T-Mobile Valentine’s day sale – Get your lovin’ on with any 4G device for FREE (Update: It is official) Posted: 07 Feb 2012 12:51 PM PST Thinking of getting something for that special someone, this Valentine’s day? How about a 4G smartphone from T-Mobile? According to these screen shots (and past rumors), T-Mobile will be holding a one-day sale on February 11th, dedicated to all the love birds out there. But this is not just any sale – customers will be able to purchase any 4G device for free after mail-in rebate. This is after signing a 2-year contract, of course. This deal is applicable to both Classic and Value plan subscribers, which happens to be a first for these “All Hands Day” sales. Such sales were only applicable to Value plan subscribers before, making this a much more enticing offer. According to TmoNews‘ sources, those that pick the Classic rate plans will have to pay for the device’s usual subsidized price and receive the full amount via a mail-in rebate card. Value plan subscribers will get the same treatment after paying the down payment. (Upgrade rules and migration fees apply). If you have been looking to get a new 4G smartphone from T-Mobile, we suggest you circle February 11th in your calendar. The offer applies to all 4G devices, including tablets like the LG G-Slate and the Huawei Springboard. There is a small catch for some devices, though. It seems like top-tier smartphones, such as the HTC Amaze and Samsung Galaxy S II might require a subscription to a 5 GB data plan. All T-Mobile retail stores, customer service and authorized dealers will be participating on this offer. If interested, you might want to wait for the official announcement for more details, which is rumored to be as soon as this afternoon (according to the sources). Let’s sit tight and wait to hear official details. Is anyone taking advantage of this sale? And just out of curiosity – will anyone actually purchase a phone for a Valentine’s day gift? Gallery Update: T-Mobile announcement As expected, T-Mobile has just gone ahead and released information about their Valentine’s one-day sale. The information goes along with most of what we already knew. Among the most important details, though, the press release includes information about the minimum requirements for data plans: Voice Phones: 200 MB data plan Most smartphones: 2 GB data plan 42 Mbps devices: 5 GB data plan For more information, check out the press release or go to T-Mobile’s official site. There you go, guys! It is official, so start making your plans!

Sony’s MWC press event announced for February 26 as the Xperia Sola applies for a US trademark Posted: 07 Feb 2012 12:48 PM PST Just like HTC, Samsung and other handset makers, Sony is sending out invitations to a press event scheduled for February 26. At CES, we had a pretty good idea of what Sony was planning, but we’re all scratching out heads right now, trying to figure out “what’s new and what’s next” for Sony. Based on what we saw with the Xperia S and Xperia Ion and Sony’s history of using Qualcomm chips, we could see a new flagship device powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip with a 720p HD display, 12 megapixel camera with its rear-illuminated Eximor sensor, NFC, and a battery large enough to get power users through an entire day without missing a beat. We could speculate all day long, but one solid piece of evidence that we have is that Sony is planning on releasing a device named the Xperia Sola. The handset name just recently appeared at the US Patent and Trademark Office, meaning US customers may be getting their hands on something besides the AT&T bound Xperia Ion. There’s no guarantee that the Xperia Sola will be a superphone powerful enough to compete with the likes of the Galaxy S III or the HTC Edge, but we can always hope. Since Sony’s leaked 2012 roadmap shows the Kumquat, Nypon and Pepper with April release dates, we’re going to assume that those three devices will be making an appearance at Sony’s press event on February 26. The only problem we have is that all three devices are expected to be mid-range devices with off-contract prices ranging from $335-$475 – substantially less than the $590 price for the Xperia S listed on the same roadmap document. Will Sony be unveiling a dual-core Qualcomm S4 flagship handset at Mobile World Congress? We truly hope so, but there’s no real evidence that they will. We’ll probably have to wait until CTIA later this spring to catch a glimpse of the Sony Hayabusa which is expected to be Sony’s flagship handset for the summer. Do you think Sony has an ace up its sleeve for Mobile World Congress?

Is it no longer convenient to be an AT&T unlimited data user? Posted: 07 Feb 2012 11:52 AM PST Before AT&T tiered data plans started coming into effect, users were happy to be unlimited data subscribers. Once the changes went into place they would be grandfathered, allowing them to keep their unlimited plan. This was before AT&T started throttling its top 5% of data consumers. Grandfathered customers are now suffering from an interesting effect in the system. AT&T throttles the top 5% of data consumers in their network, but this is not just an estimate. They literally throttle the top 5%, regardless of where that limit happens to fall, that month. This would mean that if AT&T managed to keep convincing subscribers to use less and less data, the limit would go down, along with the users’ habits. If the top 5% miraculously managed to use only 200 MB a month (or 20 GB), that is where the limit would hit. The situation is not as critical yet, but “unlimited” data users are certainly experiencing a lower throttling cap. And it seems like tiered data plan subscribers also come into the equation, even though only unlimited users are being throttled. After going about his business as regular, AT&T user John Cozen was notified that he was being throttled for falling under the 5% top users window. He had only used 2.1 GB of data in that month. After a series of e-mails, AT&T confirmed that this was not a mistake, and the top 5% was being throttled after using just a bit over 2 GB of data. AT&T’s new smartphone data plans include: AT&T Data Plus 300MB: $20 for 300MB AT&T Data Pro 3GB: $30 for 3GB AT&T Data Pro 5GB: $50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering It might no longer be convenient to be grandfathered into those unlimited data plans (unless you don’t mind the slower speeds). Of course, tiered data plans are not affected. If one pays the equally priced $30 plan, you get 3 GB of data, which is about an extra GB compared to unlimited data subscribers (before being throttled). The tables have turned around, and unlimited data plans might not be as great as we thought. At least with AT&T. It just might be time for power users to start saying goodbye to their grandfathered plans. They could be getting a better deal with the 3 GB tiered data plan. Have any of our readers experienced a similar problem? Would you rather leave your grandfathered plan to get that tiered 3 GB plan?

Google Chrome for Android beta makes its way to Android 4.0 devices Posted: 07 Feb 2012 09:55 AM PST At long last, Google has released an Android version of the popular Chrome browser onto the Android Market as a beta for all Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Similar to it’s PC and Mac brethren, Google Chrome for Android focuses on bringing speed and simplicity to your browsing experience, as well as offering the ability to sync your bookmarks and history across devices. As with most things Google brings to Android, Chrome has been re-built from the ground up to take full advantage of the smaller screens on our phones and tablets. Chrome for Android features gesture support to move from tab to tab, with support for an unlimited number of tabs so you can browse to your heart’s content. And yes, Incognito Mode will be supported from day one so you can browse those seedy sections of the internet without leaving (much of) a trace. Highlights of Chrome Beta for Android include: Browse fast with accelerated page loading, scrolling, and zooming Search and navigate directly from the omnibox Open and switch between unlimited tabs in an easy-to-view stack Sign in to Chrome to sync your bookmarks and view tabs you have open on your computer Send pages from desktop Chrome to your smartphone or tablet with one click and read them on the go, even if you're offline Browse privately in Incognito mode Once you sign into Chrome on your Android device, you’ll be able to view the tabs you left open on another device, get autocomplete suggestions based on your full browsing history, and have your entire suite of bookmarks available at your disposal. We’ve been able to spend a limited amount of time with Chrome for Android, but I think it’s safe to say that Chrome will completely take over any other browser program we currently have installed. If you have a device that runs Android 4.0, we highly encourage you to head over to the Android Market and give Chrome a download. Gallery

Verizon’s double data promo returns this Friday Posted: 07 Feb 2012 09:22 AM PST This Friday, Verizon is bringing back their popular double-data promotion that gives users double the data allowance for the same price. The deal, along with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, was the primary reason I switched over to Verizon from T-Mobile last year and I’ve been extremely happy with the service so far. Verizon currently offers three tiers of data - 2 gigabytes for $30, 5 gigabytes for $50 and 10 gigabytes for $80. With the special promotion, subscribers will get 4 gigabytes for $30, 10 gigabytes for $50 and 20 gigabytes for $80. The Galaxy Nexus normally retails for $299 with 2-year agreement, but we just spotted a deal where Amazon once again has the Galaxy Nexus at $99 for new customers. I believe that Amazon Wireless honors Verizon’s promotions, so it would be an extra sweet deal to combine these two offers on Friday. Roger Cheng of CNET is also reporting that Verizon will also offer buy-one-get-one free on the Droid RAZR ($99) and Droid RAZR MAXX ($199) this Friday. That’s the same day that the Droid 4 launches, so we might see that device as part of the promotion too. Verizon is one of the most expensive carriers around, but I think the price is deserved since they offer the fastest and largest 4G LTE network. It’s not for everyone, but if you need a super-fast network connection then I’d give Verizon a look. Their early LTE devices like the HTC Thunderbolt suffered from short battery life, but newer devices like the Droid RAZR MAXX (3,300 mAh battery) and Galaxy Nexus (2100 mAh extended battery for $25) offer battery life that can last all day. For those that are concerned with a metered data plan, Android 4.0 adds new controls for managing network data usage. The majority of our fans tend to agree that Verizon offers the best Android experience, since they voted the carrier as their favorite in our first Android Bowl. If you have any concerns or questions about switching to Verizon, just ask in the comments below and our community will help answer them.

HTC Studio unveiled, tasked to help the company regain its edge Posted: 07 Feb 2012 08:03 AM PST In order to combat the company’s recent financial downturn, HTC has announced a new group within the company that will report directly to CEO Peter Chou and will be tasked with developing “key products” for the company. Dubbed “Studio,” the new team will be made up of HTC’s most talented engineers and designers in order to get HTC back in front of the competition and “regain the edge in products.” It’s unclear if HTC Studio is already operational, but this news does confirm all the recent stories we’ve reported about HTC focusing more on hero phones in 2012. HTC will also be introducing new products that feature a variety of components sourced from multiple companies in order to give HTC as much flexibility as possible to compete. In the past, HTC has only used chips from Qualcomm to power its Android phones, a strategy which hurt HTC last year as competitors turned to NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chip to power their high-end devices. We want to make sure that we do have multiple sources for a single component. So we have, I think, a very good range of suppliers to choose from on CPU, for example.Winston YungHTC The HTC phones expected to make their debut at Mobile World Congress in just a few weeks will certainly be better than last year’s models, but we’re looking forward to see what HTC’s Studio can dream up later this year. Do you think HTC Studio will be able to turn things around for HTC?

The Sims FreePlay coming to Android Market this month Posted: 07 Feb 2012 07:44 AM PST Is EA Mobile finally ready to take Android serious now? They have ported a handful of their most popular iOS games to Android, but most have been met with a lukewarm reception (averaging review scores of 3/5). A quick browse of EA Mobile’s site shows that they haven’t updated their Android section in years, with only the original T-Mobile G1 being listed as a supported device. We don’t know much about EA Mobile’s future plans for Android, but their PR team has started to made an effort to reach out to Android bloggers and open a channel of communication. For example, to promote their upcoming Android game The Sims FreePlay, EA mailed me a Sims coffee mug, scarf, and paper speakers. I’m still not sure what the point was of these random items, but I’m sitting here writing this article so I guess they got the job done. No release date has been announced, but we have heard that The Sims FreePlay should be available in the Android Market by the end of this month. The game previously launched on iOS devices back in December where it won several awards for best freemium game of the year. EA’s current game The Sims 3 is priced at $6.99 and did relatively well selling between 100,000-500,000 copies (most came when the game was on sale for $0.99). Unfortunately the game has not been updated since September, which has led to many complaints about support and earned the game a 3.5 rating in the Android Market. Even though most of EA’s titles have been disappointing compared to their iOS versions, we know they are capable of producing some awesome Android games – see Dead Space. Hopefully The Sims FreePlay will receive their best effort and more resources will be allocated to support the game after its initial release. Do we have any Sims fans in the house? Gallery

Why Android’s custom UIs are important to the future of the platform Posted: 07 Feb 2012 07:04 AM PST While most consumers are still trying to figure out the differences between Froyo, Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich, Android enthusiasts are praising the latest iteration of Android. Android 4.0 delivered a myriad of new functionalities to Android, including a shiny new user interface (UI). The Android development team at Google spent countless hours making Android’s new UI “enchanting, beautiful and seductive.” With such a dramatically improved UI, manufacturers would certainly ditch their custom skins and bring back some unity to Android’s user experience – or would they? There was certainly hope from many Android enthusiasts that the stock Android UI would be embraced by all. Unfortunately, early leaks and previews from Sony, Samsung and HTC have disappointed many since Android manufacturers seem to be chugging along on the same course as before, spending the majority of their time working on custom skins for Android rather than focusing solely on updating older phones to the latest version of Android. But is this really a bad thing? If you read through the comments on this site you will notice a recurring theme: our readers are very outspoken about the virtues of the stock Android UI, claiming that “Google finally got it right” and asking “why would manufacturers mess around with perfection” while bullying (down voting) commenters who showed support for HTC Sense, TouchWiz or MotoBLUR (or whatever Motorola is calling it these days). Personally, I’m a big fan of stock Android and will agree that Google has finally delivered a UI that’s better than most custom skins produced by OEMs. The problem is that Google’s new UI improvements for Android are merely a composite refinement of all the features Motorola, HTC and Samsung have had for quite some time. If you pick apart the new UI piece by piece you will notice that there’s really nothing new. Looking back over the past three years, you’ll see that Google’s UI improvements with every new version of Android include borrowed ideas that were introduced by others. Below are a few examples of some of the features included in Android 4.0 which were originally pioneered in one or more custom skins produced by Android manufacturers. Social Media Integration Facebook and Twitter integration into the contacts application was first introduced by HTC and was adopted a few months later by Motorola in 2009. Both Motorola and HTC served up your contact’s latest status update or a notification of an impending birthday when you called or received a call from one of your contacts. Google introduced a more limited Facebook integration with Android 2.1. Animated Widgets When Android first launched, Google only had three widgets and developers had to wait until Android 1.5 before they were able to create their own. Fortunately, HTC jumped into the deep end with HTC Sense and delivered several dozen widgets which also featured animations. The HTC flip clock is probably the most recognizable and mimicked Android widget. Motorola, Samsung, LG and even Huawei introduced animated widgets to their custom versions of Android before Google got around to it with Honeycomb. Re-sizable Widgets While HTC kept adding more and more widgets to its Sense library (most of which were simply different sizes of the same widget), Motorola chose to take a different route with the introduction of the DROID X by introducing re-sizable widgets. Users could now choose how large or small they wanted a widget to be. The best part about Motorola’s widget resizing feature is that the widget layout changes depending on which size you choose. As with animated widgets, Google introduced re-sizable widgets in Honeycomb, but the functionality was not nearly as advanced as Motorola’s. Advanced Lock-screen With Sense, HTC has always been on the forefront of the customizable lock screen. Early iterations included music controls and details of missed phone calls and text messages. With HTC Sense 3.0, HTC took the customizable lock-screen to a whole new level by giving users a variety of different skins which displayed stock quotes, animated weather, pictures and social media updates from friends. Users were also given the option to choose four different applications which could be launched directly from the lock-screen. The Android team added new features to the lock-screen in Android 4.0 which allow users to launch the dialer or camera applications, but there is still no option to add any user customization. When it comes to features, many of the custom Android skins produced by OEMs clearly have the Android team beat. But this shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Motorola and Samsung have been in the mobile phone business for decades and one of HTC’s biggest accomplishments before Android came along was adding a custom UI on top of Windows Mobile which finally made the OS usable for everyday consumers. My assumption is that there is fear among Android enthusiasts that manufacturers will simply take Android 4.0 and all its new features and cover it up with their own UI without adding any new functionality on top of it. While I can't guarantee that every custom skin will look nicer than what the Android team has whipped up, the majority of new phones running Android 4.0 with a custom skin will have all the base features with additional features which give users more control and an enhanced experience. The reason Android is successful isn’t because Google is doing all the work. The leading manufacturers take Google’s base code and add their own tweaks to differentiate their products from the competition while adding features which Google has not yet dreamed up. If everyone simply took Android 4.0 and loaded it onto their phones, the rapid pace of Android’s innovations would slow to a crawl which might lead to the platform’s demise. I know there will always be a lot of supporters of stock Android, but I hope those of you who prefer your vanilla UI treatment can learn to appreciate custom skins a little more. Google has done an incredible job with the Android 4.0 UI, but lets not forget to give credit to the manufacturers who pioneered many of those same features months or even years before Google wrapped them into the Android fold.

Confirmed: Droid 4 launching February 10th for $199.99 Posted: 07 Feb 2012 06:50 AM PST In case there was any doubt to the rumored release date, Verizon has issued a press release this morning which confirms the February 10th availability of the slide-out QWERTY device. Starting this Friday, the Droid 4 will sell for $199.99 with a new 2-year agreement or eligible upgrade. The spec sheet for the Droid 4 includes: 1.2 GHz dual-core processor 4.0″ qHD display Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with Motorola’s UI overlay 8 megapixel rear camera with 1080p recording capabilities 720p front facing camera 1GB RAM 16GB onboard storage (up to 48 GB with micro SD) LTE The Droid 4 will certainly become the best QWERTY device available to Verizon customers when it launches later this week. If the Droid 4 gives you a feeling a deja vu, that’s most certainly because the Droid 4 looks just like the Droid RAZR with a slide-out keyboard. Anyone out there planning on picking up a Droid 4? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Show Press Release DROID 4 BY MOTOROLA READY TO WORK AND PLAY ON THE VERIZON WIRELESS 4G LTE NETWORK Power, Speed and Reliability Get the Job Done BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – The award winning DROID 4 by Motorola will be available to handle even the most demanding lifestyles starting Feb. 10 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com. Introduced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the DROID 4 is the thinnest and most powerful 4G QWERTY smartphone measuring at less than half an inch thin. DROID 4 not only features a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, but also a five-row QWERTY keyboard with a PC-like layout and edge-lit keys for fast, precise typing, even in the dark. Powered by America’s fastest, most reliable 4G network, DROID 4 customers will have access to 4G LTE coverage in 195 markets covering more than 200 million people. Additional features Verizon Wireless 4G LTE – Customers can expect fast download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G LTE Mobile Broadband coverage areas Android™ 2.3.5 Gingerbread, to be upgraded to Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0-inch qHD display with scratch and scrape resistant glass Government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2) for email, calendar and contacts; preloaded with Citrix® Receiver™ for Android (available in webtop) for desktop virtualization and access 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture Front-facing camera for video chat 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot supporting up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices Business Ready DROID 4 is designed to help customers get more done. Business professionals can impress their audience by presenting to a conference room full of potential customers in a snap by plugging the DROID 4 into an HDTV and presenting directly from the phone. Professionals can also combine the DROID 4 with the Lapdock 500 and its 14-inch display to create a full-featured mobile office. They can download documents, make edits using Lapdock’s full keyboard and email the updated documents to colleagues or customers. The Lapdock even features a built-in webcam so customers can attend virtual meetings and manage their business face-to-face. The Smart Actions app on the DROID 4 helps automate everyday tasks and optimizes battery efficiency by letting customers create rules, such as automatically setting the phone to vibrate during work hours or dimming the display at a specific battery level. Business professionals can leave their laptops behind and use the MotoCast™ app to remotely stream documents, videos, music and pictures from their work or home computers to their handset. The remote access of MotoCast eliminates the need to store documents on the handset as everything is stored on their office laptop. Pricing and availability · DROID 4 by Motorola will be available on Feb. 10 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. · The Lapdock 500 is available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online for $299.97. · Customers that purchase a DROID 4 will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data. For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com. Follow @VZWnews on Twitter for the latest news on Verizon Wireless.

Hipsters rejoice! Instagram rumored to launch on Android soon Posted: 07 Feb 2012 06:10 AM PST Unless you’ve seriously been sheltering yourself from the internet for the past year or so, you’ve probably heard of Instagram, the popular iOS photo editing and sharing service that’s taken the hipster world by storm. When we first learned Instagram was making its way to Android, we were giddy as schoolgirls  super excited to check this app out for ourselves. The folks over at In Flex We Trust had a peculiar and fishy notification pop up on their Galaxy Tab 10.1 which promoted Instagram as a featured application on the Android Market. Naturally, we went over to the Market to see if Instagram was available, only to be disappointed that it wasn’t quite there yet. Still, if the image at In Flex We Trust is legitimate (and that’s a BIG if), we should be seeing Instagram land on our favorite Android devices as early as this month. Either way, the app has been a major priority for the company for 2 months now, and we know for sure that’s it’s coming sometime, now it’s only a matter of when. So why all the hype about Instagram? At its heart, Instagram is a fancy but basic photo editing tool that allows users to apply preset filters to photos to give them an artsy feel. Instagram’s goal is to take the fun and quirkiness of the old polaroid cameras of yesteryear, and mix it with the fluid and instant sharing provided by social media and the internet. Sure, there are a slew of other services out there that do the same thing, but the fact that Instagram is the most popular photo service on iOS speaks volumes to the quality of the service. We predict it will enjoy the same widespread success on Android as it enjoys in iOS. Anyone else out there excited for Instagram to make its way to Android, or are you already using something that gets the job done? Sound off in the comments.