T-Mobile Adds Over 1.6 Million Subscribers In Q4 2013

T Mobile Adds Over 1.6 Million Subscribers In Q4 2013T-Mobile has been pretty aggressive over the past few months in their bid to attract more customers over onto its network, but has their efforts proven to be a success so far? Well as it turns out, despite the naysayers and the critics, T-Mobile has done surprisingly well as the company has recently announced that they have managed to add an additional 1.6 million customers in the last quarter of 2013 (alongside boasting that they have the fastest LTE network in the US), which is actually pretty impressive. The company attributes this success to their aggressive ad campaign and competitive pricing through their Uncarrier program.

In fact the carrier has recently made a slew of announcements which should help them achieve even greater numbers this coming quarter. For starters the carrier revealed that they would be purchasing some of Verizon’s spectrum, giving them more coverage than ever, and also revealed Uncarrier 4.0 where T-Mobile will basically pay customers from competing carriers to make the switch over onto their network, a response to AT&T’s offer which is admittedly more tempting by $200. It definitely sounds like T-Mobile is on a roll here which is a stark change of the carrier’s position from a couple of years ago.

Of course we expect some are skeptical and worried that T-Mobile’s new plan will end up adding unnecessary financial burden, although the carrier assures the public that it has all been thought out. Either way it will be an exciting year for the carrier and we can’t wait to see the numbers at the end of Q1 2014.

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    6.8-inch Hisense X1 Blurs The Line Between Smartphone And Tablet

    6.8 inch Hisense X1 Blurs The Line Between Smartphone And TabletWe have to admit that phones with larger displays are indeed more pleasant to watch videos with and to surface the net with, but at what point do we draw the line and say that’s too big for a phone? Sony attempted to push the limits with the Xperia Z Ultra which featured a massive 6.44” display, but it looks like Hisense is hoping to top that as they have revealed during CES 2014 the Hisense X1 smartphone. Unlike the Xperia Z Ultra with its “sensible” 6.44” display, the Hisense X1 will come with a whopping 6.8” display, making it 0.2” shy of a tablet like the Nexus 7! For those with smaller hands, we expect trying to use the X1 will be something of a nightmare, but for our friends and readers out there with larger hands, perhaps this could be of interest to you.

    So apart from its massive 6.8” display, what sort of specs are we looking at? Well the phone will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and will come with a 13MP camera on the back. The phone will also pack a 3,900mAh battery and thankfully will run on Android 4.4 KitKat, which we guess saves customers the time and worry of whether it will be upgraded to the latest build of Android or not, although the unit that the folks at Engadget previewed ran on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean instead. Hisense expects to make the X1 available in China first before moving to the US in Q2 2014. Pricing was not mentioned, but what do you guys think? Anyone interested in picking up the Hisense X1 for themselves?

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  • 6.8-inch Hisense X1 Blurs The Line Between Smartphone And Tablet original content from Ubergizmo.

        



    German Court Dismisses Nokia’s Lawsuit Against HTC

    German Court Dismisses Nokias Lawsuit Against HTCA couple of weeks ago, Nokia had won an injunction against HTC over in Germany, one of the several wins that the Finnish company has had over the Taiwanese company to date. However it seems that Nokia has attempted to file yet another lawsuit against HTC in Germany, this time over a different patent that describes a “method and apparatus for updating the software of a mobile terminal using the air interface.” Given Nokia’s wins so far, we expected that the company would have no problems with this particular lawsuit and we guess Nokia didn’t either, so it was to their surprise and disappointment when the ruling judge decided to dismiss Nokia’s allegations against HTC.

    According to a statement released by Nokia, “Nokia respectfully disagrees with the judgment of the Regional Court in Munich, Germany, which today ruled that HTC products do not infringe Nokia’s patent EP 0 804 046. Nokia is considering an appeal of this decision. However, this does not change the fact that the same court found in December 2013 that two other Nokia patents were infringed by HTC products, enabling Nokia to enforce injunctions against the import and sale of all infringing HTC products in Germany, as well as to obtain damages for past infringement.” It is unclear what Nokia plans to do from here out, perhaps attempt to file the lawsuit in a different country, perhaps? However at least for now, HTC can rest easy knowing they don’t have to face Nokia in the courts for a while.

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    T-Mobile CFO Explains Why They Can Afford To Pay Customers’ ETFs

    T Mobile CFO Explains Why They Can Afford To Pay Customers ETFsAs we had reported yesterday, T-Mobile had officially unveiled Uncarrier 4.0, the carrier’s latest move to entice customers from other carriers onto their network. One of the main selling points of Uncarrier 4.0 would be T-Mobile’s willingness to pay up to $350 to cover a customer’s early termination fees (ETF), along with up to $300 for a phone trade-in, basically giving a customer as much as $650 to switch to T-Mobile. Now $650 is no joke to a lot of people and based on feedback so far, you guys have agreed that it is pretty tempting, so if this goes off better than T-Mobile anticipates, wouldn’t they lose a lot of money in the process? Well as it turns out, T-Mobile does not think so.

    Speaking to CNET, T-Mobile’s CFO Braxton Carter revealed that the carrier has already estimated that most ETFs that they would have to pay would average around $150. This is also because they expect more customers to be well into their contract by now, hence the lower ETFs, and they also expect that there would be instances where they might not have to pay anything at all. Speaking overall, the entire situation is viewed in a positive light and any financial burdens that might be placed at the start are expected to be recouped through customers remaining with T-Mobile and using their products and services.

    Admittedly this sounds like a huge gamble for T-Mobile but like we said, $650 is definite no laughing matter and would definitely do its job at tempting more than a few customers over from rival carriers. What do you guys think? Will T-Mobile’s latest Uncarrier plan succeed?

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    Pegatron Reportedly Responsible For Half Of iPhone 6′s Assembly

    Pegatron Reportedly Responsible For Half Of iPhone 6s AssemblyFor the most part, Apple’s lineup of iPhones has typically been assembled by Foxconn, but according to a new report from Taiwan’s Liberty Times, half of Apple’s assembly of the device will be given to Pegatron to do. The report did not state who the other half will be, but chances are that it will be Foxconn. As it stands, Pegatron is responsible for devices like the iPad mini and the iPhone 5c while Foxconn is responsible for devices like the iPhone 5s. Foxconn has typically been Apple’s main go-to guy when it comes to assembly of their products, but recently in a bid to reduce reliance on a single company as well as to reduce supply-chain risk, Apple has turned to other companies to help them with their products.

    In fact Apple’s reliance on Pegatron is only expected to grow with reports that Pegatron will be opening up a new plant in China to help keep up with demand. It’s odd that the report only mentions one device, the iPhone 6, because if the previous rumors have any credibility to them, Apple is said to launch two phones: one of the 4.7-inch variety, and one of the 5.7-inch variety. Our report on an earlier rumor also suggested that instead of going the 16MP camera route which most companies are expected to take in 2014, Apple will instead retain its 8MP camera but will introduce improved camera functions, such as optical image stabilization. That’s not such a bad thing as we have said before since higher megapixels do not necessarily translate into better photos.

    In any case take it with a grain of salt for now, but here’s hoping we will find out more in the coming weeks/months.

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    Nokia Lumia Black Update Introduces Folders To The Start Screen

    Nokia Lumia Black Update Introduces Folders To The Start ScreenFolders aren’t a new feature, at least not as far as operating systems are concerned. Heck, they’ve been around for practically ages! In fact smartphones have also introduced folders for a while, save for Windows Phone which oddly enough did not come with that feature. Well the good news for Windows Phone owners is that if you were looking forward to finally being able to better organize your apps through the use of folders, you might be pleased to know that the upcoming Nokia Lumia Black update will be introducing that feature to your mobile devices! Of course this being a Nokia update and all means that non-Nokia Lumia owners will be out of luck, at least for now (although Samsung did introduce folders through an app, so there’s that).

    It is unclear how exactly folders will work on Nokia’s Windows Phone devices, but more details are expected to be shared later, with the feature being confirmed for now. The update will also introduce other features such as Nokia Glance Screen 2.0, Bluetooth LE, Nokia Refocus, Beamer, Storyteller, and Nokia Camera. The update is currently being rolled out in China and other countries around the world. You might have received a notification telling you to update, but if you haven’t, don’t worry because it’s probably being rolled out in stages and your turn will eventually come.

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    OKIDOKEYS New Smart Locks And Keys

    OKIDOKEYS New Smart Locks And Keys

    OKIDOKEYS mechanism on the door, inside the house – I saw the demo: you unlock using the smartphone

    [CES 2014] There are already a number of solutions out there that leverage technology to modernise the traditional lock and key. For example, there’s Lockitron, which basically turns a smartphone into a door key. Using the Lockitron self-install kits and a free app, doors can be locked and unlocked automatically from anywhere in the world. A similar solution by OKIDOKEYS has been announced on Sunday at CES 2014. The new line of smart locks and keys allow users to lock and unlock any door using smartphones, feature phones and smart tags, while having a fail-safe mechanism, traditional keys are also supported.

    (more…)

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    Whoscall App From Line Lets You Avoid Unwanted Calls

    Whoscall App From Line Lets You Avoid Unwanted Calls

    It would be an understatement to say that Line is a well known cross platform messaging service. Line’s astronomical growth has come in a relatively short span of time, it now boasts more than 300 million users around the world, with the figure expected to rise even higher over the next few months. It has released a new app called Whoscall which users can use in order to avoid unwanted calls. The app is currently available only for Android, it is expected to be released for the iPhone soon. This service actually stems from an acquisition Line made last month of a similar service called Gogolook.

    Whoscall touts a database of more than 600 million phone numbers that have been sourced from public databases, internet search as well as public phonebooks from around the world. So if the user is unable to figure out who the mystery caller is, Whoscall helps them identify the caller and decide if they want to take the call or not. They also have the option to block calls. Is the app is not able to identify the caller, users can then tag the incoming number so that it is entered in the database and may help other users somewhere down the line. Users based in the U.S., Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan can also download the entire database for offline access. Whoscall is available as a free download from Google Play Store.

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    Sony Xperia SP And Xperia T Android 4.3 Update Leaked

    Sony Xperia SP And Xperia T Android 4.3 Update Leaked

    The new kid on the block may be Android 4.4 KitKat, but a large number of device have yet to receive the now outdated Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update. It can take a while for these updates to be released, they go through various processes before they are ultimately released for the end user. Recently, there has been chatter that the Android 4.3 update for Sony Xperia SP and Xperia T is just around the corner. Apparently the update is in the final stage of testing. While there’s no word on the official release, a pre-release build of the update has leaked online for these two devices.

    The Android 4.3 update for Xperia T carries build number 9.2.A.0.278, and 12.1.A.0.256 for the Xperia SP. Screenshots of these pre-release test builds were leaked earlier this week, now the firmware files have appeared online. Those who are interesting in installing the leaked update on their device should keep in mind that its meant for devices with unlocked bootloaders only. Moreover, flashing unofficial firmware files is a bit tricky and may brick the device if something goes wrong. So only go ahead with the install if you’re absolutely sure of what you’re doing. It is expected that the official Android 4.3 update for Xperia SP and Xperia T will be released in the very near future. Those who can’t wait can grab the update for Xperia SP from here, and for the Xperia T from here.

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    ZTE Eco-Mobius Prototype Spotted

    ZTE Eco Mobius Prototype Spotted[CES 2014] ZTE has come up with its fair share of devices in the past, especially smartphones and to a certain extent, tablets, but what they have done with this proof-of-concept known as the ZTE Eco-Mobius is equally interesting, or perhaps even more so. While this particular concept does look interesting on the CES showfloor, it does not seem as though ZTE has any intent to fully commit themselves to the Eco-Mobius project in any particular manner. Rather, the whole idea of the Eco-Mobius would be to showcase just how a modular smartphone might look like, as well as how it might all come and fit together.

    With the ZTE Eco-Mobius, it depicts just how the “core” modules are all able to be swapped out. And when I mention “core” modules here, I’m really serious – it includes the likes of a camera, CPU, GPU, RAM, and ROM. The whole idea behind this modular capability is to reduce the amount of waste by enabling individual pieces to be replaced, instead of purchasing a whole new smartphone yet again after a year or two. What do you think of the idea of a modular smartphone, and should it be extended to the world of tablets as well? Image courtesy of The Verge.

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  • ZTE Eco-Mobius Prototype Spotted original content from Ubergizmo.