Rick Osterloh Named President and COO of Motorola

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Back in February it was announced that the current CEO of Motorola, Dennis Woodside, was leaving the company and heading over to Dropbox in due time. Which we all thought was due to Lenovo buying Motorola. And it still could be. Today, Motorola announced that Rick Osterloh is now the President and COO at Motorola Mobility. Osterloh had been the Senior Vice President of Product for Motorola, that was until today. What this means is that Rick Osterloh was the one that helped reinvent Motorola with the Moto X and the Moto G. Rick Osterloh has been with the company for over seven years, so he definitely knows what he’s doing. We’ve got the full press release down below, since Motorola did pull it for some reason.

Here’s to a new COO at Motorola that can hopefully keep them on track with the next Moto X, Moto 360 and whatever other devices the company will be announcing later this year. We’re also expecting a new Moto G and a phablet from the company. It’ll be interesting to see if Osterloh is still COO when the deal with Lenovo goes through.

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A Moto insider to lead us forward

We’re excited to announce that Rick Osterloh has been named as President and COO of Motorola Mobility. Rick will assume the role today, reporting to the Motorola Operating Board at Google until the Lenovo acquisition is complete.

Rick is a Silicon Valley veteran and a familiar face across Motorola, where he has been leading all product management and helping to define the ‘go forward’ strategy for the past two years. Rick first joined the company 7 years ago when Motorola acquired Good, and he started Motorola down the Android path while managing product and engineering teams. Between stints here, Rick joined Skype, where he oversaw design and product for more than 250 million monthly users until it was acquired by Microsoft.

Since his return, Rick’s had a key role in the company’s reinvigoration. He’s been a guiding visionary on the entire product front and a passionate advocate for our philosophy to focus everything we do on the consumer experience.

I believe that Rick’s appointment provides the focused leadership and business continuity needed to steer the organization into the future, and I look forward to continuing in my role as Google liaison and advisor to Motorola through the transition period supporting Rick.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Rosenberg

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Chromecast’s Homescreen is about to get More Useful

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Chromecast, one of our favorite devices to come out in 2013. In fact it was named Gadget of the Year by many places. It’s a great little $35 HDMI dongle that works with most TV’s and allows you to stream content from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. It’s also cross-platform, meaning that iOS users can use Chromecast as well. If you were to look at the Chromecast home screen right now, there wouldn’t be much information available. Mostly just the network it’s connected to and the time. Oh and the name of your Chromecast. But that’s about it. However that’s about to change soon.

According to a reddit user who was poking around in the source code for the Chromecast home screen, it looks like we’re getting more information on the home screen soon. There are some javascript references to icons in the source code, which lead to some weather icons, basically showing you the conditions outside. Rain, snow, sleet, etc. It also looks like we’re about to get some more choices in wallpapers for the home screen, but then again how much do you actually look at the home screen on the Chromecast? I know I don’t look at it that much.

While these new features aren’t exactly amazing, it’s still nice to have on the Chromecast. Although I really like the current home screen for the Chromecast since it is a very minimal home screen, only showing information you need to know. Like the fact that it is connected, and to which network it’s connected too. As well as the time. Chromecast is due to get some new features soon, and I can’t wait to see what else Google has planned for this device in the future as well. How many of you still haven’t picked up the Chromecast? Well what are you waiting on?

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T-Mobile announces new $40 Simple Starter Plan; Unlimited talk, text and 500MB of High-Speed Data

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Earlier this year, T-Mobile raised the data buckets on their $50 and $60 plans from 500MB and 1GB to 1GB and 3GB respectively. We all thought that was great, and well we still do. But now it makes even more sense as to why they did it. Today, T-Mobile announced a new plan that’s dubbed the “Simple Started Plan” which is priced at $40. And is essentially the old $50 Simple choice plan. For $40/month you’ll get unlimited talk and text, as well as 500MB of high-speed data. After you hit that 500MB limit, you will be throttled to 2G or EDGE speeds. Which aren’t ideal, but if you’re someone who is always on WiFi, then the $40 plan is a great choice. If you’re like me, and work from home, this new plan is amazing.

So now T-Mobile has four amazingly priced data plans. For $40 you get 500MB of data, $50 gets you 1GB, $60 gets you 3GB, $70 gets you 5GB, and $80 gets you unlimited data. All of these plans include unlimited talk and text as well. The $40, $50, $60, and $70 plan throttles you once you go over the specified limit, while the $80 unlimited does not throttle at all – well technically it throttles after around 10TB but good luck hitting that.

Don’t forget that the $40 is on top of the monthly price you are paying for your phone, unless you bought it unlocked or at full price. So for instance, if you were to buy the Galaxy S5 on “credit” you’d be paying $0 down for it and $27.50/month. Which would bring your total per month on the new plan to about $67.50 before taxes. Still not a bad price, and almost impossible to match with the other carriers.

T-Mobile continues to be aggressive with their pricing, and it won’t be long before we see their competitors get more aggressive as well. Which we’ve been seeing over the past few months. T-Mobile’s new $40 Simple Starter Plan will be available beginning on April 12th.

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Samsung Releases Galaxy S5 Ad without Bashing their Competitors

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Now here’s a promo done right. No bashing Apple, or Amazon with their tablets like they are doing with the Galaxy TabPRO commercials. Instead, they just show off the device, and that’s about it. Which at this point, that’s about all Samsung needs to do really. They’ve built such a large fan base of people that are going to buy their next flagship regardless of what it looks like, how much of an upgrade it is, or if they even market the thing. But Samsung, being Samsung is going to pour money into marketing, which we’re going to see a huge marketing blitz in the next few weeks since the device launches this Friday in 150 countries.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 was announced at Unpacked in February, it has a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED 1080p display – which is said to have the best display ever tested – along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB, 2800mAh battery inside, and Android 4.4.2 along with Samsung’s latest version of their custom overlay – which they refuse to call Touchwiz now. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is launching in over 150 countries on April 11th, which is this Friday. That also includes T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. But the Galaxy S5 isn’t the only phone launching on April 11th, the HTC One M8 is launching on other carriers as well on April 11th. But I have a feeling it’ll be outshined but the Galaxy S5.

You can check out the Galaxy S5 promo video down below, and let us know what you think about it in the comments below as well. I think it’s a really nicely done promo. Not too long either, and gets straight to the point. So good job Samsung. Your competitors should hire your ad agency.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Samsung UK’s Experience Stores Open Today; Stop By and Check out the Galaxy S5

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Samsung Experience stores have been open in the US for quite a while. You’ve probably noticed them in your local Best Buy, where they also have an Apple mini store and a mini Google store. Now Samsung has rolled out their Experience stores into the UK, just in time for the Galaxy S5 launch. Samsung has partnered with Carphone Warehouse in the UK to get their Experience stores in 9 of their locations which are:

Newcastle, Northumberland Street

Newcastle, Metro

Liverpool, Paradise Street

Bradford, Darley Street

Bristol, Cribbs

Manchester, Market Street

Bournemouth, Commercial Street

London, Oxford Street

Cardiff, Queen Street

It’s great timing, as you can still walk into one of these Carphone Warehouse stores and check out the Samsung Galaxy S5 and see what it’s all about before ordering one and getting it on Friday. The Samsung Experience stores will have a lot more than just the Galaxy S5 though. It’ll feature just about everything that Samsung Mobile sells. So that includes the Galaxy Tab line of tablets, the Gear wearables, and of course all of the smartphones they have, including their Windows Phone line of smartphones. The Samsung Experience Stores are a great way to see what Samsung has to offer, and if it’s anything like it is in the US, we should see some Samsung reps at those stores as well to answer any questions you may have. Which is definitely a good thing for Samsung, and it gets more users interested in their products. Just in case their marketing doesn’t work for some reason.

You can find the full press release down below if you’re interested in that. How many of you in the UK are looking forward to checking out these new Samsung Experience stores inside Carphone Warehouse?

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NEW SAMSUNG ‘EXPERIENCE’ STORES OPEN ACROSS UK

London, 9 April, 2014 –The first new concept Samsung stores in the UK operated by Carphone Warehouse opened today (Wednesday 9 April).

The nine new stores opened at locations in London Oxford Street, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Cardiff and Bournemouth. Stores will sell Samsung’s full range of mobiles, tablets, laptops and wearables, including the manufacturers’ new range of devices – the Samsung Galaxy S5, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Fit.

The partnership between Carphone Warehouse and Samsung to provide Samsung Experience Stores across Europe was announced in January, following the opening of three standalone stores operated by Carphone Warehouse in Spain last year. The new UK store roll-out follows the successful opening of 19 stores in Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Ireland in recent weeks. Further stores will open over the coming months in other locations across the UK and Europe.

Andrew Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of Carphone Warehouse said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by Samsung as its preferred European partner for its experience store rollout. In line with the launch of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S5 this week we’re opening the first UK stores, including one in the heart of London’s shopping district on Oxford Street. Our Connected World Services business combines Carphone Warehouse’s retailing expertise and systems with one of the world’s biggest brands and will help us make even more lives better through connected technology.”

Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT & Mobile division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: “We are committed to providing the most innovative and exciting shopping experience for our customers and our partnership with Carphone Warehouse allows us to do just that. We will be able to offer a unique shopping experience tailored to our customers’ needs as well as giving them access to our wide portfolio of connected mobile products.”

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Sony’s Xperia Z2 Now Launching May 1st in the UK; Carphone Warehouse to Get it Early

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Sony’s latest and greatest, the Xperia Z2, was said to be launching this month around the world, but Sony have faced some delays and now the Z2 won’t be hitting shelves in the UK until May 1st. We’re not quite sure why the Xperia Z2 has been delayed a month or so, but we’re glad that it’s finally hitting the market soon, and for those who simply can’t wait for the Xperia Z2 could get their hands on one from Carphone Warehouse a little earlier. The UK retailer has said that they’ll have “limited stock” of the device for pre-orders and online customers. Devices bought online should start shipping April 14th, but there’s no telling how this effects those that have already pre-ordered and how many units Carphone Warehouse will have on tap.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Xperia Z2, and what makes it different from the Z1, and the Z before it; we’ll enlighten you. Shipping with the latest Snapdragon 801, the Xperia Z1 builds on what made the Z1 such a great device and ships with a 5.2-inch 1080p display. What sets the display apart (aside from the size) is that this time around Sony has used an IPS panel, making color reproduction and viewing angles far more accurate overall. The camera, which has impressed critics all over, is still the same 20.7-megapixel sensor from the Z1, but Sony have added 4K recording to the mix, delivering an overall very pleasing camera package. Overall, the Xperia Z2 is a good bit quicker than the Xperia Z1 with a Snapdragon 801 with 3GB of RAM to back things up.

The Xperia Z2 is to be available on all major networks in the UK and while it won’t come cheap, it could be well worth it if you’re looking for the latest and best that Sony has to offer. Hopefully, Sony won’t face any shortages after the month-long delay that people looking for the Z2 have had to endure.

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Xiaomi to Release Mi3S With Snapdragon 801 and 3GB of RAM

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Xiaomi is quickly becoming known for releasing revamped versions of their smartphones not too long after their launch, presumably done in order to keep up with the competition, Xiaomi has revamped their RedMi device with the RedMi 1S. Now it looks like the Mi3 is the next in line to receive some new internal parts. According to Chinese site MyDrivers, the Chinese giant is looking to infuse the Mi3 with a Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM, thus making the Mi3S, or something similar. Customers waiting to get their hands on a Xiaomi device will probably be happy to get their hands on the latest and greatest version of the Mi3 but, we can’t help but feel a little sorry for those that just bought one.

According to MyDrivers, there’s also some design changes on the cards for the Mi3 as well, with an improved metal design featuring more of the metallic stuff throughout. Just exactly what that means however, we have no idea, our Chinese isn’t that good if we’re honest. Still, this seems like more of an internal refresh than anything else for Xiaomi’s current flagship. Keeping the 8-megapixel camera and the 5-inch 1080p display, the Mi3S would simply be a faster device, no doubt thanks to more RAM and a slightly faster Snapdragon 801 CPU.

This would make it the third version of the Mi3 that Xiaomi has launched, with a Tegra 4 and Snapdragon 800 version already shipping last year. While diluting your product line is never a good idea, it’s sometimes unavoidable. Quantities of key components you can get your hands on determine just what you can and can’t put in a smartphone, and when you’re producing as many of them as Xiaomi is then you’ll need to adjust. We wouldn’t be surprised if Qualcomm themselves were leaning on Xiaomi to order the new chip as they’ll want to move all their production onto the 801 which is at the heart of the Galaxy S5, Xperia Z2, HTC One and more devices to come this year.

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