The battery life on my HTC One is phenomenal and I can usually go an entire 10 hour day without needing to charge my battery – since I’ve been traveling alot more lately and the One is becoming my main phone it’s nice to have the option to double my battery life while on the go without having to pack an extra charger or cord.

Mophie recently announced the Mophie Juice Pack for HTC One. The juice pack is a 2500mAh protective battery case made for the HTC One that will get you up to 100% extra battery with the flip of a switch so you’ll never have to search for an outlet while you’re out and about again. It doesn’t appear to add much bulk to the HTC One and comes in both Silver and Black to match the phone. Black is currently available for $99.95 and the Silver will be available soon.

Press Release

Santa Ana, Calif. (April 30, 2013)— mophie, the company trailblazing innovation in the portable power category, today announced the expansion of its world-renowned juice pack line with the introduction of the juice pack for HTC One™. Customers using HTC’s newest flagship smartphone with a mophie juice pack can rock, talk, surf, and send for twice as long with the simple flip of a switch, receiving the benefits of double the battery life on one charge. The ultra-thin and lightweight design of the juice pack also complements the smartphone’s zero-gap unibody design, delivering full protection and power in a sleek profile. The juice pack for HTC One fortifies mophie’s offerings for the Android community, joining solutions for the Samsung Galaxy S III and a universal line of external rechargeable battery packs that help keep users powered up wherever they go.

“This new juice pack will provide an enhanced user experience to HTC One owners and introduce them to the benefits of having double the battery power available to them on-demand,” said Ross Howe, vice president of marketing. “mophie has supported Android products with our line of universal external batteries and the positive response from the community encourages our team to continue engineering unique solutions to address the needs of these users.”

The juice pack for HTC One is available in either black or silver for $99.95 at mophie.com and at select retailers nationwide. Features of the case include:

•   Up to 100% Extra Power—Packing a 2500mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery, the juice pack for HTC One will double the battery life of the smartphone on a single charge
•   Custom Design for the HTC One—The sleek case provides complete device protection without sacrificing its “zero-gap unibody design”
•   Charge On Demand—Simple toggle switch allows for standby and charge mode with a flip of a switch
•   Sync With Ease—Pass-through USB allows users to simultaneously charge and sync the smartphone and juice pack
•   At-a-Glance Battery Status—Vertical, four-light LED status indicator displays the amount of charge available and blinks to indicate levels of power when case is charging

For more information about mophie and its full suite of products, please visit www.mophie.com.

About mophie
mophie is an award-winning designer and manufacturer of accessories that let consumers do more with their portable devices. From the action sports enthusiast to the business professional, student and outdoorsman, mophie products fit into the lives of those who rely on smartphones and tablets to stay connected. mophie products are available in more than 100 countries, and can be purchased in Apple stores worldwide, AT&T, Best Buy, Verizon, Sprint, and on www.mophie.com. Follow mophie on Twitter, Facebook or on Instagram.

I like to jump on stuff when it first comes out, love being one of the first to try something out and then sharing what I’ve learned with others. When Spotify came out in the USA, I had a private invite to use the service before it officially launched, and by time that trial ended I just had to give Spotify my money to continue using it. Since then I’ve put quite a few people on to the service (some right here on the G Style staff lol), and also got some people use to the idea of paying the $9.99 monthly fee. Spotify is really a great service and I’ve use it immensely since I’ve signed up. Spotify is a daily constant in my life, but Spotify isn’t invincible. Spotify just like Pandora before it which I use to use is vulnerable to being bested by another service and this is where Google All Access comes into the picture.

With my current setup I use Spotify daily going to and from work, and I used Google Music when I wanted to listen to music I personally uploaded to the service. I have my stored MP3 there, I also use Google Music when I want to listen to music that may be locally stored on my device. Earlier versions of Spotify app had a tab/area of the app where I could listen to music that was local. In the versions today you can still listen to your local music from within the app, but you will have to do some jumping through hoops to make it happen, as there is no represented local area. So because of this again I would fall back to Google Music. So there are a few area that while I enjoy my current listening experience with Spotify, created a few issues as well (don’t get me started on the no repeat one track option missing! Come on!).

While Spotify is a great service, some of it minor failings has created an opportunity for Google All Access to take its place. I like to think I’m a minimalist , so if I can use one app for everything this is what I want to do. Google All Access gives me the opportunity to use just one app for my music needs. When Google Music first launched it gave me a place to store all the MP3s I had obtained into the cloud so I didn’t have to warn about failing hard drives or laptops. Google Music gave me a place to storage all my uploaded music and then stream it to my any computer with internet access, mobile phone, or tablet. Now with All Access Google is giving me the option to stream music like I do on Spotify in the same place that I have my uploaded music as well. Google is allowing me to search and immediately stream any music I can find, purchase it if I want the actual MP3, and play my already uploaded music all without leaving one app. This is minimal and I for one like it!

And then we must talk price point. Granted both services will cost you $9.99, but paying isn’t an issue. I like to tell people who I’ve put onto Spotify in the past, think of it like one NYC lunch a month you’re not having, and there you’ve got your $9.99 fee for the month. Now I said both services cost $9.99, so what would All Access have any edge there? Because of their promo price! You see as I mentioned earlier I like to jump onto there early when it first comes out and then share it with others. So I’m rewarded for being an early adopter and will get to pay only $7.99 for the service, saving my month from the $9.99 Spotify. And you can too, you just need to sign up before June 30th. So now only will I be getting the convenience of having only one app to use for my streaming and uploaded music, but I get it for a cheaper price than what I’ve been paying now. AND the Google Music app has a repeat one track only option!

But I will mention a reason why you might now want to go All Access and stay with Spotify. While this isn’t as important to me since I just want my music, if you are a social media type person Google All Access is quite there on that level. You can share with Google+ but that is about it. So if you care about sharing you music with Twitter/Facebook/Etc, Google All Access isn’t for you. Again this is not something I really need, so I think I’m 98% sure I’m going to switch by time the weekend is over.

Have you used All Access yet? What do you think, give me some of your pros and cons!

Dating online right now is something everyone at some point is doing it, but sites like Match.com may be getting stale right now. While building an app to go with your existing desktop site helps, the in thing now is to focus on mobile first. Instagram has done it, Vine is doing it, and it seems to be working out. So why not take that and apply to the dating seen.

This is what new dating app Swoon is doing and you might want to check it out. Swoon is debuting a new app for both Android and iOS, and will be celebrating that launch right here in the NYC, giving potential swooners the chance to test out their skills. Check out the app and check the press release below for more information!

New Dating App, Swoon, Debuts iOS App & Celebrates the SwoonLife at Official NYC Launch Party

Swoon, a new dating app that allows users to connect with cool people nearby, has bridged the gap between smartphone platforms and debuted an iOS app, making it the first app of its kind to be available to both Android and iPhone users. In celebration of the iOS launch, its time raise a glass and celebrate the SwoonLife at the Official NYC Launch Party. On Tuesday, May 21st, Swooners will have the chance to test their swooning skills at Haru Gramercy over lite bites and cocktails. Hopefully, Swooners will meet the man or woman of their dreams!

Who: NYC’s 20-somethings now have a reason to celebrate the dating world the SwoonLife way, whether you are looking to meet new people, or are single and ready to mingle. Guests will also have the chance to meet and hang out with the Swoon Men, VIP Guests, and Dating Experts!

Swooners can also enter for exclusive giveaways and prizes, like an Android phone, and many others!

How: Upon arrival, guests are asked to download the app as admission into the happy hours. Swoon is the mobile app for finding cool people nearby. It’s completely anonymous until there’s a mutual match. Swoon is available on Android and iOS. Join the conversation and tweet us at the event using #SwoonUpNYC.

For more information, visit www.swoonapp.com.

When:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Haru Gramercy, 220 Park Ave South (Corner of E 18th St)
6:30pm-8:30pm
Map & Directions

Disclosure:  Thanks SwoonApp for sponsoring this post.  I was selected for this opportunity and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.  #SwoonApp #SwoonUpNYC

Yesterday kicked off Google I / 2013, and the remainder of the week will be Google sessions for developers. For us consumers the keynote gives a peek of announcement of what new stuff will be coming. So while the keynote this year was 3 hours long, I watched every minute of it.

Now there was announcement of a new version of Android, no new hardware to be released. Yes there was the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, but that price point was appealing and it’s still just plastic (not if it was the HTC One then maybe lol). Even it cross platform messaging app which people had codenamed babble, only brought us Hangouts. I’m still on the fence about Hangouts, so use it some more before I pass judgment.

I did however come away from this keynote excited about a few things. First of then being Google All Access. No mind you right now I’m #TeamSpotify and loving it. But here is how my music situation is currently set up. I using Spotify as primary, but then use Google Music for all of my personal music I uploaded myself. I also use it for music Spotify doesn’t have that I purchase. So for a complete music experience I have to use two apps. Google All Access would give me one unified experience of my uploaded music and my streaming music. I’ve been using All Access since last night and I like the UI for it. It also gives me something I’ve wanted from Spotify for forever, which is Repeat One.

So with Google All Access I get streaming music which has a lot of the tracks Spotify, my own personal collection of uploaded music, playlists, offline option (which was the main reason I started paying for the service to begin with), repeat one, and for cheaper than Spotify. I currently pay $9.99 for Spotify service. All Access gives it to me (for signing up before June) $7.99! It is hard not to find a reason not to switch over. I’m a minimalist so this gives me a path to that.

Once we get away from the music, another service I’m was excited about was Google Maps. I use maps regularly, and very excited about the new version. In harmony to this is the new addition to Google search or Google Now. I like that it has added public transit to it. Even though I review cars, my normal isn’t always to drive. Being able to have Google Now show me transit commute is very useful, I love it!

There were a few other things like what they have done with hot wording in Chrome and search there, so looking forward to that as well. Again while there wasn’t anything I would consider major the improvements I did see were exciting. Long Live Google!

Pricing and Availability
Today, business customers can work directly with their B2B sales rep to order their BlackBerry Q10. Pricing for business customers begins at $119.99 with qualifying plans.

The BlackBerry Q10 is expected to be available for T-Mobile consumer customers in June for $99.99 down with 24 equal monthly payments of $20 for well-qualified buyers for 0% APR O.A.C. The smartphone will be available in T-Mobile retail stores, via www.T-Mobile.com and through select dealers and national retail stores. Consumer customers interested in the Q10 can register at http://explore.t-mobile.com/blackberry-q10.

Device Features
The new smartphone combines features BlackBerry is known for – the BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard and security – with a 3.1” touch screen, the power of the BlackBerry 10 platform and 4G LTE and HD Voice capabilities for a premium customer experience. BlackBerry® Hub helps manage personal and professional conversations, BBM™ messages, social media updates, or notifications with the ability to “peek” into the Hub from anywhere. To learn more about features and capabilities, visit the BlackBerry Q10 media kit.

T-Mobile Simple Choice Plans
For consumer and small business customers, T-Mobile’s Simple Choice or Simple Choice for Business Plans allow customers to design their plan based on the number of lines and amount of high-speed data required. There are no caps and no overages, and no restrictive annual service contracts. To provide added value for small business customers, T-Mobile’s Business Extras bundle allows customers with capable devices to access business-focused capabilities or solutions, like 24/7 remote IT support and paper-to-mobile forms conversion, valued at more than $400 for free. More information about T-Mobile’s Simple Choice and Simple Choice for Business plans can be found at http://explore.t-mobile.com/whyt-mobile and http://business.t-mobile.com/small-business. More information about T-Mobile’s Business Extras can also be found at http://business.t-mobile.com/small-business.

Samsung took to the financial district of lower Manhattan at the historic Cunard Building to showcase its Samsung Experience Shops that would be popping up nationwide at Best Buys around the country with some already in effect such the only 24/7 Best Buy on Union Square.

Just so happens to coincide with their latest venture is the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4 which should be hitting various providers such as AT&T for $199.99, T-Mobile for $149.99 Down, Sprint for $249.99 ($100 off you come from another provider) and Verizon looks to be $250 (before $50 mail in rebate) in the next coming days.

Samsung knows how to get public awareness about their products as they had media and the public invited to this event. To get you interested in the products they even had a little contest going on where you needed a range of tokens to compete. Go to the different stations and ask about the features and so forth and voila a token was given by Best Buy employees or staff of Samsung with their zipped locked casino chip bags.

I thought this made the event rather fun and got the prospective consumers interests going even if they didn’t want to and were just there to see Bruno Mars. Besides the S4 on display, was the recently released Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, and other products such as the Samsung Galaxy Camera, Samsung Series 5 and 7 notebooks and Galaxy Tab 2.

Working on the ones and twos in the DJ Booth last night was DJ Rev Run. As you know Samsung loves their celebrities such as Swizz Beatz performing at the Note 10.1 event, and Kanye West shutting down the Note 2 event so it came to no surprise when they also had Bruno Mars on the bill for the evening.

The atmosphere was crazy and everyone waited patiently or rather impatiently for him to come out which was around the 11:00 PM hour. This was my first time seeing him perform and I’d say I was impressed. He had the live band going and amping the crowd as he went thru hits off both albums “Doo Wops and Hooligans” and his 2nd album “Unorthodox Jukebox”.

Cool showing of Samsung’s latest devices and a neat way to present them to the public. Bruno Mars ripped it for the evening too.

Anyone going to make some changes to their phone lifestyle and pickup the Samsung Galaxy S4 or even the Note 8.0? Don’t forget to look out for our reviews coming soon! 

Style

HTC’s tag line for this phone is spot on. In terms of style, the HTC One is everything your phone isn’t! I’m sorry but if you own any other Android device besides maybe the HTC One this phone s**ts on your phone in terms of looks and style! Upfront it’s all screen which is brilliantly wonderful and speakers. Metal beats plastic any day. And on the back the gap-less aluminum body is just attractive! I’m not even a fan of the color white, but the white accents around the phone highlight the silver color wonderfully. I also digging the fact that the color sort of matches my Apple MacBook Pro which looks nice together if you are in your local Starbucks and have both out on the table.

The HTC One is wide, slim, and the details are intriguing. I really like that on the front (I have the AT&T version) AT&T or HTC didn’t allow AT&T to muddy up the front with it’s logo or the word AT&T anywhere on the it. The only reference you see of AT&T is its globe logo on the back. This is accompanied with the HTC logo which is in the center of the back and the Beats audio logo. All in all the logos on this phone are subtle and minimal. The One honestly looks amazing and I can’t stop being stuck looking at it, especially that screen, beautiful!

Under The Hood

While I love the beauty of the phone, I can’t just rock something with mid or low range internals. The HTC One doesn’t disappoint here though. The One is sporting Android Jellybean (it isn’t the very latest 4.2.2 but it is 4.1.2) and a new version of HTC’s Sense UI 5.0. It also has under the hood a quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM to keep everything moving very fast. The One will come in 32GB and 64GB (AT&T only) flavors of storage on the carrier side of things. For the camera you get an 4MP UltraPixel Camera on the back and up front 2.1 MP front facing camera. Rounding out the specs include an 4.7 inch 1080P HD screen, Bluetooth, WiFI a/b/g/n/ac compatible and 2300 mAh battery.

Spec wise the HTC One doesn’t disappoint. Sure it doesn’t have a removable battery but that really seems to be where the market is going, and yes microSD slots are few and far in-between now. You might also gripe about that 4MP camera but give it a try before you knock it.

Experience

So far using the HTC One has been a joy. The only complaints I have are of minor design changes I’m not used to. For example, I don’t really like how they changed the location of the power button. I’m used to it on the right side of the top of the phone. With it now on the left, I find myself turning on/off when not intended when handling the phone since I’m used to it on the right. Another thing I noticed is that the power adapter slot is now on the bottom right, coming from a HTC One X+, I’m used it on the side of the phone. This gets annoying with some uses I’m accustomed to in a car. But again minor annoyances which I’ll get over once I get use to the phone fully.

On the other hand beyond those minor annoyances using the HTC One is great. The phone looks gorgeous and that screen on it is superb! I thought the HTC One X/X+ had a great screen already, but the One just kicks it up a notch. Helping make the screen look great is HTC’s Sense 5.0 UI. HTC has done a great job with reworking the icons and default apps UI like for the phone dialer and others. The icons look crisp and highly vivid on the One’s 1080P screen. Everything also zips around at such a fast pace that I almost never have to wait to do something.

While BoomSound definitely brings the noise, HTC Zoe really paints a picture unlike anything seen before. I’m not going to lie when I first tried doing a Zoe I wasn’t that impressed, I thought “Eh its okay”. It wasn’t until I got a good full use did I see the value. This use was with my daughter and her Girl Scout Troop over a weekend. I snapped a couple pictures, did a couple 3 seconds Zoes, and done. Now when looking at it in the gallery, hit one button and all of those actions was transformed into this wonderful movie clip that was quite impressive to watch. My fiance loved it (actually she was hating because she doesn’t have one), my daughter’s Girl Scout troop leader thought it was awesome, and so did a few co-workers when seeing it. And speaking of the Zoes and camera, the UltraPixel camera, though being only 4MP so far has delivered good looking images. I’m not really printing out images I take from my phone so that isn’t a issue for me. Most of the pictures I take from the phone is for sharing from the device or uploading to social media sites. So while you may have different uses, the quality has been good in day and night scenes. I will warn you though, a Zoe takes a 3 second video and 20 still images at one time. So if you use any kind of instant upload for images, you might want to turn the setting to WiFi only or turn it off. You will burn through a lot of data real fast if you are playing around and taking a couple Zoes. Use with caution!

Wrap Up

The HTC One will run you on average about $199 for a carrier contract deal and is currently available on AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. It’s attractive, cutting edge, and have some really cool features. If the HTC One isn’t a success it won’t be the fault of the phone itself. HTC really needs to get some marketing dollars behind this one, and so far has been doing a good job with its HTC One Live Tour which kicked off with small concerts with artists like Pharrell recently. Even the one we have here that I used to review I just bought it myself as we weren’t able to get one by the company that handles PR for HTC here in the US. But we won’t let that stop us from covering the hottest and fashionable items out! If you are looking for a new Android phone right now, you’ll do no wrong with the HTC One!

Sprint has announced shortly after Samsung Unpacked that they will be offering the Galaxy S4. Today we found out pricing and pre-order information.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Pricing and Features on the Sprint Network

The Galaxy S4 is available with 16GB and 32GB of storage. The 16GB version has a starting price of $249 (that is with a new 2 year agreement or with eligible upgrade). Sprint will begin selling the phone starting April 27 (Saturday). If you can’t wait that long and want to make sure you’re getting yours, you can begin pre-ordering the S4 tomorrow. You can pre-order it HERE.

For those of you who don’t have Sprint service and are thinking of switching over to the carrier, Sprint is offering a Port-In Credit. For a limited time Sprint will credit you $100 for switching your number over to them from another carrier. That means you can get the Galaxy S4 starting at $150. Not bad!

You can check Sprint’s coverage in your area with HERE with the Sprint Coverage Map.

These are the plans sprint has to offer: Shop For Sprint Plans

How many of you are getting the Galaxy S4 with Sprint?

For more details on the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Sprint, read the press release below

Sprint Brings Unlimited Data to Samsung Galaxy S 4 on April 27

Sprint (NYSE:S) will offer Samsung Galaxy S^® 4 (16GB version) beginning on Saturday, April 27, for $249.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement. For a limited time only, new customers who switch their phone number to Sprint from another carrier will receive an additional $100 instant credit, reducing the price of Galaxy S 4 to $149.99 (excluding taxes).

Pre-order for Galaxy S 4 will open on Thursday, April 18, at www.sprint.com/galaxys4, while supplies last.

Galaxy S 4 will be available at Sprint Stores, Sprint Business Sales, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and Web Sales (www.sprint.com), and comes in two color options – White Frost and Black Mist.

Sprint offers Truly Unlimited^SM 4G LTE data, text and calling to any mobile device with no metering, no throttling, and no overages, all while on the Sprint network, making it the ideal carrier for customers who want to use every single feature of their Galaxy S 4 every single day of the month without worry. Sprint 4G LTE is available in select markets.

“Galaxy S 4 is packed with incredible new features that will benefit from unlimited data plans on the Sprint 4G LTE network,” said Fared Adib, senior vice president – Product Development, Sprint. “Sprint encourages our customers to really use their smartphone to its full potential – from surfing the Web to listening to streaming music or watching YouTube videos – without worry about data caps, throttling or silly overage charges on their monthly bill. I know our customers will enjoy this device as much as I do.”

Manufactured by Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), Galaxy S 4 is powered by Android™ 4.2.2, Jelly Bean, boasts a brilliant 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED™ touchscreen, 1.9GHz quad-core processor and access to the Sprint 4G LTE network. It also offers Multi Window, which allows the use of two apps side-by-side.

Galaxy S 4 is the perfect device for vividly capturing life’s most important moments by featuring dual cameras: a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera with a Dual Camera function allowing simultaneous use of both cameras. Galaxy S 4 is loaded with several innovative capabilities:

• Drama Shot captures a progressive event, like a baby’s first steps or a basketball player’s slam dunk, in one frame
• Eraser Shotremoves unwanted objects or people from an otherwise perfect picture
• Live Filters allow an individual to see how a picture will look – on both the camera and camcorder – before the photo is taken
  • Story Album™ compiles photos with location and weather information to create the most comprehensive and personalized memory book

Galaxy S 4 adds new touchless navigation with innovative features that detect face, voice and motions to enable screen control.

• Air View™ lets the user preview emails, photos in the gallery, or even the stories in Flipboard by hovering a finger over the screen
• Smart Pause pauses a video by looking away from the screen
• Air Gesture allows the user to answer a call or skip to the next song by waving their hand in front of the screen

Galaxy S 4 also features Polaris^® Office to get work done using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from almost anywhere.

Galaxy S 4 customers can enjoy an unlimited data experience with Sprint Everything Data plans. Sprint’s Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, Anytime^SM includes unlimited Web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in the United States while on the Sprint network, starting at just $79.99 per month for smartphones (excluding taxes and fees) – a savings of $20 per month versus Verizon’s comparable plan with unlimited talk, text and 2GB Web.

Sprint introduced its all-new 4G LTE network in July 2012 and now offers service in 67 markets. For the most up-to-date details on Sprint’s 4G LTE portfolio and rollout and detailed 4G LTE maps, providing coverage information right down to the address, please visit www.sprint.com/coverage. Customers are encouraged to check back often, as the maps will be updated when coverage in these markets is enhanced.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in both its 2011 and 2012 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

Style

Blackberry 10 is a very visual and cool looking OS when compared to the previous versions. And Blaq takes this and does a twitter client for BB10 that is both visually appealing, but also cool when using it. When you launch Blaq you are greeted with your Home timeline tab. Blaq streams in real time so as tweets come in you will see it update. Blaq also takes a different approach to showing the profile picture of people next to their tweets, the image is put into a slim rectangle which you can click on to expand and see more of the image.

Much of the UI is simple and to the point, but it is this simplicity that make it appealing. If you want to see your replies or direct message you can pull the screen to the right and you see a color coded menu of options for this. If you want to retweet or reply to a tweet you would pull the screen to the left revealing those options as well. This is all done with a smooth and fluid motion. Visually Blaq is a well done twitter app and I would easily pick it over the regular Twitter app by Twitter.

Function

Blaq for Blackberry 10 uses a few key gestures to navigate around it and if I were to say it definitely saves you from clicking too much to select items and in doing so helps you to “keep moving” as Blackberry likes to say as their motto.

Want to view your timeline you just simple scroll down to your heart’s delight. Want to return to the top, double click on the top of the screen to be brought back to the top. Want to reply, favorite, or retweet a tweet pull the screen to the left hover over an option and let go. Be careful though as first time users may find themselves just retweeting everything as you get use to the UI. I myself have done that a few times lol. As you move around you may want to check your replies or DMs, cool just pull the screen to the right and select the area you want to visit. You’ll also find this area gives you access to your profile, search, and the ability to mute people. You can also pull down from the top of the screen to toggle between accounts and your Settings area. Yes you can have multiple accounts (at this time it is two Twitter accounts).

The controls on Blaq work well within the app and during my use I haven’t noticed any lag or studders when trying to pull, scroll, slide, or press for anything options.

Experience

Honestly Blaq is a pleasure to use. It looks good, performs well, and honestly one of my favorite apps on the Blackberry 10 platform. If I’m using my Blackberry Z10 this is more than likely what you’ll see me using on it. And there is a lot of little things that I enjoy with it. Like the ability to expand out the rectangle profile picture to see a little more. Or if I want even more I can go to the profile of the person and click on the picture to have a even large image show for it.

I also like that it streams live so it always updates me having to “pull to refresh”, but at the same time if I want to pull it will refresh then as well. Then that easy way to reply or retweet by pulling to the left and just letting go on the option I need is cool. Keeps me moving honest and I don’t have to click on a bunch of buttons to get to the action I want to do. All in all Blaq is a polished app that gives a great visual flair to using Twitter on you Blackberry 10 device. Trust me you want this over the defauly Twitter produced app.

Wrap Up

Blaq for Blackberry 10 launched today and is available in the Blackberry App World. It will run you $2.99 (intro price) for the app. This will only work with Blackberry 10 devices so if you have a Blackberry Playbook, you can’t use this on it at this time I belieev. So check it out, it is definitely a premium twitter app and a good example of hopefully more to come for Blackberry 10! Some of the feature of this app include:

-Fast scrolling
-Interactive gesture engine for quick actions to keep you moving
-REAL-TIME Twitter streaming support
-Power-conscious – When minimized, Blaq goes into low-power mode to save battery
-The most advanced muting system – mute based on multiple criteria
-Sharing – Share from just about any app to Blaq and vice versa
-Active Frame – Know when you get new tweets, mentions or direct messages
-BBM™ integration – share tweets updates with your BBM™ contacts
-Native or editable retweet support (hold down on RT icon in detail screen)
-In-app notifications
-Twitter username auto-completion
-Image previews within Blaq
-View your lists curated from Twitter.com
-Multi-account support
-Search people and tweets
-Photo posting – Twitter
-Q10 support

Looks like T-Mobile is trying to get a leg up on the competition! They are going to be releasing their version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 on April 24th which looks to be online, and then the general in-store releases will be on May 1st.

It’s anticipated to be one of the biggest smartphone releases of the year. It isn’t just dropping on T-Mobile, but also various other carriers around the same time as Sprint looks to be on April 27th and AT&T shipping out units on the 30th.

Some features T-Mobile is touting that no other carrier will be able to provide is:

· No annual service contract
· Unlimited talk, text and Web on a blazing-fast nationwide 4G network
· The ability to save money upfront and every month over AT&T, Verizon and Sprint through the Simple Choice Plan
· HD Voice for nationwide crystal-clear high definition calling and reduced background noise
· T-Mobile Smartphone Mobile HotSpot feature, included with every Simple Choice Plan

Unfortunately it looks like the US wont be getting the octa-core processor(international only) which is a disappointment as we are getting the quad core processor that was stated previously in the launch.

But with the other massive hardware being built in such as a 5? 1920×1080 Super AMOLED display, 1.9GHz quad-core processor, 13 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, 2600mAh battery, 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB internal memory and microSD slot with support for cards up to 64GB will you even miss it?

Mix it with the Android’s Jelly Bean 4.2.2 TouchWiz version infused with the heavy features baked into this device you may be looking into a experience like no other?

So at $149.99 Down, with monthly payments of $20 are you ready for “The Next Galaxy”? You can get more details at T-Mobile.

Press Release – T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S4

T-Mobile to Offer Samsung Galaxy S 4 at Exceptional Upfront Cost

Only U.S. wireless company to sell Galaxy S 4 with unlimited talk, text and Web with no annual service contract on a fast, nationwide 4G network

BELLEVUE, Wash. — April 17, 2013 — America’s Un-carrier continues making bold moves to give consumers affordable, unrestricted and hassle-free ways to get the latest 4G LTE smartphones.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced today the Samsung Galaxy S® 4 will be available online at www.T-Mobile.com beginning April 24 for just $149.99 down — plus monthly device payments — for qualifying customers with the new Simple Choice Plan.

The availability of Samsung Galaxy S 4 comes as T-Mobile is delivering the most popular smartphones in revolutionary new ways and giving customers far more flexibility with how they buy and use their wireless devices.

“Samsung has a proven track record of delivering the ‘Next Big Thing’ in smartphone innovation,” said John Legere, president and CEO, T-Mobile USA. “By combining our bold, Un-carrier moves — no restrictions, no limits and an unbeatable value — with Samsung’s leading-edge technology, you’re going to get the most from your Samsung Galaxy S 4 at T-Mobile —hands down.”

T-Mobile is the only major U.S. wireless company offering the Samsung Galaxy S 4 with the following:
· No annual service contract plus unlimited talk, text and Web on a blazing-fast nationwide 4G network.

· The ability to save money upfront and every month over AT&T, Verizon and Sprint through the Simple Choice Plan.

· HD Voice for nationwide crystal-clear high-definition calling and reduced background noise.

· Smartphone Mobile HotSpot feature for sharing the Samsung Galaxy S 4’s connection to the T-Mobile 4G network with up to five Wi-Fi capable devices (tablet, e-reader, laptop, portable gaming device and more). Smartphone Mobile HotSpot is included with every Simple Choice Plan.

Simple Choice Plan
T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan starts with a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and Web with 500MB of high-speed data at up to 4G speeds. Consumers can add up to 2GB of high-speed 4G data for $10 per month per line or get unlimited 4G data for an additional $20 per month per line. Customers can add a second phone line for $30 per month, and each additional line is just $10 per month. There are no caps and no overages, and no restrictive annual service contracts.

T-Mobile 4G LTE Network
T-Mobile’s 4G LTE rollout complements its existing nationwide 4G network covering 225 million people, which third-party tests show already rivals or beats existing LTE networks in many markets. T-Mobile’s advanced 4G LTE network is currently available in seven metropolitan areas: Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The company expects to reach 100 million people with 4G LTE by midyear and 200 million nationwide by the end of 2013. 4G LTE devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4 will automatically and seamlessly connect to T-Mobile’s nationwide 4G network where 4G LTE has not yet launched.

Device Capabilities
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 joins a growing line-up of T-Mobile 4G LTE devices. The device features the latest Android operating system — Android™ 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) — and a speedy 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor. In tandem with T-Mobile’s blazing fast and unlimited 4G speeds when paired with the Simple Choice Plan with Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data, the Galaxy S 4 enables customers to quickly upload or download their favorite photos, videos and TV shows without worrying about expensive overage charges.

With a 13-megapixel camera paired with a vivid 5-inch Full HD SuperAMOLED® (1920 x 1080) display, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 offers a sophisticated multimedia experience for capturing and sharing amazing photos. Advanced camera features include:
· Dual Camera for recording stills or video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously.

· Eraser Shot to remove unwanted objects or people from an otherwise perfect picture.

· Drama Shot for snapping a burst of 100 images in four seconds to create animated GIFs.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4 also offers new enhancements for discovering and watching your favorite programs — whether at home or on the go. New entertainment features include:
· Samsung WatchON is a whole new way to use your phone with your TV. It transforms your Samsung Galaxy S 4 into an integrated smart remote to control your home entertainment system including TV, set-top box and DVD player. With the WatchON service, you can get recommended TV, movies and sports according to your personal tastes.

· Samsung Smart Pause will automatically pause videos playing on your Samsung Galaxy S 4 if you turn your head away and resume once you’ve looked back.

Pricing & Availability
Starting April 24, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 will be available for T-Mobile customers for $149.99 down with 24 equal monthly payments of $20 for well-qualified buyers for 0% APR O.A.C. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 will be available online at http://www.T-Mobile.com starting April 24, and at select T-Mobile retail stores and through select dealers and national retail stores starting May 1. For more information, visit https://explore.t-mobile.com/samsung-galaxy-s4.

Customers can find more information about Simple Choice Plan at http://explore.t-mobile.com/whyt-mobile.

Official T-Mobile’s Press Release:

With T-Mobile, iPhone 5 customers will enjoy an outstanding 4G wireless experience, seamlessly connecting to both T-Mobile’s existing 4G and growing 4G LTE networks. T-Mobile recently announced 4G LTE service in seven major metropolitan areas, including Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network is expected to reach 100 million people by midyear and 200 million nationwide by the end of 2013. The company’s 4G HSPA+ network reaches 225 million people in 229 metropolitan areas.

Simple Choice
T-Mobile offers iPhone 5 customers one of the simplest and most competitive consumer rate plans in wireless. Rather than providing a dizzying number of consumer rate plans, T-Mobile has just one: Simple Choice. 

T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan starts with a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and Web with 500MB of up to 4G speed data. Consumers can add 2GB of up to 4G speed data for $10 per month per line or get unlimited 4G data for an additional $20 per month per line. Customers can add a second phone line for $30 per month, and each additional line is just $10 per month. There are no caps and no overages.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 5 will be available nationwide on Friday, April 12 beginning at 9 a.m. at all T-Mobile company-owned retail stores, as well as online at http://www.T-Mobile.com. iPhone 5 will be available for well-qualified customers with T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan for $99.99 down and $20 per month for 24 months. 0% APR O.A.C.

One of the few things I do on my mobile device now on a daily basis is listen to music. Whether it be my own music I’ve loaded up or streaming over my favorite music service, It’s something I find myself doing more often now than I did before. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that I really dislike a lot of music that is out now that I hear on the radio and would much rather put together a playlist of music I actually want to listen too. Now, with my iPhone, I never really loaded up any music to it because I hated using iTunes to sync my music. I don’t know why, but I just never liked using it. With the BlackBerry Z10, it’s as easy as me just dragging music onto my SDHC card and loading it up like that. I can even use BlackBerry Link, though I prefer just dragging it onto my card. Because of this, I’ve begun using my Z10 as my primary music listening device at home and in my car via Bluetooth speakers or my Bluetooth link in my vehicle.

Usage

Luckily, the music player app on the BlackBerry Z10 is quite good and easy to navigate. On the main app screen, you’ll be greeted with a grid of albums. You usually start off in the “Recent” tab of the app which will show you the most recently albums added as well as the most recently albums played. You can expand this list by tapping on the little drop down arrow at the bottom right hand corner of each section. I find the recent section quite useful for getting to the last played albums quickly and easily. Just tap on the album you want to listen to and it will take you the album with the complete list of songs in the album. Tap on the song you want to play it.

There are two other tabs below as well that you can choose from to view your albums. One is the Library tab which will show you your entire library of albums arranged in alphabetical order. You can choose to display these by artist, albums, or genres. Again, tapping on an album brings up the full list of songs in that album. The other tab is a Playlist tab. This tab allows you to create your own playlists so that you don’t have to go digging through your albums for your favorite songs. It’s quite easy making a playlist. Just tap the the Create icon at the top and you can begin adding individual songs or whole albums. Browse songs based on title, album, or artist. When you find the song you want, just tap the (+) sign to add it. You can also tap the (-) sign after to remove it. After you’ve added all the songs you want, tap Done and name your playlist. That’s it.

To play music, tap any song from your library and it will begin to play. The cover art will be featured at the center with the title up above and play controls below. You can scrub through the song to get to specific point as well as the usual previous, pause, and next buttons. If you want to view the list of songs in the album or playlist, no need to tap back. Instead you can tap on the cover art and it will swipe down revealing all the songs you can choose from. This is actually a neat little trick and keeps the play controls on screen still. Tap the portion of the cover still showing to have it pop back up.

Lastly, you can pause and resume your music using the physical 3rd button that is between the two volume buttons. If you press on one of the volume buttons, a small Music app popup will appear that brings up the music player controls. This makes it easy to control your music from any screen you are on on the BlackBerry.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that needs improving in my opinion is that when on the lock screen and your listening to your music, there seems to be a small glitch where the mini-player will not show up. Instead, using the volume buttons will only adjust volume and you’ll need to swipe the lock screen away to get to the music player app to change tracks. This happens once in a while and I’m not sure why. Sometimes it will work from the lock screen and sometimes it won’t. It’s a minor annoyance and one that I hope gets fixed in a future update.

Overall though, I quite enjoy using the BlackBerry Z10 as a music player. It’s easy for me to load up my music and the user interface is clean and simple to use. If your music is tagged correctly before uploading it to your SDHC card, all your music will be neatly organized and selectable in a variety of ways which makes it simple to find the music you want, quickly. This also makes it really easy to create playlists on the go so you don’t have to fiddle with it while your driving or doing other tasks.

BlackBerry did a great job with the music player app and I’m glad to see they are on the right track when it comes to providing quality apps for leisure as they do for business.

The Hitcase Pro is a waterproof tough case that turns your iPhone 5 into a rugged POV camera. Not only that, it includes a built in lens that converts the iPhone 5 camera into a 170-degree wide angle lens so you don’t miss any of the action. The Hitcase Pro is waterproof up to 33-feet, shockproof, and dustproof.  There’s even the free Vidometer 2.0 app that you can download to accompany the whole package.

The Hitcase Pro is available now for $129.99. For more information, check out the full press release below.

Press Release

Vancouver, BC – April 3, 2013 – Hitcase, maker of rugged sports activity products for iPhone, announces the immediate availability of the Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5. This waterproof, mountable case transforms your iPhone into a POV camera to capture experiences anywhere, even 33 feet underwater. Hitcase Pro features a new 170-degree custom lens that delivers sharper and better-saturated photos and videos, and triples your iPhone camera’s field of view. Made for outdoor and action sports enthusiasts who love sharing their adventures with friends, Hitcase Pro now pairs with the updated Vidometer™ 2.0, a free app that lets you choose custom overlays to record your speed, altitude, G-Force and  other data on top of your videos and upload them to Facebook or YouTube.

Not Just Another Rugged iPhone Case
Along with its built-in wide-angle lens for capturing professional quality photos and videos, Hitcase Pro is designed to be tough enough to handle abuse, while still giving you complete access to your phone’s touchscreen. The new, stronger design is composed of a Gen2 ABS/Polycarbonate blend with a soft-touch rubberized exterior for added grip and comfort. On the inside, Hitcase Pro’s ShockPad now uses Poron® to absorb the shock that other cases would transmit to your phone’s internal components when used in high vibration environments like motocross or auto racing tracks. Even with this added protection, the Hitcase design team was able to slim down the profile of the iPhone 5 model, maintaining durability while taking less room in your pocket.

Adventure with Confidence
Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 has a waterproof rating of IP68, as defined in International Standard IEC 60529, which is the most rigorous classification. It can be used up to a depth of 33 feet or 10 meters, the deepest of any touchscreen capable iPhone case on the market. Whether you are heading out on the kayak, surfboard or wakeboard, the Hitcase Pro’s ShockSeal keeps out water and dust with a patent pending H-seal design that provides an extra barrier over standard single-seal, O-ring cases. Plus Hitcase Pro is still the easiest tough case to use on the market. It takes just a few seconds to insert or remove your device from the case.

Mount Anywhere
Hitcase Pro comes with a GoPro® compatible Railslide™ Mount System that lets you quickly mount the case or remove it with just a finger and thumb. You don’t even need to remove your helmet. Auto-locking functionality and a one-button trigger release make this the easiest mount you’ve ever used. The Tripod TiltR and the StickR mount are packaged with Hitcase Pro, but additional specialty mounts are available including the SuckR suction cup mount for boating and auto use and the ChestR mount, which allows for hands-free use of Hitcase and is also great for checking out videos without fear of dropping your iPhone if you’re on a ski lift.

Full Use of Your Phone
Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 also features better audio channeling for phone calls and audio with no sacrifices. The patent-pending ShockSeal system incorporates a super thin waterproof seal for both the speaker and microphone, allowing you to make or receive calls in all weather conditions. The tough screen cover also gives you full touchscreen use. Plus Hitcase’s machined stainless steel power and volume buttons give reassuring tactile feedback, even through gloves.“We’ve improved Hitcase Pro in every possible way for iPhone 5,” said Hitcase founder Brooks Bergreen. “From the lens and the casing to the even smoother Railslide Mount System and the updated Vidometer app, Hitcase Pro makes it super easy to capture and share crazy and fun experiences on land and in the water.”In the Box
•    Hitcase Pro
•    GoPro® Compatible Railslide™ Mount
•    Tripod TiltR
•    StickR Mount
•    Wrist Strap
•    Additional Port Plug
•    Quick Start Guide

Vidometer 2.0
Vidometer 2.0 is the latest incarnation of Hitcase’s free iPhone app, which is now available on the App Store. The app now comes with two new graphical overlays and 14 different combinations to make each video that you capture unique.The Rally Overlay has a stylized digital-analog speedometer and comes in two different color combinations. It also has options for low speed use (mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing) and high speed use (motorbike, automobile, etc.). The new Minimal Graphical Overlay displays compass, latitude, longitude, speed, altitude, current date and time all in a text only format, plus it comes in five color options. Hitcase also added four new color options to the original graphical overlay, which features the popular shock and tilt/horizon meter.Hitcase Pro for iPhone 5 is available at Hitcase.com for $129.99 with free shipping worldwide.About Hitcase
Based in the outdoor sports mecca of Vancouver, British Columbia, Hitcase builds the world’s best sports activity products for iPhone. For more information on Hitcase visit www.hitcase.com or https://www.facebook.com/Hitcase. Download Hitcase’s free iPhone action video app Vidometer.

For starters, Apollo has the same color scheme as Pandora, though it really doesn’t look anything like Pandora. Pandora still to me looks better, but Apollo isn’t bad. It does have a few UI tweaks that are pretty interesting however that the official Pandora app lacks. The UI itself seems a bit cleaner in some places, but that’s mainly do to the fact that there aren’t any banner ads filling up the screen and the bottom of the app doesn’t have any play controls, only the time status of what’s playing. Songs play automatically and you just tap on the album cover of the song to pause and resume playback. There’s even a thumbs up and thumbs down selection next to the album cover that you can click on.

To view any of the menu options and settings, just swipe downwards from the top border. To choose from a list of radio stations you already have saved, just tap the title bar. The app will even allow you to view artist information like the official Pandora app. Now, there are a few things you can do on this app that you can’t do in Pandora. For one, you can view the previous song that played and rate it. Also, to skip to the next track, all you have to do is swipe left on the album cover. Last, there doesn’t seem to be any ads in it or at least I haven’t heard or seen any.

As great as this apps sounds, I think I would still much prefer and official Pandora app. To me, even though it has some nice UI elements, I still prefer the look of the official Pandora app. Also, Apollo takes forever to start. When loading it just shows a black screen and you think it isn’t working, but in actuality, it’s just taking it’s sweet time to get to the main screen. Still, if you need your Pandora fix, download Apollo until an official app is released. It’s free and does import your account details.

App World Link: Apollo
Price: Free
Developer: JMTK Applications
Compatible Devices: BB10 Smartphone: 10.0.0.0 or higher

Songza makes choices based on a variety of factors. For one, it always knows what day it is and what time of the day it is. This allows Songza to offer specific categories based on this. What you do is choose a category based on what you are doing, then from there choose a sub category of genres. Once you do that, they’ll offer you 3 playlists that you can pick. These playlists consists of songs that are hand picked by their music experts and approximate what you most likely want to hear. Since it’s radio, you’ll end up listing to a lot of songs you know and a lot of songs you don’t know. That is one of the things I do love about these radio apps however and that is discovering new music.

Now you don’t have to browse this way if you don’t want to. You can easily hit the explore tab and browse through the usual list of categories and genres to find what you’re looking for. Like others, you’ll be able to rate songs as they play which in turn will make your personalized music selection more accurate in the future. What Songza does do that you can’t do on Pandora unless you pay is have unlimited song skips along with no limits on the amount of time you use it per month. It also seems like it doesn’t interrupt your music with ads, though the app does display banner ads. I don’t mind the banner ads as long as there are no radio ads interrupting my music.

Songza is a great alternative to other radio apps. The fact that it has no listening limits is a huge plus as well as it being free. It even allows you to save favorite playlists that you’ve heard and replay them back without having to go through category selection again. This app is strictly for music playback. It doesn’t offer the extras that Pandora does such as artist info or album info, but for straight up music, Songza is great.

The BlackBerry 10 version of that app is pretty much almost exactly like its iOS counterpart except for a slightly different user interface and doesn’t include the clock app or sleep timer like the iOS version. Other than that, everything else is very similar so if you’re a music lover, I would definitely give Songza a chance on your BlackBerry Z10.

App Store Link: Songza
Price: FREE
Developer: Songza Media
Compatible Devices: BB10 Smartphone: 10.0.0.0 or higher