Hasta La Gadget!

As the leaves turn to gold and flutter from the trees, the Engadget team digs out their scarves and mittens to get ready for the mad rush of phone launches that take place ahead of the holiday season. We’ve seen big devices (both large and high-profile ones) enter the world over the last few months, including new heavyweights from Apple and Google. Then there’s Samsung, Nokia and HTC, which are all following the philosophy that bigger is better.

But it’s not just on the hardware side that things are getting exciting. T-Mobile’s eliminated roaming charges and Verizon is doubling its LTE speeds to a whopping 80 Mbps. AT&T is offering customers a $5 daily pass for internet and is making mobile share plans the standard rather than the exception. Of course, if you’d prefer unlimited data, Sprint is promising that its Spark LTE will beat the field — but it’s currently only available in NYC, LA, Chicago, Tampa and Miami. Whether you’re looking for a smartphone right now, or if you’re contract is about to expire, this is your guide to the best ones on the market.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Google, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, LG, Blackberry, T-Mobile

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Google’s neat, new wireless charger—for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and Nexus 7—is now available in the Play Store. $50 to you, my friend.

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Just last week we reported that the 16GB Nexus 5 handset had officially gone out of stock at the Google Play store. Instead of stating a time when the handset would be made available, Google simply asked customers to check back soon. Well the good news is that it looks like stock for the 16GB Nexus 5 has quietly made its way back into the Google Play store and is currently up for order for those who are interested. According to Google Play, they list the handset as shipping from their warehouse in 3-4 weeks so it’s still going to be a bit of a wait, but we guess it’s better than nothing, right?

The Nexus 5 handset was announced at the end of October and given its rather low price, off-contract mind you, it is no surprise that the device proved to be extremely popular. That and coupled with the fact that the handset came with the latest stock version of Android 4.4 KitKat, it was unsurprising that the device sold out rather quickly. However unlike last year’s fiasco with the Nexus 4, orders for the Nexus 5 appear to be going pretty smoothly this year, so hopefully come 2014, Google will have a better grasp on the demand of their products and have more stock on hand.

16GB Nexus 5 Now Back In Stock On Google Play original content from Ubergizmo.

Holy cow, it’s already dark out. And depending where you are, probably cold. Everything we’ve got for you this week has a glowing screen. Which might not physically warm you, but you could at least pretend you’re getting some Vitamin D out of the deal.

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When it comes to T-Mobile’s flirtation with the Nexus 5 from Google, it has been quite a journey. Earlier in the week, we brought you word that the Nexus 5 will launch on T-Mobile this November 14th, where pre-orders for the smartphone went live a day after that report was published. Here we are now with November 14th displayed on our respective calendars, and we are pleased as punch to say that the Nexus 5 is now available via T-Mobile if you are interested in picking up this Android 4.4 KitKat powered smartphone.

Of course, the smartphone itself cannot yet be found in T-Mobile stores, as that will only happen from next Wednesday onward. Apart from that, you ought to prepare yourself to fork out a little bit more for the smartphone because T-Mobile intends to make some profit on the hardware from consumers. An online order for a T-Mobile Nexus 5 will cost you $449 in full, or you can always opt for an equipment installment plan that will cost you $41 upfront with a $17 monthly payment for the next two years. Would you be willing to fork out an additional $100 to avoid the wait for the Nexus 5 from Google directly? I guess this just goes to show that there is a price for everything. [Product Page]

Nexus 5 Now On Sale Officially On T-Mobile original content from Ubergizmo.