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May

Nexus 4 Slipping Off Its Charging Orb? There's A 3D Printed Solution For That

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Accessories, Google, News, Nexus 4

As a recent convert to the Nexus 4 (after waiting months for my Sprint ETF to drop), I'm in love with the wireless charging orb. That's not to say it doesn't have issues (besides its price), though. While I've had nary an problem with the orb, I have heard a few times that it has one serious issue – failing to keep the Nexus in place as it charges.

A few days ago, I came across a potential solution to this problem – the Nexus 4 Charging Orb Cradle by Etsy user Pixil3D.

The 3D-printed cradle isn't necessarily the most elegant solution imaginable, and adding a $24 fix to a product that already costs $60 isn't exactly palatable to this writer, but the cradle has one thing going for it – it's 3D-printed, and anyone that has a 3D printer can make their own.

May

Deal Alert: Get Verizon's Galaxy Note II For $79.99 With New Account From Amazon Wireless, Sprint's For $49.99

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, Galaxy Note II, Samsung

It's been a little while since we last saw a nice deal on Samsung's Galaxy Note II. If you're still lusting after Samsung's latest (for now) and greatest phablet creation, but haven't convinced yourself to shell out the requisite cash, listen up – both the Verizon and Sprint-bound variants are enjoying a nice price slashing.

Amazon Wireless is offering Verizon's Note II for just $79.99 with a new account, and $150 on upgrades. Meanwhile, Sprint's Galaxy Note II can be yours with a new account for a mere $49.99, down from the $70 price Amazon offered a couple of months ago.

Mar

Deal Alert: Motorola Droid Razr HD Drops To $0.01 On Amazon Wireless For New Accounts

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

In January, we saw Motorola's Droid Razr HD drop to just a penny on Amazon for customers looking to upgrade their old devices. Sadly, the deal didn't extend to new customers (though at $19.99, not much complaining could be done).

If you were hoping to hop onto the big red network with the Razr HD for a more enticing price, Amazon's got your deal – the phone is now just a penny for new customers (and additional lines). Upgrades on the other hand will cost customers $89.99, strangely enough.

Though the Razr HD launched last fall, its specs still hold up against the competition.

Feb

FreedomPop Wants To Give You 500MB Of Free LTE (Great!) Via A Rumored, Ugly, Tablet-Clip Hotspot (What?)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, News

Wi-Fi-only tablets are pretty popular and for good reason. No one wants to pay for a second data plan just for their slate, and the hardware is cheaper if you get it without 3G/4G radios anyway. Seems like a win. Until you get out of your house and curse your disconnected device and its inability to Google Jeff Goldblum's height at the drop of a hat. Enter FreedomPop.

The service may not be new, but it is novel: 500MB of free data per month. That's it. The end. No strings. Oh, sure, there are overage fees. And you can pay to get more if you really want to.

Jan

LG's Nexus 4 Orb Charger Now Available For Pre-Order At Pure Mobile For $59.99

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Nexus 4

Since the debut of the Nexus 4 last year, users have been craving official accessories. The Nexus line has never had great luck in seeing OEM accessories come to market, but the long-awaited release of the Nexus 7 dock brought a glimmer of hope.

It looks like Nexus owners have even more to be excited about today, though, as the Nexus 4's wireless orb charger is up for grabs from Pure Mobile. We saw a few stories floating around about the listing earlier today, but it appears the item has entered stock for pre-order in the last few hours. Units are expected to arrive in "2-4 weeks."

If you're a Nexus 4 owner looking to take advantage of the device's wireless charging capabilities with an official (not to mention aesthetically pleasing) accessory, hit the link below.

Jan

AirDroid 2 Beta APK Is Now Available To All, Remote Camera Access And 'Find Phone' In Tow

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Do you use AirDroid? You should. It's a fantastic piece of software. While Google tends to prefer using cloud services to manage your data, there is no central app that can access and change anything on your device. This app fills that need and does so amazingly. It's so great that we gave away 20 invites to the v2 beta recently. Now, the invite-only requirement is gone and it's available to anyone who can download it. Plus, it has some sweet new features you'll want to see.

One of the new features of Airdroid 2 is the ability to remotely access your phone's camera via the web browser.

Jan

Scosche Announces the boomBOTTLE – A Weatherproof, Water Bottle-Sized Wireless Sound System For Your Bike

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News

Describing it as "a wireless omnidirectional outdoor speaker," Scosche today unveiled the boomBOTTLE – a wireless speaker for your bike that's roughly the shape and size of an average water bottle.

Powered by Bluetooth, the boomBOTTLE fits in your bike's water bottle holster and promises "rich, deep" audio courtesy of dual 40mm drivers in each unit. The device also has an integrated passive subwoofer with a ported enclosure.

Jan

[CES 2013] Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Gaining LTE Powers, Coming To Verizon This Month

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Note 10.1 (GT-N8000 / N8010 / N8013), News, Samsung

Samsung's on stage today at CES announcing all the devices (TVs, cameras, smart fridges and microwaves... seriously). Among them is a shiny new LTE version of the Galaxy Note 10.1. No word on how much the unit is going to cost but it will be arriving on Verizon sometime this month.

There's also no word yet on how much the plans will cost, but we can likely expect it will launch with comparable prices to the myriad other LTE tablets with Share Everything plans. So, what do you think? Does an LTE modem make you want this slate more?

Jan

[CES 2013] Fulton Innovation Shows Off A Tablet Working As A Wireless Charging Mat

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News

Fulton Innovation, a pioneer of wireless charging, is no stranger to showing off their tech at CES. This year, though, they've got something a little unusual – a prototype technology that allows a tablet to charge a phone wirelessly.

It looks relatively simple, but there are a few rules – both devices can charge using the Qi standard, and the tablet can charge any Qi-compatible phone. You won't be able to use the tablet while it charges another device, though.

At first blush, the tablet/phone charging duo seems to have limited application – after all, you'd need to stop using your tablet for quite a while, just to get a little more juice into your phone.

Dec

Meet The DoorBot: A Wireless Doorbell With Video, Two-Way Chat, And Lockitron Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

I have a confession to make: I'm usually not a big fan of anything I see as a "novelty" product. Sure, there are cool ideas, but I'm all about usefulness. Things that make life easier, more convenient, or just generally better. I think the DoorBot is one of those things.

The DoorBot, in short, is a W-Fi doorbell with one-way video and two-way chat. Here's how it works: someone rings your doorbell, which notifies you on your phone. You answer it like a call, thus activating the DoorBot's camera so you can see who's there. Then you're free to talk back and forth.