Hasta La Gadget!

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you’re like us and really want to know what’s going on, then you’ve come to the right place. This past week, AT&T revealed grand plans for LTE expansion that’ll continue through the end of the year and the Galaxy Reverb for Virgin Mobile officially went up for preorder. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of September 3rd, 2012.

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of September 3rd, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Mobile Miscellany: week of September 3rd, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are plenty of (terribly named) stars in Samsung’s Galaxy, but despite the overcrowding, its stateside constellation’s showing no signs of slowing. Joining US Cellular’s lineup as early as this Friday, the Metrix 4G packs a mix of yesteryear’s specs for a budget LTE alternative to the GS III. The 4-inch handset, outfitted with the OEM’s preferred Super AMOLED display tech, runs the incredibly stale Android 2.3 Gingerbread atop a single-core 1GHz processor and packs a dual 1.3-megapixel front facing / 5-megapixel rear camera setup into a slide-out QWERTY form factor. If you happen to live within the operator’s 4G footprint, you’ll be able to snag this handset for $130 with a mail-in rebate, otherwise outliers will have to chalk up an additional $50. Skip on past the break to check out the company’s official PR.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G hits US Cellular this Friday for $180

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G hits US Cellular this Friday for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! The end of summer vacation isn’t nearly as much fun as the weeks that come before, but a chance to update your tech tools likely helps to ease the pain. Today, we’re tapping away on our brand-new smartphones — and you can head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of August we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — you can hit up the hub page right here!

It’s a good time to be a student. Last year, there were some solid picks, but it was still very clear that those willing to scrimp and save a little longer had a much better experience. This year, it’s a people’s revolution. Thanks to cutthroat competition, there are some exceptional phones out there, even for those of you hoping to avoid eating ramen noodles for a month. Software has taken a leap forward too, with many phones now offering a vital way to remember when that term paper is due… or to procrastinate at the pub. We have nine choices of phones in our shortlist, spread out across three categories to serve everyone from the I-just-need-a-phone freshman to the overloaded doctoral candidate. While you’re eying the selection, don’t forget to enter our giveaway and potentially ease the burden — who knows, you may get a phone you want rather than the one dictated by your student loan.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: smartphones

Filed under: Cellphones

Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the launch of the Atrix HD a couple weeks ago, Motorola’s looking to continue building momentum by launching two new devices on US Cellular this week. First up is the Electrify 2, the obvious followup to the regional carrier’s version of the Photon 4G. Available online beginning today and in stores tomorrow, the new Electrify will feature Ice Cream Sandwich, a 4.3-inch ColorBoost panel, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Kevlar backing, an 8MP rear camera capable of taking 1080p video capture, decently thin profile (8.4mm) and a splash guard similar to what we saw on the Atrix HD and Droid RAZR. While USCC’s site tells us that pricing may vary by location, it looks like the Electrify 2 is going for $180 after a $100 mail-in rebate and the obligatory two-year commitment.

The second device in Moto’s arsenal is the Defy XT, due to launch on August 3rd. We’ve seen this model land in other parts of the world, but this is the first time it’s hit a major mobile operator in the US (unless you count Republic Wireless as a contender). The Defy XT is a bit more on the rugged side, featuring an IP67 durability rating, a 3.7-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) display with Gorilla Glass, Android 2.3, a 1,700mAh battery, 5MP camera with 720p video record, 1GHz CPU and 512MB RAM. We’re still waiting to hear back from US Cellular on the pricing, but we anticipate it to be in the mid-range. In the meantime, the press release is below for your general perusal.

Continue reading US Cellular launches Motorola Electrify 2 today for $180, Defy XT on August 3rd

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

US Cellular launches Motorola Electrify 2 today for $180, Defy XT on August 3rd originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just as the leak last night indicated, Samsung is finally ready to deliver Ice Cream Sandwich to Sprint’s Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. Samsung also announced today that US Cellular’s similar but WiMAX-less SCH-R760 Galaxy S II is getting the same (Update: an entirely different) FF18 update as well. The changelogs are available at the source links below, interestingly Android Beam is mentioned since these devices lack NFC, it’s hard to see how that could be on the list. US Cellular users can download and install the update right now using a SimpleDL tool on a Windows PC, however unfortunately there’s no support for any other operating systems at this time. On Sprint the update is coming out OTA and will slowly arrive on devices over the next few days, but if you’re impatient then we’d keep an eye on the thread at XDA Developers for reports on how well it works as well as some sideloaded workarounds.

Update: So sorry for US Cellular folks, it appears your wait will continue. While sharing a tag, the update for your phone resolves an issue with getting GPS lock… and that’s it. There’s always CyanogenMod or AOKP, right? Also, while we’re at it, check out the updated ZDA Developers link to download ICS for the Epic 4G Touch directly, plus a quick how-to install video (embedded after the break.) [Thanks @jbro456]

Continue reading Sprint Epic 4G Touch (Update: but not US Cellular Galaxy S II) ICS update is official, start rolling out today

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint Epic 4G Touch (Update: but not US Cellular Galaxy S II) ICS update is official, start rolling out today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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