Mobile, Internet, etc

Filed under: Handsets, Software, Apple

Man, talk about awful timing. At least TomTom and Navigon were able to sell a few rounds of their pricey iPhone GPS application before Google went and ruined everyone’s day (at least in the GPS biz), and now that Google Maps Navigation is but an approval away from hitting iPhone users for free, we’ve got serious doubts about Telmap’s ability to market its newest product. Utilizing NAVTEQ maps and familiar shells like MapQuest Navigation (in the US) and Orange Maps (in France), the company seems quite proud of its newest routing solutions. Oh sure — there’s live traffic, turn-by-turn guidance, in-car and pedestrian modes, etc., but is anyone really doling out cash for a phone-based routing system right now with Google at the wheel? Exactly.

Telmap taps NAVTEQ for iPhone GPS solution, understands the inevitable originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc

Globalive, which has recently been ramping up to launch a national Canadian phone service under the WIND brand using spectrum won in last year’s auction, has been dealt a hell of a blow by the CRTC this week. The organization — essentially the northern equivalent of the FCC — has strict rules demanding that Canadian wireless networks be Canadian-owned, and an investigation of WIND’s structure has apparently raised enough concern to cause it to call off the service’s launch. Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (which, strangely, also runs North Korea’s Koryolink) owns some 65.1 percent of the operation and apparently “holds the overwhelming majority of the outstanding debt” for which Globalive is responsible, so yeah, we can see how that might not qualify as “Canadian-owned.” For its part, Globalive says that it’s “extremely disappointed” in the decision and “will be evaluating [its] options on how to proceed,” but in all likelihood, that’s going to have to mean cashing out a good chunk of Orascom if it’s serious about making this happen.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - CRTC decision
Read - WIND response

CRTC blocks Canada’s WIND from launching over ownership concerns originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, ATT

Nokia, the world’s largest phone maker, hasn’t even registered as a blip on most Americans’ radars for years now. Not since Neo’s 8110i fell out of a FedEx envelope has the public as a whole coveted anything the company had to offer, but that could be changing very soon. According to VentureBeat, Nokia has signed on with AT&T to launch some hot new smartphone in the not too distant future, presumably with the sort of incentivized pricing that, for once, might just allow it to be a value proposition. Details are slim, but it’s said to be running a Qualcomm processor and, given rumors of Snapdragon talks, that’s where we’re putting our money.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Nokia said to be launching smartphone with AT&T, Snapdragon ahoy? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Did you hear? Google’s got this little OS called Android that has reached the ripe, mature age of 2-point-Oh. With the giant eclair now sitting on Google’s front lawn and the SDK out in the wilds, what was poor Akira Harada to do with all that code knowing that the Motorola Droid was still days away from shipping? Port it to the original Android device, the T-Mobile G1 / HTC Dream, naturally. It’s a rough port, not even close to being optimized but it should whet your appetites for all those official updates and delicious home-cooked ROMs we expect to be arriving in the hallowed halls of the XDA forums in the days ahead. See it after the break… roll it!

Continue reading Android 2.0 ported to original T-Mobile G1 (video)

Android 2.0 ported to original T-Mobile G1 (video) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sprint

Sprint’s sort of the Motorola of the carrier world right now — a once-great force in the industry that may or may not have recognized its shortcomings too late, and the drama is still unfolding before our very eyes. Its results for the third quarter of the year are a mixed bag, because on the one hand, it’s nothing but red ink and fleeing subscribers — but on the flipside, analysts seem to be pleased that the numbers are better than feared. Some 801,000 postpaid customers sought greener pastures in the quarter — less brutal than the nearly 1 million lost the quarter prior — and $478 million went flying out of the coffers; chief executive Dan Hesse says he expects customer retention to be a prettier (albeit still net negative) picture in the fourth quarter, so at least these guys are headed in the right direction and we imagine the Pixi will only help with that overall. The big question remains, though: will they turn it around in time to avoid a takeover?

Sprint slows (but doesn’t stop) subscriber loss in third quarter originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, Android

We’re not sure how much more Motorola DROID tidbits you need to whet your appetite until its November 6th Verizon launch, but in hopes of keeping those cravings at bay, we’ve got the entire user guide here. No revelations so far, but seeing as we’re already in possession of the phone, we weren’t really expecting any. See it for yourself either via the gallery below or as a PDF just past the read link.

[Thanks, BBLeaks]

Motorola DROID user guide unearthed in its entirety originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:11:00 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 why the color pink tends to spawn special editions with greater frequency than other colors, but for pink lovers, it works out pretty nicely because you end up getting all sorts of free crap bundled with your phone simply for buying your favorite shade. Take Nokia’s new Illuvial Collection, for example, which has taken the 5530, 6303, and 6700, dressed them up in a very hot shade of pink, and stuffed ‘em in boxes with custom leather cases and straps. The pinkfest doesn’t stop there, though: the phones also include custom themes which are dominated by — you guessed it — pink. It looks like all three models are already available from the UK’s mobiles.co.uk, and other markets throughout Europe should be getting hooked up with at least some of these in the coming weeks.

[Via mobil.cz]

Read - 5530
Read - 6303
Read - 6700

Nokia’s Illuvial Collection is pretty in pink originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, there still isn’t a fix for the problem some people seem to be having with receiving text messages on their HTC Hero, but it looks like a workaround has been discovered for another pesky issue that can put a strain on the phone’s battery life. Apparently, the phone has a bit of trouble going back into sleep mode after you send a text, or after you simply turn on the phone and immediately disable the screen without any activity. While some fairly elaborate fixes were tried by some users initially, it looks like the simplest actually works the best: just don’t use the default SMS app to send texts. Instead, you can use a third-party app like ChompSMS or HandCent, which apparently have no problems letting the phone go back to sleep after you send a text. Of course, an official fix would still be the best but, in the meantime, you can hit up the link below for all the necessary details on making the (hopefully temporary) switch.

[Thanks, Sean]

Workaround for HTC Hero battery life issues discovered originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, LG, Android

Continue reading LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of

LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorola, Accessories

Already got your DROID pre-order in and wonder what else you can blow your non-assured holiday bonus on? Well, that Phone Holder car dock and Multimedia Station home dock (pictured, our hands-on gallery is here) have just gotten price tags: $30 a pop. About in line with the general worldwide dock population, but horrifically overpriced in comparison with our own homebrew dual-purpose solution.

DROID Phone Holder and Multimedia Station go for $30 apiece originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA, Android

Hey, HTC — we’re onto you. We know you’re a little upset that the lower-end Droid Eris isn’t getting much attention now that the DROID is all over Verizon’s marketing agenda, but it’s not like we don’t feel your pain. For those interested in spending a full Benjamin less on their next Android handset (on Big Red, anyway), the Droid Eris looks to offer that very solution, and now a few more sneak peeks have shown that a 5 megapixel camera (with a video record mode) is gracing the rear. We’re also told that WiFi will be onboard (right, VZW?), and a bundle of joy will also be thrown in after mail-in rebate. Whatever that means.

Read - Boy Genius Report
Read - phoneArena

HTC Droid Eris peeks its head out once more, shows off 5MP camera originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For Motorola, any profit at all is a Good Thing right now, so we’re sure there are a lot of smiling faces out in Schaumburg today on news that the company managed just a smidge of black ink in the third quarter. The Mobile Devices division specifically turned in $1.7 billion in revenue (about $100 million less than the quarter prior) and accounted for a $183 million loss, which was offset by wins in the company’s other divisions ultimately resulting in $12 million in bankable profit. The company says that it expects to push fewer handsets in the fourth quarter as it scales back “unprofitable” devices in favor of its new Android-based gear — which is just fine by us — and yes, indeed, it still intends to split the company into two entities when the time is right. In the meantime, the company has announced a permanent CFO — Edward Fitzpatrick, who was conveniently already appointed to the position on an interim basis — putting to bed some of the drama to bed that’s surrounded Paul Liska, who vacated the post months ago on bad terms. All told, the DROID and CLIQ launches have cast a rosy glow on Moto’s current situation, so now it’s time to put the nose to the grindstone and see if these guys can deliver financially through the end of the year.

Read - Earnings
Read - CFO announcement

Motorola posts small 3Q profit, picks new CFO originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Windows Mobile, Android

In an interview given to Forbes, HTC CEO Peter Chou spoke pretty candidly about the widespread desire for an Android version of the HD2, and says the phone won’t be finagled thusly. “Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile,” said Chou, after which we imagine popped in a stick of Juicy Fruit and didn’t offer to share any with the rest of the class. Of course, this doesn’t rule out a handset with similar specifications to the HD2, like the Dragon, matching DROID’s push toward Android 2.0 and modern hardware, but it seems to imply that at least it won’t be called “HD2,” and probably won’t look much like it either. Chou did admit that Windows Mobile innovation has been “a little slow” and that interest is declining, and says HTC is “working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back.” He didn’t hold back on Google, however, saying that some of its actions can be “destructive” but that “we’ve worked with Microsoft for 13 years … I also believe we can work with Google for a long time.”

[Via SlashGear]

HTC CEO says he could but won’t make HD2 an Android phone, has to take care of Windows Mobile originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, Android

In the best sort of tradition, Best Buy Mobile has gone for a repeat of its Palm Pre offering and is offering a $299 phone, the Motorola DROID, in this case, at $199 thanks to the automation of a mail-in rebate you’d have to actually “mail in” if you were to purchase the handset straight from the carrier. Best Buy also seems to be the first place to offer pre-orders of the phone, so if you’re worried about a sell out or just generally averse to affixing stamps to things, Best Buy appears to have you covered.

Best Buy offering DROID pre-orders as of today, automates the mail-in rebate originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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