Jul 13

Nokia prepping $120 million ad campaign ahead of Windows Phone launch?

Posted in: ad, advertising, cellphone, commercial, Microsoft, mobile, money, nokia, phone, smartphone, Today's Chili, Windows, windows phone, WindowsPhone

With the dust from its Microsoft partnership having somewhat settled, Nokia is reportedly looking to kick off its forthcoming line of Windows Phones with a major marketing campaign. According to Marketing Magazine, Elop & Co. have already devoted some £80 million (about $127 million) to the six-month ad endeavor, which is expected to launch in October. Considering all the job cuts and downwardly revised corporate forecasts, an advertising refresh would seem like a logical way for Nokia to embark on a new era. But the company is remaining rather mum on the subject, saying, “We are excited about the Nokia with Windows phone, but it’s not our policy to comment on specific campaigns for unannounced products.” Awkwardly executed “leaks,” on the other hand, are an entirely different matter.

[Thanks, John]

Nokia prepping $120 million ad campaign ahead of Windows Phone launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceMarketing Magazine  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 13

BlackBerry App World hits one billion downloads, finally

Posted in: Apple, BlackBerry, itunes, playbook, RIM, smartphone, Smartphones, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Discovered a world of possibilities lately? Someone has, as the BlackBerry App World has just soared past the one billion download mark. It took a smidge over two years for the company to claim the milestone, if you count both smartphone and PlayBook tablet purchases. Android Market took about the same amount of time to reach the mark, but has soared to greater heights since, while Apple has averaged nearly a billion downloads per month in each of the last six months. A number of factors have likely led to the relative snail’s pace in the BB storefront, including the outfit’s rocky relationship with developers. In what can be seen as a morale booster, the company has begun a video series that allows seasoned RIM aficionados to offer their rationale for working with the mobile OS. Perhaps this will, in theory, help expedite the milestone conquering — only time will tell.

BlackBerry App World hits one billion downloads, finally originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Crackberry, Electronista  |  sourceInside Blackberry  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 13

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro won’t ship until ‘late September’ in the UK

Posted in: cellphone, delay, mobile, pre-order, price, release, Release Date, smartphone, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili, uk, xperia
When the Xperia Pro first went up for pre-order back in June, we thought it would be available relatively soon. According to Sony Ericsson’s page, however, the handset won’t start shipping to UK customers until “late September.” A couple of friendly tipsters notified us about the change, though the SIM-free price, as you’ll notice, remains fixed at £349.99 (or about $558). We have yet to hear an explanation for the delay, but in the meantime, you can tide yourself over with our hands-on.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro won’t ship until ‘late September’ in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSony Ericsson  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 12

The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt

Posted in: Apple, HP, interview, ipad, PC, smartphone, tablet, Today's Chili, touchpad, webos, Windows

HP caught the industry by surprise yesterday, announcing some serious executive reshuffling, with Stephen DeWitt, the company’s former head of Personal Systems Group Americas stepping up to fill in the lead role at HP’s webOS global business unit, while Jon Rubinstein will be in charge of PSG globally. This game of executive musical chairs raised a lot of questions with regards to the state of the company’s beloved but arguably underperforming mobile operating system, particularly in the wake of the TouchPad’s lukewarm reception amongst reviewers, ourselves included.

We managed to grab some time with DeWitt, in spite of what’s sure to be a fairly packed schedule at the moment, discussing the impact of the TouchPad’s reviews, the present and future of webOS, and what smartphone he carries around in his pocket.

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt

The Engadget Interview: HP’s Stephen DeWitt originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 12

Pew: Smartphone owners increasingly ignoring other devices to get online

Posted in: cellphone, phone, smartphone, Today's Chili

Some more fun phone facts from the folks at Pew: 83 percent of American adults own a cellphone, 35 percent have a smartphone, and 87 of percent smartphone owners use their handset to browse the internet and read email, apparently having decided that the things are good for more than just making phone calls and keeping papers from blowing away. Also of interest is the fact that 28 percent of the 2,277 people surveyed actually use their small screen devices as their primary method for accessing the internet. It’s worth noting that it’s not a huge sample size we’re working with here, so maybe hold off on declaring the PC dead — still, it may be a sign of lots of squinting to come.

Pew: Smartphone owners increasingly ignoring other devices to get online originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  sourcePew  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 11

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) starts rolling out to Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2

Posted in: Android, droid, firmware, gingerbread, GoogleAndroid, HTC, mobile os, MobileOs, smartphone, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

Messin’ with hacked ROMs? Fuhgetaboutit. HTC’s Droid Incredible 2 is finally getting the Android 2.3 it has long deserved, with the luckiest of Verizon Wireless subscribers seeing the update pushed to their phones this evening. The update (coined 2.18.605.4) brings along performance improvements with mobile IM, solved Hotmail sync issues, better device connectivity, a built-in browser bookmark for the New York Times, the addition of the Wireless Charging UI and a new desktop dock app. Don’t be shocked if it takes a week to get to your particular phone, but be sure to let us know how things go in comments once your turn arrives.

[Thanks, Jimmy]

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) starts rolling out to Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 11

Fossil won’t ship the Meta Watch until August, Dick Tracy wannabes get antsy

Posted in: android tablet, AndroidTablet, bluetooth, delay, smartphone, Smartphones, tablet, tablets, texas instruments, ti, Today's Chili, watch
Some of you with a James Bond complex might have been waiting on Fossil’s Meta Watches, a duo of wristpieces that use Texas Instrument’s CC2560 Bluetooth radio to pull in emails, Facebook updates, weather forecasts, and more — depending on what else developers cook up for it, that is. On top of that, the SDK allows Android smartphones and tablets to register button presses and receive sensor data from the watches, and then respond by sending text or triggering the vibration motor. If you already set aside $200 when they went up for pre-order two months back, you’re going to have to twiddle your thumbs a bit longer. In response to a tweet from a curious customer, Bill Geiser, vice president of Fossil Watch Technology, said that thanks to some part delays, the two are now on track to ship in August, not July. If this is all new to you, that means you’ve got some time to ponder whether you’d rather have the analog / digital version or the fully digital one with a larger memory-in-pixel LCD. Decisions, decisions, folks.

[Thanks, Alex]

Fossil won’t ship the Meta Watch until August, Dick Tracy wannabes get antsy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBill Geiser (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 11

HTC Status ships July 17th, currently in a pre-order relationship with AT&T

Posted in: att, BestBuy, gingerbread, HTC, phone, pre-order, smartphone, social networking, SocialNetworking, Today's Chili, video
HTC Status

Following the usual leak + wait-and-see saga, AT&T has today confirmed that it’ll be the exclusive home to one half of HTC’s Facebook-infused duo. The so-called Status will be making its way onto Ma Bell’s airwaves on July 17th, with eager social networkers able to get their pre-orders in today. It’ll sell for $49.99 on a two-year agreement, with that tally netting you a dedicated Facebook “Share” button that’ll allow photos / videos /websites to be instantly uploaded to your account. We’re also told that it’ll ship with Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) onboard, with an “enhanced version” of HTC’s Sense overlay. Other specs include a 5 megapixel camera (with autofocus and LED flash), a 2.6-inch touch panel, 480 x 320 screen resolution and capacitive navigation buttons. Oh, and if you’re uninterested in the hue you see about, Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile standalone stores will feature an exclusive mauve edition in due time. Fancy.

Continue reading HTC Status ships July 17th, currently in a pre-order relationship with AT&T

HTC Status ships July 17th, currently in a pre-order relationship with AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAT&T, Facebook  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 11

Samsung Galaxy S II gets torn down, found to be just as beautiful on the inside

Posted in: galaxy, galaxy s ii, GalaxyS, GalaxySIi, samsung, smartphone, teardown, Today's Chili

Here’s a tidbit of interest: it took the moving of three million Galaxy S IIs before we saw a bona fide teardown. But hey — maybe this thing’s just too darn delightful to crack open for the sake of cracking it open. iFixit and ABI Research have both sliced into Sammy’s best smartphone yet, discovering an Exynos dual-core apps processor, newfangled CMOS-based antenna switch, a low-power XMM6260 cellular chipset from Infineon and a single-packaged multi-band, multi-mode PA from RFMD. ‘Course, knowing the surrounding technobabble is only half the fun; for the other half, dig into those source links below.

Samsung Galaxy S II gets torn down, found to be just as beautiful on the inside originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceiFixit, ABI Research (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 10

How would you change HTC’s Arrive?

Posted in: cdma, HowWouldYouChange, HTC, HWYC, smartphone, Sprint, Today's Chili, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

We know, we know: Mango. But outside of wishing for Microsoft’s most significant update yet to Windows Phone 7, we’re curious to know how else you’d change the HTC Arrive. Your pickings are slim for WP7 on The Now Network, and while the Arrive has an absolutely rock-solid design, we’re sure you’ve picked up on a few quibbles over the past few months. Would you have tweaked the keyboard in any way? Boosted the resolution? Thrown in a WiMAX radio? Improved the camera? Softened the edges somewhat? Go on and get vocal down in comments below!

How would you change HTC’s Arrive? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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