And They Say: Update Coming Soon!

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Updates Coming Soon! We have all heard it before and you'll likely hear it again. For example, you may have a beloved smartphone or some piece of electronics that when you bought it, it was the newest and best thing availible. Now, however ( in some cases two weeks later ) the manufacturer has release a newer piece of hardware or software that has left your gadget nearly obsolete. This happens every day to people who have recently spent hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on now out-dated gadgets that showed so much promise just days ago.

Generally this happens to people who purchase smartphones. The phone has great specs, a dual core processor and a high resolution screen, but the OS (Operating System) software needs updated. Maybe you are like millions of people this year who purchased Google TV sets or the stand alone Logitech Revue (in screen shot below) with Google TV. These devices are several months overdue for a manufacturer pushed firmware update that would bring access to Android Market apps and a more capable (Android Honeycomb 3.0+) user  interface.  

It's important for consumers to feel like they are getting their moneys worth when they spend hundreds of dollars on what is said to be the latest tech.  The OEM or manufacturer has to do their part in making sure that their loyal following gets the most they can out of their devices by getting software updates out quickly. When it comes to software, its all about the users comfort. The new software bring with it bug fixes, quicker and smoother transitions from apps and better home screens. These are key elements to the overall user experience with the product. If manufacturers can improve the user experience, they will create loyal repeat buyers for their product line. Then everyone is happy and that is the goal! What is your experience with software updates on todays tech? Did you finally get the anticipated update or are you still waiting? Please share your experience in the comments below.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

T-Mobile Stepping Up Small Business Wireless Effort

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T-Mobile is on a roll with new feature offerings and an improved wireless portfolio for 2011. They reported a slight financial gain of 1% over 2nd quarter results and added 126,000 to their overall subscriber base in the 3rd Quarter earnings report for 2011. They have revealed a renewed game plan focusing marketing efforts more on their Value Plans and Monthly 4G (No Contract Plans).  First the launch of the highly competitive T-Mobile Value Plans featuring T-Mobile's Best Plan Ever (2 Lines/ $49.99 each Unlimited Data, Talk and Text), then on November 16th at a Google Android event in Los Angeles, they introduced exclusive music offering (T-Mobile Free Tracks) showcasing the ability for (T-Mobile customers exclusively) to pay for Google Music downloads on their monthly wireless bill.

Now the magenta carrier has revealed a competitive offer on T-Mobile Small Business. For a limited time customers can receive a $15 monthly discount every month for a year on a 2 year T-Mobile Small Business agreement ($49.99/month). T-Mobile Small Business customers on Blackberry plans can also receive free Premium Blackberry apps worth over $100 between now and December 31, 2011. This move allows them to the opportunity to gain some ground on what competitors like Sprint, AT&T and Verizon are doing in their small business sectors as the year finishes out. We are keeping an eye on this and other moves that T-Mobile is making to stay competitive in these challenging times in wireless business. Share your thoughts in the comments area below. Let us know if you think T-Mobile is on the right road or headed towards a dead end.

Via T-Mobile Small Business

Google Music Is Official !

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Google Music was made official today, November 16th, 2011 at a launch event in Los Angeles. This is big news for music artists and fans alike because of the new Google Music Store. The Google Music Store is an intuitive platform for both hit making top 40 superstars and aspiring newcomers alike. Google's database of over 13 million songs starting at 99 cent will be available immediately, with more music soon to follow.

Google Music aims to be a much needed bridge for unknowns to be discovered and get their music out to the world. Jaime Rosenberg ( Google Director of Digital Content for Android ) outlined how the new platform allows the artist to control their own music and set pricing for it to be downloaded. This along with loads of exclusive content, music sharing and recommendations between Google+ Circles, set it apart from other music platforms like iTunes.

During the announcement, they discussed  Androids recent and dramatic growth. The Android platform occupies 52.5% of the current smartphone market. In light of that, Google Music users will enjoy integration with Google+ and their music content will be available via Google cloud service on their Android phones, tablets and computers. Google Music customers will enjoy the convenience of being able to access and play up to 20,000 music tracks across any browser including iOS devices free.

T-Mobile was also on hand for todays announcement and they boldly displayed their commitment to Android as they will be the first wireless carrier to fully support Google Music. T-Mobile wireless subscribers will have access to free and exclusive music content, additionally T-Mobile is the only carrier to allow Google Music subscribers to pay for their music downloads on their monthly wireless bill. This seems logical as T-Mobile was the first wireless company to partner with Google as they launched the very first Android phone the HTC built (Google G1) in 2008 on T-Mobile exclusively. This partnership has continued and T-Mobile currently offers the largest line-up of  Android phones running on Americas Largest 4G network which currently reaches over 200 million people nationwide in 208 major markets .

With their entry into digital music sales, they will be mixing it up with Apple and Amazon to claim their portion of the 6.8 Billion dollars in digital music sales projected for 2012 by Gartner, a leading tech research firm. Google has done their homework and as they shared at the launch event, they intend to apply what they learned during Google Music BETA to make this service a compelling digital music offering that can compete among giants.

Via Google Music, T-Mobile, Gartner Research

2011 The Year of Gadgets and Major Technology Advances

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This year has flown by with warp speed. Its hard to believe that 2011 is coming to an end, but not before the tech world shares a few new gadget goodies. These are the top 3 gadgets (yet to be released) that I believe will have the biggest effect on our world before 2012 arrives.

The Amazon Kindle Fire: Amazon's new cloud-based 7 inch tablet/ e-reader device, with a custom web browser that promises to entertain you on the go for only $199.Is this gonna be an iPad killer or just another tablet?

The DROID RAZR: This futuristic smart phone features a sleek and super thin design that's a throw-back to the RAZR line of phones introduced in 2004. With a blend of Android OS, a durable frame built with KEVLAR and Gorilla Glass,  a speedy dual-core processor and Verizon 4G LTE data speeds, it sure to be a home run for Motorola.

The Galaxy NEXUS: This phone is the worlds introduction to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It features a 4.6 inch 720p HD Amoled screen, facial recognition abilities and promises a new level for the pure Google experience and with no capacitive or physical buttons. This is the first phone to feature such advanced technologies and many in the tech world think it will be a total game changer.

I for one would love to own all three of these great gadgets as soon as they become available, but I wonder which one will be the must-have-tech for the holiday season and beyond. Which one of these three do you have your eyes on! Is it something else altogether that you are waiting to get your hands on? Please share your thoughts!

Via Motorola  Google/Nexus  Amazon

What is 4G today?

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One of the biggest buzz words in the wireless industry today is "4G" (also known as 4th generation wireless broadband). What is 4G and why does it seem to be the must have feature for so many wireless consumers? What are the different  types of  4G technology used today and which carrier has the best 4G? These are the questions that most of today's consumers want to know.

All four major US carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint) currently have a 4G technolgy operating on their respective wireless networks, but they use different types of technology to achieve this 4G performance. Although their are many who pose the question of what really defines 4G technology if  the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) technical definition is that of an IP based network capable of 100 Mbps downloads to mobile devices.  There is some grey area to how 4G is defined today but everyone seems to agree that 4G is really about speed and each of these shows a big performance boost over the 3G that we have been accustom to in years past.

Sprint was the first of the four to launch 4G in the US. They teamed up with and acquired a majority of Clearwire which utilizes a technology called WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) to achieve 4G speeds. The network yields real world average speeds between 3 to 5 Mbps with peaks of over 12 Mbps download speed.

Verizon Wireless, the largest US wireless carrier utilizes LTE technology for its 4G network. Verizon's LTE (Long Term Evolution) is thought to be the fastest, most advenced 4G technology in the US. This is due to the signals architecture, that holds end-to-end strength to the edge of the radio frequency more than other technologies. Verizon has been quick to tout this in their marketing campaign that states that their 4G LTE is America's fastest, most reliable 4G network which delivers average downloads around 10 Mbps down with peaks over 30 Mbps. Their networks also displays upload capabilities that far exceed any other wireless carrier in the US.

T-Mobile USA is Americas largest 4G network. Currently available in over 190 major markets, T-Mobile utilizes a technology called HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access+). This evolved wireless technology is currently a 21Mbps theoretical type in some markets while most area markets have been upgraded to a 42 Mbps theoretical type. T-Mobiles branding of their HSPA+ technology as 4G network drew early fire from their competition and many in the wireless industry. After launching more devices that support their faster HSPA +42 capabilities many of those who did not respect T-Mobile as a viable 4G option compared to Sprint's WiMAX and Verizon's LTE are now humming a slightly different tune. The upgraded networks performance has been consistently fast, boosting average downloads around 10Mbps and peak downloads around 30 Mbps. This speed boost makes T-Mobiles 4G network just as fast as Verizon's in day to day real world usage in most major markets.

AT&T is the second largest wireless carrier in the US. Like T-Mobile, they currently operate HSPA+ for their 4G network, although they utilize a different wireless spectrum band to achieve the 21 Mbps HSPA+ theoretical 4G variety. They have also in recent weeks launched LTE 4G in 9 major cities and have plans to expand that to 15 markets by the end of 2011. This planed LTE expancion is sure to raise them to comparable speeds that Verizon and T-Mobile customers currently enjoy.

The wireless industry is very compettitive and is constantly growing and changing. Their are more people buying smartphones and taking full advandtage of 4G speeds over the air that are faster than the internet speeds in most homes. This is all due to the massive reponse to the 4G WIRELESS movement. So What is 4G to you today and furthermore, what will it be tomorrow?

*Via POPSI, SPEEDTEST.NET 

Google Announces Android Event November 16th, With a Side of T-Mobile

This could be BIG news! Google has been sending out invites to an event to be held in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday November 16th 2pm pacific time. There isn't much detail on what the event is about. Looking at the picture, one can definitely conclude that Android and T-Mobile will be in the house for the LA event. Google definitely has something up their sleeve considering this is an (invite only) event and keeping with a host of other BIG 11-11-11 announcements, it will surely be a substantial unveiling.

Wanna be in on the Google goodies set for November 16th? Simply click YouTube.com/Android at 2pm pacific (5pm eastern time) and you're in!

What is Google's big announcement? Will it be an exclusive service or app for T-Mobile Android users or a killer device (aka Galaxy NEXUS) that they introduce to the world? Your guess is as good as any, so post it in the comments below. Until then, I will be counting down the days to the Google event .

Via Fandroid

HTC officially announces their list of devices to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

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Not to be outdone by any other smartphone manufacture, HTC announces their first wave of Android 4.0 devices today. After some speculation this list confirms that the Nexus One will not be getting the updated OS. All of the devices that HTC named sport the newer S2 or S3 Snapdragon processors.

The list of HTC phones to receive Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich: (HTC's full statement is below)


HTC Amaze 4G
HTC Rezound
HTC Sensation
HTC Sensation XL
HTC Sensation XE
HTC EVO 3D
HTC EVO Design 4G
HTC Vivid

Keep in mind this is the first round of phones HTC plans to update, so don't fret if you don't see a phone that you expect to sport the update. Stay tuned for updates on HTC and other OEMs as they make the transition to Ice cream Sandwich.


"HTC knows how excited our fans are to get their hands on Google's latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, so we're thrilled today to announce the first wave of HTC phones that will receive upgrades: We can confirm the brand new HTC Vivid, on sale beginning today, is upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich. In addition, Ice Cream Sandwich is coming in early 2012 to a variety of devices including the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XL and HTC Sensation XE, as well as the HTC Rezound, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G and HTC Amaze 4G through close integration with our carrier partners. We're continuing to assess our product portfolio, so stay tuned for more updates on device upgrades, timing and other details about HTC and Ice Cream Sandwich."
Via Facebook

So Why All The iPhone 4S Talk?

Of all the talk in the tech industry these days, much of it seems to be about the iPhone. I'm not sure if the iPhone buzz has really been good or bad but there is clearly no shortage of news and media coverage about Apples latest addition, the iPhone 4S. Here are some interesting reads about the ever popular smart phone of late. Follow the links below and give feedback as to if you think this latest version of the iPhone measures up.
Links:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20128182-233/iphone-4s-real-world-data-speeds-what-siri-wont-tell-you/?tag=epicStories

http://www.phonedog.com/2011/11/02/apple-confirms-ios-5-battery-life-problems-says-a-fix-is-coming/

http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/cracking-open-the-apple-iphone-4s/6315300