Boost Mobile recently added the LG Marquee to its lineup of Android smartphones. Prepaid carriers differ in many ways to the postpaid carriers like AT&T or Verizon. There are no contracts and lower monthly fees but the cost of the phones are usually higher because there is not subsidized pricing. This is the case with Boost Mobile who is charging $279.99 for the phone, but the monthly fee is only $55 for unlimited everything.

Hardware:

The LG Marquee weighs in at 3.95 ounces making it one of the lighter Android phones available on the market right now. The phone also has some an impressive design that makes it comfortable to hold, measuring in at 4.8 inches by 2.52 inches by 0.36 inches. With its slim design and light-weight, the LG Marquee is comfortable to use and easy to enjoy.

The back of the phone is a removable plastic piece that fits nicely and allows for the phone’s lightweight. On the other hand, it does not necessarily make for the best grip.

The 4-inch NOVA display auto-adjusts the brightness to make for great viewing angles and the ability to read in low-light or direct sunlight. The Marquee’s screen is really bright and awesome, no major complaints here.

Software:

The LG Marquee runs Google’s Android platform. It has Android 2.3 Gingerbread loaded on it meaning it is up to date with most other Android smartphones, but not on the latest version, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. We have reviewed a lot of other Android phones on this site so we won’t be detailing all the features, but we will talk about what differentiates this Android phone from the others.

It is standard these days that wireless carriers force some apps on the phone that cannot be removed. Boost is no different but it has not overloaded the phone with useless apps.

The first preloaded Boost Mobile app is called BoostZone. This is a full-featured account management app that will allow you view any account information, add more money to your account, pay bills, and more. Considering you are on a prepaid mobile plan, this app will be very useful.

The next Boost Mobile app loaded on the phone is called Mobile ID. This app will let you buy ‘ID Packs’ that make your phone reflect who you are, according to Boost Mobile. These ID Packs feature apps, ringers, wallpapers, widgets, and more.

Next up is Polaris Office which allows you to open and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint presentations.

The last app Boost Mobile preloads on the Marquee is SmartShare. This app uses DLNA to share music, videos, and pictures through your Wi-Fi network with other DLNA devices.

Performance:

The LG Marquee has a 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. These specifications are good impressive on paper but what about when using the phone?

We benchmarked the Marquee using Quadrant Standard and found that its performance is less than that of the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and Galaxy Tab. However, it does feel up to par with similar Android phones in its price range. Using the phone does not feel particularly slow, but you can notice the difference when scrolling and running a lot of apps.

Camera:

The LG Marquee has a 5 megapixel camera on the back and a 2 megapixel camera front-facing. We have attached some sample pictures we took inside and outside. The pictures were about what you’d expect from a smartphone with a 5 megapixel camera. We did notice that there was some noticeable pixelation when taking pictures in low-light situations.

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Conclusion:

The LG Marquee is a great addition to the Boost Mobile Android phone lineup. The NOVA screen give a really vivid picture and is very bright. We really like the thinness and size of the phone, it is just the right size and won’t bulk up your jean pocket. The performance was on point for its class of phone but did lag behind some of the newer Android devices. The camera is about average and will give you decent pictures.

We would recommend the LG Marquee for those customers looking for a quality Android phone at the right price.

LG Marquee from Boost Mobile

The Android Ice Cream Sandwich update came to the GSM Nexus S two days ago, leaving Nexus S 4G owners waiting and longing for the update.

Well long no more, BriefMobile obtained the full official IMM76D ICS ROM. This is expected to be coming to Nexus S 4G devices over-the-air in the near future, but there is a way to get it early.

Here are the instructions to install IMM76D Ice Cream Sandwich ROM on the Nexus S 4G, courtesy of BriefMobile:

1. Download and unzip IMM76Drelease-keys.zip: Mirror 1 | Mirror 2 | Mirror 3

2. Install the NS4G drivers

3. Download and unzip Odin v1.85

4. Open “Odin3_v1.85.exe”

5. Power off the Nexus S 4G

6. Put the Nexus S 4G into “Download Mode” by holding both Volume Up+Down then simply press thePower Button

7. Connect the Nexus S 4G to your computer. Ensure Odin recognizes it. You should see “0:[COM#]” fill in the first box.

8. Click “BOOTLOADER” and select “SPH-D720_IMM76D_KE1_BOOTLOAD_signed.tar”

9. Click “PDA” and select “SPH-D720_IMM76D_PDA_signed.tar”

10. Click “PHONE” and select “SPH-D720_IMM76D_LC1_Modem_signed.tar”

11. Click “Start”

12. After it is finished, the NS4G will reboot and it will be running Android 4.0.4 IMM76D. Congratulations!

Going to give it a try? Let us know how it works in the comments!

Source: BriefMobile

The Lumia 900 was announced back at CES and is finally getting released on April 8. AT&T is now taking pre-orders on the phone and is offering it for free to new customers. Existing customers will need to pay a cool $99, but that is much lower than you’d pay for any other smartphone of this quality.

AT&T / $100 instant savings for new customers via The Verge

]]> http://smartphonenation.com/2012/03/lumia-900-available-for-pre-order-from-att/feed/ 0 http://smartphonenation.com/2012/03/khan-academy-releases-ipad-app/ http://smartphonenation.com/2012/03/khan-academy-releases-ipad-app/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:28:00 +0000 Justin Cauchon http://smartphonenation.com/?p=9061

Today Khan Academy released its iPad app to help you learn on the go. The Khan Academy is a non-profit library of over 3000 videos and 311 practice exercises. Videos and courses range from math, history, finance, science, and more.

The iPads app, available for free from the Apple App Store, will allow you to bring the videos on the go with you for online or offline viewing.

Apple announced the third generation iPad on Wednesday, instantly allowing customers to preorder it for March 16th delivery. Two days later, online preorders for the March 16th delivery date have sold out and new orders will now be receiving their iPad on March 19th. Needless to say, the longer you wait to order, the longer you’ll have to wait to get it.

Source: TheNextWeb

The Nokia Lumia 900 was announced at CES in January. The phone will be released on AT&T for a rumored $99.99. According to BGR, the Lumia 900 was delayed from March 18th until April 22nd. The source also claims that the price point isn’t changing. Check out our hands on with the device while you wait!

Source: BGR

Apple sent out invitations to select media outlets inviting them to the Guggenheim Museum in New York for an education announcement. While details are still limited, The New York Times has cited that the company will showcase its entrance into the textbook market. This is a feature many student have been waiting for, the ability to ditch their physical textbooks. We are excited to see what Apple has come up with.

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We had an opportunity to sit down for breakfast with the Product Manager for the Nokia Lumia 900. The Lumia 900 was announced yesterday at CES and features a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display and a 1.4GHz processor. At this breakfast we were given all access to a Lumia 900 prototype and was told that neither the hardware nor software is final yet. We took a bunch of hands on photos and attached a gallery below. Enjoy!

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Nokia held a press conference today at CES to unveil the Lumia 900. The phone will be available exclusively on AT&T in the United States, no date set for Canada yet. The Lumia 900 is the third in its series, the first two being the Lumia 710 and 800. However, the Lumia 900 is the first to have LTE built-in.

When it comes to specs, the Lumia 900 seems to be Nokia’s attempt at making a high-end Windows Phone available in the United States. It has a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display that allows for the rich and bright images. Powering the device is a 1.4 GHz processor to make sure you can run all those latest Windows Phone apps. To hold that your power with this amazing screen, Nokia has included a 1830 mAH battery.

The camera on the phone is 8 megapixel, Carl Zeiss optics, an aperture of F2.2, and wide angle focal length of 22mm. The Lumia 900 also has a front-facing camera for video chat.

Chris Weber, president of Nokia Americas said, “The introduction of the Nokia Lumia 900 with AT&T is another significant milestone in the ongoing rollout of Nokia’s global smartphone strategy… The Nokia Lumia 900 is designed specifically with the US in mind and the announcement of this collaboration with AT&T, in addition to other recent announcements, signifies a new dawn for Nokia in the US.”

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Today is press day at the Consumer Electronic Show, where technology bloggers from around the world come through to check out all the latest technology from the big companies. Samsung gave an early look at one of the devices it plans on announcing at CES this year. The Galaxy Note has a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, which is the reason Samsung’s banner outside the Las Vegas Convention Center says, “Phone? Tablet? It’s Galaxy Note!”.

The Galaxy Note is expected to have a dual-core 1.4GHz processor, a 2MP front-facing camera and a 8MP rear-facing camera. Smartphone Nation will be live on the floor at CES to get a first hand look at Samsung’s new devices. We will keep you updated as we hear it.

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