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hutchinj
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Posts by hutchinj
2-Minute expert: Can I get a smartphone without a contract?
May 19th
Taxes, dental exams, cellphone contracts — things you hate but can’t avoid.
Actually, you can skip the last one.
The subsidized price of a fancy phone (sometimes a third or less of what it costs otherwise) is the golden handcuff that holds you in a contract. But with prices on good smartphones dropping and plenty of used smartphones for sale, BYOD — bring your own device — is now an option.
Don’t wireless providers require contracts?
Not always. In fact, there is a whole class of “no-contract” (sometimes called “prepaid”) providers such as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Both have solid national coverage at rates about half those of contract plans (unlimited calling, texting and data at $55 per month on Boost, for example). Major carriers like Verizon also have no-contract options. You have to buy the phone outright, but respectable Android smartphones, for example, range from $200 to $300 — not much more than with a contract, and an amount you would soon save in lower monthly bills.
At the end of May, Virgin is introducing superfast “4G” wireless service with the HTC EVO V 4G. (Yes, that’s a lot of letters!) It has high-end features that include a 4.3-inch screen, the latest “Ice Cream Sandwich” version of Android and even a 3D camera, for $300.
What if I want a bigger selection?
You can buy the latest and greatest outright and put it on some networks, often with 4G service. Verizon, for example, sells its Droid 4 (a 4G phone) for $550. Or buy direct from the maker. Apple iPhones range from $375 for an 8GB iPhone 3Gs (a new device, but with 2009 technology) to $650 for a 16GB iPhone 4s. Samsung’s new Galaxy Nexus Android phone is $400.
Not cheap, but in exchange
Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/19/2-minute-expert-can-get-smartphone-without-contract/
Motorola Droid 4 gets a sub-$100 price point at online retailer
May 19th
In today’s smartphone world, most of the handsets currently available in the market are full touchscreen devices. If you happen to be a part of the population that still prefers to do your messaging chores on physical keys that give tactile feedback, then your options are going to be a bit limited as smartphones with physical keyboards are not quite a common sight today. It doesn’t mean that you will have a hard time looking for one, it’s just that those that pack these keyboards are usually mediocre devices.
Buy the Motorola Droid 4 starting at $99.
If you happen to have Verizon for your wireless provider of choice, then you are in luck because the carrier has the Motorola Droid 4 in its lineup of Android-powered smartphones. This handset packs a slide-out QWERTY physical keyboard that will make doing your messaging chores a whole lot easier for that matter. And not only that, the handset belongs to the higher end of the spectrum so you can expect the whole
Article source: http://www.mobilebloom.com/motorola-droid-4-gets-a-sub-100-price-point-at-online-retailer/2213936/
Android Central international round-up
May 19th
Compared to all the drama stateside surrounding the customs woes of HTC’s new handsets, it was a fairly quiet week for international Android news. But even a quiet week here in the Android world has its share of phone launches, update news, release announcements and the like, so let’s dive right in.
We got our first peek at the HTC Desire C this week, as HTC prepares to launch its successor to the Wildfire S. With NFC, ICS and Beats Audio on-board, the Desire C looks like a surprisingly feature-packed little device, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on it in the near future for a full review. Speaking of reviews, we wrapped up our Motorola Motoluxe review this week — Richard found it to be a well-built entry-level handset, albeit one that’s limited by Moto’s slightly janky software additions.
And the countdown to the Samsung Galaxy S III launch continues — T-Mobile UK announced its pricing for the device, and we heard that some stores in the UK will be opening the evening before the official launch day to give eager pre-order customers the chance to pick up their handsets.
We also got a release date for an Android flagship from another manufacturer — LG revealed that it’ll launch the Optimus 4X HD in Europe starting in June.
Check out some choice cuts from the past week’s international Android developments below, and if you’ve got news, be sure to tip us at the usual address.
Special features:
News:
Google Android captures half of the Australian smartphone market as Apple …
May 19th
Android has captured more than half of the Australian smartphone market, while Symbian devices and Apple’s iPhone have recorded a year-on-year decline, according to a new report.
The report reveals that Android’s marketshare has grown on a year-on-year basis from 32.2% in 2011 to 52% in 2012, while the marketshare for Apple iOS has fallen from 35.6% to 35.3%.
Most of the growth for Android has come at the expense of Symbian (traditionally used by Nokia), which has seen its marketshare collapse from 23.6% to just 5.6%.
The report also reveals that competitors to Apple and Android are struggling to gain traction in the Australian smartphone market, with statistically insignificant figures reported for RIM/BlackBerry (1%), Windows Phone 7 (1.6%) and Windows Mobile (1.7%).
It is important to note, however, that while Apple’s share of the Australian smartphone market has dipped, the growth of the market in Australia means that Apple’s overall volumes have increased during the period.
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Half Of US Cell Phones Are Now Smartphones
May 18th
Donna Summer Died Of Lung Cancer
Donna Summer died of lung cancer, but the singer wasn’t a smoker, and the cancer wasn’t related to smoking, her family’s representative said Friday.
Article source: http://www.kjct8.com/technology/31072231/detail.html
Motorola updates its Android 4.0 upgrade plan — and it isn’t all good news
May 18th
By JR Raphael (@jr_raphael) 
When it comes to Android 4.0 upgrades, Motorola hasn’t exactly been leading the pack.
The manufacturer scored a big fat “D” in my Android 4.0 report card for the first quarter of 2012, and from the looks of it, its second-quarter score may not be a heck of a lot better.
After months of silence and inactivity, Motorola is finally speaking up about its Android 4.0 upgrade plan and what’s going on with its devices. Here’s what’s new from the company’s latest software update page refresh:
• Motorola’s Droid Razr is now scheduled to get Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in the second quarter. Previously, the phone had been down for an “early 2012″ upgrade — a time frame I think we can all agree has long since passed. The second-quarter upgrade schedule now applies for the international Motorola Razr model, too, as well as for the Droid Razr Maxx.
• The Motorola Xoom international Wi-Fi model and U.S. 4G model may actually get ICS one of these days; both tablets are now slated for second-quarter upgrades.
• The Motorola Droid Xyboard 8.2 and 10.1 models finally have ETAs for their Ice Cream Sandwich arrivals: Both Xyboard models are set to get ICS in the third quarter of the year. The same applies to the international Motorola Xyboard tablets.
• Owners of the once-heavily-hyped Motorola Droid Bionic can expect to get Ice Cream Sandwich “early” in the third quarter of 2012. Moto had stayed mum about the Bionic for months up till now: The company last talked about the Bionic in late 2011, when it promised
Article source: http://blogs.computerworld.com/20195/motorola_android_40_upgrade?source=rss_blogs
G5 Mac "Pro" (sic) receives Macquarium treatment
May 18th
All the little fishies
in bottom of the sea
wish that they were swimming
in my G5 Mac PC
Or for the geekier devs among you: Joy to NSFishies in the G5 PC, @selector(joy:) to you and me…
Video of the case conversion follows for your delectation.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5911431/these-mac-pro-updates-are-not-wha…
Article source: http://www.tuaw.com/2012/05/18/g5-mac-pro-receives-macquarium-treatment/
G-Technology G-Drive mobile: Rugged, pocket-sized, and fast
May 18th
The march of technology amazes me. Yeah, I’m an old guy, but it still surprises me when I realize that the amount of storage that used to fill a data center can now fit in my pocket. G-Technology’s G-Drive mobile (made by Hitachi, US$199.99 MSRP for 1 TB) is the perfect example of mass storage in a small, silent box. Read on for a review of this mobile companion and a chance to win one!
Design
There’s not much too say in terms of the design of the G-Drive mobile — it’s a slim metallic box 5 inches long, a little over 3 inches wide, and about 3/4 of an inch high. There’s no power port; the G-Drive is bus-powered by either FireWire (400/800) or USB 2.0. The device comes with cables for each connection. A single white LED on the front of the drive indicates when it is powered up and in use.
On the inside, there’s a 5400 RPM 1 TB drive with an 8 MB cache. For speed, I’d much rather see a 7200 RPM drive, but that would most likely drive up both the cost and power requirements of the drive. However, as you’ll see with the benchmarks, this is still a pretty fast drive despite the slower rotation speed of the disk.
The G-Drive mobile also comes in 500 MB ($149.99 MSRP) and 750 MB ($159.99) versions, although I’m at a loss why someone wouldn’t want to double their capacity for just fifty bucks more. I found the drive to run a bit hot — I had placed my iPhone on top of the drive at one point, and when I answered a call I wondered why the phone was so hot…
As with other
Article source: http://www.tuaw.com/2012/05/18/g-technology-g-drive-mobile-rugged-pocket-sized-and-fast/
Facebook prices IPO at $38, valuation set at $104 billion
May 18th
Facebook Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering
MENLO PARK, Calif., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 421,233,615 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $38 per share. The shares are expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on May 18, 2012, under the symbol “FB.” Facebook is offering 180,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and selling stockholders are offering 241,233,615 shares of Class A common stock. Closing of the offering is expected to occur on May 22, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions.
In addition, Facebook and the selling stockholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 63,185,042 additional shares of Class A common stock to cover over-allotments, if any.
Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman, Sachs Co., BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Allen Company LLC, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities are serving as book runners for the offering. RBC Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities are serving as active co-managers.
The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from: Morgan Stanley Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department (Tel: +1 866 718 1649; e-mail: prospectus(at)morganstanley.com); J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, (Tel: +1 866 803 9204); or Goldman, Sachs Co., 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, Attention: Prospectus Department (Tel: +1 866 471 2526, e-mail: prospectus-ny(at)ny.email.gs.com).
A registration statement related to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release shall not
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/17/facebook-ipo-price-38-valuation-104-billion/
Windows Phone shows signs of life
May 18th
Microsoft’s mobile platform has not been the blockbuster success the Redmond, Washington-based technology giant was hoping for thus far. Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iPhone are still dominating the smartphone space by a huge margin in the United States and abroad, while Microsoft’s share of the global smartphone market has continued to decline. According to a new report from market research firm Kantar WorldPanel, however, Windows Phone is finally showing signs of life in several key markets.
Kantar WorldPanel on Tuesday issued its report on smartphone market share in the U.S. and a number of large markets around the world, Reuters reported. According to the firm’s research, Android showed solid gains during the three month period ending in mid-April in nearly every major market Kantar covers, more than doubling its share to 62% in Germany and nearly doubling its share in both Spain and Italy.
Apple’s iPhone gained market share in the U.S. and United Kingdom thanks to strong iPhone 4S shipments according to Kantar, though Apple’s position did slip in Europe.
As Apple and Google continue to battle atop the smartphone charts, however, some good news has emerged for Microsoft. According to Kantar, Nokia’s Lumia phone launches have doubled Windows Phone’s market share to 6% in Germany, and boosted the platform’s share in the U.S., U.K., France and Italy to between 3% and 4%.
Nokia’s Symbian OS and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry platform were the biggest losers in Kantar’s report, with RIM’s share of the U.S. market plummeting to 3% from 9% in the same period a year ago.
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/17/windows-phone-market-share-2012-kantar/