Android Community |
- Angry Birds Rio update Beach Blanket Bingo [Video Demo]
- Samsung Infuse 4G Hands-On and Unboxing
- Paper Smartphone using Android?
- ASUS denies Eee Pad Transformer component shortages: Demand outstripped expectations
- Taptu Android tablet app launches with tablet specific features
- Vringo launches Facetones Android app
- LG Optimus 2X lands Guinness World Record
- Samsung Galaxy S II vs Infuse 4G
- AT&T allows sideloading apps on the Infuse 4G
- Samsung Infuse 4G Hands-On in NYC
- Samsung Infuse 4G First phone to support hspa+/hsupa at launch
- Samsung Infuse 4G official on AT&T
- Samsung AT&T Event to Reveal Infuse 4G Imminently
- Touch Rally: World Tour THD game coming Summer 2011
- Bang Bang Racing THD coming to android devices tomorrow
- Facebook inside Xperia Actually Kind of Cool
- T-Mobile updating unlimited Prepaid Plan, data caps removed
| Angry Birds Rio update Beach Blanket Bingo [Video Demo] Posted: 06 May 2011 11:07 AM PDT Remember earlier this week when we reported about the Angry Birds Rio update? Well, the screenshot was a strong hint that Rovio is releasing a Beach Volleyball game level. In addition, the Rio update also brings that gorgeous Blue Parrot to life, as it’s playable!
Once the Parrot gets airborne AB style, users can keep him flying by tapping the screen, making him fly farther. The Blue Parrot is also joined by the Boomerang Bird who doubles back to take out the wild monkey’s edifices from behind. There is also what Rovio hints at as “marmoset-mauling action” which could add a bit of ground attack to the game, perhaps? Secret rewards include a Golden Watermelon for this level as well as other golden fruit, area trophies, and three star bonuses. Based on the 20th Century Fox film RIO, the game showcases Blu and Jewel, rare Macaws who find love in South America, but are kidnapped by greedy poachers. The Birds are called in to wreak angry vengeance, free the rare birds and save the day. Angry Birds Rio can be downloaded from both the Amazon App Store for Android and the Android Marketplace. The update will be coming next week.
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| Samsung Infuse 4G Hands-On and Unboxing Posted: 06 May 2011 10:09 AM PDT Were home from NYC and it’s time to do a super personal Android friends included hands-on and unboxing for the ravenous community, all the detail you could possibly want coming throughout the rest of today moving on over to the weekend where we’ll have a full review. What we’ve got here is the brand new Samsung Infuse 4G, as carried by AT&T, and we’re opening this big beast out of the box early enough for you to be able to see it much before you’ve got the opportunity to hold it in your own hands – will it be enough to sell well before its big brother comes out in a few weeks?
First Impressions Now that we’ve got the device in a non-crowded room and have a bit of a better perspective on how the device feels when we’re not entirely pumped up with caffeine, jet lagged, and tired of running with only a few hotdogs in our systems, we can offer you a bit of a different perspective.
While this phone does have the largest Super AMOLED Plus display on the market, and indeed the largest display on a device classified as a handset that I or we have ever experienced, the thinness of the device counters the height and length of the chassis. As Philip Berne mentioned yesterday, the device may have one gigantic display, but it certainly doesn’t feel like the phone is oversized. On the other hand, I have a feeling there will be those out there that feel exactly the opposite – I implore you to trust your heart, as always.
Next, the Super AMOLED Plus display is magnificently bright. As you’ll see a little later today in our comparison shots, there’s only one other device whose display can compare, that being the DROID Charge, another Samsung device, it too having the Super AMOLED Plus tech in place. On the back of the device, on the other hand, a lovely patterned texture identical to what you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy S II – the difference is in the color. Samsung Galaxy S II is the darker of the two, while both of them feature an amazingly classy battery cover which instead of popping off the entire back half of the phone, acts more like a door, removing the textured bit only. Best battery cover yet!
Button Locations It’s become somewhat of an oddity mentioning where the buttons and jacks are situated around the device as of late – one trend that I’ve been enjoying is the relocation of the power button to the upper right-hand side of the device instead of the top. With the power button in the upper right, and the volume dongle in the upper left, I’ve only to use my thumb and my index finger to adjust anything I need adjusted with physical buttons.
After that, all that’s left are the miniUSB (converting to HDMI out with included cord) on the bottom and the headphone jack at the top. Also on the top and the bottom are mics, one apiece for noise cancellation. Then there’s the big fat 8 megapixel camera on the back with LED flash, light sensor and proximity sensor up front next to the 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat and photos. And that’s it! It’s a fairly sparse phone in its hardware, truly.
Oddities This phone comes with Angry Birds (original) pre-installed. Its gallery comes with a folder called Summer 2011 Trailers, this folder containing 6 videos, one each of the following films: X-Men First Class, Fast Five, Brides Maids, HOP, Cowboys and Aliens, and Kung Fu Panda 2. As you know if you were reading yesterday, you’re able to install third-party apps (historically this functionality has been disallowed on AT&T Android phones.) Preliminary tests show the battery to be down to 41% after only 2 hours — but I’m going to right here call this a fluke as it seems basically impossible, even though I HAVE been using this device rather heavily since it’s been opened.
Have a peek at the most lovely unboxing you’ve ever seen in your life right here, courtesy of natural light and our little Android pals: Wrap-Up This phone is big an awesome to behold. If there were no Galaxy S II on the way, this phone would command a whole lot more respect that I expect it will end up commanding. As it stands right this moment, it’s being called the precursor to that much more famous phone, sort of like the Silver Surfer to that Galactus, if you know what I mean, and chances are Galactus will be getting here sooner than the Silver Surfer may have originally expected. On the other hand, here it is! We’ll be taking a closer look at this device over the next day or two and we’ll have a full review up for you before the end of the weekend!             )
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| Paper Smartphone using Android? Posted: 06 May 2011 09:28 AM PDT One of the cool gadgets shown in the SyFy series Caprica was an interactive piece of paper that would send email, surf the web, and do just about anything else a computer can do. Then the character could fold it up and place it in their pocket or purse. Genius. Too bad we couldn’t do that now. Oh wait, WE CAN. Check out this smartphone made completely of paper and plastic.
Created by university researchers at the Queen’s University Human Media Lab in Ontario, Canada, the paper smartphone uses eInk and a printed circuitry embedded into a flexible display. Judging from the menus shown in the video below, it looks like it may use a version of Android as its OS with a conceptual overlay. The Paperphone employs a technique called “bend gestures” to navigate and select an action. The smartphone can make phone calls, play music, navigate through contacts, and even send text messages. And to enter data, users write on it like conventional paper with handwriting recognition to translate it into a digital entry. But the most amazing thing about the Paperphone, is that it uses no power when it isn’t being used or interacted with. The display is made out of very thin film what looks to be an advanced version of the same eInk technology used by the Amazon Kindle, which is very stingy on power consumption. With it’s flexible design, the phone will conform to a user’s pocket and larger designs will be able to transform computers, tablets, and anything that processes documents. And users can stack them almost like real paper with no need for office printers. Could this be the beginning of a truly paperless office?    )
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| ASUS denies Eee Pad Transformer component shortages: Demand outstripped expectations Posted: 06 May 2011 07:44 AM PDT ASUS has blamed unforeseen demand for the Eee Pad Transformer tablet, denying that component shortages have limited production to just 10,000 units per month. The company’s Taiwanese spokesperson, David Chang, told Netbook News that in fact ASUS is on course to make 100,000 of the coveted slates this month, and over 200,000 in June.
“We will see a significant alleviation in the month of June” Chang confirmed, explaining that “the current demand surpasses our expectations by far.” ASUS had set sales targets of 300,000 units in the whole of Q2 2011, but a combination of strong appeal amid a limited Honeycomb market, iPad 2 shortages and other factors has seen far more would-be buyers than that. “If the demand continues to increase substantially then we will have to continue to ramp up production in order to fulfill our customers' demand” Chang concluded, which hopefully means that the shelves will soon be overflowing with Transformers. Until then, check out our full review over at SlashGear [via SlashGear] )
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| Taptu Android tablet app launches with tablet specific features Posted: 06 May 2011 05:57 AM PDT If you are looking for a new newsreader application for your Android tablet, you have a new choice today. Taptu has announced that it has launched the Taptu for Android Tablets app on the App Market right now. The new version of the app is 1.4, and it is still a free offering. Version 1.4 adds the new features to allow the user of Honeycomb tablets to have a much better experience.
The new version for tablets has an Action Bar API and clicking the Taptu l9ogo will let the user go back to the main screen. Transitions inside the app are smoother and scrolling the app is fast and effortless. The new app also has a fragment API to make it easier to use the same code for phones and tablets. This cool reader app has always allowed the user to market their own streams of news on a topic. The app has instapaper API that lets the user archive articles for reading later. The app can be changed between colors and layouts. The update also lets tablet users read articles on their full screen. The app also lets users import up to 100 feeds from Google Reader. [via SFGate] )
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| Vringo launches Facetones Android app Posted: 06 May 2011 05:41 AM PDT Vringo has a really cool new app that will work on your Android phone that makes your phone ringing a social experience. The app sounds very interesting and a bunch of people will want to grab it on the Android market now. It is a beta offering according to Vringo, and you still have to pay for the app apparently. The app is called Facetones and it connects to Facebook. When you receive a call from someone you are Facebook friends with the app grabs photos of the person.
The photos are found via tags and the app has to be connected to your Facebook account to work. After you connect, the app each time a person calls it will automatically grab the latest photos of the person to show you as the phone rings. Vringo will launch the app first for Android only and it will come to other platforms alter. The app will also later be made to integrate with other social networks. "Vringo has always been about making ringtones social and visual. We now are taking this to a new level with Facetones," said Jon Medved, Vringo's Chief Executive Officer. "We believe the fun and exciting experience of getting an automatic video slide show update from your friends before speaking to them will help define the future of social mobile experiences." )
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| LG Optimus 2X lands Guinness World Record Posted: 06 May 2011 05:32 AM PDT I would bet that most of you at one point or another have thumbed through the Guinness Book of World records. This book is jam packed with records for all sorts of things. I once read that the book started by the makers of the Guinness beer as a book to end disputes at the bar over silly facts that drunkards often argue over. The LG Optimus 2X smartphone has landed itself in the record book.
The record is granted to the smartphone for being the first mobile phone to use a dual core processor. The smartphone landed on South Korea on January 25 2011 packing in that dual core processor. The market if flooded what smartphone packing two cores today, but this was the first and has the record to prove it. We got our hands on the T-Mobile version of this smartphone last month to see what it was all about. The smartphone has a 4-inch screen with a 480 x 800 resolution. It measures in at 4.9″ x 2.5″ x 0.4″ and weighs about 5-ounces. The rear camera is an 8MP unit and it has image stabilization, smile detection and a lot more. The camera will record 1080p HD video as well. It even has a front camera for video chats. We really liked the device when it was first launched (and still do). [via Guiness World Record] )
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| Samsung Galaxy S II vs Infuse 4G Posted: 05 May 2011 04:23 PM PDT Below you can see the specs, but right here you’re going to get the most important factoid of them all: which one of these two Samsung superstars is thinner? Why, it’s the Samsung Galaxy S II of course! But just by a bit. By less than 1mm, if Philip Berne’s sources have anything to say about it. But what other tiny bits are different? There’s a few biggies, but what about the tiny bits? The battery is 100 mAh apart, the larger of the two being the Infuse 4G at 1750, the smaller of course then the Galaxy S II at 1650. Why would that be? Perhaps to create a slightly smaller phone to win the thin wars?
The Infuse 4G was announced at CES 2011, Samsung Galaxy S II announced at Mobile World Congress 2011. The Infuse has the ability to side-load apps (on AT&T this is a big deal because historically they’ve disallowed it,) while we’re still not sure what the deal will be with the USA version of the GS2. In the photos in this post, (all taken by Philip Berne,) the lighter of the two is the Infuse 4G. As you can see, they are VERY similar in their chassis. Galaxy S II G G G G So what’s the decision? Bigger screen or more hardcore processor? Larger battery? That’d be strange. Maybe that extra .7 megapixels on the front-facing camera? Boy howdy, it’s all up to you, isn’t it? )
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| AT&T allows sideloading apps on the Infuse 4G Posted: 05 May 2011 03:01 PM PDT Whoa what do we have here, it appears that the new Samsung Infuse 4G now allows for side-loading apps. Something no Android phone on AT&T has been able to do before. From our hands on with the new Infuse 4G it looks like you are now able to select the box “Unknown Sources” and can now install non-market applications. This is huge news because until now users have had to resort to tricks and hackery to side-load applications to AT&T phones.
See the photo above for the hard proof. That is the new Samsung Infuse 4G on AT&T, and it is allowing non-market installs. For now as far as we understand AT&T policy is still the same, and they do not allow the installation of 3rd party applications. So either this is brand new, just breaking. Or Samsung forgot to lock it down on the new Infuse 4G. We don’t have a lot to go by yet for this, we are looking into it now and will report back as soon as we hear more. For more information on the Infuse 4G go here. )
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| Samsung Infuse 4G Hands-On in NYC Posted: 05 May 2011 02:57 PM PDT Today at its New York City reveal we got the chance to take a peek at the brand new Samsung Infuse 4G. This is a phone with the biggest Super AMOLED plus screen ever seen on a handset, the thinnest phone thus far in the official Samsung USA released ranks (the absolute thinnest I think you already also know the name of) and it’s rolling out on AT&T’s 4G network. Would you like to know more? Have a peek at this monster and get your pants in a bundle!
First Impressions The display and the extremely thin profile are obviously two of the strongest design choices here, with the 8 megapixel camera on the back and the 1.3 megapixel camera on the front almost seeming like par for the course (especially in these days of such levels of camera rating being everywhere.) WIth the DROID (Samsung) Charge having just been passed out to reviewers and the Samsung Galaxy S II out already in the UK, the Infuse 4G seems to be just that – a fusion of the two. Will it hold true as we pass it through the big review? The display isn’t quite qHD, but the WVGA is certainly fine and dandy, and Super AMOLED Plus could make any display resolution flip out. This device starts out with Android 2.2 Froyo with TouchWiz 3.0, not quite the 4.0 we saw at CTIA 2011. Hopefully both a 2.3 Gingerbread and TouchWiz 4.0 in the near future. We’ve heard it both ways so far from people at the event – some say it’s too wide and tall, some, like our good pal Philip Berne (not at the event) say it’s large, but doesn’t feel like it when you use it. Have a look at our quick unboxing and hands-on courtesy of Vince from our sister-site SlashGear: And have a look at some lovely photos in the gallery below. Also note that yours truly will be getting this device in the mail tomorrow, so expect a swift review before the end of the weekend!            )
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| Samsung Infuse 4G First phone to support hspa+/hsupa at launch Posted: 05 May 2011 02:01 PM PDT We are at the Samsung event today, and they have opened the doors for everyone to jump at the Samsung Infuse 4G, in case you have missed it this device is sure to pack some excitement around it for the next few weeks. It will operate on AT&T 4G Network and it boasts some pretty nice specs including: 1.2 Ghz single-core processor, a huge 4.5″ SuperAMOLED+ Display, 8 MP camera and more. For more details click here
Other than having a team member live at the event, we don’t have much to go on regarding the claim in the title. “First phone to support hspa+/hsupa at launch”, other than they mentioned it having dual antenna’s and the first phone to support both on launch date. This is probably referring to the Motorola Atrix and its hsupa problems as of late. A lot of talk has gone around regarding why it wasn’t enabled, and why people were not getting hsupa speeds on their “4G” phone, only the download speeds but not the upload. To keep the record straight, the Motorola Atrix had both at launch, but hsupa was disabled for unknown reasons, that has been a large part of the criticism Motorola and AT&T have faced because there was no mention of it and users just noticed it not working on their shiny new 4G phone. So for those tired of dealing with the Atrix, or have been waiting for something possibly better. We and Samsung present you the Infuse 4G. With its huge 4.5″ screen and full hspa+ AND hsupa support out of the gate, no updates required. This should be a easy choice for those that don’t need the dual-core in the Atrix. So wait a few weeks, and come May 15th you can get your very own Infuse 4G for $199 with a new contract as usual. I can’t wait for some hands-on. That is coming up next. )
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| Samsung Infuse 4G official on AT&T Posted: 05 May 2011 01:52 PM PDT Having had a close call getting in from the airport to the big event here in NYC we’ve got our hands full with a real life Samsung Infuse 4G. We’ll have the device in our hands momentarily and a full review up for you before the end of the weekend, god willing. Meanwhile let’s go ahead and list some of the official specs we’re privy to now straight from the mouth of the officials.
This device has a 4.5″ Super AMOLED Plus screen, it’s 8.99mm thin, and it’s not the largest touch screen device from Samsung. The Infuse 4G also has a 1.2GHz single-core processor, is the very first to support HSPA+ at 14.4Mbps, and is the “nation’s thinnest” 4G smartphone. This device will be available on May 15th for a total of $199 on contract – and that’s with no rebate mess to go through. Also note – this is the first device to be released with both hspa+/hsupa at launch – dual antennas for your dually wild life. Android 2.2 Froyo inside, and Philip Berne says that it’s got a 4.5″ screen but doesn’t feel like it. Massively awesome! Also, a moment of game talk turned a few heads as they announced a contest that’d be going on between Rovio, AT&T, and Samsung that’ll result in prizes from Samsung. What could the prizes be? We’re guessing some Infuse 4Gs. With this marks the 10 billionth endorsement Rovio’s racked up for Angry Birds in the past few months – they’re doing quite well!    )
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| Samsung AT&T Event to Reveal Infuse 4G Imminently Posted: 05 May 2011 01:22 PM PDT We’re right at the door of the Samsung / AT&T event here in New York City and it’s basically definite that the big ticket item today will be the Samsung Infuse 4G. Exciting enough for you? As our good pal Philip Berne notes, this is a phone that’s “remarkably light.. weighs less than Nexus S, even with 0.5″ larger screen and larger battery.” Plus it’s got that utterly fantastic Super AMOLED Plus display we’ve been marveling over on the DROID Charge – play your cards right AT&T and you might have the first phone on the market with that display!
A few more specs while we’re waiting for the event to unfold: This is a 4.5-inch screen toting Android 2.2 Froyo having ARM Cortex A8 1.2GHz processor run machine with an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front. By all sights and sounds of the thing, this is most definitely the pre-cursor to the Samsung Galaxy S II. We’ll have a hands-on with this device for you very soon since we’ve got word that we’ll get a closer peek before the event is over. We’ll also have a review up for you before the weekend is over because we just love you that much and that’s how we roll. Stick with us today to see if anything else new springs up! )
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| Touch Rally: World Tour THD game coming Summer 2011 Posted: 05 May 2011 12:55 PM PDT It looks like the coming months we are going to see some great games coming to Android. What I am most excited about is all the games and developers that are going the Tegra HD route and taking advantage of the extremely impressive Tegra 2 dual-core CPU. One of those that has some games I am looking forward to is Playbox, they have developed games for PS2, PS3, DS, PSP and more and now they have their full attention aimed at android and the Tegra 2 platform. Today I want to mention the game we know little about called Touch Rally: Wold Tour
If Touch Rally turns out to be anything like Playbox game Bang Bang Racing THD that is releasing tomorrow, and I have a feeling it will be, it will be a great game as well. The attention to details like skid-marks, muffler exhaust, and all the other little things they can throw in there because the power in the Tegra 2 makes their games just that much better than most of what we have now on mobile. Little is known about Touch Rally, but I am stoked to see what they have in store for us over at PlayBox Games. They have three more games not including the two I have mentioned here today that are all listed as “Coming Summer 2011″ for Tegra 2 devices. So that means the coming months we should have plenty to enjoy on our Motorola Xoom, or G2x. More and more Tegra 2 devices are on their way as well, so hopefully everyone can enjoy these THD games. [via PlayBox Games] )
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| Bang Bang Racing THD coming to android devices tomorrow Posted: 05 May 2011 12:30 PM PDT Bang Bang Racing THD is a fantastic looking top view racing game coming to Tegra 2 android devices, after reading more about it and watching the video (below) I must say I am pretty excited to get my hands on it. According to the twitter accounts of both @NvidiaTegra and the developers of the game @BBR_THD it will be released to the Android Market and on TegraZone starting tomorrow, May 6th. I will be getting it as soon as that happens, don’t worry.
According to the developers Playbox BBR THD is A home console racing experience designed and optimized for NVIDIA® Tegra™-powered mobile devices, and they even mention only the Tegra 2 has the power they require. It has given them the power to completely port this classic game from the console version that is on the PS3 to android devices without ANY loss in quality, they say the touch controls make it even better. Before I say any more, or talk about the great graphics or 8 stunning tracks to race on I’ll just show you all the preview to get you excited. From the video you just saw above it looks a bit like the popular game Reckless Racing, only better in just about every way. With stunning graphics, huge tracks with little shortcuts all over the place, barrels of oil, flames and explosions going off. Looks pretty engaging to me. Those will probably be some of its stronger points, not to mention the cars look way better than anything we have seen. They are like little Hot Wheels from back in my childhood days, but on steroids. Playbox has been around for more than a few years and have made some amazing games for xbox and PS3 so I am pretty confident that this will be a great release for Android Tegra 2 phones and tablets. My Xoom can hardly wait.    )
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| Facebook inside Xperia Actually Kind of Cool Posted: 05 May 2011 12:12 PM PDT You may already know that we’ve taken a look at Sony Ericsson’s newest effort: XPERIA mini and XPERIA mini pro, both essentially the same device with the push-out keyboard sitting below the pro. Both of these devices feature what Facebook and Sony Ericsson are calling “Facebook inside Xperia,” an integration of the social networking site into the basic everyday functions of the phone. Turns out it’s pretty neat!
Upon closer inspection of this Facebook inside Xperia situation, it turns out that it’s not a completely separate app, but stays integrated with Facebook for Android. What this does is allow you to only have a single login instead of logging in once for every different Facebook app you’ve got running, then it plays out as extended functionality through Gingerbread. The places you’ll see it work right away are in your photo gallery and in your music app.
In your photo gallery, you’ll now be able to view not only the photos you’ve got on your device, but the galleries pulled down from your Facebook profile too, plus photos you’re tagged in. What more could you want? How about the ability to add photos to albums you’ve already created? Then there’s the music app – now with a Like button that allows you to share the name of the track you’re listening to your Facebook wall.
In addition, there’s also contacts sync (not entirely new) and calendar sync, contacts now having tabbed views of their likes, interests, recent wall activity, and photos / videos. Finally, there’s a media discovery app that pulls content in from recently shared items shared on your friends’ Facebook walls, complete with comments! All of this will also soon be available (in a few weeks, says Sony Ericsson) for XPERIA Arc and XPERIA Play as well – Facebook engulfs us all!                )
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| T-Mobile updating unlimited Prepaid Plan, data caps removed Posted: 05 May 2011 11:45 AM PDT It looks like today we have some good news coming out of Team Magenta, the guys from T-Mobile are updating the prepaid plans they currently have. We first mentioned these back in April and T-Mobile took some heat from just about every blog and across twitter over the data caps they had included. If you went over 2GB of data usage (like facebook and emails) your speeds get throttled. Basically it wasn’t “umlimited” and after a certain amount they shut you down.
Starting May 22nd users will be able to access the new plans that T-Mobile have came up with. The current $70 unlimited plan which offers unlimited talk, text and 2GB of data will be extended to allow unlimited data, we still aren’t sure if it will truly be “unlimited” or they are just raising the cap to something more reasonable like 5GB. We will see in the coming weeks. Then the prepaid $50 plan that offers unlimited everything but just 100mb of data will be updated to throttle your data speeds once you reach the 100mb limit, rather than making you pay for more. Nothing to huge here, but the fact that they noticed so many people complaining about the small 2GB limit on what was supposed to be an “unlimited everything” plan, and were so fast to change it is a good sign if you ask me. Plus these are prepaid plans so who are we to complain right, TmoNews was right about that. For now we will have to wait til these plans take effect May 22nd to see if there will still be some sort of data cap, I imagine there will be one of some sort, but we shall see.
[via TmoNews] )
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