Monday, March 18, 2013

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HTC One is definitely not coming to Verizon

Posted: 17 Mar 2013 09:48 AM PDT

HTC-One-official

Ah, the HTC One. That amazing new device that’s going to spearhead HTC’s 2013 assault on Samsung. The device that supposedly will be getting nearly every major carrier on board with its launch to guarantee success. Well, every carrier except the biggest carrier in the US.

We’d heard some iffy rumors about Verizon receiving the HTC One a month after its launch on other US carriers, but according to a tweet directly from HTC’s twitter page, you should be looking at the Droid DNA instead. While the DNA is a fantastic phone, (and possibly even better than the One if you absolutely want a bigger screen) it’s a bit disappointing to see HTC fail to get Verizon on board with this. And while we know for certain there’s some kind of Droid DNA+ waiting to be unleashed on the world, you can’t help but think that having your flagship device unavailable on a carrier like Verizon is going to hurt HTC in the long run against phones like the S 4 or iPhone, which have identical phones available on all US carriers.

Maybe in the next few months we’ll see Verizon change their mind and offer the One. Better late than never, right? Any Verizon customers disappointed about this news, or are you happy with the 5-inch Droid DNA?

source: Twitter


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Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Confirmed for Galaxy S 4 in Select Regions

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:06 PM PDT

Qualcomm_Snapdragon_600_800_Series_CES_2013

Well Galaxy S fans, the good news just never stops rolling in concerning Galaxy S 4 specs. Qualcomm has confirmed what we have previously reported, which is the GS 4 will be rolling out with its impressive Snapdragon 600 chip in select regions on April 26. The U.S. is most likely one of those select regions.

This is welcoming news considering some reports indicated the handsets might be shipping with the still impressive, but power hungry, S4 Pro. The 600 does a much better job at handling power consumption than its predecessor, which should make those of you worried about how long the 2,600mAh will last under the GS 4′s numerous software and hardware upgrades very happy. In fact, the 600 will reportedly provide about 40 percent better battery life.

As expected, the international version will get the Exynos 5 Octa, which is built on ARM’s “big LITTLE” architecture and consists of four powerful Cortex-A15 CPUs matched by four power efficient Cortex-A7 chips.

At least we can all take comfort in the fact that Samsung is working hard to ensure the best battery-to-usage ratio possible for its S 4 users. This will be welcomed news for users that were left very disappointed by the short battery life of their stock GSIIIs. Samsung is leading the way with its hardware and software innovations, and are backing it up by developing the integrated power to handle anything you can throw at it.

Source: Qualcomm


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Netflix Rival Redbox Instant Launches In The US

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:23 AM PDT

Redbox Instant

Redbox, in partnership with Verizon, has been gearing up its Instant service and finally launched today in the US. For $8 per month, customers can get unlimited movie streaming and four one-night DVD rentals every month. Redbox and Verizon announced a joint venture to launch Instant back in February of 2012. Users will be able to stream content via iOS, Android, Xbox 360, Samsung connected TVs or Blu-ray players, and Mac or PC. Redbox Instant does have some catching up to do in terms of streaming titles. Major competitor Netflix currently has around 14,000 streamable titles available in the US while Redbox Instant only has around 4,600 titles. However, Instant’s four one-night DVD rentals included in the $8 monthly subscription, may be enough to attract people.

Source: Redbox Instant by Verizon


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March Madness Live app will let you stream any game as long as you have a paid TV subscription

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 10:17 AM PDT

march-madness-app-2013

If you love March Madness then we have some good news for you. This year’s March Madness Live app will be available for your Android devices and is completely free to download. The catch here is that any games broadcasted on cable networks will require you to login using the credentials for your cable or satellite provider’s subscription service. Any other games aired on CBS will be streamed for free using the app or on the web. According to the press release, the app has been “redesigned for optimization across platforms” which means we can expect a good looking app for our tablets as well as our smartphones. March Madness kicks off on Selection Sunday, March 17th, and the first games begin on March 19th, so be sure to look for the app in the Google Play store soon.

NCAA March Madness Live® to Offer Fans an Unprecedented Multi-Screen Viewing Experience for the 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship

NCAA March Madness Live® App Available in App Store and Google Play in March

NCAA March Madness Live® will provide college basketball fans with unparalleled multi-screen digital access to the 2013 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Produced by Turner Sports, NCAA March Madness Live® will offer free streaming across all devices to pay TV subscribers throughout the tournament and is designed to be either a primary or companion viewing experience available to fans across a collection of screens including online, mobile and tablet. NCAA March Madness Live® will feature social and interactive components to provide portable access to the tournament and – in partnership between the NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports – will launch from www.ncaa.com/marchmadness, www.CBSSports.com and www.bleacherreport.com, along with Google Play and the App Store beginning in March.

NCAA March Madness Live® will provide an unlimited viewing experience throughout Turner Sports and CBS Sports’ coverage of the entire tournament. Fans will have access to all games on TNT, TBS and truTV on the digital device of their choice, by logging in with their TV service provider information, and all games broadcast on CBS with no registration required. As an added feature, NCAA March Madness Live® will offer a preview option that allows up to four hours of live game streaming that does not require viewer registration.

For the third consecutive year, all 67 games of the tournament will again be available live on TV in their entirety across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.

“Whether viewing on a big-screen TV or a computer, tablet, or smart phone, fans can enjoy the incomparable excitement of March Madness anywhere they are and however they choose,” said Matthew Hong, senior vice president and general manager of operations, for Turner Sports. “With Turner’s commitment to TV Everywhere, passionate fans can use NCAA March Madness Live® as either a first- or second-screen interactive experience to enjoy all 67 tournament games.”

“NCAA March Madness Live® provides our membership and fan bases with the most up to date coverage of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship so everyone can catch all of the action at any time and from any place,” said Keith Martin, managing director of championships and alliances. “We’re in an age now where fans want access to games simultaneously and they want to chat about what they’ve seen. NCAA March Madness Live® is a great resource for fans who want to keep up with the games while they are at an arena, at home or from any location.”

This year’s NCAA March Madness Live® product offers several enhancements including:

Redesigned for optimization across platforms – With improved navigation, NCAA March Madness Live® will have a completely new look and feel while also providing users with the same levels of access and a consistent user experience across all devices
Available on new devices – NCAA March Madness Live® will be available on more devices than ever before including smart phones and tablets with the Android 4.0+ operating system, the iPhone 5 and iPad mini
Capital One NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge – The official bracket game of March Madness includes new designs and feature enhancements on smart phones and tablets, along with expanded social functionality across all devices allowing fans to join groups, share brackets and chat with friends and other passionate fans via Facebook
Coke Zero NCAA March Madness Social Arena – A forum to extend the conversation surrounding all of the games within NCAA March Madness Live® products, fans can follow game and tournament tweets, participate in fan chats, watch the games and keep a pulse on all the key moments of every game via the Coke Zero NCAA March Madness Social Arena. Fans can participate in the social commentary by using the hashtag #marchmadness
Additionally, NCAA March Madness Live® will once again provide video highlights, full game replays and real-time game alerts, as well as fan-favorite features, including live game scoring, real-time tournament brackets, personal channel lineup features, live stats, live social companion views and the return of the “Boss Button.” Fans will have direct access to live radio broadcasts, courtesy of Westwood One/Dial Global Radio Network, for all 67 games across the collection of digital products.
Co-presenting sponsors for NCAA March Madness Live® are NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Capital One and Coke Zero. Additionally, Buick, Capital One and Coke Zero will sponsor the NCAA March Madness Live® iOS app, while AT&T, Infiniti and LG Electronics USA will sponsor the Android app.

About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions-AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola-and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners-Allstate, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Enterprise, Infiniti, LG Electronics USA, Lowe’s, Nabisco, Northwestern Mutual, Reese’s (Hershey’s), Unilever and UPS.

NCAA, March Madness, Final Four and Final Four Friday are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.


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Real or fake? Image of possible LG Nexus 5 surfaces

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:03 AM PDT

lg_nexus_5_prototype_leak

It is always fun to play the real or fake game when it comes to leaked images of Android devices, especially when the image may be the first one to surface. So muster up your skepticism and consider the image above that purports to be a prototype of an LG Nexus 5. The anonymous source of the image claims this particular LG device is one of several that Google is considering for their next Nexus smartphone. The source also provided a list of specs and hardware for the device, codenamed “Megalodon”:

  • 5.2″ OLED Display with 1920×1080 resolution
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @ 2.3 GHz
  • 3GB LPDDR3 Ram
  • 16/32/64GB of internal storage
  • 16MP rear camera by OmniVision (4k video recording @30FPS, 1080p video recording @60FPS, Real Time HDR & HDR video recording, optical image stabilization, BSI 2.0)
  • 2.1MP front camera (1080p video recording @30FPS)
  • 3300 mAh Lithium Polymer battery
  • Front positioned stereo speakers
  • Qualcomm RF360 (LTE 150 Mbps & HSPA+)
  • Integrated DVB-T / ATSC-antenna
  • Gesture like controls (navigation, zoom, etc)

Readers may note that a few of the items are not even on the market yet, like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor or their RF360 chip. According to the source, the new device will be released in October 2013, so it is conceivable some of this hardware could be part of the new device.

What do you think? Is this legit or a case of someone trying to hoax the Internet?

source: Android and Me


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Sprint 4G LTE test detected in Durham, North Carolina

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 07:18 AM PDT

sprint-4g-lte_logo

Much like an incident that occurred last fall in San Jose for another TalkAndroid writer, Ed Caggiani, I happened to be travelling in a part of Durham I don’t normally visit when I came across some Sprint 4G LTE coverage. After grabbing some grub in a convenience store, I went to check my email while in the parking lot when I noticed the 4G indicator was lit up on my Galaxy Note II. Hit the break to read more about what it was like to have 4G LTE for a few minutes.

sprint_4g_speedtest

Life always seems to be about compromises and Sprint customers are well aware of that. They get nice unlimited data plans, but the Sprint 4G LTE network is definitely not on par with the other major carriers. At one time Sprint may have been ahead of the curve with their 4G WiMAX network only to find themselves on the wrong side of the fence as 4G technologies shook out and LTE emerged as the preferred platform. I can understand why having owned an HTC EVO 4G. When connected, the service was nice but tended to be hard to find and prone to dropping in and out if the signal was the least bit weak.

While Sprint plays catch-up in deploying a nationwide 4G LTE network, users eager for the service may find themselves searching for any little hint or sign that it is coming to their area soon. When I visited the Sprint store at the end of December to grab my new Note II, the sales guy mentioned to me that he thought 4G was coming to the area in February or March. I’m not one to think the sales associate in a local Sprint store has access to Sprint’s project timelines for 4G coverage, but I still couldn’t help thinking silently to myself, “Yes!” Through my other job, I also know Sprint is overhauling the infrastructure in the area, including getting rid of the Nextel assets, as we have been dealing with problems from that project.

This latest incident is another example that keeps me hopeful that it will not be too long before I have 4G LTE service available and can really take advantage of my smartphone hardware. According to Sprint’s web site, the central area of North Carolina isn’t even an available option in their dropdown list to check for when coverage may be coming, which I always thought odd given all the tech companies in the Raleigh-Durham area. Sprint has also posted on their community pages this disclaimer:

“We’re working on expanding the LTE coverage, but during the build out stages customers may pick up LTE signals, but it may not be reliable at times because it is still under the beta testing stages. However; customers are welcome to use it during this time.”

sprint_4g_speedtest_results

Clearly Sprint is working on upgrades in the area and I happened to find a spot with some access. After noting the 4G icon, I quickly launched the SpeedTest.net app to check out the speed. As you can see in the results, about 8.5 Mb/s down and 1.5 Mb/s up is not going to win any speed competitions from what I have seen. Nevertheless, it is still way superior to the 3G coverage I normally deal with in the area. I then fired up some apps like Google+, Facebook and Tweetings to see what the experience was like. My impression was one of being on a WiFi network. Everything loaded so fast. Part of that is likely due to the much decreased latency. When I’ve tested my 3G connection, I find latency to be in the 800+ ms range. On 4G, latency was sub-100 ms. I also felt like it was faster than the old WiMAX 4G service, though part of that difference could be the capabilities of the devices as well.

Having drunk a sip from the well, my thirst for 4G LTE is even more intense. For those readers waiting for 4G LTE coverage, whether on Sprint or some other carrier, I think you will be pleased when you finally get it.

If you have spotted some 4G LTE coverage where it is not officially available yet, let us know and share your story.


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