Category: Articles

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Google Considering Becoming a Wireless Carrier in Fiber Areas?

Google-Fiber1Market disruption. Seriously. Think about it. Do people buy standalone GPS devices anymore? No. We “Google Map” things on our phones. Google has done a remarkable job of examining popular business models and then turning them on their collective ears.

Rumors are flying that in addition to offering up home data connections, Goog could be considering a move to also offer up wireless services in areas where they’re already flirting with fiber. It makes sense as they’ve already invested in the server infrastructure in those areas, but they’d need to work out deals on wireless spectrum if they’re going to operate their own towers.

They could also be considering some sort of MVNO like WalMart does with Straight Talk, but augmented with their own data services. We know Google has worked to try and light up cities with WiFi in the past, and combining WiFi with another carrier’s traditional cell network, and tying that to Google Hangouts/Voice could be a really compelling solution. Much like Vonage or Republic Wireless, you’d have a proper phone number which works over WiFi, and switches to traditional 3G/4G when you’re no longer connected to a hotspot.

Is a Google Phone service one you would consider? Drop us a comment below!

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Nokia Unveils Lumia 930 – An International Version of the Lumia Icon

I totally called it! My review of the Icon was LITERALLY labeled “A Glimpse of Things to Come”, and I was absolutely on the right track! The unveiled Lumia 930 will be an international version of the Icon currently available on Verizon Wireless.

nokia lumia icon nano sim tray long term review somegadgetguyThankfully, in true Nokia fashion the Lumia 930 will arrive in a variety of colors instead of stingy VZW and their black or white options. The hardware looks largely unchanged from the Icon, the same metal and polycarb build, the same wireless charging built in.

We’ll likely see the Lumia 930 release closer to the proper release of Windows Phone 8.1. It’ll likely follow the Lumia 630 as the second phone to launch with the WP8.1 OS.

If you’re curious to see how the Lumia 930 is going to perform, we’ve been producing long term reviews of the Icon, including speaker and camera tests, all available below!

Long Term Review!
Continue reading “Nokia Unveils Lumia 930 – An International Version of the Lumia Icon”

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Microsoft BUILD 2014 Developer Conference Kicks Off with Windows Phone 8.1, New Phones

micromax and prestigioIt’s  a big day for Microsoft. Kicking off their BUILD Developer Conference, Joe Belfiore took us through an on stage demo of  Windows Phone 8.1 and the new Cortana digital assistant.

New Phones

Microsoft announced new partnerships with MicroMax and Prestigio to develop hardware. These companies should help expand Windows Phone’s presence in European, African, and Asian markets.elop lumia 930 b

lumia 930 bOf course the premier line of Windows Phone handsets is the Nokia Lumia line. Stephen Elop took the stage to show off the Lumia 930, which looks like an international version of the Lumia Icon we’ve been reviewing over the past several weeks, only now we’ll have more colors than stingy Verizon was willing to offer up.

dual simNokia also has two mid range phones on the way, the Lumia 630 with 3G and dual sim variants, and the Lumia 635 with 4G LTE. The dual sim 630 will show off different colored Live Tiles for each of the sim accounts.

The Lumia 630 will be priced at $159 for single sim, $169 for dual sim, and $189 for LTE, and it’ll be the first phone to land with Windows Phone 8.1. It wasn’t announced what the screen resolution of the 630 will be, but it is arriving with the newer 3 rows of Live Tile arrangement found on the 1520 and Icon. Cortana will also be arriving for these entry level handsets.

ALL Nokia Windows Phone 8 Lumias will be upgraded to WP8.1 this summer, which is exciting even down to customers who opted for a sub-$100 Lumia 520, especially when compared to the Android market at that price point.

Windows Phone 8.1 Updates

A ton of new features and polish are coming to the Windows Phone platform. Demonstrated on stage, here’s a short list of some of the highlights!

word flow keyboardWordFlow keyboard is getting gesture “Swype” style typing. You can now slide your thumb around the keyboard to create words. This new keyboard now holds the Guinness Book world record for fastest text entry. Continue reading “Microsoft BUILD 2014 Developer Conference Kicks Off with Windows Phone 8.1, New Phones”

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Amazon Fire TV: A $99 Streaming Media & Gaming Console – Available Now

amazon_fire_tv-640x480Amazon is getting into the TV hardware game. Following Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and myriad game consoles – Fire TV will be another solution for streaming content over a data connection to your television.

A small, flat, square-ish box hooks up to your TV over HDMI and connects to your home network over WiFi to serve up streaming vide from a variety of sources. Of course Amazon’s videos are available, but at launch you’ll also have access to Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, Showtime, Crackle, Vimeo, Plex and more. Streaming audio services like Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn will satisfy music junkies.

AmazonFireGameController-FrontAmazon is also pushing gaming with Minecraft, The Walking Dead, Riptide GP2, Asphalt 8 and more available at launch. A separate game controller is available to purchase for gaming.

Fire TV will have parental controls, and the ability to mirror Kindle tablets on your TV. If you want to share a photo slideshow for instance, you can “fling” it to your TV. You can also control the box via voice commands (demonstrated by Gary Busey below).

The unit is powered by a Qualcomm quad-core processor, and comes with 8GB of storage. There is a USB port for additional connectivity, and you can utilize Amazon Cloud Storage to augment you media streaming.

Fire TV is available to purchase now for $99, and the game controller is selling for $39.99. It’s walking into a highly competitive market with some established solutions. Do you think Amazon has the marketing muscle to make a dent here? Leave us a comment below!

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APP Review: MOVE by NiTako

moveA copy

Do you love a game that can really change your mind? I may just have the brain shifting game for you!

MOVE developed by NiTAKO has really done an outstanding job of developing a game that really puts your brain to work! MOVE starts out easy and laid back. So here’s the deal. You need to maneuver 3 different colored circles into position. Those circles move together as one unless they are blocked. The less moves you make will give you a higher ranking.  MOVE will get harder with each level when you have to move 5 circles instead of 3.

wp_ss_20140105_0052    wp_ss_20140105_0053 Continue reading “APP Review: MOVE by NiTako”

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Analyst Report: Motorola Gains with Moto G and LG Moves up with G2

LG G2 Camera reviewGood news for two phone companies looking to step up some competition.

Kantar Worldpanel released European sales stats for phones last fiscal quarter (ending February 2014)., and both LG and Motorola saw gains.

Moto was practically absent from previous analyst reports, but following strong sales of their entry level Moto G handset, has climbed to 6% in less than six months. Lending further credence to the idea that the entry level phone market is primed for serious growth over the next couple years.

LG also saw some great gains moving the LG G2. LG was ahead of the curve with processor and battery tech at the end of last year, unseating the HTC One and GS4 as being the powerful “normal sized” phones in the Android ecosystem. That boundary pushing attitude paid off with LG becoming the fastest growing Android brand of last quarter.

The Moto and LG gains also helped secure Android as a whole positive growth over iOS and Windows Phone, maintaining Google’s top spot for phones. You can read the full report below.

Continue reading “Analyst Report: Motorola Gains with Moto G and LG Moves up with G2”

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UK Government Updates Copyright Regulations – Copying for Personal Use Now Legal

640px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svgGood news everybody! The UK is taking steps towards refining their copyright law, publishing new exceptions to their current set of regulations.

At play is new language which makes personal use copying way less illegal than it was before, and brings intellectual property law overseas into the 21st century. From the GOV.UK press release:

The changes make small but important reforms to UK copyright law and aim to end the current situation where minor and reasonable acts of copying which benefit consumers, society and the economy are unlawful. They also remove a range of unnecessary rules and regulations from the statute book in line with the government’s aim to reduce regulation.

The government has consulted extensively on these changes and on the draft legislation, and listened carefully to the views of a wide range of stakeholders. As a result of this process, the legislation published today strikes an important balance between enabling reasonable use of copyright material in the modern age with minimal impact on copyright owners.

Making personal use expressly clear could help clear up some of the legal grey area surround digital media duplication. Obviously this changes almost nothing in regards to distribution of copied files and file sharing.

Here in the USA, there’s often confusion as to whether personal copies are legal. Thanks to the DMCA, often the resulting copy is legal, but any methods used to circumvent copy protection are illegal. It would be nice if we could get similar clarification here as well, so hopefully this sets some kind of precedent for future negotiations with the RIAA and MPAA.

Changes to IP law should go into effect on June 1st. More info on the GOV.UK press release site.

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Catching up with Tesla Motors: Battery Armor, New Cars, and New York Sales!

model-s-blue-front2_960x640In light of Reddit banning Tesla related posts over the weekend, there were actually a couple interesting stories coming from the electric vehicle manufacturer.

New York!

Following the disappointing actions of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and they’re success at sneaking in a ban on Tesla sales, the Associated Press is reporting that Governor Cuomo has laid out the details for an agreement between New York and Tesla Motors. The state will be examining how to strengthen automobile franchise protections, but Tesla will be allowed to keep its five retail locations in the state to sell directly to consumers.

Tesla Model S Battery Armor!

Following a pair of “extremely uncommon” collisions resulting in battery damage which led to fires, Tesla is introducing new undercarriage armor capable of crushing cinder-blocks. It will add a small bit of weight to the car, but Tesla estimates it will only reduce the car’s range by .1%.

underbody-shield-paving-stone-lq

Starting with vehicles manufactured March 6th, this shield comes standard on new Model S sedans. For those of you lucky enough to own a Model S made before that time, Tesla will install the shield on your car free of charge. More info (and shield tests) on the Tesla Blog.

Lower Priced Tesla to Arrive in 2015?

This one is from the rumor mill, but we’re deeming it as “likely”, that a new Tesla sedan will debut in 2015, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk is blaming himself for some of the car’s delays. In an interview with Bloomberg Musk said “I really am quite insistent that the production version be superior to anything we’ve demonstrated before.” There’s little room for error here as this car, often called the Model X, will represent the largest push into mainstream consumer sales. There’s plenty to focus on, and we know that Musk is also pushing for self driving vehicles to hit roads in the next three years.

 

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