Mar 11

T-Mobile webConnect Rocket available March 14, already blowing minds in Philly

Posted in: hspa, t-mobile, t-mobile usa, T-mobileUsa, Today's Chili
It looks like T-Mobile’s webConnect Rocket USB modem will be released right on schedule, even if you currently have to be in Philadelphia to enjoy those HSPA+ speeds (then again, if you’re in Philadelphia you probably deserve a break). Accordingly, folks jumping on that March 14 release date can expect to pay $99 with a two-year contract that entitles you to monthly charges of $50 for 5GB or $20 for 200MB — with a $0.20 / megabyte overage charge. Fun! Additionally, the kids at Mobile Burn got their hands on a unit for a review and were generally quite impressed with consistent download speeds ranging from 1780Kbps to 2797Kbps “on a couple of [DSLreports.com] East Coast servers.” Hell, after moving to a location with “prime, perfect signal (-51dbm)” things picked up considerably, with, on average, 6480Kbps downloads and 2160Kbps uploads. Not bad, eh? Hit the source link to get into the nitty gritty. PR after the break.

Continue reading T-Mobile webConnect Rocket available March 14, already blowing minds in Philly

T-Mobile webConnect Rocket available March 14, already blowing minds in Philly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 11

Stunning Revelation: Cell Phone Industry Draws Most Complaints

Posted in: att, Sprint, t-mobile, Today's Chili, Verizon Wireless

Samsung_Reclaim.jpg

And you thought it was only your carrier that sucked. The Better Business Bureau reports that the cell phone industry was the one most complained about during 2009, with a total of 37,477 complaints, according to the Wall Street Journal–a repeat showing from 2008.
On the bright side, BBB spokesperson Alison Southwick said in the report that cell phone companies have a high resolution rate with customers that file complaints.
Bringing up the number two spot are cable and satellite TV companies, with banks landing in third.
The report said that lately, companies offering free trials for credit scores, teeth whiteners, and weight-loss supplements are also perennial “high scorers.” I have a headache now just from thinking about some of these.
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Mar 11

T-Mobile Targets March 14 for HSPA+ Modem

Posted in: 4G, hspa, t-mobile, Today's Chili, usb
T-Mobile_webConnect_Rocket_HSPA+_Modem.jpg
T-Mobile announced that the webConnect Rocket USB Laptop Stick, the first HSPA+ device for the U.S., will be available beginning on Sunday, March 14. HSPA+ is interesting because it could enable 4G LTE-like speeds using existing 3G infrastructure, as we found in an early hands-on test.
The carrier announced the device at MWC in February, and is also targeting late 2010 for broad national availability of HSPA+. Right now, it’s still just for Philadelphia, although we should see several major cities light up with HSPA+ on both coasts well before the end of 2010, according to the carrier.
The webConnect Rocket USB Laptop Stick retails for $99.99 with a two-year contract and an Even More webConnect data plan. $60 per month gets you 5GB, while $30 gets you just 200MB; both charge 20 cents per megabyte over that. Another new option, Even More Plus webConnect, drops the annual contract and lowers the monthly prices by $10 in each case, but raises the up-front price of the modem.
This is all looking really interesting; only the 5GB cap will prove worrisome. It’s bad enough on 3G, but as we move to faster networks, that will only become more limiting as time goes on–especially that T-Mobile is already touting the modem’s ability to “download large files” and “watch video from a laptop on the go.”

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Mar 09

Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on

Posted in: Android, hands-on, moto, motoblur, motorola, phone, smartphone, t-mobile, Today's Chili

We know you’ve barely recovered from our Devour review, but Moto just threw another Blur-ified phone in our laps this afternoon – the CLIQ XT. We’ve been playing around with the Android 1.5-based, Flash Lite-supported, multitouch-capable handset for the last couple of hours — but before we grace you with our first impressions, just a fair warning: we don’t yet know the price of the new T-Mobile Android handset, though Motorola did promise us that it will hit shelves this month. With that said, hit the break for a quick rundown of our early thoughts.

Gallery: Motorola CLIQ XT with MotoBlur hands-on

Continue reading Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on

Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 09

Report: HTC HD2 Launching on T-Mobile 3/23

Posted in: HTC, Smartphones, t-mobile, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, windows phone 7

T-Mobile_HTC_HD2.jpg

Did MobiTV just blow T-Mobile‘s cover? A recent tweet from the mobile TV company seems to confirm that T-Mobile plans to launch the high-resolution, high screen size HD2 on March 23rd.
T-Mobile originally unveiled the HTC HD2 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, though it still hadn’t announced a release date as of today. (Read our hands-on for a more thorough look at the device ahead of its launch.)
The HD2 will likely be the ultimate Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone–and the last significant one, now that Microsoft has declared the OS dead and is planning a full-scale launch of Windows Phone 7 Series later this year.
That doesn’t mean the HD2 won’t be worth getting. It has a gigantic, 4.3-inch, 480-by-800-pixel capacitive screen that supports multitouch gestures, plus a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. On the software side, it includes an updated version of HTC’s TouchFLO 3D interface, plus Opera Mobile and a Blockbuster app for renting and buying full movies over the air.
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Mar 08

T-Mobile invites us to ‘come experience the HTC HD2’ on March 16; release on the 24th? (update: or 23rd!)

Posted in: HTC, t-mobile, t-mobile usa, T-mobileUsa, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.5, winmo

Like clockwork, we’ve just been dropped a line by T-Mobile USA asking us to join them for a very special media event to check out the HTC HD2 — “a larger than life entertainment powerhouse” — in fabulous New York City on the evening of March 16. That lines up nicely with the company’s earlier assurances that we’d see a launch in March — but what day in March, exactly? Well, we’re hearing from a number of tipsters (including trusted sources) that the 24th is the day this thing breaks loose at retail, so set your watches and calendars accordingly — assuming you haven’t been wooed into Windows Phone 7 Series’ tender, loving grasp, that is.

Update: MobiTV — which has an app bundled with T-Mobile’s version of the HD2 — says the HD2 is launching on the 23rd, and frankly, they’re probably in a position to know. Thanks, Stephen!

T-Mobile invites us to ‘come experience the HTC HD2’ on March 16; release on the 24th? (update: or 23rd!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 08

T-Mobile Tops J.D. Power Retail Study

Posted in: t-mobile, Today's Chili
T-Mobile_Tap.jpg
A new J.D. Power and Associates survey puts T-Mobile at the top in wireless retail customer satisfaction for the second time in the past year, MediaPost reports.
T-Mobile USA scored 723, just one point higher than Verizon Wireless, on the firm’s 1,000-point scoring system, the report said. AT&T and Sprint-Nextel scored 712 and 711.
The survey rates the store satisfaction based on the quality of sales staff (49 percent), price and promotion (27 percent), store facility (14 percent), and display (10 percent). The report said T-Mobile was especially good at the first two, which makes sense to me, given how T-Mobile retail outlets don’t seem to look all that different from those of the other three carriers.
T-Mobile still offers what we consider to be the best pricing, especially the Even More Plus plans that raise the cost up front of the handset, but lower the monthly fees such that you come out significantly ahead by the end of two years.
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Mar 08

HTC HD2 breaks free in the T-Mobile USA wilds

Posted in: HTC, in the wild, InTheWild, rumor, t-mobile, Today's Chili

HTC’s HD2 is a near perfect combination of physical hardware and silicon that delivers impressive performance on a device that’s surprisingly sleek given the display’s massive 4.3-inch exapanse. Even Microsoft’s much maligned Windows Mobile 6.5 is expertly masked by HTC’s Sense interface. So it’s easy to understand the anticipation felt by the HD2’s first US release, questions of a Windows Phone 7 OS upgrade path notwithstanding. T-Mobile has the release honors and is now showing the HD2 as “coming soon” in its phone inventory. We’ve also got the first “in the wild” shots courtesy of TmoNews showing that big Blockbuster shortcut linked front and center for downloading On Demand movies directly to the device. Still no firm price or date but $199.99 on contract ($449.99 unlocked) sometime around 24 March sounds about right. One more shot with official T-Mobile branding after the break; the rest at the source link below.

Update: Tipster Nigel spotted a “†” footnote to nothing (yet) at the bottom of the page that requires 4 payments of $112.50 (or 20 payments of $22.50). That’s $450, matching the rumored price of the unlocked handset.

[Thanks Taylor]

Continue reading HTC HD2 breaks free in the T-Mobile USA wilds

HTC HD2 breaks free in the T-Mobile USA wilds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 04

HTC HD2 and Windows Phone 7 Series: Just tell us no, Microsoft

Posted in: Microsoft, t-mobile, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, windows mobile 6.5, windows phone, windows phone 7, windows phone 7 series, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.5, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, WindowsPhone7Series



Dear Microsoft,

We’ve had it up to here with these shenanigans. You’re jerking us around, and we’re sick of it. We get it, you have a very particular concept of what sort of phones you want running your new Windows Phone 7 Series OS. Not only do we get it, but we’re kind of proud of you for sticking up for yourself for once and ensuring some sort of sameness across your platform. Unfortunately, it’s not the holiday season yet, so we can’t buy one of these fancy WP7S phones yet. Meanwhile, on the other end of town, HTC is bringing the HD2 to T-Mobile in the US this month. Sure, it runs your soon-to-be-outdated Windows Mobile 6.5 OS which nobody wants, but it’s also pretty much the best hardware we’ve ever seen. Bar none.

This brings us to our plea: Microsoft, please put a line in the sand and tell us if the phone will be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series. Of course we know why you won’t, you don’t want to “Osborne effect” the sales of your one last hope for Windows Mobile 6.5 success, and you don’t want to harm one of your most loyal handset builders. But what about your consumers? You’ve recently pushed out a number of statements about the device, full of wimpy non-line-in-sand-ers like “We currently do not have plans to update the HTC HD2 to Windows Phone 7 Series.” Sure, you’re not telling us to get our hopes up, but you’re also just cruel and calculating enough to leave room for hope. We’re pretty resigned at this point to receiving our Windows Phone 7 Series update on the HD2 from our good friends at xda-developers, but we’d just like to hear it from your mouth. Or better yet? Just get WP7S on there yourself, caveat it as “non-preferred” or whatever makes you comfortable, and save us all from this paralysis.

See you at MIX!

HTC HD2 and Windows Phone 7 Series: Just tell us no, Microsoft originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 03

Nokia Launches 5230 Nuron Phone on T-Mobile

Posted in: nokia, Smartphones, symbian, t-mobile, Today's Chili

Nokia_Nuron.jpg

Let’s hear it for Nokia scoring another subsidized smartphone deal–a rarity in the U.S.
Nokia and T-Mobile have unveiled the 5230 Nuron, a Symbian Series 60 smartphone with a 3.2-inch, 640-by-360-pixel, plastic resistive touch screen–the same one as in the $479 unlocked Nokia N97 mini.
The Nuron lacks a hardware QWERTY keyboard, though. As a result, it’s considerably smaller; the Nuron measures 4.4 by 2.0 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.1 ounces with the included stylus.
The Nuron features the excellent Ovi Maps app for free, turn-by-turn, voice-enabled GPS directions. The Nuron also comes with Ovi Store support, plus all the usual hooks for instant messaging, texting, work and persona e-mail.
Other features include a 2-megapixel camera, VGA video recording (640-by-480 at 30 frames per second), and a standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack. The Nokia Nuron will cost just $69.99 with a two-year contract; no word yet on a release date.
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