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Connection Day Announced By Verizon, Digital Freebies Await

The hustle and bustle of holiday season is approaching and to properly greet Thanksgiving, Verizon is kicking off the season on the Wednesday before the day of gratitude. Verizon’s customers are about to experience the company’s gratitude on November 26^th, dubbed “Connection Day”, when data gifts, special offers and content awaits enthusiasts.

On Connection day, Verizon is offering 1 GB of data to customers at no extra cost. Additionally, companies such as Amazon, Apple, Boingo Wireless, Conde Nast, Gogo Technologies, JetBlue and Pandora are also partnering up with Verizon to offer promotions.

Normally, November 26^th is one of the busiest travel days of the year, so Verizon wanted to make the day more bearable. From movies to free Wi-Fi, audio books, music streams and many more, Verizon wants its customers to have everything to choose from.

“We’re in a position to make the travel journey a little better for people,”

Jay Jaffin, Verizon Wireless’ vice president marketing communications said.

After registering with Verizon, customers will be included in the company’s “MORE Everything” plan, where apart from the gigabyte on their next billing cycle, they will receive:

Mobile access to popular TV series and movies on the 26^th of November, compliments of FiOS
Ten free or discounted apps selected on Amazon, as well as two free Audible Books for new members (or $10 Audible credit for existing members)
Apple iTunes’ special offer, revealed on Connection Day
17 Conde Nast Publications downloads, such as Wired, Vanity Fair and GQ
Half-an-hour complimentary internet sessions via Boingo Wireless at airports
Complimentary in-flight internet sessions via Gogo Technologies
A seven-day trial of Pandora One

“We sort of put ourselves in the consumer mode. If I’m out there and I’m traveling, what do I want to be able to do?”

Jaffin said, explaining the Verizon’s offers.

Michelle Miller, region president for Verizon explained that the company wanted to show its customers how much they are appreciated, especially since Thanksgiving is approaching. She hopes that customers decide to take advantage of all of Verizon’s facilities and connect with friends and family or take some time off and enjoy a little entertainment in what may be the most hectic filled day of the holiday season.

Verizon and AT&T’s ‘supercookie’ spying on customers’ online activity

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US carriers Verizon and AT&T are snooping at the online activity of its more than 100 million mobile customers, the reports released by Electronic Frontier Foundation and multiple news outlets said.

According to the reports, both the service providers have inserted a special code, called ‘supercookie’, into the cellular web traffic of their networks.

Sources said that this code is being used by the telecom giants to track the online activity of their customers, including their browsing habits, duration spent, content browsed and others. The sources added further that Verizon will also be using the data to help marketing firms send mobile users the targeted advertisements.

A report by The Washington Post has mentioned similar snooping behavior of Verizon, saying the telecommunication firm has been keeping a track record of its 106 million retail customers — including those without government or business contracts — since 2012.

AT&T, on the other hand, is examining a similar monitoring system for ad purposes.

The customers who wish to know their status on being tracked by the companies can do so by using tools like ‘AmIBeingTracked.com’.

The snooping of customers’ online activity by their service providers is not new. Earlier tech giants like search engine Google and social networking site Facebook have long used tools such as cookies or numerical identifiers travelling with users between sites, to keep a track on their customers’ browsing habits and send relevant advertisement.

But Verizon and AT&T’s snooping activity seems to be very unprecedented. Unlike normal cookies, their supercookies cannot be deleted with the clearing browser data tool. As the markers are included at the network level, hence, the customers are tracked at all levels regardless of which sites they visit.

Sony Xperia Z3 Will be Available at T-Mobile October 29

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Last week Sonny announced that their new smartphone Xperia Z3v will be available exclusively through one of the largest US carriers, Verizon. The latest news from the tech giant reveals that Sony Xperia Z3 will be available at T-Mobile starting October 29. T-Mobile is an important competitor to Verizon and this move was expected sooner or later.

T-Mobile announced today that the new Sony Xperia Z3 will begin selling in their stores on October 29. This comes six days after Verizon announced their flagship smartphone, the Z3v.

Even if the two carriers are in competition with each other, for Sony this is a win situation having two of the largest US carriers selling its products in their stores. This is not the first time T-Mobile and Sony are collaborating. Over the last year and a half T-Mobile has been supporting all the Xperia smartphones, the Xperia Z3 being the third one.

T-Mobile announced that they will be selling the Xperia Z3 for $26,24 a month under a 24 months plan. This means that the total cost of the smartphone will be $630, $20 less than the iPhone 6. Those who are interested in purchasing the new Sony Xperia Z3 can do so by going to the T-Mobile site starting with October 15 (12 a.am PT) and order it.

T-Mobile has confirmed that they will be selling the new Xperia Z3 when Sony debuted its new smartphone last month at the IFA consumer electronics trade show. When Verizon announced their deal with Sony, it was a flashier one.

At the event Sony showed what the new Xperia Z3v can do: it can stream PS4 games using a normal Wi-Fi network. Worry not, the Xperia Z3 available at T-Mobile will have the same features and capabilities.

The differences between the Xperia Z3 and the Z3v are minor: the Z3v is bulkier and resembles the Z2 model, it has a bigger battery, but both smartphones are water proof and come with the same camera and display technology.

What do you think of the announcement T-Mobile has just made? Do you think it’s a good deal for Sony and its Xperia Z3?

Note 4 Features: Galaxy Phablet Specs Before Release Date

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There has already been an official announcement from Samsung regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – one of the phablets from Samsung which has become the focus of the gadget fanatics today.

As the launch date of Note 4 nears, let us have a look at the features and specs of the best phablet, Galaxy Note 4.

Note 4’s Display

Just like what predictions said, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 uses a display size of 5.7 inches, as well as an AMOLED display with QHD resolution. This only means that it has 2,560 x 1440 pixels, matching the LG G3 smartphone’s resolution and making it the highest resolution used by Samsung today. It really uses a one-of-a-kind display, displaying vibrant colors, amazing viewing angles, deep blacks, as well as incredible detail. It appears brighter compared to Samsung Galaxy S5.

Samsung has already made use of its 2.5D glass for the front portion of this handset, along with its corners and edges that are rounded. This aims to trick the eyes of its user into thinking that whatever is on the screen appears closer. It is, indeed, a very interesting effect which is really effective – something that has never been seen from other smartphones before.

The Comparison

Though it is using a similar screen size as the Note 3, Note 4 really stands out due to the metal frame that it has. It is also inspired by the Galaxy Alpha which has metal surrounding its front glass entirely and it comes with a rear cover made of faux leather. It really gives the device appear rigid and strong and it makes it look like a premium handset. It also comes with premium features coming from the Samsung Galaxy S5, just like the fingerprint sensor which has been placed into its home button, as well as the monitor for heart rate on its back portion.

If you are used to using handsets that are large, the Samsung Galaxy Note4 is not going to feel weird in your hands. It has frame edges that are curved, thin chassis, as well as a rounded glass which will make you concentrate on using your phone, not on thinking whether or not you can hold the phone and drop it.

Though the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is using similar dimensions as Galaxy Note 3, Samsung still was not able to find some room for a battery that is bigger. It comes with a 3220 mAh cell that can be removed. It also allows you to charge it faster, which means that you may gain 50% in just 3o minutes – something that you will enjoy, especially if you are always rushing. It is also interesting to know that Samsung used their standard connection which is MicroUSB, instead of their USB3 port that they used on the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Note 3. This only suggests that users were not really looking at the advantages of transfer speeds that are quicker.

More Improvements

Samsung has also made improvements when it comes to their back and front cameras, as compared to the Note 3. Its rear camera has a 16MP sensor – something which was last seen in the Samsung Galaxy S5. With Note 4, too, there have been upgrades with the stabilization of its optical image, making the camera shake reduced and making the user enjoy photos that are free from blurs.

Camera Features

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4’s front-facing camera is using a 3.7MP sensor, along with an aperture that is f/1.9, which means it can capture 60% more light when compared to its previous version. It also has a field of view of 90 degrees, which is also around 20 degrees wider when compared to Note 3. People should also never miss the chance to put additional software features, since Samsung has already added their Wide Selfie mode to capture in just one image up to 120 degrees. This can be done by tilting the person’s phone to the right and left, helping you capture you and your friends in just one go.

In addition, Samsung also got to tweak its user interface, Touchwize, again for its Galaxy Note 4, bringing upgrades on its UI elements, text and icons for the support of a screen with a higher resolution, borrowing several ideas on design from Google. The window for Recent Apps are also arranged in a tile stack, like Android L, though there exists an icon next to the compatible tiles which brings you directly into the mode for Multi Window.

The Exciting S Pen

Obviously, Note 4 also comes with the S Pen stylus of Samsung, as well as the software for S Note, which have both applied 2014 upgrades. The said pen also is made using new and grippier materials which may now support up to a pressure sensitivity of up to 2048 levels. This paved the way for fountain pen and calligraphy – two new effects for the brush and just like what their names say, they can mimic their equivalents in the real world. The S Pen is also very comfortable to write with and to hold, though you are just making precise sketches or writing down fast notes.

The Smart Select feature has also been added into the menu for air command. This allows the user to select and save multiple objects independently, as well as import them altogether into just the significant application. Pulling down coming from the device’s top right portion of its screen turns the open app automatically into the floating one, which can be displayed on top of the other applications. Also, you may already use the said pen just like how you use the PC mouse, by dragging and clicking to select just anything that you can see on your screen and have them save into your scrapbook. Among all of the new additions, Snap Note can be seen as the most impressive one, which capture an image of writing, then turns it into an object that can be edited. Also, it may capture at an angle and make the image flattened, with each line that is available for independent editing.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 also includes so many premium and free apps, due to the Galaxy Gifts promotion of Samsung.

Note 4 Release Date

Release date of Galaxy Note 4 is possibly October 14. But reports suggests this could happen as early as October 3. Verizon has revealed that they have already started taking pre-orders for the Note 4 phablet. On contract the Note 4 is priced at $299 on Verizon.

Sprint has announced that they are charging $0 down payment and a $30/monthly for a 2 year contract. In fact Note 4 has been released in some of the Asian markets and managed to beat the release date of iPhone 6 from Apple. Whether Apple sales record for iPhone 6 will be beaten is yet to be seen by Note 4.

T-Mobile beats Sprint, Verizon to become top US wireless provider

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US carrier T-Mobile US Inc has jumped from the fourth position to grab the No. 1 slot for becoming the best US wireless provider for prepaid mobile services.

Overtaking its rivals like Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile US Inc managed to clinch the top position after booking a strong quarterly performance.

The latest figures show, T-Mobile US has grown its prepaid customers to an impressive 15.64 million. With this notable figure, T-Mobile US has managed to beat Sprint (15.19 million customers), AT&T (11.34 million prepaid customers) and Verizon Wireless (6.04 million prepaid customers).

John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile US, Inc. said, “The good news just keeps on coming for T-Mobile. The momentum we are seeing with our T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands is outstanding and the fact that we’ve blown by everyone to take the No.1 spot in prepaid is icing on the cake.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m going on record — I predict we’ll overtake Sprint in total customers by the end of this year. Not someday. Not next year. This year,” Legere said.

According to Legere, the providers are giving high emphasis on the prepaid services as this has become an important area of the mobile marketplace. But no other wireless company has managed to beat the Un-carrier has in this sensitive market.

Americans are voting with their feet, and they’re joining this Un-carrier revolution by the millions,” Legere said.

MetroPCS brand has registered unprecedented growth following merger with T-Mobile last year.

Latest figures shows, MetroPCS has successfully multiplied its market reach to 45 major metro areas and about 10,000 stores by at least three times. America’s fastest nationwide 4G LTE network has also boosted its performance for expansion of markets and coverage. MetroPCS has added over 10 million prepaid customers and the numbers is tend to grow future.

LG G3 now available for $99.99 on Sprint, Verizon and AT&T on contract

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LG G3

Finally, the LG G3 has made its way to the US and now it is seen in full glory. As part of the latest deal, LG G3 is being offered by Best Buy on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon network for a discounted price of $99.99(On-contract price). The standard price of LG G3 on other networks is $199.99 and this is definitely a surprise for the customers.

Many people haven’t yet realized the $100 discount that is being offered for LG G3 on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. For adding some more sweetness to this deal $100 in-store credit is also being thrown in for customers who have eligibility for AT&T Next Program, Sprint Easy Pay and Verizon Edge.

The phone features a 5.5 inches QHD display and runs on the platform Android 4.4.2 Kitkat out of the box. The processor that powers the device is Snapdragon 801 Quad-Core 2.5GHz Krait 400 and has RAM of 3GB/2GB. However, this depends on the variant. This phone features a 13mp camera and comes along with a unique technology of laser autofocus. Even amateur photographers can take some great photos. It also has a 2.1mp front facing camera. The internal storage capacity of the phone is 16GB/32GB, which can be expanded further up to 128GB with the help of a microSD card. The phone has a 3000mAh battery which can deliver around 21 hours of talk time. Options of connectivity on the phone include NFC, LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.Recently MKBHD reviewed this LG G3.

This above deal is being offered on the Silk White and Metallic Black color variants of LG G3 on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. For people who are interested, check out the link of this source for going to the official product listing page of Best Buy. Even try commenting in the comments section after the ordering of this phone is completed. As of now, the reviews received by the phone are immense. It has been called the ‘The perfect smartphone’ and also ‘the most advanced phone on this market’. So, getting a deal on such a phone is no less than a blessing.

Note 4’s Display

The Comparison

More Improvements

Camera Features

The Exciting S Pen

Note 4 Release Date

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