Jun 15

Verizon prolongs its free hotspot party on 4G LTE phones, but then what?

Posted in: 4G, free, hotspot, lte, mobile hotspot, MobileHotspot, thunderbolt, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless

If you’ve been maxing out on Verizon’s mobile hotspot offer that came with your new Samsung Droid Charge, HTC Thunderbolt or LG Revolution, then do carry on. The offer has been extended again, letting you use your 4G LTE handset as a WiFi hotspot for free until July 6th. On that miserable day, a software update will pull the plug and then who knows how much you’ll have to pay? Verizon says its $20/GB tethering charge won’t apply to 4G LTE phones, but it doesn’t state exactly how much it will cost. Oh well, who needs 12Mbps anyway?

Verizon prolongs its free hotspot party on 4G LTE phones, but then what? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

HTC Kingdom soars into FCC’s database, WiMAX radio signals a Sprint release

Posted in: 4G, Android, cdma, HTC, smartphone, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

Up until now, all we’ve had to go on were leaked Blurrycam photos and a few morsels “from the inside.” Now, however, HTC’s going to have an awfully difficult time denying the existence of its so-called Kingdom, known to the FCC as PH44100. The filing itself doesn’t reveal a whole heck of a lot beyond what we already knew — a 4.3-inch qHD display, namely — but the presence of both a CDMA and WiMAX radio assures us that it’ll be heading for Sprint sooner rather than later. A qHD contender for The Now Network? Yes, please.

HTC Kingdom soars into FCC’s database, WiMAX radio signals a Sprint release originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 12

Droid Charge update brings personal hotspot back in time, adds improvements

Posted in: 4G, Android, cellphone, droid, gps, lte, mobile hotspot, mobile phone, MobileHotspot, MobilePhone, ota, phone, samsung, smartphone, Today's Chili, update, verizon

Boy, it sure has been a fun ride for Samsung Droid Charge fans. Since the beginning of this month, said LTE phone’s been plagued by a rather silly bug: its mobile hotspot feature only works if you set the date to some time in May. Thankfully, Verizon has now released an update that’ll bring the device back in time for some hassle-free hotspot action, so that TARDIS of yours can be stowed away for now. Also added in the package is a whole stash of enhancements here and there, including boosted battery life during voice calls, better browser performance, new email folder structure, improved GPS performance, and many more goodies. As usual, anticipating owners can keep an eye out for the OTA update notification, but feel free to chill in May if you’re enjoying the vacation.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Droid Charge update brings personal hotspot back in time, adds improvements originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 10

HTC EVO View 4G tries to sneak through FCC, gets caught

Posted in: 4G, HTC, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

We’re only a fortnight away from Sprint’s launch of the HTC EVO View 4G, and we were beginning to wonder if we’d see the WiMax tablet wander into Washington, DC anytime soon. Today is the day, friends, as we just dug up some test reports for the HTC PG41200 tablet with WiMAX support. While the documents don’t offer up any more juicy details, we won’t have to wait terribly long before we can fork over $400 for the privilege of holding this baby in our own hands. Head past the break for more imagery.

Continue reading HTC EVO View 4G tries to sneak through FCC, gets caught

HTC EVO View 4G tries to sneak through FCC, gets caught originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 09

Motorola’s 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on)

Posted in: 4G, Android, gingerbread, hands-on, motoblur, motorola, Sprint, Today's Chili, video
You know something big is about to go down when you can get the CEOs from two major tech companies to sit down together for lunch. As suspected, today’s Sprint / Motorola event, presided over by Dan Hesse and Sanjay Jha, marked the debut of the rumored Photon 4G. The handset packs a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in memory, and pre-installed Gingerbread — plus, for better or worse, the latest version of Blur. The skinny new smartphone’s got front and rear facing cameras (the latter of which is eight megapixels), a dedicated camera button, and micro-USB and HDMI ports, which will hook into a soon to be announced docking device.

The handset is the first from a US carrier to offer up global 4G connectivity, and it’s also got 3G support, should you need it (that’s CDMA / WiMAX in the US and GSM internationally). Enterprise functionality, traditionally a bit of an oversight with Android handsets, is present too, thanks to business-minded tools built into Blur and increased security, courtesy of the manufacturer’s acquisition of 3LM (“Three Laws Mobility” to its friends). Sprint’s influence shines through as well, with the inclusion of a built-in active kickstand on its rear, a first for a Motorola device. Flip it open, and the display will automatically switch to landscape mode for optimal viewing.

We managed to get a little hands-on time with the device prior to the announcement, and by and large, the touchscreen and software seemed quite responsive. The handset itself is both skinny and narrow and feels good in the hand, though the smooth back doesn’t offer much in the way of traction for those prone to dropping their phones. The buttons on the device were a bit stiff and sunken, though we’ll have to hold off on passing judgment on that front, since this is a pre-production unit — hopefully we’ll get out hands on something more final in the near future. The Photon 4G is set to hit Sprint this summer — an exact date and price point have yet to be announced.

Gallery: Sprint’s Motorola Photon 4G hands-on

Dana Wollman contributed to this report.

Continue reading Motorola’s 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on)

Motorola’s 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 08

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 on sale at NYC Best Buy today, pre-orders now open

Posted in: 4G, Android, availability, BestBuy, dual-core, GalaxyTab, honeycomb, launch, lte, on sale, OnSale, release, samsung, slate, tablet, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili, verizon

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is finally among us. At noon Eastern Time today, Best Buy’s New York City store at Union Square will start selling Samsung’s extra-slim 10-inch Tegra 2 tablet, with the first 200 buyers also receiving a matching leather pouch to store their precious inside of. Geographically challenged Android tablet lovers will also be able to pre-order the Tab 10.1 from Best Buy today (eventually, the pre-order button doesn’t currently work) and widespread US availability is still expected on June 17th. Pricing isn’t explicitly listed on Best Buy’s landing page, but we presume it’s the same as we’ve been told earlier: $499 for the 16GB or $599 for the 32GB WiFi-only versions. If you can’t live without some LTE goodness in your mobile life, Verizon’s also promised pre-orders for the 4G-capable Galaxy Tab 10.1 today, though that costs a far less palatable $530 (16GB) and $630 (32GB) on top of a two-year data contract.

[Thanks, Jack and Arturo]

Update: Best Buy has sorted out its systems and all four WiFi variants (black or white, with 16GB or 32GB storage) are up for pre-order.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 on sale at NYC Best Buy today, pre-orders now open originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 07

HTC Sensation goes to FCC for a second helping, flavored with AT&T bands

Posted in: 4G, att, HTC, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili
At the risk of toying with our ever-so-fragile hearts, the HTC Sensation took a second spin through the hallowed halls (or labs) of the FCC. This time, however, it went through with slightly different innards. The same PG58110 was spotted sneaking a visit to the nation’s capital with AT&T frequencies — 850 / 1900, to be specific — in tow, rather than the T-Mobile AWS we saw in the first go-round. Now, before any Big Blue loyalists jump too far out of their chairs, know that this doesn’t guarantee we’ll see an AT&T-branded Sensation adorning the walls of retail stores, but at least there’s a chance we’ll see an unlocked version to purchase on our own at some point. It seems like a lot for a manufacturer to go through when it could’ve just included all of the US bands in one phone, but we digress. Follow the break for another FCC image.

Continue reading HTC Sensation goes to FCC for a second helping, flavored with AT&T bands

HTC Sensation goes to FCC for a second helping, flavored with AT&T bands originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 07

New and improved Droid Bionic getting a 4.5-inch display and docking connection?

Posted in: 4G, Android, delay, droid, in the wild, InTheWild, leak, lte, motorola, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless

Since Motorola delayed the launch of the LTE-equipped Droid Bionic to carry out “several enhancements,” we’ve debated if this might entail swapping out Tegra 2 in favor of a PowerVR GPU. But now leaked photos are starting to surface, and it would seem that Motorola went and redesigned the body, too. These pics reveal a phone what might be a 4.5-inch qHD display running Gingerbread — not the 4.3-incher with Froyo that was originally slated to ship this spring. Even more intriguing, the revamped handset sports an Atrix-like docking connection, suggesting that new and improved user experience will include the option of a so-called lapdock. And, as an added flourish, Motorola smoothed out the rubberized back cover, nixing the pattern it had at CES. No further word on a launch date, but for now you can get your fill of spy shots at the source link.

New and improved Droid Bionic getting a 4.5-inch display and docking connection? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 06

T-Mobile might launch Samsung Exhibit 4G and Gravity Smart June 22nd?

Posted in: 4G, Android, gingerbread, Google, launch, leak, leaks, rumor, rumors, samsung, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili
Millions of schoolchildren may be getting ready for three months of lazy summer days, but T-Mob’s just starting to get its hustle on. Samsung’s Gingerbread-equipped Exhibit 4G and Froyo-laden Gravity Smart have been officially confirmed for sometime in the month of June, but all is quiet about the exact date. If this leaked screenshot above comes to fruition, though, it means we’ll be seeing these two phones hit the shelves on June 22. The Exhibit 4G will tempt us with access to T-Mobile’s 21 Mbps HSPA+ network, while the Gravity Smart looks to be a splendid entry-level QWERTY slider. The pricing for either phone is still anybody’s guess, but at least the possibilities have been narrowed to $100 or less — a good idea, since it wouldn’t take any sales away from the Sensation 4G if it were any higher.

T-Mobile might launch Samsung Exhibit 4G and Gravity Smart June 22nd? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 06

HTC EVO 3D launches on June 24th for $200, joined by EVO View 4G tablet at $400

Posted in: 4G, 7-inch, Android, breaking news, dual-core, DualCore, gingerbread, HTC, launch, official, slate, smartphone, tablet, Today's Chili, WiMAX

The HTC bonanza that Sprint has been cooking up for a while now has its official launch date: June 24th. That will be the day when the 4.3-inch EVO 3D and its tablet buddy, the 7-inch EVO View 4G, launch on the Now Network, both equipped with WiMAX radios and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) as their OS. The 1.2GHz dual-core EVO 3D costs $200 on contract, with pre-orders available right now provided you buy a $50 Sprint gift card, whereas the 1.5GHz single-core EVO View 4G will set you back double that, at $400, while still requiring a two-year contract. Skip past the break for the full press release details.

Oh, we’ve also just noticed that Sprint Premier customers will be able to buy the EVO 3D online on June 21st — a three-day headstart on the competition to say thank you for being so damn premier.

Continue reading HTC EVO 3D launches on June 24th for $200, joined by EVO View 4G tablet at $400

HTC EVO 3D launches on June 24th for $200, joined by EVO View 4G tablet at $400 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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