Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve known RIM has had a WebKit-based browser in its rear pocket since Mobile World Congress, and with confirmation that BlackBerry OS 6.0 would have traces of WebKit throughout, this discovery was simply inevitable. The BlackBerry Bold 9800 (polarizing design and all) has just made its most interesting appearance yet, this time showing off a purported WebKit-based web browser with a trio of tabs collected up top. Never mind the fact that whoever was using this clearly wishes he / she was browsing on an iPhone — it’s the 100/100 Acid3 test result that really titillates. ‘Course, that could very well be a JPEG loaded up to fool us all, but we aren’t losing the faith just yet. Head on down to the source for a few more teases.

BlackBerry Bold 9800 slides open, shows off promising WebKit-based browser originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know, not every smartphone has to be putting down maxed-out hardware. That’s a lesson that Nokia is certainly taking to heart, concentrating many of its latest efforts on lower-end Symbian devices that it hopes will capture entire new swaths of users that’d otherwise be buying dumbphones with half the functionality (and far less than half of the revenue potential). In the world of Android, though, recent devices like the EVO 4G, Droid, Droid Incredible, and Nexus One have admittedly caused us to grow accustomed to the idea that we should all be using blazingly fast processors and huge WVGA displays.

In reality, of course, Android is an extraordinarily scalable platform; there’s a whole world of hardware (and around $200 of on-contract pricing) below today’s latest round of “superphones.” At $100 on a two-year deal, the LG Ally sort of typifies what we’d expect out of a midrange Android device right now — a gap-filler that can capture users seeking a Droid experience on a Kin Two budget. So does it hold up in the day-to-day grind, or are you going to be begging for a Droid by day two? Let’s find out.

Continue reading LG Ally review

LG Ally review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve still got thousands of unanswered questions (well, maybe not thousands, but definitely dozens) about RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 6 platform — and it’s starting to look like we might be answering those questions at retail by way of this Bold 9800 slider that’s been making the rounds lately. BGR claims that the handset is lining up for a mid- to late-June release on AT&T, with the carrier having placed a substantial million-plus unit order to lock it up as an exclusive for some undetermined length of time (much as Verizon has managed to do both with the Storm and the Storm2). We hate to point out the obvious, but from a PR perspective, June’s not the best month to be announcing and / or releasing anything that isn’t an iPhone — and when you look at the 9800’s form factor and the baby steps that BlackBerry 6 seems to make toward boosting consumer appeal, we don’t think you can make an argument that this is a sufficiently different market segment the same way you could with, say, the 9700. In other words: we wouldn’t be shocked to see this date slip a bit, assuming the rumor pans out.

BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider coming next month as an AT&T exclusive? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pictures are great, but video’s better. What holds true for salacious celebrity tattle is equally true for gadget gossip. So hold tight and prepare to leer, we’ve got the first quick and dirty video of RIM’s new Bold slider running BlackBerry 6 after the break. Somebody alert TMZ.

Continue reading RIM’s BlackBerry Bold slider with OS 6 does a little dance, gets down tonight (video)

RIM’s BlackBerry Bold slider with OS 6 does a little dance, gets down tonight (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this hasn’t exactly followed the usual smartphone launch route, but LG has now officially confirmed the existence of its new Android-powered LG Ally handset, although it’s still not doing much talking about the phone itself. It has, however, revealed that the phone will be available on May 20th (presumably on Verizon, though LG oddly doesn’t mention a carrier in its press release), and that it will naturally feature plenty of Iron Man 2 tie-in content, including an augmented reality application of some sort. Otherwise, LG is only saying that the phone will have a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keypad, and it’s pointing folks towards an Iron Man 2 tie-in site (linked below) that, last we checked, still says to check back on April 30th. We should be getting some more details on the phone soon enough, however, as LG is holding an event in New York on May 11th where it will be showing off the Ally and other “Stark-worthy” technology.

Continue reading LG confirms Android-powered Ally, coming May 20th

LG confirms Android-powered Ally, coming May 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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