Jul 25
After teasing people at CES in January, Broadcom has finally announced the arrival of its new gigabit-speed Wi-Fi chips for mobile phones—and they’re going to make your internet connection at least three times faster. More »
Jul 22
Wondering if Samsung’s new flagship has hit its sales goal yet? Breathe out — it did. According to Yonhap, Shin Jong-kyun, head of Samsung’s information technology and mobile communication division, told reporters the firm has moved more than 10 million Samsung Galaxy S IIIs since its unveiling. Jong-kyun wasn’t able to give specific numbers, but we know from history that the handset is outpacing its predecessor, which took five months to make eight digits in sales. As for the goal, Sammy previously pegged the 10 millionth unit for early July, noting that it was fighting component shortages along the way — all in all, mid-month isn’t too far off. Thinking of helping the firm bolster its numbers further? We’ve got a whole series of reviews you may want to take a look at.
Filed under: Cellphones
Galaxy S III sales breach 10 million, satisfy Samsung executives originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jul 11
T-Mobile to incentivize select 2G subscribers with upgrade offers during five-city US pilot
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Growing tired of that EDGE-only device on T-Mobile? The carrier wants you to upgrade just as badly as you do, and may be willing to kick some extra incentives your way to help motivate the switch. In an attempt to clear devices from its 2G network, T-Mobile reportedly launched a pilot this month, targeting 5,000 select customers each in Boston, DC, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City with discount offers that vary slightly by market, and may include a waived upgrade fee, up to $100 (Boston) or $50 (NYC, DC) off any phone, or, exclusively for folks in Miami, the option to swap their device for a Samsung t259, t359 Smile or Gravity TXT for free with no new contract to sign. According to TmoNews, customers may receive a targeted offer if they’re Classic or Legacy subscribers with 1,000 or more monthly minutes on a 2G device (the iPhone is not included). If the pilot is successful, T-Mobile may roll out the offer to customers in additional cities, as part of the carrier’s refarming effort to grow HSPA+ network capacity. A full offer breakdown is available at the source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
T-Mobile to incentivize select 2G subscribers with upgrade offers during five-city US pilot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 10
Huawei Ascend Q hands-on (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Huawei’s taken to the Taste of Chicago event in Chicago to introduce its fresh pair of myTouch phones to the world, but it also had another gem at its booth: the Huawei M660, also known as the Ascend Q. An upcoming smartphone that’s poised to hit the US in August, the company plans to launch the device on Cricket as a prepaid handset. It’s certainly not high-end, but we weren’t exactly expecting it to take the no-contract carrier by storm in that sense. In fact, spec junkies may be a little disappointed at what they see in the portrait QWERTY phone: a 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen display, Android 2.3.6, an 800MHz CPU, 1,500mAh battery, microSD storage slot and a 3MP fixed-focus rear camera with no LED flash. The device will also feature Muve Music, a Cricket staple that’s starting to be included on most of its smartphone lineup.
The keyboard, while small, actually closely resembles a BlackBerry Bold — its keys are pretty close together, but each key offers a ridge that gives our fingers a little more travel and makes it easier to type than most other ‘boards its size. The one concern we had with the keyboard was its placement of some of the keys — for instance, there’s a messaging access button on the lower right corner of the device, which we accidentally hit on multiple occasions when we were attempting to hit the much smaller enter key just above it. For a Gingerbread device with an 800MHz CPU, the Ascend Q actually runs pretty smooth, with minimal lag when going in between various tasks. And in our limited time with the device, we were able to do a quick SunSpider test, which yielded a score of 4,800. In terms of the user interface, the Gingerbread UI on the Q is reminiscent to the skin we’ve encountered on previous Huawei phones such as the Honor and Mercury.
Overall, this will likely be a good device for prepaid fans interested in a smaller messaging device. Huawei wasn’t able to give us any mention of pricing yet, but we imagine it will be quite a reasonable cost on Cricket. Check out our hands-on gallery and full video below.
Gallery: Huawei Ascend Q hands-on
Continue reading Huawei Ascend Q hands-on (video)
Filed under: Cellphones
Huawei Ascend Q hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 10
Despite the added risk brought on by Apple’s Find My iPhone feature, the iOS handset remains a frequent target for smartphone thieves, thanks to the device’s resale value and compatibility with networks around the world. There’s not much you can do to deter sticky fingers short of keeping your iPhone or MacBook in view at all times, but the issue does appear to have crossed the desks of Apple’s design team, which was just granted patent number 8,217,792 for a sophisticated anti-theft scheme. The acceleration-based system would detect a “known theft condition” based on acceleration characteristics, sounding an alarm and disabling the device. The smartphone or laptop would ignore vibrations from passing cars or those caused by items being dropped onto a nearby surface, instead focusing on undisclosed scenarios that likely involve direct movement. The device owner would use a GUI to configure and disable the system, at which point the handset or computer would return to its pre-disturbed mode. Overall, it sounds like a fairly straightforward hardware/software solution, with the added benefit of a technique to filter out regular motion in an attempt to reduce the number of false alarms. You’ll find the full patent at the source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops
Apple granted patent for accelerometer-aided theft-detection system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jul 02
GreatCall outs Samsung-made Jitterbug Plus, for folks who want a phone without all the smarts
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Adding features to a senior-friendly phone kind of defeats the purpose, but a sleeker design, improved battery life and boosted speaker? Sure, we’ll take it. That’s what you’ll get with the new Jitterbug Plus, a bare-bones mobile phone for users who really only need to make and receive calls, and perhaps check the occasional voicemail. Manufactured by Samsung, the no-frills r220 includes an incredibly straightforward interface, with clearly marked Yes and No button options and large, backlit keys, including a panic button that puts you in touch with a 5Star Urgent Response agent. This latest model also adds a very basic 1.3-megapixel camera, which lets you post photos to Facebook with the touch of a button (you’ll need to forgo the Instagram filters, though). The Jitterbug Plus is available now in red or silver for $99 at retailers like Best Buy, Radio Shack and Fry’s, along with the company’s online store, however pricing is expected to jump to $119 shortly after launch. Overall, the device appears to be a great choice for seniors, though CNET called the phone “overpriced” in its review, which you’ll find at the link below.
GreatCall outs Samsung-made Jitterbug Plus, for folks who want a phone without all the smarts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jun 25
Korea’s golden goose is on track to drop its 10 millionth Galaxy S III by July, according to Samsung mobile head Shin Jong-kyun. The expectation comes despite limited supply, fueled by a component shortage at the smartphone giant. Regardless of this notable shortcoming, Samsung has wasted no time getting its latest handset to market, and expects to deliver the 4.8-inch Galaxy to some 300 carriers in 147 countries by the end of next month, including all of the major UK carriers, along with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon in the US. The sky-high figure is merely an estimate, however, so investors may want to stay tuned for the official announcement before uncorking the Dom. Full details are at the source link below.
[Thanks, Joseph]
Samsung: Galaxy S III sales expected to total 10 million by July originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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