Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung made much ado of the Galaxy Camera coming in both 3G and 4G versions, but it wasn’t clear just which carriers would let us upload photos when away from WiFi. The FCC might have just given out a big clue with approval filings for two 3G editions. As it’s been tested for US clearance, the Android point-and-shoot in its EK-GC100 and EK-KC100 guises has support for HSPA-based 3G on the 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands used by AT&T and larger Canadian carriers — a possible hint of Big Blue’s ongoing connected devices push, but not a very promising discovery for most T-Mobile users or any CDMA customers. Before anyone bemoans the absences of LTE or support for more American networks, however, we’d note that this is just one filing and might not represent the totality of Samsung’s US plans, if we’re indeed looking at one or more US-bound examples. We’ll keep an eye out ahead of the Galaxy Camera’s international launch in October to see if there’s anything more in the FCC’s cards.

Filed under: Cameras, Wireless, Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Camera swings past the FCC with AT&T-capable 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t think Qualcomm is limiting its quad-core processors to superstar phones. The Snapdragon S4 Play line is growing to include the MSM8225Q and MSM8625Q, parallels to the existing two Play chips that bring four cores to entry-level devices. Besides the speed improvements that you’d expect from all that extra parallelism, the Q variants support the extra bandwidth of low-power DDR2 (LPDDR2) memory and can handle both 720p displays and movie-making. Neither is quite an all-encompassing solution, although the two will cover the bases for much of the starter demographic: while local wireless such as Bluetooth, FM radio and WiFi have to remain separate from the main processor, the two newcomers manage to pack either single-mode UMTS 3G (in the 8225Q) or dual-mode CDMA and UMTS (in the 8625Q) for their cellular fix. Along with the already promised, China-focused S4 Plus MSM8930, test samples of the faster S4 Play editions will be ready before the end of the year, with shipping phones on the way in early 2013 — just in time to go head-to-head with a similar push by MediaTek to make quad-core the norm for a much larger slice of the population.

Continue reading Qualcomm reveals quad-core Snapdragon S4 Play processors, ramps up entry smartphone speeds

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Qualcomm reveals quad-core Snapdragon S4 Play processors, ramps up entry smartphone speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The folks from T-Mobile have been making a lot of noise regarding the iPhone 5 as of late, even though they don’t offer it themselves. After we’ve seen countless announcements and leaks from the carrier showing their plans to support the iPhone 5, today they’ve detailed it yet again promising faster 4G HSPA+ speeds on the iPhone.

Now T-Mobile states just iPhone, and that is because the flood of users upgrading to the iPhone 5 will be selling their iPhone 4 and 4S smartphones, and T-Mobile is looking to lure some of those buyers to their network. With talk of an enhanced and refarmed 1900 Mhz 4G HSPA+ spectrum, T-Mobile is promising the fastest speeds for the iPhone — not counting LTE.

This is a huge part of T-Mobiles $4 billion dollar plan to increase and refarm their network across the US, and one thing many aren’t remembering is this is for more than just the iPhone. All those unlocked international devices — and those from AT&T — will all work on this new and improved option from T-Mobile with more than just 3G speeds. You’ll have full blazing fast 4G HSPA+ speeds that are quite speedy while T-Mobile works to launch 4G LTE early next year.

T-Mobile is claiming this restructuring and improvement to their network is going to make it much much faster, stronger, and more dependable. The folks down in Sin City (like me) in Las Vegas will be one of the first to enjoy this complete overhaul, with T-Mobile already updating more than 75% of the cities coverage. They plan to continue this over the next few weeks and months to include Seattle, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, the New York metro area and more soon. With T-Mobile’s “Unlocked and Unlimited” plans they offer the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 something no others do.

T-Mobile stores are ready to move your new or used iPhone over to their network, and even have iPhone 5 nano-SIM cards in-store to do the same with the latest smartphone from Cupertino.

[via T-Mobile Blog]

T-Mobile details faster 4G, Unofficially welcomes iPhone 5 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In the seemingly unending quest to remain connected while traveling abroad, we recently decided to try yet another option when departing the US for a lengthy amount of time: iPhoneTrip. In a way, it sounds like the perfect solution. A single rental SIM, mailed to your address anywhere in the world, that you don’t even have to return when you’re done. There are claims of supporting “200+ countries,” and if you don’t have a smartphone or mobile hotspot at the ready, the company will rent you one of those, too. Of course, we’ve long since learned to take grandiose claims with an adequate amount of salt. Care to see how iPhoneTrip’s rental SIM service stacks up against similar alternatives from Tep Wireless and XCom Global? Read on.

Continue reading iPhoneTrip SIM rental review: the best way to keep your smartphone connected while abroad

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile

iPhoneTrip SIM rental review: the best way to keep your smartphone connected while abroad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snagging international data service usually involves either special agreements or steep roaming costs. Not Uros and its new Goodspeed hotspot. The pocketable, 21Mbps HSPA+ router carries a staggering 10 SIM cards and simply uses a local SIM for whichever destination country you visit. The brute force strategy helps Uros offer a relatively low flat rate for 1GB of data per day, no matter where you are on the coverage map: while the Goodspeed itself costs €273 ($352), Uros asks just €5.90 ($8) a day for occasional visits and €9.90 ($13) a month for frequent fliers. It’s a very sizable bargain for the jetset, even with a current scope limited to Finland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. A number of “important” countries are due before Christmas, which could make Uros’ hotspot a go-to choice for those who just can’t stay settled in one place.

[Thanks, Antti]

Update: Uros has gotten in touch with us to clarify the pricing beyond what we’ve seen so far. The €9.90 fee covers account details and doesn’t “yet” reflect data — you’ll still need to pay €5.90 per day . There’s also a chance the rate could go up in future countries, although all the existing countries abide by that rate.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Uros’ Goodspeed hotspot packs 10 SIM cards, says roaming is for chumps (update: fee differences) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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