Hasta La Gadget!

LG has had a rough go of it recently. Its phones haven’t exactly wowed reviewers, and even the ones that do impress turn out to have major bugs that send customers running to other manufacturers. In the face of its struggles to keep up with the Joneses, the company has slashed its sales targets for 2011 from 30 million smartphones to 24 million, and overall handset shipments from 150 million to 114. In the first half of the year LG sold just over 10 million smartphones — by comparison, Samsung put an estimated 19 million such devices in the hands of consumers in Q2 alone. Despite posting its fifth straight quarterly loss there is some cause for optimism — the loses are getting smaller and, if it ever gets the kinks worked out with the G2x, it’ll have a serious competitor for your high-end Android dollar.

LG slashes sales targets, struggling in the smartphone market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Texas Instruments just called First!… on Netflix, that is. The Watch Instantly app for Android has an HD streaming future coming soon to OMAP 4-equipped devices thanks to the SoC’s inbuilt security measures. The announcement marks the first time any Netflix partner has received ‘Netflix Silicon Reference Implementation certification,’ a clumsily-titled, yet essential requirement for end-to-end protection of mobile streamed 1080p content. The chip’s M-Shield security tech “runs on the OMAP processor [without the need for] a dedicated chip or extra CPU cycles,” so you’re free to multi-task that dual-core (we assume) to its breaking point. And because you can never be too safe, TI’s also thrown in its onboard WiLink 7.0 solution — an industry first — that makes use of WEP, WPA and WPA2 to keep the unsecured funny business at bay. The only downside to all this joyous high-definition news: it only runs on Gingerbread, so current LG Optimus 3D owners are out of luck until things get up to speed. Hit the break for some densely-worded silicon accolades.

Continue reading Netflix for Android gets first HD streaming certification, Texas Instruments accepts your applause

Netflix for Android gets first HD streaming certification, Texas Instruments accepts your applause originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you have an AT&T iPhone in your possession, there’s a good chance you’ve quickly glanced at available insurance options and noticed they’re… well, a tad on the spendy side. Big Blue’s only solution requires a $12 monthly asking price — considering that’s before the deductible gets factored in, we just can’t imagine it selling like hotcakes. The tides appear to be turning, however; according to AT&T’s official site, iPhones will be eligible for Asurion Mobile Insurance plans on July 17th. With these new plans, the monthly cost will plummet to a much more reasonable $5, placing it lower than Verizon’s version. We’re still awaiting word on the deductible, though other smartphones on the same protection plan require a $125 replacement charge. Here’s the drawback: it’s only available for the first 30 days after the device is purchased, which means anyone who procured an iPhone before mid-June will want to keep those cases and screen protectors glued on tight. There’s also no intimate details on what kind of damage is covered — good thing these things are so difficult to destroy, eh?

AT&T to offer standard insurance for iPhone owners starting July 17th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung sold three million of its original Galaxy S phone in 85 days. A few months later, a full ten million had been moved. Now, it looks as if the superphone’s proper successor may put that latter statistic to shame. The outfit just announced that it took but 55 days to move three million Galaxy S II handsets, which works out to one phone every 1.5 seconds. It’s Sammy’s briskest-selling smartphone ever, and we’re guessing that it’ll keep up the pace once that AT&T variant lands on US soil. Which is coming soon, right Samsung?

Continue reading Samsung’s Galaxy S II becomes company’s quickest selling phone: three million in 55 days

Samsung’s Galaxy S II becomes company’s quickest selling phone: three million in 55 days originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like some of the Skype crew might’ve had a sleepless night to please owners of the Nexus S 4G. If you’ll recall, June 30th saw a major update to its Android app enabling video chat on four devices; although the Nexus S was part of the club, its door was locked for Sprint’s 4G variant. That’s quickly changed, however, as the team’s set loose a hotfix to grant it access — this despite initially stating we’d have to wait for a “future release.” You can grab the app from the Android Market if you haven’t yet, and be sure to let us know how it goes in comments. Oh, and for those anxious Thunderbolt owners? We’d recommend not holding your breath until after the 4th of July holiday.

Skype 2.0 hotfix enables video chat on Sprint’s Nexus S 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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