Thursday, January 31, 2013

HTC EVO 4G LTE Receives OTA Update To 3.16.651.3


The HTC EVO 4G LTE is receiving an OTA update to 3.16.651.3. Which bring's some much needed bug fixes and other improvements to the device.

Weighing in at 44MB, users are reporting improvements to the proximity sensor, fixes to the camera shutter sound, and improved voice mail.

Here is the official changelog, as listed on the Sprint Community Forum:


  • Proximity sensor improvements while on a call or listening to voicemail
  • Ability to output audio/video to HDTV (and other external displays via MHL cable
  • WiFi Connection improvements
  • Bluetooth compatibility improvements
  • Android process/application shutdown resolved



Google’s Project Glass Awaiting FCC Approval



The publication of these documents don’t tell us anything that we haven’t already known or assumed. We do know that WiFi 802.11b/g will be on board and Bluetooth 4.0 will be an alternate wireless data option, but that’s about it right now. The bone-conduction technology we heard about in a recent patent filing does seem to be on board, as well. We’re glad to see that this wasn't just a concept Google was dreaming up.

It seems the paperwork was filed a couple of months ago, so it’s obvious Google requested a temporary hold to make sure one of us know what it was up to. Once this device makes its way through all of the necessary steps for approval Google will be able to legally distribute the devices in the United States. Of course, the only folks getting their hands on these glasses anytime soon are the developers who pre-ordered the early preview units at last year’s Google I/O.

Phandroid plopped cash down for three of those if you don’t remember, though we’re still in the dark in regards to the arrival date. We’ll be waiting patiently for those details to roll in, but in the meantime we’re just happy to know that the device does look to be on track to be in the public’s hands in one way or another at some point this year.


Source: FCC

BlackBerry Announces BlackBerry 10 And New Devices


The Z10 is BlackBerry’s all-touch device featuring a 4.2-inch display with a 1280×768 resolution, equaling a pixel density of 356ppi. The phone carries a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU with 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, and 16GB or 32GB storage options. The Q10 has similar internal hardware, but features a full QWERTY keyboard and 3.1-inch display at 330ppi.

For BB10′s flagship handsets, the hardware seems a little light when compared to the latest Android devices. But BlackBerry is hoping to succeed not on hardware alone, but also on through their brand new software platform, which reinvents the BlackBerry ecosystem for the touchscreen era.

A new emphasis has been placed on multi-tasking via “BlackBerry Flow,” a system not unlike Android 4.x’s multi-tasking application launcher, and integration with social networks and other communications platforms looks to create a more robust experience while recapturing BlackBerry’s position as the leader in mobile messaging. Apps also look to play a bigger role than ever in the BlackBerry experience.

It’s a bold move forward for BlackBerry, but at first glance we still wonder if they have done enough. The new OS looks slick and contains some intriguing functionality, but nothing that transcends what we have seen from other mobile platforms. Same goes for the hardware. In short, this could be BB’s last hurrah. Android certainly shouldn’t feel threatened.


Source: Phandroid

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Android 4.2.1 update Live For Sprint’s Galaxy Nexus


Sprint has begun pushing the Android 4.2.1 update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, bringing the Ice Cream Sandwich flagship phone to the latest version of Jelly Bean. Major changes include an overhauled camera interface with Photo Sphere feature, a retooled notifications shade with quick settings, and lockscreen widgets.

The update brings the phone’s software version to L700GA02 and will rollout to all users over the coming weeks. Sprint says all users should have the update within 21 days.


Source: Sprint

Sunday, January 27, 2013

How Siri Almost Became An Android Exclusive For Verizon




Details on the the history of Siri, including Steve Jobs' move to contact the company just three weeks after the independent app's launch, have surfaced over the last several years, but The Huffington Post has now published an extensive history of the technology and company that reveals a few other interesting details. 

The report outlines how Siri grew out of a Department of Defense project to integrate with 42 different web services to perform its virtual assistant services, many of which were discontinued when Apple scaled back the platform for inclusion in iOS. Apple has been relatively slow to build Siri's feature set back up, but has been making progress on the effort. 

Perhaps most interestingly, the report reveals that Siri was very nearly an Android exclusive for Verizon, but the deal was obviously broken when Steve Jobs and Apple moved quickly to acquire Siri.

In the fall of 2009, several months before Apple approached Siri, Verizon had signed a deal with the startup to make Siri a default app on all Android phones set to launch in the new year. When Apple swooped in to buy Siri, it insisted on making the assistant exclusive to Apple devices, and nixed the Verizon deal. In the process, it narrowly avoided seeing Siri become a selling point for smartphones powered by its biggest rival, Google. (Somewhere in the vaults of the wireless giant, there are unreleased commercials touting Siri as an Android add-on.)
The report goes on to discuss some of the challenges faced by Siri at Apple, including difficulties in negotiating partnerships with content providers, Apple's emphasis on broadening access to other countries and languages over pushing the technology forward for a smaller subset of users, and corporate politics that have resulted in the loss of some of Siri's biggest advocates at Apple. 

Siri is also facing strong competition from the Android platform of which it was almost a part. Google has moved quickly to develop its own virtual assistant capabilities in the form of Google Now, and many are looking for Apple to step up the pace of improvement with Siri in order to reestablish it in users' minds as a key advantage for Apple as it was touted at its 2011 launch on the iPhone 4S.


Source: MacRumors

Apple Seeds iOS 6.1 Beta 5 To Developers

 


Apple today pushed out the fifth beta of iOS 6.1 to developers. The release comes just two days before the fourth beta, which was seeded on December 17, is scheduled to expire.

No public release time frame for iOS 6.1 is known yet, but registered developers can download the latest beta via Apple's Developer page.



Apple Developer page link


Source: Apple Developer page

Could We See A 128GB iOS Device Soon

Could we see a 128GB iOS device soon?  New iOS 6.1 Beta code indicates�maybe?

iOS 6.1 Beta 5 was released to developers yesterday and there is a reference to 128GB capacity devices in the SystemPartitionPadding key in the release manifest. This reference has apparently been absent from previous releases, so perhaps it is an indicator of things to come.

However, this is not conclusive in any way, shape or form. There have been hints in the past, and as we mentioned, we have not seen any devices or specs even approaching the subject. Having written that, seeing a 128GB iOS device seems highly unlikely to us, at least as far as the iPhone is concerned. 

Given the premium price-point of the iPhone, based on current pricing schemes, a subsidized 128GB iPhone would cost $500 and would list full retail for about $950. We do not expect that market research would return a favorable impression to that prospect.


Source: MacRumors

Amazon Buys Speech Recognition Firm Ivona


Amazon on Thursday announced it is buying Ivona, a firm specializing in text-to-speech technology.
The Poland-based Ivona's technology verbalizes written text messages. Amazon has been using Ivona's technology for its Kindle e-readers since 2009. Ivona also supplies "Explore By Touch" and "Voice Guide" navigation for Kindle Fire models. Explore By Touch gives readers an auditory cue when they swipe their fingers across the Kindle Fire's menu (for instance, the title of a book would be read aloud if it was swiped.) In Voice Guide, any action the customer performs on the device is read aloud. In Amazon's example, when you open a new book, it would say "The Hunger Games. Book opened." Both features are aimed at vision-impaired customers.
While the technology appears to be the exact opposite of Apple's Siri, Amazon's purchase might signal increased hands-free features that could be employed on a rumored Amazon phone.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Source: Mashables

Sprint Is Giving Away $25 Per Referral Up to $500 A Year

Sprint Refer-a-Friend

Remember, for every qualified referral you can get a $25 American Express Reward Card; the more qualified referrals you make, the more you’re rewarded up to as much as $500 per year!



Sprint Referral Rewards website
Sprint Referral Link

Google Holding Glass Foundry Attendees To Strict NDA


project glass2
Google announced they would be holding a Google Glass Foundry event, where developers could get early access to Google Glass and the development platform that surrounds it.
To the public’s disappointment, Google has informed attendees that they will be held under a strict NDA (non-disclosure agreement), and asked not to share any information they learn during the two day event. 
According to one translation of the NDA, it sounds like developers will be able to take their Google Glass prototypes home with them though after the event, so maybe we can expect to see some leaks anyways. But companies like Google do not mess around with this type of stuff. If they don’t want information going out, they will stop at nothing to keep it that way.


Source: Mashable

CyanogeonMod Introduces Chronus Clock Widget


cm10 chronus
The CyanogenMod team introduced their next big thing, called Chronus. This has to be one of my most favorite apps I've ever downloaded or used. It’s a clock widget that resembles the new clock included in Android 4.2, only the CM team turned it up a notch by including weather and calendar options. It works on both lock and home screens, has numerous features, and will come packed inside CM nightlies starting immediately.

If your not use CM 10.1, well the XDA team has you covered. The XDA team has an apk available for download by following the link below. 

I have tried to install this on non 4.2 devices, with no luck. I also have installed this on my stock Nexus 7, and the apk installs and works without a hitch.
 Leave your comments, let us know what you think.


Chronus Download link


Source: XDA Developers

ZTE Aspect Lands On T-Mobile



T-Mobile USA recently began selling the ZTE Aspect, an entry-level monoblock QWERTY device for messaging, on its web site. The Aspect features a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and support for microSD memory cards. The Aspect, which is sold by AT&T as the Z431, runs a proprietary operating system and offers basic messaging and calling functions. The ZTE Aspect costs $69.99 and does not require a contract. It is compatible with T-Mobile's prepaid monthly service.


Source: Phone Scoop

Unlocking Your Phone Is Now Illegal In The U.S.


Yesterday 01/26/13 was marked a day in history, unlocking your phone has become illegal. As harsh as it seems, anyone who unlocks his or her handset in the U.S. without written consent from his or her carrier, could face civil or even criminal action. At most, you could face a $2,500 fine if you unlock your handset merely to use another carrier. For example, there are nearly 2 million Apple iPhone users who have unlocked their phone, and use T-Mobile's unlimited service. If you unlock phones for profit because you're, say, a cellphone re-seller then it is a whole other ballgame and you could face a half a million dollars in fines and some prison time.

So what happened to make doing something to your own personal property against the law? The Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office no longer give cellphones an exemption under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The intent of the law was to prevent infringement of copyrights, not to specifically ban the unlocking of your new smartphone. For most people, the change won't make any difference because the majority of mobile phone users don't unlock their handset.

If your phone was unlocked prior to this weekend, don't keep staring at the door waiting for the cops to come bursting in as you are grandfathered in. Besides, no one really expects the carriers to go after their own customers anyway. Despite that, at least one attorney recommends not to unlock that new handset you just bought. 


Brad Shear, an attorney who is an expert on social media says, "I don't see carriers going aggressively after people, but bottom line is that I would not recommend violating this provision of the law."

Sound off, leave a comment and let us know what you think. Will this affect you? Are people blowing this out of proportion? 


Source: Yahoo News

Friday, January 25, 2013

AT&T To Purchase $1.9 Billion Of 700MHz Spectrum From Verizon


AT&T plans on paying rival mobile operator Verizon $1.9 billion for  licenses covering spectrum in the 700MHz B band in 18 states. The spectrum to be purchased covers 42 million people living in California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

Together with 700MHz B band spectrum already owned by AT&T, the carrier hopes to finish building out its 4G LTE service. The nation's second largest carrier has a goal in place to blanket 300 million people with its 4G LTE service by the end of 2014. As part of the transaction with Verizon, AT&T will sell a single AWS license to Grain Management while leasing 700MHz spectrum from them in three markets.

The entire deal requires regulatory approval, which means someone in the U.S. government is getting a nice lunch. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.



Source: AT&T

Thursday, January 24, 2013

LMT Launcher Brings PIE Without The Custom ROM


LMT Launcher
If you have been following our coverage of Paranoid Android ROM’s PIE and full desktop features, then we also wanted to direct you to an app with similar qualities that can be installed outside of a ROM. It’s called LMT Launcher, and it has been around for quite some time – November 2011 to be exact. It received a pretty major update today, though, so we wanted to make sure you were all aware of it. Its set of features is quite close to the PIE from PA’s ROM that we showed you, but only requires that you be rooted in order to use it. So for those of you looking for PIE goodness while remaining stock, this is an option. 
In the video below, I summarize the launcher in the briefest of manners. It’s one of those apps that you could probably spend a couple of hours with, tweaking and testing, until you find a setup that you like. But the basics are this – it allows you to setup regions to swipe from to access the PIE menu (pictured above), use gestures for completing actions, and set invisible swipe areas so that you can perform tasks from anywhere. There are custom color options, buttons that can be turned to actions in the PIE menu, and so much more.
If this sounds interesting enough, and it should since it received a sizable update this morning, then check out the video before jumping through to the XDA thread down below.

Embedded Video Tweeting Service Launches For iOS


Twitter's new video tweeting feature was unveiled courtesy of a tweet from CEO Dick Costolo. With the bird out of the bag, Vine's just made its way to iOS, so those with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch looking for the video equivalent to 140 characters can pick it up for free now, courtesy of the App Store.

Apple App Store link


Source: Twitter

Siri, Almost A Verizon Droid Android Exclusive


The Huffington Post is running a story covering the past, present and future of Siri, sharing some interesting facts on the AI personality, including one that’s particularly relevant to Android users. According to the Huffington Post, before Apple absorbed the company behind Siri, Verizon had reached a deal to make the virtual assistant a Droid exclusive. In other words, Siri was originally destined for Android. Verizon went as far as shooting commercials centered around Siri before the deal was later canceled.
If Apple had never bought Siri, would Google have ever felt compelled to release Google Now? Would Siri have been a multi-platform virtual assistant, lost among the Evas, Robins, Jennies, Hals and S-Voices of the world? We’ll never know the answer to those questions, and it’s all for the best. Much like the platforms they run on, Siri and Google Now push each other to become better products. Google Now may trump Siri in terms of usefulness and functionality right now, but it may not always be that way. Who know what the future of smartphone interaction holds? I can tell you one thing, it doesn't hold the Verizon Motorola Droid 7 with Siri+. Right now, it feels like Android users really dodged the bullet on that one.

It May Become Illegal To Unlock Your Cell Phone

Do you all remember that ruckus that happened over whether or not it was illegal to jailbreak your mobile device? Well, that whole fiasco is poised to come back in a bad way this weekend. As part of that decision, it may become illegal to unlock your smartphone starting this Saturday, January 26th, unless you get permission from your carrier.

This all goes back to the decision by the U.S. Copyright Office, which decided back in October that it was legal to jailbreak your mobile device under an exemption in the DMCA. Unfortunately, that exemption was only extended for 90 days when it came to unlocking a device that you purchase from a carrier, and that 90 days ends on Saturday. 

To be clear, this will make it illegal to unlock carrier-locked devices without permission from your carrier. This doesn't apply to devices that start out unlocked like many Verizon LTE devices, like the Verizon iPhone 5, and the Verizon HTC Windows Phone 8X, or T-Mobile devices like the Nexus 4. And, of course, unlocking and jailbreaking will still void your warranty. 

Apparently, according to the U.S. Copyright Office, jailbreaking and rooting are legal because the DMCA exemption means that users own the software on the device, and are allowed to jailbreak/root.  But following that logic, as of Saturday, we don't own the hardware that we purchase from carriers, so unlocking becomes illegal.


Lenovo Could Buy RIM



If you thought the rumors and stories about RIM getting bought were over, think again. New information has come to light that Lenovo is looking into acquisitions and strategic alliances to boost their mobile business, and Research in Motion is one of their options. As one of the largest PC producers, Lenovo now wants in the mobile market and to do so they need to buy or get new partners.
“We are looking at all opportunities RIM and many others,” said Chief Financial Officer Wong Wai Ming “We’ll have no hesitation if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders.”

Lenovo says RIM’s stock have gone up this year, all due to the BlackBerry 10 OS that will be announced this January 30th. Though Lenovo has confirmed they are looking into RIM, BlackBerry maker has declined to comment on this matter.

What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments below!


Source: Bloomberg


+BlackBerry 
+Lenovo 

Samsung Extends Free Galaxy S3 And Note 2 Flip Covers Promo



A few weeks ago, we told you guys about a Samsung promotion of sorts taking place on the manufacturer’s US Facebook page. They promo had customers with either the Samsung Galaxy S3 or Samsung Galaxy Note 2 register their devices with Samsung in exchange for a special care package. Inside, Samsung packed a free Flip Cover (a $40 value) in the color of your choice, as well as a handful of TecTiles to place about the home, office, or car. The promotion didn't last long, and many were left high and dry once word spread throughout the Internets.

For those of you that did go through the trouble of registering, but weren’t quick enough to nab your free goodies, you might want to check your email inbox (or spam box). Looks like Good Guy Samsung is honoring their promotion yet again with a 2nd wave of care packages being sent out to already registered users. While we’re not sure if registering now will do you any good, it certainly can’t hurt, can it? 

For those that nabbed the deal the first time around, you should check your mail as we’ve been getting numerous reports of the first round of Flip Cover and TecTiles already landing on doorsteps.


Temple Run 2 Now Available From Google Play



The follow up to the highly successful original, Temple Run 2 is not available for download from the Google Play Store, free of charge.

If you don’t count yourself among the over 170 million who have played the first game, the concept is as simple as the name makes it sound. You are in control of an Indiana Jones-esque adventurer who must outrun ancient beasts, avoid obstacles, fly down zip lines, and more as you quest for hidden treasures.

Temple Run 2 features updated graphics, a selection of new power ups  and plenty of new environments and obstacles to keep you on your toes. Available for only a few hours, its downloads already number in the thousands. Head on over to the Play Store to get it now.



Source: Google Play

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Spotted In The Wild


Android Central
We have what might be our first proper glimpse of the tablet itself out in the wild -- and it's packing a few surprises. In spy shots obtained by Italian outlet DDAY.it, we see an unknown Samsung tablet sporting a curved chassis similar to the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 -- a far cry from earlier Samsung tablet designs. The size of the tablet, and the "S Pen" holder shown in the bottom right in the pic above, would seem to confirm this as the Galaxy Note 8.0.
More surprising still is Samsung's apparent decision to eschew on-screen buttons in favor of a traditional menu, home and back setup. It's a break from usual Android tablet designs, though it could be argued that changes to Android's action bar in version 4.2 mean that on-screen controls are less important than they were back in the Honeycomb days.
We should also consider the possibility that this might not be the final Note 8.0 design. In the past, Samsung has craftily put out several pre-release versions of devices (like the Galaxy S3) in the hope of keeping the final design secret. Regardless, it's in Samsung's best interest, branding-wise, to make the Note 8.0 visually close to its smartphone line-up, and this kind of design certainly achieves that.
Previous rumors have the Galaxy Note 8.0 debuting at Mobile World Congress in late February ahead of a March launch. Reported specs include an 8-inch 1280x800 display, a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad CPU, 2GB of RAM and TouchWiz'd Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We'll be live in Barcelona next month to bring you full coverage of the Note 8.0 as it's announced.

Source: DDay.it

Google Builds New Experimental Wireless Network


Earlier this month, Google filed paperwork with the FCC to build a secret LTE wireless network on its Mountain View campus in California, which covers a radius of about two miles. The network will consist of 50 base stations, operating in the 2.5GHz frequency band – the same spectrum that Clearwire uses. Up to 200 “user devices” will initially be allowed on this network.
Obviously, this puts a whole new spin on rumors that have been swirling around for a long time concerning a possible Google foray into wireless service. What’s interesting about this latest finding, though, is that it appears Google might be partnering with Clearwire, since it’s using spectrum that almost no other carrier in the world has. It is highly unlikely that Google would be building devices that use this specific and obscure spectrum, unless Google was planning on doing something big with it.
A Google Clearwire partnership might also throw a huge kink into Sprint’s plans to acquire a 100% stake in Clearwire. However, at the same time, Dish did outbid Sprint, and Dish and Google were said to be in talks about a possible partnership. Could this latest FCC filing be a sign of things starting to fall in place for Google’s potential new wireless service?

Source: Pocketables

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Checkout The New 'The Phone Ninja" Google+ Communities Page


Here at "The Phone Ninja" we are excited to our new Google+ Communities page. We plan to expand on more elaborate topics, get readers feedback, comments, and just have some tech fun. Please be sure and add "The Phone Ninja" Google+ Communities page to Google+ and tell your friends. 

Google+ Communities page link

Motorola X Phone Said To Be Headed For All Carriers


We haven’t heard much about the Motorola X Phone other than it was supposed to be a high-end beast of a phone with Google’s heavy influence injected. It wasn't necessarily said to be a Nexus phone, though early details would have anyone believing that’s exactly what it could become. Well, a new set of rumors have popped up.

According to information posted by a supposed trusted member of the community, which independent sources of Droid-Life’s seem to corroborate, the Motorola X Phone will be announced at Google I/O this may and all carriers will sell the device. An early July release date is said to be targeted, but things could obviously change between now and then.

The device won’t be marketed as a part of the Nexus line, and that unfortunately means Google won’t be guaranteeing updates straight from Mountain View as opposed to carrier-delivered upgrades. We imagine folks would still get timely upgrades for the most part, but as we learned with the Galaxy Nexus debacle nothing is promised.

The rumors state you will have to pay Verizon $15 per month if you buy the device and get it unlocked through them, but if you buy it through the Play Store you’ll get it unlocked with no fee to speak of. Staying on the topic of Verizon, it’s assumed their version will cost $300. It sounds like carriers can price the device according to their own tastes so it might not be the same for the likes of Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Carriers will be permitted to install bloatware on the X Phone, but users can choose to remove any of it after they unlock the phone. This is an action that typically requires root so we’re glad to hear that we probably won’t need to wait for the community to enable us with that functionality.

As excited as you might get reading this, keep in mind that these rumors although mouth-watering in some aspects and delivered by seemingly trustworthy messengers are still to be treated as if they’re completely unsubstantiated. We don’t want people getting their hopes up only to be crushed in the event that none of this solidifies, so take it with a grain of salt and treat it as little more than a wishlist until we can gather up some more evidence.


Source:Phandroid

Atlantic Tele-Network to Sell Alltel Business To AT&T For $780M


Alltel's retail shops, 585,000 customers and the chunks of the 700MHz, 900MHz and 1900MHz bands it operates will soon be part of the AT&T family. Pending an FCC review, of course. This morning the former Ma Bell announced that it would be purchasing the American assets of Atlantic Tele-Network, which uses the Alltel brand here in the US, for $780 million. While the additional customer revenue will surely be welcome, it's clear that AT&T is primarily after the spectrum here, which it calls "largely complimentary" to its current holdings. The smaller carrier is particularly popular in the rural areas of Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina places that the nation's second largest mobile network could use a boost in.
Besides regulatory approval, which shouldn't prove to be a major obstacle, the company also faces challenges integrating Alltel's existing infrastructure with its own. Currently the smaller carrier operates a CDMA network on its frequency bands, which must be retooled to work with AT&T's GSM, HSPA and LTE technologies. Customers will also need to be migrated from their current handsets to AT&T compatible ones. So, while rural customers could see a significant improvement in coverage, we wouldn't expect the deal to bear fruit immediately. 

For The Love Of God, I Can Not Find A Use For Evernote


Note taking and keeping is a massive part of my life as a student. It’s been like that for many years, which is why I've had an Evernote account since 2008. For four and a half years I've had that account, and for four and a half years I've tried to find an actual use for the app/service that everyone on the internet is going nuts for. And, for four and a half years, I've completely failed to do so.
Evernote has built a huge name for itself as the go-to note service. That has lead to support for it being integrated in all sorts of apps, along with other big names like Dropbox. Evernote has apps on most mobile devices- several apps even- and has its own Moleskine physical paper notebook line that works with it. Livescribe even went as far as making the new Sky WiFi-enabled smartpen more or less an Evernote accessory. So many people can’t be wrong about how great the service is, so since notes is such a major part of my life, I occasionally get the urge to sit down and force myself to get into using it. Like I said, this has been going on for four and half years, and I’ve failed every time.
It’s not note creation that most people talk about with Evernote however, it’s storage. The ability to sync between the devices and tie in with other apps seems to be very popular, and I get that. Heck, I’d even consider using it for that myself, if it wasn't for the ridiculous pricing scheme! Instead of operating with online storage, it operates with an upload limit each month. Even if you pay for the “premium” service, this limit is set at 1GB. To me, that is perhaps one of the biggest jokes I’ve ever heard. Just to put things in perspective, the file I worked with before my exam a couple of weeks ago was 696MB. It consisted of 1100 pages worth of highlighted text and text annotations, and I synced it from Goodreader on my iPad to Dropbox up to a couple of times a day in order to have it updated. That’s the sort of documents I work with and annotate. Even if I paid for Evernote, I would break that upload limit by uploading a single file one and a half times. Not that I would get that far, because the upload limit for a single note is 25MB. Dropbox doesn't complain how I upload my files, or how often, as long as I keep within the 100GB limit I have for actual storage. Given that, I’m very happy to pay Dropbox more than I would Evernote, as even though Dropbox isn’t really designed for notes, it’s capable of handling mine, which Evernote isn’t.
At this point I’m sure it sounds like I’m against Evernote, but not really. I get that for many people, Evernote is an amazing service that allows you to remember tiny tidbits of information. All I’m saying is that it’s definitely not for me. After having had an account for four and a half year, I think I’m entitled to point out to anyone who does use Evernote that you should give the alternatives a chance. Evernote might be perfect for you, or you might not even know that there are other options out there. All I know is that after all this time, I’m done trying to find a use for it for me personally.

If anyone can tell me a relevant use for Evernote, my ears are open. Please leave your feedback in the comment section. 

Source: Pocketables

HTC M7 High Resolution Render


htc-m7-watermark
We’ve heard all the rumors, seen blurry cam pictures, begrudgingly posted iffy looking renders, but it looks like we finally have an image which accurately depicts the HTC M7. A tip yesterday afternoon kicked off a frantic expedition which eventually led us to the image you see above.
While the render depicts the HTC M7 (a fact which we reconfirmed with not one, but two of our trusted sources), many of you may find the design of the phone looks strangely familiar. That’s because HTC has chosen to borrow a few of the accents from the HTC 8X for the design of the HTC M7. The placement of the HTC logo and speaker grill on the front of the device, match the blurry image we’ve already seen of the M7 while the icons match the “simple and clean” UI features which were spotted in a previous HTC Sense 5 leak.
It’s impossible to know when the HTC M7 will be officially announced, but we hope HTC’s global launch plans means we’ll be seeing the phone on all major U.S. and international carriers without any cosmetic or name changes.

Source: HTC Source

Saturday, January 19, 2013

HTC Device Passes Through FCC With Sprint Frequencies


A nearly identical model of the HTC One SV has just passed through the FCC sporting Sprint radio frequencies. Although there are no images of the device to completely verify, the model number of this device PL80110 is eerily close to Cricket's PL80120. The specs that are decipherable from the filing lead to a little bit of confusion, however, as the physical dimensions seem slightly different from the current SV. There's also a few documents that list the device as a "Windows Phone," while the rest simply list "Smartphone."
The radio frequencies being tested on this unnamed device seem to line up with what Sprint uses for its network, and no other carriers, so we can be pretty sure that whatever this device is it's heading to Sprint. We of course won't know for sure until we hear something official from HTC or Sprint. 

Source: FCC

Friday, January 18, 2013

Google Pulls The Plug On Nexus Q



The Nexus Q, which has been on ice since Google halted sales of the made-in-the-USA media orb shortly after its Google I/O unveiling, has run its course. Today, the Q’s status in the Google Play store changed from “not for sale at this time” to “no longer available for sale,” spelling an all-but-certain end for the device.

The cancellation shouldn't come as a surprise. Most assumed Google at the very least would overhaul the design, find ways to make it cheaper and then relaunch the Q at a later date. Either that or develop some sort of Nexus TV to replace it. While both of those scenarios could still play out, neither will do so as the Nexus Q we came to know only for a short period of time.

The Nexus Q was announced in June of 2012 and soon went up for pre-order before Google pulled the device, leaving its legacy in the hands of those developers attending the conference. All present were given the Q, and will likely remain the only members of the public to receive the device.

+Nexus 
+Android 



Source: Google Play

Verizon Wireless Prepping For The BlackBerry Z10


Verizon BlackBerry 10
While we've heard plenty from Canadian carriers that are getting set for the BlackBerry Z10, we have yet to see too much from carriers in the US. That all changed today as @evleaks posted up the above screen showing off the BlackBerry Z10 on Verizon's site. It doesn't look like a page is live just yet but it appears to be a typical landing page where you can register for updates on the BlackBerry 10 devices through Verizon.

Source: @evleaks 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Dish Network Seeks To Halt FCC Review Of Sprint-Softbank Deal

Dish Networks today filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission asking it to pause its review of Softbank's proposed equity acquisition of Sprint. Dish wants issues concerning its competitive bid for Clearwire to be resolved first. Last year, Softbank, Japan's second-largest wireless network operator, proposed to purchase a 70% stake in Sprint for about $20 billion. Hoping to simplify terms of the deal, Sprint later proposed to acquire the remainder of Clearwire, in which it already holds a majority stake, for $2.97 per share. Dish Networks threw a wrench into Sprint's plans by making its own bid for Clearwire last week, offering $3.30 per share. According to Dish, "With competing offers for Clearwire in place, premature Commission evaluation of Sprint’s initial offer could undermine the Commission’s policy objective of neutrality in takeover contests by giving SoftBank and Sprint a very real advantage in the corporate valuation process." Dish has been looking for a way to enter the wireless network market for years, and is hoping a deal with Clearwire could make that happen.

+Christopher Hamilton

Nexus 5 Smartphone Rumored For May Debut

Anxious Android fans still can’t manage to get their hands on a Nexus 4, but Google and LG are reportedly already prepping a sequel to the sleek smartphone. A purportedly plugged-in user on Korean language tech forum Ruliweb claims knowledge of Google’s next-generation Nexus smartphone, the LG built Nexus 5. The handset reportedly features a 5 inch full HD display, a quad-core Tegra 4 processor, 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel camera and Android “Key Lime Pie,” the next version of Google’s mobile operating system.

+Nexus 
+Nexus 4 Forum 
+LG USA Mobile 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

MediaFire Launches Application For Android And iOS


mediafire
If you’ve ever downloaded a file or document from the internet, there’s a very good chance you might have come across MediaFire. It’s long been a favorite of desktop users and has now made the jump into the mobile space with applications for iOS and starting today, Android.
The initial release of the MediaFire application basically does exactly what it promises and isn’t loaded with features just yet. Luckily, that also helps the layout look very simple. After logging into your MediaFire account, all of your files will instantly pop up, just as you’d expect it to. From there, you have easy access to share, download, rename, move the file into another folder, and pretty much any other editing feature you’d want, right at your fingertips.
Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect out of the box:
  • Keep all your important files at your fingertips
  • View documents, spreadsheets, presentations, video, and listen to audio
  • Take and upload pictures and videos directly in the MediaFire app
  • Upload Android gallery images
  • Create and manage folders of files
  • Share files on the go via email, SMS, links and through other Android apps
  • Quickly search all your MediaFire files and folders

MediaFire is also offering up 50GB of free cloud storage, so if you’re an avid cloud-sharer, this is an app you don’t want to pass up.
“We are very excited to expand our award-winning online storage and collaboration services to Android users around the world,” said Derek Labian, president and CEO of MediaFire. “2013 will mark a major year for online storage providers, and we plan to bring MediaFire to the forefront of this movement with the launch of several stellar products; stay tuned.”
Version 1 of  MediaFire gets a lot right in terms of features, but we can expect many more to come. Even if you’re already invested in a competing application right now, MediaFire has entered the scene strongly with its mobile debut, and will only get better going forward. MediaFire for Android requires 2.2 and higher, and currently does not support tablets like the Nexus 7.
Hit up the links to grab MediaFire for your iPhone, iPad or Android device!

Facebook Messenger App Brings Free Voice Calling

Facebook Messenger VoIP Calling

Facebook began testing a new and important feature for Canadian iPhone users earlier this month it updated its Messenger application to allow users to make free calls over a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. The feature unearthed new competition between Facebook and rivals Google and Microsoft, both of which operate their own VoIP services. It was assumed at the time that if testing went well up north the company would bring the feature to Europe and the United States, and Facebook confirmed to The Verge on Wednesday that free voice calling is now rolling out to U.S. iPhone users. You can make a free call by selecting a friend’s name in the Facebook Messenger app, then tapping the “i” button and choosing the “Make free call” option.