Verizon’s Connection Day is Live – Free Things to be Had

by Kellex on Nov 26, 2014 @droid_life Deals News

Verizon’s newly created promotional day – a day outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday – called Connection Day, has arrived. The thought here is that since today is one of the busiest travel days of the year, Verizon and companies they have partnered with will help you “connect” to people, music, magazines, books, etc. “Stay connected” is one of the many slogans or messages attached. Connect! Yeah!

So what’s the point of it and how does it benefit you? Well, Verizon has partnered with a bunch of companies to give away freebies. You don’t have to be a Verizon customer to get them either – all you need to do is head to their Connection Day website and start accepting goodies. (more…)

Motorola’s Cyber Monday Deal: $359 for the Moto X (2nd Gen), 30% Off Accessories

by Kellex on Nov 25, 2014 @droid_life Deals News

Motorola unveiled its much-anticipated Cyber Monday deal this evening, announcing that they would be slashing the price of the new Moto X (2nd Gen) by $140, while also discounting accessories that you buy with it by 30%. If we do a little math, that drops the $499 Moto X (2nd gen) down to $359 without a contract. That, my friends, is a really good deal. We are talking a phone that is up for phone of the year in the minds of most tech reviewers.

If you decide you don’t want to go the off-contract route, Motorola and Verizon are also discounting the Big Red variant to $0.01 when you sign your life away for two years. (more…)

Verizon Black Friday 2014 Deals: Free Galaxy S5, Moto X Football Edition, Xperia Z3v – $99 G Watch, $50 Off Nest, and More

by Kellex on Nov 24, 2014 @droid_life Deals News

Ahhh yes, Black Friday. The biggest shopping week of the year is here, friends. Whether you are ready to start thinking about X-mas and presents or not, now is the time to at least start looking at deals on some of your favorite products, even if they are items you plan to gift to yourself, because there are plenty to be had. For example, you will want to take a look at the list below, which is from Verizon’s planned Black Friday weekend price slashing.

GET VERIZON’S BLACK FRIDAY DEALS HERE. (more…)

Moto X (2nd Gen) on Verizon Gets Android 5.0 “Lollipop,” Here is the Full Changelog (Updated)

by Kellex on Nov 24, 2014 @droid_life News

The Moto X (2nd gen) on Verizon is indeed receiving an update to Android 5.0 “Lollipop” this week. Well, a soak test of the software update is rolling out to members of Motorola’s Feedback Network as I type this, but assuming it goes well, the rest of the world of Verizon Moto X (2nd gen) owners should have it before long.

Update: Some non-soak testers are reportedly receiving the update as well. Head into Settings>About phone>System updates to check!

We were able to track down the full changelog for the update, which drops in as 22.21.11, in case you are keeping track. (more…)

Verizon Moto X (2nd Gen) Soak Test Incoming – Lollipop? VoLTE? Both?

by Kellex on Nov 22, 2014 @droid_life News

Last year, Motorola pushed out a freshly announced Kit Kat update to the Verizon Moto X (1st gen) in under three weeks. As you can imagine, we are still impressed by this feat, considering they not only had to test and prep the software for the phone, but it also needed approval by Big Red in order to go live for all on their network. It’s one thing to push an update to a Nexus or the new Moto X “Pure Edition,” both of which do not have carrier ties and can be given new software as manufacturers see fit; it’s a completely different struggle when a carrier is involved.

Which brings us to this year’s Moto X (2nd gen) and its impending Lollipop updates. We have already seen Motorola push Android 5.0 to the “Pure Edition,” but what about all of the carrier variants? Our team has been discussing this subject a lot over the last few days, all the while wondering if Motorola and Verizon would try and repeat last year’s success. Tim was even ready to put money on the updates starting yesterday or this upcoming Monday. While no new software has begun pushing as I type this, he might be right. (more…)

Verizon Now Offers LG G Pad 7.0 and 10.1, Discounts Available With Two-Year Contracts

by Kyle on Nov 20, 2014 News

Low-priced Android tablets are a dime a dozen. Case in point? The LG G Pad 7.0 and G Pad 10.1. As is typical for devices of their class, the hardware is middling, but the price is right. This happens to be a category wireless carriers seem to pounce on. Verizon announced today that it will be carrying LTE variants of the G Pad 7.0 and G Pad 10.1 “in time for the holidays.” (more…)

Reminder: Carriers Probably Can’t Activate Your New Nexus 6, Here are Your Options

by Kellex on Nov 17, 2014 @droid_life Featured News Tips

So you received your brand new Nexus 6 today, straight from a factory in China, and you walk into a Verizon or AT&T or Sprint store to have it activated for use. As you and a sales rep get the process going, you get to the point where they need to scan the nano SIM for the phone and then your phone’s IMEI. You can almost taste the Lollipop. You will soon know how many licks it takes. You are this close. The sweat needed to give you extra grip on the 6-inch whale in front of you is starting to build in the palm of your hand. Your fresh pair of JNCOs is crisp from the dryer. The fresh Free Willy tattoo under your tribal band still has a bandage protecting its scab. You are a Nexus 6 owner. No, even better – you are an unlocked Nexus 6 owner on the verge of becoming one with a marine mammal. “I tell you what to do, carrier,” you say under your breath as you reach for your newly activated phone.

And then the sales rep gives you that look. You have seen this look before, typically when the 7-11 clerk scans your lottery ticket. You sir, do not have a winner. “Sorry, the phone won’t activate because the IMEI is not in our system. There is nothing I can do,” the sales rep says. (more…)

Are Carriers Really Branding the Nexus 6? What About SIM Locking?

by Kellex on Nov 17, 2014 @droid_life News Opinion

Over the weekend, the crew in the Nexus 6 subreddit noticed that AT&T’s official images of the Nexus 6 included AT&T’s globe logo on the back of the device, just below the “Nexus” logo. As you can imagine, kind words were not shared, especially with AT&T’s branding leading almost everyone in the building to immediately joke that Verizon would probably place at least two of their own on the device, just to one-up their competitor. Actually, Verizon probably does it just annoy the hell out of us, but either way, those who pre-ordered the AT&T version were not exactly excited about this news.

But wait, we all thought that Google created just one SKU and model for the US, so is AT&T really placing a logo on the Nexus 6 devices sold directly from them? Well, we don’t actually know because no one has seen the device in the wild yet. There are some things to consider here. (more…)