Motorola intros dueling portrait QWERTY Android options for Sprint: XPRT and Titanium

It took ’em long enough, but it seems as if The Now Network has managed to snap up Motorola’s Droid Pro… just seven months after Verizon Wireless did so. For whatever reason, Sprint’s dubbing its version the XPRT, with the same 3.1-inch HVGA touchpanel, full QWERTY keyboard, 1GHz CPU and Android 2.2 loaded. It’ll go for $129.99 on a two-year contract starting June 5th, but giving that the Pro hit the bargain bin long ago, we’re having a hard time believing anyone will pony up for Sprint’s iteration. Moving right along, the Titanium gets off on the wrong foot by shipping with Android 2.1, and while it’s hailed as the first iDEN device to combine Nextel Direct Connect and Eclair, the G’zOne Commando has somehow managed to show its brawn while stepping up to v2.2. For those interested nonetheless, there’s a 3.1-inch touchscreen and a chassis that’s built to MIL-SPEC 810G for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature. She’s unpriced for the moment, but the full release can be found just after the break.

Continue reading Motorola intros dueling portrait QWERTY Android options for Sprint: XPRT and Titanium

Motorola intros dueling portrait QWERTY Android options for Sprint: XPRT and Titanium originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon CFO suggests next iPhone will be a ‘global device’

We’re guessing it wasn’t on the company’s agenda for its earnings call earlier today, but Verizon CFO Fran Shammo let slip one other interesting iPhone tidbit in addition to its news of 2.2 million iPhone 4 activations. Here’s what he said:

The fluctuation, I believe, will come when a new device from Apple is launched, whenever that may be, and that we will be, on the first time, on equal footing with our competitors on a new phone hitting the market, which will also be a global device.

That pretty clearly suggests that the next iPhone — supposedly coming in September — will be a world phone, which just so happens to coincide with rumors to same effect we’ve heard as recently as this week. Of course, there’s been talk of a dual-mode GSM / CDMA iPhone even before that, considering that the Qualcomm baseband chip used in the Verizon iPhone is technically capable of supporting both CDMA and GSM networks — Apple simply chose not to or wasn’t able to take advantage of that particular functionality at the time.

Verizon CFO suggests next iPhone will be a ‘global device’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change the Verizon iPhone?

It’s an iPhone 4… but not the original iPhone 4. Verizon Wireless became the first CDMA carrier in the States to call an Apple smartphone one of its own, and the resulting handset is eerily similar to the AT&T variant in most regards. That said, we’re sure that a few of you folks would have done things differently if given the design credentials needed to do so, and this is place for you to vent. Would you have added any features to this guy not already found on the GSM iPhone 4? Offered a Big Red-exclusive color? Thrown an LTE radio in there? Changed up the antenna layout? Included a secondary display, Echo-style? Go on and get creative in comments below — you never know what suggestions may shape the shape of the iPhone 5! (Or something like that.)

How would you change the Verizon iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish

Sprint’s been playing the all-encompassing Eco-Friendly card for some time now, and it looks as if last year’s Restore (now available on Virgin Mobile USA for $79.99 off-contract) is gaining an ultra-green sibling. Samsung’s newly unveiled Replenish feels a bit like an Android 2.2-powered, somewhat matured BlackJack, boasting a 2.8-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera / camcorder, inbuilt WiFi / GPS, a microSD card slot, an optional solar door charging accessory and a trio of color options (black, blue and — our personal favorite — “raspberry pink”). Curious about eco-cred? It’ll ship May 8th for $49.99 (on a two-year contract) with fully recyclable packaging and a casing that includes 34.6 percent post-consumer recycled plastic content. Oh, and there’s a postage-paid envelope to recycle your old phone, too. Folks opting to throw Ma Earth a bone by picking one up must activate it on an Everything Data plan, but the carrier will be waiving the $10 monthly premium data add-on charge to — get this — “make it easier for customers to make eco-friendly buying decisions.” Translation: you’ll buy whatever’s cheapest. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish

Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked sign confirms Droid Incredible 2 will be a world phone, launch is likely imminent

We already had a pretty strong inkling that HTC’s poorly hidden Droid Incredible 2 would be a world phone, and now we’re even more certain (if that’s even possible), thanks to this sign / billboard / flyer sent in by an anonymous tipster. What’s interesting is how the handset’s dual CDMA and GSM connectivity appears to be Verizon’s biggest selling point, taking top billing over the front-facing camera and larger screen, which doesn’t even get a nod. No word on when this open secret will launch on Big Red, but we say it’s about time.

Leaked sign confirms Droid Incredible 2 will be a world phone, launch is likely imminent originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kyocera Echo review

It’s not exactly difficult to put into words what the Kyocera Echo is — it’s a dual-screened Android phone, after all — but it’s a wee bit more challenging to wrap your head around who exactly it’s for. The hardcore gaming contingent already has Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play, and those obsessed with screen real estate have options spanning the gamut — everything from Dell’s 5-inch Streak to a veritable cornucopia of choices in the 4- to 4.3-inch range. So, where exactly does this oddball fit in? Quite frankly, we get the impression that it’s doing its darnedest to carve out a market of its own, a thought that’s reinforced by Kyocera’s dedicated app development space and two-faced Simul-Task mode. Early critics (read: us) railed on the fact that double the screens meant double the trouble in terms of battery life, and there’s no question that a second cell was included with our test unit. But are the advantages of having a second 3.5-inch WVGA touchpanel enough to overshadow the obvious pitfalls? Join us as we do a little soul-searching in our full review, hosted up just past the break.

Continue reading Kyocera Echo review

Kyocera Echo review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 gets the hands-on treatment, complete with elevator music (video)

Have the leaked specs and tutorial video got you yearning for more BlackBerry Bold Touch coverage? Well, today’s your lucky day, RIM-o-philes, because we’ve got new some moving pictures with real, live human fingers doing the touchscreen two-step on the diminutive display of a next-gen Bold 9930 (codename Montana). Though a small sample, the footage does confirm earlier reports that the screen is quite responsive, so it shouldn’t have trouble making capacitive converts out of those in the optical trackpad troop. We know, BlackBerry World and the new Bold’s debut can’t come soon enough, so do some self-soothing, view the new vid, and breathe — you’ll have your hands on one before you know it.

Continue reading BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 gets the hands-on treatment, complete with elevator music (video)

BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 gets the hands-on treatment, complete with elevator music (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple investigating 3G issues on some Verizon iPad 2s, software fix expected soon

Having trouble hooking up your iPad 2 to Verizon’s 3G network? Turns out you’re not alone, and thankfully, Apple’s well aware of this. In a statement to All Things Digital, Cupertino said it’s investigating this CDMA connectivity issue as reported by “a small number of iPad 2 customers,” and word has it that a software patch will be available soon. Until then, personal hotspot is your friend, or you could just borrow some mobile WiFi from your actual friends — protip: a smile goes a long way.

Apple investigating 3G issues on some Verizon iPad 2s, software fix expected soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP’s keyboard-less webOS phone and Verizon Pre 3 leaked?

Our good friends over at PreCentral have just received a couple of juicy scoops, even for this time of the day. According to their proven tipster, what we’re looking at here is an upcoming webOS phone sans keyboard — a first for Rubinstein’s crew, as many of you might already know. While there’s not much detail to go with this pic, it appears that this here slate’s just slightly bigger than the Pre 3, and that the little spot above the screen could be either a front-facing camera or merely a proximity sensor. Following PreCentral’s logic, this could very well be the Stingray that showed up in the list of codenames back in November — the similarly sized Pre 3 is Mantaray, whereas the smaller Veer is Broadway, leaving Stingray and Windsor unclaimed. But of course, we wouldn’t place our bets just yet.

Speaking of the Pre 3, the same tipster also sent in a spyshot of said phone connected to Verizon. While we already know that this slider packs both CDMA and GSM radios, this is actually the first prototype seen running on the former. Alas, the mysterious tipster is again keeping a tight lip about this leak. Picture after the break.

Continue reading HP’s keyboard-less webOS phone and Verizon Pre 3 leaked?

HP’s keyboard-less webOS phone and Verizon Pre 3 leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 02:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected

There are few things we enjoy more than seeing the glittery innards of a device splayed before us in the name of science — especially when it happens to be the CDMA version of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play. The Verizon bound phone made a cameo at the FCC today where it was subjected to — and passed — the usual battery of SAR tests before getting dissected. What’s intriguing about the pictures in the FCC report is that the CDMA model features the same combination SIM / microSD card slot as its GSM sibling. While some are theorizing that Verizon’s gaming handset might support LTE, we think it’s more likely that the Xperia Play uses a dual-mode CDMA / GSM radio and that the SIM slot will either remain empty and disabled in firmware or that the Xperia Play will be one of Verizon’s global offerings. Take a look at the gallery below and judge for yourself.

CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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