Target offers Verizon Galaxy Nexus for $189.99 with a new 2-year contract

Now that the Verizon Galaxy Nexus has finally launched, the only thing left to do is look for the best deal. LetsTalk had quite a good deal at 12:00AM PST this morning, with it priced at $154.99 after using a special coupon code. Unfortunately, they oversold it leaving some customers on a 2 week waitlist. This is not an ideal situation to be in, so you may want to act fast on this deal at Target while it’s relatively new.

I went over to my local Target earlier today and they didn’t have any in stock, therefore I figured they wouldn’t be carrying it. Needless to say I was wrong. This deal will save you an extra $100, so if it for some reason is out of stock online later tonight, it might benefit you hit up Target as soon as they open. This may turn out to be an online-only deal, but we’ll definitely find that out through the next few days
More deals are bound to come, so stick with us and we’ll feed them to you as they emerge. Surprisingly, over at XDA in the Galaxy Nexus general chat, most users (if not all) are able to score some sort of discount before they complete their purchase. So don’t plan on paying the full $299.99 advertised retail price, there is some obvious markup involved. Not to say the phone isn’t worth it of course – but you may as well save money where you can.
[via Target]

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ClockworkMod Recovery now available for Verizon Galaxy Nexus

Alright, so now you’ve got your Verizon branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus – finally. What’s the first thing you’re going to do? Root it and install ClockworkMod recovery of course! A compatible CWM recovery was available for the international unlocked version of the Galaxy Nexus, but until recently the LTE model wasn’t supported. For those of you that don’t know what CWM is – the rest of this post may not be for you.

This morning, the first thing I did was keep refreshing the Galaxy Nexus Android Development forum for updates to the CWM port – yet the development team was still having some issues. Mainly with the Android 4.0.2 update Google recently pushed out; users were reporting that root wouldn’t stick, and neither would CWM. But XDA Developer open1your1eyes0 posted a “Final Version” – ClockworkMod 5.5.0.4 for Galaxy Nexus *CDMA Edition* – and it works great.
You may have been through a similar process with your previous device (and practically identical if you’re coming from a Nexus), but if not here are the general installation instructions. First you’ll need to unlock the bootloader, as most retail versions ship locked down. Next, flash CWM recovery. Reboot – and then boot into fastboot mode by holding both volume buttons down and then pressing power. You should then be able to select Recovery! It has been confirmed to be working by many, but as always flash with caution – and good luck!
[via XDA Developers]

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T-Mobile pits the Amaze 4G against the iPhone 4S, Street Fighter style

It’s a common enough argument: my phone is better than your phone. If you’ve got any friends who are particularly attached to their iPhones, you might hear it a lot. T-Mobile’s out to end the debate, and they’re not above using Scott Pilgrim-grade nostalgia to do it. Their latest anti-iPhone commercial pits their current flagship the HTC Amaze 4G against the iPhone 4S in a one-on-one battle to the death to the end of Round 1.

The 90-second ad is mostly about the phones’ respective cameras: both shoot 8 megapixel stills and 1080p video. T-Mobile argues in favor of the Amaze 4G, with arguments about panoramic views, face recognition and sports-friendly burst modes. And 8-bit robot samurai fists. You can probably guess who emerges victorious, but if you’re in suspense, check out the video embedded below:




Even as a rabid Android supporter, it’s hard to deny that the cameras in the iPhone 4 and 4S are impressive. Better than the iPhone? Well.. no. But given the extra features and the lack of iPhone availability on T-Mobile, it’s definitely the best you can get on the carrier.

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Verizon 4G LTE hits 11 new cities today, available to over 200 million people

Who wants some 4G LTE to go along with the Galaxy Nexus? In the same fashion as they’ve done all year Verizon has flipped the switch and gave the green light to 11 new cities to access their 4G LTE spectrum starting today. Verizon’s 4G LTE recently celebrated its 1 year birthday and in that short amount of time they’ve reached almost 200 markets and offer 4G LTE to over 200 million Americans nationwide.

Verizon has continued to unleash their blazing fast speeds on new markets almost every 2-3 weeks for the better part of 6 months and now offer 3G LTE to 190 markets across the US. Not only that, but many markets that already have 4G LTE also got an update today with expanded coverage. Here’s the list provided by Verizon below.

New Markets:
Dover, DE
Lafayette, IN
Fitchburg/Leominster, MA
Duluth, MN
The Rochester Area, MN
St. Cloud, MN
Manchester/Nashua, NH
Poughkeepsie, NY
Findlay/Tiffin, OH
Youngstown/Warren, OH
Indiana, PN

Expanding Markets:
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Washington D.C.
Savannah, GA
Chicagoland, ILL
Baltimore, MD
Hagerstown, MD
Speaking of 4G LTE, Verizon’s newest 4G capable phone as you all know is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus — just launched today.  Verizon has far exceeded their goals for the 2011 LTE rollout and no other carrier at the moment even comes close. I’m sure we’ll have more cities to add to this list within the next few weeks so stay tuned. Below is a Timeline that should give you a “complete picture” of Verizon’s 4G LTE lately.

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LG Spectrum leaks again, press image and full specs included

The LG Spectrum might be better known as the Revolution 2 or the device that will replace the original Revolution. We’ve seen it a few times in the past and earlier this week actual images of the device were leaked online. Obviously being the bigger brother to the Revolution we have Verizon 4G LTE and more on board but this latest leak confirms all the specs.

Those hoping for Ice Cream Sandwich will have to wait a few months as this device will be launching with Android 2.3 Gingerbread — although I’m sure an update will come shortly. LG hasn’t been the fastest in the past with updates so that is a thing to consider. Looking very similar to the Optimus LTE, also known as the LG Nitro HD the Spectrum is exactly what we’d hoped for. A huge 4.5″ 720p HD display and a powerful dual-core processor. Here are the official specs:
- Dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor
- Android Gingerbread 2.3
- Verizon 4G LTE
- 10.6 millimeters thick
- 4.5-inch, 1280×720 IPS LCD
- 1GB RAM, 4GB storage plus 16GB microSD
- 8 megapixel, 1080p rear camera; 1.3 megapixel front-facing
- 1830mAh battery
They look strikingly similar and both have 4G LTE only this bad boy will be powered by Verizon’s ever expanding network instead of AT&T’s. The widget from this official press image shows February 14th next to the weather (day after my Birthday). This could be a hint for a Mobile World Congress appearance but just like our source, we think it’ll be here sooner than that and possibly launch right after CES.
[via Pocket Now]

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CyanogenMod for the HP TouchPad reaches Alpha 3.5, delivers better gaming performance

Most of the excitement in the custom ROM world is circling around Ice Cream Sandwich at the moment, but we haven’t forgotten about the best tablet deal of the year. In the latest incremental update to the HP TouchPad version of popular custom ROM CyanogenMod 7.2, the team has focused on UI and gaming improvements, allowing the TouchPad to be at least as capable at 3D gaming as a modern mid-range Android smartphone. Alpha version 3.5 is available for download at RootzWiki now.

The 3.5 update includes improved video for local and streaming, speed and fluidity improvements in 3D rendering, better compatibility for high-end games and a small tweak to the WiFi settings. It’s not much, but if you’re using your Android TouchPad as a media consumption device it’s definitely worth an upgrade. According to the developers in charge of the project a final version is still a long way off, though more stable beta versions may be closer.

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Google Translate updates with handwriting recognition

Google’s translation engine has impressed me ever since the first time I used it on the web, and its continual evolution only impresses me more. The latest in a string of updates to Google’s Translate app for Android adds handwriting recognition, allowing users to write out phrases instead of typing them. At the moment, only seven languages use this feature: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
While most westerners can probably type out words and phrases a lot faster than they can write them (on a phone screen, anyway) the complex characters of Chinese and Japanese don’t cooperate well with keyboards formatted for languages based on Arabic characters. Obviously Android phones sold in Asia don’t have this problem, but if you’re traveling and using your phone for some technology assisted dialogue, it’s a great way to make it easier for the other party to respond. If the Google Translate team follows its regular patterns of behavior, more languages should follow in the next few months.

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Huawei MediaPad clears the FCC en route to AT&T

The Huawei MediaPad isn’t anything new. It was spotted back in June on video and was quickly announced as a 7″ Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet rocking a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm processor and some 3G/4G radios inside. We’ve seen it at the FCC a few times in the recent past on its way to T-Mobile but today’s sighting showed the slate rocking AT&T US bands.

More information and a full set of teardown pictures are available from the FCC filing. If the tablet looks familiar it’s because the Huawei MediaPad is actually available now in the US as the T-Mobile Springboard.
According to the FCC filing and our friends from Wireless Goodness the MediaPad has just been cleared with AT&T bands, giving it the green light to possibly land on shelves this holiday season. Do note these are HSPA+ speeds and not AT&T’s new 4G LTE. The hardware looks identical for the most part and rocks a 7″ 1280 x 800 display, Android 3.2 Honeycomb, a dual-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
The tablet has front and rear facing cameras and all the usual specs like micro-USB, and even a micro-SD slot for extra storage. This could be an awesome budget Honeycomb tablet to go along nicely with the hefty price of the HTC Jetstream from AT&T. We’ll report back when we hear more but for now expect to see this land on AT&T here soon.

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Adobe Flash Player updates just in time for the Galaxy Nexus

When review units of the HSPA+ “international” version of the Galaxy Nexus came out, we were surprised to find that Adobe’s Flash Player was nowhere to be seen on the Android Market. Of course, that didn’t mean much to most US users, since Verizon’s combined exclusivity and “delays” meant they couldn’t get a hold of an Ice Cream Sandwich phone anyway. Well, Adobe’s software developers have delivered just in time, and you can now download Flash for your shiny new Galaxy Nexus, no matter where you are.
The update is a little confusing, since it appears to be the same APK file that was sent out on December 12th. That was thought to be a minor stability fix, but now it appears that it’s the full-fledged Ice Cream Sandwich compatible Flash Player. I’m guessing that Adobe still had some last minute testing to go through, and updated Flash’s compatibility list in the Android Market today.

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