Android Headliner: Sony, Please Get Serious About the US Market!

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Sony has been one of those smaller players out there looking to make it big in the US. While you are probably thinking “Sony” and “small player” don’t belong in the same sentence, it actually does, when it comes to the US. Sony has never been all that popular here in the US. For the past few years their devices come here months and months after it launches elsewhere. Additionally it’ll only come to the US on one carrier. Usually AT&T exclusive, but with the Xperia Z and Xperia Z1 (actually it’s the Xperia Z1s) came to T-Mobile. The X10 from Sony came to AT&T about 10 months after it was announced. Now that’s just crazy, and usually by that point we’re waiting on the upgrade to that particular device. Now recently, Sony has gotten a bit faster. the Xperia Z was about 4-5 months after it launched elsewhere and the Xperia Z1s – which is the exclusive Xperia Z1 variant for T-Mobile USA – launched about 3 months after it hit other regions.

Sony is getting better, but they still have quite a way to go. Sony has been making plenty of great devices, in fact recently I’ve been pretty excited about their announcements of the Xperia Z Ultra, Xperia Z1 and the Xperia Z2. However, then I come back to reality and remember that Sony devices don’t normally come to the US in a reasonable amount of time, which is quite sad as they make amazing devices.

Recently, Sony Mobile US has replaced a lot of their execs, and it looks like they are really looking to push into the US. Which has me excited. While I’d love to see the Xperia Z2 come to T-Mobile, I’d like it even better if it came to all four US carriers. That’d be T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. The Xperia Z2 is an amazing device, with a great camera and is waterproof. Not to mention they finally have fixed the viewing angle son the display and are using an IPS panel now.

With the recent downfall of both HTC and Motorola – yes they are trying to make a comeback, but that doesn’t happen over night – we desperately need another OEM to become pretty popular over here in the US. Right now it’s basically all LG and Samsung over here for Android, I’d love to see Sony get added to that list. I’d also like to see OPPO added to that list, but I’ll leave that for another editorial.

I’ve said all of this to simply say one thing, please Sony I’m begging you get serious about the US. You make amazing devices, and so many people are missing out on them simply because they aren’t available here on a carrier. As most people don’t buy unlocked devices. There’s only one thing I want to see Sony Mobile US change, and that is to bring their devices to the US within a reasonable amount of time. If they can do that, I will go out and buy a Sony smartphone before I get a review unit. Just to show that I’m dead serious about this.

I know I’m not the only one that loves Sony’s devices, so who else out there would love to see Sony bring their smartphones and tablets to the US a lot sooner?

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Featured Review: MPERO Flexible TPU Case for the LG G2

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Cheap cases aren’t always the best for protecting your smartphone or making it look good. But that’s the thing. Sometimes you’ll find a good looking case that does a good job at protecting your smartphone or tablet, and you won’t need to spend a fortune on it. Which is what we have here with the MPERO Flexible TPU Case is a nice looking black, TPU case for the G2, it’s also available for other devices. In fact, I reviewed it for the original Nexus 7. This case from MPERO is actually only $5. So it’s not going to break your wallet or anything, and it’ll keep your LG G2 from breaking. Now I’m not saying that it can be compared to the Otterbox cases that many buy to protect their devices, those cases are tanks.

The MPERO Flexible TPU case has a nice S shape on the back, which gives it a bit of a design without going overboard and still looking pretty minimal. It also has grippy (if that’s a word) edges on the left and right, which lineup with about where you’d put your hands. Which is a nice addition as it helps keep you from dropping your phone, and we never want to drop our smartphone, right?

Like I said in the beginning, this one is a pretty cheap case, about $4.95. But it’s definitely not cheaply made. If you’re just looking for a nice, minimal case for your LG G2, or really any other device since they make these for various others out there, I’d definitely say give this one a try. Unlike many other cases out there, this one won’t pain you if you decide you don’t like it anymore, as it is only $5, that’s about what you spend on a cup of coffee these days, right? You can grab the MPERO Flexible TPU Case from Empire Case for just $4.95.

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Google’s Newest Patent App Hints At Wearable Device Input using Blinks

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Earlier this week, Google announced Android Wear to the world, and ever since we’ve been in awe as to everything it can do. Now we’re seeing a new patent application that Google has put into the USPTO, thanks to Patent Bolt for picking up on it, and it’s for “multi-sensor contact lenses” which is intended primarily as a method for blinking input or input augmentation for wearable devices. It’s also important to note that this isn’t the same as the contact lenses that Google announced back in January – those are pretty damn cool too.

The idea of this patent is there a number of sensors in a contact lens, and they can be used to detect when your eye blinks with a very incredible accuracy. In fact the technology to track blinks already exists but it’s been focused almost exclusively on external cameras. However this patent application that Google has submitted describes a light sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and conductivity and electric field sensors.

This application is describing input based on a pattern of blinks, both for wearable and non-wearable devices. Basically what this means is that you could send input to your smartphone with a blink or two. Kind of like saying blink once for yes, and blink twice for no, or something similar. While this patent application was filed back in 2012, a few of the more practical parts of the idea are left abstract, particularly the power supply, which Google has described as using various methods of power including solar, thermal or radio frequency power.

The application is pretty interesting, and exciting to say the least. And I think it’d have more to do with Glass or those contact lenses that Google announced earlier this year, more than any smart watch, since I don’t think a smart watch on your wrist could detect you blinking. Although I could be wrong.

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Motorola’s First Phablet Due in Q3 2014?

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Since Google bought Motorola, the company has really scaled back how many devices they are putting out. Which is both good and bad. It’s good because it’s less variants to have to support, but on the other hand, it’s not that much of a choice for someone that’s loyal to Motorola and looking to grab a Motorola smartphone. Thanks to Samsung, we are now seeing these huge smartphones, in the 5.5-6 inch range, which I blame the Galaxy Note’s success on that. Although there’s nothing wrong with a big phone, it’s just not for everyone.

Back in the fall, we had heard that Motorola was working on a 6-inch phablet. And since then we haven’t heard much else about this rumored device. Today, rumors are surfacing once again. And this time it appears that we may see the 6.3-inch device, named the XPlay, in the third quarter of this year.

According to Weibo, it appears that the phablet is due for Q3 2014, and the name XPlay is no longer mentioned. Also the screen size of the device is no longer mentioned either. So we may see a 5.7-inch, 6-inch or 6.3-inch device, but we do know that Motorola has prototypes for the 6.3-inch model of this new phone.

So basically we don’t know anything new about the Motorola phablet – hopefully it won’t be called something like “Iconic Phablet” – but we do know that it’s still being worked on. Which is great news for those looking for a larger phone and those that are fans of Motorola. As we always do, we’ll keep tabs on this device, and be sure to update you once we learn more.

How many of our readers out there are interested in a 6-inch version of the Moto X? If it were customizable through Moto Maker, that’d be pretty sick. What do the rest of you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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T-Mobile Unboxes the Samsung Galaxy S5

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We already know just about everything about the Samsung Galaxy S5, so there’s not much else we can hype beast about the Galaxy S5, but we’re going to continue doing it anyways. On Friday, AT&T, Sprint and US Cellular began pre-orders for their variant of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Which will cost $199 on contract at all three providers. However, T-Mobile is starting theirs on Monday and they’ve been hyping it up over on Twitter. Now they’ve gone ahead and unboxed the Samsung Galaxy S5, because why not? The Galaxy S5 will cost you $0 down at T-Mobile with monthly payments of $27.05. Or if you want to buy it outright, it’ll be around $650.

The video that T-Mobile has done is narrated by T-Mobile’s own Des, which you probably know from the promotion he does for T-Mobile on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Facebook and other social networking sites. The Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a beautiful 5.1-inch 1920×1080 Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor inside, 2GB of RAM along with 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot with supports up to 128GB of storage. Speaking of which, there’s a nice Sandisk microSD card that was announced at Mobile World Congress that does 128GB. There’s also an outstanding 16MP camera on the back and a 2MP front-facing shooter. And we can’t forget that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is water-resistant and rated for IP67, which is basically waterproof and competes with Sony’s Xperia Z1, Z1s and Z2 on that front.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 should be in-stores around April 11th, for those looking to pick theirs up. However, Samsung does already have the Galaxy S5, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit in about 1400 stores throughout the US and Switzerland, for those interested in checking out the new devices before launch day.

Are any of you pre-ordering the Galaxy S5? Let us know in the comments below which carrier you plan on ordering it from.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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LG L70 To be Priced around $160 and Launching Next Month

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At Mobile World Congress, not only did LG announce their new phablet the LG G Pro 2, but they also refreshed their L Series lineup which is mostly low-end devices. Hence why you don’t hear about these devices all that much. One of those devices was the LG L70 which we now have pricing and availability on. ePrice is reporting that the LG L70 is going to be priced at $163 in Taiwan, and it’s going on sale there on April 1st. The LG L70 is also listed by Amazon Germany, but it’s a bit more pricier there, around $246 – after being converted obviously. Additionally, Amazon doesn’t state when the device will be available, or in stock. However, the home screen does suggest April 1st in Germany as well.

For those that might need a refresher, here’s what LG’s latest mid-range device offers in specs. We’re looking at Android 4.4.2 KitKat along with Knock Code which debuted in the LG G Pro 2. It also has a 4.5-inch 800×480 resolution WVGA display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor running the show, 5MP camera on the back, with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage which is expandable via microSD card slot, and a 2100mAh battery. So it’s definitely not an impressive device, and it may not even be all that impressive compared to the Moto G which is about $20 more and has double the storage, a better display, and a quad-core processor. However, I am liking how companies are stepping up their low-end and mid-range devices now. Making it easier for everyone to grab a new smartphone.

We likely won’t see the LG L70 in the US, unless it’s on a pre-paid carrier like Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, etc., but if we can we’ll try and get our hands on one to review for those interested.

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The Gold All New HTC One To Be Best Buy Exclusive

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It looks like once again, HTC has given Best Buy an exclusive color of the HTC One. In a recent tweet from famed leaker @Evleaks, he mentions that the HTC One 2014 will retail for $600 off-contract, which is the same price as the current HTC One. He also mentioned that the gold-color is a Best Buy only SKU.

Last year, Best Buy got the exclusive on the Blue HTC One which looks really nice. And it appears that this year they have the exclusive on the Gold one. Which I’m not sure how many people are going to want the gold one, but Best Buy will have it for those interested.

The HTC One 2014, or the All New HTC One, is due to be announced on Tuesday, March 25th. Which is in just a few days. But we have also been told by a few carriers and retailers that they will be selling the HTC One on launch day. Which is pretty exciting as no other OEM has been able to have their phone for sale the same day it was announced, not even Apple. For Apple it’s typically 10 days after they announce the phone, that the iPhone is available. So this would be a pretty big thing for HTC.

We aren’t for sure how many colors the HTC One 2014 is going to be available in at this time, but we’ve seen the silver and dark grey colors leak out in full hands-on videos already. And now we can add gold to that list. I think I’m still a fan of the grey color of the HTC One 2014. I think it looks better than the silver or gold versions. Although put out a blue one and i’ll be al over it.

How many of you are excited for the HTC One 2014 announcement on Tuesday? Let us know in the comments below.

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