Hasta La Gadget!

This week, as always, 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 September 5, 2011:

• It appears that Sprint employees are being informed that vacation requests anytime between September 30th and October 15th won’t be approved, due to “the possibility of a major phone launch in October.” Vacation blackouts are typically used during certain times of the holiday season, so the timing on this particular memo is a bit striking — as usual, we invite you to come to your own conclusions here. [via SprintFeed]
• Two BlackBerry devices breathed life on T-Mobile this week in the form of leaks. First, the Curve 9360 began showing up on marketing material focusing specifically on its prepaid campaign, which says the device will be offered for $230 without having to sign a new contract. It didn’t mention the on-contract price, but if all goes according to rumors, it’ll likely be out this time next week (September 14th, to be specific). [via TmoNews]
• Speaking of the Curve 9360, the phone will probably be hopping across the pond to a Carphone Warehouse near you (if you live in the United Kingdom, that is). It’s ready for pre-order now on the retailer’s site with a prepaid option for $200. Not bad for a brand-new BlackBerry at full retail cost. [via TechnoBuffalo]
• The second BlackBerry we saw leaked for T-Mobile this week was the Torch 9860, which may have been discovered in T-Mo’s inventory system, according to a leaked screenshot. This doesn’t help us know the date or pricing of the new Torch, but it does signify that it’s likely just around the corner. [via TmoNews]
• It’s possible that the Droid Prime and Nexus Prime have passed through Bluetooth and WiFi certification. Since names were not provided in the documentation, we’re left to speculate using the devices’ model numbers — rumored to be the SCH-I515 and GT-I9250. We’re naturally skeptical, but we’ll keep a close eye on the FCC in hopes that we’ll see these mystery devices pop up soon with at least a few revealing details. [via Droid-Life]
• We’ve been expecting the recently announced Samsung Galaxy W to arrive this month in the UK, but all of our sights have been set on Three as the only known carrier… until now. O2 placed a teaser page on its website this week, listing the Galaxy W as “coming soon: September.” [via MobileBurn and AndroidCentral]

Mobile Miscellany: week of September 5, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things just keep getting bleaker for RIM. With its revenues stagnating and smartphone market share dwindling, the BlackBerry maker is now facing new financial pressure from Jaguar Financial Group — a Canadian merchant bank and RIM shareholder that’s calling upon the company to do one of two rather unpleasant things: sell itself, or sell its patent portfolio. In an open letter to RIM’s board of directors, Jaguar CEO Vic Alboni criticized the manufacturer for failing to “inspire consumer enthusiasm” for its products, and for bringing its devices to market too late. And, as share prices continue to drop, Alboni thinks it’s time to make a change:

The status quo is not acceptable, the company cannot sit still. It is time for transformational change. The directors need to seize the reins to maximize shareholder value before more market value is lost.

Jaguar didn’t specify the size of its RIM stake, but claimed to be calling for upheaval on behalf of “other supportive shareholders” who, in total, hold less than five percent of the company. The Ontario-based firm is hoping that a new line of QNX-based smartphones will curtail its slump, but Alboni doesn’t sound so optimistic. “You cannot put all your eggs in one basket,” he told Bloomberg. “The board should be saying, ‘What if these products don’t pan out?’ You don’t want RIM to turn into another Nortel.” A RIM spokeswoman, meanwhile, declined to comment on the letter. Hit up the source link below to read it for yourself.

Shareholder calls for RIM to sell itself or its patents, in critical open letter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Better late than never, ey? RIM finally got with the program and rolled out their official version 3.0 upgrade to BlackBerry App World. The updated application portal had already been available to Beta Zone members early last month and was slated for an August 22nd debut, but apparently missed that release window. We’ve already seen the cosmetic improvements the Waterloo-based company’s brought to the app hub, with a redesigned home screen, refreshed icons, MyWorld downloads folder and the ability to share apps via your choice of social messaging service. The service still lacks the compelling selection of rival OS app markets, but hopefully the company’s renewed focus’ll bring more devs to its 7 OS club. If you’re rocking a BB handset, drop us a line below and let us know your take on RIM’s refresh.

RIM officially trots out BlackBerry App World 3.0 to 7 OS devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week, as always, 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 August 15, 2011:

• More rumors are circulating about the upcoming Sony Ericsson Nozumi, originally leaked two weeks ago. The new specs getting floated around are even better than we previously thought, which include a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution for a PPI of 342, and NFC. (Thanks, David) [via XperiaBlog]
• The Motorola Milestone 3 — the GSM twin of the Droid 3, essentially — was released in Brazil this week and will be available in select Latin American countries later this month. [via AndroidCentral]
• Just as we’re getting used to the idea of a white HTC EVO 3D at Radio Shack, it’s now reported that a purple version will soon be available exclusively at Best Buy. [via PocketNow]
• The BlackBerry Torch 9860 has two new Canadian homes, as it launched this week on Telus for $100 and SaskTel for $130. Both carriers involve setting up a three-year commitment. [via MobileSyrup(1) and (2)]
• Did someone mention SaskTel? Yes, the carrier is jumping on the 4G bandwagon by announcing its intent to deploy LTE by the fall of 2012. [via MobileSyrup]
• AT&T’s LG Thrill 4G is finally getting released tomorrow after several weeks of delays. While the phone will be offered for $100 by the carrier itself, you’ll be able to get it at Costco for $30. [via PhoneArena]
• Alongside the Kyocera Milano, Sprint will also launch a new feature phone called the Kyocera Brio. The Brio will offer a QWERTY keyboard, a 192MHz CPU and will run Java. [via Electronista and AndroidCentral]
• At HTC’s Windows Phone launch this week, reps confirmed that all of its new Windows Phones will indeed have the mobile hotspot feature included, though it won’t be a part of the software update to the company’s existing lineup. It’s likely to be added with a future refresh, but apparently the feature was added too late in the process to get thrown into the initial rollout. (Thanks, Gilles) [via Pocket-Lint]

Mobile Miscellany: week of August 29, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew this day was coming, so there are no surprises here. BlackBerry’s latest addition to its portrait QWERTY family, the Bold 9900, is on sale now at T-Mobile stores. The chrome trimmed, 14.4Mbps HSDPA capable handset’ll run you $350 (before a $50 mail-in rebate) with a two-year commitment, or you can always fork over the full $600 if you’d rather steer clear of the carrier’s contract chains. In case you were in need of a refresher, the phone packs a zippy 1.2GHz processor, 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen and runs BlackBerry 7 OS. Feeling like it’s time to update your crackberry habit? Then head to the source below to get your order on.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 now available on T-Mobile, still late to the 7 OS party originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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