Hasta La Gadget!

And this, folks, is why Engadget will be first in line once the Occupy International Roaming convention gets underway. Truth is, it’s not H2O Wireless’ fault that its latest mobile broadband launch is priced in a way that would only appeal to those who spend their spare time printing money — it’s just the way the (crooked) industry works. Outside of picking up a rental MiFi or procuring a local SIM card from well-appointed international airports, your options for Facebooking, Google Mapping and VoIPing whilst abroad are limited. At any rate, the aforesaid company will be teaming up with Best Buy in order to deliver a no-contract mobile broadband plan that includes global roaming in 100 nations. The Worldwide Wireless Internet on-the-go package includes the USB device and H2O Broadband SIM card for $99.99, but you’ll need a $30 international roaming data card in order to get — wait for it — ten megabytes of international data. For the big spenders, a $50 card is also available to provide 1GB of domestic data. In case we didn’t make it crystal clear already, that’s entirely too much for too little; we’d still recommend a local SIM upon arrival, or an Xcom MiFi if you’ll be departing from the US of A. Full release is after the break, should you feel the need to explore further.

Continue reading H2O Wireless brings no-contract wireless broadband with international roaming to Best Buy, prices it into oblivion

H2O Wireless brings no-contract wireless broadband with international roaming to Best Buy, prices it into oblivion originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having passed the FCC’s critical eye, and hot on the heels of Samsung’s now official love-in with Google, the Korean manufacturer’s pint-sized tablet refresh is now up for pre-ordering. Priced at $399 for the 16GB model (or $499 for 32GB), Amazon remains tight-lipped on release date info, but is more than happy to tell us what we’ll get for that wad of notes. That includes Android Honeycomb 3.2, and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor — a substantial jump up from the single 1GHz processor we had with the original Galaxy Tab. If Samsung can promise a swift Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade, we could well be sold.

Update: It appears the Amazon links are pointing to a 404 error now. We’ll keep an eye on them!

Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus ready for your pre-orders, sticky with Honeycomb (Update: 404’d) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re among the teeming masses holding a brand new iPhone 4S in your hands, you may be surprised (as we were) to find there’s something conspicuously absent from the Network Settings menu on your new device: specifically the ability to manually shut off 3G data. After receiving word, and a screenshot, from a helpful tipster, rocking a 4S on Vodafone’s network, we found the same option missing from our own AT&T iteration. Of course this isn’t the sort of thing that’s likely to have an impact on most users, but if you’re the type that likes to squeeze every last bit of juice out of that Apple, the omission could cause some frustration. We gave Apple support a call to see what they had to say, and were told AppleCare has no official response on the matter. If you’re lamenting the loss of the 3G flip-switch sound off in the comments below.

Update: A few of our readers are reporting that the original Verizon iPhone 4 also lacked the 3G switch, which means the absence is most likely on a carrier-by-carrier basis.

[Thanks, Chris and Charlie]

iPhone 4S lacks “Enable 3G” switch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Imagine if Verizon’s Testman was actually the admiral of a fleet of Chevy Tahoes, all dedicated to the purpose of testing and comparing networks and asking if others can hear them now over a million times each year. The famous Testman himself is just an actor, of course, but Verizon’s self-proclaimed “test cars” are a thing of reality; in fact, the fleet numbers a cool hundred nationwide. We had the opportunity to take a quick peek inside one of these cars, each of which drive an endless number of miles to measure the performance of not only Big Red’s network, but its competition as well.

You wouldn’t recognize any of these unmarked cars if they drove past you on the street unless you were trained to look for the outside clues: on the roof lies a GPS module in concert with several black nubs, each one acting as its own phone antenna. If you look close enough at the back windows, you may be able to make out the multitudes of USB data sticks taped to them. All of these elements are crucial for Verizon in order to collect real-time data on how its network stacks up against the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, not to mention regional carriers such as Cricket and MetroPCS. Thus, each test car is equipped with phones that work on almost every network and try each one out thousands of times a year. The company’s goal? To ensure that it maintains a standard of excellence in its network performance for both its voice and data quality. So how does this all happen? Read on past the break to find out what’s inside the car.

Continue reading A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011

A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wondering what happened to that prototype 3G MacBook Pro Apple had pulled off eBay? Not too long ago, the boys in Cupertino reclaimed the specimen, along with a handful of spare parts the would-be auctioneer used to get the rig back into working order. After relinquishing of the prototype to Apple security in early September, previous owner Carl Frega petitioned the firm to return the repair parts to him. Last week, Frega finally received an unmarked FedEx package containing a notebook battery, hard drive, and two sticks of RAM. Despite the repossession, CNET reports that the outfit never gave Frega proof that the machine legally belonged to Apple, although he did say that the hardware and serial number were authentic. For more on the MacBook’s journey through Craigslist, small claims court and its 15 minutes of eBay fame, hit the second CNET link below.

Prototype MacBook Pro repair parts returned to owner, 3G antenna stays in Cook’s kitchen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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