Motorola sending out invites to super secret “Moto Makers” fan club [UPDATE]

Motorola is a company that values their users greatly. In the past they’ve run contests to allow fans to design watch faces, and in their phones they give customers a ton of choices for personalization. As a result they’ve slowly grown a dedicated group of Motorola fans. Now Motorola is looking to reward these fans for their loyalty.

Motorola is sending out invites to a program called “Moto Makers.” This is a group for fans and supporters of Motorola products. People who get invited to become a Moto Maker will get invited to behind-the-scenes Google Hangouts, get to test and review products early, and the opportunity to attend Motorola events. It’s a lot like the HTC Elevate program.

All you have to do to be a Moto Maker is help spread the word about Motorola products. If you’re already doing that there is a chance you may get an email like the one above. Right now that appears to be the only way to become a Moto Maker. Motorola hasn’t officially announced this yet, but they already have a Google+, Twitter, and Facebook page. Hopefully we’ll hear more soon.

UPDATE: The website is live now.

Samsung confirms their next smart watch is circular and invites developers to help them

Yesterday, a pair of Samsung trademarks hinted that the company was finally ready to try their hand at a circular smart watch. It didn’t take long for Samsung to come out and confirm those suspicions.

The company has issued an open invitation for developers to help them build their next wearables platform ahead of launch. They’ve confirmed that it’s for the 7 generation of their Gear lineup, and while they didn’t exactly spell out the word “circular” the teaser you see above should do enough to convince you.

Developers who want to get their apps going on the upcoming watch can get started as soon as today by heading here and grabbing the SDK. Unfortunately that’s as much as we know right now as Samsung didn’t even give us an idea as to when this product might be ready for consumers. All we know is that if the Samsung Galaxy S6 is anything to go by, Samsung’s first circular Gear smart watch could turn this market on its head.

[via Samsung]

Start checking your inbox: Google IO 2015 invites are starting to arrive

If you signed up for Google’s big IO raffle, you might want to start checking your inbox: invites are now starting to roll out. It appears those who haven’t been accepted won’t receive an email saying so, and there’s a chance Google is sending invites out in waves (after unclaimed tickets become available) so don’t lose hope on getting one.

Those who have received invites to purchase a ticket have a limited time to do so (the first batch of invites are all saying by Thursday, March 26th) so it shan’t be long before Google knows how many more tickets they can issue. You’ll need 0 handy to pay for the ticket, though if you’re a student you can be admitted for just 0. Let us know if you’ve received one!

HTC sends invites for HTC One M9+ revelation April 8th in Beijing, new images leak

HTC had a big shindig in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago to unveil the HTC One M9, and now the variant we were really hoping to see could be due April 8th. The company is sending invites to Chinese press to show that they have “More Than One” device on tap this year, and they’ll be unveiling the latest in Beijing.

The invitation shows a device that looks to be similar to the rear of an HTC One M9, except it has the same dual camera setup we’ve seen on previous leaks instead of the lone camera featured on the company’s 2015 flagship — this, folks, is likely the HTC One M9 Plus.

That’s all we can tell from the company’s official teaser, though we know the device will have a couple of key differences up front. The main one is that there will be a physical home button smack dab in the middle of the bottom set of BoomSound speakers and will have dual functionality as a fingerprint scanner. The display is also a tad bigger, though at 5.2 inches (if OnLeaks’ most recent information is to be believed) it’s not the phablet-sized monster we were expecting.

The device is expected to have Quad-HD resolution at 2560 x 1440, 3GB of RAM and a 20 megapixel camera sensor. It might also have MediaTek’s 64-bit Octa-Core MT6795T.

Oh, and it looks like the mockup made by @OnLeaks was about as accurate as accurate can be — the in-the-wild shots seen below definitely show a device that looks like a slightly bigger HTC One M9 with a fingerprint scanner.

Its Chinese debut might suggest this device won’t be made available for many other regions to start, though we’ll have to wait for official word from HTC to be clued in on their exact plans.

[Weibo, Nowhereelse.fr via Engadget]

Huawei sends out invites for June 2nd event in New York

Huawei is gearing up to announce a new handset and unlike the recently launched Huawei P8, this one is bound for the US. The Chinese manufacturer has just sent out invites to a June 2nd event in New York City and although it doesn’t reveal much, you can see some sort of smartphone press render peeking out from behind the invite.

With the tag line “See what we’re unlocking next,” it only makes sense that this could be an unlocked version of the P8 with US carrier bands. We’ll keep you posted as we bring you the latest from the event.

Google will fulfill all Project Fi invites by mid-summer

Google is entering the mobile carrier space, if you haven’t heard, with a solution that they’re calling “Project Fi”. Upon making that huge announcement they began accepting applications for beta invites… and today, Google has RSVP’d by claiming they’ll get to everyone by mid-Summer.

Here’s the complete e-mail:

Hello!

Thanks for requesting an invite to Project Fi. We’re really excited that you’re interested in trying our service! Over the past few weeks, we’ve been happy to bring the first customers onto Project Fi and the initial feedback has been very positive.

We’re sending invites as quickly as we can, while ensuring a high-quality experience. Given the number of requests we’ve received, we currently estimate that it will take until mid-summer to get to everyone.
In the coming weeks we’ll have a way for you to check the status of your invite – stay tuned for more information.

Thanks again for your interest in Project Fi. We’ll get you an invite as soon as we can!
–The Project Fi team

We’re assuming that Google will have a LOT more to share with us at Google IO next week. Phandroid will be there to cover the event live, so make sure you stay tuned to this site for the latest breaking news. In the meantime let us know if you’ll become a Project Fi customer in the comments and for even more, visit the Project Fi Forums at AndroidForums.com

Check your inboxes: Project Fi invites are starting to roll out

If you signed up to be notified about Project Fi’s availability and wanted to sign up as soon as the service was ready, you’ll want to check your inbox — Google is starting to send out the first batch of invites.

If you aren’t aware, Project Fi is the company’s new wireless service built on the backs of Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks. It features a simplified and sensible data plan, a flat rate for talk and text, and cellular technology that’ll automatically and seamlessly make sure you’re on the best available network. You can find out more in our original post about the official launch right here.

So what’s it like to be whisked into this new program? Things are as Google announced for the most part — they ask you how much data you want (after reminding you that any unused data will be refunded to you) and ask you if you want to buy a Nexus 6 or use an existing one. You sign up with all your relevant details and once you receive your phone and / or SIM card you’ll be good to go.

There is one unfortunate caveat that we didn’t foresee, though — porting your Google Voice number over to Project Fi will essentially nuke your Google Voice account. There’s a long list of features that won’t be supported if you port your number:

• Making and receiving calls using Google Talk, Google Voice apps, or Obihai devices


• You won’t be able to use Google Voice for texting or visual voicemail


• Text, voicemail and call history is no longer saved in Google Voice


• If you’ve already turned on Google Voice text messages and voicemails in Hangouts, they’ll continue to be available only in Hangouts


• These Google Voice settings aren’t available: spam filtering, call recording, call switch, conference calling on the fly,  caller ID (incoming), and outgoing caller ID (anonymous Caller ID).


• As part of signing up for Project Fi, Google Voice apps and the website won’t be available.

That’s a pretty long list. What it does come with are the absolute basics you’d expect, which is an archive of your prior calls, texts, voicemails and voicemail greeting.

That said, you aren’t required to port your Google Voice number over to sign up for Project Fi so you’re just as free to choose a new phone number while continuing to use Google Voice as you always have. It’s important to remember that many of the aforementioned features are standard features of Project Fi so you’re not actually losing much functionality — you just won’t have the functionality within the Google Voice bubble.

We’re not sure why Google had to make so many sacrifices to make this happen — and you can be certain we’ll ask — but be sure to consider everything carefully before you make any sudden moves. Knowing all that, if you have an invite and have every intention of giving Project Fi a spin let us know in the comments below!

[via Reddit]

Motorola invites DROID Turbo users to new soak test; is it finally Lollipop?

It’s coming, folks. Motorola has sent soak test notifications to Motorola DROID Turbo users informing them that they can participate in an early trial of an upcoming software upgrade. Be sure to check your email for instructions if you’ve signed up to be part of Motorola’s Feedback Network.

The company didn’t share what, exactly, was in store, but considering units have been spotted in the wild with Lollipop (and folks are so anxious that Motorola had to keep reminding us Lollipop is coming) we’re willing to bet it’s that. Of course, there’s a chance it isn’t and we could be getting a very disappointing maintenance release.

But it’s been so long. You guys have waited longer than most other owners of contemporary Motorola smartphones. It’s cruel and unusual if this isn’t Lollipop. Fingers crossed that it is.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Check your status: Google Project Fi invites continue rolling out

If you were one of the many techies eager to try out Project Fi and jumped at the opportunity to sign up for an early invite, you’ll probably want to check your status. The sign up page is now showing an updated time frame for many Phandroid readers including myself- it appears my invite should arrive in 3 to 4 weeks.

An even luckier lot of lads received their invites last week, including our own Chris Chavez, who was happy to see an invite land in his inbox outlining the Project Fi details.

You’re invited to join Project Fi

We’re excited to invite you to Project Fi. Earlier on, you requested an invite, and now we’re ready to bring you onboard. Just click the button below to sign up or head to fi.google.com/signup. If you have questions along the way, give us a call at 1-844-TALK-2-FI to get help from a Fi Expert.

5 things to know about Project Fi
Say hello to fast speeds, easy communication and simple pricing.

1. Tap into a network of networks
   Project Fi uses new technology to give you better coverage by intelligently connecting you to the fastest network at your location whether it’s Wi-Fi or our two LTE network partners.


2. Secure connections to fast, reliable Wi-Fi networks
   We automatically connect you to over a million Wi-Fi networks we’ve verified as fast and reliable. When we connect you to an open network, we secure your data through encryption.


3. Wi-Fi enabled calls provide even more coverage
   When you’re on the move, calls seamlessly transition between Wi-Fi and cellular, so you can keep your conversation going.


4. One simple plan
   Our plan starts with the Fi Basics for per month, which includes: unlimited domestic talk and text, unlimited international texts, Wi-Fi tethering, and access to coverage in 120+ countries. Then it’s per GB for data. for 1GB, for 2GB for 3GB, and so on. That’s it. With no annual contract required.


5. Never pay for unused data
   Our plan is designed to save you money. Let’s say you go with 3 GB for and only use 1.4 GB one month. You’ll get back — you only pay for what you use.

If you’re eager for the opportunity but haven’t yet received an update, don’t worry- Google has already stated that all Project Fi requests should be fulfilled by mid summer.

This concludes your friendly PSA from Phandroid… now go check your Project Fi status, let us know when your invite will arrive in the comments, and then head over to the Project Fi Forums for even more!