mobile Archive

A year ago I wrote about, how even though I moved, how thanks to technology I was able to remain home (that’s NYC). In the post, I noted that I was able to watch a month’s worth of Yankees games via MLB.tv thanks to a $5 Groupon offer. It was pretty awesome but keeping the service going after the deal was over was just too rich for me. Luckily a number of NY Yankees games have been broadcast locally on ESPN, Fox and TBS. These stations know which team is the best in baseball so they show the team as often as possible.

Today I’ve learned that the MLB has reduced the prices of their MLB.tv plans by $10. Naturally a month of the season is over so it makes sense to reduce the price. The basic MLB.tv plan is $89 and the premium plan is $109. The premium plan includes audio from both home and away teams, dvr controls and multi-game view so you can watch up to 4 games at once.

MLB.tv is now also offering a mobile device plan for $49 for the balance of the season. The plan is good for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and some Android devices. The mobile only plan is limited but does allow you to listen to both home and away audio (this is actually a pretty cool feature).

It’s important to remember that if you order MLB.tv, you can only watch out-of-market games. Blackouts are determined by IP address on both the desktop and mobile versions.

It’s also important to note that if you are a Red Sox or Mets fan, your pricing is double the listed rates. This is due to a special “we wish we were as good as the Yankees” tax on those specific teams.

Even though AT&T is working on acquiring T-Mobile, if you live in Seattle you will want to continue reading this post. This weekend, T-Mobile stores in the Seattle area are going to hold a speed contest. If you own an Apple iPhone on either Verizon or AT&T, you can win a quick $1,000. It’s a brilliant marketing strategy because it gets customers of competing carriers to open the door to T-Mobile and to have a look at the latest Android 4G phones. It will be interesting to see if T-Mobile can convert anyone who owns an iPhone over to an Android device since we know that speed isn’t the only reason consumers select one device over another.

To win the cash, your Apple iPhone needs to beat the T-Mobile Galaxy S smartphone on the T-Mobile 4G network. The rules clearly state you can’t use the WiFi option on the iPhone, it must be on the 3G network. Additionally, the rules state, “Speed challenge consists of three tests of the Galaxy S 4G versus the iPhone based solely on download speeds as measured by the Application; participants will be eligible to receive $1,000 if their iPhones are faster in two out of the three tests.”

I am sure some of the gadget blogs will create some good 3G routines which you can use to get your iPhone ready for the competition!

I wonder what odds Vegas gives to a 3G phone beating a 4G phone in terms of download speed.

Continue reading “Grab $1000 if Your 3G Apple iPhone is Faster Than T-Mobile’s 4G Network” »

The New York City MTA (that’s the group that runs the subway and buses among other transit functions) has announced the upcoming launch of the first NYC transit MTA App Center. The App Center will operate in a similar fashion to the Apple App Store and is described as a way, “to showcase the great apps you have built for MTA customers and make them easier to locate.”

If you want to be included in the launch of the App Center, you need to submit your info by Friday April 29, 2011. If you miss this initial launch round, your submission will be included in a future App Center update.

To learn more about the MTA developer programs, check out their developer website.

Continue reading “NYC MTA Launching App Center – Developers Get Your Apps In Now” »

The State of Texas has announced the launch of their first Android application today. Apparently a lot of residents in Texas use Android devices although most of the ones I see holding their phones while driving are using iPhone devices.

“In the first two months of 2011, nearly 40,000 visits to Texas.gov were from a mobile device. Of these visits, 37 percent were from an Android. In response to this growing trend, it is important for us to continuously provide Texans with new tools that allow them to conveniently access government information and services on their mobile devices,” said Doug Holt, Deputy Executive Director, Department of Information Resources.

The app contains maps and directions to local government offices, photos of Texas landscapes, a Q&A section, an information search and options to connect with the State on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Flickr. Popular sections of the app include information on driver license renewals, concealed handgun permits, vehicle registration and birth certificates.

So far the app has one review from Eric, “I hate Texas but this app is helpful.”

The app is free and you can download the State of Texas Android app in the Android Market.

T-Mobile, the company that might be acquired by AT&T for $39 billion, posted on their Facebook page that tonight beginning at 9pm Pacific (that’s midnight for you Yankees fans and 10pm for all of your hook’em horns fans), they will provide web-only specials on two of their 4g smartphones. There are some questions on the Facebook posting whether the deals will be valid for existing customers or only for new customers – no official reply as of yet.

It looks like T-Mobile currently has three 4g smartphones: the myTouch 4G, Samsung Galaxy S and the T-Mobile G2.

TalkAndroid is also reporting that, beginning tomorrow, T-Mobile will offer two new unlimited plans. T-Mobile will offer a $59.99 pre-paid unlimited Even More Plus plan and a $79.99 unlimited Even More plan for two-year contracts.

What I’ve noticed in my shopping research as I look to get a new phone (although this LG Optimus isn’t bad!) is that Amazon and other online shops offer much better deals than going directly through the carriers especially if you want the latest and greatest Android smartphone.

This is no April Fool’s joke – this is damn serious. To celebrate the launch of the Amazon Android Appstore, Amazon is offering one application for free each day. Earlier this week Amazon offered the SwiftKey Keyboard for free — now it’s back to $1.79.

Today Amazon is offering the popular game Fruit Ninja for free. The Fruit Ninja team of ninjas note that they have sold over six million copies of the game worldwide. The game creators describe the game as, “a juicy action game enjoyed by millions of players around the world with squishy, splatty and satisfying fruit carnage! Become the ultimate bringer of sweet, tasty destruction with every slash.”

Amazon is also offering Angry Birds Rio for free — this appears to be a longer running deal but if you want the game, I’d suggest downloading soon because there is no specific end date listed. The game is basically the same as the Crush the Castle except instead of chucking rocks and bombs you chuck birds. The free game is ad-free and contains all 60 levels.

To get the free games, you need to install the Amazon Android Appstore onto your Android device. Here’s an overview of how to install the Appstore.

You can download both Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds Rio from the Amazon Android Appstore homepage or from within the Appstore after you load it onto your Android device.

If you are on an iPhone, sorry this deal isn’t for you. You can purchase both games from the iTunes App Store for $0.99 each.

Last month Sprint (NYSE:S) announced an offer of $125 towards your monthly bill on a two-year contract if you port your number and purchase a smartphone.  This past Sunday, AT&T announced plans to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion.

There is now a lot of chatter that Sprint will be offering instant rebates on their phones instead of the currently advertised mail-in rebates.  This means there will be no more wait for your money. The change will run from March 27 – April 16. You can read more about this rumor on the SprintUsers forum and on SlickDeals. Sprint is currently showing a $100 mail-in rebate on the Evo, Evo Shift and Samsung Epic.

If you combine the instant rebate and the $125 port-in credit noted above, it looks like a pretty strong deal for those who prefer to purchase directly from Sprint.

There are better deals out there thank buying a smartphone directly from Sprint — for example, Amazon sells the EVO for $119 while the same EVO is sold on the Sprint website for $199 after the $100 rebate. The Samsung Epic is sold on Amazon for $129 and on Sprint’s website for $199, also after a $100 rebate.

I am digging around to try to get confirmation on this offer and will update if I get additional information. If you are planning to purchase a new smartphone directly from Sprint, I’d suggest waiting until the 27th so you get the $100 instantly instead of waiting many weeks and having to deal with the fun rebate paperwork.

I really, really, really want a new smartphone and have heard great things about the Nexus S but so far no Sprint release date has been released.