Hasta La Gadget!

We here at Engadget tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there individually, we’ve gathered up an exhaustive listing of every phone and / or tablet getting the stamp of approval over the last week. Enjoy!

Continue reading FCC Fridays: August 3, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablet PCs

FCC Fridays: August 3, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live local TV on a smartphone has launched in the US for the first time, with MetroPCS pairing up with Dyle mobile TV to deliver broadcasts on the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G. The awkwardly-named LTE smartphone will be able to access local and national news, sports and other content, with service bundled in with the regular MetroPCS plan.

Dyle uses a separate chunk of frequency to deliver live content from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Qubo, Telemundo and Univision, among other channels, rather than via a regular data connection as per existing on-demand TV apps. That means you won’t be chewing through any data allowance; the only time a 3G/4G connection is required is to update the program guide.

As for the smartphone itself, it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread on 1GHz processor with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, and has an 8-megapixel camera and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. There’ll also be 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot support, again a first for a MetroPCS device, though the carrier says that it intends to roll that out to future Android devices too.

Dyle has limited coverage at present – there’s a map here if you’re curious to see if you’ll receive broadcasts – but that’s expanding all the time, the company claims. The Galaxy S Lightray 4G is on sale now, priced at $459 plus tax.

Live mobile TV hits MetroPCS with Dyle on Galaxy S Lightray 4G is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Relatively small mobile carrier MetroPCS (at least in comparison to Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile) will be offering the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G, also known by its model number SCH-R940, to the masses. Images of this particular smartphone was leaked earlier on at Howard Forums, where it was accompanied by its hardware specifications and features. Just in case it looks extremely familiar to you, that is because it shares plenty of similarities with the Samsung Droid Charge from Verizon, whether we are talking about in its physical looks or specifications.

What does the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G has for you to play around with? We are talking about the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 16GB microSD memory card (which means there is a microSD memory card slot, of course), HDMI-out and Mobile Hotspot capability. In its FCC filing, the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G was shown to support 4G LTE, of course. Scheduled for a mid-August launch, there is no word on its pricing.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy Indulge microSDHC card is a gossiper, Indulge in the Samsung Forte,

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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