Nov 26
Let’s speak about this one more time because, now that the new Federal budget is coming up, we need to. The government should, must, dedicate a lot more money to NASA. And there’s no way around it. More »
Oct 26
Pantech Flex review
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Pantech is known for producing budget Android smartphones that punch above their weight, and the Flex is no exception. Available now on AT&T for $50 with a two-year contract, it delivers a dual-core Snapdragon S4 — the same chip that lurks within mightier phones such as the Galaxy S III and One X — along with a qHD display and LTE connectivity. The phone certainly hits a number of the check boxes for value seekers, but there’s something that makes the Flex very different from other smartphones on the market: it has a dual personality.
Folks, prepare for memories of At Ease, Microsoft Bob and Packard Bell Navigator to come rushing back. The Pantech Flex features a unique launcher known as Easy Experience, which caters to those who might find Ice Cream Sandwich overwhelming. Fortunately, there’s also a standard launcher for experts. In that regard, the Flex is deserving of its name. Unlike most handsets on the market, it’s targeting both broke college students and technophobes just the same. Of course, we’re here to answer a greater question: is the Pantech Flex worthy of being your next smartphone? Join us after the break for the answer.
Gallery: Pantech Flex review
Continue reading Pantech Flex review
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T
Pantech Flex review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 23
Nokia launches budget Lumia 510: Windows Phone 7.5, 4-inch display and 5-megapixel camera (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Confirming all those rumors we’ve been hearing, Nokia has officially taken the wraps off its latest budget smartphone, the Lumia 510 — slotting it somewhere between the Asha range and the Lumia 610. With the notable exception of the 4-inch (480 x 800) screen, which is a tad larger than its slightly more accomplished Windows Phone sibling, the other specs are very much in line with its low-cost stance: there’s a single 5-megapixel shooter at the back (no front-facer), a lowly 800MHz Qualcomm processor, 256MB RAM and 4GB of non-expandable storage. We’ll be bringing you further details as the story unfolds. In terms of the OS, it’ll ship with WP Mango but we’re told it will be upgraded to Windows Phone 7.8 at some point in the future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Nokia launches budget Lumia 510: Windows Phone 7.5, 4-inch display and 5-megapixel camera (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 02:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 09
When we first saw the name “Galaxy Music” in a Samsung press release a few weeks ago, we totally overlooked it among all the other budget Galaxy spin-offs. Now that it’s official, the Galaxy Music (or equally the dual-SIM Galaxy Music Duos variant) turns out to be just that — with Android 4.0 running on a low-res three-inch touchscreen and an unnamed processor. On the other hand, the handset does have some features that may be of interest to those who use their smartphone mainly for tunes (if not to full-blown audiophiles): there’s a microSD slot for cheap storage, out-of-the-box compatibility with FLAC, OGG and many other file types, Sound Alive and SRS audio modes, a dedicated music player button, plus dual frontal speakers and a WVGA projector for sharing the love. Full specs at the source link.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Samsung reveals the Galaxy Music: part budget phone, part mobile disco originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 05:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 04
Entertainment Weekly print edition comes with a ‘smartphone-like Android device’
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If there’s one advantage a print magazine still has over an online publication, it’s the ability to offer all manner of crazy freebies glued to its pages. Maybelline samples, CDROMs packing the latest version of WinZip, or — in tomorrow’s edition of Entertainment Weekly — something that actually looks pretty enticing. Flick it open to the right page and you’ll spot an LCD display that magically displays video ads and live Tweets from the CW Network. Intrigued by how such a thing could function, Mashable did a teardown (literally) and discovered all the ingredients of a budget Android smartphone, including components which aren’t strictly necessary for the task at hand: a 3G modem with T-Mo SIM (which seems to have some degree of voice connectivity), a full-sized battery, USB port and even a partially-built QWERTY keyboard. Suddenly, that $50 myTouch doesn’t seem so cheap.
Continue reading Entertainment Weekly print edition comes with a ‘smartphone-like Android device’
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Entertainment Weekly print edition comes with a ‘smartphone-like Android device’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 30
Sony Xperia J approved, torn down by FCC in first 24 hours of its official existence
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Of Sony’s trio of Xperia phones announced yesterday at IFA 2012, we’ve now seen the smallest and most budget-friendly model — the Xperia J — make it through the mounds of red tape and federal approval. Fortunately for us, Sony didn’t bother requesting confidentiality on the various teardown photos that typically are kept away from prying public eyes. As always, it’s important to withhold any assumptions that this particular device will make it to any US carrier; FCC approvals never offer any guarantee, and the J’s lack of LTE isn’t going to help matters. Still, this seems like an ideal device for a prepaid operator to pick up, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime, gaze upon the full teardown in the gallery below.
Gallery: Sony Xperia J FCC teardown photos
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Sony Xperia J approved, torn down by FCC in first 24 hours of its official existence originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 26
While ZTE and Huawei commence an assault on the high end of the market, companies like Pantech are nipping in behind to hoover up the budget space. When we reviewed the Pantech Burst, it was $50 on contract, but now can be picked up for $0.99. What do you get for less than a dollar? Stellar battery life (for an LTE phone), performance that easily matched a Samsung Skyrocket and LG Nitro HD more than compensate for its flaky capacitive buttons and weak camera. But, does the price justify turning a blind eye to its flaws? For a handset that costs less than a decent cup of coffee, what would you really change?
Filed under: Cellphones
How would you change the Pantech Burst? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 31
Low-cost tablets are a dime a dozen in the Android world, what with no name offerings from Ainovo to budget stalwarts like Archos. But there’s always room for more competition and Energy Sistem seems intent on elbowing its way to a prominent place at the bottom. A mild update to its existing slate lineup, the Energy Tablet i8 keeps the same 8-inch LCD display and 1,024 x 768 resolution (in 4:3 aspect ratio) of its Gingerbread-baked predecessors, but this time packages it with Ice Cream Sandwich onboard. The tab also comes equipped with an Arm Cortex A8 processor clocked at 1GHz, VGA front-facing / 2-megapixel rear camera setup, 8GB of storage (expandable to 64GB via microSD), 1GB RAM, HDMI-out, a 3,800mAh battery and support for WiFi b/g/n. It’s up for pre-order now on the company’s site, with an official release slated for this August 23rd. But at €185 (about $227), you might be better off saving up a few extra bills and shelling out for the more premium Nexus 7. Official PR after the break.
Continue reading Energy Sistem beefs up its budget i8 slate with Ice Cream Sandwich inside
Filed under: Tablet PCs
Energy Sistem beefs up its budget i8 slate with Ice Cream Sandwich inside originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 30
It’s a curious thing to have gold signify the low-end, but that’s just what Huawei’s done with its G series smartphone line. That bottom-dwelling, budget tier, first announced at this past Mobile World Congress, has already seen a couple of category cousins come out into the open (see: Vodafone’s G 300 and T-Mobile’s G 312), so color us unsurprised to find yet another single-core, Googlefied device crop up at the FCC. The associated docs leave little to the imagination, treating us to unobstructed images of the Ascend G 302D — presumably, a 4-incher. We’re not quite sure what software the phone’ll run when it ships, though from the looks of those very ICS-like capacitive keys, we wouldn’t rule Android 4.0 out. Spec-wise, we have the included manual and some RF testing to go off of, revealing two different sized batteries — a 1,350mAh and 1,500mAh — support for Bluetooth, WiFi b/g/n and AT&T-compatible radios. That’s not to say this lil’ guy’s guaranteed an official U.S. slot on that carrier’s lineup, but it should make for a decent import option. Hit up the source below for additional shots of this mobile minor leaguer.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Huawei Ascend G 302D goes public in FCC docs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 23
If the now-deleted @evleaks is / was to be believed, Samsung is preparing a low-price handset for Sprint’s big yellow network. The pulled feed revealed that the Galaxy Reverb (SPH-M950) will pack a Snapdragon MSM8655, a 4-inch 800 x 480 WVGA display, 768MB RAM, 4GB on-board storage and Ice Cream Sandwich. Photography enthusiasts should know that there’s a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facer for those self-portrait moments. There’s no word on if it packs LTE, but given the limited quantity of Sprint markets that can currently use the standard, we wouldn’t get our hopes up just yet.
Filed under: Cellphones
Samsung’s Galaxy Reverb details echo across the twittersphere originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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