According to PhoneArena, Verizon plans to force current customers, with unlimited 3G data plans, who transition to an LTE device to a new tiered data plan. Big Red will be releasing new shared data plans this year and want to move everyone off unlimited data.

What’s not clear, is if customers that have already made the switch to an LTE device will be forced off unlimited on their next upgrade. I’m sure this is a preemptive strike against iPhone users, as the next version will have LTE and VZW will want to limit those users who currently have unlimited 3G plans.

This has been a tough year for T-Mobile, bleeding customers because of the possible merger with AT&T this year, not having the iPhone, and the lack of LTE, when compared to the other carriers. Recently, they announced that they are building a LTE network to compete with the other carriers, which is a big part of the rebuild.

After losing almost 1000 employees in March due to cut backs, another warning memo was issued to employees today. With their new structure, there will be some difficult decisions. They will be notifying some employees this week that they will be laid off in this second round of layoffs. CEO Phillip Humm says that additional details on the matter will come this following week. Hopefully T-Mobile can refocus and get back on track this year for a solid 2013 year, allowing them to get back in the competition strongly.

Source The Verge

According to the WSJ, Google is in talks to bring five manufactures on board with their Nexus program. Typically all the OEMs compete to build Google’s flagship Android device for the year, but that might be changing soon. The devices wont just be phones either, tablets will be included and all the devices will be sold directly from Google via the Play Store. With the purchase of Motorola, this could be a peace offering in order to show OEMs that they are not playing favorites. Either way this is good for consumers, as they will have a choice of multiple devices directly from Google and injecting the market with more “pure Google” devices. The move will position Google in a new direction, one that could potentially anger carriers, very similar what Apple has done with the iPhone. No word on which manufactures will be included, but one would assume HTC, Samsung, LG, and maybe even Sony are involved. Stay tuned!

Of all the Twitter clients I’ve tried Tweetbot is at the top of a very long list of Twitter clients. Tweetbot ranks among the top of all Twitter clients because it easy to use while still being robust enough to handle the most demanding of Twitter users. Among the more useful features are sliding a tweet right to view replies and sliding left for more detailed view of the tweet (scroll up for replies, if any exist). Most timelines include the ability to search the downloaded tweets (use search on the left navigation bar for a more powerful search).

What Tweetbot doesn’t do for you is make you fit into how the developer envisioned the application being used as the only way it can be used. Tweetbot offers quite a few options to help customize it to suit you. You can change the font size (tiny to huge), display name ( full name, user name or both), date format, navigation (hiding or displaying favorites, search, profile, lists, re-tweets and mute filters), streaming, quote format and much more.

Beyond the left and right sliding of tweets Tweetbot makes use of another gesture: triple tap. Triple tapping can cause one of the following user configurable actions: reply, re-tweet, favorite, translate, or view in Favstar. Translation occurs in the app in the form of a dialog box. In the few tweets I tried translating, it translated quick enough to be useful. Presumably translation translates tweets to the default language of the iPad, as this is one of the few features without any user customization. Given that the developer’s domain has DNS entries for Google Apps, translation is likely handled by Google. Having never heard of Favstar I found it to be an odd choice for the triple tap gesture however, users of the site might like it. Favstar allows users to get more detailed information about tweets; think analytics for tweets.

One feature I especially liked is the ability to import and export Twitter accounts into Twitter’s iOS application. This meant I didn’t have to re-type all my Twitter account information to start using Tweetbot. People with multiple Twitter accounts will particularly like the easy transition.

Tip: Leave your Twitter account setup in iOS and uninstall the Twitter app to retain Twitter integration in other applications yet save the space; this will also stop double data and Twitter polls from both Twitter applications.

Alerts in Tweetbot work as they should except for one simple oversight. Tweetbot doesn’t have the ability to run in the background and poll for new tweets in your Twitter stream. Tweetbot alerts for mentions and direct messages any time but the lack of background updating for Twitter stream as a whole feels like an oversight; for users that want or need such a feature. Tweetbot does allow for “streaming” of your Twitter stream but only when open and the active application.

The Gurus bring you another podcast filled with fun, tech, and explicit references to the nether regions. Get the show now to hear the guys talk Facebook app store, Bing getting social, T-mobile LTE, Flipboard for Android, Google Plus for iOS and much much more!

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Although Flipboard is exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S III, that doesn’t stop the Android community from getting it out there to the masses. We’ve installed it and gave it a run through and so far we like what we see. While there are many other visually oriented news readers out there, Flipboard is gesture heavy and focuses on discovery. Hit the read more link to see how Flipboard for Android stacks up against the other news readers.

While this is an early version of the app and the widget doesn’t show up on all phones (works fine on my Galaxy Nexus), it is very stable and fast. It is defiantly ready for everyday use. First thing you do is setup your sources. Flipboard gives you some general categories like auto, technology, celebrity, news etc.. but you can also add your own sources. Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader, Instagram are just some of the choices you have.

The app looks gorgeous and really emphasizes imagery to attract you to an article. The interface works with a number of gestures controls. On the main page you flip from bottom to top in order to see all of you sources. Clicking on a source opens up the latest article from that source. The same flick up and down let you browse the articles, while a swipe from left to right will take you back to the main page. When the articles refresh you get a neat little animation of the article folding down like a rolodex. The visuals and animations look fantastic and add a level of polish not seen in some of the other reader apps. Flipboard also lets you star items from your Google Reader, favorite articles from Twitter, save off line with apps likes Pocket, Instapaper, and Readability as well as use Android’s “share” function to send your articles to just about any app.

I do have a complaint with Flipboard’s lack of order. It is really great for discovery, which I think is important, but if I want to get to a specific news source’s articles, there is a ton of clicks you have to go through. Also adding an RSS feed is not particularly easy and even when searching for the exact feed URL, other sources often show up before your intended site. My last amd final complaint is that the app doesn’t follow the Android design guidelines. The settings button is on screen (the little gear), but the menu button is not. The settings are a mess and very difficult to drill through. I was surprised seeing as how gesture based Android is becoming that the developers did not take that into consideration. However, these are minute complaints that don’t take away from the overall experience of Flipboard to much. It really is a fantastic app and it’s too bad it is going to be a Samsung exclusive for a period of time. If you don’t want to wait for it to hit the Google Play Store, you can easily find the APK install-able file. Hint: Its in the first sentence of this post.

With a simple push of the button, Game Stew Studio hopes to show you a “Reel” good time with its latest release, Tower of Fortune, out now for iOS ($.99).  Can a monochrome, slot machine RPG really hope to hold its own amongst some of the heavy hitters currently making the rounds in the iOS App Store?  Only The Gadget Gurus can say for sure!

Gameplay

Tower of Fortune attempts to take one of the most complex styles of gameplay and reduce it down to one that takes little-to-no effort.  Tower of Fortune is an RPG, set long after the adventurer in the story has retired.  His daughter has been taken from him, and there’s nobody left but he to rescue her.  That’s about all of the story we’re given and, more or less, all of the direction we’re given for gameplay.  You’ll spend the first few minutes trying to figure out what to do, and end up spending a few hundred gold coins in the tavern.

It’s in this tavern that you’ll learn the two basic parts of Gameplay: “Spin” and “Stop”.  That’s it.  Sure, there’s a few other parts such as assigning weapons and armor and buying goods from the market, but at its heart, Tower of Fortune is a slot machine game.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a lot more fun than it sounds. Each wheel of the slot can have attack, be attacked, earn XP or earn money, with the first wheel dictating the actual turn of play.  If more than one wheel matches up, the action is multiplied.  This can be good or bad; imagine getting attacked with each wheel matching!  Subsequent actions result in combos that amplify the effect of the action.

Unfortunately, none of this is explained to you anywhere, and you’re forced to find it all out on your own.  This game would really benefit form some sort of tutorial or manual, and it loses a point or two for its lack.  The game will often find players starting out by wasting all of their money at the tavern before they learn how to earn more.  You haven’t figured it out, yet, have you?

To make more money, we go back to the main screen and select any portion of the tower (hence, TOWER of Fortune).  From here you’ll battle enemies and bosses in an attempt to win back your daughter.  The gameplay, while a bit repetitive, is still fun and I’ve found myself coming back to it while doing various tasks throughout the day.  With simple, one-handed gameplay, it can be played waiting in line at the supermarket, sitting on the bus on the way to work, or on the couch while you watch TV.  Once you’ve figured out HOW to play, it’s a fun little game with a great gameplay style.

Graphics/Design

Tower of Fortune’s unique, monochrome design is actually quite refreshing.  It’s very 8-bit and retro and feels much like the Gameboy games of old.  Detail isn’t applied so much to the graphics, but rather to a gameplay style unique to the app store.  In a world full of “HD” and “Retina Display”, having a throw-back to simpler times is pleasing to the eyes and well worth the purchase.  The lighter design also makes it easier to see in the dark, so if you’re concerned about waking your significant other while you play in bed, you can turn down the brightness and still see the game.

Enemy units are all unique and follow themes based on your location in the tower.  Bosses are bigger than the average enemy, and all characters animate in a retro-style that fits in well with the rest of the game.  The only issue with the animation and graphic style is the fact that animations happen every time and there’s no way to skip them.  After you’ve been bonked on the head with a bottle for the 100th time, you’ll wish something else would animate.

Sound

In line with the graphic style, the sound design is 100% retro.  It’s a lot of chiptune-type, 8-bit digital music and it really fits with the overall style of the game.  At maximum volume, it can get a bit loud, but is pleasing to the ears at lower volumes.  Each move of each character makes noise, and Big Stew has stated that they have plans to increase the amount of background music and make improvements there.  Much like games of yore, the sound and background music can get repetitious, which seems to fall in line with the rest of the game.

Overall

With a retro feel in both sight and sound, and a simple style of gameplay, Tower of Fortune has the chance to provide a decent amount of fun.  Players who find time consuming games a bit too…time consuming, will enjoy the quick-hit style of one-click play, and players looking for a bit more under the hood will enjoy the RPG elements.  Neither style really overpowers the other, which may deter users who would prefer one over the other, but this game is certainly playable by players of any skill level.  While sound and animation can be a bit repetitious, it shouldn’t drive players away from enjoying this game.  At $.99, this game is perfectly priced and certainly prepared to give you a dollar’s worth of entertainment.

Guru Review Score:

Gameplay: 8/10

Graphics/Design 8/10

Sound: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

It has been up in the air on where T-Mobile was headed after the merger with AT&T was denied. They claimed they still have a good 4G network, but everyone knows that LTE is the wave of the future in wireless technology. Today, T-Mobile has announced they are upgrading to a 4 billion dollar LTE network.

With agreements of Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks, they will be installing new equipment in 37,000 of T-Mobiles current 4G towers. T-Mobile finally secured the AWS spectrum that they ended up with in the AT&T fallout and this will help allow them to get their LTE up and running in 75% of the top 25 markets.

The rollout is going to start later this year and is planned to be fully nationwide in 2013. It is very good to know that T-Mobile is not laying down and giving up. After Sprint has announced LTE coming for their network, it only makes sense for T-Mobile to head down the same road to stay competitive with the other carriers to date.

Source T-Mobile

The Gurus are back with another week of tech news goodness. This week we talk BlackBerry 10, Galaxy S III, Kindle in Target, and our NYC correspondant Craig, gives us a review of the AT&T HTC One X. And of course we also talked A LOT about The Avengers! Enjoy the show!!

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Back in 2008 when Iron Man was released and we saw Nick Fury first approach Tony Stark about the Avengers, it was a pipe dream. The idea was cool, but it could never really happen. Could it? Movie after movie, post credit scene after post credit scene, it was becoming more real. Finally May 4th , 2012 audiences get to see The Avengers assembled for what could have been a disaster, destroyed by the epicness of itself. Fortunately Marvel’s Avengers doesn’t just “not suck”, it kicks ass!

The movie doesn’t waste time getting into the swing of things. There are no origin stories to tell (the five stand alone movies do that), no back story to drag down the flow, and the action starts from the top. The plot is pretty cut and dry. The earth is about to be attacked by Loki (Thor’s brother) and an army of space creatures. S.H.I.E.L.D is responsible for stopping the upcoming conflict, but of course they are overwhelmed. That’s when the Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk are called together to stop Loki.

Of course these guys don’t all get along right off the bat and the banter that ensues is pretty awesome! Joss Whedon knows how to mix action and comedy and this is immediately evident when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes get together. The one liners and digs at each other are priceless. I found myself actually laughing out loud many times.

The pacing of this movie is fantastic. There is literally never a dull moment. From start to finish stuff is happening. Whether it’s Cap and Iron Man repairing a turbine or Hulk smashing through alien forces, the film is always moving forward. Every character had their time to shine and it never felt like a one horse show. Eventually the team figured it all out and started to work together. When this happens, not only does the banter and comedy get better, but the action sequences really shine. Seeing the avengers all working together is a geek dream come true. There was never a moment where I thought “Where is so and so?” or “I wish I saw more of XXXXX”. Everyone got great screen time and one character never overshadowed another.

This movie could have gone bad in so many different ways with all the egos, standalone franchises, and just all around “weight”. My expectations were set so high because I am a huge fan of Joss Whedon, as well as being a huge comic book fan. I am really happy to say The Avengers met and surpassed all of them!