Hasta La Gadget!

T-Mobile’s Sidekick handset is a pretty iconic one that has been used in many television shows, movies and music videos in the past due to its rather unique way of sliding open. That being said, if you were planning on getting your hands on the Sidekick 4G from T-Mobile, you might be out of luck as T-Mobile has reportedly confirmed to the folks at PhoneScoop that the phone has been retired. Now if you were a bit bummed by that and are wondering if this could be the end of the Sidekick series of mobile phones, you can breathe a sigh of relief as the T-Mobile rep who shared the news was quoted as saying, “it doesn’t mean we are discontinuing the T-Mobile Sidekick line.” While it was not specifically mentioned, you could take the chance and pop on over to a local T-Mobile store to try your luck and see if they have any remaining units available that you could buy.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: T-Mobile releases Sidekick 4G OTA update – no, it’s not Gingerbread, T-Mobile Sidekick 4G will have limited supplies at launch,

T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note has been one of the worst-kept handset secrets in recent memory but the one thing the carrier managed to keep close to its proverbial chest is when its customers could actually go and get their hands on one. According to CNET, T-Mobile will begin selling its version of Samsung’s 5.3-inch phablet on August 8, for a cool $249 with a two-year contract.

Of course, whether or not you should buy one is another story entirely. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with the T-Mobile version per se — it’s nearly identical to the AT&T model, save for its lack of an LTE radio and the fact that it ships loaded with Ice Cream Sandwich. What really makes things dicey is the launch window that T-Mobile and Samsung have come up with.

You see, Samsung is expected to pull back the curtains on its “newest Galaxy device” just one week after T-Mo’s Galaxy Note goes on sale, and there are significant rumblings that said device is none other than the Galaxy Note 2.

If early reports hold true, the update should be a substantial one. South Korea’s MK Business News reported earlier this month that the new phablet will sort a quad-core chipset, a surprisingly beefy 12 or 13-megapixel camera, and an ever larger display — as if the Note didn’t already skew toward the unwieldy side of things. Samsung being Samsung, there’s no official word on what the company plans to unveil come the 15th — it may well be the oft-delayed Galaxy Note tablet — but it’s still a strong argument for staying at home and waiting to see what the Korean electronics giant has up its voluminous sleeves.

Despite the sweltering heat waves, our spirits are high at Engadget, and for good reason: it’s time for our summer edition of the smartphone buyer’s guide. Here, you’ll find our top recommendations for the best smartphones across several US carriers, along with the best QWERTY and budget alternatives. In many ways, it’s now easier than ever to find a world-class smartphone, but unless you’ve developed a strong brand preference, choosing one is likely more difficult than ever before. It’s no secret that the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III have firmly cemented themselves as the premier smartphones of the day, but if you’re torn between the two, we’ll reveal our preference in this latest installment.

Summertime also brought a bit of a shock, as Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 8 apps won’t be compatible with the current generation of Windows Phone hardware. For this reason, we’ve excluded all Windows Phone handsets from consideration in the latest buyer’s guide. While the future of Microsoft’s mobile platform looks incredibly bright, a purchase now would guarantee obsolescence in the short-term. Instead, all prospective Windows Phone purchasers must wait for the next generation of handsets to become available — you’ll regret it otherwise.

Naturally, there is no shortage of rumors surrounding the next Apple iPhone, and given the handset’s current lack of LTE connectivity, the iPhone 4S is certainly showing its age. While cautious purchasers may choose to bide their time, the iPhone remains top-notch in many other respects, and its arrival at a number of prepaid carriers brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stagnant environment.

If you’re curious to see how it all unfolded — and we know you are — join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

Continue reading Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: summer 2012 edition

Filed under: Cellphones

Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: summer 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A week and a half ago, we mentioned about the HTC Era 42 in passing, and here we are with more details that might just stoke your interest. Apparently, it seems that the HTC One X+ and the HTC Era 42 are the very same and one device, and it would most probably head towards T-Mobile. Taylor of Androidandme fame mentioned that the “plus” suffix is most probably an indicator of Tegra 3 Plus. What does that mean in plain English?  The HTC One X for T-Mobile will now sport a beefier 1.7GHz processor. Now that you know HTC’s flagship smartphone has been given a hardware upgrade, and not only that, it is nearly ready to launch on T-Mobile, don’t you think that you should start making the necessary preparations and save up enough money so that you can bring this puppy home when the time arrives? I wonder how much of an impact the faster processor would have on the battery life…

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Android 4.0 update for HTC Amaze 4G now available, T-Mobile’s HTC Amaze 4G has reportedly been delayed due to an “unforeseen issue”,

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of July 16th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software

Refresh Roundup: week of July 16th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 21:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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