Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t ditch that premium cable subscription just yet. The long-anticipated HBO Go app just hit the iOS App Store and Android Market, bringing original HBO series and a variety of blockbuster films to your mobile device. You’ll need an HBO subscription with your cable provider to get past the login screen, but unlocking all that the service has to offer using our Verizon FiOS account took just a second, and we were off and running with Avatar less than a minute after launching the app. We’ll have a full hands-on later today, but if you’re an HBO subscriber with an iOS or Android slab, head over to your device’s respective store to download the free app.

[Thanks, Jason]

HBO Go hits iOS and Android, free for subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As much as we were hoping to get some definitive statements from AT&T and Verizon’s Q1 2011 financials about the Verizon iPhone’s impact on the smartphone market, none were really forthcoming. It’s left to analyst outfits like the NPD, therefore, to try and parse the data for us and read between the official lines. The latest numbers from the NPD Group’s Mobile Phone Tracker indicate that Apple’s share of US smartphones sales jumped from 19 percent in Q4 2010 to 28 percent in the first quarter of this year, which helped stymie Android’s prodigious expansion. The Google OS went from being on 53 percent of all smartphones sold to a flat 50 percent in the quarter. Also intriguing about the period is that, for the first time, smartphones accounted for more than half of all mobile phones sold in the US, at 54 percent. The top five best-selling cellphones also happened to be smartphones, with Apple and HTC providing two each; the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, Droid X, EVO 4G, and the Droid Incredible took home the NPD commendations.

[Thanks, Matt]

Disclaimer: NPD’s Ross Rubin is a contributor to Engadget.

NPD credits Verizon iPhone with stemming the Android tide in Q1 smartphone sales originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By now you’ve probably seen the latest spectacle to consume the white iPhone 4: it’s thicker than the black model. The image above illustrates the point using a piece of lead from a mechanical pencil. So what, you say, in righteous indignation to a device that shipped ten months late. Well, the size difference creates a potential consumer issue since cases (at least the good ones) are manufactured against the tight tolerances supplied by Apple. We’ve confirmed ourselves, that an Incase slider that fits a black iPhone 4 just fine has to be forced into place on the new white model. Unfortunately, Apple’s own spec page doesn’t highlight the change in thickness (measured at 9.5mm by TiPb). Instead it still shows a 9.3mm depth with a tiny disclaimer stating, “Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.” The result is confusion — will this case fit or won’t it? — which is never a good thing for consumers.

But why is the white iPhone 4 thicker? Phil Schiller mentioned that Apple needed to add extra UV protection among other tweaks, in an attempt to reduce the “unexpected interactions” between the white cover and the internal components. As such, Apple apparently needed to sacrifice some slimness for a better functioning white phone. In the end, we have what looks to be four different size / button configurations that must be considered when purchasing a shrink-wrapped case for your white iPhone 4, black iPhone 4, white Verizon iPhone 4, or black Verizon iPhone 4. Good luck with that.

Additional reporting by Sam Sheffer

[Thanks, Jon]

Filed under: Cellphones

White iPhone 4 thickness creates issue for case makers, owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Android users who hate paying for stuff: according to new numbers from Netherlands-based mobile analytics group Distimo, there are now more free apps available for Google’s mobile OS than the iPhone, at 134,342 to 121,845. There are a few things to consider here: first, when one adds free iPad-only apps, the total number of gratis iOS apps increases to a more competitive 132,239. And then there’s Apple’s sometimes rigorous vetting process, which has probably played a role in its numeric slippage — after all, this report doesn’t highlight things like legality, repetition, or the overall number of apps dedicated to making farting noises. Also, Apple has a lot more premium apps, giving it the overall lead at 333,124 to 206,143 — but between Android’s rapid growth and what the report terms iOS’s relative stagnation, Distimo expects Google to take the top spot in five months’ time, outnumbering iPhone and iPad apps combined — a rough scenario for Cupertino to stomach, no doubt, but at least the company will still have Windows Phone to kick around a while longer. [Source link requires registration]

Shocker! Free Android apps outnumber free iPhone apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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