Nexus 6 for any carrier – is it real or is it marketing?

When Google introduced the Nexus 6 one of the features that was noteworthy was that the device came loaded with the chips necessary to support any of wireless network technologies used by all of the major U.S. carriers. In theory, this means any given Nexus 6 can be used on any of these networks instead of consumers having to purchase a unit built specifically for any given carrier. Unfortunately, it looks like the carriers are still creating some roadblocks to this concept becoming a reality.

The problem appears to be rooted with the CDMA carriers Sprint and Verizon. In order to get devices to work properly on their networks, Sprint and Verizon have to whitelist the IMEI numbers for all devices that are allowed to access their network. At this point it appears Verizon is only whitelisting devices purchased from Verizon or through Google Play even though the devices sold through other sources are the exact same model. This is similar to the issue some consumers had when Verizon refused to whitelist the IMEI numbers for Nexus 7 (2013) LTE tablets.

If a Verizon customer already has a line of service with an activated SIM card, they should be able to take that and put it in a new Nexus 6 to get it working. If the Nexus 6 came from some source other than Verizon or Google Play, it will show up as a “Non-VZW Device” in Verizon’s system until consumers take the time to visit a store or call customer care. If a customer is setting up a new line of service though, they will need to get the IMEI number from a valid Verizon device, submit that to Verizon’s online account creation site as a “Bring My Own Device” smartphone, then wait for a new SIM card to be delivered.

For Sprint customers, it appears things may be looking up. Initially it appeared Sprint was also blocking Nexus 6 devices with IMEI numbers outside of those purchased through Sprint or Google Play. The good news is that it looks like Motorola has been working with Sprint and they have now announced that all Nexus 6 devices will work with Sprint.

The idea of a device being universally capable of running on any network is closer to being a reality. Motorola has done their part by including the necessary hardware in the device. The major U.S. carriers, notably Verizon, still need to step up and do their part to retire old systems that block the ability of customers to use their hardware on the carrier of their choice.

source: Android Police

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[Weekend Poll] Is Your Primary Android Device Rooted?

We asked this question over two years ago in a weekend poll, and now we're asking again: is your primary Android device rooted? We all probably have a vague idea what rooting is even if we don't root our phones or tablets, but those of you more familiar with customization probably have pretty specific reasons for doing it, and experience with the rooting process over the years.

Both the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, Google's latest phone and tablet, have already been rooted by Chainfire, and the process isn't especially difficult - in fact, you can do it automatically with a simple script.

[Weekend Poll] Is Your Primary Android Device Rooted? was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Android Authority this week

Deal: Amazon Fire TV Stick for $24 (regularly $39) on Staples and Best Buy

T-Mobile is excited to announce its Nexus 6 has no branding or bloat

Fingr – Indie app of the day

Samsung requesting ITC to ban the sale of Nvidia chips, including Tegra

Deal: Beats Solo HD headphones for $79.95 (regularly $169.95) on Staples

Android Headliner: Experiencing the Meizu MX4 Pro Launch Event

This week, was spent in airplanes, airports and in Beijing, China. Meizu invited me to come to Beijing for their Meizu MX4 Pro launch event which was this past week (Wednesday, November 19th). This was the first launch event I attended outside of the US, and boy do they do things differently over in Asia when launching a new phone. First of all, Meizu held their event at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium which is in Olympic Park. It’s a really nice place, and huge. In the front few rows you’ve got the “VIP’s” and then the media. Which they handed us headphones which gave us the english translation of the keynote, which was nice. While the back of the stadium was full of Meizu fans, and there were a lot. Typically fans don’t get to come to events like this (only event I’ve been to where fans were in attendance was HTC’s Double Exposure event). So it was quite different.

Their event started with a band doing a couple of songs before the Meizu MX4 Pro was announced. During the keynote they took a few stabs at their competitor, but really went after Apple. It felt like I was sitting in on an Apple presentation with all the stuff they announced. Like mPay, Retina Sound, oh and they even did the “one more thing” as well. But this is China, and Meizu can get away with copying Apple and such. Xiaomi and other Chinese OEMs do this all the time.

Even the hands on was a bit interesting. It was kind of like the sales of Meizu’s phones. Where they let batches of people go in and get hands on. And there definitely weren’t enough units there to get hands on of the Meizu MX4 Pro. But I did come home with one, so it all worked out. By the way, we’ll have a full in-depth review of the Meizu MX4 Pro very soon.

As far as the trip goes, I had no complaints. Meizu did foot the bill, and it was total class here. It did not seem like an event that was being put on by a budget or “cheap” phone company. It seemed more like something Samsung would do. All in all, it was a really interesting experience, to see how product launches are done in China compared to the US or even North America. Definitely different over there.

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Google Shutsdown Glass Basecamps. Is this the end of Google Glass Project?

When Google Glass project launched, Google started opening up Basecamps. That was back in April 2013 when Google started selling Glass to qualified Glass explorers, but Google Glass became available to the general public in May 2014. There was a total of 4 Basecamps in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and London. They offered troubleshoot support, give demos, allowed people to pick up their Google Glass and also meet like minded people to discuss technology. In order to visit one of their Basecamps you has to schedule an appointment but in the past week no more appointments were available to schedule in any of the Basecamps world-wide.

Google is allegedly trying to shut the Basecamps down due to increasing support available online or via phone. Google Glass can also be ordered online and shipped to you the next day via UPS so there is absolutely no need for the customer to travel to one of their Basecamps. In other words, they are no longer that necessary and customer support won’t suffer. Google Glass hasn’t been an instant international success as their Android operating system or other Google products so this might be a sign of Google trying to shut the project down if it is not as profitable as other Google projects. After all, there are only a few things you can do with the Glasses. You have the support for the native Google apps (Google Now, Google +, Google Maps and Gmail) and some 3 party apps (Evernote, Skitch, New York Times and Path). More apps such Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare… had been announced but have not been released yet.

Maybe people just aren’t comfortable yet wearing glasses everywhere they go and Google now knows that. There has however been no official statement from Google if this is really the case and they are planning to shut the project down. There are many more user friendly alternatives to Google Glass like any Android smartwatch which does pretty much the same things, but you wear it on your wrist instead on your face and already has a better app support. It is more discreet and when you don’t need it you just don’t look at it.

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Deal: XWAVE Echo 6W or 10W Hi-Fi Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker – $19.99

The XWAVE echo is a portable Bluetooth speaker that features a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that is professionally tuned to provide Hi-Fi, surround sound, and delivers incredibly loud and clear sound that can be heard in all directions in your room or large outdoor space.

And it’s on sale today from $19.99 to $29.99 from Woot.com. The 6W versions are $19.99 and the 10W versions are $29.99. You can grab yours from the link below.

XWAVE Echo 6W or 10W Hi-Fi Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker – $19.99

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Deal: Photive 50 Watt 6 Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger – $26.95

With Christmas right around the corner, this is the perfect gift to get the tech head on your list. It’s great for those that have a smartphone, tablet, and smartwatch that all need charging, as you can charge all three with using just one outlet. Industry first 6 port 50 Watt 10 Amp Rapid USB Wall charger. The PH-50W has revolutionized charging – Our Intelegent USB ports will comunicate and recognize the device it is plugged into and will povide the fastest possible charging speed. Rapid Charger- Charge your power hungry devices at full speed with 50 watts and 10A total output. Perfect for International Travel- AC 110-220V input voltage Charge 6 Devices simultaneously. Overcharge protection Charges safely, without risk of overheating or damaging devices Charge almost any USB device- You can charge more than just your smartphone or table with this handy, multi-port adapter. It will also power up your e-reader, Bluetooth headphones, portable speakers and nearly any other device that charges with a USB cord.

Photive 50 Watt 6 Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger. Intelligent USB Charger with Auto Detect Technology

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Meizu’s VP: ART Support Is Coming To Meizu MX4 Soon

Meizu MX4 Pro took the spotlight in the last couple of days considering the company has launched this handset on November 19th. MX4 Pro is an upgraded version of Meizu MX4, it brings a higher-res display which is a bit bigger than the MX4’s panel, more RAM, a more powerful processor and a fingerprint scanner below the display. Other than that, these two handsets are very much alike. Their general design language is pretty much the same, they both run the latest version of Meizu’s Flyme OS and have 20.7-megapixel snapper by Sony on the back. Meizu MX4 launched back in September and it seems odd of Meizu to launch an upgraded version of that handset only 2.5 months later, but they did. Meizu MX4 is still an extremely powerful handset though, I even prefer its design to the MX4 Pro due to that capacitive “dot” below the display and a bit more affordable price. Meizu MX4 also got some attention by Meizu recently, let’s see what’s all that about.

Meizu’s Vice President, Li Nan, was asked to comment on why does the MX4 doesn’t have ART, but uses Dalvik instead. First thing’s first, what is ART? ART or Android Runtime is an application runtime environment in Android and it replaced Dalvik runtime in Android 5.0 Lollipop. It would take a long time to compare ART to Dalvik, but let’s just say the most important benefit here, apps run faster on ART. There are many benefits to ART actually, but this is the most important one. Back to Meizu, you can’t even enable ART in developer options on Meizu MX4, which made consumers interested to know why is that, Li Nan was kind enough to respond. Meizu’s VP basically said that the company didn’t manage to adapt Flyme to ART (though MediaTek’s chip might have something to do with it as well), but that they’ll enable it in the future, quite probably when the company updates its Flyme OS to Android 5.0 Lollipop, makes sense. Not many people actually expected ART to be available on Meizu MX4, but some consumers were interested why isn’t it available in the developer options at the very least.

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Material Design hits the desktop with Quantum OS Linux distro

Watch Reggie Watts and other disgruntled family members in Samsung’s new Note ads

Battery Saver Donate (root) v4.5.1 Patched Apk

Battery Saver will change the system ROM configuration for better battery life. Unlike other simillar..

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