Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Android Authority

Android Authority


Woz would love to see iTunes for Android, also jailbreaking community reminds him of his youth

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:18 AM PDT

Putting aside any love or hate you have for Apple, you can’t but help like Steve Wozniak. The man is a legend. The Apple co-founder, who invented the Apple I and Apple II computers, has been talking with community members over at Slashdot and during the discussion the topic of Android popped up!

As part of the “interview” members posted all manner of questions for Woz ranging from “What new stuff excites you most now?” to “Where do you think the iPhone is going?”. Along the way Android was mentioned a few times. His first comment on the open source OS was that “iOS 6 is not inferior to Android” and let’s face it, he is right. You might not want to own an Apple mobile device, you might love Android for its openness, freedom and broadness (in terms of hardware support) but iOS isn’t inferior to Android. But neither is Android inferior to iOS!

When the topic of jailbreaking (rooting as we call it in the Android sphere) came up, Woz was quite keen. He says it reminds him of his younger self. “I have always given my support to the jailbreak community because they remind me of myself when I met Steve Jobs and how we were, then and for the years leading to Apple.”

The next mention of Android is quite stunning. Woz loves iTunes, OK he is the Apple co-founder, he is an Apple share holder, fine. But Woz has a broad view in terms of how prevalent iTunes should be. You see, Woz points out that Apple ported iTunes to Windows so that it could connect with customers who didn’t have a Mac. So Woz thinks that Apple should do the same with Android. “So why don’t we port iTunes to Android?” says Woz. “Did something get closed up? I love Apple products and iTunes and wish it were on my Android products too.”

This is an interesting point. The current smartphone market is made up of much more than just the phone itself. It is the eco-system that matters. Google has its Play Store, Apple has iTunes and Amazon has its whole online presence. Leaving aside apps, which obviously will only run on the right OS, films, music and TV shows can all be watched on any modern mobile device regardless of the OS. It is a simple thing to buy a MP3 album on Amazon and listen to it on an iPhone. The opposite is also true, it is easy to buy music on iTunes and listen to it on an Android device. Because of DRM issues it isn’t so easy with films or TV shows, so if Apple ported iTunes to Android it would open up a whole new market to Apple and offer a new source of content to Android users.

What do you think, should Apple port iTunes to Android? Rather like the Amazon MP3 store, do you think you would buy music, films and TV shows to watch on your Android device via iTunes? Leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts.


This article, Woz would love to see iTunes for Android, also jailbreaking community reminds him of his youth , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


4G LTE-enabled Galaxy S3, One XL and Huawei Ascend P1 to start selling with EE in the UK today

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:51 AM PDT

While 4G LTE networks tend to be the standard in the United States, Europe is still only making baby steps in replacing 3G with the next generation of download and upload speeds. Things are starting to get a move on in the UK however, where EE (formerly known as Everything Everywhere) is planning to launch 4G LTE in time for the holidays.

We've known that for a while, but if there was still someone who doubted the roll out of the new network will happen very soon, EE's latest announcement should shatter all speculations. The first 4G LTE-enabled devices are set to go on sale today, although very many details about them are still kept under wraps.

Technically, the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One XL and Huawei Ascend P1 LTE won't even be the first UK 4G handhelds to be sold by EE, with the iPhone 5 being available for a while. We don't really care about Apple's new phone though, so we're just going to ignore it for now.

As for the Android trio, it seems that the devices will be made available via Orange and T-Mobile brick-and-mortar and online stores starting today, with the move from the carriers' 3G network to EE's 4G happening "later in the year".

No pricing scheme has been revealed by EE at the moment, so we have no idea what the three phones cost, what kind of plans will they be available on, and whether or not users will be asked to pay extra when moving up from 3G to 4G in a couple of months or so.

It's also unclear if buyers will have the option to forfeit their contractual obligations if they'll be unsatisfied with the 4G speeds, although hopefully everything will go as planned with the new network's launch and no one will dare to miss out on its high performance.

Talking about speeds, we should mention that Paul Sawers from The Next Web got a chance to test out all the existing 4G-enabled devices on EE's unreleased network, which showed that there's still a lot to work on before an official rollout can happen.

Image credit: The Next Web

"For the most part", 4G was significantly faster than 3G, although the variation in speeds should be a bit worrying. All four phones managed to reach impressive 40 Mbps download speeds and 13 Mbps upload speeds at certain points, but also not so impressive 3 Mbps download and 6 Mbps upload (albeit in only a couple of occasions).

Tom Bennett, Director of Network Services and Devices Development at EE, ensures that the variances are not to be taken very seriously right now, given that "Fundamentally it shouldn't be so variable, that's why we're testing this and it's not open to the public yet." On the other hand, Bennett avoided to give a straight answer on when should customers expect 40 Mbps speeds to be the average, only saying that "I think, as is the nature of these things, you roll forward, the technology improves and you allocate more capacity to it".

I don’t know about you, but that sounds to me like a polite way of saying you should expect 20 Mbps or so to be the norm for a long time to come. Is that enough for you? And if so, will you be buying EE’s Galaxy S3, HTC One XL or Huawei Ascend P1?

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This article, 4G LTE-enabled Galaxy S3, One XL and Huawei Ascend P1 to start selling with EE in the UK today , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


New research shows Android improving tablet and smartphone market share

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:49 AM PDT

According to two research firms, Pew Research and comScore, Android devices are now in more people’s hands than ever before. Starting with the Pew data, they say that 22% of Americans own a tablet of some kind. How many of those run Android? A little less than half, 48%. One year ago that number was less than 20%, so Google’s got to be doing something right! It should be noted however that half of those Android tablets are made by Amazon, so while they technically have Android under the hood, they’re not really technically Google sanctioned.

Moving on to comScore, they have even more data, specifically about smartphone owners. Back in May, they said roughly 50% of Americans were using Android phones. That number is now hovering around 52.6%. Where are these new Android owners coming from? RIM’s BlackBerry platform lost 3.1% market share, and Windows Phone, surprisingly, lost about half a point. Which companies are raking in the most sales? Samsung, by a huge margin. Roughly half, or 25.7%, of the phones currently in use by Americans (both smartphones and dumbphones) are made by the South Korean handset maker. LG is next with 18.2%, followed by Apple with 17.1%, then Motorola with 11.2%.

Notice one company that isn’t on that list? HTC. For some strange reason, HTC just can’t get anyone to buy their devices. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with the One X, maybe people just think the Galaxy S III is that much better? AT&T is going to launch the One X+ later this year however, so we’re hoping that’ll help them out. We need more companies pushing Android forward.

Looking ahead, it’s clear that Android is only going to become more popular. The most obvious reason for this current and likely future success is cost. Don’t want to spend a lot of money on a flagship device? Buy a midrange phone. Don’t want to sign a two year contract? Go with Virgin Mobile or some other equivalent prepaid MVNO.

Choice simply wins when it comes to this game.

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This article, New research shows Android improving tablet and smartphone market share , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Deal alert: Wirefly drops the prices of several hot phones, including the Galaxy Nexus and Incredible 4G LTE

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:42 AM PDT

Although it might not be the most famous or well-established name in the online retailing business, Wirefly has made a name for itself these past few months with a bunch of exclusive deals and price cuts for Android phones.

I'm sure you all remember seeing T-Mobile's Galaxy Note dropping to $180 via Wirefly back in August, but also the very cool and recent deals for the Motorola Droid Razr M and HTC Droid Incredible 4G. Now the retailer has gone and done it again, only this time there's not just one phone discounted, but no less than five high-end-ish Android handhelds.

Let's take them one by one, and see just how lucrative these deals are.

First up, we have Samsung's Galaxy Nexus for Verizon, one very attractive piece of technology even with almost a year after the phone's release. The 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus goes for just $29.99 with a new Verizon Wireless account from Wirefly, which would be a 70 bucks discount over Big Red's regular price.

However, it seems that Verizon is trying to throw Galaxy Nexus lovers a bone itself, putting the phone on sale via the company's official website too. If you choose to deal directly with the carrier, you'll be asked to pay $49.99 for the Galaxy Nexus, which is 20 bucks more than Wirefly's deal, but 50 less than what Verizon used to charge for it.

The second high-end-ish phone on sale via Wirefly is another Verizon device, the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE. This is still a somewhat fresh device, being launched back in July, so you should be very excited to know that you can get it now for just $9.99 (down from Verizon's price of $99.99).

Wrapping up the trio of discounted Big Red handhelds we have the Kevlar backed Droid Razr Maxx going for $69.99. The 4.3-incher has been released way back in January 2012, but is still very popular, mostly due to the humongous 3,300mAh battery that can power it for up to 20 hours of talk time between charges. Verizon is selling the Droid Razr Maxx for $199.99, although that price should be slashed once the new Maxx HD will see the light of day.

Wirefly has two tasty deals for those of you not impressed by Verizon's services too, both being valid for new and upgrading T-Mobile customers. The Galaxy S2 4G is available for $49.99 through the online retailer, which is a $100 cut over T-Mo's price of $149.99. The S2 is not exactly a brand new phone, being only updated to Ice Cream Sandwich recently, but the 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 8MP rear-facing cam are still more than decent specs.

Finally, you can also get the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G on the cheap from Wirefly (for $19.99, to be more exact). The 4-incher is being upgraded to Android 4.0 as we speak, and, while Wirefly's deal looks pretty great, T-Mo seems to have an even cooler one. The carrier is offering the Blaze for free with 2-year contracts, although Magenta's offer has an October 14 expiration date.

As for Wirefly’s special offers, these don’t seem to have end dates, so you should have enough time to think things over before deciding which phone to get. Don’t take too much time however, because the stock might be limited and you could miss out on some great deals. So, which one of the five phones are you most interested in and why?

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This article, Deal alert: Wirefly drops the prices of several hot phones, including the Galaxy Nexus and Incredible 4G LTE , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Galaxy S3 sales surge after iPhone 5 announcement, Apple $1 billion court win

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:55 AM PDT

Since the launch of the iPhone 5, we compared the device with the best-selling Android device of the year, the Galaxy S3, from various points of view (including drop tests, video comparison, benchmarks and display performance) but we're yet to compare the sales of the two smartphones.

Luckily, a new study from analytics company Localytics reveals that Galaxy S3 sales are still up and growing from week to week. The company has noticed particular Galaxy S3 sale spikes in late August and mid-September tied to Apple's $1 billion court win against Samsung and Apple's iPhone 5 launch, respectively.

According to the data collected by the company from July 31 to October 1 – the company provides analytics services to developers and "supports over 350 million iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows devices for its consumers" – Galaxy S3 sales have grown at a steady pace each week since August 1 (as the graphic above suggests).

The company measured weekly Galaxy S3 sales and compared them to the previous week, and concluded that Samsung sold on average 9% more Galaxy S3 units than the week before.

The first spike in weekly growth coincides with the same week that a jury awarded Apple $1 billion for Samsung infringing on Apple's patents. The deluge of post-litigation press coverage both drove general attention to Samsung and suggested that Samsung devices were similar enough to iPhones to be an option for many consumers.

The second spike started the week of September 12, when Apple announced the new iPhone 5. Apple's announcement was quickly followed by hundreds of stories comparing the two phones, most of which again suggested they were similarly capable. That combined with the slowdown in new Galaxy S3 growth seen leading up to Apple's announcement (week-over-week new devices were the same as the previous week, resulting in 0% growth) suggest that many consumers were waiting to hear about the new iPhone before making a decision.

The company doesn't offer any sales numbers for the Galaxy S3 and it doesn't mention anything about iPhone 5 sales either at this time.

Apple has announced it sold over 5 million new iPhones in its opening weekend, with analysts expecting it to sell up to 10 million iPhone 5 in the quarter ending on September 30 and over 40 million iPhones in total in the Christmas quarter.

Samsung on the other hand sold over 20 million Galaxy S3 units since launching it in late May and is expected to sell over 30 million units this year.

While the Galaxy S3 sales surges after the $1 billion verdict against Samsung and after the iPhone 5 announcement are obvious, it would be interested to know exactly how many devices were sold during those time intervals. We're even more curious to see how the iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 sales looked like during the iPhone's launch.

Another factor that should be taken into account by such studies, although Localitycs can't provide such data, is the fact that carriers and electronics retailers offered a variety of promotions on the Galaxy S3 before, during and after the iPhone announcement. Price drops for high-end devices in the months following their initial launch are common practice in the Android universe where a hot new device is launched every few months or so, stealing the spotlight in the process. Therefore price drops can further drive sales months after some of the initial buzz around a device has toned down, especially coupled with such events like the Apple vs Samsung trial or the new iPhone’s arrival – naturally, we're referring to discounts available for on-contract purchases.

When have you purchased your Galaxy S3 unit and how much did you pay for it?

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This article, Galaxy S3 sales surge after iPhone 5 announcement, Apple $1 billion court win , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Samsung teases the German press, invites them to an event next week

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:21 AM PDT

Samsung is going to hold an event in Germany next Thursday (October 11th). This isn’t news, last week we reported that the South Korean handset maker was sending out invitations via email to members of the German press. Now Samsung is being a little bit more playful though. All About Samsung, a German website that’s obviously focused on one particular company, received a physical invitation in the form of a giant sheet of paper that’s been folded up several times. Once unfolded, it says: “Small is now a big hit!”

We assumed that Samsung was going to announce just one phone at this upcoming event, the Galaxy Music, but now we think there’s more to this story. The invitation that All About Samsung received has a giant letter “S” in the middle. They think it means Samsung is going to announce a mini version of the Galaxy S III. In fact, they even imply that they know the specifications of this as yet to be announced device: 4 inch 800 x 480 pixel screen, dual core processor (unknown clock speed), and it runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

So what do we think about the possibility of a smaller Galaxy S III? Well, if it’s going to have a screen that only pushes 800 x 480 pixels, then what’s the point? Is it to make a phone that looks like the more expensive model, but is actually cheaper, and can thus be sold to more people? If so, that’s kind of gimmicky.

Looking towards the future, one source who spoke to us earlier this year said that in 2013, when Samsung announces the Galaxy S IV, there’s going to be a smaller variant called that’ll be labeled as the “mini” version. We’d like to point out that this source hasn’t always been right, but we can count the number of times he’s been wrong on one hand.

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This article, Samsung teases the German press, invites them to an event next week , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Jolla to license their OS, codenamed ‘Sailfish’, to device makers

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:57 PM PDT

Before switching to Windows Phone, Nokia was going to bet the future on a Linux based operating system that was being developed in-house called MeeGo. Anyone who has played with the Nokia N9, this writer included, will have no problem telling you with a straight face that the stupidest thing Stephen Elop did after becoming Nokia’s CEO was killing the MeeGo OS. Now the people who worked on MeeGo knew what they gave birth to deserved a second chance, so they left Nokia and formed a new company called “Jolla”. Jolla hasn’t really said much, other than that they plan to show something off before the end of the year.

Today Jolla is making several important announcements. First, they managed to secure 200 million Euros worth of funding. They don’t exactly say who funded them however. Here’s the exact quote from their press release:

“The 200M€ ecosystem financing will come in gradually from Jolla and as members join the alliance, which will include chipset vendors, OEM and ODM manufacturers, operators and retailers.”

That “alliance” Jolla is referring to are companies that will license Jolla’s operating system. That’s the second announcement, that Jolla is going to let other companies use their OS. So technically, if Samsung really wanted to, they could dump Google like a bad habit. Third, the OS that Jolla has been working on finally has a codename: Sailfish. It’s not the best name in the world, but whatever, what’s important is that Jolla has told The Wall Street Journal that they’re going to show off Sailfish next month!

How will this impact the Android ecosystem? That’s tough to say. Jolla is pitching Sailfish as the platform that China will use to prove to the world that they can do something other than slap Android on cheap smartphones. If Sailfish proves to be successful, then it could very well put Android in danger in what’s arguably going to be the most important country in the 21st century.

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This article, Jolla to license their OS, codenamed ‘Sailfish’, to device makers , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Deutsche Telekom plans to merge T-Mobile, MetroPCS

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:07 PM PDT

MetroPCS

In the mobile industry, you need to be at the top of your game. Otherwise, with cutthroat competition, you might find yourself being overshadowed by the bigger companies. For some, though, it’s better to go for mergers and acquisitions rather than fight each other.

Reports have it that Deutsche Telekom is planning to acquire super-regional carrier MetroPCS. Now DT, which is based in Germany, owns T-Mobile and a host of other telecommunications companies in other countries. You might recall that it was DT that was in talks with AT&T for the planned AT&T and T-Mobile merger (which many fondly called AT&TMo) last year, which did not push through. Many will also recall that AT&T had to pay billions to T-Mobile in damages due to the regulators’ disapproval of the deal.

Now it seems Deutsche Telekom is not selling off its subsidiary, but is, in fact, planning to acquire another mobile company. We have a confirmation from MetroPCS itself, which issued a statement saying they are in talks with the German firm, but will not comment further until an agreement is reached.

Whatever the discussions, the companies will have to work around their differing wireless technologies and marketing thrusts. And because a combined T-Mobile and MetroPCs is not as big as the planned AT&T and T-Mobile merger, the regulatory authorities are not likely to cry “anti-competition” on this one.

Check out the full press release below.

Show full PR text

DALLAS, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) today issued the following statement:
“MetroPCS today confirmed that it is in discussions with Deutsche Telekom regarding an agreement to combine T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS. There can be no assurances that any transaction will result from these discussions, and the Company does not intend to comment further unless and until an agreement is reached.”

About MetroPCS Communications, Inc.
Dallas-based MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) is a provider of no annual contract, unlimited wireless communications service for a flat rate. MetroPCS is the fifth largest facilities-based wireless carrier in the United States based on number of subscribers served. With Metro USA(SM), MetroPCS customers can use their service in areas throughout the United States covering a population of over 280 million people. As of June 30, 2012, MetroPCS had approximately 9.3 million subscribers. For more information please visit www.MetroPCS.com.

PR Newswire

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This article, Deutsche Telekom plans to merge T-Mobile, MetroPCS , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Google sends Android developers email about FBI investigation

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 02:50 PM PDT

FBI

In August, the FBI seized three Android app sites for copyright infringement. Now, the FBI has subpoenaed Google asking for information about the company’s registered app developers.This includes contact information.

Why would they need these details? The Federal Bureau of Investigation is concerned that many unofficial sources for apps are offering out copyrighted programs without official consent.

In response to the subpoena, Google’s legal team took to their email and sent out a notice to its registered developers. Here is what the message had to say:

Hello,

Google has received a subpoena seeking information related to Android applications that may have been made available on alternative markets without the consent of the developer. The subpoena seeks information about those Android applications, including contact information for the developers of the applications. Our records show that your Android developer account will be included in the information Google will provide in response to this subpoena.

Google is not in a position to provide you with legal advice or discuss the substance of the process in our possession. For more information about the subpoena, you may wish to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation — Atlanta Field Office at (404) 679-9000, reference #2011R00320/FBI/ORKIN.

Regards,

Google Legal Investigations Support

While only a few developers will likely be contacted by the FBI, it’s good that Google quickly let developers know what is going on. Imagine if they would have kept silent and a developer was contacted out of the blue by the FBI. This would have likely been even more alarming. At the very least, it would have resulted in an angry email to Google.

Many times businesses tend to be less than upfront with their customers, and even their partners. If you were a developer, would you be angry at Google for releasing your information? Or would you be glad that they at least kept you informed on the situation?

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This article, Google sends Android developers email about FBI investigation , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Google to start offering micropayments powered by Google Wallet

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 01:54 PM PDT

While micropayments and the internet have a long and not so happy history together, Google is set to launch a new service powered by Google Wallet that hopes to change that.

The project will allow publishers to sell articles to users for a small price, usually from $0.25 to $0.99. Unlike some previous micropayment systems, instead of paying to access the content for a set amount of time, users will own the content they pay for, and can access it at any time. It is likely that Google will take a percentage of the profits, but Google has remained tight-lipped on this topic so far.

Simplifying Micropayments

From the early days of the internet as we know it, companies have been trying to make micropayments work, but so far, none of them have come particularly close to succeeding. One part of the problem is that users are used to browsing web sites for free. Another part of the problem is that in the past, micropayments meant digging out your credit card and sometimes installing software, not to mention the uncertainty of whether or not the content would be worth what you paid.

Google’s new system hopes to simplify micropayments for users in a few ways. First, once your information is stored in Google Wallet, you won’t have to enter it again, keeping the system both easy to use and more secure. Second, publishers have the option of displaying long previews of the articles and then charging if users want to keep reading. This isn’t fool proof, but does make it more likely that users will get their money’s worth.

To further ensure that users are happy with the content they pay for, users will have 30 minutes from the time of purchasing an article to get a refund, similar to how app refunds in the Google Play Store work. While many articles can be read within 30 minutes, Google plans to have a system in place to keep users from abusing refunds.

What to Expect

The service is set to launch either today or sometime tomorrow. While Google is only inviting select companies to use the service at first, plans are in place to open it up to more publishers later on, including plugins for popular Content Management Systems.

Do you see yourself using Google Wallet to pay for web content like articles? Or are you just going to stick to sites that are free to read?

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This article, Google to start offering micropayments powered by Google Wallet , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Android and Me

Android and Me


7 things you should know about pre-paid smartphone service before you switch

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:25 PM PDT

It is no secret that I despise carrier contracts and locked Android devices. As Amazon puts it, “A locked cell phone benefits only the carrier by keeping a customer using their service. Unlocked phones give consumers more control of plans, pricing, and services and make carriers work for...

Visit our site to read the full article.


Android and Apple roundup: Motorola drops patent lawsuit, SIII display outdoes iPhone 5′s, and more

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 02:40 PM PDT

There’s no denying the relationship Android and Apple have together. They’re each other’s biggest competition. Constantly at each other’s throats, the target of lawsuits and ad campaigns. As such, there’s bound to be news stories that directly involve the two going...

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Deutsche Telekom said to merge T-Mobile with MetroPCS

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 09:50 AM PDT

T-Mobile is gearing up to become a real challenger to the larger wireless carriers in the US. They just announced a new CEO, sold some tower rights to raise $2.4 billion, and now Bloomberg is reporting their parent company Deutsche Telekom is making a move to acquire MetroPCS. The transaction is...

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Nest unveils new thermostat, upgrades software to 3.0, releases Android tablet app

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 09:06 AM PDT

Today Nest announced they have refined the design of their Learning Thermostat with a new version that is 20% thinner. The 2nd generation Nest Learning Thermostat is compatible with 95% of low voltage heating and cooling systems, including 2nd stage cooling, 3rd stage heating, dual fuel, emergency...

Visit our site to read the full article.


AT&T announces two more exclusives from HTC, One X+ and One VX

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Today AT&T announced they would be the exclusive US carriers of the HTC One X+ and HTC One VX, crushing the hopes of T-Mobile customers who were waiting for the device. We spotted the HTC One X+ with T-Mobile branding, but it appears it was cancelled after AT&T made a deal to confine it...

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