HTC One M7 now getting Android 4.4.3, Android L should be next

Just a quick heads-up for fellow European HTC One M7 users: reports of an Android 4.4.3 update coming to the beloved smartphone have been raising. More specifically, the update is showing up for users in Slovakia and Romania.

The latter country’s HTC Oneversion is said to be a carrier-specific one, which means we are not only dealing with unlocked and off-contract devices. This update brings 2013′s legendary device to software version 6.09.401.5, all packed in a 550 MB file full of goodies. We can expect more Europeans versions of the device to get the update relatively soon.

It may also be important to note this may be the very last update both HTC One iterations get until Android L comes around. HTC has decided to integrate Android 4.4.4 security updates into the older Android 4.4.3 software, making another update unnecessary. Other than security improvements, this OTA update also brings enhancements to certain HTC apps, such as the camera and gallery.

Keep an eye out for any updates! We definitely will.

Via: GSM Arena;





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Fuhu announces titanic Nabi Big Tab Android tablet line

Fuhu is known for its Nabi tabs, a series of Android tablets made for the lively kids in our families. They make them resistant and child-friendly, which does usually mean these devices come in sizes compatible with small hands. Fuhu is taking its business to another level with their latest announcement – a couple tablets that may seem more like TVs at first sight.

The Nabi Big Tab HD 20 and Nabi Big Tab HD 24 come in sizes reflected by their names; 20 and 24 inches, respectively. Why would you want your kids to carry these around the house (aside from helping them build some arm muscle)? Fuhu built these with family activities in mind. Not to mention, it includes many child-centric and education applications, similar to what we have seen from Nabi in the past.

There is Two Play and Game Room, which offer multiple types of board games, classic games and even activities like air hockey. Show Time and Story Time have interactive videos and books to help kids and parents spend some good time together with curated content. There is even a chore list and a whole system that allows you to manage parental controls.

Among these features lays Dual Mode, which offers exactly what it entails. You can choose between entering adult or child modes, both having different controls and restrictions.

Fuhu Nabi Big Tab specs

• 20-inch 1600x900p or 24-inch 1920x1080p display


• NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor


• 16 GB of internal storage

The complete list of specs is not made available to the public just yet, but that is probably information the target audience may find irrelevant. The experience for kids should be more than enough to keep parents interested.

These large screens may not be what you had in mind. We have only seen large Windows 8 computers take this form factor, but Android may be able to better provide for a neat and simple kid UI. And at the very least you know kids won’t be loosing these… right?

Price and release date

The Nabi Big Tab 20 and Big Tab 24 will be priced at $449 and $549, with a world-wide launch coming this Fall. Not the lowest price for the specs, but it’s unlike other Android tablets out there. Will you bite?

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Samsung Is Making An Ultrasonic Cover For The Galaxy Note 4 To Help The Visually Impaired

Samsung is no stranger to launching specially branded accessories for their phones. More so for the flagships like the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S series, but you get the point. Samsung usually launches a ton of accessories for their products, and the Note 4 will of course see the same treatment, as if anyone had any doubt that it would. While we’re surely going to see some sort of Flipview cover for the Galaxy Note 4 once it launches or shortly there after, a more useful accessory to those who are visually impaired looks to be headed towards the market. An ultrasonic cover.

The cover is said to provide feedback to the person using the phone, with the cover detecting objects in front of them so they can have an easier time getting around. The cover reportedly has an embedded ultrasonic sensor that detects objects in front of the individual in varying short, medium, and long range distances, depending on the person’s needs for detection. Short of just being plain cool, this could help many people that are visually impaired navigate potentially crowded areas with more ease, which is something to be excited about. Samsung points out that the as the user modifies or sets the range of the Ultrasonic signal feedback to a further length or distance, the detected area becomes smaller or narrower.

Samsung is also keen on pointing out that first and foremost they want to keep people up to speed on the proper use cases for such an accessory as this. In short, they have created this accessory as an intention of being a tool to be used in addition to another form of mobility tool, like a cane or a guide dog for example. They make note that the ultrasonic cover is not to be expected as a replacement for these things as it cannot provide adequate use to someone who is visually impaired all by itself. Even with that being the case, it should still help to enhance the mobility experience for anyone who would have need of an accessory like this. There’s a good chance we’ll see this shown off at Unpacked 2014 Ep 2 which is just around the corner on September 3rd. Also expected to be there is obviously the Galaxy Note 4 itself, and another hot topic accessory that Samsung has in the works, the Gear VR virtual reality gaming headset.

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SlickWraps Intros New Color and Designer Collections for the LG G3

Today, SlickWraps rolled out some new designs and colors for their wraps for the LG G3. We’ve already reviewed a couple of their LG G3 wraps, and are giving away a boatload of them along with a LG G3 and LG G Watch. That giveaway ends in about a week! SlickWraps is always looking for something bigger and better to do, and they have done just that.

The Color collection is available in white, red, pink, green, yellow, black, blue and orange. They are going to cost you about $17. Which isn’t a bad price at all. And by the way, they are doing a flash sale today, 35% off everything with the code 35NOW. These skins do cover the front and back of the LG G3.

Now onto the Designer Series. SlickWraps has a ton of unique designs for this series of wraps for the LG G3. There’s about 20 different designs here, and they have all the pieces, including the volume rocker and the camera circle. These are very intricate designs that look amazing. My personal favorite is the camouflage one. But I bet everyone will hate it because I like it. These are a bit cheaper, at about $14.99. And you can get 35% off of these as well using the 35NOW code at checkout.

While shipping is not included, SlickWraps is still pretty fast at getting this stuff sent out to you. SlickWraps makes some really nice wraps, I really can’t say enough how great they are. We did a nice interview with the CEO of SlickWraps a couple of weeks ago, and they have plenty of new things headed our way! So make sure you stay tuned to SlickWraps to see what they have up their sleeves next. How many of you are planning on picking up one of these? Or more. Let us know in the comments below.

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Fuhu Introduces Nabi Big Tab 20-Inch And Nabi Big Tab 24-Inch To Reinvent Family Time

Tablets are great devices to use for web connected and other types of content anywhere anytime. With larger displays, they can be a wonderful alternative to a smartphone for doing whatever it is that you want to get done. Tablets can be made for sharing too though, and don’t have to be meant for just single use. That can however be a little limiting if more than a couple people are wanting to share a tablet at once, because let’s face it, even a 7 or a 10 inch display can feel a little small for multiple people. This can be especially true for families. Say for example you have a family of four, and everyone wants to get down on some Badland, if you have played the multiplayer on this game, you’ll know that when it comes to the experience, the bigger the screen the better.

This is where the two new tablets from Fuhu come in, that’s right we said Fuhu, the brand that brought us the worlds first Android tablet built just for kids. Today they’re introducing some brand new tablets with extremely large displays meant just for families, with the Nabi Big Tab HD. The Nabi Big Tab HD will come in two sizes, one with a 20-inch HD display and one sporting a massive 24-inch HD display. Perfect for everyone enjoying a movie on a camping trip or playing family oriented multiplayer games at home, or even for reading books together. Whatever family time means to you, the Fuhu Nabi big tabs can easily be integrated into family time so everyone can enjoy the use of the family tablet all at once.

The Nabi Big Tab 20-inch tablet sports a resolution of 1600 x 1900 which Fuhu is terming HD+, and the Fuhu Big Tab 24-inch tablet comes with a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080. Since these are meant for family use, they have 15 point multitouch capacitive touch screens, and they’re both powered by the Nvidia Tegra 4 processor so they can definitely handle some serious gaming that the whole family can enjoy. It’s not exactly family oriented, but can you imagine playing Dead Trigger 2 on this thing? There’s 16GB of onboard storage, which isn’t exactly a lot by today’s standards but you should be able to get by just fine with that amount. There are a slew of other family focused features too like Chore List, Two Play mode which features a selection of two player classic games like Chess, Story Time for interactive bedtime stories and reading, and a whole lot more. The Fuhu Nabi Big Tab 20-inch tablet will run at $449, and the Nabi Big Tab 24-inch runs at $549. These are still tablets meant more for kids, but with the added bonus of having some family usable tie ins so the parents can use them too. Both tablets will be available starting this Fall.

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Google gives iOS users another awesome Android feature: Photo Spheres

While much could be said about Android users and their general distaste for all things Apple, Google sure doesn’t feel the same way. Today, Google has launched their “Photo Sphere Camera” app in the iTunes App Store and gives iPhone users the ability to capture full 360-degree panorama images (in all directions).

Before anyone gets up in arms over Google giving iOS users this at one exclusive Android feature move, keep in mind Google doesn’t see iOS users as the competition, but as another dollar sign, targeting them with their own apps and services (same with Android users). And in an effort to continue building out photo spheres on Maps, bringing iPhone users into the fold makes perfect sense. In fact, in order to share photo spheres with friends and family, they’ll first need to be uploaded publicly to a Google Maps’ “Views” profile (you can find my first uploaded photo sphere here). After that, they’ll await approval before showing up on Google Maps for the world to see.

While your first instinct is to take a photo sphere of your current surroundings, Google encourages new Photo Sphere users to get out capture outdoor environments or public places — not just the inside of your house. This will help increase the value of Maps and others as they travel whether it’s in person, or from the comfort of their couch.

I guess the only question left is what next great Android feature will Google bring to iOS users next? We also can’t help but wonder if Google’s open embrace of iOS will negatively affect the amount of Android users who may be enticed by Apple’s hardware?

Google Photo Sphere Camera on iTunes

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Sprint Is Cutting Prices With New Shared Data Plans, Analysts Say It’s Not Enough

Sprint just dropped some new plans on us yesterday. They look like a good deal if Sprint’s network is also decent in your area. They can definitely save you some money and get you more data than what other carriers are offering. Sprint’s plans will give you about twice the amount of data that you get with comparably priced monthly plans from AT&T and Verizon. Analysts are saying that the new plans won’t be enough to turn things around for the company, however. New Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure may be offering more at a Sprint event planned for this evening, but analysts don’t think these new plans will be enough, by themselves.

Sprint’s new plans are being called a Family Share Pack. They’ll be available to consumers on August 22. The starting rate per line is $40 with subsidized phones on a two-year contract. If customers opt for Sprint’s payment plan, called Easy Pay, then the phone cost can vary based on how much data the family needs. Wireless hotspots can tablets can also be added. Every Family Share Pack plan comes with unlimited talk and unlimited text messaging. Data is added in buckets based on how much you think you’ll use in a month. Sprint is pushing the fact that for $160, a family of four can get four smartphones with 20GB of shared data. $160 on AT&T or Verizon will only get you 10GB of data for the month.

Sprint is also buying out contracts like T-Mobile is currently doing. There are some rules that customers will have to follow in order to qualify, though. You’ll have to switch your numbers and activate on a new Family Share Pack between August 22 and September 30. You’ll also have to purchase a new device on the Sprint Easy Pay plan to qualify. The company will then send you a Visa Prepaid Card worth up to $350 per line to cover your early termination fee from your old carrier. Sprint is also waiving any additional data access charges for smartphones, tablets, and mobile hotspots if you’re on a 20GB or higher, all the way through the end of 2015. These new plans will also take the place of Sprint’s existing Framily plans. This sounds pretty confusing, but you have to do everything at a Sprint store or through their telesales division, so a rep can break it all down for you if you aren’t catching on.

It’s cheaper, yes, but analysts think that it’s not cheap enough to make a big difference for Sprint. Competing on price is a quick way to cut profits even if it is enticing to consumers. With all of the network upgrades that Sprint is doing and needs to continue, is cutting prices the best move for them? What do you think?

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