Posted by Joe on September 27, 2011 | 7 comments | Filed under : gPhones
On October 16th you’ll see the above-pictured device on store shelves. It looks like a normal Android smartphone, but it lacks one key element: a cellular radio. Instead, it’s a WiFi-based Android that essentially mimics Apple’s iPod Touch. It’ll come in two sizes: the four-inch screen will cost $229, while the five-inch screen will cost $269. Those are reasonable prices for devices that will carry no monthly service commitments. But I have to wonder if the Android platform is ready for this type of device.
T-Mobile customers might be able to keep their rate plans even if AT&T acquires the company, but even a new clause doesn’t make the reality much better. Soon after AT&T announced its bid to buy T-Mobile, it eased T-Mobile customer concerns by saying they could keep their current rate plans. Of course, that all figured to change once a customer’s contract expired. Earlier this week TmoNews.com reported that T-Mobile employees got an update on that front. Not only will T-Mobile customers keep their current rate plans, but they can keep them “even when their term ends and the service continues on a month-to-month basis.” (Emphasis mine.)That’s all fine and good, but it doesn’t help people who intend to upgrade.
Google is full of neat, futuristic ideas, but none has appealed to me to the same degree that Google Wallet has. It’s a practical, easy solution that will, in time, allow me to carry one less bulky item. You can watch the above video for a quick introduction to Google Wallet, and then read on for some perspective.
Posted by Joe on September 16, 2011 | no comment | Filed under : gPhones
The Samsung Transform Ultra is the latest Android phone headed to Boost Mobile, and it’s their best one yet. Armed with a 1GHz processor and a 3.5-inch touchscreen, the Transform Ultra falls somewhere between a mid-range and high-end Android handset, giving it an easy leg up on the Galaxy Prevail, Boost’s other Android. It comes in at a decent price, too, $229.99, which is slightly more than you’d expect to pay for the same phone on contract. It drops on October 7th, which is soon enough. There is, however, one catch. Starting on that same date, Boost is adding a $5 monthly surcharge for Android phones. It makes sense, given how much data they can consume. So that will be $55 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data. Not bad, considering it uses Sprint’s nationwide network.
The time for downloading NFL apps is pretty much over. The league kicked off the 2011 season on Thursday and had its first full Sunday of action yesterday, so the diehards are already set up with apps. If you have DirecTV, chances are you’ve already signed up for the Sunday Ticket. If you’re a Honeycomb tablet owner, however, there’s one more app you absolutely need. DirecTV has released a Sunday Ticket app for Android tablets, and it’s available for free now at the Market. It provides streams of every Sunday game (excepting blacked out games) and the Red Zone Channel. You can also get stats and highlights from around the league — though you better get the highlight watching in before 8:15 p.m. ET on Sundays, when NBC gets the exclusive rights to those. Again, it’s free for Sunday Ticket subscribers, so head to the Market and download Sunday Ticket for Tablets today.
Posted by Joe on September 9, 2011 | 1 comment | Filed under : gPhones
Today Sprint released the Kyocera Milano, a low-cost touchscreen slider device that runs Android 2.3. We’ve seen many carriers opt for mid-range handsets lately, which again highlights one of Android’s major advantages. They not only have high-end devices, such as the recently released Droid Bionic, but they can also play to other demographics. This helps it stand out in a market that Apple has long shaped. The Milano provides another example of what’s possible when a low-cost manufacturer decides to install Android on its device.
If that looks like a recycled image, it’s for good reason. About a month ago we learned that MetroPCS would launch the Samsung Admire, a mid-range Android handset. It checks in at $150, which is decent for an Android for prepaid. For someone looking at it in terms of bang for the buck, it could work out. As happens in many cases, Cricket will also offer the Vitality. Only it adds another level to the offering: Muve Music. Read on if you’re not yet familiar with Cricket’s music plan.
Posted by Joe on September 8, 2011 | no comment | Filed under : gPhones
Pictured above is the Huawei Impulse, the latest Android handset announced for the AT&T network. As suggested in the headline, it’s not what you would call a state of the art device — though it does run on AT&T’s HSPA+ network. In fact, it’s more along the lines of the prepaid devices you see from Cricket and MetroPCS. (Huawei has manufactured almost exclusively for those two carriers in the past.) The good news for AT&T customers is that this sheds the normal trend of $150 to $200 postpaid Android handsets. This one checks in at just $30, making it just as affordable as many feature phones. You’ll have to pay the smartphone rate, of course, but this one could still be worth the money. Here’s a rundown of the two-year cost of ownership.
Posted by Joe on September 6, 2011 | 3 comments | Filed under : Tablets
Remember that image? It came from an article about a month ago regarding the market for Android tablets. As the image shows, people are more apt to buy a tablet PC from Amazon than any other Apple competitor. That’s convenient, because Amazon is planning at least two tablets for this year. What else is convenient: they’re apparently listening to what consumers actually want. As part of the same survey, 80 percent of customers said that they would buy an Android tablet over the iPad if the Android tablet were less than $250. According to a report in the New York Post, Amazon plans to sell its tablet for “hundreds less than the entry-point $499 iPad.” That could then put the price point at around $200, which, if consumers are being truthful, would sway many of them away from the altar of Apple. This could absolutely change the tablet landscape, just in time for a holiday season that will likely see many tablets exchanged as gifts.
Posted by Joe on August 23, 2011 | 6 comments | Filed under : gPhones
Soon the question will be: which prepaid carriers don’t offer an Android smartphone. We saw the bigger prepaid carriers, such as MetroPCS and Cricket, offer Android handsets in the second half of last year, and apparently it’s started a trend. Plenty of prepaid carriers have followed suit. Left in the dark, to this point, has been Tracfone and its two subsidiaries: Straight Talk and Net10. Straight Talk seemed the most primed for an Android, since it offers unlimited everything for $45 per month. Starting in September, that will become a reality. According to a report filed at BTIG Reserach, and reported by FierceWireless, Straight Talk will get the Samsung Galaxy Precedent next month.
And you can pre-order it right now exclusively on the web.
