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Ting Mobile now offers SIM cards powered by Verizon
Ting customers can now choose between Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile SIMs
Ting is an incredibly popular MVNO carrier, where customers are billed only for the calls, texts, and data they actually use (similar to Google Fi and Xfinity Mobile). The carrier already allowed customers to use either GSM or CDMA SIM cards, even across different lines on the same account, and now there's an additional CDMA option.
Ting is a massively popular MNVO carrier, where customers are billed only for the calls, texts, and data they actually use — similar to Google Fi and Xfinity Mobile. The carrier offers both GSM and CDMA SIM cards, but Ting said last year that its GSM option would go away. Thankfully, Ting has reversed course, and its customers won't lose access to any networks.
Ting Mobile has been a popular MVNO carrier for years. Much like Google Fi, it's oriented towards people who don't use a lot of cellular data, with the option to mix-and-match tiers for minutes, texts, and data usage. A major strength for Ting has been the ability to use either a GSM or CDMA network, but that will soon go away.
Thuraya Telecommunications Company announced the world's first satellite smartphone, the Thuraya X5-Touch, at its partner conference in Dubai today, according to a press release. Thuraya is targeting the phone at "users who frequently move in and out of terrestrial coverage," like government and non-profit workers.
We're fast approaching MWC with some of the major highlights of the event, like the Moto G5, seeing some serious leaks. Like I mentioned yesterday, good phones from last year should not be discounted simply because they're a year old. Such is the case with this returning deal here. The Moto G4 Play is available for $99.99 from B&H with a promo code, a total savings of $50.
After several months of exclusivity with Verizon, the Moto Z is now available for pre-order as a GSM unlocked variant for a whopping $699.99. In addition, the unlocked model of the newer (headphone jack-equipped) Moto Z Play can be pre-ordered, but for a more reasonable $449.99. Unfortunately, the Moto Z Droid Force is remaining a Verizon exclusive.The 5.2mm-thin Moto Z is equipped with a 5.5-inch 1440p AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM, a 13MP camera, and a 2600mAh battery. In contrast, the Moto Z Play has a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 625, 3GB of RAM, a 16MP camera, and a 3510mAh battery. Interestingly, the unlocked version of the Moto Z gets a storage bump to 64GB, which isn't even an option through Verizon; however, the Play's storage remains at 32GB.The unlocked Moto Z will be released on October 2nd through Amazon and October 3rd through Best Buy and Motorola, but you'll have to wait until October 20th for the Play. It's worth noting that these unlocked devices will only support GSM networks, unlike last year's Moto X Pure Edition, which supported Verizon and Sprint.If you buy the Moto Z through Motorola's site, you'll get the Charcoal Ash Wood shell included free of charge (no other shells are in stock, by the way). If you buy it through Amazon, you'll get $200 off the Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod, effectively bringing its price down to $50. Those of you who prefer the Moto Z Play will receive the Incipio offGRID Moto Mod with your order for free from Best Buy. This Mod, which goes for .99 on Amazon, packs a 2200mAh cell. Motorola claims that it'll add 20% to your Play's battery life (not really sure how that math works out).If you're interested, you can hit the source links below to pre-order.Source: Motorola, Amazon (1), (2), Best Buy (1), (2)
The G4 is easily the best LG smartphone available at the moment, and if you're particularly fond of the leather back option or of manual camera controls, it may be the best choice on the market. We've seen some significant discounts on the phone before, but one eBay vendor has the best price yet: 9.95 for a new, unlocked GSM model. Depending on where you buy from, that represents a discount of $100 to 300 or more off of the retail price.
There are plenty of pre-paid MVNOs in the US, but Ting has consistently offered some of the best deals. However, it only worked on Sprint's network. If that wasn't a good fit for you, tough. The company recently started testing a GSM service on an invite-only basis, but now it's open to everyone. While it's still technically beta, you can add a GSM phone to Ting right now.
Ting has attracted many customers with its low-cost, pay-for-what-you-use tier-based approach to mobile service (give me a second, I'm sure I could fit more hyphens into this sentence), but some have been put off by the company's reliance on the Sprint network. Starting February 2015, folks will have a choice. Ting will start offering a GSM option for people who just want to pop a SIM card into their existing unlocked phone.
Verizon's ongoing DROID program means that most of the phones sold under the label will never appear on other US carriers. When the DROID Turbo was announced last week as one of the most high-end phones to come this year, more than a few of our commenters said that they'd prefer it to the Nexus 6 (also made by Motorola) due to its smaller size, if only a non-locked GSM version was available. It looks like that may soon be an option for some... at least if they live outside the United States.
Update: Various commenters and tipsters tell us that the D855 model isn't working on AT&T's LTE network, despite the technical support for the 700Mhz frequency. It's either a band incompatibility or a software lockout. So AT&T users, skip this deal unless you're OK with no LTE support at all.
The Xperia Z2 Tablet isn't the most high-profile tablet around, but there are more than a few fans of Sony's unique industrial design. Combine that with the company's unlocked hardware (at least for non-carrier versions), and you've got a perfect candidate for custom ROMs. The CyanogenMod team has started publishing nightly releases for the Z2 Tablet, in both its Wi-Fi (castor) and unlocked GSM (castor_windy) flavors. The first nightly build is available for download now.
HTC's new One M8 flagship has been out for three months. At this point in its product cycle, we wouldn't expect to see any dramatic discounts, except perhaps for on-contract phones. But one eBay vendor is bucking the trend, selling a new, factory-unlocked M8 for 9.99, a full $150 off the list price from HTC's own website. You can grab the phone and get free shipping to the United States, and unlike many eBay deals, the seller is shipping to a variety of countries around the world.
Any HTC One owners who spend the day anxiously biting their nails in anticipation of the newest CyanogenMod nightly will be in for a surprise today. The popular ROM has unified several versions of the device under one heading. The AT&T, T-Mobile, and unlocked versions of the One are now on a single m7 ROM.
Following on the heels of the white 32 GB Nexus 5, the black 32 GB version is now in stock on the US Google Play Store, leaving the warehouse in 1-2 days. If you weren't able to get your hands on a black 32 GB Nexus 5 originally, now's your chance. If you're in the market for a new phone, the Nexus 5 is certainly an attractive option with its hefty hardware specs and comparatively low price. In case you need a refresher, here's what $399 buys for you:
So it looks like quite a lot of you were waiting on the Developer Editions for those new Motorola phones. Just over one day after Motorola posted the Developer Editions of the Moto X and the DROID MAXX on the company's official store, all three phones are unavailable. The Verizon Moto X Developer Edition is marked as "Out of Stock," while the GSM Moto X DE and the DROID MAXX DE are marked as "Coming Soon."
One of the downsides to Google's Nexus sales model is that, if you want to get your hands on a Nexus 4, you have to order one. Thankfully, T-Mobile is also going to be carrying the newest flagship phone. If you want to save some money up front in exchange for a 2-year contract, you can pick up the device for $200. It's currently available online here, as well as in select stores.
Sure, we're only a few hours away from the Nexus 4 and 10 launches, but that doesn't mean we can't have a software update or two while we're waiting. Some users on Google+ and Twitter are reporting that the Galaxy Nexus is receiving an update to Android 4.2 as we speak. Of course, if you're on a Sprint or Verizon device, you will probably be exempt right now, but if you see your miracle upgrade, speak up!
The time has finally come: after spending the biggest part of a decade with Verizon Wireless, I'm moving to a GSM carrier. This isn't just because of the Nexus 4, though - I've been debating on making the move for months now. However, Big Red delayed the inevitable change when they turned on LTE in my area.
Earlier this evening, CyanogenMod's Google+ page published an announcement that read "Who says Everest is in Nepal?". That's right – the Motorola Xoom 3G (GSM) variant has joined the list of CM-supported devices, getting its first experimental build dated 10-17.