Hasta La Gadget!

Want a cheap gateway to the world of Windows Phone? In the US, it won’t get much cheaper than AT&T’s new version of the Lumia 520. Nokia’s starter device will cost just $100 contract-free when it hits AT&T’s GoPhone prepaid service on July 26th — that’s $50 less than T-Mobile’s already inexpensive Lumia 521. There won’t be LTE support or other frills, but we suspect that many customers won’t mind at this price.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia, AT&T

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Source: AT&T

AT&T’s Mobile Share plans have sometimes been too expensive for customers who only need a little data. The carrier will soon be more accommodating, however: it’s adding both 300MB and 2GB tiers on July 26th. The $20, 300MB pack costs half as much as the 1GB plan, and is intended mostly for basic phone users. We’ve reached out for more details on 2GB pricing, but it’s not hard to see this new tier slotting neatly between the 1GB and 4GB offerings. Both new plans should represent better bargains for frugal customers, although they won’t do much for bandwidth lovers — Lumia 1020 customers will likely want some extra headroom.

Update: AT&T tells us that the 2GB plan will cost $50, plus $45 for each smartphone.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, AT&T

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Source: AT&T

When tech giants buy developers, they frequently let app support fall by the wayside — and Apple is continuing that trend following its acquisition of HopStop. Windows Phone users can no longer download or run their version of the HopStop app. Instead, the developer is asking them to use the mobile website for directions. Curiously, though, the Android app is still hanging around; Apple isn’t dismissing all competing platforms, like it did after buying Siri. Neither Apple nor HopStop have offered explanations for the move, but it’s clear that Windows Phone users will have to lean on alternatives like Here Transit to plan their daily commutes.

[Left image credit: Roman DeSilva, Twitter]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Mobile, Apple

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Via: AllThingsD

Source: WindowsObserver

Ubuntu’s plan to merge the desktop computer and mobile device is taking shape today in form of the Edge, which it’s aiming to bring to market in May of next year for $830 outright. True to Canonical’s community driven roots, the company is turning to crowd-funding to get the device on its feet. It’s aiming to raise $32 million, and to that end, Canonical’s launching a campaign on Indiegogo today, which provides early backers the opportunity to snag the phone for $600. According to company founder, Mark Shuttleworth, the Indiegogo route isn’t meant to compete with its strategy of courting carriers for its mainstream smartphone project. Rather, it’s meant to solve an “innovation gap” that’s arisen during talks with manufacturers over its grander vision.

The Ubuntu Edge is a very ambitious smartphone that’ll be capable of running a full-fledged Ubuntu desktop operating system alongside Android. While specs are currently tentative, the company is aiming to outfit the Edge with a quad-core CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Meanwhile, the phone itself will sport a 4.5-inch, 1,280 x 720 display that’s constructed of sapphire crystal glass, an 8MP rear / 2MP front-facing camera and stereo speakers. As for connectivity, Canonical’s eyeing LTE, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC, along with MHL support.

If the converged device strategy strikes your fancy, you’ll find good incentive to be among the early backers. According to Shuttleworth, the Edge will only come to market if backers make it happen, as “none of the phone manufacturers are yet ambitious enough to try to put both things in one package.” Regardless of whether the Indiegogo campaigns succeeds — it’d be a record, if so — Canonical will continue pursuing its strategy to bring a more basic Ubuntu smartphone to market. Recently, the company announced the first of its partner carriers, which includes Verizon, Deutsche Telecom, EE, SK Telecom, China Unicom and others. We’re still waiting to see what type of smartphone might be offered through the carriers, but it’s now clear that if you believe in the open source / converged device philosophy, you’ll need to vote with your wallet.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Indiegogo

Wireless storage and streaming solutions have been around for awhile, and most of the big storage companies have out their own version of wireless storage, mostly in the form of a hard drive that you can connect to wirelessly if you’re short on space on your mobile device. However, SanDisk is implementing a different method that includes nothing but a flash drive.

SanDisk’s new Connect line of devices aims to help you out with transferring files between your computer and mobile device, whether it’d be a smartphone or tablet. There are two products in the Connect line. First, there’s a flash drive that crams in up to 32GB of storage, as well as WiFi and a microSD card slot. Just plug it into your computer and you can transfer files to it. Then, your mobile device can connect directly to the flash drive to obtain the files, or vice versa.

There’s also a larger Roku-sized SanDisk Connect box that comes with a full-size SD card slot and a twice the battery life of the flash drive. However, it only tops out at 32GB, but the added SD card slot can bump that up quite a bit. The box may be a better option for those who want to quickly transfer photos from their camera to their devices quickly and easily.

The only catch is that you’ll have to use SanDisk’s own mobile apps in order to transfer files to and from devices using the flash drive or box. This can either be fine or really bad depending on how easy the app is to use, but seeing as how you’ll be forced to use a specific app, we’re guessing that’s something that users will have to live with.

As for pricing and availability, the flash drive will start at $49 for the 16GB, with the 32GB version costing $59. The larger box will cost $79 and only comes in a 32GB model. The 32GB flash drive seems like the better deal to us, but we’re letting you be the judge of that. SanDisk says that the Connect line will be available sometime next month.

SOURCE: SanDisk

SanDisk Connect arrives for wireless storage and streaming to mobile devices is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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