Microsoft wants to see speedier updates for Windows 10 phones with ‘Project Milkyway’
Microsoft outlined a plan it calls “Project Milkyway” today that has the goal of updating Windows 10-based smartphones with the latest version “within 4-6 weeks” of its release.
MasterCard helps bring Apple Pay to Arnold Palmer Invitational
MasterCard is expanding its partnership with the PGA Tour for contactless payments. Golf fans will be able to use Apple Pay at the concession stands of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida.
MasterCard helped bring Apple Pay to the PGA Tour during the Phoenix Open in January. Fans attending the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be able to use the contactless payment system to buy both food and merchandise, according to Business Wire:
Golf fans will now have access to faster and more secure ways to pay at concession and merchandise point of sale terminals throughout Bay Hill where MasterCard is enabling acceptance of chip cards, contactless payments, and QkR! with MasterPass. This means spectators can take advantage of the latest payment technologies, including Apple Pay.
QkR! with MasterPass is a mobile payment app that lets you pay with your MasterCard debit or credit card at participating merchants. The app is powered by MasterCard’s MasterPass, though it accepts all major cards. You can download QkR! with MasterPass from the App Store here. Note that you don’t need QkR! in order to use ApplePay with your MasterCard.
Apple Pay is currently available on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Beginning next month, owners of the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s will be able to utilize the system when connected to an Apple Watch.
Source: Business Wire
Xbox Music MP3 tracks can now be added to OneDrive accounts
Microsoft will now allow Xbox Music users to store their local MP3 tracks to their OneDrive cloud storage account. This will allow users to play their music on the Xbox Music app for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, along with the Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles and on the Xbox Music website.
Windows 10 for phone supports USB Mass Storage, peripherals and hubs
Microsoft has shed more light on what USB scenarios the Windows 10 for Mobile SKU will support during their WinHEC conference in China.
Microsoft has added support for the new USB Type-C standard for Windows 10 for phone, which is not only smaller than Type-A but offers more power and functions. Apple – to cheers and jeers – announced that their new MacBook would sport this (and only this) port in lieu of their mag connector or standard USB port.
Now, it is clear that hardware vendors can not only build Windows Phones with USB Type-C but also enable various device class drivers.
Google Calendar for iPhone review
Google Calendar for iPhone is off to a decent start, but it isn’t pulling me away from Fantastical 2 any time soon.
Google Calendar has finally come to iPhone by way of a native app. And not only can it sync your Google calendars, it can also grab your local calendars, including iCloud and Exchange. Use Gmail? Google Calendar can even import events right from your email automagically. There’s no denying Google’s got some fancy tricks up its sleeve. That doesn’t mean there isn’t still work to be done.
The good
- Bright and bold interface
- Accesses and syncs with local calendars in just a few taps
- Lots of calendar views to suit any workflow
- Notifications for events
The bad
- No way to drag events to quickly move them
- Manually editing events is clunky and slow
- No swipe gestures to return to previous screen, a bummer on the 6 Plus for sure
- Gmail event detection doesn’t work with Google apps currently
- A lot of wasted space in list view
- No Today View widget
- Natural language support for event creation is subpar
The first thing you notice about Google Calendar is the bold interface. If you like colorful, you’ll enjoy it. Google automatically detects certain event types and puts graphics behind them, which is a nice touch, even if it doesn’t have a productive purpose. As nice and eye catching as the main schedule view is, it wastes a lot of space that could be used to show more events at a glance. It’s not a huge peeve, but for anyone who has a busy calendar, it could result in a lot of scrolling.
Google Calendar can automatically pull in all your local calendars and stay in sync. It’s worth noting though that Google can only help you fill in event details for things added to your Google calendars. If you are entering an event in iCloud or Exchange or any other calendar type, you’re on your own. That’s okay though because in my short time using Google Calendar, the natural language support leaves a lot to be desired. I had trouble typing times or days and getting Google to understand it. If it isn’t something that Google Maps or your contacts can feed in, you’re more than likely going to have issues.
Google make good choices in terms of the different calendar view options offered. Tapping the three dots in the upper right hand corner lets you toggle between schedule (a basic list view), day, and three day. This is also where you go to access search. The three day view is one of my favorites. Scroll sideways and up and down to view events in the grid. The only addition I’d really like to see Google add is the ability to quickly drag events around to reschedule them. It’s a feature that the default Calendar app offers and one I desperately wish would come to many other calendar apps, not just Google Calendar.
The bottom line
Google Calendar is off to a good start but it isn’t making me switch away from Fantastical 2 any time soon. Gmail detection for events is awesome but doesn’t work for Google Apps, which makes the feature useless for a lot of people (I know, security issues, sigh). The schedule view feels like a lot of unnecessary scrolling. Gesture based navigation desperately needs to be added, as anyone using an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus will quickly realize. I’ve also become accustomed to using calendar apps that offer Today view widgets in Notification Center. I was disappointed to see that Google didn’t offer anything.
If you’ve been using Google Calendar on your iPhone, what do you think of it so far? What features would you like to see Google add in a future update? Let me know in the comments! And if you haven’t tried it yet, you can pick it up for free at the link below.
- Free – Download Now
T-Mobile announces new plans for businesses, starting at $16 a line
T-Mobile has announced its latest Un-carrier move, this one aimed at businesses.
T-Mobile will offer businesses plans with unlimited talk and text, with 1GB of data included, for $16 a month for 10 to 19 lines. At 20 or more lines, companies will pay $15 per line. If your company has 1000 lines or more, it will cost $10/line For an additional $10 a line, they can add 2GB of data, and for $30 per line, they can get unlimited data.
There are also a number options for pooled data. Pooled data plans of 100GB will cost $4.75 per GB. The cost per gigabyte goes down as the pool increases. A 500GB pool will cost $4.50 per GB, while a 1TB pool costs $4.25 a GB. Data overages on a data pool continue at that pools rate, so if you use 101GB on a 100GB plan, then the extra data will cost you $4.75.
The carrier is also introducing something called the Business Family Discount. If you have a business line, that will count as the first line in a family plan. Instead of $50 per line, the price drops to $30 for the first family plan line. A Business Family Discount will require a contract with T-Mobile to enable.
Press release:
After Revolutionizing Wireless for Consumers, T-Mobile Un-leashes Un-carrier for Business
With Un-carrier 9.0, T-Mobile upends how business buys wireless
− with 100% transparent pricing and new benefits for businesses of all sizes
Also launches major new discount program for families of business people using T-Mobile
Bellevue, Washington and New York, New York − March 18, 2015 − After grabbing roughly 100% of the industry’s postpaid phone growth in 2014, T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS) is now taking its surging revolt against broken US wireless practices to a new front. Today, at an event in New York City, T-Mobile announced Un-carrier 9.0, ‘Un-carrier for Business’™, unleashing a salvo of industry-rattling moves delivering a radically new level of transparency, simplicity and value − and upending how business buys wireless.
Already, T-Mobile’s rocked the status quo with a drumbeat of Un-carrier™ moves − marking the end of annual service contracts, overages and inflated international roaming fees, and the introduction of anytime upgrades, Wi-Fi calling and texting, free inflight messaging and Data Stash™. But today, T-Mobile turned the full force of its Un-carrier revolution to unleashing wireless for American business.
“We’re going to do for businesses, what we’ve already been doing for consumers,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “Eliminate pain points and force change. The majority of US businesses − a full 99.7% − have less than 500 employees and don’t have the money or resources to waste debating, negotiating and deciphering the carriers’ hidden pricing. Today, we’re upending how business buys wireless with 100% transparent pricing, the best rates, business family discounts, and more.”
Everything consumers hate about the carriers is even worse for companies. Once they know you’re a business, the carriers see dollar signs − and customers are tossed into a whole new game where unwritten rules mean the carriers win every time. US businesses deal with artificially inflated rate cards and the madness of having to haggle for a fair price. Even if a customer gets a rate they can live with, the happy feeling doesn’t last long. Close to three-quarters of businesses say they’re stressed their wireless rates will get jacked up over time − and feel ripped off by their carrier.
And they aren’t far wrong. Each year, the big carriers rake in over $80 billion in revenues from US businesses − about half the carriers’ total wireless revenues. What started as “special treatment” for large corporations with procurement teams and hours to kill negotiating deals, is now a frustrating process for just about every company buying wireless services in America. It’s no wonder over 70 percent of US businesses say they’re sick of the game and want simple, transparent pricing.
Our Best Price is Our Only Price
Today, with its Un-carrier plan for business, T-Mobile’s putting an end to the pricing shell game and compulsory haggling with one incredibly simple, flexible rate plan. Need 20 lines? 100 lines? 500 lines? That’s $15 dollars per line. For every line beyond 1,000 lines, the price is $10. And − in stark contrast to the other guys − every line at T-Mobile comes with unlimited talk, text and up to 1 GB of data on America’s fastest nationwide 4G LTE network. No hidden discounts you’ll have to haggle for. And no paying an access fee just to use the data you’ve already purchased.
Need more data? Simply choose to add high-speed data per line or add a data pool that all employees can access. For phones, add another 2GB of 4G LTE high-speed data for $10 a line or go with unlimited 4G LTE data for $30 a line. Or go with a pooled data option that’s nothing like the other guys’ shared data schemes − where you’re punished with outrageous overage penalties when you need more data. At T-Mobile, you always get the same low rate whenever you need more. (See charts below)
“The carriers’ shared data schemes hit you up with overage penalties of 200% to 432% of your original rate whenever you need more data,” Legere said. “With our new pooled data option, you’ll never pay more than your original rate when you need more. And, unlike the carriers, we’ll never charge you ‘access fees’ when you add lines − just to get at data you’ve already bought.”
“Now, your average American business − with or without the resources to negotiate against the gargantuan carriers − can save more than $5,100 on 20 lines over two years, which is a big deal for most small business owners,” said Mike Sievert, Chief Operating Officer for T-Mobile. “But imagine the billions in savings for the millions of American businesses impacted by the carriers’ complete lack of transparency. That’s the real magnitude of today’s news. And that’s huge.”
Tools to Mobilize Your Business
And, as part of Un-carrier for Business, T-Mobile’s giving additional sweet benefits to businesses of all sizes. T-Mobile today also announced the Un-carrier will offer an exclusive set of business tools to solve some very real pain points impacting the majority of US businesses.
Through a new partnership with GoDaddy, T-Mobile’s offering a free .com domain and website, optimized for mobile viewing to business customers on our new plan with at least one line with additional paid data. The Un-carrier’s new business benefits program also includes free custom .com email addresses for your business powered by Microsoft Office 365. The offer includes one business email for every T-Mobile business line with additional paid data. For a 20-person business, these tools would normally cost more than $1,300 every year, but are included at no additional cost through these special partnerships.
“We’re not just setting up your business with wireless − we’re setting you up to do business,” said Sievert. “It’s a fact that over half of US consumers say they wouldn’t trust a business without a website − yet more than half of American small businesses don’t have a site. It’s a big problem for the smallest businesses − and we’re solving it.”
These moves in themselves represent a revolution in wireless for American businesses. But there’s more. The Un-carrier’s taking it even further by fixing pain points and doing right by your employees’ families, too.
Business Family Discounts
More than 70% of families choose the same wireless company that’s provided for business use by an employer. But, when you sign up your family, the old carriers don’t give you full credit for already being a loyal business customer. Instead they give you a measly 8%-15% discount. Now, with T-Mobile’s new Business Family Discounts, the Un-carrier counts your company-paid line as the first line on your family plan − which translates to up to a big 50% savings on your Simple Choice™ family plan.
“For a family with just two lines, you’re going to save $876 with us versus AT&T and Verizon over two years,” said Legere. “And if you’re a T-Mobile customer and have a business line, you automatically qualify. In fact, AT&T and Verizon customers would save a total of $8.8 billion a year by switching over to the Un-carrier. That’s what I call a discount.”
For more information about Un-carrier for Business, visit here.
Savings of $5,100 on 20 lines w/up to 3GB of high-speed data vs comparable AT&T & Verizon plans over 2 yrs. Taxes & fees addit’l. Qual’g business service required. Minimum/maximum line requirements may apply; 10 line minimum for Simple Choice for Business. Business Family Discounts of up to 50% with addition of second line, discount for additional lines may vary with number of lines. GoDaddy offer for Simple Choice plans with 3GB of data or more per line. No overages for domestic postpaid, non-pooled use; pay-per-use charges may apply on other services. $876 & $8.8B claims based on ave. family plan size & savings. See T-Mobile.com/business or contact your customer representative for service and other details.
T-Mobile announces new plans for businesses, starting at $16 a line
T-Mobile has announced its latest Un-carrier move, this one aimed at businesses. They will offer businesses plans with unlimited talk and text, with 1GB of data included, for $16 a month for 10 to 19 lines.
T-Mobile announces new plans for businesses, starting at $16 a line
T-Mobile has announced its latest Un-carrier move, this one aimed at businesses. They will offer businesses plans with unlimited talk and text, with 1GB of data included, for $16 a month for 10 to 19 lines.
You’ll be able to get your fix of Trivia Crack right from your Apple Watch
The highly-addictive game Trivia Crack has just expanded beyond the phone in your hand, and onto the Apple Watch on your wrist.
Playing Trivia Crack will no longer require you to take you iPhone out of your pocket to compete with your friends. Users will be able to read their question along with select their answer right from their Apple Watch, and they will be notified each time that it is there time to be able to continue playing.
Play all your rounds on your Apple Watch, without ever taking your iPhone out of your pocket. Let the animated characters guide you in defeating all your opponents, while answering millions of questions submitted by users around the world.
Trivia Crack will be available on all Apple Watch models upon their release. If you have yet to check out Trivia Crack, you can do so at the link below.
- Free – Download Now
T-Mobile won’t just pay your ETF — they’ll pay off your phone as well
T-Mobile’s new Carrier Freedom program is designed to steal customers from Verizon and AT&T by offering to pay all of their outstanding phone payments and device leases.
T-Mobile announced this plan as part of their “Uncarrier 9.0″ press event. It says that this new program is for phone or tablet customers who bought their devices on AT&T Next or Verizon Edge plans.
AIVAnet 