Hasta La Gadget!

It would appear that a new Samsung smartphone will be getting a Verizon release, but sadly, details are still mysteriously slim. The Samsung Galaxy Stellar is its name, and it comes sporting a $99 price tag, which suggests that this is a low-end piece of equipment. Of course, we can’t confirm that, because Samsung hasn’t talked specs yet, and for that matter, the company hasn’t even announced the phone yet.

The Verizon ad, which was spotted by Droid Life, says that the phone will be $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year commitment. It also comes with something called “Starter Mode” which signals that this will be a phone aimed at users who are upgrading from feature phones for the first time. If this is similar to starter modes we’ve seen on other phones, then users won’t be getting hit with the full Android experience all at once. Instead, starter mode will help them ease into the world of smartphones, learning the basics of the Android OS before unlocking all of the operating system’s features.

It will no doubt be a handy tool for newcomers to have, but another curious thing is that the Verizon listing says it comes pre-loaded with the Amazon App Store. This may or may not be at the expense of the Google Play Store, which is an odd, odd move for an Android manufacturer. Perhaps Samsung thought that the Amazon App Store would provide a better experience for new users? It’s impossible to guess Samsung’s motivation behind pushing the Amazon App Store, so for now we’ll have to remain baffled.

So there you have it – Samsung is apparently planning to launch a smartphone aimed at new users through Verizon. Other than the bullet points listed in the Verizon ad, we know next to nothing about the Galaxy Stellar, but maybe that will all change soon. We’re not going to expect a marketing frenzy for a low-end smartphone, but an announcement would be nice, Sammy.

Samsung Galaxy Stellar launching at Verizon for $99 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The other day we reported that it seemed that the Nikon D700 had been discontinued in the US. However thanks to a spotting on Amazon.de by the folks at Nikon Rumors, it seems that the online retailer has listed the Nikon D7000 as having been discontinued by the manufacturer. It seems a little sudden and we’re not sure if Amazon meant the D700, not the D7000, or maybe we could be looking at a hint that the Nikon D7000 will be meeting its end very soon. In any case if the D7000 is a camera you were considering, you should probably make your decision soon! So, any photographers out there think that the D7000’s discontinuation could be for real, or did Amazon make a mistake?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nikon D7000 Sold Early And Unboxed, Nikon D7000 to hit the market real soon,

Welcome to Thursday folks – just one more work day to go and another weekend will be here. Today a new video gave us a look at reported iPhone 5 parts, and it seems that the iPhone will be sporting a new look with the next iteration. Recent whispers are saying that Nokia will reveal a total of three new Windows Phone devices during its September 5 event in New York City, and today Microsoft updated its logo for the first time in a whopping 25 years.

Twitter has taken away Tumblr Friend Finder functionality, and the inexpensive T-Mobile Concord has launched to bring 4G to budget-minded consumers. It was recently discovered that the SMS security hole known to plague iPhones doesn’t affect other devices running a different OS like Android or BlackBerry, and LG has apparently started working on the screen that may end up gracing the iPhone 5. Speaking of the iPhone, it seems that production on the next model has slowed thanks to a shortage of supplies.

The FCC has approved Verizon’s bid to buy up additional 4G LTE spectrum, and the Xbox 360 will be offering users election coverage starting next week, complete with live streams of the three debates that are planned. A large percentage of consumers are saying that they don’t need 4G LTE service, despite the fact that carriers are advertising it like mad. There’s a new OS X Mountain Lion update on the scene, and it’s bringing some software fixes with it, while today we received word that Facebook’s storage requirements grow by 500TB each and every day.

Sony Mobile has announced that it will be laying off 1,000 employees by March 2014, and the jury that is deciding the Apple and Samsung patent case decided to put in a little bit of overtime today. Paypal will be teaming up with Discover to bring its service to a ton of retail locations, Nissan will be giving prospective buyers of its 2013 Pathfinder a virtual tour of the car with a little help from Kinect, and Amazon has a new event coming up next month, where we’re thinking it will announce a brand new Kindle Fire. It just so happens that we’ll be at that event, so if there is a new Kindle Fire announced, you’ll be able to read all about it here at SlashGear.

Finally tonight, we have a brand new hands-on with the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Enjoy the rest of your evening everyone, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow night for Friday’s edition of the Wrap-Up!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 23, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We can’t say we didn’t see this coming, but we’re certainly excited at the potential that Amazon’s upcoming press event holds. The online mega-retailer is doing an press conference on Thursday September 6th, and while there’s not a lot in the way of info for the California-based event, we’re guessing the word “Kindle” might come up once or twice… What can we expect? A Fire sequel? Some illuminated e-ink readers? Time will tell — but no matter what it is, you can bet we’ll be there to cover it.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Amazon throwing press conference September 6th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We enjoyed our short time with Panasonic’s new mirrorless G5 in our hands-on last month, even if it was a little on the porky side. And, if you hail from the Land of the Rising Sun and had your heart set on one of these 16-megapixel shooters, Panny’s announced you’ll get your chance from September 13th. We’re getting dangerously close to missing the stateside launch target of August, but where the US website is showing the G5 as unreleased, availability on Amazon tells a different story. We’re reaching out for confirmation on that — as well as pricing — and will update should we hear more.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic G5 mirrorless camera gets September 13th release date in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 10:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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