Stolen phone database goes live, as US carriers work on stamping out mobile thefts

AT&T and T-Mobile are working together on a joint database that could help reduce mobile phone thefts. It does so by blocking the stolen phone itself, not just the SIM card, and is part of a larger, unified, national database planned for this time next year.

The plan to build a unified database containing the details of all phones reported stolen in the US took a step forward this week, as the first of its kind, managed jointly by AT&T and T-Mobile, went live.

Announced back in April this year, the Federal Communications Commission brokered a deal between the all four of the US’s major network providers, and set a deadline for October 31 to get the database up and running.

It works like this: When a phone is reported stolen, its IMEI number — unique to every phone, and not tied to the easily removed SIM card — is logged and blocked, stopping it from ever being re-connected.

As networks already block the SIM card when a phone is reported stolen, avoiding unwanted charges on the customers bill, blocking the IMEI renders the phone useless too.

This should make the theft of mobile phones less attractive to criminals, as savvy buyers should be asking for, then checking the IMEI with their carrier to make sure it’s genuine and can be re-used.

AT&T and T-Mobile have created a joint database, as they’re both GSM networks and stolen phones could be connected to either one, while Verizon and Sprint are working on their own shared database. Both currently use internal lists of stolen phones.

By this time next year, all four databases will be pooled together, and smaller carriers will also have joined the scheme. Then, it will be merged with the GSMA’s international database to help prevent stolen phones being shipped in or out of the country.

Similar schemes are already in operation all over the world, and many have been for at least a decade, with countries such as the UK and Australia even providing websites where IMEI numbers can easily be checked by members of the public.

According to one mobile security firm, speaking to the Huffington Post, it’s estimated that mobile phone thefts will cost the American consumer $30 billion this year alone, making the database scheme highly desirable.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Hands on with HTC’s Windows Phone 8S

Tweet

October 29, 2012

We take the Windows Phone 8S by HTC a test ride. Though it runs on lower-end specs, this T-Mobile phone appears to still pack a punch.

Though its often most fun to write about the fanciest and most expensive smartphones on the market, not everyone can afford them Luckily, there are a growing class of 2nd tier phones that still manage to provide a competitive experience. During my time with the Windows Phone 8S by HTC, it appears to be just such a device. The 8S has 4GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, and a 5-megapixel rear camera, but its 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor is no slouch. I’m also a fan of its 4-inch 800 x 480 pixel screen. The resolution isn’t high and the RAM isn’t plentiful, but the phone appears to run Windows Phone 8 quite responsively. Overall, it should have a slight edge over many Windows Phone 7.5 devices on the market today. And hey, it comes in a number of pretty colors. T-Mobile will be carrying the 8S in the coming weeks.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Sprint may start bidding war with T-Mobile for MetroPCS

It may have appeared like the T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger was imminent, but Sprint has started to prepare a counteroffer to outbid Deutsche Telekom for MetroPCS.

Sprint has sat firmly in the third spot on the list of biggest mobile carriers in the U.S. for some time. As of yesterday, that title received its first plausible threat at the announcement of a T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger. Less than 24 hours after the MetroPCS board of directors approved the move, Sprint decided to throw its hat in the ring as a potential partner. According to the Bloomberg BusinessWeek report, Sprint is preparing a counteroffer that would top the $1.5 billion deal from T-Mobile USA’s Deutsche Telekom.

With the T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger awaiting regulatory and shareholder approval, there is a penalty clause set if either company were to back out. Sprint will likely have to take this into account in their ofter. That said, when Sprint attempted to make a takeover of MetroPCS earlier this year, they were willing to offer over $8 billion. Sprint is desperate for new subscribers as it has been watching its customer base trickle away since the sloppy transition of it’s purchase of Nextel in 2005. The threat of a combined T-Mobile and MetroPCS may be enough to drive Sprint’s bid up dramatically.

T-Mobile has not commented on Sprint’s sudden–although somewhat expected–involvement except to say that it is prepared to change the terms of its current agreement if need be. Deutsche Telekom seems fairly committed to the merger between their T-Mobile brand and MetroPCS. That could mean we’ll have a bidding war on our hands, and there are unique implications for the mobile market depending on who the victor may be. Who would have thought that in a battle between the third and forth largest mobile operators, fifth place would be the big winner? 

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

What the T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger means for you

T-Mobile and MetroPCS are merging to expand spectrum holdings and network coverage. What do current (and future!) customers get out of it?

T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom has announced that it’s struck a deal to merge with regional pre-paid mobile operator MetroPCS. For MetroPCS, the merger represents a tremendous growth opportunity: instead of being a regional operator limited to a few markets, its customers will get nationwide service. For T-Mobile, the merger significantly deepens the company’s spectrum holdings in key cities and regions, enabling it to make a serious play as a value-conscious LTE operator. And for Deutsche Telekom, the merger finally represents a way to one day get out of the business of being a U.S. mobile operator, following its failed effort to sell T-Mobile to AT&T last year.

But what does the merger mean for consumers and customers of both T-Mobile and MetroPCS? Can customers expect better service and wider LTE coverage? Or, like so many mergers, will the new company just be bigger and more expensive?

The merger’s basic idea

The T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger is designed to give number-four T-Mobile more scale and deeper spectrum holdings in several major metropolitan areas, meaning it will more wiggle room to offer 4G LTE services and compete aggressively against the likes of Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. The combined company will still be the number-four U.S. mobile carrier (behind number three Sprint), but will bump up to about 42 million subscribers. Although MetroPCS uses CDMA phone technology and T-Mobile is based on GSM, MetroPCS is already in the process of phasing out CDMA, and its spectrum holdings are broadly complementary: both companies live and breathe in the 1,700 MHz and 1,900 MHz spectrum bands.

The combined company will do business under the T-Mobile name, although MetroPCS and T-Mobile will continue to operate as distinct customer units. Contract-based mobile service (along with services for businesses) will be under the T-Mobile name, and pre-paid and no-contract service will be available under both T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands.

The pre-paid market — or, as Deutsche Telekom likes to refer to it, “value-focused” market — is one area where the combined company gets interesting. MetroPCS is exclusively a no-contract and pre-paid provider — also one of T-Mobile’s strong points. According to T-Mobile, the two companies will have about 14.6 million no-contract subscribers (9.3 million from MetroPCS), putting it nearly neck-and-neck with Sprint’s no-contract operation, which currently has about 15.4 million customers. The combined T-Mobile/MetroPCS no-contract business looks poised to earn more money than Sprint’s: in the second quarter of 2012, Sprint pulled in $1.2 billion from no-contract subscribers, where the combined T-Mobile/MetroPCS pulled in $1.6 billion. Basically, the combined T-Mobile and MetroPCS will likely become the biggest no-contract mobile operator after AT&T and Verizon — we only say “likely” because those companies don’t break out revenue from their prepaid/no-contract businesses.

The terms of the merger are unusual: technically, MetroPCS is acquiring T-Mobile in a reverse acquisition. MetroPCS will declare a 2-for-1 reverse stock split, pay $1.5 billion to its existing shareholders (a bit over $4 per share), and then buy all of T-Mobile’s capital stock by giving Deutsche Telekom 74 percent of MetroPCS. In the end, Deutsche Telekom winds up the majority owner of MetroPCS, and the new company will have nearly $25 billion in revenue and about $2.1 billion in free cash flow for the year. T-Mobile’s current CEO, John Legere, will be the CEO of the new company; MetroPCS CFO J. Braxton Carter will be the new company’s CFO. MetroPCS’s CEO, Roger Linquist, will apparently retire — he is 74 years old. Regulators have to approve the deal, and that will take a while: the companies expect the deal to be formally closed by June 2013. The new company will operate out of T-Mobile’s Bellevue, Washington HQ, but will maintain a “significant presence” in the Dallas area.

One of the consequences of the reverse merger is that the new T-Mobile will be a public company: before, it was a private company owned by Deutsche Telekom. Although Deutsche Telekom has agreed to provide a $5.5 billion commitment to support some existing MetroPCS transactions, write down the value of some of its investment in T-mobile, and offer the new company a $500 million unsecured credit facility, setting up T-Mobile as a public company gives Deutsche Telekom something it’s always wanted: a way out of the slow-growing U.S. mobile market. That’s why it tried to sell T-Mobile lock, stock, and barrel to AT&T in one giant transaction. Taking T-Mobile public doesn’t give Deutsche Telekom a swift and sudden exit from the American market, but it does put the company in a position to sell off its shares of the new company in the future.

If you’re a T-Mobile customer…

In the short term, the merger probably won’t affect T-Mobile customers: the company is continuing its $4 billion built-out of LTE services using AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum on its network. However, looking ahead, the merger means T-Mobile’s LTE offerings should be much stronger in the areas where MetroPCS currently offers service. Assuming all of MetroPCS’s AWS spectrum gets converted over to LTE — which should happen over time — T-Mobile will have an average of 50 MHz of LTE bandwidth in major areas like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit, and Las Vegas — and 60 MHz in MetroPCS’s hometown of Dallas — and that includes a full 2×20 MHz in many areas, meaning T-Mobile’s LTE network should be able to keep up with competitors in terms of raw bandwidth. T-Mobile’s current GSM and HSPA+ handsets will continue working, too.

Going forward, T-Mobile’s move toward LTE also means T-Mobile customers can expect to have a greater selection of handsets. Instead of having to rely on phone makers to create special devices for T-Mobile’s own flavor of HSPA+ connectivity, T-Mobile should be able to offer customers mainstream LTE handsets. T-Mobile is hoping that, one day soon, that will include the iPhone, but the company will also be happy to offer customers the latest LTE devices running Android and Windows Phone, as well as accept iPhone migrants from other carriers.

MetroPCS has also been noted for its highly automated self-service capabilities, making it easier for customers to add minutes, pay bills, switch plans, and get a new phone without incurring a ton of customer support costs. On an investor call today about the merger, T-Mobile executives said they expect to be able to leverage that to improve its customer service levels — which would be welcome. T-Mobile’s customer service used to be lauded; recently J.D. Power and Associates has been rating it lowest in customer service among all carriers.

If you’re a MetroPCS customer…

If you’re a MetroPCS customer (and familiar with wireless technology), this merger is putting four letters in your mind: CDMA. MetroPCS’s voice network runs on CDMA, which is incompatible with T-Mobile’s GSM network. How can these incompatible technologies work together?

Short answer: they won’t. MetroPCS customers will be stuck on MetroPCS coverage and limitations until they migrate to new, future, handsets that will incorporate service for both networks. We also learned on the call today (and this long document) that the combined company anticipates keeping some of MetroPCS’s existing CDMA service operating through the first half of 2015, so customers have almost three years to transition to a new handset. MetroPCS’s all-contract business has an exceptionally high handset turnover: each year, between 60 and 65 percent of MetroPCS’s customers get new handsets, so transitioning away from CDMA in a span of nearly three years isn’t expected to be a major problem for most MetroPCS customers.

And MetroPCS customers should get some significant benefits from the deal once they transition, including substantially expanded mobile coverage, without being forced into roaming deals (including international roaming options). That expanded coverage area also makes it more likely MetroPCS customers can keep their service if they move to a more rural area. Although MetroPCS has already been rolling out LTE service, with T-Mobile it will have access to a much broader LTE network (once it’s built out), along with a wider choice of handsets — perhaps one day including the iPhone.

MetroPCS customers also get some stability: MetroPCS is the fifth largest mobile operator in the U.S., but it was still a regional provider going it along with limited growth opportunities. The combined company is larger, more stable, and backed by the considerable financial resources of Deutsche Telekom — which is still an investment-grade stock.

When life hands you lemons…

T-Mobile merging with MetroPCS is the latest move in the company’s gotta-stay-alive strategy in the wake of AT&T’s failed takeover attempt. When the AT&T merger failed, T-Mobile was left with comparatively few options, and none of them were great. The company has settled on a “challenger” strategy that isn’t aiming to unseat AT&T or Verizon, but instead to offer a fourth stable, national competitor in the U.S. market.

Since it became single again, T-Mobile has made four major moves to position itself as a viable alternative to AT&T and Verizon:

• It picked up AWS spectrum holdings (as well as a roaming deal) from AT&T as part of its break-up fee when acquisition fell through
• It announced a $4 billion upgrade plan to offer LTE services on its AWS network — that involves upgrading 37,000 sites over three years
• It picked up still more AWS spectrum from Verizon as a condition of Verizon’s deal with cable operators
• It sold rights on 7,200 towers to Crown Castle for $2.4 billion in cash to fuel its LTE transition

For T-Mobile, merging with MetroPCS is about making the best play it can to build competitive 4G LTE services. The company has no spectrum holdings in the attractive 700 MHz bands recently vacated by broadcast television: those bands are particularly appealing for LTE and mobile services because they’re good at penetrating structures. With the MetroPCS merger, T-Mobile is still left out of 700 MHz LTE service, but it will be able to significantly increase the density of LTE services it can offer in higher-frequency AWS bands: they don’t penetrate buildings as well, but T-Mobile is hoping to make up some of the difference by widening the amount of spectrum it uses in many metropolitan areas, as well as by being particular about how it upgrades its towers — it’s been hoping to improve in-building coverage by about 20 percent just through its network modernization, which includes new antennas with integrated radios.

Those efforts probably won’t be enough to compete head to head with the likes of AT&T and Verizon Wireless, but T-Mobile and MetroPCS are a good fit in another way: no-contract customers. The U.S. mobile market is mostly saturated. Very few new mobile customers are being created: some estimates have the U.S. mobile market growing by about 3 to 5 percent a year through 2017. However, tough economic times and the high cost of smartphone voice and data plans means the no-contract and pre-paid segment of the U.S. mobile phone market could grow by 9 to 10 percent in that same period. The combined T-Mobile and MetroPCS should be a major player in that faster-growing market segment — particularly if the combined company can keep to its strategy of unlimited mobile data plans.

The next move is probably Sprint

What will be the next move in the mobile industry? Look to number-three Sprint. MetroPCS’s deal with Deutsche Telekom to merge with T-Mobile was actually MetroPCS’s second choice: earlier this year, MetroPCS nearly closed a deal to be acquired by Sprint. That deal was rejected by Sprint’s board, and MetroPCS had to go looking elsewhere for a buyer.

Sprint has indicated it intends to be a leader in consolidation in the mobile industry — and its most likely targets are LEAP Wireless or working out a deal with Dish Network. Dish, in particular, might be tempting: the satellite TV operator holds a number of licenses in the 2000 to 2200 MHz band that it intended to use to build out its own satellite-assisted LTE network. However, the FCC is on the verge of action that could make some of Dish’s licenses relatively useless to Dish…but useful as an add-on to Sprint’s built-out of LTE service in the 1900 MHz range. Sprint is already building out its LTE service, where Dish hasn’t really started.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

PlayStation Mobile platform is one more confused corner of Sony’s fractured brand

Sony's PlayStation Mobile opened for business on Wednesday, but the platform is representative of the company's problems with clarity.

 

After a year of beta testing and a particularly wise name change, Sony’s PlayStation Mobile platform is now available for the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s Xperia smartphones, and a number of other portable devices that fall under Sony’s PlayStation Certified classification, including tablets from ASUS, HTC phones, and the WikiPad gaming tablet. Much is riding on PlayStation Mobile. Sony needs it to act as a thread binding together its struggling portable gaming business, its faded Xperia brand, and its nascent PlayStation presence in the broader Android market. Sony needs PlayStation Mobile to be Apple’s App Store, and it needs to achieve that goal without the benefit of being identified with specific devices. Will it work?

There are factors working in Sony’s favor. PlayStation Mobile and its games are tied with the Sony Entertainment Network, the home of its entertainment services like Qriocity, and its subgroup, the PlayStation Network. As of March, Sony claimed it had 90 million registered PlayStation Network accounts. While that figure by no means represents individual paying customers—many of those accounts are duplicates or inactive—that’s still a huge audience of users that can seamlessly use PlayStation Mobile without having to set up an entirely new account. A PlayStation 3 owner with an HTC One that wants to play the original Crash Bandicoot only needs to download the app to get going.

Or at least they would have been able to. A huge factor working against PlayStation Mobile is Sony’s decision to bar classic PlayStation games on the platform. The potential to bring games from old Sony consoles to mobile devices could have helped get people interested in the platform. It previously offered a selection of PSOne classics on Xperia phones, and it wasn’t unlikely that it would at some point offer PlayStation 2 games through PlayStation Mobile as well. (It already offers them as PlayStation 3 downloads through the PlayStation Network.) It announced at Gamescom that classic games would only be available on its devoted gaming machines.

Original games, however, are also a problem for the PlayStation Mobile network. A presence on moderately popular Android phones from HTC isn’t enough to make up for the low consumer penetration of PlayStation Vita and the Xperia line. What incentive to developers have to bring their games to PlayStation Mobile? Without decent original games, how will Sony get people interested in buying games from the service?

PlayStation Mobile is out in the wild now, but Sony doesn’t have the software to make it a success. It’s one more example of Sony’s fractious structure. If PlayStation Mobile is to be a success, it needs parity across all platforms.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA to merge (Update: MetroPCS approves merger)

The old saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them," but Deutsche Telekom may be going another way. It's looking to join T-Mobile with MetroPCS to compete with Verizon and AT&T.

T-Mobile is often the forgotten option of the major wireless carriers. That might not be the case anymore if rumors out of Deutsche Telekom are true. Word from the German communications company today, as reported by Bloomberg, is it’s in talks to purchase MetroPCS and merge it with its T-Mobile network.

The reason behind Deutsche Telekom’s potential actions is simple: adding MetroPCS expands T-Mobile’s coverage to a scale that will be more competitive with mobile giants AT&T and Verizon. The proposed deal would give Deutsche Telekom the majority stake in the newly formed company. This is a particularly interesting move after its failed attempts to sell T-Mobile in its entirety to AT&T just over a year ago.

T-Mobile currently has a userbase of 33.2 million customers as of the end of June, putting it at less than 1/3 of AT&T and Verizon’s sizable subscriber chunks. MetroPCS is the fifth largest mobile provider (T-Mobile is fourth) in the United States with 9.5 million subscribers. While the merged company would still trail Sprint’s customer base, it’s the additional service area that is coveted. MetroPCS reaches 90 percent of the U.S. population and has a presence in 19 major markets, no small feat for a non-national provider. Of course, the subscriber addition wouldn’t hurt as T-Mobile has been hemorrhaging customers since the second quarter, likely in part due to its inability to secure a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone.

The news has been plenty good to MetroPCS shareholders, who saw their stocks shoot up by 17 percent, reaching as high as $14.51 in afternoon trading. Deutsche Telekom also got a little boost in the European market with shares rising 2 percent after merger talks were announced. It seems like the companies couldn’t be a better match, as both aim to provide affordable, alternative coverage with a worthwhile network. While all sides appear optimistic, the deal is anything but done. MetroPCS has been a merger target in the past for Leap Wireless and Sprint, but a deal has never gone through. 

Article originally published 10/2/2012

Update 10/3/2012 by Jeffrey VC: The MetroPCS board of directors has approved the merger with T-Mobile USA, according to Reuters. A T-Mobile USA press release indicates that MetroPCS will get $1.5 billion in cash and the new company will be listed on the stock exchange.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this transaction with MetroPCS, which enhances Deutsche Telekom’s position in the expanding U.S. wireless market,” said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Telekom. “The T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands are a great strategic fit – both operationally and culturally.  The new company will be the value leader in wireless with the scale, spectrum and financial and other resources to expand its geographic coverage, broaden choice among all types of customers and continue to innovate, especially around the next-generation LTE network. We are committed to creating a sustainable and financially viable national challenger in the U.S., and we believe this combination helps us deliver on that commitment.”

We’ll have a deeper analysis of this merger and its implications later today.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Why I’ll be buying a Wii U at launch

Every gamer should buy Nintendo's next console. Here's why.

Nintendo doesn’t have it easy these days. Mobile phones and tablets continue to peck away at its handheld consoles while the Wii, now nearly six years old, struggles to find new buyers among fierce competition from Microsoft and Sony.

As if that weren’t enough, Nintendo is now paying for its negligence towards the gaming industry. The new controller has been met with skepticism, and the claims of better third-party support this time out have been met with shrugs.  We’ve heard this song and dance before.

It’s all seems very doom and gloom. Yet, in spite of this, I’m going to line up to buy a Wii U at launch – and if “gamer” is a label you’re happy to claim, you should too. Here’s why.

Enough Power To Please

The Internet’s popular opinion about the Wii U’s hardware is woefully miss-informed.  I’ve read countless forum posts and website comments that firmly state the Wii U is just a minor upgrade to the Wii and no better than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. That’s nonsense.

We don’t know exactly what is in the Wii U yet, but we do know it’s a relatively new PowerPC processor paired with 2GB of RAM and a custom AMD Radeon GPU, most likely derived from the company’s Evergreen architecture. For comparison, the Xbox 360 uses a graphics chip similar to AMD’s Fudo architecture – which is five years older. Given the separation in architectures it would not be surprising if the raw power of the Wii U is three or four times that of an Xbox 360.

We don’t need to rely on speculation, however. Nintendo has constantly demonstrated games running at 1080p, something current consoles aren’t capable of (they render games at a lower resolution and up-scale to 1080p).

It’s likely that the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony will be quicker, but that’s okay. What’s important is that Nintendo will finally have hardware that can do justice to the beautiful art found in its first-party titles.

An Excellent Launch Lineup

The Wii U hits store shelves on November 18^th with an impressive selection of games — 23 will be available on launch day, and 51 titles in total are planned for the “launch window” that runs through March.  Several of these are brand-new games that are launching exclusively for the Wii U. I’m personally looking forward to New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU and even Epic Mickey 2 (which will be released on all systems, but offer Wii U-specific features on the GamePad). These titles alone put the launch line-ups of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to shame. I’m also looking forward to Rayman Legends, though it now looks like it may not make the November 18 release.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Nintendo is also launching with a generous selection of third-party titles including Assassin’s Creed III, Darksiders II, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Mass Effect 3. Most of the have been released, or will be released for other platforms, but their inclusion on the Wii U helps to beef up the console’s appeal. And that goes double for me.

I haven’t played several new console games because my Xbox 360 went kaput (for the third time) and was no longer covered under warranty. I couldn’t find any reason why I should waste money replacing it when the Wii U was already announced and capable of playing the same games. My excitement might be less if Microsoft made reliable hardware.

Nintendo Can Take Over My Living Room

Nintendo TVii came out of nowhere. There was little to hint at its existence and then – boom! Nintendo drops the bomb just a few months before release.

TVii put the Wii U over the top for me. Since my Xbox 360 died, I’ve been using a Roku for my streaming needs. It works fine and I’d recommend it to anyone, but it’s terribly simple. Scrolling through Netflix titles can take some time, and there’s not much customization available. It works. And that’s all it does.

The new controller must have given the guys at Logitech a heart-attack. It’s taken them years to squeeze small touchscreens into their line of Harmony remotes. Then here comes Nintendo, tromping in with 6.2 touchscreen display that connects directly with streaming services (via the Wii U, of course), and can even be used to purchase new content.

Television via console is now Nintendo’s game to lose. As long as the processor isn’t too slow, as long as the touchscreen isn’t unresponsive, as long as the software works right – it’ll be great. And inexpensive, too, because there’s no need for an additional subscription to access content you’ve already paid for. That’s a lesson Microsoft should learn.

Backwards Compatibility

Buying a new console is often bitter-sweet. Yay, it’s a new console… but now I have to buy all new peripherals and games. Ah, hell.

The Wii U doesn’t ask so much from buyers. Most Wii accessories are compatible with it, as are most Wii games. Even software and save data downloaded to the Wii will be transferable to the Wii U. In a sense, the new console is more of an upgrade than an entirely new product. It adds new capabilities but also retains the functionality found in the old system.

Nintendo is not abandoning its family-friendly position. And that position is partially based on price. Asking a family to replace an old console with a new one – and three new controllers, plus any peripherals – is always a tall order. I’m happy I’m not going to have to re-purchase controllers when the next Mario Kart game comes out.

Yes, The Price Is Right

Nintendo’s premium Wii U, which is the one you want, retails for $349. There have been the usual complaints, but they’re only valid if you think coin is traded as freely in real life as it was in the last Mario game.

This entirely new console, which is more powerful than any other on the market today and comes with a 6.2” touchscreen controller, costs less at launch than either the Xbox 360 or PS3 did (by a huge margin in the case of the PS3). Even now it’s only $100 more (in premium guise) than the current mid-range Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 bundle. This seems like a damn good deal. I seriously doubt that Nintendo is making any per-unit profit at this price.

And let’s not forget that the Wii U is compatible with old controllers, which means current Wii owners don’t have to pay anything extra for additional peripherals. The new Pro controller, which is tailored towards third-party games, is the only exception — but hopefully it will be sold at a price similar to the current Classic controller, which is $20.

Conclusion

Will the new console reverse Nintendo’s fortunes? That’s impossible to know. Its competitors have yet to reveal themselves, and long-term success depends on far more than a console’s capabilities at launch.

Then again, speculation about profit margins won’t make the Wii U more or less enjoyable. It is a game console. It should play games well, and it should have good games to play. The Wii U promises better gaming than any other console, and Nintendo has thrown in a tasty bonus with TVii. That’s more than enough to get me in line. What about U?

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mobile weekly wrap: iPhone 5 hangover week

Blackberry fails upward, AT&T goes all in on 4G, and everyone recovers from their iPhone 5 buzz in this week's Mobile Weekly Wrap.

A week after the iPhone 5 made it into the hands of nearly 5 million people, the world finally started spinning on its correct axis again. As the dust settled from the lines of stampeding early adopters, other companies started to unveil their own upcoming offerings. Whether its new tablets and phones for the holiday rush, leaks for the long term, and fallout from the iPhone launch, we’ve got the goods — along with apps and games — from this week in mobile tech (Sept. 23-28, 2012).

AT&T goes all-in on 4G

While the iPhone 5 is the biggest addition in terms of name recognition, AT&T is improving their 4G device offerings in quantity and quality. Teaming with Samsung for much of the new wave, AT&T announced four new devices, three phones and one tablet, from the Galaxy line up that will be available in the coming months. If users have trouble managing the madness of having so many devices on the 4G network, they can connect them all to AT&T’s newly announced touchscreen mobile hotspot. The first of its kind, the MiFi Liberate has a 2.8-inch touchscreen and will allow up to 10 devices to connect to it. It’s all part of AT&T’s plan to cover the world in LTE, which is pretty non-threatening on the scale of evil plots against humanity.

Where the Apple went rotten

Apple’s mobile OS brought quite a few innovations that have people clamoring for what might be possible in the future. For the time being, though, it’s not all pretty. The move away from Google’s products and embrace of Apple-made apps has left Maps users lost. It’s been so bad that Apple CEO Tim Cook openly apologized for the debacle. The switch isn’t the only wrong turn that Apple made. The newly redesigned headphones, dubbed “earpods,” seem to put the emphasis on “piece” in the term “earpiece.” That is to say, “piece of junk.” (That was a long way to go for that joke, I know.)

Blackberry fails upward

As more and more iPhones and Android devices creep in to the business space, Research in Motion is doing its best to dig in and wait out the storm. While it hasn’t really been working, it has managed to spin some losses into wins this week. The first “win” came with its second quarter reports. The company lost $235 million, which actually beat expectations of just how bad it was doing and led to a jump in its stock prices. Later, video of the yet-to-be-seen BlackBerry 10 L and N series phones leaked onto the web, blowing whatever surprise the company had planned for an unveiling. The thing is, the video generally impressed consumers and may mark a potential comeback for the oft-forgotten phone company. 

Apps and games of the week

Street Fighter X Tekken ($3, iOS) – The button-mashing, combo-smashing fighter that has been a favorite on the consoles now makes its way to mobile. This iOS title will allow for you to take your fist to your friends online or play through single player battles.

Scape ($6, iPad) – Carry a composer with you. Scape lets you pick between a variety of different soundscapes, mixing and matching them as the app creates a custom, computer-generated soundtrack for your listening pleasure.

Draw Pad Pro ($2, Blackberry) – Just because you’re on a BlackBerry doesn’t mean you’re all business. Let your creative side flow with the inner artist’s dream app.

LazyLog (Free, Android) – While some missed calls and texts are important, others are the equivalent of inbox spam. Cast them to the side and get back to the people that matter with LazyLog.

eTrade Mobile (Free, Windows) While it’s been out on iOS and Android, Windows users can finally get their hands on this powerful portfolio manager.

Skitch (Free, iPhone) This app is already available for iPad and Android and has been beloved buy its owners on those platforms. It’s finally making its debut on the iPhone, and is sure to get just as much love.

Friendizer – (Free, Android) – This app will close the gap between your charming inner personality and unfortunate lack of social skills. Check out who else is near by and if your interests match up without having to go through awkward small talk.

BDrive (Free, iOS/Android) – The social cloud memory bank, use BDrive on your device of choice and share files between other devices and users to create a completely virtual community database.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G brought five rows of QWERTY goodness to our office, here goes the hands-on

The already classic Samsung Galaxy S I9000 might be rapidly approaching its third birthday, yet the manufacturer looks far from done extending the family. Meet the T-Mobile US exclusive, epically named Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G – a slide-out hardware QWERTY slider, whose specs are a curious blend of old and new.

The Samsung T699 Galaxy S Relay 4G is features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with two Krait CPU cores, clocked at 1.5GHz. There’s a gig of RAM and 8GB of built-in storage, which can be further expanded via microSD card slot. The handset’s display comes straight from 2010 – it’s a 4” PenTile Super AMOLED unit with WVGA resolution. The same goes for the smartphone’s 5MP camera, capable of capturing 720p videos. Connectivity is fully covered, including NFC and T-Mobile’s sweet 42Mbps HSDPA. The T699 is powered by a 1800mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G live photos

The Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G boots Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, dressed in the Korean company’s latest TouchWiz UI. Here it is in action.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Mobile developer Red Robot Labs snags industry vet John Davison

Mobile games developer Red Robot Labs welcomes their new Director of Content and Publishing John Davison. His history with the gaming industry bring a lot to the table for the start-up.

Mobile games developer Red Robot Labs focuses many of its games on location-specific elements, but with its latest hire, the company may be looking to relocate itself to the top of the gaming world. John Davison, a 20-year veteren of the video game industry, will call Red Robot Labs his new home as he settles into a role as the start-up’s Director and General Manager of Content and Publishing.

Davison’s most recent position prior to this announcement was Vice President of Programming for CBS Interactive Games, which left him as overseer of content for GameSpot and Metacritic. He had also served as editor for Ziff Davis’ network of tech and gaming sites. Essentially, if there is anyone that knows the gaming world, it’s John Davison. 

Red Robot Labs, the team behind the well-received Life is Crime and Forever Drive–both available on iOS and Android–are happy to welcome Davison in from the world of covering gaming and into the world of making them. In a press release from the company, CEO Mike Ouye stated, “As a video game industry veteran with a proven entrepreneurial track record, John is the perfect addition to Red Robot as we aim to disrupt and innovate the mobile space for gamers.”

Davison is already staking his claim for what he plans to bring to Red Robot Labs and the gaming landscape as a whole. “There is a huge opportunity to build new products around the ways that gamers interact and discover content, and the team at Red Robot understands this better than any group I’ve ever come across. We want to empower gamers with technology designed specifically for them.”

Considering both Red Robot Labs’ and John Davison’s track records of innovation, creativity, and community, there’s a lot of promise in this partnership. Gamers everywhere should be on the lookout for whatever may come next from this team.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

ZTE Warp Sequent and Anthem 4G announced, will provide budget Android thrills for MetroPCS and Boost Mobile

Both MetroPCS and Boost Mobile have announced new, budget Android phones this week; the ZTE Warp Sequent and the ZTE Anthem 4G respectively.

ZTE has been busy over the past few days, with two of its phones debuting on two different US networks, and both offering cheap Android smartphone thrills.

The first is the ZTE Warp Sequent, which is available now for Boost Mobile, and as its unusual name suggests — seriously, ZTE, what’s wrong with slapping a “2” on there like you usually do — it’s a new version of the old ZTE Warp.

So what’s changed? The screen remains at 4.3-inches, however it now has a 960 x 540 pixel resolution, plus the processor has been upgraded to a 1.4Ghz, single-core Snapdragon S2. The RAM has been boosted to 768MB, and there’s 4GB of internal storage, plus a microSD card slot to add another 32GB too.

A 5-megapixel camera sits on the back and a 1.3-megapixel video-call lens on the front, while the operating system is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which appears here almost free of manufacturer and network abuse.

Phone fans may recognize this specification as being similar to the Grand X and Grand X IN, and there has been talk that the Warp Sequent could use an Intel Atom processor; however Boost’s specs don’t mention anything other than the clock speed, and the Grand X IN’s Atom runs at 1.6Ghz and not 1.4Ghz, so it’s looking unlikely.

If you’re interested in the Warp Sequent, it’s out now and is priced at $199 without a contract, but you will need to buy one of Boost’s pre-paid plans.

ZTE Anthem: cheap 4G with a catch

On to the ZTE Anthem 4G, which is MetroPCS’ latest budget offering, and it’s particularly notable because the phone is ZTE’s first 4G LTE device to be released in the USA.

It has a 4.3-inch touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution, a 1.2Ghz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.

The camera has 5-megapixels and can shoot 1080p video, plus there’s features such as an HDMI-out, a microSD card slot and GPS. It’s a weighty beast though, tipping the scales at 190 grams, and at 13.7mm, it’s not slim either.

What it is though, is fairly cheap at $219 SIM-free, but then it needs to be as it runs Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread. While Gingerbread is perfectly usable, it looks and feels dated when compared to Ice Cream Sandwich, let alone Jelly Bean.

If the outdated operating system hasn’t put you off, then the Anthem’s budget 4G thrills will be available in both MetroPCS stores and online in the coming weeks.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mobile Weekly Wrap: Easy app access and Blackberry’s comeback attempt

Google enters the patent battle, Blackberry lays low, and some awesome apps find new homes in this week's Mobile Weekly Wrap.

Late last week brought the end of a chapter in the Great Patent War. Samsung landed on the losing end of the battle between mega mobile moguls, but for once there was a calm in the mobile world. It lasted for as long as the weekend. Can’t we all just get along, guys? If you were too busy keeping your head ducked to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, you may have missed the news that happened this week. Lucky for you, we’ve got all the stories worth noting from the week of August 26-31, 2012

Patented patent talk

Apple scored a big win in its patent lawsuit against Samsung, but it sure didn’t get to enjoy it for very long. While it was busy losing a lawsuit in Japan, the guys behind the Android OS started to fire up their own war machine. Google watched Samsung fall to Apple, but refused to let their comrade fall in combat without defending their honor. We knew a patent battle between Google and Apple was basically unavoidable, and that notion became reality this week. Google has officially filed a lawsuit against Apple for violating patents owned by the Google-owned Motorola. While it’s probably more annoying to the public than anything, this is the most excitement patent offices have felt since Telsa was alive.

Play Store wants you to play more

While access to Android devices could potentially be stifled, especially the ones made by Samsung, access to apps for the OS is only getting easier. The folks at Amazon have taken their Android app store overseas, where it landed in a multitude of European countries. The selection that the Amazon store offers is smaller than the Google Play Store, but that’s simply because Amazon does quality control. Of course that’d happen in Europe. Here in America we have a free market–we can access terrible things any time we want.

While the Play Store may not be quite as controlled as Amazon, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have plenty to offer. In fact, Google wants to show you even more than what you’re already seeing by adding a “Recommended for You” section to the Google Play Store. The feature will point you in the direction of apps that you might potentially be interested in, meaning you’ll lose even more of you free time to your Android device.

Blackberry 10 news excites the few that are listening

While the big hitters in the mobile world continue to take swings at one another, the former holder of the portable reins has been laying low and rebuilding. Blackberry has had a rough run of things in the past couple years, but it’s hoping to come up swinging with their Blackberry 10 operating system, but one of the major improvements that it’s touting has nothing to do with software. Blackberry 10 phones will have a removable battery. While it might sound sad that one of the biggest upgrades is the ability to take out a device’s power source, it’ll be great for people that still swear by their Blackberry and use it until it can’t hold a charge.

It also looks like Blackberry 10 adopters will have plenty of options on how to drain those batteries. Developers working on Blackberry 10 builds have been able to submit their apps to the Blackberry App World. This will guarantee that folks planning on picking up the newest OS from Research in Motion will have tons of options to load up their devices on launch day.

Apps and Games of the Week

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation ($3, Blackberry) – The military shooter that has been a hit for iOS and Android users makes its way to the Blackberry. It’s the perfect way to break up the business day by taking out frustration on the virtual firing range.

SkyDrive (Free, Android) – Microsoft’s foray into the cloud-based storage market has been available on iOS for a few months, but it just made its way onto Android. If you’re a dedicated Windows user without a Windows Phone, you can still keep your documents with you.

StereoMood (Free, iOS/Android) – StereoMood spins music based on the mood you’re in. Just type in an emotion and the app will provide a playlist that plays to those feelings. It’s been on the iPhone, but it just came to iPad–now a universal app–and Android this week.

WP Politics (Free, iOS) – The election cycle is in full spin. While we’re between conventions, there’s going to be plenty of stories that will be worth tracking in the weeks and months before November 7. WP Politics gives a uniquely interactive way to follow the news, especially with its recently added “The Forum” feature. It delivers the best of the political Twitterverse with no Twitter account required.

Bastion ($4.99, iPad) – Bastion made a splash as a gorgeous looking and fluid playing indie title on PC and consoles. It brings its hand-painted art style, creative story telling, and addicting gameplay to the iPad.

Concept ($1.99, iPad) – See your idea go from first thoughts to full fruition with Concept. This app lets you keep notes that are easily organizable and will let you fully flesh out whatever idea is floating around in your head.

Appetite+ (Free, iPhone) – Appetite+ is a handy little app that lets you compare and contrast the apps you have installed on your device to your friends. See what you have in common or what they may be using that you should look into getting for yourself.

Activision Anthology (Free, iOS/Android) – A collection of classics from the early days of gaming, the Activision Anthology contains all of the best games of yore from one of the biggest developers of those days. Titles like Pitfall, Stampede, Cliff Hangers, River Raid and Kaboom all call this app their home.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Google advertises the Nexus 7 tablet on its homepage

With the slate’s availability expanding even further, Google has featured an ad for the Nexus 7 on its homepage. The ASUS made tablet joins the likes of the T-Mobile G1, Nexus 1, Nexus S, Motorola Droid, as well as the Google Chrome browser as part of the elite club of products, which have been advertised on Google.com.

The ad for the Google Nexus 7 is quite catchy. For about a second after you open Google’s main page, nothing happens. Then the tablet pops up from the page’s bottom, revealing its top end.

With the Nexus 7 already selling like hot cakes, we can reasonably expect that having one of the prime advertising spots on the world wide web will bode even better for the tablet’s commercial success. What do you think?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com