Cell Phones
AT&T Announces A Water-Resistant Galaxy S4, The Galaxy S4 Active
Jun 14th
While there are a number of solid waterproof cases for phones like the iPhone and Galaxy S III, there is something to be said for not needing to have a case on your phone to protect it. With summer just about here the need for a phone that is dust or water-resistant is even greater. Well, if you’re on AT&T and have an upgrade coming up you may want to check this out. Meet the Galaxy S4 Active, a water and dust resistant version of the awesome Galaxy S4.
The Galaxy S4 Active takes everything you know and love about the Galaxy S4– the amazing 5 inch full HD screen, fast quad-core processor, cool features like Air Gesture and Dual Camera– and puts it in a design that is now water-resistant which means you can drop it in up to 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. The Galaxy S4 Active is also dust-resistant making it the perfect phone for you if you plan to spend a lot of time at the beach or pool this summer. The only real difference between the original S4 and the S4 Active is that the Active’s camera is 8 megapixels instead of 13, though don’t worry, it will still take great pictures for Instagram. And since it’s designed for use in the pool Samsung gave the S4 Active a special Aqua Mode in the camera app to let you take pictures and videos underwater.
The Galaxy S4 Active will come in two colors, grey and blue, and cost the same as the regular Galaxy S4– $200 on a new 2 year contract when it launches next Tuesday, June 18th. For more info on the S4 Active (or to pre-order it) head on over to AT&T’s site here.
More info: AT&T
BBM Is Finally Coming to the iPhone and Android This Summer– Do You Still Care?
May 14th
Well, after being rumored for years BlackBerry today finally made it official. This summer BBM will be coming to Android and the iPhone. The apps will be available for free and run on iOS devices running iOS 6 or later and Android devices running Android 4.0 (aka “Ice Cream Sandwich”) or later. Both apps will offer the full BBM experience including BBM chats, multi-person chats, the ability to share photos and voice notes, and participate in BBM Groups with up to 30 people. Features like BBM Video Chat, screen share and voice chat are promised as updates for later this year.
Now while two years ago when BlackBerrys were still popular this would have been huge news, today we gotta ask if BBM coming to non-BlackBerrys still actually matters to you. Between iMessage, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Kik, Facebook Messenger and the dozens of other free messaging apps out there today, the appeal of BBM just isn’t as strong as it once was. Think about it, how many of your friends still even use BBM? I know most of mine don’t, or if they do they also use some other app like WhatsApp as well.
We’ll have more on BBM once it launches this summer, but in the meantime let us know your thoughts on the news– and if you even care about BBM anymore– in the comments.
More info: BlackBerry, pic from The Verge
Top 5 New and Upcoming Verizon Phones: Spring 2013
May 9th
For most of 2013 Verizon has been pretty quiet on the new phones they’ve launched. But that all looks to change very soon. If you’re on Verizon and have an upgrade coming up sometime over the next couple of weeks or months these are some of the best phones either already at Verizon or rumored to be coming to Verizon very soon. The last thing you want is to go out and buy something only to really regret it a week later.
While not everything here is confirmed to be coming to Verizon (some are just our best guesses based on rumors we’ve been hearing), here are five phones you should be excited for if you have an upgrade coming up.
Galaxy S4 Now Available For Pre-Order On Verizon
Apr 26th
We know a lot of you are waiting for the Verizon Galaxy S4, especially since AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are all releasing the phone within the next few days. While Verizon won’t be releasing their version of the Galaxy S4 until sometime in May, they have put it up for pre-order so you can make sure you’ll be one of the first to get it when Verizon finally releases it. As of now the pre-order page promises shipping by May 30th, though hopefully it will be much sooner than that. Pricing for the 16GB Verizon S4 is $199.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and a new two-year contract and you can pre-order it here.
For those who don’t know, the Galaxy S4 is Samsung’s new “next big thing” and it is an absolute beast. It’s got an amazing 5 inch 1080p HD screen, powerful quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM (for making sure everything you do on your phone runs well), 13 megapixel back camera with 2 megapixel front camera for HD video chat, IR blaster (for using this as a TV remote), and of course, 4G LTE support. The S4 also has a lot of really cool and interesting software features like Dual Camera (for taking a picture with the front and back camera at the same time), Group Play (for combining the speaker of your S4 with your friends’ S4s to make for an impromptu sound system), S Translator and Air Gesture (for controlling your phone just by waving your hand. Think of this as a type of Kinect for your phone). For everything new on the S4 see our earlier post here.
So Verizon users, are you going to go for this over something like the iPhone 5 or are you still hoping for Verizon to get the HTC One?
Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Release Dates- What We Know So Far
Apr 21st
If you’re looking for a new Android phone or have an upgrade coming up odds are you’ve narrowed your choices down to either the Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One. Both are very impressive phones with amazing 1080p HD screens, super fast quad-core processors, powerful cameras and interesting software features like the ability to become a remote for your TV. And best of all– both phones either are, or will be, available very soon.
We know that there’s a lot of interest in both of these beasts, so here’s a quick roundup on when they will be available at your carrier and how much it will cost you to get one.
The iPhone 5 Comes To T-Mobile Tomorrow– Are You Getting One?
Apr 11th
T-Mobile users the wait is over. Tomorrow the iPhone 5 will finally be available to buy in T-Mobile stores and online. And while it is pretty much the same iPhone 5 that the other carriers have sold, as you’d expect the T-Mobile iPhone 5 will work with T-Mobile’s new and upcoming 4G LTE network and their current, fast 4G HSPA+ network. This means you can expect 4G like speeds on your iPhone even if where you live hasn’t gotten T-Mobile 4G LTE yet (and it likely hasn’t. T-Mobile’s 4G LTE has only launched in seven cities, though much more are expected by the end of the year). If you already have an unlocked iPhone 5 and are on T-Mobile you should also see a software update in the Settings app that will bring these 4G improvement to your iPhone as well.
T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 will be available in both white and black and in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, though when it comes to pricing things get a little more complicated.
HTC First, Facebook Home- What You Need To Know From Facebook’s Android Event
Apr 8th
As was expected, Facebook last week unveiled some of their new plans for Android including a new Facebook phone called the HTC First and more importantly, a major update to their Android app called Facebook Home.
Both the First and Facebook Home will be available later this week– on Friday, April 12th– but here is what you are going to need to know about both before they get here.
Facebook Is Having An Android Event This Week- Could A Facebook Phone Be Coming?
Mar 31st
Late last week Facebook sent out invitations for an event at their headquarters teasing a “new home on Android.” As expected the internet is now filled with rumors about a new Facebook phone. While we still have a few days until the April 4th event, here are some of the latest and most interesting rumors about the Facebook phone and what else they might announce.
T-Mobile’s Planning a Big Event for Tomorrow– Are New Plans, 4G LTE and the iPhone On The Way?
Mar 25th
T-Mobile is hosting a big event tomorrow in New York City, and when we say big event we mean it. New plans, new 4G LTE network and possibly the real announcement of the long awaited T-Mobile iPhone.
Expected to be announced are new plans and an update on when their 4G LTE service will be available. The new plans are said to go against everything cell phone carriers have done in the past– dropping contract plans entirely and only offering no-contract service. This means your cell phone service will be cheaper and you if you’re unhappy with T-Mobile you can switch to another carrier without having to pay costly early termination fees (usually a couple hundred dollars). The downside to not pay for a contract means the price for getting a new phone isn’t subsidized, so a Galaxy S III for example would be $549 instead of just $100 with a new contract like it is on other carriers.
Also expected is the announcement of the T-Mobile 4G LTE launch cities. T-Mobile was a few years late in launching their 3G network when compared to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and today are a little late to the 4G LTE party as well. And while T-Mobile has done some really impressive things to make their current 3G network have 4G like speeds (and in some cases even faster than 4G LTE), tomorrow T-Mobile looks to finally officially unveil their LTE network. PC Mag has even reported on eight cities where T-Mobile’s network has been discovered, including Denver, Las Vegas, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle. These can very well be some of the first cities to get T-Mobile LTE.
Of course the thing you probably care about most are the phones. T-Mobile has already announced a few 4G LTE phones– the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (which gets LTE support once you download a software update) and the upcoming BlackBerry Z10, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4– but it is also now rumored that T-Mobile will finally share more details on when you’ll be able to buy an official T-Mobile iPhone.
Late last year T-Mobile and Apple announced that they have agreed to allow T-Mobile to sell Apple products like the iPhone. This was in December and in January of this year T-Mobile said they will sell the iPhone within “3-4 months.” As the calendar turns to April it looks like T-Mobile will follow up on that promise, and according to CNET tomorrow’s event will also feature a T-Mobile iPhone 5. The CNET report says the iPhone wouldn’t be available right after the event, but hopefully we’ll find out a price and release date for when it will finally be available. We know how badly a lot of you want a T-Mobile 4G LTE iPhone.
Unfortunately we won’t be able to make it to T-Mobile’s big event to cover it live, but as always we’ll have everything you need to know about whatever they announce later this week.
BlackBerry Z10 Now Available From AT&T, Coming To Verizon and T-Mobile Next Week
Mar 22nd
BlackBerry fans the good news keeps on coming, BlackBerry 10 has officially launched in the US. AT&T announced pre-orders for their first BlackBerry 10 phone, the Z10, earlier this month and it is now available in AT&T stores and online for $199.99 on a new 2 year contract.
Now if you’re on Verizon or T-Mobile and are excited for the Z10 we’ve got good news for you. Both carriers will be releasing the Z10 next week, with Verizon releasing it on the 28th for $199.99 with a new 2 year contract and T-Mobile releasing it on the 26th. There is no word yet on the pricing for T-Mobile’s version of the Z10. And we’re sorry Sprint users, you’re carrier doesn’t have any plans for the Z10, instead they’re waiting the keyboard packing Q10 to be their first BlackBerry 10 phone (the latest rumors say the Q10 will be out in May or June).
For more info on the Z10, Q10 and BlackBerry 10 see our post here.
So BlackBerry fans– are you going to go pick one of these up or have you given up on BlackBerry and are looking at an iPhone, Android or Windows Phone to be your next phone?
More info: AT&T, Verizon (pre-order), @TMobileHelp
