AT&T lays out plans to cover 300 million with 4G LTE by end of 2014

AT&T commits to $14 billion in network improvements over the next 3 years

AT&T has announced significant expansion and infrastructure investments to support future growth, including a scheme to extend 4G LTE coverage to 300 million Americans over the next two years.

The carrier announced plans Wednesday to invest $14 billion in the next three years to augment its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks, which promises to offer high-speed data access to 99 percent of its customers in wireline service areas.

The investment plan is called Project Velocity IP (VIP), an initiative aimed at supporting growing customer demand for high-speed internet access across the country.

AT&T plans to expand its 4G LTE network dramatically between now and the end of 2014, when it expects to service 300 million customers.

Eye to the future

Not just focused on wireless, AT&T's will also expand its wired IP broadband network to 75 percent of customer locations by the end of 2015 across 22 states, where the services are offered.

"This is a major commitment to invest in 21st century communications infrastructure for the United States and bring high-speed Internet connectivity - 4G LTE mobile and wireline IP broadband - to millions more Americans," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.

"Revenues in our key growth areas - wireless data, U-verse and strategic business services - are all growing at a strong double-digit rate.

"Project VIP expands our potential in these key platforms and makes them available to many more customers."

Stephenson noted that such a significant capital investment would is only possible because of AT&T's "strong balance sheet," and considers the plan to be "logical extensions" of the company's proven technologies.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/broadband/at-t-lays-out-plans-to-cover-300-million-with-4g-lte-by-end-of-2014-1110855

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AT&T 4G LTE to cover 300 million people by end of 2014

AT&T commits to $14 billion in network improvements over the next 3 years

AT&T has announced significant expansion and infrastructure investments to support future growth, including LTE coverage for 300 million Americans over the next two years.

On Wednesday, AT&T announced plans to invest $14 billion over the next three years to augment its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks, which promises to offer 99 percent of its customers in wireline service areas high-speed data access.

The investment plan is called Project Velocity IP (VIP), an initiative aimed at supporting growing customer demand for high-speed internet access across the country.

AT&T plans to expand its 4G LTE network dramatically between now and the end of 2014, when it expects to service 300 million customers.

Eye to the future

Not just about wireless, AT&T's wired IP broadband network will also be expanded to 75 percent of customer locations by the end of 2015 across 22 states where the services are offered.

"This is a major commitment to invest in 21st Century communications infrastructure for the United States and bring high-speed Internet connectivity - 4G LTE mobile and wireline IP broadband - to millions more Americans," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.

"Revenues in our key growth areas - wireless data, U-verse and strategic business services - are all growing at a strong double-digit rate. Project VIP expands our potential in these key platforms and makes them available to many more customers."

Stephenson noted that such a significant capital investment would is only possible because of AT&T's "strong balance sheet," and considers the plan to be "logical extensions" of the company's proven technologies.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/broadband/at-t-4g-lte-to-cover-300-million-people-by-end-of-2014-1110855

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iPad 3 vs iPad 4: Spec Showdown

Making a far quieter entrance into the market than its Mini counterpart, the iPad 4 has arrived. It's the fourth refresh the iPad has had in two years. Check out its specs alongside its predecessor and see if the iPad 4 is worth it for you.

Every company with a tablet on the market wants its product to be the “iPad Killer.” Unfortunately for its competitors, Apple has a tendency of killing its own products and bringing them back to life with improvements that leapfrog the last benchmark. In its nearly regular refresh — the fourth in two years — to the iPad, Apple is making some small changes. Visually, nothing changes as the device holds steady at the same dimensions and identical Retina display that was introduced on the iPad 3. The processor got a slight boost to a 1.3GHz A6X dual-core and the front-facing camera gets clearer with a 1.3-megapixel lens. The charging port is also changed out for the new Lightning Connector. Take a look at the full side-by-side spec breakdown below.

It doesn’t seem like Apple will be chasing too many current iPad owners with the iPad 4. The upgrades are fairly minimal from what the 3rd generation offered and likely won’t convert iPad 3 owners. More than likely, the iPad 4′s market will be for folks that are still without a tablet in their possession or for people who passed on the last two refreshes and still own the original iPad or the iPad 2. Assuming the price for the iPad 3 drops similarly to how the iPad 2 did (currently $400 in the Apple Store), it may become an attractive entry level tablet for people that prefer the Apple brand. The iPad 4 feels like it got pushed out to market to make the Lightning connector the universal offering in Apple’s mobile line. It may still be an option for hold outs, but iPad 3 owners may be wise to skip this generation.

(*A quick note: We use the words iPad 3 and iPad 4 to mean 3rd generation and 4th generation iPad.)

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ipad-3-vs-ipad-4/

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Nokia officially pulls the plug on Symbian, puts it in 'maintenance mode'

No more updates for the troubled OS

Once upon a time, Symbian was everywhere. It was the de facto operating system for mobile phones for years, before the iPhone was a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye.

And now it's gone, with Nokia officially putting the humble operating system into maintenance mode.

The decision to kill off Symbian has been in the works for a while, although nobody quite expected for Nokia to pull the plug with such a whimper.

Following its last update, FP2, a user of Nokia's Drive app for the Nokia E7 lodged a bug report, only to get a response that Symbian is now in maintenance mode, and no new features will be added to the OS from here on out.

"Thank you for your improvement ideas, thus (sic) Symbian is in maintenance mode and no new features will be implement[ed] without extremely good reason (business case). We have written down your ideas for future development if there is a chance that new features will be released," read the response.

A long time coming

In many regards, Nokia's commitment to Symbian has been its achilles heel in the smartphone race. While the FInns pioneered early smartphones with the N95 and N96, it was totally unprepared for Apple, then Google's entry into the smartphone market.

Eventually, rapidly declining Symbian sales saw the phone manufacturer take the step of partnering with Microsoft to exclusively release Windows Phone devices. It also decided to rename the operating system as "Nokia Belle".

The name change did little to salvage market share, leading to the decision to put the operating system into maintenance mode.

With no updates to the operating system other than bug fixes, this is undoubtedly the end of the line for the mobile operating system that drove mobile phones into the mainstream.

Vale, Symbian. Rest in peace.

Via: Phone Arena

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/nokia-officially-pulls-the-plug-on-symbian-puts-it-in-maintenance-mode-1105245

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AT&T gives hotspots a touch up with touchscreen MiFi Liberate

AT&T puts control right at user's fingertips with MiFi Liberate, the first mobile hotspot with a touchscreen.

Not too many years ago, people would joke about how everything has a camera built into it. But since everything also has a touchscreen nowadays, wouldn’t it make sense if touchscreens were the new camera? Wouldn’t that be the gadget everyone needs to own? Well, that seems to be the rationale behind AT&T latest device: the MiFi Liberate, the mobile provider’s first ever hotspot device decked out with touchscreen capacity.

The MiFi Liberate, developed by Novatel Wireless, can connect up to 10 devices to AT&T’s 4G LTE network. Those devices can then be managed right from the MiFi Liberate’s 2.8-inch color screen. From the MiFi Liberate, you can control various functionalities, such as monitoring data usage, changing networks, and editing the device settings — straight from the touch interface. Users will also be able to add extra memory space with MicroSD cards. AT&T is promising about 11 hours of battery life in continuous use.

There are currently no pricing or availability information for the MiFi Liberate, and it’s something AT&T may want to move quick to announce. It’s only a matter of time before a company releases a WiFi hotspot with a larger touchscreen and more functionalities, which will prompt the competitive process to continue until someone realizes they’re just creating a tablet that acts as a WiFi hotspot.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/att-gives-hotspots-a-touch-up-with-touchscreen-mifi-liberate/

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US House supports 5 more years of foreign surveillance

Monitoring, if passed by the Senate, to continue until 2017

While everyone is concentrating on whether or not President Barack Obama will get four more years in the White House, the FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012 cleared the U.S. House of Representatives this week, giving the controversial act an additional five years.

This extension of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which was due to expire on Dec. 31, 2012, passed on a 301 to 118 vote. Since 70 percent of representatives (227 Republicans and 74 Democrats) voted in favor of the bill, it exceeded the simple majority required to pass.

"The Act allows intelligence professionals to more quickly and effectively monitor terrorist communications, while protecting the civil liberties of Americans," states to the bill's summary. The text attempts to make the case by illustrating foreign surveillance before the FISA Amendment.

"Admiral McConnell stated that the Intelligence Community was not collecting approximately two-thirds of the foreign intelligence information that it collected prior to legal interpretations that required the government to obtain individualized FISA court orders for overseas surveillance."

The bill cites changes in technology as justification: "This is contrary to what Congress intended when it enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 1978 and had come about due to changes in telecommunication technology."

Dubbed 'warrantless wiretap bill' by opponents

Critics have long decried the FISA Amendment as an overreach by the federal government and a violation of citizens' Fourth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

The provisions of the FISA Amendment and its 2012 extension are a work around of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. That bill prevented the government from using its vast resources to spy on Americans in the wake of Richard Nixon's involvement in Watergate.

This has led opponents to routinely refer to the FISA Amendment as a "warrantless wiretap bill" and a spy program in which citizens can be unfairly targeted. On the latter criticism, dissenting Congressmen decry the lack of data available on how many citizens have been affected.

Backers, on the other hand, simply use its official name and point to the fact that the bill "requires court orders to target Americans for foreign intelligence surveillance, no matter where they are, and requires court review of the procedures used to protect information about Americans."

On to the Senate

Following its passage on the House floor, the FISA Amendment of 2012 is due for a vote by the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The Senate, however, rubber stamped the FISA Amendment of 2008 with 22 Democrats and 46 Republicans voting in the affirmative. The only dissenters were the 27 Democrats.

On top of its bipartisan support, President Obama is in favor of the Bush-era Amendment and voted for the bill as a Senator in 2008. Prior to that vote, however, he opposed the Act because it retroactively granted immunity for telecommunications companies.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/other-phones/us-house-supports-5-more-years-of-foreign-surveillance-1097582

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FISA Amendment renewed by US House for 5 more years of foreign surveillance

Monitoring, if passed by the Senate, to continue until 2017

While everyone is concentrating on whether or not President Barack Obama will get four more years in the White House, the FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012 cleared the U.S. House of Representatives this week, giving the controversial act an additional five years.

This extension of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which was due to expire on December 31, 2012, passed on a 301 to 118 vote. Since 70% of representatives (227 Republicans and 74 Democrats) voted in favor of the bill, it exceeded the simple majority required to pass.

"The Act allows intelligence professionals to more quickly and effectively monitor terrorist communications, while protecting the civil liberties of Americans," states to the bill's summary. The text attempts to make the case by illustrating foreign surveillance before the FISA Amendment.

"Admiral McConnell stated that the Intelligence Community was not collecting approximately two-thirds of the foreign intelligence information that it collected prior to legal interpretations that required the government to obtain individualized FISA court orders for overseas surveillance."

The bill cites changes in technology as justification: "This is contrary to what Congress intended when it enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 1978 and had come about due to changes in telecommunication technology."

Dubbed "warrantless wiretap bill" by opponents

Critics have long decried the FISA Amendment as an overreach by the federal government and a violation of citizens' Fourth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

The provisions of the FISA Amendment and its 2012 extension are a work around of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. That bill prevented the government from using its vast resources to spy on Americans in the wake of Richard Nixon's involvement in Watergate.

This has led opponents to routinely refer to the FISA Amendment as a "warrantless wiretap bill" and a spy program in which citizens can be unfairly targeted. On the latter criticism, dissenting Congressmen decry the lack of data available on how many citizens have been affected.

Backers, on the other hand, simply use its official name and point to the fact that the bill "requires court orders to target Americans for foreign intelligence surveillance, no matter where they are, and requires court review of the procedures used to protect information about Americans."

On to the Senate

Following its passage on the House floor, the FISA Amendment of 2012 is due for a vote by the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The Senate, however, rubber stamped the FISA Amendment of 2008 with 22 Democrats and 46 Republicans voting in the affirmative. The only dissenters were the 27 Democrats.

On top of its bipartisan support, President Obama is in favor of the Bush-era Amendment and voted for the bill as a Senator in 2008. Prior to that vote, however, he opposed the Act because it retroactively granted immunity for telecommunications companies.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/other-phones/fisa-amendment-renewed-by-us-house-for-5-more-years-of-foreign-surveillance-1097582

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Treehouse hopes to further tech education with $3 million in scholarships for future developers

Higher learning alternatives get a boost from Treehouse's new scholarship initiative.

In the last few years, the Mark Zuckerbergs of the tech world have turned the college education systems on its head. Eschewing college in favor of the path less taken — primarily, one composed of self-teaching — has become a legitimate option for talented developers. This, combined with our rising national debt and the attitude that “everyone should code!” has led to the evolution of Web-facing, easy-to-use online education systems with beautiful interfaces and game mechanics.

Chances are, you’re thinking of Codecademy, but the two year old Treehouse has also made a name for itself in this space. The platform (which recently raised $4.75 million that I’m told is going to building out the curriculum from beginner to advanced as well as some professional video upgrades) wants to give users that tools they need to develop for the Web, iOS, and Android using project-oriented learning. This week, Treehouse announced it will donate $3 million toward helping college kids use its application to further their education.

“Secondary education in the US is at an all-time high, and tuition is only increasing,” the Treehouse blog reads. “Treehouse is creating this scholarship because we believe in the power of self-learning and self-improvement. We’re giving away 2,500, 2-year long Treehouse subscriptions to students that are passionate about the Web.”

Founder and CEO of Treehouse Ryan Carson tells me that each scholarship is worth $1,176 and translates to a two year Treehouse membership where recipients will learn to mobile and Web coding as well as Web design and even startup launching skills.

Of course, all the development skills in the world only mean something if they can land you a job; the current state of hiring in this market is extremely competitive — and that’s putting it lightly. But Carson says that getting students through this program and into actual employment is the plan, and that it’s within reach.

“We think we can get people job-ready for apprenticeship roles in Web design and Web development, iOS, Android, PHP, and WordPress in three months for $150,” he says. “Our goal is to then help place them in a job through our Jobs Placement team.”

It’s an admirable and exciting proposition — especially to the college-aged among us who see this huge and robust industry but aren’t yet sure how to find their footing in it. There has been plenty of discussion and argument about the effectiveness of a traditional college education for technology focuses, and this particular route is in the process of being disrupted; according to Carson, for good reason.

“The problem with learning technology at a two year or four year university is that your skills are out of date by the time you graduate,” he tells me. “A skills-based model like Treehouse allows you to stay up to date. Not only that but Treehouse is extremely more affordable than traditional college fees. Also, you can learn at your own pace in bite-sized chunks.”

He says that Treehouse currently does not have an apprenticeship program within its own hiring structure, but that the team would like to introduce this soon.  

For all of the positives of programs like Treehouse, Codecademy, Khan Academy, and the rest of these learning alternatives, they’ve also been accused to undermining educators and in some cases offering second-rate courses. The criticisms aren’t without merit, but neither is the argument that our higher education systems needs to be evolved, especially for the technology sector. Students are getting left behind while accruing serious debt — and often without amassing a portfolio that leads to hiring. It’s a cruel cycle, and that’s exactly why there’s been such an influx of learning alternative startups recently, Treehouse included.

If you’re interested in this supplementary coding education, all you need is to be a U.S. college student with a valid .edu email address. You can fill out this form to get started.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/treehouse-furthers-tech-education-with-3-million/

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The untapped potential of augmented reality

It seems like augmented reality has been tipped to take off for a few years now, so where is it? Why aren’t we using it in our daily lives?

Augmented reality or AR has been around for years. Back in 2009 we were talking about AR’s potential impact on our lives. The idea of overlaying information on your view of the real world is familiar to everyone. Thanks to sci-fi movies like the Terminator series, we all have a pretty good idea of how useful it could be. The convergence of cameras, location awareness, and apps in our modern smartphones made AR really accessible for the first time. If you care to look, there are a lot of AR apps in Google Play and the App Store. So why isn’t anybody using them?

Existing AR apps

Options like Wikitude and Layar allow you to view the world through your camera viewfinder and see information about various things. You can see local restaurants or hotels; you can find further information on landmarks; and you can check property for sale. The potential applications go on and on. Layar alone has over 3,000 different layers to choose from, depending on what you want to see.

Here’s an augmented reality app roundup we did back in 2010. These apps all had genuine potential and some of them have achieved a fairly high number of downloads, but widespread adoption is still a distant goal. What has been holding it back?

In short: AR apps are only as good as the information they draw on. User created overlays and apps that rely on people to enter details rarely offer comprehensive coverage of an area. Information can also become dated quite quickly, so frequent updates are required. Cities are generally far better served by AR apps than rural areas or towns. It also has to be said that many of the AR apps available right now have ugly interfaces. Overall, the experience with many existing AR apps can leave you feeling underwhelmed.

Nokia’s lens to the city

Nokia unveiled the Lumia 920 this week and showed off its City Lens for Windows Phone 8, which is basically a navigation overlay that looks a lot like Wikitude and Layar. During the City Lens demo Kevin Shields, Senior Vice President of Nokia, held it up to show off the names of nearby restaurants popping up and then said if you were out on the street “you would actually be able to see those labels on those restaurants”. It was tough not to think “you mean like signs?” but it would be churlish to ignore the potential here. You could see restaurants that were a few blocks away and of course you’d see the names but you can also access further information, reviews, photographs, and contact details to make a booking.

City Lens is not a new concept, but we expect Nokia to execute better than many of the existing apps and create a more compelling experience. If it works smoothly enough, it could help AR to break into the mainstream.

Beyond smartphones, there is Glass

Maybe our early smartphones didn’t have enough power to achieve the kind of augmented reality apps that people want. Perhaps a vast improvement in the power of our smartphones and the speed of our mobile networks will give AR the kick start it needs. In early 2011, we did a piece on 5 awesome ways augmented reality could improve your life. The potential applications are fantastic. Even beyond the obvious improvement in navigation, there is much to consider, from interactive games with a real world backdrop, to bringing static pages or posters to life, to creating interactive instructions, or even trying on virtual clothes.

It’s been a year since we wrote that article, but mainstream AR is still an elusive dream. We shouldn’t lose hope, however. Now that high-speed 4G LTE service is becoming more common and our smartphones have bigger batteries, perhaps the AR experiences we dream of are may yet become reality.

According to a recent report from Juniper Research, “over 2.5 billion mobile augmented reality (AR) apps will be downloaded to smartphones and tablets per annum” by 2017. The steady climb toward that goal starts now, but it may not be our smartphones and tablets that really drive it.

But maybe smartphones won’t make augmented reality popular. 

Google has been working on Project Glass, an ambitious plan to create AR glasses that do almost everything your smartphone does. We also know that video game giant Valve is working on augmented reality and talking about wearable computing devices. Our own Molly McHugh speculated about the future of wearable devices, as well. There has also been some progress with systems to bring AR navigation to the windshield of your car.

The driving force that really catapults AR into the mainstream could be entirely new devices. 

Will AR be a good thing?

We are pretty sure that AR is coming — it just lacks the right vehicle right now — but will it be a good thing when we can augment reality? There could be some less-than-wholesome uses of Google’s AR glasses, from virtual violence to porn overlays and graffiti, but then you could say that about almost all of our new technology. Every time there’s a leap forward, there’s always a way to abuse it, but that obviously doesn’t negate all the good it could bring.

AR seems like the best kind of technology, in the sense that it should make our lives easier. It should make our lives richer and more interesting. It should augment our reality, but then man-made augmentations to our lives don’t have the best track record. The short film Sight shows up the potential perils of augmented reality beautifully.

Time to try it out for yourself

Whether you just want to have a bit of fun with augmented reality and check out something like this Chest Burster app, which allows you to watch a hungry wee Xenomorph burst out of your friend’s chest, or you’d rather find something with a practical use, there are some seriously awesome augmented reality apps already out there. Why not give it a try for yourself? Just make sure to come back and tell us what you think. If you’ve got any good AR app recommendations, post a comment and share them.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/augmented-reality-untapped-potential/

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Nielsen: More than 50 percent of teens now own a smartphone, fastest-growing sector

According to new data from research firm Nielsen, smartphone ownership is growing fastest among those between 13 and 17 years of age, with more than half now owning such a device.

New research from Nielsen shows that 58 percent of 13 to 17 year olds living in the US now own a smartphone, a significant jump from 36 percent 12 months ago. Ownership is most prevalent, however, among those aged 25 to 34, standing at 74 percent, up from 59 percent a year ago.

As of July 2012, 55.5 percent of all mobile subscribers based in the US own a smartphone, Nielsen said. This marks an increase of 14.5 percent on a year earlier.

With teens clearly the fastest-growing group in smartphone take-up – and with plenty of growth still possible – we can expect to see mobile makers taking an even keener interest in the sector with marketing campaigns designed to win over the young consumers.

Among the various mobile operating systems, Android is still the market leader, with 51.9 percent of all US-based smartphone owners using an Android-powered device as of July 2012. When the figures are broken down to see who bought what during the last three months to July, the figure for Android is even higher – 58.6 percent.

Worryingly for Research In Motion, Android’s recent growth appears to have been at the expense of its BlackBerry devices. According to Nielsen’s research, BlackBerry smartphone ownership now stands at just 8 percent of all US-based smartphone owners, with the figure dropping to just 2.7 percent for those who purchased a smartphone in the last three months. The grim figures highlight the enormity of RIM’s task of rejuvenating its business with the launch of its next-generation OS, BlackBerry 10, although this won’t be happening until at least early 2013.

Of smartphone purchases made in the last three months, 58.6 percent opted for an Android-powered device, while 33 percent went for the iPhone. The figures for Apple’s iOS device may have been skewed by the fact that many of those keen on getting an iPhone are choosing to wait until the launch of the new model, expected to be unveiled by Tim Cook on Wednesday.

In its research, Nielsen questioned more than 20,000 US-based mobile subscribers aged 13 and over.

[Image: Peter Sobolev / Shutterstock]

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/more-than-50-percent-of-teens-now-own-a-smartphone/

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Flipboard now an in-magazine shopping destination for Levi’s clothing

Flipboard announces its partnership with Levi's to kick start its foray into m-commerce. Users can now purchase clothing from within the app.

For years now, reader apps have slugged along with an advertising business model that hasn’t exactly been lucrative. With the debut of Flipboard’s new social shopping catalogue, however, its e-commerce strategy could break ground for the experimentation of new business models among reader apps.

Piggybacking on New York Fashion Week, which is in full bloom for the Spring/Summer 2013 line, Flipboard has announced “The New Levi’s Collection.” Flipboard, in conjunction with Levi’s, will sell the clothing brand’s fall season fashion for both men and women. In other words, the magazine-style reader is now a shopping platform — one where users can easily purchase what they see from within the app’s new Style category, found in the Content Guide.

In magazine fashion, the Style category will be accompanied by images uploaded using Instagram, curated articles by Levi’s staffers, and a behind-the-scenes look of the “insider’s view of life at Levi’s.” Flipboard calls the experience Catalogue 2.0, as it offers a shopping experience that’s completely restricted to Flipboard, a mobile-only application.

Flipboard is not the first magazine-like app to have tackled m-commerce. Publishers were once scrambling to figure out how to offer a compelling tablet-based magazine that consumers would be willing to purchase, despite offering similar content in its print publication. In 2010 Marie Claire and ELLE magazines, both, owned by Hearst, were among the first magazine app in the iTunes App Store with an m-commerce solution that integrated a shopping platform within the reading experience.

There isn’t much to lose for both Flipboard and Levi’s now that the technology platform has already been developed. Flipboard most likely takes a commission for every sale made, similar to a drop shipping solution, and (of course) every purchase request notifies Levi’s to ship out the appropriate product.

This strategy could get the folks at Zite, Pulse, News.me, and other mobile readers thinking about supplementing their revenue with an m-commerce business model, and we couldn’t blame them. M-commerce is one of the fastest growing subsets within e-commerce.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/flipboard-levis-shopping/

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Best Android tablet apps

We put together our first list of some of the best Android tablet apps including TweetCaster and Craigslist HD.

We’ve been recommending our favorite Android apps for years, but as of late, the Android Market Google Play store has been getting more and more apps built from the ground up for tablets. As such, we give you our first five recommendations for the Best Android Tablet apps. We’ll update this list on a semi regular basis with new picks. Let us know which tablet apps you like, don’t like, or recommend in the comments below. Please, however, don’t just plug your own app. That’s not classy. For the rest of you: enjoy!

Check out our list of the best Android tablets so you can enjoy all these sweet apps.

News360 for Tablets

Price: Free

This is the ultimate news aggregator, pulling in the stories you want to read from over 20,000 separate sources. The great thing about News360 is that it learns about your preferences through your social media accounts and apps like Evernote and Google Reader. You can access live news streams and share the stories that matter to you quickly and easily. The app is ideal for consuming news on tablets.

Netflix

Price: Free

As long as you have a Netflix subscription you can enjoy the service on your Android tablet. You can stream TV shows or movies, and you can browse and rate what you watch. The tablet friendly interface is simple, and it enables easy navigation to the content you want, whenever you want it.

 If you want to watch movies and TV shows on your Android tablet, and you have the right subscriptions, then you’ll also be interested in the apps from Comcast and HBO as well. Check out Xfinity TV and HBO GO.

HBO GO is another streaming content app that allows you to watch sports, TV shows, and movies. Xfinity TV is a bit different in that it allows you to use your tablet as a remote control, check TV listings, and schedule recordings.

Crackle

Price: Free

If you don’t want to bother with subscriptions, but still want movies and TV shows on your tablet then check out Crackle. This ad-supported app offers up free content for you to enjoy. The content is updated every month and naturally most of it is dated. The app is actually owned by Sony and you can always check out the line-up at the Crackle website before you decide to download. There is a dedicated version of this app for Sony tablets called Crackle for Sony Tablet. 

Zinio

Price: Free

Access to thousands of magazines from across the world is what Zinio has to offer. You’ll get discounts on subscriptions and you can sync your latest copies across devices to enjoy them on your smartphone and computer as well. Tablets are ideal for reading magazines and Zinio has the best choice around.

If you don’t like magazines then you might want to check out Comics. It’s basically the same thing for comic books, giving you access to all the latest releases and allowing you to subscribe, buy single issues, and access a selection of free comics.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-android-tablet-apps/

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