Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system is being prepared for a release later this month, and Microsoft has just released a major Windows 8 update that will hopefully see its core applications such as Mail and Calendar to keep up with the Joneses at the very minimum – we’re talking about the previous standards set by Apple and Google, of course. Patch Tuesday is no more, and it will now be known as Update Tuesday – at least for the moment. The update to Windows 8 Release to Manufacturing (RTM) will improve the previously solid performance in Windows 8, where this update is made available for all Windows 8 machines the moment they boot up this coming October 26th and afterwards.

A Microsoft executive said, “By developing better test automation and test coverage tools we are happy to say that Windows 8 will be totally up to date for all customers starting at General Availability.”

This is a shift in the way things are done, where Microsoft has released unobtrusive and yet important updates the moment they are hot and ready, instead of biding their time by saving “the best for the last”, proverbially speaking, in the form of service packs. Nipping things in the bud are always the best policy, methinks. How about you? Are you excited about the Windows 8 release yet?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft sponsoring free WiFi in San Francisco and New York as part of Windows 8 marketing campaign, Windows 8 event on Oct 25, Microsoft rolls out invitations,

Yep, it’s a Samsung Galaxy Note II. With T-Mobile branding. At MobileCon 2012. Indeed, there’s not much that will surprise you when gazing upon the latest version of the quad-core Exynos-clad phone / tablet — it’s almost completely the same as the unit we reviewed earlier this week, not to mention the Sprint and AT&T models we’ve played with so far. Cosmetically, the only difference you’ll notice is the Magenta branding on the back of the device. As you’d expect, this particular Note — the T889 — won’t be getting T-Mobile LTE yet, but it does at least have LTE bands 4 and 17 (700MHz and AWS) under the hood, and it offers support for 42Mbps HSPA+ on bands friendly to T-Mobile’s network. Otherwise, the only thing that may catch your eye is the usual smattering of bloatware dedicated to Magenta’s cause. We were a little disappointed to see that the Multi Window feature hasn’t been added to the unit we played with tonight; we won’t rule out the possibility of seeing it added into the final production firmware or shortly after in an OTA update. We still haven’t been given pricing or availability (aside from being told it will be released in the coming weeks), though owners of the original T-Mobile Note will still be annoyed at how fast its sequel came out. Take a look at our images of the marble white and titanium gray version of the T-Mo Galaxy Note II below!

Myriam Joire contributed to this post.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier in the morning, we spotted a leaked date of October 24th for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 from T-Mobile, and here we are with the official announcement from T-Mobile themselves (or should we say, MetroPCS?) – that the Galaxy Note 2 will be arriving this fall. Yes sir, no concrete release date has been set yet, but you can put all other rumors to rest as to whether the Galaxy Note 2 will ever arrive on T-Mobile or not, as it is coming, just as sure as winter is on its way, except that the “fall” release date is pretty general, so we will just have to fall back on the rumored October 24th date for the moment until other official information is released.

Brad Duea, senior vice president, product management, T-Mobile USA, said, “The Samsung Galaxy Note II is the latest innovative device to join T-Mobile’s portfolio. It takes the all-in-one device concept to the next level and we anticipate it will replace many standalone devices consumers have today. When combined with our Unlimited Nationwide 4G Data plan, the Galaxy Note II is a true powerhouse device with exclusive features, amazing 4G experiences and superior value that only T-Mobile can deliver.”

Let us hope it lives up to all the expectations and hype, and that the final release will also support the split screen feature!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 on T-Mobile sees release date leaked, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 variants for AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon stop by the FCC,

T-Mobile recently announced it would be offering the Nokia Lumia 810 Windows Phone 8 device sometime in the coming weeks, and it had the handset at the Pepcom’s MobileFocus event at MobileCon today. But the hardware wasn’t really the hardware as such – it was a dummy unit with nothing on the inside. But it still showed off some of what the phone will offer users.

The Lumia 810 from T-Mobile comes in both black and cyan variants, and will have a 4.3-inch OLEG WVGA screen that could be very good-looking in practice, one might imagine. There’s also Windows Phone 8, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.2 megapixel front shooter for Skype and other communication apps, which could take very nice pictures, it’s reasonable to assume.

What we do know about the 810 is that it feels quite substantial compared to most contemporary smartphones, like in a way that actually isn’t altogether a good thing. The Lumia 810 could easily use a diet, in fact, and there’s a lot of space taken up around the not-yet-active screen devoted to bezel. It’s a bold, aggressive design choice, and one that could result in a chunky chic appeal, but it could also backfire. In a world where thin and light are the name of the game, this is a phone that stands apart, as you can see by the side-by-side shots with it and the iPhone 5.

Microsoft clearly doesn’t want anyone touching the Windows 8 software before it unveils it later this month. We’ll see what the 810 and its bigger brother the 920 deliver when Windows 8 finally ships.

Update: This device apparently has internals that could theoretically work, according to T-Mo, but in the end it might as well not, since no one who touched it could actually interact with its software or view it running.

We spotted them a week ago but the new Slingbox 350 and Slingbox 500 are finally official and they’re just as weirdly designed as we expected. Both Slingboxes can stream video to your phone, tablet or computer at 1080p, with the 500 adding built-in Wi-Fi and HDMI and both Slingboxes will spice up your living room. More »