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A look at the T-Mobile Test Drive iPhone package [Hands-on]
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Handhelds,
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As we reported a few days ago, T-Mobile has introduced Test Drive, which allows both current T-Mobile customers and those in other carriers (or who have no cell provider at all) to borrow an iPhone 5s from the company for 7 days. That includes unlimited talk, text, and data with the only current T-Mobile device that supports all the wireless band's used by the company. It's an effort to show, not just tell, the US population that it's greatly improved its wireless network and tuned it for massive data use.
After the T-Mobile Uncarrier 5.0 event we were able to get our hands on one of the iPhone 5s Test Drive units, and we've included some images here. Inside the box is what we assume is a refurbished black iPhone 5s, along with a sealed Lightning cable, Earpods, and AC adapter. It's definitely not the Apple unboxing experience, but that isn't the point. As far as storage capacity, our iPhone 5s is a 32GB model, so there is room to try downloading apps, videos, and images.
Click to continue reading A look at the T-Mobile Test Drive iPhone package [Hands-on]
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Deal of the Day: 33% off Doxie One scanner
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Hot Deals, PC / Laptop, Peripherals,
Today in the Gear Live Deals Shop we're offering a 33% discount on the Doxie One portable scanner. Computer scanners can be large and cumbersome, so when we saw that the Doxie One portable scanner was on sale, we had to make that our Deal of the Day. What's so cool about the Doxie One? All you need is an SD card (and it even comes with one) to start scanning--no need to connect it to a computer or wireless network and hope it works. Just scan away, then take the SD card and plug it into your Mac or PC. It'll even OCR your documents to make them searchable PDFs if you'd like!
Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals.
Uncarrier 6.0: T-Mobile now gives all customers free, unlimited streaming music
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Music, Wireless / WiFi,
At yesterday's T-Mobile Uncarrier 5.0 event, the company surprised everyone by also announced Uncarrier 6.0: absolutely free unlimited streaming music. Dubbed "Music Freedom," T-Mobile CEO John Legere revealed that any T-Mobile customer can stream music from Pandora, iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio, Spotify, Slacker, Rhapsody, Milk, and Beatport without having to worry about data caps. To make it clear, Legere stated "Every single note of music will come free, not against your bucket. Even when you exhaust your data bucket, you can still stream unlimited music at high speed." The services mentioned account for 85% of music streamed on T-Mobile, but the company isn't stopping there. For example, services like Rdio and Google Play All Access Music will be part of an online voting area that T-Mobile is providing to allow customers to choose which other music services they'd like to see added. The goal is to add a few new services each month.
If you already have an unlimited T-Mobile account, you aren't left in the cold. The company also announced a partnership with Rhapsody unRadio, an app that is available to anyone on any carrier, and T-Mobile unlimited customers get free access, while limited T-Mobile customers get a 20% off discount and pay $4 per month. If you aren't on T-Mobile, you pay $5 for unRadio.
Uncarrier 5.0 was the T-Mobile Test Drive, which sees the company giving anyone in the US an iPhone 5s for free for a week to try out the T-Mobile network.
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Uncarrier 5.0: T-Mobile will lend you an iPhone 5s for 7 days to Test Drive its network
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
During last nights T-Mobile Uncarrier 5.0 event here in Seattle, the company announced its Uncarrier 5.0 T-Mobile Test Drive, the next phase in its battle to separate itself from the typical pack of mobile wireless carriers. The Test Drive starts on June 23rd, and will see T-Mobile lending anyone in the US an iPhone 5s at no cost for a full seven days. What's the point? Well, T-Mobile CEO John Legere says that the company has been rapidly building its network coverage, and wants to prove it to anyone who wants to give it a try by providing the "latest and greatest" iPhone and unlimited voice, text, and data for the duration of the Test Drive.
The other item that the Test Drive aims to accomplish is increasing awareness that T-Mobile offers the iPhone as an option on its network. Apparently, since it took them so long to get the iPhone originally, the mind share just isn't there. This could change that. Apparently, Apple is on board with the strategy, as its the one that is providing the iPhone 5s units to T-Mobile for the Test Drive program, free of charge as part of a "growing partnership" between the two. Of course, it would stand to reason that Apple would want consumers to be aware that its devices are available on the nation's fastest growing network.
After your Test Drive, if you want to join T-Mobile, you won't be able to keep the same iPhone that you used during the trial, as that device will be wiped and returned to the pool of Test Drive devices. If you decide to keep it, T-Mobile will charge you $700 for the iPhone, and if you significantly damage it, the price will be $100 to repair it.
What do you think? Will you give the T-Mobile Test Drive a chance?
At the event, T-Mobile also announced unlimited, free music streaming on its network.
Read More 
| T-Mobile Test Drive
Deal of the Day: 30% off Karma 4G Mobile Hotspot
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi,
The Gear Live Deals Shop is offering a 30% discount on the Karma 4G Mobile Hotspot, and that's good enough to make that our Deal of the Day. You get 100MB of free mobile data each month, and can pay $14 per GB after using up the alottment. Even better, share your mobile hotspot with others, and you'll earn 100MB of data every time. The unit stays powered for 8-10 hours on a single charge, and delivers speeds up to 12Mbps. You get it for just $69, saving $30 in the process.
Save 30% on Karma 4G Mobile Hotspot
Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals.
Live from the T-Mobile Uncarrier 5.0 event! [Update: Uncarrier 6.0 as well!]
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Features, Music, Wireless / WiFi,
We are coming to you live from Seattle's Paramount Theater, where T-Mobile is set to deliver its Uncarrier 5.0 keynote address. Outspoken CEO (or un-CEO) John Legere is about to take the stage to unveil the next big move from the bold wireless carrier. The lights are going down, so join us for the live coverage after the break!
Fire Phone unlimited free photo storage only applies to smartphone images, doesn’t include videos
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Storage,
You know how Amazon's Fire Phone includes the perk of unlimited photo storage in your Amazon Cloud Drive account? Well, it turns out there are a couple of caveats. Here's how it works:
- The free storage is applied to the account that the Fire Phone is registered under
- The phone will upload your pictures and videos, but only the pictures get unlimited free space. Videos uploaded will use your Amazon Cloud Drive storage allotment.
- Photos uploaded are in their original, full-resolution format
- The unlimited free storage only applies to photos taken and uploaded with the Fire Phone. If you sync over photos to the phone that weren't taken with it, those will count against your allotment. Similarly, if you upload photos taken with the Fire Phone from another device, they'll also count against your storage space.
- If you give away or sell your Fire Phone, all of your photos will remain in your Amazon Cloud Drive. If you then get a new Fire Phone in the future, the unlimited photo storage benefit will return to your account.
Some have been comparing Amazon's offering to what Apple will be including in iOS 8, and later, OS X Yosemite, where it will also allow you to store all of your photos and videos in iCloud. The difference is that Apple will allow you to automatically upload your entire photo library, regardless of where the images were taken, but there will be a fee if you go over 5GB. There's no unlimited option for images, and certainly not for video.
You can pre-order the Amazon Fire Phone now.
Amazon Fire Phone owners get unlimited, free photo storage
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Hot Deals, Storage,
Amazon just announced its new Fire Phone, and one of the big value-adds is that owners will get unlimited photo storage on Amazon Cloud Drive. This comes just two weeks after Apple announced the new iCloud Photo Library option during its WWDC 2014 keynote, which allows you to store all of the photos and videos that you have, with the difference being that Apple only gives you the first 5GB of storage for free, and then you have to pay for additional tiers, which starts at $0.99 per month for 20GB. Amazon is providing unlimited photo storage (although they didn't specifically say that videos were included) right off the bat, a key differentiator. This means you can snap away without fear of using up all your local storage space, and it's one less backup you need to worry about as well.
The Amazon Fire Phone will sell for $199.99 on-contract, and is exclusive to AT&T. You can pre-order today, and it'll be released on July 25th. For a limited time, buyers will also receive a free year of Amazon Prime with purchase!
Amazon Fire Phone will cost $199.99 with two-year contract, AT&T exclusive launches July 25
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Amazon unveiled the new Fire Phone this morning in Seattle, and we've since discovered that the new smartphone will sell for $199 with two-year contract as an AT&T exclusive for the 32GB model. If you'd rather get the 64GB version, that'll run you $299 on contract for the device that tracks you with its array of front-facing cameras. No word on how long the AT&T exclusive will last, but hopefully folks on Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint will be able to get in on the action soon enough.
The Fire Phone will be released on July 25th, and pre-orders start today. For a limited time, buyers will also get 12 months of Amazon Prime with purchase, which itself is a $99 value.
Read More | Amazon Fire Phone
Amazon announces the Fire Phone, available July 25th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Amazon has announced its first smartphone, and it's called the Fire Phone. Jeff Bezos is still on stage giving us a rundown of the long-awaited device, but here's what we know about it so far:
- The Fire Phone sports a 4.7-inch display
- It's powered by a quad-core 2.2GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and an Adreno 330 graphics chip
- It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization and an f/2.0 five element lens
- The Fire Phone uses a multi-camera array that powers its 3D user interface
- Dual stereo speakers which are aligned for landscape mode for watching media
- It ships with flat-cabled, tangle-free magnetic earbuds
- Owners of the Fire Phone get unlimited cloud storage of all the photos they take with the device in Amazon Cloud Drive (huge!)
- The Amazon Firefly feature allows you to use the phone to recognize over 100 million items, plus any text around you. You can then interact with it immediately, in a matter of seconds.
- Obviously, all Amazon services will be built in--Prime Video, Prime Music, Kindle, WhisperSync, and even the MayDay button for customer service
- The 32GB Fire Phone will cost $199 with two-year contract, and is exclusive to AT&T. You can get the 64GB version for $299.
- You can pre-order the Fire Phone now--it ships on July 25th and includes one-year of Amazon Prime
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