Virgin Mobile pre-orders for iPhone 8 go live on September 22

Virgin Mobile pre-orders for iPhone 8 go live on September 22

Virgin Mobile is a Sprint MVNO which decided to only offer iPhones to new customers a couple of months ago or so as part of its . Members of Virgins Inner Circle (which offers perks on the carrier and Virgins airline) and new customers can begin placing their pre-orders for the and starting on September 22. Yeah, Virgin Mobile is a bit late to the party, but hey, better late than never. Pre-ordered devices will begin shipping on September 29. Oh yeah, and those part of Virgins Inner Circle can get a free year of unlimited service (soft-capped at 23GB per month) for $1 (not a typo), just pay taxes and fees for service every month, which come out to a few dollars per month for the first 12 months. A standard rate of $50 per month applies after the promotion. For those Virgin customers waiting for an , pre-orders will be opening on October 27, though a ship date was not mentioned. In order to take advantage of the $1 promotion, you must be a new Inner Circle customer and pre-order a new iPhone by September 28. The promotion also requires that you port-in your phone number and sign up for AutoPay. |

Read More

Xiaomi Mi Band HRX Edition launched

Xiaomi Mi Band HRX Edition launched

The impressive Mi Band 2 by Xiaomi just got an upgrade in India. The gadget was launched as Mi Band HRX Edition in partnership with HRX by Hrithik Roshan, one of the most famous actors in India. The device offers better tracking algorithm for more accurate monitoring of activities and improved battery life. According to Xiaomi, the Mi Band HRX Edition has 23 days of battery life, which is more than 10% update over the previous 20 days. This unit though does not have a heart rate sensor on the inside like the regular Mi Band 2. Other specs include 0.42 OLED screen with scratch-resistant glass. It has a pedometer, monitors fitness and tracks sleep. It is IP67-rated and connects through Bluetooth 4.0. It is impressively light only 7g, but without the rubber strap. The price of the HRX Edition is INR1,299 ($20), discounted from INR1,799 ($28).

Read More

As more people pre-order, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus shipping estimates lengthen

As more people pre-order, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus shipping estimates lengthen

Apple the first wave of and pre-orders today and the initial stock is already beginning to dwindle. At the beginning of the day buyers from most of the 29 countries that made the first wave of sales were seeing shipping times between 22 and 25 September but now shipping estimates are falling back to between 1 and 2 weeks. It depends on the market you're looking at. Italian users still see the 22-25 September shipping estimate. UK buyers of the iPhone 8 Plus can still get a 64GB model and it will arrive on 22 of September and US customers get the faster shipping estimate as well. But the shipping date depends on the model, the capacity and the country and stock is bound to deplete soon. You can check on any regional Apple site to see the dates for your region. The has a shipping estimate of 2 to 3 weeks.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Note8 reaches 850,000 pre-orders in South Korea

Samsung Galaxy Note8 reaches 850,000 pre-orders in South Korea

The has lived up to and reached 850,000 pre-orders in 8 days in its home country of South Korea. It massively outperformed the Note7, which managed 380,000 pre-orders in 13 days. The Galaxy Note8 will be released on September 21 in Korea (its ), but those who pre-ordered are already receiving their units. Samsung shared some statistics on consumer preferences most people got the 64GB model (65%) rather than the 256GB model (35%) and the most-preferred color was Black, followed by Blue.

Read More

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note8 getting an update as well

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note8 getting an update as well

Today, Samsung the global roll out of its latest Galaxy Note8 flagship smartphone. The device got its even before this commercial launch. The update was hitting international units so far, but it has now arrived in the US as well. Specifically, Verizon has started pushing out a new update to Galaxy Note8 units on its network. The update arrives as version N950USQU1AQI5, and like the one hitting international variants doesn't include September security fixes. The kernel update date is September 8 though (compared to September 1 on international models). Sadly, there is currently no information on exactly what changes are included in the update. Likely, it's same as the update hitting non-US models, so it's about improvements related to the camera app, wireless charging, and overall performance of the phone. |

Read More

Apple has begun rolling out HDR 4K content on iTunes and upgrading old purchases

Apple has begun rolling out HDR 4K content on iTunes and upgrading old purchases

In anticipation of the launch of pre-orders for the , , and (which occurs tonight at 3AM (EST) (or 12AM PST), Apple has already begun rolling out new content with support for 4K resolution and HDR video with higher dynamic range. In addition, Apple is upgrading iTunes customers previous purchases of video to 4K HDR format, which is has promised to do so, free of charge. All the new iPhones announced this week support HDR video, and the new Apple TV 4K supports both the higher resolution and HDR video, along with Dolby Vision support. You likely wont see all your favorite shows and movies flip to 4K HDR just yet, Apple is gradually doing this well ahead of the new phones release date of September 22. Who is up late for iPhone/Watch/TV pre-orders? What did you order?

Read More

Android Wear 2.0 update starts hitting LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition on AT&T

Android Wear 2.0 update starts hitting LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition on AT&T

AT has started rolling out a new update to units on its network. Carrying a build number of NXH21O and weighing in at 345.33MB, the update brings along Android Wear 2.0. The update, as per the change-log posted on the carrier's official website, includes things like new user interface, standalone apps, watch face with complications, new input methods, Google Fit platform, and Google Assistant. In addition, the update also enables the NFC chip on the wearable device for use with Android Pay. And finally, Android security fixes for the month of August are also included in the update. |

Read More