Hasta La Gadget!

Well well, it looks like the Android-powered Motorola Sholes will be out on Verizon by the holidays. That’s at least the impression we’re getting from a bunch of leaked Verizon retailer documents posted up by Boy Genius Report, which also indicate the BlackBerry Storm 2, Curve 2 and LG Chocolate Touch will hit Big Red in time for eggnog, along with an unspecified netbook — we’re guessing this Gateway number. Speaking of netbooks, a similar document from Best Buy Mobile also leaked over the weekend, and it looks like the Nokia Booklet 3G will be exclusive to Best Buy and compatible with AT&T 3G. Oh, and the Pixi is coming, but you already knew that. Here’s the real mystery, though: “There are multiple Android launches across multiple carriers, along with some new technology that doesn’t exist today.” That’s certainly open for interpretation, so we leave it to you — is Best Buy Mobile about to start selling teleporters, or what?

Read – Sam’s Club and Target Verizon docs
Read – Best Buy Mobile docs

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Sholes to launch by holidays, along with the BlackBerry Storm 2 and Nokia Booklet 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s not hard to find Nokia users that believe the E71 is the finest S60 device (if not the finest device, period) that the company has ever made, so expectations for the E72 are at a stratospheric high. Impatience for a retail release is also at a stratospheric high, coincidentally, so Americans will be pleased to see that Amazon now has the unlocked North American version of the “zodium black” phone listed for $469 — without a release date, unfortunately, so it’s still a guessing game as to when these will actually be shipping out. All things considered, it’s not a bad price for an unbranded phone of the E72’s capabilities, but when you figure how easy it’s been to find awesome deals on North American Nokias around the interwebs this year, it still might give some potential buyers pause — just imagine if it were $299?

[Thanks, Ani]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia E72 NAM up for $469 preorder on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Our amateur sleuthing skills tell us there might be a tiny bit of excitement about this N900 device. With the Maemo 5 environment already measured up, it’s the turn of the hardware to get exhaustively previewed. The My Symbian team took a look at a prototype unit and were immediately impressed by the 800 x 480 display and relatively compact dimensions for such a loaded phone. The resistive touchscreen was on par with the N97, though it picked up scratches too easily for their liking ( a screen protector is recommended), while the keyboard was deemed small but still a major improvement over the N97’s. Internals rated well, with the 600MHz Cortex-A8 CPU and “superb” video recording grabbing plaudits. Perplexingly, there was only 256MB allocated to application installs (see image after the break), which can be altered by those with Linux knowhow, but this may draw plenty of ire from mainstream, app-hungry consumers, considering the device is capable of holding 48GB of total memory. On the outside, the camera cover was found to scratch the case around the lens (but not the lens itself like on some N97 units) while sliding, and removing the stylus from its slot revealed some bare electronics, both of which rather undermined the overall feel of a well-built device. They did find connectivity on the device a pretty dreamy and trouble-free affair, but we’re still only scratching the surface here — hit up the read link for the whole enchilada.

[Via MobileTechWorld]

Update: Nokia has expressly stated that the retail phones will come with repartitioned memory, which will provide “plenty” of space for app installations and obviate the storage issue noted above. [Thanks, sockatume]

Continue reading Nokia N900 undergoes extensive preview, N97 found sobbing in a corner

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia N900 undergoes extensive preview, N97 found sobbing in a corner originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

You might think you’re hot stuff for carrying around a new Vertu Constellation Ayxta, but this is America, bub — and your blinged-up Nokia has to kick it at the FCC just like everyone else. Of course, without that fancy always-on-call Concierge service and Vertu Select, all you’re really looking at here is a pretty anonymous featurephone wrapped up in high-end garb, but you’re not spending your $10,500 on features here — you’re spending it because you’re too lazy and rich to buy something good.

Filed under: Cellphones

Vertu Constellation Ayxta luxo-flip slums it at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s pretty typical for serial KIRFers to make minor changes to the names of the brands they’re ripping — take Sany Ericssan, for example — but we’ve never really known why. “Go big or go home” is the KIRF mantra we prefer to live by, and if you’re going to gank a phone’s design, by golly, do it with gusto. Give it 110 percent. In your heart, after all, that NOKLA’s really a Nokia — it’s what you feel deep inside that really matters, and no well-staffed, well-funded Finnish legal team can tell you otherwise. That’s why we’ve got to hand it to this particular model, simply called “Copy Nokia N900” in a painfully honest, accurate admission of its true raison d’être. Strangely, though, they’ve missed a few basic points: the Copy Nokia N900 trades the genuine article’s landscape QWERTY slider for a dual slide configuration in the same vein as the N85 and N95, for example, and Maemo 5 has gone missing — instead, you’re treated to a frighteningly accurate S60 5th Edition knockoff. If you can tolerate the dismal VGA cam, GPRS data, and QVGA screen, you’ll be pleased to discover that the phone features an analog (yes, analog) TV tuner and an accelerometer with “support” for flick control, which you can watch in action on video after the break — looks super fun and usable, doesn’t it?

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVI: Nokia N900 rip shows no trademark fear

Filed under: Cellphones

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVI: Nokia N900 rip shows no trademark fear originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments