Big changes are coming to the community-based music streaming service SoundCloud as the company today introduces a new subscription service for the first time.
The new feature, dubbed SoundCloud Go, will allow users to listen to SoundCloud music both offline and ad-free for $10/month:
Casio is today releasing its Android Wear-based Smart Outdoor Watch through the Google Store and other retailers after first announcing the device during Baselworld earlier this month.
Update (11/18 12:55pm): The new Nest Cam 3-pack bundle (and a 4-pack!) is now available on Amazon.
Nest Cam, the smart security camera that Google acquired and rebranded under its Nest company after acquiring Dropcam last year, is one of the best of these new breed of Wi-Fi connected, smartphone-controlled home security products. Today Nest is making decking out your home even easier and more affordable with a new 3-pack bundle of Nest Cams that will allow you to save $100 over the normal retail cost of individual units.
The new Nest Cam bundle will sell for $497, representing a $100 total savings on the bundle when considering Nest Cam on its own will run you $199 each (or $185 each currently on Amazon).
I took the Nest Cam for spin in recent months following its launch, and despite a few software shortcomings that Nest will inevitably catch up to in future releases, I overall had an excellent experience with the device and recommended it to just about everyone except diehard HomeKit users.
The new 3-Pack Nest Cam bundle will be available this week online for $497, as well as retail stores including Home Depot and Best Buy.
OnePlus’ next handset has been the subject of many a post in recent days and weeks. Dubbed the OnePlus X, one of the only things we’ve been unclear on is the price. We’ve known all along that it won’t be a OnePlus 2 replacement, but rather, a more budget-friendly phone. A poster leaked by MyDrivers suggests the price will be 1699 Chinese Yuan, roughly $267 USD at time of writing…
Samsung’s recently revealed smartwatch, the Gear S2, has seemingly had its European pricing outed by German electronic retailer Saturn. The Tizen-based wearable will be available as a standard and more premium Classic model – with similar pricing to the entry-level Apple Watch …
Update: Huawei has shared the following statement regarding the Amazon listing, which is now pulled:
Earlier today, incorrect information about the upcoming launch of the Huawei Watch was published on a partner website. We have nothing to announce at this time. Stay tuned for more details next week.
Even though the device was first made public a full 6 months ago, the Huawei Watch price — which was rumored to be upwards of $1,000 — has been a mystery for quite some time. Now, thanks to a new pre-order page on Amazon’s website, we can see that the watch will be priced between $350 and $800 depending on the model you choose…
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Google has today announced big price drops for all Google Compute Engine Instance types, following the Moore’s law pricing philosophy that the company committed to last year. Effective today, the prices of virtual machines through Google Cloud Platform are dropping up to 30%, and Google is also introducing a new class of preemptible virtual machines that could bring prices even lower in some cases…
Google has today started sending out a new round of invites for the “Contributor by Google” program it announced in November of last year. The service, which removes AdSense ads from your daily browsing for the price of a $2-10 monthly subscription, also saw some notable changes from when it was first shown to the world. Google has now detailed new tiers which will be available to those who have been invited to try out the expanded program…
Alcatel first showed off its Idol 3 budget smartphone at Mobile World Congress about a month ago, and now the company has come out to announce the phone’s availability and pricing. The 5.5-inch version of the phone will be available for pre-order unlocked at an exclusive online price of $249.99 starting on April 21st, and orders will start shipping in May. Retail price for the phone will be a slightly higher $279.
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LG announced today that it’s beginning the global rollout of its new LG G Flex 2 smartphone that it first unveiled early this year at CES 2015.
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According to leaked documents spotted by GForGames, Samsung is planning a December release for its new Gear VR virtual reality headset that pairs with the recently launched Galaxy Note 4. The document, which we haven’t been able to verify as authentic, also claims that the headset will arrive for 200,000 Won in Korea. That’s under $200 in USD (approximately $187).
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After 8-inch and 10.1-inch variants arriving on T-Mobile, AT&T and elsewhere in recent months, today Sprint announced that it will be launching Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 this Friday on August 15.
The tablet, which packs in a 1.2 GHz Quad-core processor, Android 4.4 KitKat, 1.5GB RAM, and a 1280×800 WXGA display, will be available through Sprint for $299.99 or $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $12.50 on its installment plan.
Sprint also notes that for a limited time it will offer customers “a $10 monthly service plan credit for 24 months, or a $240 value, with qualifying tablet and data plan of $10 or higher.”
Galaxy Tab 4 can be activated on one of the Sprint tablet data plans, including a special limited-time offer featuring 100MB of data for $10; other tablet data plans include 1GB for $14.99; 3GB for $34.99; 6GB for $49.99; 12GB for $79.99; and 30GB for $109.99 (all pricing excludes taxes and surcharges).
Sprint points out that the tablet is its first to take advantage of the Sprint Spark network:
Sprint Spark is an enhanced LTE service that’s built for data and designed to deliver average wireless speeds of 6-15Mbps and peak wireless speeds of 50-60Mbps today on capable devices, with increasing speed potential over time.5 Sprint plans to reach 100 million Americans by year-end with the service. The capability is available in the following 27 cities: Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Chicago; Dallas; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Fort Worth, Texas; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Kan./Mo.; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Newark, N.J.; Oakland, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Provo, Utah; Salt Lake City; San Antonio; St. Louis; Tacoma, Wash.; Tampa, Fla.; Trenton, N.J; Waukegan, Ill.; Winston-Salem and Greensboro, N.C.; and West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 will be available through all Sprint channels starting this Friday.
When Samsung launched its entirely free “Milk Music” service for Galaxy device owners in March, the “limited time” wording in its press release made us speculate that ads or a fee for the service would come in the near future. Today Samsung has finally confirmed as much in a blog post about the service posted to its Samsung Tomorrow blog. While taking some time to highlight features of the service, Samsung revealed that a $3.99/month ad-free “Premium Service” is on the way and that a free service will stick around but include ads. It looks like it will also offer an “Ad-free special introductory offer” that will let new users trial the service for free without ads for a limited time. Samsung says the new Premium Service subscription will be “available soon.”
Photo: thestar.com.my
Samsung has finally confirmed pricing for the Tizen-based Galaxy Gear 2 and Gear Fit smartwatches, though still no word on pricing for the camera-less Gear 2 Neo. The Gear 2 comes in at almost the same price as the original (and widely panned) Gear at $295, while the Gear Fit can be yours for $197 when both devices go on sale next month.
Samsung made SDKs available for the Gear 2 watches a few days ago in the hope that third-party apps will be available by the time the devices go on sale …
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There has been much talk of Motorola’s upcoming Moto G smartphone in recent weeks, the rumored “mini” follow up to its Moto X flagship launched earlier this year. After making a brief appearance on Motorola’s website, the company started teasing a November 13th live online announcement for the device, and now we get what look to be official specs from a German retailer already listing the Moto G.
The Phone House, a german retailer, today quickly posted and then removed a listing for the Moto G that was caught by The Unwired. On top of listing what we assume are official specs (below), it also quoted a price of £149 (approximately $235 US). That seems a little pricey to be the on-contract price for what many assume will be a budget version of the Moto X, so it could very well be the off-contract price, which compares to the $499 Motorola and carriers charge for the Moto X without a two-year contract. The Moto X currently sells for $99 on contract.
Head below for the full list of Moto G specs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ0XTJqFLIE
As expected, the rumors indicated Google would be making a silent Nexus 5 announcement today and now the device is officially available on Google Play in the US. Lining up with previous rumors, the device will sell for $349 for the 16GB model and $399 for a 32GB model. Google is currently quoting an estimated shipping time of 1-2 business days.
Google says the Nexus 5 will officially go up for sale unlocked and without a contract in the following countries starting today through Google Play: U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Korea. It also notes that the Sprint, T-Mobile, Amazon, Best Buy and RadioShack will get carry the device soon alongside retailers in India.
Official specs for the device right from Google Play: 4.95″ 1920×1080 display (445 ppi), Full HD IPS and Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3, a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 processor, an 8MP rear facing camera, and a 1.3MP front facing camera. There’s also a 2,300 mAH battery, Adreno 330, 450MHz GPU, and Wireless Charging.
Sony originally only announced availability for Europe when it first unveiled its new flagship Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra, and SmartWatch 2 during IFA last month, but today the company has officially put all three devices up for sale in the US. Available through Sony’s website now, the Xperia devices are selling unlocked in black, white, and purple and start at a hefty $649, while the SmartWatch 2 is now available from Sony’s website for $199.
The Xperia Z1, which packs in a 5-inch display, 20.7MP camera, and quad core processor, will start at $649.99, but that model, however, will only offer HSPA+ support and not LTE connectivity. That same price will get you the bigger 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra with HSPA+, but for LTE connectivity you’ll have to hand over $679. The new Xperia devices have a lot to offer– superior camera systems, beautiful large displays, and premium hardware– but the off-contract price means Sony is certainly a little higher than we were hoping for. There’s no word yet on carrier partners, but the latest rumors hint that T-Mobile might be the first.
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There have been tons of rumors and leaks about Google’s upcoming Nexus 5 smartphone in recent weeks, and today we get claims of official details on pricing and new battery size options for the device. According to a report from Phonearena citing a tipster, the next-gen Nexus will come in 16GB and 32GB models for $299 and $399.
That compares to the $299 and $349 that the two models of the Nexus 4 debuted for, but Phonearena also claims that this time around Google will include a larger battery in the 32GB model:
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Normally available for around $600 unsubsidized, Republic Wireless announced today that it will soon begin offering the Moto for just $299. That’s the carrier’s no contract price and just $100 more than most carriers are charging for the device on the usual two-year contract:
The Moto X will retail at $299 (plus taxes and surcharges) from the Republic Wireless store. That’s right – we took the hot, new Moto X, added Republic’s great Hybrid service and priced it at $299 with no contract required. That’s a price that’s, like, impossible to match anywhere in the industry. How did we do it? The phone is $299 because we are footing the bill. Period. This is NOT a $299 phone. Take a quick look around the web and look at “no contract” pricing for the Moto X.
The device will be available on two of the carrier unlimited plans that start at just $5 a month, but customers will have the following plans to choose from:
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After being unveiled back in August and shown off again during IFA in Berlin last week, LG’s new flagship LG G2 smartphone is officially launching today on most major US carriers (except for Sprint). The 5.2-inch device is now available to order from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, while Sprint customers will have to wait until October 11 to begin preordering the device. For the most part all carriers are getting the same device– a Snapdragon 800 processor, 13 megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, microSD slot, 3000mAh battery, and 5.2-inch full-HD display– but there are slight differences between the AT&T and T-Mobile versions and the Verizon model. Specifically, Verizon’s version will come with built-in wireless charging, which means the profile is a little thicker. It’s also changed the look and feel of the buttons located on the back of the device.
Pricing also varies depending on the carrier: AT&T and Verizon are offering the LG G2 for $199 on the usual two year agreement, while T-Mobile has the device for a $99 down payment through its monthly instalment plans. Purchasing the LG G2 off contract will run you $575 from AT&T, $600 from Verizon, and about $605 from T-Mobile.
As expected, LG execs are on stage today to officially unveil the company’s brand new LG G2 flagship smartphone. It also announced that the device would be coming to all four of the major US carriers, which we assume means it will soon be landing on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint.
The company spent a lot of time talking about the design of the device, which includes a unique power/volume rocker that is placed on the back of the device directly under the rear-facing camera. LG’s design team placed the rocker on the back because the majority of people hold their phones with an index finger right on the back of the device where the new button is. The rear button, which happens to be the only hardware 
button on the entire phone, will also allow users to launch the quick memo app and snap photos. LG says it thinks the device’s 5.2-inch display is the largest a smartphone can be while still being comfortable to grip with one hand, while noting that touch sensor enhancements provide an ultra thin bezel at just 0.1-inch.
As far as specs go, the device will have a 5.2-inch full-HD display, 13-megapixel rear camera, 2GB of RAM, microSD slot, a 3000mAh battery, on-screen navigation keys, and Android 4.2.2 with LG’s custom skin. Qualcomm’s execs also took the stage briefly, noting that the G2 is the “world’s first worldwide-launching smartphone with the Snapdragon 800 processor.”
Update: It looks like a previously leaked manual showing a removable battery will be for a Korean version of the device.
When it comes to software, a new feature called “Answer Me” will allow users to automatically answer calls by holding the phone up to their head (as opposed to having to press a button.) Another software feature, “Plug and Pop”, will provide quick access to apps when a user plugs in a headset, and a new “Text Link” feature lets users quickly launch calendar or maps form directly in a text message. Lastly, a brand new “Guest Mode” will let you share your device with others while keeping sensitive information from prying eyes with customized access to certain apps and features.
Remember that new addition to Samsung’s NX camera family running Android that the company announced back in June? Today it finally becomes available, at least in the UK, with several UK retailers beginning orders for the device at £1299. That means the camera, which offers a full Android experience on a 4.8-inch display and 13 interchangeable lenses, will likely land in North America somewhere in the $1700 – $1900 range. It’s not cheap compared to other mirrorless competitors, but there simply isn’t a comparable experience that offers the power of a quality DSLR combined with a full Android environment, LTE and 1.6GHz quad core processor. The price tag will also get you the 18-55mm kit lens to start out. Wex and Jessops are currently accepting orders for the device, and Jessops lists it as being available for next-day delivery.
Android Central has obtained an inventory screen from an unknown retailer that lists pricing of the highly anticipated Nexus 7 successor. According to the image, the 16GB model of the device will come in at $229, while the 32GB variant will cost $269. For a frame of reference, the current 16GB Nexus 7 is priced at just $200 and the 32GB is $249.
Verizon has officially confirmed that the HTC One will finally be available to customers on its 4G LTE network starting later this summer. The initial announcement comes from Verizon’s Twitter account and didn’t provide any other information on pricing or exact availability. We’re thinking Verizon will be releasing a full press release shortly and we’ll update with details when it does.
https://twitter.com/VZWnews/status/341592724161560578
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