HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Hey, Android Phone Makers, I Don't Want an iPhone.

The notch is here to stay: Almost a dozen notchphones launched at MWC

LG G7 Spotted with a 6″ 3120×1440 Display with a Notch and a Snapdragon 845

Best Buy to shut down all 250 U.S. mobile stores on May 31

Smartphones Make Eating Out With Friends Boring, Shows Research

From The Forums:

Sprint continues to lose to T-Mobile

Anyone but Samsung working on band-71 phones?

Who's getting the s9?

Does AT&T allow transfer of billing responsibility for grandfathered plans?

Google voice early media detection no longer working

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You're likely to read a lot of derision from Apple fan blogs about the new ASUS Zenfone 5Z. It's the first of what's probably going to be a wave of Android phones from the Far East that mimic the infamous notch on the iPhone X. Somewhat hilariously, ASUS claimed in their Mobile World Congress event that their notch is 26% smaller than Fruit Phone X. That's a pretty bold claim; let's see how their trio of new devices spec out:



ZenFone 5Z (ZS620KL)
6.2 Full HD+ IPS display (19:9)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor
4 / 6 / 8 GB RAM, 64 / 128 / 256 GB storage + microSD
12 MP + 8 MP wide-angle rear cameras, 8 MP selfie cam
3,300 mAh battery
Dual SIM
3.5 mm audio jack, stereo speakers
Android Oreo
Available in Meteor Silver, Midnight Blue



ZenFone 5 (ZE620KL)
6.2 Full HD+ IPS display (19:9)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
4 / 6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
12 MP + 8 MP wide-angle rear cameras, 8 MP selfie cam
3,300 mAh battery
Dual SIM
3.5 mm audio jack, stereo speakers
Android Oreo
Available in Meteor Silver, Midnight Blue



ZenFone 5Q / Lite (ZC600KL)
6 inch Full HD+ IPS display (18:9)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 / 630 processor
3 / 4 GB RAM, 32 / 64 GB storage + microSD
16 MP + 8 MP wide-angle rear cameras, 20 MP + 8 MP selfie cams
3,300 mAh battery
Dual SIM
3.5 mm audio jack, mono speaker
Android Oreo
Available in Midnight Black, Moonlight White, Rouge Red

ASUS also announced a new ZenFone Max M1 (ZB555KL), a cheaper device with a big 4,000 mAh battery as its big draw. Unfortunately they don't yet have a product page up for that, so I can't verify the other specs.

Sources: ASUS (1) (2), Liliputing, NDTV

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From The Web:

Smartphone Stats: Full Year 2017 Top 10, OS Installed Base and Everything Else You Ever Wanted

Fitbit's new 'mass appeal' smartwatch: Exclusive pictures and details revealed

Motorola CEO just dropped a major hint at a Razr return, complete with foldable screen

Giant Art Installation Outside MWC Protests Planned Obsolescence

Nokia and Vodafone will bring 4G to the Moon

From The Forums:

Ray @ MWC: T-Mobile will deploy blazing 5G this year

UDP+ Hotspot Limits Implemented?

Issue receiving phone calls

New AT&T plans effect on cricket

Sony XA1 Ultra

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Sony has announced a new line of Xperia phones at this year's Mobile World Congress, with the most immediately striking thing being their new design. Both the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact feature a curved back that would suggest larger batteries than the previous XZ1 line—and they are! Also, the fingerprint reader is now on the back of both devices. Sony had previously built the reader into the power button, but had to disable it for the North American market due to legal issues (likely with Apple).

Anyway, here are the notable specs for the new devices:



Sony Xperia XZ2
5.7 inch Full HD+ HDR display (18:9)
Snapdragon 845 processor
6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
19 MP rear camera, 5 MP selfie cam
3,180 mAh battery
IP65/68 water resistance
Android Oreo
Available in Ash Pink, Deep Green, Liquid Black, Liquid Silver



Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
5.0 inch Full HD+ HDR display (18:9)
Snapdragon 845 processor
4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
19 MP rear camera, 5 MP selfie cam
2,870 mAh battery
IP65/68 water resistance
Android Oreo
Available in Black, Coral Pink, Moss Green, White Silver

Sources: Sony (1) (2)

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From The Web:

Nokia smartphones will be Android One devices going forward

The Nokia Lumia’s Pro Camera Mode is coming to Nokia-Branded Android devices

The Nokia ringtone's history, from Frédéric Chopin to earworm

Stephen Elop and the fall of Nokia revisited

While the Nokia Brand Flourishes, the BlackBerry Brand is Stagnating

From The Forums:

New Unlimited Plans 3/1/18, no Hotspot lines allowed

Moto G XT1625 4th Gen on Red Pocket?

Help finding a flip phone to work on Red Pocket

Is Saturation Coming to A (your) Town near you!?

Educate me. Will this hotspot work?

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HMD Global announced no less than five new Nokia-branded devices at this year's Mobile World Congress. There's a lot to cover here so let's get to it!



Nokia 8 Sirocco
5.5 inch QHD POLED display with 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage
12 MP wide + 13 MP telephoto rear cameras with ZEISS optics, 5 MP selfie cam
3,260 mAh battery with Quick Charge, wireless charging
(no audio jack...?)
Android 8.0 Oreo



Nokia 7 plus
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
6 inch IPS LCD full HD+ display (18:9)
4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage + microSD
12 MP + 13 MP rear cameras with ZEISS optics, 16 MP ZEISS selfie cam
3,800 mAh battery with fast charging
audio jack
Android 8.0 Oreo



New Nokia 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630
5.5 inch IPS LCD full HD display
3 or 4 GB RAM, 32 or 64 GB storage + microSD
16 MP rear camera with ZEISS optics, 8 MP selfie cam
3,000 mAh battery
audio jack
Android 8.0 Oreo (Android One)



Nokia 1
MediaTek MT6737M processor (quad core 1.1 GHz)
4.5 inch FWVGA IPS display (854 x 480 pixels)
1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage + microSD
5 MP rear camera with LED Flash, 2 MP selfie cam
2,150 mAh battery
audio jack
Android 8.0 Oreo (Go edition)

Oh, and one more thing. Remember last year when Nokia resurrected the legendary 3310? Well, they're at it again...



Nokia 8110
Curved 2.4-inch QVGA display
Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform (MSM8905 Dual Core 1.1 GHz)
512 MB RAM, 4 GB storage
2 MP rear camera
1,500 mAh battery
audio jack with FM radio function
Kai OS

Sources: Android Police, HMD Press, Mobile Syrup

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From The Web:

The Galaxy S9 is supposed to be boring

Samsung's new DeX Pad is official, and it lets you use your Galaxy S9/S9+ as both a keyboard and a trackpad

Galaxy S9 Project Treble support confirmed

Samsung mobile CEO: Our foldable phone is no gimmick

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 AR Emoji are kind of horrifying

From The Forums:

Does Verizon have Extended 3G?

****Get Half Off! With Trade In: Samsung GALAXY S9 ****

Best T-Mobile MVNO

From the "What are they thinking" file

11.2.6 Downgrading

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Samsung has once again kicked off the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with the big reveal of their new flagships for 2018, the Galaxy S9 and S9+.

The world's largest smartphone OEM hasn't yet figured out the under-screen fingerprint sensor, but they have at least moved the rear-mounted one to a better position, under the camera assembly rather than beside it. There's some new tech in those camera assemblies as well; both the S9 and S9+ feature a new variable aperture rear camera that can open up to f/1.5 or stop down to f/2.4, plus capture slow-motion video at up to 960 frames per second at 720p.

Here are the specs for both models:



Galaxy S9
5.8 inch 2960 x 1440 pixel sAMOLED display, Gorilla Glass 5
Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 processor
4 GB RAM, 64/128/256 GB storage + microSD
12 MP variable aperture rear camera, 8 MP selfie cam
3,000 mAh battery with wireless charging
IP68 dust and water resistance
3.5 mm audio jack (!)
Android 8.0 Oreo with Samsung Experience 9.0



Galaxy S9+
6.2 inch 2960 x 1440 pixel sAMOLED display, Gorilla Glass 5
Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 processor
6 GB RAM, 64/128/256 GB storage + microSD
12 MP variable aperture rear camera + 12 MP zoom lens, 8 MP selfie cam
3,500 mAh battery with wireless charging
IP68 dust and water resistance
3.5 mm audio jack (!)
Android 8.0 Oreo with Samsung Experience 9.0

Depending on the carrier and/or market, available colours for both models will include Coral Blue, Lilac Purple, Midnight Black and Titanium Grey.

In Canada, the S9 will start at $960 CAD, and the S9+ at $1,100.

In the USA, the S9 will start at $720 USD, and the S9+ at $840. Additionally, 24-month financing will be available directly from Samsung.

Sources: Mobile Syrup, XDA

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From The Web:

What to Watch for in Gadgets, Deals From the Biggest Mobile Show

Meet Sony’s first full screen smartphones: Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact

Google may add built-in Dark Theme to Android P, Add Weather Widget to Always on Display

Fido, Koodo and Virgin All Offer Promo $60 Plan with 6GB Data

The unwinding of net neutrality will begin on April 23rd

From The Forums:

DPP suspended 5 months after I bought it.

As of 2/23/18, What's the Rock-Bottom, No-Data, Emergency-Only GSM Deal?

Grandfathered 50$ UDP

What is your opinion on Universal RCS?

Tracfone Sunset

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If memory serves me correctly I first introduced the concept of "peak smartphone" last October, when I linked to a story about someone who had tracked Google searches for Apple and Samsung devices and found that interest in both of them had, well... peaked.

This week TechCrunch is running a story with further evidence of slowing smartphone sales worldwide. A new report by Gartner claims that Q4 numbers were down 5.6% from the previous year; Apple moved 5% less iPhones and Samsung 3.6% less units over the holidays. And if you thought the world's largest smartphone market would be safe, think again: recent research by Canalys suggests that sales in China dropped by 4% in 2017, and were down 14% in Q4 alone.

Back to Gartner, here's what they think is going on:

I would add that smartphones are getting too expensive, and that customers are passing over models without headphone jacks, but what do I know...?

Sources: TechCrunch (1) (2)

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From The Web:

First Android Go phones will be announced next week at MWC

Exclusive: the Xiaomi Mi Max 3 is coming with Wireless Charging and Possibly an Iris Scanner

Apple Plans Upgrades to Popular AirPods Headphones

CRA inviting some Canadians to file taxes with their phones

Snap tells the 1.2 million people who signed a petition to remove the latest Snapchat update that they're out of luck

From The Forums:

Boy, you can't beat this with a stick....

New Report Shows HPUE Dramatically Improves Network Coverage and Speed

What is your opinion on Universal RCS?

5G testing in Huston and video of 5G tower.

AT&T announces regions that will get 5G service in 2018

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Phillip Huang, an analyst from Barclays Investment Bank, recently took some meetings with the CEO from Bell. That's actually not Huang in the photo (at least I don't think it is), but it's the closest thing I could find—the image appears alongside his name and phone number on this Telus investor relations page.

Anyway, Huang's thoughts about the carrier racket in Canada are covered in this article on the Financial Post. Mobile Syrup has a post of their own about Huang's meetings, but they don't cite a source. I can only assume that they obtained their own copy of the analyst's actual notes to his clients.

According to Huang, the holiday price war between carriers last December was more costly than anticipated, due to high churn and what he calls "a repricing of the base". He goes on to write that any future growth of Freedom Mobile is“unlikely to impact any of the major markets to warrant such a costly competitive response.”

His advice for Bell—which would also apply to Rogers and Telus—is to "maintain pricing discipline" rather than responding directly to any specific Freedom promotion. TL;DR don't expect another holiday miracle anytime soon.

Source: Mobile Syrup

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From The Web:

Google Pay Rolls Out Globally, Replaces Android Pay and Google Wallet

Toronto stores rush to add WeChat and Alipay as payment options

SIM cards could soon be built into processors to save even more space

Guidemaster: Smartwatches worthy of replacing your favorite timepiece

Where Nokia Health went wrong

From The Forums:

Quick Explanation TMFL BYOP and QVC Bundle

AT&T Prepaid has Free data when streaming DirectTV Now?

Six Pages of Comment and Testimony in Nguyen v. Verizon

FreedomPop $34.99 1 Year LTE SIM 1,000MB/Mo +500MB/mo W/ Freedom Friends

Anyone still using Nettalk wireless?

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In an unexpected blog post late last week the Rebble team kind of blew my mind.

Based on my previous research I had thought that the project was to be a replacement for Pebble OS, the operating system on Pebble hardware. This never really made sense to me; full ROMs for each Pebble model are freely available for download, and it seems to me that what Pebblers are going to be missing most when Fitbit shuts down the Pebble servers this summer are the services that they currently provide to users—voice dictation and weather complications are the two that immediately spring to mind.

What Rebble is actually planning is a complete end-to-end solution, including an app and watch face store, a phone app for Android and iOS and (eventually) a new operating system for the watch. Here's the TL;DR from their blog post:

You can read the finer details of Rebble's grand plan at the first link below, and the ensuing discussion from the Pebble reddit community at the second. Comments posted there so far suggest that Pebblers are happy to pay for continuing access to voice dictation and weather; if Rebble can get everything up and running in time then that June 30th deadline might not turn out to be such a big deal after all.

Source: Rebble via r/pebble

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From The Web:

OLED panel glut looms as Apple slashes iPhone X production

Apple releases iOS 11.2.6 and macOS 10.13.3, fixes Telugu character crash

Telus to thank for Canada’s LTE ‘speed boost,’ according to OpenSignal LTE report

CCTS received more than 1600 complaints over Public Mobile $40/4GB price hike

FCC Broadband Availability Data Derided As Inaccurate, 'Shameful'

From The Forums:

PdaNet+ on Cricket

Which would you choose: Samsung J7 (32 GB version) or the LG Stylo 3 Pro?

Problems sending SMS's while on LTE vs 3G?

Sponsored Data changes (read: mobley owners)

Meeting with Iphone seller from Craigslist. How do I check if it is stolen??

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OpenSignal has just released a new report on LTE networks around the world. Data was gathered in Q4 of 2017 but was just published this week, using more than 50 billion measurements from some 3.8 million smartphones and tablets in 88 countries. Notably absent is any data from the People's Republic of China. Anyway, you probably want to know which of the included countries has the fastest download speeds, so here are the top ten, plus a few more:

01. Singapore - 44.31 Mbps
02. Netherlands - 42.12
03. Norway - 41.20
04. South Korea - 40.44
05. Hungary - 39.18
06. Belgium - 36.13
07. Australia - 36.08
08. New Zealand - 33.52
09. Bulgaria - 33.34
10. Denmark - 33.09

11. Canada - 32.90 Mbps
34. Japan - 25.39
41. United Kingdom - 23.11
62. USA - 16.31
88. India - 6.07

According to OpenSignal's analysis, global LTE speeds seem to have plateaued. The bigger story is improved LTE availability, so here are those rankings:

01. South Korea - 97.49% availability
02. Japan - 94.70%
03. Norway - 92.16%
04. Hong Kong - 90.34%
05. USA - 90.32%
06. Netherlands - 89.64%
07. Hungary - 89.26%
08. Kuwait - 88.40%
09. Lithuania - 88.40%
10. Czech Republic - 87.37%

13. Australia - 86.48% availability
14. India - 86.26%
19. Singapore - 84.43%
26. Canada - 82.38%
36. United Kingdom - 77.28%

You can read the full report at the first link directly below. And if you want your device added to the test pool for the next report, be sure to download the OpenSignal app for either Android or iOS.

Source: OpenSignal via XDA

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From The Web:

USB-C audio: Everything you need to know

Everything we think we know about the Samsung Galaxy S9

Nokia 8 Pro with penta-lens ZEISS camera may be coming this year

The Pixel 2 charges much more slowly below certain temperatures, but it doesn't tell you that

AirPods Continue to Rank as the World’s Best Truly Wireless Earbuds

From The Forums:

Red Pocket Mobile yearly plan questions

Is this goodbye? 91320

BBB100-1 keyone black edition

Not autoconnecting to my home network suddenly

Can I call forward a post paid ONE line to a foreign number?

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Last week a Red Flag Deals user obtained this flyer at the Freedom Mobile outlet in the Aberdeen Centre, a Chinese shopping mall in Richmond, BC. The store was offering a lifetime discount of 25% on all plans priced at $40/month or more. For example, a user on the Big Gig + Everywhere Canada 60 plan could save $15/month, forever.

Apparently this store (and possibly others) hands out codes with new activations; the user can have their unique code applied to their account by calling customer service. The availability of these codes, and whether or not stores are willing to give them out to existing customers, isn't 100% clear in the fourteen pages of replies to the OP. Some RFDers have reported success mentioning an ad on Fairchild Radio, but many more are reporting that their local store has no idea that the promotion even exists.

At this point it might be too late, but if you were going to activate a line on FM anyway, it couldn't hurt to ask. Let us know what they say...!

Sources: iPhone in Canada, Mobile Syrup via Red Flag Deals

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From The Web:

An Obscure MediaTek Phone with no Kernel Source can run AOSP Android Oreo thanks to Project Treble

Huawei Watch 2's Oreo update disables Android Pay for users outside the US and UK

Apple will require all new apps to natively support iPhone X display from April

How to File a CCTS Complaint Over Public Mobile’s $40/4GB Price Increase

Stephen Elop and the fall of Nokia revisited

From The Forums:

As usual, I'm indebted to the folks here - THANKS

Public Mobile $120 - $150

3,300 Shaw Employees Accept Buyouts

Why Verizon Prepaid over Total Wireless?

Since 2/12. Disconnects every 7 hours, on the dot.

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