Best Buy offers $200 for old iPads in trade-in deal

Best Buy is promising customers a $200 trade-in value for older versions of Apple's iPad.

The promotion, which runs July 12 and 13, offers customers who trade in a working iPad 2 or third-generation iPad a minimum $200 gift card to the tech retailer. Customers also have the option of upgrading to an iPad with Retina display, which starts at $299.99 after applying the gift card. Best Buy currently sells the 16GB iPad with Retina display and Wi-Fi for $499.99.

Best Buy said customers could receive additional value depending on the model and condition of their tablets. The promotion is available at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores that accept trade-ins.

In June, Best Buy ran promotions that offered customers a "free" iPhone 5 for trading in a working iPhone 4 or 4S. The retailer said it experienced the single biggest day for its trade-in business during that promotion.

Source: CNET

Lumia 1020: A flash point for Nokia?

Nokia hopes its comeback story comes into focus with a little help from its 41-megapixel camera-packing Lumia 1020.

The former Finnish mobile devices giant was at it again on Thursday with the debut of its latest smartphone, which rocks the souped-up zoom-lens camera that impressed critics a year ago at Mobile World Congress. For some, this is the real PureView camera that should have been bolted on to last year's Lumia 920 flagship phone.

Even as the Lumia 1020 comes packed to the gills with features and advanced hardware, it's unclear whether this will be the smartphone to finally reverse Nokia's fortunes. Its continued struggles despite a drastically improved line-up of products underscore the broader difficulties facing all of the vendors in getting support from carriers and interest from consumers. More specifically, there remains a lot of work to revitalize Nokia's brand and educate consumers on Windows Phone...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

The Summer 2013 Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Desktop 8

The Summer 2013 Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Desktop 8 - Ignite Your Mac's Productivity With These 10 Elite Mac Apps for 89% off - StackSocial

The Summer 2013 Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Desktop 8 Ignite Your Mac's Productivity With These 10 Elite Mac Apps Ends in 9 days $49.99 Retail: $482 Discount: 89% Save: $432 Typinator $33 Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac $80 Snagit For Mac $50 Boom For Mac $7 Jump Desktop $30 Digital Photography Course for Beginners $149 Make Photos Pop w/ ColorStrokes $3 xPlan $80 Leap $20 WinZip Mac Edition 2.0 $30 © 2013 StackSocial, Inc. — 11 Brooks Ave, Unit A, Venice, CA 90291 USA | About Us Visit us on the web at: http://stacksocial.com/ Email us: support@stacksocial.com

HTC One is actually easy to open with a special tool, says HTC lead designer

Back in March, iFixit went to work on taking the HTC One apart to give us all a better look at the phone’s insides and determine how easy (or hard) the phone would be to repair. The verdict? Just 1/10 – with 1 being ultra hard and 10 being easy as pie.

The reason for the low score is that the HTC One is very hard to open without damaging the rear case. The good news is that the phone might be hard for everyday users to take apart, but HTC does have a special method for prying open the handset in the event that the phone needs servicing under warranty.

According to HTC’s senior manager of the One design team, Justin Huang:

“During the development [of the One], there was another team inside HTC who looked at the repair process.“ “So every phone sent to HTC, they have a special tool to disassemble the back cover, to let us have the ability to access all the components inside.”

In other words, you might not be able to self-repair or send it in to a third party for cheap and easy repairs, but at least you can rest assured that you can send it in directly to HTC. Unfortunately for those looking to get their phones repaired cheaply, this isn’t exactly great news.

On the plus side, if a tool like this really does exist, it is probably just a matter of time before a Chinese knock-off tool becomes available online. What do you think, does the HTC One’s low repairability score matter to you or not?

Source: Android Authority

Apple to Adopt IGZO Displays for Future iPads and MacBooks?

Apple is planning to expand its adoption of IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) displays to reduce the energy consumption of its mobile devices, reports etnews.com.

According to industry insiders, having decided to apply the IGZO method to displays for MacBook, Apple is talking with LCD panel manufacturers, such as Sharp and LG Display.

IGZO is a semiconducting material that has forty times more electron mobility than the standard amorphous silicon that is used as the active layer of an LCD screen, allowing for higher resolution displays, better reaction times, and less power consumption. 

The report suggests that in addition to expanding to IGZO displays for the MacBook, Apple is also planning to use them in the iPad. Apple is said to be relying on Sharp for the displays, and last year news surfaced that Sharp had already begun mass production of IGZO displays that could be used in future Apple products. 

The site expects IGZO MacBooks to appear in the first half of 2014, but does not note when an IGZO iPad might make an appearance. Apple is expected to release a new, thinner fifth generation iPad later this year. 

Source: Mac Rumours

T-Mobile announces Jump, an early upgrade program

NEW YORK -- T-Mobile announced a new device upgrade program for its no-contract customers Wednesday. The program allows these customers to get their hands on the latest and greatest phones at subsidized prices.

The upgrade program, called Jump, makes it easier for people to upgrade to new devices and pay a lower price instead of replacing their current devices at full price. To participate in the early upgrade program, customers will pay $10 a month. Customers can get their first upgrade after being enrolled in the program for six months. The company will then credit the remaining cost of the device. Enrollment will start this Sunday.

"Two years is too long to be locked into a phone," said T-Mobile's CEO John Legere."You should decide when you upgrade, not your wireless company."

The program also works as device insurance and includes protection against malfunction, damage, or theft. Legere said that given that device insurance already costs between $8 and $12 a month, so he said the upgrade program is virtually free if you think of it that way.

Legere went on to say that the Jump program will finally allow people to upgrade when their device screen cracks or they drop their phone in the toilet.

"If your phone malfunctions or it becomes possessed," he said. "If it's stolen or you drop it in the toilet or run it over with the car. Or if you just don't like it anymore, you are covered."

Legere pointed out that the company's competitors AT&T and Verizon Wireless are actually lengthening their upgrade cycles to 24 months.

That's not what customers want," he said.

Earlier this year, T-Mobile announced new no-contract plans that require customers to buy devices at full price. Customers also can pay for devices in monthly installments. But if they leave the T-Mobile service, they must pay the full price of the device.

Some consumers complained that buying devices at full price made it more difficult to get newer devices. CNET first learned of this concept in March, when CEO John Legere said it was still an idea that the carrier was tossing around.

Source: CNET

iOS 7 Beta Suggests iWork, iLife iOS Apps May Soon Be Free

A welcome screen discovered in the iOS 7 beta suggests that Apple's iWork and iLife iOS applications may be available for free when the OS launches this fall, according to German site ifun.

The download screen is similar to this one that was discovered in the iOS 6 beta last year. It encourages customers to download free Apple apps to "get the most out of your iPhone."

iPhoto and iMovie are available on the App Store for $4.99 each, while Pages, Numbers and Keynote are $9.99. GarageBand is missing from the screen, but there is no reason to think it would not go free as well.

The launch of iWork for iCloud at WWDC in June suggested that iWork could become free, as no pricing was mentioned at the show. Offering Apple's polished iWork and iLife applications for free -- much like iLife apps have always been free with the purchase of a new Mac -- would be a strong differentiator for the iPhone and iPad.

Source: Mac Rumours

iPhone 5S May Include Slow Motion Video Recording Feature

Code hidden inside iOS 7 suggests that the next generation iPhone could include a new "Mogul" camera mode, offering video recording at a rate of 120 frames-per-second, reports 9to5Mac.

According to our analysis and testing of the code, "Mogul" is a feature in development that allows the iPhone to capture video at an exceptionally fast and precise rate. Specifically, our testing indicates that the feature can allow the iPhone to record video at a rate of 120 frames-per-second (FPS). The resolution at which this 120FPS video could be recorded at, however, is currently unclear.

Capturing video at 120FPS would allow iPhone users to create slow motion films. Slow motion video requires frames to be captured at a fast rate, which then appear to be slowed down when replayed at a standard speed. 

Many action cameras, such as the GoPro Hero3, include slow motion recording capabilities. Samsung's popular flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, also includes a slow motion mode. While the code does not suggest a resolution for Apple's Mogul mode, recording at 120FPS often requires a lower resolution. The video below demonstrates 120FPS video shot with the Samsung Galaxy Camera...

Read the full story here. Source: Mac Rumours

Google to profit from self-driving cars by decade's end

Google stands to rev up substantial revenue from self-driving cars.

The search giant is likely to gain whether it creates the hardware for self-driving cars or simply license the necessary software to automakers, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster said in an investors note released Tuesday. Either way, revenue from this burgeoning sector should start to ramp up for Google before the decade is over.

"We believe the utility of reducing auto deaths and idle time in traffic add up to a $200+ billion opportunity in autonomous vehicle technology," Munster said. And the analyst sees Google as the "best positioned Internet company over the next ten years" to profit from the technology.

outing the benefits of driverless cars, Munster noted a study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that cited around 32,000 deaths in 2011 due to car accidents. That number showed a significant drop from prior years, but the analyst clearly believes it could be further reduced through self-driving cars.

Another study from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that Americanswasted 5.5 billion hours in 2011 stuck in traffic, resulting in $121 billion in lost time and fuel. Driverless cars could potentially cut down on all those traffic jams...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

The Budget iPhone

With many photos surfacing on Apples budget iPhone for 2013, could this video actually show the beast, or errrrrr bear, in its entirety ??? Check out the video & let us know what you think. You might be in for a surprise at the end of the video when you see what makes an appearance ;D

Why No BIG Giveaways?

Over the past few weeks, we have seen a growing trend in the number of emails here at Geekanoids HQ asking why we don't do big giveaways. Many of them citing other channels that give away smartphones, tablets & laptops on a semi-regular basis. Wherever possible, all emails get a response, but a couple asked us to make a video response. Whilst this subject does not really warrant a video, we are happy to cover the subject here.

From the outset, the Geekanoids Channel was put together to share valuable information about the latest technology to hit the scene. The primary goal of most videos is to help prospective buyers make an informed purchasing decision. There is nothing worse than buying a piece of tech, only to find it either under-delivers or does not have the features you were expecting. We hope that the videos that appear on the channel help give you the info you need.

As Geekanoids grew, it became possible for us to fund our own smaller giveaways and also publish sponsored videos whereby the prize was supplied to us. When we run these videos it is for the sole purspose of giving back to you, the viewers. It is our way of appreciating you watching and more importantly being part of our community. Think of it as an 'exclusive club' where you are all really appreciated. In fact just recently, with some hard behind-the-scenes work, we managed to secure three new sponsors, so we are able to share some really nice products with more of you.

When you see channels doing large giveaways, of course, enter, you would be silly not too. If you win a nice new smartphone then congratulations. We would even enter these on occasion, in the hope we would win and be able to give the prize away to someone who has supported Geekanoids. What I would be wary of though is channels that do this purely to build viewers & subscribers. The reason I mention this is that we still live in an online society where numbers matter. When approaching PR companies for products, the often look at the number, rather than the community & engagement the channel offers. If you see a channel that is just running big giveaways time after time, just bookmark them as such, enter & move on (oh and good luck).
There are some exceptions to this, for example TechnoBuffalo run regular giveaways. These are sponsored though and their other content speaks for itself, backing up that they are a trusted source of information. 

In closing, the question still remains unanswered… why don't Geekanoids run big giveaways. Well, it is not to say that we never will. If the opportunity arises to give away a nice sponsor prize that will perhaps kickstart a budding video producers career, that would be epic and we would jump on it. However, for the timebeing, we are happy with where the channel is. With previous, current & future giveaways, we have helped so many people with YouTube related products and will continue along that path as it is truer to our overall vision of our community.

Top 5 Apps for Making International Calls

International calls can be one of the steepest charges on your mobile phone bill. Fortunately, there's an array of alternative options to choose from. Many consumers choose to use international calling cards, for example. These give you a PIN number which allows you to use any phone yet still benefit from low per-minute rates. Another option if you have relatives in the states is to call USA with Lebara or other pay-as-you-go carriers. These offer SIM cards and prepaid rates for low cost international calls. Finally, downloadable apps can be used on your mobile phone. These give you a high level of flexibility and little hassle when you need to call friends and family living abroad. The following are five of the top options.

Viber

Viber is a simple to use app which lets you make cheap international calls. You can download the app and it will scan through your contact list to connect with those contacts who also have the Viber app on their phones. If you place calls between two Viber users, the call is free overWiFi networks. However, one problem with Viber is that if another call comes in on your mobile phone, the Viber call could be dropped.

Skype

Skype has quickly become one of the most popular options for international calling. Like Viberand other options on this list, calls are free between two users of the same service. International rates to non-Skype numbers are comparable to those you'd get when you call Australia with Lebara or other destinations using a prepaid service. An added plus to Skype is that you can video chat, but the audio tends to be somewhat unpredictable. This is particularly true if you're calling areas where WiFi is spotty.

Google Voice

There are a number of different functions provided by Google Voice, including voicemail, call forwarding, and low international calling rates. However because this service is still relatively new, it has yet to catch on across the world like competitors such as Skype. This means that it's more difficult to connect calls between two Google Voice contacts, although the service can be quite reliable.

Rebtel

Another popular worldwide option, Rebtel has been rapidly expanding. Their apps allow you to place international calls from pretty much any device, with calls between Rebtel customers conducted free of charge. Rebtel also offers local numbers and low rates to a number of destinations, making them a strong competitor to prepaid options like Lebara.

Fring

One of the first international calling apps on the market, Fring has unfortunately been overshadowed by its new competition. However, it still offers a worthwhile app that provides video chat, instant messaging, and VoIP calling services.

When it comes to making international calls, all of these apps can provide strong alternatives to your regular mobile service. There's no excuse for ending up with a sky-high phone bill when you combine services like mobile calling apps and prepaid phone cards.