T-Mobile launches ‘Bring your own device’ program on MetroPCS

by Macky Evangelista on Jun 12th 2013, 8:54pm
tagged bring your own device, metropcs, T-Mobile

Recently T-Mobile has been able to officially secure its purchase of MetroPCS. Its first move is to get users to start using their GSM based service, or vice versa with Metro’s CDMA technology. In a sense, customers can go into a MetroPCS store with a device and activate it using T-Mobile’s GSM bands. The same can also be said with MetroPCS customers as they can head into T-Mobile stores and have their CDMA device activated. The MetroPCS BYOD program is only available in Boston, Dallas, Hartford, and Las Vegas with plans to expand soon.

Of course T-Mobile’s future plans for MetroPCS is to eventually use their LTE bands to help broaden theirs. That will take some time and I see this BYOD program a good step into getting customers into using both T-Mobile’s and MetroPCS’ service. This program is only for Android, iPhone and Windows devices. Sadly Blackberry phones will not be supported.

source: FierceWireless

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for June 3 – June 9, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Jun 9th 2013, 12:38pm
tagged Weekly Recaps

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. The biggest news of the week had to be the allegations that the National Security Association has access to carriers and internet companies. It all started with news that they have carte blanche with Verizon’s call logs, but later reports have a secret agency called PRISM that has direct access into companies like Facebook and Google. Google CEO Larry Page denounced being part of or ever hearing of PRISM. Verizon came clean and admitted they will offer the HTC One, but not until “later this summer”. ASUS and Toshiba announced a slew of tablets as part of computex, and HTC’s 5.9-inch phablet will be called the One Max. The new Gmail design finally hit Android devices, and we reviewed some really cool new apps. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Editorials

The reason behind Google’s purchase of Motorola is finally coming to fruition

Guides

Best Android apps for transferring files over WiFi [June 2013]

Reviews

Space Eon 3D [Arcade & Action]

Buzz Launcher [Personalization]

TypeSmart Keyboard [Productivity]

Zombie Derby [Racing]

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for June 6, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Jun 6th 2013, 10:03pm
tagged Daily Doses

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Reviews

Zombie Derby [Racing]

Apps

‘Android Bot Maker’ released to Play Store, allows rooted users to make repetitive tasks easy

Gameloft releases its first Modern Combat 5 teaser video ahead of E3

Blackberry Messenger arriving on Android on June 27 [update - probably not]

GetGlue app for Android gets UI overhall, but loses important features

Facebook Home app update brings “Favorites Tray”

Twitter client Falcon Pro now updated to version 2.0

Evernote updated, custom reminders added in wake of iOS, Mac, web updates

» Read the rest

Blackberry Messenger arriving on Android on June 27 [update - probably not]

by Aditya Thawardas on Jun 6th 2013, 12:25pm
tagged BBM, blackberry, blackberry messenger, messaging

According to T-Mobile UK, Blackberry Messenger is slated to arrive on Android and iOS on June 27. When Blackberry first announced that they would be making their popular messaging client available on other devices, the only time frame they gave for a release was “this summer.” Once released, the app will be free, and contain features like group messaging, voice chat, and screen share. The only problem for Blackberry is that there are dozens of other very popular, feature-filled messaging apps out there right now that they will have to compete with.

Through the tweet we also got our first look at the UI of the app, and I’m quite disappointed. Compare the screenshot above to Google Hangouts, which is supposed to be a competitor to BBM. This doesn’t even look like Android. The font is archaic, the text is sized oddly, and all in all it is extremely bland, though we’ll have to see what the official release looks like before completely making a decision. Let us know, do you have plans to use BBM once it’s launched for Android?

Update:

The Tweet has been pulled. Apparently the rep was tweeting about a rumored date, not an official date.

Source: @TMobileUK

Android could hit 1 billion phones shipped annually by 2017, Windows Phone expected to have 400% growth

by Harrison Kaminsky on Jun 5th 2013, 11:31pm
tagged Android, Google, one billion, shipments, windows phone

Android’s got a pretty steady grip on the market right now, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going away anytime soon. Canalys, a marketing research firm, has recent reports backing up that statement, and the statistics may even be a little bit scary.

By 2017, Android is expected to hit 1 billion phone shipments— annually. And this is all with Android expected to lose 0.6% of its market share, standing tall at a total of 67.1%. Right now, Android ships 470 million phones annually, so that figure is expected to more than double. Oh, and one more thing— this is only counting phones, and not tablets, or any other type of device Google launches four years from now running Android.

Windows Phone is expected to take a pretty solid chunk of the market too, as it is expected to see 400% growth between now and 2017. Check out the full presser after the break. » Read the rest

The latest comScore results are in folks, Android platform still reigns supreme, but Apple continues it’s quiet upward trend

by Roy Alugbue on Jun 5th 2013, 10:56am
tagged apple, blackberry, comscore, data, HTC, Samsung

It’s the first week of June gang— so it’s time for us to go through the latest comScore report with you all. Based off the the latest data, Apple continues to hold steady as the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer with a 39% market share (a minor increase from the previous month-end period), followed by Samsung at 22% and HTC at 8.9% (a 0.8% decline from the previous period). Despite Apple’s cemented status as the top dog in smartphone manufacturing king, it’s the Android platform that is still the overwhelming leader in the mobile world. Google’s popular platform currently holds over half of the overall smartphone market with a comfortable 52% share, followed by Apple (with a 1.4% increase in the market) at a 39.2% share and Blackberry at 5.1%.

» Read the rest

HTC One set to launch in T-Mobile stores on June 5th

by Roy Alugbue on May 29th 2013, 9:15am
tagged HTC, one, T-Mobile

We know that many of you T-Mobile customers have been itching for that HTC One smartphone for some time now, but as with other wireless carriers— there have been some minor shipping and stocking delays, so you may not have had a chance to grab the device just yet. Fortunately T-Mo has been working to get its stock filled up and is seemingly ready to offer the popular smartphone to its customers in the immediate future. According to the gang at TmoNews, sources at T-Mo believe that the wireless carrier will re-launch the device next Wednesday, June 5th, at various T-Mo locations nationwide. This means that customers will finally be able to get their hands on the intriguing device featuring a quad-core processor, gorgeous display, UltraPixel camera and Beats Audio, among other things at long last.

The device should run customers about $100 for you UNcarrier plan holders— so it certainly makes the device just a wee bit more appealing than it already was before. If you’re a T-Mo customer and are in the market for a new phone, will you grab one?

source: TmoNews

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 13 – May 19, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on May 19th 2013, 1:55pm
tagged Weekly Recaps

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. Google I/O was this week, so it’s no surprise that it dominated the headlines. Google officially unveiled their new unified messaging service called Hangouts and their new gaming service called Play Games Services. They also unveiled their new streaming music serviced called Play Music All Access. The only hardware announcement was the Galaxy S 4 Google Edition. All in all, it was an exciting event that featured a lot of new stuff for development, which is what Google I/O is all about. Even though I/O was the focal point for the week, there was still a lot of other news, so it’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

Best Android music playing applications [May 2013]

Reviews

Quiz of Seers [Brain & Puzzle]

WeVideo – Video Editor [Media]

Google I/O

Re-experience all three exciting hours of the Google I/O 2013 keynote right here

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Android activations account for nearly 1/7th of the world’s population with 900 million total activations

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Play Store will bring more personalized recommendation, apps that will be “Designed for Tablets” and new All Access music subscription service

Google announces unlocked Samsung Galaxy S 4 with stock Android coming June 26 for $649

Google Play Developer Console gets a major injection of new features

Google announces Google Play for Education at Google I/O 2013

New Google Maps makes the Map the UI just a little better and easier for all

Google Search gets expanded functionality for users, brings new cards and improved Voice Search abilities

Google Hangouts officially announced at Google I/O, now live in the Google Play Store

Google Hangouts requires permissions to receive, read, and send SMS messages, could support be added soon?

Google Hangouts “easter eggs” revealed, include ponies and dinosaurs

Gmail and Google Wallet can now help you get money to people in your life

Google TV gets bumped to Android 4.2.2 and the latest version of Chrome

Hands on with the Map Diving simulator

Hands on with NVIDIA Shield

Quick look at the Google Street View Trekker

Hands on with WeVideo’s video editing solution for Chromebooks

» Read the rest

PBA Bowling Challenge adds multiplayer support thanks to Google Play’s game service

by Jeff Causey on May 16th 2013, 5:31pm
tagged game service, Google, multiplayer, PBA Bowling Challenge

Concrete Software wasted no time incorporating Google’s new gaming service into their title PBA Bowling Challenge. Multiplayer support was a function users had been requesting for the highly rated game and the new game service enabled Concreate to quickly incorporate that feature into their title. Concrete’s decision to take advantage of the new game service may be a harbinger of how Google’s game service will serve both players and developers. According to Keith Pichelman, CEO of Concrete Software: » Read the rest