Hasta La Gadget!

Once bitten, twice shy. Panasonic backed out of the European cellphone market in 2005 and gave it a second chance with its Eluga smartphone this spring, but both Nikkei and Reuters hear that the company is already considering its second withdrawal. A tough economy and a presently successful cost-cutting initiative (not to mention an uninspiring product, if we’re honest) could have Panasonic exiting Europe before its fiscal year winds down at the end of March. Of the two as yet unconfirmed sources, Nikkei is going even further — it believes that Panasonic is considering either a partnership to justify its Japanese business or else waving goodbye to cellphones altogether. Nothing’s certain until Panasonic says so. If there’s any truth to the story, though, we could see one more casualty in a rapidly thinning smartphone market.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nikkei, Reuters claim Panasonic may quit European cellphones after its second bruising originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG committed to launching its mostly superb Optimus G to the three major carriers in Canada sometime in November. Just which day the phone would arrive was left a mystery, though, even when Rogers started taking pre-orders. It’s taking another provider to sort things out: Telus has gone on the record with plans to carry the quad-core smartphone starting November 13th, right at the height of what could be a busy month. That’s all that the future-is-friendly network can say for now, although Rogers may have provided the remaining piece of the puzzle when it gave out $130 contract and $600 outright prices. We have a hunch Telus wouldn’t want to be the exception to the rule.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

Telus plans LG Optimus G launch on November 13th, other carriers remain shy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 05:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s only been half a year since the peculiar PadFone made its much-delayed entry into select markets, and earlier this week, ASUS’ launch of its second-gen phone-in-tablet brings us back to this old question: are we better off with just one mobile screen instead of two? Ask any ordinary manufacturer and the answer is likely the latter, because who doesn’t want to sell more products? Similarly, carriers would likely back such manufacturers for the sake of selling more data plans, even if they admire ASUS’ efforts (and they could already be selling ASUS tablets in the first place). Some folks also argue that if you have to carry the tablet module with you anyway, you might as well have two separate devices for better multitasking.

It seems like there’s a huge mountain to climb here, but on the flip side, ASUS’ innovative differentiation does have some advantages. You only need one data plan (and no tethering required) for both form factors, you get to keep the same data in one place instead of having to duplicate them and you can pretty much instantly switch between a small screen and a large screen for the same content. Not to mention that there’s also the added functionality of charging up the phone while it’s sitting inside the tablet. Alas, the original PadFone and PadFone Station didn’t quite hit the spot: the combined weight and bulk made it tough to justify the phone-in-tablet idea, which is why we said it’s all about the PadFone 2 in our review. Let’s see if ASUS has done it right this time ’round.

Continue reading ASUS PadFone 2 review: two times is a charm for this phone-in-tablet combo

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS

ASUS PadFone 2 review: two times is a charm for this phone-in-tablet combo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SwiftKey must be keen to finish its bout with Swype, as it just went for the knockout. It’s launching SwiftKey Flow, an extension of its Android keyboard that blends SwiftKey’s familiar word prediction with the hold-and-swipe gestures we most commonly associate with the company’s arch-rival. Speed-minded typists now just have to glide across the virtual keys and let go as soon as Flow makes a correct guess. They don’t have to pick a typing mode and stick with it, either, as both gestures and the usual taps will work at the same time. Prospective testers will want to sign up today for the SwiftKey Flow beta starting in the next few weeks. Everyone else, though, might want to watch from the bleachers — the new parallels between SwiftKey and Swype just made this fight infinitely more entertaining.

Continue reading SwiftKey Flow keyboard takes the fight to Swype with predictive gestures (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

SwiftKey Flow keyboard takes the fight to Swype with predictive gestures (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honeywell’s pulled back the curtains on its Dolphin 70e Black smartphone for folks in jobs where hardware needs to endure some rough and tumble. Pricing or detailed specs weren’t revealed, but the handset packs a 4.4-inch capacitive touch screen, an area-imaging scanner, up to 12 hours of battery life, weighs in at 7 ounces and measures up at 0.75-inches thick. Boasting an IP67 rating on its resume, the phone is dust-proof and can survive a dunk in water. When the ruggedized device ships in February, it’ll come pre-loaded with your choice of unspecified versions of Windows or Android.

Continue reading Honeywell unveils Dolphin 70e Black: a ruggedized smartphone that can take a wallop

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Honeywell unveils Dolphin 70e Black: a ruggedized smartphone that can take a wallop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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