Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to a $31.6 billion deal that, if it gets through federal regulators—which is far from a sure bet—would create a formidable carrier to really compete against AT&T and Verizon. The deal comes packaged with a $1 billion "breakup" fee that Sprint would have to pay T-Mobile in the event the deal does not go through. After the deal, Deutsche Telekom, which owns about 67% of T-Mobile, would maintain a 20% ownership stake.
"Millions of us have smartphones with the power to speed up research that will benefit billions of people around the world." - Professor Francois Grey
It appears that the next iteration of KitKat, Android 4.4.3, is fast approaching. If the past is any indication, today's update to the Nexus 5 software changelog on Sprint's website tells us a new version of Android will begin rolling out within 24 hours. Sprint has broken the news of a forthcoming Android release twice in the past. With 4.4.1 and 4.4.2, a mini-changelog was posted on the Sprint website about a day before Google began pushing updates to its Nexus devices.
Android is all about the fine details. You can make a little tweak here and a little tweak there and completely customize your experience to be exactly how you want it to be. Sure, you don't need to customize LED colors or screen record, but it's nice to know you can.
Apple's iOS 7 is riddled with annoying features, and some of them can't be toggled off in Settings. For example, I really don't like having labels directly underneath my app icons, and there's no way to remove them. Sure, it may be nitpicky, but it's my device, and it should behave the way I want it to.
As the protectors of all things good, the Federal Communications Commission is usually busy behind the scenes pissing off Slim Shady, giving out fines for indecent nipple exposure at certain halftime events, and warning the NSA about losing any "confidential" phone information they steal from us.
If you haven't heard yet, Google made it possible a couple months ago for every Android user running 2.2 or higher to track his or her smartphone or tablet using their Android Device Manager service. It's a super easy way to track, lock, and secure erase your Android device from the web without ever having to download a third-party application, like Droid Finder, since it occurs in the background via Google Services.
You'd think the ability to block calls from certain numbers would be built in to most phones by now, but that's certainly not the case with the iPhone.
The iPhone 5 will be here in no time. Pre-orders started at 12:01AM PST this morning and it's expected to start shipping in about two weeks. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint are all handling unlimited data plans differently, so if you currently have an unlimited plan and are going to get the iPhone 5, you'll want to know what your carrier is doing before you upgrade so you don't end up with a very unpleasant surprise on your next phone bill. Verizon
The iPad's got some stiff competition these days, especially from Android, who plans to invade the tablet market with their high-end mobile operating system. And they're off to a good start with the Samsung Galaxy Tab, available from AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless, along with other carriers.
Apple and AT&T can keep changing the baseband and the firmware on the iPhone as much as they want and hackers are gonna stay ahead of them, especially now that jailbreaking is legal. This new video will show you how to unlock a jailbroken iPhone 3G or 3GS with iOS version 3.1.3 or 4.0.1 and basebands 5.12.01, 5.13.04, 5.11.07, and 4.28.08. Now you can use it on any carrier, breaking free of AT&T's crappy network for good.
Want to know about Newton's three laws of motion and how they affect aircraft landings? NASA has answers. NASA, aka the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, tells how Newton's laws apply to landings. There's no better place to learn from than the juggernaut of space exploration.
This is a folding basket adapter for two inch trailer hitch mounted cargo carriers and this video explains how to use it in conjunction with your trailer hitch and your cargo carrier.
Visual Voicemail revolutionized phone calls and the voicemail system when Apple introduced it with the original iPhone. Now, thanks to iOS 17, Apple has done it again with its newest calling feature, Live Voicemail. This feature uses speech-to-text technology to show you voicemail transcriptions on the incoming call screen in real time, helping you decide if it's important enough to answer the call.
Google has recently been pushing to replace the decades-old messaging technology we've been stuck with. SMS was never meant to handle the high-quality multimedia content we consume with our smartphones today, so in comes RCS, which is a universal platform that aims to change our messaging game forever.
Need to carry your baby, but don't have your sling or baby kangaroo handy? Then watch this how to video to learn how to use a just about anything as a baby carrier in an emergency. You can use a towel, t-shirt, or a pair of stretch sweat pants. This particular demonstrations shows how to use a pair of sweatpants to carry your baby on your back in an emergency.
No doubt, you've heard a lot about 5G lately. This might have you looking at your current 4G phone and lamenting your inability to connect to the faster network. But is 5G worth buying a new phone over, and should you buy one right now?
Starting Sept. 13, you can preorder the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max from Apple, wireless carriers, and various e-commerce websites. However, unlike with Android smartphones, there is only one set of iOS phones that come out each year, so they're pretty hot items. That means being the first to get your hands on one could be a challenge, but we're here to help you out.
Apple's new iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max are sure to be hits this year. Of course, that means plenty of hungry customers are looking to sign up for a model once preorders begin on Friday, Sept. 14, for the XS models, and Oct. 19 for the XR. Luckily, there are preemptive actions you can take right now to avoid waiting outside an Apple Store overnight or getting kicked out of the preorder queue online.
In this tutorial, learn how to jailbreak your new iOS 4 on your iPhone or iPod. This jailbreak will let you take advantage of cool new features including the huge app superstore: Cydia. Enjoy!
If your current cellular provider costs too much, has poor reception in your area, or doesn't support features you'd like to use, switching to another carrier is the obvious move. But can you bring your current iPhone or Android phone?
For all the benefits 5G brings to cellular data, it isn't without weaknesses, the biggest being privacy. Yes, the latest standard comes with breakneck downloads speeds up to 4.3 Gbps, but at what cost? Like with all things on the internet, 5G devices open opportunities for both good and bad actors.
They say it is always darkest before the dawn. If that's the case, then perhaps there's a light ahead for Magic Leap after more unfavorable news in the form of executive departures.
In case you hadn't heard, Google is now a legit cell service provider. Google Fi has its pluses and minuses, but the biggest upside is in the pricing. Depending on how much data you typically use, there's a good chance you could save a lot of money without sacrificing coverage by switching to Fi.
When OnePlus announced their partnership with T-Mobile and the deal the magenta carrier is set to offer, mouths dropped. But as usual, this deal comes with some caveats. The bulk of these will hurt the folks who love to root, something a large portion of the OnePlus community enjoys doing.
There's a lot more to your iPhone's dialer screen than just entering phone numbers and hitting the green call button. It's not very obvious, but there are secret codes that you can enter on the dialer to find out information about your device, help troubleshoot issues, and mask outgoing calls, to name just a few things.
With Huawei's recent emergence as the second largest OEM in the world, the company was poised to finally make a big push into the US market. Instead, their efforts were derailed by an unlikely foe, the US government. As a result, American customers will miss out on the newly-released Huawei P20.
Every year, 100-200 people in the US contract leptospirosis, but usually 50% of the cases occur in Hawaii where outdoor adventurers are exposed to Leptospira bacteria found in freshwater ponds, waterfalls, streams, and mud. That's why it's so alarming that two people in the Bronx have been diagnosed with the disease and a 30-year-old man has died from it.
As a former repair tech, I've heard the same reasons over and over as to why people opt not to purchase phone insurance. Some cite the cost—why pay extra every month for insurance when you're careful with your phone? Deductibles are expensive, so why not just spend that money on a repair instead of getting a refurbished phone as a replacement?
Researchers at the cyber security firm Zimperium have recently uncovered a vulnerability in roughly 95% of Android devices that has the potential to allow hackers to take total control over your phone with a simple picture message (MMS). The gritty details of this exploit have not been made public yet, but hackers now know the general framework for this type of attack, so you can be certain that they'll hammer out the details in no time.
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 6 on September 9th, and shortly thereafter carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless will begin selling them online and in stores. So, if it's time in your contract for a device upgrade, it's time to start thinking about trading your current iPhone in for up to $400 in value.
As the largest wireless service providers in the United States, AT&T and Verizon Wireless carry some serious clout. Sadly, they use some of this power to heavily modify the Android phones that they offer.
It took many months of cries from all around the internet—and a particularly large groan from an ex-Lifehacker editor-in-chief—but Apple has not only acknowledged the existence of its iMessage problem, it's promising a fix.
For my money, one of the greatest improvements brought about from the smartphone revolution is the advent of visual voicemail. No longer do we have to slog through dial menus or trudge through every single message to get to the next. We can just look at our messages, right there on our screens, organized neatly like emails or text messages.
Earlier this month, AT&T quietly introduced a new "Mobility Administrative Fee" which levies a $0.61 monthly charge to all postpaid contracts. While it's a seemingly small amount on an individual basis adding up to $7.32 per year, with its huge customer base, AT&T stands to make around half a billion from the tight-lipped move. AT&T has stated that the fee will "help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance" that's consistent with other phone carrier...
There's nothing like buying an awesome new gadget, but it leaves you with one problem (besides an empty wallet)—what do you do with the ones you already have? There are plenty of ways to put your old gadgets to use, but if you'd rather get rid of them, you may as well get something out of it, right? Here are five places where you can recycle your electronics and replenish your cash stash.
Since iPhones are only available to AT&T customers, finding a way to unlock or "jailbreak" an iPhone for use on other carriers is all the rage. This tutorial will show you how to jailbreak an iPhone with 3.1.3 firmware.
From housebreaking to traveling, crate training a puppy or dog can have long-term rewards for both owners and pets. This Howcast guide demonstrates how to crate train a dog.
Though most warts disappear eventually without treatment, it's still useful to know how to prevent these unsightly marks from ever popping up. Watch this video to learn how to reduce your chances of warts.
From housebreaking to traveling, crate training a puppy or dog can have long-term rewards for both owners and pets. Watch this how to video to learn how to teach a dog to shake hands.
