T-Mobile is about to announce additional support for iPhones on its network, but read that well: "additional," meaning not support for an official iPhone on the T-Mobile, but rather more support for unlocked iPhones on their network, which are sadly running on EDGE.
T-Mobile announced in June of 2011 that they were aware of about 1 million iPhone users on their network, using unlocked devices (a large percentage of them, of course, are jailbroken). They are all running on 2.5G, or EDGE, since T-Mobile and AT&T 3G frequencies differ.
The report indicates that T-Mobile will, on Jan. 30, “begin offering additional support to customers using an Apple iPhone on our network.” In addition, T-Mobile's new iPhone support will include “common procedures, information about feature and specifications and other basic device questions.”
What T-Mobile really wants is the iPhone on its network, natively. It's said before that it's waiting for Apple to pull the trigger. Of the Big Four U.S. wireless carriers, T-Mobile is the only one without an iPhone. Even a small regional carrier, C-Spire, has access to the iPhone 4S.
Google’s Android is king of the smartphone market, with the hugely successful operating system being adopted by literally hundreds of devices.
With so many different smartphones running the various versions of Google’s software, you’d have thought that it almost doesn’t matter which one to go for.
But of course it does matter. Any Android user will tell you there are vast contrasts between different Android phones, something that has been proved by Samsung’s deft use of the OS.
The likes of the Galaxy S2, the Nexus and the Note have secured Samsung place at the top of the Android pile. And Samsung’s next offering, the Galaxy S3, is just around the corner.
But we like to keep things fair at Pluggedin, and give some other Android devices a chance to have their say. So what are the best Android alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy S3?
Sony Xperia S
When it comes to looks, Sony really knows what it’s doing. And the super sleek, very sexy Xperia S is no different. With a 4.3 inch LED backlit display, and 1.5GHz processor, this could a great alternative to the Galaxy S3.
Due for release in March, the Xperia S is unfortunately only running Android Gingerbread – but we should be getting an ICS update before too long.
Motorola Motoluxe
Motorola isn’t known for its pretty phones, but the Motoluxe is a decent effort. With a feel of the Galaxy Note about (although a bit smaller), the Motoluxe is a great first-time Android.
The Motoluxe is also running Android Gingerbread, and features an 800MHz processor, 512 RAM and 1GB ROM. Not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but well worth considering.
Google’s Android is king of the smartphone market, with the hugely successful operating system being adopted by literally hundreds of devices.
With so many different smartphones running the various versions of Google’s software, you’d have thought that it almost doesn’t matter which one to go for.
But of course it does matter. Any Android user will tell you there are vast contrasts between different Android phones, something that has been proved by Samsung’s deft use of the OS.
The likes of the Galaxy S2, the Nexus and the Note have secured Samsung place at the top of the Android pile. And Samsung’s next offering, the Galaxy S3, is just around the corner.
But we like to keep things fair at Pluggedin, and give some other Android devices a chance to have their say. So what are the best Android alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy S3?
Sony Xperia S
When it comes to looks, Sony really knows what it’s doing. And the super sleek, very sexy Xperia S is no different. With a 4.3 inch LED backlit display, and 1.5GHz processor, this could a great alternative to the Galaxy S3.
Due for release in March, the Xperia S is unfortunately only running Android Gingerbread – but we should be getting an ICS update before too long.
Motorola Motoluxe
Motorola isn’t known for its pretty phones, but the Motoluxe is a decent effort. With a feel of the Galaxy Note about (although a bit smaller), the Motoluxe is a great first-time Android.
The Motoluxe is also running Android Gingerbread, and features an 800MHz processor, 512 RAM and 1GB ROM. Not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but well worth considering.
Google’s Android is king of the smartphone market, with the hugely successful operating system being adopted by literally hundreds of devices.
With so many different smartphones running the various versions of Google’s software, you’d have thought that it almost doesn’t matter which one to go for.
But of course it does matter. Any Android user will tell you there are vast contrasts between different Android phones, something that has been proved by Samsung’s deft use of the OS.
The likes of the Galaxy S2, the Nexus and the Note have secured Samsung place at the top of the Android pile. And Samsung’s next offering, the Galaxy S3, is just around the corner.
But we like to keep things fair at Pluggedin, and give some other Android devices a chance to have their say. So what are the best Android alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy S3?
Sony Xperia S
When it comes to looks, Sony really knows what it’s doing. And the super sleek, very sexy Xperia S is no different. With a 4.3 inch LED backlit display, and 1.5GHz processor, this could a great alternative to the Galaxy S3.
Due for release in March, the Xperia S is unfortunately only running Android Gingerbread – but we should be getting an ICS update before too long.
Motorola Motoluxe
Motorola isn’t known for its pretty phones, but the Motoluxe is a decent effort. With a feel of the Galaxy Note about (although a bit smaller), the Motoluxe is a great first-time Android.
The Motoluxe is also running Android Gingerbread, and features an 800MHz processor, 512 RAM and 1GB ROM. Not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but well worth considering.
Google’s Android is king of the smartphone market, with the hugely successful operating system being adopted by literally hundreds of devices.
With so many different smartphones running the various versions of Google’s software, you’d have thought that it almost doesn’t matter which one to go for.
But of course it does matter. Any Android user will tell you there are vast contrasts between different Android phones, something that has been proved by Samsung’s deft use of the OS.
The likes of the Galaxy S2, the Nexus and the Note have secured Samsung place at the top of the Android pile. And Samsung’s next offering, the Galaxy S3, is just around the corner.
But we like to keep things fair at Pluggedin, and give some other Android devices a chance to have their say. So what are the best Android alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy S3?
Sony Xperia S
When it comes to looks, Sony really knows what it’s doing. And the super sleek, very sexy Xperia S is no different. With a 4.3 inch LED backlit display, and 1.5GHz processor, this could a great alternative to the Galaxy S3.
Due for release in March, the Xperia S is unfortunately only running Android Gingerbread – but we should be getting an ICS update before too long.
Motorola Motoluxe
Motorola isn’t known for its pretty phones, but the Motoluxe is a decent effort. With a feel of the Galaxy Note about (although a bit smaller), the Motoluxe is a great first-time Android.
The Motoluxe is also running Android Gingerbread, and features an 800MHz processor, 512 RAM and 1GB ROM. Not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but well worth considering.
Although much of our hardware is designed for obsolescence, so we absolutely, positively MUST buy something new, there are those who still hang onto their old stuff, because it still just works. And if you've got an iPhone 2G (you remember that old EDGE version?), iPhone 3G, or a first or second generation iPod touch, Whited00r 5.1 can bring iOS 5 looks --- and some of its feature set --- to iDevices currently stuck running iOS 3.1.3.
Among the improvements you'll see is multitasking (tuned for low memory environments), folders, reminders, a sort-of-iCloud which uses DropBox, Newsstand and much more. As you might assume, its jailbroken by default.
You won't, however, get the new Notification Center or the App Store.
Why do this instead of buying new hardware? Good question. Maybe you've been saving that old junky iPhone 2G for your kids, so you won't have to buy them a new iPhone, but want to spiff it up some for them.
At any rate, it's an impressive custom OS. If you've got the (obsolete) hardware, go for it. It's free, though donations are welcomed.
Barnes & Noble is running its biggest Nook promotion to date, through March 9. With subscriptions to various periodicals, buyers can get discounted --- or even free Nooks.
It's the first time this type of promotion, for a free e-book reader with a periodical subscription, has been offered by a major retailer. We're sure Amazon.com is taking notes.
With a 1-year Nook subscription to The New York Times at $19.99/month, you can get a Nook Simple Touch for free (normally $99).
If instead you want to get a Nook Color, for the same 1-year Nook subscription to The New York Times at $19.99/month, you pay only $99 (normally $199).
Those who prefer less erudite content can opt for a 1-year Nook subscription to People magazine, for $9.99/month, and get $50 off a Nook Tablet ($199 instead of $249).
As you might expect, early termination fees will apply.
You can compare this with subsidizing the cost of a cell phone by opting for a two-year service agreement. And just as you might want to do when evaluation buying a cell phone outright instead of subsidized with a two-year contract, you might want to do the math. The total cost of a one-year Nook People magazine subscription is $119.88, while the total cost of a one-year Nook New York Times subscription is $239.88.
Considering Amazon.com's rivalry with B&N with its own Kindle Fire tablet and Kindle e-book readers, we'd be surprised if the Internet giant didn't fire back with a similar promotion. The question is probably when, not if.
An untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1 has been released for all iDevices except --- naturally --- the newest ones, the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. A tethered jailbreak means that anytime the device is booted it has to be cabled to a computer and the jailbreak procedure run again.
[Not that we've ever done it ourself, but a tethered jailbreak can be a pain in the ...]
In a blog post, hacker pod2G announced that the Chronic Dev Team and iPhone Dev Team, have released the new jailbreak. It's based on earlier work done by pod2g.
The new version of “redsn0w” is compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad and third and fourth-generation iPod touch devices. If users are already running a tethered jailbreak, they can upgrade by using a utility called "Corona" that's currently available in the Cydia appstore for jailbroken devices.
Yes, we're unfortunately still waiting for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 jailbreaks, but hopefully those will come, and before Apple releases iOS 5.1, which has already reached Beta 2.
Did you really think it would take long before this would happen? The enterprising folks at xda-developers have successfully hacked the Kindle Fire and installed Ice Cream Sandwich on it.
Don't get too excited yet, though: this is called a pre-alpha version of Android 4.0 on Amazon.com's Android tablet. That means it's extremely buggy.
Still, not only is this the first time we've seen Amazon.com's Android tablet running the current version of Android, it's also the first time we've seen it running a tablet version of Android, and not its own highly customized version of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), which is a smartphone version of Google's platform.
The build is based on CyanogenMod 9; audio doesn't work consistently and there are some issues with video, too. It will be interesting to see if xda-developers can get this finalized; the Kindle Fire isn't the most high-powered tablet, and neither does it carry a large amount of ROM and RAM.
With a custom ROM, though, at least there won't be any issues with skins like TouchWiz getting in the way.
Coby Electronics announced five Internet tablets running on the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, ranging in size from 7- to 10-inches. The new models include the:
7-inch MID7042 → check price
8-inch MID8042 (4:3 aspect ratio) → check price
9-inch MID9042 → check price
9.7-inch MID9742 (4:3 aspect ratio) → check price
10-inch MID1042 → check price
With lightning-fast access to thousands of apps and wireless web browsing, the upcoming units all will feature 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU and offer capacitive multi-touch screens, up to 1GB of RAM, expandable memory up to 32GB, Wi-Fi and HDMI 1080p output.
Overall, Coby has stream-lined its features to address the core applications including: browsing the web, playing games, email and viewing one's favorite media.
Pricing and Availability Pricing has not been set, but availability is expected for Q1 2012.
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