Explora offers smartphone rentals to Canadians traveling to the U.S.

If you’re traveling to the U.S. anytime soon and would need a way to communicate locally, Explora provides travelers with smartphone rentals complete with unlimited data plan and nationwide calling in the country. Rental costs US$8 a day for the Google Nexus 5and the phone will be sent to a pre-determined address for easy pickup and returned through a pre-paid envelope you will mail out.

The Nexus 5 comes with 40 standard apps including Google Maps and Facebook and provides special deals to customers for services like Taxi Magic (you get $10 off the first cab fare).  You can find out more information here.

Source: Canada.com

Android KitKat build causing NFC issues on Nexus devices

Nexus users seem to be running into trouble with some builds of KitKat operating system. Updating to the new OS causes Near Field Communication or NFC to shut down on their devices once you update to KitKat. It affects Nexus 10 tablets, 2012 and 2013 versions of Nexus 7, Nexus 5, and Nexus 4. The bugs are present in the builds Android 4.4 (KRT16S), Android 4.4.1 (KOT49E), and Android 4.4.2 (KOT49H). Google is working on a fix for this bug and will most likely be remedied by the next firmware release.

The temporary remedy for the issue is to activate airplane mode on the device. It will let NFC work at lease once before the crash loop starts.

Source: Ubergizmo

Bright Red Nexus 5 up for sale on TELUS

TELUS customers looking for a more colorful smartphone can now avail of the bright red version of Google’s Nexus 5 handset. It has the same features of the earlier released Nexus 5 but with a brighter color option. The phone is available for free for those availing a two-year agreement through TELUS SharePlus Plan or for $500 off-contract.

Source: IntoMobile

Google officially debuts bright red Nexus 5

The rumoured red version of the Google Nexus 5 makes its official debut on Google Play Store. The color option is meant to entice people who want to have an attention-grabbing device. It features the same specs as the black and white models and is also priced at $349 for the 16GB and $399 for 32GB. Both variants are unlocked versions. It is currently available in Canada, US, France, Italy, UK, Germany, Spain, Japan, Korea, India, Hong Kong and Australia.

Source: The Verge