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LG Viper 4G LTE review
They said it wouldn't last. And they -- pundits, analysts, bloggers, GSM fanatics -- were right. WiMAX, that flavor of 4G found in the 2500MHz band, has proven to be more of a hindrance than help during Sprint's transition from underdog to reinvigorated titan. Then there are the kerfuffles it's endured standing on the sidelines -- namely, watching one-time LTE partner LightSquared squander its regulatory good graces. Beleaguered would be putting it mildly; Sprint faces a treacherous climb uphill to the mobile Olympus where Verizon, AT&T and now-spectrum-rich T-Mobile sit -- after all, it's hard to change the tide of public perception, overcome the limitations of a dreadful 3G CDMA network and move away from weak third-party 4G signals. Yet, with all of those negatives working against it, a planned rollover to LTE technology might just be the panacea Sprint has so badly needed. Right now, at least, a wish and a hope are all Sprint can dole out to existing subscribers toying with the idea of switching carriers. Its nascent LTE network, currently in testing across six US cities, hasn't been cleared for launch, which makes its first 4G handset, the Viper 4G LTE, a dress rehearsal of sorts. And what a low-key affair it is: no cutting-edge aesthetics or kickstand here, just mid-range specs and a humble design made from recycled materials. But for anyone itching to surf those faster waves, LG's dual-core, NFC-enabled workhorse could be a tempting buy when it goes on sale Sunday for $100 (with a two-year contract). So will the dangling carrot of faster 4G persuade consumers to choose this over all those other mid-tier Android phones? Let's find out.
Google Offers update brings revamped UI, faster browsing speeds
We know Google Offers is still slowly rolling out to US folks, but Big G's doing all it can to at least keep its current users content. This time around, the Mountain View crew has handed its Offers application a somewhat hefty refresh.Version 1.2 of the cash-saving app brings with it an all-new UI (which Google describes as "crisp") as well as more deals in more cities. The revamp now allows bigger images within the app, while also offering a speedier and smoother browsing between deals -- not to mention a faster checkout process. As usual, the goodies are up for grabs via Google Play.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 2nd, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, CyanogenMod gained a new logo, Google acquired a mobile payments company and we learned that the HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint will include an embedded SIM card. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 2nd, 2012.
Sprint LG Viper 4G goes on pre-order April 12 for $100, release date still TBA
Sprint's finally starting to get the ball rolling with its first LTE devices, announcing this morning that it's ready to begin pre-orders of the LG Viper 4G on April 12, and the next-gen goodness can be yours for $100 (after $50 mail-in rebate). The actual release date wasn't specified, but at least we know this means it's coming up much sooner rather than later. As a refresher, the Viper comes with Gingerbread, a 4-inch WVGA NOVA display, a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon S3, 1GB of RAM, NFC and Google Wallet functionality, a microSD slot, 50GB cloud storage from Box and a smattering of eco-friendly features. For the full rundown, gaze upon the press release below.
Google reportedly rethinking Google Wallet strategy, may share revenue with carriers
It's not a done deal just yet, but Bloomberg is reporting that Google could be about to make some big changes to the way it does business with Google Wallet. Citing people with knowledge of the project, Bloomberg says that Google is considering sharing revenue from Google Wallet (specifically that from coupons and special offers) with carriers in an effort to boost adoption of the service, which hasn't exactly taken off as quickly as Google may have hoped (and is also seeing some increased competition). In addition to that, Google is also said to be considering a move that would side-step the carriers and focus more heavily on in-store terminals -- something Bloomberg says could involve additional hardware and software in stores that would work in conjunction with software on Google's own servers. For its part, Google didn't have much to say on the matter, simply noting in a statement that it continues to "work hard to develop Google Wallet and build the partner ecosystem to make it possible for everyone to pay with their phones and get great deals while shopping."
Google Wallet supports prepaid cards once again, afflicted users get $5 in compensation
Google Wallet's prepaid experiment hasn't been the smoothest of endeavors, but the company wants to make up for all the headaches -- with cash. A few weeks ago, Google disabled a feature that allowed users to add a Google Prepaid Card to their wallets after either removing it, or resetting their apps. The move came in response to mounting security concerns, but those issues have been allayed with the latest version of Google Wallet, meaning that users can now re-add their prepaid cards and hoover up all the money that was previously on them. To make up for the "inconvenience," Google has added an extra $5 to every prepaid card, and sent an email out to all its customers to let them know about it. So if you count yourself among the legions of inconvenienced, be sure to add your card and spend that $5 on something sublime.
WSJ: Target, Walmart, other retailers teaming up to take on Google Wallet
Google's certainly not alone in its vision of a future in which the smartphone makes credit cards go the way of the Palm Pilot. The software giant may have gotten a bit of a head start on some of the others, but it's already got some stiff competition in the form of the carrier-led Isis and a slew of new initiatives unveiled at MWC. According The Wall Street Journal, the field may soon be getting even more stiff competition. Walmart and Target have reportedly joined two dozen or so fellow retailers to develop a mobile payment system to call their own. While most of the participants have yet to be named, the list includes a pretty broad spectrum of companies, including fast food joints, big box retailers and drug stores. Google, for one, welcomes such competition, telling the paper, "We think it's great that there are other companies innovating in the payments space. This will create more choice for consumers, and in the end we believe choice is a good thing." No word on when exactly the initiative is set to launch.
Google Wallet Android app updated, headed to 'at least' ten more Sprint phones this year
Google may have had to deal with some less-than-positive Google Wallet news last month, but it was able to announce some progress of a different sort in the past couple of days. The first is an update to the Android app, which adds the ability to handle PO Boxes for prepaid card top-ups, along with a number of other fixes and improvements. The second, more significant news comes out of Mobile World Congress, where Google Wallet and Payments VP Osama Bedier revealed that the mobile payment service would be heading to "at least 10 additional phones" on Sprint this year -- no word on those specific phones, though. Details on any expansion plans beyond that also remain a bit light, with Bedier only saying that Google remains in talks with other carriers and device manufactures.
Moneto's $30 Android mobile payment kit goes on sale, brings contactless payments to six Samsungs
Not everyone's smartphone has NFC, and of those that do, an even smaller subset have official Google Wallet support. It would seem Mountain View's complacency is Moneto's gain, as the outfit's recently put up for sale its $30 NFC-enabled microSD card -- enabling plebes everywhere sans contactless circuitry to sashay their way into mobile payment heaven. That card is also stuffed with 1GB of storage for your exploits and those plunking down three Hamiltons are also privy to a $10 credit thrown in. There's one caveat, however, as per its website the service currently only works on variants of the Galaxy S (including carrier permutations like the Vibrant, Fascinate and Galaxy S 4G). Support for an additional forty devices is inbound but before committing, we'd peep the latest compatibility info from the horse's mouth in the more coverage link we've included below.
Google Wallet gets prepaid security fix, but 'brute-force' issue still hangs in the air
Google says it's fixed a Wallet security flaw that potentially allowed a phone thief to spend a user's prepaid balance. The ability to provision new prepaid cards had been suspended pending the update, but has now been restored. Things aren't quite back to normal in the Big G's world of mobile money, however. Users still find themselves caught between two competing arguments over an entirely different vulnerability, which involves a 'brute-force' attack on rooted devices. Google insists that this isn't a major concern, so long as Wallet users refrain from rooting, and that the system still "offers advantages over the plastic cards and folded wallets in use today." On the other hand, the company that discovered this issue -- zvelo -- has come back at Google with an equally blunt response. It acknowledges that a handset must be rooted to be vulnerable, but crucially its researchers also say that a device doesn't have to be rooted before it's stolen. In other words, they allege that a savvy thief can potentially steal a phone and then root it themselves, and they won't be happy with Wallet until it requires longer PIN number. Whichever argument sways you, it's worth bearing in mind that there's no evidence that anyone has yet managed to exploit these weaknesses for criminal purposes.
Provisioning for prepaid Google Wallet cards on hold while PIN-related security hole gets fixed
Remember that Google Wallet exploit from a few days ago? The one that would allow 'brute-force' PIN attacks, but only on rooted Android devices? Well, another PIN-related security hole was discovered soon after, putting even non-rooted Androids at risk. As Android Central points out, should your phone make its way into the wrong hands, your Google Wallet PIN number could be reassigned, allowing access to the prepaid account attached to the phone itself -- yikes. As such, the folks at Mountain View have taken action, shuttering provisions to prepaid cards until it finds a permanent fix for the problem. Despite the troubles, Google is sticking by its original tune, stating that Google Wallet offers multiples levels of protection (when used on official builds of Android) that go beyond traditional plastic cards, including your phone's lock screen. There's no estimate on when things will be back to normal, but you'll find Google's assessments and assurances about this situation at the source link below.
PSA: Google Wallet vulnerable to 'brute-force' PIN attacks (update: affects rooted devices)
Security hounds over at zvelo have discovered a vulnerability in Google Wallet that means your precious PIN can be "easily revealed." Digging through the app's code and using Google's open resources to reveal its contents, they uncovered a piratical treasure trove of data: unique user IDs, Google account information, and the PIN stored as a SHA256 hex-encoded string. Since this string is known to carry four digits, it only takes a "trivial" brute-force attack involving a maximum of 10,000 calculations to decode it. To prove their point, the researchers made a Wallet Cracker app -- demoed after the break -- that does the job quicker than you can say "unexpected overdraft."Google has been receptive to these findings, but its attempts at a fix have so far been hampered by the need to coordinate with the banks, since changing the way the PIN is stored could also change which agency is responsible for its security. In the meantime, zvelo advises that there are some measures users can take themselves, aside from putting a protective hand over their pockets: refrain from rooting your phone, enable your lock screen, disable USB debugging, enable Full Disk Encryption and keep your handset up-to-date.Update: Google has responded by emphasizing that it's only users of rooted devices who are at risk. In a statement to TNW it said: "We strongly encourage people to not install Google Wallet on rooted devices and to always set up a screen lock as an additional layer of security for their phone."[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
AT&T connected Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S get Android Market Google Wallet installs
So far, Google Wallet has its official US availability on NFC-compatible handsets limited by unfriendly carriers with their own mobile payment services in mind, but it appears that is no longer the case for Nexus handsets with AT&T SIMs inserted. Droid-Life reported the app is available in the market for AT&T-SIM'd HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus phones, which we were able to confirm on our own device (over any connection, as long as the AT&T card is in, switching back to a T-Mobile SIM made it disappear from the market again, although of course the app still worked). We also found it was available on our Nexus S under the same conditions, however that official blessing did not extend to the NFC-compatible Galaxy S II Skyrocket or Galaxy S II Global we tried. Interestingly, Droid-Life has also noticed easy access downloads for VZW Nexus that are rooted with their bootloaders unlocked, and of course there's still always another way to get it.
Sprint Galaxy Nexus registration page gets served up by Google
Good news is here for folks on Sprint who've been anxiously waiting for a first taste of LTE connectivity and Ice Cream Sandwich. Google's official Galaxy Nexus website has quietly gone live with a registration section for anyone on the Now Network who wants to be notified when the device goes up for sale. If you'll recall, the pre-release version of Sprint's GNex that we spent time with at CES notably retained access to Google Wallet, and was apparently free of any crapware (unlike Verizon's variant). Aside from that -- and a Sprint logo -- it's essentially the same 32GB device you've come to know in the US. There's still no word on pricing just yet, but if you've got to be among the first to know, hit up the source link below.
Google Offers expands to five new locales, hipsters in Portland nonchalantly recall being first
Despite Mountain View's efforts to the contrary, neither Google Wallet nor Offers, have yet to set the payment sector alight. That doesn't mean the search giant's throwing in the towel, as it vehemently expands the latter into five additional cities here in the United States. Residents of Charlotte, Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Tampa will soon be able to participate in all sorts of discounted debauchery, joining bargain-hunters in the service's existing 33 locales. Those eager ought to hit the source links to begin, but before leaving, regale us with an outrageous tale involving a discount in the comments below.
Moneto NFC microSD to bring contactless features to any Android phone
DeviceFidelity and Spring Card Systems have teamed up on a NFC-capable microSD card that will hopefully forgo the need of buying specific mobile handsets for the privilege of contactless payments. The card, which has been in development for a few years, houses an NFC radio and antenna that deals with payments through MasterCard's PayPass system. Moneto's iPhone case is already available, offering swipe payment delights for iOS users for $80, and includes $10 of spendable cash. The microSD card is set to land in the next few weeks, pegged at $30. Both will be available at the source below, with plans to support several -- as yet unnamed -- Android devices by Q2, rolling out further throughout 2012.
Hands-on with LG Viper, an LTE smartphone coming to Sprint
Here we are in the caverns of the Venetian Hotel, where LG was kind enough to give us a quick look at the Viper -- a pre-production LTE handset that's destined for Sprint. While the device shares a similar heritage to the Connect 4G on MetroPCS, no release date is yet determined. Still, LG seems intent to join Samsung in the Now Network's futuristic 4G spotlight. The device features a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, along with a 4-inch Nova Display and Android 2.3.7. The WVGA screen is bright, crisp and quite pleasing. While the display's coating was rather glossy, Nova Displays typically perform well in direct sunlight -- no way to test that claim today, however. A 5 megapixel camera with LED flash occupies the rear of the device, and for those moments of self-indulgence, there's also a VGA cam up front. Rounding out the media specs, LG tells us the phone will carry DLNA certification. We were also curious to learn that the Viper will be one of the more eco-friendly devices in Sprint's lineup. For example, the case is made entirely from recycled plastic and the charger is said to be quite energy efficient.With a glossy plastic front and a brushed metal rear, the Viper is a collision of design philosophies and appears a bit dated. This felt particularly true with respect to the sides of the device, which struck us as eerily reminiscent of a fourth-generation iPod. In fact, the Viper seems a bit chunky, but that's not to suggest it's unwelcome. To the contrary, the handset felt like absolute money in the palm of our hand. Because this little guy is a work in progress, we kept our interactions with the software to a minimum. Sprint ID was apparent from the outset, and while it's unclear whether Google Wallet will come standard, LG tells us that the Viper will fully support both it and NFC. We're told that Life's Good for 2012, and we have no doubt that the folks in Overland Park would agree.Brian Heater contributed to this report
Sprint gets 4G LTE, Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper: It's official
In the midst of a rival's developer conference, Sprint's snuck out an official page for its (already leaked) 4G network. Anyone living in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio can expect to see 4G coverage pop up alongside "improved 3G coverage." The first device to land will be an LTE-flavored Galaxy Nexus, and according to the official page, Google Wallet is coming along for the ride. The illusive LG Viper is also apparently riding those 4G waves, alongside a new router that'll connect to 3G and LTE signals. [Thanks Rahim]
Galaxy Nexus gets unofficial Google Wallet, leaves rooters feeling flush (update: now root-free)
While it may have arrived with the Nexus name, Google's latest flagship has appeared without Wallet functionality, despite the inclusion of NFC hardware. Fortunately, it hasn't taken long for a few eager Android tinkerers to get it working on the LTE model. There's still a few hiccups and bugs and the phone needs to be rooted and unlocked, so consider yourself forewarned: you're on your own if it bricks. Still, it works -- user Mike Beauchamp was able to add extra funds to his account and make his first NFC McDonalds purchase. His video demonstration awaits after the break, Nexus-toting risk-takers can find a full step-by-step guide at the Google Plus link below. Update: We talked too soon. Those that fear the uncertain future of a rooted handset now have a workaround. An APK is now up for grabs at XDA-Developers that will furnish your new favorite smartphone with Google Wallet goodness, hack-free. Non-US residents, however, still appear to be locked out from adding funds to their account. Let us know how it goes in the comments below. [Thanks all]
Verizon's Galaxy Nexus won't support Google Wallet, reports claim (update: Verizon responds twice)
The Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus can do a lot of things, but one thing it apparently won't offer is Google Wallet. According to Computer World, Google has confirmed that Samsung's latest flagship handset won't support its mobile payment app, largely because Verizon doesn't want it to. An earlier report from 9to5Google speculates that Big Red may have chosen to block Google Wallet because of Isis -- a competing mobile payment system that Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have already invested in. Despite the absence of Wallet, however, both Computer World and 9to5Google insist that VZW's Galaxy Nexus will still be a "pure Google phone," insofar as it will receive software updates directly from Google, rather than the carrier. We've reached out to both Google and Verizon for comment, and will update this post as soon as we hear back. Update: Verizon responds to the brouhaha with the following statement. We're working to provide expanded services that will provide the best security and user experience in the market around m-commerce. We expect to provide access to an open wallet when those goals are achieved. Update 2: Responding to accusations that the carrier would block the Google Wallet app, Verizon says it's not that simple. Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false. Verizon does not block applications. Google Wallet is different from other widely-available m-commerce services. Google Wallet does not simply access the operating system and basic hardware of our phones like thousands of other applications. Instead, in order to work as architected by Google, Google Wallet needs to be integrated into a new, secure and proprietary hardware element in our phones. We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.
