Remember when the best free phone you could get was monochrome candy bar phone? And you were thankful because that Nokia phone had Snake on it. Things are better now—you can get an actual smartphone from a carrier for free (with the usual two-year contract). But which is the best one from each carrier? Let’s jump into the bargin bin and find out. More »
LG aren’t letting up on the LTE hardware. While we’ve only just shaken hands with AT&T’s Nitro HD, this Verizon-branded 4G handset packs several design cues (and specifications) from its rival network cousin. The LG Spectrum has already appeared — albeit fleetingly — in a database listing and is likely to be the successor to Big Red’s Revolution. Pocketnow reckons that the phone will rock a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a high-definition display running at 720p and an eight megapixel shooter, although it’s hard to make out much for from these shots — aside from that protruding camera module. Regardless, life’s most certainly looking good for LG fans.
Verizon-branded LG Spectrum steps out in leaked press shot originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Magenta’s taken to its Facebook wall to announce the availability of its latest LG-made, Android 2.3.4 phones: the 3.8-inch myTouch and 3.5-inch myTouch Q. Word of these handsets’ existence leaked out via YouTube a few months back, but the carrier’s since made both official. The duo will hit T-Mobile’s site on November 2nd, each at a budget-pleasing $79.99 — that’s after a mail-in rebate on a two-year contract. But if you’re the sort to pick up your wares in-store, then expect to see this pair on offer come November 9th. What’ll you get for that sub-$100 price? Well, the devices run along the operator’s 4G HSPA+ network and pack a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm processor, as well as front-facing / 5 megapixel rear cameras. The only thing setting these two apart is your predilection for a landscape QWERTY slider, in which case you’ll want to snag the Q. So, if you’ve been waiting on T-Mo to roll this twosome out of the gate, consider tomorrow your lucky day.
LG myTouch, myTouch Q available on T-Mobile November 2nd for $79 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:44:00 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 attips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Official Android updates
Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery
Other platforms
Refreshes we covered this week
Refresh Roundup: week of October 24, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 24, 2011:
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 24, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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On the company level, both Samsung and ZTE came away as the biggest winners this quarter; Sammy’s shipments increased by 23 percent over the year, good for second place, while ZTE’s shot up by a whopping 57.9 percent, launching the company into fourth place. Apple, meanwhile, saw 26.2 percent growth in its shipments and a slight bump in market share, but still couldn’t avoid getting leapfrogged by ZTE and dropping down to fifth place. And then there’s LG, which had by far the worst quarter, relative to Q3 2010. The manufacturer saw shipments decline by nearly 26 percent over the year, while its market share slipped to 5.4 percent. All these horses, however, are still chasing Nokia, which saw a small drop in shipments, but managed to hang on to the top spot, with over 106 million shipments during the quarter — good for 27 percent of the market. For more numbers and insight, check out the full PR after the break.
Continue reading IDC: Samsung, ZTE see jump in mobile shipments, Apple slides to fifth place
IDC: Samsung, ZTE see jump in mobile shipments, Apple slides to fifth place originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Q3 numbers for LG are in, showing its cellphone unit lost money for the sixth straight quarter, with profits coming from the home appliance and air conditioning units. On the home entertainment side, it shipped more flat panel TVs than ever before (6.8 million) and despite lower revenues managed to improve operating profit by selling more of its high end Cinema 3D and LED-lit HDTVs. Unfortunately for the mobile division, sales were down 8.5 percent from last year and the company recorded a $128.47 million operating loss. Making things worse, Reuters reports its rival Samsung is expected to report strong profit in mobiles on Friday, and pass Apple as the world’s biggest smartphone seller on the back of its Galaxy S line. We don’t know if LG will be able to turn things around anytime soon, but giving the Optimus LTE an Ice Cream Sandwich finish and shipping it sooner rather than later couldn’t hurt.
Continue reading LG posts a net loss for Q3, loses ground in mobile sales
LG posts a net loss for Q3, loses ground in mobile sales originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LG DoublePlay likely to see single release for T-Mobile on October 26th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LG’s biggest, fastest phone to date, previously known as the Optimus LTE, has made its first landing outside of Korea. In a not-so-thinly-veiled reference to the retina display-beating resolution density, it’s now answering to the name, Optimus Eye. The smartphone’s been leaked in a preview video from The Source, a Canadian retailer which is owned by Bell — who’ll evidently be making the phone available on their network. We also get to see LG’s latest AH-IPS display technology in action, alongside a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and the increasingly standard eight megapixel shooter. No whisperings just yet on pricing or a launch date, but we’d expect these top-drawer specifications to be matched with an appropriately top-drawer price tag when it does arrive. You can eye it up for yourself after the break.
Continue reading LG Optimus Eye: LTE smartphone renamed with a view to landing in Canada
LG Optimus Eye: LTE smartphone renamed with a view to landing in Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We 21st century humans are busy creatures. Bombarded by a constant stream of data flowing into our smartphones, we struggle to respond to text messages, tweets and e-mails in a timely fashion. But LG’s latest smartphone, exclusive to T-Mobile, may provide a solution.
Dubbed the DoublePlay, the handset boasts a 3.5-inch touchscreen display for viewing content, and a slide-out qwerty keyboard that should appeal to the dwindling numbers of BlackBerry faithfuls among us. And, in a strange twist of industrial design, the DoublePlay also comes with another 2-inch touchscreen that splits the keyboard in twain, and serves as a second app dock for fast task-switching.
At first glance, the second screen seems like sheer novelty. T-Mobile pitches the dubious idea that the additional screen is perfect for the world of “fast-paced social networking.” I can’t say I’ve ever been struck with such an urgency to tweet that I’ve required a second screen to do so, but perhaps my wit isn’t as sharp as yours.
Nonetheless, the DoublePlay allows instant access to up to eight apps docked on the second screen, eliminating the need to mash the home button over and over to access your app menu. It’s a nifty time-saver for those obsessed with multitasking, and even the non-obsessive tweeters and texters among us should find the second screen helpful.
Android device manufacturers are scrambling to differentiate themselves from one another in today’s extremely crowded mobile market. Some companies are attempting to carve out identity by adding more screen real estate, and, to this extent, the DoublePlay is akin to Kyocera’s take on an Android handset from earlier this year, as well as Sony’s unreleased clamshell tablet, the S2.
In addition to the 2-inch touchscreen, the DoublePlay boasts a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running Gingerbread, the latest version of Android (hopefully it will be upgradable to the forthcoming Ice Cream Sandwich OS release). The phone also sports what looks on paper to be a decent camera: 5 megapixels with support for 720p HD video capture.
T-Mobile is also boosting its group and cloud text messaging services, which now essentially let you text multiple contacts across different platforms. So, for example, if one buddy is working from his PC while another is on a tablet, you’ll be able to text both friends from your phone. For better or worse, T-Mobile is essentially taking apps like Pinger and Google Voice’s texting capabilities and replacing them with its own, carrier-branded versions.
We don’t yet know the Doubletake’s price or release date, but it’ll be available in time for the holidays.
Photo courtesy of LG
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