Hasta La Gadget!

Well, damn — Verizon told us earlier that it wouldn’t be carrying Windows Phone 7 devices until 2011, and now Microsoft’s twisting the knife by confirming that its new platform will be GSM-only until the first half of 2011. So much for our dreams of a 4G Windows Phone 7 device on Sprint, we suppose. Product manager Greg Sullivan told CNET that trade-offs had to be made in order to meet the schedule and GSM was prioritized since it’s used worldwide, but that CDMA devices would be available early next year. Of course, we’ve also heard that the failed Kin project soured the Verizon / Microsoft relationship and that’s why AT&T is the “premier carrier” for WP7, but either way, it’s down to Ma Bell and T-Mobile to get this thing off the ground now — and we’ll say right now that launching CDMA devices with the current Windows Phone 7 spec list later into 2011 isn’t going to do anyone any favors.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 to be GSM-only until first half of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  CNET  | Email this | Comments

Just as Paul Vasquez would have us do, we’re questioning the true meaning behind a curious page that has popped up over at the Droid Does website — a very authentic portal that Verizon Wireless itself has been pushing for nearly a year. Put simply, the splash page details “great news!” surrounding a heretofore unannounced Android 2.2 update for the arguably gigantic Droid X. In fact, we’re even told about all the amazing features that Froyo brings, but alas, our own X has yet to get any sort of notification from Big Red. The image you’re peering at above was purportedly texted to a tipster from VZW, but unfortunately, the links led to the previously referenced splash page rather than a download. Still, we’re guessing that this means a bona fide release is just around the corner — Verizon’s already a few weeks late at this point, so hopefully the finishing touches are nearly done.

[Thanks, Kellen]

Continue reading Droid Does website points to imminent Froyo update for Droid X… but what does it mean?

Droid Does website points to imminent Froyo update for Droid X… but what does it mean? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Droid-Life  |  Droid Does  | Email this | Comments

Remember that big, honking red-and-black HTC slider that dwarfed an EVO 4G? It’s back sporting Verizon colors just as we were told, and with a few more confirmed specifications thanks to the ever-reliable FCC. The HTC “PD42100” is still missing a proper internal codename, but test reports confirm it’s ready for at least CDMA 2000 and GSM 850 plus EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n WiFi at 2.4GHz frequencies. There’s no word on that 1.2GHz processor or 4-inch display, but it’s clear we’re looking at some chunky chiclet keys and there’s definitely a removable battery. We can’t wait to get our hands on what surely looks like the new king of Droids.

Update: As it turns out, the size of the screen has been staring us in the face for hours — we just had to think back to high school geometry class, specifically the Pythagorean Theorem. Starting with the FCC’s handy-dandy picture of the phone’s rear next to a square ruler, we had only to superimpose an image of the front on top, then calculate the diagonal (after translating to inches, of course) to discover it was a 4-inch display all along. Oh, and the phone has EV-DO Rev. A for data. [Thanks, Mark]

HTC’s dual-mode CDMA / GSM Android slider hits the FCC, decked out in shades of Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  FCC  | Email this | Comments

Motorola’s venerable MING handset revisions were just made official in three Android-toting varieties for China Unicom (model A1680 pictured above left), China Mobile (MT810, pictured center), and China Telecom (XT806, on the right). The TD-SCDMA riding MT810 ships with the Android derived OPhone 2.0 operating system and two touchscreen displays: a 3.2-inch stylus-friendly resistive touchscreen and a second transparent capacitive cover that provides a finger-friendly experience when closed. Other specs include 720 x 480 video capture, 720p video playback, and support for China’s CMMB mobile television spec. China Telecom’s XT806 is built on Android 2.1 with GPS, 720p video capture, and support for both CDMA EVDO and GSM for global wanderings. Finally, China Unicom’s A1680 packs a 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen, Chinese WAPI WiFi, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, and Motorola’s sixth-generation SoftStylus handwriting system.

Continue reading Motorola Ming A1680, MT810, and XT806 begin their Android mercy mission in China

Motorola Ming A1680, MT810, and XT806 begin their Android mercy mission in China originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

“The iPhone has no secret for you? Well, that’s what you think… join us and develop the most challenging product of your life!” So reads a now-removed job listing on Qualcomm’s website for an “iPhone Developer Guru” (still cached, thanks to Google). Responsibilities will include “iPhone software design and development but not restricted to it” as well as some Android and… oh, you’ve already jumped to conclusions, have you? The forerunners of CDMA technology asking for iPhone software engineering? Teasing with the most challenging product of your life? We wouldn’t fault for Qualcomm for a bit of boasting, and for all we know this could be much ado about nothing. Then again, we really don’t know anything, and this isn’t exactly some super clue in some giant mystery. Sorry, Encyclopedia Brown; don’t get your hopes up.

Qualcomm job listing for iPhone dev guru sets internet absolutely aflutter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider, Slash Gear  |  Qualcomm (cached)  | Email this | Comments