Motorola Atrix 2 just a few clicks away from your purchase at AT&T for $100

The latest high-end Android phone on AT&T’s lineup definitely looks like a hundred bucks, and fortunately it won’t cost you a penny more — on the contrary, it’ll be a penny less before taxes and fees get involved in the ruckus. We’re talking about the Motorola Atrix 2, announced and shown off last week at CTIA Enterprise & Applications. If you’re anxious to get a new phone and one of them fancy iDevices aren’t doing it for you, this 4.3-inch qHD handset with a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 21Mbps HSPA+, an 8MP camera with 1080p HD video capture and front-facing cam, Android 2.3 and a full gigabyte of RAM will be a stunning option at a midrange price. Envisioning a beautiful future together with the Atrix 2 right now? Check it out (and checkout) at the link below.

Motorola Atrix 2 just a few clicks away from your purchase at AT&T for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAT&T  | Email this | Comments

Samsung’s Korea-bound Galaxy S II HD LTE pops up in FCC filings

We’ll have to brush up on our foreign languages to decipher the full battery label, but the Samsung SHV-E120L (aka the Galaxy S II HD LTE, thanks David_DK!)– home to a 4.65-inch HD screen and dual-core 1.5GHz processor according to specs leaked last month — has passed through its FCC testing. We didn’t spot any indications it will bring that 1280×720 res display this way, but you can check for yourself at the link below.

Samsung’s Korea-bound Galaxy S II HD LTE pops up in FCC filings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

iPhone 4S review

This isn’t the iPhone 5. No matter how badly you wanted something slim, sleek and wedge-shaped, this isn’t it. If you went ahead and got your hopes up ahead of Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event, hopefully you’ve gotten over the pangs of discontent by now, because this device pictured front and center is the iPhone 4S. It’s a new spin on an old phone that will shock none, but give it half a chance, and it will still impress.

The iPhone 4S comes with a faster processor, a better camera, a smarter virtual assistant and twice the storage of its predecessor — if you don’t mind paying for it. Like the iPhone 3GS did before to the 3G, the 4S bumps the iPhone 4 down to second-class status, leaving those Apple fans who must have the best aspiring to own its decidedly familiar exterior. Apple says this is the most amazing iPhone ever. Is it? Yes, of course it is, but read on to see whether it’s really worth an upgrade.

Continue reading iPhone 4S review

iPhone 4S review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011

Imagine if Verizon’s Testman was actually the admiral of a fleet of Chevy Tahoes, all dedicated to the purpose of testing and comparing networks and asking if others can hear them now over a million times each year. The famous Testman himself is just an actor, of course, but Verizon’s self-proclaimed “test cars” are a thing of reality; in fact, the fleet numbers a cool hundred nationwide. We had the opportunity to take a quick peek inside one of these cars, each of which drive an endless number of miles to measure the performance of not only Big Red’s network, but its competition as well.

You wouldn’t recognize any of these unmarked cars if they drove past you on the street unless you were trained to look for the outside clues: on the roof lies a GPS module in concert with several black nubs, each one acting as its own phone antenna. If you look close enough at the back windows, you may be able to make out the multitudes of USB data sticks taped to them. All of these elements are crucial for Verizon in order to collect real-time data on how its network stacks up against the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, not to mention regional carriers such as Cricket and MetroPCS. Thus, each test car is equipped with phones that work on almost every network and try each one out thousands of times a year. The company’s goal? To ensure that it maintains a standard of excellence in its network performance for both its voice and data quality. So how does this all happen? Read on past the break to find out what’s inside the car.

Continue reading A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011

A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Motorola Atrix 2 hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Motorola and AT&T are at it again with their Android shenanigans, this time following up the Atrix 4G with something a tad more… Atrix-y. Indeed, we’re referring to the sequel of February’s smash hit, honorably called the Motorola Atrix 2, announced at this week’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications. We had the opportunity to get some brief time with it, and it’s a fair device worthy of the family name: the 4.3-inch device feels good in the hand, and closely resembles the Photon 4G, only without the cutout corners. The sequel swaps processors, trading the 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU for a TI OMAP model with the same clock speed, and offers a full gigabyte of RAM to go along with it. Fortunately, the qHD 960 x 540 display looks gorgeous without its predecessor’s Pentile clothes. Also gone? The fingerprint sensor. Oh, and don’t be fooled by the missing “4G” moniker in the title; this little ditty packs a 21Mbps HSPA+ radio, up from 14Mbps in the first version. All in all, we like what we see here — we enjoyed the brief time we had with the sequel. It seems as though Motorola learned some important lessons from the original device, but we’ll reserve total judgement until our forthcoming review. Check out the full gallery and hands-on video (complete with bonus psychedelic carpet!) below.

Myriam Joire contributed to this post.

Continue reading Motorola Atrix 2 hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video)

Motorola Atrix 2 hands-on at CTIA E&A 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 01:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II review

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II review

What else is there to say? Whether in its original, exotic exterior, its lightly changed but rather more accessible AT&T-flavored model, or the decidedly Epic Sprint version, the Samsung Galaxy S II has never failed to impress us. In fact, we called that first release “the best Android smartphone yet” and still, nearly six months later, it sits mighty close to the top of the pile — if not squarely at the peak, waving its flag proudly whilst taunting the others below.

Here today we’re looking at the last of the Three Musketeers: the T-Mobile version. This marks the final US release of the Galaxy S II, unveiled in late-August. At that announcement event the device was curiously locked up in Lucite, but now it’s right here in our hands. While we didn’t really want to set down this 16GB, 1.5GHz, 42Mbps HSPA+ wunderphone, we gently laid it aside just long enough to write this very review. Join us as we see what sets this latest and final revision apart.

Continue reading T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II review

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

AT&T starts CTIA off right by introducing five new smartphones to its Android lineup

At CTIA last March, AT&T stole the show by announcing its intent to purchase T-Mobile US. This time around the news is a bit more modest, but the company is still hoping to give us a bit of a shock by introducing a litany of new handsets right on time for the holiday season. The carrier promised the release of 12 Android devices throughout the course of the year, and this week’s announcement pushes the 2011 running count to 19. Not too shabby. Naturally, we’re looking for quality more than quantity, so we couldn’t wait to dig into the devices that are coming out. Check out all five after the break, along with a quick video teaser.

Continue reading AT&T starts CTIA off right by introducing five new smartphones to its Android lineup

AT&T starts CTIA off right by introducing five new smartphones to its Android lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours (updated)

Last year’s iPhone 4 launch brought more than 600,000 pre-orders within the first 24 hours. This year, that number nearly doubled, topping one million within one day of the device’s pre-order availability through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Those that haven’t pre-ordered the iPhone 4S can line up at Apple stores beginning at 8 a.m. on October 14th, or you can try your luck at pre-ordering now, though you may need to wait an extra week or two to get your hands on Apple’s new iOS smartphone. Jump past the break for Apple’s PR.

Update: Maybe not a huge surprise considering the numbers Apple announced earlier today, but Sprint has just let us know that it has sold out of the 16GB iPhone 4S in both black and white for pre-orders, and that it’s not taking backorders. 32GB and 64GB models are still available in both colors, however, as is the 8GB iPhone 4.

Continue reading Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours (updated)

Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments

Qualcomm outs Snapdragon S4 SoC details, promises improved battery life and true world capability

Qualcomm has laid out its details of the upcoming S4 SoC, and yes, there’s definitely reason for excitement with this next generation Snapdragon. First, it’ll usher in a new 28nm manufacturing process alongside the company’s Krait CPU and Adreno 225 GPU. The move from 45nm to 28nm promises smaller components, lower power consumption and improved thermal performance, while Krait will introduce a new pipeline architecture that promises a full 60% boost over the current Scorpion lineup with clock speeds ranging between 1.5 and 2.5GHz — along with support for asynchronous multiprocessing and dual-channel memory. As for the GPU, the latest chip flaunts 50% greater performance over the current Adreno 220, where it also provides support for DirectX 9.3 for Windows 8, in addition to OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0. Should be quite the gaming experience, eh?

It doesn’t end there, as the S4 MSM8960 promises multi-mode world capabilities with support for all the commonly used frequencies from 700 to 2600MHz — quite a feat, indeed. It handles Cat. 3 LTE (up to 100Mbps) and Cat. 24 HSPA+ (up to 42Mbps), along with EV-DO Rev. B, 1x Advanced and TD-SCDMA, as well as GSM, GPRS and EDGE. Oh, and there’s also simultaneous support for GPS and GLONASS, along with Bluetooth, WiFi, FM radio and NFC. With samples already being sent to manufacturers, we’re quite excited for what 2012 may bring.

Qualcomm outs Snapdragon S4 SoC details, promises improved battery life and true world capability originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileBurn, Phone Scoop  |  sourceQualcomm  | Email this | Comments

Apple iPhone 4S now shipping in ‘one to two’ weeks, over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in first 12 hours

If there was any question of how hot a tamale Apple’s iPhone 4S would be, the answer’s edging toward muy caliente. AT&T’s stated that the iPhone 4S has ushered in its best iPhone launch to date, receiving over 200,000 pre-orders for the device during the first 12 hours of availability (crediting its success to having the only US version operating over 14.4Mb/s HSPA+, aka FauxG). While that’s good news for Ma Bell, as of today, you’ll be looking at a wait time of “one to two weeks” after placing an order for this latest iThing (Sprint and Verizon included). We’ve yet to hear how the latter two telecoms have fared, but we’d imagine it won’t be a secret for too long — the iPhone 4S is officially available on October 14th, after all. Full AT&T PR just past the break.

[Image from Skyline/Shutterstock]

Continue reading Apple iPhone 4S now shipping in ‘one to two’ weeks, over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in first 12 hours

Apple iPhone 4S now shipping in ‘one to two’ weeks, over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in first 12 hours originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMarketWatch, Reuters  | Email this | Comments