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T-Mobile intros Smartphone Equality

There are too many great deals being announced by mobile carriers left and right but admit it, not everyone can avail of such promos. There is always that "terms and conditions apply" note after every ad that promises what seems to be the best way to get that latest flagship smartphone from your favorite brand. Sadly, even if you have the money to pay for downpayment and monthly fee, carriers won't always approve your request because of your bad credit score. This is a sad fact of life that some people must face and there's nothing you can do about it even if it's just a mobile device you are purchasing. (Honestly, you're just buying a phone not a house!)

T-Mobile has been working to change the game by introducing "uncarrier". We've been hearing about the network's Un-carrier offerings lately. Faithful T-Mobile subscribers are waiting for these announcements, hoping to get better deals than what they are already paying for. T-Mobile's Smartphone Equality finally brings the same great deal to anyone who's been paying on time for at least year as those with long-time subscribers and with the best track record in paying phone bills. With this promise, those getting a phone from T-Mobile can avail of the promo as advertised. No more fine print or terms and conditions to follow as long as you are a good payer for twelve consecutive months.

T-Mobile calling it Smartphone Equality seems to be spot on because really, why be hindered to upgrade to the best or the lowest cost device deal if you've been faithful for some time. One's credit score should not have a big impact on carrier deals. T-Mobile will only look at your one-year history to give you the deal as advertised. This only makes sense because more than half of people in the US have a less than perfect credit score. More people are being denied of the best deals because of the policies but T-Mobile wants to change all that.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere shared about the Smartphone Equality in a video blog. (It's his first video blog so expect more to be released.) Legere noted that not everyone gets the deals as advertised because they are not qualified yet, which according to him, is insulting. Starting next week, any T-Mobile customer who's been paying the past 12 months, they will be treated the same as those with good credit score.

The CEO knows this is a big deal for people who want the best promos because more can now get the best phones in the market today. This is just one of T-Mobile's many efforts to improve the mobile industry and looks like this one is very much welcome.

VIA: SlashGear

SOURCE: T-Mobile

Opera Max stretches to 21 countries in Asia

If you've been looking for a way to browse to your heart's content on your mobile device and yet not incur the wrath of your carrier, or your wallet, then now might be your day. That is, if you're living in one of the 21 Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries that Opera is bringing its Opera Max service to, offering not just speed but also data savings that Opera is known for.

So why would you opt to use an Opera product in this day and age of Firefox and Chrome browsers? Well, for one, despite the name, Opera Max is not actually a browser, even if it calls to mind Opera Mini, which is indeed a browser. Second, because even in this day and age of Firefox and Chrome, data usage is still data usage, and there will always be a price to be paid there.

Opera Max helps you save on data and, therefore, on money by compressing everything that goes to your smartphone via the Internet, through apps or browsers. That means web pages, images, text, and yes, even those data-slurpling videos. By compressing data, not only is the entire package smaller, it also travels quicker. The one catch is that this doesn't really happen magically. In essence, you will be routing your Internet traffic through Opera's "data-savings cloud", which might not sit well with some users due to privacy concerns.

If you find that trade off acceptable, then Opera Max might just be your money-saving answer from above. The service is now expanding to the following countries:

• Vietnam

• Philippines

• Thailand

• Algeria

• Bahrain

• Egypt

• Fiji

• Iran

• Israel

• Jordan

• Kuwait

• Lebanon

• Morocco

• Nepal

• Oman

• Qatar

• Saudi Arabia

• Sri Lanka

• Tunisia

• United Arab Emirates

• Yemen

Download: Opera Max from Google Play Store

SOURCE: Opera

New Official CM 12 Bootanimation

CyanogenMod has changed its default bootanimation to match the Material Design and overall Android Lollipop design. If you want to try the new bootanimation, head over to this thread and get the correct file for your device’s resolution.

The post New Official CM 12 Bootanimation appeared first on xda-developers.

OnePlus to delay launch of 2nd phone, moved to Q3 of 2015

The OnePlus One was one of the phones of 2014, simply because it managed to marry top-of-the-line specs with a sub-USD$300 price point. Never mind the roundabout way of actually owning one, for those who got their hands on a OnePlus One smartphone, they will surely say that they got the deal of the year. Now, OnePlus has to maneuver through the tricky waters of following it up with an equally great deal for the OnePlus 2 (that’s what they’re calling it) – but it seems that we have to wait a while to see it.

Apart from changing the naming convention to numerical form, OnePlus still wants to follow up its initial success with an equally successful – if not, better – device. A couple of things will be be interesting to see here, that the OnePlus 2 might not come with CyanogenMod software, and that the device will be sure to ride on the 64-bit hype by utilizing the “chosen” processor of the year, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. But there in that choice lies the problem.

oneplus_one1

Samsung has apparently run into overheating issues with the new Qualcomm processor, forcing it to probably go for its own less capable Exynos processors for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 if the issues are not fixed. LG on the othe hand, already committed to market with the G Flex 2 sporting the same processor, says that there are no issues at all. We’ll see that in a few weeks when people start getting LG’s curvy new baby in their hands.

All that said, OnePlus will bide its time and hope that the issues get resolved soon. This will also give them time to figure out the software debacle – what software will the OnePlus 2 come out with if Cyanogen is now out of the picture? We will have to wait later into the year to find out what OnePlus actually decides on, so watch this space.

VIA: Forbes

LG rolls out new flip phone, calls it the ‘Ice Cream Smart’

Flip smartphones are nothing new. In fact, LG and its close rival Samsung already released a few models the past couple of years. They're not as popular as the other top smartphones but there is still a market for clamshell phones. Last year, LG introduced its first flip style smartphone called the Wine Smart. It was aimed to beat Samsung's SM-G9098 dual screen flip phone. We're not sure if it did succeed but we know LG wants to prove itself once more in the flip phone arena. Enters the LG Ice Cream Smart. This phone doesn't necessarily run Android Ice Cream Sandwich but the name can be really confusing although very yummy.

Last year, LG launched the Wine Smart, its very first clamshell smartphone (running Android 4.4 KitKat). Now, the company getting ready to introduce another clamshell that's based on Android. Most likely, it's KitKat which can be updated to Lollilop once the latter is ready. We saw some leaked photos last week but LG launched the phone over the weekend in South Korea.

LG Ice Cream Smart comes equipped with the following: 3.5-inch LCD display, 480 x 320 pixel resolution, 8 megapixel rear camera, VGA front camera, 1GB RAM, micrSD card slot, 8GB built-in memory, FM radio, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, USSB 2.0, 1.2GHz Quadcore chipset, and LTE connectivity. This isn't any entry-level phone because of the 4G/LTE connection it offers.

LG seems to be bent in pushing the the Smart flip-phone lineup. After the Wine Smart, here is the Ice Cream Smart in the same pastel colors that are usually popular with the teenagers. The manufacturer added KakaoTalk physical buttons for more convenience. These buttons can be configured as shortcuts to other instant messaging and frequently used apps as well.

We're not sure about pricing and availability or if it will released outside South Korea but we'll let you know soon.

SOURCE: LG

BBC revamps mobile news app

For UK residents (and even for some across the pond), BBC is probably the most widely-read and watched news network. And since studies have shown that news consumption is mostly done through mobile devices, of course, they had to have an app, which they launched back in 2010. 5 years later, they have now revamped their app, giving it a more personal touch and ensuring that it will work better on your smartphone and tablet.

Users now have the chance to personalize the news they receive through the MyNews section, where you can choose what kind of stories and topics will be at the top of your news feed. All articles posted on their website have labels and tags that gives their system a better way of sorting through all the news stories, pictures, and videos uploaded on a daily basis. The data is used to link one story to another, and so when you choose what kind of stories you want to see on your MyNews, then it will use that information to filiter through.

The new app also gives you a wider range of stories, particularly for the local ones. You can choose which area you want to receive the news from or if your location service is on, it will give you news based on your current location. Other changes to the app include better depth of coverage for the top stories and better display of videos and pictures. They've also added a "Most Read" and "Most Watched" sections so you can see which are the most popular news stories.

The update to the BBC app is slowly rolling out to users in the UK. If you don't have the app yet, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store. It will work on Android 4.0 and above.

SOURCE: BBC

Rescue fruits and pets from aliens in Joy Flight arcade game

Beware of aliens that are having a bad hair day! It seems that the bald creatures from the other world have discovered the secret to earth's great-looking locks, and apparently, it's all about the fruits (and follicle-challenged people suddenly rush to the fruit market). But for some reason, they choose to attack the "peaceful Zoozoo Village" and take not just the fruits but also some of the animals. Now it's up to you to rescue them in Joy Flight.

To be able to save your adorable, furry, animal friends and also bring back the power of the fruit to keep hair on our head, you need the help of the animals that have been left behind. But these aren't just your ordinary cutesy animals (although they are pretty cute). They each have their own unique abilities and powers, and they can fly by flapping their cloaks, which you need to do to run after the aliens.

The game's tone is fun and playful, with a colorful pastel tone graphic all throughout. The controls are pretty easy to master as well, although the game is more complicated in actuality than on paper. You will be able to collect treasures, other pets, booster items, and even have a duet-flight with the animals you've already rescued. Plus of course, you get plaudits for bringing back hair-enriching fruits to stop people from going the way of the bald aliens.

You can download Joiy Flight for free from the Google Play Store. There are several in-app purchases available, so be careful with your purchase settings if you don't want to spend so much (or any at all) money on Android games.