Hasta La Gadget!

We knew it was coming, and now it’s official: Casio’s macho G’zOne Commando is coming to Verizon on April 28th for a price of $200 on-contract. The Commando strays from a long line of durable dumbphones, and is the first ruggedized Android handset on Verizon’s network. In addition to meeting 810G military specifications for water, dust, shock, vibration, salt fog, solar radiation, and temperature extremes, it runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and has a 3.6-inch (480 x 800) display, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, microSD slot, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, and a hotspot feature allowing it to share its 3G connection with up to five devices. And, being built like a tank, it also bundles a handful of apps for outdoorsy types, including a compass, pedometer, star gazer, and thermometer. If you’ve never handled a rugged smartphone, you’ll get your chance Thursday when it hits Verizon retail stores. Until then, check out the PR after the break for more details.

Continue reading Rugged Casio G’zOne Commando official, coming to Verizon on April 28th for $200

Rugged Casio G’zOne Commando official, coming to Verizon on April 28th for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rejoice, brothers and sisters, for the Froyo has been delivered! Verizon’s Fascinate was up until today weirdly stuck in its Android 2.1 gear, but the carrier has finally figured out whatever needed figuring out and is currently beaming out an Android 2.2 update over the air to expectant users. Now that we’ve put this long wait behind us, can we maybe jump to 2.3 in a slightly more sprightly fashion, Verizon?

[Thanks, Jason]

Verizon starts delivering long overdue Froyo update to Fascinate users originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s been playing the all-encompassing Eco-Friendly card for some time now, and it looks as if last year’s Restore (now available on Virgin Mobile USA for $79.99 off-contract) is gaining an ultra-green sibling. Samsung’s newly unveiled Replenish feels a bit like an Android 2.2-powered, somewhat matured BlackJack, boasting a 2.8-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera / camcorder, inbuilt WiFi / GPS, a microSD card slot, an optional solar door charging accessory and a trio of color options (black, blue and — our personal favorite — “raspberry pink”). Curious about eco-cred? It’ll ship May 8th for $49.99 (on a two-year contract) with fully recyclable packaging and a casing that includes 34.6 percent post-consumer recycled plastic content. Oh, and there’s a postage-paid envelope to recycle your old phone, too. Folks opting to throw Ma Earth a bone by picking one up must activate it on an Everything Data plan, but the carrier will be waiving the $10 monthly premium data add-on charge to — get this — “make it easier for customers to make eco-friendly buying decisions.” Translation: you’ll buy whatever’s cheapest. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish

Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With one of the original 5-inch Streak‘s chief downsides being that it was considered too small to be a proper tablet, Dell did the sage thing this January and introduced a 7-inch variant in the Streak 7. The newer slate is outfitted with a nice Tegra 2 dual-core chip, 16GB of storage, a 5 megapixel rear- and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a WVGA (800 x 480) display, and now the eminently reasonable UK price of £299 ($487). Alas, where Dell fell short with its Streak family expansion was in installing Android 2.2 on the 7, which hasn’t changed during its trip over the Altantic, and in offering pretty poor battery life — which might actually be a bit better here since Brits are receiving the WiFi-only model. Then again, if we’re having to praise a device for improving itself by omitting a valuable feature like 3G, perhaps that tells you all you need to know about its viability. At least the Streak 7 is priced correctly and Dell does promise a Honeycomb update is in the offing. You can order yours at Dell’s UK outlet linked below or jump past the break to familiarize yourself with the company’s press release.

Continue reading Dell’s WiFi-only Streak 7 goes Euro-trippin’, now available in the UK for £299

Dell’s WiFi-only Streak 7 goes Euro-trippin’, now available in the UK for £299 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A G2x they ain’t, but AT&T’s newest duo from LG should certainly satisfy the cravings of less-demanding Android loyalists. Along with every other carrier in the world, Ma Bell has decided to pick up a couple of Optimus One variants, with the LG Thrive being christened as the operator’s first prepaid (GoPhone) smartphone. Aside from a tweak in hue, the postpaid Phoenix is the exact same handset, with both offering a totally familiar 600MHz processor, 3.2-inch (480 x 320) touchpanel, Android 2.2, a 3.2 megapixel camera and unlimited WiFi usage on the entire national AT&T WiFi Hot Spot network. Those opting for a contract-free affair can select the Thrive for $179.99, while the dark blue Phoenix will run $49.99 and demand two years of your cellular soul. In related news, AT&T is introducing a new prepaid data package with the LG Thrive, offering 500 MB of data for $25, with the fully skinny detailed just after the break.

Continue reading Froyo-based LG Thrive becomes AT&T’s first prepaid smartphone, ships April 17th alongside Phoenix

Froyo-based LG Thrive becomes AT&T’s first prepaid smartphone, ships April 17th alongside Phoenix originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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