From The Web:

HTC's new M9 is a hot phone, heats up to 130 degrees in one benchmark test

iPhone 6 vs. Galaxy S6: a pixel-perfect size comparison

Apple will offer Android switchers gift cards to trade-in rival smartphones for iPhones

YouTube's new 'cards' will now obstruct your videos instead of annotations

This high-school dropout built a $1 billion business selling phones nobody wanted

From The Forums:

International travel checklist

Need compatible PCIE card?

Migrating from old to new Cricket?

Your experiences with BYOD Sim adapters

simple question but i need confirmation ...

From The Web:

YouTube Now Supports 360-Degree Videos, And You Can Watch Them On Android

WhatsApp hits 1 billion installs on Android

How 124 Tiny Android Pins Took Over MWC 2015

Swatch Unveils Its Plan To Take On The Apple Watch

Portrait Video Is Here To Stay, Just Accept It Now

From The Forums:

Corporate store refused to sell a phone full price - they messed with the wrong dude

More data problems?

TELUS eliminating incoming SMS fee when roaming

Ottawa nixed SaskTel-Wind Mobile spectrum deal, sources say

Grey Market Phones ...

What happened, Australia?

OpenSignal, the network diagnostics company that more or less told me where to take my summer vacation last year, have released their State of LTE report for Q1, 2015. What you're looking at above are the average LTE download speeds, ranked by country. I got this particular chart from Quartz.

You may be somewhat surprised by the rankings of both Canada and the US, but the numbers make sense if you consider the inconsistency of speeds across a relatively large area of service. Hong Kong surprised me too—I would never have guessed that it would rank below Canada. The only explanations I can think of are (1) 3G/TD-SCDMA handsets are more useful for frequent visits to mainland China, and (2) LTE service is lacking because Hong Kongers are too cheap to pay for it.

But the real head-scratcher is Australia's apparent fall from grace, dropping from the number one country with LTE service to 14th overall in only a year. It's important to remember that all of OpenSignal's data comes from the users of their mobile app. In other words, the more of us that sign on, the better that data will be! ...

From The Web:

Android 5.1 Lollipop – Here’s what’s new!

Google is done selling the Nexus 5

Nexus 4, is that you? No, it’s the VAIO phone

Dual wireless charging on the Samsung Galaxy S6, and why it matters

Take the Pledge: I Will Not Have Sex With Anyone Who Wears an AppleWatch

From The Forums:

What is wrong with my service?

Unlimited hotspot still available?

Should I more from ST to Cricket Wireless?

Activating a Moto E

Galaxy s4 question ...

Imagine a world where iPhone users could use their friend's Android charger, and vice versa. Wouldn't that be something?

The USB Type-C standard, in the works for some time now, has finally made an appearance on two new consumer products this week: Apple's MacBook and Google's Chromebook Pixel. And if the Google employee at the end of this video is to believed, it's coming to Android-powered phones as well.

And why not? USB-C offers a number of advantages over the current industry standard micro-USB Type-B:

1. It's reversible, just like Apple's Lightning Connector.
2. It's fast, supporting USB 3.1-spec transfer speeds of up to 10GB/s.
3. It's powerful, offering a whopping 5 amps / 100 watts of juice.

It's also backward compatible with older USB ports. You'll need an adapter, though.

Some tech pundits were expecting USB Type-C connectors on the new phones from HTC and Samsung at Mobile World Congress, but I guess we'll have to wait for the next generation of Nexus devices due later this year. Hopefully Apple will also get on board and replace Lightening with USB-C for their next iPhone refresh. If this new MacBook is any indication, I don't see why they wouldn't. ...

From The Web:

More flagship smartphones on the way with LG, Huawei next in line

Google launches new web store for Chromebooks, Nexus devices, and more

Smartwatch sales estimate places Samsung as No.1

Apple Watch vs Android Wear vs Pebble Time: features comparison

Why the $17,000 gold Apple Watch might actually be too cheap

From The Forums:

Verizon Expects Increase in Service Cancellations in First Quarter

Want to switch to iPhone 5S; my head is swimming

If you could describe Verizon in one word....

Walt Mossberg: AT&T tops Verizon in Speed in 5 Cities

Heads up! BIG changes are coming down in the pipes in April ...

From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge Prerders Hit 20 Million, Verizon Preorders Start April 1

Google Is Posting Android 5.1 Factory Images For Nexus Devices

The iRevolution That Wasn't. Why Apple Watch will be rare iFlop more like Newton and Lisa than iPhone, iPad and the Macintosh

Knock off Apple Watch already spotted on sale in China for $55

S**tphone: A Love Story

From The Forums:

Fido Dollars on the way out?

Straight Talk Removing Service Cards on Reserve

Any free SIM card deal from TMobile recently?

Using BlackBerry Classic on Consumer Cellular

Can I still activate a Nokia 1100? ...

From The Web:

Hands-on with a (working) Apple Watch

These are some of the first Apple Watch apps

The new Samsung is arriving just in time

Report shows that two-thirds of mobile traffic comes from just five apps

The End Of Apps As We Know Them

From The Forums:

Location

Verizon Store Vs. Wireless Zone (Independent Verizon Wireless Franchise)

Quality of Voice Calls Compared to AT&T

Determining signal strength

Grandma needs economical way to get 5-10GB data for Chromebook and/or Android Phone ...

Even before the release of the first-generation iPhone, the tech press—pretty sure it was Gizmodo—started referring to it as the "Jesus Phone". With all the hype I'm reading about today's Spring Forward Event, I don't see why the same divine label can't also apply to Apple's auspicious first foray into the wearables racket.

Since the Apple Watch was announced last September a fair amount of news about it has made its way into the daily round-ups I post to the front page, so in advance of today's proceedings I thought I'd get us all up to speed with a quick check in our collective rear-view mirror.

Of the eight links that follow, Re/code, Tech in Asia and TechRadar are responsible for one each. Two links are from iPhone in Canada and the rest are from iVerge. I'd say that's fairly balanced; hopefully you'll agree. ...

From The Web:

Virtual reality overshadows smartphones at the biggest mobile show of the year

Google's 'Nova' Carrier Will Only Offer Service On Nexus 6 At Launch

AT&T tells T-Mobile to stop complaining about spectrum auction after AT&T complained for years

WIND Mobile big winner in AWS-3 spectrum auction as Rogers, Mobilicity no-shows

The Cops Can Pretty Much Always Search Your Smartphone in Canada

From The Forums:

WIND Mobile big winner in AWS-3 spectrum auction as Rogers, Mobilicity no-shows

AT&T drops goal of deploying 40,000 small cells by end of 2015

Sprint vs. T-Mobile

Porting from Google Voice

Game changer question. ...

The wait was longer than expected, but the Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition was finally announced at this year's Mobile World Congress. Unlike the bq Aquaris E-whatever the Meizu is a proper smartphone with proper specs—not quite as good as the Android edition, but a full-HD display and 2 GB of RAM at least. That homescreen button in the image above makes we wonder if it's a pre-production model that's making the rounds at MWC. Buttons? Ubuntu don't need no stinkin' buttons...

Anyway, with both the Meizu and bq on display, Ubuntu's smartphone OS got a fair amount of press, ranging from good to not-so-good:

The Ubuntu phones are an audacious attempt to take on Android
Hands-on with an Ubuntu phone at MWC
Latest Ubuntu For Mobile Hands-On, U.S. Model Coming
Ubuntu's answer to Android is finally here, but it still needs work
Is this stylish Ubuntu phone ready for prime time? Not yet.

But what about the so-called "convergence mode" wherein you take an Ubuntu phone, plug it into a desktop monitor, pair it with a wireless keyboard and mouse and suddenly have a fully-functional Ubuntu-powered desktop PC? That would certainly be a compelling feature, and apparently it's still in development. ...

From The Web:

Smartphones are all the same now—but only on the outside

Solar Panels in the Screens of Smartphones Could Power the Devices

Pricing for One M9, Galaxy S6 leaked via promos

Cyanogen CEO says Samsung will be “slaughtered” by competition in the next five years

We just learned more about the sequel to one of the hottest phones of 2014, and it sounds a lot nicer

From The Forums:

When Did Rogers Change Their Logo?

Mobilicity Pulls out of AWS3 Auction after Losing Backing

AWS-3 Auction - Wind Wins?

AT&T tussles with T-Mobile over AWS-3 spectrum auction results

What's the Cheapest Per Text Carrier? ...

Can I tell you how long I've longed for a smartphone from Huawei with an unlockable bootloader?

Every winter when my girlfriend and I visit Hong Kong someone at a phone shop invariably tries to sell me on the latest from this Chinese OEM. And why not? Their "Ascend P" line of sleek, metal and glass smartphones are gorgeous. And phablets? Son, Huawei was doing 6 inch phones long before 6 inch phones were even a thing.

The company's no slouch when it comes to moving hardware, either. In his final numbers for 2014 Tomi Ahonen ranked Huawei 4th in sales worldwide with 75 million units shipped, ahead of Xiaomi at 61.1 million.

The bad news, as is the case with most Android OEMs, is that the stock ROM on their products is crap. Huawei calls theirs Emotion UI, and most reviews I read of Huawei products—at least from the Western tech press—have nothing good to say about it.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to read this bit of news on GizmoChina:

Hot damn! ...

From The Web:

Barcelona 2015 is Story of Lost Opportunities: Samsung Galaxy Watergate; and Sony Xperia Blackberry Microsoft Lumia LG HTC Huawei ZTE Lenovo

‘iPhone 6s’ Rumoured to Sport 2GB of RAM and Apple SIM

LG to launch a smartphone that “stands above the G series”

OnePlus to introduce new product next month; device is not a smartwatch, tablet or even a smartphone

The Apple Watch is a stupid idea, and it shows Apple is falling behind in innovation

From The Forums:

GSM MVNO - low cost, low usage, no data, no texting

Consumer Cellular Worsens Coverage, Drops Roaming

Why go from AT&T to Cricket?

Moto G- why have I started getting cricket games notifications???

Lollipops are arriving in Canada! ...

Qualcomm may have jumped the gun just a bit with their announcement of the Snapdragon 820 at MWC. There is mounting evidence that their current flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 810, is well... a dud.

The bad news started back in early January, when rumours started circulating about a major OEM passing on the 810 for their top-tier device. That OEM turned out to be Samsung, and the device in question the new Galaxy S6. For the past few years Samsung has sold flagships running their in-house Exynos chips in Asia and Europe, while their Americas-bound counterparts shipped with Qualcomm chipsets. Why the sudden change? Apparently the 810 runs too hot. ...

From The Web:

GSMA awards top honors to LG, Motorola at MWC 2015

Apple beats Samsung to become the world's top smartphone manufacturer in Q4, says Gartner

International data rates continue to be costly for no apparent reason

How Google's New Wireless Service Will Change the Internet

Big, small players in race for new wireless spectrum

From The Forums:

Edge to LTE questions

Google Confirms Plans for Wireless Service in keynote at Mobile World Congress

3rd party iPhone unlocking services for under contract AT&T iPhones!My experience

Advice with preowned Galaxy S4 that I discovered had been rooted

Roaming outside USA: which carrier? ...

From The Web:

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs HTC One M9 vs the competition

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 will pack a silicon brain with cognitive computing abilities

Google to launch own 'virtual' mobile phone network

Cyanogen aims for mainstream Android market: New Alcatel device, Qualcomm deal, and big plans

The mobile revolution hidden in net neutrality

From The Forums:

Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Announced

"Cricket Wireless Confirms Arrival Of Samsung Galaxy S 6"

Consumer Cellular's New Cellphone Plans

WIND refusing to prorate on cancellation?

Does Verizon still allow AOL/transfer of unlimited 4G LTE data plans? ...

Alcatel OneTouch will be selling the unlocked Cyanogen OS powered Hero 2+, direct via their website.

It will be $299 USD (~370CAN) beginning in Q2 2015. It will be available in the US and Canada

Here are the specs:

• 6", 1920 x 1080 TFT
• built-in stylus
• LTE
• 2Ghz octa-core Mediatek MT6592 SoC
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• MicroSD
• 13 MP rear-facing camera
• 5MP front-facing camera
• 3100mAh battery
• Cyanogen OS 11 with Android 4.4.4
• 160.5mm x 81.6mm x 7.9mm

The 6" 1920x1080 display will be plenty sharp and 2GB of RAM should be enough for everyone.

16GB of storage is also a plus and if that isn't enough, there's a MicroSD.

Actually, the guts sound pretty similar to the Idol X+ I reviewed last year. The performance of the MT6592 octa-core SoC slots in between a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 and 600 so it should be sufficient for most users.

What do you think? ...

With the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC M9 officially official, I've been pouring through some other news from Mobile World Congress, happening right now in Barcelona. And as news goes this is pretty big: Cyanogen, Inc. and Qualcomm have inked a deal wherein Cyanogen will provide the software for upcoming Qualcomm Reference Devices.

This does not mean that the Qualcomm equivalent of a Nexus is going on sale anytime soon. Rather than paraphrase I'll let Android Central explain:

So in other words, a lot of those dreary low and mid-range Android devices are about to get a lot better! ...