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T-Mobile, Sprint, TWC make calling & texting Nepal free, waive bills to aid earthquake relief efforts

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Update: Sprint and Time Warner Cable too.

Many tech companies are attempting to help victims of the devastating Nepal earthquake this week and the latest is T-Mobile. The carrier announced that it’s making calling and texting Nepal free in order to aid relief efforts:

In the wake of the devastating Nepalese earthquake, many T-Mobile customers are trying to stay in touch with their family and friends in Nepal.  T-Mobile is making this easier by waiving and crediting fees for all calls and text messages to and from Nepal from Saturday, April 25 through Saturday, May 16.  Calling and texting to and from Nepal without charges applies to all postpaid and prepaid customers of T-Mobile, MetroPCS, GoSmart Mobile and Walmart Family Mobile with international calling.

T-Mobile also notes that its customers can text to various charities to make a donation that will be charged to their mobile bill:

  • Save the Children – Text NEPAL to 20222 to donate $10 to Save the Children
  • UNICEF – Text NEPAL to 864233 to donate $10 to UNICEF
  • World Vision – Text NEPAL to 777444 to donate $10 to World Vision

Google and Apple have also launched efforts to aid people in Nepal impacted by the earthquake.

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Textplus moves on to Nextplus, adds improved WiFi calling/texting, GIFs, and more

Popular texting and calling app Textplus, which is a more affordable alternative to a standard carrier plan, branched off to a new app called Nextplus today. The new app still has the same texting and calling core (coming soon), but is it now optimized for WiFi networks. The developers tell us that many people want to use unlocked older iPhones (without carrier plans) to text and make phone calls, so Nextplus is a solid alternative to signing up for a normal plan from a carrier.

The new app has also (finally) been modernized with GIF images and stickers support. The iPhone and iPad app is free to download and calling/texting between Nextplus/Textplus users is free. If you want to call a landline or a non-Nextplus user, Nextplus offers some competitive rates per minute, with calls to the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Canada, and Australia costing 2 cents per minute.

If you’re an iOS user, making calls between iOS devices via FaceTime Audio is a great solution, but Nextplus is a great option if you’re looking to talk affordably to landlines and other platforms.


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Users complain Path sending spam messages to contacts, company says it’s a feature not a bug

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Screen Shot 2013-04-30 at 3.43.51 PMToday a number of reports are flowing in claiming that social network app Path is sending spam messages to people listed in the user’s address book. The issue apparently isn’t new with some Android users on Reddit experiencing the spam a few months back, while a growing number of users on Twitter today have complained of their contacts receiving both spam text messages and calls. The messages, as pictured right, say the user has photos to share on Path and urges the recipient to downed the free Path app.

However, Path confirmed to The Verge that the issue is actually a feature of the app that sends messages to a user’s Facebook friends during sign-up:
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