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AT&T selling Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet for $399 on contract

lumia 2520 20Well lookee here. You might be able to score a deal on the tablet I named best of the year for Windows 8.

Just like the post title says, you can pick up a Nokia Lumia 2520 on Big Blue for $399 with a two year agreement. That’s about $100 off the regular price. Not a bad deal if you were looking to save a little green this holiday season. The deal gets better however, if you were looking to pick up a Lumia smartphone too. Grabbing a Lumia 1520, 1020, or 925 will drop the price of the 2520 down to $199. That’s a pretty decent chunk of change if you were looking at shopping both.

You can check out our hands on video of the Lumia 1520 and 2520, or hit the jump for more details on AT&T promotion.

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ESRB releases new PSA to help parents understand video game ratings

6mCM8RmLet’s get something straight. Laws don’t change behavior. Only society can change behavior.

We have laws against texting while driving, and while cops can write citations for things like Google Glass (which seems counter-productive), people will still do dumb things like watch movies on their tablets while operating motor vehicles. As a society we need to make behaviors unfashionable. We’ve made smoking in public areas unfashionable. We’ve made drunk driving extremely unfashionable.

There are laws which prevent retailers from selling adult media to minors, but it’s still up to parents to police what their children consume. Keeping parents engaged and informed is critical to this conversation, no small task in light of the overwhelming amount of media to be aware of.

We need to get over the stigma that “vidya gamez ar fer kidz”. The average age of a gamer is 30, and it’s likely that almost as many people over the age of 30 play games as under the age of 30. The medium has grown up with the Atari generation, and now the content produced reflects far more mature tastes than many non-gamers might expect. As with feature films and TV, the Entertainment Software Rating Board publishes ratings that parents can use a starting point in making decisions on what titles they might purchase for their children.

This short PSA is a good starting point for people wanting more info on what those ratings mean.

And I don’t mean for this to be a condemnation of parents who might decide their child is mature enough to handle a game’s content. What we need to move towards as a community, to protect our properties from external censorship, is encouraging more informed discussion on content. Helping parents find tools which easily inform their purchasing decisions. Helping them to become a  more active part of their child’s video gaming experience.

As I’m sure that games and consoles will be hot gifts this holiday season, let’s make sure we’re shopping smart. For more info please check out: http://www.esrb.org/

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AT&T offers minimum $100 trade in for your old phone, or donate to Cell Phones for Soldiers

ATT logoRunning now through December 7th, customers on Big Blue can knock AT LEAST $100 off a new phone purchased on a two year contract by handing off their qualified old phone.

If your phone is worth more, you’ll get more for it, and that’ll cut the price of your new phone purchase. Not a bad way to encourage more recycling, and I’m all for rewarding that behavior. You’ll always want to check what your phone is worth on the open market however, as you might be able to score more cash through online auction or other trade in services. If convenience is your jam though, AT&T will help you keep everything in house and easy.

I’d also like my fine readers to consider not accepting the cash. If you were shopping a new phone, you can apply your trade in credit towards a new purchase, or you can opt out and AT&T will donate those funds to Cell Phones for Soldiers. This time of year, these types of devices can be invaluable in keeping our service men and women connected to their families. If you have the means, your old phone could be a small but welcome help to a family separated this holiday season.

Full PR after the jump.

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T-Mobile selling 16GB Nexus 5 for $449. Should you buy it?

Nexus 5Google’s newest pure Android phone is officially a part of the T-Mo roster.

Lil’ Magenta is listing the new Nexus 5 for $449 if you want to buy it outright through the carrier. If you’re buying the phone upfront though, it might make more sense to buy it direct from Google Play where the handset will cost $100 less.

Why you MIGHT want to buy it through T-Mo is if you’re looking to subsidize and pay for it over time. A  down payment of $41.99 is required, but then your monthly payments are only $17 over two years. I’s certainly an option, but if you can afford to buy it outright, that’s the better deal.

Full PR after the jump.

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“Consumer Choice in Online Video Act” to prevent ISP’s from throttling competing services like Netflix

senator jay rockefellerA bill submitted Tuesday to the Senate looks like it could address several concerns we netizens have regarding the future of digital media and our relationships with internet service providers.

The “Consumer Choice in Online Video Act” presented by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) would make it illegal for ISP’s to engage  “in unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices” as it pertains to online video and other services.

Some feel there’s a conflict of interest when  company like Verizon for example, offers their own media service while maintaining the connection for competing services. Senator Rockefeller’s bill looks like it could  intersect Venn Diagram style with the FCC’s Open Internet order which Verizon is currently fighting in court. Verizon is arguing they have a first amendment right to knowingly degrade the connection for competitors utilizing their network. The FCC is claiming they have the authority to monitor and enforce net neutrality.

It’s very possible that Verizon might be able to successfully argue that the FCC does not have the authority to enforce net neutrality, so it looks like this Consumer Choice act could be a fall back position for those wanting to protect online services and competition. The bill would also include some helpful consumer additions like simpler clearer billing, more accurate usage monitoring for usage based billing and capped plans, and more support for antenna rental / online cable alternatives like Aereo.

While it’s great seeing some politicians step up to the plate on net neutrality, and this bill would certainly be better than allowing ISP’s to rig bandwidth in their favor, one has to wonder why we don’t see legislation explicitly granting the FCC the regulatory authority to protect consumer interests in this space.

You can read the full bill here (63 page PDF): Consumer Choice in Online Video Act

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HTC One Max coming to Sprint $249 on contract November 15

htc-one-max-en_us-f03-01Are you on Sprint? Do you want a phone with a big BIG screen? Well now you have options.

Along side the Galaxy Note 3, it’s now official that Lil’Yellow will carry the HTC One Max phablet for $249.99 on a two year contract ($749 off contract). It stands as the main opposition to Samsung’s offering at this tier, and might be a nice alternative for folks looking at a bold multi-media device. We covered the One Max following its unveiling, if you want more details on the phone.

Sprint is only taking “pre-registers” at the moment, but it’s expected to have a proper launch this Friday November 15.  I’d also expect to see units in Best Buys around that date as well.

(via Sprint)

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Motorola unveils Moto G – A lot of phone for only $179 off contract.

The unlocked phone market is going to get a little more exciting.

moto g front and rearThis is Moto’s first serious stab at the global market under Google’s ownership. The Moto G aims for the same developing markets targeted by Nokia with their Asha devices and the formidable $100 Lumia 520. Moto G is more expensive, but carries better specs and the Android app ecosystem certainly doesn’t hurt.

Getting into those better specs, a 4.5″ 720p LCD display is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. It’s lower power per individual core than phones like the HTC One, but it’s twice as many cores as a handset in this price range typically receives. 1GB of RAM should keep plenty of apps running simultaneously, and there are options for 8GB at $179 or 16GB of storage for $199.

A 1.3MP front facing camera should be plenty fine for video chat, and a 5MP shooter is bolted onto the back. Lastly a 2,070 mAh battery should give the G decent staying power. Provided the quad-core doesn’t run to hard, that’s a larger battery than most entry level phones receive. There wont be a removeable battery, there’s no LTE, nor the ability to add more storage as Moto G lacks MicroSD. Obvious concessions at this price point.

This is also the second phone from Motorola to carry this design aesthetic. Sculpted modeled polycarb, organic rounded lines, the G looks very similar to the Moto X, which is a good thing. It’s a compact and attractive handset. It’s unlikely that there will be the same customization options available for the Moto G as there are for Moto X (especially with the recent opening of MotoMaker for all carriers), but there is a removeable backplate. Moto G will launch with a handful of colors blue, teal, red, yellow, purple, white, and black. Expect to see additional full body covers and a rugged case option after launch.

Maybe most exciting, this phone is launching with Android 4.3 JellyBean, but will soon be updated to Android 4.4. KitKat’s focus is on low power hardware, improving the Android experience for devices in that sub $200 price range. Those phones usually end up getting single processors, 512MB of RAM, and they have to run Android 2.3. The Moto G could be one of the first phones to really showcase the benefits of KitKat’s optimizations while presenting it on more current and powerful hardware at an accessible price. This demonstrates a higher tier of software support than most expect at this tier.

Motorola has struggled to move Moto X as it had to compete against iPhones and Galaxies, but while in Google’s pocket (and with access to Google’s checkbook) disrupting the entry level market could be Motorola’s path to better mindshare.

Moto G is available in Brazil and a handful of European markets today. We should see it launch in Latin America and Canada in the coming weeks. We’re expecting USA availability in January of next year. Watch Motorola’s announcement for more info and demos after the jump!

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LG shows off the G Flex’s Wolverine-like self-healing on video

lg g flexLG is getting proactive about curved screen durability concerns. Looking at that screen arc, I instantly worry about accidentally sitting on it when I’ve got it in a back pocket. It’s been known to happen.

In this video, LG shows off the new plastic back plate coating which can “heal” from light scratches and abrasions. Towards the end of the video they completely flatten the phone out with weights only to show it spring back to its scimitar like shape.

Is this enough to calm your worries? Does this make the Flex a more attractive option for you?

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