Hasta La Gadget!

So, you aren’t crazy after all. Feels good, right? After nearly a month of bickering from Epic 4G owners, a Sprint forum administrator has finally come forward with glowing news about this so-called 3G upload issue: a fix is coming, and soon. If you missed out on the story, users were finding that their 3G uploads were being capped at around 150kbps, and a ginormous thread over at the carrier’s message board has grown as the problem has persisted. Just today, though, one dshoem01 has provided the following snippet:

“Good news – an update will be released tomorrow 9/30. It will be rolled out over a 4 day period so not everyone will get it on day 1. I will have the standard MR information (fixes included, rollout schedule, etc) available tomorrow morning and will post it in a new featured thread.”

Note that this doesn’t specifically say that the 3G caps will be fixed here, but why else post this newsflash in the very thread that surrounds the issue? Rest assured, our fingers are firmly crossed.

[Thanks, Bradley]

Sprint Epic 4G update coming tomorrow, should fix 3G upload issues originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fancy the idea of having Big Brother track your handset if it goes missing, but aren’t so keen on owning an iPhone, ponying up for MobileMe and signing a deal with AT&T? Fret not, fretful one, as Verizon Wireless has just launched an extension of its Total Equipment Coverage program that essentially provides the same services, but for VZW-branded BlackBerry, webOS and Android phones. The full list of compatible phones is down there in the source, and the best news is that the Mobile Recovery app is offered free of charge to those already ponying up $10 per month for TEC. When enabled, it will allow users to remotely lock the device, sound an alarm (solving the infamous “couch cushion” dilemma) and wipe contacts from the phone. If a recovery proves unsuccessful, the carrier will supposedly provide you with a next-day replacement, but we’ve got an idea that there are quite a few lines of fine print to read beforehand. At any rate, it’s a lovely option to have — particularly if you’re already paying for TEC — and it’s available to download and activate as we speak.

Continue reading Verizon’s Mobile Recovery: like ‘Find my iPhone,’ but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets

Verizon’s Mobile Recovery: like ‘Find my iPhone,’ but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, damn — Verizon told us earlier that it wouldn’t be carrying Windows Phone 7 devices until 2011, and now Microsoft’s twisting the knife by confirming that its new platform will be GSM-only until the first half of 2011. So much for our dreams of a 4G Windows Phone 7 device on Sprint, we suppose. Product manager Greg Sullivan told CNET that trade-offs had to be made in order to meet the schedule and GSM was prioritized since it’s used worldwide, but that CDMA devices would be available early next year. Of course, we’ve also heard that the failed Kin project soured the Verizon / Microsoft relationship and that’s why AT&T is the “premier carrier” for WP7, but either way, it’s down to Ma Bell and T-Mobile to get this thing off the ground now — and we’ll say right now that launching CDMA devices with the current Windows Phone 7 spec list later into 2011 isn’t going to do anyone any favors.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 to be GSM-only until first half of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just as Paul Vasquez would have us do, we’re questioning the true meaning behind a curious page that has popped up over at the Droid Does website — a very authentic portal that Verizon Wireless itself has been pushing for nearly a year. Put simply, the splash page details “great news!” surrounding a heretofore unannounced Android 2.2 update for the arguably gigantic Droid X. In fact, we’re even told about all the amazing features that Froyo brings, but alas, our own X has yet to get any sort of notification from Big Red. The image you’re peering at above was purportedly texted to a tipster from VZW, but unfortunately, the links led to the previously referenced splash page rather than a download. Still, we’re guessing that this means a bona fide release is just around the corner — Verizon’s already a few weeks late at this point, so hopefully the finishing touches are nearly done.

[Thanks, Kellen]

Continue reading Droid Does website points to imminent Froyo update for Droid X… but what does it mean?

Droid Does website points to imminent Froyo update for Droid X… but what does it mean? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that big, honking red-and-black HTC slider that dwarfed an EVO 4G? It’s back sporting Verizon colors just as we were told, and with a few more confirmed specifications thanks to the ever-reliable FCC. The HTC “PD42100” is still missing a proper internal codename, but test reports confirm it’s ready for at least CDMA 2000 and GSM 850 plus EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n WiFi at 2.4GHz frequencies. There’s no word on that 1.2GHz processor or 4-inch display, but it’s clear we’re looking at some chunky chiclet keys and there’s definitely a removable battery. We can’t wait to get our hands on what surely looks like the new king of Droids.

Update: As it turns out, the size of the screen has been staring us in the face for hours — we just had to think back to high school geometry class, specifically the Pythagorean Theorem. Starting with the FCC’s handy-dandy picture of the phone’s rear next to a square ruler, we had only to superimpose an image of the front on top, then calculate the diagonal (after translating to inches, of course) to discover it was a 4-inch display all along. Oh, and the phone has EV-DO Rev. A for data. [Thanks, Mark]

HTC’s dual-mode CDMA / GSM Android slider hits the FCC, decked out in shades of Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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