New Verizon Edge Paves Way for iPhone 6s Release

New Verizon Edge Paves Way for iPhone 6s Release is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

Verizon announced a major change to the Verizon Edge plans that will make it easier for users to buy an iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6 today and will simplify the process of upgrading early to buy iPhone 6s this fall.

The Verizon Edge option lets users buy a new phone for $0 down and then upgrade earlier than with a two-year contract. Up until this week users had to trade the phone in to Verizon and had to wait a specific amount of time to upgrade.

The new Verizon Edge plan details mean that you can now pay off your current phone today and upgrade to an iPhone 6, Galaxy S6 or LG G4 without giving Verizon your old phone. Alternately, if you are waiting for the iPhone 6s release date this fall, you can plan to pay off your current Edge phone by then and upgrade without any penalties or need to hand in your old phone.

The new Verizon Edge plan makes it easier to buy a new iPhone or Galaxy S6, but also paves the way for fast upgrades during the iPhone 6s release later this year.

A new change starts today, May 31st, that allows users to anytime after paying off the current Edge device. As part of the change, users don’t need to trade in the old device after it is paid off. This leaves it open for a trade in at Verizon or to a service like Gazelle, which can often net a good deal of money for a one year old phone.

Read: Verizon Edge vs 2 Year Contract iPhone 6 Prices

Advertisement

As part of the Edge program buyers typically pay $5 to $25 a month for a new device. The iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 are $25 a month, while a device like the Galaxy S6 Edge is $29.16 a month. The device cost is split into 24 monthly payments at 0% interest.

In addition to the new way to pay for your phone, you can save $15 to $25 a month on your bill depending on how much data you use. If you pay for a 6GB or higher data plan you save $25 a month on that line and $15 a month for a lower plan.

“The value of Verizon Edge, including lower monthly line access, is quickly making it the option of choice,” said Nancy Clark, senior vice president – Marketing and Sales Operations, Verizon in a post announcing the service. Clark adds, “More than 50 percent of Verizon Wireless customers now choose the simple and flexible Verizon Edge payment program when activating or upgrading smartphones.”

For many shoppers the Verizon Edge plan makes sense. The discount on monthly service is useful and if you need to upgrade you can do so without waiting two years.

The table below compares the Verizon Edge and Verizon two-year contract prices for the iPhone 6 16GB. The prices are almost identical to the Samsung Galaxy S6 on Edge or a two-year contract.

Verizon Plan	Due at Purchase	Activation Fee	Edge Payments	Monthly Service	Total Cost 1st Year	Total Cost Two Years/ End of Payments
Verizon Contract, 1GB Single Line	$199.99	$40	$0	$60	$960	$1,680
Verizon Edge, 1GB Single Line	$0	$0	$24.99	$45	$840	$1,680
Verizon Contract, 2GB Single Line	$199.99	$40	$0.00	$75	$1,140	$2,040
Verizon Edge, 2GB Single Line	$0	$0	$24.99	$60	$1,020	$2,040
Verizon Contract, 2GB More Everything	$199.99	$40	$0	$80	$1,200	$2,160
Verizon Edge, 2GB More Everything	$0	$0	$24.99	$60	$1,020	$2,040
Verizon Contract, 4GB More Everything	$199.99	$40	$0.00	$100	$1,440	$2,640
Verizon Edge, 4GB More Everything	$0	$0	$24.99	$85	$1,320	$2,640
Verizon Contract, 6GB More Everything	$199.99	$40	$0	$110	$1,560	$2,880
Verizon Edge, 6GB More Everything	$0	$0	$24.99	$85	$1,320	$2,640
Verizon Contract, 10GB More Everything	$199.99	$40	$0.00	$140	$1,920	$3,600
Verizon Edge, 10GB More Everything	$0	$0	$24.99	$115	$1,680	$3,360

In our comparison of Verizon Edge to Verizon two-year contracts we found that users who buy an iPhone 6 on Edge with a 6GB or higher data plan can save significantly over the course of a traditional plan thanks to the $25 discount that comes with this plan level.

Users can go to Verizon today to take advantage of this offer for a new smartphone. Before you buy a new smartphone check out our reviews to see which phone is for you.

• iPhone 6 Review
• iPhone 6 Plus Review
• Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Review
• HTC One M9 Review
• LG G4 Review

If you plan to wait for the iPhone 6s release later this year, the slide show below walks through important iPhone 6s rumors.

We expect an iPhone 6s release date in the fall with a similar design, but key upgrades that some users may find big enough to wait several months for an upgrade.

15 Important iPhone 6s Rumors

iPhone 6s Release Date

1 / 15

We know Apple plans an event for June 2015, but this is not where you should expect to hear about the iPhone 6s at this event. WWDC 2015 will more than likely focus on iOS 9 and a new version of OS X for Mac. Expect an iPhone 6s announcement in fall 2015 at a special event dedicated to the iPhone, and possibly the iPod touch. The last four iPhone release dates took place in a span of 30 days from late September to mid-October and we expect the iPhone 6s release date will arrive in a similar time. A best guess would be that the iPhone 6s release date will come on September 18th or September 25th, based on historical data only.

1 / 15

New Verizon Edge Paves Way for iPhone 6s Release is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

New Verizon Edge Paves Way for iPhone 6s Release

Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Review

Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Review is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

The Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 update is finally starting to make progress and Nexus 5 users around the world are now receiving prompts to download and install Google’s new firmware. With that in mind, we want to take a look at how the Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 update has been performing on Google’s aging former flagship. This is our Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 review.

In early March, Google announced its Android 5.1 Lollipop update, a follow up to its Android 5.0.1 and Android 5.0.2 Lollipop updates. Google’s Android 5.1 Lollipop update wasn’t your standard bug fixer and it arrived with new features on top of a laundry list of bug fixes.

Android 5.1 also brought problems to owners of Google’s Nexus smartphones and tablets and Nexus 5 users were particularly vocal about the problems plaguing their phone. I was one of them.

Google’s Android 5.1 update didn’t ruin my battery life or destroy my Wi-Fi connection but it did bring some annoying issues to a device that had been working fine on Android 5.0.1. Those issues? App crashes and random reboots, products of a Android 5.1 memory leak problem.

In April, to the relief of many Nexus 5 users, Google confirmed an Android 5.1.1 update. It took several weeks for Google to confirm a Nexus 5 roll out but the roll out is here and it’s finally hitting devices all over the United States and around the world.

Android 5.1.1 is a small bug fix update for the Nexus 5, around 15MB in size, but it comes with some important fixes including one for the device’s camera. It’s an important update and one that many Nexus 5 users have their eyes on as we push into the month of June.

Advertisement

I’ve spent several days with Google’s Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update and today I want to share some thoughts about the update at the one week mark. My goal here is to help you answer this question: Is the Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 update worth installing? Let’s take a look.

Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Lollipop Review

Before getting into the review, I want to note that mileage is going to vary from device to device, person to person. I probably don’t have the same applications installed and there’s a chance that I use certain apps, games and my device’s home screen more than you do.

So you need to consider this a general guide as you try to decide whether Android 5.1.1 Lollipop is worth installing on your Nexus 5. I’m one man with one Nexus 5 device. I encourage you to seek out feedback from other Nexus 5 users before making your final decision about whether to install it or not.

Apps

I’ve spent a full week with the Android 5.1.1 update and in the past seven days, I haven’t run into any major issues with the applications I have on board the Nexus 5.

While certain apps were crashing a lot in Android 5.1.1, Play Music for instance, I haven’t noticed any major problems with Android 5.1.1 on board. Play Music has been extremely stable and only Facebook has crashed in the past seven days. My other core apps like Google Chrome, Asana, Slack, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Twitter are all holding up.

I have 50+ third-party apps installed on the Nexus 5 though my applications are probably not the same as the applications you have on your Nexus 5. That would be weird. So, all I can tell you is, make sure your apps are updated before installing Android 5.1.1 .

You’ll also want to make sure that you take a look at feedback from your fellow Nexus 5 owners, especially if the app is critical to your daily routine.

Android 5.1.1 Lollipop Battery Life

I’ve been using the Nexus 5 a lot over the past week and I have yet to notice any major battery drain. As I’ve noted many times, the Nexus 5’s battery life has never been amazing but at least Google hasn’t killed my battery with its Android Lollipop updates. Its been par for the course since November. I’m still able to get close to a full day of use out of the Nexus 5 even during heavy use.

I’m seeing complaints about bad Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 battery life but the problems don’t appear to be widespread. In other words, there’s a good chance that your battery will remain stable after moving to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. There’s always some risk involved so you’ll definitely want to dig if you’re at all concerned.

Remember, it often takes battery life a few days to settle after an Android update. If it doesn’t settle, or if you’re concerned about potential battery life problems. you’ll want to consult our list of fixes for bad Android 5.1.1 battery life. Most of the time, it’s not the Android update causing the problems. Typically, it’s a rogue app or bad habits.

Wi-Fi, LTE & Bluetooth

Android 5.1 and Android 5.1.1 both have caused connectivity problems for some Nexus 5 owners, mainly problems with cellular data, but I didn’t see any after Android 5.1 and I haven’t encountered any issues after installing the Android 5.1.1 update.

Wi-Fi is still fast and stable, I’ve been able to pair the Nexus 5 with an assortment of Bluetooth devices including various speakers and headsets, and AT&T’s LTE network is still fast and reliable when I take the phone out of the house.

Updates like Android 5.1.1 aren’t supposed to break connectivity. So if it does, you’ll want to take a look at our list of fixes for connectivity problems. There’s a good chance that you’ll be able to iron out the problem if something does go awry after getting Android 5.1.1 up and running.

Bugs & Issues

Android 5.1 was very unstable on my Nexus 5. Over the course of several weeks, I encountered numerous random reboots where the phone would restart itself for no apparent reason. I wasn’t alone. Android 5.1 has a serious memory leak problem but it appears that Android 5.1.1 has ironed those out, at least on my phone.

I haven’t seen a single random reboot in the seven days that I’ve been using the Nexus 5. That’s a far cry from the week before when I probably saw close to 10 random reboots. I’ve run into random reboots on all of my devices (iPhone, Galaxy S6, etc) but the problems were never that frequent. It was annoying but Android 5.1.1 appears to have fixed the problem on my phone.

Nexus 5 owners were also complaining about an issue where the camera app would crash when trying to access it through a third party application like Facebook. I’ve been trying to replicate the problem in Android 5.1.1 but so far I’ve been unable to. Google outlined a fix for this issue in the Nexus 5’s Android 5.1.1 change log and it looks like the fix worked.

I’ve been using the phone extensively for a week and so far, the update is very stable. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t bugs, it just means that I haven’t run into any. Yet. Bugs can pop up at any time and there’s a chance that something will jump out in the weeks down the road. So far so good though.

Speed

Android 5.1.1 is still fluid on the Nexus 5. Animations and transitions are fast and I haven’t noticed any general sluggishness or lag. While I’ve heard about performance problems on the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, I haven’t seen many complaints about lag or freezing on the Nexus 5.

Is the Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Update Worth Installing?

I can’t tell you how your Nexus 5 will react to the Android 5.1.1 update but I can tell you how mine has fared: The device has gone from nearly unusable to stable thanks to Android 5.1.1. I haven’t seen any random reboots, battery life is holding up, and apps are all behaving themselves after the move. There are Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 problems but I haven’t seen any yet and they all appear to be isolated.

Android 5.1.1 is probably worth a shot if you’re on Android 5.1 or below and you’re desperate. It comes with a number of bug fixes and it’s far better than Android 5.1, at least on my version of the device. If you’re not experiencing any problems on Android 5.1 or below, take your time.

Android 5.1.1 doesn’t come with any new features, just bug fixes, so there’s really no need to rush into things. Gather feedback and then make a call. Android 5.1.1 isn’t going anywhere.

Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Review is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Nexus 5 Android 5.1.1 Review

How to Add More Storage to Your iPad

How to Add More Storage to Your iPad is a post by Craig Lloyd from Gotta Be Mobile.

It always seems like you never have enough space on your iPad, but here’s how you can add more storage to your iPad with ease.

16GB of storage on an iPad isn’t much at all. In fact, many would say that it’s impossible for an iPad user, since the device is great for all sorts of games and movies, which can fill up the storage fairly quickly.

We’ve discussed many times in the past about how you just shouldn’t get a 16GB iPhone or iPad, both for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5s, as well as the iPad mini and the new iPad Air 2. 16GB usually isn’t enough for a lot of users, and since iOS itself takes up a few gigabytes of space, you’re left with even less storage that you can work with.

Storage size can ultimately be the toughest decision when buying an iPad, especially because of the price difference between the multiple storage tiers, but you also never know exactly how much space you’ll end up using, and the longer you own the device, the more apps and games that you’ll pile on over time. However, many users still opt for the 16GB option due to cost, as it’s priced way less than the next highest storage tier, which is $100 more.

If your budget doesn’t allow for anything better than a 16GB iPad, the decision is pretty easy as far as what storage size to get, but ultimately not the best, and we certainly don’t blame you, as you’ll pay $100 more for the next storage tier up.

However, if you want to add more storage to your iPad, there are several ways to go about it.

Wireless Hard Drive

Perhaps the easiest way to add a ton of storage to your iPad is by using a wireless hard drive, which connects to your iPad wireless without the need for any kind of internet connection.

Advertisement

The Seagate Wireless portable hard drive is one option, and it’s a 500GB mobile storage device that can give you more storage than what Apple would ever provide in their iPads.

The Seagate Wireless is a $129 wireless hard drive, meaning that it has an internal battery that can power the hard drive without the need for a USB or outlet connection. It also has its own WiFi network, which is how you connect it to your iPhone or iPad (from there, you can connect to your home WiFi or other network to get internet). Apple doesn’t support connecting external drives directly to your iPad using the Lightning connector, so this is the next best option.

Trading Up

Another way to add more storage to your iPad isn’t by necessarily adding more storage to your current iPad, but by simply “trading up,” which means buying an iPad that comes with more storage and then selling your old one.

This might not be the best option for everyone, but if you want more built-in storage without dealing with a wireless hard drive and other external accessories, this is the best way to go.

You might even be able to find someone who will trade you their higher-capacity iPad for your lower-capacity model plus some cash. A great place to look is on Reddit’s /r/AppleSwap.

Use the Cloud

If there’s one thing that the iPad is good at, it’s for viewing movies and watching TV shows. Music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, photos, etc. usually take up the most storage on your iPad, depending on how much you have exactly. However, you don’t have to store any of that on your iPad if you take advantage of the cloud.

I’m not talking about Apple’s iCloud specifically, but rather different services that let you stream content or store content in the cloud, such as Netflix, Dropbox, etc.

Instead of storing all of your music on your iPad, consider using Spotify or Rdio to stream your music. If you want to watch a movie or TV show, use Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Amazon Instant Video. As long as you have an internet connection, you have a ton of music and video content at your fingertips that you don’t even have to store on your iPad.

For photos, consider storing them in Dropbox or Google Drive, and when you need to access them, just fire up the Dropbox or Google Drive app and view away. You can even save some for offline viewing.

Again, you’ll need an internet connection to take advantage of apps like these, which is the main drawback for using the cloud, but 95% of the time you can get a WiFi signal almost anymore. It’s usually the other 5% that’s the hardest to deal with, so think about if using the cloud is really your cup of tea.

Free Up Storage Space

Perhaps the best way to add more storage space to your iPad is by freeing some of it up. Too many users have apps, games, etc. on their iPad that they never end up using, which is precious storage space going to waste.

Apps themselves don’t take up a lot of space — usually under 200MB a piece for most, but additional data such as cache, history, etc. can add another couple hundred of megabytes to that. Plus, if you intend on having a ton of apps, the storage required can really add up. There are also bigger apps like GarageBand, which can take up almost a gigabyte by itself.

Obviously, the more apps you have, the more storage space is being taken up by these apps as a whole, and I’m sure we’ve all been there before: You download a handful of apps, but never actually end up using them except for maybe a couple of times per year.

These are the apps that you should just get rid of. Every now and then, go through your apps and delete any of them that you haven’t used in a long time, as you’ll most likely never need them again. Doing this can constantly free up space on your iPad with very little effort.

How to Add More Storage to Your iPad is a post by Craig Lloyd from Gotta Be Mobile.

How to Add More Storage to Your iPad