When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. <a href="https://www.insider-inc.com/commerce-on-insider-inc/">Learn more.</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow"></a><ul class="summary-list"><li>High-quality parental controls allow you to monitor your child's internet use wherever they may go, let you limit screen time, and they work exactly as they are supposed to.</li><li>I like the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a> because it features an intuitive app, can be used as a productivity hack for adults, and is packed full of features that all work as advertised.</li></ul>I have a 5-year-old son who loves to play games on his <a href="https://amzn.to/2O8ks25" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow">Amazon Fire tablet</a>. If left to his own devices, he would play from the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to sleep. The problem is that his favorite game has little educational value, and well, his mom and I just love expanding his horizons and doing other things with him. This is where good parental control settings come in handy.The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus (2nd generation)</a> parental controls help you limit how long your child spends in front of a screen and make sure they aren't visiting sites they shouldn't be. I liked that it worked exactly as advertised and had an array of extra features, including a device locator. Read on to learn more about my experiences with this impressive tool.<h2>Specs</h2>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a> comes with an ethernet cable for connecting directly to your router, a power cord for plugging into your wall outlet or USB port, and the device itself, which is a compact white cube approximately three inches to a side.The base unit costs $129.99 and is bundled with a one-year subscription to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow">the Circle app</a>. And for $299.99, you get a lifetime subscription. Currently, the monthly subscription rate after the first year is $9.99 to use the premium features.With premium, you can set internet time limits, pause specific users or the entire internet in your <keyword id="6363870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="home">home</keyword>, set off times, set bedtimes, offer extra time as a reward, and use location tracking.The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a> allows you to control the internet usage of any smart TV, gaming console, tablet, computer, or phone on your Wi-Fi network. Additionally, you can control any iOS or Android device with the Circle app installed if it is paired with your Circle app — a process that the app clearly explains.<h2>Setup process</h2>To set up the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a> you must first install the app on your device. The app then gives you step-by-step instructions on how to install the physical unit. At this point, you can start creating profiles for your family members and setting the filter levels (Kid, Teen, Adult, or None), time limits, and more.You may also want to install the app on any device you want to be able to monitor outside of your home, such as your youngster's smartphone.Overall, the setup process took about 45 minutes. A big chunk of that was trying to figure out which device listed on the Wi-Fi network corresponded with the real-life device I wanted to control. Fortunately, since I first installed the Home Plus, Circle has updated the app to make it easier to identify devices. So, this shouldn't be an issue for you.<h2>What makes it stand out</h2>The Circle team has seemingly thought of everything. I've used a variety of parental controls — typically ones that come with wireless routers — and none of them have been as feature-packed and worked as well as the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a>. Additionally, when you use the parental controls built into a router, you can't track your child's internet usage away from home.When you install the Circle app on your kid's devices, you can manage their screen time and locate where their phone or tablet is. I tried both of these features out and found they worked as advertised. The location tracker comes in handy if your child goes missing or if they simply leave their phone somewhere. It has about the same level of precision you'd expect from GPS. In other words, you'll be able to tell which house the device is in, but you won't be able to tell which room.There are a few sites that I am okay with my 5-year-old visiting as much as he wants. These include ABCMouse and Adventure Academy. Both have demonstrated that they help him learn. Fortunately, you can set whatever sites you want to "unmanaged." This means that they don't count toward my son's time limit for the day, and he can spend as much time as he wants on them. He usually turns to ABCMouse when his Roblox time runs out.When your child uses up their internet time for the day, you have the option of rewarding them with more. I found this worked great for motivating my son to clean his room or to complete other chores around the house. He enjoyed his little chore "missions" that we sent him on.My 16-year-old likes to be connected online 24/7. This is a problem when his phone is going off and interrupting his precious sleep. To combat this, we set bedtime limits that turn off his internet access from midnight to 8 in the morning. Now, he can sleep knowing that even if he were awake, he couldn't check his Snapchat.Kids aren't the only ones who can benefit from limited screen time. If you find yourself mindlessly scrolling on your phone or just want to be more productive, you can use the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a> to limit the time you spend on your devices and to block specific sites that tend to be time-drains for you. Facebook is now off-limits on my phone, which allows me to be more present around friends and family.<h2>Cons to consider</h2>Right now, the Circle app is only available on iOS and Android devices. So while we can monitor my son's Amazon Fire tablet and Acer Chromebook in the house via our Wi-Fi network, we're unable to download the app onto his devices and can't track his screen time away from home. Fortunately, he rarely uses these devices outside of our house, and when he does, he doesn't have internet access.It can also be a bit cumbersome if you share a device with your child. My wife and I like to use our son's Chromebook to stream video on our projector. This causes a little bit of a hassle since the Chromebook's internet is disabled once his screen time runs out. To fix this, I add "reward" time, but it does delay and sometimes disrupt our viewing.<h2>The bottom line</h2>If you find you're losing your family to screens all too often, the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Parental-Controls-Internet-Devices/dp/B07QQHRB8P/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=103GEWHVA3AS5&amp;keywords=circle+parental+control+device&amp;qid=1571086481&amp;sprefix=circle+parental+%252Caps%252C157&amp;sr=8-3&amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=biipf_112119_circle-home-plus-product-review-20&amp;linkId=0f97ce5c945e19e4ca4745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US745555bc47202&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener nofollow nofollow nofollow nofollow">Circle Home Plus</a> is an effective tool for bringing them back to reality. I find the time limits are a reasonable way to get our 5-year-old to be more conscientious of how much time he spends online and of what he's doing. When his time runs out, he comes to me for entertainment, and we have some good father-son time.I recommend buying the Home Plus with a one-year subscription before committing to the lifetime subscription so you can see if it's effective in your home and ensure that you'll use it. With its time limits, age-appropriate filters, location service, and an array of other premium features, I think it will facilitate a positive transformation in how your family interacts with the internet.Pros: Let's you filter age-appropriate content, view usage history, set usage time limits, restrict when the internet can be used, pause the internet, custom filters, locate mobile devices, reward kids with extra timeCons: App is only available on iOS and Android devices, hard to adjust limits and filters when different family members are using the same device

This parental control device helps me manage my child's screen time, monitor internet usage, and track my family's devices

NetflixFyre Festival organizers Ja Rule, left, and Billy McFarland.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Thousands of inmates <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/us/coronavirus-prisons-jails.html">have been released from prison</a> in recent weeks in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.</li><li>Billy McFarland, the founder behind the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-expectations-vs-reality-2017-4">infamous Fyre Festival</a>, filed a request this week for early release from prison and instead serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement.</li><li>In a letter to a federal judge, McFarland's lawyers said he has pre-existing conditions, including asthma, that make him more susceptible to contracting the coronavirus and suffering worsened symptoms.</li><li>The prison where McFarland is being held, FCI Elkton in Ohio, has been called a "breeding ground" for the coronavirus. <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200415/sixth-inmate-death-at-elkton-federal-prison/1">At least six inmates</a> there have died, and the prison is currently in a class-action lawsuit accusing it of not complying with public health standards and endangering prisoners.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>The organizer behind Fyre Festival, the failed music festival that dissolved into chaos and left hundreds stranded on an island in the Bahamas, has requested to be released early from prison due to the spread of coronavirus.Billy McFarland has been behind bars since 2018, after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarland-bio-profile-2019-1">pleading guilty to federal fraud charges</a> related to the infamous event he set up a year earlier. In a letter filed Tuesday, McFarland is asking the federal judge who presided over his case to grant him compassionate release from prison and let him serve the rest of his six-year sentence - of which four years still remain - under home confinement.McFarland's lawyers argue that the Fyre Festival organizer is at a higher risk to developing severe symptoms or dying from the coronavirus due to preexisting health conditions. According to court documents, McFarland has "extreme" allergies and asthma, which <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/asthma.html">the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said</a> puts individuals at greater risk. The request from McFarland comes just two weeks after <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/03/31/locked-up-celebs-fearing-coronavirus-fail-win-early-release/5096351002/">rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was granted early release</a> from federal prison, the judge citing his asthma as a reason for him to serve the remaining four months of his sentence in home confinement. McFarland <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/03/fyre-fests-billy-mcfarland-reveals-new-project-from-prison-swears-its-no-scam/?_ga=2.8200438.538150526.1587049981-1370805609.1587049981">told the New York Post in a recent interview</a> he was "not worried" about contracting coronavirus while in jail, but the petition for early release shows an about-face.Tekashi 6ix9ine and McFarland are just two high-profile inmates who have appealed for early release due to the pandemic. R. Kelly, Martin Shkreli, Bernie Madoff, and Bill Cosby <a href="https://nypost.com/article/celebrity-inmates-who-are-citing-coronavirus-to-try-to-get-released/">have all asked</a> to serve the remainder of their sentences from home. Thousands of inmates <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/us/coronavirus-prisons-jails.html">have been released in recent weeks</a> in an attempt to stymie to spread of the novel coronavirus among prisoners, who are unable to practice social distancing and adhere to disease-preventing guidelines while behind bars. In the federal prison system, around 450 inmates and 280 employees <a href="https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/#">have tested positive for COVID-19</a> as of April 15. Attorney General William Barr <a href="https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement.pdf">directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons</a> in late March to prioritize granting home confinement to non-violent inmates who are at a low risk of recidivism to limit the spread of the disease. The federal prison where McFarland is serving his jail sentence - <a href="https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/elk/">FCI Elkton</a>, a low-security prison in Ohio - has been hit particularly hard, and was cited as <a href="https://www.justice.gov/file/1266661/download">one of the institutions given priority</a> in granting inmates' early release. As of Thursday, <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200415/sixth-inmate-death-at-elkton-federal-prison/1">at least six inmates</a> there have died and more than 39 others have tested positive for the coronavirus.Elkton's inability to deal with the disease has <a href="https://www.wfmj.com/story/41997623/protest-outside-elkton-prison-in-lisbon-over-treatment-of-sick-prisoners-staff">led to protests</a> outside the prison walls, and the Ohio National Guard <a href="https://www.wkbn.com/news/coronavirus/ohio-national-guard-arrives-to-help-sick-elkton-inmates/">has since been deployed</a> to deal with the outbreak. Bill Johnson, a US congressman representing Ohio, <a href="https://billjohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402824">called Elkton "a breeding ground"</a> for the disease.The conditions inside the prison are reportedly dire. In a recent Facebook Live video <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z3b9qj/prisoner-uses-smuggled-cellphone-to-beg-for-help-with-coronavirus-on-facebook-live">obtained by Vice</a>, an inmate inside the prison gave an emotional account, saying the authorities were "literally leaving us in here to die." In his plea for release, McFarland said he's unable to quarantine, and is instead "confined" to a room with more than 100 other inmates who could already be exposed. The ACLU of Ohio <a href="https://www.acluohio.org/archives/press-releases/aclu-of-ohio-and-ohio-justice-and-policy-center-file-class-action-habeas-petition-on-behalf-of-prisoners-at-fci-elkton-where-3-people-have-died-as-a-result-of-covid-19?c=183307">filed a class-action lawsuit</a> against Elkton on Monday on behalf of multiple prisoners who feared for their safety.McFarland has served 22 months behind bars so far, including a three-month stint in solitary confinement in July 2019, according to the letter he penned to the judge in his appeal for release. McFarland said he was sent to solitary confinement after guards found him with a USB drive that he was using to help him write a "self-reflection book."McFarland wrote that his time in solitary was "the worst months of [his] life," but that it helped him to realize the error in his ways."I believe I need to write you a letter outlining the person behind the motion you're considering, who I've come to be, and how the justice system has changed my life," McFarland wrote. "The SHU woke me up. It helped me see the truth. It was singlehandedly the best thing to happen to me."If released, McFarland would spend the length of his home confinement at a residence owned by a "close friend" in Manhattan that's big enough to comply with quarantine guidelines, according to court documents.The sentence handed down to McFarland in October 2018 also orders him <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-founder-billy-mcfarland-bio-profile-2019-1">to forfeit $26 million</a>. McFarland's lawyers wrote in his release request that he has "independent earning potential" due to novel, a memoir, and a "podcast hosting job."His lawyers also claim he has "a pending deal with a major streaming service where Mr. McFarland will be interviewed for a substantial fee" - although it's unclear whether that's different from the one he made with Hulu for its 2019 documentary, "Fyre Fraud," for which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-organizer-paid-for-exclusive-hulu-interview-2019-1">McFarland reportedly asked for $250,000</a>.Both Hulu and Netflix <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-organizer-paid-for-exclusive-hulu-interview-2019-1">released documentaries last year</a> about the events surrounding Fyre Festival. The event, organized by McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-expectations-versus-reality-2017-5">was billed as</a> a luxury music festival in 2017 featuring tons of influencers and partying on sandy beaches in the Bahamas. The event was a disaster, and attendees - who paid anywhere from $1,200 to $12,000 per ticket - were met with chaos, confusion, and views that looked nothing like what the promo material promised. "Fyre Festival" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fyre-festival-comparison-failed-events-list-2019-2">has since become a catch-all term</a> for tons of failed events.Read below for Billy McFarland's letter to the judge where he pleads for early release:Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email <a href="mailto:covidtips@businessinsider.com">covidtips@businessinsider.com</a> and tell us your story.Get the latest <a href="/coronavirus-business-impact">coronavirus business &amp; economic impact analysis</a> from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-covid-19-social-distancing-looks-from-maxar-satellite-2020-3">How social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic looks from a satellite</a></h3>

Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland is asking to be released early from a federal prison that's been called a 'breeding ground' for the coronavirus and where 6 inmates have already died

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Matt WeinbergerThe OnePlus 2 phone.</div></div></div>The OnePlus One smartphone was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oneplus-one-invites-2014-6">one of the biggest tech phenomenons of 2014</a>, becoming the smartphone of choice for power users.The device is basically a premium Android phone that looks and feels as good as anything from Samsung but at around half the price. Now the makers of the OnePlus One are coming out with the sequel.On August 11th, you'll get your first shot at the OnePlus 2, which takes everything people loved about the first model and makes it faster, more powerful, and prettier -- but maintains its budget-friendly status, with 16GB and 64GB models selling for $329 and $389, respectively (that's without a wireless carrier contract). Indeed, the OnePlus 2 looks like a very cool phone, especially for the lower cost.I got a little bit of hands-on time with the new phone at a OnePlus One event in San Francisco, ahead of the official launch event going on now. A lot of what we saw <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oneplus-two-design-price-2015-3">had already been rumored or leaked</a>, but there are still a few pleasant surprises.And yes, the company says it'll be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oneplus-one-preorder-launch-us-2014-10">easier to get one this time out</a>.<h3>The hardware</h3>As rumored, the OnePlus 2 has a metal frame, instead of the OnePlus One's polycarbonate plastic back. It gives the OnePlus 2 a nice, solid heft that makes it feel more durable than your average phone, but it's probably also why the price is slightly higher than the original's $299 MSRP. It's thin and lighter than it looks.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Matt WeinbergerThe OnePlus 2, with the new Oxygen Shelf feature displayed.</div></div></div> The OnePlus 2's 5.5" display is gorgeous at a 1080p resolution, and has a high enough brightness setting to be totally legible in direct sunlight. It comes with a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor paired with the Adreno 430 GPU, which OnePlus says is more than enough juice to put the phone to work streaming high-def movies or playing graphics-intensive games. The camera is a major point of pride for OnePlus, with the new phone boasting a 13MP resolution with a low-light sensor, optical image stabilization, and a "laser focus" system that doesn't require you to touch the screen to focus on a subject.The phone has a slider right on the side of the phone to switch between three alert settings: None, Priority, and All, so you can choose what your OnePlus 2 phone alerts you for without taking it out of your pocket. Also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oneplus-2-features-leak-fingerprint-sensor-2015-4">as rumored</a>, the OnePlus 2 has a fingerprint sensor/lock that the company claims is "faster than the iPhone."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Matt WeinbergerThe rear of the OnePlus 2, with bamboo backplate.</div></div></div>You can also customize the notifications from the LED light on the top of the OnePlus 2, so it'll glow green for an email but blue for a text message.OnePlus will be selling a selection of custom backplates for the OnePlus 2, made from materials including black apricot wood, bamboo, rosewood, Kevlar (if you're concerned about stopping bullets with your OnePlus 2, I guess), and black sandstone. For what it's worth, the bamboo plate caused the OnePlus 2 to slip from my hands repeatedly. OnePlus is bundling in a brand new charging cable that's reversible on both ends, solving a lot of "which-way-is-up" headaches. It's also flat, making it easier to roll up without a tangle. The new cable uses the same kind of USB Type-C connection as the newest Apple Macbook. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Matt WeinbergerThe rear of the OnePlus 2 in default black, plus the new power cord.</div></div></div><h3>The software</h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Matt WeinbergerThe OnePlus 2 phone in profile. It's very thin.</div></div></div>On the software side, the OnePlus 2 introduces OxygenOS, a slightly customized (but still very familiar) version of Android that adds a couple of neat features from the last model. Foremost among those is a new feature called "Shelf" that lets you keep a handy collection of most-used apps and contacts that are available by swiping right on the home screen. OnePlus says that it's going to keep working on OxygenOS, optimizing for power efficiency and performance while still adding more features. The OxygenOS can run any Android app. The OnePlus 2 also includes a new Audio Tuner app, so you can change the sound levels for music, movies, and games to your liking and swap between those profiles from the quick settings menu. And it uses the popular SwiftKey predictive keyboard as its default text entry tool.<h3>How to get one</h3>The original OnePlus One caused something of a commotion last year: Because <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oneplus-2014-annual-report-2015-2">OnePlus is a tiny startup</a> compared with the Apple/Samsung manufacturing superpowers, it limited orders of the phone to those who could get an invitation code out of somebody who already had one.It was, perhaps inadvertently, a brilliant marketing move that only served to drive demand way up. Eventually, OnePlus opened the One up for general sale, but only on Tuesdays. This time out, the system is going to work much the same. OnePlus "superfans" who are active on the phone's community websites will get invites, and you'll have to either know somebody who owns a OnePlus 2 or keep an eye on OnePlus's social media to get your own. There is one key difference, though. This time, OnePlus will have a standard waiting list, so if you don't want to hustle for a code, they'll get to you on a first-come first-served basis eventually. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-android-owners-bragging-2014-4">Things That iPhone Users Say That Drive Android Users Crazy</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ttaGhyZDoxJtxXlyDh6yJoXbD-q_7CNo" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

The sequel to the best Android phone of 2014 is official, and it looks amazing

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is now one of the most valuable tech companies in the world after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-chinas-xiaomi-raises-11-billion-from-investors-at-45-billion-valuation-2014-12">raising $1.1 billion at a $45 billion valuation</a>.&#xa0;
It's been a spectacular rise for Xiaomi, which became the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the world in about three years, according to some estimates (it was third-largest until Huawei moved past Xiaomi in December). And it's the top smartphone vendor in China, ahead of Samsung, Apple, and Lenovo.
Xiaomi sells really nice Android phones that are just as good as phones from Samsung, HTC, and Motorola, but cost about half as much.
Xiaomi is often called "The Apple Of China," not just because it has a wild and passionate fan base, but also because its CEO and founder, Lei Jun, has ripped a lot of pages straight out of the playbook of Steve Jobs.
During product announcements, Jun wears black shirts, light blue jeans, and sneakers, just like Jobs did. Xiaomi customers worship him. Company events feel more like rock concerts with screaming fans than product launches.
And this summer, when Jun introduced Xiaomi's latest flagship phone, the Mi4, he included a "One more thing..." kicker at the end of the presentation, a tactic Jobs was famous for when he had a surprise announcement.
<div><biembeddedobject id="d019ab64-f29d-4858-ac4e-d344427b8d7b"></biembeddedobject></div>
No wonder why Jun is often called "The Steve Jobs Of China."
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-04/chinas-xiaomi-the-worlds-fastest-growing-phone-maker">According to a profile of Xiaomi by Businessweek</a> earlier this year, Jun, now 45, got his start in tech shortly after college when he joined Kingsoft, a Chinese software company that mimicked Microsoft. Kingsoft made productivity software that was very similar to Microsoft Office. If Xiaomi is now "The Apple of China," then Kingsoft was the "Microsoft of China" in the 90s and early 2000s.
Jun eventually worked his way up to become CEO of Kingsoft and took the company public in 2007, but resigned a few months after that, Businessweek's story said. He was a VC for a few years, but then decided to start Xiaomi in 2010 with an ex-Google China executive.&#xa0;By then, he was already very rich. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2014/12/03/the-disruptor/">Forbes estimates</a> Jun is currently the eighth-richest person in China, and is worth $9.9 billion.
But despite all the similarities to Apple, Xiaomi products are made a bit differently. Its product development relies heavily on input from customers, whereas Apple likes to decide on its own what's best.
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/technology/challenging-apple-by-imitation.html">In a 2012 profile in The New York Times</a>, Jun called Apple's method for developing products "conceited."
Still, Xiaomi phones and tablets are often criticized for looking a lot like the iPhone, both on the software and hardware level. In October, Apple's design boss <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jony-ive-calls-design-copies-theft-2014-10">Jony Ive called it "theft" when companies like Xiaomi copy iPhone designs</a>.&#xa0;
The customer-first philosophy has made Xiaomi and Jun wildly popular in China. Xiaomi's phones are mostly sold online, and often sell out within a few minutes. 
The company spends very little on traditional marketing and instead spreads the word on social media channels like Weibo, a Chinese social network that's similar to Twitter.&#xa0;Those cost savings are passed to the customer. 
Xiaomi's best phone, the Mi4, costs a little over $300 unlocked. But its specs are on par with Samsung, Apple, and Lenovo's best phones, which usually start at $650 or more unlocked. Xiaomi phones are sold in China, India, Brazil, and a few other emerging markets. There aren't any immediate plans to move into Western markets like the US and Europe.
Xiaomi makes other stuff too, including a tablet (which looks almost exactly like an iPad mini), a streaming set-top box, and external USB battery packs.
Xiaomi's rise is also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-tizen-phone-2014-12">eating into Samsung's profits</a>. Last quarter, Samsung reported a 60% drop in profits, largely blaming competition from cheaper smartphone makers like Xiaomi. Samsung is still very profitable and the top smartphone vendor in the world, but it's declining rapidly.
With its fresh $1.1 billion in new funds, Xiaomi has a lot more cash to fuel its rapid growth.

Meet The Billionaire Who Built A $45 Billion Smartphone Company That's Beating Apple And Samsung In China

<table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div>Microsoft</td></tr></table>Two of the most successful consumer technology <keyword id="19705" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Products">products</keyword> of all time are <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> Office and Microsoft Windows.
So, when the former head of both divisions, Steven Sinofsky, has something to say about consumer tech, it's worth listening.
Lucky for us, Sinofsky went to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year and decided to write a very long blog post about it.
It's called <a href="http://blog.learningbyshipping.com/2013/01/13/learning-by-sharing-snark-free-ces-observations/">"</a><a href="http://blog.learningbyshipping.com/2013/01/13/learning-by-sharing-snark-free-ces-observations/">Learning by Sharing: Snark-free CES observations."</a>
The best part is where Sinofsky talks about trends on the rise. It gives you a sense of what the world is going to look like in the medium term.
He says these trends were "refined" for 2013's show:
<ul>
<li>Mobile is now the main event. "Where CES used to think mobile was in the North Hall’s Auto section, now everything is mobile."</li>
<li>Design is trending toward minimalism and clarity. "There’s a lot less glowing and translucency. Navigation is clearer. Touch gestures are assumed on any device and often are not readily apparent (that is designers are assuming you will figure out how to touch and tap to make stuff happen). And the use of the full screen for the task at hand is clearly dominant. Rather than gain “speed” or “power” via multitasking by arranging, widgets, picture in picture, and so on, the focus is on moving quickly between task-oriented screens."</li>
<li>Build quality is getting better. "That’s not to say there’s a fair share of low-end and low-quality stuff, particularly tablets, one can see in the South Hall as usual. There is, however, a rising tide of quality. This is a sign of further upstream integration of components as well as maturing manufacturing and assembly. </li>
<li>Products update themselves now. "While we might curse updates or think it encourages poor engineering, the reality is that the quality of what we experience is better than ever because of these updates."</li>
<li>Many products integrate with social networks. "You can hop on a scale and share the weight right away. You can share movies you have watched easily. You can even share how happy a meal made you."</li>
<li>Other technologies are accelerating as fast as processing power. "We’re now seeing this increase in bandwidth usage (UHD Netflix streaming, for example) and in the silicon based nature of visuals (screens and camera sensors, for example). Even wireless networking is seeing a significant uptick in speed."</li>
<li>Offline tools are coming online. "For sure, the connection of our lives to the internet continues as a trend. It is really amazing how many analog things are being digitized—door locks, luggage tags, mouth guards, and more."</li>
</ul>
Sinofsky says that these were the cutting edge technologies on display in 2013:
<ul>
<li>Super high definition televisions. "Seeing the 100” and greater 4K screens is breathtaking. It is incredible to think that it was just two years ago we were ogling at a 60” LED 1080P screens. Moore’s law applies to screens. Every major TV/screen company was showing 4K screens and these will be products soon enough for sure, and then the prices will come down."</li>
<li>Computer (and tablet and smartphone) displays are getting much better. "This year saw a significant amount of credible innovation in the area of screen technology. Flexible displays seem more realistic than past years because they were in more than one booth. OLED made a strong reappearance with an amazing 4K OLED screen. Curved screens that match what we see in movie theaters showed up. I loved the wide aspect ratio screen from LG. Touch is being integrated into large panels for use for broadcast, meeting rooms and signage. Even the distribution of HDMI signals for digital signage saw innovation with single CAT5 systems at commodity prices. Samsung had a very cool transparent display that allows a physical product to be “enclosed” in the screen."</li>
<li>Content is moving from device to device and from screen to screen. "There’s an incredible desire for the ability to get what I am seeing on a phone or tablet on to a bigger screen (the flipside of getting what streams over cable/sat onto my phone/tablet is a different problem). This seems to be struggling with scenarios and responsiveness right now but seems like it will be figured out—after all, how many of us watch a movie and look things up on IMDB on our phones or watch sports tracking another game or stats on our tablet? The scenarios last year were focused on Facebook/twitter on your TV or news/weather while you watch and that is what seems to have been reduced in excitement (those always seemed a bit awkward to me for a family room)."</li>
<li>High end digital cameras are coming back. "Digital SLRs are seeing a rebirth at a level of flexibility and sophistication that is mind blowing. The role of DSLR for video has spawned a whole industry of accessories to morph a still camera into a motion camera in terms of form factor (the sensor and lens are the real value). Image stabilization, critically important on tiny form factors, is becoming incredibly good."</li>
<li>The "Phablet" is a sign that consumer will have wide choices for phone sizes. "The made up word that was used more than it seems like it should was Phablet—a device that is bigger than a phone and smaller than a tablet. Given the size of phones this might mean 5-6.9” or so. It seems that there are two views. There’s the view that a phone is a phone and should be “less than” some size, and a tablet is a tablet which is 7-8” unless it is a big tablet (9.7”) or a PC/tablet. The other view is that consumers will be selecting from a wide variety of sizes and the industry will meet many needs. I like this second view."</li>
<li>Cable companies and satellite TV companies are getting better at organizing "real TV." The companies that distribute “real TV” to consumers (especially live events and original programming) seemed especially innovative this year. DISH is particularly innovative in bringing together a very nice and high quality multi-room and multi-device scenario. One thing that really struck me was the new ability to flag a program for transcoding to your mobile device and easily download it. To date this has been mostly impossible to do. Unless you want to wait for DVD or streaming this is the only way to time and location shift first-run programming. Programming guides are getting much better and faster to interact with and the integration of fun data (related programs, background info) is great to see. Getting to place where you have one tuner box and then much smaller, fanless, storageless, settop boxes in other rooms is really close."</li>
<li>Gadgets that work as sensors on humans are becoming ubiquitous. "These products are truly modern products—empowering consumers with technology to literally improve their lives, and connect them to the internet and other resources. There are all sorts of sensors for well-known human telemetry: weight, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, glucose level, air quality, distance traveled, and more. There are also sensors for fuzzier (computed not measured) areas such as concentration, sleep quality, mood, and so on. The common element for all of these is measurement with a device that connects to the internet (or directly your mobile device via bluetooth) and then on your device you can view trends, track, and analyze the data. For many people this is literally life and death (tracking bp, glucose). For many it is a way to maintain fitness levels or achieve a better level of fitness. Two things really struck me. First, there is a real responsibility these companies will need to shoulder to separate medically actionable data from telemetry that will simply drive you crazy and drive up medical costs for society (tracking pulseox for a normal healthy person is dubious). Second, these are really a unique set of products/services/businesses that are essentially mobile-only, profiting by either the device sale or a device + service subscription. Some are not even bothering with web-browser based viewing."</li>
<li>New PCs are going to come in all shapes and sizes. "There were a number of hybrid PCs (tablet with removeable/hideable/flippable keyboards) that are becoming clearer and more refined—I especially liked the Samsung and Lenovo entries. These PCs are really great for developers and designers—they let you work directly with the code and a client/designer at the same time in both coding and tablet usage styles. As with “phablet”, it seems that the variety of tablets enabled by Windows will be something that continues to bring innovative ideas to consumers."</li>
<li>Technology will keep trying to be green. "The most interesting challenge is that to really reduce power consumption (and extend battery life) requires hardware and software working together. Hardware companies announce the power draw of the hardware independent of the software platform; devices advertise battery life independent of radio signal strength or app load; manufacturers can create a software profile (drivers and more) that is not optimal for the advertised hardware number. There’s a lot to get this right."</li>
<li>"Help I've fallen and I can't get up" gadgets are getting updated. "There were related products for pets and luggage as well, but the one for humans seems to be particularly valuable."</li>
</ul>
Equally as fascinating is Sinofsky look at which consumer tech trends are losing traction. He writes:
<ul>
<li>
3D. "3D was really big last year and you really had to work hard to even find a booth with glasses at all. I can’t recall something that had so many real products you could buy (and could buy that previous holiday) and in one year essentially vanished. I’m still surprised by this a bit because the world is 3D—it seems that the technology approach wasn’t working so I would not write off the concept just yet."
</li>
<li>
Storage. "There was a lot less in the way of storage technologies—hard drive cages, USB drives and sticks, media storage cabinets even. The cloud world we live in along with seemingly unlimited storage in the devices we use indicate this trend will continue."
</li>
<li>
Waterproof. "Last year it seemed like every booth had a fish tank holding a phone or tablet."
</li>
<li>
Media boxes. "There used to be a seemingly endless array of boxes that distribute photos, videos, and music around a home network. With Pandora/Netflix/etc. built into every TV and DVD player (and apps on every device), this type of device has probably been integrated."
</li>
<li>
Gesture based TV. "The excitement of gesture based control of TV was all but gone."
</li>
</ul>

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