Apr 10
Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdams talked about how data is used on Verizon’s pipes… and a story about how he convinced Steve Jobs to put LTE on the iPhone 5. More »
Apr 10
I have a problem. I own a smartphone – an iPhone 5 – that comes with a nicely sized, 4-inch screen. When I surf to Web sites, I’m able to see whatever I want. When I go to the iTunes Store and buy a movie or two, I can enjoy them without any trouble whatsoever. For me, the 4-inch screen is an ideal size.
Then again, I thought the same with my former iPhone, which came with a smaller 3.5-inch display. I thought for sure that I wouldn’t need a larger screen. But when I got my hands on the bigger display, I decided otherwise.
Now, though, I’m looking at new devices from companies like LG and Samsung, like the Galaxy S 4, that come with screen sizes that hit 5 inches, and I can’t help but wonder why anyone would need a device featuring a screen size that large. Let’s face it – there comes a point when screen sizes become too big and unwieldy. And I wonder if a 5-inch display from Samsung is one such device.
Of course, those who love Android will have a much different opinion on the matter. They believe that Apple is delivering products that only come with 4-inch screens is absolutely ridiculous. It’s too small a screen, the critics say, and it’s the kind of limitation that Apple places on products that make them want an Android handset.
I can understand both points. Apple ostensibly believes that a 4-inch tablet makes sense for customers. Samsung and others, however, see that as one of the issues with Apple’s products, and believe that customers want the biggest display they can get. While I agree that there are literally millions of people around the globe that do want the larger screens, at what point do they become too big?
“There’s a point where a large screen becomes ridiculous”
The way I see it, we’ve pushed the envelope to a point where there might not be much more room for larger screens. Most people today put their devices into their pockets or in small places in their purses. They don’t have the room, necessarily, to keep putting larger and larger products into those places. It comes to a point when a device has such a large screen that using it becomes ridiculous. And there comes a point when companies have to realize that and find other ways to attract us. It’s not easy, for sure, but it’s absolutely necessary.
So, I think we should examine whether smartphone screen sizes are getting too big. As I said earlier, I’ll be the first to admit that I like a nice, big screen. But after 5 inches, I don’t think it makes sense for companies to deliver products that deliver anything bigger. And I’m not so sure that consumers will respond favorably to such a move.
So, before you buy that 5-inch-screen-equipped screen, think twice. Will it be too big? Will it be just right? Everyone is different. But not acknowledging the possibility of screen sizes being too big for their own good is a mistake.
When Do Smartphone Screens Become Too Big? is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 10
As T-Mobile begins their push for the iPhone 5 as they finally have the device available for sale directly, they’ve created a trade-in offer where you’ll toss them your old iPhone for a deal. When you do trade in your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S (no other device will do) right up until June 16th (Father’s Day), you’ll get a $0 down deal on the iPhone 5 – plus monthly payments. This will knock out $99.99 USD from your final bill – and you’ve got the potential to knock out a whole lot more than that!
When you get an iPhone 5 from T-Mobile normally, you’ll be paying $99.99 up front and $20 per month for 24 months. That’s $480 + $99.99 = $579.99 USD. This compares to two other prices you could potentially pay for the iPhone 5, both of them available both here and in our iPhone 5 T-Mobile pricing breakdown.
1. On-contract from non-T-Mobile carriers: $199 with subsidy costs built-in to your data/voice/text plan (you can’t see it, but it’s there).
2. Off-contract straight from Apple: $649 (we’ll stick to the 16GB version since T-Mobile is advertising that model as their hero with $99.99 down and so forth)
3. T-Mobile payment plan: $579.99 ($99.99 down with $20 per month for 24 months)
According to T-Mobile you’ll get the first $99.99 knocked off of your bill, bringing you back to the payments of $20 USD per month for 24 months, this ending up at $480 USD. T-Mobile also notes that your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S might be worth more than that base $99.99 trade-in value:
“Depending on the trade-in value of their device, customers will also receive a credit of up to $120, which can be used toward monthly payments, an existing T-Mobile bill, or the purchase of accessories or another device.” – T-Mobile
We’ve reached out to T-Mobile to get clarification on what this added value might be: more than likely it’ll depend on how mint your device is and/or if you’ve got a device with more internal storage than the basic 16GB model. UPDATE: Below you’ll now find details on which device will get you the most from T-Mobile and what your minimum requirements will be as well.
Customer trades-in an iPhone 5
• $0 Down on new iPhone 5
• Monthly EIP payments are $13/mo for 24 months
• –OR- Customer receives up to $164 bill credit, which can be applied toward monthly payments, a T-Mobile bill or the purchase of accessories or another deviceCustomer trades-in an iPhone 4S
• $0 Down on new iPhone 5
• Monthly EIP payments are $15/mo for 24 months
• –OR- Customer receives up to $120 bill credit, which can be applied toward monthly payments, a T-Mobile bill or the purchase of accessories or another deviceCustomer trades-in an iPhone 4
• $0 Down on new iPhone 5
• Monthly EIP payments are $19/mo for 24 months
• –OR- Customer receives up to $24 bill credit, which can be applied toward monthly payments, a T-Mobile bill or the purchase of accessories or another device
“The used device must meet minimal criteria including being in good condition, having an intact and working display and being free of liquid damage or corrosion and also goes through security checks to ensure it is not a device that has been reported lost or stolen.” – T-Mobile Representative
NOTE: If you need convincing that the iPhone 5 is a device you need to own, have a peek at our full iPhone 5 review, now!
So is this trade-in worth it? You simply must see how much your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S is worth on the open market to decide. If you sell your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S on ebay, for instance, you might get more than $500 USD for it – but you’ll also have to make absolutely sure you know how to wipe out your device before you sell it, unlock it so the person you’re selling it to can use it, and have a basic knowledge of how to sell and ship items with ebay in the first place.
If these sorts of must-haves scare the living daylights out of you, you have three options, each of them better than the last:
1. Just keep your iPhone and buy a new iPhone 5 from T-Mobile so you’ve got 2 iPhones, the older one just as awesome as an iPod.
2. Trade your iPhone in with T-Mobile and get that new iPhone 5 – they’ll take care of the details.
3. Ask your nephew or niece how to make ebay sell your stuff – and don’t forget to give them a few bucks for the effort!
Stay tuned as we get the final details from T-Mobile on what they’ll be looking for in regards to the above-and-beyond $99.99 value of your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. Seeya then!
T-Mobile’s $0 iPhone 5 trade-in: is it worth it? [PRICING UPDATE] is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 09
T-Mobile announces iPhone trade-in special, gives you iPhone 5 for $0 upfront
Posted in: Today's ChiliT-Mobile has been making big changes lately, moving to rebrand itself as the “Uncarrier” and to do things in a way that is different from its competitors. It has made good on all that talk, revealing a trade-in deal for current iPhone owners: trade-in an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and receive the iPhone 5 for $0. The special is in effect until June 16.
The trade-in special will begin at T-Mobile stores April 12, which is this upcoming Friday. Only so-called well-qualified customers will be able to take advantage of the special, and will need to trade in either an iPhone 4 or a 4S. In return, the iPhone 5 will be priced at $0 upfront plus the monthly service fee.
The special is in conjunction with a Simple Choice Plan. If your iPhone 4 or 4S is in good condition, you could receive credit on top of the iPhone 5 up to $120, which T-Mobile says can be used towards monthly payments, towards an existing bill with the carrier, or to buy accessories from the company. The plan starts at $50 per month, and offers unlimited talk/text and 500MB of data. Another $10 will get you 2GB of additional data, while an extra $20 will get you unlimited data.
T-Mobile’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert said: “Our message to iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 customers is simple: bring in your device and trade up to iPhone 5 on T-Mobile. We’re making it incredibly attractive to buy an iPhone 5 by pairing an un-beatable upfront price and trade-in offer with Simple Choice, the most hassle-free and affordable rate plan in wireless.”
[via T-Mobile]
T-Mobile announces iPhone trade-in special, gives you iPhone 5 for $0 upfront is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 09
T-Mobile Will Give You the iPhone 5 for Free If You Trade in an Old iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S
Posted in: Today's Chili
After a long wait, T-Mobile will finally start selling the iPhone 5 this Friday. To sweeten the pot for people (and to encourage people joining up with Magenta), T-Mobile will be accepting old iPhone 4 and 4S phones for the price of a brand new iPhone 5. That is, if you trade in an iPhone 4 or 4S to T-Mobile, you won’t have to pay anything up front for a T-Mobile iPhone 5. More »
Apr 08
Last week it was reported that T-Mobile will be rolling out a new firmware update for unlocked iPhones on its network. The update would allow unlocked iPhone 5 devices on the T-Mobile network to connect to its newly launched 4G LTE network, and use other services such as Visual Voicemail. This new carrier bundle allows access to AWS spectrum bands meaning that unlocked iPhone 5 devices, which were previously limited to HSPA+, on the network now have full access to LTE. The latest carrier bundle comes merely days before the release of iPhone 5 on T-Mobile, taking place on the 12th of April.
The carrier bundle (ipcc) pushed out for iPhones enables T-Mobile 4G LTE on iPhone 5 and general service for all older iPhones. The update is available to all iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 owners from the About Phone page in the Settings app. T-Mobile’s LTE network has only been launched in seven markets as of now, those who’re not based in those markets will be connecting to the T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, even if they’ve downloaded the new firmware update and the latest carrier bundle.
[Image via TmoNews]
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Files Complaint Against Google’s Android To European Commission Claiming Anti-Competitiveness, WhatsApp Denies Google Sale, 
Apr 08
Smarter Stand for iPhone Review
Posted in: Today's ChiliWe talked about the Smarter Stand for iPad over the summer last year, and the company behind the product ended up shattering their initial Kickstarter goal, reaching over $150,000 in contributions. However, they’re back again, but with a solution for iPhone users. The Smarter Stand for iPhone incorporates a stand and a headphone wrapper in one small package. The Kickstarter campaign ends this Wednesday, April 10, and they’ve already surpassed their original Kickstarter goal of $15,000. However, you can still get in on the action and pre-order one for yourself. However, we ended up getting some samples to try out and see if the Smarter Stand for iPhone lives up to the hype.
First off, this new Smarter Stand has a very unique design. It makes for a pretty good headphone wrapper by itself, but it also acts as a stand for your iPhone, allowing you to keep your headphones wrapped up while you have it propping up your smartphone. However, you’ll have to have your headphones plugged into your iPhone in order to use the Smarter Stand as a stand, since it uses the headphone jack as a fulcrum of sorts. The Smarter Stand has a convenient location to slide the headphone plug into, although it seems to only work best with the stock Apple earbuds (or EarPods, as they’re now calling them). The stand isn’t too friendly with other headphone plug designs, as you can see with my own pair of headphones in the gallery toward the bottom, but it at least still works, albeit not as great as using regular Apple earbuds.
However, what I really like about the Smarter Stand is how it allows for room to feed the headphone earpieces through the middle after you wrapped them up. It’s a small design facet, but it’s incredibly genius and really handy. The two forks at either end also make it really easy to wind up your headphones, although you have to be careful not to wind your headphones up too tightly or too loosely — too tightly can result in destroyed headphone cords, while wrapping too loosely can lead to unwanted unraveling.
As a stand itself, the Smarter Stand works pretty well. Again, you have to have your headphones plugged into your iPhone in for the stand to do its thing, but you can still have your headphones wrapped up if you want, and if you want to utilize your external speakers, you can simply unplug your headphones past that first notch to keep them plugged in, but not activated. Sadly, you can’t adjust the angle of the stand, but it sits at a nice 45-degrees (roughly), which we found to be optimal anyway.
In the end, if you need a simple and cheap stand that also doubles as a headphone wrapper, this is probably what you want. You can get one for as low $9 (plus $3 shipping to US), and it’s made out of flexible, but stiff thermoplastic polyurethane, so while it looks like a cheap accessory, it’ll hold up quite well. However, it only works well if you’re using Apple’s own headphones. You can use other brands, but the stand doesn’t quite work as nicely. It’ll at least work either way, but that’s definitely something to be aware of if you’re planning on backing the project.
The Smarter Stand is available for the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4/4S, as well as all generations of the iPod Touch. As for Android version, the company says that each Android device would require its own exclusive design (which can get expensive), but they’re open to making Smarter Stands for certain Android models if the demand is up.
Smarter Stand for iPhone Review is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 05
If you’re tired of the iPhone’s boring black or white color options, but would also like to avoid a bulky case or letting Colorware have at it with your device, you might want to check out Clear-Coat’s new color-changing Aurora skin. More »
Apr 05
T-Mobile rolling out iPhone 5 software update, addresses battery and enables LTE
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe official T-Mobile iPhone 5 doesn’t release until April 12, but those with unlocked models can take advantage of T-Mobile’s network right away. For those customers, T-Mobile is rolling out a software update that enables LTE on unlocked iPhone 5 models, as well as improves battery life and enables Visual Voicemail.
As expected, T-Mobile updated their support forums to address the software update, and it lists a roll-out date of April 5, so unlocked GSM iPhone 5 users should be receiving the OTA update at some point today. On top of the previously-mentioned updates, other features like improved Personal Hotspot settings, improved MMS settings, and HD Voice are also included.
It seems that T-Mobile is anticipating a lot of iPhone 5 users to switch over to the carrier after announcing new plans that start at only $50 per month. This gives customers unlimited minutes and text messages, as well as 500MB of data, which is usually enough for just the everyday user, while 2GB more will cost only $10 per month.
Of course, LTE is a hot topic, but T-Mobile users will only have it a select number of areas around the country. However, T-Mobile plans to cover 200 million people with LTE by the end of the year. And while the T-Mobile iPhone 5 will support HD Voice, it won’t support WiFi calling, something that could be a major blow for some users.
T-Mobile rolling out iPhone 5 software update, addresses battery and enables LTE is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 05
Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5
Posted in: Today's Chili
There are phone cases, and then there are phone cases. Since this is an extremely lucrative industry, you know for sure that competition among case manufacturers are tough, but out of the entire pile, there is sure to be a few notable products that will rise to the occasion, and I must say that after reading up on the Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5, this does seem to be a particularly good candidate for those who want not only decent protection for your shiny new iPhone 5, but also has a penchant for photography with Apple’s smartphone. It is said that the Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 is not only tougher and slimmer, but it is also capable of tripling your iPhone camera’s field of view, helping to transform your phone into the ultimate waterproof, mountable POV camera which allows you to upload and share videos from your latest adventures instantaneously.
Hitcase, after all, is an old hand when it comes to churning out rugged sports activity products for the iPhone range, and the Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 will no doubt prove itself by being waterproof, and works up to 33 feet underwater. The Hitcase Pro boasts of a new 170-degree custom lens which is capable of delivering sharper and better-saturated photos as well as videos, and will target both outdoor and action sports enthusiasts who also have a penchant for sharing their interesting adventures with the rest of their mates.
The Hitcase Pro will now pair itself up with the updated Vidometer 2.0, which so happens to be a free app which will allow you to select custom overlays whenever you record your speed, altitude, G-Force and other data on top of your videos, followed by making sure the rest of the world knows of these details after you upload them to Facebook or YouTube.
The Hitcase Pro’s ShockSeal ensures that water and dust will have no way inside, where it sports a patent pending H-seal design which delivers an extra barrier over standard single-seal, O-ring cases. Each $129.99 purchase will be accompanied by a GoPro Compatible Railslide Mount, a Tripod TiltR, a StickR Mount, a Wrist Strap, an additional Port Plug, and a Quick Start Guide.
Product Page
[ Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.