Hasta La Gadget!

There’s not much surprise left to LG’s Optimus G Pro reveal set for next Wednesday in New York. We’ve already seen the device slip through the FCC and recently had a previewed glimpse of the potential hardware. But thanks to a trusted source, we now have more insight into the the upcoming AT&T variant’s specifications. Based on the official doc we had a look at, LG’s managed to keep this US model mostly in line with its global sibling, porting over the same 5.5-inch form factor, 3,140mAh battery, 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor paired with 2GB RAM, a healthy 32GB of internal storage (expandable via microSDXC to 64GB), 2.1-megapixel front-facing / 13-megapixel rear cameras, NFC and WiFi a/b/g/n. What has changed is the actual screen technology used: the AT&T G Pro employs a Full HD IPS panel as opposed to the True HD-IPS+ in the original. Additionally, and unsurprisingly, the device’s radios have been tweaked, with the AT&T G Pro now supporting the carrier’s flavor of LTE (700/1700 MHz), HSPA+21 (850/1900/2100 MHz) and quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz).

Though it would be nice to see LG bump this up to a more current version of Android — namely, 4.2.2 — the AT&T model will likely ship with the more dated 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Continuing further down the software track, carrier bloat looks to be at a minimum as only two automobile-specific apps are mentioned in the document: AT&T DriveMode and Navigator. Aside from that, LG’s own software suite makes the transition, bringing along QSlide 2.0 (a multiwindow feature), Dual Recording (for the picture-in-picture effect), Tag+ for NFC, VuTalk (a note sharing app), QuickMemo, Notebook and the ability to preset the Home Key’s LED. That enough of a preview for you? Stay tuned for formal unveiling next week.

[Image credit: @evleaks]

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

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The next couple months are gearing up to be pretty busy, and Nokia’s joining the fun with a press event on May 14th. The Finnish company is putting out a rather hefty teaser to get us intrigued, stating that the Nokia Lumia story continues, and we’ll get to “see what’s next.” The timing of this new device is rather curious, given the fact that the flagship Lumia phones typically get shown off later in the fall. Is this the rumored 41MP PureView Windows Phone we’ve been hoping for ever since the 808 came out? Perhaps we’ll see the Lumia 928 that we hear is supposed to hit Verizon in May (though London would be an odd and unlikely locale for a US-only handset unveiling). Could it simply be a lower-end device along the lines of the 520 or 620? We doubt that as well, but either way, we’ll be there to get the scoop as Mr. Elop (we’d expect) shows off the latest Windows Phone coming out of Espoo.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia

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Via: TechnoBuffalo

It would appear that the lost product that was the Google Nexus Q is back again – though not created with the same technology, exactly, and certainly not manufactured by the same brand. What’s appearing this week is a device by the name of PLAiR, made approximately the size of the palm of a human hand and attachable to the back of your television via its full-sized HDMI port (if your television was made in the past 10 years, you’ve got one). This device will allow users to play video from their laptop or smartphone wirelessly to the screen of their TV.

Google released a device just over a year ago by the name of Nexus Q. This device was the size of a bocce ball and was revealed at a conference for software developers: Google I/O. Because we (SlashGear) were at the event, we were given this device to work and play with, and even went so far as to give it a full standard review. It works in a manner very, very similar to this new PLAiR device.

Unlike the PLAiR, the Nexus Q required an Android device to play video wirelessly to your television. It also took up significantly more space on your television stand. Here with the release of the PLAiR, we’ve also entered an age with our mobile devices in which wirelessly flinging video from ones smartphone to the TV is all but expected – the GALAXY S 4 does it, the HTC One does it, and with the dawn of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, most future Android devices will do it too.

Unlike those devices, the PLAiR will not be using DLNA technology to connect your device to your television. Instead it uses a wi-fi signal emitted from the PLAiR hardware and picked up by your notebook, desktop, tablet, or smartphone – or basically anything that can connect to wi-fi and has a web browser.

Connecting to the PLAiR device (which will be connected to an HDMI port on one’s television) is done with a slight modification to the user’s Chrome web browser. So that is another must-have for this setup – if you can’t run Chrome, you can’t work with PLAiR. From there it’s a miniature button that floats above your YouTube videos and other app-bound videos galore – a single tap sends them playing on the television the PLAiR is connected to. Hulu doesn’t work here at the launch of this device, nor does Netflix – perhaps sooner than later though, we’ll see.

Now it’ll be a matter of marketing this device differently from Google’s Nexus Q. In that case, Google sent out the first wave of orders and gave everyone their money back because they estimated the costs to outweigh the benefits of continuing to work with the device. Perhaps we’ll see the return of that device in a new form next month. Make sure you join us at Google I/O 2013 through our Google I/O tag portal from the 15th to the 17th of May.

[via Dvice]

PLAiR device recollects Nexus Q laptop-to-TV video streaming is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

By now, you’re probably aware that MetroPCS shareholders voted in favor of a merger with T-Mobile, and with regulatory red tape out of the way, both companies are now set to become one on April 30th. Now, MetroPCS has laid its Q1 2013 financials bare, which provides us with an excellent peek at T-Mobile’s future partner. First off, the company is making money, and its operational income is actually rising, but it’s also dealing with increased costs from loans, taxes and the like. Overall, MetroPCS reported a net income of $19.4 million for the first quarter, which is down from $21 million just one year ago.

Speaking of loans, MetroPCS has a ton of them. Its liabilities now sit at $10.3 billion, and its managed to take on $3.4 billion in financing during the last year alone. From a balance sheet perspective, 75 percent of the company’s assets exist as debt, and this is a burden that T-Mobile must now take on. Naturally, much of this merger was in effort to score additional spectrum, but Ms. Magenta also stands to gain 9 million new customers once the deal completes, 39 percent of which are LTE subscribers. Better yet, with a churn rate of 2.9 percent, they’re sticking around now more than any previous time in company history.

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile

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Source: PR Newswire

FreedomPop, the famously “free” data-only internet provider, promised an upgrade from WiMAX to Sprint’s LTE by the end of 2013, and while the company may have missed that mark, it is now offering access to the carrier’s 3G network. A new $40 Overdrive Pro hotspot, available today, will connect to Sprint’s 3G in addition to 4G courtesy of Clearwire’s WiMAX network. Users will get 500MB of 3G/4G coverage for free each month, and can choose a monthly 2GB plan for $20.

FreedomPop says it will release several devices running on Sprint’s LTE spectrum later this year, in line with the carrier’s build-out. Even the addition of Sprint’s 3G is a big step up, though, as FreedomPop’s own network doesn’t exactly blanket the US. If you already own one of the company’s hotspots but want to upgrade to this one, you’ll be able to swap yours via customer service. Check out the full press info past the break.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Mobile

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Source: FreedomPop