HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Google Talk is dead, Hangouts is the new Slack, Project Fi users are screwed and everyone hates Allo

Google is developing yet another social app for group photo sharing and editing

Commentary: Why I'm not buying the Galaxy S8

Samsung confirms the Note 7 is coming back as a refurbished device

This is what (part of) Andy Rubin’s new phone looks like

From The Forums:

Looks like AT&T is about to drop some major money on Capex.

MiFi T1114 and Antennas question

Speedtest Count Towards Data Used?

Best prepaid data plan for pay as you go data

Android vs iPhone on Tmobile network

---------

So Nintendo's Super Mario Run finally came to Android last week. For some reason it's not yet available to Canadians but no worries, eh? You can download and install the official Android package from APK Mirror. Only problem is that if you do that, especially on a rooted Android device, you will eventually be locked out of the game and presented with the error message above.

A Google search of support code 804-5100 yielded this possible fix:

Not sure what syncing the game to a Nintendo account has to do with anything, but I dutifully followed the instructions above and was still locked out of the game.

In one sense it's no big deal, because Super Mario Run seems to be a pretty average gaming experience at best. Before I was locked out I got the thrill of playing through two plodding tutorial levels and sitting through a bunch of cut scenes that I couldn't skip through—nothing at all like the best mobile games I've played where you're dumped right in to the action and have to figure things out as you go.

In another sense, however, it represents yet another attack from the bad guys in the war on general purpose computing, just like Pokémon GO. It's fairly arrogant to presume that someone would root their Android device for the sole purpose of cheating a game, and in the specific case of Mario I've yet to hear of any such cheat. If it's not root but a geo-blocking issue, that would only make sense if Nintendo was trying managing the load on their servers—because, if you didn't know, this particular game title requires a persistent data connection to work.

Whatever the case, if you're an Android user with root don't bother wasting your time on Super Mario Run. You've likely got better, more important things to do with your device.

Links: Cory Doctorow, Howard Forums, The Android Soul

---------

From The Web:

CIA bugged "Factory Fresh" iPhones sinces 2008

Apple: Software flaws in latest WikiLeaks docs are all fixed

Moto G5 Plus review: a new value champion

Preliminary Alpha of SuperSU Released for the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P Running Android O DP1

Super Mario Run Revenue ‘Did Not Meet Our Expectations’: Nintendo

From The Forums:

Friend just told its AT&T header in Mexico not Cricket

700a Handoff

Alcatel A30 & Moto G 5 Plus Available For Pre-Orders

Lost legacy UDP after removing MHS

Brining Unlocked Phone into T-Mobile

---------

This may not affect every Android user reading this, but it's unfortunate news nonetheless. Android Police reports that G Suite administrators have received email notices from Google warning that SMS will no longer be supported in Google's de facto chat app as of May 22nd. Affected Hangouts users will be seeing the above in-app alert starting March 27th.

Hangouts has supported SMS since Android 4.4; those who made use of it—myself included for a time—enjoyed the benefits of needing one less icon on their home screen and, more importantly, having all of their non-email messages contained within a single app.

I can think of at least one technical reason why the change needs to happen: with RCS coming to text messaging it might be too daunting for Google to add Hangouts support, especially when Hangouts itself is already undergoing a fairly significant makeover.

There may well be another, more pragmatic reason, as a redditor on this r/Android thread explains:

Sources: Android Police, reddit

---------

Featuring YA MKBHD video...

From The Web:

Nokia is planning a global release for its new devices, including the USA

About half of all Android phones got a security update in 2016 (and half didn’t)

Fossil unveils 300 new smartwatch styles because… why not?

Apple Denies Breach Allegations of 600 Million iCloud Accounts

There are 69 new emoji candidates, including woman with headscarf and gender neutral adult

From The Forums:

Unlimited Plan Throttle

Going to Virginia this summer, what can I expect from T-Mo

FreedomPop Family Plan - $5/line/month for unlimited Premium Voice minutes

Unlocked Smart Phones that will Work on All Four Nationwide U.S. Carriers

Single Device Plan 1GB - $10/Month...Device Question...?

---------

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau (seen above) released his government's 2017 budget yesterday, and at least two sources that I follow for digital rights in this country have already expressed concern over a vague passage contained therein. Here is that passage:

What does it mean? According to Peter Nowak and Professor Michael Geist, lobbying, lobbying and more lobbying by those in the pocket of Canada's carriers and ISPs.

Nowak concedes that with broadcast and telecom now effectively sharing the same series of tubes it no longer makes sense to separate the legislation governing them. However, a review of this country's enviable net neutrality rules is entirely unnecessary, duplicating work already done by the CRTC.

Dr. Geist adds to this the looming spectre of ISP and/or Netflix taxes, channeling even more money back into our operators—who are, in case you forgot, also our broadcasters—all while foreign sources fund more English language Canadian television than ever before. Geist also points to the coming renegotiation of NAFTA, and its implications for Canada's digital policy.

Read more at the links directly below...

Sources: Michael Geist, Peter Nowak

---------

... with bonus MKBHD video!

From The Web:

Apple is tired of making Coca-Cola and now wants to sell champagne

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Performance Preview

The limited OnePlus 3T Midnight Black edition sports a matte black aluminum body, shipping March 24th

Top NSA official says telephone surveillance should have been disclosed

Hackers Threaten to Remotely Wipe 300 Million iPhones Unless Apple Pays Ransom

From The Forums:

Why Does AT&T Rely So Heavily on Band 12/17?

Microsoft Lumia 650 , preowned for $0.99

Cheapest backup phone plan in 2017?

Verizon, what did you do to my phone???

What's the best cheap AT&T hotspot device?

---------

Well, the important things are (1) they're running Android Wear 2.0, (2) they won't cost thousands of dollars, and most importantly (3) there's no flat tire.

Lots of tech sites—iVerge, for example—are summarily dismissing these first Android Wear watches from Guess. In doing so they fail to see that this is yet one more step in Android's takeover of the traditional wristwatch industry. Oh, and there's one more thing: Sequel, the parent company of Guess, is part of Timex Group B.V., making these technically the first Android-powered watches from Timex. That's a pretty big deal.

It may too gaudy for some, but I think the 44mm men's model above looks rather fetching.



As for this 41mm ladies model, um... no comment. Guess I'm not young, sexy or adventurous enough.

Specs for both watches include the standard for Android Wear Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 chip. AW 2.0's standalone will have the added benefit of making the watches more independent of the phone they're paired to, and thus more compatible with iOS.

Source: GlobeNewswire via Digital Trends

---------

... with bonus TechAltar video!

From The Web:

US bans tablets and laptops on flights from eight Muslim-majority countries

Google Announces Android O, Developer Preview 1 Available for Supported Devices

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Prototype Design Leaked – Dual Cameras, Screen Ratio nearly 100%!

Apple launches red iPhone, cheaper iPad

Man dies while charging iPhone in bath

From The Forums:

sprint to be one of the most secured, privacy leaning service

Ported 2nd # today APN question

Freedom Mobile launching new ‘Ready To Go, South’ roaming add-on on March 23

What is AT&T thinking? Seriously.

Anyone else having data issues lately?

---------

And just so we're clear, a helpful redditor on r/apple has whipped up this graphic to illustrate what that means— not actually a falling drop, but instead a drop resting on a surface. As you can see on the right, it was a hallmark of the original iPhone's design, and is apparently making a comeback on the 10th anniversary edition of the device.

The rumour comes from Korean site ET News; here's a translation by 9to5Mac:

Yeah, no idea what Omaju is, either...

While it may feature a retro design, other facets of the iPhone 8 will be entirely new, at least for Apple fans—including a 5.8 inch OLED display, wireless charging and USB-C port. If none of this floats your boat, Apple will also be selling a spec-bumped iPhone 7s and 7s Plus alongside their 10th anniversary smartphone.

These are only rumours, of course, albeit from a fairly credible source.

Sources: 9to5Mac, reddit

---------

From The Web:

Why you'll never see a dual-SIM iPhone 8 or Samsung Galaxy S8

Google keeps improving Apple's Live Photos

Galaxy S8 pictured next to iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

ZTE's Quartz smartwatch is real, and we've got pictures and details

Qualcomm has made a new chip for flip phones (yes, in 2017)

From The Forums:

T-Mobile Band 12

Change in T-Mobile ONE Policy?

Shopcelldeals

Traveling to Qatar area

Road trip coverage report Texas-NM-Ariz-Cali

---------

Early yesterday morning, master leaker Evan Blass tweeted this image of the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. The 5.8 inch S8 appears on the top row in (from left to right) Black Sky, Orchid Grey and Arctic Silver. The 6.2 inch S8 Plus, distinguishable by the slightly smaller bezels according to Android Police, appears in the same colours along the bottom row.

A few hours later Blass tweeted the European pricing for the phones—€799 for the S8 and €899 for the S8 Plus. At current rates, that's $859.76 and $967.35 USD respectively, which seems unusually high, even for Samsung. It could be that the South Korean conglomerate is anticipating a higher price tag for this year's 10th anniversary iPhone and moving their own prices upmarket to match.

These aren't the first leaks about Samsung's latest; AP has reported on previous leaks here, here and here. It is, however, the first clear picture of the entire lineup, expected to be made official on Thursday, March, 29th.

What do you think of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus?

Sources: @evleaks (1) (2) via Android Police

---------

... with bonus MKBHD video!

From The Web:

Class-action lawsuit targets LG over legendary G4, V10 bootloop issues

Samsung's New S8 to Adopt Facial Recognition for Payments

Visa wants you to pay for stuff with a pair of sunglasses

Swatch Takes on Google, Apple With Watch Operating System

Sony patented a way for you to steal battery power from your friend's phone

From The Forums:

anybody have Freedompop?

Trouble adding service online

AT&T FAN Discount

Mobley SIM to Unite Explore?...

Cricket Wireless Microsoft Lumia 640 Windows 10 Mobile Update

---------

I think it's supposed to rhyme with "ATM". And honestly, that's about the only thing about this story that makes any sense.

Mobile Syrup reported yesterday that Paytm, the largest mobile payments company in India, was coming to Canada. In fact, it's technically already here—they've apparently been renting office space in Toronto since 2014.

How does it work? I found these instructions from Gadgets360, an Indian tech site:

1. Set up a Paytm account using your mobile number and email;
2. Add money to your Paytm Wallet from your bank, debit or credit card;
3. Select 'Pay or Send' to transfer money to someone else;
4. Make a payment by scanning a QR code, or...
5. Send money to another Paytm user via their phone number.

So the business model here is fairly obvious; at any given time Paytm is making interest off of whatever cash their 150 million users have deposited in their mobile wallets. And while I can certainly appreciate the value of a mobile wallet in a country where maybe not everyone has a credit card, I don't think that's so much the case in Canada. Furthermore, there are existing solutions already offering some or all of Paytm's features—SmoothPay, PayPal, and ZenBanx are similar apps that I've previously covered here.

If you're a Canadian with business and/or family in India (or vice versa) then the arrival of Paytm in this country is probably great news. But I'm struggling to see any value in it for anyone else.

Sources: Gadgets360, Mobile Syrup, Paytm

---------

From The Web:

There's a 'Black Market' for Unlimited Data Plans

Bell Mobility taking money from dead dad's bank account: Daughter frustrated

Google May Have Third, Larger Phone in the Works Under Codename “Taimen”

New Nokia 8 Leak Delivers Bad News

Qualcomm doesn’t want you to call its Snapdragon processors ‘processors’ anymore

From The Forums:

Strange SD problem with LGL41C

GoPhone vs. AT&T Postpaid Unlimited Pricing

Verizon Prepaid vs. Verizon Postpaid Unlimited Pricing

Deprioritization experience?

T-Mobile 911 problems

---------

The inspiration for today's post comes from a story this week on ZDNet, about how Pidgin, an IM client for Linux, is unable to support popular platforms like Slack or WhatsApp. This may sound crazy, but not so long ago there was a time when such disparate chat service could all be accessed by the same app.

For desktop Linux Pidgin did a great job, and for my S60-powered Nokia smartphones of the late 2000s there were even more choices—Fring, IM+ and Nimbuzz each enabled me to connect to Facebook Messenger, Hangouts (then Google Talk) and more, all from a single interface. The magic that made this possible was, in most cases, the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol—XMPP for short.

So what happened? Facebook XMPP support unofficially ended in the summer of 2015, after their chat API was officially depreciated that spring. The story with Google is a bit more complicated, but boils down to the XMPP-supported Google Talk being supplanted by the non-XMPP-compatible Hangouts.

And what about those Nokia chat apps? Of the three, Nimbuzz is the only one still in service, now running its own proprietary IM platform and pseudo-VoIP service. Walled gardens, it seems, are the way of the future when it comes to chat.

Links: Disruptive Telephony, Slashdot, XMPP, ZDNet

---------

From The Web:

Samsung confirms what its new artificial intelligence virtual assistant will be called

OnePlus Introduces the Black OnePlus 3T Colette Edition

Buy the LG G6 now and get a Google Home on LG

Freedom Mobile to add two new LTE-enabled smartphones to its lineup

Some Nexus 6 phones getting Android 7.0 update… from Android 7.1.1

From The Forums:

The Future Unlimited Plan for Cricket

Need help with WHPI/hotspot decisions please

Verizon Prepaid Moto G4 Play

Cricket $35/3 GB vs Total Wireless $35 ($33.60) 5GB

Really slow data in Band 12 only areas

---------

Fortune ran a piece last week about how luxury watchmakers are circling their wagons around Android Wear, to keep their products relevant in the age of the Apple Watch. If you're an Android user with an appreciation for the traditional timepiece, this is great news.

The Movado Group is the latest Android Wear licensee, and will be bringing their first smartwatches to market this fall. The group's brands include Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, but what I'm excited about is the Movado Connect; according to Droid Life it will be a lineup of five designs based on the iconic Museum Watch, like the Movado Edge you see above.

Movado's smartwatches will start at $495 USD, a bargain when compared to the second-generation TAG Heuer Connected.



As aBlogtoWatch reports, the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 will cost a little more ($1,650 USD) for a slightly smaller watch (45mm). As the "Modular" moniker would suggest, the user can change not only the bands but the lugs as well. There are now more colour and material options for the bezel, and the upgraded phone app will include TAG Studio, granting you the power to make your own watch face from scratch.

And hey, if a $1,650 USD smartwatch isn't enough of a status symbol for you, there's also a limited edition set that includes a mechanical Tourbillon module. That'll set you back a cool $17,000, but at least you'll have a working watch to pass on to your next of kin...

Sources: Fortune, Droid Life, aBlogtoWatch

---------

From The Web:

After nearly 5 months, Google still can't keep the Pixel in stock

Googler's comic pokes fun at Nexus and Pixel smartphone shortages

Google's next Pixel phones are likely codenamed 'muskie' and 'walleye'

Spotify and Waze partner to play music and navigate seamlessly

Phone Searches Now Default Mode At The Border; More Searches Last Month Than In All Of 2015

From The Forums:

Cheapest unlimited talk/text (no data) plan for CDMA (Verizon) basic phone?

FaceTime on Unlimited Choice?

suggest unlocked smartphone?

Cheapest plan for a kid as an Emergency Phone?

Free 3rd Line question

---------