Mobile, Internet, etc

Filed under: Handsets, Others, T-Mobile, Danger, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

Sure, T-Mobile said May 13 for the Sidekick LX 2009’s official date with destiny, but if they want to start drop-shipping units a few days early, we don’t think anyone’s going to complain. In-the-wild unboxings certainly seem to back up stories that devices are already being shipped to those who’ve pre-ordered it ahead of release — and call us crazy, but we think we prefer these shots to that creepy viral video unboxing from a while back. Enjoy the shots, and if you didn’t (or couldn’t) pre-order, we might suggest viewing them very, very slowly so they last through to the 13th.

[Thanks, Ed]

New Sidekick LXs trickling into buyers’ hands ahead of launch originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA

Thanks to the always revealing FCC, we knew good and well Nokia’s painfully expensive N97 had Carolina (and probably the other states, to be fair) on its mind, but now we know the moment of truth is drawing near. As of right now, Nokia’s US website has a teaser block informing us Yanks that we’ll be able to pre-order this here smartphone “soon.” Hitting the link only directs us the European legalese that we’ve digested before, but surely it’ll lead to something meaningful in due time. Patience… it’s a virtue.

[Via phoneArena]

Nokia throws up “pre-order soon” logo on US N97, drives the kids crazy originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, GSM, EDGE

In case you needed any more evidence that the full touchscreen cellphone fad is in full swing, we’d present to you this little midrange number — Samsung’s just-announced Tocco Lite for the UK market. Just the latest member of the now well-established Tocco series, the Lite is actually little more than a specific branding of the S5320 that we saw back in March, offering EDGE data, a WQVGA display, 3 megapixel camera, TouchWiz interface, and integrated FM radio. Look for it to hit up British stores come mid-May.

[Via MobileBurn]

Samsung S5320 Tocco Lite reps the midrange in the UK originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, HTC, T-Mobile, Android

We’d kinda gotten used to the cold, hard reality of being teased with the promise of a Cupcake build on our retail G1s out in some distant, nondeterministic future that we may or may not be a part of — but all of a sudden, it looks like we might’ve vaulted right past Cupcake. We’ve now received multiple tips this evening suggesting that T-Mobile may have started distributing Android 1.5 as an over-the-air update to G1 owners, which would bring customizable widgets, messaging enhancements, virtual keyboards, and UI tweaks (among many other goodies) to an eager public. Anyone out there seeing this?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

P.S. - No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: these are little green pastries baked by T-Mobile. “We heard people wanted cupcakes,” one representative told us.

Android 1.5 already hitting T-Mobile G1s? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, webOS

As if we didn’t have enough Pre rumors to sort through, along comes TechCrunch and Mikey A. with some hard hitting stuff. According to the TC honcho, one of his “better sources” claims that Palm is “very far along” on a second webOS device which is smaller and slimmer than the Pre and may or may not have a physical keyboard. Apparently, this won’t be the iPhone 3G to the first-gen iPhone, rather a device which addresses “a different part of the market.” Details are still sketchy, but Arrington claims that the “Mini-Pre” (his name) will land sometime this year — possibly as soon as the Fall. This is all complete rumor right now, but Palm has previously said that there would be more than one webOS device, so the idea of another model in the oven doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. Stay tuned for further updates as we get them.

Palm launching smaller Pre-like device later this year says rumor-mill originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS

The remainder of the N97’s juicy technical details have now been spilled on Nokia’s dev-oriented Forum Nokia site — previously, only cursory data had been posted here — and there are a couple notable bits that might be of concern to developers and would-be buyers alike. First off, the processor turns out to be a single-core ARM 11 putting along at 434MHz, just 65MHz faster than the 5800’s. It’s an improvement, yes, but when you consider that the competing i8910 from Samsung runs a higher-performance 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8, it throws a wet towel on the whole thing. Seeing how this is designed to be Nokia’s premier device for 2009, couldn’t they have gone for broke with the silicon? Secondly — this is something we already knew, but the spec sheet reminded (and delighted) us — the N97 supports charging via micro-USB, which the 5800 does not. Life’s about tradeoffs, isn’t it?

[Thanks, M.]

Nokia N97 specs fully revealed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Multimedia, ATT

There’s an awful lot of hubbub going around today about “new” terms in AT&T’s wireless contract agreement that seemingly forbid streaming video from your television to your PC or your phone — in other words, using a Slingbox — which would seem to be a rewrite of language added and pulled a few weeks ago. Here’s the problem: the terms aren’t new, and they don’t forbid video streaming. One of our editors has a month-old hard copy of AT&T’s terms that were mailed to him after agreeing to a new contract, and they’re exactly the same — word for word.

Furthermore, the language in question is this: “This means, by way of example only, that checking email, surfing the Internet, downloading legally acquired songs, and/or visiting corporate intranets is permitted, but downloading movies using P2P file sharing services, redirecting television signals for viewing on Personal Computers…” but the problem is that the examples given here are referring to earlier language. In that language, we see that AT&T is more concerned about “server devices or host computer applications” — that’s subsection (i), if you’re interested. In other words, AT&T’s trying to stop you from uploading a television stream using its connection, not downloading — and frankly, that sounds like the most painful operation ever conceived by man anyway, so we don’t think we’re going to get too many violators here.

In other words, rest easy; we still don’t know whether the now-overdue SlingPlayer for iPhone will ultimately be approved, but if it’s not, it shouldn’t be because of this.

[Thanks, Mike and Tieguy]

AT&T’s “new” video streaming terms are a non-issue originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Vodafone, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, Android

As Vodafone Spain goes, so goes Vodafone Germany, so goes… well, you see where we’re going with this. Voda’s UK branch has issued a press release trumpeting the fact that they’ll be next to sell HTC’s second Android device as of this Friday, May 1 — and as is all too often the case with these guys, you can get it for precisely zero pounds sterling depending on your plan (the lowest is a £35 deal with 600 minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited data, though if you preorder before the 1st, you can get it for £30 instead). To commemorate the occasion, they’ll be giving away 20 Magics through the month of May, which is 20 more than T-Mobile USA is selling at the moment. We’re not bitter or anything.

[Via MobileBurn]

Vodafone UK selling HTC Magic on May 1 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, RIM, Telus Mobility, BlackBerry OS

Bell gets the gold star on its forehead for being the first CDMA carrier out of the gate with a newish build for the BlackBerry 9530, but Telus isn’t far behind, releasing 4.7.0.122 — the very same build Bell released, in fact. This leaves only Verizon with one of the worst cases of firmware lethargy we’ve seen in recent memory — at a time when one of its hero devices needs as much love as it can get, no less — so we’re definitely taking some comfort in the information we’re getting that build 141 is on track for May. Cross you fingers, folks.

[Via CrackBerry]

Telus gets 4.7.0.122 for BlackBerry Storm, too originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Vodafone, Android

Android and Google may seem inseparable to some, but Vodafone is apparently suggesting that some of its future Android-based phones could possibly pack a little less Google and a little more Vodafone. While the carrier unsurprisingly isn’t offering much in the way of specifics just yet, it did tell TechRadar that future Android phones could ditch some of the familiar Google services in favor of a more “basic package” that would let Vodafone (or other carriers following the same route) offer their own client software instead — a winning idea if there ever was one. And it seems that there will indeed be more Android phones in the offing from Vodafone sooner rather than later, with Vodafone’s Rachel William’s telling TechRadar that the carrier is “looking at other Android devices,” and that “by joining the Open Handset Alliance it shows our commitment.”

[Via Talk Android]

Vodafone suggests future Android phones could have less Google originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Android

Motorola needed to release an Android set about six months ago, but we know these things take time — and if it’s any consolation, it sounds like the first fruits of the labor could be pretty awesome. Boy Genius Report now claims that the rumored landscape QWERTY slider Calgary will be the first Android-powered Moto device to go commercial, though it’s not clear when (or where) it’ll hit shelves; given the device’s seemingly unusual appearance and the possibility (foolish hope?) that they’ll be infusing some customizations into the UI, they might just have an angle to attack offerings from HTC and others. That’s not all for the Android department, though — it looks like there might also be a portrait QWERTY slider in the works for the third quarter codenamed “Ironman,” pictured, which will pack 3G, WiFi, and some sort of high-res camera. In other words, a solidly high-end device. Bring it on, guys.

Moving on, it seems the lovely full touchscreen Flash has been canned, along with the Krave’s successor, the Inferno — possibly further confirmation that Moto’s throwing virtually all its weight into the Android camp at this point. Finally, rumor has it that a device codenamed “Rolex” is in the labs — and as you might’ve guessed, it uses the Aura’s astonishingly awesome ultra-high-res circular display. Odds are this is another luxury phone given its aspirational name and the screen being used, but a poor guy can dream.

Read - Calgary, Inferno, Flash, and Rolex
Read - Ironman

Motorola’s first Android phone(s) to have sliding QWERTY? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Android, Acer

Okay, now we get it — the flood of Android phones we were expecting at MWC and CTIA this year are actually arriving a month or two late. Nice. Anywho, with Samsung just recently dishing out official dirt on its Google-fied I7500 and HTC pushing out its Magic overseas, Acer is making darn sure it’s not left out as the bandwagon cruises by. During the firm’s Q1 investor’s conference today, Gianfranco Lanci (President and CEO) noted that “the entire industry is looking at Android,” and that his company “is testing Android on a lot of different solutions.” Specifically, he stated that it was “working on an Android solution for the smartphone, but it’s too early to say if [Acer] is going to [put the OS] on a netbook in the near future.” ‘Course, he could be spitting out positive vibes to just make sure we don’t forget about ‘em, but here’s hoping Mr. Lanci takes him own quotes seriously. We’ll be watching — like Rockwell, minus the catchy chorus.

Acer already working on “several Android devices,” smartphone included originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Alltel, Verizon Wireless

In order to get the FCC to agree to Verizon’s massive acquisition of Alltel — the US’ 5th-largest carrier — it had to agree to some pretty serious concessions, including divestitures in a whole slew of markets to ensure that the competitive spirit remained intact. The “transaction” (as Verizon calls it) closed on January 9, and the resulting mega-carrier was given until May 9 — a week from Saturday — to finish spinning off the required markets. Well, as we all know, companies this large aren’t known for their agility, and sure enough, Verizon is asking for just a little more time to dot its i’s and cross its t’s. A “Request for Extension of Management Period” has been filed with the FCC on behalf of the companies asking for another 60 days, which means the divested markets would be up and running outside of Verizon’s control by July 8 of this year. Verizon blames “the sheer size and complexity of the divestitures coupled with the current economic conditions” for the request, but seriously, can’t they just throw this all up on eBay for, say, a 5- or 7-day auction and be done with it? No? [Warning: PDF link]

Verizon asks for more time to spin off divested chunks of Alltel originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Multimedia, Nokia

After some rather disheartening (albeit unconfirmed) estimates last week that Nokia’s Comes with Music service had snagged only 23,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, Rob Taylor, vice president of Nokia Music says that the company is pretty “happy” with what its learned there so far. He admitted that the UK launch (the service’s first) devices — the 5310 Xpress Music and the 8GB N95 — were “slightly out of date” at the time pointing out that the service was doing much better in subsequent markets, which all boast the 5800 as their hero device. Taylor said he also recognized that Nokia needed more retail partners to help move units, and that the company is not “giving up” on the UK as a market for CwM, adding that they’ll be bringing the 5800 there in the future. No word on when that might happen yet — but we’re going to keep out eyes peeled for you.

Nokia Music veep addresses slow Comes with Music sales in the UK originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Multimedia, Nokia

After some rather disheartening (albeit unconfirmed) estimates last week that Nokia’s Comes with Music service had snagged only 23,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, Rob Taylor, vice president of Nokia Music says that the company is pretty “happy” with what its learned there so far. He admitted that the UK launch (the service’s first) devices — the 5310 Xpress Music and the 8GB N95 — were “slightly out of date” at the time pointing out that the service was doing much better in subsequent markets, which all boast the 5800 as their hero device. Taylor said he also recognized that Nokia needed more retail partners to help move units, and that the company is not “giving up” on the UK as a market for CwM, adding that they’ll be bringing the 5800 there in the future. No word on when that might happen yet — but we’re going to keep out eyes peeled for you.

Nokia Music veep addresses slow Comes with Music sales in the UK originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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