Hasta La Gadget!

Ever wonder if your iPhone 4 really was weirdly slow? Or if iOS 7, despite its bells and whistles, just has a longer boot time than your old 3G? Well wonder no longer. You’re about to find out for sure.

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Well that was quick: Not long after T-Mobile announced it would stop carrying BlackBerry hardware in its retail stores (but continue selling them online), the Canadian smartphone maker has revealed a new direct selling model that it likely hopes will shore up that retail channel loss. BlackBerry now offers unlocked Q10 and Z10 smartphones via its own site, for $549.00 and $449.00 respectively.

Those may not be quite bargain basement prices, but they’re cheap enough compared to other unlocked flagship phones from manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Sony and HTC, and the move is almost certainly tied to BlackBerry’s near-$1 billion write-down on hardware inventory reported last quarter.

The massive write-down was blamed almost entirely on poor performance of the Z10, the BlackBerry 10 flagship device launched last January by the beleaguered BlackBerry, and the first smartphone to be powered by its brand-new operating system. The Z10 was clearly not the rousing success its creators hoped it would be, and the write-down plus the $449 outright price now on offer via its site reflect the fact that there are probably tons of these things just sitting around burning precious and expensive warehouse space.

BlackBerry’s decision to price the Q10 slightly higher might be due to a marginally better reception for the keyboard-sporting design. Having reviewed both devices, the Q10 was definitely the better of the two by a wide margin, if only for basic advantages like longer battery life.

While the pricing and U.S.-only availability of these unlocked devices doesn’t scream “fire sale” just yet, it is worth noting that this is a similar strategy to the one BlackBerry took (back when it was still RIM) with the PlayBook tablet, another big hardware miss for the company. Based on that example, if you’re looking for an unlocked GSM BlackBerry smartphone (unclear why you would be), it’s probably better to wait a little while and watch the company deeply discount both the Z10 and the Q10 in time for the holiday shopping season.

There’s no sign of the Q5 in the direct sales channel just yet. And BlackBerry’s Z30, a new smartphone similar to the Z10 with a built-in bigger battery and larger, lower-pixel density display went on sale in many markets recently, so it also isn’t listed as one of the phones you can buy unlocked from BlackBerry. The company likely won’t have made the same mistake of producing lots of inventory for that device, given the Z10′s track record and the low-key launch it enjoyed, but it’s totally possible those could end up on BlackBerry’s virtual store shelves too, if that’s something you’re into.

Smartwatches sure are multiplying faster than rabbits. One of the newest devices hoping to make it to market is the A.I Watch: a companion gadget that’s also a standalone Android phone, similar to a Chinese creation we saw in August. According to its developers, you can use the A.I Watch to make and accept calls — à la Hot Watch — even if it’s not connected to a phone via Bluetooth. That’s because it has its own SIM card slot and supports 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM bands, as well as 3G. They also claim that its unspecified 1.2GHz dual-core processor is powerful enough for downloading apps from Google Play, loading Maps for navigation, streaming videos and accessing social networks, among others. The A.I Watch runs Android 4.0.4, has 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, a 1.54-inch 240 x 240 touchscreen display, a 500mAh battery and a 5-megapixel camera.

If the device ever makes it to retail, it’ll sell for $279 each, which is around the price of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. Right now, however, the device’s fate hangs in the balance as its creators work to raise $100,000 on Indiegogo to cover mass production costs. Check out videos of the A.I Watch in action after the break, and enjoy a chuckle over one of its watchfaces that looks undeniably Metro-esque.

Filed under: Wearables, Mobile

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Source: Indiegogo, A.I Watch

If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a new LTE phone to Boost Mobile, hints of consolidation between Sprint and T-Mobile, and lastly, hints of what we might see at Nokia’s upcoming ‘innovation reinvented’ event. These stories and more await. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that’s happening in the mobile world for this week of September 23rd, 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Another day, another lawsuit finally drawing to a close. This time, a judge has approved a settlement for a class-action lawsuit filed against Apple and AT&T, based on the unlimited data claims of the original iPad that were later withdrawn by AT&T. So, if you bought a 3G iPad before June 7th, 2010, you’ll get a $40 payout from Apple, even if you stand among AT&T’s grandfathered customers. Meanwhile, if you purchased the original 3G iPad but didn’t get a mobile plan, you’re also eligible for a $20 / month discount for up to a year under the carrier’s current $50 offering. The toddler-aged class action was born out of affected customers’ frustration over the change and the belief that they overpaid for their devices as a result. Unfortunately, the ruling won’t be finalized until February 2014, so don’t expect to hear from Apple about the payout — or plan a modest $40 dinner for two — until then.

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, Apple, AT&T

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Via: GigaOM

Source: Law360, Scribd