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.

Once again we’re being treated to an up-close look at the iPhone “budget” model that’s being rumored for release later this year, this time in video form. This machine is said to succeed the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, pushing the entire line of iPhone devices to the 4-inch panel size to keep things standard while the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S keep things premium. So what’s holding us back from believing in this lovely preview?

Have a peek at this machine and see what’s missing. It’s not this one indicator – the complete lack of any certification information – that would stop us from believing it’s real. On the contrary: a release of a device this early in its production would indeed be bringing it out without said information.

But for a device that has this information printed on itself in final form, it simply does not make sense for this model to exist. If this device were created by Apple, printed information on its back and all, they’d also include some dummy info. A model like this is – if it ever sees the light of day – made to help its original designers to see that it’s ready for production.

If it doesn’t include the full final form, it’s essentially useless – unless it’s only made for case-makers. That, on the other hand, makes this model rather helpful. But here’s the kicker: Apple doesn’t send models like this out to case-makers, they send out schematics. If Apple changed their mind and decided to start sending mock-up devices to case-makers before the device is released, there’d be no end to the leaks.

Then again, judging by the amount of leaks that have appeared with this plastic beast so far, we could be seeing that very thing happen here before the next generation appears.

VIA: NYSEBulletin

Plastic iPhone appears again in video: a bit too unreal? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple has been tinkering with ways to make the iPhone better at managing battery life intelligently based on usage pattern, a new patent filing published by the USPTO today (spotted by AppleInsider) reveals. The application describes a system that learns your habits, evaluates how much power is needed between your usual charges and does everything it can to keep the phone running when you’re away from power sources.

The invention involves using location data combined with the kind of activity that a user is actually engaging in with their smartphone to give a more complete picture of when they need to be stingy with power and when they don’t. It’s a little like how your Mac can detect when it gets plugged in and then change its power profile accordingly, adjusting things like display brightness and time until sleep. The mobile version would be smarter, however, and even estimate the amount of time a user will be away from a power source and modify energy usage accordingly.

Thus when a person is at home, the phone will know that and not worry too much about longevity. But when a user is traveling long distances, the phone would adjust “characteristics” to compensate. Those power saving strategies could include limiting data fetch intervals, turning down display brightness, turning off open applications or even preventing some from running.

The automatic component of the system would involve the iPhone storing a number of regularly used charging points and estimating time between those points based on daily habits, but users could also directly input specific information, like how long they thing they’ll be away from power for instance. Users could also select from different types of power profiles, the application suggests.

In another neat trick, the system would detect what kind of source is being used to charge and adjust the charging rate accordingly – charging faster when it knows it’s in a car and only available to power for a limited time, for instance, but slowing down at home to decrease the effect on battery health.

Power management is one way to tackle the needs of battery-hungry users who often find that to be the limiting factor of their smartphone devices. In place of sophisticated new battery technologies, this could be what Apple turns to to make iPhones balance ever-increasing processing power and energy demands, and it is a logical development for mobile computing in general.

As Apple reports a record quarter for iPhone sales and an otherwise less-than-eventful quarter for hardware, Google rings the last bell they hope they’ll have to ring with a Motorola loss. How do the two compare other than in billions of dollars this past set of three months? Let’s have a peek!

Google’s reported consolidated revenues for this past quarter rang in at $14.11 billion USD, this a 19% increase over the same quarter one year previous.

This includes a total of $998 million in revenue from Motorola alone – though as our Motorola earnings in Google earnings rundown shows, GAAP operating loss for Motorola headed upward to $342 million for this quarter, while non-GAAP operating loss went from $49 million to $218 million in the same quarters year-over-year – no small change to scoff at.

It’s important to note at this point that the two companies do not record earnings to be compared to one another specifically, and as such, this article should be taken at face value. Apple and Google create reports like these to send information out to their investors specifically – this battle is for entertainment alone.

Apple plays a very different game here than Google, creating their own hardware and software rather than chalking up wins and losses to a separate entity. While Google works with Motorola and will soon be releasing Moto X, the closest Google will have come yet to taking total control of a Motorola handset, there’s still a point at which the two entities are more separate than Apple is with its hardware/software combinations.

Apple’s quarterly revenue comes in at $35.3 billion, this up from $35 billion (without the .3 at the end) the same quarter one year ago.

Meanwhile Google’s operating expenses, other than the cost of revenues, were up at $4.92 billion for this quarter, while Apple’s were $3.82 billion. Net income for Apple rang in at $6.9 billion for the three month period while Google’s was $3.23 billion (and that’s non-GAAP).

While Google rings in the earnings bell for items like Advertising, Apple lets numbers be known on each individual piece of hardware they sell – iPhones, iPads, Mac, iPod, and Accessories. Will we see similar numbers in the future as Google continues with Motorola, especially with products like the Moto X? And what kind of one-on-one numbers will we see between the Moto X and the next iPhone, coming this Fall? We shall see!

VIA: Apple; Google

Apple vs Google earnings show major differences in similarly popular companies is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ironically despite how smartphones were designed to keep us connected and social on the go, it has actually led to anti-social behavior around dinner tables and even when out amongst friends. In any case if one were to ignore that […]

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