Hasta La Gadget!

C’mon, you saw this one coming, right? Just like they always do come fall time, Apple will be holding a “special event” on September 1st out in San Francisco, and we’ll be on the ground reporting live. Think we’ll see that new Apple TV we’ve been hearing about? Some iPods? A ‘one more thing’? Yes, probably. Tune in here at 10AM PT / 1PM ET on the 1st to catch the best liveblog in the business!

In case you haven’t heard the rumors lately:

Apple to hold ‘special event’ September 1st… we’ll be there live! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d actually kind of assumed this thing had been deep-sixed as faster, better phones have passed it by all summer long, but nay: Dell’s Aero is finally in the land of the living. You can score the 3.5-inch 640 x 360 Android phone today with two-year AT&T contract for $99.99, though only through Dell’s interwebs — it’s still “coming soon” to AT&T’s site. Features include 2GB of onboard storage with microSD expansion, triband 3.6Mbps HSDPA and quadband EDGE, a 5 megapixel cam, and a 3.67-ounce claimed weight that makes it “one of the lightest” Android devices money can buy. Follow the break for the full press release.

Update: After checking with Dell, we’ve learned that the Aero is indeed still running Android 1.5, though the company is quick to note that it’s actually a “superset” with a “tremendous amount of customization” with features like handwriting recognition and Facebook baked into the platform. We’d argue Dell still has a bit to learn from HTC on how to iterate its customizations as quickly as Google can pump out Android versions — but maybe they’ll figure it out by the time the Thunder comes out.

Continue reading Dell Aero available today for $100 with AT&T contract

Dell Aero available today for $100 with AT&T contract originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First with HP, and now with Dell. The PC maker (and occasional phone dabbler) posted its second quarter fiscal 2010 report, which actually gives a good perspective on the relative position of each company in the global PC market. Whereas the House that Hurd once ran reported a $30.7 billion revenue and $2.3 billion operating profit, Dell posted $15.5 billion (up 22 percent) in revenue and $745 million operating income. Like we said earlier, operating income shouldn’t be confused with net income, which deducts those massive corporate taxes. Looking at net, the company profited $545 million, up an impressive 16 percent year-over-year. Focusing on the Consumer unit, revenue was flat at $2.9 billion, while at the same time operating income incurred a $21 million loss. According to the press release, the company “remains confident that initiatives underway will improve operating margins for the segment.” Is all this enough to quell irate shareholders? Chances are slim, but hey, it’s a start.

Dell’s Q2 2010 sees 16 percent increase in net income, flat revenue from Consumer unit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember this scandalous little leak from back in June? It looks to have been validated today, as imagery of Nokia’s MeeGo (or is it Symbian^4?)-powered N9 QWERTY slider has emerged over in China. As usual with these things, we can’t be certain that this device is in fact part of Nokia’s roadmap and not just another creative hardware emulation, but it sure seems to have our old buddy Eldar Murtazin convinced. Seeing it with clear N9 branding, we can now say that the previously unknown Nokia slider was more likely the N8-01, a keyboard-equipped version of the (still) upcoming N8. The source of this N9 leak reports that it’s not in its final retail shape, as it doesn’t match up to “the latest drawings,” but is apparently planned for a release in the 48th week (i.e. beginning of December) of this year. The prototype, built in Finland, is said to have an entirely metallic construction (more aluminum would be our guess), with only the keyboard buttons, USB cover, and a few decorative parts being plastic. See more of it, including a thorough teardown, in the gallery below.

Update: A friendly mole of ours ran this handset’s serial number through an internal Nokia system and has confirmed it as a Nokia prototype. He was also able to uncover an RM-680 product type classification (further distancing this from the RM-626 slider) and a 0595571 product code. Add those to the “Prototype Build B2” and “Property of Nokia” labeling inside the phone’s battery compartment, and you’ve got yourself a very strong candidate for the real deal here.

Update 2: A closer look at the display reveals that this is running something that bears a heavy resemblance to the MeeGo screens we’ve seen so far — and if you run the product code through Google, you see some Maemo 6-related bug tracking results, which of course has since become MeeGo. Good stuff, eh? Thanks, Sockatume!

Continue reading Nokia’s QWERTY-slidin’ N9 shows up in the wilds of China (update: running MeeGo!)

Nokia’s QWERTY-slidin’ N9 shows up in the wilds of China (update: running MeeGo!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile USA just dropped the knowledge on Twitter that it’ll be carrying the Motorola Charm starting next Wednesday, August 25 — but what it failed to mention is pricing. For what it’s worth, the company does specifically say that it’ll be “affordable” — and although a marketing department’s definition of “affordable” can be very different from ours, we’re encouraged by a handful of previous rumors that there would be ways to get it for free on contract. If you need us to jog your memory, the Charm is a cute little portrait QWERTY Android device with a Kodak-branded 3 megapixel cam and landscape display, giving it a rare form factor that could very well appeal to a whole new audience (read: BlackBerry folks). So, how much would you pay for it?

Update: Turns out Moto’s posted on its official Facebook page that it’ll run $74.99 on contract — not free, unfortunately, and in the age of free Pixi Pluses, that might be a tough pill to swallow. We’ve also been handed a video of Telus demonstrating its version of the Charm, which should look and work exactly the same — check it out after the break. Thanks, Matt and DeadMan!

Continue reading Motorola Charm hitting T-Mobile on August 25 for $75 (update: Telus version caught on video!)

Motorola Charm hitting T-Mobile on August 25 for $75 (update: Telus version caught on video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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