Despite record number of smartphone activations, Verizon loses $1.93 billion in Q4

Despite adding 2.1 million post-paid subscribers in the fourth quarter, as previously announced, and activating a record number of smartphones, Verizon Communications reported a $1.93 billion loss for the period. That works out to a loss of $1.48 for the quarter vs. a loss of 71 cents a share in the year ago period. But most of that red ink was spilled as a result of one-time charges such as pension costs and money spent to keep cell towers running in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Removing the one time charges results in a profit of 45 cents a share for Verizon, but that figure still failed to meet Wall Street expectations of 52 cents a share. Revenue rose 4.5% to $30 billion, topping forecasts of $29.8 billion.

Other figures cited by Verizon for the quarter include low retail post-paid churn of .95%. Verizon now has 92.5 million post-paid accounts and a total of 98.2 million retail customers. The carrier's LTE signal blankets 273 million people in 476 markets. That places Verizon on top of the charts as the largest U.S. carrier and the carrier covering the most markets with LTE.

It should be noted that the earnings numbers are for the entire company which includes Verizon's non-wireless operations such as cable television
source: Verizon via BGR

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LG Optimus G Pro quad-core 1080p smartphone

There is a lot detail about LG‘s upcoming flagship Android smartphone, which is called the LG Optimus G Pro. According to the image, this handset should be available in Japan via NTT DoCoMo (model number LG L-04E). The Optimus G Pro will be compete with other high-end smartphones such as Huawei Ascend D2, HTC M7, Samsung Galaxy S4, and Sony Xperia Z (also ZL).

The LG Optimus G Pro smartphone is basically improved version of its flagship smartphone, the Optimus G. Reportedly, The new phone will brings a high-quality 5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels (Full HD). Heart of the LG Optimus G Pro will be a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor.

Like previous model, new Optimus G Pro will have 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The LG Optimus G Pro quad-core smartphone will pack a 13MP rear-facing camera, a 2.4-megapixel camera on the front, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, and a 3000 mAh battery. Dimensions of Optimus G Pro are 139 x 70 x 10 mm and weigh about 160 grams. It is expected run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system as well as available in black and white color options.

LG Optimus G Pro smartphone is probably showcased at MWC 2013 (Mobile World Congress, February 25-28, Barcelona, Spain).

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Ritmix RMP-600 dual-SIM Android Jelly Bean smartphone

Ritmix is decided to entering a smartphone/tablet hybrid device market in Russia with the Ritmix RMP-600. New gadget is support for dual SIM card slots and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

The Ritmix RMP-600 phablet sports a 1GHz MTK6577 dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card (up to 32GB). It has a 6-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels and 5-point multitouch.

RMP-600 smartphone is equipped with Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, GPS, FM radio, orientation sensor and two cameras (0.3MP front- and 5MP rear-facing). Furthermore, there is a USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 3000 mAh battery. Weighing 275 grams, its dimensions are 165 x 89 x 11 mm.

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Best ways to treat and discard smartphone batteries

Every smartphone has a battery, and every battery will eventually die. Before that happens, you should learn how to store and discard smartphone batteries so you can keep yourself and the environment safe. Whether you're trying to save money by prolonging your battery's life or you want to save the planet by keeping nasty chemicals out of the ground, you have to know the smart ways to store and discard your smartphone batteries. Here are a few useful tips!
DJ Miller is a gadget geek with a passion for writing. He focuses on technology content from prepaid cell phones all the way to video games or applications. He loves to play soccer, hang out with his friends, and watch movies in his spare time.

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Thanks to the Apple iPhone 5, Apple had 53.3% of U.S. smartphone sales in late November

According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, sales of the Apple iPhone 5 were strong enough over the 12 weeks through November 25th to propel the Cupertino based firm's share of the U.S. smartphone market to 53.3% The Apple iPhone 5 and its larger 4 inch screen (up from 3.5 inches on previous models) had been taking business away from Android in the States as Apple showed a year-over-year rise of 17.5% over that three month period vs. a drop of 10.9% for the green robot. Also hit hard by the strength of Apple iPhone 5 sales during the same period was RIM. For the 12 weeks ended November 25th, the U.S. market share for BlackBerry branded handsets had slumped dramatically to 1.4% from 7% the previous year. The loss in market share for Android and RIM during the period accounts for all of Apple's pick up in market share during the same time. A large percentage of BlackBerry users have decided to move on rather than wait for the introduction of BlackBerry 10 next month.

As the 2012 holiday shopping season winds down, Kantar sees Apple scoring further gains. The firm did point out that Apple's leading position in the U.S. smartphone market doesn't carry over to Europe. In the "big five" European countries, Samsung has a combined 44.3% market share followed by Apple's 25.3%

source: Electronista

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ZTE Nubia Z5 quad-core smartphone in China

Today, ZTE, the Chinese company is announcing its surprisingly high-end specs phablet, the ZTE Nubia Z5. The smartphone has a 5-inch touchscreen display at full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution. Yesterday, the company was announced another upcoming phablet, the ZTE U887 but its looks typically low-end device.

Unlike the U887 smartphone, the ZTE Nubia Z5 boasts a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 2,500mAh battery. Coming with small bezel and three buttons on the bottom, the Nubia Z5 packs a 13MP rear-facing camera, a 2-megapixel camera on the front, and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system.

The ZTE’s flagship smartphone is offered at price of around $400. There is no information about availability outside of China.

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ZTE Grand X smartphone coming with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean

ZTE has officially unveiled a new smartphone in Indonesia, the ZTE Grand X. This budget-friendly phone runs Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system (instead of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on first launched in Europe).

The ZTE Grand X smartphone has a 4.3-inch touchscreen qHD display, a 5MP rear-facing camera with 1080p video recording, and VGA camera on the front. Indonesia version of ZTE Grand X is likely boasts a MediaTek 6577 processor, which is different from Europe version (1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core CPU).

As memory term, new smartphone brings 512MB of RAM, 4GB of onboard storage, and a MicroSD card slot. Other features are Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HSDPA, and Dolby Mobile sound.

The Chinese company was released an Intel-powered version of the Grand X smartphone that called the ZTE Grand X IN. It sports an Intel Atom Z2460 single-core processor.

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FCC releases 'smartphone security checker' to help newbies

The FCC is looking out for you, and wants you to be safe and understand how to do some basic things with your smartphone. With that in mind, the FCC has released the 'smartphone security checker' to help newbies to understand some basic things like password security, and backing up data from your smartphone.

The FCC starts out by scaring you, and explaining why you may need this info, by saying there has been a 350% increase in "mobile security threats" since 2010. With that in mind, the new checker is intended to "help consumers protect their mobile devices this holiday season." The checker allows users to select their OS of choice, and gives a bullet-point list of tips for important things that many casual users may not know, like setting PINs and passwords, installing apps from "trusted sources," installing patches, and what to be wary of when "on open Wi-Fi networks."

There is some good info on the site. We don't expect that many of our readers will need it, but it could be a good link to have ready for friends and family.

source: FCC

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ZTE Grand Era LTE Android smartphone

The Chinese company, ZTE has recently introduced its latest Android smartphone, the ZTE Grand Era LTE. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, while on software front is ZTE’s Mifavor user interface. Interestingly, the phone is support for two different kinds of 4G LTE mobile data, the TD-LTE and LTE FDD. New ZTE Grand Era LTE Android smartphone has appeared on China Mobile Hong Kong.

For hardcore scratch resistance, the ZTE Grand Era LTE smartphone delivers a 4.5-inch touchscreen Gorilla Glass display along with resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. This 4G LTE phone boasts a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and MicroSD card slot.

The Grand Era LTE dual-mode network phone packs two cameras – an 8MP rear and a front-facing for video calls. As connectivity, it has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS. Other features are digital compass, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity and ambient light sensor, as well as 1780 mAh battery.

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Lenovo IdeaPhone A586 smartphone

As expected, Lenovo has started selling its voice-unlock Android smartphone, the Lenovo IdeaPhone A586. This phone has listed in the Chinese’s its official website for price of around $160.
Unlike most smartphones on market, the Lenovo IdeaPhone A586 smartphone has voice unlock function that allows users to say passphrase and get access to the device. It is developed by Chinese search company, Baidu and the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research, A*STAR.

The IdeaPhone A586 boasts a Qualcomm MSM8225 dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal memory expandable via MicroSD card. New smartphone packs a 4.5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.
In term of connectivity, there are Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, GPS, headphone jack and USB port. It is works in GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz and WCDMA 2100 MHz mobile network. Dimensions of Lenovo A586 smartphone are 135.5 x 67.6 x 10.4 mm.

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Glaciar dual-SIM Android ICS smartphone

Chinavasion has recently started offering the Glaciar Android smartphone. This handset delivers dual-SIM cards support and a massive 6-inch capacitive multi-touch display but unfortunately, it has only 854 x 480 resolutions.
The Glaciar dual-SIM smartphone boasts a 1GHz dual-core processor paired with runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It has features a 0.3MP front-facing camera, an 8MP camera on the back, and of course, dual SIM card slots with GSM + WCDMA support.

In term of memory, there are 512MB of RAM, 4GB of onboard storage, and a microSD card slot that hold up to 32GB. Other features are WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 3600mAh battery (a talk time for up to 4 hours, or 72 hours on standby).
Dimensions of Glaciar are 160 x 90 x 11 mm (L x W x D) and its weighs 230g.

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Sony Xperia E smartphone debut in the UK starting February 2013

Officially intros at the beginning of the month, the Sony Xperia E smartphone should be launched in the UK in February 2013. This Sony‘s latest Android smartphone will seemingly in stock at Carphone Warehouse but there is no word on pricing detail yet.
New Sony Xperia E smartphone will bring Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. It is along with the 1GHz Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon single-core processor and 4GB of built-in storage. The Xperia E Android smartphone has a 3.5-inch touchscreen display with HVGA (480 x 320) resolution, a 3.2MP rear-facing camera, and a MicroSD card slot that hold up to 32GB in size.

Alongside Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, this phone delivers HSPA, DLNA, and GPS. Other features are Sony Music Unlimited, xLOUD audio technology, active noise cancellation, and more.
The 1,530 mAh battery is enable giving power the handset for up to 6 hours on talk-time. New Sony Xperia E measures 113.5 x 61.8 x 11 mm with weighing 116 grams.
According to press release back in last week, the Sony Xperia E has also another variant, which are a dual SIM version and namely the Sony Xperia E Dual smartphone.

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Panasonic P-02E is a rumored Android smartphone with 1080 by 1920 pixel display

You can buy them outside of Japan, fully unlocked, actually, but of course if you're in to root and all that stuff you shouldn't bother with these.

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Oppo Find 5 quad-core smartphone coming to US early next year

The Chinese company, Oppo has just introduced its flagship smartphone, the Oppo Find 5. This Android superphone should be available in the US market soon (Q1 2013) and price of $499 off-contract. Interesting, the Oppo Find 5 has same display as the HTC Droid DNA smartphone. It has a 5-inch touchscreen, Full HD (1080 x 1920 pixels) resolution, and 441ppi (pixels per inch). For comparison, the latest iPhone 5 has ‘only’ 326ppi.

Oppo Find 5 has also a 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8064 quad-core processor that also similar to the Droid DNA. Running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, this handset packs 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
The Find 5 smartphone is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, GPS, gyroscope, digital compass, orientation, proximity and light sensor. Just 8.8mm thick, it also brings a 2500 mAh battery, a 1.9-megapixel front camera and a 13MP rear-facing camera.

According to manufacture, Oppo Find 5 is the world’s first smartphone to have hardware-based HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology for photo and video.
New quad-core phone is designed for UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA / HSPA+ 850/1700/1900/2100 MHz and GSM / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz networks.

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HTC Butterfly smartphone now pre-order in Europe

Just officially intros few days ago, the HTC Butterfly smartphone is already listed for pre-order in Europe. The Expansys France, Germany, Italy, and UK have started taking pre-order for this HTC product (SIM free) but the price and shipping date is still unknown at moment. The Butterfly is known as the HTC Droid DNA in the US (Verizon), while in Japan is called the HTC J Butterfly.

Running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, the HTC Butterfly / Droid DNA smartphone sports a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of onboard storage.
The Butterfly by HTC provides a 5-inch touchscreen display with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution (Full HD), and Corning Gorilla Glass 2. This phone has also brings an 8MP camera on the back with ImageSense, a front-facing 2.1MP camera, Beats Audio, and a 2,020 mAh li-polymer battery.
As connectivity term, it has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, and A-GPS GLONASS. Weighing 140 grams (with battery), its dimensions are 143 x 70.5 x 9.08 mm.

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Oppo Find 5 quad-core smartphone coming to US early next year

The Chinese company, Oppo has just introduced its flagship smartphone, the Oppo Find 5. This Android superphone should be available in the US market soon (Q1 2013) and price of $499 off-contract. Interesting, the Oppo Find 5 has same display as the HTC Droid DNA smartphone. It has a 5-inch touchscreen, Full HD (1080 x 1920 pixels) resolution, and 441ppi (pixels per inch). For comparison, the latest iPhone 5 has ‘only’ 326ppi.

Oppo Find 5 has also a 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8064 quad-core processor that also similar to the Droid DNA. Running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, this handset packs 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
The Find 5 smartphone is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, GPS, gyroscope, digital compass, orientation, proximity and light sensor. Just 8.8mm thick, it also brings a 2500 mAh battery, a 1.9-megapixel front camera and a 13MP rear-facing camera.

According to manufacture, Oppo Find 5 is the world’s first smartphone to have hardware-based HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology for photo and video.
New quad-core phone is designed for UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA / HSPA+ 850/1700/1900/2100 MHz and GSM / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz networks.

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Lava Iris N400 dual SIM Android smartphone

Lava Mobile has recently launched its new dual-SIM Android smartphone, the Lava Iris N400. Folks in India can grab this handset for cost Rs 6,399 (that’s mean $115) outright at Flipkart.
Running on Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich software, the Lava Iris N400 smartphone is powered by a 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM, and 127MB of internal memory.

The Iris N400 has two GSM SIM card slots and single microSD card slot (up to 32GB). New phone packs a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolutions and two cameras (5MP front and 0.3MP rear-facing).
Other features are Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 1500mAh Li-Ion battery. The Lava Iris N400 dual-SIM smartphone is measuring 63 x 125 x 10.2 mm.

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You can now bring your own Sprint smartphone to Ting

My experience as a Sprint postpaid customer after being a Verizon postpaid customer (switched due to specific coverage issues where Sprint worked and Verizon did not) is that my only real gripe about Sprint service was data speed. Given the cost differential, and that none of my family are walking around streaming media all the time, Sprint is fine.

Ting, however, is a super option for anyone not intent on pushing their "unlimited" data plan to 20Gb per month just because they can, as I've heard numerous teens brag. And in contrast to most of the other Sprint MVNOs, you get the full postpaid network coverage for voice and SMS. Substitute one of the CoPilot apps for Google maps navigation (so you only use GPS and not data for navigation), and you've pretty much got what you need.

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ZTE Nubia Z5 Android smartphone

The photo of upcoming ZTE Nubia Z5 smartphone has appeared in a post on Weibo website. Based on its pictures, this ZTE handset comes in white case and a large speaker on the front.
New ZTE Nubia Z5 will have a 5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Just 7.6mm thin, the Nubia Z5 will boast a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 quad-core processor, 2GB of

RAM, and likely runs Android Jelly Bean OS. It packs a 13-megapixel camera on the back, and dual stereo speakers.
Reportedly, the ZTE Nubia Z5 1080p Android smartphone should be officially release for Chinese market later this month.

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HTC Windows Phone 8S dual-core smartphone hits Three UK

The second Windows Phone 8 handset from HTC is now available in the Three UK. It is called the HTC Windows Phone 8S smartphone and listed for free with a 2-year contract (as low as ?17 monthly). But if you don’t want any long-term commitment, you can grab the HTC 8S Windows Phone for ?180.
You can also found this HTC smartphone at the British retailers – Clove, Amazon UK, and Expansys. It looks like, Clove is selling the unlocked HTC Windows Phone 8S for cost ?225, while Amazon and Expansys are offering the SIM-free/Unlocked model for ?241 and ?239.99, respectively.

The HTC 8S smartphone was officially unveiled back in September and claimed as an affordable WP8 handset.
New smartphone sports a 4-inch touchscreen Super LCD display with WVGA resolution and protected by Gorilla Glass. The HTC Windows Phone 8S boasts a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. Its expansion is a MicroSDHC card with up to 32GB of size. There is a 5MP rear-facing autofocus camera with dual LED flash, F2.8 aperture and 35mm lens.
As connectivity, there are Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n. Other features are a 1700 mAh Li-ion Polymer battery, Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio, and a MicroUSB port. Dimensions of HTC 8S are 120.5 x 63 x 10.28 mm and its weighs 113g with battery.

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