Hasta La Gadget!

Having launched an all-out blitz on the high-end of US smartphones, Samsung must be eager to conquer the mid-range as well. A Verizon rebate list finding its way to Droid-Life has the previously unknown Galaxy Stellar showing up amongst the carrier’s more budget-minded smartphones for a $50 discount sometime between now and an August 19th expiry date. There’s little we can definitively attach to that starry-eyed name so far, although we have our hunches: first and foremost is that it’s the Jasper, the Snapdragon S4-touting spiritual successor to the Droid Charge. It might alternately be the even more mysterious SCH-i415, which just showed up at the FCC this weekend and could be a world-roaming sequel to the Stratosphere (SCH-i405) with CDMA, LTE and GSM all rolled into one. Whether the Galaxy Stellar is one of these two devices or something entirely off of the map, there’s a strong indication between this, Sprint’s mystery SPH-L300 and the slightly more tangible Galaxy Reverb that Samsung will leave no CDMA corner unturned in the near future.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Galaxy Stellar pops up in Verizon docs, might light up our skies soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Confusingly announced by Fujitsu, the Toshiba Regza T-02D will settle into a wall of similarly bright-colored, good-looking smartphones in NTT DoCoMo stores starting this week. The (Japan-only) phone’s 4.3-inch OLED screen holds onto a middling qHD resolution, but Fujitsu says its “new AMOLED Plus technology” will apparently render in higher clarity than any of its preceding smartphone displays — we’ll wait to see it in action before coming to any conclusions. There’s no word on who’s behind the dual-core 1.5GHz processor, but Xi connectivity (how Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo brands its LTE provision) makes a Qualcomm chipset likely. Fujitsu is also pushing the phone’s ‘human-centric’ Android skin, like what we saw on its own quad-core slab). This involves a collection of UI tweaks to the base Android 4.0 OS, including Intellicolor, where the phone will sense the color of ambient light and tweak the display accordingly. The phone’s 13.1-megapixel camera reaches an impressively high ISO level of 25600, running on Sony’s back-illuminated Exmor R sensor, while Fujitsu’s also channeled the ghost of the original Motorola Atrix, resurrecting a fingerprint unlock sensor. Other features worth mentioning include high-definition NOTTV compatibility, plus certified water and dust resistance. As is expected from the world of Japanese smartphones, there’s a selection of colors too — the T-02D will be available in Pink, Black and Blue from launch. Japan residents wondering exactly which company made the phone can try to get their head around the full release below.

Continue reading Toshiba REGZA T-02D smartphone launches in Japan: ‘New AMOLED Plus’ display, old resolution

Filed under: Cellphones

Toshiba REGZA T-02D smartphone launches in Japan: ‘New AMOLED Plus’ display, old resolution originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it was exciting to hear that XBMC is making its way to Android, the Plex media center has been on the platform since last year and was recently updated with a few new features. Version 2.2.0.5 of the $5 app adds the ability to accept remote control commands from any of the company’s other mobile clients, so if your phone or tablet is dangling from the TV, you can still control playback or browse media without getting up. Also new is the “QuickSilver” media transcoder from the latest Plex Media Server release which we’re assured we will hear more about in the future, it’s currently expected to provide improved video quality, particularly on the Kindle Fire. Since the feature is still experimental you’ll have to specifically enable it in the settings menu, hit the official blog for more details on how to get it running, the full changelog and newly expanded list of devices that support HTTP Live Streaming.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software

Plex Android app updated with remote control from mobile devices, new transcoding originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kyocera has already committed to launching the Hydro with Boost Mobile next month, but the Rise is still the bridesmaid, and not a bride — at least, not until a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it leak that emerged this weekend. A Twitter update by EV leaks has the Android 4.0 QWERTY slider attached to Sprint and Virgin Mobile, with a press photo of the Sprint version as evidence. Unfortunately, that’s about all we’ll get to see in the near future: the post and the whole account ceased to exist not long after they first appeared, which makes permanent proof a little hard to come by other than through an Unwired View recap. Still, we already know the Rise is destined for CDMA providers in the US, and Sprint’s longstanding partnership with Kyocera makes the Rise an obvious candidate as the carrier’s next on-the-cheap messaging device — the image may just give our hunches some meaning.

Filed under: Cellphones

Kyocera Rise linked to Sprint and Virgin Mobile in leak, clue vanishes in a hot minute originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 02:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the dead of summer, what’s the easiest way to stay super-cool whilst keeping up with the hottest news in portable communications technology? Why, it’s sticking a 120-minute cassette of the Engadget Mobile Podcast in your Walkman Sport, getting airlifted to Patagonia, and sitting atop an icy mountain, chewing a stick of your favorite peppermint gum, of course. If you’re looking for a quick chill, though, just hit the play button below and let the digital breeze flow gently through your skull. Either way.

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen
Guest: Joseph Volpe
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Tycho – Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)

00:01:44 – Motorola Atrix HD review
00:09:25 – HTC confirms Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for One X, One XL and One S, includes AT&T, T-Mobile and Rogers models
00:20:37 – LG Optimus 4X HD review: runner-up to the quad-core throne
00:28:19 – LG Optimus Vu review: a 5-inch, pen-enabled phone to take on the Galaxy Note
00:36:50 – T-Mobile officially confirms Samsung Galaxy Note, more details in coming weeks (Update: Official PR!)
00:40:27 – Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless review
00:41:00 – Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon appears on Samsung’s website
00:45:22 – AT&T and Verizon shared data plans compared
00:59:35 – PSA: Sprint LTE goes live today, honest and for true (update: includes Missouri)
01:15:35 – Import ban on select Motorola Android products starts today
01:19:07 – WSJ: Next iPhone to have even thinner screen
01:27:45 – Google acquires Sparrow, the Apple-focused email app maker
01:32:28 – Nokia’s Q2 2012 financials: 4 million Lumias sold, $1.01 billion dollar loss
01:34:08 – Nokia and AT&T cut Lumia 900 price to $50, sweeten the Windows Phone 7.8 pot
01:48:00 – iPad prototype renderings from early-2000s revealed in Apple / Samsung court filings (update: comparison shots)

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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Mobile Podcast 146 – 07.22.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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