Hasta La Gadget!

For Sony, it’s all about the presentation. To be sure, since the company put all of its mobile products under one roof, it’s achieved more of a balance between style and substance than it did with the original Tablet S and Tablet P — two devices that had a lopsided emphasis on unique, proof-of-concept designs over user experience. It’s fair to say those initial tablet efforts failed to resonate with consumers, leaving the company with little recourse other than an all-out do-over.

Which is why the new Xperia Tablet S has a lot to prove: it can’t get by based on looks alone. Running skinned Ice Cream Sandwich and packing a quad-core Tegra 3 SoC, this 9.4-incher maintains the same 1,280 x 800 IPS LCD panel used on the first-gen S, and even assumes the same folded-over magazine shape — albeit, in thinner form. Yes, that full SD slot remains, but you might not need to rely on it now that the tablet comes with up to 64GB of built-in storage. So, will an emphasis on OS, ecosystem (Video Unlimited, Music Unlimited, Crackle, Reader, etc.) and a slimmed-down build make up for the blunders of the first-gen Tablet S? Will a $399 starting price help this WiFi-only tab stand out amongst the Android competition? Stick around as we find out whether this S is more than initially meets the eye.

Continue reading Sony Xperia Tablet S review: Sony’s second-gen Android slate has a slimmer design, faster guts

Filed under: Tablets

Sony Xperia Tablet S review: Sony’s second-gen Android slate has a slimmer design, faster guts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the last round of color additions to its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone, Samsung took a decidedly sombre tone, with new hues like Titanium Gray and Amber Brown. But, according to GSM Arena, the smartphone maker decided to lighten things up this time, going with a pale pink to round out its color selection for the model to a lucky seven — but the new shade will only roll out to Korea, for now. It will go along with the original Marble White and Pebble Blue, plus the aforementioned dark colors which were accompanied by Garnet Red and Sapphire Black. There’s no mention of availability stateside, but if you’ve been thinking of settling for a less capable model to matchy-match with Fifi, now you can go with power and panache.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Samsung offers Galaxy S III in pink, but only in Korea to start originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever since the bootloader of the Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless was cracked wide open, there’s much less of a clamor for the Developer Edition of the handset from Samsung. That said, the unsubsidized smartphone is now available to purchase — for backorder, anyway — directly from the manufacturer, which gives all owners the ability to easily unlock the phone’s bootloader and thus delight in the world of custom ROMs. As of now, only the Pebble Blue variant is available, but purchasers may choose from the 16GB ($600) or 32GB ($650) versions. We still maintain that Verizon Wireless gave its subscribers a pretty raw deal with the Galaxy S III, as all other carriers left it to the owner’s discretion of whether to unlock their phone’s bootloader. We wouldn’t expect Big Red to change its tune any time soon, but you can take solace knowing that the hacking community and manufacturers have your back.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon Wireless now available to order originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not uncommon for US carriers to take an international smartphone under their wings, make a few adjustments to hardware and firmware, stamp their fat logos in multiple places and then sell it to the masses. Verizon is no exception: the LG Intuition is its interpretation of the Optimus Vu, a 5-inch phablet we reviewed over the summer. Perhaps calling it an “interpretation” is a bit of an overstatement: aside from a bump in firmware and Big Red’s LTE, it is the Optimus Vu. In fact, going into this review, we had a difficult time believing our experience would be much different than our run-in with the Korean version.

Our first reaction is that this doesn’t bode well for the carrier. If Verizon opted for the Intuition in order to fill a gaping hole in its lineup, we have a hard time understanding why it would choose to greenlight this particular device with the Samsung Galaxy Note II coming within the next two months. The device’s quiet launch is a solid enough indication that the network isn’t planning on throwing a lot marketing dollars behind it, so it feels as though the Intuition’s main reason for existing is to bolster Verizon’s rapidly expanding LTE portfolio. Is there something intriguing about the Intuition ($200 with a two-year commitment) that wasn’t there when we first played with the Vu? Or will we find ourselves in the Twilight Zone, reliving the same moment over and over again? Let’s find out.

Continue reading LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

LG Intuition review: Optimus Deja Vu with a Verizon LTE twist originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s Xperia T goes by a few names. Depending on which country you’re in, you might pick it up as the Xperia GX, or possibly even the TX. The final review sample that’s been passed our desk, however, is the Xperia T, the European HSPA version, headed to O2’s UK stores in the coming weeks, at which point it will be free on £36 per-month contracts and likely replace the Xperia S as Sony’s Android flagship. In comparison to Sony’s Spring smartphone, there’s a similar 720p display, now stretched out to 4.6 inches, a different 13-megapixel camera, a new 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and Android ICS — with the promise of Jelly Bean soon after it hits store. The Xperia T also revives a familiar hardware curve and has picked up onscreen Android buttons on its design journey. Design twists and promises of the latest OS aside, has Sony finally built a top-tier phone capable of going toe-to-toe with the smartphone heavyweights? Have a look after the break.

Continue reading Sony Xperia T review: a new 4.6-inch smartphone flagship that isn’t quite new enough

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Sony Xperia T review: a new 4.6-inch smartphone flagship that isn’t quite new enough originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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