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In what is Motorola's dullest release since Contextual Services hit the Play Store, Moto has opened up Modality Services to receive future updates via Google Play as well. This software helps a phone respond appropriately to motion and position, enabling it to know when it's coming out of a pocket or whether it's sitting face down on a desk. You know, the good stuff that made the Moto X so interesting in the first place.
T-Mobile is ready to pull the metaphorical VoLTE lever marked Seattle, giving the city early access to the upgraded infrastructure the carrier hopes to roll out to more parts of the country over the course of the year. This voice over LTE connection will allow consumers to use voice and data at the same time, as voice calls will go out over IP on LTE rather than taking the current switched-circuit path approach.
FreedomPop is the Sprint MVNO that's willing to provide you with free phone service, but if you really want to get much use out of it away from home, that price tag goes up rather quickly. Yet even then, the plans available aren't going to break the bank. Today the carrier has introduced a new $20 plan that comes with unlimited data. For the first time ever, FreedomPop customers can now tap into Sprint LTE (instead of WiMax), and this plan will provide up to 1GB of it a month (after which, phones are limited to 3G). Text messages and minutes are both unlimited, making this a pretty affordable way to stay connected.
T-Mobile has announced a software update for its version of the Galaxy S5 that, while nothing exciting, should address an issue some customers have experienced. The change log contains a single item, an improvement that alleviates occasional incoming SMS/MMS failure. Following the update, the S5 should receive messages more reliably, assuming it hasn't worked fine for you thus far. The version number is G900TUVU1ANE5.
The Google Play Newsstand Android app is pretty and all, but without the ability to subscribe to magazines, it's little more than a dumbed down pseudo-RSS reader. So it's a pretty good thing Google is rolling out access to the digital magazines to more countries. By now, residents in France and Germany should have access to the Newsstand content available in Google Play.
In an effort to further diversify the content of status updates (which consist 115% of political arguments and babies being cute), Facebook is working on a way to help users share what they're listening to with others. No, the social network won't turn into a file-sharing site, but it should at least help friends give some attention to the same artists or performers you enjoy.
The attackers managed to gain access to a few employee accounts, with which they were able to tap into the corporate network. The compromise occurred sometime between late February and early March, and the company is now working with law enforcement to investigate the matter. For more information, here's the full press release.
Earlier today, T-Mobile announced that it would start selling the gold Galaxy S5 on May 30th. As it turns out, this is the launch date for all of the major carriers in the US. Come the end of this month, a blinged out version of the S5 will be available from the likes of AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular, and Verizon as well.
Social networks are great for connecting us to many other people at once. They're also bad for precisely the same reason. How many friends or followers really need to know that I am really excited to be cooking on a gas stove for the first time?* 80% won't care, 10% will comment on how electric stoves are safer, a couple will point out how induction stoves are much better at everything, and then I'm just known as that guy who started that pointless argument about stoves online.
HBO shows aren't the easiest ones to get our hands on, but Amazon has snagged a deal that should make doing so easier for Prime subscribers. Starting today, customers in the US will have access to all seasons of several HBO series (such as The Sopranos, The Wire, and Flight of the Conchords) and select seasons of several others (True Blood and Boardwalk Empire, for example). HBO has also aired several mini-series over the years (Band of Brothers, John Adams, The Pacific, etc.), and Prime subscribers will now have access to them as well.
Android surpassed iOS in global smartphone marketshare ages ago, yet iOS still tends to get new apps and games before it. The easy critique is that bone-headed developers are still lovestruck with Apple. A more reasonable critic would acknowledge that developing software that can run on the countless Android devices out there is going to take more time and effort than supporting a single piece of hardware. Developer Game Oven Studios has posted a short vine clip that sums this up in just a glance.
Monument Valley came to Android a week ago after attracting roughly a million downloads on iOS in the one month since its release. That's no small number, but it doesn't take much time with the game to understand why (a good thing, considering just how little time you're going to spend playing it). Monument Valley has been put together pixel by pixel, with the game offering no more nor less than it needs to provide an absolutely captivating experience.
Between Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox, the question is clear - do you want to store your files on a drive or in a box? Cloud storage provider Box knows which way it wants you to answer, and the company is rolling out an update to its Android app today that it hopes may influence your choice. Version 3.0 of the app introduces a new image gallery that can preview photos without requiring users to load up full images, saving bandwidth. It also brings in a document previewer with support for over 100 file types and the ability to search text within documents.
Phones have gotten smarter over the years, but managing contacts remains a pretty tedious affair. Syncing information saved on Android devices with a Google account prevents having to manually transfer them every time you move to a new gadget, but this does nothing to stop the periodic Facebook status updates informing mass numbers of people at once that you or your friend's phone has gone for a swim or jumped off a roller coaster, and as a result, the number has changed. Alternatively, you can sync your contact information with social networks and share it with your friends that way, assuming you trust the companies behind said social networks and aren't afraid of this information going public.
AT&T has announced that the Galaxy S4 Mini, yes - the phone that came out back in November, is coming to the carrier May 23rd with HD Voice. It will be the first device on the network with support for making VoLTE (voice over LTE) calls. The handset isn't available for pre-order, but the carrier does have it listed as "coming soon."
You're not going to want the upcoming ASUS Transformer TF103, and neither is your mom (or Cameron's, for that matter). The Android community has known about the existence of the tablet for a few months now, but only recently have the specs hit the web. Is it good on paper? Well, let's just say this Intel Bay Trail-powered device is retro, and not in the good way.
Google has bought Divide, a startup that secures smartphones to make them enterprise-friendly. It uses containers, a concept that should not sound unfamiliar around these parts thanks to the likes of Samsung KNOX. The approach separates a user's personal data from work-related files, effectively isolating them from one another on the same device. Google's purchase could imply a desire to tighten up Android's security out of the box and better attract the interest of enterprise customers.
The Galaxy S5 is a pricey phone, the cost of which the big four American carriers typically offset by pushing consumers towards two-year contracts. They generally also offer the choice to pay for the entire phone upfront, but people who want to own the phone outright and have the several hundred necessary to do so stand to benefit from shopping around for the lowest price, and lowest commitment, option available. Today both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile have added their names to the list of providers willing to sell a Galaxy S5, doing so for $599.99 with no contract.
Archos is known around these parts for their budget tablets, a few cheap smartphones, and, most recently, an Android-powered netbook. Well in case you've forgotten, the company has an upcoming activity tracker, scale, and blood pressure monitor that it would love for you to pick up as well, all of which it unveiled back at CES. These "Connected Self" products will require a companion app to get much use out of, which the company has just dropped into the Play Store.
The Amazon Appstore may not be the first place many of us head when it's time to grab a new app, but it's quite the spot for free stuff. Today only, Amazon is offering up nine photography apps for free or at discounted prices. To make things better, you get 100 Amazon coins for each download. By hitting up each app, you can get up to $9 in Amazon coins that you can spend on apps or in-app purchases.