Lenovo IdeaTab A7, A8, and A10 Leak Out, Announcement Coming Soon?

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Lenovo makes some good tablets, but most of their tablets that come to the US – other than the Yoga’s – are pretty much low-end or mid-range. So we’ve been waiting on some high-end tablets from Lenovo. Today, Italian site Eeevolution found some photos of the Lenovo IdeaTab A7, A8, and A10 tablets. Which they believe the A10 is a Windows tablet. They say there’s a start button on there but I don’t see it. While the A7 and A8 are both Android tablets. Obviously, judging by the names the A7 is a 7-incher, A8 is a 8-incher and A10 is a 10-incher. Additionally all three have front-facing speakers, which we absolutely love on a tablet.

It also appears that the IdeaTab A10 is going to have a keyboard dock, which looks pretty nice, and will probably have a bit extra battery life as well. As for the A7 and A8 tablets, it appears that these will have a microSD card slot and a SIM card slot, which means 3G or 4G LTE connectivity, which is what we all want, right?

Right now we only have specs on the IdeaTab A8, which may not even be the right specs, but we are looking at a 8-inch IPS display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, WiFi 802.11 n, Bluetooth 4.0, 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing shooter.

We may see these tablets announced very shortly. But as of right now, this is the first time we’ve heard of these tablets or even seen them. So I recommend taking all of this with a big grain of salt as it might not be true. We’ll have to hold out and see what happens. Who would like to see a nice 8-inch tablet from Lenovo come to the US? How about the keyboard dock for all three tablets? I’d like to see that. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Verizon Unveils new $75 Single Line 2GB Plan as well as a Secret 1GB $60 Plan

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We hear earlier this week that Verizon wasn’t going to get into a pricing war with AT&T and T-Mobile, but it kinda looks like they just did. Verizon is known for being the most expensive, but they can get away with it since they have the best network out there. However, according to Droid Life, it looks like they just dropped a couple of new plans that look mighty enticing.

First up is the $75 plan, which is only for one line, and judging by the image below, it appears to be including unlimited voice and text and 2GB of data, with additional data being priced at $15/1GB. Then there’s the $60 plan which is basically the same but has 1GB of data, with additional data being priced at $15/500MB of data. According to Droid Life, it appears that this is a no-contract service, and you can lower the monthly price by $10 if you sign up for Verizon’s EDGE, but then your price will go back up a bit depending on which phone you choose on Verizon Edge.

However, we are hearing that the SAVE plan isn’t being advertised and you’ll need to ask for it, which makes sense. They want to sell the more expensive plans. The $60 SAVE Plan and $75 single line plan have the same features, unlimited talk and text along with 2GB of data, but with the $60 SAVE plan you are signing up for a 1-year contract. Which I actually think is fine. It’s much better than those two year contracts or the three year contracts that Canada just recently got rid of. But this one is a secret plan so you’ll have to ask for it and to qualify for it you must be within 12 months of a contract end date or already out of contract.

These plans sound really good, especially for those near WiFi all the time. I’d love to see unlimited data come back to Verizon, but I just don’t see that happening anytime soon, unfortunately.

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Google Drive Drops Prices of Additional Storage – 100GB now $1.99/month

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Google Drive is now about two years old, and to celebrate, Google is reducing the prices on their extra storage plans. So as you know you get 15GB of space for free. Which is quite generous, especially since Google Docs doesn’t count towards your quota. But now they’ve changed the 100GB plan to $1.99/month, it was previously $4.99/month. The next step up is 1TB at $9.99/month which was previously $49.99/month. Then 10TB or more starts at $99.99/month. Which if you need that much space, I’d like to know what you’re storing in the cloud.

I currently have 1TB of space on Google Drive which is thanks to the Chromebook Pixel, but being able to continue having that 1TB of space after the promotion is over, just got that much easier to deal with. Of course I’m nowhere near my quota, but it’s nice to see 1TB drop down to just $10/month. The new plans are available now, and if you don’t see them yet, you should see them pretty soon. You can upgrade from the Storage page here.

Google Drive is one of the best cloud storage solutions, in my opinion. Especially if you use a lot of Google services, because it’s tied into just about everything. You can even use it to store backups of your Android devices using apps like Titanium Backup or Helium. Remember this storage is used for Drive, Gmail and Google+ photos, which Google+ photos probably uses the most storage, in my case. Of course, the 15GB plan is still free, so you can go ahead and keep that if you are using less than 15GB at this time.

How many of you out there are getting ready to upgrade your Google Drive storage? Be sure to let us know in the comments below which plan you plan on jumping too.

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@Evleaks Provides More Details on the Google Smartwatch

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We’ve been hearing for a while that Google was working with LG on a smartwatch. Which LG showed off their Lifeband at CES in January, and I am pretty excited about it. But I think I’m more excited about the rumored Google Smartwatch. Which Android Head, Sundar Pichai added more to the mix at SXSW last weekend when he stated that Google would be releasing a wearables SDK within 2 weeks. Pretty much confirming that we will see some type of wearable that Google is involved with at Google I/O in June.

Now we’ve already seen some rumors about LG making a smartwatch with Google, and we saw some leaks of Motorola making one for Google last year. Now our buddy @Evleaks is back with some more specs of the Google Smartwatch, made by LG. According to @Evleaks we’re looking at a 1.65-inch IPS LCD display, which has a resolution of 280×280. It’ll also have 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. He does not yet know what kind of processor they are sticking in the smartwatch, but I’d venture to guess that it’d be a pretty low-end one. Since we don’t need a Snapdragon 800 in a watch. Although it would be cool.

So it’s looking likely that we will have a Google smartwatch from LG sometime soon. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of wearables we see this year, and I already have my eyes on a few of them. Like the Gear Fit, Razer Nabu and the LG Lifeband. But I’m definitely going to have my eyes on the Google smartwatch, if it’s anything like Glass, it’s going to be amazing. Especially if it’s running a Google Now-like interface similar to Glass.

How many of you are excited for a Google smartwatch made by LG? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Google Fiber is About to Shake Up the Cable Industry

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Google Fiber started as an experiment, first in Palo Alto, California, in 2011, and then moving to Kansas City in 2013. The major cable companies scoffed at Google’s plans. Time Magazine thought Google Fiber was a publicity stunt; that Google was merely trying to force cable companies to improve their customer service and increase their internet speeds. Google didn’t have technicians to install Fiber, they didn’t have trucks to roll out, and they didn’t have call centers full of representatives to handle customer complaints. This experiment couldn’t possible succeed. Except that Google Fiber is doing just that.

Google Fiber is currently available in Kansas City, both in Kansas and Missouri. Surrounding suburbs and counties also have access to gigabit internet and video services from Google. Austin, TX and Provo, UT are getting Fiber as well, announced as expansion cities in April of 2013. Google announced last month that they had “invited cities in nine metro areas around the U.S.—34 cities altogether—to work with us to explore what it would take to bring them Google Fiber.” Cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah are exploring ways to bring Fiber to their citizens. Google is encroaching on cable companies’ territory and stealing their customers, slowly but surely.

Analysts are taking notice, too. Google Fiber is the real deal, they say. Evercore Partners is an independent investment firm in San Francisco, and they project that Google could bring on 3 million new customers over the next seven to nine years. That kind of growth would vault Fiber into the top 10 telecommunication carriers in the U.S.

With Fiber, Google provides 1 Gbps synchronous download/upload internet speeds with over their fiber optic lines. There are three different tier options that customer can choose from. Two of those provide gigabit internet speeds at a price that is equivalent to what consumers currently play for internet services. The lowest tier option gives subscribers a 5Mbps download/1Mbps upload service at $0 per month. New subscribers only have to pay a one time $300 construction fee. Google is using the free internet tier to reach lower income housing areas, and city officials are pining for the new tech business that true gigabit internet connections can draw to their municipalities.

Google Fiber is rolling out slowly, and may not reach everyone in the country. If it does, it will take decades. Google is making waves with Fiber, though, and it could change the cable internet and TV industry in ways that consumers really want.

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Sprint to sell Moto Maker Codes In-Store Starting Tomorrow, March 14th

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If you’re on a carrier like Verizon, Sprint or AT&T, then you don’t want to buy a Moto X through your carrier. Why? Simply because there’s no Moto Maker. However, it looks like that’s about to change with Sprint. It appears that they are going to be selling the Moto Maker codes in-store so you can customize your own Moto X on Motorola’s website. AT&T has been doing this since launch, and as far as I know Verizon isn’t doing it yet. According to the leak sent to Android Police, it looks like Sprint will be selling Moto Maker codes in-store as soon as tomorrow, March 14th.

From what we are being told, the setup in Sprint stores is going to be much like how AT&T was setup when they launched the Moto X last summer. Remember they had the exclusive on Moto Maker for a few months. Customers will receive the code through their email and go online to customize their phone. The device will then be shipped to the store instead of the customer. So it appears that you’ll have to visit the Sprint store twice to get your customized Moto X. Which if you live close to a Sprint store, it’s not that bad of a deal. Additionally, the codes are only available with a 2-year contract. As Sprint’s Easy Pay program isn’t compatible at this time. It’s supposedly due to legal reasons. You also can’t sign up for insurance with your customized Moto X.

So there’s a few caveats here that may keep people from buying a customized Moto X, especially with the Moto X being about 6 months old now. But the landing page is now live on Sprint’s website here. And we should learn more tomorrow when it goes live, as long as this leak is correct. How many of our readers on Sprint are planning on grabbing a customized Moto X?

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Deal: Select Transcend SD and MicroSD Cards On Sale

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There are plenty of microSD and SD cards on sale today from Transcend, and they are in all kinds of sizes. They have their 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB on sale, these come with SD adapters, as well as a dual pack of 16GB and 32GB microSD cards with their adapters. They are also selling their 32GB and 64GB SD cards today, all have some pretty nice prices going on. Obviously the 64GB versions have a much higher discount than the cheaper ones, but they are all worth a check, in my opinion.

If you have a phone that uses a microSD card, or are looking to get a SD card for your camera, these are some great ones here that are also on sale. We’ve got them all linked below if anyone is interested in picking one or more up.

Transcend 32GB MicroSDHC Class10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter 45 MB/s (TS32GUSDU1E)

Transcend 64GB MicroSDXC Class10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter 45 MB/s (TS64GUSDU1E)

Transcend Dual Pack 32GB MicroSDHC Class10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter 45 MB/s (TS32GUSDU1X2E)

Transcend 64GB High Speed 10 UHS Flash Memory Card (TS64GSDU1E)

Transcend Dual Pack 16GB MicroSDHC Class10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter 45 MB/s (TS16GUSDU1X2E)

Transcend 32 GB High Speed 10 UHS Flash Memory Card (TS32GSDU1E)

Transcend 16GB MicroSDHC Class10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter 45 MB/s (TS16GUSDU1E)

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