It’s no secret that many of us aren’t fans of the new shared data plans being offered by Verizon and AT&T. Worse are the tactics these carriers are using to all but force us into the new plans. Consumers aren’t the only one’s disappointed, as Sprint and T-Mobile both discourage the practice and prefer to stick with the assumption that users enjoy having unlimited data with no fear of overages. Why should anyone have to pay a premium to see their data capped and divvied up between their data hungry family?

Samsung took the wraps off of the Galaxy Note II a couple days ago, teasing all the new features and specs of of their next phablet phenomenon. Plenty of you are anxiously awaiting the chance to get this thing in your hands and test it out for yourselves. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen for a bit, so you might as well grab the next best thing: a detailed hands-on video from Samsung.

Google is winding down summer by discounting a bunch of great apps in the Google Play Store. If you head to the store now, you’ll find hit titles such as Rockstar’s Max Payne on sale for $.99 (67% off). They haven’t dedicated a section for the sale just yet, but if you search for “End of Summer Sale,” you’ll get a list of results. Some other great apps on sale include:

If you’re in the market for design work, you might want to give 99 Designs a look. This design crowd-sourcing site allows you to hold a “contest” where pools of designers compete for your business. Whether you’re looking for a new product logo or a mobile app design, you’ll find hundreds of eager designers ready to do the job. All you have to do is offer up the prize money and choose a winner.

We simply love wallpapers. They’re one of the first changes we make to our Android devices and often represent our moods, interests, or wicked alter egos. They’re as unique as the individuals who use them and while some people pick one and stick with it, others change them more often than a teenager’s Facebook status. Each day we’re going to feature a free wallpaper for you to download and use on your Android device. Depending on your device, you may want to use your favorite photo editing software to resize the image for a better fit. Once that’s done, apply and enjoy. Your homescreen can thank us later. Cheers!