Category: Articles

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Real Person Review: Mrs. GadgetGuy Spends Three Months with the Galaxy S5 on AT&T

For all the tech that travels through our house, my wife tries to steer clear of experimenting too much with her personal kit. Occasionally I can convince her to take a gadget for a test drive. For the last three months she’s been using the Samsung Galaxy S5, and now it’s time for her to share her thoughts.

What was the last phone you used before picking up the Galaxy S5?

I’m a Samsung person. I own the Galaxy S4 Active and before that the S2.

What are some of your favorite things to do with your phone?

I love the RunDouble App.  It’s the Couch to 5K training app.  It auto plays my music (any playlist I want) and will use GPS to track me.  I use my phone as a stop watch. I love using it to control our Chromecast (No more wrestling the remote away from you). I read way too much Reddit on it.

I tend to live out of my phone these days.  I just need it to work. I never want to wonder if an app will work, that it will open quickly and work easily. I don’t have to worry about it being laggy or slow. I use an iPhone for work (full disclosure – it’s an iPhone 4S GASP!), and I’ve always preferred my personal phone to it. Continue reading “Real Person Review: Mrs. GadgetGuy Spends Three Months with the Galaxy S5 on AT&T”

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AT&T Reveals Availability for Moto360, Kyocera DuraForce, Lumia 830, and LG G Watch R

It’s a huge day at AT&T. Big Blue took the wraps off of their release schedule for four huge devices.

Moto360motorola moto 360 smartwatch teaser announced (1)AT&T is becoming one of the better stocked retail outlets for wearable tech, and they were early in embracing smartwatches. Now the Moto360 has an official home at AT&T stores. Starting November 7th, you can get a Moto360 for $199 if you bundle it with the purchase of a Moto X Smartphone.

LG G Watch Rlg_g_watch_r_black_storyI TOTALLY CALLED IT! We have official pricing for LG’s round, premium smartwatch, and it looks like that extra bit of style will run you $299. It’ll be stocked and ready to buy starting November 5th!

Lumia 830Lumia-830_group1Windows Phone fans have probably been feeling a little neglected of late, but AT&T will be the first carrier to bring the Lumia 830 to our shores. The mid-ranger will sell for $449.99 or you can grab it for $99 on two-year contract. If you’re signing up on contract, you can also grab a free FitBit Flex for a limited time.  You can see a brief hands on with the Lumia 830 from my trip out to CTIA!

Kyocera DuraForceduraforce_story
Kyocera is finally leaving their exclusive relationship with CDMA carriers, dropping one phone on T-Mobile, and now the DuraForce on AT&T. It looks like a redesigned version of the Brigadier which launched on Verizon a couple months ago, but there’s no word yet if the DuraForce will also have Kyocera’s incredible sapphire display. It looks like it’ll be AT&T’s most rugged phone however, and you can grab one for $389 or $49 on two-year contract. You can catch our long term review of the Brigadier to whet your appetite!

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Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Hits AT&T Nov. 7 for $199 on 2-Year Contract

samsung_gear_s_image_storypage.jpg.thumb.432.946The Gear S is blurring the lines between wearable and phone. Featuring a curved AMOLED display, 4GB of storage, and a 4G radio, it’s the most connected device we’ll see people strapping to their wrist.

It’s an interesting commentary, introducing products for specific use cases which can act independently of our phones when we need them to, especially targeting the growing fitness market.

AT&T has confirmed that the Gear S will be available November 7th for $199 on a two year contract, and the Gear S should be priced like a mid-range phone for those folks who want to buy one off contract. I’m expecting it to be under $400, but probably not by much. While that might seem “spendy” for a watch, it’s still in the Apple Watch ballpark, and this will be Samsung’s third iteration of the Gear, hopefully bringing continued refinement to the Tizen OS.

You can read AT&T’s press release below for the full scoop. Continue reading “Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Hits AT&T Nov. 7 for $199 on 2-Year Contract”

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Lenovo Expands Yoga Tablet line with 13″ Windows Slate

Convertible Tablet_Yoga Tablet 2 Pro_13_W_Hero_01From smartphones to tablets, the motto this year in mobility? “Bigger is Better”, and now Lenovo is jumping in with a new Windows PC to expand their Yoga Tablet 2 family of products.

The 13″ Yoga features a QHD touchscreen (2560×1440) powered by an Intel Atom Quad-Core processor and 4GB of RAM. The slate features 64GB of storage which can be expanded another 64GB via MicroSD. Happily you’ll also get a Bluetooth keyboard in the box.

That extra screen real estate means you have a bit more room to include some other fun features like stereo speakers, a Micro-HDMI port, and a honking big battery. The cell in the 13″ Yoga is 12,800 mAh, which Lenovo claims is good for 15 hours of run time.

The new Yoga with Windows will hit the streets in early November and is expected to retail for $699.99. More pics below.

Continue reading “Lenovo Expands Yoga Tablet line with 13″ Windows Slate”

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Google Giving Nexus 5 and 7 Owners a free copy of the film ‘Gravity’

Screenshot_2014-10-30-18-01-44To entice select Android owners to try screen casting through Google Play compatible devices like the Chromecast, Google realized people might want to stream things other than Youtube videos.

If you have a Nexus 5 phone or a Nexus 7 tablet, opening the Google Play Movies & TV app might present you an offer for a free copy of Gravity. Fantastic film to stream onto a good TV.

No word on how long this deal might last, so you might to jump on it sooner rather than later. Just no one tell Google that after I grabbed the film from my Nexus 7, I immediately fired it up on a Note 4 to stream to my Chromecast OK? Cool?

***UPDATE***

If you do not have a Nexus, apparently you are offered a copy of Shaun the Sheep: The Big Chase… Not quite as nice as Gravity, but that’s still better than nothing right?

 

(via Slickdeals) 

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Microsoft Unveils Health App and $199 Band Smart Fitness Tracker

microsoft band smartwatch fitness trackerThe rumors of a Microsoft smartwatch are true!

Taking the wraps off of a new app and new hardware, the Microsoft Band will retail for $199. It features a 320×106 pixel capacitive touchscreen, built in GPS, a heart rate sensor, skin temperature sensor, Galvanic skin monitor, UV and Ambient light sensors, and a microphone. They’re only rating it as dust and splash resistant, so it might not be a good option for swimmers.

microsoft band smartwatch fitness tracker exploded view disassemblyInterestingly enough, there are two 100 mAh batteries, about half the capacity of the new LG G Watch R, but Microsoft is estimating 48 hour battery life.

While it’s built around fitness tracking, it will also pair with phones over Bluetooth for the standard collection of notifications and alerts. Happily, Microsoft is making this watch cross platform, so it will work with Windows Phone, iOS, and Android, though only Windows Phone users will have access to Cortana from their wrist.

microsoft band smartwatch fitness tracker heart rate monitorThe Band is being launch alongside a new Health app, which is also cross platform for Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. While Health is designed to be a fitness tracking service, both the Band and the app will leverage cloud services and will work with other fitness services like RunKeeper and UP by Jawbone.

Are these the features you’ve been looking for in a smartwatch? Leave us a comment below!

 

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First Minute Free on International Calls Through Google Hangouts for the Rest of 2014

google hangouts dialer on LG G3 free minute calling 2014A nice little touch for the holidays, Google is cutting Hangouts users a break on international calling for the rest of 2014.

If you have voice calling activated through the Hangouts dialer, the first minute of your call will be free to twenty five participating countries.

Don’t worry, you wont have to memorize which countries are free, as a little pop up will notify you of your first free minute. You can say a lot in a minute, but really, anything that can the edge off of the costs of international phone calls is always going to be appreciated.

Hit the Google Support page for the full scoop!

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AT&T Confirms LG G Watch R Will Join Its Wearable Portfolio

lg_g_watch_r_black_storyCarrier stores have become full service tech retailers. It makes sense that when you front your cash to pick up a new phone, you might also want to make sure you leave well accessorized.

This is pushing into more supplemental devices like wireless speakers and now wearable tech. AT&T is confirming they will carry the upcoming LG G Watch R when it’s released later this year. Of course, like LG, they are remaining tight lipped on what the pricing will be.

In competing against online retailers, this might be another good opportunity for folks to be able to play with one of these things in person.

Full PR Below.

Continue reading “AT&T Confirms LG G Watch R Will Join Its Wearable Portfolio”

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