Which apps will drain your battery and data plan? Verizon’s got a list!

SUMMARY:
Verizon is now reviewing iPhone and Android apps, but not based on how fun or useful they are. It’s concerned about the resources they consume, which means Facebook and many popular games get docked.

Verizon Wireless may have shut down its own app store, but it’s not wiping its hands of app curation entirely. The carrier has started reviewing, rating and recommending Android and iPhone apps to its customers.

What’s interesting about Verizon’s approach is it isn’t making its recommendations based on how entertaining, useful or fun a particular app is. Instead a team of Verizon engineers is looking at each app’s impact on the phone’s battery life, its drain on a customer’s data plan and how loosely it plays with security and customer privacy.

Basically, Verizon is compiling a series of regularly updated recommendation lists. The first is a list of 20 apps available either for Android or iOS that Verizon claims deliver a “best in class” experience on smartphones and tablets. As you might expect, Verizon isn’t being entirely objective in its choices, but it never claimed to be. One of the apps is even Verizon’s own AppLuvr software, which recommends other apps based on what’s already installed on smartphones.

The second list applies a much more visible methodology, rating the top 25 free and top 25 paid apps in Google Play based on three criteria: security, battery consumption and data usage. The third set of reviews is essentially Verizon’s naughty list: 13 apps – all games – that will drain your battery or eat up your data plan at a rapid clip.

Verizon isn’t making any friends here among the game development shops. Enormously popular games like Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja Free and OMGPOP’s Draw Something got bad marks because of their battery drain. Other apps like Facebook Messenger and eBay scored relatively high but were penalized because of their high data consumption.

That may come us a surprise to many users since Facebook and eBay wouldn’t appear to consume that much data, especially compared to streaming multimedia apps like Pandora and Netflix, which received the highest possible Verizon ratings. But what Verizon is likely highlighting here is the persistence of those two apps’ connections. While Facebook might consume only a tiny fraction of the data in a single hour than, say, a Netflix video stream, the social networking app is always running in the background – transmitting a constant stream of signaling traffic over the network and whittling away at your data plan.

Alcatel-Lucent recently analyzed the enormous impact Facebook has on mobile networks through that signaling traffic. On Nov. 15, the social networking giant updated its iOS and Android apps, precipitating a 60 percent boost in Facebook signal load on mobile networks, even though the number of new Facebook mobile users increased only 4 percent in the same time frame. Alcatel-Lucent now estimates that Facebook is responsible for more than 15 percent of all mobile signaling traffic and accounts for more than 20 percent of all network airtime.

Carriers have long implored developers to keep the constraints of mobile networks in mind and build more efficient apps. With these rankings Verizon could be upping that pressure, punishing developers who keep developing unnecessarily chatty software.

As you might expect, neither Facebook Messenger or the main Facebook app made Verizon’s list of “must have apps” (though eBay did). Verizon, however, named Facebook’s much more network-efficient Instagram photo-sharing app in its top 20. I doubt Facebook cares either way.

Any time a carrier produces a must-have list you should take it with a grain of salt, but I will give Verizon credit. It actually recommended Tango, an over-the-top voice, video and messaging app that competes directly with Verizon’s core voice and SMS services

via Which apps will drain your battery and data plan? Verizon’s got a list — Tech News and Analysis.

Verizon modifying prepaid plans Feb 1 with new $60 500MB tier

Verizon doesn’t put much focus on its prepaid plans, but according to a leaked document obtained by PhoneArena it will be dropping prices on prepaid offerings starting February 1st. Verizon’s current offering is at $80 for smartphones, with unlimited talk/text and 2GB of data during its double data promotion. When the new plans take effect next week, the $80 plan is going away, making room for two new tiers at $60 and $70. The lower tier will offer 500MB of data, the higher 2GB, both with unlimited talk and text.

The document specifically says $80 plan users will be grandfathered in, but considering the new price structure there’s no reason to stay on it. Users wanting more than 2GB of data will be paying $20 per 1GB overage, which is $5 more than adding an extra 1GB to a postpaid plan. Also remember that Verizon’s prepaid plans are 3G only for the time being. This is still a good option for a select set of people though, so we’re glad to see Verizon drop its prices a bit. Stick around after the break to see the document and details of the new plans.

Source: PhoneArena

via Verizon modifying prepaid plans Feb 1 with new $60 500MB tier | Android Central.

Verizon Shared Data Plans – Analysis: Costs down, customers pay more

Verizon (VZ) posted a pretty impressive holiday quarter (one-time charges aside) with a good outlook on Tuesday, and the company’s share price rose as a result. There were also plenty of interesting takeaways from the carrier’s earnings call, but The New York Times’ Brian X. Chen zeroed in on one item of particular interest. Verizon launched new “Share Everything” plans last summer that make smartphone data more expensive for many users. The best thing about these plans for investors — and, not coincidentally, the worst thing about the plans for subscribers — is that Verizon is now making more money off of smartphone data as costs associated with transmitted that data are falling. As Chen noted, Verizon’s average monthly revenue per wireless account grew 6.6% to $146.80 in the holiday quarter.

The main reason for the growth is simple: 23% of Verizon’s wireless accounts are now subscribed to Share Everything plans. The beauty of Verizon’s new plans, as the report points out, is that data is getting cheaper for Verizon to transmit even though the carrier is charging more for it. “The company says the 4G LTE network is five times more efficient than its predecessor, 3G,” Chen wrote. ”That means the more people who buy devices that connect to the newer network, like the iPhone 5, the more money the company will eventually gain.” As an added bonus, Chen noted that Verizon’s faster data networks also cause users to eat through their data allowances more quickly. This eventually prompts them to buy more expensive plans with higher data caps, which of course net Verizon even more cash.

from BGR

Apple at it again, calling for injunction against the Galaxy Nexus

Apple has once again called Samsung into court. This time it’s about the Galaxy Nexus and four patents that Apple says it infringes. The patents in question are:

U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647: a patent for data being used as a hyperlink
U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604: a unified search patent
U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721: a slide-to-unlock patent
U.S. Patent No. 8,074,172: a word completion patent 
Apple is requesting that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus be blocked from sale in the United States because it violates these patents.  Should the court find in favor of Apple, a ban against the Galaxy Nexus would be put in effect until the final court decision.  

Could it happen? Certainly. But if it does, it won’t go into effect any time soon, it would only affect stores inside the U.S. selling these products, and no jack-booted thugs from Cupertino will come pry your Nexus from your hands. We can’t be sure how the courts will act, but all of these are pretty shaky patents, and once again Apple is not going after Google directly — even though the Galaxy Nexus has a pure vanilla version of Android.  The only certainty here is that the patent system is broken and only serves the company willing to spend the most in the courts.

It’s time for Google to step in and put a stop to this bullshit. The first patent in question is the same one that was upheld against HTC in a move that shocked the tech community at large, essentially giving Apple the rights to the hyperlink — something invented over 20 years ago by numerous companies that aren’t Apple.

The other three are just as laughable, or would be if not for the fact that Apple was allowed to secure the patents at all. Every single one of them has existed as prior art long before Apple became relevant, yet a patent was granted each and every time. This is the core of the problem. You can’t blame Apple for trying, it’s cheaper to litigate away your competition than it is to out-innovate them.  And make no mistake — that’s exactly what’s going on here.  Apple wants Android to go away, and a look at any chart that shows market share will tell you why.  It’s a shitty way to get ahead, but it’s too easy not to try. It’s going to take a tech giant to change the way this all works, and we know nobody can count on Apple or Microsoft to do it, because this is their system, created the way they like it, and making them rich. If Apple is afraid to go after Google, Google needs to go after Apple instead of sitting on their laurels waiting to ride in and save the day at the last minute.

via Android Central.

How to: Unroot the Galaxy Nexus, Re-lock the Bootloader and Return to a Factory State

Unlocking the bootloader and rooting your Galaxy Nexus is really only half the battle. There may come a time when you need need to lock everything back up, including that bootloader. Thanks to the Android team, we have the factory images that can not only fix a bootlooping or soft-bricked device, but make it look like you just pulled it out of the box.  

Instructions:

1.  Download the Android 4.0.2 factory images to your PC. [Download]
2.  Unzip the file and its contents into your SDK/Tools folder (wherever your adb.exe and fastboot.exe files are).

*Make sure they are not in their own folder, but have all been extracted to Tools.

3.  From within your Tools folder, open a command prompt (SHIFT + right click – “open command prompt here”):
4.  Type the following commands, allowing each to finish before moving onto the next:

adb reboot bootloader
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-toro-primekk15.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio radio-toro-i515.ek02.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio-cdma radio-cdma-toro-i515.ek05.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot -w update image-mysid-icl53f.zip
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot oem lock

5.  Reboot your phone by highlighting “Start” and pressing the lock switch.
6.  It really is as simple as that. Your phone is now back to a 100% stock, unrooted and locked state.

via Droid Life.

How to: Root the Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE, Flash a Custom Recovery and Make a Backup [Verizon]

Time to root your Galaxy Nexus now that @Koush has released official Clockworkmod Recovery for the LTE version. We have gone ahead and posted the manual instructions for you, because well, if you have a Nexus you should probably know most of these standard adb and fastboot commands. It’s not hard by any means, especially knowing that you all have the SDK set up after unlocking your bootloader. Should take all of 5 minutes, maybe less.

Ready?

Rooting and flashing a custom recovery:

*Unlock your bootloader first. [Instructions]

1.  Download ClockworkMod Recovery for the G-Nex. [Download]
2.  Place that file in your SDK/Tools folder (same place as your adb.exe).
3.  Download the superuser file aka the root file. [Download]
4.  Place that file in your SDK/Tools folder.
5.  Open a command prompt from within your Tools folder and type the following:

adb push su.zip /sdcard/

6. Then reboot into the bootloader:

adb reboot bootloader

7.  When the boot menu loads, flash the new recovery image:

fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.5.0.4-toro.img

8.  When that finishes, use the volume keys to highlight “Recovery mode,” press power to select it.
9.   From recovery, scroll to “Install zip from sdcard.”
10.  Then “choose zip from sdcard.”
11.  Choose the “su.zip” file and install it.
12.  When that finishes, back out of recovery and reboot the system.
13.  Enjoy being rooted with a temporary recovery. (Permanent instructions below)

Afterwards, you will want to install ROM Manager from the market and have it re-flash recovery for you.

Make your first backup:

1.  Now that you are rooted and have a custom recovery, it’s time to make your first clean backup.
2.  In ROM Manager, flash Clockwork recovery again (it’s the first option up top).
3.  Then tap the option to reboot into recovery just below that.
4.  Once in recovery, scroll down to “backup and restore.”
5.  Choose “backup” and let your phone create a backup.
6.  When finished, back out of recovery and reboot the system.

If you want permanent Clockwork Recovery (via XDA):

1. Install Root Explorer from the market and delete /system/reboot-from-recovery.p – *Mount as R/W first*
2. Reboot into Fastboot Mode: Power off your device and (Power + Volume Up and Down)
3. Flash CWM (fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.5.0.4-toro.img)
4. Reboot into OS (fastboot reboot)
5. You now have CWM recovery permanently installed

via Droid Life.

Verizon reportedly blocking access to Google Wallet on its Galaxy Nexus

Pop quiz: List, in alphabetical order, all of the Google Nexus phones that officially have access to Google Wallet.

If you aswered the Sprint Nexus S 4G — and only the Sprint Nexus S 4G — you’re exactly right. And it looks like it might stay that way for the time being. 9 to 5 Google, citing an unnamed source, reports that the Verizon Galaxy Nexus won’t have access to Google Wallet, despite that sweet NFC chip tucked into the phone’s battery.

And the kicker: Verizon is said to be the one keeping Google Wallet off its Galaxy Nexus. (Never mind that it’s a Nexus phone, and remember that we’re expecting a couple of Verizon-specific appliations preloaded. We called it Verizon’s Nexus for a reason.) And the reason for no Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus, according to the anonymous source, is that it’s a direct competitor to ISIS, another NFC standard backed by Verizon, along with manufacturers LG, HTC, Motorola, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Oh, and guess who else backs ISIS: AT&T and T-Mobile — two U.S. carriers that have network-specific versions of the Samsung Nexus S in the United States, which, despite also having NFC capabilities, have no official build of Google Wallet. (Like with the Galaxy Nexus, you can hack Google Wallet on just fine, thank you very much.) Maybe that’s just our tinfoil hat talking, but you can’t deny that Google Wallet’s only officially available on a single phone. 

Source: 9 to 5 Google;

via Verizon reportedly blocking access to Google Wallet on its Galaxy Nexus | Android Central.

Another HTC Thunderbolt RUU Leaked, Version 2.11.605.0 Of Gingerbread

Just a couple days ago, an RUU version 2.10.605.1 was leaked for the HTC Thunderbolt. Well the gifts keep coming, and over at XDA, a user has leaked another RUU. The newest version is 2.11.605.0, and it is only pointing at the still imminent release of Gingerbread for all you extremely patient Thunderbolt owners.If you flash, you will lose root, and it will wipe your device.

If you want to save root, wait for a little while until a developer can work on it, and package it up properly. Be safe.

 

Download RUU

via Droid Life.

HTC ThunderBolt reboot update finally appears to be imminent | Android Central

Might it finally be happening? Might the HTC ThunderBolt finally be getting that long-awaited update to squash the reboots and bring a host of fixes be dropping … soon? Tonight, according to a leaked screen and confirmed by Verizon’s own support site. Build 1.70.605.0 brings:

Improved data connectivity.

Enhanced Call History view.

Reduced number of device power cycles and resets.

Improved Bluetooth Discovery Mode pop-up window.

View App Menu in tabbed layout.

People search function enabled.

Backup Assistant has been added to the All Apps menu.

Preloaded My Verizon, V CAST Music and V CAST Videos.

Desktop cradle App is now available, showing clock in landscape m

NY Times site has been added into the browser bookmarks.

Note that this is not the supposed Gingerbread/Skype update that surfaced last month. So we’ll all have to bang our fists a little longer.

via HTC ThunderBolt reboot update finally appears to be imminent | Android Central.

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