Moto X Pure Edition lands in the US on September 3

A few weeks ago Motorola announced the Moto X Style, its flagship smartphone for 2015. Back then the company told us to expect the handset to make it to the US sometime in the fall, but under a different name - Moto X Pure Edition.

The new Moto X Pure Edition, to be precise, because there was a Moto X Pure Edition last year too - but obviously based on the previous Motorola flagship.

All branding confusion aside, today the company has finally unveiled the actual release date for the new Moto X Pure Edition in the US: it's September 3.

This has been revealed through a tweet sent out by Motorola's official account. Intriguingly though, it has since been deleted. So either someone jumped the gun and published that information too soon, or there's a slim chance it wasn't accurate - keep that in mind.

You'll be able to customize the device as you see fit using the Moto Maker service, and order one that suits your tastes. The Pure Edition will be sold exclusively online through Moto Maker, though it will be able to work with the networks of all the major US carriers.

This Moto X Pure Edition will start at $399.99, unlocked. You can make the price go up by adding non-standard options in Moto Maker during the order process.

Like the Moto X Style, the Pure Edition comes with a 5.7-inch QHD touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera with dual-tone dual-LED flash, a 5 MP front snapper with a LED flash of its own, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 SoC with hexa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, 16 / 32 / 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

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T-Mobile USA launches an LTE-enabled Alcatel Pop Astro

Did you wake up this morning feeling like you want a Moto E (2015), but made by Alcatel? You're in luck! T-Mobile USA just revealed the Alcatel One Touch Pop Astro, which is available at $180 on pre-paid and at $150 ($6.24 a month really) on contract.

The phone is built around a 4.5" qHD screen and runs Android 4.4 KitKat on a quad-core 1.5HGz processor with 1GB of RAM (MediaTek MT6732 chipset). It has LTE connectivity with HD voice, Voice over LTE, plus Wi-Fi calling. Those are rare (though not unheard of) in this price range.

    

Alcatel One Touch Pop Astro

The Alcatel Pop Astro also comes with a 5MP camera, 0.3MP selfie snapper. You get only 4GB of storage out of the box, plus whatever you add in the microSD card slot (up to 32GB). The phone has a 2,000mAh battery that promises 11 hours of talk time.

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HTC One M9 available in the USA tomorrow

AT&T begins taking orders for the HTC One M9 at midnight in just few hours. All orders placed until 1PM CT will ship the same day, while the rest will be fulfilled within the days after tomorrow.

AT&T offers the HTC One M9 for $199.99 with a 2-year contract. AT&T Next payment plans are available too - Next 24 has it on $23.64/month, Next 15 - for $29.55, and Next 12 is at $35.45. The contract free price of the HTC One M9 32GB at AT&T is $708.99.

AT&T One M9 sales open at 12:01AM ET tomorrow, Friday, March 27, and if you are fast you can have it in less than 24 hours. The HTC One M9 in-store availability will kick off April 10 nationwide.

T-Mobile US will be launching its sales campaign for the HTC One M9 tomorrow, too, only it's only taking pre-orders. The first batch of the One M9 will include only Gunmetal Gray and Gold on Silver paintjobs.

Pre-orders open at 6:00 AM PT. The One M9 costs $0 upfront and $27.08 for 24 months. Those who pre-ordered the HTC One M9 via T-Mobile will get it a few days earlier than retail premiere on April 10, but the magenta carrier didn't specify how early exactly.

If you are interested in the HTC One M9 - you may want to check our in-depth review right here.

AT&T | T-Mobile

Microsoft Apps to be Pre-Installed on Some Android Devices

Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and some other Android phones will come with Microsoft MSFT -0.06% apps, as the software giant strikes deals to push its apps into as many hands as possible.

 

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In a bid to get Microsoft’s mobile apps into as many hands as possible, the company is teaming up with unlikely allies: Companies that make smartphones powered by Android software. Android is managed by Google and competes directly with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating software.

Last month, Samsung 005930.SE +0.75% unveiled a new Galaxy flagship smartphone that came with a pre-installed digital folder containing Microsoft apps including file-sharing software OneDrive and voice-calling service Skype. On Monday, Microsoft and Samsung announced an enlarged partnership that will mean even more of Samsung’s Android phones and tablets will come with Microsoft apps, in some cases including Microsoft’s ubiquitous Office productivity software suite.

Pre-installed apps can propel usage because people tend to use what’s on their phones or computers already. It can also save people a step of looking for apps in mobile-phone app stores and downloading them.

Microsoft also announced similar arrangements with a handful of other, mostly small, handset companies that make Android mobile phones or tablets. Those new mobile-hardware partners include Dell, which has made Android tablets, Canada’s Hipstreet and DEXP of Russia.

Microsoft is continuing to try to make its own mobile phone system, Windows Phone, a success. But at the same time Microsoft is pushing its software like Office, Skype and Web-search service Bing into as many venues as possible — even on non-Windows computing devices.

The company’s Android-handset deals offer a window on Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s focus on building the user base of the company’s products, not just profits. As a result, Nadella has overseen the transformation of cash-cow products like Microsoft Office into apps for the iPad and free apps for Android and iPhone smartphones.

Microsoft employees are judged by metrics including new customer signups for Microsoft services and how much time people spend using the product. These metrics are hardly novel for companies that offer Web services, but they are a new focus for Microsoft, which built its empire by devoting all its energies to selling software rather than how often it was used.

“It is somewhat of a shift; you can see Satya’s fingerprints on this,” said Peggy Johnson, who was appointed last September as Microsoft’s executive vice president of business development.

Johnson was responsible for striking the pre-installed apps deals, which she said could lead to more consumer usage of other Microsoft software. “If we can engage [consumers] and get them pleased with the usage on their device, they’ll turn around and say, ‘Well, what else do you have, Microsoft?” Johnson said in an interview Monday.

Microsoft and Samsung recently ended a legal dispute related to patents, and some reports have speculated the confidential terms of the companies’ peace agreement may have included an arrangement for Samsung to pre-install Microsoft apps on the Korean manufacturer’s smartphones.

Johnson declined to directly address that speculation. She said the mobile arrangements with Samsung were “an expansion of our existing relationship.”

Companies typically pay makers of personal computers and mobile phones to include their software on those devices. Johnson declined to discuss the financial terms of Microsoft’s deals with Samsung and the other Android device makers.