Verizon will launch brand new, simpler data plans and kill subsidies as expected from August 13. Today, the company introduced a set of plans which will require customers to pay for their smartphones in monthly installments, or buy them outright, instead of having the cost subsidized.
T-Mobile’s Uncarrier Amped moves are still going strong. Just days after announcing its cross-border ‘Mobile Without Borders’ plan, the magenta carrier has unveiled a brand new family plan.
With the new plan, two customers can get 10GB per line for $100 per month. Each additional line is then $20 per person, each with 10GB data allowance. As a special offer, T-Mobile is also giving customers a fourth line for free. Between now and Labor day, customers will be able to sign up to four lines with 10GB data on each, for $120 per month.
Convincing educated buyers to grab the HTC One M9 might not be the easiest task, but Verizon seems to want to take a crack at it. For a limited time, buyers of HTC’s latest—and less than well-received—flagship handset will get $100 in free Google Play credit…
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Well, things change fast. Earlier today we reported on comments from Motorola’s David Schuster that a soak test of 5.1 Lollipop was rolling out for the DROID Turbo, and only hours later Verizon has unexpectedly announced that the update will roll out over-the-air to device owners starting tomorrow.
After some false starts and an accidental reveal, Motorola’s David Schuster posted last night to his Google+ account to confirm a soak test of Android 5.1 has begun for the Verizon DROID Turbo. Here’s what he said:
I know this is going to make some people happy…. we have started the DROID Turbo soak test for the Android 5.1 upgrade this evening with our forum registered users. If all goes well we will open it up later this week.
The full release notes are up on Motorola’s website as well. Aside from the normal stability improvements and 5.1 features like ‘interruptions’ for deciding which apps can make your phone buzz with notifications, there’s some Motorola-specific stuff in there like the Moto Action that turns the flashlight on and off with two chopping motions.
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When the Sony Xperia Z4 was announced earlier this year, we weren’t sure when—if ever—it would be coming to the United States. Now, as has been announced this morning by Verizon, it looks like the Japanese company is bringing the device to North America by way of the Big Red. As we noted before, the device definitely isn’t a drastic departure from what we know of as the Xperia Z3. But the Z4v brings some improvements and features that the Z4 doesn’t have…
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We wouldn’t blame you for thinking the images above are leaks or even mockups of what Android 5.1.1 Lollipop might look like on the DROID Turbo – but you’d be wrong, because these are straight from Verizon’s website.
The unlocked 2nd-generation Moto E might have already began receiving Android 5.1 Lollipop straight from Motorola in early May, but Verizon customers rejoice: your over-the-air update is dropping now.
This update brings all the changes we’ve come to expect from the 5.0.2 to 5.1.1 bump as well as a slightly tweaked “Interruptions” control menu and Device Protection, which ensures that a lost or stolen device will remain locked (aka can’t be factory reset) until the original owner signs into it with his or her Google account. Verizon has a handy PDF that covers most of the changes coming with this update.
To check if your Moto E has pulled down the update yet, head into the Settings app and select About Phone > System updates.
The LG G Pad 7.0 was released back in July of 2014 alongside its bigger brother, the G Pad 10.1, and while it doesn’t rock the most high-end specifications, Verizon is giving it some love with an update to Android 5.0.2 Lollipop (yes, not 5.1.1). The software version number is VK41022A.
There isn’t much to be said about this update beyond what we wrote for the Verizon G Pad 10.1’s Lollipop update. LG’s custom UI additions have received a fresh coat of paint to fall in line with Google’s Material Design guidelines and all the features and improvements that are included in Android Lollipop are there – Smart Lock for authenticating the device when other trusted devices are nearby, the Interruptions menu which provides granular control over which app notifications light up your device, Floating Action Buttons, and more.
As always this is a carrier OTA update, so don’t be surprised if it’s a week or more before you see it in your system updates.
The Verizon LTE variant of the LG G Pad 10.1 was released last November, which can feel like a long time ago here on the Internet, but Verizon hasn’t forgotten about owners of the tablet as it’s now receiving an update that sees its software version bumped to the 5.0.2 version of Android Lollipop. The actual software version number of the tablet, since of course LG has its own skin (albeit a light one) over Lollipop, is now VK70022A.
First, the UI elements specific to LG’s layer have been updated to fall in line with Google’s Material Design suggestions, and everything you’d expect from Lollipop is there as well: Smart Lock for authenticating the device when other trusted devices are nearby, notifications on the lock screen, the Interruptions menu which provides granular control over which app notifications light up your device, as well as Floating Action Buttons and the Screen Pinning feature. The notifications panel has also been completely redesigned and displays both notifications and quick settings within the panel.
The update should be rolling out over-the-air now but carrier OTA releases are notorious for taking a week or two to reach everybody, so hang tight if you don’t see it in your system updates.
The well-reviewed (click here for our review) and hotly anticipated LG G4 is almost here for most major carriers here in the United States, but the exact date when you can pre-order the phone along with its launch date, pricing, and customization options vary across all of them. We’ve covered the announcements on this information from each carrier as they’ve trickled in, but thought it’d be helpful to collect everything we’ve got as of now into one post.
Thanks to Best Buy’s pre-order listings for the LG G4 going up early, we were already aware of the phone’s May 28th pre-order date and June 4th launch on Verizon, and earlier today the company made it official along with a previously unannounced LG tablet. A couple details have changed, however.
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A Verizon employee has taken to his Google+ profile to share that the Motorola DROID Turbo (which is exclusive to the red carrier) will be getting its update to Android 5.1 Lollipop at some point in “mid-June.”
He also opened up about why updates to Verizon phones can sometimes take a while:
Verizon delays on latest smartphones are due to Nationwide HD Voice. We want to make sure Software updates for HD Voice service is acceptable and does not impact voice quality. Verizon is the only company that has nationwide HD Voice in the USA. AT&T just has most metro cities here and there. T-Mobile and Sprint are way behind.
Apparently, the fact that Verizon has Nationwide HD voice sets some of the company’s software updates back a bit. Android Lollipop as a whole, though, has been very slowly rolling out to several devices across various carriers for just about 6 months now, so this isn’t exactly surprising.
We’ll let you know when the update is rolling out.
Starting May 28th, Verizon will begin selling the Motorola DROID Turbo in Gray Ballistic Nylon with a new choice of three different metallic accent colors. The accent colors customers will be able to choose from include metallic blue, metallic orange, and metallic violet. The DROID Turbo sports a 5.2″ Quad HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and pixel density of 565 ppi, along with a 3900 mAh non-removable battery quoted for up to 48 hours of usage. Verizon’s model includes 32GB of onboard storage and no expandable memory slot.
While the DROID Turbo still runs Android 4.4 KitKat, it’s widely expected to receive a bump to 5.1 Lollipop very soon. The phone with new accent color options will go for $20.83 per month under Verizon Edge, or $99 with a 2-year contract. The retail price for a factory unlocked unit is $499.
LG’s series of G Pad tablets might be getting a new addition as images showing a new variation of the tablet leak online courtesy of reliable leaker Evleaks.
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvQhMIyksHQ]
T-Mobile is hitting back at Verizon’s ‘Never settle’ ad campaign, offering to lend Verizon customers a new smartphone and port their existing number to it for a 14-day trial. If customers prefer T-Mobile’s service, the company will pay off Verizon’s Early Termination Fees up to a maximum of $650.
Any outstanding payments on your phone are also paid off, within the same overall limit, when customers choose to trade in their old phone for a new one on T-Mobile’s Simple Choice plan.
T-Mobile promises you won’t lose out if you choose to stay with Verizon. You always retain your existing phone, the carrier will refund any fees incurred on its own network and will pay any costs for switching back to Verizon.
The offer opens on 13th May, running until the end of the month. Visit t-mobile.com or one of the company’s retail stores between those dates for details. The company introduced crowd-sourced coverage maps back in March.
Just a day after the device became available on the Google Store, the LG Watch Urbane is now available for purchase from both AT&T and Verizon. Both of the carriers list the device as available for $349, which is the same as the Google Store.
You may recall last month that Microsoft announced a major partnership with Samsung to include a number of mobile apps on the flagship Galaxy S6 out-of-the-box. While bundled apps may be considered bloatware for many consumers, the deal meant Microsoft’s Android apps would gain a lot of exposure for adopters of arguably the best 2015 Android smartphone. The results of that deal may vary, though, as two major carriers have introduced roadblocks to some of Microsoft’s apps for their versions of the Galaxy S6…
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Lollipop is continuing its stampede, and today it looks like the Verizon LG G3 is next in line. The carrier has posted update documentation on its website, so we can expect a rollout imminently—if it’s not already happening.
Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce an operating system update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. This version brings Android beyond smartphones and tablets, allowing access to apps and Android services on other connected screens like TV’s, cars and wearables. The new material design offers complex animations and 3-D views, 64-bit ABI support and improved runtime.
Verizon is one of the last carriers to bring Lollipop to the LG G3, preceded by the update hitting both the AT&T version and the Sprint variant of the device in February. The update first started hitting Europe in November.
Verizon has announced this evening that it is now rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to its Galaxy Note 4 variant. The update carries the build number VRU1BOAF and comes in two parts for Note 4 users. AT&T and Sprint have already updated their Note 4 variants to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The update initially started rolling out in Poland first, back in February.
Just as the specs for the LG G4 appear to have been caught in benchmark results, owners of the older LG G2 may be seeing new life put into their devices shortly… at least if you own the Verizon version of the company’s 2013 flagship handset.
LG confirmed last year that the G2 would indeed be updated to Android 5.0 following the rollout to the newer G3 device, and Verizon today shared that a phased rollout of Lollipop was underway for LG G2 owners. The upcoming LG G4, of course, is expected to ship with the Android 5.1 out of the box.
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While T-Mobile and AT&T both have preorders opening up for both the HTC One M9 and the Galaxy S6 tomorrow, March 27th, other carriers seem to be launching them a few days behind. One of those is Verizon, which as we told you earlier this month, which will be opening up their preorders for the Galaxy s6 on April 1st.
https://twitter.com/VZWnews/status/573881526800244736
As you wait for the device to be available, be sure to check out our video comparing both of Samsung’s new flagships. You can also watch our comparison of the S6 to the S5, and a quick video comparing the device to Apple’s iPhone 6. If you’re on AT&T or Verizon, get your wallets ready, as preorders are starting tomorrow for those carriers.
While the new HTC M9 goes on sale tonight unsubsidized for $650, T-Mobile and AT&T have just announced plans to kick off a presale of the device starting tomorrow for $0 down on their usual financing plans.
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Today during its latest Un-carrier event, T-Mobile announced new initiatives including brand new plans and pricing for businesses and a promise to all of its customers that it won’t increase prices. It’s also paying off bills for those locked into leasing plans on other carriers if they switch to T-Mobile.
That “Un-contract” guarantee that prices won’t increase goes for all of its Simple Choice plans (including Simple Choice promotional plans) as long as you remain a T-Mobile customer with a qualifying plan. However, the carrier will only offer the guarantee to those with unlimited 4G LTE data for two years. The guarantee will automatically start for all existing customers on March 22nd.
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