Following up on the news that its UnCarrier rival will soon raise the cost of its unlimited data plan, AT&T is making some pricing changes of its own — in the completely opposite direction. The base rate for the company’s 2GB Mobile Share Value plan is currently $55 (that’s the base price, excluding per-smartphone costs), but it just announced that beginning tomorrow customers will be able to grab the same plan for $40 per month instead. So that’s the monthly base rate, but what about the per-smartphone costs? Those are largely staying the same for new customers — on-contract users pay $40 per line, while off-contract ( Next and BYOD ) customers get a discounted rate of $25 — but AT&T tells us that existing on-contract customers will be able to take advantage of the discounted rate. This means that everyone who had been forking out $95 for an individual 2GB plan should now find themselves $30 richer each month, while folks with a $135 bill for two lines can whittle their monthly costs down by $45. The catches? If you’re on a contract and want to upgrade to a new phone later, the only way you can keep the discounted plan is to switch to Next or buy a phone at full retail. The plan is also only offered to customers with one or two lines, so if you need any additional devices you’re out of luck. While there are a couple restrictions, however, this is another in a string of aggressive moves by AT&T, which has been heavily involved in the pricing war currently underway in the US. Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , AT&T Comments

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AT&T reduces 2GB Mobile Share Value plans by $15 per month

The folks at DoubleTwist are at it again. Over the past three months they’ve crafted Android and OS X apps to help penny-pinching users save the music they hear on iTunes Radio, and now they’ve gone and done the unthinkable: they made a version for Windows PCs, too. Setting up the app is as simple as always. Once it’s installed, it essentially fools iTunes into thinking it’s just another AirPlay-ready gewgaw tucked away in your home theater setup. Just pop into iTunes, select the DoubleTwist app from the AirPlay menu, and fire up your iTunes Radio station of choice. The only caveat? Since the app records the audio as it plays, you’ll have to sit through an entire song before it gets saved in your coffers for good. Sure, we could think of better ways to spend our time too, but if you close your eyes and imagine the good ol’ days of reel-to-reel music sharing, the wait won’t seem so bad. Comments Source: DoubleTwist

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DoubleTwist’s new app lets you save iTunes Radio tracks to your PC

It’s not always easy to read someone’s emotions — and that’s a problem for retailers, which can’t easily tell if their products intrigue you or simply confuse you. They may not have to guess for much longer, though, as Emotient has launched the private beta for a Google Glass app that identifies feelings using the device’s camera. The software scans faces for emotional cues that reflect an overall sentiment, even if it’s subtle; the app can tell if you’re mildly pleased, for instance. Privacy shouldn’t be an issue, since the app is only saving anonymous data, not images. Emotient is testing its app with just a handful of companies right now, but the finished app should help stores please customers in the future. There’s also a chance you’ll see the underlying technology in something you can try for yourself. The company tells The Next Web that its emotion detection will reach Intel’s RealSense platform, so don’t be surprised if your next webcam can tell that you’re in a good mood. Filed under: Wearables , Google , Intel Comments Via: The Next Web Source: Emotient

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Emotient’s Google Glass app tells you how others are feeling