I’ve made the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active on AT&T my daily driver for a month now to see how its durability and physical buttons handled the long term punishment without a case or trying to treat it nicely. Here are some observations.
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Verizon has been throttling unlimited 3G data subscribers for years now, but never 4G LTE users. Until today, when they announced this morning that beginning October 1st, the top 5% of 4G LTE data users who coincidentally meet a series of other factors will get throttled. According to DroidLife, a recent report showed that over 20% of Verizon data users were still on an unlimited data plan, so it’s no surprise that Verizon would want to push these users to a tiered data plan.
Motorola announced on Thursday that it is now rolling out Android 4.4.4 for the Moto G on Verizon, just two days after seeding the software update for the UK version model of the smartphone. The latest version of KitKat for Moto G includes an OpenSSL security fix, video recording pausing, updated phone dialer, new Motorola Alert app download, stability improvements and more.
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The HTC One mini 2 is coming to America, but it will be carrying a different moniker. After weeks of rumors and leaks, Verizon confirmed today that it will start selling the HTC One Remix on July 24th for $100 with a two year service agreement. If you’re not familiar with the mini 2 Remix, it’s pretty much a watered-down version of the HTC One M8.
The HTC One Remix will be launching on Verizon on July 24th, according to @evleaks. If you’re unfamiliar with this device, it’s believed to be the US version of the HTC One mini 2, which features a 4.5-inch 720p display, a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing shooter and a front-facing 5-megapixel camera. This compressed HTC One also ships with Android 4.4.2 skinned with Sense 6.
Verizon today announced that it is finally adding 4G LTE support to its ALLSET prepaid plans starting on July 17th. This announcement comes just a few weeks after the addition was originally rumored. Starting on July 17th, customers can bring their own devices to ALLSET and use them with LTE data, in addition to using the devices already offered through ALLSET by Verizon.
Android 4.4.4 has slowly found its way to several off-contract devices and it looks like its time for the latest version of KitKat to make its way to some carrier-connected handsets. If you’re the proud owner of a Verizon Droid Maxx, Ultra or Mini, you’ll want to check your device for an over-the-air update or manually initiate the software push by tapping Settings>About phone>System updates>Download.
Supposedly a “lite” variation on the LG G Pro 2, the LG G Vista, was leaked last month with Verizon branding. At the time, we didn’t have much information about the device other than its familiar appearance. Today, we have another leak courtesy of @evleaks detailing the device’s mid-range specifications.
LG G Vista VS880 (VZW): SD400 MSM8926, 5.7" 720p, 1.5GB DDR2, 8GB … – http://t.co/CJCbU8GnTg pic.twitter.com/aLRtaUChb8
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 10, 2014
Based on the above tweet, we can assume that the device will have LTE capabilities, a Snapdragon 400 CPU, 8 GB of flash memory, 1.5 GB of RAM, a 3,200 mAh battery, and front and back cameras clocked at 1.3 MP and 8 MP.
Back in May, HTC officially unveiled the “beautifully compact” One Mini 2 phone, but with sparse details on United States availability. Early rumors pointed to the device launching in the United States on Verizon, but rebranded as the HTC One Remix. Today, Big Red seemingly confirmed the One Remix by inadvertently uploading a promo video for it to its YouTube channel. The video has since been set to private, but not without some quick eyes catching what it talked about.
Verizon has finally announced the release date for its variant of the LG G3. According to a listing on the carrier’s website (via Android Central), you’ll be able to get the upcoming smartphone on July 17th, although you can pre-order it right now. That puts the release two days behind T-Mobile’s launch and one day behind AT&T.
The phone will run for $99 on a two-year contract, which comes in at $100 less than AT&T’s price. Getting the phone on Verizon’s EDGE plan will cost $29.99 a month for 20 months, which matches AT&T’s offer. T-Mobile also recently began accepting pre-orders on it’s own plan, which requires no money down and spreads the cost of the phone over 24 monthly payments of $24.95.
Verizon today announced that it will be exclusively carrying the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet following a leak yesterday. The waterproof and scratch-resistant device will be available for pre-order from Verizon starting tomorrow, July 10th, for $600 off-contract, or $500 with a new two-year agreement.
Sony’s Xperia Z2 phone is heading to Verizon, according to an alleged screenshot of an employee training module obtained by PhoneArena. This lines up with past rumors suggesting that the rugged smartphone is heading to Big Red, along with leaks of its related tablet wearing the carrier’s branding.
Verizon may finally be adding LTE to its prepaid services, according to the folks at Droid Life. This change would will reportedly take effect on July 17th and the carrier will offer this new service through its ALLSET prepaid plans that include unlimited talk, text and 500MB of date for $45 a month. Customers using this off-contract setup can add 500MB of data for $5, 1GB for $10 and 3GB for $20.
Google is trying to right a wrong plaguing customers who purchased the LTE version of its Chromebook Pixel. Released last year, this network connected edition of Mountain View’s uber-Chromebook originally shipped with a free 100MB of monthly 4G data from Verizon for a period of two years. However, for one reason or another, Big Red has stopped honoring this promotion, with its customer service reps telling Pixel owners that they’re unfamiliar with this service offer.
After several weeks of trying and a bounty that exceeded $18,000, root access for Samsung’s Galaxy S5 on AT&T and Verizon has been obtained. Famed iPhone tinkerer George Hotz aka Geohot has managed to pull it off. So how does it work? To gain root access on either device, simply run a special .apk file and tap an onscreen button. That’s it. No crazy commands or lines of code.
Last month, Sony started accepting pre-orders for its Xperia Z2 Tablet, but absent from this announcement was support for any US wireless carriers. Apparently this exclusion doesn’t mean that Sony’s slim slab will be avoiding its the US of A, as @evleaks recently posted renders of the Z2 with Verizon branding. With an entry-level price of $500, this waterproof slate features a 10.1-inch Full HD TRILUMINOS display, a 2.3 GHz Qualcomm APQ8074AB quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, S-Force Front Surround, a 2.2-megapixel front-facing camera, an 8-megapixel rear-facing shooter and Android 4.4 KitKat.
The HTC One mini 2 is rumored to hit the US as the HTC One Remix and although we’ve officially seen the former, we’ve yet to see it materialize with any carrier branding. Today, however, we’re getting a closer look at what might be heading to Verizon thanks to the often reliable @evleaks. If in fact the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer decides to bring its petite smartphone to the US, it’ll most likely be coated with Big Red’s emblem.
Earlier today, Verizon revealed that it will launch its nationwide VoLTE service across its massive network later this year. If you’re unfamiliar with the terms “voice over LTE” or “VoLTE,” it’s voice calls between two compatible devices being placed over a wireless carrier’s LTE network. To do this, Verizon will be using the Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) speech coding standard to provide its customers with high-quality voice calling. In addition to voice calls, Verizon’s VoLTE will feature video support. This will let users place and receive video calls directly from their contact lists.
After a couple of rumors, Verizon’s new XLTE network is now official and cranking out up to two times the bandwidth previously offered in some of the carrier’s major markets. Customers in cities throughout Alabama, Arizona, California, Indiana, Illinois and New York are among the first to take advantage of Big Red’s new AWS-powered setup.
Verizon may soon be launching an “XLTE” network that will be powered by AWS spectrum. Recently rumored and reaffirmed by wireless news leaker @evleaks, Big Red’s new setup could be going live sometime this year. The carrier is expected to make an announcement next week, which will hopefully fill in some blanks about its new service.
The HTC One mini 2 was announced earlier today, but the Taiwanese phone maker didn’t share any details about US carriers offering the device. However, it appears that the company’s shrunken flagship could be coming to Verizon. According to evleaks, the mini 2 will be available on Big Red’s network as the HTC One Remix. This wouldn’t be the first time an American carrier used a different name for an international device, however we’re not too sure if this tactic is really necessary. Nevertheless, Verizon customers may soon be able to get their hands on what HTC calls the “most grippable Android ever.”
Five months after Google released Android 4.4 KitKat, Galaxy Note 3 users on Verizon are beginning to see the update being pushed out over the air. Various people are reporting that they have received the the update on their devices. The update includes various changes and small tweaks to the user interface, as well as enhancements to the software stack to make the device more stable and perform better.
If you’d like to grab the update, start pressing that “check for updates” button, or connect your device to the nearest computer with Kies installed on it, and get downloading.
Generally reliable source @evleaks has posted a photo of the pink model HTC One (M8) he previously said was on the way, along with blue and red models. He previously leaked a photo of the red version.
No further details are given beyond the fact that it will be released at some point this year. After images of the red model were shown with Verizon branding, it made us wonder whether blue may be for AT&T and pink for T-Mobile? However, the pink model shown in the photo has no carrier branding.
As for the phone itself, we love the hardware, though have mixed views on Sense 6.
The Samsung Galaxy S5’s camera is a major selling point for the company’s new flagship smartphone, however a newly discovered bug may soon turn would-be buyers away from the device. There have been several reports across the web documenting an issue with the handset’s shooter — most notably its Verizon version — that completely breaks the phone’s camera.