Deal: 16GB Samsung Galaxy Nexus – $429.99

Daily deals site 1SaleADay is currently offering the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for the lowest price ever seen for an unlocked version of the flagship Android 4.0 smartphone at $429.99. The phone features the following specifications:

Model: GT-I9250
dimensions (length x width x thickness): 136.0 — 68.0 — 8.8 fine piece – 11.5 thickest part
Weight: Approximately 135.0 (g)
OS: Google Android version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Chipset: Texas Instruments Omap4460 CPU: ARM Cortex-A9 MP Core SMP (Dual-Core) CPU operating frequency: 1.2 GHz
GPU: PowerVR SGX 540 Immage Technologies
Display: AMOLED HD: 4.65 inches Resolution 720 x1280) Maximum number of simultaneous colors Main Display: 16,777,216 color touch screen: capacitive (multi-touch),
Main camera: 5 megapixel CMOS camera with LED flash Video recording 1080p HD (1920 * 1080)
Front camera: 1.3 million pixels CMOS
GPS
NFC
Micro USB 2.0
Communications Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
Wireless LAN Communication: IEEE 802.11 a / ??b / g / n (2.4 GHz Dual-Band 5.xGHz)
Tethering
Wi-Fi Direct
RAM: 1GB
ROM: 16GB
Battery Capacity: 1750mAh
Notification LED

The phone’s pentaband radio means that you can use it on both AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s 3G networks with few issues, though the appropriate configuration steps need to be taken for data access and MMS to function properly, with the phone also including a 1 year warranty from Samsung.

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HTC, Sprint Issue Security Update for EVO Design 4G

While already committed to upgrading the HTC EVO Design 4G to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC and Sprint today shipped an interim firmware update for the device.

The update, version 2.12.651.8 is the second update for the device released this year, and only notes “security updates” as the single change. It is not clear if this is related to HTC Wi-Fi Security Flaw, or if there were other security holes fixed.

HTC earlier this year confirmed a security hole in their Wi-Fi protocol, that affected a wide range of their devices. HTC committed to updating all affected devices. The company posted a Wi-Fi Security Fix web site, allowing older devices to download the update manually after entering their serial numbers. HTC had noted the EVO Design 4G had been updated for this issue, drawing into question if the EVO Design 4G had other outstanding potential security flaws.

PhoneNews.com has contacted HTC requested a list of the security updates, and will follow-up if we hear back.

The EVO Design 4G (alongside the similar EVO 3D) is HTC’s flagship smartphone on Sprint today. It launched in-between the EVO 4G and EVO 4G LTE, and was meant to compliment the EVO Shift 4G, which served as a low-end alternative to the original EVO. The EVO Design 4G trades EVO 3D’s three-dimensional camera array and screen for international GSM/UMTS/HSPA roaming capability, with a factory unlocked SIM slot.

HTC will replace both the EVO 4G and EVO Design 4G with the EVO 4G LTE, set to launch later this quarter.

HTC has stated that the EVO Design 4G will receive Android 4.0 later this year, but has not provided a more specific timeframe. HTC and Motorola have faced setbacks in upgrading their Android 2.3-era smartphones to Android 4.0, as Google chose to partner with Samsung in building Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) for its Galaxy S II-based Galaxy Nexus superphone. The move gave Samsung engineers significant lead time in engineering ICS for their smartphones and tablets.

Google routinely toggles handset favorites in emerging Android. HTC was the original device partner that launched Android 1.0, Motorola collaborated with Google to launch Android 2.0, and Android 3.0 for tablets. Rumors persist that ASUS and Huawei will likely be tapped by Google for engineering the first in a line of next-generation, lower-cost Android 4.0 and 5.0 tablet devices.

EVO Design 4G owners can update their devices over-the-air, via the HTC Software Update function inside Settings.

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Unlocking Your AT&T iPhone – What You Really Need to Know

We’re three days into AT&T unlocking your iPhone. Why not report on it until now? Simple, fools rush in. We’ll tell you what you really need to know. Unlike other Apple product launches, waiting in line didn’t pay off.

Important Item 1: You probably won’t benefit from unlocking your iPhone.

The most major reason to unlock your iPhone, is to increase its resale value. Traveling internationally is the other. Percentage-wise, most iPhone users don’t do the latter, and many don’t do the former until that iPhone is quite obsolete.

While you may dream of dumping your AT&T service for another carrier, an unlocked iPhone is probably the most covoluted way to achieve that goal. It’s not as simple as unlocking and dropping the new SIM in to get service, with Apple, it’s never a simple process, despite all of its marketing to the contrary.

On T-Mobile and iPhone – Big Changes Mean Good News

For example, if you were planning on porting to T-Mobile, an unlocked iPhone will work just fine on T-Mobile, with recently revised future plans calling for future 3G access on the network without the need for an AWS model specific to the carrier, but the caveat is that you’ll be waiting for a few months to get the most out of T-Mobile’s drastically cheaper rates as a result of it being left out of the iPhone sales party. It has yet to begin the process to reband its network for 1900MHz 3G access and the FCC has yet to approve the additional spectrum transfer that T-Mobile is owed by AT&T as a result of the rejected purchase and merger in order for the rebanding process to start.

An AT&T iPhone, when unlocked and properly configured, will only work on T-Mobile’s 2G GSM/EDGE network for now, but in the future, T-Mobile is actively working to move its HSPA+ network to the 1900MHz band it currently uses for GSM in order to support all major data services down the road, without having to discontinue GSM/EDGE service. Ironically, thanks to the popularity of the iPhone, Apple essentially forced T-Mobile to reconfigure its network in order for it to be able to fully support the iPhone, as it and MetroPCS are the only US carriers that were not able to offer the iPhone due to incompatible 3G networks.

In short, your unlocked iPhone will work very slowly for the time being, and you’ll lose modern conveniences like being able to talk and surf the web at the same time, but later this year, all iPhones will be able to function to their fullest extent on T-Mobile with full coverage in 2013. It just took a federally blocked AT&T purchase in order for it to happen.

On the AT&T iPhone 4S and CDMA

Now, if you were planning on moving that hot new iPhone 4S over to Sprint and Verizon, brace yourself. While the iPhone 4S does feature both GSM and CDMA hardware, Apple noted at the point of sale that unlocked, GSM/UMTS iPhone 4S devices can not connect to CDMA networks. Ever. They ship from the factory without the CDMA radio provisioned. Hence, it can’t ever work on Sprint or Verizon.

Why did Apple do this? They haven’t answered, and we didn’t waste the text to get a non-answer from them this time around, either. But we know the reason; Verizon and Sprint don’t want foreign devices on their 3G networks. They never have, and their deal with Apple certainly does everything it can to prohibit them with the dual-network iPhone 4S.

On Unlocked AT&T iPhones and Straight Talk’s BYOD

And, if your were planning on moving your iPhone to the new Straight Talk / TracFone BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) plans, you don’t need to unlock your iPhone! Thanks to TracFone’s contract with AT&T, you just need to order an “AT&T-compatible” SIM card, and your locked AT&T 3G GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ phone will work, sans unlocking, although you do need to perform additional steps to have full MMS support on the 3GS, 4 and 4S, but these steps thankfully no longer involve jailbreaking.

However, if you are unlocking an AT&T iPhone 4 or 4S for use on StraightTalk via their rebranded T-Mobile SIM, it should be noted that the APN menus to reset data and MMS access are locked out by default on AT&T models and can only be triggered via inserting foreign SIMs into the device, such as the aforementioned SIM. Steps to reset MMS settings are best handled via push delivery files offered by the online Unlockit service, and is the default settings file used by StraightTalk for their BYOD service for those wanting to use the iPhone.

We’ve covered each of these in the past, so frequent readers of PhoneNews.com should see all of the above as old news. However, we felt it important enough to save most folks from reading the rest of this primer. On the off chance that you do roam internationally, or if you just want to dump your iPhone on Craigslist, read on.

Important Note 2: You’ve Gotta Qualify… When AT&T Feels Like It

As a late-breaking note, AT&T tweaked their unlock policy at the last minute to give active-duty servicemen who are assigned abroad a huge break. If your line is used by someone assigned abroad, you can unlock your iPhone regardless of contract status.

If you don’t qualify for that break however, your iPhone must no longer be tied to a two-year agreement. Yes, AT&T’s unlocking policy states that you only had to be 90 days into a contract… but AT&T is breaking bending massaging rethinking their own rules when it comes to iPhone. Clearly, and plainly “rethinking possible“.

Previously, AT&T said they would unlock any device after your first 90 days into a contract, provided the device was not an exclusive to AT&T. Since iPhone 4S, clearly, AT&T doesn’t have an exclusive on any model of iPhone (3GS aside). Still, AT&T won’t honor their own policy when it comes to iPhone, and instead wrote a new one. Their answer if you don’t like it? Enter arbitration, and probably, go jump off a cliff. (Note, we didn’t ask them on that last part… we rarely receive a reply from AT&T media relations).

This isn’t the first time we’ve taken air to call out AT&T Mobility changing the rules mid-game, and we’re sure it won’t be the last. It’s why we don’t have contracts, iPhones, or accounts with AT&T Mobility. To be clear, you can still be in a contract with AT&T, you just cannot have a contract tied to the iPhone. For example, let’s say you bought an iPhone 3GS twenty-two months ago. Today, you upgraded to a Nokia Lumia 900, and signed a new two-year contract. AT&T will now allow you to unlock the iPhone 3GS.

Important Note 3: Know Before You Go (Call Customer Service)

We’re receiving a lot of reports that AT&T is having issues unlocking iPhones. Sources indicate this may be linked to one call center being poorly educated, though most AT&T customer service representatives are unlocking iPhones properly.

• If you are told to go to an AT&T retail store to unlock your iPhone, politely end the call, and call AT&T customer service back. An AT&T retail store cannot unlock your iPhone. Period.

Similar to international unlocks with CDMA-carrier iPhone 4S devices, Apple is the one that actually executes the unlocking codes on their end. The request however is initiated by AT&T customer service. Once they validate that your iPhone qualifies for an unlock, they will send a request for Apple to unlock your iPhone.

This is where the AT&T iPhone unlock process starts to differ. Unlike the CDMA-carrier iPhone 4S unlock process, your device actually is unlocked during an iTunes Restore of the device’s firmware. This is because unlike the international CDMA 4S unlock, you will be able to put a SIM card into your iPhone 4S without phoning home to Apple’s servers.

This is important, actually, as the CDMA 4S international unlock has been widely criticized. It requires a customer to find a working Wi-Fi connection, in the foreign country, in order to be able to activate a foreign SIM card. Obviously, a traveler in a foreign country may have problems doing that… especially if they’ve never connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot abroad before.

The good news is the iTunes Restore process is permanent. iTunes will backup your device, restore its firmware, and issue the unlock codes to the iPhone’s baseband. From then on, your AT&T iPhone is unlocked for life. It can’t be re-locked even if used on another iTunes account, which is the biggest fear for most that have had their devices unlocked in the past couple of days since the policy went into effect on Sunday.

And, from initial reports, when AT&T does unlock an iPhone properly with Apple, the process is pretty instant. Users have reported unlocking their iPhones during the phone call with AT&T customer service while others have reported delays of at least 2-3 days, depending on the time of day when the unlocks were requested.

When AT&T customer service doesn’t work, that’s when the problems start. In addition to being told to go to an AT&T retail store, customers have been told to report to Apple iPhone technical support, various support pages, among other dead ends. Again, the solution is to politely accept that you’re talking to an untrained/mis-trained representative, and call back to try again.

Hopefully this guide will help ease your own experiences with unlocking an off-contract iPhone. Please let us know your experience with the process in the comments, we’ll be monitoring for any major changes that may be used in future articles on the subject.

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Nokia Offering Additional $100 Instant Rebate to All Lumia 900 Owners Until April 21st

Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the development of the Lumia 900 Windows Phone smartphone in order to effectively relaunch the middling platform in the US after a fairly unsuccessful 2011 filled with discontinued hardware, cancelled handsets and increasingly marginalized perception despite being a critical darling since launch.

The April 8th launch did little to help matters, as the majority of AT&T locations were closed for the Easter holiday and those that were opened specifically to sell the Lumia 900 as part of a larger launch event either did not have the handsets in stock, or worse, only had one or two units to fulfill customer purchases without even taking into account the launch being overshadowed by AT&T’s change in policy that now allows for iPhones to be unlocked as long as certain requirements are met.

Now, the latest problem for the flagship Windows Phone handset centers around software issues that are affecting select owners with extensive memory management and data issues that have forced Nokia and AT&T to develop a bugfix update, spending yet more money on the initiative. In order to make up for that, Nokia is spending even more money by offering all Lumia 900 owners the chance to redeem an additional $100 instant rebate for all customers that purchased the phone, effectively matching the free after rebate and 2 year agreement promotion offered to new customers that pre-ordered the phone.

Of course, the catch is that the offer is good until April 21st. Additionally, owners will be able to exchange purchased launch units for brand new versions on April 16th with proof of purchase. The update which will fix the aforementioned memory management and data connection issues is expected to be offered within the next few days, but the rebate is meant to be an honest goodwill gesture towards any and all customers that may have been affected by the bug, as well as addressing complaints from those customers that upgraded to the phone about new customers getting the better deal over those that have been with AT&T for a substantial length of time, reflecting the attitude that wireless carriers take to longstanding customers compared to new customers.

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Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the development of the Lumia 900 Windows Phone smartphone in order to effectively relaunch the middling platform in the US after a fairly unsuccessful 2011 filled with discontinued hardware, cancelled handsets and increasingly marginalized perception despite being a critical darling since launch.

The April 8th launch did little to help matters, as the majority of AT&T locations were closed for the Easter holiday and those that were opened specifically to sell the Lumia 900 as part of a larger launch event either did not have the handsets in stock, or worse, only had one or two units to fulfill customer purchases without even taking into account the launch being overshadowed by AT&T’s change in policy that now allows for iPhones to be unlocked as long as certain requirements are met.

Now, the latest problem for the flagship Windows Phone handset centers around software issues that are affecting select owners with extensive memory management and data issues that have forced Nokia and AT&T to develop a bugfix update, spending yet more money on the initiative. In order to make up for that, Nokia is spending even more money by offering all Lumia 900 owners the chance to redeem an additional $100 instant rebate for all customers that purchased the phone, effectively matching the free after rebate and 2 year agreement promotion offered to new customers that pre-ordered the phone.

Of course, the catch is that the offer is good until April 21st. Additionally, owners will be able to exchange purchased launch units for brand new versions on April 16th with proof of purchase. The update which will fix the aforementioned memory management and data connection issues is expected to be offered within the next few days, but the rebate is meant to be an honest goodwill gesture towards any and all customers that may have been affected by the bug, as well as addressing complaints from those customers that upgraded to the phone about new customers getting the better deal over those that have been with AT&T for a substantial length of time, reflecting the attitude that wireless carriers take to longstanding customers compared to new customers.

via spacemobiles.net

Sprint and HTC Announce EVO 4G LTE

In a press event held earlier today HTC and Sprint have announced the next model in Sprint’s HTC EVO line of flagship Android smartphones with the HTC EVO 4G LTE.

The phone will be released in the second quarter for $199.99 after new 2 year agreement and pre-orders for the phone will begin on May 7. This is Sprint’s version of HTC’s flagship One X smartphone announced earlier this year.

Starting with the phone, the following key features are updated from the 4G and EVO 3D:

· Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, integrated with Sense™ 4.0

· 4.7-inch HD super LCD display at 720p resolution

· 1.5GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm™ Snapdragon S4 Processor

· Near Field Communication for information transfer and mobile wallet support

· Google Wallet support

· Android Beam™ support to quickly share Web pages, apps and YouTube™ videos with friends using NFC by simply tapping phones together

· 3G/4G mobile hotspot capability, supporting up to 8 Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously

· Wi-Fi® – 802.11 a/b/g/n

ENTERTAINMENT

· 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 lens, super-fast auto-focus, digital zoom and smart LED flash; HTC ImageSense to take great photos, in adverse conditions; front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording.

· Beats Audio support at the operating system level

· 3.5 mm headset jack

SPECIFICATIONS

· Dimensions: 5.3 x 2.7 x 0.35 inches (LxWxT)

· Weight: 4.7 ounces

· Display: 4.7-inch HD 720p super LCD (1280 x 720), 16.7 million colors

· Battery: Imbedded 2000mAh Lithium Ion (Li-ion) battery

· Memory: 16GB internal memory* (ROM); 1GB RAM; supports up to 32GB microSD card (sold separately)

The phone will be one of the first phones to support Sprint’s forthcoming LTE network, expected to launch in mid-June in Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio. Sprint has also confirmed that the carrier will allow all current unlimited data plans on the network with no restrictions of any sort.

The phone is also notable for being one of the first An

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Sprint Restarting LG Optimus S Gingerbread Update Wednesday

After first being rolled out, then pulled in September due to unforeseen issues, Sprint has confirmed via its Buzz About Wireless forum that the LG Optimus S Android Gingerbread update will be made available in waves starting this Wednesday. This follows Sprint’s own assurances made to PhoneNews.com in November of 2011 regarding the status of the update and that it would be made available once the issues were addressed, but no one expected such a long delay.

While the update will fix issues that were present in the previous version and add additional functionality, there is still no word on such an update for the Virgin Mobile version of the phone, months after multiple reports confirmed that such an update would be made available in 2011.

The LG Optimus S and V were both Sprint’s and Virgin Mobile’s variants of the original LG Optimus One Android smartphone, which was notable for being the most well-rounded mid-range Android smartphone, spawning many carrier variants and really finding its niche on prepaid services. Sprint and Virgin Mobile rolled out their variants in early 2011 to shore up their burgeoning Android lineups to great success, with Virgin pushing the phone to an unprecedented sales success thank to the combination of unlimited data access at $25 (yet to be matched) and the lower than expected launch price of $179.99 while other prepaid versions and even the unlocked version were selling for as high as $249.99.

While Sprint eventually updated its version starting last year before suffering the setback with the bug-filled update in September, Sprint confirmed to PhoneNews.com that Virgin Mobile did not plan to offer the update to the Optimus V. While the revival of the update on Sprint does demonstrate that the carrier is indeed willing to update devices that are officially on the End of Life list, the same cannot be said for Virgin Mobile, boiling down to simple economics and a new Optimus device.

Previous attempts by Virgin Mobile to offer updates for its slate of Android devices were typically met with frustration and angst, as the provider continually missed launch targets for updates due to unexplained delays. By breaking with that effort and instead focusing on releasing updates with new hardware, it makes it harder for customers on prepaid to justify spending money on devices without the guarantee of timely updates and ensures that customers will be left behind in terms of support, with no real recourse other than relying on the Android mod and hacker community for an update which Virgin Mobile should have provided as soon as was possible. To add to the situation, LG even had the update ready for Virgin Mobile to rollout over the air, but just decided not to, preferring instead to offer a slightly updated successor to the Optimus V detailed below.

Rumors of a successor to the Optimus S and V have been circulating since the end of last year and this may explain why Virgin Mobile is actively refusing to roll out the update. The new replacement, which will be known as the Optimus Elite will feature slight upgrades from the Optimus variants with the key addition of NFC for mobile wallet support, as Sprint is supporting Google’s Wallet initiative. With Virgin Mobile getting ready to refresh its Android lineup beginning in May, the virtual operator has EOL’d the Optimus V for the Elite instead of offering extended support, which breaks with the provider’s typical effort to update devices and will only upset those that owned the previous phone.

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