Android Phone Fans |
- Lenovo unveils 4 new smartphones for CES 2014 including Vibe Z with Snapdragon 800 CPU, titanium body, and 3,000mAh battery
- Snapchat responds to data leak, allows users to opt out of “Find Friends” feature
- Pebble teases special announcement for CES 2014 – livestream kicks off Monday, January 6th
- Bump officially shutting its doors on January 31st, grab your data while you still can
- Moto G arriving on Boost Mobile January 14th for $130, available now from HSN for $100
- T-Mobile shook up the wireless industry in 2013, now they want to “transform” it in 2014
- New HTC M8 (One sequel) specs leak suggests 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB
- Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 ups the Android camera ante
- Verizon Moto G already available at Best Buy for $100
- Snapchat hackers release 4.6 million names and phone numbers — see if yours was on the list
- Nokia Normandy not dead after all?
- Moto X off-contract price permanently cut to $399
| Posted: 02 Jan 2014 06:18 PM PST Lenovo is coming in hot to Las Vegas, ready to introduce a handful of new Android handsets for CES 2014. Not to be outdone by Samsung (who’s been known to introducing an onslaught of Android handsets in various shapes/sizes) Lenovo is unveiling the Lenovo Vibe Z, Lenovo S930, Lenovo S650 and Lenovo A859. The most compelling of these devices is without a doubt the higher-end Vibe Z, Lenovo’s first smartphone to feature LTE radios. For an easy scanning, we’ve listed all the devices and their main specs below. Let’s see what we’re dealing with here. Lenovo Vibe Z
Lenovo S930
Lenovo S650
Lenovo A859
All-in-all, it’s not a bad lineup. When it comes to availability, Lenovo says the Vibe Z will go on sale this February in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines. As for the other 3, expect similar availability with none being available outside these countries, at least at launch. However, Lenovo did mention plans to enter US, UK and Australian markets at some point in the near future. I’m sure we’ll come across all these devices and more during next week’s CES coverage, so be on the lookout for that. |
| Snapchat responds to data leak, allows users to opt out of “Find Friends” feature Posted: 02 Jan 2014 04:19 PM PST The widely publicized Snapchat soap opera looks to finally be drawing to a close. After an Australian “security firm” published Snapchat’s API, allowing individuals to link up some user names with their phone numbers, Snapchat is now finally addressing these security concerns. The security hole was made possible via Snapchat’s “Find Friends” feature which allows users to provide their phone numbers so that friends/family could easily find, and add them, on the service. Snapchat maintains this is still a worthwhile feature, and it’s not going anywhere. What Snapchat is tweaking is the ability for users to verify their accounts with phone numbers, but opt out of the Find Friends feature. This will come in a future update for Android and iOS. More of an announcement than an actual apology, Snapchat maintains that no other personal information was leaked and your Snaps are safely secured in the cloud (where they’re deleted after being opened). To help address future vulnerabilities, Snapchat is now providing a handy email address: security@snapchat.com. |
| Pebble teases special announcement for CES 2014 – livestream kicks off Monday, January 6th Posted: 02 Jan 2014 03:13 PM PST Hitting Best Buy stores back in July, Pebble has come a long way since their humble beginnings as one of the first hugely successful Kickstarter projects. Apparently that’s not all the smartwatch startup has up their sleeves. Looks like Pebble has been keeping a few cards close to their chest, calling 2013′s reveals only a mere sample of things to come. Today, Pebble is teasing a big announcement for CES 2014. There’s no hints as to what might be announced, but the event will be livestreamed with CEO Eric Migicovsky taking the stage this coming Monday, January 6th, at 11am. So what could Pebble have in store? A new and improved model with a quad-core processor and 8MP camera? Price reduction? New Colors? Stay tuned to Phandroid as we bring you the latest out of Las Vegas with our CES 2014 coverage! |
| Bump officially shutting its doors on January 31st, grab your data while you still can Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:53 PM PST Back in September, it was announced that Google had bought Bump for an undisclosed amount. Makers of a wireless transfer application for Android/iOS, the future of the app on shaky ground. That being said, we had a feeling it was only a matter of time before the service would officially come to an end. Today, Bump CEO David Lieb once again took to the company blog, announcing that both their Bump and Flock app will be removed from the appropriate app stores come January 31st. Don’t worry about your photos or anything else stored in the cloud. Bump is giving users the chance to download all their data before then before everything gets wiped clean from their servers. But it’s not all bad news. With Bump now being absorbed into Google, we wonder if their proprietary tech wont soon be used to super charge Android Beam in a future firmware update. Remember, with Nokia suing the pants off of HTC for using NFC to Bluetooth data transfer, Bump’s technology might just be exactly what the doctor ordered. |
| Moto G arriving on Boost Mobile January 14th for $130, available now from HSN for $100 Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST Earlier today we saw the Motorola Moto G made official for Verizon Wireless prepaid, coming in at only $100. Now pay-as-you-go MVNO Boost Mobile is also jumping on the handset, offering the Moto G for $130 come January 14th (retail stores on 1/20). For those that don't feel like waiting, you can snag the handset right now through the Home Shopping Network, who's even offering the G with a $30 mail-in-rebate. That’s basically $100 for a fully capable Android device, running on Sprint’s network. Not too shabby. [Boost Mobile | HSN] |
| T-Mobile shook up the wireless industry in 2013, now they want to “transform” it in 2014 Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:25 PM PST Everyone’s got New Year’s resolutions… even if you’re a big wireless carrier who waves a magenta flag proudly. On Twitter, T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere posted a photo of him checking off the company’s 2013 goals, including the following list of big happenings that went down:
Pretty impressive list, Tmo. So what’s on tap for the year ahead now that they’ve “shaken up” the wireless industry? They want to “transform” it. Here’s the newest list of goals:
Interesting. There’s not much we can take from that particular list except for the fact that T-Mobile wants to continue to attack the status quo when it comes to family plans, improve their 4G LTE offering, and continue trolling AT&T on Twitter and in ads. We’re also reminded that the company plans to unveil unCarrier 4.0 at CES, an event we’ll undoubtedly look to cover. |
| New HTC M8 (One sequel) specs leak suggests 2GB of RAM instead of 3GB Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:31 AM PST It’s been a while since we last heard the spec line for the HTC M8, otherwise known as the sequel to the HTC One. Earlier rumors suggested the device would have a Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a display anywhere between 5 and 5.2 inches. Thanks to @evleaks, those specs have been dialed in just a bit more. Here’s where they stand now:
We were hoping the whole 3GB of RAM thing were true. To be fair, there’s still a chance it is — all of these rumors are just rumors until HTC comes out and gives us the details. Unfortunately we don’t yet know when to expect said details, but we have a feeling the Taiwanese company won’t let February go by without a peep. |
| Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 ups the Android camera ante Posted: 02 Jan 2014 09:51 AM PST In case you haven’t noticed, Samsung wants to have a presence in nearly every personal electronics category there is. The launch of the original Samsung Galaxy Camera tipped us off to that much, and now the South Korean company is bringing us a sequel that they hope will do just as well as their phones will. So what does this thing have over the original? Here’s a quick tale of the tape:
Of course, Samsung is banking on the image manipulation and photo sharing features they can provide with the power of Android and TouchWiz, highlighting things like Photo Beam, Mobile Link and more for sharing your photos and videos with family and friends. Creative photo tools include Smart Mode — a collection of 28 presets for capturing the right scene with the right settings — Selfie Alarm, Multi Motion video and more.                 Pricing and availability information has yet to be disclosed, though we might learn more once we head to CES next week to see the new camera for ourselves. [via Samsung] |
| Verizon Moto G already available at Best Buy for $100 Posted: 02 Jan 2014 08:46 AM PST It’s been a few short days since we’ve heard that the Verizon Moto G could be sold for $100 off-contract, but it didn’t take long for Best Buy to confirm that (and to put the thing up for sale). Folks are reporting that Best Buy stores are starting to receive Verizon’s version of the device, and that it is indeed being offered at that $100 price point. The Moto G doesn’t have 4G LTE, of course, meaning any prospective buyers will need to put up with Verizon’s CDMA 3G network for data. That network isn’t exactly the bee’s knees in this day and age, but there’s not much complaining to do for just $100. The Moto G has already started getting its Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade, which is a pretty big deal considering a ton of other phones have yet to receive that same love. Data concerns aside, $100 for what’s essentially a mid-range device is a pretty damned good deal. Here’s what you can expect for the price:
Not a bad list, eh? Be sure to call or pop into your nearest Best Buy to see if you can pick one up. [via Engadget] |
| Snapchat hackers release 4.6 million names and phone numbers — see if yours was on the list Posted: 02 Jan 2014 07:50 AM PST In case you haven’t heard, Snapchat has been the victim of a group of hackers over the new year. According to a statement received by TechCrunch, the hackers have made available more than 4.6 million user names and phone numbers tied to the service. The group responsible claims their actions weren’t taken for the sake of it (or for the lulz, as some of these folks would call it). Their goal was to expose an exploit that Snapchat has supposedly ignored. The group claims to have warned Snapchat on several previous occasions, but Snapchat failed to take heed. They hope that the result of this episode is to get Snapchat to take privacy and security more seriously, which isn’t a terrible proposition considering the service is supposed to be built on the very promise of privacy and security. So how do you know if your account details have been compromised? The folks at Gibson Sec got their hands on the leaked info, and decided to put it into a database for anyone to look up. Simply search for your Snapchat username at this link, and it will tell you whether or not your information was stolen. It’s a good thing that Snapchat doesn’t require a ton of information to make an account as only usernames and phone numbers have been put out into the open. While that’s still scary business, most people would consider that information harmless. Regardless, it’s an exploit that Snapchat is going to have to patch up if they’re going to continue to win the confidence of those who value security and privacy. Be sure to read on for the group’s full statement.
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| Nokia Normandy not dead after all? Posted: 02 Jan 2014 06:24 AM PST When we first heard of the Nokia Normandy, a low-cost Android phone by a company who swore never to make an Android phone., we thought it was dead on arrival. Why, you ask? Because it ran Android. And because Nokia is now owned by Microsoft.
We imagined it’d be a cold day in hell before we ever saw Nokia use Android for one of their handsets again, which had everyone writing the Normandy off as a dead skeleton in a pretty cold closet. But @evleaks is giving folks reason to believe that the device shouldn’t be written off. The Twitter leakster took a break from his typical image-posting affairs to make a word-ridden statement:
In typical @evleaks fashion, that line has us just as clueless as we were before. That doesn’t necessarily tell us that the device is, in fact, launching at some point soon, but it does seem to suggest that we haven’t heard the last of it. It would explain why we’ve seen more and more leaked renders of the Nokia Normandy in recent weeks despite Nokia being full-steam ahead in its quest to come up with crazy Windows phones and tablets. That said, folks should know that plans can always change in the blink of an eye, so if this “great exaggeration” is true, it doesn’t say anything about the future of the Normandy. |
| Moto X off-contract price permanently cut to $399 Posted: 02 Jan 2014 05:33 AM PST How did Motorola spend its new year? Why, by significantly cutting the price of the off-contract Moto X, of course. The company announced that the Moto X now starts at $399 on al US carriers, even if you get a Moto Maker-made edition. The only other time you could have gotten the Moto X for cheaper is when Motorola handed out $150-off promotion codes in their holiday deals bonanza (which made the cheapest Moto X just $350). While the price tag still isn’t quite as sweet as the everyday tag of the Nexus 5, the Moto X has proven to be a capable phone deserving of a lot of attention. It’s a pretty solid device that excels in areas of user experience, battery life, and — for a fresh change of pace — timely upgrades. It was one of the first Android devices to receive Android 4.4 KitKat, and Motorola says we can expect more of that commitment throughout the device’s natural life cycle. Being able to get it for as low as $399 makes it that much better. Head to Motorola’s site to get started. |
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