Hasta La Gadget!

Notice to all gadget makers and vendors: if you reduce your packaging and engage in environmentally conscious behavior, you’ll get free press out of it and positive brand awareness to boot. Take for example AT&T’s newly announced design specifications for its own-brand phone accessories and packaging requirements for cellphone makers. Both are geared toward minimizing the surplus of paper and plastic that tends to come with the purchase of your device, and both will require the use of recycled and recyclable materials. AT&T expects to save 200 tons of excess materials by the end of 2010, which is very encouraging, but also disturbing in that it lets us know we were wasting 200 tons each year that could, presumably, have been saved by some sager planning. Anyway, better late than never — and guess what, it will probably end up costing the company less than those inane advert attacks on Verizon.

AT&T moves toward eco-friendly packaging, earns our approbation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The longer wait for a 3G-equipped iPad, which is set to launch late April, could be frustrating for some eager Apple fanatics. But AT&T thinks the iPad will be primarily used on Wi-Fi anyway.

Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, said he doesn’t see the iPad resulting in many new subscriptions for AT&T because consumers will primarily use Wi-Fi with the device.

“My expectation is that there’s not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription,” Stephenson said during an investor conference, adding that the device would be a mainly “Wi-Fi driven product.”

Apple on Jan. 27 introduced two versions of the iPad: One including 3G and the other without. The Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad is set to go on sale late March, and the 3G iPad will debut a month later, according to Apple.

For the 3G version of the iPad, customers will not be required to commit to a contract. Instead, they’ll be required to prepay for a month — $15 for 250MB or $30 for unlimited data.

When the iPad was announced, we also speculated the iPad would be primarily Wi-Fi driven, since you’d mostly be using it in your living room or a coffee shop. The 3G version will likely be the choice for road warriors who plan to use the iPad often while commuting or traveling.

Personally I’m torn on whether I’ll get a Wi-Fi iPad or a 3G version. I see myself mostly using the iPad on Wi-Fi, but regretting not having a 3G connection when I’m traveling. If you’re buying an iPad, which one are you going for? Add your thoughts in the comment section below.

See Also:

• Ten Things Missing From the iPad
• Would You Buy an iPad? Wired Readers Weigh In
• Hands-On With the Apple iPad

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

We’ve just taken delivery of an AT&T-branded Motorola Backflip — the carrier’s very first Android device — and we wanted to share with you our magical first moments putting the phone through its paces. Here’s a quick rundown of our first impressions:

• It feels solidly-built — probably a notch better than the CLIQ. There’s no wiggle or weirdness in the hinge whatsoever. Of course, we know from personal experience that “feels solidly-built” doesn’t necessarily mean it is solidly-built, so the jury’s still out on how it’ll hold up with regular use, especially with the keyboard exposed full-time.
• Opening and closing the phone isn’t a natural one-handed operation, unless you’re comfortable putting it at extreme risk of an unfortunate tumble.
• It’s laggy right out of the box, which doesn’t bode well for usability once you load it up with your own apps. Of course, it uses exactly the same processor as the CLIQ, so that doesn’t come as a surprise.
• It’s filled to the brim with pre-loaded AT&T stuff: AllSport GPS, AT&T Maps, AT&T Music (which takes the place of the standard Music app), AT&T Navigator, AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots, Mobile Banking, MobiTV, MusicID, Where, and YPmobile. We strongly prefer the approach of offering a special branded Android Market portal where you can download your carrier’s recommended apps.
• Blur looks and feels the same as it does on the CLIQ, though the main Blur widgets — Social Status, Messages, and Happenings — have been moved one home screen left of the main one (we prefer this configuration anyhow).
• Yahoo has replaced Google as the default search provider throughout the phone. It’s crazy: the home screen widget, the browser, everything’s been programmed to use Yahoo. We love us some irony, but golly, we’d prefer Google searches most of the time.

It spontaneously rebooted for us once in about an hour of use — a concerning sign, particularly considering Motorola’s inability to pump out a solid firmware for the CLIQ — but we’ll need a little more time with it. Want more right now? Follow the break for some more impressions, video, and a sample shot from the camera.

Continue reading Motorola Backflip for AT&T unboxing and hands-on

Motorola Backflip for AT&T unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may not be the news that folks in some particularly problematic areas have been waiting for, but AT&T has now announced that it’s finally expanded availability of its 3G MicroCell beyond its initial testbed cities like Raleigh and Charlotte. The new markets apparently include some additional areas of North Carolina, along with new parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and San Diego, plus the addition of Las Vegas — the only entirely-new market of the bunch. Hit up the link below to punch in your zipcode for exact availability, and all the necessary details to get “five bars in your own home.” And if you’re curious about exactly what this whole femtocell thing is about, be sure to check out our impressions of the device.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

AT&T announces expanded availability of 3G MicroCell originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The concept is simple enough — pay more, get more. So it has gone (historically, anyway) with phone subsidies in this part of the world, a system that has served us admirably for well over a decade. It made sense, and although it was never spelled out at the customer service counter quite as clearly as any of us would’ve liked, it was fairly straightforward to understand: you bought a phone on a multi-dimensional sliding scale of attractiveness, functionality, and novelty. By and large, there was a pricing scale that matched up with it one-to-one. You understood that if you wanted a color external display, a megapixel camera, or MP3 playback, you’d pay a few more dollars, and you also understood that you could knock a couple hundred dollars off of that number by signing up to a two-year contract. In exchange for a guaranteed revenue stream, your carrier’s willing to throw you a few bucks off a handset — a square deal, all things considered. So why’s the FCC in a tizzy, and how can we make it better?

Continue reading Editorial: the American phone subsidy model is a RAZR way of thinking in an iPhone world

Editorial: the American phone subsidy model is a RAZR way of thinking in an iPhone world originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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