Thanks for nothing?

Well I'm not really sure if this is anything to get excited about, or not. I guess I will have to stop over at the T-Mobile store down the street, and see what the heck this thing is good for.

I tried using it a prepaid card to refill my account. It would not let me do that. Maybe I can use it to purchase a prepaid card at the store.

T-Mobile Refer-a-Friend

Apparently one of you has used my Refer-a-Friend link. Thanks! I received an email a few days ago to tell me that my "Promotional Card" is on the way.
A reader contacted me last week to say that he had used my link, but since it takes a couple of months to go through, I think this is from someone else:

I'm not sure if the card will be something like one of those prepaid Visa cards, or something I can use to add credit to my T-Mobile account, or just some stupid marketing junk. Once I receive it and figure out what I can do with it, I will be sure to add a post here on my blog!

Google Voice changes: Good for MMS, bad for GrooVeIP

Many of us who use Google Voice have been wondering if Google even remembers they own this product. We have not been forgotten. In fact, here is mention of Google's plans from last spring:
https://plus.google.com/106636280351174936240/posts/DG6h32BWaQW

With more recent changes in Hangouts, they are slowly merging the two. There was an update describing some changes at the end of October:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NikhylSinghal/posts/MjyncJEbzxK

In May of 2014, Google is locking down Voice and barring 3rd party apps from accessing it. This means that GrooVeIP, Spare Phone, and Talkatone, as well as other 3rd party apps, will probably cease to function at that time. This is bad news for people who make use of these services. They never worked very well for me anyway. Skype was better, and you can still use Skype as a workaround because it does not access the Voice app directly. However, I still feel like the most reliable solution is to use the T-Mobile prepaid $30 plan and add a few extra dollars if you are going to use more than 100 minutes.

The good news is that Google Voice will start supporting MMS sometime in the next few months. In fact, T-Mobile already supports it. I shared a photo via messaging by texting from my cell phone number to my Voice number, and I received a text message in Google Voice saying, "MMS Received," and then the actual picture showed up in my Gmail. This is a great improvement for me. I have in the past had friends complain about not being able to text me a photo. Now they can!

Speaking of Skype, I will probably be ordering a Nexus 5 in the next month or so. I really want LTE support, and the better battery life. Once I have it, I will give Skype another try. I am hoping that with the LTE connection, the new phone will be able to perform well with Skype. Right now I don't know if T-Mobile even has decent LTE coverage in my area. But we shall see...

Nexus 7 on KitKat

Last week my Nexus 7 (2012) tablet was updated too. It has the same change from the blue icons in the upper right to the grayed out ones. I don't like this change, but it's nothing major. My N7 is WiFi only, so that status does not matter to me as much as it does on my phone. Overall I have not noticed any changes that feel intrusive.  I am pretty happy.

Here's a screenshot from right before the update, where the blue icons are still visible:

And here is the new 4.4 version:

Nexus 4 4.4

Last night my phone was updated to Android 4.4 KitKat. It seemed like it only took a few minutes to complete. I'm not able to tell if my phone is running any faster, but it's definitely not any slower.
The most noticeable differences is the lack of blue color for the data connection. They now remain grayed out even when connected with data. This is true of both cellular data and WiFi. It's annoying because I want to be able to see that status.
A couple more differences are on the lock screen. Now there is an icon to go straight to the camera, as well as something that makes it easier to bring up Google Now right from the lock screen.
I thought that this update would make the phone respond to the voice command "OK Google Now."  But it still only responds after I open Google Now by touching the box at the top of my home screen.
All in all the changes are very minor. Nothing to get anyone too excited.

Moto G

Well this is interesting. The new Moto G would work really well with what I've been doing. If it had been available a year ago, I probably would have chosen that over the Nexus 4. Now I have my eye on a Nexus 5, but for a person who is really trying to keep things at a bare minimum, the Moto G would be perfect. Here's their page for it:
http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/moto-g/Moto-G/moto-g-pdp.html

Here is a nice comparison of the technical specs:
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/125090-motorola-moto-g-vs-nexus-4-what-s-the-difference
Now when you compare the specs to the Nexus 4, you might still be better off with a used N4, but look at all the pretty colors on the Moto G! Plus you would have to shop eBay for the N4.

So ultimately this is a nice alternative to the Nexus 5, for someone who doesn't need the horsepower and just wants a cheap phone, that's also modern and nice. Combine this with a T-Mobile prepaid plan and you are going to have some okay service for a super cheap price.

FreedomPop Freedom Phone is in BETA!

Well I just received my invitation for the Freedom Phone beta test. I would have to shell out $105.99 to participate, so I'm going to pass. If I was not already in grad school with a big tuition bill hanging over my head then I might be more tempted. You can get 200 minutes a month for free, but I'm not sure if that is from Sprint voice service, or if it's some sort of WiFi calling. Sprint's coverage is not good up here in Minneapolis anyway.
I don't know anything about this phone though. Is it LTE? WiMax? I am assuming WiMax because if it was LTE, I think they'd be making a big deal about it. So it's an HTE Evo Design, but I don't know much beyond the few specs they list on their page:
CPU Speed MSM 8655 1.2GHz + SQN1210 (WIMAX)
Memory ROM 4GB eMMC, 8GB SDCard, RAM: 768MB
Camera SMP color CMOS with auto focus support 5 MP back camera, 1.3 MP forward facing
Connectivity Bluetooth 3.0 + High Speed, WIFI: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, 3.5mm stereo audio jack. micro-USB
Battery 1520 mAh
So not exactly blazing fast, but 100 bucks with no contract? Sounds like a good tool for the right user.
Here are some screen shots from the email and the ordering page. Enjoy!