Hasta La Gadget!

Americans won’t get to keep the Galaxy Rugby Pro all to themselves. As long as internal documents gleaned by MobileSyrup prove true, Bell should be carrying Samsung’s ruggedized 4G phone as the Galaxy Rugby LTE on November 1st. Other than the name change, it’s likely to be a match for the AT&T version down to the very wide frequency support we saw at the FCC, when it appeared as the SGH-i547. You’re looking at a modest 4-inch screen, 768MB of RAM and 5-megapixel rear camera, but also a quick 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 and that dust- and waterproof body. Pricing is an unknown, although the partly toned-down features imply that the Galaxy Rugby LTE will skew well below the $160 contract price for a Galaxy S III on Bell’s network.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Bell may get Samsung Galaxy Rugby LTE on November 1st, give Canadians rough and tumble 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve had the unexpected early opportunity to try what should be a production-grade Huawei Ascend P1 LTE — early enough that the phone has yet to formally ship to its initial carrier. While we’ve seen hints of the 4G model towards the start of the year, what’s landing in our hands is at least different than devices like the original Ascend P1, P1 S and P1 XL; months of extra engineering time, the LTE chipset and that bigger 2,000mAh battery have clearly had an effect. But by how much? Read on past the break for a quick tour of the refreshed design.

Continue reading Huawei Ascend P1 LTE hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re the type who needs a substantial amount of outside stimuli to wake up, call me and I’ll gladly punch to consciousness you every morning. Alternatively, if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch you might want to get the iBell or the iBell Mini.

The iBell and iBell Mini both come with two bells similar to the ones found in traditional alarm clocks. The iBell is a cradle that can also be plugged in to charge your iOS device, while the more portable iBell Mini just plugs into the dock connector of your iPhone or iPod Touch. Yep, it uses the 30-pin dock connector so you’ll have to use an adapter if you own the iPhone 5. You can pre-order the iBell and iBell Mini from Japan Trend Shop for $49 (USD) and $38, respectively.

[via TUAW]

It’s no secret that Samsung plans to bring the Galaxy Note II to many US carriers by mid-fall. Even so, getting there requires the FCC’s blessing — which makes us glad to see the regulator approve what might be three carriers’ variants of the giant Android phone. The SGH-i317 looks to be the model for AT&T and Canadian carriers, having been greenlit for their key 3G and 4G bands while lining up with a briefly available benchmark of the device sharing the Note II’s HD screen and use of Jelly Bean. The SCH-i605? Based on its inclusions of both CDMA and GSM, a lone 700MHz LTE band and a past screen capture leak, it’s a dual-mode Note II destined for Verizon. As for the SGH-T889, it’s even more conspicuous beyond what we’ve already seen: the T889’s HSPA includes the 1,700MHz AWS frequency that T-Mobile will still call home for a long while. LTE likewise exists on the 1,700MHz and roaming-friendly 700MHz bands in possible instances of futureproofing. While we rarely want to say a mobile device is confirmed until we see it first-hand, the convenient timing and natures of the three FCC approvals only help to fuel suspicions that Samsung’s pen-focused event on October 24th is all about the Note II’s American launch.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Note II variants for AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon possibly caught at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allegations of misleading advertising practices among Canada’s big telecom companies has been a recurring subject for some time, and it’s now been brought to the fore once again in the form of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. The country’s Competition Bureau announced today that, after a five-month investigation, it has decided to sue all three carriers and the industry group that represents them over ads that promote so-called premium texting services. In addition to demanding that such ads stop, the government agency is seeking full customer refunds for any charges incurred and a $10 million penalty from each carrier, plus an additional $1 million from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association. For its part, the CWTA has unsurprisingly taken issue with the lawsuit, saying in a statement that it reached out to the Bureau last year to discuss the issue, and that its actions today “could disrupt the text message services, such as severe weather alerts, charitable donations, flight status updates or sports scores, on which millions of Canadian consumers depend.” You can find that full statement, and the Competition Bureau’s announcement of the lawsuit, at the links below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Canada’s Competition Bureau sues Bell, Rogers and Telus over alleged misleading advertising originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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