Tuesday, April 9, 2013

HTC seen ?losing the window of opportunity? with HTC One after component shortages

By Iain Rogers MADRID, April 7 (Reuters) - If Saturday's La Liga match at home to Real Mallorca was a test to see if Barcelona could cope without Lionel Messi, they passed it with flying colours. The World Player of the Year was ruled out with a damaged hamstring, the first league game he has missed through injury since the 2010-11 season, but Barca made light of his absence with a crushing 5-0 victory that maintained their 13-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with eight games left. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/htc-seen-losing-window-opportunity-htc-one-component-182544158.html

derbyshire the matrix oceans 11 ferris state hockey mary poppins john derbyshire kinkade

Christian mourners, mob, police clash in Egypt

CAIRO (AP) ? A mob threw rocks and fired birdshot Sunday at several hundred Christians marching in a protest against Egypt's Islamist government after the funeral of four Christians killed in sectarian clashes over the weekend.

The Christians were chanting slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, just as several thousand did earlier during the funeral service nearby in the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo.

The attacking mob, described by witnesses as residents of the area, forced the marchers to take shelter inside the sprawling cathedral complex. They also showered the protesters with rocks from the roofs of nearby buildings, according to witness Ibrahim el-Shareef.

Mohammed Sultan, director of Egypt's national ambulance services, said at least 17 people were wounded in the clashes.

Riot police later arrived, firing tear gas at the Christians and the mob. Several tear gas canisters landed inside the cathedral's grounds, causing a panic among women and children who attended the funeral.

Video footage aired live on the private ONTV network showed young men on the roof of a building adjacent to the cathedral firing handguns in toward the compound.

The four Christians, along with a Muslim, were killed in clashes on Saturday in a town north of Cairo.

Inside the cathedral, several thousand mourners chanted slogans against Morsi, calling on the Egyptian leader to step down. They shouted "Leave!" and "This is our country, we will not leave."

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's estimated 90 million people. They have long complained of discrimination. Attacks against Christians have increased since the ouster two years ago of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/christian-mourners-mob-police-clash-egypt-154013162.html

jared sullinger jaleel white levi johnston 2013 srt viper scott walker recall fisker atlantic social darwinism

Saturday, April 6, 2013

ThL W5 Android 4.0 Smart Phone MTK6577 Dual core 4.7 Inch IPS Screen 1GB RAM 3G GPS White

I like it Review by Sandy
What I really wanted was a faster and more reliable version of the Vibrant with a nicer camera and a GPS that actually works. This phone has met those goals. (Posted on 4/5/13)
My daughter loves it Review by Hugo
My daughter loves it and took it to Brazil, where is working perfectly FINE, has exceeded expectations; Application space is significant! Takes beautiful pictures. Though it is a bigger phone than the blackberry, it is light and still hold in a pocket. it's just amazing how fast it is and how easy to use. after we cut the SIM card with the tool. (Posted on 4/3/13)
Very intuitive Review by Britney
Very intuitive. Nice design and responsive touchscreen. Very easy to transfer files from pc and mac. lightweight, ultra fast, longer battery life compared to others, SD slot, NFC, quad core, HD display. Those kind of little details give the real meaning of smartphone. The price is very cheap, I bought 3 of this Smartphone, for my family. (Posted on 4/2/13)
Excellent Product Review by Anita
I can't describe this cellphone, Excellent Product. Excellent Quality. Perfect for every day and easy to use. Do not failed. It was just what i wanted. It is better than i was expecting. my only concern is the battery consumption: if you get addicted to using it, you'll drain the batteries too soon (Posted on 3/29/13)
Excellent phone Review by Katy
Excellent phone, great performance and quality of the materials. The best quality smartphone. I haven't got any problem with it and it's been 4 months that i have it. (Posted on 3/28/13)
It's amazing! Review by Joan
It's amazing! I really love this phone. It has a large internal memory (4GB), I'm tired of installing applications and I'm still with space. It has a screen with the appropriate size, 16 million colors (like a computer!). Great speed on Internet. Initially turned off and cycled for itself, which worried me a bit, but then, after 3 weeks or so, the firmware was updated for itself and stopped having this problem. It looks very nice (white color looks fantastic). Honestly I'm happy with my purchase. Excellent communication with seller and shipping was as fast as had been agreed. Just buy it, is great. (Posted on 3/27/13)
The screen is big & beautiful Review by Katherine
I've had this phone for 2 months now, and can't find anything to complain about. The screen is big & beautiful, the performance is great, touch screen very responsive, and the battery life very good for an Android.

After reading a few reviews, I decided to do a PRL update right out of the box. The call quality has been great, and I've not once encountered the 'radio interface resource shortage' error. The 3G is fast, the GPS is wonderful, and again, for those who say the battery life is bad, I've been able to go 2 days before recharging. Of course, I don't live on my phone, because I do have a life. (Posted on 3/26/13)

Excellent phone for the price Review by Derek
Had this phone about three weeks now, really impressed. Battery life very good screen incredible, GPS locks in about thirty seconds even in house. Web browsing with WiFi good and fast. Only thing I have found compass doesn't work (who needs compass)Otherwise as said for the cash excellent phone. (Posted on 3/25/13)
Work very well Review by Ivan
I got this phone for my wife after reading some positive reviews and hearing good things about THL phones on other networks. they all have the same problem, short battery life, Fortunately, it has two original battery. Download a battery optimizer and a phone optimizer and your phone will work amazingly! If it is a 4G phone better, so I only played 4 stars. (Posted on 3/25/13)
THL W5 Review by s4lvu
I love this phone !

Very very good performances on games and web browsing and for less than ?200 !!

This is easily the best deal I've ever made. I love my phone :) (Posted on 3/23/13)

This is a very nice phone Review by Hellen
Bought it for my daughter - this is an excellent item. This is a very nice phone and has worked beyond my expectations! Nice screen, fast processor, Phone calls/texts have gone through without a problem. Reception is very good. I like Phone's style. Very easy phone to operate, intuitively speaking. have not had any issues with it at all. (Posted on 3/23/13)
The price was right Review by Lauren
I really am very happy with this phone. The price was right, however and I decided to take a chance on this phone and it has not let me down. The screen is beautiful, and the touch screen is very responsive. It performs very well, it's fast . I put a 32GB Micro SD in it, and it's working just great. It does everything I need it to do and comes in significantly cheaper. (Posted on 3/22/13)
Excellent as a cellphone! Review by Betty
Best smartphone I ever had. has a lot of storage space you can put it with basically any company and it works great. Light to carry. Good for simple entertainment like mp3 and ebook! Many apps from android market. its really cute has good quality with the pictures you take and is very fast. Also it isn't complicated to use. Excellent as a cellphone! (Posted on 3/21/13)
It has surpassed all my expectations Review by Matthew
It's the best phone I ever had! it was love at first sight! The right size, smooth performance. Enough internal storage for my needs... The materials are better than expected. the glass is oil proof so no fingerprints most times. The battery life its way better than other smartphones. The camera takes pretty sharp pictures. I am with this phone. It has surpassed all my expectations. Everyone should own one of these. (Posted on 3/20/13)
It's a great looking phone that functions amazingly well. Review by Helena
It's a great looking phone that functions amazingly well.

It's a great phone to have because you will keep up to date with the Android builds. You were able to take advantage of 4.0, 4.1 and probably 4.2 before most other phones are even considered to have it. Owning this phone means you get the Google Experience.

I'm also not a fan of the back case on the phone. It's built out of plastic and seems a bit slippery, so get a case or you'll be dropping the phone. Also, the case has little plastic tabs that snap into place. If you frequently remove your batter I can see how these plastic tabs can break.

Finally, the camera. It's fast, it can take amazing pictures. It's only 8MP. It's a bit low in the world of "super phones", but it'll focus and take a picture faster than most of the 13MP cameras out there. So, you have to weigh out the pros and cons of that one for yourself. (Posted on 3/19/13)

this phone is the absolute best. Review by Aviva
I love this phone, get it. it fits perfect and matches the phone color and texture perfectly.

The battery exceeds my expectations, getting through a full day is no problem for me using web, email, text, google talk, streaming music via BT, checking weather, reading Kindle, you name it. Average 12 hours or so battery for me with 20% or so remaining at the time I plug it in at night.

The screen! The screen is gorgeous and very fluid. The only app I have found a problem using the screen is the built in web browser. There is some minor vertical tearing, where one half of the screen will update faster than the other when scrolling. No biggie as video and flash works great. Fun fact - this screen is about the size of an iPhone 4, the whole phone! (Posted on 3/18/13)

It's a great phone. Review by Gaby
It's a great phone. Great screen, nothing lags. I checked my running apps and frequently I had 15+ running with no performance hit. camera is great. screen is just amazing not dull as some say. front camera is good best ive seen so far though im sure there are better out there. ive seen some reviews saying the phone feels cheap i didn't really spend too much time feeling for that as i put a case on it and it feels like any other phone with a case. Battery life is terrible if you are actively using your phone. Keep your charger handy, but this is like this for all phones with a screen like this. this phone is a lightning fast i think it will be one of the fastest for a while. if your a non bias tech lover this you'll most likely love this phone as i do. (Posted on 3/16/13)
Stunningly beautiful design Review by Britney
Is this phone a non contract phone. Stunningly beautiful design, fast at everything (video, music, YouTube, internet, Texting, live wall-screens, streaming news, aps, games etc...). If your like me and need a phone for a minimum of three years, you cant miss with this phone. I am not looking for a new phone every other year, I will be holding onto this for a while. I even dropped this phone in the bathroom face down, picked it up and kept on rolling. Remember what also makes this phone remarkable is the apps. I am now using the phone for less calls and more news streaming, YouTube and Netflix. The battery is excellent. Imagine using all the heavy battery usages and by the end of the day, you have juice and all it needs is a simple nighttime recharge. Camera looks like your looking through clear glass, need i say anymore! (Posted on 3/15/13)
I am very happy with this phone Review by Ulysses
In short, I am very happy with this phone. When I got it, I was a little surprised, I picked up the phone because of its price between offers a wide range of features that desire smartphone. Connect to internet, able to take pictures, send email, and all it offers. It has good screen, the colors look good. Texting, Wi-fi & no contract makes this a great starter Android phone. great. (Posted on 3/14/13)
this phone is amazing Review by Gabriel
I'm going to try to keep this short - this phone is amazing. I'm a real estate agent and I've never been able to keep up with emails and voice messages like I have with this device. The size of the screen makes it incredibly easy to use. With a few apps, I'm able to create professional quality PDFs on my phone (using the camera),sync my work documents to my phone via drop box, edit Excel and Word documents; track time with my clients with the click of one button (for billing), give voice commands for calling while I'm driving, etc. etc. etc.
I love the dual antenna because I have the wireless hotspot on my plan, and it allows my to use the internet on my laptop AND talk on the phone at the same time.
As far as the size of the phone - I'm 6'2", so this thing fits perfectly in my hand and I carry it in my pocket like any other phone I've owned. I usually put it in the seat next to me when I drive because it's just too big to get out of my pocket if someone calls, though. I assume a blue tooth headset would help.
The battery life is great. It gets me all the way through the day without having to plug in and that's with very heavy usage - I've been an Android user for years and I've never had a phone that will do that.
(Posted on 3/12/13)
Great phone for the price Review by Dave
Great phone for the price. The service is ok where I live. The camera could be bettter, but I really don't use it so I don't care.
the touch screen is very sensitive like others have posted.
i think the size is fine i didnt want a large phone to carry around.
so far i havent had any problems with calling and the person said i sounded good
i have dont some texting and that was fine with the android keyboard i turned off swype.
the true test will be when i travel to see how the coverage will be but according the the map if i stay on the main routes i should be ok going from west to the mid west and south. (Posted on 3/11/13)
Great product Review by Glendon
Great product; provides and opportunity to enter the Android Market and utilize some of the newest technology, that makes life simplier; reading, weather updates, transit updates; gps location; i`s endless and if you enjoy games while waiting for appointments; free games as well on the market; This phone is very addicting. I'd highly recommend this for a starter adroid mobile device. It totally rocks. Just make sure that you buy the accessories to protect it. Delivery was really fast. Makes a great gift. Everybody and their grandmother should own one. (Posted on 3/9/13)
I wanna start by saying this is a great phone to have. Review by Paul
I wanna start by saying this is a great phone to have. Its affordable plus Virgin's plans are great. I recently just canceled my contract with sprint to save money. I had the ThL W5, which was a great high-end phone. I was afraid to go to this phone from that one, but I made the switch. It definitely wasn't that much of a downgrade at all. Well the main apparent sacrifice was the screen size. The W5's screen size is 4.7, However, this phone has a brighter, more vibrant screen, and the colors are also better. I know this. I had the W5 for almost a year. This is lightweight and quite thin. I like it alot and I'm happy I got it. The camera is also pretty good too. It shoots fast! Its very good for people who have shaky hands or are taking pics of moving targets. And the flash is another great plus. Overall, I'm very satisfied with it and I'm not sad about coming from the W5 to this. (Posted on 3/8/13)
The THL W5 is such a great phone. Review by Laurent
I have had the phone for about 2 months with no problems. 3G can be spotty outside metropolitan areas. Phone coverage adequate with good reception. it's fast, and pretty easy to use.

This phone is at reasonable price of $200. If you look up at any other THL Mobile phone, the 3G newer models run for 2x more. Social networking, email, android marketplace, easy touch screen keyboard, accessibility, good looking phone for being a more affordable end smart phone, responsive ect. Its worth the price. I enjoy it and it was prompt on getting here! love this product and would recommend to a friend. The THL W5 is such a great phone. (Posted on 3/7/13)

Great Product Review by Zack
I bought this phone in february 2013 before I go to vacation. Only few days were left to departure and needed to get accelerated shipping. They were so helpful and received the phone a day before my departure.
I started to use immediately and did not have any problem till today. The flashlight on the back is amazing. so far its great,looks good an works even better,good buy for anyone who wants a budget phone (Posted on 3/6/13)
this phone is just incredible. Review by Peter
Before I had owned the HTC Rezound as my first phone, and when switching to this phone, When it arrived it looked great. I charged it up, did the program and activation, and it sounded great. I downloaded my contact list from the "Backup Assistant", which lost all my personalized settings, of course, and that worked great too...
The screen is bigger than most, the internal components make this phone by far one of the best currently on the market. And whats better is that the new 4.1 software is soon to be released
for this phone on THL, making it even greater than before. you can't deny that this phone is just incredible. (Posted on 3/5/13)
i am rather pleased Review by Bert
I have owned this phone for 5 month's and am rather pleased with it thus far.

The screen is a nice big size, the UI is easy to use, plus it just got updated to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) . Also the battery has a lot of juice and may last you up to a day , maybe more depending on your usage. The camera takes wonderful shots and the sound if your listening to music isn't bad either.

4.7inch hd display...yup

Expandable storage via sd card ...uh huh.

Motion commands....awesome

Screen shot option. Wicked.

Fully customizable....for sure.

Open android market with lots of free apps that are not garbage. Check check and check

Oh wait......on android you can get all the stuff they sell for less .......almost nothing. ;) (Posted on 3/4/13)

Excellant phone Review by Dave
Had the phone for two weeks , absolute bargain in every respect .Works with all uk networks even 3mobile. No negatives at all. (Posted on 3/2/13)
The Best Review by Franklin
I really like this phone.It's the first android I've used and it works great. It takes some getting used to but pretty easy to figure out. I'm still learning all that it will do. The touch screen is large and bright. It switches from app to app quickly and even in 3g loads web pages quickly. The camera works well. I,m very impressed. Whatever i choose to do from making calls to the UK (very clear and crisp), to loading apps (very fast to load), to the sound quality of radio and music i am more than pleased and show it to everyone who all are very impressed. The rear camera has face recognition, takes great pics and the video is easy and uploads fast to FB. I used mine for a month and enjoyed it so much i got another for my girlfriend! Dont waste your time thinking you have a great phone, just buy this one and then you'll know you have a great phone. (Posted on 3/2/13)
I hope you find this useful Review by Vern
I was looking for the cheapest alternative to getting a 6th line, at least comparable to what I would have paid for the 6th line on ATT. I looked all over and all the individual plans where $40+ or so, without including texting. Then I came across the THL Mobile $25 unlimited data, text, web + 300 minutes and it seemed that it would fit the bill.

I got the phone on sale for $208 and it is just the best phone I have ever had, although I have not activated it yet (more on this later), at an awesome price. Why haven't I activated it yet? Well, it turns out, this android phone lets you install all kind of apps from the android market via wifi without activating the phone, you can pop in an 8Gb, 16Gb or 32Gb SDHC card and use this as a pretty awesome (and cheap) ipod/iphone substitute. I have installed apps for watching TV shows, read news (USA Today, NYTime, Bloomberg, etc), Pandora radio (sound through the speaker is very full for such a tiny device), GPS navigation/maps, calculators, MS Office documents viewer, a few games, GasBuddy to find cheap gas locally (pretty handy these days), etc. All FREE from the Android market. But, BY FAR, the best applications I installed are Google Voice, which together with SIPDroid (after signing up for a free GoogleVoice account and a free PBXes.org account) allows me to link them together and configure the phone to use VOIP to make my calls through the internet instead of using the limited 300 minutes I would get if I signed up with THL Mobile for $25/month, I can also use it to do unlimited free texting through my Google voice number.

I wanted to do this to make sure I did not go over the 300 minutes and start racking up a huge bill with VM once I activated the phone, but as it turns out, this has worked out so well that I am still undecided as to weather I will need to activate the phone and sign up for the monthly service. Granted, I can only make/receive calls when I am within WIFI range, but, WIFI is so prevalent these days. Many of the establishments a person does business with have free internet access for their customers: Starbucks, Dennys, Mcdonalds, Barnes&nobles, Homedepots, Panera bread, Hooters, highway rest stops, libraries, Krogers, Quiznos, Schlotzsky, FedEx offices, Hotels... the list goes on and on. I also installed a WIFI Analyzer App which shows if there is a free/open WIFI within range and its signal strength. You can get a nice directory of wifi spots in your area here-> [...] which of course does not list all the available ones.

What happens when I'm outside WIFI range? Well, of course I can not make calls, inbound calls go to my GoogleVoice voice mail and as soon as I get into WIFI range and connect, my inbound text messages get delivered and/or I get a notification of a missed call which I can check right away. Obviously not something I would want to use as a business phone, but for personal use when you do not need to be available 24X7 this works great! You also get a great excuse when you don't want to answer someone, later you can say... "Sorry, I was not in WIFI zone...", you can even put that in your answering message. This setup would be great for students who live on campus where they have free access to the campus WIFI network (many of them provide free open WIFI all over campus). All these for $0 a month plus the cost of the phone.

If you feel you need capability to make calls from anywhere in case of emergencies, or for 24X7 availability, then just activate the phone and pay the $25/month. You would get many other benefits which would make this device a very capable business phone. I've read that once activated, you can install an app to make the phone a WIFI hub for up to 4 or 5 devices (supposedly there is an app for that, :-) pun intended, in the android market). This would provide internet service to your WIFI based laptop anywhere. I will investigate this more if/when I activate the phone. I have to admit, it would be fun to be able to go on trips and have internet in the car for my kids ipod touches or laptops while we are on the road. The more they can entertain themselves, the less "are we there yet?, are we there yet?" questions we will get... :-)

Summarizing, if you activate the phone, you get unlimited texting, phone web browsing, tv watching, internet radio, etc. + unlimited internet based calls using the provided unlimited data service + internet for your computer/ipod touches anytime/anywhere. All these for $25/month? Sweeeet! I don't think any carrier can beat that, the closer unlimited everything plan is cricket for $55/month for an android or blackberry phone. ATT, Verizon, etc? $70 and up... THL Mobile uses the Sprint 3G network, so, it's coverage (at least here in Houston) is pretty good.

I hope you find this useful.
Enjoy! (Posted on 2/27/13)

this phone is the perfect fit of functionality Review by Constance
This phone FOR THE PRICE is the absolute best deal around. Of course there are much more high end phones available with bigger screens, more do-dads, and faster processors but you know what? I feel like this phone is the perfect fit of functionality.

Setup was easy and required a few simple steps to get up and running. I can't comment on customer support because I have had no problems with the phone or the cell service after 3 months of use.

The size is just perfect so it still looks like a phone when you have it up to your ear and not like a mini tablet that you have next to your face. It feels good in the hand, although I will probably get a case because I have big hands and would like a bit more grip.

The processor is more than fast enough to do PHONE related tasks - music, email, web, calls, multitasking. You are not going to be playing high end games on this thing. It opens and closes all apps really fast and allows me to bounce around between them with no lag.

I'm new to Android but had Iphones, Windows Mobile, and Palm phones previously. While I still prefer Apple's OS, Android is great and I'm happy with the amount of customization you can do.

I pull at least a 4-bar 3G signal everywhere I go (I live in the midwest). You should probably check 3G coverage in your area before purchasing. I had a Sprint phone previously so I basically get the same network but at a much lower cost. (Posted on 2/26/13)

This phone is amazing Review by Gabriel
This phone is amazing! If you want to try an Android and you are on a budget this is the phone to get! It is very nice and there is no lagging so far. it is a really nice phone and it is very easy to use. If you want to know more about tips and trick for the phone you can easily look them up on youtube and they help a lot. (Posted on 2/25/13)
Very nice phone.. Review by Robert
First-the phone. This is actually better than my existing Hero. It is faster and more responsive (expected as the Hero is two years old). However if has some improved features. The desk clock is better, it has a great News and Weather app based on Google (accessed by tapping on the weather). A dynamite version of Speed Dial that uses a picture on your home screen and easier to use buttons. And, of course, free GPS that makes Garmin, Tom-Tom and Apple weep.

Second-using WiFi (or VOIP). During my final 30 days, I decided to try using the phone without activating it. I am a long time user of Google Voice. I have one number that rings my cell (on Sprint), my wife's cell (iPhone on AT&T) and my computer (Google chat). That system works far better than you can imagine. As long as both I and my wife keep our contacts current, caller ID lets us know who should answer the phone over 95% of the time. Besides, the spam filter on Google Voice is worth it alone. I bought Groove IP ($4.99 on Android Market). I did not buy Sipdroid or use PBXes. I set Grove IP up for WiFi only. If you read the instructions, it says to disable the cell phone on Google Voice.A couple minor adjustments on echo cancellation and I am home free. Very impressive.

Now I have three choices. Activate my phone and pay the $35.00/ month-far less than the $69.00/mo. on Sprint. As most minutes will be over WiFi, get the cheapest option. (2)not activate the phone-but lose navigation and emergency use. Or (3) I could buy another phone, activate it, cancel the iPhone and leave it in the car for my wife and leave the unactivated one at home.

My summary: buy this phone, and Groove IP and start saving money!! (Posted on 2/23/13)

Wonderful phone and media player! Review by Paul
Got this phone several months ago (1st Android) and am totally happy. After a bit of time invested in learning Android and setting everything up the way I like it, its fantastic. Easy to use, reliable, fast, comfortable, small enough to be very convenient. I don't know why people want bigger phones. Non-slip backing, rounded shape, very responsive & bright/clear screen. This works well for web surfing, email, RSS, calendar, alarm, weather, etc. Only downside is lack of flash - no big deal. With the micro SD reader, I have plenty of storage. I use is daily for music and videos. I have over 150 instructional (EFT) videos that I view daily. This works better than my iPod Touch with far more storage and less money. This phone would be a superior alternative to iPod touch even if not used as a phone. Camera is very good but no camera flash. Does video as well. Transferring files on Android is so much easier than iTunes. After 2 months, this phone is still like new. Works perfectly, quite durable (handles drops easily with little scratching), seems to be dirt, dust, sand and water repellent. I get all day battery with light use. Heavy internet use does drain the battery, but most days I still have 60-70% battery remaining at bedtime. To me, battery life is far more important than the bigger screens and faster processors of the more expensive phones. My wife has the Motorolla Triumph and it (and its replacement) have been problematic, unreliable and finicky with truly terrible battery life. (Posted on 2/22/13)
love this phone Review by Hunk
This has been an awesome phone. love this phone, Has all the features you would ever want. The screen could be bigger,this phone came up on top-way on top for the price. Plus my bill thru THL Mobile is $45 mo. unlimited text, web, & 1200 min-more than enough for me. The battery could last a little longer, but I got a car charger for $2.65, and a great protector case for $2.99. I couldn't be happier. Easy to use touch screen, and free apps on the Android market. (Posted on 2/21/13)
This is a great phone Review by Henry
This is a great phone. I'll add a little to the great reviews here, from my perspective as a developer.

First, I read on a review here that I could use SipDroid & assorted complexities to get free cell phone via WiFi service. This path was a no-go. But - just try Groove IP instead! The app costs $4.99 from the Android Market, and you need a (free!) Google Voice account and phone number, which *must* be attached to a [email?protected] account. (My other one didn't work...) Other than that, works great! Set up in minutes, and *none* of it was as mystifying as the no-go Sipdroid route... I think the Sipdroid loophole has simply been closed. But with Groove IP, the cell phone receives and dials calls, direct from the cell phone icon.

Second, it's processor phones in general. It is not true. It was not easy... But I eventually did get this phone to run apps, directly from Adobe Flash Builder 4.6 (debug on device and everything!) To get Adobe AIR itself installed on the phone, just download the AIR SDK from Adobe.com, find the file C:\AdobeAIRSDK\runtimes\air\android\emulator\Runtime.apk, copy it to your cell phone SD card, and install that, with AppInstaller (also available in Android Market free if you don't have it.)

Sorry for the gory details. But I really did buy this phone intending to never buy a contract on it, and use it for Flex -> smartphone development. And for a while there I thought it was a lost cause, or I'd need to delve into rooting arcana. ;) So - yay! (Posted on 2/20/13)

Worth The Price! Review by Andrew
I have had this phone for about a few months and it is still working great. Since I have bought it, it has not only served as my a cell phone but also as a substitute for my computer and a replacement for my GPS and iPod.
The GPS runs off of google maps so the directions are pretty spot on. The only thing bad about it is that sometimes google maps will fail to load all together. Again, I find that resetting the phone helps.
Internet can also be hit or miss sometime. I think this may be due to the sprint network getting clogged up where I live. You have the option of setting up wi fi for when you are at home. This makes speeds faster and saves data so you won't reach your limit on you 'unlimited' data plan, although it does drain battery life.
Talk and text seems to be good for the most part, with good reception in most areas you would expect your phone to work.
Battery life is a little disappointing. Although its not horrible. Apps, music, gps, etc take a tole on the phone. For this reason I invested in a car charger as well as a back up charger for when I'm not around. Running an app killer or battery saver app will also help you keep your phone juiced.
All in all the price is great considering all the features and the compact size of this phone. (Posted on 2/19/13)
I really liked the phone when I read about it Review by Ronald
My sister has an iPhone and I think my THL can do anything hers can. Her phone has a better picture but my screen is much bigger which is more important to me. Takes outstanding pictures, 8 mp camera. It's incredibly easy to learn how to navigate around and it just keeps surprising you. It's faster to do almost anything on my phone than on my laptop so I use it constantly. I've looked at upgrading to a new phone but so far I haven't found one that's better and built this well. the customer service was excellent and I was never given any grief about the return. Thank you! (Posted on 2/18/13)
Great phone, great price Review by Mark
First off, this device is considerably lighter and more compact , and I like the angled bottom. It makes it easier to hold, and despite its slender form it still has a solid feel.

It has a 8 MP camera which is essentially the same as one of the two cameras . To be honest, I've hardly used the 3D picture feature on my THL so for all intents and purposes this is the same thing. The camera is also flush with the back, not jutting out.

Performance is good, and while it has only 1GB of RAM it's really good enough for anything except maybe some 3D games. If you care about such things, then yeah- get an iPhone, EVO, or Galaxy. If not, this is really quite good enough. The device has most standard features: bluetooth, micro-SD slot, GPS, etc.

The device runs Android 4.0 ICS and is generally very responsive. The screen is very bright and clear, and although it's not exactly a retina display it's fine for general tasks like browsing and email.

Oh, and on a sidenote, it is a 3G device- not 4G. However, I've found that 4G coverage is so bad in my area that it really makes no difference. If 4G is a selling point for you, you should definitely check the service map before you decide on anything.

In short, although it isn't the powerhouse , I actually wish I'd gotten this one instead. Aside from it being cheaper, it's simply a much handier smartphone due to its size, weight, and shape.

Pro:
Isn't super-expensive.
Decent performance
Nice light, thin, angled-lip form factor
Very nice screen
Good camera and easily accessible SD slot (Posted on 2/16/13)

Very good phone Review by kbirsic
The phone is excellent. I think i ll buy one more for my son.
Ty (Posted on 2/7/13)
This phone is pretty good overall Review by Brant
The phone is fast and fun to use. Not limited by small internal memory unlike other prepaid options in the market. Down side is a not so great camera.. shows noise on pics at least on the phone. Haven't looked at them yet on a computer screen.

The overall performance on this phone is okay - I wouldn't necessarily say it is any better or worse than any other phone out there as far as Wifi/3G connectivity are concerned. The Bluetooth works well. The Beats Audio is something I haven't found to make much difference other than boosting the volume.

One of the best things about this phone is the battery performance. I don't even have a battery-saving app on my phone, and I can get by sometimes only having to charge it every other day.

This phone is pretty good overall, and if you are looking for something with decent specs but don't care if it's the latest and greatest, this phone is your best option. (Posted on 2/5/13)

this phone works great Review by Bruce
I bought this phone because i wanted a smartphone that was fast,had a big screen, and was practical.This phone is all that and more it is blazing fast and is very responive and barely ever delays when switching apps and pages or texting. It runs on Android 4.0.4 which is great and it has a crisp display. I have large hands and fingers and texting still works fine I almost never hit the wrong key and with the keyboard option of swipe texting its even easier to text. Overall this phone works great and its durable and i would suggest buying a case and screen protecters! (Posted on 2/4/13)
Pretty sweet Review by Samuel
This is my first ever cell phone let alone smart phone. Im 34 years old and i never bought one before now because the pricing on these phones and their plans are pretty high.

After much shopping i had actually given up on picking a smart phone because i had no idea what the heck to choose. Its like buying a PC now.

You see differing opinions on the battery life and ill tell you why from my experience. For standby mode and texting and calling the battery is pretty amazing, it will last a very long time but if you want to run any game apps it drains it super fast! Its not too bad or anything but i believe thats why you see the different opinions on the battery life.

I've had a couple issues but overall so far its pretty fantastic. It has reset itself a couple of times and the power button itself is kind of horrible with the protective cover on it. I have to hold the power button in for at least 10 seconds before it will actually power on but turning it off is far more simple. I dont know if thats normal for all of these types of phones or not. I find it to be a little bit frustrating.

I personally enjoy playing video games so i love them on this phone, it does drain the battery fast but its not so bad if youre just going to casually play something. I havent really timed it or anything but it seems you can get about 5 hours of use if you play game apps for that long before having to recharge it. When i left it on standby for an entire day and texted a few times the battery was at 91% i thought that was pretty cool.

Loving the phone so far especially at that price. So far its everything i was looking and hoping for. (Posted on 2/2/13)

better rooting the phone Review by Alina
The directions under "rooting" worked like a charm for me. It took me a little while to figure out how to download Winzip (I used the free "evaluation" version), which I needed to "extract" the Zerg Rush zip file. But after I figured that out, turned my phone to USB debugging, and plugged it into my computer, the phone automatically went into root mode (I saw a DOS screen pop up, giving the status of the rooting), and about 5 minutes later, the phone was all rooted! I then downloaded "Titanium Backup" (you first have to tell your phone to allow apps from non-Android marketplace), went to "backup/ restore" and deleted the unwanted apps.

The battery life has increased tremendously since rooting the phone, deleting the junk apps and also installing Juice Defender. I leave wifi on all the time, and 14 hours later, the battery still has 77% life left in it. Before this, the battery would be nearly empty by this point. I even bought extra charging cords to have in the office and in the car, but it looks like I won't be needing these too much now. I can now wait to charge the phone when I get home. (Posted on 2/1/13)

loving my phone Review by Jessica
4 months in, loving my phone. So much about it is just right. The phone size: fits in my pockets, car, hand. Screen size: 4.7" is the sweet spot. Getting any larger and you're talking mini tablet territory. The speed: 1ghz and enough memory to keep it humming. You don't need dual core, or a graphics processor, or any other nonsense unless you're playing graphically intense games (I suppose...I personally don't use my phone for games). It will, I'll note, stream Netflix with ease. Cost: at $210, I'm not constantly worried about losing it. (Posted on 1/31/13)
I really like this phone Review by Lewis
I really like this phone - the video recording straight to a 32GB SD card is brilliant. Very clear and nice quality. Also, low volume audio recording works really well and so does the voice to text feature for anytime you are tired of typing - which is becoming more and more frequently for me. Nice phone over all but you have to learn it and customize it for it to be useful and not frustrating. There will be no battery life without Juice Defender. That is certain. If you want to use it as is and not tinker with it, just try not to put too many apps on it and it will be fine with the Juice Defender running in the background on agressice setting. (Posted on 1/30/13)
it's a good phone Review by Ross
Overall, it's a good phone with a big storage management problem. In the directory structure , this phone names the internal memory "SDcard" and the actual removable SD card as "external_sd", which cannot be recognized by most android apps. It doesn't matter where you want the program to install, it always installs to the internal memory, I cannot install the databases of some programs for offline use because they are too big to install to the internal memory. Phone itself has a lot of good features and seem to be of good quality. Decent camera and screen. (Posted on 1/29/13)
very good Review by Carol
Both call quality and signal reception seem adequate. The sound quality when playing music is very good (especially with BeatsAudio enabled) although I find the volume to be a bit too high even on the lowest setting especially in a quiet environment. Battery life also seems good. After a few hours of music playing and some app/web activity it was still past half full. (Posted on 1/28/13)
The phone is fast and responsive Review by Joan
The phone is fast and responsive. Never had any hiccups. I tested the processor speed with an app and it runs at 1 ghz not 800 mhz. From what I've read all these run at 1 ghz so mine isn't some rare exception. The picture/video quality is great. Battery time is average on par with most smart phones. The phone is very slim and lightweight.

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive yet quality smart phone without being taken advantage of in a contract this is it! over a year and the service has been impeccable thus far. Thank you VM for setting such a high standard in the cell phone business! (Posted on 1/26/13)

this phone will definitely help you Review by Debbie
Every app on the Android marketplace in compatible with it. I've only downloaded arcade-style games so far, but they run smoothly. The only one I've run into minor problems with is the Netflix app, which crashes every now and then. Not sure if that's a complication deriving from the phone or the app though.

It's 8 megapixel camera takes clean and clear shots, and the flash is amazing. (On a side note, the "Brightest Flashlight Free" app utilizes the light and works amazingly) However, you may have to occasionally retake your pictures as the camera sometimes has difficulty focusing.

The battery lasts all day with no issues. Even when using video apps it holds up longer than I'd expected.

My only real qualm is the keyboard. It's nothing detrimental to a purchasing decision, but you will have moments where letter selection is off. The auto-correct is pretty handy, but the ES button (switched you to Spanish) is right near the space button, so I accidentally switch to Spanish a lot, and thusly it auto-corrects in Spanish. Annoying. I've never been a fan of touchscreen keyboards to begin with.

You get unlimited talk, text, and data for $25 a month ($35 if you're a new subscriber). And this phone will definitely help you utilize that unlimited data package. Just be aware of mild keypad annoyances and the camera's stubborn focus. (Posted on 1/25/13)

it is just the best phone I have ever had Review by Joan
I got the phone on sale for $200 and it is just the best phone I have ever had, although I have not activated it yet (more on this later), at an awesome price. Why haven't I activated it yet? Well, it turns out, this android phone lets you install all kind of apps from the android market via wifi without activating the phone, this as a pretty awesome (and cheap) ipod/iphone substitute. I have installed apps for watching TV shows, read news (USA Today, NYTime, Bloomberg, etc), Pandora radio (sound through the speaker is very full for such a tiny device), GPS navigation/maps, calculators, MS Office documents viewer, a few games, GasBuddy to find cheap gas locally (pretty handy these days), etc. All FREE from the Android market. But, BY FAR, the best applications I installed are Google Voice, which together with SIPDroid (after signing up for a free GoogleVoice account and a free PBXes.org account) allows me to link them together and configure the phone to use VOIP to make my calls through the internet instead of using the limited 300 minutes, I can also use it to do unlimited free texting through my Google voice number.

I wanted to do this to make sure I did not go over the 300 minutes and start racking up a huge bill with VM once I activated the phone, but as it turns out, this has worked out so well that I am still undecided as to weather I will need to activate the phone and sign up for the monthly service. Granted, I can only make/receive calls when I am within WIFI range, but, WIFI is so prevalent these days. Many of the establishments a person does business with have free internet access for their customers: Starbucks, Dennys, Mcdonalds, Barnes&nobles, Homedepots, Panera bread, Hooters, highway rest stops, libraries, Krogers, Quiznos, Schlotzsky, FedEx offices, Hotels... the list goes on and on. I also installed a WIFI Analyzer App which shows if there is a free/open WIFI within range and its signal strength. You can get a nice directory of wifi spots in your area here-> [...] which of course does not list all the available ones.

What happens when I'm outside WIFI range? Well, of course I can not make calls, inbound calls go to my GoogleVoice voice mail and as soon as I get into WIFI range and connect, my inbound text messages get delivered and/or I get a notification of a missed call which I can check right away. Obviously not something I would want to use as a business phone, but for personal use when you do not need to be available 24X7 this works great! You also get a great excuse when you don't want to answer someone, later you can say... "Sorry, I was not in WIFI zone...", you can even put that in your answering message. This setup would be great for students who live on campus where they have free access to the campus WIFI network (many of them provide free open WIFI all over campus). All these for $0 a month plus the cost of the phone.

If you feel you need capability to make calls from anywhere in case of emergencies, or for 24X7 availability, then just activate the phone and pay the $25/month. You would get many other benefits which would make this device a very capable business phone. I've read that once activated, you can install an app to make the phone a WIFI hub for up to 4 or 5 devices (supposedly there is an app for that, :-) pun intended, in the android market). This would provide internet service to your WIFI based laptop anywhere. I will investigate this more if/when I activate the phone. I have to admit, it would be fun to be able to go on trips and have internet in the car for my kids ipod touches or laptops while we are on the road. The more they can entertain themselves, the less "are we there yet?, are we there yet?" questions we will get... :-)

Summarizing, if you activate the phone, you get unlimited texting, phone web browsing, tv watching, internet radio, etc. + unlimited internet based calls using the provided unlimited data service + internet for your computer/ipod touches anytime/anywhere. All these for $25/month? Sweeeet! I don't think any carrier can beat that, the closer unlimited everything plan is cricket for $55/month for an android or blackberry phone. ATT, Verizon, etc?
I hope you find this useful.
Enjoy!

I spent away from the family working up North and they wanted 24X7 access... (great to be loved so much!). It is now even better. I have an app that shows how many minutes are left and when I'm getting close to using the 300 minutes, I can dial out using the internet and google voice through the data service from anywhere (where there is 3G signal). Came in handy to have Pandora on the phone when my car radio stopped working and it's great to be able to do everything I used to do only within WIFI range now everywhere. GPS worked great while I was traveling through the North East, except when cruising through the Adirondacks (no 3G service out in the sticks :-) ).
Virgin has raised the price of the plan to $35 a month for newcomers, (previous users are grandfathered in at the $25 rate) but even at $35, it still the best deal around as far as I know. Finally, Target has the phone on sale for $50 for the next two days... (Posted on 1/24/13)

I like Review by William
I've had this phone for almost 2 months and it hasn't disappointed at all. In fact, completely the opposite! It's a small phone, but I like that personally. What exactly are you doing? Personally, the phone works well for me. I multitask all the time: while biking I stream Pandora, track my location with MyTracks, and respond to the occasional text ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I stream music with Grooveshark in my car while navigating with GPS using Waze (awesome app btw).

if I get a phone that has those things, I'm locked into a 2 year contract for 3 or 4 times the monthly cost. If having a little better spec'd phone is important to you, go for the top of the liners! However, I'm techie, middle class guy that wants as much as I can get for as little as I can get it.

there are lesser "entry level" Android phones out there. You have to get into extremely remote places to lose reception, and those places will most likely be void of any cell coverage no matter the monthly cost barring satellite phones. Finally, maybe I'm lucky, but I just haven't experienced the shutting down and freezing problems others have. Sometimes this is a poorly designed app, NOT the phone or operating system. I've pulled the battery maybe 2 or 3 times total. I'll end this with a little math lesson. (Posted on 1/23/13)

I recommend this phone Review by Louis
As a newbie in the world of smart phones, I was pleasantly surprised. The feel of the phone is nice. The touch screen is wonderful. The volume is very good. The day pass to the web is $1.49 for 40MB of download at 3G speed. After that it's 2G. I don't need the web for business or any function other than occasional use, so the $1.49/3G/2G is fine with me. The call quality is very good.

I can see why people get hooked on smart phones. They are almost addictive. I can't seem to put mine down.

After I use the web, and other applications, and I think I have them closed, I see that my battery drains very fast. One of the many useful shortcuts I added to my home page is "Task Manager". I open this shortcut often and close all active applications. My battery lasts much longer.

I recommend this phone. (Posted on 1/22/13)

I know I bought 2 for reason. Trust me Review by John
I always thought that iPhone is top of the game - I mean, Apple products usually are, right?

Well, I was looking for a gift for my wife's birthday and I really didn't like price of unlocked iPhone. I'm not US citizen so I can't get it through contract, so my only option was to buy it for full price and lets be honest - it's greatly exaggerated. So, I opted to instead switch to Android phone.

It took me awhile to choose which phone to buy and in the end, Inspire won with it's easily affordable price. Seriously, you can buy 2 of these for a price of 1 iPhone! And that is actually what I did - I bought one, used it for a week .

Lets be honest, though - phone is not perfect. Yeah, battery could be stronger, software could be slightly more polished but in all honesty, this is a 5 star phone.

PROs:

* HUGE screen! And with high resolution, wow!
* Easy to customize (software and hardware [i.e. stronger battery]). Take that, iPhone!
* PRICE! Did I mention that you can buy 2 of these for the price of 1 iPhone? Seriously? Steve, you've been awesome guy, may you rest in peace, but your products have been greatly overpriced.
* 8 MP camera! (not the best quality but surprisingly good)

CONs:

* Software could be slightly better. It does have some weird stuff going on, but nothing to tarnish this phone's great rep.

For me, this is easy decision - this phone trumps anything else in the market when it comes to price/specs ratio. Yeah I know, everybody wants iPhone 4s etc, but seriously, they can't really offer you much more considering huge price gap between them and this phone.

I know I bought 2 for reason. Trust me. (Posted on 1/21/13)

you'll love this phone Review by Judy
It has a great battery life for my uses. I am not a phone gamer so the battery lasts about 10-12 hours with moderate, everyday use and taking pictures. With light use it lasts more than 24 hours, and with heavy use, like taking pictures all day long it dies in about 8 hours.
the Camera is perfect and it has quite a powerful flash.
If you are an android lover as I am you'll love this phone.
I have had it overheat a time or 2 while taking lots and lots of pictures for a long time. But even though it shuts itself down (to protect itself from heat damage) you can turn it on again and it boots up very very quickly (about 30 seconds).
It is lightening fast and can multi task, so you can switch between tasks quickly. (Posted on 1/19/13)
I love it Review by Rudy

Source: http://www.thlmobilestore.com/thl-w5-android-4-0-smart-phone-mtk6577-dual-core-4-7-inch-ips-screen-1gb-ram-3g-gps-white.html

transcendentalism bells palsy channel 5 news uc berkeley harrison barnes brett ratner stevie nicks

How is the weather in your South Florida city or neighborhood this morning? Any...

Page Not Found | Facebook

The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.

Go back to the previous page ? Go to the Facebook homepage ? Visit the Help Center Facebook ? 2013 ? English (US)

Source: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=558418990855574&id=38925837299

daytona 500 start time ryan zimmerman oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo nfl combine

Luxola Raises Series A, Pulls Former PopSugar Community Manager Christine Ng To Singapore

Luxola logoSingapore beauty e-tailer, Luxola, just raised its Series A round from GREE Ventures. The amount was undisclosed, but has been rumored to be in the region of $1.61 million (S$2 million). The company carries about 60 brands of cosmetics and beauty products on its website, and ships to countries in Southeast Asia like Singapore and Malaysia. Its site was launched in September 2012, and it had previously raised a seed round of about $596,820 (S$740,000) from Wavemaker Labs and Singapore government fund, the National Research Foundation. Its initial angel round was about $423,460 ($525,000), according to CEO and founder, Alexis Horowitz-Burdick. Besides its latest funding round, the company has also managed to pull over former community manager for PopSugar, Christine Ng. She was working in Silicon Valley for over a decade, and was also previously SVP at Sephora Digital. She joins Luxola as its chief marketing officer. “We’re grateful for Christine. The sort of experience she has doesn’t exist in Southeast Asia yet because the community isn’t that old. She doesn’t just have online experience, but also directly with the beauty industry,” said Horowitz-Burdick. Before founding Luxola, she came to Singapore from Washington, DC about six years ago. She had started a group buying site called The Sweet Spot. “I wasn’t interested in the race to the bottom anymore,” she said, of the decision to sell higher-tier products. The average basket price for Luxola is about US$44 (S$55), she said. Luxola employs a staff of ten. Those are split into two on the engineering side, three handling creative and design tasks, and two marketing people. The new funding will allow Luxola to continue its expansion into the region and set up warehouses there, to complete fulfilment more easily. Currently, it has a warehouse space in Singapore and ships out of it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/MbgyqoDsW-o/

Cyber Monday 2012 Walmart.com detroit lions Thanksgiving Day cooking a turkey toysrus how to carve a turkey

Facebook's new phone service brings content to you

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) ? Facebook is unveiling a new experience for Android phones. The idea behind the new Home service is to bring content right to you, rather than require people to check apps on the device.

The event comes amid rapid growth in the number of people who access Facebook from smartphones and tablet computers. More Android integration could help Facebook Inc. attract more mobile advertisers. Though mobile ads were a big concern for Facebook's investors even before the company's initial public offering last May, some of the worry has subsided as the company muscles its way into the market.

Last year, Facebook began showing ads to its mobile audience by shoehorning corporate-sponsored content into users' news feeds, which also include updates from friends and brands they follow. Facebook now faces the challenge of showing people mobile ads without annoying or alienating them.

Facebook's event was being held at its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

Here's a running account of Facebook's event, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are PDT.

Presenters include CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Adam Mosseri, director of products; Joey Flynn, product designer

___

10:35 a.m.

To get Home, simply go to Google's online Play store when it's available. Those with Facebook apps on the phone already will get a prompt to download it. The software will be updated with new features monthly.

It will be available April 12 on certain phones initially.

Facebook isn't making Home for tablet devices for several months, though.

Zuckerberg tells the audience, "We are really proud of Home and we are excited to get (it) into your hands. We think this is the best version of Facebook there is."

___

10:30 a.m.

Flynn unveils a feature called chat heads. The idea is to let you communicate with your friends from that home screen, without needing to open an app. You can chat with multiple people at once that way.

___

10:25 a.m.

Mosseri describes one of the main features of the new service. It's called cover feed.

He notes that when people look at their phones now, they typically see a clock and perhaps the snippet of an email. That will change if you have the Home service activated. As soon as you turn on your phone, you'll see photos. You can swipe from one to the next from the home screen.

___

10:20 a.m.

The new service is called Home. Pictures from your Facebook news feed would take up the entire display screen. Zuckerberg says you'll be seeing the world through people rather than apps.

He gives an example of standing in line at a store and looking down at the phone to see photos of friends and family. It'll be possible to flip through the items. If there's something you like, just double tap on it to "like" it. You can also add comments from the home screen.

With this, Facebook doesn't believe you'll need to go to the Facebook app any more.

___

10:15 a.m.

Zuckerberg says Facebook isn't building a Facebook phone, saying a Facebook-centered device might sell 10 million to 20 million units at best. Rather, it's building on the existing Android system to bring this experience to a wider group of Android users.

___

10:10 a.m.

Zuckerberg talks about a new way to approach Facebook on phones.

He asks, "Why do we need to go into all the apps in the first place to see what is going on with the people we care about?" Better, he says, is to have that experience come right to the home screen, so you're always knowing what is going on around you.

He makes a comparison to the company's news feed feature, which brought friends' posts to a centralized place and reduced the need for people to check their friends' profile pages one by one.

___

10:05 a.m.

Zuckerberg walks on stage and addresses the rumors head on: "Today, we're finally going to talk about that Facebook phone."

He then adds that more specifically, Facebook will talk about turning the Android phone into a simple, social device.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-unveils-experience-android-phones-171614950--finance.html

superbowl jackie robinson Ron Jeremy Rudy Gay Jim Nabors The Americans bank of america online banking

Friday, April 5, 2013

Kno's Brilliant Strategy To Transform Education And Beat Apple At It

Kno CEO Osman Rashid started his company with a lofty goal: to change how people are educated by changing the way students study and interact with textbooks.

The company started out making its own tablets, then changed to focus on software as the iPad and other competitors emerged. And though it began only focusing on college textbooks, it's made a major expansion into the K-12 market.

And now, the company's software includes analytics that let students see how they study, or, with permission, mimic another successful student in their class.?

The company?offers more than 200,000 interactive titles?and its textbooks and education software are available all over the world.

The e-textbook business looks so promising that Apple jumped in a bit more than a year ago with iBooks textbooks.?

We spoke to Rashid about why he decided to take on such a big challenge, Kno's decision to stop making their own tablets, his advice for entrepreneurs trying to change the world, and how his smaller company can take on a giant like Apple.

Edited excerpts of our conversation follow.

BUSINESS INSIDER: How'd you get started in the education business?

OSMAN RASHID: It's actually a very personal story. I was walking down the stairs of my house one day and I saw my two daughters doing homework on the dining room table and I had a flashback that I used to study exactly the same way almost four decades ago. Nothing had changed in the way that technology was impacting education. My motivation was to do something that would change the way my own daughters would learn.

But before I'd founded Kno, I was also the co-founder and CEO of Chegg which was in the college textbook space and we had come up with a new model to help students rent their textbooks so we could decrease the cost. It was a transition from just being a software company to coming into higher education then eventually into the K-12 space and changing how kids can learn, so it's been a transition over time.

BI: What's been your biggest challenge in taking on such an entrenched business?

OR: Two years ago I would have said that technology just did not deliver a good enough user experience that educators would feel comfortable using it in the classroom. But with the advent of tablets, smartphones, cloud computing, great user experiences, and really innovative content, the mix is now finally at the place where things are rapidly changing all around us.

The issue today isn't that educators or schools or students don't want to embrace it; they do want to embrace it. Now the question people ask is, "How the heck I'm going to (transition)?" The problem has shifted from "keep this away from me" to "I really want to do this but I don't know how." So we fought through the cycle of trying to convince people of where this could go. And we're really excited now that there are pilots happening across the United States and across the world. Change is here for education, there's no doubt about it.

BI: What's your value proposition to publishers?

OR: Today we actually have every major publisher as a content partner. So we've been able to make a great value proposition to them. At our company, we fundamentally think about the user experience from the student perspective. When you break it down, the student wants all of their content in one place and a consistent user experience, rather than going to every individual publisher's website. So the fact that we took the technology and we made a great user experience really helped the publishers see that this is a product students like.

Second we made sure that the burden of the transition was on us rather than the publishers themselves. Anytime you're in a big organization, and these are big companies, there are committees, there are processes and it's hard for them to react fast. So the publishers saw the value. It's a combination of technology, user experience, ease of use, working with the publishers. If the publisher has 10,000 books, trying to digitize and trying to do all of these things by themselves could take years to do. If they give it to Kno within a few days it's all done because of the technology we put together. That's where the value proposition comes in.

BI: What's the response been to your efforts to bring analytics to education?

OR:?The response has been really positive from students, they love the fact that for the first time they actually can see their own study patterns. We are able to share almost hundreds of learning parameters with the students. But we sat down with them and asked, "What is it that you really want to know at this stage?" And they said they really wanted five important ones for them to get started on. And in many cases, this is up to the students and they say "Wow, I can see how I'm studying." And they love the fact that they can follow, obviously with permission from the person, somebody else from their classroom who they may admire for being a good student. The fact that they could mimic them and figure out how other kids are studying created an extremely positive response.

Analytics are so important to the future of students and educators that eventually when you think of technology and you have a student touching a screen and taking action: it could be to highlight, could be to do a problem, could be to make a bookmark, could be to take a picture, do a video, or do an animation. All individual analytics eventually lead to a great engagement experience for the student where content will begin to flow based on their own personal choices. We'll be able to tell in the future, "This student learns much better when he look at video versus reading content." With every touch you have a data point. Analytics, which is the future, will reach a point where it can really personalize education for every individual.

BI: You guys started out making your own tablet, right?

OR:?Initially when we launched the company even the iPad wasn't announced and we believed that you needed tablets for education. And we were ecstatic that we were proven right. The good news for us was that we figured out that we didn't actually have to be in the hardware business, because the iPad and so many other tablets were coming out.

We said, look, the magic of our product was how to interact with a tablet, that was the ultimate goal, how do you change that? So we refocused on the content and how to change the user experience and how to make it multi-platform.

BI: Was it a difficult transition or did it happen quickly?

OR: You know, two months after we made the decision to shut down the hardware side and launched our app on iPad, we became the number one app in education. We had a lot of software already, an application, and we were always mobile focused, so our transition was very seamless.

BI: What advice do you give to people trying to found a startup or change an industry?

OR: I think the core thing that we all focus on is, if you close your eyes, can you see see your user using your product clearly? When we think of it like that, we see the student sitting in their room with a tablet, trying to study. What kind of experience have we given them? Only then can you build a company around the core use case. This is exactly what we want to do. So my advice is, do you really know the what is the one thing you want to deliver? For us it's a great user experience on education content.

The second thing is that you have to break borders down. I find that people do not ask enough questions of themselves and their coworkers.

And the third thing is, you have to really focus on something that you can influence. If you really focus on what it is that you want to change and really go after it, your ability to make a bigger change will come automatically.

BI: How'd you respond to Apple's decision to enter the market?

OR: It was a fantastic thing when Apple came into the market because it brought so much attention to digital content and digital textbooks. Today people in our company don't have to go and explain "What do mean by a digital textbook?" But what really matters is how much content can you make available to the students and the schools and what kind of user experience can you give to them? We are maniacally focused on education, even the small things that we do we keep the students in mind. If you take a standard app that you use for reading novels, and say you can also use it for reading text books as well, that's not going to work, because students study very differently.

There was an article out a few months ago where the the CEO of McGraw Hill had mentioned that they have yet to sell an iTextbook to a school because you have to redo all of the books from scratch.

And if you take a look at the catalog that's available in many of these dot coms, they have like 25 books available which are targeted at K-12. And with regards to education in general we have 200,000 titles, so we have the broad content. So I think Apple has done well in education. They did an awesome job on iPads. I think iPhones are going to make a big impact on education as well. But a maniacal focus on user experience for the purpose of education is what is needed. And that's what we do.

BI: As a serial entrepreneur, what have you learned about leading a company over time?

OR: So the biggest thing is: you have to maintain the same behavior whether the company is 10 people or 100 people. If you're scaling you need to figure out a way to cultivate a team of people who can help build the organization along with you. Can you cultivate a loyal group of people that you can trust to make good decisions. It obviously takes time to get there. If you hire B level people, they will hire C players. And if you don't have the right people making the right decisions then the company begins to lose over time. People say all the time that you have to hire the right people. You do need to hire the right people but also you need to let them grow with the organization and take some responsibility

Essentially you have to be aware of a crisis happening: "Can the company go on if I get hit by a bus?" That's I think how you build a great company and something that can scale.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/kno-ceo-osman-rashid-interview-2013-4

askew blue moon ann romney farrah abraham Paul Ryan Speech chris cooley chris cooley