Hasta La Gadget!

Having a deal such as the one T-Mobile is running starting this month, one that offers smart devices for “zero down” before charging a certain amount of cash each month should raise red flags for the average consumer. It did for SlashGear, and here we’re going in to take a closer look at a few key devices – and their prices – before and after that discount takes effect. What this means for the consumer is more than just one cost here or there; it’s about clarity.

With T-Mobile’s newest plan, you’ll not simply see the first initial cost of a smartphone cut out, followed by the rest of your purchase taking place the same as it would otherwise. On the contrary – some of these phones have their monthly payment plans increased (that’s for the device, mind you, not the data), while others actually do have JUST the up front cost cut out.

The Samsung Galaxy S III, before this Zero Down plan takes effect, will cost a new customer with T-Mobile $49.99 up front followed by $20 per month for 24 months, this ending up costing $529.99 USD total. With Zero Down in effect, the Galaxy S III costs $0 up front and $22 per month for 24 months, ending up costing $528 USD. A whole dollar and 99 cents savings!

The Galaxy S 4 costs $149 + $20 x 24 or $629.99, this compares to the Zero Down plan cost of $25 per month for 24 months which ends up ringing in at $600 USD. The iPhone 5 (only available in 16GB on this plan) is either $649.99 without the plan or $648 with, and the HTC One will cost you either $649.99 without the plan or $600 with.

Sony’s Xperia Z will cost you $579.99 with the normal $99.99 + $20 x 24 months or, with the Zero Down deal, you’ll get the device for $25 x 24 months = $600. That’s a price increase.

Be sure to check your numbers. The full Zero Down price chart straight from T-Mobile is included below, while T-Mobile’s prices (as highlighted in the Xperia Z image above) are listed plainly on T-Mobile’s site. Add it up!

T-Mobile “Zero Down” deal broken down: initial thrift at what cost? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We saw a lot of new features during the unveiling of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean earlier this week, including multi-user account support with restricted profiles, as well as Google Play Games, which is Google’s version of Apple’s Game Center. However, there’s a new feature installed as well called Apps Ops, which is an app permission manager.

Apps Ops is hidden for the time being, most likely due to it not being fully ready yet, but luckily, you can install a third-party app that unlocks the hidden app permissions manager, letting you set individual custom controls for each app and give them their own permissions that they’re allowed to perform.

For instance, you can fine tune permissions to apps to prevent them from accessing your contacts, getting your location through GPS, and accessing your call log. Obviously, this is a huge win for those worried about their privacy, but it’s also a huge win for smartphone hypermilers, as you can turn on automatic GPS in apps to save on battery.

We’re not sure when Google plans on unlocking the feature for everyone, without the help of a third-party unlocking app, but this gives us a sign that Google is becoming more aware of privacy and wants users to be able to fine tune settings in order to have the level of privacy they want.

The hidden feature also seems to give users the ability to to deny some permissions in apps at the time of installation, which would be rather convenient and time-saving. Currently, many of us don’t read the app permissions anyway when we install the app, and simply just hit “Accept,” but this could make us pay more attention to the information that apps can get a hold of.

SOURCE: Android Police

Android 4.3 app permission manager discovered, hidden for now is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google announced its 2nd-generation Nexus 7 earlier this week, which has single-handedly turned the tech world upside down with how great of a product it is. If you’ve been dying to get your hands on the new Nexus 7, up until now, you’ve only been able to purchase it through the Google Play Store, but today, you’ll be able to purchase the 7-inch tablet from Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon. (more…)

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It | Nexus 7 2 Being Sold At Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon original content from Ubergizmo.

It’s no surprise that Android runs on all sorts of different resolutions, including small smartwatch displays, all the way up to the Nexus 10′s better-than-Retina-quality screen. However, we could see Android devices in the future rocking 4K resolutions, thanks to an interesting piece of source code in Android 4.3.

To make it possible for Android to run on all sorts of different resolutions, it must support a vast number of pixel densities for app content. This means that there are different categories for different resolutions, including Low DPI (LDPI) for 120 DPI devices, Medium DPI (MDPI) for 160 DPI, High DPI (HDPI) for 240 DPI, Extra High DPI (XHDPI) for 320 DPI, and Extra Extra High DPI (XXHDPI) for 480 DPI.

However, Android 4.3 includes a new DPI range called Extra Extra Extra High DPI (XXXHDPI) for devices that have 640 DPI. According to the comments in the source code, this category is intended for 4K displays. Obviously, this refers to 4K televisions specifically, meaning that Google might have plans for a device that’ll support the higher resolution.

Whether that device is a new set-top box or what is anyone’s guess, but it’s possible that the company could update its Google TV with Android 4.3, that way it could play 4K content on the higher-res televisions that no one can really afford yet. However, this merely seems like a tactic that Google is using to prepare early for the future.

Then again, it could also just a move by the Android team to cover their bases. The HTC One was pushing the envelope for DPI with its 468 pixels per inch. The added category to Android 4.3 could just be a cushion that Google is adding, but we really think that Google may have something cooking in the 4K realm.

SOURCE: Android Police

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean code hints at 4K resolution support is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It sounds like Google’s Babel fish-esque instant translation solution is making progress — Android VP Hugo Barra told The UK Times that Google’s got hardware prototypes (in the form of mobile phones) already working. Moreover, in a recent test he took part in, the system was “near-perfect” with certain language combinations (English to Portuguese is specifically cited).

The biggest barrier, beyond the translation itself, is speech recognition. In so many words, background noise interferes with the translation software, thus affecting results. But Barra said it works “close to 100 percent” when used in “controlled environments.” Sounds perfect for diplomats, not so much for real-world conversations. Of course, Google’s non-real-time, text-based translation software built into Chrome leaves quite a bit to be desired, making us all the more wary of putting our faith into Google’s verbal solution. As the functionality is still “several years away,” though, there’s still plenty of time to convert us.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software, Mobile, Google

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Source: The UK Times