Rumors abound for the upcoming X phone by Motorola! We have heard nothing from Google or Motorola specifically about this device. We have heard from plenty of sources that the phone coming down the pipeline is not impressive and others that it is ground breaking. Lately we have heard all kinds of rumors about the X Phone being very customizable. Yesterday we heard that the device would come with a “right size” screen, and that the phone would be designed around that idea that “better is better” instead of “bigger is better”.

Today phonearena sources are saying that the Motorola X Phone will be available in 20 different colors. Apparently you won’t be able to customize the phone in the way of hardware specs, rather the customization will come with the outward appearance of the phone. Would this sway you from purchasing another device? Color on its own would not sway me in any way. This phone will need to have more up its sleeve to impress me.

Sprint and T-mobile have each officially announced availability and pricing for the Galaxy S4! Sprint will have the device on April 27th and you can grab it for $250 on contract unless of course you are coming from another network and porting your old number to sprint in which case you will receive $100 off. Not bad. Sprint will also have preorders starting tomorrow.

T-mobile is getting away from subsidized pricing, and you will be able to snatch an S4 on their network for $150 down. You will then be able to pay monthly for the device until it is paid in full. T-Mo will have the device ready for you to purchase on April 24th.

Via AndroidPolice

The Galaxy S4 is finally here. Today Samsung put out a press release stating that the new S4 will be available on seven U.S. carrier networks including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cricket, C-Spire, and US Cellular. It will be available at many retail stores as well. Samsung says that the phone will be released across carriers before the end of this month. We should see specific release information coming from various carriers throughout the day. I am just hoping Verizon actually jumps on the ball and launches on day one with everyone else!

Via Samsung

This morning the Verizon Galaxy S4 popped up on Samsung’s site. This device was announced several weeks ago, but we have not heard anything from Verizon on availability or a release date. The device will come in Black Myst or White Frost. The Verizon version will not include an ugly Verizon branded home button which is quite refreshing. A leaked Staples roadmap has this device releasing on May 30th. This will be a few weeks later than everyone else.

Via Samsung

Here is some pretty exciting news! It looks like the next lineup of Motorola devices will come preloaded with Stock Android! The devices will also use the “right size” of display. Moto is deciding to use a “better is better” vs “bigger is better” mentality. Apparently these devices will have very slim bezels, displays being nearly edge to edge, much like the RazrM.

According to PC Mag these phones will be perfect for those who love stock android and normal sized displays. They should be released sometime in the second half of this year, and should be released under one brand! This may be the end of the line for the “Droid” lineup at least from Moto.

I looks like the device will be sold through google like the Nexus lineup. These devices will come with no bloat while devices brought directly from carriers may have some branded apps.

Via AndroidGuys

Eric Schmidt announced today at Dive Into Mobile that Google is now seeing 1.5million new activations of Android per day! That is staggering. The company is now on track for 1 billion total devices by the end of the year. Eric Schmidt says that the key to getting the next 5 billion people who are looking to get connected is to reach the $100 price point which they are getting close to.

Via Endgadget

AT&T has begun their Galaxy S4 preorders today as expected. Apparently they are having trouble keeping the site up due to the overwhelming demand. You can choose from White Frost or Black Mist each in 16GB for $199 on a two year contract. AT&T expects to ship these phones by April 30th with the phones in hand by May 3rd. AT&T also hopes to have preorders for the 32GB variant in the coming days!

As if my Note 2 were not big enough or borderline too big Samsung has announced a series of even larger behemoth devices.

The Galaxy Mega 5.8 will be a high end DUOS smartphone.  It will come with a 5.8″ qHD display 960×540 TFT, an 8mp rear facing camera, 2mp front facing camera, a dual-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 1.5GB RAM, and a 2600mAh battery. The phone will run Android 4.2.2 with the Nature UX interface.

The Galaxy Mega 6.3 will have a 6.3″PLS HD display, 8mp rear camera, 2mp front camera, dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHZ, 1.5GB RAM, 3200mAh battery. It will also run Android 4.2.2 with the Nature UX Interface. There is said to be an LTE variant of this device.

Are these phones getting to big? My Note 2 is 5.5″ and my thumb tends to cramp up using it. I feel like 5″ really is the sweet spot. Any bigger and the device becomes a bit cumbersome as a phone. What are your thoughts?

Via SamMobile

It looks like we definitely won’t be seeing the Motorola X Phone at Google I/O this year. That early rumor was a long shot anyhow. Newer rumors had the phone slated to release in June or July, however there is word from sources close to the situation that are saying the phone won’t actually be released until August and maybe even later. Apparently the phone is still in the early prototype phase.

It should have a 4.7″ 1080p nearly edge to edge display,  and is said to look much like previously leaked photos. The prototype has no sdcard and runs a slightly modified version of Android 4.2.

Via PhoneArena

For the longest time Verizon’s “new every two” allowed the main line to be upgraded once a year. A while back Verizon decided to extend that to once every 20 months. Today they announced that they would allow you to upgrade your device on the 24th month of the contract.

A new phone every year works for me because batteries generally do not last as long as the phone itself. Lots of newer devices come with non removable batteries. The devices are getting more advanced, and most devices you can buy today would last for at least two years if not longer. However devices that have non removable batteries may become an issue for some people.

I imagine Verizon had kept the upgrade eligibility at 20 months for a while to help keep more people on board with their service. In the long run Verizon may make a few more bucks per device, but they may end up shooting themselves in the foot. If you must wait until the final month of your contract to update to a new device why not just hold out until the very end, and then shop around for service that may suite you better.

What do you guys think? Is this a poor move by Verizon?

Via Verizon