Huawei makes Honor official, forgets to mention its other virtues

Sure, we love it when phones and spec lists leak out into the wild, but there’s nothing like an official announcement to set the record straight. When we last saw the Huawei Honor, it claimed to have a single-core 1.4GHz processor, a 4-inch FWVGA (854×480) capacitive screen, and a radio primed for European and Asian bands. The official word? It’s got all of that, but it’s also packing an 8 megapixel rear facing camera (2MP up front), 512MB of RAM (with 4GB ROM memory, and expandable up to 32GB) and a hefty 1900mAh battery. The Gingerbread powered handset is a hair thicker than we expected as well, measuring in at 10.9mm at its thinnest point. What else is new? Oh, just a handful of new frequencies, including GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 /1900 and the WCDMA/HSPA+ 900 / AWS / 2100 bands (compatible with T-Mobile’s US 3G). No word on price just yet, but the DLNA-certified powerhouse should be hitting Asia-Pacific, China, Russia, and the Middle East in “Classic Black” the fourth quarter, with more colors (and hopefully, regions) dropping sometime during the Christmas season. Want the full PR and official spec list? Skip on past the break.

Continue reading Huawei makes Honor official, forgets to mention its other virtues

Huawei makes Honor official, forgets to mention its other virtues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yale Lock Opens Doors With NFC Phones

Add “getting into your house” to the list of things you won’t be able to do if you lose your phone, thanks to Yale’s fancy new NFC-controlled lock.

The touch-screen locks use a companion app on an NFC (near field communication) phone (in the demo video, an iPhone with an NFC case is used). You select the correct “key” from the app, hold the phone up to the lock and you’re done. The lock recognizes a friendly key and opens up.

With more phones likely to feature NFC chips in the near future, this kind of tech is likely to get more common. The phone has already replaced computers, books, cameras and MP3 players. Next it’ll be wallets, keys, loyalty cards and probably even train and plane tickets. Just don’t leave home without a charger.

Yale Door Locks: Is NFC the Next Big Thing in Home Tech? [CE Pro]

Press release [CE Pro / Yale]

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Sprint reportedly capping its mobile hotspot plans October 2nd

If Sprint’s myriad policy changes are part of the company’s strategy update, perhaps we’re not looking forward to October 7th’s event after all. The latest bout in a series of gut-punching cost-cutting moves is the elimination of “unlimited” in the Now Network’s $30 mobile hotspot add-on; according to a leaked employee memo uncovered by SprintFeed, October 2nd is the dreadful date in which all users who have the add-on (sorry Sprintsters, there’s no grandfathering) will be given a limit of 5GB, and any overage will be charged five cents per MB. It appears that only phones will be affected, leaving tableteurs safe for now. So if you’re currently using the hotspot feature, enjoy the last few solid days of sweet downloading while you can.

Update: To clarify, this change will only be affecting users who have the mobile hotspot add-on; as the screenshot confirms, on-phone data use (as well as dedicated mobile broadband packages) will remain unlimited.

Sprint reportedly capping its mobile hotspot plans October 2nd originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Apple Board Member Al Gore Says iPhones (Plural) Coming in October

The white iPhone 4 will soon be joined by new members of the iPhone family. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Key insight on the timing of Apple’s next iPhone release appeared today, and this time it’s no rumor. The news came straight from the mouth of an Apple insider.

Former United States Vice President and sitting Apple boardmember Al Gore made specific reference to the release of one or more new iPhone products in October while speaking at a conference on Wednesday, according to an attendant of the conference.

“He was talking quite passionately about global warming, Moore’s Law and its effect on computing,” said Toby Shapshak, an editor at Stuff Magazine who was at the conference, in an interview with Wired.com. “Specifically about transistors, when he said ‘Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month.’ Then he quickly added ‘That was a plug.’”

That’s iPhones, plural.

This is the first time someone with any specific ties to Apple has commented on the much-anticipated iPhone 5. Based on Gore’s statement, it’s possible that we’ll be seeing multiple iPhone models. An iPhone 5 and an iPhone 4S, perhaps? Or was he just referring to the usual 16GB and 32 GB flavors?

It’s also entirely possible that Vice President Gore elided his syllables, or could be speaking more generally about the release of millions of one specific model of phone. It’s unclear, but if it’s an Apple PR stunt, the company has certainly gotten its message across.

According to AllthingsD sources, we’re looking at an October 4 launch date with new CEO Tim Cook at the helm, while other reports speculate at least two different iPhone model debuts. One of the two iPhones is purported to be a budget model (akin to Apple’s past 3GS model). The other, the iPhone 5, is purported to include an A5 processor and a significantly redesigned look, including a larger display, an elongated home button and a thinner, tapered shape. Sprint is also rumored to be the latest carrier to start offering the iPhone, as well.

Only a few more weeks, and all this madness will be over. At least for a while.

[via The Next Web]


Tim Cook to Host iPhone 5 Event on October 4th

Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to present the iPhone 5 launch event. Photo credit Apple

Waiting for the iPhone 5? Then you might want to put Tuesday, October 4th in your diary. According to All Things D, this is the date Apple has scheduled for the new iPhone’s launch. The event, revealed to All Things D by “sources close to the situation,” will be presided over by Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook.

It makes sense. The rumors have long pegged a late September or early October date for the announcement of the iPhone 4’s successor, and iOS 5 — which will doubtless come pre-installed on the new phone — is due in the fall, which starts right about now.

The news that Tim Cook will be headlining is slightly more surprising. Cook was always more of a behind-the-scenes executive, and some expected that he’d remain so as CEO, letting Steve Jobs’ long-time stage companion Phil Schiller or iOS chief Scott Forstall become the public faces of Apple. If All Things D’s sources are correct, then it looks like Cook is set to fully embrace all of Jobs’ old roles at the company.

Still, we don’t have long to wait to find out. And if all goes well, the real star of the show will be the iPhone 5, whatever new goodies it brings.

Apple’s Next Event to Be Held on October 4, Starring Its New CEO [All Things D]

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Text Messaging Habits Leveling Off, Alternatives Abound

The average number of texts sent or received each day didn't change too much from 2010 to 2011. Image: Pew Internet

Teens text a lot. Old folks don’t. But in general, it looks like our obsession with texting is beginning to level off, according to the latest numbers.

Pew Internet found American cell phone owners sent an average of 41.5 text messages per day last spring and 73 percent of Americans with a cell phone used the texting function. That’s a big jump from 2009, when we sent an average of 29.7 texts daily, but only a tiny increase over the 39.1 sent last year.

Some other notable factoids from the study (which surveyed 2,277 adults age 18 or older):

  • Ladies text more, but only just. Women sent 42 texts per day to the guys’ 41.
  • The 18 to 29 set loves. Ninety-five percent of cell phone owners in that age bracket send texts, and they average 88 per day. The median number is 40.
  • Folks older than 65 send a mere five texts per day.
  • Almost one in four 18-29 year olds sends or receives upwards of 100 texts per day. The 12 percent with bionic thumbs send or receive more than 200 daily.
  • The higher your education level, the less you text: Those with less than high school education average 70 texts per day. College grads average 24 texts per day
  • Text messaging and voice calling are related: Those who text the most also tend to make the most voice calls.

Although the stats are interesting on their own, it’s the year-to-year change that’s most indicative of texting trends. It’s worth noting the change from 2010 to 2011 was tiny. Does this suggest we’ve hit our peak?

“I would suspect folks have found their natural level of texting,” says Aaron Smith, author of the Pew study. For those already texting a lot (some users text upwards of 3,000 messages a month), there’s only so much you can increase from there.

Alternatively, with the rising popularity of smartphones, are we simply turning to other options?

Smith says it’s too early to tell, but it could be a factor. There are many convenient apps and other alternatives that could be reducing our tendency to text.

iMessage

Launching with iOS 5 is Apple’s possible text messaging killer: iMessage. When you send a text, iMessage will determine whether the recipient is running iOS 5. If so, iMessage will send the message using your data connection instead of SMS.

If all of your friends have iPhones, iOS 5 provides the option to shut off SMS completely (the opposite is also true — you can shut off iMessage and exclusively use SMS). It also will tell you whether the recipient has actually read the message, so you’ll know if they’re lying with that old, “Oh — I never got your text” line.

Instant Messaging Apps

You don’t need to send a text if you and your friends are online. You can send an instant message instead, whether they’re mobile or on a computer. Several apps let you do this.

The Meebo app is a bit of a catch-all, allowing you to instant message contacts with Gchat, Facebook, AOL Instant Messenger or other IM clients.

imo.im also lets you consolidate your instant messaging and chatting sources into one app. It’s available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry users. You can use it with contacts from Skype, Facebook, Gchat, Yahoo Messenger, AIM and others.

Beejive is another option. It takes advantage of push notifications, so you get an SMS-like notification when someone has messaged you.

And of course, there’s AOL Instant Messenger’s own app, which also supports Google Talk and Facebook chat.

Skype’s mobile app is another option for messaging as well as making voice and video calls if you already have a subscription to Skype’s services. You can chat one-on-one, or have group chats.

Other Chatting Options

Facebook has its own messaging app called Facebook Messenger that can be used to communicate with Facebook friends. The app, available on iOS and Android, is separate from the Facebook app. Facebook Messenger lets you send messages to contacts and send group messages. If your recipient is logged in to the app, they’ll receive it through there, otherwise they’ll receive it as an SMS message.

And if you’re on Android, you can take advantage of the official Gchatting app, Google Talk, so you can easily continue conversations when you switch from the desktop to your Android phone.

All of these SMS alternatives are arriving at an extremely opportune time.

AT&T recently “simplified” its texting plan. Subscribers can pay $20 monthly for an unlimited plan or pay 20 cents per text message. For the first time, if you’re a moderate to light texter, there’s no plan, like the former $10 a month 1,000 text message plan, catered for your needs (20 cents per message? Seriously? C’mon, that’s highway robbery).

With that in mind, using one of these options could not only be a good idea, it could be economical — especially if other carriers follow suit, which they often do. Just look at how fast the unlimited data plan died.

Our love affair with the text message may be on its way out.


T-Mobile Exec Says Network Won’t Get iPhone 5 This Year

Will the iPhone be coming to T-Mobile? Not this year, it seems.

Update: This story was updated with comment from T-Mobile September 20, 2011 at 4:15 p.m. PST.

Sorry, T-Mobile customers: The outlook on Apple products coming to the wireless network soon is not so good.

“We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year,” T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer Cole Brodman said in a town hall meeting on Monday.

Brodman’s statement could still be interpreted a number of ways. T-Mobile could get the iPhone early next year, or it might be an attempt to divert attention from possible signs that they may be getting the iPhone (something Sprint appears to be doing a terrible job of hiding). TmoNews speculates that it would also make sense for Apple to potentially hold off on porting a phone to T-Mobile’s network when it could possibly get swallowed up by AT&T in its proposed merger.

T-Mobile said in an official statement: “We don’t comment on rumors. We remain focused on expanding our portfolio of 4G smartphones. We look forward to sharing on Monday, news about our latest and greatest product lineup.”

For several years, AT&T was the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, until Verizon began selling the iPhone 4 for its CDMA network in February 2011. Rumors and analyst speculation have widely suggested that Sprint will be getting the iPhone 5 when it debuts (likely in October), which would leave T-Mobile as the lone major U.S. wireless carrier to be without an Apple phone.

Sprint has blocked out vacation days for its employees from September 30 to October 15 in order to prep for a “major phone launch.” Sprint staff have reportedly been briefed on the iPhone 4. And other reports suggest that Sprint will even offer an unlimited data plan for the iPhone.

Recent speculation also suggests that we may be getting an incrementally updated or cheaper iPhone this year, but we won’t see an iPhone 5 until 2012.

Of course, all of this is still speculation, so keep your grains of salt at the ready.

[Via T-Mo News]


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Telus launches Optimus Black in white, doesn’t believe in paradoxes

For those who like a good dose of irony with their Cheerios, there’s the LG Optimus Black — now available in white. Like its darker cousin released in Canada earlier this summer, the Black in white (seriously…), will feature the same specs as the original (a 5 megapixel camera, unlimited Skype-to-Skype calling and a 4-inch IPS display) as well as an identical contract-dependant price tag. Starting tomorrow, the phone will be available on the Telus network, but there’s no word yet whether its American twin will get the same whitewash treatment. This latest pair of handsets now joins a distinguished list of ebony and ivory favorites: Oreos, tuxedos and Michael Jackson songs (video after the break).

Continue reading Telus launches Optimus Black in white, doesn’t believe in paradoxes

Telus launches Optimus Black in white, doesn’t believe in paradoxes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official)

It looks like the LG Marquee’s gearing up for its coming out party. We first caught wind of the Optimus Black clone when it surfaced in blurrycam form at a Radio Shack briefing, running what appeared to be vanilla Android, and branded for the Now Network. Well, thanks to a leaked press shot over on PocketNow, we can clearly see that the device is, indeed, sporting a lightly-skinned version of the pure Gingerbread experience, with Sprint ID replacing the browser in the phone’s launcher. Cosmetically, you’ll also notice the new grey-colored chassis has a striped band sweeping down the battery cover, although the camera placement remains similar to its European cousin. Aside from that, the only other notable difference is in the design and arrangement of the capacitive buttons. The specs seem to fall line with its elder LG stablemate, as the handset packs a single-core 1GHz processor, 2 megapixel front-facing / 5 megapixel rear cameras and 4-inch NOVA display. The only question that remains is whether you’re willing to forgo impending beastliness for elegance this October when it’s rumored to launch.

Update: Sprint’s made it official. The LG Marquee’ll be available for pre-order online on September 20th, and will go on sale October 2nd for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract.

Continue reading LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official)

LG Marquee steps out in leaked press shot, coming this October? (updated: it’s official) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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