Hasta La Gadget!

With the launch of iOS 5 on Wednesday and the iPhone 4S today, excited iOS users have queued up to make the transition to Apple’s latest and greatest. Unfortunately for many, the transition hasn’t been as smooth as they’d hoped.

A number of early adopters who tried to upgrade to iOS 5 late Wednesday and Thursday experienced errors due to a massive influx of traffic on Apple’s servers. And this morning, Verizon and AT&T’s activation servers appear to be having a similar issue. Luckily, repeated attempts, or just waiting a while until server loads go down, fixes the issue for most upgraders.

Many users who tried to update on Wednesday afternoon got “Error 3200” or “Internal Service” errors because their devices weren’t able to make a connection to Apple’s servers. The issue became widespread as iOS users across the globe decided it was time to update, and Apple’s servers couldn’t keep up with the crushing volume of traffic.

At least one iPhone user who attempted the iOS 5 upgrade ended up bricking his phone after getting the Error 3200 message.

Twitter searches for Error 3200 or AT&T activation reveal complaints from quite a few iOS users, and there are additional reports of Verizon having server problems Friday morning. “Error 3200” became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter by Wednesday evening.

On AT&T, the error message reads: “Your activation is still pending. You will receive an email notification once your activation is complete.” Below that it reads, “We’re sorry. There was a problem connecting to the server. Please try again later.” Some suffering from this issue have already deactivated their previous iPhones (including our own editor, Jon Phillips). These folks are now left without any cell service until server loads die down.

If you want to avoid such issues, it may be best to hold off a few days or weeks to make the jump. Although Apple has an extremely robust beta program — iOS 5 has been available to developers since May — there is also still a possibility of system bugs, which would inevitably be ironed out within the next few weeks. To wit: When the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 launched last summer, Apple issued the iOS 4.1 update that fixed problems like sluggish performance on the 3GS and proximity-sensor issues.

Another thing to consider: If you’ve jailbroken your device, when you upgrade to iOS 5 you will lose your jailbreak (there is a tethered jailbreak already available, though). Regardless, with iOS 5, you may not even feel the need to jailbreak, as some traditional jailbreak-only features — like having the camera button on the lock screen and better notifications — are now built-in.

Have you been experiencing iOS 5 download or iPhone 4S activation-related issues? Share your experiences in the comments.

Image: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com

Jawbone’s fitness-obsessed wristband appears to be closing in on the retail finish line. The Up pairs with what appears to be an iOS app, (no news on whether an Android version is in the pipeline), and will pile on the guilt about your disgustingly sedentary lifestyle. You can have the luxury of feeling like a weight loss reality show contestant by scheduling “get up and move” reminders when you’ve succumbed to watching back-to-back mediocre sitcoms with a Doritos family bag chaser. There’s also a sleep tracker and a challenge tab to plot your amazing weight loss journey (or descent to an early demise) against friends and family. It’ll monitor what you eat, and even tell you which foods “help you feel your best.” (We think it’s cake.) No word on price or arrival date just yet, so you’ll just have to put up with Autom until we hear more.

[Thanks, Luke]

Jawbone’s Up wristband warms up at AT&T store, wants you faster, stronger originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SAN DIEGO — Motorola’s first iteration of its Atrix smartphone promised a lot. You could stick the phone into a keyboard dock to turn it into an ersatz notebook, and a powerful processor and multimedia output connectivity imbued the device with media hub aspirations. The Atrix’s successor follows that well-worn path, but offers improved specs and a kinder price.

The handset has all of the characteristics of a classic movie sequel: Same cast (1-GHz dual-core processor, this time care of a TI chip) and the same plot (multiple connectivity options for Motorola’s peripherals, including a laptop dock and HDMI-out/charging station). But, fortunately, Motorola has also picked up the pace; The phone runs exclusively on AT&T’s HSPA+ network, topping out at speeds of 21 Mbps (or so says Moto). And unlike most follow-ups, this sequel costs less — the Atrix 2 is now $100 with a two-year contract.

But the biggest difference is in the wrapping. The phone just feels right. Sort of like Goldilocks looking for her perfect bed — not too big, not too small, the perfect size. With a rubberized backing surrounded by a sleek, metallic-finished bezel, the Atrix 2 feels far better in hand than its plasticky predecessor.

The 4.3-inch, 960 x 640 qHD screen isn’t the largest out there, but it’s certainly ample enough for media consumption and app use.

Expect the usual accoutrements we see in today’s higher-end smartphones: an 8-megapixel back-facing camera (upgraded from the first Atrix’s lens) with 1080p HD video capture, a full gig of RAM for speedier performance, and 8 gigs of on-board storage expandable via microSD card.

So, yes, the Atrix 2 is nice. And, yes, it’s a step up from Moto’s  first-gen model. But like any sequel, the improvements are marginal — more like minor upgrades than major revamps. If you dug the first Atrix, you’ll probably dig this one more. But not by much.

If you own an iPhone 4 on AT&T, using the device while traveling internationally means paying sky-high roaming fees, jailbreaking or limiting data use to when you’re on a WiFi network, either with a public hotspot or through a service like Xcom Global. Verizon iPhone 4 owners, however, don’t have the option of GSM roaming at all, and can only make calls and use cellular data in countries that support CDMA. All that changes with the iPhone 4S, however — Macworld has confirmed that Sprint will sell its version of the device with the Micro SIM slot unlocked, with Verizon offering free unlocking to customers after the first 60 days of service. iPhone 4S owners will then be able to purchase a Micro SIM overseas, allowing them to access data and make calls at local rates, for a fraction of what it would cost to roam. AT&T iPhone 4S owners won’t have this option, however, so if you make frequent trips overseas, this benefit alone may be enough to justify purchasing the phone through Sprint or Verizon, saving some users hundreds or thousands of dollars in international roaming fees.

Update: Our source article was incorrect, and Sprint has told us that its SIM will not be unlocked, adding that the card will not even be removable.

Our SIM does not come out of the device – I believe the same is true of Verizon’s iPhone but you would need to confirm that with them. Customers can sign up for one of our international rate plans and use this phone all over the world. When traveling internationally, there is a setting that must be turned on within the device to connect to GSM. The phone will work with a SIM that is provided within the device out of the box. International voice and data charges are on a pay-as-you-go basis and vary based on the country where the customer is using their phone; a list of rates is available at www.sprint.com/international.

Update 2: We heard from Sprint a second time, which redacted part of its previous statement. The carrier further explained “the SIM is removable and is not affixed to the device,” which as you may notice directly contradicts the statement made earlier today. We’ve reached out to Apple twice and are awaiting further clarification.

[Thanks, Julio]

Sprint and Verizon confirm iPhone 4S Micro SIM unlock for international travel (update: Sprint remains locked?) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola and AT&T are at it again with their Android shenanigans, this time following up the Atrix 4G with something a tad more… Atrix-y. Indeed, we’re referring to the sequel of February’s smash hit, honorably called the Motorola Atrix 2, announced at this week’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications. We had the opportunity to get some brief time with it, and it’s a fair device worthy of the family name: the 4.3-inch device feels good in the hand, and closely resembles the Photon 4G, only without the cutout corners. The sequel swaps processors, trading the 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU for a TI OMAP model with the same clock speed, and offers a full gigabyte of RAM to go along with it. Fortunately, the qHD 960 x 540 display looks gorgeous without its predecessor’s Pentile clothes. Also gone? The fingerprint sensor. Oh, and don’t be fooled by the missing “4G” moniker in the title; this little ditty packs a 21Mbps HSPA+ radio, up from 14Mbps in the first version. All in all, we like what we see here — we enjoyed the brief time we had with the sequel. It seems as though Motorola learned some important lessons from the original device, but we’ll reserve total judgement until our forthcoming review. Check out the full gallery and hands-on video (complete with bonus psychedelic carpet!) below.

Myriam Joire contributed to this post.

Continue reading Motorola Atrix 2 hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Motorola Atrix 2 hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 01:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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