Mobile, Internet, etc

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Linux, GSM, EDGE

Despite the A1600 and A1800, Motorola’s soldiering on with variants of the original circa-2006 MING — for reasons only known to the company’s most senior, jaded product managers, we’d imagine — and the A1200R’s the latest fruit of those efforts. The QVGA touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, translucent lid, and Linux core all carry over from the original, but the A1200R ups the ante with a new widget platform that lets the user customize little tidbits of information (news, weather, and so on) to be shown on the home screen. Also new to the model is an Office document viewer, but what isn’t new is the fact that the US will almost certainly never get it; it’s been announced in Argentina, which makes it a likely target for a variety of South American countries over the next few months.

[Via Unwired View]

Motorola breathes fresh life into original MING with A1200R originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Linux, GSM, EDGE

Despite the A1600 and A1800, Motorola’s soldiering on with variants of the original circa-2006 MING — for reasons only known to the company’s most senior, jaded product managers, we’d imagine — and the A1200R’s the latest fruit of those efforts. The QVGA touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, translucent lid, and Linux core all carry over from the original, but the A1200R ups the ante with a new widget platform that lets the user customize little tidbits of information (news, weather, and so on) to be shown on the home screen. Also new to the model is an Office document viewer, but what isn’t new is the fact that the US will almost certainly never get it; it’s been announced in Argentina, which makes it a likely target for a variety of South American countries over the next few months.

[Via Unwired View]

Motorola breathes fresh life into original MING with A1200R originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Android

After making a brief appearance on YouTube this morning, what seems to be a promotional video for the HTC Hero has been resurrected courtesy of Android Community. Not only do we see Hero in 7 different colors, but we get another glimpse at HTC’s purported “rosie” Android UI already seen in that supposed tutorial video a few weeks back. So sit back and click on through, don’t cost nothin’ but 89 seconds that you were just going to dither away anyway.

Continue reading Video: HTC Hero with ‘rosie’ Android UI leaked?

Video: HTC Hero with ‘rosie’ Android UI leaked? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Android

After making a brief appearance on YouTube this morning, what seems to be a promotional video for the HTC Hero has been resurrected courtesy of Android Community. Not only do we see Hero in 7 different colors, but we get another glimpse at HTC’s purported “rosie” Android UI already seen in that supposed tutorial video a few weeks back. So sit back and click on through, don’t cost nothin’ but 89 seconds that you were just going to dither away anyway.

Continue reading Video: HTC Hero with ‘rosie’ Android UI leaked?

Video: HTC Hero with ‘rosie’ Android UI leaked? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Windows Mobile

Do you speak Italian? We don’t either, but we’re still pretty sure the above image has something to do with Samsung, Microsoft, and Giorgio Armani, and that the three are set to collide on June 11. Given the earlier talk of a WinMo fashionphone from the trio we’re pretty sure what to expect, but wouldn’t mind being surprised with some really high-tech business wear. We’ll bring you more as it happens, you gadget fashionista you.

[Thanks, Ron]

Samsung’s Giorgio Armani WinMo smartphone to be revealed June 11 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Windows Mobile

Do you speak Italian? We don’t either, but we’re still pretty sure the above image has something to do with Samsung, Microsoft, and Giorgio Armani, and that the three are set to collide on June 11. Given the earlier talk of a WinMo fashionphone from the trio we’re pretty sure what to expect, but wouldn’t mind being surprised with some really high-tech business wear. We’ll bring you more as it happens, you gadget fashionista you.

[Thanks, Ron]

Samsung’s Giorgio Armani WinMo smartphone to be revealed June 11 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Multimedia, Sony Ericsson

Everybody’s getting into the mobile movie sideload business — just ask Samsung — and following an MWC unveiling earlier this year, Sony Ericsson is gearing up to launch movie content starting next month as part of its existing PlayNow Arena service. Direct on-phone downloads over WiFi or 3G would be awesome, but as most of these services tend to operate, PlayNow Arena will require that users select and download movies on their PCs, cable up their phones, and transfer the media the old-fashioned way, at which point they’ll be playable on the device for 90 days. You’ll be able to select from about 15 movies at any given time with content being cycled monthly — ridiculously meager, yes, but when you consider that the service is bundled with certain phones (up to 60 movies a year), it’s hard to pitch a fit. Look for it to launch on the W995 slider in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK in June; support for Sony Ericsson’s newly-announced Satio and Aino (among others) is expected later in the year.

Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow Arena movie download service ready for June launch originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, China Mobile, Android

Shots of that China Mobile-customized Magic in the wild have proven spot-on now that the Wall Street Journal has confirmed HTC’s plans to begin offering the device starting next month. The phone will join hardware from Lenovo as a member of China Mobile’s OPhone initiative, which is looking to offer a carrier-customized Android experience on surprisingly awesome handsets. Of course, awesomeness always comes with a price, and when the Magic launches in June, it’s expected to run something in the range of 5,000 yuan ($732) — a princely sum for a phone that should run no more than $450 or so totally unlocked in other locales. Just how bad do you want Android, punk?

[Via CNET]

Move over, Lenovo: HTC Magic-based OPhone confirmed for June on China Mobile originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 00:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

We’re not sure how closely we can correlate this to shipments through Nokia’s other retail partners and fulfillment of the direct preorders, but for what it’s worth, Amazon is now declaring on no uncertain terms that the N97 will be “in stock on June 25.” That’s just under a month away — a little later than we’d hoped, admittedly, placed squarely in the middle of the completely inevitable Palm / Apple fracas that will consume us all. If Nokia’s history is any indication, it’s entirely plausible to believe that these things will be in stock at the company’s flagship stores in Chicago and New York by a few days before Amazon ships, but not for $603.99, that’s for sure.

[Thanks, Dymongoose]

Nokia N97 shipping from Amazon on June 25 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 20:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

There have been a whole bunch of false starts on this, but honestly, folks — for real, we’re not messing around — T-Mobile has finally started distributing Android 1.5 over-the-air to American G1 owners. This means that anyone who hasn’t taken the time to install the update of their own accord is just about to get hooked up without any intervention whatsoever, bringing third-party widget support, a virtual keyboard, email and messaging improvements, a revised UI, and of course, an endless font of delicious pastries that will make you morbidly obese if you eat enough of them over time. Honestly, while you’re waiting for the update to arrive, hop on the Bowflex for a few minutes. It’s not going to kill you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android 1.5 update for T-Mobile G1 now rolling out, for real this time originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, HSUPA

Folks are already starting to get a look at production versions (well, closer to production than at MWC, anyhow) of the Sony Ericsson Satio and its baby sister, the Aino — and even if you’re not a fan of the joint venture’s wares, it’s hard not to appreciate what it’s brought to the table here. The Satio looks identical to its Idou doppelganger — albeit now in three colors instead of two — but the real news here is inside, where we’re finally getting a look at Sony Ericsson’s interpretation of Symbian^1 with a unique UI. Overall, it’s looking “chunky” (and we mean that in a good way) with an entirely finger-friendly presentation — a sharp, healthy departure from the UIQ platform that it just threw in the dumpster a few months back.

Though the Satio’s higher end, it’s actually the Aino that intrigues us more; in a way, this is the closest thing to a “PSP phone” that Sony Ericsson has ever produced, largely on account of its support for Sony Remote Play which funnels PlayStation 3-stored media content down over WiFi or your cellular connection. Sadly though, “media content” doesn’t include games; Sony Ericsson is billing the phone strictly as a multimedia-heavy non-gaming phone, so calling it a PSP phone in practice would be a huge frickin’ misnomer. The phone includes a dock that syncs media wirelessly to your PC when connected — hot — and from a distance, it seems to be just about the sexiest phone Sony Ericsson’s ever made. It’s not clear what carriers will be offering either of these, but as usual, we’ve got to bet against the North Americans.

Read - Satio hands-on
Read - Aino hands-on

Sony Ericsson’s Satio and Aino get handled, Remote Play makes the Aino PSP-like — minus the games originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, HTC, ATT, Windows Mobile

The link appears to have been pulled for the moment, but HTC briefly offered a promising firmware update for AT&T’s Fuze that brings a variety of goodies to the carrier’s branded version of the Touch Pro. Among other things, you get AKU6, a new version of Voice Command, PTT button reassignability (because — let’s be honest — not many people are using PTT on this device), an FM radio app, improved TouchFLO performance, and faster GPS locking. Again, the link’s currently dead — but here’s hoping it comes back shortly (or at the very least, before the Fortress drops).

[Via Mobility Site and WMExperts]

HTC Fuze getting big, beautiful firmware update shortly? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Multimedia, Palm, Sprint, Apple, webOS

We’d already heard through the gravevine that iTunes support would be baked into Palm’s forthcoming Pre, but now it’s official. During Palm’s D7 keynote today in Carlsbad, Paul Cousino showed attendees that non-DRM music, photos and videos could be synced with the Pre via iTunes (on Mac and Windows, naturally). In his words: “It shows up in iTunes just like a regular device.”

Update: So, Palm has issued an official press release detailing the new webOS features shown today at All Things Digital. The so-called media sync feature is straight up designed to “synchronize seamlessly with iTunes,” giving users the ability to use Apple’s media management software for transferring all non-DRM media. Furthermore, the Pre is engineered to act as a “mass storage drive,” letting users side-load content on the fly. The full release also details the App Catalog and Twitter in Universal Search.

iTunes support confirmed for Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, HSUPA

Launch details for the Satio was the 800-pound news gorilla out of Sony Ericsson today, but slotting in right underneath that set are another couple of phones that are still very much in the higher end of the range — the Yari and Aino. The Yari slider (pictured left) is being billed as a gaming device, featuring gesture-controlled actions in the same vein as the Wii (and for the record, that’s Sony Ericsson’s comparison as much as it is ours). It features a 2.4-inch display, GPS, and support for the company’s PlayNow services; it’ll be available in the fourth quarter for about €400 ($558) unlocked. Next up, the Aino takes some cues from the Satio with a relatively large 3-inch touchscreen — but also tosses in a numeric slider for good measure. It’s got an 8.1 megapixel cam, Sony Remote Play support, GPS, HSPA, and a scratch-resistant mineral glass display; it’ll be ready to rock in the same timeframe as the Yari in black and white, though we don’t have pricing stats just yet — needless to say, it’ll be more than the Yari.

[Via SEMC Blog]

Sony Ericsson adds Yari and Aino to its multimedia line originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson, Symbian, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA, UMTS, HSUPA

It’s been announced today that the Symbian-powered Idou unveiled at Mobile World Congress earlier this year will be coming to market as the “Satio.” The full 640 x 350 3.5-inch touchscreen device features a whopping 12.1 megapixel camera, dual-band HSPA, microSD expansion (yes, microSD, not Memory Stick Micro), and a xenon flash. It’ll be available in three colors — black, silver, and bordeaux — this October.

[Via SEMC Blog]

Sony Ericsson Satio is Idou’s final name, ships in October originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: ATT, Misc

This one goes back a little ways, but a U.S. District Court in Seattle has now given the go ahead to a class action lawsuit brought by former AT&T Wireless subscribers, who have complained that their service went downhill after the company was bought by Cingular and ultimately became the new AT&T. They’re also not too happy that they were forced to pay to get new Cingular phones, and they’re now asking that AT&T pay back all those extra charges, plus the usual damages, of course. For its part, AT&T isn’t saying anything more than that it “respectfully” disagrees with the court’s decision, and that it’s now studying the ruling and considering its options.

AT&T / Cingular class action gets go ahead from federal court originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 May 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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