Smozzy dodges T-Mobile data plans, delivers mobile web over text
Paying for your mobile internet data can be such a drag on the wallet. Luckily, there are Android apps like Smozzy that’ll get you away from the pricey tiers, and onto the information highway via text — no data plan required. You’ll have to be a member of the Magenta brigade to use it, and you’ll need an unlimited messaging plan, but after that, it should be smooth sailing and a little bit of extra wait time. So far, the well-reviewed app is still wearing its beta tag, and has only been tested on the Nexus S and T-Mobile G2. Don’t let a little wireless experimentation stop you from enjoying the loophole-exploiting internet access. Something tells us this workaround might not be available for long. Hit up the source link below to test drive the SMS’d net for yourself.
Smozzy dodges T-Mobile data plans, delivers mobile web over text originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Download T-Mobile’s Official Android 2.3.4 SD Card Update For the G2
atlp99 over on XDA was able to get a hold of the official Android 2.3.4 update for the G2 straight from those SD cards HTC sent out to T-Mobile stores to manually update customers. If human interaction makes you nervous or you’re simply too busy this weekend to drop by a store you can get your official Gingerbread fix by manually updating yourself!
Oh – and for those of you that jumped the gun and flashed (installed) the leaked 2.3.3 update that made its way around the Android forums not too long ago, you should be able to update to this official version with no problems. Here are the installation instructions via T-Mobile support forums:
- Download the 2.3.4 update for the G2 here.
- Once downloaded, place it on the root of your SD card (not in any folders). DO NOT rename it. Its name should be “PC10IMG” with .zip being the extension.
- This will completely wipe your phone (factory reset) so back up any data that is important to you. SMS, Contacts, etc. All apps will be deleted so back them up if you must.
- Turn off your phone and boot into bootloader (press and hold the power button and volume down at the same time).
- Once the bootloader is up you should see the “PC10IMG” being scanned.
- Wait for the phone to finish scanning the file. If done correctly the phone will ask if you want to update.
- Press volume up to confirm. The update process should begin after that.
- Give it a few minutes and make sure you don’t have a low battery. Shutting the phone down or pulling out the battery during an update process can potentially brick it (trust me, people do this all the time).
- Once the update has been successfully installed, the phone will ask to press the power button to reboot.
- The phone will reboot and you have a freshly baked 2.3.4 Gingerbread update!
As always, make sure you have a full 100% charged battery before attempting to update and Phandroid cannot be held responsible should you brick your device. We’re just the messenger, guys. Let us know in the comments if you successfully updated!
[Via XDA]
Thanks, Avneet!
Has Your T-Mobile Android Been Experiencing Poor Battery Life Recently? You May Not Be Alone
If you have an Android device on T-Mobile and your battery life is suddenly not what it once used to be, there may be a bigger issue at hand. A recent posting on the T-Mobile support forums is addressing the issue, which apparently arose around July 28th and seems to mostly be affecting HTC handsets, particularly the G2. While the support team says it is working to resolve the issue, they are seeking user input to better diagnose the issue. We’re scratching our heads as to what exactly could be causing widespread battery issues, but questions concerning 3G/2G data modes suggest that it may have something to do with changes to T-Mobile’s actual network. We’ll keep our ear to this thread as more develops. In the mean time, any readers experiencing poorer than usual battery performance?
[via T-Mobile | Thanks, Hindu Elvis Pimp!]
T-Mobile G2 and MyTouch 4G In-Store Gingerbread Updates Begin August 6th
If you haven’t been able to pull down the Gingerbread update for your T-Mobile G2 and MyTouch 4G, T-Mobile’s not going to leave you waiting in the dark. Nope, instead they’ll soon be allowing you to get your updates over-the-wire in-store. It’s a bit of an inconvenience, sure, but if you’ve gotten sick of all that dairy in 2.2 and are ready for Gingerbread, it’ll be well worth it. August 6th is said to be the start date so be sure to carve some time out of your day and take care of that. [T-Mobile 1|2 via PhoneArena]
T-Mobile G2 Users Experiencing Abnormal Battery Drain
We’ve gotten more than enough emails in our inbox to sit down and report this one. Apparently, starting on Tuesday, the T-Mobile G2 has been giving users plenty of trouble in the battery department. Some users have reported full depletion after six hours of use. Some will go to bed at night and take their fully charged device off of the charger, only to find it completely dead the next morning.
The timing suggest something could be screwy with the Gingerbread update T-Mobile’s trying to roll out. While I’m not an expert on this stuff, a plausible theory is that phones are constantly polling T-Mobile’s servers for an update until T-Mobile delivers. If accurate, this behavior should absolutely be considered erroneous. This theory is backed up by reports that battery issues are no longer present when in airplane mode.
Another suspected culprit is the recent version 5.8 update to Google Maps. The only problem with believing Google Maps is to blame is that its 5.8 update came out on Wednesday – users have reported having this problem since Tuesday. We’re not sure what’s going on, but we’re hoping this post does well to get T-Mobile to take a serious look at it. For what it’s worth, some users say the issues are gone after updating to the latest Gingerbread OTA. [T-Mobile, Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
T-Mobile G2 quietly discontinued, Z-Hinge’s future remains unclear
T-Mobile G2 quietly discontinued, Z-Hinge’s future remains unclear originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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T-Mobile G2 Nearing End of Life?
It hasn’t even been a year since its release and the T-Mobile G2 already seems to be headed to the Android phone graveyard. TmoNews has received evidence of the device’s retirement on Magenta. Users can’t find the device on T-Mobile.com and you might be hard-pressed to find it in one of their corporate stores. It’s a sad result for the followup to the original Android phone and one we didn’t expect to come so soon. It hasn’t even gotten Gingerbread yet! (Though T-Mobile assures us they’re definitely working on it.) It might not be completely dead yet, but it’s getting there.
T-Mobile Details After Hours Sale, G2 and Sidekick 4G Free with New Contract
T-Mobile had initially planned to hold their late night “insomnia” sale during the wee hours of Tuesday morning, but for reasons unknown pushed the whole affair back a couple of days. The good news is the after hours sale is definitely on for tonight starting at 9AM PDT and ending at 3AM PDT. For us east coasters, that’s 12AM until 6AM EDT Thursday morning.
As part of the sale you can find the T-Mobile G2 and Sidekick 4G for free with a new two-year contract. The T-Mobile G2X was initially penned in as part of the sale, but it has either been dropped or is getting a different, unannounced deal. If you’re in the market for any of these devices you might want to drink an extra cup of coffee or two to keep your eyes wide enough to place the order.
[via TMoNews]
Official T-Mobile G2 Gingerbread ROM Leaked
We’ve already seen a test build of the Gingerbread ROM that’s soon to be headed to T-Mobile G2 customers, but 911Sniper has leaked yet another. And this time, it looks to be a final, stable build. ROM makers are going to want to get their hands on this one right away, but for those of you who don’t fancy doing that sort of stuff today’s leak suggests T-Mobile is just bout ready to roll this out to users. Let’s hope to hear official word about it from them sometime soon. Download link is here.
T-Mobile Brings Back Unlimited WiFi Calling, Teases G2 Gingerbread OTA & Plans Enhanced Caller ID/Voicemail Features
Lots and lots of stuff from T-Mobile today that I’m sure plenty of you will love. Firstly, they’re finally bringing back unlimited WiFi calling. If you have access to a WiFi network and your signal strength is spotty you can use WiFi calling (on a select number of T-Mobile phones) to ensure you and the person you’re talking to enjoys the smoothest of conversations. It’s free and should be available for anyone with an Android device with WiFi calling features. Look out for that one on Wednesday.
Secondly, they’ve informed their employees about Gingerbread on the G2. We won’t get too excited, but it does confirm that we’re even closer to getting the OTA upgrade. Owners of this phone were frustrated considering it was just one of few stock Android devices on the market and it still has not gotten its taste of ginger. Looks like we may not have to wait much longer.
Finally, Magenta’s bringing Name ID and Voicemail to Text. The two are straight forward – the former will show you the caller’s name, number, city and state if they aren’t in your address book (and if they aren’t calling blocked), while the latter will transcribe your voicemails to text so you can read instead of listen. (And we’re not so sure you should be getting too excited about that if it’s anything like YouTube’s automated captions or Google Voice’s voicemail transcriptions.) [TmoNews 1|2|3]