Sep 23

Kyocera Duramax is in the batter’s box, launching with Sprint Direct Connect October 2nd

Posted in: cdma, mobilepostmini, Sprint, Today's Chili
Is there still any lingering doubt that something big’s getting cooked up in Overland Park in time for October 2nd? We’ve already seen leaked screenshots showing that Sprint’s aiming to launch its CDMA-based Direct Connect service that day, as well as a Sprint-backed vid of the Motorola Admiral, the first smartphone to sport the new feature. Courtesy of SprintFeed, another gem has been unearthed: the Direct Connect-compatible Kyocera Duramax. Said to start at $100 with a two-year agreement, the rugged clamshell bears a great deal of resemblance to a large number of legacy iDEN handsets. It’s nothing to write home about, but it still sports the proper military specs to keep it protected, as well as a 3 megapixel camera and a non-slip surface. Anyone who isn’t looking for a smartphone but is in need of a Direct Connect device will want to keep a close eye on this one as we get closer to the day of destiny. Oh, and Sprint? The cat’s out of the bag — perhaps it’s time to make it real.

Kyocera Duramax is in the batter’s box, launching with Sprint Direct Connect October 2nd originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 23

Sprint’s Motorola Admiral quietly displayed on YouTube as America watches dancing cats

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Google, mobilepostmini, motorola, Sprint, Today's Chili
It may not have quite as many views as Admiral Ackbar, but a chieftan of Sprint’s CDMA-based Direct Connect service was officially outed by the carrier via YouTube earlier. Our device in question, the Motorola Admiral, has now been given a speedy lookover despite the fact that the company hasn’t even seen fit to acknowledge its existence otherwise. ‘Course, we don’t imagine this was accidental in the slightest — the video of the rugged Android device has been up for several hours without getting pulled — but it’s still a curious way to introduce one of the first phones featuring a brand new service. Regardless, we now have the clearest shots of the portrait QWERTY smartphone that we’ve seen yet; the two-and-a-half minute teaser didn’t list off a lot of specs, but it did confirm the handset’s 3.1-inch display and five megapixel camera with LED flash. That should count for something, right? Still, it likely won’t be long before we get a real announcement with the full rundown, so just keep yourself entertained by watching the “related videos” section in the meantime. Check out the vid after the break.

Continue reading Sprint’s Motorola Admiral quietly displayed on YouTube as America watches dancing cats

Sprint’s Motorola Admiral quietly displayed on YouTube as America watches dancing cats originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 22

New York City braces for Tuesday’s arrival of mobile service on subway platforms

Posted in: att, mobile phone, MobilePhone, mobilepostcross, new-york, Sprint, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili, verizon

It’s hardly a natural disaster, but the landscape of Manhattan is about to change once again with the arrival of cellular signal to a handful of the borough’s subway platforms. Both AT&T and T-Mobile are taking part in the pilot program, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority expects the service to begin rolling on Tuesday at several stations along the 14th Street corridor, including A, C, E, F, L and M, along with stops 1, 2 and 3. The 23rd Street line will also see part of the action, as coverage is expected for the C and E stations. Of course, straphangers are unlikely to receive signal once on-board the trains, as the tunnels themselves aren’t included in this rollout. Currently, the MTA expects all 277 underground platforms to be equipped for mobile chatter by 2016. Transit Wireless, the company responsible for the expansion, is said to be in talks with Sprint and Verizon for a similar introduction, although its customers must be content to listen in on the conversations other commuters for the time being.

[Image from SeanPavonePhoto/Shutterstock]

New York City braces for Tuesday’s arrival of mobile service on subway platforms originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 22

Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends

Posted in: Android, BestBuy, mobilepostcross, Sprint, Today's Chili, walmart

After inking a wholesale spectrum agreement with Sprint last year, Leap’s going for broke and rolling its “value-driven” Cricket service out nationwide on September 25th. The expansion includes a sprinkling of Walmart stores, Dollar General and even cable-shopping channel HSN, but the majority of its new reach will come from a partnership with Best Buy. In addition to offering monthly plans for dumb and smartphones alike, the operator’s also serving up specific Muve Music service packages to play nice with three upcoming handsets. Along with the Samsung Vitality and ZTE Chorus (both to be available before the holidays), Cricket’s introducing its first ZTE smartphone — the Score. Don’t go looking for high-end specs here, as the 3.5-inch Android device runs Gingerbread atop a 600MHz processor and includes a 3.2 megapixel camera. Feature phone users will also get a couple of new options to choose, with the Huawei Pillar and Samsung Chrono offered on the provider’s PAYGo service. If you’re in the mood to dig through PR spiel, skip past the break for a trio of pressers.

Continue reading Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends

Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 22

Sprint to launch Direct Connect October 2nd, confirms mobile hotspot capping

Posted in: 4G, cdma, mobile broadband, MobileBroadband, mobilepostcross, Sprint, tablets, Today's Chili, WiMAX

The way Sprint’s been going lately, we’re wondering if there’s going to be anything left to announce at its October 7th strategy update. Another screenshot has surfaced, detailing the Now Network’s intentions to launch its CDMA-based (read: no more iDEN) Direct Connect service on October 2nd, with “increased coverage” coming early next year. We’ve been expecting to see it at some point this winter, which means the Nextel alternative is getting pushed out ahead of schedule. With this, we should be hearing news in the near future concerning compatible handsets like the Motorola Admiral or Kyocera DuraMax / DuraCore duo.

Unfortunately, October 2nd will be filled with both happy news and bad, as it looks like the leaked memo detailing Sprint’s plan to cap the mobile hotspot add-on was right on target. The carrier made its intentions official this morning, confirming that it indeed will be putting a 5GB-per-month leash on the tethering done from your phone, complete with overage charges of $.05 per additional MB used. Grandfathered add-ons aren’t an option here, so every tetherer already shelling out $30 for the privilege will find themselves restricted as well. But look at the bright side: tablets need not apply to the data cap, and on-phone data plans and dedicated mobile broadband packages will remain unaffected… for now, at least.

Sprint to launch Direct Connect October 2nd, confirms mobile hotspot capping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 21

Sprint reportedly capping its mobile hotspot plans October 2nd

Posted in: hotspot, mobile hotspot, MobileHotspot, mobilepostcross, Phones, Sprint, tablets, Today's Chili, wifi
If Sprint’s myriad policy changes are part of the company’s strategy update, perhaps we’re not looking forward to October 7th’s event after all. The latest bout in a series of gut-punching cost-cutting moves is the elimination of “unlimited” in the Now Network’s $30 mobile hotspot add-on; according to a leaked employee memo uncovered by SprintFeed, October 2nd is the dreadful date in which all users who have the add-on (sorry Sprintsters, there’s no grandfathering) will be given a limit of 5GB, and any overage will be charged five cents per MB. It appears that only phones will be affected, leaving tableteurs safe for now. So if you’re currently using the hotspot feature, enjoy the last few solid days of sweet downloading while you can.

Update: To clarify, this change will only be affecting users who have the mobile hotspot add-on; as the screenshot confirms, on-phone data use (as well as dedicated mobile broadband packages) will remain unlimited.

Sprint reportedly capping its mobile hotspot plans October 2nd originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 21

IRL: WildBlue satellite internet, international charging, a flashing habit and failing to get work done on an iPad

Posted in: Android, Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, charging, Google, hack, Hacks, ipad, ipad 2, Ipad2, rom, Sprint, Today's Chili
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we’re using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks of sitting inside concept cars, soaking up details about the PlayStation Vita and getting acquainted with Windows 8, and now that it’s all wound down, we’re getting back to the business of griping about gadgets we already own. This week, Darren dresses down the satellite service we used to hit posts in the wilderness, Tim takes a breather after a year of jet-setting, Joseph carries on his flashing streak and as for Joe, well, let’s just say his honeymoon with the iPad has come to a sudden, unproductive end.

Continue reading IRL: WildBlue satellite internet, international charging, a flashing habit and failing to get work done on an iPad

IRL: WildBlue satellite internet, international charging, a flashing habit and failing to get work done on an iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 20

Samsung Epic 4G Touch Reveals Repairable Guts

Posted in: Hacks, Mods and DIY, samsung, Sprint, Today's Chili

iFixit tears apart the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. Image: iFixit

It’s always a pleasure to find out what makes our favorite gadgets tick. And how difficult, and costly, it’ll be to repair them should they have an unfortunate run-in with a concrete driveway or a rambunctious, unintentionally destructive child*.

That’s why we love iFixit: They tear apart every new gadget they encounter.

iFixit’s latest teardown is of the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Sprint’s CDMA/WiMAX sequel to the Samsung Galaxy S. So what sort of goodies are inside?

First and foremost, the Samsung-made glass display and AMOLED panel are fused together. So if you end up cracking your screen, a repair is going to cost you. However, the 1800 mAh Li-ion battery — which should provide 8.7 hours of talk time or over 10 days in standby mode — is easy to replace. All you have to do is pop off the back plate. Once you’ve done that, you’ll also find a microSD card slot which you can use to bump up the device’s internal memory specs if 16 GB isn’t enough for you.

The Epic 4G Touch is .04 inches thicker and .49 ounces heavier than its European counterpart, bringing it to a practically obese .38 inches and 4.52 ounces (blame the french fries). It also doesn’t support NFC like its fancy skinny Euro cousin (C’est la vie, Google Wallet).

The front-facing camera shares a ribbon cable with the LED and ambient light sensor, so if one of those craps out on you, repair will be a bit more expensive.

iFixit’s Miroslav Djuric said the Epic 4G “was not too challenging” to take apart — you can use pretty basic tools to disassemble the smartphone, like a Phillips #00 screwdriver. The iFixit team gave it a 7 out of 10 for repairability.

*Full disclosure: I once destroyed my dad’s watch by slamming it repeatedly on our driveway. You probably shouldn’t give electronics to babies.

Samsung Epic 4G Touch Teardown [iFixit]


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Sep 20

Epic 4G Touch gets ‘experimental’ Windows-only root, overclockers and undervolters dance for joy

Posted in: galaxy s ii, GalaxySIi, hack, Hacks, mobilepostmini, mod, mods, Sprint, Today's Chili, video
Epic 4G Touch Rooted

Since you can’t upgrade the GPU or add more RAM to your smartphone, there’s really only one way to improve upon an already impressive handset like the Epic 4G Touch — root it. It hasn’t been on the market for very long, but the crafty hackers over at XDA forums have already figured out how to open up the phone to your every whim. The crack is “experimental” at this point, so proceed with caution. You’ll also need to have both Kies and Odin 3 up and running, which makes this a Windows-only treatment at the moment. Head on after the break for a pair of videos and hit up the source link for full instructions. Oh, and happy modding.

Continue reading Epic 4G Touch gets ‘experimental’ Windows-only root, overclockers and undervolters dance for joy

Epic 4G Touch gets ‘experimental’ Windows-only root, overclockers and undervolters dance for joy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 20

Samsung Epic 4G Touch gets torn down, confirms its epic crendentials

Posted in: GalaxySIi, mobilepostcross, samsung, Sprint, teardown, Today's Chili

The Samsung Epic 4G Touch is a triumph of engineering, jamming oh-so-very-much into an oh-so-little frame. What better way to celebrate its wonderous design, than to tear it all down to its constituent parts, and then reassemble it? Thank the guys at iFixit, because they’ve already done it — again. Interesting points include just a single EMI shield — unlike some competitors — which is great news for those looking to emulate a tear-down of their own Sprint-specific GSII. It could still prove to be a challenge, with both the glass panel and LCD apparently fused to the middle of the phone, meaning a replacement for that sumptuous 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen could prove costly. Click below for a pictorial blow-by-blow of the teardown, let’s keep the drooling to a minimum, shall we?

Samsung Epic 4G Touch gets torn down, confirms its epic crendentials originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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