Let's Talk Tech
Whelp. It’s been four months with HTC’s newest flagship, and we’ve just received official word that there will be a Windows Phone variant of the One soon out.
The M7 was my favorite Android of last year. Has the M8 lived up to the expectations set by its predecessor? Let’s take a look!
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M8 vs M7 Speaker Comparison
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M8 vs GS5 Video Comparison
Slickwraps Real Cork Skin for the HTC M8
Shop the HTC One M8 on Amazon to support this channel!
As soon as Sprint cut prices and added data to their Family Shared Data Plans, T-Mobile countered with another snarky press release, and another market disrupting tactic.
Current T-Mo customers can “rescue” Former Sprint (or AT&T or Verizon) customers, and those folks will receive free data for one year.
“When we saw how Sprint’s dissing its own customers and dropping unlimited LTE plans for families, we knew we had an opportunity to help these people out,” said Mike Sievert, Chief Marketing Officer for T-Mobile. “Only a ‘carrier’ would be arrogant enough to make an offer limited only to new prospects, while forgetting their existing customers. The Un-carrier way is to give the best offers to your loyal customers – and that’s what we’re doing again today.”
Yikes. You really should read the whole press release below. It packs quite a bite.
Of course, Sprint countered again with their new cheaper Unlimited Plans (which don’t require people to refer their friends). I LOVES me a good old fashioned grudge match.
Continue reading “T-Mobile Offers Free Data for a Year to Former Sprint Customers”
We seem to be in the middle of a carrier price war.
After landing a new CEO, Sprint has been focused on appropriate pricing, after admitting their network can’t quite compete toe to toe with VZW or AT&T. The first step was offering up a new Family Shared Data plan which undercuts the big carriers.
Now they have T-Mobile in their sites with a new unlimited data plan. At $60 a month per line, it’s $20 a month cheaper than T-Mo’s unlimited offering.
“People know Sprint for Unlimited,” said Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO. “We have long been the leader in offering customers unlimited data and that leadership continues today with our new $60 unlimited plan. Unlimited talk, text and data for $60 is the best unlimited postpaid plan available. And, we’ve listened to our loyal customers; we’re making the Sprint $60 Unlimited Plan available to both new and existing customers.”
The beauty of this announcement is how it catches T-Mobile by surprise. John Legre snarkily announced a new “Free Data” promotion meant to upset Sprint’s Shared Data Plans. Sprint’s move here goes completely un-addressed. Looks like Sprint’s new CEO Marcelo Claure is already making moves to change the perception of the company.
…customers can save $120 over two years versus T-Mobile’s promotional price…and they don’t have to jump through T-Mobile’s hoops and recruit their friends.
While Big Blue and Big Red duke it out in the major leagues, Lil’ Yellow and Lil’ Magenta are getting scrappy.
Full Sprint PR below.
Continue reading “Sprint Slashes Prices on Unlimited Plans to $60 a Month”
A new iPhone will be announced soon, and stores are trying to clear out existing inventory. Walmart is making a move to push out the somewhat unpopular 5C model by cutting the on-contract price to only 97 cents. At “near free” one would hope it would finally give the aged 4S a run for its money. Walmart has also cut the price on the 5S to $79 with a two year contract.
Consumers were right to be a little cautious with the 5C. It was a brand new phone line, which wasn’t compatible with many accessories designed for the 5/5S. It was unclear how it would be supported by third party manufacturers and by Apple itself. Would it receive software updates like the iPhone 5 or will it continue receiving support like the 5S? Will Apple launch a follow up “Cheap” model alongside the iPhone 6? Those ecosystem questions are becoming more and more important to consumers.
Though if you’re looking for a good deal on iOS, 97 cents is hard to skoff at. Still, someone might want to teach the Walmart web designer how to use a decimal point… Looks like the 5C is 97 DOLLARS… Just sayin…
Borrowing the design language of the G3, LG is introducing two new “L Series” phones built for emerging 3G markets. Following in the footsteps of Motorola and Nokia, It’s another attempt at building out a higher quality experience at an entry level price.
The L Fino features a 4.5″ screen at a resolution of 800×480 powered by a low power 1.2GHz quad-core, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 1900mAh battery.
The L Bello bumps up all of those numbers with a 5″ screen (854×480), a 1.3GHz quad-core, 8GB of storage, and a 2400mAh battery.
Both phones will feature 8MP rear cameras, with LG boasting best in class camera performance, and will run Android 4.4.2 KitKat. HSPA+ (21Mbps) radios will power the 3G connection. Not a bad collection of specs, and just reinforces our stance that the next area of hot smartphone growth will be at the entry level as the premier flagship market is pretty well mature.
They’ll launch first in Latin American markets, followed by countries in Europe, Asia, and CIS following shortly after. Pricing and availability will be announced locally. Full PR below.
Continue reading “LG Brings Two “L Series” Smartphones to Emerging 3G Markets”
Fiber roll outs are starting to spread!
AT&T is announcing plans to introduce their “Gigapower” U-Verse service to more areas. The first city in California to receive full duplex gigabit broadband?
Cupertino!
Yes Apple’s home town will be getting data speeds 10 times faster than the beefiest cable offerings around these parts. Specific locations and dates will be announced soon, and San Jose, CA is also in consideration for a future fiber roll out.
Any company want to light up Los Angeles? Any one? Full AT&T PR below.
Continue reading “Cupertino Will Be First City In California to Get Gigabit AT&T U-Verse”
B&N scored some early critical successes with their previous Nook tablets and e-readers. Standing up to Amazon at a time when the Kindle was one of the highest selling “Android” tablets on the market.
Barnes & Noble is partnering with Samsung now for their next Nook, a customized version of the seven inch Galaxy Tab 4. This Nook will have full access to Google apps and services while also including B&N’s Nook store.
The tablet sells for $199, but the bookseller is offering up a $20 instant rebate, and including “$200 worth of content” on the device with free e-books and TV show episodes, plus a $5 gift card to get you started in the Nook store.
Have you been rocking a Nook? Will this partnership with Samsung interest you in their offerings? Drop us a comment, and read Barnes and Nobles full press release below.
Continue reading “Barnes & Noble Teams with Samsung for $179 Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK Tablet”
As part of my Birthday WEEK celebrations, I finally got to take a tour of the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA. For the trek I paired a PhotoJoJo Wide Angle Smartphone Lens with my Lumia 1020, and here are the results!
