The Engadget Podcast is live today at 3:30PM ET!
Hercules may be bearing down on the Northeast as we speak, but we’ve never let something as small as a giant snow storm derail the machine that is the Engadget Podcast. CES on the other hand, is another issue altogether, with much of our team already making its way to Sin City. We’ve still managed to cobble together enough of a crew to talk the week in tech — and the big show to come. Join us after the break, won’t you?
HTC One 2/M8 ‘Preliminary’ Specs Leak Out
The HTC One 2, or M8, has been on us tech enthusiasts minds, simply because we want to see where HTC takes their HTC One line. Yes, HTC doesn’t make the best decisions in the world, but they do make excellent devices. Being that the HTC One is number one on most tech sites lists of best devices in 2013, the HTC One 2 should no doubt be a winner as well.
Leak king, evleaks, sent out a tweet about the HTC One 2, giving us “preliminary” specs of the new phone. Preliminary as in these specs are not official, and could change once the phone is announced.
Preliminary HTC M8 specs: Snapdragon MSM8974, 5" 1080p display, 2GB RAM, UltraPixel rear / 2.1MP front cams, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, KK, Sense 6.0
— @evleaks (@evleaks) January 2, 2014
Sadly these specs aren’t reporting that the new HTC flagship will be running the latest Snapdragon processor. Not a huge deal, but it is nice to know that the device you purchase has the latest and greatest in technology. Other than that, the specs look pretty decent, so let us know your thoughts about the new HTC One. Once we find out more about these specs, we will let you know.
Source: @evleaks
Boost Mobile announces $129 Moto G
The Moto G is the first Motorola smartphone at Boost Mobile since 2011
Boost Mobile on Thursday announced that the Moto G will be offered online on Tuesday, January 14, 2014. The carrier’s retail stores will pick up the Motorola smartphone on the following week, starting January 20. For those of you who simply cannot wait that long to pair the Moto G with Boost Mobile’s rate plans, you can score one on HSN.com and HSN mobile today.
Indeed, the Moto G is the same model only recently introduced; Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (4.4 KitKat guaranteed), a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and 2070mAh battery.
Priced at a crazy affordable $129, the Moto G works with Boost Mobile’s $55 Monthly Unlimited plan with shrinking bills. Pay your bill on time for six months and the rate drops by $5. Repeat until you get all the way down to $40 per month.
Boost Mobile Reunites with Motorola to launch Smart and Stylish Moto G with NextRadio
Irvine, Calif.—Jan. 2, 2014—Boost Mobile, a leader in the no-contract wireless industry with its exclusive Monthly Unlimited plan with Shrinking Payments, will debut Moto G, by Motorola, a Google Company, on the HSN, HSN.com and HSN mobile today, Jan. 2. The Moto G will be available Tuesday, Jan. 14 at www.boostmobile.com and select Boost Mobile exclusive retail stores nationwide starting Jan. 20. This represents the first Motorola handset on Boost Mobile since 2011.
Priced at only $129.99, Moto G packs the features consumers want at a price that won’t break the bank, all without an annual contract. The affordable 3G smartphone comes with an impressive and highly durable 4.5-inch HD screen made with scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass and sports a super-fast 1.2 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ quad-core processor. Moto G is loaded with Android 4.3 Jellybean with a guaranteed upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat expected as early as February, making the Moto G the most up-to-date Android of any phone in its class. Customers also have the freedom to express themselves with a variety of colorful interchangeable backs, available from Motoroladirectly.
Moto G will come preloaded with the free interactive FM radio application NextRadio®. With NextRadio, listening to FM radio on smartphones is a new type of interactive radio listening experience. When compared with streaming, NextRadio consumes about three times less battery life than other music apps. That’s because the audio is coming through a built-in FM tuner instead of over the Internet.
For extra protection, Moto G has a water-repellent coating on the outside, meaning that a little rain won’t get in the way when taking a call. In addition, customers get an extra 50GB of Google Drive storage for two years and, as with all Android devices, Moto G owners have access to more than 1 million apps and content in the Google Play Store.
Additional key features of the Moto G include:
- 5MP-enhanced camera with panoramic and continuous shot
- All-day battery, 2070 mAh
- Stereo Bluetooth 4.0 capable
To entice consumers to switch to Boost Mobile, Moto G is offered on Boost’s no-contract $55 Monthly Unlimited plan. Boost Mobile rewards its customers for simply making on-time payments. Unique from the competition, for every six on-time payments, the cost of the Boost Mobile Monthly Unlimited plan shrinks by $5 to as low as $40 per month for unlimited nationwide talk, text and data[1]. Payments do not need to be consecutive to qualify for the next savings milestone.
For more information on Moto G from Boost Mobile visit: www.boostmobile.com/motog
The post Boost Mobile announces $129 Moto G appeared first on AndroidGuys.
CBS to Stream NFL Playoff Games to Macs and Tablets for First Time [iOS Blog]
CBS announced today that it will stream its full slate of NFL playoff games to PCs and tablets for the first time, beginning with a wildcard game this weekend.
The coverage will include all the network’s AFC playoff games including one wildcard game, plus its coverage of the divisional and championship rounds.
The network will carry Sunday’s Chargers v. Bengals tilt at 1:05PM EST, plus both divisional round games at Denver and New England on January 11 and 12, and the AFC Championship game on January 19.
The games will be viewable on CBSSports.com, but, due to the slim chance of non-sold out games, it remains a possibility that the games will be blacked out in some areas.
The NFL is hugely popular in the United States, with NFL-related content accounting for 9 of the top 10 most-watched TV programs of 2013.
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Archos debuting two 4G smartphones at CES, priced at $200 and $250
It’s not all smartwatches and weather stations for Archos this year at CES. The company may be diversifying its portfolio a bit at the show, but it’s still got its hands in some tried and true categories. For starters, there are the new 45 and 50 Helium 4G handsets. Both run Android 4.3 on a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, with upcoming upgrades to KitKat (version 4.4.2). The 45 is, naturally, the lower-end of the two, featuring a 4.5-inch FXVGA display, 4GB of storage and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, priced at $200 unlocked. The $250 50 Helium 4G, meanwhile, bumps things up a bit, with a 5-inch 1280 x 720 display, 8GB of storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera. Both will be hanging out at the Archos booth in Vegas.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Archos [PDF]
Amped Wireless outdoes itself with a new router and extender pairing
It’s 2014, which means that it’s high time that Amped Wireless showed off the WiFi hardware that’ll be arriving through the rest of the year. This time out, the company is announcing a router and range extender, both of which are branded as AC1900 devices. The pair comes with eight 802.11ac WiFi radios, a USB 3.0 port for file sharing and five wired Gigabit Ethernet connectors for your devices. There’s no word on pricing or availability, but considering that last year’s flagship was announced at CES and arrived the following July, it’s fair to expect that we’ll see these crop up just in time for summer.
Filed under: Wireless
Android 4.4.2 update for HTC One, One Max, One Mini expected by February
The HTC One, One Max and One Mini are expected to pick up Android 4.4.2 KitKat updates later this month or in next month. At least so says reputable Twitter source @LlabTooFeR. Also in the cards, the same update for the HTC One DualSIM variant.
All new devices such as One,One DualSIM, One max, One mini will get 4.4.2 update in time frame January-February…
— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) January 2, 2014
In addition to the newest release of Android, the update is expected to deliver HTC’s Sense 5.5 UI. As for the 6.0 release, that could be a few months further off. Other mentions from the source suggest we might wait until “late Autumn” for that particular feature.
The post Android 4.4.2 update for HTC One, One Max, One Mini expected by February appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Tune into our Google Hangout with the CEA’s Gary Shapiro, happening at 11:30 AM EST!
Now that we’ve set foot into 2014, the final countdown to CES in on. There’s plenty to look forward to, from anticipated announcements from LG and Samsung to the official Best of CES Awards, which we’ll be running in partnership with the CEA. Who better, then, to chat with about what to expect at the show than the Consumer Electronics Association’s Gary Shapiro? He’ll be joining Engadget’s Marc Perton in 30 minutes for a Google Hangout about all things CES. Catch it here, or below the break.
Filed under: Announcements, Misc
Samsung unveils Galaxy Camera 2 and NX30 with NFC photo sharing (hands-on)
Samsung isn’t waiting until CES starts to spill the beans on its camera lineup. The company has just revealed the Galaxy Camera 2 and NX30, both of which center around an NFC-based “Tag & Go” sharing feature; you can now tap your phone against either shooter to begin transferring photos. They also offer more control through upgraded Remote Viewfinder mobile apps that show the same settings you’d find on the cameras themselves.
The unique upgrades to each model vary widely. The Android-powered Galaxy Camera 2 still has the 16-megapixel sensor, 21x zoom lens and 4.8-inch LCD of its predecessor, but it touts much-needed improvements to battery capacity (up to 2,000mAh) and weight (down to 9.2 ounces). Samsung has also stuffed in a newer 1.6GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, and an update to Android 4.3 introduces both 120fps slow-motion video as well as separate autoexposure and autofocus controls.
The NX30, meanwhile, builds on the NX20′s formula with upgrades to image quality and the display. The new mirrorless cam sports both a more light-sensitive 20.3-megapixel sensor and a fast hybrid autofocusing system that takes just 80ms to find its subject. Take a look at the back and you’ll find a brighter, Super AMOLED-based touchscreen that can now tilt, not just swivel; on the side, there’s a new 3.5mm microphone input. Glass aficionados may also appreciate two 16-50mm lenses launching alongside the NX30, including a quiet f2-2.8 lens and a video-friendly, f3.5-5.6 power zoom unit. Samsung isn’t yet ready to divulge launch details for either the NX30 or the Galaxy Camera 2, but you can check out our hands-on galleries of all the new devices while you’re waiting.
Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
Mozilla’s Firefox app for Windows 8 delayed again until mid-March
Though Windows 8 has now been out for a year and change, there’s still no Firefox browser dedicated to its tile-y interface. That situation’s not improving, as Mozilla has just announced that its ‘Metro‘ Modern UI-look version has been further delayed to March 18th. We were expecting it to arrive this month following delays that have plagued it since it was first announced nearly two years ago. However, the team pushed back all Firefox releases for two weeks to let workers enjoy the holidays, which didn’t help matters. If you’re feeling brave, you can still check it out by downloading one of the nightly builds, but judging by the logs, you’ll still need to dodge a lot of bugs.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: Neowin
Source: Mozilla.org
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