AT&T

AT&T’s CEO has finally, finally, finally come to his senses and admitted that the “era of big subsidies for devices is coming to an end.” Continuing the smartphone upgrade cycle has always worn on the carriers margins and is something I know I have personally wished would go away a long time ago.

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AT&T has launched a new initiative called Mobile Share Value Plans that is designed to save customers money on their monthly AT&T mobile phone service bills. The following changes are specifically for the Mobile Share program, which allows devices to work under the same AT&T account and share data, talk, and text plans. Similar to T-Mobile’s “un-carrier” approach, the new AT&T plans separate the cost of the device hardware completely from the monthly service charges:

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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.

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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.

Target: 

• Galaxy S 4 on AT&T/Verizon for $39.99 Sprint for $49.99

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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.

AT&T:

Thanksgiving day:

• Samsung Galaxy S® 4 – $29.995
• Samsung Galaxy S® III mini – FREE5
• Samsung Galaxy Mega™– $49.995
• Samsung Galaxy S®III – FREE5

Black Friday:

• 50 percent off JAMBOX.
• 75 percent off Grandoe touchscreen Gloves.
• 60 percent off a JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker for Nokia, JBL PlayUp. Portable Wireless Speaker for Nokia and JBL OnBeat Micro Portable Speaker Dock with Lightning Connector.
• $20 off on select XPAL cases.
• 50 percent off a ZAGGkeys FLEX keyboard.
• 25 percent off Martian Voice Command Smartwatches.
• 50 percent off a Polaroid Bluetooth printer.
• $249 for a BIG JAMBOX.
• 10 percent off all JBL and Harman speakers. (Excludes items already discounted.)
• One Black Friday deal extends through Dec. 31, online only. Customers can save and score a Samsung ATIV smart PC for FREE6 with a new two-year agreement with qualifying plans. Activation and upgrade fees apply.

Verizon:

Verizon’s full Black Friday ad has already been previewed here.

• Motorola DROID MAX for $199
• Galaxy S 4 for $99
• HTC One for $99
• DROID RAZR HD for $0
• Motorola DROID Ultra for $99
• Ellipsis 7″ tablet for $0
• $150 savings on all Samsung tablets
• Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 for $299

T-Mobile:

• LG G2 on sale for $0 down with G2Promo
• Galaxy S 4 is $48 off with GS4DEAL
• Galaxy Note 3 is $48 off with SAVENOTE3
• Nexus 5 is $30 off with 30NEXUS
• Save $40 on the Galaxy S III ($18 monthly)
• $0 down on the Sony Xperia Z ($19 monthly)
• $0 down ($23 monthly) on the HTC One plus free urBeats earbud

Sprint:

• Nov. 22-27: Customers who bring a line to Sprint from another carrier will get up to a $100 instant discount on the purchase of any phone with a new two-year service agreement. Customers who switch their number to Sprint and choose Sprint One Up to finance their smartphone with $0 down and 0 percent financing will receive a $100 Visa Prepaid Card.
• Nov. 28-Dec. 2 (Retail stores are closed Thanksgiving, but customers can start early and shop online or Telesales): Customers can visit www.sprint.com/holiday or call 1-800-SPRINT1 to purchase Samsung Galaxy S® 4 mini for FREE (after a $50 mail in rebate via reward card) – a $99.99 savings with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement. Customers who shop online or call on Thursday can also purchase LG G2 for $49.99 – a $150 savings with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement. These offers will continue through Monday, Dec. 2, in Sprint retail stores across the country, online and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1).

HTC’s holiday specials on the “top-rated” HTC One are kicking into gear with special offers for Sprint and Verizon customers. That’s not to say they are the best deals around, a title Amazon current holds if the HTC One is on your radar this week.

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Just yesterday, Motorola began rolling out Android 4.4 KitKat to the T-Mobile variant of the Moto X, which was preceded by the Verizon model earlier this week. Today, the company has announced that the AT&T variant of its flagship will be the next device to receive the update.

Motorola says that the update will begin rolling out to Moto X users on AT&T today. The update will take the device to version number 140.44.5.ghost and includes all the features expected from KitKat, including the new design and much more.

• An improved phone dialer. Now you can search for contacts directly from the dial-pad and easily see and tap on those you contact frequently.
• More gallery goodies. KitKat packs in some cool, new gallery effects—such as Posterize, Highlights, and Edges. You can even use the Draw feature to annotate your photos freehand with your finger.
• New Hangouts app. All of your conversations now in one place—texts, video calls, and other chats all together in one app. Plus, you can now send animated gifs and share your location.
• Color emojis. For when words aren’t enough, the Google Keyboard now includes colorful characters to send in text messages and other communications.
• Drag to focus and expose. An updated camera app lets you control both the focus and exposure of your photos. Simply drag your finger to set just the right exposure and focus point.
• And more… Restyled status and navigation bars, new full-screen mode, and enhancements to Motorola features like Touchless Control.

We’re still waiting for a plethora of other devices to receive the update, including the Google Edition HTC One and Nexus 10. Motorola, however, finally appears to be on top of its game, and that’s certainly a good thing.

Samsung has announced that it has temporarily withdrawn the update to Android 4.3 for the Galaxy S3 after users complained about multiple problems, reports the BBC.

These included faster than normal battery drain, some apps refusing to work and alarms failing to trigger […]

“Samsung keep telling us that they will let us know as soon as they find a fix, but in the meantime I am left with a phone that is next to useless,” wrote one owner, Dylan Barlow … 
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With word already “leaking” that the LG G Flex is bound for the US and landing on Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile it comes as little surprise to see a FCC appearance. The G Flex made its cameo with the regulatory agency boasting AT&T and T-Mobile friendly LTE bands 4 (AWS) and 17.

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AT&T Galaxy S 4 owners take note as the Android 4.3 software update is en route. The update weighs in at a hefty 719MB and includes support for Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch, KNOX enterprise security and all the newness that arrives with Android 4.3.

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Verizon Wireless, once the gold standard for LTE, has admitted that it is struggling to keep up with demand in the big cities – with some users being dropped down to slower 3G speeds. The carrier’s Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said yesterday:

There are certain pockets where we’re absolutely going to experience that down tick from the LTE network down to 3G because of capacity constraints … 
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Lookout, a popular antivirus and security app for Android devices, today announced that it has struck a deal with AT&T to include the app preloaded on all of the carrier’s Android devices starting with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Yep, that means you’ll have yet another preloaded app to put up with on your new Android device, and if AT&T’s Lookout app is anything like T-Mob, you won’t be able to easily delete it from your device:

Moving forward, the Lookout app will be installed on all compatible AT&T Android devices (currently installed on the Samsung Note 3). With Lookout, AT&T customers can have the confidence to use their phone to its fullest capability, and rest assured knowing they are protected no matter what they do. Whether its helping to find a lost/stolen phone, managing phone security or backing up precious data, we’re helping AT&T customers with a safer, more secure, mobile experience.

This marks the third of 4 major US carriers to adopt the Lookout antivirus and security app. Sprint already preloads it on some of its Android devices as part of its Sprint Default Configuration and some T-Mobile devices, like the new LG G2, also have the Lookout app preloaded. 
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As rumored earlier this month, AT&T announced today that it will become the first U.S. carrier to offer Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Zoom starting November 8 for $199 on contract or $25 a month on AT&T Next instalment plans. AT&T is also throwing in a free Galaxy Tab 3:

For a limited time, Galaxy S 4 zoom customers can take advantage of two amazing promotional offers. Those purchasing the Galaxy S 4 zoom with a two-year contract or on an AT&T Nextsminstallment agreement and qualified voice and data plans can get a Galaxy Tab™3 for free. The Galaxy Tab 3 requires a new qualified 2-year data plan in order to be eligible. Customers won’t have to choose between a phone and tablet. Now they can get both for the price of one. With AT&T Mobile Share, customers can add the Galaxy Tab 3 to an existing Mobile Share plan for $10 more per month. And with Mobile Share, up to 10 devices can share data without needing to purchase separate plans for each one.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom is a hybrid smartphone/point and shoot that packs in a 16 megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom, a manually adjustable zoom ring, dedicated shutter button, and a built in Xenon flash. Other specs include a 4.3” Super AMOLED display, microSD, a 2330mAh battery, 1.5GB(RAM), and 8GB(eMMC). 
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Size comparison between Nexus 7, iPhone 5s and Galaxy Note 2 and S4

“Is that a Samsung Galaxy Mega in your pocket?”, is how the joke usually starts.  Samsung, never content with having the biggest phone out there, released its crazy ‘Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3‘ contraption with a whopping 6.3″ display on AT&T customers in the US recently and I wanted to see if I could actually get by with it, and it alone, as not only my “Internet Communicator” but also my phone.

I should probably preface this with the fact that I’m a very sparse phone user. I rarely give my number out and even when I get a call, I rarely answer it. When I’m at my desk, I use Google Voice, Hangouts, Skype and iChat for voice communications. When I’m on the road, I’m on a cheap unlimited data plan which affords me 100 minutes of talk time a month. I usually use about half of that IYSWIM.

So with that in mind, how were my few weeks with the Mega?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j2VUJX2BLY]

Beginning today, AT&T Moto X owners will be able to download the camera improvements that debuted a few weeks ago. According to AnandTech, this update greatly improves the quality of images taken with the Moto X camera.

There are some other improvements in this update from AT&T that focus on Touchless control accuracy, updates to Motorola Migrate and finding lost phones functionality.

• Camera enhancements:
  • Enhanced camera auto-white balance performance and color accuracy.
  • Improved exposure when taking photos outside or backlit, and improved clarity in low light.
  • Faster touch-to-focus time and reduced unnecessary refocusing in low light or scenes with continuous motion.
• Faster response and improved accuracy when using Touchless Control and easier set up and training of the “Ok Google Now” trigger.
• Enhanced transfer of content from old phone to new phone using Motorola Migrate.
• Fine-tuned feature that allows you to find phone when it is lost that sometimes prevented a lost phone from reporting its location.

More at AT&T.
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AT&T and other carriers have already started accepting preorders for Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear companion smartwatch, but today AT&T announced official release dates for the two products.

Both devices will become available online and in stores on October 4th for the same prices AT&T previously announced for preorders. That’s $299 on contract for the Note 3 (or $35 per month on AT&T Next), and $299 for the Galaxy Gear. Preorders from AT&T’s site are currently listed as shipping on October 1st.

Other carriers, including T-Mobile and Sprint, will also begin selling the Note 3 and Galaxy Gear beginning early next month. 
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AT&T announced today that it will begin selling the Samsung Galaxy S III mini, which was first released in November of last year, as a smaller entry level version of Samsung’s flagship at the time, the Galaxy S III. It might be a last generation device– Samsung unveiled the S4 mini at its event back in June— but that’s why AT&T will sell it for 99 cents on contract when it becomes available on September 27.

As a reminder, the S III mini includes a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, and packs in a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 5 megapixel main camera. You’ll also of course get Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on top of with S Beam, S Voice, Group Play, and other Samsung goodies.

AT&T will kick off preorders for the Galaxy S III mini starting tomorrow.
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Receive texts on your wrist? Yes, please. @SamsungMobileUS #GalaxyGear pre-orders start tomorrow. http://t.co/fDUmhOIodf

— AT&T (@ATT) September 16, 2013

Update: Sprint announced today that the Galaxy Note 3 will become available on October 4 for $349.99 on the usual two-year agreement. It will also have the Galaxy Gear companion smartwatch for $299.99 in Jet Black, Oatmeal Beige and Wild Orange.

AT&T has announced today in a tweet that preorders for the new Galaxy Gear smartwatch, which will act as a companion to the new Galaxy Note 3, will go up for preorder starting Wednesday, September 18. The carrier previously announced that the Galaxy Note 3 would begin shipping from its website on October 1. Through AT&T, the Note 3 sells for $299 on the usual two-year agreement. Samsung originally announced that the device would launch on partners around the world starting September 25.

T-Mobile also made things official for the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear today with a press release confirming that preorders, like AT&T, will also begin on Wednesday. On T-Mobile the device will sell for $199.99 down with 24 month payments of $21 with preorders expected to ship by October 2. 
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