Using video chats over AT&T’s cellular network is impossible, but the company is giving assurances that it  is working to resolve the issue by the end of this year. The service, or lack or service, renders new video chatting apps like Google Hangout ineffective.

AT&T has only allowed iOS users access to Facetime as recently last year after blocking the service, citing its own policy for prioritizing pre-loaded apps. There’s no telling how many customers have left the company for better video features, but with T-Mobile’s  new 4G wireless network, AT&T is no longer dealing with just Verizon’s superior connections.

Here’s the full announcement on The Verge:

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Users on iOS devices can finally start using a Google app for Google Chats. Google’s new chat app, appropriately call Hangouts, allows you to do what you’ve always done with Gmail’s desktop experience: text friends, start videos, and share photos in seamless conversations across multiple devices.

Google took note of an important aspect about notifications when creating this app – you only get one alert per new item that’s synced across all of your devices. If your notifications get too noisy, you can turn them off and check back later. Perhaps the company has heard complaints about Google Plus notifications. Read more

Mother’s Day is Sunday and the least you should do is call your mother - said Twitter. The social media site issued a witty public service announcement boasting about Twitter’s sharing platform quickly after Google’s Mother’s Day tribute this week.

Hopefully moms everywhere will enjoy breakfast in bed, a steady stream of thank-you’s and family fun. While moms are enjoying these and many other Mother’s Day traditions, it’s a safe bet they’ll also sneak a peek at Twitter. After all, moms (and moms-to-be) are doing everything from securing Twitter accounts for their babies to live-tweeting their C-sections to sharing funny motherhood experiences.

But even as much as moms love Twitter, we know that mom loves you the most.

While Google opted for a sweet, syrupy promotion for Google Plus, Twitter opted to tell users that social media doesn’t replace everything. That said, if you don’t have time to visit your Mom this Sunday, video hangouts with her on Google Plus is pretty great every day. Click here to compare the two ads. Read more

A typical cell phone has on average 25,107 bacteria per square inch. This makes it dirtier than most surfaces, including doorknobs and toilets. Maybe they’re just your own germs?

Like if you are watching (or reading) this on a phone.

Nanoveu’s EyeFly 3D is a thin film that manipulates the pixel structure of your iPhone screen using nano technology. The film easily attaches to your iPhone and works with Nanoveu software to give your Smartphones 3D viewing capabilities.

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Spring is here and so is “spring cleaning” according to the home improvement folks at Lowe’s. The big box store is sharing DIY tips into 6 seconds videos on Vine, and they are worth watching. Today, I learned you can unscrew a gnarly, stripped screw using a rubber band. There’s also great cost-saving advice. Today’s latest advice-vine shows aluminum foil lined paint trays that will save time and money on tray liners and clean-up.

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We haven’t seen the death of paper books yet, but there’s already a documentary about its impending demise. EBooks are not as tactile, aromatic, or spatial as traditional forms of reading, but they are helping to spread the joys of reading to places where transportation is problematic. The works of philanthropic organizations like Worldreader and The  Information Heritage Initiative would be impossible without digital books.

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Catching a foul ball can be the apex of a fun and exciting softball game… unless you are using your face. That’s nearly what happened to a lucky spectator who was using his iPad to record the game. Being such a good sport, he continued undeterred after a foul ball slammed into his tablet.

We have already shared a story about an iPad surviving hammer blows after lodging itself into the bumper of a car, but this video actually captures the foul ball incident. Tablets are resilient, but don’t try this at home.

Click here to view the video. Read more

Viewers can now watch select You Tube Videos in all of VHS static glory – unlike its modern HD quality streaming:

Not too long ago, the video tape was the media of choice for living rooms around the world. In celebration of the 57th birthday of the first commercial video cassette recorder, check out a fun VHS mode for the YouTube player to relive the magic feel of vintage video tapes.

Videos with the VHS option will have an extra tape-like button. Just push the button to play the video with grainy, snow filled nostalgia. Google has not indicated that this filter will be available permanently, but with enough traction, we may be seeing a lot more options for augmented clarity. Read more

Founders of the Tribeca Film Festival Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal are bringing the moving pictures experience to digital audiences via video streaming and a huge support for Vines. This year is the first year in which the festival have opened up a public competition in search of the best Vine, and De Niro has some positive words to say on the medium despite not being a regular user:

Six seconds of beginning, middle and end. I was just trying to time on my iPhone six seconds just to get a sense of what that is. It can actually be a long time. One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand, five one-thousand, six one-thousand – you can tell a whole story in six seconds. Read more