Hasta La Gadget!

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got an AT&T TL92278 Bluetooth-enabled DECT 6.0 home telephone for those of you not quite ready to kick the landline habit. Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff!

Big thanks to AT&T for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) AT&T TL92278 Bluetooth-enabled DECT 6.0 home telephone. Approximate retail value is $89.95.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Thursday, April 23rd, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Announcements, Misc. Gadgets

Engadget’s recession antidote: win an AT&T TL92278 DECT 6.0 phone! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After having its prototypes rejected a few times over by carriers here in America, it seems that Michael Dell is taking his smartphone initiative overseas. ‘Course, he’ll need something mighty special to outshine Lenovo’s OPhone over in China, but we digress. Hot on the heels of rumors galore, Reuters is reporting that Dell is indeed aiming to launch multiple smartphones in the Chinese market before the dawn of 2010. A pair of analysts have asserted that the firm is working with Chi Mei Communications — an unlisted unit of Taiwan’s Hon Hai — on the hardware front, while China-based Red Office is engineering the operating system. Not surprisingly, spokespeople from these outfits are all remaining mum for the moment, but we are told that the US and Europe are on Dell’s list of next-up launch markets assuming the China rollout goes well.

[Via MobileBurn]

Filed under: Cellphones

Dell to launch smartphones in China by end of year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, folks — things are about to get really real. We have managed, through a series of delicate negotiations, to get our hands on an honest-to-goodness Meizu M8 — heretofore the stuff of pure legend. At first glance, the build quality of the phone is actually pretty decent — it’s mostly plastic, but everything seems to snap together firmly. The battery (which is removable, naturally) is quite large, though we haven’t had a chance to test its life in any significant way. Of course, the real showpiece here is the software — which admittedly owes its entire existence to the iPhone. We’ve found that it’s quite snappy, and the styling and functionality of the UI is really kind of impressive (though this did spend a long time in the oven). Still, the phone’s KIRF roots are clear — you can judge for yourself in the gallery below.

Thanks to the good folks at MP4 Nation for the hookup!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Meizu M8 unboxing and hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not the first Swiss watchmaker to decide to get into the phone game, but Ulysse Nardin’s upcoming Chairman could very well take both the “most like a watch” and “most insanely badass” crowns when it’s officially unveiled at Baselworld later this month. Billed as a “hybrid smart phone,” the handset — which, we assure you, you can’t afford — will incorporate a visible, fully-functional kinetic rotor that will apparently assist in providing power, just like you might find in a mechanical wristwatch. Beyond that, we know that it’ll be unlocked, will be limited to just 1,846 pieces, and that Vertu should be feeling the heat right about now. Look for full details around March 26 when Baselworld kicks off, so in the meantime, get to work selling your car, your home, your children, and your soul, but not necessarily in that order. Depends on how deeply you love your car.

[Via Hodinkee and Timezone]

Continue reading Ulysse Nardin’s Chairman is the steampunk Prius of phones

Filed under: Cellphones

Ulysse Nardin’s Chairman is the steampunk Prius of phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IDC’s now assembled a comprehensive look at the phone biz in 2008, and as you might expect, it’s not exactly the most amazing year on record. Actually, when you take the year as a whole, shipments totaled a whopping 1.18 billion handsets — a 3.5 percent boost over 2007 — but the fourth quarter was downright brutal, seeing a 12.6 percent contraction over the same period a year prior. As analysts have been saying, though, the smartphone market will continue to be the silver lining in a tough market — shipments of “converged mobile devices” grew 22.5 percent year over year, with North American growth a staggering 70.1 percent. Carriers seem to be recognizing the world’s love affair with all-knowing, all-doing phones and plan to blow ’em out big in 2009, but the question remains: with credit tight and businesses losing cash hand-over-fist for the foreseeable future, will the subsidies be compelling enough to let customers in the door?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Phone shipments plunge 12.6 percent year over year in Q4 ’08 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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