AT&T Trek HD 4G LTE tablet available starting May 12
AT&T revealed its first company branded tablet, the AT&T Trek HD, today. It is the first tablet in its portfolio to feature Android Lollipop, and it will be purchasable on the carrier’s website on May 12 and in AT&T stores starting May 15. You can check out the Mobile Minute of the device here.
The tablet’s features include:
- An 8-inch HD display
- 5MP rear-facing and 2MP front-facing cameras
- A 1.6 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
- 4,060 mAh Lithium Ion battery, which the company says is good for up to 8 hours of power
- 16GB of internal storage with support for up to 32GB of microSD expansion
The AT&T Trek HD will cost $49.99 with a two-year contract or $10 per month for 20 months with the company’s Tablet Installment plan. Also, the device can be added to a new or existing Mobile Share Value plan for $10 a month.
The post AT&T Trek HD 4G LTE tablet available starting May 12 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Speed up you homescreen with APUS Launcher (Monday Makeover)
There is a plethora of apps out there that allow you to customize just about every single thing on your android smartphone without even rooting. That is why we have started the weekly series “Monday Makeover.” Each week we will take one of these customization apps and talk about setting it up, discuss the features of it, and show you how you can make your android device truly one of a kind. Last week we talked about Cover. This week we are taking a look at APUS Launcher
What is APUS Launcher?
APUS Launcher is the fastest growing launcher on the market and has been downloaded 120 million times in under 10 months. It replaces your current homescreen with a different setup and adds several features that are not usually found on a stock launcher. One of the best things about APUS Launcher is its file size is only 3MB so it takes up almost no space in your phone’s storage. For such a small file size, APUS Launcher adds quite a bit of usability to your homescreen. It adds a news feed page on your far left homescreen, adds a settings bar in your notification shade, automatically sorts your apps into folders, adds the ability to theme and much more.
Why should I use APUS Launcher?
APUS Launcher is for people who want a faster launcher but also need as much free space in their phone’s memory as possible. It also attempts to simplify your apps by automatically arranging them into folders such as Media, Social, Tools, etc. While there are many useful features in APUS Launcher, some people might find a few of them to be too much. Thankfully, many can be disabled in the settings. If this interests you, join us in a walk-through of this app.
How do I use APUS Launcher?
Starting APUS Launcher is as simple as downloading and opening it. It walks you through the process of making it your default launcher which is extremely useful. Immediately, you should see a drastic change in the appearance of your homescreen. Taking a few minutes to look around, we can see that all of your apps have been moved onto the screen and most have been placed in grouped folders. Swiping all the way to the left reveals the “Hot News” tab which looks quite similar to HTC’s BlinkFeed. There is also a hexagonal tag hanging in the top right of the main homescreen. Pulling down on this will bring up some news topics as well as popular search topics and a search bar. Tapping on the tag itself will open to an app page on the Play Store.
You will notice that there is other instances of advertising apps throughout APUS Launcher with the help of APUS Radar which attempts to bring you apps it thinks you need. I am not a fan of launchers that bombard me with apps to download, but thankfully this can be turned off in the settings. On your homescreen, you will also find the “Theme” app which lets you apply a theme to your homescreen which will change your wallpaper, icons, and other visual effects. 
On one side of your homescreen, you will notice a small transparent tab that is sticking out. Tapping on it will bring up some of your most used apps, some settings toggles, and shortcuts to home and camera. Swiping to the right will reveal a picture that you can choose to apply as your wallpaper. After exiting this menu, you can drag the tab around to any part of you screen, and it will stay there even when other apps are open so you can quickly switch to other apps.
At the bottom right of your navigation bar, you will see three dots which will bring up a menu. Here you can do things like change your wallpaper and theme, add widgets, share APUS Launcher on social media, and access settings. We will be focusing on the APUS Settings for this next part.
Under “APUS Settings,” you will find all the options for enabling and disabling different APUS Launcher features. You can turn Free Swipe on or off, which is the transparent tab on the side of your screen. You can also enable or disable the APUS Notification Toolbar. “Icons with Uni-style” attempts to make all of your icons look similar. You can turn on or off “Left side screen” which is the Hot News section located on the far left page of your launcher. Gestures can add some nice usability for your launcher. You can options for swipe up, swipe down, and double tap. Unfortunately, you cannot really choose what each one of them does, you can only turn them on and off. Under “Other Settings,” you will find the option to enable or disable APUS Radar and the Wind Chime (which is the tag hanging in the top right of your homescreen). You can also change the performance of the launcher from “Best Appearance” to “Best Performance.” If you are noticing any slowdowns while using the app, I would recommend making that change.
Those are the main features and settings of APUS Launcher. There are quite a few and some might feel overwhelmed by all of them, but thankfully you can choose which ones you actually want and disable the others.
Where can I get APUS Launcher?
APUS Launcher is available for free in the Play Store. All of the themes for this launcher are available in APUS’ own theme store which is included in the app.
APUS Launcher is a must for people who are storage conscious but still want to test out different launchers. It may need some tweaking to figure out which features to leave on and which to turn off, but it runs extremely smooth and adds some useful tweaks to your phone. APUS Launcher has over 120 million downloads and 3.4 million ratings averaging at 4.5 stars. Have you used APUS Launcher in the past or do you plan on downloading it? Tell us your thoughts on it in the comments! And while you are down there, leave some suggestions for apps you would like to see featured in a future Monday Makeover. Have a great week!
The post Speed up you homescreen with APUS Launcher (Monday Makeover) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Nexus 9 Android 5.1.1 factory image arrives, OTA file captured too!
Last week was a big one for the Nexus 9, after the neglected tablet finally saw an update first to Android 5.0.2 and then later in the week began receiving an OTA to 5.1.1.
If you have yet to get your hands on 5.1.1 for the Nexus 9 tablet, you have three options. Option 1, you can keep waiting until the OTA hits. Option 2, you can now download the official factory image and do a clean wipe and installation of Android 5.1.1. For those that don’t want to wait for the OTA but don’t want to have to do a full factory wipe either, you also have a third option: You can down the OTA link, as it has now been captured and made available for your sideloading pleasure!
- Nexus 9 factory image
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Nexus 9 OTA capture
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For those unfamiliar with flashing a Nexus image, you’ll want to check out our guide. While the guide was written with Android 5.0 in mind, the same basic steps still apply. Of course it is important to note that while flashing is rather safe if you follow instructions properly, things can go wrong if you don’t — and so you should proceed at your risk.
For those on Android 5.1.1 already, what do you think of the update so far?
AT&T starts rolling over pre-paid Go Phone data on May 15th
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AT&T made an announcement this morning that gives Go Phone users a bit more leeway with their pre-paid offerings. As of May 15th Go Phone customers on the $45 or $60 plan will instantly have their unused data allotments roll over as long as you pay for your next pre-paid month on time.
For instance, the $60 pre-paid plan offers 4GB of data a month. If you only use 2GB of data during the 30 day cycle, and you pay for the next month on time, then you will get the new 4GB plus the remaining 2GB, totaling 6GBs. The rollover data only carries for a 30 day cycle though.
The rollover ability won’t cost users anything to take advantage of nor will you have to sign up to gain the advantage. As of May 15th all new and existing accounts will be granted rollover data.
Source: AT&T
The post AT&T starts rolling over pre-paid Go Phone data on May 15th appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
What’s on your HDTV: ‘Mad Men’ finale, ‘Battlestar Galactica’
After seven seasons (the last one stretched out as far as it will go), AMC’s flagship series Mad Men is coming to an end this weekend. While some will say goodbye to Don Draper and the rest of the crew (Google Play put together a “fan experience” to help you look back), there’s a slew of other finales hitting this week. Castle, Arrow, CSI: Cyber (well…), Elementary, Scandal and a number of others are wrapping up their seasons, so it’s a good time to binge and catch up. The NBA and NHL playoffs are also cranking up the intensity, so sports fans will want to see which series go the full seven games. On Blu-ray, Wet Hot American Summer is arriving along with the original Battlestar Galactica series, while gamers can start playing Project Cars on consoles too. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLMKk4lSYoM-witFM5AS1Ij_xH_q_1bKWO
Blu-ray & Games & Streaming
- Battlestar Galactica (original + Galactica 1980)
- Mortdecai
- Blackhat
- Still Alice
- Orgazmo
- 50 Shades of Grey
- The Cobbler
- Wet Hot American Summer
- Fruitvale Station (Netflix)
- Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (S4) (Netflix, 5/15)
- Ultratron (PS3, PS4)
- Project Cars (PS4, Xbox One)
- Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster (PS4)
- Invisible Inc. (PC, Mac, Linux)
- Toren (PS4, PC)
- Nom Nom Galaxy (PS4)
- Lost Orbit (PS4)
Monday
- NBA Playoffs: Hawks/Wizards, TNT, 7PM
- NBA Playoffs: Warriors/Grizzlies, TNT, 9:30PM
- The Voice, NBC, 8PM
- 2 Broke Girls, CBS, 8PM
- The Originals (season finale), CW, 8PM
- The Following, Fox, 8 & 9PM
- Dancing with the Stars, ABC, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- Mike & Molly, CBS, 8:30PM
- Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop, HBO, 9PM
- Jane the Virgin (season finale), CW, 9PM
- Bates Motel (season finale), A&E, 9PM
- Stalker, CBS, 9PM
- Turn, AMC, 10PM
- The Night Shift, NBC, 10PM
- NCIS: LA, CBS, 10PM
- Castle (season finale), ABC, 10PM
- The Returned (season finale), A&E, 10PM
- StarTalk, National Geographic Channel, 11PM
Tuesday
- Community, Yahoo Screen, 3AM
- NHL Playoffs: Canadiens/Lighting, NBC Sports Network, 7:30PM
- NBA Playoffs: Bulls/Cavaliers, TNT, 7PM
- NBA Playoffs: Clippers/Rockets, TNT, 9:30PM
- The Flash, CW, 8PM
- NCIS (season finale), CBS, 8PM
- The Voice, NBC, 8PM
- Dancing with the Stars, ABC, 8PM
- American Idol, Fox, 9PM
- Deadliest Catch, Discovery, 9PM
- Undateable (season finale), NBC, 9PM
- iZombie, CW, 9PM
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC, 9PM
- NCIS: New Orleans (season finale), CBS, 9PM
- Your Family or Mine, TBS, 10PM
- Chicago Fire (season finale), NBC, 10PM
- CSI: Cyber, CBS, 10PM
- Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Inside Amy Schumer, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Inside Comedy, Showtime, 11PM
Wednesday
- NHL Playoffs: Capitols/Rangers, NBC Sports Network, 7:30PM
- NBA Playoffs: Wizards/Hawks, TNT, 8PM
- NBA Playoffs: Grizzlies/Warriors, TNT, 10:30PM
- Survivor, CBS, 8PM
- Arrow (season finale), CW, 8PM
- American Idol (season finale), Fox, 8PM
- The Middle (season finale), ABC, 8PM
- Young & Hungry, ABC Family, 8PM
- The Mysteries of Laura, NBC, 8PM
- The Goldbergs (season finale), ABC, 8:30PM
- Modern Family, ABC, 9PM
- Supernatural, CW, 9PM
- Nova, PBS, 9PM
- Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9PM
- Black-ish, ABC, 9:30PM
- CSI: Cyber (season finale), CBS, 10PM
- Nashville (season finale), ABC, 10PM
- Chicago PD, NBC, 10PM
- Catfish, MTV, 10PM
- Ripper Street, BBC America, 10PM
- Freak Out, ABC Family, 10:30PM
- Big Time in Hollywood, FL, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Thursday
- Lighting/Canadiens (if necessary), TBD
- NBA Playoffs: Rockets/Clippers (if necessary), ESPN, TBD
- NBA Playoffs: Cavaliers/Bulls, ESPN, 8PM
- Bones, Fox, 8PM
- Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 8PM
- The Vampire Diaries (season finale), CW, 8PM
- WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
- The Odd Couple (season finale), CBS, 8:30PM
- The Blacklist (season finale), NBC, 9PM
- Grey’s Anatomy (season finale), ABC, 9PM
- Reign (season finale), CW, 9PM
- Scandal (season finale), ABC, 10PM
- Wayward Pines (season premiere), Fox, 9PM
- Elementary (season finale), CBS, 10PM
- Maron (season premiere), IFC, 10PM
- The Comedians, FX, 10PM
- American Crime (season finale), ABC, 10PM
- 8 Minutes, A&E, 10PM
- Olympus, Syfy, 10PM
- Louie, FX, 10:30PM
- Major Lazer, FXX, 12AM
- Axe Cop, FXX, 12:15AM
Friday
- NBA Playoffs: Hawks/Wizards (if necessary), ESPN, TBD
- NBA Playoffs: Warriors/Grizzlies (if necessary), ESPN, TBD
- Grimm (season finale), NBC, 8PM
- Cold Justice, TNT, 8PM
- 21 Years: Richard Linklater, Showtime, 8PM
- Shark Tank (season finale), ABC, 8PM
- Whose Line is it Anyway?, CW, 8PM
- The Amazing Race (season finale), CBS, 8PM
- Beyond the Tank, ABC, 9PM
- Bitten, Syfy, 9PM
- The Messengers, CW, 9PM
- Lost Girl, Syfy, 10PM
- Vice, HBO, 11PM
- Comedy Bang! Bang!, IFC, 11PM
Saturday
- NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Fox Sports 1, 7PM
- Bessie, HBO, 8PM
- The Wrong Girl, Lifetime, 8PM
- Iverson, Showtime, 9PM
- Outlander, Starz, 9PM
- Orphan Black, BBC America, 9PM
- The Universe, History, 9PM
- Tatau, BBC America, 10PM
- Saturday Night Live: Louis CK + Rihanna, NBC, 11:30PM
Sunday
- 60 Minutes, CBS, 7PM
- Bob’s Burgers (season finale), Fox, 7:30 & 9:30PM
- 2015 Billboard Music Awards, ABC, 8PM
- Call the Midwife (season finale), PBS, 8PM
- I Love Lucy Superstar Special, CBS, 8PM
- The Simpsons (season finale), Fox, 8PM
- Tigers/Cardinals, ESPN, 8PM
- Brooklyn Nine-nine (season finale), Fox, 8:30PM
- Battle Creek, CBS, 9PM
- Game of Thrones, HBO, 9PM
- Nurse Jackie, Showtime 9PM
- Family Guy (season finale), Fox, 9PM
- A.D. The Bible Continues, NBC, 9PM
- Mr. Selfridge (season finale), PBS, 9PM
- Happyish, Showtime, 9:30PM
- Penny Dreadful, Showtime, 10PM
- Silicon Valley, HBO, 10PM
- Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 10PM
- American Odyssey, NBC, 10PM
- Mad Men (series finale), AMC, 10PM
- Lizzie Borden Chronicles, Lifetime, 10PM
- Battle Creek, CBS, 10PM
- The Royals (season finale), E, 10PM
- Salem, WGN, 10PM
- Veep, HBO, 10:30PM
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
LA’s newer cell towers will keep working after earthquakes
Cellular networks are only trustworthy if they continue running in emergencies, and Los Angeles knows it. The city’s council has voted for legislation that requires all new cell towers to be tough enough to remain functional after a major earthquake — not just standing, like they need to do today. Officials believe that this will involve only a “marginal” hike in costs, but should make a huge difference the next time a big quake rocks LA and leaves residents scrambling for help. This hardening process won’t be truly comprehensive until carriers start replacing existing towers, which could take years. However, patience could be a virtue if it keeps families and rescue teams in touch when a disaster strikes.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Via: RCRWireless
Source: NBC Los Angeles
AT&T GoPhone prepaid plans add rollover data
When it comes to saving money and getting a deal on cellular service, prepaid plans tend to be the best choice, especially if you get service via MVNOs, which tend to have more aggressive pricing than traditional carriers. That said, recently even the big US carriers have been doing more to make their prepaid plans stand out and for AT&T GoPhone that means adding rollover data to select prepaid plans.
Starting May 15th AT&T will allow any unused data from one month carry over to the next, though this carried balance only lasts 30 days and so you can’t keep hording data over a larger period of time. Furthermore, the data rollover option will only apply to the $45 (1.5GB data) and $60 prepaid (4GB) plans. In addition to rolling over high-speed data, AT&T also offers unlimited reduced speeds once you run out of your allotment, though the speeds are as low as 128kbps.
Even with the addition of rollover data, it is pretty hard to recommend AT&T GoPhone’s service when there are plenty of other options out there that offer more. Then again, some folks prefer dealing with bigger carries (which generally have better customer service) than smaller MVNOs, so there’s always that. What do you think of AT&T’s GoPhone service, especially with the latest additional perk? Let us know in the comments.
Humble Mobile Bundle 12 grows to eight games
The latest Humble Mobile Bundle, which benefits some great causes, has eight games up for grabs. A donation of any amount will reward donors with three titles and donations exceeding the average amount raises that number by five.
Any donation:
- The Last Express
- Spaceteam (premium)
- Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous
Average donation or more:
- Monument Valley
- Blek
- Joe Danger
- Groundskeeper2
- Highrise Word Heroes (premium)
These games, when purchased individually through Google Play, cost more than $20 altogether. So there is plenty of money to be saved while also benefiting charities and developers. The charities participating in Humble Mobile Bundle 12 are Worldreader and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Worldreader aims to put digital books in the hands of children and their families while the Electronic Frontier Foundation fights for digital rights. Donors can choose how much money is split between the charities and developers as well as leave a tip for the people that run the Humble Bundle campaigns.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: Humble Bundle
Come comment on this article: Humble Mobile Bundle 12 grows to eight games
Warner Music Earned More Revenue From Streaming Services Than Downloads in Q2 2015
Apple’s upcoming revamped music service may be coming at the perfect time, right as revenue from streaming music is beginning to surpass revenue from digital downloads.
Streaming music services have been growing in popularity over the last several years, and in an earnings call today (via Re/code), Warner Music Group CEO Stephen Cooper told investors that for the first time, the company earned more revenue from streaming music services than from digital downloads.
Warner Music Group saw a 33 percent increase in its revenue from streaming music services from companies like Spotify and YouTube during the second quarter of 2015, while revenue from digital downloads like those from iTunes grew only seven percent. During the call, Cooper said that the growth of streaming music makes it “abundantly clear” that in the future, “streaming will be the way that most people enjoy music.”
“We experienced significant revenue growth this quarter across key segments of our business — in particular Recorded Music, across the U.S. and international and across digital and physical — capping off a strong first half of our fiscal year” said Stephen Cooper, Warner Music Group’s CEO. “Notably, in this quarter we saw continued growth in streaming revenue which surpassed download revenue for the first time in the history of our recorded music business. Our commitment to being at the forefront of industry change as well as our ongoing investment in artist development is the foundation of our continued success.”
Warner Music Group says that it expects streaming growth will continue, and it believes that declines in download revenue will be “a continuing trend.” Apple too has seen a stark decline in digital revenue in recent years, with sales dropping 5.7 percent in 2013 and further declining 13 percent worldwide in 2014.
A decline in iTunes music sales may have been one of the major factors that spurred Apple to purchase Beats Music, giving it a foothold in the streaming music market that it was late to enter. Apple has seen some criticism for its failure to embrace streaming music early on and the somewhat lukewarm reception of iTunes Radio.
Beats Music has failed to draw a significant number of customers away from Spotify, which has 60 million subscribers, of which 15 million pay for the premium service, but with more than 800 million credit cards on file, Apple’s upcoming revamped streaming music service has the potential to overtake competing services.
Rumors have suggested that the new service will be similar to the existing Beats Music service, but with a focus on exclusive content and deep integration into iTunes and Apple’s iOS Music app. It will be priced at $9.99 and no freemium tier will be offered, but Apple is looking at ways to offer music for free, through lengthy trial periods, iTunes Radio, and possibly a SoundCloud-like music sharing platform.
Apple is said to be planning to unveil its new music service in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
First Apple Watches With Link Bracelets Begin Shipping to Customers
Though the Apple Watch officially launched on April 24, several of the stainless steel Apple Watch configurations have been unavailable to ship for weeks due to supply shortages. Customers who ordered Apple Watches with Link Bracelets, Modern Buckles, and Leather Loops right after pre-orders began are still without their devices.
As of today, the first orders of these rarer watches appear to be shipping out. Several customers on the MacRumors forums who ordered the Apple Watch with Stainless Steel Link Bracelets are seeing their credit cards charged and have begun receiving shipping information from Apple. The first orders should be arriving to customers tomorrow.
There are many customers who are still waiting for their Link Bracelet Apple Watch orders to ship, but it appears the wait may not be much longer now that the first shipments are going out. Customers who ordered the Space Black Apple Watch with Link Bracelet have unfortunately not yet seen order movement, and it also looks like Modern Buckle and Leather Loop purchases are not yet shipping out.
When Apple started accepting pre-orders on April 10, Apple Watch orders with Link Bracelets in Stainless Steel saw shipping estimates ranging from four to six weeks, while the Link Bracelet in Space Black had June shipping estimates. Apple Watches with Modern Buckle and Leather Loop bands also had four to six week shipping estimates right when pre-orders began, suggesting those models may ship out soon.
Standalone Link Bracelet and Leather Loop bands ordered separately have already begun shipping out to customers. The Modern Buckle band remains unavailable for purchase.
It is not clear why the Link Bracelet, Leather Loop, and Modern Buckle have been in significantly shorter supply than the Classic Buckle, Milanese Loop, and Sport Band, but manufacturing processes may be a factor. According to Apple’s site, the Link Bracelet is crafted from 100 components, including links that take more than nine hours to cut, while the Modern Buckle and Leather Loop are made from leather sourced from small tanneries in France and Italy.
(Thanks, Warren!)
AIVAnet 
