From swords into plowshares; from external fuel tanks into speedboats. USAF fighter jets jettisoned thousands of external fuel tanks over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and a significant number have been re-purposed into some of the sleekest speedboats ever to bomb down a river!
The makers of oddly-named Japanese sports drink Pocari Sweat have committed themselves to achieving the goal, before 2015 is out, of landing a can on the moon.
Unlocked, the iPhone 4S costs the same as the iPad 3G
The iPhone 4S begins its second international wave today, going on sale in much of Europe. And unlike the stateside iPhone 4S, this one can be had unlocked.
Customers in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland can now head to their favorite carrier and sign their lives away for the next year or two.
Here in Spain, the carrier deals aren’t bad (from around €35 per month with 1GB data that you can also share with an iPad using a free extra SIM), but the interesting part is the price of an unlocked iPhone, which starts at €600.
€600 is $850, and that’s for the 16GB model. It goes up in €100 step to top out at €800, or $1,133 for the 64GB model. For comparison, those are the exact same prices as the 3G iPad lineup, which will give you a rough guide to what the U.S prices will be when the unlocked phone goes on sale there, probably some time in November. Up in Canada, the unlocked prices run at $650/$50/$850 (thanks, Jon!), which should also let you see where things are headed.
I have a feeling that there may be another press release from Apple on Monday, announcing another few million units sold. If this damn rain will stop, I might just head over to the Apple store to check things out.
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And this, folks, is why Engadget will be first in line once the Occupy International Roaming convention gets underway. Truth is, it’s not H2O Wireless’ fault that its latest mobile broadband launch is priced in a way that would only appeal to those who spend their spare time printing money — it’s just the way the (crooked) industry works. Outside of picking up a rental MiFi or procuring a local SIM card from well-appointed international airports, your options for Facebooking, Google Mapping and VoIPing whilst abroad are limited. At any rate, the aforesaid company will be teaming up with Best Buy in order to deliver a no-contract mobile broadband plan that includes global roaming in 100 nations. The Worldwide Wireless Internet on-the-go package includes the USB device and H2O Broadband SIM card for $99.99, but you’ll need a $30 international roaming data card in order to get — wait for it — ten megabytes of international data. For the big spenders, a $50 card is also available to provide 1GB of domestic data. In case we didn’t make it crystal clear already, that’s entirely too much for too little; we’d still recommend a local SIM upon arrival, or an Xcom MiFi if you’ll be departing from the US of A. Full release is after the break, should you feel the need to explore further.
H2O Wireless brings no-contract wireless broadband with international roaming to Best Buy, prices it into oblivion originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Yeah, that makes just as much sense to us as it does to you. Following yesterday’s PR debacle, the final word from Sprint appears to be as follows:
“Sprint’s policy is to have the iPhone 4S SIM locked to our network domestically and internationally. At launch, the International SIM will be unlocked. We do expect a SIM lock to be pushed to the devices shortly after launch. We will then allow existing customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use if needed in the future.”
So, if we’re reading that correctly, the iPhone you purchase and activate will be unlocked. Then, a SIM lock will be “pushed” to your device. But, if you’ve been a good, policy-abiding customer, your iPhone can then be unlocked manually by Sprint. Who knows what’ll happen if you buy your phone and flee to a non-extradition country before Sprint comes knocking at the door, shackles in hand. Will you be left to live in peace with your newly-acquired international Micro SIM? Will you need to plead your case before a tribunal of mobile carrier overlords? Only time will tell, we suppose, or perhaps further clarification from Sprint. Jump past the break for the complete announcement.
Sprint explains iPhone 4S unlocking policy: phones will be unlocked, then locked, then unlocked again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you own an iPhone 4 on AT&T, using the device while traveling internationally means paying sky-high roaming fees, jailbreaking or limiting data use to when you’re on a WiFi network, either with a public hotspot or through a service like Xcom Global. Verizon iPhone 4 owners, however, don’t have the option of GSM roaming at all, and can only make calls and use cellular data in countries that support CDMA. All that changes with the iPhone 4S, however — Macworld has confirmed that Sprint will sell its version of the device with the Micro SIM slot unlocked, with Verizon offering free unlocking to customers after the first 60 days of service. iPhone 4S owners will then be able to purchase a Micro SIM overseas, allowing them to access data and make calls at local rates, for a fraction of what it would cost to roam. AT&T iPhone 4S owners won’t have this option, however, so if you make frequent trips overseas, this benefit alone may be enough to justify purchasing the phone through Sprint or Verizon, saving some users hundreds or thousands of dollars in international roaming fees.
Update: Our source article was incorrect, and Sprint has told us that its SIM will not be unlocked, adding that the card will not even be removable.
Our SIM does not come out of the device – I believe the same is true of Verizon’s iPhone but you would need to confirm that with them. Customers can sign up for one of our international rate plans and use this phone all over the world. When traveling internationally, there is a setting that must be turned on within the device to connect to GSM. The phone will work with a SIM that is provided within the device out of the box. International voice and data charges are on a pay-as-you-go basis and vary based on the country where the customer is using their phone; a list of rates is available at www.sprint.com/international.
Update 2: We heard from Sprint a second time, which redacted part of its previous statement. The carrier further explained “the SIM is removable and is not affixed to the device,” which as you may notice directly contradicts the statement made earlier today. We’ve reached out to Apple twice and are awaiting further clarification.
[Thanks, Julio]
Sprint and Verizon confirm iPhone 4S Micro SIM unlock for international travel (update: Sprint remains locked?) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The largest GSM carrier in the country is popular amongst travelers because you can use nearly all of its phones anywhere in the world. Messaging whilst abroad, however, has always been an expensive headache since the best option on AT&T was a bundle of 50 SMS / MMS messages for $10. That’s a quaint number, to say the least, considering many of us can burn through that many messages in an hour. Beginning today, two more options are available for the more text-savvy roamers: you can get a package of 200 for $30, or 500 for $50. This number only reflects the number of messages you send, which means those received are counted against your US bucket of texts (if you’re on a pay-per-use messaging plan, they’ll cost 20 cents). Given the company’s recent history of streamlining, we applaud the additional choices global jetsetters now have. Enjoy the presser after the break.
Continue reading AT&T launches new global messaging plans, lets you comfortably roam
AT&T launches new global messaging plans, lets you comfortably roam originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon’s Appstore hasn’t set the world on fire just yet — perhaps due to the fact that it was a US-only store since launch. That could soon change, with a number of Amazon customers reporting that the curated Android marketplace is now open for business across western Europe, also working in India and Australia. We’ve tested it for ourselves, and can confirm it’s functioning with our Amazon UK account, though its dedicated webpage is still based at Amazon.com. Register with the site, and you’ll be able to rush the free daily app downloads, which has previously offered the likes of Angry Birds Rio and SwitftKey — worth a regular visit, regardless of what time zone you’re in.
[Thanks Nate]
Update: Looks like we jumped the gun, as the Appstore is now no longer functioning for our friends across the pond. (Thanks, Felix)
Amazon Appstore goes global: available now in Europe, Australia and India (update: not so fast) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We love mobile wireless hotspots, and we especially love when they work internationally — which until today, has left Sprint’s CDMA/WiMAX devices out of the mix. This latest variant gives some love to the world traveling crowd, however, with domestic support for EVDO Rev A, and international support for GSM/GRPS/EDGE as well as WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA. There’s no word on what you’ll expect to pay for your data abroad, but Sprint does include an “unlocked SIM” in the box, along with international power adapters. A built-in display indicates battery life and connectivity, so you know when the device is ready to beam the web to up to five WiFi devices on CDMA, or a single device while roaming on GSM. Available now, the hotspot will run you $50 after a $50 rebate and with a two-year contract, provides a range of up to 130 feet, and can pump out a wireless signal for up to four hours (sadly WiMAX is not supported). Jump past the break for the lowdown from Sprint.
Continue reading ZTE Sprint International Mobile Hotspot does CDMA in US, GSM abroad
ZTE Sprint International Mobile Hotspot does CDMA in US, GSM abroad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Samsung's bada 2.0 SDK will allow app developers to reach users with Samsung Apps, which have over 100 million downloads. Photo courtesy of Samsung.
Samsung has announced the release of their Software Development Kit for bada 2.0, Samsung’s own mobile platform. The operating system is expected to be released next month alongside three new Samsung Wave smartphones.
While most of North America isn’t familiar with Samsung’s proprietary OS, phones running already running a beta version of bada have a small market presence in Europe and Asia. In the second quarter of 2011, bada accounted for 1.9 percent of all smartphone operating systems in use worldwide, according to a study by Gartner. That still beats out Windows Phone 7 sales.
Bada 2.0 was first shown at the Mobile World Congress in February, featuring a slew of updated software including multi-tasking, access to an app store with about 40,000 applications, NFC support, and HTML5 and Flash functionality.
“Developers have an opportunity to reach a significant customer base with new, entertaining and compelling applications,” said JK Shin, president of Samsung’s mobile communications, in a statement.
The SDK is available for download from the bada developer website.
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