Aug 12

T-Mobile hits the sauce, demands $350 for HTC Touch Pro2

Posted in: expensive, HTC, now available, now shipping, NowAvailable, NowShipping, on sale, OnSale, smartphone, t-mobile, t-mobile usa, T-mobileUsa, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, WindowsMobile, winmo

Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! With Apple lowering the smartphone price bar with its last-gen iPhone 3G at $99, any well-specced phone hitting the airwaves these days for over a buck ninety-nine on contract just seems outrageous. And then, there’s this. T-Mobile USA has somehow found it within its heart to charge a near-astronomical $349.99 (on a two-year agreement, no less) for HTC’s latest WinMo-packin’ powerhouse, the Touch Pro2. Look, we aren’t saying the phone isn’t worth its weight in gold, but a quick look around the marketplace shows just how out of place this obscenely large asking price really is. The silver lining? We’re betting this slips beneath the $200 mark just as soon as the HTC fanboys have chipped in their early adopter fees (and it hits every other carrier in America).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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T-Mobile hits the sauce, demands $350 for HTC Touch Pro2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 11

T-Mobile Touch Pro2 review

Posted in: Features, hands-on, HandsOn, HTC, review, t-mobile, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, WindowsMobile, winmo

Followers, fans, and casual observers of HTC alike all know that when the company launches a new landscape QWERTY model, it’s a big deal. In fact, it’s more than a big deal — it’s a Big Deal. Many describe it as the ultimate smartphone form factor, the perfect execution of everything a modern handset is capable of doing — and realistically, no company has as much experience or know-how at making powerhouse landscape QWERTY sliders than HTC does.

That’s why droves of subscribers on virtually every carrier are on the edge of their seats awaiting the Touch Pro2’s release. Whether you love, hate, or feel nothing but pure, unadulterated ambivalence toward Windows Mobile, it’s hard to argue that the Pro2 isn’t a gorgeous smartphone at a distance, and T-Mobile USA’s gently-tweaked version is no exception. Unless you’re desperate for SLR-quality photography (which you’re frankly not going to get regardless of what phone you buy), the spec sheet reads like a dream — an expansive 3.6-inch WVGA display, full QWERTY, tilt-up display, all the 3G and WiFi you could ever want, and HTC’s latest and greatest build of TouchFLO 3D constantly working to make sure that WinMo cleans up nice — but is it true love or just lipstick on a pig? Let’s have a look.


Continue reading T-Mobile Touch Pro2 review

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T-Mobile Touch Pro2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 10

BlackBerry 9700’s arranged marriage to T-Mobile leaves its mark, seen in the wild

Posted in: BlackBerry, in the wild, InTheWild, research in motion, ResearchInMotion, RIM, t-mobile, Today's Chili
Sure, it’s more or less just a BlackBerry Onyx with a trackpad, but slap a T-Mobile logo on it, and the excitement is all rejuvenated. Such a device was spotted in the wild by the folks at Crackberry, sporting a silver chrome and a leather-clad battery cover. Not much to say here, but with that branding, we’re hoping it’s not long before heading into the consumer channels. Don’t worry AT&T friends, we’re sure your GSM-equipped 9700 is just around the corner, too.

[Thanks, Glenn]

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BlackBerry 9700’s arranged marriage to T-Mobile leaves its mark, seen in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 07

Nokia device passes FCC for T-Mobile USA, looks an awful lot like a new Internet Tablet to us

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, maemo, nokia, t-mobile, t-mobile usa, T-mobileUsa, Today's Chili

Every week, random, seemingly anonymous Nokia handsets quietly pick up FCC approval. Most will never see the light of day on an American carrier, and the ones that do have usually already been announced so that by the time we figure out what the FCC filing refers to, it’s uninteresting. Today, though, we noticed a Nokia RX-51 get certification, and we were immediately intrigued; standard Nokia phones have an “RM” designation, so “RX” has us thinking that this is no ordinary phone. Taking a peek at the SAR documentation reveals that it rolls deep with AWS 3G, just the kind that T-Mobile USA needs to do its thing. The final piece in this amazing puzzle has to be the ID placement doc, which shows the outline of a device far wider than your standard dumbphone. Where are we going with this? You might recall MobileCrunch‘s information from a while back suggesting that T-Mobile USA would be getting a Maemo 5-powered superphone codenamed “Rover” — and, well, we’re pretty sure this is it. Stay tuned — things are about to get interesting.

Nokia device passes FCC for T-Mobile USA, looks an awful lot like a new Internet Tablet to us originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 07

T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Review

Posted in: Android, Google, HTC, review, t-mobile, Today's Chili, top

See Google Ion Review.

Done? Good. This phone is exactly the same, except that the myTouch has a slightly different finish, and T-Mobile released an App Pack filled with two handfuls of essential apps on the Android Marketplace for it. That’s what we’re going to review today. Also, keep in mind that this is running on T-Mobile’s 3G network, which isn’t quite as good as if you imported the device and used it on, say, AT&T’s 3G network, which has more coverage.

FreshFace: A theming app for your Android. It has the ability to add small widgets like an RSS reader and a notepad onto your desktop. The FreshFace desktop pretty much takes over your real desktop, which is good, because FreshFace offers five pages of apps instead of three, but bad, because it’s buggy.

Adds a little bit more functionality and theming, including new icons


Themes are mediocre


Occasionally buggy

imeem Mobile: Free streaming internet radio.

Decent enough for a free app, but not outstanding, considering Pandora and LastFM do this kind of thing much better.

T-Mobile Mobile Backup: A free contact list backup service from T-Mobile. Kind of unnecessary, since your phone already syncs with your Google account.

Not really sure what this app does that your Google account syncing doesn’t already do. Maybe if you want to switch to another phone that’s not an Android phone?

Movies by Flixter: A movie showtimes app that also lets you watch trailers, read reviews and browse DVD catalogs.

Pretty decent movie catalog app that does as much as you’d expect

T-Mobile My Account: Quick and easy access to all your phone’s account info, including your activity billing, your plan and any alerts you may have. For some reason this only works over your cellular connection, so you’ll have to shut off Wi-Fi.

Easier than loading up the T-Mobile site

Phonebook by Voxmobili: A replacement phonebook that sorts your contacts into a more usable manner. Plus, it’s colorful.

Better, in many ways, than the official Android dialer. Definitely replace your contact list with this

Sherpa: A fancy Yelp-like app that can help you find local shops (eateries, theaters, cafes, grocery stores) using your phone’s GPS.

It’s just like Yelp, and quite useful if you’re trying to find stuff within walking distance

Visual Voicemail: It’s visual voicemail.

It’s visual voicemail.

WorldTour: Periodically sets your wallpaper to live webcams around the world, like Paris

A little bit goofy. Would be better if the wallpapers were higher quality

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Aug 07

T-Mobile’s TouchPro2 spotted in the wild, $299 contract price bandied about

Posted in: HTC, in the wild, InTheWild, pics, pictures, smartphone, t-mobile, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, WindowsMobile

Well, would you look at that? With just five days to go before T-Mobile becomes the first carrier here in the States to offer up HTC’s Windows Mobile-equipped Touch Pro2, it seems the handset has found its way underneath an undiscriminating camera. There’s also a shot or two in the gallery that portrays the tilting / sliding handset alongside Samsung’s Behold, so be sure to give ’em all a good look as you look for spare pennies in the run-up to August 12th. Oh, speaking of which, we’ve also got good reason to believe that it’ll launch for $299 on contract and $599 with no strings attached, so we hope you’re kosher with sizable premiums.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Gallery: T-Mobile’s TouchPro 2 spotted in the wild, looking just like you thought it would

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T-Mobile’s TouchPro2 spotted in the wild, $299 contract price bandied about originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 06

Iowa 911 call center now accepting texts; Twitter and Facebook status updates can’t be far behind

Posted in: cellphone, t-mobile, Today's Chili

As of this week, callers can now text their requests for fire, police, or ambulance, to the emergency call center in Black Hawk County, Iowa — both a nationwide first and a definite improvement for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents who have thus far had to rely on TDD devices. Unlike voice calls, however, the 911 operator can’t get your location from a text message, meaning that the caller must first respond to a request for their city or zip code before the call gets routed. Currently, only i wireless subscribers (a local carrier affiliated with T-Mobile) can use the service, but plans are afoot to bring other carriers on board as well. Other future upgrades include the ability to accept video and picture messages. All the operators ask is that you refrain from sending them those silly chain text messages — that sort of thing can be really distracting when you’re busy saving lives.

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Iowa 911 call center now accepting texts; Twitter and Facebook status updates can’t be far behind originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 05

T-Mobile myTouch 3G storming retail stores today for $199.99 on contract

Posted in: Android, Google, HTC, now shipping, NowShipping, on sale, OnSale, smartphone, t-mobile, t-mobile usa, T-mobileUsa, Today's Chili

You knew good and well this day was coming, but if you’re sick and tired of lusting after your proactive neighbor’s myTouch 3G, today’s your lucky day. The highly customizable HTC handset will be widely available starting this morning in T-Mobile USA retail outlets, partner locations and online, and if you’re really looking to celebrate, you can dart over to San Francisco at noon as 100 skydivers take a leap of faith in order to generate buzz, relieve some stress and put food on the table. Speaking of cheddar, you best bring $199.99 if you plan on snagging one on a two-year agreement, and you’ll do everyone there a favor if you’ve already settled on black, merlot or white beforehand.

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T-Mobile myTouch 3G storming retail stores today for $199.99 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

T-Mobile UK sneakily offering iPhone 3G to moneyed customers

Posted in: Apple, carrier, europe, exclusive, iPhone, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, o2, t-mobile, Today's Chili, uk

We really couldn’t make this stuff up — it would seem that T-Mobile has been sneaking some hi-tech contraband into the UK in the form of unlocked iPhone 3G handsets, which it is now peddling to its most valued clientele. And by that, of course, we mean the piggies that pay up the most every month. Limited to an extremely select 150 units a week, the Apple devices are being used as incentives for high-rolling customers to renew their eye-gouging contracts of £75 per month and above, though we suspect only a few chums in corner offices know exactly how much T-Mob is charging for the handset itself.

We’ve done some digging, and while O2 has exclusivity on the iPhone 3G until September, that does not prevent T-Mobile from essentially functioning as a reseller of unlocked SIM-free units. Further distancing itself from legal action, the carrier is only offering the handsets to upgrading customers (as opposed to newcomers), thus the phones technically come sans a SIM. So, the suits at Magenta Towers must be feeling pretty smug right about now, having danced through a loophole and secured a wildly popular (albeit older generation) phone, all in the name of keeping high-brow customers from jumping ship. While you won’t hear any PR from T-Mobile on the matter, we have a full statement from O2 on the subject of losing 3G exclusivity come September. You ready?

We have a multi-year agreement with Apple to sell iPhone in the UK. This relationship continues.

Man, those Britons keep it short and sweet, don’t they?

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T-Mobile UK sneakily offering iPhone 3G to moneyed customers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 03

TeleNav GPS Navigator comes to T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G

Posted in: Features, gps, hands-on, HandsOn, HTC, nav, navigation, t-mobile, Today's Chili

TeleNav has already launched its subscription turn-by-turn navigation service for the G1, so it stands to reason that official myTouch 3G support would be close behind — and sure enough, the company has announced that its GPS Navigator app will be available for download to T-Mobile’s second Android device starting tomorrow, August 5. The app features all of the goodies that TeleNav users have come to know and love, including traffic and incident monitoring with automatic rerouting, gas prices, business information, and a choice between 2D and 3D maps; additionally, you’ve got automatic day / night coloration, carpool lane and tollroad avoidance, and speech recognition for destination input — a big plus when you’re on the road and you need to keep distractions to a minimum.

We’ve been playing with a cut of GPS Navigator on our myTouch recently, and it delivers a totally usable car navigation experience — a perfect complement to the comprehensive pedestrian capabilities of Google Maps. Most of the warnings from our G1-based review of the application carry over here — you need true GPS reception, not merely cellular triangulation, so your phone will need a view of the sky to have a shot at picking up satellites (this also means that getting a location lock is a more time-consuming process, though it typically didn’t take longer than a few seconds to do its thing). We’re not digging how the colored lines that convey traffic information on highways flash; we’d rather they just stayed a solid color, the way most GPS systems handle it. We also found that the menus are a little wonky — bringing your finger in contact with a menu item and swiping up or down to scroll would occasionally trigger the first item you touched, which ends up being a fairly annoying bug in practice. All told, though, if you can justify the expense, your $10 a month is going to net you a genuinely reasonable way to consolidate all of your help-me-I’m-lost needs — whether by foot or by car — into a single device.

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TeleNav GPS Navigator comes to T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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