AT&T nabs off-contract HTC Desire 610 for $200
AT&T on Wednesday confirmed the upcoming availability of the HTC Desire 610. Arriving July 25, the phone runs Android 4.4 KitKat with HTC’s 6 Sense UI and features a 4.7-inch display. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, the Desire 610 also packs 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage with microSD expansion, and a 8MP/1.3MP camera duo.
AT&T will sell the Desire 610 for $199 as part of its GoPhone service, meaning there’s no contract involved. Those who opt to spread payments out can do so for $8.34 per month over 24 months of $10 per month over 20 months. AT&T
The post AT&T nabs off-contract HTC Desire 610 for $200 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
T-Mobile announces equipment installment plans for accessories
Effective Sunday July 20, customers will be able to buy accessories from T-Mobile without having to pay for them up front. Much like the Un-carrier does for smartphones and tablets, T-Mobile is doing the same for accessories.
Qualified buyers can scoop up products that range in price from $69-$250 and spread them out over 24 equal monthly payments. The example given by T-Mobile, the LG Tone Pro hands-free headset would be $2.91 per month over 24 months, for a total of $69.84.
It’s not clear if a customer must also purchase a smartphone or tablet in order to partake in the accessory payments; however, we suspect that is the case. We’ve reached out to T-Mobile for clarification and will update the post with new information.
The post T-Mobile announces equipment installment plans for accessories appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Engadget giveaway: win a G3 smartphone courtesy of LG!
As the classic refrain goes, three is a magic number — and that certainly sums up LG’s latest smartphone, the G3. It’s fronted by an extra-sharp, 5.5-inch quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) display and wrapped in a smooth metal exterior. The G3′s rear button controls offer a distinct twist on the smartphone interface, and you’ll find both a very quick, laser-focused 13-megapixel camera as well as enough battery power to get you through the day. Want one? LG is more than willing to share the love, as it’s giving away brand new G3s to three lucky Engadget readers this week. Oh, and you get to choose from one of the big four carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile) — you probably won’t have to switch networks just to get LG’s latest. This particular giveaway is only for those in the US, but since the G3 is available worldwide, you can always pick one up. So, what are you waiting for? Head on down to the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win a G3 of your very own. It might just be your lucky day.
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States and the District of Columbia, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. Three (3) winners will each receive one (1) LG G3 smartphone (for AT&T, Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile).
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. LG and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until July 23rd at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
The Engadget Buyer’s Guide is back and better than ever!
If you’ve been reading Engadget regularly, you know we’ve been offering buying advice for quite some time now. And if we do say so ourselves, we’re pretty good at it. Still, it was high time we shook things up a bit. Today, we’re introducing our new and improved buyer’s guides, which combine a sleek design with professional photography and expert advice. Whereas we used to refresh our picks only four times a year, we’re now going to put up one guide each for smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables — and then update them whenever a hot new product comes out. That means each time we review a device that we’d recommend to family or friends, we’ll add it to the buyer’s guide, allowing us to give our readers real-time advice. Which is important, considering companies unveil new products seemingly every week. You can find our guides here, or you can click the handy “guides” tab at the top of the page. Have a look, and then keep checking back in. Who knows? By next month, we could have a host of new favorite gadgets.
Filed under: Announcements, Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Wearables, HD, Mobile
Source: Engadget Buyer’s Guide
BlackBerry announces virtual assistant to take on Siri and Cortana
Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana, Google’s got Now voice search and BlackBerry… doesn’t have a virtual assistant of any kind. This morning, however, the Canadian smartphone maker confirmed that it has one in the works and will be showing up on the company’s next major release. Known aptly as BlackBerry Assistant, the new program is a part of OS 10.3 and will be available on the upcoming Passport phone. Assistant is voice-activated and comes with quite a few of the standard features we’ve come to expect on the other mobile platforms, such as the ability to open apps, send messages and tweets, set reminders and change settings. It also is smart enough to learn and adapt to your needs, so it theoretically should become more useful over time as it gets to know you. BlackBerry isn’t revealing all that Assistant can do yet, and it hasn’t offered a firm timeframe for availability aside from the fact that it’ll be part of the Passport, but so far we haven’t seen much to set it apart from the competition. It’s at least a good sign that the company is trying remain competitive, however.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: BlackBerry
iOS 8 Beta 4 Reportedly Coming Monday, July 21
As iOS 8 proceeds through development and testing, the fourth beta version will be seeded to developers on Monday, July 21, according to BGR. A release on that date would mark a two-week interval since the release of the third beta on July 7, down from a roughly three-week interval between the second and third betas.
BGR regularly publishes reports predicting future release dates for iOS betas, and while the predictions are sometimes off by a day or two as was the case with beta 3, they are usually close to the actual date barring any last-minute schedule changes by Apple. As a result, it is reasonable to believe the fourth beta should arrive early next week rather than the following week.
Paul McCartney Re-Releases Five Popular Albums as iPad Apps [iOS Blog]
Paul McCartney today announced the addition of five of his classic albums to the iOS App store as iPad apps, reports The Guardian. McCartney is following in the footsteps of other musicians such as Lady Gaga and Björk, who also used the tablet device to further the reach of their music.
McCartney’s iPad apps feature some of the musician’s most popular albums — Band on the Run, McCartney, McCartney II, RAM and Wings over America. Each iPad app contains premium content such as remastered audio tracks, archival video footage, interviews, photos and more. They are priced at $7.99, which makes them attractive to music fans who may prefer the discounted iPad apps over the more expensive music-only album versions.
McCartney may be the most long-standing successful musicians to adopt the iPad, but Björk holds the title as one of the first musicians to effectively promote an album using Apple’s iOS ecosystem. Björk made headlines in 2011 for her groundbreaking Biophilia iPad app that merged music from the album with mini-games and interactive art tools. The title was recently inducted as the first app in New York’s Museum of Modern Art permanent collection. The app also has been used to develop the Biophilia Educational Programme, which is being used as curriculum in several European schools.
NASA’s new telescopes could spot alien life within 20 years
Convinced that there’s got to be life on other planets? You’re not alone in the universe — in fact, many NASA scientists agree with you. And a panel convened recently by the space agency (see the video below) believes that finding it could happen soon, too — perhaps “in twenty years” — thanks to incoming telescope technology. Recent projects, like the Kepler Telescope, Dark Energy Survey and the Very Large Telescope have detected the presence of planets and even their atmospheres. But astronomers are even more excited about future projects like the Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite (TESS) and James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Those devices are purpose-built to find planets, and future projects will search for water and gases like carbon dioxide. Astronaut Charles Bolden spoke for the group when he said “it’s highly improbable in the limitless vastness of the universe that we humans stand alone.” Of course, there are dissenting opinions, not to throw cold water on your alien abduction fantasies. Many think that the evolution of intelligent life on Earth defied dramatically long odds, and may have occurred rarely (if at all) elsewhere.
Source: NASA
Google Street View cars have mapped methane gas leaks in big US cities
Google’s Street View cars aren’t just useful for scouting out a locale in advance — they might be saving the planet, too. The vehicles have just helped the Environmental Defense Fund publish methane gas leak maps for Boston, Indianapolis and New York City’s Staten Island. The Google cars roamed around cities using sensors that could detect both the location and scale of one of the dangerous leaks, driving by at least twice to make sure the results weren’t a fluke. Depending on where you live, the data is either reassuring or scary; the older pipes in Boston and Staten Island have an abundance of leaks, while Indianapolis’ more recent infrastructure is keeping the problems to a minimum.
The maps should help paint a more accurate picture of methane pollution in the US. Researchers are worried that existing estimates are too low, and the Street View cars may have spotted leaks that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. Having such a complete, publicly accessible data set could also pressure gas companies into fixing pipes that would otherwise go neglected. The Environmental Defense Fund is most concerned about curbing pollution, but there are also some short-term benefits — if utilities take action, they could both prevent explosions and minimize waste.
[Image credit: Adam Gerard, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation, Science, Google
Via: New Scientist
Source: Environmental Defense Fund
Carphone Warehouse could launch its own mobile network with Three’s help
Carphone Warehouse, like Phones 4u, is a retailer and reseller in one — it’s just as interested in flogging phones and tablets as it is setting you up with a mobile contract from any of the major UK carriers. According to The Financial Times, however, it might soon be getting into the carrier business itself, by launching an MVNO on Three’s network. Sources claim various operators have been approached as the now-merged Carphone Warehouse and Dixons look for new opportunities, but discussions with Three are at a more advanced stage.
It sounds far from a done deal, but makes sense that Carphone Warehouse might want their own tariffs to sell phones against. But, what happens to its current business model as a result? We’re not sure how the likes Vodafone and O2 might react to Carphone Warehouse being both a third-party sales channel and a competitor (rumor has it EE’s thinking about cutting ties with resellers anyway). We’d guess it all depends on whether the company will aggressively push its own tariffs, or simply offer a low-cost option — which is typically how other MVNOs like Tesco Mobile and Virgin Mobile operate — to complement the pricey, premium packages provided by the major carriers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: The Financial Times
AIVAnet 