Hasta La Gadget!

Well, we knew it was coming, and tonight at CTIA we finally got our dirty little hands on Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play for Verizon. It’s pretty much what we expected: an Xperia Play that’s lacking a SIM slot but displaying a couple of Verizon tattoos logos. The front-facing camera is still on the menu, along with a tasty serving of Gingerbread — Android 2.3.2, to be exact. Strangely, the custom skin we saw during our hands-on at MWC was nowhere to be found on Verizon’s model, being replaced instead by what appears to be the stock Gingerbread UI with some Sony Ericsson wallpapers and widgets. The Xperia Play app was on full display on the demo phones, which came preloaded with Ashphalt 6, Bruce Lee, Crash Bandicoot, Star Battalion, Madden ’11, and The Sims 3. Take a peek at our gallery below, and poke your way past the break for our hands-on video.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for Verizon hands-on (video)

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for Verizon hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 specs and Honeycomb UI tweaks leak out before its official launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cobra’s taking a step back from its usual array of radar detectors to make a showing down in Orlando, and as such, today’s announcements are all about mobile. The company’s Cobra Tag system — which popped up initially back at CES — has just been given a price and release date. The Bluetooth tagging system will be keeping track of your car keys (and other miscellaneous items) starting in July, with a Bluetooth key fob linking up with a smartphone app in order to constantly monitor the position of anything it’s connected to. All’s that required from you is a BlackBerry or Android smartphone, $59.99 and a mindful personality. In related news, the outfit’s also making available the previously announced iRadar application for Android, which is used to link your smartphone and radar detector, as well as the PhoneLynx for Android, which enables users to use a landline handset while tapping into Android voice minutes. Hit the source links if you’re hungry for more.

Cobra Tag Bluetooth key tagging system to ship in July, iRadar and PhoneLynx coming to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew good and well that the 4G version of RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook was on track for a summertime release on Sprint, and here at CTIA 2011, the carrier has launched a newfangled product portal confirming that things are still on lock. For those in need of a refresher, this guy will boast a 1GHz dual-core CPU, Adobe Flash / HTML 5 support, “true” multitasking, rear- and front-facing HD video cameras and a price that’s still to be determined. What’s most interesting here, however, is the dearth of information about a WiFi-only version — we’re hoping that it’ll slip out a bit earlier than the WiMAX variant, but we’re intentionally keeping our expectations on the low side. No one enjoys a bursting bubble, you know?

[Thanks, Christopher]

Sprint’s BlackBerry 4G PlayBook portal goes live, still on track for a summer release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who says CTIA is going to be overshadowed by news that actually broke prior to the event starting? Okay, so it’s entirely possible that the AT&T / T-Mobile buzz will be impossible to ignore here in Orlando, but that’s not stopping Ma Bell from rolling out two new (er, rebadged) handsets for those looking for iPhone alternatives. First up is the LG Thrill 4G (available in the “coming months”), an unpriced 4.3-inch superphone that features a glasses-free 3D display, dual 5-megapixel stereoscopic camera, 16GB of preloaded memory (8GB onboard, 8GB microSD card), access to Google’s Android Market and a special 3D marketplace coined LG 3D Space. The camera’s capable to snagging video clips at 1080p when shooting 2D, or 720p when opting for 3D. You’ll also get a dual-core 1GHz processor, HDMI output, DLNA streaming support and pretty much anything else you’d expect to find in a run-of-the-mill Optimus 3D — you know, considering this is that very phone, albeit with an AT&T logo on it.

Moving on, there’s the HTC HD7S, which is essentially an AT&Tified version of the HD7 that has been on T-Mobile USA for quite some time now. In other words, you’ll get a 4.3-inch WVGA Super LCD, 1GHz CPU, 5-megapixel camera, Windows Phone 7 (with copy and paste functionality baked right in) and a preloaded U-Verse Mobile application that enables “qualifying AT&T U-verse customers to download and watch TV shows” so long as they pony up an extra $9.99 per month. AT&T claims that its version of the HD7 will be the first in the US with an “improved Super LCD display,” but as with the Thrill 4G above, no specific pricing is mentioned. That said, it should be popping up online and in retail locations “within the coming weeks,” so you shouldn’t have to wait too terribly long for those details to emerge.

Continue reading AT&T launches HTC HD7S with WP7 and LG’s 3D-enabled Thrill 4G Android phone

AT&T launches HTC HD7S with WP7 and LG’s 3D-enabled Thrill 4G Android phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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