Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this year, lawmakers in San Francisco and New York joined forces in an initiative called “Secure our Smartphones” that would encourage manufacturers to include a so-called “kill switch” in future phones to address the growing problem of handset theft. According to George Gascon, San Francisco’s district attorney, carriers are determined to kill the kill switch initiative. The New York Times reports that Gascon was in talks with Samsung to pre-load software that would allow customers to deactivate stolen handsets, similar to iOS 7’s Activation Lock. However, inclusion of the software would require approval from US carriers, and the likes of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint weren’t having it.

According to Gascon, it appeared that the companies in question rejected the idea because it could cut into the revenue they make from cellphone insurance. In response, the CTIA, which represents the carriers, says it already has a solution in the stolen phone database that went live last year. However, some say that solution falls short, as it doesn’t address those devices that end up overseas, out of the reach of the database. A Samsung spokeswoman had this to say in a statement to The New York Times:

“We are working with the leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative to incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies. We will continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners towards our common goal of stopping smartphone theft.”

Filed under: Mobile, Samsung, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile

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Source: The New York Times

After an endless string of rumors and leaks, Motorola finally announced the Moto G smartphone earlier this week. While the smartphone has already been released in Brazil and the UK, it won’t be making an appearance Stateside until early next year. Verizon has already confirmed that it will offer the Moto G on prepaid in Q1, 2014. New FCC filings indicate that there might be a T-Mobile compatible Moto G model as well, which would support Magenta’s WCDMA bandwidths.

Moto G has actually appeared in two FCC filings, one supports GSM bands 850/900/19200/2100 whereas the other approved filing lists a device that supports WCDMA bands 850/1700/1900 as well as the GSM bands mentioned before. The models that appear in both filings contain model numbers from XT103 followed by 2,3,4,5 and 6. The filings don’t actually contain Moto G’s brand name, but that’s certainly no surprise as information such as this is often omitted from them. Given the fact that the Moto G’s UK variant is carrying model number XT1032, there’s little chance that the devices in the filings are not the Moto G. Even though a T-Mobile compatible variant might have surfaced at the FCC, it can’t be said for sure if such a variant will be released for T-Mobile U.S.A. One would have to wait for an official announcement.

Moto G Compatible With T-Mobile Surfaces At The FCC original content from Ubergizmo.

When it comes to T-Mobile’s flirtation with the Nexus 5 from Google, it has been quite a journey. Earlier in the week, we brought you word that the Nexus 5 will launch on T-Mobile this November 14th, where pre-orders for the smartphone went live a day after that report was published. Here we are now with November 14th displayed on our respective calendars, and we are pleased as punch to say that the Nexus 5 is now available via T-Mobile if you are interested in picking up this Android 4.4 KitKat powered smartphone.

Of course, the smartphone itself cannot yet be found in T-Mobile stores, as that will only happen from next Wednesday onward. Apart from that, you ought to prepare yourself to fork out a little bit more for the smartphone because T-Mobile intends to make some profit on the hardware from consumers. An online order for a T-Mobile Nexus 5 will cost you $449 in full, or you can always opt for an equipment installment plan that will cost you $41 upfront with a $17 monthly payment for the next two years. Would you be willing to fork out an additional $100 to avoid the wait for the Nexus 5 from Google directly? I guess this just goes to show that there is a price for everything. [Product Page]

Nexus 5 Now On Sale Officially On T-Mobile original content from Ubergizmo.

T-Mobile had already confirmed that it will be carrying Google’s latest smartphone, the Nexus 5, it just hadn’t provided a concrete launch date back then. But now it has. The carrier has announced that the Nexus 5 launches on November 14th on its website, whereas the smartphone will be launched in Magenta’s retail stores on November 20th. We had heard last week that the carrier is expected to launch Nexus 5 on November 20th, so that particular rumor has definitely turned out to be true.

From the Google Play Store, the Nexus 5 16GB model costs $349.99. T-Mobile customers won’t have to put that kind of money upfront, they’ll have to pay $41.99 upfront and then make 24 equal monthly payments of $17. That amounts to $449 for the 16GB model, which is kind of steep, so unless you decide to subscribe to T-Mobile’s Jump program, you might be better off by purchasing the Nexus 5 straight from Google. The Nexus 5 comes with a 5 inch full HD display, a 2.26GHz quadcore processor, an 8 megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization and it is the first smartphone to ship with Android 4.4 KitKat pre-installed. Nexus 5 is compatible with T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network. T-Mobile is also offering the new Nexus 7 tablet, Magenta has already started accepting pre-orders for it.

T-Mobile Launches Nexus 5 On November 14th original content from Ubergizmo.

One of the most hotly anticipated smartphones of this year, and Google’s worst kept secret, was finally released last week. Over the past few months we had seen leak after leak of the Nexus 5, now the device is finally out and about, and it has received a very warm welcome indeed. Nexus 5 sold out on the Google Play Store merely hours after its launch and isn’t expected to be back in stock for at least a few days. We hadn’t previously heard that T-Mobile will be offering the device as well, but a purported retain planning guide for November has been leaked which points towards a November 20th launch for the T-Mobile Nexus 5.

T-Mobile hasn’t confirmed as yet if and when it will launch Google’s latest Nexus device. The retail planning guide is an internal T-Mobile document that lists November 20th as the possible launch date. It doesn’t offer any specifics, such as prices or plans that are going to be offered with the smartphone. Getting a Nexus 5 from the carrier would end up costing more in the long run, seeing as how the device can be easily bought from the Google Play Store for as low as $349. Customer who’re not looking to put up this kind of money up front would obviously be better off with the carrier option, they can utilize the carrier’s device installment plans to break down the cost of the device. [Image via TmoNews]

T-Mobile Nexus 5 Launch Rumored For November 20th original content from Ubergizmo.