Firefox 4 Beta for Android “really” is that much faster

Yesterday we told you about the Firefox 4 Beta 5 for Android that was released to the Android Market yesterday morning. Mozilla claims they have not only made it more stable, and more efficient. They also mentioned two things that are a huge part of what browser I use on my Android Phone and that is speed, and size. With each beta release the browser has got a little faster, and the file size once installed has got a little smaller. When it was first released to beta it was slow and huge and not able to transfer to your SD card. Things have changed with the last few updates and Mozilla and Firefox are well on their way to having a great browser for mobile.


So just how fast is the latest beta 5. FAST! We here have been testing it ourselves and I used it for most of the night. Things seem to be steadily improving in all those area’s they mentioned. Above we have a graph for you that is showing Firefox 4 Beta 5 on multiple devices all showing significant speed improvements. Tested on the Galaxy S, the Nexus S and One, as well as the Galaxy Tab for a wide variety of models and Android versions. Seems to be pretty stable and fast across the board. Take into consideration this is just one test out of many. They also had a graph of the Javascript V8 Engine with similar performance improvements.
Whether you plan to change browsers or not, it’s always fun to try new things and I recommend giving it a little test drive. For those using Firefox as a daily driver, check out this Add-On called Quit Fennec that will close the browser completely to conserve battery rather than use a task killer.

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Sony creates ultra-fast phone camera packed with MP

Sony is developing a camera phone sensor with the serious photographer in mind. The new sensor is packed with nearly 18 MP and can fire off high speed burst photographs. Traditionally, phone camera sensors bog down in speed, but Sony has developed a technique where the camera can process pixels in parallel, which takes up to 75 percent less time to generate an image.


In addition to high speed photography, the CMOS based sensor will be able to do half speed video, and option never before available in a camera phone resulting in video imaging at 120 frames per second. Naturally, it would depend on phone processor strength and storage capability and more likely, the added speed would be used for continuous still image photography at lower resolutions. No word on when the the new sensor will make it’s way into the cellphone of the future, but Sony also says it plans on using the new technology in it’s Cyber-shot point and shoot platforms.

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Gingerbread update adjusts colors in Nexus S

Nexus S users enjoying the pure Google experience may find the colors a bit muted after upgrading their OS to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Additionally, some users are complaining that colors seem washed. Google says that the colors in the Gingerbread update reflect an adjustment to the color temperature settings. The adjustment makes the Gingerbread UI darker which directly affects how the colors themselves are perceived.

With your new OTA complete, you may notice a slight difference in the way colors are displayed on your Nexus S. For Nexus S, we have adjusted the color temperature settings to more accurately reflect darker colors at all brightness levels. The Gingerbread UI being darker, we found that the colors were not as accurate when the device was being used at lower brightness levels. For example, some users reported that the initial color temperature was too high leading to some darker grays having a reddish tone; with the new color temperature this is no longer the case.

It’s great that Google seems to be listening to users who found issues with the lower brightness levels affecting how the colors look and as such, tweaked the color temperature to make them look more accurate. But color gamut is a tricky thing and is always subjective. Many users may not like the new color temperature settings because they’re used to the way it looks. And although Google is trying to be proactive, the responses from users in the Google support forum indicate that more adjustments may be needed.

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Sprint suspends Epic 4G Froyo roll-out

Yesterday, we posted a work around for Spring Epic 4G users who were having trouble with the Android 2.2 (Froyo) upgrade. The issues were reported to be with data connectivity to the SD card and failure to access photos, music etc. The work around revolved a hard reset. But it seems now that the issue is more involved than previously thought as Sprint has completely suspended the Froyo roll-out until they can figure out where the issue really lies.


In addition to the Epic 4Gs microSD card not being recognized, many users have been reporting apps, including the camera app, force closing. Data connection issues still persists and there’s also sync issues with the Calendar app. Sprint is currently working with Samsung to troubleshoot the situation. Meanwhile, those who already undergone the Froyo update, can use the reset options outlined in our article yesterday, as well as a ##RTN reset.
Fore more information, users are advised to visit the CE Device portal for more information at RSP>Service & Repair> CE Device Portal > Device Solutions.

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CyanogenMod 7 gets a beautiful Statusbar Pulldown Mod

With the ever so changing and continued development by the amazing TeamDouche Developers, CyanogenMod is always improving. They add things daily and push nightly builds for all you crack flashers like myself. With the quick development we at times run into issues where things like MOD’s or Morphs don’t work or are outdated. It’s good they move so fast, but a bad thing for those that like to personalize their Android phone. Those that follow some of the pulldown status bar mod’s for CM7 I’m sure you all know who @rorifree is. If not, he is the man behind this great looking MOD.


Lucky for us the developer rori~ is always updating and keeping track of his MOD so it always seems to be working perfect. For those looking for a good statusbar mod but can’t find one that is almost always compatible with nightly CM7 builds. This MOD is for you. If you read the thread Rori mentions that it should work with all CM7 Nightly’s after the RC1. He also has confirmed it working perfectly with these said phones but should work for all official CM7 phones:
* LeoGingerBread
* Nexus S
* G2
* EVO
* Desire
* Incredible
* MyTouch 4G
* Nexus One
The new design includes:
* Gingerbread themed icons
* Moved carrier name, added 3D text
* Ongoing notification, fm.radio, download status text is white
* Moved & edited clear button, added 3D text
* New scrolling bar
Not only does it look excellent, but he also gives you a few options on how it will look. The image above you can see the “Clear” button now spans the entire bottom. That is how I have mine. If you’d like it how it was on the side only, rori~ has also included that version as well. Use file HDPI_v1.5F for the full clear bar, and v1.5L for it on the left like default. For more information you can check out the thread over on the XDA Forums. As always with a MOD or a Zip, Do a nandroid backup first and use Caution.
Latest Download Files:
* PulldownMod_HDPI_v1.5F.zip
* PulldownMod_HDPI_v1.5L.zip

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Push App helps Facebook and Twitter users save battery life

Tired of having to sync his Android device every give minutes to update his Twitter and Facebook feeds, XDA developer “rosenbaa29″ has found a workaround thanks to an app called “PUSHEE.” The app is designed to bypass the automatic refresh cycle of apps like Facebook and Twitter, which can drain an Android battery pretty quickly. Still in it’s BETA stage, Pushee is the first ever social push notification app for Android designed to save battery power and notifies users by push notification, rather than sync.


Here’s how it works. Instead of your Android phone checking the Facebook/Twitter servers for updates, Pushee’s servers check your accounts every 60-90 seconds. When an update is found, a push message is sent to your phone. The result, is no battery drain. Course, that means users have to give log in information to Pushee, but that’s nothing new with third party apps.
Users wishing to give Pushee a try can get it at the Pushee Development page. To install, make sure the “Unknown Sources” tab in Settings -> Application screen before downloading to allow installation this app.

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Visual VoiceMail Pulled from Android Market Due to Terms of Service Violation

In an action that at first has appeared to be a move by Google to send a message to developers that it doesn’t want in-app payments to be processed outside of Google Checkout, popular app Visual VoiceMail has been pulled from the Android Marketplace. This app has around one million downloads at the moment, thusly it’s begun to garner some attention from users. The particular articles it seems to have not followed as closely as it should have are inside section 3.3 of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement, covering pricing and payments.


In the section in question, Google notes that “If you want to collect fees after the free trial expires, you must collect all fees for the full version of the Product through the Payment Processor on the Market. In this Agreement, “free” means there are no charges or fees of any kind for use of the Product. All fees received by Developers for Products distributed via the Market must be processed by the Market’s Payment Processor.” Jonathan Hollander, EVP of PhoneFusion, the group that puts out Visual VoiceMail, is confused at how the app has just been taken down now since the app has not gone through any major changes anytime recently save for a tiny bug fix a couple weeks ago.
Visual VoiceMail is one of the wide array of Android apps that is free to download but requires in-app payments for certain actions. For Visual VoiceMail, those actions are “premium” options like voicemail transcription, the ability to receive faxes through a dedicated number, and ad-free service. PhoneFusion accepts payments via its own website in a manner very similar to how Amazon links to its own site to process Kindle app payments.
Google has released a statement on the subject, saying that they “remove applications from Android Market that violate our terms of service,” pointing questioners toward the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement and Android Market Developer Program Policies. Is this the same sort of situation that got Kongregate in trouble all those weeks ago?
The striking thing about this whole situation, or one of the striking things, is that PhoneFusion was given no warning by Google that its app would be pulled, nor did Google let them know the specific information about the violations incurred. Hollander notes the following: There was no warning that they’re going to enforce this, which make it worse than Apple. Even if you disagree with Apple, they gave until June to remove their apps. Here, there’s no choice.” He’s of course referring to Apple’s recent guideline change on similar matters. Is Google being too harsh?

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T-Mobile reports $4.69 Billion in Revenue, Still loosing subscribers

Over at T-Mobile USA they may have one of the best and fastest 4G networks and download speeds. With data ARPUs rising faster than any US rival, but the carrier is still losing users. That and we can’t forget they have the beautiful brunette Carly that does T-Mobile Commercials, that has to count for something right. This year the carrier saw 33.73m subscribers in Q4 2010, according to some even newer figures released today, down from 33.76m in Q3 2010 and 33.79m year-on-year. T-Mobile did mention that one of the larger shifts was with On-Contract subscribers, down a massive 318,000 – over 5x greater than in the previous three month period. That is a pretty big drop. although the pre-pay customers are up from Q3, while still being way down from T-Mobiles pre-pay figures for 2009.


“High contract churn and significant contract customer losses in the fourth quarter of 2010 indicate that we still have a fair amount of work ahead of us” Philipp Humm, President and CEO of T-Mobile USA says, warning that “any turnaround will take time.”
T-Mobile did mention that the competitive smartphone market was part to blame, that and more people were switching to smartphones rather than regular phones and that also drives costs up for T-Mo with subsidies. With the increase in smartphone sales they saw a 0.9% rise to $4.69 Billion in Revenue. That brings us to the “Make it Rain” image above.
Press Release:

T-MOBILE USA REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER 2010 RESULTS
Service revenues in the fourth quarter of 2010 at $4.69 billion, up 0.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2009
Blended data ARPU of $12.80 in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 25.5% from the fourth quarter of 2009
8.2 million customers using 3G/4G smartphones as of the fourth quarter, a net increase of 1 million customers in the fourth quarter of 2010
OIBDA of $1.34 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 was comparable to $1.38 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009
America’s largest 4G network: T-Mobile USA’s national HSPA+ network now covers 200 million people delivering 4G speeds
BELLEVUE, Wash., February 25, 2011 — T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“T-Mobile USA”) today reported fourth quarter of 2010 results. In the fourth quarter of 2010, T-Mobile USA reported service revenues of $4.69 billion compared to $4.65 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, and OIBDA of $1.34 billion compared to $1.38 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2009. The number of customers using smartphones continued to increase significantly during the quarter, driving growth in blended data ARPU. Blended data ARPU in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $12.80, up 25.5% from the fourth quarter of 2009. Net customer losses were 23,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to 371,000 net customer additions in the fourth quarter of 2009.
“Our service revenues increased year-on-year in the fourth quarter. Data ARPU growth rates are outperforming our main competitors as we leverage our 4G network and provide rich and compelling smartphones and data plans. However, high contract churn and significant contract customer losses in the fourth quarter of 2010 indicate that we still have a fair amount of work ahead of us and that any turnaround will take time. With the ongoing implementation of our challenger strategy we are laying the foundation for improved performance going forward,” said Philipp Humm, President and CEO of T-Mobile USA.
“I am pleased with the increase in smartphone adoption and our ongoing improvement in data ARPU. Data growth in the U.S. mobile market continues to accelerate and with the largest 4G network T-Mobile USA is well-positioned to differentiate itself and grow consumer usage. We are not satisfied with contract churn, but we expect that the measures presented at the T-Mobile USA Investor Day in January will lead to improvements in 2011,” said René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom.
Customers
T-Mobile USA served 33.73 million customers (as defined in Note 3 to the Selected Data, below) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, down from 33.76 million at the end of the third quarter of 2010 and 33.79 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, net customer losses were 23,000, compared to net additions of 137,000 in the third quarter of 2010 and 371,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Contract customers were the primary driver for the sequential and year-on-year change in net customers.
Contract net customer losses were 318,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to 60,000 net contract customer losses in the third quarter of 2010, and 117,000 net contract customer losses in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Sequentially and year-on-year, the decline in net contract customers was driven primarily by fewer contract gross customer additions. Traditional postpay gross customer additions decreased in the fourth quarter of 2010 driven primarily by revised credit standards and competitive intensity. FlexPaySM contract gross customer additions also decreased related to competitive intensity.
Connected device net customer additions, included within contract customers (as defined in Note 3 to the Selected Data, below), were lower in the fourth quarter of 2010 than in the third quarter of 2010 and now total 1.9 million at December 31, 2010.
Prepaid net customer additions, including MVNO customers (as defined in Note 3 to the Selected Data, below), were 295,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to 197,000 in the third quarter of 2010 and 488,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
MVNO customer additions were the primary driver of prepaid net customer additions. MVNO customers totaled 2.8 million at December 31, 2010.
Year-on-year, FlexPay No-Contract net customer losses were the primary reason for the decrease in prepaid net customer additions.
Churn
Blended churn (as defined in Note 2 to the Selected Data, below), including both contract and prepaid customers, was 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 3.4% in the third quarter of 2010 and 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The sequential and year-on-year increase was driven primarily by prepaid churn.
Contract churn was 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 2.4% in the third quarter of 2010 and consistent with the fourth quarter of 2009.
The sequential increase in contract churn was due primarily to higher churn of connected devices in the fourth quarter of 2010 and competitive intensity.
Prepaid churn increased in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 7.5% from 7.2% in the third quarter of 2010 and 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The sequential and year-on-year increase in prepaid churn was driven primarily by MVNO customers.
OIBDA and Net Income
T-Mobile USA reported OIBDA (as defined in Note 6 to the Selected Data, below) of $1.34 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with $1.32 billion in the third quarter of 2010 and $1.38 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2009, OIBDA decreased slightly due primarily to a higher equipment subsidy loss from more customers upgrading to smartphones (as defined in Note 11 to the Selected Data, below).
OIBDA margin (as defined in Note 7 to the Selected Data, below) was 29% in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 28% in the third quarter of 2010 but down from 30% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Net income in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $268 million, compared to $320 million in the third quarter of 2010 and $306 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Revenue
Service revenues (as defined in Note 1 to the Selected Data, below) were $4.69 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with $4.71 billion in the third quarter of 2010 and up slightly from $4.65 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Service revenues in the fourth quarter of 2010 were positively impacted by data revenue growth, driven by the adoption of mobile broadband data plans, the revenue contribution from providing handset insurance services, and higher prepaid revenues from the growth of unlimited usage plans. In the fourth quarter of 2010, T-Mobile USA began directly providing handset insurance services which had previously been provided by a third party.
Year-on-year, quarterly service revenues increased due primarily to data revenue growth and from directly providing handset insurance services which more than offset voice revenue declines. The 0.9% increase in quarterly service revenues year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2010 was an improvement from the 0.5% year-on-year decrease in the third quarter of 2010.
Total revenues, including service, equipment, and other revenues were $5.36 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with $5.35 billion in the third quarter of 2010 but down slightly from $5.41 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Equipment revenues decreased year-on-year due primarily to lower sales volumes.
ARPU
Blended Average Revenue Per User (“ARPU” as defined in Note 1 to the Selected Data, below) was $46 in the fourth quarter of 2010, down slightly from $47 in the third quarter of 2010 but consistent with the fourth quarter of 2009.
Contract ARPU was $52 in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with the third quarter of 2010 and up slightly from $51 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Year-on-year contract ARPU increased as data revenue growth and handset insurance revenues more than offset lower voice revenue.
Prepaid ARPU was $19 in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with the third quarter of 2010 and up from $18 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The increase in prepaid ARPU compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 was due primarily to the growth of customers on unlimited usage plans.
Data service revenues (as defined in Note 1 to the Selected Data, below) were $1.29 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 25% from the fourth quarter of 2009. Data service revenues in the fourth quarter of 2010 represented 28% of blended ARPU, or $12.80 per customer, up from 27% of blended ARPU, or $12.40 per customer in the third quarter of 2010, and 22% of blended ARPU, or $10.20 per customer in the fourth quarter of 2009.
8.2 million customers were using smartphones enabled for the T-Mobile USA UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ network (as defined in Note 11 to the Selected Data, below) such as the T-Mobile® myTouch® 4G, T-Mobile G2TM with GoogleTM and the Samsung VibrantTM at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. This was a net increase of 14% or 1 million customers using smartphones from the third quarter of 2010 and more than double the 3.9 million customers as of the fourth quarter of 2009. 3G/4G smartphone customers now account for 24% of total customers, up from 21% in the third quarter of 2010 and 12% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
While messaging continues to be a significant component of blended data ARPU, the increase in the number of customers using smartphones and the continued upgrade of the network are driving Internet access revenue growth with the increasing adoption of mobile broadband data plans.
CPGA and CCPU
The average cost of acquiring a customer, Cost Per Gross Add (“CPGA” as defined in Note 5 to the Selected Data, below) was $290 in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with the third quarter of 2010 but down from $300 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Year-on-year, CPGA decreased in the fourth quarter of 2010 due primarily to the shift in customer base towards MVNO customers and connected devices.
The average cash cost of serving customers, Cash Cost Per User (“CCPU” as defined in Note 4 to the Selected Data, below), was $24 per customer per month in the fourth quarter of 2010, consistent with the third quarter of 2010 and up from $22 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Year-on-year, CCPU was higher due primarily to a higher equipment subsidy loss as more customers upgraded to smartphones and the cost of directly providing handset insurance services.
Capital Expenditures
Cash capital expenditures (as defined in Note 8 to the Selected Data, below) were $2.8 billion in 2010, compared to $3.7 billion in 2009.
The primary reason for lower cash capital expenditures relates to the 2009 build-out of the national UMTS/HSPA network. In 2010 cash capital expenditures were driven by continued network investment including coverage expansion and the upgrade to HSPA+.
Cash capital expenditures were $828 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to $643 million in the third quarter of 2010 and $697 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Sequentially, the increase in cash capital expenditures was due primarily to the build out of the network, including new cell sites and the HSPA+-enabled 4G network upgrade (as defined in Note 10 to the Selected Data, below). With the latest expansion, T-Mobile USA’s 4G network is available in more than 100 major metropolitan areas, reaching 200 million people at the end of 2010.
Year-on-year, the increase in cash capital expenditures was due primarily to payment timing differences.
T-Mobile USA Recent Highlights
On January 20, 2011 T-Mobile USA and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) revealed the Galaxy S™ 4G. Powered by Android™ 2.2, the Galaxy S 4G is T-Mobile USA’s first smartphone capable of delivering theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps, delivering rich entertainment experiences on T-Mobile USA’s 4G network (previous 4G smartphones, such as the myTouch 4G and the G2, were enabled for 14.4 Mbps). The Samsung Galaxy S 4G is exclusive to T-Mobile USA and went on sale on February 23.
On February 1, 2011 T-Mobile USA announced that it will introduce the T-Mobile Global for BusinessTM plan, a unique approach to international voice and data roaming that reinforces the company’s commitment to support multinational corporations, as well as government agencies and U.S. enterprises conducting business internationally.
On February 2, 2011 T-Mobile USA and LG Mobile Phones unveiled their Android™ 3.0 (Honeycomb)-powered tablet, the T-Mobile® G-Slate™ with Google™ by LG. With a brilliant, high-definition (8.9-inch, 3D-capable multi-touch display, the T-Mobile G-Slate delivers a groundbreaking mobile entertainment experience, including the ability to record 3D and full HD video. The tablet is expected to be available this spring. T-Mobile USA’s 4G network, America’s largest 4G network™, is currently available in more than 100 major metropolitan areas, reaching 200 million people nationwide. With aggressive plans to expand and double the speed of its 4G network in 2011, T-Mobile USA expects that 140 million Americans in 25 major metropolitan areas will have access to increased 4G speeds (HSPA+ 42 Mbps) by mid-year 2011.
On February 3, 2011 T-Mobile USA was awarded the highest ranking for the second consecutive time (and the 11th time in the last 13 surveys) in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2011 Wireless Customer Care Performance StudySM — Volume 1.
On February 17, 2011 T-Mobile USA continued its streak of recognition for excellence in customer satisfaction with the fourth consecutive highest ranking in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2011 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction StudySM— Volume 1 results. T‑Mobile USA ranked not only highest overall, but the highest in each area for which the study measured customer satisfaction.
T-Mobile USA is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG (OTCQX: DTEGY). In order to provide comparability with the results of other US wireless carriers, all financial amounts are in US dollars and are based on accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). T-Mobile USA results are included in the consolidated results of Deutsche Telekom, but differ from the information contained herein as Deutsche Telekom reports financial results in Euros and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information provided in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations from the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are provided below following Selected Data and the financial statements.

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Android Virus Alert! SW.SecurePhone and SW.Qieting in the background

Attention Android Users, looks like we may have another small virus issue at hand. Reports like this have came out before. Whether you think phones can get viruses or not. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Our mobile phone Anti-Virus friends over at NetQin Mobile have spotted not one, but two issues that need to be brought to everyone’s attention. NetQin said they have found two Malicious Viruses stemming from apps that come from the dark alley side of the Android Market.

According the NetQin, both viruses will sit idle in the background on your phone and collect private data that will then be stored on the SD card and uploaded to a remote server elsewhere every few minutes. Not displaying any type of Icon, or running task or anything. This could be a huge compromise and leak of your private data. From banking info, to contacts, and messages. Something most users can agree on is very unwanted. The SW.SecurePhone bug appears to be spread primarily through Internet downloads in the United States. Then the next sounds even worse. The SW.Qieting bug. This sneaky little bugger happens to be auto-forwarding all messages received to a “monitoring phone”. Same as above with no warning, icon, or task being shown as running. As always with installing apps. If it’s not a big developer or something new I find it’s always best to read the comments and make sure of what I’m about to install. For those worried, AC to the rescue. Here is a few Anti-Virus options for all your security needs. Last two are some bigger names from the PC world.
NetQin Mobile Security
Kaspersky Mobile 9
last but not least Trend-Micro Mobile Anti-Virus

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