Hasta La Gadget!

Despite the sweltering heat waves, our spirits are high at Engadget, and for good reason: it’s time for our summer edition of the smartphone buyer’s guide. Here, you’ll find our top recommendations for the best smartphones across several US carriers, along with the best QWERTY and budget alternatives. In many ways, it’s now easier than ever to find a world-class smartphone, but unless you’ve developed a strong brand preference, choosing one is likely more difficult than ever before. It’s no secret that the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III have firmly cemented themselves as the premier smartphones of the day, but if you’re torn between the two, we’ll reveal our preference in this latest installment.

Summertime also brought a bit of a shock, as Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 8 apps won’t be compatible with the current generation of Windows Phone hardware. For this reason, we’ve excluded all Windows Phone handsets from consideration in the latest buyer’s guide. While the future of Microsoft’s mobile platform looks incredibly bright, a purchase now would guarantee obsolescence in the short-term. Instead, all prospective Windows Phone purchasers must wait for the next generation of handsets to become available — you’ll regret it otherwise.

Naturally, there is no shortage of rumors surrounding the next Apple iPhone, and given the handset’s current lack of LTE connectivity, the iPhone 4S is certainly showing its age. While cautious purchasers may choose to bide their time, the iPhone remains top-notch in many other respects, and its arrival at a number of prepaid carriers brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stagnant environment.

If you’re curious to see how it all unfolded — and we know you are — join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

Continue reading Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: summer 2012 edition

Filed under: Cellphones

Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: summer 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When v2.0 of the Sky Go for Android app arrived earlier this month it promised another update would follow soon with support for Android 4.0 and more phones, and now it has arrived. We’re not seeing it in Google Play yet, but the press release (included after the break) indicates the app is ready to run on the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Note from Samsung, and is also finally Ice Cream Sandwich compatible on those devices and the HTC Sensation / Sensation XE. That brings the total supported device count for the video on-demand player to a round 11, which is less than the “all” we’re looking for but still more than the zero supported prior to February.

Continue reading Sky Go for Android adds support for Ice Cream Sandwich, Samsung’s Galaxy S III, Nexus and Note

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment

Sky Go for Android adds support for Ice Cream Sandwich, Samsung’s Galaxy S III, Nexus and Note originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 04:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve certainly delved into Android 4.1 Jelly Bean’s new features, but Google itself is just now giving us a full exploration of its update’s sugar-laden heart through an official changelog. While Google Now, the updated camera app and other core components easily get their due, the checklist also has a decidedly more buttery feel than one would think — key individual apps like Calendar now have more elegant transitions to go with the leaps and bounds in Android’s overall speed. The breakdown even goes into corners that Google scarcely illuminated during the Google I/O keynote, such as accessibility and the finer nuances of the new keyboard. If you’re the sort whose Jelly Bean fever has you checking for that Galaxy Nexus upgrade so often that you’re nearly punching a hole in the screen, Google has your (no doubt temporary) placebo.

Filed under: Cellphones

Google posts Android 4.1 Jelly Bean’s changelog, explores its latest dessert in detail originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slowly but surely Google is bringing CDMA devices back into the AOSP fold after giving them the boot in February over driver issues. The Nexus S 4G was welcomed back last week and now the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is joining it over at the Android open source site. Head on over to the developer portal and you’ll find binaries for Android version 4.1.1. The LTE GNex isn’t quite a full-fledged member of the family yet though, driver support is currently considered “experimental.” So, don’t be shocked if there’s a bunch of bugs. Unfortunately, we have bad news for Sprint fans. Google apparently has no intention of adding the carrier’s LTE Nexus to the list of supported developer devices. Jean-Baptiste Queru, lead of the AOSP, told the Android Building Google group that there were no plans to bring custom builds of the open source OS to the Toroplus.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Verizon Galaxy Nexus welcomed back into the AOSP fold, Sprint shunned by Google originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And just like that it’s back. Following a yesterday’s temporary stay of the ban on Google’s HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus by Judge Koh, the soon-to-be Jelly Bean-loaded device is again up for sale at the Play store — and a bit earlier than expected. If you’ll recall, Google notes that Android 4.1 apparently mitigates the issues brought up within the dispute by Apple, which has until July 12th to issue a response on the matter. Orders are slated to ship in “two to three weeks,” (see update below) so we’d suggest you grab one quick while it’s fresh and tasty to ensure your taste buds get the latest Android sugar fix.

Update: Well that was quick. Just a few hours after going up for sale, the shipping estimate has been reduced from ”two to three weeks” to ”one to two weeks.” It’s so close you can almost taste it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

PSA: Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ up for sale again at Google Play store (update: now shipping in ‘1-2 weeks’) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 15:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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