Facebook expected to introduce themed Android OS, HTC handset next week

HTC's Status may not have been a tremendous hit, but it looks like Facebook hasn't severed its ties with the smartphone maker just yet. According to TechCrunch and New York Times sources, April 4th's "Come See Our New Home on Android" event is set to feature an HTC smartphone with a custom, Facebook-centric OS. It's perhaps the next best thing to a phone designed and manufactured by Facebook, but instead, HTC will be tasked with creating the hardware. The integration is expected to run deep, however -- when you power on the device, a Facebook home screen is what you'll see first. Additionally, the device's camera and messaging apps will default to Facebook, according to the New York Times report. Hardware specifications have yet to be revealed, but software will clearly be the focus here. Tune in at 1PM EST next Thursday for our liveblog, direct from Facebook HQ.

Source: The New York Times, TechCrunch

Tags: android, facebook, htc, phone, smartphone, socialnetwork

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By: Unknown On 10:32 PM

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T-Mobile takes its UnCarrier plans live earlier than expected

T-Mobile must not want to wait for a special event to lure customers through its doors: it just launched its revamped, decidedly UnCarrier-like plans a couple of days early. As became clearer this weekend, unlimited voice, text and basic data are now things you can take for granted on Magenta's network. It's only the cap on throttle-free data that determines how much you pay: rates sold through T-Mobile itself start at $50 for a basic 500MB of online use and climb in steady 2GB increments that each cost an extra $10 per month, up to a total of 12.5GB for $110. You can still get truly unlimited service if you want, for $70 -- although you'll have to bolt on a separate hotspot plan that the capped tiers get for free. Costs at resellers are expected to run slightly higher, but it's still clear that T-Mobile is aggressively courting those of us who see internet access as the very reason to have a smartphone in the first place.

Via: TmoNews (Twitter), The Verge

Source: T-Mobile

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By: Unknown On 6:43 PM

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Samsung expected to ship 350 million smartphones in 2013

According to the latest report by DigiTimes, Samsung is expected to ship over 500 million mobile devices globally in 2013. Also, out of these, 350 million are expected to be smartphones.

With the total smartphone shipments for 2013 is expected to be around the 800-900 million mark, this leaves Samsung with an impressive 40% of the global smartphone marketshare.

The numbers are said to be Samsung's own internal estimates for 2013.

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By: Dilusha On 9:06 AM

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