Amazon has a daily free app offering to entice users into its custom Android ecosystem as well as offer advertisement for the lucky app and developer. But like Google Play Store, it occasionally puts up themed bulk sales to hook in even more hits and users. To mark the shifting of the calendar, Amazon is giving away 30 apps all … Continue reading
It’s no secret that T-Mobile and Sprint’s planned merger is going to face a lot of opposition. Not just from competing carriers, but also the government who was less than enthused about the idea itself, let alone it being officially announced and proposed. That being said, it seems that there is a chance that the T-Mobile and Sprint merger might not happen.
According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, it seems that French carrier Iliad could be eyeing T-Mobile as well. The company has reportedly placed a bid for T-Mobile last week, although it is unclear if they will be able to raise enough money for it. Their current market cap is at $16 billion, while T-Mobile is sitting at $24 billion.
However money aside, Iliad seems to believe that they are a good fit for T-Mobile. It seems that over in France, Iliad has gained an “Un-carrier” like reputation of their own, thanks to the carrier’s cutthroat rates. Given T-Mobile’s willingness to go against the grain and even pay to make customers switch to their services, it definitely sounds like both companies are a match for each other.
It remains to be seen if T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, is more interested in just offloading T-Mobile to the highest bidder, or if they’re really hoping to make a mark by merging with Sprint. The former would save the company time and energy from having to convince regulators, but the latter has a good chance of making an even bigger dent in the US carrier industry.
French Carrier Iliad Reportedly Eyeing T-Mobile
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We know that there are probably still many gamers out there playing with the Sony PlayStation 3. After all developers are still releasing games for the PS3, which means that for now there isn’t really a compelling enough reason to switch to the PlayStation 4. However are there many gamers left who still own or play the PlayStation 2?
Well in some parts of the world where money is scarce and gaming consoles aren’t really a priority, having a PlayStation 2 is something of a luxury. It seems that over in Uganda, it has been reported (via Kotaku) that one particular refugee by the name of Mohammed Osman Ali has cobbled together a PlayStation 2 and somehow turned his place at the refugee camp into an “arcade”.
He has managed to get the PlayStation 2 console to work and has made numerous modifications to it, but unfortunately as it stands, Ali only has access to one game and one game only – FIFA. He is currently making a living by renting out the console to other refugees to play where he charges $0.20 for 10 minutes of gameplay. It doesn’t sound like a lot and while it won’t be making Ali a rich man, he does credit the fact that it gives him something to do while preserving his sanity.
After all we can’t imagine what it would be like to be living in a refugee camp for five years, so safe to say that his business and the entertainment it affords goes a long way in providing him a nice break from reality.
Ugandan Refugee Makes A Living By Renting Out His PlayStation 2
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One of the cooler features of the Sony Xperia Z2 is the fact that it comes with front-facing stereo speakers, much like the HTC One M8, although we guess it’s not very obvious. However the fact remains that it is there and Xperia Z2 owners can probably appreciate the effect that it gives off when listening to music or watching videos on their phone without headphones.
This is a feature that is obviously lacking in the Sony Xperia Z1, or is it? Well thanks to XDA Developer dontbelieve, he has released a mod for the Sony Xperia Z1 that basically turns your earpiece into the second speaker for your phone. Combine this with the loudspeaker on the bottom and you’ve got yourself a set of stereo speakers!
It’s actually pretty ingenious although admittedly it probably isn’t as good as the Sony Xperia Z2 or the HTC One M8, especially since it wasn’t designed to have stereo speakers in the first place. However we reckon that it should be decent enough for users to get a kick out of it, and hopefully it should enhance your music listening and video watching experience.
We should note that in order to use this mod, users will have to have a rooted handset, so if you don’t have how to root your phone, perhaps you’ll want to give this a miss. However if you don’t mind, you should probably read the instructions really carefully and be sure to backup your data before proceeding.
Mod Turns Sony Xperia Z1′s Earpiece Into A Second Speaker
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Stickers for laptops aren’t new, and neither are the decals for Apple’s MacBook laptops which takes advantage of the glowing Apple logo to create some pretty clever and creative stickers, like a decale of Snow White taking a bite of the Apple logo, using the glowing Apple logo to represent the Arc Reactor worn by Iron Man, and so on.
However recently Apple released an ad for the MacBook Air that basically showcased the different decals that one could use with the MacBook Air and interestingly enough, it seems that Apple’s ad did the trick for decal sellers as there have been reports that sales of decals have actually increased thanks to the ad.
Graham Spencer at MacStories reached out to several sellers and found that sales have increased thanks to the ad, but if you wanted something a bit more scientific, Benjamin Clark from The Decal Guru actually released a chart (above) that shows the spike in sales ever since the ad was released.
Now like we said, decals for the MacBook laptops are hardly new, but we guess the ad brought it to the mainstream so people who did not know about it were suddenly hunting for it. We’re not sure if the ad actually helped Apple sell MacBook Airs, but at the very least it benefited the seller of decals. If you have yet to see the ad, you can check it out in the video below.
MacBook Air Ad Helped Drive Sales Of Decals
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
We know that Nokia has officially sold off their mobile division to Microsoft, but does that mean that they are planning on sitting back and just collect money from their patents? Well from previous reports, that hardly seems like the case, and according to recent job listings, it seems that Nokia could be thinking about possible future Android handsets.
Now the Nokia that Microsoft bought focused purely on Windows Phone, although they did dabble in Android which was quickly axed by Microsoft, so perhaps the Nokia that Microsoft didn’t buy will pick up where they left off. Some of the job listings don’t particularly stand out as they call for positions such as engineers and designers.
However one particular position called for a mobile photography engineer that had experience in writing camera drivers used on Android. Now considering that this is the same team that is being the Nokia Z Launcher for Android, it has caused some to speculate that perhaps Nokia could be thinking of launching their own Android device in the future.
We suppose at the very least, some kind of camera feature could be added to the Z Launcher, or Nokia could be thinking of launching an Android camera app of their own, although we have to admit the idea of new Nokia Android handsets does sound more appealing. In any case make what you will of this information, but until Nokia announces something, we’ll just have to keep our eyes peeled for more information.
Nokia Could Be Thinking About Launching Android Devices
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We have heard many times in the past of how cellphones have saved lives. No, not because they were used to pull up relevant medical information or made calls to emergency services, but because they actually managed to stop bullets in their tracks. Well if you’re looking for another feel-good story, here’s one.
It seems that over in Taiwan, a man was reportedly shot over a bar fight regarding a missing wallet. It started when a man named Han found a wallet on the street, after which he joked that there would be free beer. However the man who the wallet supposedly belonged to, Xu, got mad thinking that Han was trying to steal his money and pulled out a gun.
In all fairness Han himself pulled out a sickle and perhaps looking to defend himself, Xu shot at Han in the process. However it seems that the bullet shot from the gun hit the Han’s Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 instead, which of course destroyed the phone, but we guess that’s a small price to pay for his life!
While we’re not sure if Samsung will be sending Han a free replacement Galaxy Mega in exchange for the free publicity, we guess Han can always wait for the Galaxy Mega’s replacement which is said to be on its way.
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Stops A Bullet In Its Tracks
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
In the past and even today, we have seen Android OEMs release “mini” versions of their flagship smartphones, like the recently released Samsung Galaxy S5 mini and the HTC One mini from 2013 as some examples. However it seems that the demand for such devices is starting to wane, according to a report from DigiTimes who cites sources in Taiwan’s handset supply chain.
Their sources revealed that devices from LG and Sony in the form of the LG G3 Beat and the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact have sold less than expected. This is apparently due to an uncompetitive performance-price ratio. We have to admit that it is somewhat true. The specs of the “mini” versions of handsets are subpar at best and don’t really seem particularly appealing.
For example some of the mini versions of handsets are priced at $400, which makes it more expensive than Chinese counterparts who are actually able to sell higher-end smartphones for the same price or less. Their sources claim that even renaming “mini” has not really helped much in terms of sales.
It is unclear what OEMs like LG or Sony will do going forward, but we wonder if this could be a sign that perhaps it is time to put an end to all these “mini” variants. What do you guys think? Should OEMs start thinking of different strategies instead of just churning out “mini” variants of their flagship phones?
Interest In “Mini” Smartphones Starting To Wane
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
We have been hearing rumblings of a certain Nexus 8 for a while now, and for those unfamiliar, the Nexus 8 is said to be a new tablet from Google that is made by HTC. That being said, could we be getting closer to an official release? Well some have speculated that could be the case as the Nexus 7 on the Google Play Store has been listed as out of stock.
The Google Play Stores affected by the out of stock status are both the US and UK stores, so we’re not sure if other Google Play Stores around the world are experiencing a similar shortage as well. However like we said, this has prompted speculation that this could mean that Google could be looking to launch the Nexus 8.
It is unclear at this point in time if the Nexus 8 will be replacing the Nexus 7, or if it will be in addition to the Nexus 7, however the out of stock status has suggested that Google might be thinking of replacing the Nexus 7, thus allowing it to run out of stock and with no plans to restock it anytime soon, or at least that’s what we assume.
According to the rumors, the Nexus 8 is said to sport an 8.9-inch display and will feature a 2048×1440 resolution. It is also rumored to be powered by a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor and will be accompanied by 2GB of RAM, and will come in 16GB or 32GB storage options. Take it with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more info.
Nexus 7 Out Of Stock On Google Play, Prompts Nexus 8 Speculation
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If there is one particular feature that smartphone OEMs love to boast about it would be the displays on their phone. For Samsung, it is the use of their Super AMOLED technology that gives off the vibrant colors found on most high-end Galaxy Android handsets, while Sony loves to boast about their Bravia technology, and Apple with their Retina displays. This is why it doesn’t really make sense for a smartphone to use e-ink as its primary display.
While there are color e-inks, safe to say that these displays are meant more for reading than actual viewing of websites, movies, videos, games, photography, and so on. However the folks at FormNation have come up with an interesting concept in which they took inspiration from the iPhone and have come up with a smartphone called the E-phone.
Inspired by the iPhone but not too pleased with its expensive price tag, low battery life, and how the phone gets hot with prolonged use, they decided to incorporate the use of an e-ink display. According to FormNation, “While to some E-Ink might seem like reverting from HGTV to black and white, we see this as the difference in beauty between full color and black and white photography.”
We suppose one of the benefits is that it also consumes less battery and with the E-phone, FormNation is aiming at a battery that will last a month. Now as it stands, the E-phone appears to be more of a concept than an actual product waiting to happen, but what do you guys think? Would a pure e-ink phone be something you might be interested in?
E-phone Concept Believes In The Beauty Of E-ink Displays
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
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