Hasta La Gadget!

If Computex was a coming out party for Windows 8 Ultrabooks, Toshiba was one of the wallflowers: though the company teased some concept devices, it only let journalists photograph them from certain angles, and with their screens turned off. Now, though, we’re closing the summer with yet another tradeshow, and Toshiba is using the occasion to demo its wares in more detail. The company just announced the Satellite U925t, that Windows 8 slider we showed you earlier in the summer. No word on price, except that it’s expected to be “slightly north” of the Satellite U845W, which starts at $1,000. We do know that it will ship on October 26th, the day Win 8 formally launches.

In the meantime, Toshiba hasn’t left any specs to the imagination. What we have here is a 12.5-inch Ultrabook with a slide-out, Gorilla Glass touchscreen. Pushing the screen up reveals a built-in keyboard, and we were pleasantly surprised in our hands-on to find that it’s actually quite spacious. (With this form factor, the propped up display usually cuts into the usable keyboard space.) The keys are also backlit, and have the same feel as what you’ll find on Toshiba’s U845 and U845W Ultrabooks. That is to say they’re shallow, and very, very quiet. The whole package weighs “just over three pounds” and measures about 0.8 inches thick, making it easy enough to stuff in a carry-on.

When you push up the display you’ll also find another surprise: an autofocusing 3-megapixel camera on the back side. For good measure, there’s also a lower-res shooter up front. On the inside, it packs a Core i5 processor, Intel HD 4000 graphics and a 128GB SSD. Like many other Ultrabooks, it also has Intel’s Wireless Display tech on board, though you’ll of course have to buy the requisite set-top box separately. Taking a tour around the device, you’ll find a mix of tablet- and laptop-style trappings: two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, vents, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker and a button for turning off screen auto-rotation.

Software-wise, Toshiba is bundling Desktop Assist, a utility designed to give Windows 8 newbies quick access to files, programs and the like. You’ll also see Live Tiles for things like Toshiba Central (a support hub), Book Place and Toshiba App Place. That’s all she wrote for now, but expect us to follow up closer to October 26th with a more specific price. Until then, we’ve got hands-on photos below, along with a short walk-through video.

Continue reading Toshiba unveils U925t Ultrabook with slide-out touchscreen, keeps the price a secret for now

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

Toshiba unveils U925t Ultrabook with slide-out touchscreen, keeps the price a secret for now originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Call it the end to a brief chapter in the Windows Phone saga. While there had been murmurs that the HTC Arrive was on its way out soon, any doubt has been removed now that the smartphone has vanished from Sprint’s website and is likely on the endangered list at retail stores. The QWERTY slider’s retirement leaves Sprint without any sort of Windows Phone in its roster, cutting the number of major US carriers backing Microsoft’s platform down to three. Before you ask, we honestly don’t know if the CDMA provider has a replacement waiting in the wings anytime soon: rumors of a Sprint Windows Phone 8 model surfaced as early as March, but the Yellow Swoosh network was nowhere to be seen among the Windows Phone 8 launch partners slated for this fall. The gap is conspicuous enough that Sprint subscribers may need a heaping amount of patience if they’re not willing to switch networks for a Windows Phone fix in the near future.

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Arrive makes its exit, leaves Sprint with a Windows Phone-shaped hole originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  WPCentral  | Email this | Comments

The Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q might have missed the August 15th date mentioned in its leaked press shot, but a rumored name change would still put the future T-Mobile device in the running for the most convoluted phone name ever. Although there’s a distinct lack of tangible evidence — take this with a grain of salt — the usually reliable TmoNews hears Samsung’s TouchWiz-infused QWERTY slider will be called the Galaxy S Relay 4G when it ships. No, we’re not feeling it, either. While there’s no word on an updated release date, we’d at least like the earlier claims of a Snapdragon S4 to be true so that the phone is worthy of the respect the name isn’t providing.

Update: Just in case there was any doubt, TmoNews has snagged a training document that shows the new name and mentions a 1.5GHz processor of an unknown make (likely the S4), a 4-inch display, S Voice and support for mobile hotspots.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q may be renamed to equally awkward Galaxy S Relay 4G (update: image) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TmoNews  | Email this | Comments

Gone are the days when $50 got you a flip phone that could make calls, send texts and shoot super-low-quality thumbnails. T-Mobile’s myTouch offerings aim to provide all the functionality of a top-tier smartphone, coupled with the kind of hardware and software top-tier handsets were offering a year or two ago.

After letting HTC and LG have a go at the myTouch series, T-Mobile tapped Huawei to design its latest devices, the myTouch and myTouch Q, a garden-variety slab and a full QWERTY slider, respectively. This time around, the carrier chose phones with more expansive 4-inch, 800 x 480 displays, among other improvements to the design and internals. Unfortunately, software wasn’t considered in the upgrade: both of these run the aging Android 2.3 OS. Suffice to say, skinned Gingerbread is likely to turn off some shoppers, but it’s still worth asking if people on a budget might appreciate these devices when they go on sale Wednesday for $50, post-rebate. So are there any redeeming qualities to speak of, if not the software experience? Read on to find out.

Continue reading T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q review: two budget-friendly phones, one aging OS

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q review: two budget-friendly phones, one aging OS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

During Sprint’s earnings call, CEO Dan Hesse revealed that Motorola’s Photon Q, the company’s latest LTE “world phone” is coming “very soon.” The Photon Q is believed to be the Android 4.0-running QWERTY-slider you can see in the image above, but now that the company’s head has let the cat out of the bag, we expect more details to roll around very shortly.

Update: Sprint’s PR engine has kicked into gear, offering the deep dish on the new handset. It’s a super-specced edition of last year’s Photon 4G and will indeed offer a QWERTY-sliding experience on Ice Cream Sandwich. Beneath the 4.3-inch ColorBoost display you’ll find a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera and NFC as well as Motorola’s Smartactions application to help users extend battery life and anticipate your daily routines. Pricing and availability will be announced within the “next few weeks,” but given how excited Dan Hesse sounded, we can’t imagine we’ll be waiting too long.

Continue reading Sprint’s Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming ‘very soon’ (update)

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint’s Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming ‘very soon’ (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Sprint Community  | Email this | Comments