Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re willing to embrace its mouthful of a name, the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE has at last reached shops. The sequel to one of Verizon’s most enduring brands will, as promised, set you back $150 on contract once you’ve taken advantage of that $50 rebate. Its name already reinforces what’s new in data speeds, but if the heat of summer has left your memory hazy about everything else, just remember that it’s the closest the carrier will get in the near future to having a One series phone. The most incredible of Droids has a Snapdragon S4, 960 x 540 screen, 8-megapixel camera and Sense 4.0 like the One S over at T-Mobile. What’s lost in the lower 1.2GHz clock speed and dropping the speedy ImageSense chip is gained through a more pleasing Super LCD, a removable battery and a micro-SD slot. Sound off on any initial impressions of your own purchases in the comments, and hit the store link below to buy one if the upcoming Verizon Galaxy S III just leaves you feeling cold.

PSA: HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE lands in Verizon stores, gets us tongue-tied originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 15:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Been holding onto the hope that Huawei’s quad-core flagship would bow relatively soon? Well, it’s time to swallow an extra dose of patience because it appears the Ascend D Quad is slated for an eventual late summer / early fall launch. As confirmed to the The Inquirer, the Chinese market will get first crack at the device this August, with a Western European debut to follow sometime after in October of this year. Originally outed at this past Mobile World Congress, the well-specced handset was scheduled for a summer release before technical issues revolving around the company’s custom K3 Balong CPU set back mass production. When it finally lands on retailers’ shelves, the one-time dynamo device won’t look nearly as spectacular, given its now dated ICS OS, the glut of existing Android überphones (i.e. Galaxy S III and One X) and those to come. Does it risk becoming yesterday’s mobile news? Only time and your dollars can say for sure.

Huawei Ascend D Quad release set for late August in China, October for European markets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While in the US, our LTE-equipped Galaxy S IIIs are packing dual-core Snapdragon S4 processors, the (so far) Korean-only Galaxy S III LTE that combines the quad-core Exynos processor of the international model with high speed data finally has a release date — July 9th. Samsung’s post indicates three carriers (SK Telecom, KT and LG U+) are lined up for the launch and confirms that the battery will remain at 2,100 mAh along with 2GB of RAM and DMB TV tuning. Having everything will likely come at a price of battery life since the quad-core CPUs are not as well integrated with LTE so far, but those willing to compromise for more cores (despite the dual-core Krait’s not-at-all shabby performance) will likely look on with envy.

Samsung Galaxy S III LTE with quad-core Exynos comes to three Korean carriers July 9th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 01:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you a Sprint customer with a penchant for LTE technology and white handsets? If so, listen up. Intel leaked to blog TechnoBuffalo seems to indicate that the Now Network’s very first LTE-toting handset will be hitting store shelves, in snow white, on July 15th; obviously, we’re talking about HTC’s latest spin on the EVO, the EVO 4G LTE. The albino set, much like its hued brethren already in market, will set you back $200 with a signed two-year commitment, or can be had for $550 contract-free. As an added bonus, it looks like Sprint will also be serving up a buy-on-get-one-free offer on Samsung’s Epic 4G Touch. Purchasing one 4G Touch — scheduled to get Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future — for $99 on-contract will allow you pick up a second set for the always attractive price of $0. Any takers?

Sprint’s white EVO 4G LTE reportedly set for July 15th release, BOGO on Epic 4G Touch in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want mobile data, but without the pesky monetary cost? Samba, a new virtual network in the UK offers just that, in a model similar to the Blyk virtual operator before it. You’ll need to stump up for a SIM (£2.99,) and an optional dongle, then sit back and soak up a few adverts to earn some internet “credit.” The MVNO uses Three‘s network, but keeps a record of your browsing as part of the deal (which, claims the BBC, you can prevent from being used for marketing purposes). To get online you’ll need to install a browser plug-in, or iPad app which will send you off to the commercials before sending you on your digital way. While technically free, it’ll cost you about two-and-a-half minutes of your time a day to get about 517 megabytes of data in a month. Additional credit can be earned through partner deals, or straight up cash if you just want to get on sans adverts. The “free”-dom doesn’t extend to what you can browse though, with some sites (those deemed offensive, or in breach of copyright) being off-limits. Still, if this sounds like a decent trade-off, or a good backup plan, head down to the source after these messages…

Samba launches ad-supported mobile data in the UK, makes you dance for your internet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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