Jul 09

Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin’ BlackBerry Tour coming next year

Posted in: BlackBerry, cdma, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Sprint, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw, wi-fi, wifi

By the time Sprint gets around to releasing the 9630 Tour with WiFi, due out sometime early next year, we think most everyone’ll have moved on to any one of the numerous BlackBerry devices likely to hit in the interim. What’s more important in this FierceWireless report is that Sprint’s requiring WiFi “in all its major devices going forward” — which should mean pretty much every smartphone that lands in its CDMA-loving mitts. Verizon Wireless, who along with Sprint is also launching the WLAN-less Tour this Sunday, said that the company’s working with RIM to get WiFi into future BlackBerry, but didn’t oblige us with any hopeful descriptors that’d help us understand just how strong of a push was being made. Frankly, smartphones without WiFi at this point is downright criminal, and with CDMA phones trailing behind their GSM counterparts in this category, kudos to Sprint for taking the initiative.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin’ BlackBerry Tour coming next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 03

Engadget Podcast 153 – 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition

Posted in: Android, BlackBerry, engadget podcast, EngadgetPodcast, nintendo, NVIDIA, olympus, palm pre, PalmPre, podcast, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, tegra, Today's Chili, wii

It’s your holiday weekend America — how are you going to spend it? We’ll tell you how: by listening to Engadget Podcast 153 over, and over, and over. What better way to utilize your extra day off and barbecue-packed good times than by putting Josh, Paul, and Nilay on repeat for you (and your friends’) enjoyment? Check out the ‘cast this week as the boys explore the ups and downs of the Olympus E-P1, Dell’s MID plans, and field a handful of questions from our handsome, intelligent, and just basically awesome listeners. You won’t be disappointed.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Virt – Katamari on the Rock

Hear the podcast

00:02:10 – Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review
00:10:26 – Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets officially detailed, priced for US market
00:14:22 – Wii MotionPlus impressions: it works, but so far the games aren’t worth the fuss
00:24:45 – Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ
00:32:08 – Android 1.5 gets official SDK for native development
00:38:10 – Video: Mobinnova élan sporting a custom Tegra UI
00:47:30 – Video: NVIDIA Tegra’s GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash — Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt
00:47:30 – Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing
00:50:17 – BlackBerry Tour hands-on, wild sibling confrontation with Curve and Bold
00:53:00 – RIM CEO: “SurePress is here to stay”
00:57:00 – 13-year-old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact
01:04:55 – iPhone 3GS review
01:07:15 – Palm Pre review

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Download the podcast

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Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

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Engadget Podcast 153 – 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 30

BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a go for US, says FCC

Posted in: BlackBerry, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, t-mobile, Today's Chili

Whether or not it’s coming to T-Mobile (spoiler: all signs point to yes), BlackBerry’s Curve 8520 has now been ordained with FCC approval, clearing the hurdle for its sale stateside. Optical trackpad and EDGE connection your cup of tea? You know where to look, and for everyone else, there’s always the Tour.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a go for US, says FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 15

Verizon launches BlackBerry Tour teaser page

Posted in: BlackBerry, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili, verizon, vzw

It’s hard to believe this is really the first official confirmation that BlackBerry Tour is bound for Verizon’s network, given what we’ve seen and heard so far, but that’s exactly what we’ve got. The self-proclaimed “America’s Best 3G Network” company has unveiled a teaser page for the smartphone. Not much else here other than a fancy product shot and a newsletter sign up, but more importantly, it looks like an official launch can’t be too far off now.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Verizon launches BlackBerry Tour teaser page originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 04

RIM buys Dash Navigation

Posted in: research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili

Remember Dash? The upstart connected GPS maker who put out the much-loved Dash Express but didn’t realize people didn’t want to pay a monthly fee for GPS services and eventually folded in on itself? Well yeah — they’ve just been snapped up by RIM, presumably meaning we’ll see some nifty new online GPS action in future BlackBerrys. Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but we’re eager to see how RIM plays with this with its carrier partners, most of whom charge extra fees for GPS features.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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RIM buys Dash Navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 27

Research In Motion CEO Mike Lazaridis live from D7

Posted in: BlackBerry, Features, live, LiveBlog, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili

We’re snug in our plush, comfortable seats at D7, waiting patiently for RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis to take the stage. Sit tight and the show should begin momentarily. No word on what’s coming up, but you never know…

Thanks to our editor-at-large and gdgt co-founder Ryan Block for handling photo duties during the show!

Continue reading Research In Motion CEO Mike Lazaridis live from D7

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Research In Motion CEO Mike Lazaridis live from D7 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 24

Blackberry Magnum, Onyx, Pearl 3G, and Gemini to harmonize on AT&T

Posted in: att, BlackBerry, Features, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili

BlackBerry lovers, AT&T beckons. Looks like the just-reviewed Onyx is heading to AT&T and, as rumored before, so is the Magnum. We’ve got no pics of the latter device, but it’s being touted here as the “BlackBerry Bold portfolio evolution” and uses the same processor as the Bold. It’s also got a HVGA touchscreen, QWERTY pad, quad-band GSM / GRS / EDGE, GPS, and WiFi. Want more? How about an apparently non-flip Pearl 3G with 3.6 Mbps of HSDPA goodness, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, trackball, SureType, and aGPS. Rounding out this quartet is the Gemini, with a 512MHz processor, 256MB flash memory, 128MB RAM, Bluetooth, QVGA LCD, 2 megapixel sans flash, trackball, QWERTY keyboard, 3.5mm headset jack, a microSD slot, possibly GPS, and sadly, no 3G. There’s no release date in sight, but hey, knowing they’re on the way is half the battle, right?

Gallery: Blackberry Magnum, Onyx, Pearl 3G, and Gemini to harmonize on AT&T

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Blackberry Magnum, Onyx, Pearl 3G, and Gemini to harmonize on AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 May 2009 18:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 24

BlackBerry Aries spotted: a Gemini with CDMA in its heart

Posted in: BlackBerry, cdma, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili

If you had your eye the BlackBerry Curve 8520 / Gemini, somehow above all the other number of RIM devices that have surfaced as of late, it looks like the stars have aligned (har har) for you. The gang at Crackberry have gotten a first peep at the Aries, which they say is essentially a CDMA-equipped Gemini that’s likely to go by the eventual name Curve 8530. Not much else to note here, here’s hoping we got some more concrete details — and maybe a committed carrier or two — in the not too distant. As for the naming conventions, we now anxiously await for alliterative darlings like a touchscreen Taurus, slide-out Sagittarius, and 18 megapixel Pisces.

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BlackBerry Aries spotted: a Gemini with CDMA in its heart originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 May 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 01

BlackBerry Curve 8520 “Gemini” image surfaces

Posted in: BlackBerry, breaking news, BreakingNews, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili

Well, what do we have here? The folks at Crackberry seem to have gotten their hands on a pic of the BlackBerry Curve 8520, a.k.a. “Gemini.” From what we can see and from what they tell us, there’s an optical trackball, dedicated media player buttons, and a “rubberized” body. Lack of 3G is a big bummer, and we’re sure the non-classic trackball is gonna ruffle some feathers, but the hardware’s enticing enough for us to give it a look over. Intrigued?

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BlackBerry Curve 8520 “Gemini” image surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 May 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 06

WiFi-equipped BlackBerry Storm 2 coming to Verizon in September?

Posted in: BlackBerry, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, Today's Chili, wi-fi, wifi

Looks like you might be able to cross at least one bullet point off of your Storm 2 wishlist. According to unnamed source who SlashGear swears is the bee’s knees, the successor to BlackBerry‘s touchscreen smartphone will add WiFi support for faster home / coffee shop web browsing. The informant hinted there’s other surprises on the horizon but wouldn’t give specifics, so for now you’ll just have to keep dreaming about that SurePress touchscreen that doesn’t slow down your texting. As for when we should expect the sequel, the report pointed to a release sometime in September on Verizon’s network.

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WiFi-equipped BlackBerry Storm 2 coming to Verizon in September? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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