Google launches Project Fi wireless service in partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile in the US

After being rumored since past few months, Google has officially launched its Project Fi MVNO to offer “fast and easy wireless experience” at affordable prices to users. For this, Google has partnered with two of the largest carriers in the US, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Project Fi will use networks of these two mobile carriers as well as Wi-Fi wherever available and provide the fastest possible network access to its subscribers at any given moment. Over a million public and private Wi-Fi hotspots have been identified by Google as being “fast and reliable” and all signals transmitted over Wi-Fi will be encrypted.

The Project Fi service will dynamically and seamlessly switch subscribers between LTE networks of carriers and Wi-Fi networks. The phone numbers of Project Fi subscribers will be stored on cloud enabling them to use their number on any device (phone, tablet or laptop) supporting Google Hangouts.

Project Fi will initially be available only on Nexus 6 built by Motorola as it supports the new technology needed for the service. If the area where you live has the Project Fi coverage, you can request for an invitation to join the service at fi.google.com.

If you want to buy Nexus 6 for Project Fi, you can buy it from Google while signing up. You can choose any one of the “Midnight Blue” Nexus 6 – 32GB costing $649 or 64GB costing $699, plus taxes. You can pay the price all at once or in 24 installments.

You get a basic plan for $20 covering talking, texting, Wi-Fi tethering and coverage in over 120 countries. In addition, you have to pay $10 flat for every 1GB of data which means $20 for 2GB data plan and $30 for a 3GB one. You will also get full credit for data which you have left unused meaning you have to pay only for whatever data you use.

So are you interested in subscribing to Project Fi? Make sure your area has the network coverage and request for an invite. You will hear from Google within the next 30 days. Since this is an early access program, the number of invites is limited.

Project Fi Coverage in the US:

Google launches Project Fi wireless service in partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile in the US

An Introduction To The Apple iPad Air 2 8MP Camera"s New Features

When you want to capture a moment in a photograph all you need is a good camera at arms reach. These days most phones and tablets come with their own cameras but quality really matters. A blurry or dark picture is often unusable when taken with a poor quality camera. A lot of people use phones and tablets to take pictures these days and this is where Apple really shines.

Apple phones and tablets are best known for their excellent cameras. When a camera isn’t  around, you can take good quality pictures with your Apple tablet. Apple is bringing a few new features to its ultra slim tablet with iPad Air 2 this year.

New features include the ability to shoot 1080p video with stereo sound. Slow motion pictures can be recorded at 120-fps and time-lapse pictures can be recorded as well. Panoramas of up to 43 megapixels can now be captured with this new camera. Other new features are Auto HDR, self-timer, and manual exposure control.

The iPad Air 2 now comes with an 8MP iSight camera. Compared to last year, the iPad Air 2 gets 66% more pixels. The pixel size for this camera is a tiny 1.12 microns. The aperture size of the camera is F2.4.

The SoC that processes these digital images is Apple’s own A8X. The iPad Air 2 can now detect faces much better and from a longer distance. This helps focus the image and identify faces in the picture. The new camera also comes with better noise reduction for clearer photographs.

So there you have it. The Apple iPad Air 2 camera is a pretty decent camera for a tablet. What would you do with the slow-motion or time-lapse feature? Please tell us in the comments section below.

An Introduction To The Apple iPad Air 2 8MP Camera"s New Features

Wi-Fi Assisted Phone Calls And IM Are Coming To T-Mobile Nexus 6

T-Mobile confirms that the new WiFi calling feature will be coming to phones running the latest version of Android. This feature is expected to be active in 2015. T-Mobile will be using an OTA update to push this feature to supported devices running the new Android operating system.

The WiFi calling feature enables people to stay connected to the network through WiFi even when the cellular signal is too weak. This means that as long as you are near a WiFi hotspot and your phone is connected to that hotspot, your call should continue without any interruption.

T-Mobile’s Nexus 6 owners will be the first to get this WiFi calling feature. They will be able to make calls and send text messages through WiFi. So, if you are in a basement or in another place where signals are usually non-existent, then this should be a useful feature for you.

T-Mobile plans to launch the Nexus 6 on November 12th. This phone will be available for 24 monthly installment payments of $27.08 and only a 0$ down payment. When you add it up, the total cost of the phone over a year comes to to $649.92

Here’s the official announcement by T-Mobile:

“Shipping with Android 5.0, the new Nexus 6 gives customers the latest and greatest Google mobile experience, and seamless integration with the apps they love. Plus, this hot new smartphone is expected to support Wi-Fi Un-leashed beginning in early 2015 with an over-the-air update– making it the first-ever Nexus device that will support Wi-Fi Calling thanks to enhancements in Android 5.0.”

Wi-Fi Assisted Phone Calls And IM Are Coming To T-Mobile Nexus 6

BlackBerry Passport might be coming to T-Mobile

If you are a fan of BlackBerry, you must be eagerly waiting for September 24 when the company is expected to launch its next flagship smartphone, the BlackBerry Passport. BlackBerry has said in its blog, “On September 24, all eyes will be on BlackBerry as we host exclusive, invite-only events in Toronto, London and Dubai to show off… well I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” Also saying, “Save the Date. See the bigger picture.”

Although the company has revealed many features of the BlackBerry Passport till now, it has not yet announced when it will be available in the market and it’s pricing. According to information received by BlackBerry OS, the device will hit the stores on October 1 in Canada, Europe and UAE and will cost about $800 or €650. Its US launch seems to be scheduled for later.

Now OurBerries has posted a picture of a BlackBerry Passport handset carrying a T-Mobile logo on its back. This means that T-Mobile might offer the new Blackberry flagship on its network when the phone is launched in the US. Fans may recall that BlackBerry and T-Mobile are not on the best of terms after the feud between them a few months back.

T-Mobile had tried to get its customers to turn in their BlackBerry phones and swap them for the new iPhone 5s. This resulted in some altercation between the CEOs of the two companies and BlackBerry did not renew its contract with the carrier.

The leaked picture indicates that the two companies might have patched things up and that T-Mobile is really going to offer the new and unique BlackBerry Passport. On the other hand, the image could be doctored. We will have to wait and see.

The Blackberry Passport will sport an unusual 4.5-inch square LCD display with 1440 by 1440 pixels resolution and a QWERTY touch-sensitive keypad. It is expected to have quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU for graphics, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory with microSD card slot for expansion up to 64GB, 13MP rear camera, 2MP front camera and a powerful 3450mAh battery. The device will run BlackBerry 10.3 OS.

BlackBerry Passport might be coming to T-Mobile

How LG G3 Will Look For US Carriers

The Android Phone LG G3 by LG Electronics has gained positive reviews since the time of its launch. Being the successor of G2 which was launched back in 2013, it contains many similar features along with better design.

It is reported that Sprint and T-Mobile have announced that they are on their way for launching LG G3 which we can expect to arrive in next few weeks. However, Verizon and AT&T have not released any information yet regarding the arrival of the Phone. Although we don’t know about the release date of these two carriers, we clearly know how LG G3 will look on all these carriers.

You might think the LG G3 variant will look same for all the carries but that is not the case with Verizon. While the rest of the variants are in same color with plain grayish look, Verizon comes with a fine black cover that makes it shine out among the four. So if you want LG G3 and you are on Verizon then you will be fine with a good looking phone but you might not be fine with the logos.

Verizon has put their logos on the phone in front and back. While Verizon has gone with all logos, Sprint variant doesn’t have any Sprint logo on it. You will find the Sprint apps in the phone but the lack of Sprint’s logo displays the carrier’s choice of not doing extensive marketing for them. AT&T and T-Mobile variants also come with their logos.

Since the launch of T-Mobile and Sprint variants is expected to be in coming weeks, we can assume that Verizon and AT&T variants will be launched soon after them.

How LG G3 Will Look For US Carriers

LG G3 Now Available for Pre-order Via T-Mobile

Announced on May this year, the LG‘s newest series on the G product line, the G3 is now available for pre-order via T-Mobile. If you pre-order the phone through your T-Mobile account, it will be shipped to you by July 15th. Otherwise, you can get your hands on the flagship when it hits shelves on July 16th with a price tag of $598.80.

The flagship which runs Android KitKat version 4.4.2, comes with a pack of interesting features and tools. These include 4G LTE connectivity that lets you enjoy a very fast internet speed, an HD screen display which’s sharp and of high resolution, and a slick, premium design with metallic skin just to mention a few.

Another interesting feature is the ‘Screen Share’ feature with which you can “Wirelessly share media over a Wi-Fi connection with any other DLNA-enabled device.”

In terms of design, though not really metallic, the phone comes in a skin painted with film to look metallic. And that looks more premium especially compared with the previous series’s such as the G2 which came in an all-plastic coverage. Aside from that, the back plate of the phone is removable and an SD card slot can be found under it. Which means that you can insert a microSD card by removing the back plate and also remove the battery if you want to.

The new design has also undergone some significant changes in terms of usability. The volume keys have become more rigged and the power button has become rounded. The keyboard also has had an overhaul. You can now change its layout and reside it to fit your needs.

Performance

Performance wise, the phone comes with two options of 16GB and 32GB. The first option comes with a memory capacity of 2GB if you pick the later, your phone will have a 3GB memory capacity. You can also extend your memory capacity by up to 160GB through the use of external SD cards (128GB capacity max.).

Camera

LG seems to be focusing more on simplicity these days. To that end, some setting options have been removed from the camera. Other than that, the overall quality of the camera has been upgraded. The phone sports a 13 Megapixels high resolution camera with phase detection or laser autofocus features which makes the camera the fastest focusing one out there.
Display

As far as display is concerned, the G3 comes with a very sharp, HD screen display. The only issue seems to be the size, which’s 5.5-inches, a bit larger than what’s generally “acceptable” in the smartphone arena. Aside from that, the screen has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display protection.

Below is LG G3′s full specs:

OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)

Display: 5.5-inch with 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution

CPU: Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit): Adreno 330

Connectivity: 4G LTE Capable

Rear (Main) Camera: 13 MP

Front-facing Camera: 2.1 MP

RAM: 2GB and 3GB

Internal Storage: 16GB and 32GB

External Storage: Up to 128GB through the use of SD cards

Weight: 149 grams

Hearing Aid: M3 & T3 compatible

Battery: 3000mAh

On top of that, two other new flagships namely, Sony Xperia T2 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 are also expected to be launched later this month.

 

LG G3 Now Available for Pre-order Via T-Mobile

Sony Xperia Z gets Android 4.3 (10.4.C.0.814) on T-Mobile US

Sony and T-Mobile US have rolled out the much awaited Android 4.3 for the Xperia Z. It is the firmware build 10.4.C.0.814 and contains many improvements over the earlier version.

The Sony Xperia Z was launched by Sony in the US last year only through T-Mobile. Early this week T-Mobile had announced certain updates to the Xperia Z. To be precise, it was the firmware build 10.4.C.0.808 update for the Xperia Z (C6606). However, no user seemed to get that update.

Later, the T-Mobile changelog showed the update as Android 4.3.0 and the firmware build as 10.4.C.0.814 and not 10.4.C.0.808 as declared earlier. The update file size seems quite heavy at 312 MB and the requirements for the update include Wi-Fi network, 315 MB available memory and 50% or higher battery life.

An upgrade from existing Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is not much considering that other global Sony Xperia Z handsets have already received the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update. The US T-Mobile customers are lagging behind in this respect, but still it is an improvement over the existing version.

The new upgrade is available automatically Over-The-Air (OTA) during the period between June 2 and June 23. Once you receive the OTA notification, you can download the file and then click ok in the update center to install the update. If you haven’t got the notification, you can go to the home screen –> Applications –>Settings –> About Phone –>Software Update. The Xperia Z will check for update automatically. You can then connect to the Wi-Fi network and then download and install it. You can also download the update from a computer through the Sony PC Companion by connecting the Xperia Z to the computer through a USB cable.

If any of you have got the new updates, feel free to share your thoughts/experiences below.

Sony Xperia Z gets Android 4.3 (10.4.C.0.814) on T-Mobile US

Verizon starts pre-registration for the LG G3

 Verizon has rolled out the LG G3 on its website with a sign-up page, to notify the availability of the most anticipated device of summer. The smartphone is listed as “coming soon”, however depending on the other carrier variants of the handset, we are expecting it should be available in a month from now.

T-Mobile has alleged that its variant of the LG G3 will be available “this Summer” with no declaration of explicit date.  AT&T conversely has only stated that the smartphone will be launched later this year, so it’s hard to narrow down the exact launch date of the handset right now.

However its good to have availability of a smartphone at the time of launch from America’s largest carrier.We are hoping to see a coincident release across all carriers to maintain a competitive market. Although we can’t rule out initial inimitability to a particular carrier considering what happened with the HTC One M8.

The LG G3 is going to be in the top headlines of the mobile arena in the coming days since it features a 5.5 inch QHD resolution display, a2.5 GHz quad core Snapdragon 801 chipset, 2GB/3GB of RAM, 16/32GB of onboard storage (expandable via microsd card). It is also having a 13-megapixel OIS+ shooter with laser auto focus, a 3,000 mAh battery and Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS.

 

Verizon starts pre-registration for the LG G3