| T-Mobile's "Zero-Down" summer sale arriving for all devices Jul 26th 2013, 15:03, by Robert Nelson T-Mobile generally has a selection of devices available for zero-down, however a recently announced summer sale is bringing that to all devices. Details coming from the carrier have this being referred to as an “unparalleled promotion” that brings “the upfront price on its entire lineup of devices in stores nationwide to zero dollars down.” Simply put, you can pick any handset in the lineup and not have to make any downpayment. 
This offer will begin on July 27th and can be combined with the JUMP program. The JUMP program was announced at a recent T-Mobile event and basically means that (for a low monthly fee), you will be able to upgrade as often as two-times per year. The one catch is the first upgrade is not available until you have been enrolled in the JUMP program for six months. With that in mind, this means that devices such as the HTC One, Galaxy S 4, Sony Xperia Z and Galaxy Note II can all be picked up with no upfront cost. When combined with the Simple Choice plan you will have those payments spread over 24 months and perhaps more important for some — be able to do all this without having to sign any long term agreement. Under the Simple Choice option you would be looking at monthly payments of $25 per month for the HTC One, Galaxy S 4 and Sony Xperia Z and $27 per month for the Galaxy Note II. But again, this zero-down offer has been extended to all devices in the T-Mobile lineup — including tablets. An example here would be the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 which would set you back $20 per month. Otherwise, those Simple Choice plans begin at $50 per month for a single line. The second line is $30 per month and any additional after that comes at $10 per month. These Simple Choice plans offer unlimited talk, text and data with the first 500MB being high-speed data. In addition, greater amounts of high-speed data can be added with options to get 2GB for $10 per month or simply go unlimited for $20 per month. |  | CyanogenMod Nemesis phase 1 brings details of the Focal camera app Jul 26th 2013, 14:37, by Robert Nelson CyanogenMod began teasing something called “Nemesis” a short while back and it looks like we are now seeing the first details come available. These are arriving as Phase 1 and it deals with the camera app. Specifically, a camera app called Focal that will be coming for CyanogenMod users. 
The good news is that the Focal camera app is in active development. The bad news is that we have yet to see anything suggesting when it will be available for everyone to begin playing with. A select group of users have gotten early access and from what we are seeing, the Focal app will include options for capturing regular images and video as well as a Panorama and Picsphere. The Picsphere option appears to be much the same as Photosphere, just having been renamed. You will also be able to capture images using the front-facing camera and while recording video. Of course, that is just where things begin. There are plenty of other options and settings available. Most of these are what you would expect from a camera app and they include options to adjust the flash settings, white balance, color effects, exposure and more.    There is also a Scene Mode with Auto and HDR as well as more than 15 other options including Best Shot. The Focal app will also have an auto-enhancement mode, however this looks like it will come with some good and bad. The good is that it will be similar to the auto-enhancing feature announced by Google during I/O, but the bad is that it is said to need nearly 6-7 seconds to complete the image after you take it. Users will also be able to adjust the widgets within the app. Basically, this will allow you to customize the icons shown within the option bar. Simply put, this will allow you to get easy access to the features you use most and hide the ones you rarely use. That all being said, Focal remains in beta, however it is expected to be merged into the nightly builds by this weekend. Sadly though, no word on when Focal will arrive for those rocking a stable build. VIA: Geek, AndroidPolice | | MoDaCo.SWITCH public beta arrives for HTC One, unveiled for Galaxy S 4 Jul 26th 2013, 14:04, by Robert Nelson MoDaCo.SWITCH went from an announcement, to private beta and has just been released as a public beta. As we have been watching, this release was for the HTC One and it means users will be able to switch back and forth between the stock Android experience and the Sense UI experience. In addition we are also getting some details on an upcoming release for the Samsung Galaxy S 4. 
Those with an HTC One looking to do some playing will be able to grab the MoDaCo.SWITCH software from the MoDaCo user forums. As far as what you can expect, it was said that there are “a number of beta phases” planned so all the bugs can be found and hopefully fixed. The SWITCH software is based on the European HTC One 2.24 ROM and it was said that S-OFF is recommended. On the flip side, that also means S-OFF is not required. Those looking to get that setup can do so using the ‘revone’ utility. That all being said, the MoDaCo user forums (where the download link is located) also has a detailed set of directions for those looking to get started. As always, we suggest reading and then re-reading those directions to make sure nothing goes wrong in the process. And remember, this is a beta release so there may be some issues that popup. Otherwise, MoDaCo.SWITCH for the Galaxy S 4 is for the model i9505. At the time this is being handled as an Indiegogo project and there are several pledge levels available. And worry not, they are all on the low side. In fact, most levels are below the £10 mark. There is one for £40, however that includes not only early access to the release but also gives you a MoDaCo Gold account and a t-shirt. With the exception of the t-shirt offer, the Galaxy S 4 MoDaCo.SWITCH release is expected to arrive this month. The t-shirt is expected in September. SOURCE: MoDaCo Blog, MoDaCo Forums | | New Nexus 7 arrives with Best Buy a bit ahead of schedule Jul 26th 2013, 13:30, by Robert Nelson Those looking towards the Google Play Store will still see a ‘coming soon’ style listing, however it looks like the Nexus 7 has already begun arriving with one retailer. That retailer is Best Buy and the tablet is available for online purchase as of this morning. Gone is the pre-order button and in the place is a simple add-to-cart button. 
Perhaps more important, the listing for the 16GB and 32GB Nexus 7 are showing a shipping notification that suggests delivery will be soon. The specific wording is as follows; “Usually leaves our warehouse in 1 business day.” Furthermore, we are beginning to see reports suggesting in-store availability has already begun at select retail Best Buy locations. With that in mind, those heading out in hopes of securing a Nexus 7 may want to give their local store a call first. You know, just to double check the inventory situation in an effort to avoid a wasted trip. Otherwise, the pricing is the same as we had seen Google announce earlier in the week — $229.99 for the 16GB model and $269.99 for the 32GB model. 
This refreshed Nexus 7 is arriving with a quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro process, Adreno 320 graphics, 2GB of RAM, 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera and a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera. The tablet is running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and also has goodies such as Qi compatible wireless charging, a SlimPort for video out, NFC, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. While those specs all sound good enough — the key seems to be in the display. This new Nexus 7 has retained the 7-inch display, however the resolution has jumped to 1920 x 1080 and with a ppi of 323. For those curious, that means Google is currently able to tout the Nexus 7 as having the “highest ppi of any tablet on the market.” That all being said, you can check out some of our initial thoughts from the hands-on time we spent with the tablet following the announcement. | |
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