HoFo Blog

FireChat is an app for iOS that uses mesh networking to provide its users with something a little different—Internet chat that doesn't require the Internet.

The app has found a rather unlikely foothold in Taiwan as of late, where both of its standout features are being put to test in ways that the San Francisco-based development team probably never imagined. ...

From The Web:

How Gmail Happened: The Inside Story of Its Launch 10 Years Ago Today

The origin of the hamburger icon

Google Cracks Down on Sketchy Android Apps

WebOS betrayal costs HP $57 million in class action settlement

RANKED: The Best Smartphones In The World Right Now

From The Forums:

Well, now that TMO is getting rid of perks

Ios7.1 on 4/4S?

Yes we Cat

Wow... way to go Wind...

Question Factory unlocked Android Phones and tethering... ...

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Forget about finding any proper tech news today, at least until after noon—this morning the Internet will be awash with the yearly tradition of fake tech stories and pranks. I suppose I should take comfort in this evidence that the playful hacker spirit is alive and well, even if only for one day. It's just a shame that the vast majority of these "pranks" are entirely too obvious and dumb.

Here is the best—and some of the worst—of what I've come across so far. ...

Google’s Android operating system is a runaway hit. It’s not hard to understand why manufacturers love Android; after all, Google gives it away for free. However, it seems Google is not satisfied with how much revenue they get from giving Android away for free. It’s no secret that Google has been watching how successful Samsung has been with Android and have actively been thinking of ways they can better monetize Android.

It looks like Google is going to follow the same route that virtually all successful Android apps take and are going to bring 'in-OS purchases’ to their next iteration of Android.

Yup, Android 4.5 is going Freemium.
...

From The Web:

Round two: Apple and Samsung suit up for another billion dollar patent war

First Android 4.4.3 Details Come To Light - Here Is What You Should Expect To See Fixed

Rogers offering existing customers in Quebec a $70/6GB plan to prevent exodus to Videotron

Unblockable? Unstoppable? FireChat messaging app unites China and Taiwan in free speech… and it’s not pretty

Computer Simulation of 1,500 People Looking at Smartphones and Walking

From The Forums:

AT&T Throttling me after bill cycle over (multiple times, very annoying please help)

AT&T has added a $50 plan

About ready to give up on AIO before I can even activate....

Number porting to Straight Talk looks like a nightmare

HTC One (M8) for WIND! ...

I'm a little more hopeful about the future of mobile wallets in this country, and specifically the "tap and pay" functionality, as of late.

The banks and credit card companies are as clueless as ever, colluding with carriers to produce proprietary NFC-enabled SIM cards—in blatant disregard for any near field communication technology already present on their customers' phones. And such "solutions" are nowhere near as popular (or elegant) as the humble Starbucks app, still the reigning champion of mobile wallets in North America.

Toronto-based SmoothPay is a promising up-and-comer (albeit in a very small area of service), and now Mobile Syrup reports that a bigger player is coming to town: PayPal. ...

The S5 is the 5th in a line of highly successful high-end smartphones from Samsung. It looks a lot like the S4 (so much so that unless you took a close look you couldn't tell them apart upon first glance). It improves upon the S4 in a number of important ways, but overall it is just an evolutionary step in the Galaxy lineup. ...

From The Web:

Apple tips hand on sapphire displays with patent for oleophobic coatings

Chainfire Roots the Samsung Galaxy S 5 SM-G900F Ahead of Release!

BlackBerry looks to the past to define its future

BlackBerry reports $423-million loss, CEO ‘very pleased’ with progress

Telus’s decision to shut Public Mobile angers consumers

From The Forums:

*22890 doesn't work

Rumour: $60 Plan

Aio porting question

March

No more roaming on T-Mobile for Bell ...

Howard Chui lent me a brand new HTC One M8 to test, but to give me something very relevant to compare it to he also loaned me his old HTC One. Both phones were equipped with KitKat (version 4.4.2), which put them on a level playing field. I'll still compare the M8 to my Samsung Galaxy S4 where applicable, but a lot of the comparisons you'll read here will be between the two HTC models. It seems only fitting, given that HTC has chosen to associate this new phone with the older one by using the same name. ...

A notification appeared on my phone yesterday from Snoobe, the app I installed last week to monitor my usage and suggest a better plan. Now that it had been running for a few days it had gathered enough information to estimate a monthly data bucket for me.

Imagine my surprise when that data bucket was pegged at a whopping 10.4 GB!



Sure enough, my data usage shows that halfway through my billing cycle I'm already at the threshold of my 4 GB allotment for the entire month. I was in the midst of an experiment, but it looks like I got my results early. ...

From The Web:

Microsoft unveils Office for iPad, free for reading and presenting

Google mandates ‘Powered by Android’ branding on new devices

The HTC One (M8) Review

Border agency asked for Canadians’ telecom info 18,849 times in one year

Jolla releases Sailfish OS for the Google Nexus 4

From The Forums:

Reduced Data and MMS Rates for the Standard Plan

I'm starting to feel baited and switched

Major carrier vs. MVNO: the value proposition

finally HSPA+ in hamilton!

Sprint to Launch HD Voice Calling in July ...

I was playing with the Samsung Galaxy S5 earlier today. I'm getting one later so for now I'm just going to post some pictures I took.


The biggest difference over last year's GS4 is that the GS5 is IP67 water and dust resistant. While it resists water, it's not meant to be submerged. I'm sure it will handle a quick dip in the toilet but that's it. Check out the water tight gasket on the back cover. ...

I just got a HTC One (M8) today. I'm still playing with it but I thought I'd throw some pictures of it up. We'll have a ...

This week saw the release of possibly the most-leaked Android smartphone ever, the HTC One M8. It's only been out for a few days but the web has been quick to respond, with lots of videos and write-ups about HTC's 2014 flagship.

As one of my duties here is to gather up the daily news for the general mobile discussion forum, I've cherry-picked the best content that I've seen about the M8 and put it here in one place for your reading—and viewing—enjoyment.

Let's get to it! ...

From The Web:

Ottawa has been spying on you

Who Needs Lawful Access?: Cdn Telcos Hand Over Data on Thousands of Subscribers Without a Warrant

Cities reluctant to reveal whether they’re using fake cell tower devices

Cerberus Issues Statement Following Data Breach Where Some Usernames And Encrypted Passwords Were Stolen

HTC One (M8) Teardown

From The Forums:

unlimited data quetion

Going over 5GB on 69.95 Page Plus plan

started autopay

LTE took a fail recently

T-Mobile and Sprint sign on to be part of the roaming "Data Hub" ...

Your government is spying on you. Your mobile carrier is spying on you as well. If you live in the United States this is not news—what I mean is, citizens of the U.S. have known about government spying for quite some time. Here in Canada we now know, thanks also to leaks by Edward Snowden, that our spy agency CSEC has—at the very least—colluded with the NSA and snooped on travellers at a major Canadian airport.

Yet Canadians don't seem to care much. The Globe and Mail reported that the revelations have been largely greeted with yawns. Why is that?

It's not you, it's media.

That's the premise of the latest CANADALAND podcast from Jesse Brown. It's probably the best half hour-plus of high-level discussion on government spying that I've heard to date, and it's particularly insightful for mobile phone users. If the few choice quotes that follow get you to have a listen then I'll consider this plug a success. ...

If you asked me what my favorite Android phone was last year, my first or second choice would be the LG G2. It’s almost the complete package plus, as far as Android phones go, it’s probably the easiest to use.

Now there's the LG G Flex which is sort of a bigger version of the G2. However, there’s a twist; the is G Flex also flexible. Let’s check it out.
...

From The Web:

Can HTC thrive in a Samsung world?

HTC One M8 Developer Edition Is Now Available Online For $649, Gives You 32 GB Of Storage And An Unlockable Bootloader

HTC One M8 coming to Rogers, Bell, Telus, Wind Mobile and SaskTel in April, offering pre-sale availability starting today (Update)

AT&T promises to lower your Internet bill if FCC kills net neutrality

BlackBerry sale to Lenovo killed after firm no from Ottawa

From The Forums:

3G in Indianapolis area?

Tablet with prepaid cellular functionality?

Bell Unlimited Mobile Browser is NO MORE!!!

Spring Clearance Sale March 25th, 2014

Moto G now available on Wind ...

Since Howard invited me to post on the front page last summer I've made it a point to be more thoughtful and measured in my personal opinions, to consider all sides of an issue or argument wherever I can.

Today is not one of those days.

Yesterday I had to endure Peter Nowak, a smart tech writer, dumb down the idea of broadband upload speeds for CBC's Spark—a tech radio show and podcast. I'll say that again: A tech podcast from Canada's public broadcaster would have us all living in a parallel universe where the importance of upload speeds is some novel idea that no one has ever before considered. The discussion gets so ridiculous, so moronic that the host actually has Nowak pitching scenarios where upload speeds are important.

Here's where I think upload speeds are important: always. And what does this have to do with mobile phones? Everything. ...