also, it could be really helpful if the inside would be thick and fluffy, in order to really offer your phone some protection. Make sure that these padded bags have some sort of closing system, as you don’t want your phone slipping out of it.



Water damage protection
In order to protect your phone from water damage- let’s be serious, dropping your mug case over your smart phone is quite common and yes, it happens- you could buy a waterproof case. Very few smart phones are actually having built-in waterproof technology, therefore you should really be aware of the risks and take precaution measures before you drop your phone in the toilet… or elsewhere.

Make sure you protect your phone while in the car
While it’s quite easy to drop your phone when you hold it, you can always break it while in the car. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to purchase some Cheap Car Accessories so that you won’t have to search for your phone in the car or even dropping it under the seats. Really, a windshield car holder can work wonders. Just make sure that you choose a good windshield car holder that won’t let your phone fall off all so soon.

Overall, all it takes to protect your smart phone from cracks and damage are some good accessories and some attention.

How to Create a Video Game?

You don’t have to be a professional or know a lot of coding and you don’t have to have finished a game design course in order to be able to create a video game. There are a lot of independent game producers that don’t have all the resources big companies have and that still managed to make a hit in the gaming industry. All you need in order to create a video game is a little ambition and some online research. And hey, next time a game goes viral in the app store, it might be your game. Who knows?

We’re not saying that you’re going to make a viral game that will replace a classic from your first try. Making an incredibly good game is hard and it takes a lot of work, passion, exposure and fans. Just like recording a hit song, it’s not only about the talent and the money that you have to record that song, but also about the chances that you are being given.


But, if creating a hit game is not as simple, creating a game that can bring you some revenue and some satisfaction of creating a playable game is possible, even for someone that has absolutely no experience.

So, let’s see how you can become a game creator yourself.

1. Conceptualize
First thing first, when starting anything, not just a video game, is the concept. You need to create a vision over how you want the video game to be; a game plan that you will keep improving and that you will follow until you’re game is done. It’s quite impossible to create something without a plan- this will organize your ideas and will act as a puzzle- each idea you ever had about your own video game will fit into the concept.

Think what kind of game you want to make. And keep in mind that you, an amateur game designer, without any kind of resources, are not likely to be able to create a complicated 3D game. But instead start with the basics. So, what do you want it to be like? Platformer, shooter? Do you want it to be 2D or 3D? What resources do you have available? Do you want to make an iPhone game? (for that you’ll need a Mac computer in order to be able to submit your game to Apple, that’s the rule). What is the plot you’re thinking of? Keep the plot simple to medium, don’t elaborate too much for your first game. Do you have a budget or you’re just going to use what you have in home? And what’s going to be the length of your game?



2. Choose the software
Once you know how you want your game to be like, you are ready to find the proper tools for creating it. As you’re a newbie in game design, you probably shouldn’t look at expensive software, but choose something realistic. There are plenty free game making tools that not only will let you create impressive games, but will also guide you throughout the process, supporting you with online resources such as tutoriasl, how-to-s and getting started information. When creating a game with one of these programs, you’re not actually going to be alone, as you’ll have continuous guidance.

For creating 2D games, you can totally try Yoyo GameMaker, Construct 2, Stencyl or the open-sourced Flixel. For 3D game-creation, a wonderful software is Unity, that has both a quite well equipped free version and a paid one. Another good free software is GameSalad. Give them all a try and find out what works best for you and your future game’s needs.

3. Make a prototype
Before you put in all the work and effort into creating the video game of your dreams, you should first see if your story works. So, make a prototype!
Making a prototype means creating a rough version of your game- some sort of sketch, if you want to call it that way. You can draw stick men in MS Paint and then add them to your prototype, this is only supposed to show you how everything works.



4. It’s graphics time
As you finish with the rough version of your game, you are ready to dress it up! In game design terms this means that it’s time to do some graphics. You already have a story line, you already tested it and everything is fine so all that it’s remained to do is make the actual graphics. You can play a little bit with what the chosen software has to bring for you.

What you have to do is creating environment and characters. Try to create a memorable cast, this might be just the glimpse of sparkle your game needs.
For characters, you can edit them in Photoshop or any other cheaper photo editing software and then upload the .png files to your chosen game making software as .png sprites.

5. Add music and sound effects
After you’re done with the animation, you’re ready to add music. You can either make your own music in a software such as GarageBand, either upload someone else’s music.

6. Test it
Now you’re officially done. Before uploading your game to a selling platform of your choice, make sure you ask some friends to test it. This will give you another perspective over your game.

For the conclusions, making your own game is not all so hard and it can actually be super fun. Take some chances and just do it! As well, don’t expect to make a lot of money over night, take it slow.