The Evolution of Technology

Posts Tagged ‘adds’

The Samsung Transform Ultra is the latest Android phone headed to Boost Mobile, and it’s their best one yet. Armed with a 1GHz processor and a 3.5-inch touchscreen, the Transform Ultra falls somewhere between a mid-range and high-end Android handset, giving it an easy leg up on the Galaxy Prevail, Boost’s other Android. It comes in at a decent price, too, $ 229.99, which is slightly more than you’d expect to pay for the same phone on contract. It drops on October 7th, which is soon enough. There is, however, one catch. Starting on that same date, Boost is adding a $ 5 monthly surcharge for Android phones. It makes sense, given how much data they can consume. So that will be $ 55 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data. Not bad, considering it uses Sprint’s nationwide network.

Via Phone Scoop.

This post originated at AndGeeks.com – home to all things Android! Also a great source of info about Android Phones.

Boost Mobile gets new Android, adds monthly surcharge

AndGeeks – Android News and Reviews

If that looks like a recycled image, it’s for good reason. About a month ago we learned that MetroPCS would launch the Samsung Admire, a mid-range Android handset. It checks in at $ 150, which is decent for an Android for prepaid. For someone looking at it in terms of bang for the buck, it could work out. As happens in many cases, Cricket will also offer the Vitality. Only it adds another level to the offering: Muve Music. Read on if you’re not yet familiar with Cricket’s music plan.

Muve Music is available only on select handsets. The Vitality is the first one that also runs Android. Each Muve-compatible handset comes with a special microSD card. Subscribers can download all the music they want right to that card, so they can listen to tunes at any times. This covers unlimited music from a library containing millions of songs.

The only downside is that it costs $ 10 more per month. That’s what Rhapsody, Napster, and Spotify premium charge, so it’s not as though the Muve plan adds a ton of value for Android users. Plus, those services offer streaming, which make free memory easier to handle.

How is a regional carrier to compete with the big boys these days? If we’re to learn from MetroPCS and others, it’s by creating partnerships with services that they can bundle with their plans. Cricket did this last year, when they created an unlimited music download plan. But that works with only one handset, and a non-smartphone at that. MetroPCS has upped the ante with their new service, which ties in with Rhapsody’s unlimited music. It’s for Android users, too, and it might just be up your alley.

Here’s the skinny. Any MetroPCS customer with an Android handset, whether the 4G Indulge or one of the normal 3G models, can upgrade to the $ 60 plan to get unlimited music from Rhapsody. That allows users to download unlimited music to their Android devices. It also syncs with the web service, so you can stream while you’re at home and sync up your playlists with your Android. It’s just another way of enjoying all the music you can handle.

If you don’t have Read It Later already installed on your Android, I don’t know, maybe you don’t like reading. Or maybe you, like many other Android users, don’t like paying for apps. If it’s the former, well, this isn’t going to excite you much. If it’s the latter, then you’re in luck. Last week they announced a free version of the app that actually covers most of the basic functions. That is, you can now get one of the most popular Android apps for free without losing too much from the paid version. You can still add articles from anywhere and read them on your Android (or any other device). That’s all you really need, and you no longer need to pony up three bucks for it.

The idea behind Read It Later, for the uninitiated, is to create a universal reading list that you can access anywhere. Find an article while browsing around on your computer? Click the browser plug-in and the articles goes to your queue. Find something on your Android that you’d rather read on your computer? Same deal. Basically, it lets you take articles you find anywhere and read them at any time, on any device. Apparently many media outlets have called it “a DVR for the web,” which isn’t too far off. You might be familiar with Instapaper, which is similar application.

There is a tendency, and I succumb to it, to call a minor technological advancement the greatest thing ever. The concept of depositing checks by taking a picture of it with your phone definitely qualified. No, it might not top other great inventions of mankind, but man, it is really, really convenient. My bank has the feature, and I use it all the time. Hell, I don’t even mind it when people write me checks any more. So when iPhone users got this functionality last year, I was insanely jealous. I mean, the ability to deposit checks directly to PayPal means I can take better advantage of the .018% money market account I’ve got! And now I can. PayPal has issued an update to its Android app, and it sure does include mobile check depositing. The whole thing is a boon, really, since I can do almost anything on my Android that I can do from my computer. If you’re a PayPal user, I don’t see any reason to not download the PayPal app from the Market.

This post originated at AndGeeks.com – home to all things Android! Also a great source of info about Android Phones.

PayPal for Android adds check depositing feature

Streaming internet radio and on-demand music go hand-in-hand. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been streaming on Pandora, found a band I really liked, and started to explore them further. But that took multiple steps and multiple apps. Wouldn’t it make sense for a streaming radio service to add a Rhapsody-like on-demand service that would allow for easier discovery? Apparently Slacker Radio thinks so. I was happy to read this morning that they have released a premium tier that includes on-demand music. I have my allegiances to Pandora, but this definitely changes the balance of power.

The interface seems pretty easy. When you’re playing a song on the radio you can add it to a playlist, and then come back to it whenever you want. So if you want to drop everything and go listen to that artist, you can go to your playlist and find more songs. But you also have the option to go back later, when you’re done listening to your sweet station and you’re ready to discover a whole new artist. Just typing that out has made me realize that this could be easily worth it.