Through Monday Nov. 15th, Amazon’s offering all AT&T handsets for a penny (plus that pesky new two-year contract). This is your first chance—unless you’re a Microsoft employee—to pick up a Windows Phone 7 device for practically nothing. More »
Want the cheapest way to try out Windows Phone 7? Outside of getting yourself hooked up with a job at a tech blog, Amazon might have the very finest option for you with its newly discounted $0.01 pricing on two AT&T handsets for the new platform. The HTC Surround and its slide-out speaker are available immediately whereas the LG Quantum, which slides to reveal a more conventional QWERTY keypad, is on back-order. Fear not, though, both will cost you a mere cent when obtained in conjunction with a new AT&T line and a two-year bond with the carrier. We might still prefer their European counterparts, but you can’t deny these phones look to be priced just about right for what they are. Shame that this pricing will only last through the weekend.
HTC Surround and LG Quantum available for $0.01 at Amazon this weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 06:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s not official but that image above sure as hell looks like an official AT&T training document. AT&T already announced that it would carry the Samsung Galaxy Tab but has been coy with details about launch date, pricing, and custom apps. Now, if the screengrab above can be believed, we know that it’ll hit AT&T shops on November 21st for a “HQ recommended” price of $649.99 without contract and featuring the same data plans (250MB for $14.99 per month or 2GB for $25 per month) AT&T offers alongside its $629 16GB WiFi + 3G iPad offering. Right, that’s 20 bucks and change more for half the display and $50 more than the base price of T-Mobile’s or Verizon’s Galaxy Tab offering. Of course, AT&T will preinstall the Nook eReader and the AT&T Account Manager app for on-device activation and monthly credit refills. Not sure that’s worth the premium though. Hold tight to see how this plays out as we should see an official pricing and launch date announcement any day now.
[Thanks, tipster]
Galaxy Tab hitting AT&T on November 21st for a $649 premium? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Samsung Focus‘s microSD slot has always been an odd little blip on the spec sheet, since it’s only kinda-sorta supported by Windows Phone 7, and now it looks like it’s causing more trouble than it’s worth: Paul Thurrot says AT&T’s telling employees not to install anything in the slot because of reliability issues, and that Microsoft is working on the problem. Now, we’ve had mixed experiences using the microSD slot ourselves, and we’ve been told by numerous sources that AT&T and Samsung added the feature without too much encouragement from Microsoft, which told us at MIX that expansion wouldn’t be supported by WP7 at all. We’ve also been told by reliable sources that the problem is primarily to do with microSD speed and reliability — apparently only the fastest cards will work well, and current microSD class ratings aren’t accurate or meaningful enough to be useful. We’d bet Microsoft and Samsung get together and put out a line of Focus-specific cards before this is all over — but wouldn’t it have been easier to just build in 32GB of storage from the start?
Update: Tipster Jon points out that Microsoft’s own WP7 support docs specifically call out SD class ratings as not being accurate determinants of whether or not a card will work — and further say that only OEMs or carriers should swap out cards. Here are the relevant passages:
The SD card slot in your phone is intended to be used only by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that built your phone and your Mobile Operator (MO). These partners can add an SD card to this slot to expand the amount of storage on your phone.[…]
Determining whether an SD card is Windows Phone 7 compliant is not a simple matter of judging its speed class. Several other factors, such as the number of random read/write operations per second, play a role in determining how well an SD card performs with Windows Phone 7 devices.
Sounds complicated — and it also sounds like Microsoft needs to call Samsung or SanDisk and kick out a line of WP7-certified cards, like, now.
Samsung Focus having microSD issues, AT&T not installing cards in-store (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
With the iPad’s 9.5-inch screen, who needs an iPhone?
Indeed, after six months of using a tablet, I’m ready to ditch my smartphone for something simpler and more reliable.
The phone I want is a feature phone with a 3G connection and the ability to create a Wi-Fi hotspot for tethering my devices to it.
It should have long battery life, be able to grab and hold on to a voice signal with the tenacity of a bear trap, and be compact yet ruggedly durable.
It could even have an E Ink screen for super-low battery consumption. Who cares if the screen is low resolution and has a 1-second refresh rate, if all you’re using it for is looking at the occasional text message? (Thanks for the suggestion, Tim!)
The result would be a device I could use for phone conversations and basic texting. Mostly, though, it would supply internet connectivity to my other gadgets. I’d use an iPad or my laptop for e-mail, reading articles on the web, composing blog posts, Twitter and, in short, everything else.
Basically I want something like the Nokia 3595 I used for years, before getting a first-gen iPhone, except with the addition of 3G data and Wi-Fi tethering.
After six months of semi-regularly using Apple’s tablet, I’m growing increasingly disenchanted with even the iPhone 4’s high-resolution “retina” display. The thing is just too small to use comfortably.
The more I read on my iPhone, the more sad and tired I get. Bending my neck to stare at a tiny, smaller-than-index-card-sized glowing screen a foot or so in front of my face makes me feel as if my world has shrunk to the size of a playing card.
With the iPad, by contrast, I feel like I’m reading a book. It’s too heavy to hold comfortably for extended periods, but I can prop it up in comfortable positions or slouch with it on my lap. I feel more a part of the world.
The iPhone has other problems, too. Don’t get me started on how often AT&T drops my calls or fails to give me a signal at all.
(And I refuse to get a 3G iPad, or pay extra for its month-to-month data service, no matter how good both are. I’m already paying for 3G data with my phone’s plan — why do I need to buy a second data plan?)
I’ve jailbroken the iPhone and am using the amazing app MyWi to give it Wi-Fi tethering capabilities, so whenever I have a signal, it can feed it to my iPad or laptop. That’s a step in the right direction.
I tried the same thing with a Nexus One a while back, and that worked, too.
Unfortunately, the Nexus One and the iPhone, like all smartphones, are still too big and fragile. I don’t know of any feature phones that offer 3G and tethering.
Now if only I had something durable and compact, with long battery life, that did the same thing.
Is my ideal phone out there? Let me know if I’m overlooking something obvious. I’d love to be proven wrong on this one.
UPDATE 11/9/2010: Several commenters, including limimi and GensanBoy, have pointed me to JoikuSpot, a Symbian app that provides Wi-Fi tethering. Versions are available for Symbian Series 60, which means a cheap S60 phone like the Nokia 5730 or Nokia 5320 would work for this.
Others, including diamondgar and Wired’s John C. Abell, have suggested a different route: Get a 3G iPad with a data plan, plus an ordinary, cheap, prepaid phone with no data plan at all. That solution might be ideal for someone willing to commit to an iPad for all wireless data needs.
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
Photo: Jonathan Snyder / Wired.com
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AT&T’s Windows Phone 7 handsets drop today, but if you navigate past the company’s big splash page, you’d never know it.
That’s because like most other phone retailers, AT&T’s online store drills down by manufacturer and device type (e.g., smartphone, feature phone, tablet/computer), but not operating system. The only smartphone OS it currently separates out is Android, grouped with categories like “free,” “slider” and “refurbished.”
While tech-savvy consumers increasingly think of smartphones in terms of competing operating systems, wireless companies still think of their own relationship with their subscribers first, manufacturers second and platforms a distant third.
It’s even starker if you’re an existing customer looking to upgrade a mobile phone; an AT&T customer trying to find an Android phone has to navigate a long list of smartphones, while Apple and Blackberry’s models jump to the top.
Verizon Wireless’s online store does break phones down by operating system if you mouse over the “Phones & Devices” menu. The choices are Android, Apple iOS, Blackberry, Palm WebOS and “Windows phone” — the last something of a misnomer, since Verizon only offers older Windows Mobile devices, not the new Windows Phone 7.
This arguably benefits companies like Apple and Blackberry, who enjoy high name recognition and whose platforms are only available on their own branded devices. It also benefits particular smartphones, like Motorola’s Droid on Verizon, who are featured prominently on store websites and network advertisements.
But the balance is tipping in favor of the operating systems. With Windows Phone 7 now offering devices from multiple manufacturers on AT&T and T-Mobile, Verizon selling iOS devices like the iPad (and perhaps soon the iPhone) and Android’s share of the market growing an extraordinary rate, wireless companies will be hard-pressed not to put a device’s operating system front and center — not buried at the bottom of a tech sheet next to its Bluetooth spec and its camera’s megapixel count.
AT&T has made a big bet on its support of Windows Phone 7 — I wouldn’t be surprised if we see those menus get an upgrade soon.
Images: screenshots from AT&T Wireless Store by Tim Carmody.
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Check it Microsofties, it’s time to get back into the game. While some phones have already launched in Europe and beyond, today is the first day that you can put down cash in the US for a Windows Phone 7 device all your own. The Microsoft online Store just loosed the HTC HD7 (T-Mobile), HTC Surround (AT&T), and Samsung Focus (AT&T). Rumor has it that the 4.1-inch Dell Venue Pro (T-Mobile) will be out on shelves at Microsoft retail locations today as well. So why not use that extra hour of wakefulness that Apple provided to think it over?
Update: Prices drop to as low as $149.99 at Dell Mobility (which still doesn’t list its own Venue Pro) and $99 at Amazon Wireless when purchased with new service plans. The LG Quantum is up for pre-order too with Amazon claiming an 8 to 9 business day delivery.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading Windows Phone 7 now on sale in the US
Windows Phone 7 now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Right on schedule, a day before Windows Phone 7 hits its stores in force, AT&T is letting a couple of new BlackBerry Torch SKUs out to play. They’re basic repaint jobs, described by the carrier as Sunset Red and Pure White, the latter of which almost lives up to its name by including a white keyboard but falters by sticking to the noir optical pad. Pricing is set at $499 if you never want to see AT&T again after purchasing one or $99 if you can commit to a two-year relationship. Same as with the “Charcoal” Torch.
[Thanks, Matthew]
BlackBerry Torch now burns in red and white hues at AT&T stores originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 8th is creeping ever closer, and aside from it marking the beginning of yet another long, drawn-out week in the working world, it’s also the first day you can get your paws around a Windows Phone 7 device from AT&T. Much in the same way that it did before subsequent iPhone launches, the carrier has come forward with a few vital pieces of information to chew on before making any incorrect assumptions. Company representative Warner May confirmed to Phone Scoop that online sales for Windows Phone 7 devices (the Samsung Focus and HTC Surround) would indeed go live on launch day, debunking rumors that the phones would only be available for the grabbing in retail locations. Furthermore, we’re told that no pre-orders are being accepted via B&M / online — a logical move given the chaos that ensued from the iPhone 4 pre-order rush. More on the launch as we get it.
AT&T clarifies Windows Phone 7 launch parameters: no pre-orders, online sales are a go originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Nov 2010 02:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
T-Mobile claims the largest “4G” network in the country. Verizon’s launching its “4G” LTE network later this year. And Sprint loves talking about “4G” WiMax. Thing is, none of these networks are actually 4G. Not by a long shot. More »
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