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bull3964 posted:I also doubt it will be sold through VZW channels.
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Aug 26, 2011 18:13
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ExcessBLarg! posted:Why's that? The Nexus S 4G is sold through Sprint. Just a feeling I get from Verizon since they operate more like AT&T when it comes to their devices. Don't forget, Sprint is working closely with Google on a few other things as well. They did the Google Voice integration and they are working with them and Visa on the NFC payment stuff. So, it makes sense for them to promote the Nexus S 4G. Nexus devices traditionally aren't high volume sellers and Verizon tends to not like those taking up space in their corporate stores. Look at what happened with the HTC Merge. Verizon also doesn't appear to be making any moves to support Google Wallet. In fact, Verizon recently partnered with Amex for mobile payments.
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Aug 26, 2011 18:18
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bull3964 posted:Nexus devices traditionally aren't high volume sellers and Verizon tends to not like those taking up space in their corporate stores. bull3964 posted:Look at what happened with the HTC Merge. The Nexus Prime, meanwhile, is another generational/revolutionary device. Even if hardware wise it's not much beyond an SGSII, software wise it definitely is. Why wouldn't Google and Verzion want to give it as much exposure as possible. Also, consider: Both Android 2.0 (Droid) and Honeycomb (Xoom) launched on Verizon backed by a good degree of marketing. Granted, neither of these were labeled as Nexus devices (Droid predated the Nexus line, Xoom probably couldn't be sold as platform development prototype since there's no AOSP release), but they were both definitely "Nexus in spirit" given their vanilla UI and unlocked bootloaders. Furthermore, Verizon's dropping of the SGSII totally makes sense if, at or shortly after the SGSII's expected release, the Nexus Prime launches on Verzion. Especially if it has a shiny AMOLED+ screen.
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Aug 26, 2011 18:28
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The only problem is Verizon's marketing dollars go behind the Droid brand and the next Nexus isn't going to be the "Droid Prime." I cannot see heavy promotion of a device that they can't install CityID, VCast, or any number of preinstalled Verizon applications that earn them money. You do have a point with the OG Droid and the Xoom, but I think that came more of Motorola's preference for Verizon for high end devices rather than Google and Verizon teaming up in any significant way. It will be great if it happens but this falls firmly in the "I'll believe it when I see it" category. If the Vigor's launch date matches up with the leaked roadmap, it will beat the Prime to market with similar specs so it's not like Verizon would be passing up a high spec'd phone. We have the Bionic, Vigor, and Droid HD all launching before the end of this year on Verizon. I'm not sure they are going to worry about having a 4th superphone in their stores for the holiday season. That's not to say it won't be available for VZW, but I'm doubtful it will be a fixture at corporate stores. bull3964 fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 18:59
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bull3964 posted:The only problem is Verizon's marketing dollars go behind the Droid brand and the next Nexus isn't going to be the "Droid Prime." bull3964 posted:I cannot see heavy promotion of a device that they can't install CityID, VCast, or any number of preinstalled Verizon applications that earn them money. bull3964 posted:You do have a point with the OG Droid and the Xoom, but I think that came more of Motorola's preference for Verizon for high end devices rather than Google and Verizon teaming up in any significant way. bull3964 posted:We have the Bionic, Vigor, and Droid HD all launching before the end of this year on Verizon. I'm not sure they are going to worry about having a 4th superphone in their stores for the holiday season. If the rumors are to be believed that Google is pushing the development pace of the Nexus Prime to match or beat an iPhone 5 launch in October, then I can't see them doing a Best Buy-limited humdrum launch. If it features LTE, realistically there's no carrier to launch it on but Verizon. It seriously does not make sense for Verizon to shaft the launch that way. But if the Nexus Prime isn't coming out until December, isn't trying to compete with the iPhone 5, supports LTE/CDMA/GSM/UMTS as a magic, Verzion-compatible but unlocked (as so can be used on domestic GSM carriers as well) device, well yeah, I'd expect it to get a marketing and sales shaft by Verzion.
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Aug 26, 2011 19:15
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Thunderbolt is easy, it was the first LTE phone on Verizon. Look at how the Revolution was marketed afterwards. We saw a movie tie in with the Green Lantern promoting netflix and that was about it. We didn't get a big budget commercial until the Droid Charge came out. As you say, the iPhone plays by different rules. At the same time though, Verizon itself doesn't spend many marketing dollars on the device, Apple takes care of that. It's a high enough volume seller that it has earned a place in stores. As far as the OG Droid, you pointed out the special part of that situation. Verizon needed an iPhone competitor. Verizon doesn't NEED a Nexus Prime for anything right now. Personally, I do think the October rumors are a bit insubstantial right now. Google wants to rush ICS to beat the iPhone5? With a Nexus device no less? It honestly doesn't wash. So far, we haven't even seen anything that would point to ICS being a significant departure for the end user than they are seeing with Gingerbread right now. In other words, I don't see what ICS is supposed to bring to the table to change a person's mind from buying an iPhone5. Specwise, the Prime isn't going to be the first on the market (nor to Verizon even) with those specs ASIDE from it possibly being AMOLED. Now, maybe, if Google said "we'll do the marketing (a lot of it) if you put them in the stores", then I could see Verizon making a place for it in their stores. Unless I'm missing some amazing feature of ICS or Google has something up their sleeves that they haven't tipped, I don't see how they would expect to combat the launch of the iPhone5 with ICS. Basically, I'm looking for some indication that THIS Nexus is special from the last two (three if you count sprint as a separate device) that would justify a drastic change in marketing for both Google and Verizon. bull3964 fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 19:46
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Speaking of the iPhone 5, when is that supposed to hit? October sometime?
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Aug 26, 2011 19:53
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bull3964 posted:Google wants to rush ICS to beat the iPhone5? With a Nexus device no less? It honestly doesn't wash. But why are you so disparaging of the Nexus line? There's absolutely no reason to think that a Nexus phone, if sold through corporate channels and marketed appropriately wouldn't sell well. I could buy the argument that Verzion wouldn't be terribly interested in selling it due to the lack of VCast poo poo, maybe. But there's absolutely no reason to think that it isn't competitive, especially with other Android offerings. bull3964 posted:Basically, I'm looking for some indication that THIS Nexus is special from the last two (three if you count sprint as a separate device) that would justify a drastic change in marketing for both Google and Verizon. Seriously. The Nexus One wasn't the first device to launch with Android 2. And while the Nexus S was the first to launch with Gingerbread, GB itself is merely an incremental update on the Android 2 line. ICS brings a lot to the table. For one, a hardware accelerated UI, which finally makes the Android UI competitive with iOS and WP7 in terms of speed and fluidness. Second, a (Matias Duarte, i.e., "webOS inspired") redesigned UI. Particularly one that's supposed to run everywhere, and make it easy to write apps that tolerate different hardware profiles. I don't know if Google is trying to pin ICS up against iOS 5 specifically or not. However, ICS does represent the greatest change in the phone-side of Android to date. Given that the previous two major Android refreshes were both launched and marketed on Verizon, I fail to see why this would would be shoved under the rug.
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Aug 26, 2011 20:09
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ExcessBLarg! posted:
Saying that I can't see a carrier incentive to promote the devices doesn't mean I don't like the line itself. They have been decent phones (though, truth be told, nothing mindblowing.) The real question you need to ask yourself is who wants them to sell well? I'm dead serious about that. Does the manufacturer of the Nexus device want it to sell really well? Yeah, they get a lot of sales from it, but it undermines their brand identity and they have no contract with Google that says they are ever going to be asked to make a Nexus device again. So, all their hard work that leads to Nexus recognition can go to their competitor with the next refresh. Does the carrier want a Nexus device to be a success? They have less control over the device which brings fewer opportunities for additional revenue streams. It also hurts their branding as well if the same device is sold with the same name on every carrier. There's a reason why it was the Samsung Fascinate (a galaxy S phone) rather than "Galaxy S." US carriers want unique devices so their marketing doesn't promote a competitor even if the device itself isn't unique and it all comes down to a name. Does google want a Nexus device to be a success? This is a prickly question. Google just took a lot of heat for buying Motorola. Many analysts say that Google stands to alienate their partners by competing directly with them. If google makes a sudden move to heavily promote the Nexus name, with a carrier that has been the premiere Motorola partner in the US, that just might happen. It could easily be viewed as google brand building at their expense with the intent to cut them out later and go it alone with Motorola. Maybe that is google's endgame in which case maybe the Prime will be heavily promoted on Verizon. However, if google really wants to stay manufacturer agnostic, they probably recognize it's best not to try to hog the spotlight. quote:It runs ICS. I do not dispute that ICS is the greatest change to Android yet (being a person that owns a Honeycomb device and loves it) but you have to admit that most of the stuff AGAIN is going to be under the hood. Leaked screenshots so far (as few as there have been) doesn't point to a significant departure from the old UI. The hardware accelerated UI is huge but is something that's easily overlooked by someone playing around with a phone for 5 minutes at the store. Also, on leaks, shouldn't there have been more by now if the release really is 2 months away? Most people aren't even aware of the different versions of Android so ICS is going to have to have some pretty significant 'in your face' improvements to be a marketing tool for anyone other than enthusiasts. So, while I think the Nexus Prime looks awesome, I'm still not expecting anymore retail presence than past Nexus devices. I will be completely surprised and shocked if this comes with a big Verizon blitz because it basically means google is trying to brand their own mainstream devices now. That has pretty serious implications for the future of android.
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Aug 26, 2011 20:56
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It looks like costco is going to be THE place to buy the Bionic. http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/26/droid-bionic-and-accessory-bundle-will-land-at-costco-for-just-299/ Same $299 contract price, but it includes the multimedia dock, the car dock, and battery charging dock with additional battery. Also, costco's return polices on cell phones are rather nice. Edit: (not 100% sure on what happens between 14 days and 90 days in with respect to your subsidy if you return). bull3964 fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 21:09
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bull3964 posted:Does the manufacturer of the Nexus device want it to sell really well? Yeah, they get a lot of sales from it, but it undermines their brand identity and they have no contract with Google that says they are ever going to be asked to make a Nexus device again. bull3964 posted:Does the carrier want a Nexus device to be a success? They have less control over the device which brings fewer opportunities for additional revenue streams. Verizon's primary revenue comes from selling service, not VCast. If offering a Google/AOSP option nets customers they wouldn't otherwise have, paying $70-90+ a month, that's a reason to want a Nexus device to be successful. bull3964 posted:Does google want a Nexus device to be a success? This is a prickly question. bull3964 posted:I will be completely surprised and shocked if this comes with a big Verizon blitz because it basically means google is trying to brand their own mainstream devices now. That has pretty serious implications for the future of android. This Nexus S 4G commercial has been playing on prime-time television for months. Seriously, I don't know if Google is trying to blitz the iPhone 5 with the Nexus Prime or not. However, Google has been stepping up, or at least encouraging, greater marketing and presence of Nexus devices with each successive model. It's really not that far fetched to think they would do the same with Verizon, especially on a device that is substantially different and improved from previous Android offerings.
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Aug 26, 2011 21:12
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bull3964 posted:It looks like costco is going to be THE place to buy the Bionic. I'm on a corporate discount plan. I assume it is impossible to get Costco to re-up my corporate discount, right?
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Aug 26, 2011 21:35
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NewcastleBrown posted:I'm on a corporate discount plan. I assume it is impossible to get Costco to re-up my corporate discount, right? No idea. Though, generally, hardware upgrades with re-upping and contract changes are two different things. So you may be able to use that deal.
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Aug 26, 2011 21:45
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FYI, P3Droid (generally reliable for info) tweeted this today.quote:And last I heard the NewPrincess will not make October launch, thinking Turkey to Jingle bells. Take it as you will.
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Aug 26, 2011 22:02
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bull3964 posted:FYI, P3Droid (generally reliable for info) tweeted this today. New princess? Are we talking Bionic or iPhone?
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Aug 27, 2011 00:14
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Professorbx posted:New princess? Are we talking Bionic or iPhone? I would guess the NewPrincess refers to the Nexus Prime.
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Aug 27, 2011 00:16
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Professorbx posted:New princess? Are we talking Bionic or iPhone? Probably the Nexus Prime. Not very surprised honestly, disappointed but not surprised. October always seemed optimistic despite the iPhone stuff. Edit: Beaten like the iPhone will beat the nexus prime to market.
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Aug 27, 2011 00:17
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I really don't care if it takes that long to come out, just hopefully by October we'll have some sense on which carriers it'll be on and some actual specs.
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Aug 27, 2011 00:29
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Scipiotik posted:I really don't care if it takes that long to come out, just hopefully by October we'll have some sense on which carriers it'll be on and some actual specs. Samesies. My upgrade doesn't even happen till November so that's a little better for me anyways.
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Aug 27, 2011 00:38
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NewcastleBrown posted:I'm on a corporate discount plan. I assume it is impossible to get Costco to re-up my corporate discount, right? Any discounts you have will stay on your plan without issue, also if you return your phone after 14 days you definitely can't reverse the upgrade, but you can exchange phones. I work for one of the wireless kiosks :]
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Aug 27, 2011 00:56
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bub posted:Any discounts you have will stay on your plan without issue, also if you return your phone after 14 days you definitely can't reverse the upgrade, but you can exchange phones. I work for one of the wireless kiosks :] Thanks for the info. If you don't mind I'd like to ask some clarifying questions. First, the corporate discount is through my brother's work, not mine, though my name is on the account as well. His corporate plan allows for a certain number of family members to be signed up for the deal as well. I think it is designed for getting phones for your kids or spouse, but the rep didn't seem to have a problem with me not actually living with him. Will I have issues at a Costco kiosk because I am not the primary account holder? Second, I've been on this plan for 4 years, so other than the initial setup I've only renewed once two years ago. I'm a bit hazy on the details, but for some reason my memory was that anything done with corporate plans had to either be done through the Verizon website or over the phone with the rep for the corporate plan. Am I mistaken? I have a vague memory of being told by an employee at a Verizon store that they couldn't do much with corporate plans. Do you know anything about that? I (obviously) won't be getting the equipment discount on accessories as I would ordering online, but hey, free is better than 20% off!
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Aug 27, 2011 01:35
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In case anyone missed it, the first shots of the Vigor have been leaked. http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/26/exclusive-first-look-at-the-htc-vigor/ Yup, that sure is an HTC handset. (It looks perfectly fine and I like the textured back, but drat have HTC phones been boring looking lately.)
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Aug 27, 2011 03:20
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NewcastleBrown posted:Thanks for the info. If you don't mind I'd like to ask some clarifying questions. Verizon doesn't care whether or not you live with the person who gets the discount. He can have up to 9 lines on his account(this isn't specific to any corporate discount, just Verizon in general. Wireless Advocates(Costco's cell phone kiosk) can see that you're an authorized user and will be able to upgrade you. Currently, some corporate discounts are giving up to $50 off 4G handsets and you would have to go through Verizon directly to take advantage of that. You do not need to utilize the website or a specific rep to get this discount. Those business reps prefer you go through them for commission reasons, but it's not required. It sounds to me like you're on a consumer plan with an employee-liable discount meaning it's under your brother's name and he's just receiving the discount extended to a corporation's employees. The discount off accessories is 25%.
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Aug 27, 2011 03:47
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bull3964 posted:In case anyone missed it, the first shots of the Vigor have been leaked. HTC hasn't changed their style for poo poo. All of their handsets look like the same two designs: the desire or the incredible. 5 bucks says this phone is the same thickness and had the same microscopic battery as the others, while weighing twice as much as competitors.
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Aug 27, 2011 03:49
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Holy poo poo, there's gonna be a 4G network where I live! This is the most exciting news since ever, but I have a few questions. My family right now has Satellite Internet, which is the worst possible way to get internet that isn't dial-up. Since Verizon announced that IC was getting 4G by the end of the year, I've been planning a switch from Satellite to 4G as my family's way of getting internet, and now, there's a date (Sept. 15). Is this a feasible thing? I know the $80/10GB plan is what we'd have to get, as we're a family of four, with two fairly heavy 'net users and me, who uses even more than that (though a lot of that is watching video and things like that). I know 10 Gigs isn't a lot (though there is that extra one for $10), so I'd have to cut the downloading out at home. The other question is would there be a way to route the mobile hotspot through a router? We have an Apple Time Capsule that we use as both a backup and router, and it's really convenient to not have to switch networks to backup, could we get it so that we just have the internet going through the time capsule?
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Aug 27, 2011 19:43
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Yoshifan823 posted:Holy poo poo, there's gonna be a 4G network where I live! This is the most exciting news since ever, but I have a few questions. I remember back when we offered nothing but USB, PCMCIA and PC Express broadband cards I researched and found a few routers that would work with them. The problem with plugging in the USB stick into a router is that there's software that needs to be installed onto your PC/Laptop/Wtfever and I'm not sure how you would do that on the time capsule or whatever other device you find. The mobile hotspot 4G devices only have a range of 30-33ft and I haven't found a way to boost that. It might be worth it for you to get 2 4G mobile hotspots.
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Aug 28, 2011 02:02
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ExcessBLarg! posted:If they're not high volume sellers, that's due to the sales and promotion approach. There's no reason to think a Nexus device won't sell comparable to a HTC or Motorola one with the right marketing and promotion. The Nexus S is at $50 out the door, being promoted and still sells like crap on Sprint. I like the phone, but the return rate is really high, and not just because of the signal problems. 3rd party skins can suck, but I will say from experience that at the least, HTC Sense is way more user friendly, especially with facebook and social stuff. Plus carriers can't put their garbage spam apps on the Nexus. Duckman2008 fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Aug 28, 2011 |
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Aug 28, 2011 02:13
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bull3964 posted:In case anyone missed it, the first shots of the Vigor have been leaked. Looks like a bigger Incredible 2. Not a bad thing as both Incredibles are sharp phones. I just hope it has a kickstand  Also, I took LTE out for a spin today. Me likey. Also an extended battery and a custom ROM does wonders for the t-bolt. Nostalgia4Infinity fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Aug 28, 2011 |
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Aug 28, 2011 05:08
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Yoshifan823 posted:Holy poo poo, there's gonna be a 4G network where I live! This is the most exciting news since ever, but I have a few questions. You can do it if you have a router running some sort of custom firmware like dd-wrt or tomato. Then you can just bridge the wifi to LAN. Also I strongly recommend you to not do it because 10GB is really really small for a family of four, especially if you are going to use it as the primary internet. You will most likely go over and get hit by absurd overage charges as 4G is not designed for fix point access.
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Aug 28, 2011 08:10
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I used the cradlepoint routers back in the day. Before the mifi existed. Something like this would work it seems http://cradlepoint.com/products/wireless-4g3g-router-mbr95 Not sure how that works with TimeCapsule but you don't have to install any software on your computer to get that to work with the broadband card. It just works
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Aug 28, 2011 23:59
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Quick question concerning activation: I just ordered a cheap VZW Palm Pre 2 to play around with. Due to the fact I have a Thunderbolt at the moment, will I be able to swap ESN's online and then just *228 the Pre? Also, if I decide to switch back to my TB down the road (which will not be used/airplane mode/etc while the Pre 2 is active) again will I be able to just swap out ESN's on VZW.com or will I need to take it into the store? I'm assuming since the SIM card is tied to my line, I shouldn't have to get it replaced if I want to reactivate the phone.
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Aug 29, 2011 12:51
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bull3964 posted:It looks like costco is going to be THE place to buy the Bionic. So, I don't have a costco membership, but I have friends that do. Can I just walk in with them, have them pay on their card, but get the phone on my plan? Battery, charger, and car dock are the things I am going to buy either way, so free would be sweet.
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Aug 29, 2011 14:51
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JayKay posted:Quick question concerning activation: There is about a 30 day period where your sim will be ok, but after that, you will need a new sim.
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Aug 29, 2011 15:52
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Remember that time I was all "lol wouldn't it be funny if Verizon hosed around with the Nexus Prime until it wasn't a Nexus device anymore?" phandroid.com/2011/08/29/report-samsung-droid-prime-coming-to-verizon-in-october/ May not have been to far off. Going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out. I will be very disappointed of we do t get yet another Nexus device. Though not surprised. Got my eye on you Samsung.
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Aug 29, 2011 16:22
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BGR just whipped up a fresh round of Nexus Prime and Verizon rumors. http://www.bgr.com/2011/08/29/verizon-wireless-exclusively-launching-samsung-droid-prime-in-october/
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Aug 29, 2011 16:23
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So does the Droid branding instead of Nexus just mean no timely updates?
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Aug 29, 2011 16:26
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No idea, they certainly muddied the waters by calling it the Droid Prime rather than Nexus Prime.
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Aug 29, 2011 16:29
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Hopefully it will be in the spirit of the OG Droid, and not the Fascinate. Here's hoping for stock Android.
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Aug 29, 2011 16:34
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Codiusprime posted:Hopefully it will be in the spirit of the OG Droid, and not the Fascinate. My guess is stock Android, but the name Droid allows them to put all their VCast and bloat on there. 
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Aug 29, 2011 16:50
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Codiusprime posted:Here's hoping for stock Android. Also, it's interesting that it's going by the model SCH-I515 (Fascinate: SCH-I500, Charge: SCH-I510). Usually I don't put much significance into model numbers, but perhaps Samsung considers this, hardware-wise, to be an incremental change over the Charge? Also note Nexus S (GT-I9020) vs Galaxy S (GT-I9000), and Nexus S 4G (SPH-D720) vs Epic (SPH-D700). As for whether it's a "Nexus in spirit" device, the two things I'd look for is a Fastboot-compatible bootloader (used in Nexus S, but no other Samsung device), and a new "devices/samsung/foo" AOSP git repo. Both should mean a high-priority CyanogenMod port and "easy" (in as much as supporting ICS is easy) source-based ROM support. ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Aug 29, 2011 |
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Aug 29, 2011 16:52
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