Hasta La Gadget!

So come 19^th September, HTC could be unveiling several new devices, one of which could be the HTC One X+, where the rumors are saying it’s basically an improved version of the HTC One X. The closest thing we have to a confirmation would be its FCC appearance, but beyond that we guess we will have to wait for HTC to make the official announcement themselves. However according to the folks at HTC Source, it seems that if you’re a T-Mobile subscriber and are interested in getting your hands on the One X+, you might be in a spot of bad luck.

They have reported that according to their sources, the T-Mobile variant of the One X+ has been delayed although it was not stated why, and how long it would be delayed for. They are also reporting that even though its design will be similar to that of the One X, it will be slightly thicker due to its larger battery which is probably good news for those hoping for longer battery life. Once again we advise you to take this with a grain of salt, but check back with us in a couple of days for the official details.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HTC One X+ hits the FCC, HTC 8X rumored for possible November release,

More than a week ago, we found out that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a high chance of appearing on T-Mobile, coming under the guise of the Samsung SGH-T889. Well, fast forward to today, and it has been confirmed that T-Mobile will be on the receiving end of the Galaxy Note, where it will sport similar specifications underneath the hood as that of the international variant, while running on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network to boot. You will not need to wait for an operating system update, either, as the Galaxy Note 2 will have Android 4.1 Jelly Bean pre-installed right out of the box.

Word has it that Samsung is hard at work in testing Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the T-Mobile version, compiling test builds once every four to five days, while distributing them to their device testers via OTA. At this point in time, the T889UVALIC Firmware is being tested, freshly compiled on September 15th. All seems to run hunky dory as at press time, and we do hope to see the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 arrive on T-Mobile sooner rather than later lest it loses the “wow” factor in the highly competitive smartphone market.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 headed for Verizon, and more [rumor], Alleged Verizon Galaxy Note 2 gets pictured,

Have you ever wondered just when did the world of mobile phones make the jump to that of a full touchscreen display? Well, I guess the Palm Treo (did you remember that particular smartphone? I had a Treo 600, and was in love with it for a long time) was one of the first few commercially successful models, but none of them really caught the imagination of the masses until the iPhone from Apple came out. Fantastic marketing, a decent product, with a ripe market, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for success. The iPhone has not looked back since, and has gone on to break new records with each successive release. This also introduced an era of touchscreen displays for smartphones, leading up till today when T-Mobile talked about their Tappy device testing robot.

According to Grant Castle, vice president of engineering services and quality assurance for T-Mobile USA, Tappy is a custom built software testing robot, and T-Mobile is proud to announce that they are the only carrier in the US to offer such a robot at their disposal.

Tappy will play the role of the consumer, where he has been specially programmed to simulate just what kind of real world scenarios that users or customers will face when using a touchscreen display on their smartphones, and since this is a robot that needs not rest, eat or sleep, the robot is able to test an entire week’s worth of use over the course of 24 hours, ranging from the keyboard to user interface speeds which is the responsiveness of the software is to the user’s commands, battery life, music, voice calls, gaming, text messaging, e-mail, web browsing, and app downloads amongst others.

It is not that easy to pass Tappy’s test, as the device being tested will need to run non-stop for 24 hours, while executing hundreds of tasks without running into a single hiccup, stall, freeze or glitch.

Tappy’s debut half a decade ago, coupled with numerous quality improvement programs, has effectively allowed T-Mobile to reduce device return costs by 75%, now how about that?

As a T-Mobile customer, are you happy with what T-Mobile has done?

Press Release

[ T-Mobile’s Tappy is a device testing robot copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

While Apple had its preorders primed since 8am BST, British carriers have only just unveiled their monthly prices for the newest iPhone. Vodafone will offer it on contracts from £25 per month — with an initial £249 outlay) or free on £47 per month for two years. That free deal will net you a 16GB iPhone 5, with 2GB of data, unlimited texts and voice minutes. On Orange, a 24-month contract at £46 will nab you the same 16GB model for free, with 3GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. If you drop down to the £20 rate, you’ll have to pay £320 upfront and pick up a lightweight bundle of 100MB of data, 50 texts and 50 minutes. EE stablemate T-Mobile isn’t offering any free iPhones on its carrier plans, but you’ll be able to glean unlimited internet (alongside 2000 voice minutes) on a 16GB iPhone 5 for £109 and £36 per month on contract.

Confusingly, anyone looking to grab the UK’s first LTE network on the iPhone 5 will have to sign up to a “4GEE from EE” plan — which still hasn’t revealed its pricing. We’re checking with EE whether customers that decide to grab a new contract with Orange or T-Mobile will still be able to migrate across — we’d hold off on that pre-order until we hear back from the new 4G network. (Edit: See update below for clarification.) Meanwhile, Three UK currently has the 16GB iPhone on its unlimited data One Plan at £79 upfront, on a £36 per month deal. We’ll update again once we hear O2’s plans.

Update: EE has been in touch to clarify matters:

“Customers can either wait for EE to launch (we will be announcing the date in the coming weeks) or they can sign up to a contract with T-Mobile or Orange and upgrade to EE free of charge once it has launched, as long as they move to an equivalent priced and length plan
on EE.”

Update 2: Phones4U is taking its own pre-orders for those who want to enlist with Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone. O2 has also chipped in with its details and is offering the iPhone 5 on plans starting from £26 per month; like Orange, you’ll have to opt for at least a £46 monthly outlay to get one for free. The O2 plans offer the same unlimited voice and texts, but just 1GB of data. Lastly, Carphone Warehouse has chipped in with its own advance order campaign, although it’s only taking online orders for the 16GB black iPhone at this stage: you’ll need to call in for everything else.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

iPhone 5 contract prices for UK phone networks revealed (updated with O2, Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re on the cusp of Apple’s sixth iPhone launch, and there’s very different expectations than there were last year. The 2011 rumor cycle left more than a few people burned: the later-than-usual October launch and repeated claims of a heavily-remade design led some to a disappointment when the iPhone 4S arrived, even though the final product had a slew of camera, speed and voice command upgrades. This year, the rumors have been grounded well before there was an event date in our hands.

There have been fewer instances of wild rumors. Instead, it’s been based more around pragmatism, using either tangible leaks or sources that have a solid track record. Think of the perennial leaks from the Wall Street Journal or the increasingly well-established sourcing from iMore and The Loop. Whether you’re conspiracy-minded or not, it’s been hard to ignore the sheer number of claims that have tamped down expectations rather than inflated them. It’s as though there’s a collective fear we’ll see a repeat of the 2011 hysteria and deal with fans (or detractors) complaining about missing features that were never promised in the first place.

Where last summer was full of uncertainty, this year there’s a mounting consensus as to what we’ll see, how we’ll get it, and when. Tracking everything that’s been mentioned may be a handful, however. With that in mind, we’ll dive in and gauge what’s likely to emerge from behind Apple’s curtain on September 12th — as well as what we can rule out from the get-go.

Continue reading iPhone 5: the rumor roundup

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

iPhone 5: the rumor roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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