Hasta La Gadget!

Chamber testing is most certainly nothing new for your average carrier — every one of the big boys here in the States already does something similar to this — but it’s not often that we’re given an inside look at what exactly happens within those elusive doors. During a recent Sprint campus walkthrough, we peeked into the carrier’s network development lab for a glimpse at what it takes to certify a phone for use on its network. Granted, the vast majority of Sprint’s testing is done elsewhere across the industry, and we were informed that the yellow dome shown above is actually a minty fresh model that includes “gel” within its borders, seemingly to produce a more realistic testing ground. You know — because human brains are clearly shrinking, while craniums are being increasingly filled with nondescript fluids. All jesting aside, we were told that this is the place where Sprint ensures Antennagate never comes to its side of town, and every Now Network phone (present and future) has to roll through here before being allowed out. The reason? Sprint needs to be absolutely certain that there’s no stray radio emissions bleeding into frequencies that it doesn’t support, and of course, to ask the Verizon guy if he can hear him now.

Visualized: this gel-filled Sprint head is testing all sorts of futurephones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry used to rule the boardroom, but over the past few years we’ve seen a steady uptick in the number of enterprise users switching to their OS of choice. So who’s going to be the successor to the BlackBerry throne? Well, according to Good’s latest report, Apple devices have fast become the preferred companions for its customers, and it looks like the iPad’s leading the way. The enterprise provider shows that in Q2 2011, users activated more iPads than Android smartphones and tablets combined. What’s more, iPads made up 95 percent of tablet activations, with Android tablets taking in only 3.1 percent. Smartphone adoption was a slight bit more balanced, but Apple still came out on top with 66 percent over Android’s 33 percent. That’s all well and good, but what we really want to know is who’s got the stuff to win the three-legged race at the company picnic? For those of you visual learners, a representative bar graph of Good’s results awaits you after the break.

Continue reading Apple tops Android in enterprise; little green robot still gunning for corner office

Apple tops Android in enterprise; little green robot still gunning for corner office originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve ever wondered what companies take your advice (read: complaints) to heart, here’s yet another one that is: Sprint. Recently, HTC received oodles of praise from a minuscule-but-passionate group of folks who appreciate the company’s stance on unlocking its bootloaders, and today we learned that folks at The Now Network made a similarly impressive change after hearing yet another enthusiastic sect… our readers. If you’ll recall, Sprint’s VP of Product Development Fared Adib appeared on the November 2010 episode of The Engadget Show, and it was during that appearance that he heard a rather shrill cry of users begging for a smaller amount of “bloatware,” or at the very least, bloatware that users could customize or outright remove. For those unfamiliar with the term, it generally refers to applications that are preloaded onto devices from the carrier; by and large, these clutter up the application grid, and many power users aren’t exactly enthralled by any carrier-imposed OS changes.

In speaking at length today with Adib during a Sprint campus walkthrough, he confessed that he jetted back from NYC and immediately informed his team that the bloatware needed to go. To quote: “Ben, we’ve got to get rid of these preloaded apps on our devices. A lot of customers don’t want this.” You may have noticed a dearth of those very apps on the EVO 3D, and according to Fared, customer feedback on the newly cleaned slate has been overwhelmingly positive. We inquired on whether this approach would be pushed across the company’s product spectrum, and he seemed eager to admit that it would. In fact, Sprint’s taking quite the different approach internally than some folks may be used to. It’s effectively trying to get out of the way in as many areas as possible, and in turn, litter your future phones with as little content as possible. In fact, he’s pushing to make whatever programs Sprint does preload user-removable, and it’s a mantra we can only hope other carriers latch onto. Nothing against NASCAR, of course, but having the ability to burn rubber in our own way is definitely preferred.

P.S. – This slide was just one of many, and is definitely not a comprehensive view of partners and plans. We were specifically informed to not read into it as a solo slide.

Sprint’s Fared Adib: we made a conscious decision to scale back bloatware on smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We first saw the Nokia RM-670 (aka the N7 or 700 Zeta) in a batch of unflattering spy-shots, then in some leaked publicity poses, and now we also have an exquisite line drawing courtesy of the FCC. Sure, it’s not the most detailed of portraits, but it’s the first absolutely concrete evidence we have that the RM-670 exists and may be headed to the New World. The FCC paperwork lists 1700MHz AWS and 850/1900Mhz 3G bands, suggesting that the handset could potentially work on T-Mobile or AT&T. Other rumored specs doing the rounds include the new Symbian Belle OS, a 1GHz processor, NFC and a 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen — as if those rounded contours weren’t pleasing enough.

[Thanks, Glenn]

Nokia RM-670 swans through the FCC, gives us another ‘Zeta’ portrait to admire originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, the US Army could continue to develop expensive proprietary gadgets for use in the field, or they could make the switch to (relatively) inexpensive off-the-shelf smartphones. It’s a change that’s been considered for some time, and the Army is now at the tail end of a six-week trial of more than 300 Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices for military use. The results have been promising, according to program director Michael McCarthy, stating that younger soldiers who grew up with smartphones and handhelds are very comfortable using them for military purposes.

Soldiers in the field can text GPS coordinates, send pictures of their surroundings, or file common reports directly from their phone. Despite positive results, the Army still has some hurdles to jump before taking the plunge — some of the phones had OS bugs, others (specifically, iPhones running on AT&T) couldn’t get signal in the New Mexico and Texas testing areas, and none of the devices were secure enough for use in overseas operations. The Army is considering tying the phones to tactical radios to help encrypt transmissions, and are testing self contained “cell tower in a suitcase” equipment to ensure coverage in sensitive locations. The Military hopes to push out limited deployment this year, and Army program director Ed Mazzanti has stated that they expect to select two mobile operating systems for official use, noting that “iPhone and Android have been very well received.” Sure, using multiple platforms may help protect soldiers against cyber attacks, but we can’t be the only ones worried the Army is unintentionally breeding a generation of fanboys with guns, can we?

US Army runs smartphone trial, could see ‘limited deployment’ later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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