Oh the weather outside is…not yet frightful but the deals have already started and the holiday season is moving into full swing. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday now behind us, it begs the question what goodies you purchased over this holiday weekend? Did you grab a new tablet, smartphone, Chromebook, HTC One, LG G2, Galaxy S 4 or something else entirely?
Update: Motorla has just detailed the full process for obtaining a Moto X at $350 on its blog. The company will now issue coupon codes to obtain the device at a discount, and customers will have one week to redeem the code and design their device with Moto Maker. Visit Motorola’s blog for the detailed instructions.
While plenty of retailers and online stores will take the time this week to discuss the great sales they had, Motorola will likely be a lone sad face as they apologize for their website downtime. Originally planned as a sale for the Moto X with a $150 Cyber Monday discount, the Motorola website was slammed to the point of oblivion and the company even missed its self-imposed deadline to come back online.
Visual Supply company, the group behind the uber-popular VSCO cam for iOS has finally set December 3rd as their Android release date. The app, available for most Android devices running 4.0 and above is a great camera app in the iOS arena and a most welcome addition to Android. This announcement in and of itself is good news, but what’s really great news is the price: free.
There’s plenty of good Cyber Monday deals to be had and more will likely pop up as the day continues, but this 2013 Nexus 7 is one of the good ones. Offering $60 and $40 discounts, the free shipping offer includes both the 16GB and 32GB models. We should note that the 16GB version from ShopDivvy (tax in North Dakota) is a manufacturer refurb and comes ASUS re-certified and with the ASUS warranty. The 32GB model from Adorama is new and tax only applies New Jersey.
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Oh Microsoft, when will you ever learn? The latest in the company’s Surface line of “attack” ads forgets about Apple and turns its attention onto Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. The ad highlights video output, a full size USB port and the ability to charge “while getting stuff done” on the Surface. Then it turns its attention on the Galaxy Tab’s lone microUSB port which must be used both for hooking up to a monitor, transferring documents and for charging. Ooooo slick burn Microsoft!
Samsung has never been a company to shy away from introducing a dozen color variants for their flagship devices which makes new colors for the Galaxy Note 3 no surprise at all. The South Korean giant introduces Merlot Red, Rose Gold Black and Rose Gold White color variants to the world alongside the Blush Pink, Jet Black and Classic White that were launched back at IFA in September.
If you’ve been looking for a good book these days, Google just made selecting your next novel a little easier with a special Google Books sale. The Cyber Monday deal is good on over 100 bestselling books, with discounts up to 75% off the cover price.
Note: Strangely, Best Buy still offers the best deal on the Kindle Fire 7 HD with it starting at $99.99
Hello Amazon and two very good, no “unprecedented” deals on two of the internet most popular Kindle Fire tablets. Announced late last night, Amazon is taking $50 off the Kindle Fire HDX 7″, down from to $179 and the Kindle Fire HD 16GB now $119. The full deal is listed below along with links to where you should be whipping out your credit cards. If you’re in the Amazon ecosystem like myself, these are some pretty good deals and while its possible Amazon will discount again before Christmas day, why wait?
Black Friday is well in the rear-view mirror and that means our shopping focus is now firmly zeroed in on Cyber Monday. The one-day sales event now matches Black Friday in deals, specials, savings and more. It’s still early in the day as we wait for the nations largest retailers to announce more Cyber Monday savings. For now, sneak a peek at our continuously updated list of specials on apps, smartphones, tablets, Chromebooks, and any other Google-related goods!
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Amazon’s never shied away from quietly mocking Apple’s iPad and that’s why this new Kindle Fire HDX and its distinctly British voice has us laughing. Calling it the “magical new iPad Air” in proper British tongue, this new commercial discovered via YouTube is offset with the American accented intro of the 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX.
We’ve already had a glimpse at Google’s Cyber Weekend extravaganza with deals on games, books, music, gadgets, magazines and TV series. However, even with our Cyber Weekend announce post earlier today, a new post with a broken down list of ALL the deals Google is hosting over the weekend was in order. Below you’ll find a list of all the hardware, software, subscription, music and game deals you will find from Goog this weekend. Credit goes to The Verge for compiling the full list but hit the Google Play link below to get your shopping groove on.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and now that we’re all sporting an extra loop on our belts, it’s time to get down to the madness of Black Friday. There’s plenty of deals to be had in the Android world especially with smartphones, tablets and even a Chromebook thrown in for good measure. There’s no time to waste today so let’s get right down to it:
Google’s Play Store Cyber Weekend deals are now live with some excellent savings on games, movies, bestselling books, TV seasons, movie deals and in-game discounts!
It will come as little surprise that Samsung is working on a successor to the Galaxy Gear and that a Galaxy S 5 on the horizon. However, a new rumor courtesy of etnews via SamMobile indicates the Korean giant is looking to launch both the next-generation Gear and S 5 at the same time. Realistically, that seems logical so while this is a pure rumor for now, it’s certainly a rumor that makes sense.
AT&T Galaxy S 4 owners look sharp, the day before Thanksgiving is bringing you gifts as the carrier announces Android 4.3…arriving now. The update is slated at 727MB, so Wi-Fi only updates are allowed but Galaxy Gear compatibility, call reliability improvements, drag and drop ability to uninstall/disable applications and the rest of Android 4.3 goodness are all awaiting you. It originally appeared that the update began around 10 days ago but this is official word from the AT&T mothership…so it’s now officially official.
Google’s support for Chromecast is still fairly limited even as the promise of more apps continues to be on the horizon. Thankfully, the apps that do support Chromecast are some of the most notable and widely used across the web: YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, and as of the last week, HBO Go.
As we’ve already begun the 48 day countdown to Black Friday, Motorola is already shifting attention to Cyber Monday. A Google+ posting indicates the company will discount their excellent Moto X by $150 for one-day off contract. That’s a $350 price tag this upcoming Monday and what is arguably one of the best device deals I’ve seen on an Android device in a long time.
We’ve already covered the Target, Walmart and Best Buy Black Fridays earlier this month as their Black Friday ads broke cover to the world. However, there are far more Android-related deals to be had on Black Friday and here are some of the most notable across the nations largest retailers. Don’t forget to sneak a peek at what T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have to offer as well.
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There are a hundred different ways to tackle the question of what Motorola’s goals are for releasing a sub $200 smartphone into the wild. Motorola stated at their Moto G launch in Brazil that they wish to introduce a “premium experience at less than 1/3 the price of high-end phones.” In that regard and judging by the tech blogosphere first thoughts, Motorola has certainly accomplished what they set out to do.
Keep it locked here for all the updates as new Android-related carrier deals are announced for Cyber Monday. More importantly, keep your homepage loaded with 9to5toys.com this holiday season for a look at all of the seasons best tech-related specials.
Thanksgiving day:
Black Friday:
Verizon’s full Black Friday ad has already been previewed here.
A new report courtesy of the folks at ReadWrite is shining light on the steps and process Google’s engineers undertook to optimize Android 4.4 KitKat before its introduction to the world.
As Google’s engineers believed they reached a “feature parity” point, they turned their attention to performance and optimization, something that began with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and “Project Butter.” The hope was that Android would be faster, more reliable and devoid of the crashes that plagued many Android users.
While the debate still rages about just how many units Samsung has actually sold of the Galaxy Gear, software updates are coming this week. According to a brief Engadget report, Samsung has heard the complaints about the lack of notification support and will push updates this week to help rectify the matter.
I’m sure we’re all “tired” to hear about the tablet/PC debate and which format will outsell one another next year. That being said, a new Canalys report caught my eye as it projects that in 2014 tablets will account for 50 percent of the PC market. I consider projections that indicate tablets will become half of the desktop, notebook, and tablet devices that make up the entire PC market to be notable because of the sheer size.
I love good news in the morning and that’s why the opportunity to purchase the Moto G direct from Motorola’s website well before January has us smiling. Our very own Seth Weintraub was able to successfully purchase the device and receive a shipping order for two days. It’s a great surprise from Motorola, especially when the company originally indicated the US would be a part of “Wave 2” and ship sometime after Christmas.
