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

It’s pretty crazy to think that it’s been almost five years since Apple launched the iTunes App Store, and it’s even crazier to think that in less than five years they are already rapidly approaching 50 Billion (yes that’s Billion with a “B”) app downloads. In the past Apple has celebrated major iTunes milestones with some pretty insane giveaways. For example, for the billionth app download in 2009 they gave away a 17-inch Macbook Pro, 32 GB iPod Touch, Time Capsule router AND a $10,000 Gift Card for the iTunes Store. So as you’d expect for this massive milestone, Apple’s giving away a few other big prizes.

This year the lucky downloader of that 50 Billionth app will receive a $10,000 iTunes gift card that can be used in the App Store, iTunes Store or iBookstore. Considering that most paid apps, movies and books in the iTunes store are between $0.99 and $15 that’s an insane amount of money to spend in one place (and unfortunately it doesn’t look like you can use the gift card in the regular Apple Store to buy a new Mac, iPad or iPhone).

Now in the past Apple only gave away one grand prize for their iTunes contest but this time they’ve changed it up a bit. If you aren’t that exact 50 Billionth app downloader don’t worry, you can still win something as Apple will also be giving out fifty $500 iTunes gift cards to the people who download the next 50 apps after that 50 billionth app is downloaded. So if you do the math that’s $35,000 in free iTunes money up for grabs!

As of this writing the download counter on Apple’s website says that they have passed 49.85 billion apps, with about 1,000 apps being downloaded every second. That rate is only going to pick up as we get closer to that magic 50 billionth app so if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch go charge it up and get to downloading apps.

For more info and the latest counter either open up the App Store on your iDevice or head on over to Apple’s site here. And as always, good luck!

More info: Apple

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.

Samsung Galaxy S4

 Last year the Galaxy S III raised the bar for what Android phones should be, and with the Galaxy S4 Samsung had their work cut out for them to top that success. From all the reviews online and our own limited time with the phone we can say they’ve done it.

Specs wise the S4 is a 2013 superphone. It’s got a 5 inch 1080p HD screen, powerful quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM (for excellent speed), 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, NFC  (for doing things like tapping your phone to share things) and 4G LTE support.

As with other 2013 superphones like HTC One, an equally important part of Galaxy S4 is its software. The S4 runs the latest version of Android, 4.2 Jelly Bean, and Samsung has added a lot of interesting features on top of Android 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’ to make for an impromptu sound system), S Translator and Air Gesture (for controlling your phone just by waving your hand). These are just a few of the new software features on the S4, and while they may for the most part be gimmicks, at the very least they are cool enough to show off to your friends.

While the Galaxy S4 is already out for T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint, Verizon users have a little more time to wait. The Verizon S4 is available for pre-order now, with a promised ship date of May 30th at the latest. Pricing for the S4 is $199.99 for the 16 GB version with a new two-year contract.

HTC One

Ever since it was announced the internet has been buzzing about if/when the HTC One would make its way to Verizon (it’s already available on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint). With an incredible all aluminum design, gorgeous 4.7 inch 1080p HD screen, 1.7 GHZ quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM (so everything– games, videos, Facebook etc– runs well even if you’re doing them all at once), Android Jelly Bean, NFC, 4G LTE, IR blaster (for using this as a TV remote), HTC’s new ultrapixel camera, and built-in Beats Audio support with dual front speakers it’s not hard to see why.

Verizon and HTC have been extremely coy with all the rumors, constantly pointing out the very good Droid DNA, which was announced late last year, is still sold on Verizon. The Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD site reported back in March that the One would be coming to Verizon and would just be delayed a month or two due to Verizon testing the phone. If this is true and the One passes all of Verizon’s tests (Verizon is known to be really strict when it comes to testing new phones for their network), then hopefully we can expect the One to come to Verizon later this month as well.

Nokia Lumia 928

One of the most interesting new phones for Verizon is the Nokia Lumia 928. The Lumia 928 is basically Verizon’s long-awaited version of AT&T’s Nokia Lumia 920 that came out last year and runs Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8. Windows Phone 8 has been quietly improving to become a solid, colorful alternative to the iPhone and Android phones.

As we said, the Lumia 928 is pretty similar to the AT&T Lumia 920, and according to the rumored specs they are pretty much the same– 4.5-inch HD screen, a 1.5 GHZ dual-core processor with 1 GB of RAM (to make sure everything runs well), 8.7 megapixel back camera with that optical image stabilization (so that your photos and videos don’t look shaky), HD front camera for HD video chat, NFC, and of course support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The Lumia 928 is also expected to have support for wireless charging and the ability to use your phone even with gloves on (yes we know summer is almost here but this will help once things get cold again).

The main differences between the 920 and 928? Size. Nokia made the 928 much slimmer and lighter, a nice improvement as the biggest complaint with the 920 has been that it is too big.

We don’t yet know a price or release date or color options for the Lumia 928 (though based on the Lumia 920 we wouldn’t be surprised if there several colors available beyond just black and white), but Nokia has already begun teasing the phone on their website and are hosting an event next week where they are expected to unveil the phone. Rumors are that it will available a few weeks after that announcement.

BlackBerry Q10

The Q10 is the BlackBerry 10 version of the popular Bold. It’s got a large 3.1 inch HD touchscreen on the top half of the phone and that famous physical BlackBerry keyboard underneath. Specs wise it’s pretty much the same as the Z10 with a dual-core 1.5 GHZ processor with 2 GB of RAM (so things run quickly and without lagging or freezing), 16 GB of built-in storage (with a microSD card slot adding more), an 8 megapixel back camera and 2 megapixel front camera for HD video chat, NFC, and 4G LTE support.  While BlackBerry still has a long way to go to catch up with the iPhone and Android, if you still love BBM or want a phone with a real keyboard this is the phone for you.

No price or release date has been announced for the Q10, though Verizon has announced that they will carry it. As with the other phones on this list rumors are Verizon will begin selling the Q10 sometime over the next few weeks as well.

Apple iPhone 5

As we said in our AT&T Top 5 post a few weeks back, we couldn’t have any top 5 list without mentioning the iPhone. Yes it technically isn’t “new,” but it still is one of the best phones available on Verizon today. The 4 inch Retina Display looks great, the 8 megapixel camera takes great pictures, and the iPhone is only better with 4G LTE. Plus it has over 700,000 apps on the App Store (and the fact that many of the most popular apps– like Angry Birds, Instagram and Snapchat– make it to the iPhone first before any other platform). Apple has already said not to expect new products until the fall, and if you really need a new phone and can’t wait for any of the other phones on this list, the iPhone 5 is still an excellent choice.

The iPhone 5 is available now starting at $200 for the 16 GB version with a new 2 year contract.

Wrap Up

So there you have it– the latest on some very impressive upcoming phones that should hopefully be arriving at a Verizon store near you in the next few weeks and months. As always we’re sure Verizon has a lot more planned up its sleeve and we’ll of course keep you updated on whatever awesome new news they announce.

But we need to ask: what do you think? Are any of these new phones for you or do you are you planning to wait for something else (like the iPhone 5S/6 which may not be coming until later this year) before you make a decision? Let us know in the comments.

We all see phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4, BlackBerry Z10, HTC One and iPhone 5 and want to upgrade to them. Of course these awesome new phones aren’t always so cheap, and while $200 is the expected price to pay, it still is a lot of money. Earlier this month AT&T began trying to make it a bit easier to get that new phone you want, offering a limited time promotion of either $100 off new phones like the ones mentioned above, or if the phone you want is under $100 (like the HTC First, Galaxy S III and iPhone 4S), getting it for free. So if you have an iPhone 4 and are up for an upgrade and want the iPhone 5, with this deal you can trade-in your 4 and get the 5 for $100 instead of $200.

Now there are a few conditions to this deal. The phone you are trading-in needs to be a smartphone under three years old and be in “good, working condition.” You also will need to go to an AT&T store if you want the instant credit.  Once you’re there you can trade-in your old phone and use that $100 credit right away for buying that new one (and if the phone your trading in is worth more than $100 you’ll receive that higher credit instead). If you want to find the value of your old device before you go in you can head to AT&T’s trade-in site here.

All in all, unless you have someone you want to give your old phone to this seems like a pretty great deal. The new phone you want is much cheaper while your old phone gets recycled properly instead of just sitting in a drawer somewhere. AT&T has said that this is a limited time offer (though they haven’t said when it would end), so if you have your eye on a new Galaxy S4 or HTC One you may want to take advantage of this soon.

More info: AT&T

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?

The wait is almost over fellow Xbox fans. Get ready because in under a month Microsoft is expected to finally unveil the next Xbox, sending out invites today to an event at their Redmond, Washington headquarters on May 21st. The invite sent out today teased a “special unveiling” that will “mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV, and entertainment.” According to Xbox’s Major Nelson (also known as Larry Hryb, the director for Xbox Live programming), the next Xbox announcement is really a two-part show. The unveiling of the next Xbox and sharing of some of Microsoft’s plans for the console will come on the 21st, while the full lineup of launch games will be announced 19 days later at E3 on June 10th.

In February Sony unveiled their next generation system, the PS4, but they didn’t actually give important details like what the system would look like or how much it will cost. Based on some of the responses to that announcement from Major Nelson and others on the Xbox team, it’s a pretty safe bet we won’t see the same thing happen here (at least when it comes to what the new Xbox will look like).

As for what we can expect, not much is known today but according to some of the more recent rumors expect a much more powerful system that is similar to the PS4 in graphics and specs, as well as updated versions of Kinect and the ability to use your Xbox to control your cable box. As for the name of the next Xbox, it’s still just as up in the air (online it’s been called everything from Xbox 3, to Xbox 720 to its codename ”Durango”).

Like with recent Xbox events Microsoft will be streaming it live for all to watch on Xbox.com and Xbox Live as well as broadcasting it on Spike TV, and we’ll of course have what you need to know covered back here.  So stay tuned– the next Xbox is almost here.

More info: USA Today, The Verge

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.

HTC One

The HTC One was announced a few weeks before the Galaxy S4 and it likewise is the first on shelves. The white 32GB One is available now on Sprint and AT&T for $199.99 with a new two-year contract (for those who want the extra storage space, AT&T is also selling an exclusive 64GB version of the One for an extra hundred bucks). For those who would prefer the One in black, you’d be pleased to know that both carriers will also sell a black version soon as well.

T-Mobile users will be able to order the 32GB One online today, with the official release date set for this Wednesday, April 24th. T-Mobile’s One will be priced similar to their 16GB iPhone 5, $99.99 down payment with $20 monthly payments for 24 months (remember, T-Mobile no longer offers two-year contracts).

For those on Verizon wondering about the HTC One, while there have been some rumors, as of now Verizon has not yet announced any plans to sell HTC’s latest and greatest.

Samsung Galaxy S4

While there were a few weeks between the announcement dates for the One and S4, when it comes to release dates things are a lot closer together.

Unlike the HTC One, all four big carriers– AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile– will sell the Galaxy S4 in 16GB and 32GB versions, with T-Mobile the first carrier out of the gate. Beginning this Wednesday, April 24th, T-Mobile will start selling the S4 online (it will be in T-Mobile stores starting on May 1st). Pricing for the T-Mobile S4 will start at $149.99 down with $20 monthly payments for 24 months.

Sprint and AT&T are the next two carriers to sell the S4 and both have it available for pre-order on their sites right now. Sprint’s Galaxy S4 starts at a slightly more expensive $249.99 with a new two-year contract and will begin shipping out and be available in stores starting Saturday April, 27.

AT&T’s S4 is also available for pre-order and will be shipping three days after Sprint’s launch on April 30th (though some may get it earlier). The good news for AT&T users is that their S4 will be $50 cheaper than Sprint’s, launching at $199.99 with a new two-year contract.

Samsung #Galaxy S4 for #Verizon Wireless #4GLTE coming in May. More details soon @samsungmobileus twitter.com/VZWnews/status…

— Verizon Wireless (@VZWnews) April 18, 2013

As for Verizon, well you’ll have to wait a little longer. Verizon will get the S4, though unlike the other big carriers they haven’t announced exact pricing or a release date. They have however tweeted that their S4 will be available sometime in May. We’ll pass along more info on this once we get it.

For more info on what’s new and so impressive about each phone, see our earlier posts here (HTC One) and here (Galaxy S4).

Top image from Android Task Force

T-Mobile users, you can now buy the iPhone 5. As we wrote yesterday, the iPhone today has finally come to T-Mobile and it is available to buy now at T-Mobile stores or online at T-Mobile’s site. Pricing for the iPhone 5 starts at $99 down (with $20 monthly payments for two years) for the 16GB version, with the 32GB and 64 GB versions costing $199 and $299, respectively (also with $20 monthly payments for two years). If you want to buy full price– remember, T-Mobile doesn’t do two-year contracts anymore– you can for either $580, $680 or $780 depending on if you get the 16GB, 32GB or 64GB iPhone 5.

Now if you look at T-Mobile’s site you will notice that the iPhone 4 and 4S are listed, but depending on where you live you might not be able to actually buy either one. The reason for this is that the 4 and 4S don’t have the right chips inside to fully support T-Mobile’s 4G network. Ever since the first iPhone launched in 2007, all unlocked iPhones could be used on T-Mobile’s network. While they all could work, those phones only could use T-Mobile’s 2G network and not it’s fast 4G one. This had to do with fact that the iPhone didn’t support the right radio band needed to use T-Mobile’s faster networks (known as the 1700 MHz band).

Last year T-Mobile began switching their 4G HSPA+ network from that 1700 MHz band to the 1900 MHz band their 2G network used so that the iPhone 4 and 4S could get 4G. Unlike the 1700 MHz band, this 1900 MHz band is supported by the iPhone since AT&T uses it for some of their own 4G HSPA+ network. Apparently this changeover hasn’t yet happened everywhere, and in those places where the iPhone 4 and 4S won’t get 4G HSPA+ T-Mobile won’t sell the iPhone 4 and 4S. The iPhone 5 has been updated to support T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ network on both the 1700 MHz and 1900 MHz bands and can work wherever T-Mobile has 4G HSPA+ which is why it can be bought from anywhere. The T-Mobile iPhone 5 also supports T-Mobile’s new 4G LTE network, so you have an added benefit of that as well.

To buy the iPhone 5 head on over to the T-Mobile’s site. For all the info on T-Mobile’s new plans and info on their 4G LTE network see our earlier post here.

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.

At an event in New York two weeks ago T-Mobile not only announced the iPhone and the first cities to get their new 4G LTE network, but they also got rid of two-year contracts. You may have started to see ads for this but here’s what it means for you.

On other carriers you sign a two-year contract when you upgrade your phone, basically agreeing to be with that carrier for the next two years. For doing this, the carriers in turn give you a discount on your phone. With the iPhone 5, for example, it means that you only have to pay $200 for the 16 GB iPhone instead of the $650 it would cost to buy without contract. The carrier then makes their money back (with a lot of interest) by making you sign up for services like a data plan. By the end of your contract you will have paid your carrier much more than the $450 discount they gave you when you bought that iPhone. Plus if you wanted to leave your contract you would need to pay a large fee and you also wouldn’t be able to get a discount on a new phone for two more years, all because you signed that initial two year contract.

Well, T-Mobile basically said enough of this and they got rid of two-year contracts altogether for all of their plans and phone. Of course without the two-year contract discount (or subsidy), if you wanted a new phone it would be super expensive upfront. T-Mobile realized that few people would want to pay that $650 for a new iPhone upfront so they did this. You can buy a phone from them either at full price ($650) and get a cheaper monthly plan (since you aren’t paying back any discount for your phone), or you can buy the phone at a discount and pay back the full cost little-by-little each month over two years. Once you pay back what you owe for the phone you’ll automatically switch over to the cheaper monthly plan mentioned above, unlike other carriers which continue to charge you even after you paid off the full cost of the phone.

All that said, back to pricing for the T-Mobile iPhone 5. You can buy the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 at T-Mobile at full price ($580, $680, $780 respectively), or with the monthly payment pricing plan. With the monthly plan the 16GB iPhone 5 starts at $100 down, with $20 monthly payments over two years. Again, once you pay that back the $480 difference that $20 monthly charge will disappear from your plan.

We know these new plans are bit confusing at the start, but if you think about it they actually do make a lot of sense and could actually end up saving you a lot of money. Anyways, the iPhone 5 comes to T-Mobile tomorrow– are you gonna get one?

More info: T-Mobile

Back in February Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 and showed off its new controller, graphics and social features. And while Sony didn’t show what the PS4 actually looks like or say how much it would cost, it did promise that their new console would be available in time for the holidays of this year. The PS4 and the Nintendo Wii U make two of the three next-gen consoles, and over the last year the anticipation has been building over when Microsoft would announce their next Xbox (also known as the Xbox 3, Xbox 720, and Durango). While it was long believed that Microsoft would wait until E3 in June to announce the new Xbox, according to some of the latest rumors our long wait for the next Xbox may end even sooner.

According to a recent reports by The Verge and Paul Thurrott (someone who follows Microsoft and would know about some of their plans), Microsoft may be planning an event to officially announce the next Xbox as soon as May 21st. E3 starts only a few weeks later on June 11th, and The Verge expects Microsoft to announce the next Xbox in May and then use E3 in June to fully show it off.

As for what can expect in terms of the specs for the new Xbox, think of something that will rival the PS4. The next Xbox is rumored to pack an 8-core AMD processor, 8GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive and a Blu-ray drive for playing games (games can also be downloaded from Xbox Live). By comparison, the Xbox 360– which still is a pretty great system with some impressive graphics– has a three core processor and 512 MB of RAM. If these rumored specs are true then expect the graphics on the next Xbox to pretty much blow your mind.

As with the 360, gaming is just one part of what the Xbox can do and the next Xbox is also expected to come with an updated version of Kinect that will allow for better use in smaller rooms, improved tie-ins with Windows 8 and Windows Phone, and the ability to control your TV and cable box. The next Xbox is expected to be available later this year and pricing is rumored to be in the $300-$500 range (or what the 360 was when it came out eight years ago).

All in all, between this and the PS4 it looks like the next video game console wars are finally almost upon us. As always, stay tuned.