Hasta La Gadget!

Staring intently at the image above? It’s understandable. After all, it is called the Samsung Transfix, right? Cricket’s latest Android addition doesn’t necessarily break any new ground in its quiet release at this year’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications, but it has a lot of potential for anyone looking to get an inexpensive prepaid phone. The new 3.2-inch QWERTY runs on Gingerbread, is powered by an 800MHz CPU and brings a 3.2MP camera to the tablet. Nothing to write home about these days, but don’t forget: your parents might appreciate at least hearing from you, even if it’s not regarding a smartphone. Stay transfixed below the break at our full hands-on gallery and vid, and a press release thrown in for good measure.

Myriam Joire contributed to this post.

Continue reading Samsung Transfix on Cricket at CTIA E&A 2011 (hands-on video)

Samsung Transfix on Cricket at CTIA E&A 2011 (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the glitz and glamour that typically defines shows such as this week’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011, but Pantech chose to fly under the radar this time around. Sure, the company didn’t have its own multi-million dollar booth at the event, but it still at least had a significant product to show off. We were given the opportunity to spend some brief time playing with the Pantech Pocket, a follow-up to the crossover with better specs and another unique form factor. The pocket features a 4-inch SVGA (800 x 600) display, which means you can expect the device to be wider and shorter than your typical handset; in terms of width, we felt as though we were holding a 4.7-incher. We noticed, however, that its shorter length allowed for additional places to grip, which made it at least easier to hold in our hand as a result. Specwise, the Pocket is a Gingerbread phone running on Android 2.3.4, uses a similar UI to what’s found on the Crossover, offers a textured scratch-resistant battery cover, has a 5MP rear cam with 720p video capture (and no LED flash or front-facing camera) and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 single-core CPU and 512MB of RAM. No pricing has been set on the Pocket, but it’s certain to be gracing the midrange section of your neighborhood AT&T store starting November 6th. Gallery and vid below.

Zachary Lutz contributed to this hands-on.

Continue reading Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Pantech Pocket for AT&T hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Thanks, Andreas]

ViewSonic ViewPad 10e coming soon to UK and Netherlands? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disney Mobile’s first Android-powered smartphone hit Softbank Mobile stores in Japan earlier this month, with 0 JPY (about $0) due up front. You won’t be getting off that easy though — expect to pay just shy of 74,000 JPY (about $965) off contract, or 24 monthly installments of 880 JPY (about $11) if you opt for the two-year agreement. The Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) DM010SH packs a 4-inch 960 x 540 qHD display with 3D support, a 1GHz processor, and the typical spattering of smartphone features, including 3G data, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and microSDHC expandability, along with an 8 megapixel camera.

Rest assured that Disney branding abounds, from the company logo just below the earpiece, to those signature mouse ears that replace a generic home button. There’s also a default Snow White 3D wallpaper and a home screen link to the D-Market, where you can load up your device with Disney-branded mail, calendar, photo, calculator and pedometer apps — so you can meet those fitness goals with hopes of getting one more Halloween out of that child-size Minnie Mouse costume.

We dropped by a Softbank store in Tokyo to play around with a Classic White version of the device (Classic Pink is also an option, though sadly we had to settle for boring old vanilla). Once you get past the not-so-subtle Disney branding, it looks and functions like any other Android smartphone. It felt quite snappy as well — launching apps and loading web pages with just as much pep as many other Android phones we’ve used. Make no mistake, the appeal here is definitely the Disney Mobile branding — but you should be pleased, assuming you don’t mind paying a rather lofty sum for a ho-hum device to fit within your Heigh-Ho lifestyle. Jump past the break for a video walkthrough.

Continue reading Disney Mobile DM010SH Android phone hits Softbank stores in Japan, we go hands-on (video)

Disney Mobile DM010SH Android phone hits Softbank stores in Japan, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• Android 2.3.4 for the Motorola Droid X2 is ready for download. It includes minor fixes to the keyboard, video quality, the mobile hotspot and more. [Droid-Life]
• Reports are starting to trickle in that the HTC Desire S on Orange UK is getting the bump up to Android 2.3.5 and Sense 3.0, though it seems to be unannounced at this point. [XDA]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• The CyanogenMod team is getting close to having CM7 ready for the Motorola Droid 3. [Droid-Life]
• The recently released LG Esteem for MetroPCS has been rooted. [AndroidNerds]

Other platforms

• The BlackBerry PlayBook now has an upgrade available. Nope, not the one with native email. Instead, this one is more of a security and stability enhancement with the latest version of Flash Player thrown in for kicks and giggles. [PhoneArena]
• The 6th-gen iPod Nano received an update to version 1.2 to help bring it to speed with the 7th-gen models unveiled this week. It offers larger app icons, new clock faces, easier adjustments of the accelerometer for the fitness feature as well as several bug fixes. Thanks, Eric! [MacObserver]
• T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Bold 9900 will get a maintenance release in November that adds WiFi calling, a feature that many have sorely missed. [Electronista]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Hack your Nexus S to use Google Wallet
• Mango update now available to half of all Windows Phones
• Archos G9 tablet update brings Google Talk integration and bug fixes

Refresh Roundup: week of October 3, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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