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.

As scheduled, AT&T and Nokia have launched the Lumia 1020 this morning on AT&T’s website. It currently lists the device as only being available online, but the phone will be available in AT&T stores later today. The 1020 is Nokia’s latest flagship smartphone, sporting a 41-megapixel camera as its main feature.

The Lumia 1020 was put up for pre-order on the 16th, but if you didn’t end up reserving your own unit, it looks like you still may have some luck, as AT&T’s website isn’t listing the device as sold out yet. You’ll have your choice of color as well, as long as your favorite color is either yellow, black, or white.

The phone is priced at $299 after signing a new two-year contract (or $660 off-contract), which is quite a bit for a new smartphone even considering its revolutionary camera technology on the inside, which makes it one of the more expensive on-contract phones to own currently. However, if the 41MP camera is reeling you in, you should have no reason not to take the bait.

On top of the 1020′s 41MP camera, the device packs in a 4.5-inch display with a 1280×768 resolution. On the inside, there’s a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. And of course, topping it all off is a fresh copy of Windows Phone 8. You can check our full review to learn more.

VIA: CNET

AT&T Nokia Lumia 1020 hits carrier website, in stores later today is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It wasn’t long ago that Microsoft supporters and fans would laugh at Apple and Steve Jobs, saying that as wonderful as he was believed to be, he never had the kind of money that Bill Gates did. At the end of the day, those people would argue, it was software that sold products and actually mattered; not hardware.

For a long time, that was true. Dell and HP might have made their cash on hardware, but if it weren’t for Windows, who would have bought the PCs? And Microsoft was able to build an entire business on the idea that delivering software was preferable to delivering hardware. Even now, Microsoft is generating billions of dollars every quarter by following that plan.

But things are starting to change. The world is becoming increasingly focused on hardware to the detriment of software. And in far more cases than ever, the number of companies that are benefiting from their hardware is on the rise. In other words, hardware is starting to drive much of what consumers and even enterprise users think about certain products.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the case of Apple. There was a time when Microsoft was the industry’s biggest company, due mainly to its software strategy. But for the last few years, Apple has reigned supreme. And although it generates significant cash from software through its App Store, it’s the company’s hardware that has driven its profits. Without the stellar hardware, Apple wouldn’t be Apple.

“Without the stellar hardware, Apple wouldn’t be Apple.”

A similar scenario plays out when one examines Samsung Electronics. That company is using the same Android that’s available in countless other devices. But what’s drawing customers to its products is the hardware. To not acknowledge that would be a huge mistake.

Which, of course, brings us to Microsoft. As I’ve mentioned, Microsoft was always the benchmark by which all other companies were judged. And when arguments were made that software was better than hardware, Microsoft was the trump card all debaters would use. And why not? With billions of dollars in profits each quarter, it was an easy play.

But recently, Microsoft changed everything when it announced that it was initiating a massive restructure that would focus the company not so much on software, but on hardware. What’s more, Steve Ballmer said that as time goes on, Microsoft will become even more hardware-friendly than it has in the past.

“Hardware has become the new software. And even Microsoft knows it.”

Microsoft’s announcement represented a seismic shift in the technology industry. The one company that, years ago, drove the idea that software development was best, is now the firm that believes the future is in hardware. In an odd turn of events, hardware has become the new software. And even Microsoft knows it.

So, what does the future look like for companies that are focused on software? Not too bad. Software is still a highly profitable and important part of the industry. But to not acknowledge that hardware is the best way to attract customers nowadays would be a huge mistake.

Just ask BlackBerry.

Who Knew? Hardware Is the New Software is written by Don Reisinger & 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.

Now that we’ve seen the boosts in the change-over from Nexus 7′s original iteration to its reboot, and have heard Google confirm that Samsung will be taking command on a second Nexus 10, it’s high time we went hunting for the build on this next-generation companion to the smaller tablet. While virtual ink on the announcement for the Nexus 7 isn’t even really dry yet, it having been announced less than 24 hours ago (if you don’t count the leaks), a new version of this tablet’s 10.1-inch tablet companion can be given a run-down based on what we’ve seen from ASUS, the maker of the smaller slate.

With the Nexus 10′s current abilities, it should by all means be ready to continue to compete with today’s best comparably-sized slates without a problem. So why make another? Isn’t a 10.055-inch liquid crystal panel with 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution enough? That’s ever-so-slightly less sharp than the Nexus 7′s reboot, mind you, at 300.24 (while the Nexus 7 sits at 323 PPI with its same amount of pixels in a smaller space.)

Perhaps its time that Samsung move forward with a non-Exynos processor, then, is that it? The original Nexus 10 works with a dual-core Exynos 5250 processor (currently re-named Exynos 5 Dual, if you’re looking it up). Meanwhile the Samsung Galaxy S 4 (international edition, that is) – a smartphone, for goodness sake – works with what Samsung calls its Exynos 5 Octa.

While we’ve not had two devices with the same specifications save the processor to benchmark these two processors against one another, it should be noted that the dual-core version was introduced well before the “Octa”, and that they work with completely different GPUs. Furthermore, the Exynos 5 Octa works with two sets of 2 cores rather than 1, working with one set of ARM Cortex-A15 cores as well as a set of ARM Cortex-A7 cores for backup. Meanwhile the Exynos 5 Dual works with just one set of ARM Cortex-A15 cores.

So what will the Nexus 10′s reboot work with instead?

How about a brand new Exynos 5 Octa “Evolved”? This update to the original Exynos 5 quad-core “Octa” that we’ve seen in the international Galaxy S 4, and has been tipped to be being prepared for Samsung’s other hero smartphone line in the Samsung Galaxy Note III.

With Samsung pushing their own processor to the original Nexus 10, it’s not only possible that they’ll do the same thing with a second iteration, it just makes good sense.

As for the rest of the specifications – you can probably guess what’ll happen. Though we can’t imagine Google aiming to ramp up the density of this tablet’s display again since the only competitor it has at the moment is the Nexus 7, you never know! The tablet is a little bit unwieldily, looking more like an extension of the style of the Galaxy Nexus than it does a current-gen Nexus tablet – perhaps a bit of a smoothing effect is in order.

Something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, perhaps?

Samsung Nexus 10 reboot: what to expect is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.