After releasing the Moto G⁴ family in India last month, Motorola and Lenovo have today officially announced that the Moto G⁴ and the Moto G⁴ Plus will be coming to the United States. The budget offering is back, and you’ll be able to grab one in just a couple of weeks…
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Let’s just say that HTC doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to software updates, but here’s a glimmer of hope: According to HTC’s Mo Versi (the same guy that announces pretty much all of HTC’s smartphone software updates), the unlocked HTC One (M8) should be getting Android 6.0 Marshmallow very soon.
Specifically, Mo says “testing has been complete,” for the new software and that “the update for Marshmallow will be sent out within 24 hours.”
You might be surprised that the M9 didn’t get the update first, and we’re in the same boat (and so is pretty much everyone else on Twitter). Mo did clarify, however, that the update should be coming to the M9 soon. “Will advise once testing is complete,” he says in reply to one user.
HTC One (M8) unlocked owners! Great news, all testing has been complete and the update for Marshmallow will be sent out within 24 hours. Thx
— Mo Versi (@moversi) December 2, 2015
https://twitter.com/urbanstrata/status/672114884520226816
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Motorola has been running a lot of Moto X promotions lately, and today the company has launched yet another sweet deal: If you head over to the Motorola online store and buy an unlocked Moto X, the company will send you a Moto Hint (worth $149.99) with your order completely free.
Moto Hint lets you ask your Moto X questions, make calls, and send messages — all hands-free. Now through 4/14, when you customize your off-contract Moto X (starting at $499.99), add a Moto Hint wireless earbud to your cart for free, a $149.99 value.*
You can purchase your unlocked Moto X in one of three flavors: “Pure Edition” with a T-Mobile SIM, or as an AT&T or Verizon variant. To take advantage of the deal, add both a Moto X and an Moto Hint to your cart. You should be able to take advantage of this offer through April 14th.
The often hard to come by Nexus 6 is now available directly from Amazon. Previously only available via third-party retailers on the site, which often increased prices due to availability, the Nexus 6 is now available on Amazon and ships directly from the site’s warehouses. Before tonight, the Nexus 6 was only available from Motorola and Google Play.
The Nexus 6 has been almost impossible to buy since launch (unless you go with one of the second-tier carriers like US Cellular). But now, if the unlocked variety is what you’re looking for, it appears the Motorola website has a few in-stock at the moment. Yes, of course they probably have more than a few. But the demand for the Nexus 6 is so high right now that it wouldn’t be surprising if they sell out so fast that it seems like they only had a few.
The site is currently listing every model, both in “Midnight Blue” and “Cloud White” as available to purchase in the 32 GB variety, but it seems like the 64 GB versions are still out of stock at the moment. The smartphone, which sports a 5.96-inch display, a 2.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805, an Adreno 420 GPU, 3 GB of RAM, and a 3,220mAh battery, is going to run you $649 for the model with 32 GB of flash storage.
The Nexus 6, which is still fairly hard to find in-stock, is now available from US Cellular. Interestingly, while most carriers are offering only the Midnight Blue model at the current time, US Cellular currently has listed—and in-stock–both the white and blue varieties of the device in both 32 GB and 64 GB capacities.
Both Motorola and Google Play are currently sold out of the device, so the only way to order one at all at the current time is via a carrier. The carriers that are currently carrying the device are T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and US Cellular—and with today’s addition, the only one missing is Verizon.
You can get the Nexus 6 from US Cellular or $199.99 on a two-year contract, or you can pay $33 monthly for the phone with a $0 down payment. Or if you use US Cellular but looking to get an unlocked Nexus 6, be sure to check the Play Store every Wednesday for more stock to be added.
Samsung’s official launch of its new Galaxy Note 4 kicked off in Korea late last month, but now an unlocked variant of the device is available in the US through Amazon. The sales come ahead of the device officially shipping through carrier partners in the US later this month.
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Recent rumors suggested that the Xperia Z2 was coming to Verizon, but the carrier ended up offering the Xperia Z2 Tablet instead. However, Americans looking to get their hands on Sony’s flagship smartphone now have the option to buy the device directly from its maker. Available at a discounted price of $700, the unlocked Z2 will work with most US GSM-based networks, like AT&T and T-Mobile, however LTE compatibility may vary.
With the likes of Congress, President Obama and the newly minted FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler all coming out in favor of unlocked phones, the pressure is now on for the carriers to relent on their rigid policies. The good news for us consumers is that Wheeler is keeping the pressure on with a letter sent to the CTIA President Steve Largent. Largent, the head of the official wireless association governing body received the Chairman’s letter emphasizing his work to amend the consumer code which would “address consumers’ rights to unlock their mobile wireless devices one their contracts are fulfilled.”
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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Five days after arriving on AT&T, Motorola announced today that its new Moto X flagship smartphone is now available to purchase directly through its Moto Maker website. Previously customers were forced to purchase the device through AT&T and enter a code on the Moto Maker site to start the customization process. Starting today, Motorola will allow AT&T customers to purchase the device directly through the Moto Maker site for $199 (16GB) or $299 (32GB) on contract, and it’s also making the device available without a contract for $579 (16GB) or $629 (32GB). While Motorola originally planned to ship devices ordered through Moto Maker in 4 days, the site is currently quoting a shipping time of 8 days.
The Moto Maker tool is the standout feature of the Moto X, allowing users to choose from over 2000 customization options for back, front and accent colors, unique wallpapers, and engraving. Unfortunately, we found out earlier this month that engraving won’t be available initially due to some manufacturing issues.
Verizon announced that Moto X would arrive in black and white on August 29, but the Moto Maker customization tool remains and exclusive to AT&T. Other major US carriers are expected to start carrying the Moto X by early September.
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It isn’t a Nexus but it might as well be. Google announced a special version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that will run stock Android, has an open boot loader and get updates straight from Google. You can buy 16GB (with open SD card slot) for AT&T and T-Mobile at the Play Store for $649 starting on June 25th.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paA9Meblx4E&feature=player_embedded]
Sony announced this morning that it is bringing its Xperia NXT Series to the United States with all three devices, including the Xperia S, Xperia P, and Xperia U, now available unlocked through Sony stores across the country and sony.com/NXT, Newegg.com, and various other online retailers. While we do not get LTE with any of these devices like AT&T’s Xperia Ion, they are compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks. The lineup of devices originally unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.
The flagship model of the series is the $560 Xperia S with a 4.3-inch 1,280-by-720 display, 12 megapixel main cam, 1GB of RAM, a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Dual Core processor, and it is available in black and white.
As for the Xperia P: $480 will get you a 4 inch, 960-by-540 display, 8 megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM, and a 1GHz dual core processor. The Xperia P is available in the silver, red, and black models that can be seen in the videos above and below. Xperia U is $300 (black or white), and it provides decent specs for the price point with a 3.5-inch 854-by-480 display, 5-megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM, and a 1Ghz dual core processor.
The entire NXT lineup comes with Android 2.3, but it is already upgradable to Ice Cream Sandwich. The two high-end models, Xperia S and P, also have built-in NFC, HDMI with BRAVIA Sync, as well as Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine display technology.
Sony’s full press release and intro videos for the NXT lineup are below:
