Hasta La Gadget!

Google has refreshed the Nexus 7 with a new 32GB version, making the 16GB model the entry-level for under two hundred bucks, and throwing in an HSPA+ model for good measure. The 7-inch tablet, announced back at Google I/O, now has more internal storage for carrying extra music and video, while the HSPA+ version will mean getting online is more straightfoward.

Google isn’t apparently working with any one specific carrier with the 3G version of the Nexus 7. Instead, it’s offering it as a SIM-free, unlocked device – just as the Nexus 4 will be sold – for users across the world to slot a SIM into. In fact, Google says, it should work with more than 200 carriers.

Otherwise the specifications are the same, so NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chipset, a front-facing camera for video calls (but not camera on the back), and 1GB of RAM. It’ll be loaded with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the latest version, too, just like the Nexus 10.

The 16GB Nexus 7 is priced at $199, while the 32GB version comes in at $249. As for the HSPA+ version, there’s a single 32GB model with 3G inside, priced at $299 and offered unlocked.

Google will be offering the WiFi-only tablet via Google Play in the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, and Japan, in addition to in-store sales at Gamestop, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, and Walmart in the US. The 3G version will be sold in the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, and Canada, online through Google Play from November 13.

Nexus 7 32GB and 32GB HSPA+ official is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s iPad mini and 4th-generation iPad didn’t arrive alone. In the company’s time-honored tradition, it has timed the FCC filings for both devices to show up alongside the products themselves. Each iOS tablet has been approved in both singular WiFi and dual cellular editions: the iPad mini has appeared as the WiFi-only A1432 as well as the A1454 and A1455 for worldwide HSPA+, EV-DO and LTE coverage, while the full-size iPad has been cleared in directly paralleled A1458, A1459 and A1460 versions. Not surprisingly, the frequency range matches that of the iPhone 5 and suggests that we’re dealing with the same Qualcomm MDM9615 chip. We’ll know more once the two iPads are in our hands and those of teardown artists, but for now you can explore Apple’s regulatory gymnastics in full at the source links.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple

New Apple iPad mini, 4th-generation iPad reach the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve heard it before: the more things change the more they stay the same. It wasn’t that long ago that we reviewed LG’s flagship Optimus 4X HD, the world’s first quad-core HSPA+ handset. Despite representing the company’s best engineering and design effort to date, it wasn’t quite able to match the competition’s global offerings — Samsung’s mighty Galaxy S III and HTC’s lovely One X. Today, just a few months later, quad-core LTE superphones are the state of the art. Samsung’s selling the global Galaxy Note II, HTC’s just announced the One X+ and LG’s betting everything on the Optimus G — the first handset to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro together with an LTE radio.

The Optimus G is a pivotal device for the Korean manufacturer, especially in the US, where rival Samsung is massively popular and LG’s success has been hampered by a series of forgettable products (hello, Intuition) and a lackluster track record for software updates. It’s so critical that LG even invited us to spend some quality time with the Optimus G at the launch event in Seoul last month. In the US, LG’s partnering with Sprint and AT&T and there’s strong evidence that Google’s upcoming Nexus will be based on the Optimus G. So, does the company’s latest powerhouse measure up to the competition? How different are the US versions from the Korean model? Does LG finally have a winning formula with the Optimus G? Find out in our review after the break.

Continue reading LG Optimus G review: a quad-core powerhouse with Nexus aspirations

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, LG

LG Optimus G review: a quad-core powerhouse with Nexus aspirations originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the fast moving world of smartphones, giant HD displays just aren’t enough anymore. The new hot commodity in the land of mobile is “HD Voice.” Sure, the technology isn’t exactly brand new, but using it over post-3G high speed networks is. The selling point here is high quality noise cancellation, which allows a phone’s user to be heard clearly in the noisiest of environments. The latest device to hop on the bandwagon is Sony’s Xperia T. When describing this feature, the herculean consumer electronics maker got downright emotional saying, “you feel closer to the person you are talking to.” While we’re not too sure about that, HD Voice did impress during our ears-on session. The major caveat here is that this feature requires that both parties have HD Voice capable handsets. So, until this concept becomes more mainstream, Xperia T owners’ phone calls are likely to be close, but no cigar.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

Bring the noise! Sony confirms HD Voice support for Xperia T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile announced on Monday that it will exclusively offer the Nokia Lumia 810 in the United States. Set to be available “in the coming weeks,” the 810 features a 4.3-inch OLED WVGA Clear Black display, an 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss optics rear-facing camera, a 1.2-megapixel Skype HD-certified front-facing shooter, Windows Phone 8 and support for T-Mobile’s HSPA+ faux 4G network. If those specs sound a little familiar, they should — the 810 seems quite a bit similar to the already announced 820. There are some details absent from this release, however, including CPU, storage, RAM and pricing, but we expect this to be remedied in the coming days. Now that T-Mobile and Ma Bell have called dibs on some of Nokia’s first wave of Windows Phone 8 devices, we’re left to wonder if America’s other two major wireless carriers will soon get with the program.

Continue reading T-Mobile to offer the Nokia Lumia 810 exclusively in the U.S.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, T-Mobile

T-Mobile to offer the Nokia Lumia 810 exclusively in the U.S. originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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