Hasta La Gadget!

If you don’t have a Windows Phone 7 device, you may have assumed that first major update with copy and paste support had been released to end users by now — and we wouldn’t necessarily blame you. If you do have a Windows Phone 7 device, however, you know how very untrue that is… and the latest rumors suggest that you won’t be on track to get it this month. To be fair, Microsoft never promised that we’d see the update on handsets in February in any official capacity, but rumors at one time had suggested it’d happen; of course, they also suggested January, so you see how that goes. Anyhow, both Neowin and ZDNet‘s Mary Jo Foley are liking March 8 as a possibility, citing the difficulties in getting carriers and manufacturers on board for a coordinated launch of a firmware update that they’re all accustomed to having more control over. Since early last year, Microsoft had said it’d be controlling platform updates pretty tightly — certainly more tightly than in the disjoint Android world — and we can imagine that takes a little bit of adaptation for the likes of LG and Samsung. Anyhow, here’s hoping everyone’s up to date on the 8th, eh?

Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update now coming in March? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That pinch-to-zoom update for the Xperia X10 that Japanese customers got an early lead on is now rolling out around the globe according to a new blog post from the boys and girls at Sony Ericsson. That may not be the most interesting part, though: they’re also chatting up a future firmware update that’ll enable ANT+ support on the Xperia X8, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro, a capability baked into the chipsets on those devices that Sony Ericsson hadn’t previously exploited. Theoretically, that means that heart rate monitors and other wearable fitness gear — a market where ANT+ has really blossomed — could connect directly to your phone rather than passing through a computer with an ANT+ dongle first, perfect for analyzing jogs on the go. Of course, workout technology is always more appealing than the workout itself… but if you can solve that problem, Sony Ericsson, let us know. You can find us on the couch over there.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10’s multitouch update rolling out now; X8, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro getting ANT+ support soon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon ramps up trade-in, upgrade programs in advance of iPhone 4 launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As promised, it seems that T-Mobile’s version of the Vibrant is getting Froyo today after a brutally long wait. The good news is that you won’t need to wait for a staggered rollout, apparently — but the bad news is that currently you’ll need to get it using Samsung’s Kies Mini PC app, not over-the-air. Tethered updates are always less convenient than their OTA equivalents (though Samsung continues to be particularly fond of them), and in the case of Kies Mini, there’s no Mac version, so you’ll need to be near a Windows machine to make it happen. This hasn’t been officially announced yet, though commenters over on TmoNews appear to be having luck — so if you give it a go, let us know how you fare.

Samsung Vibrant’s Android 2.2 update now available, it seems originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How on Earth have Verizon and AT&T both decided to kill off their upgrade discount programs within a few days of each other? Hard to say, but we’ve gotten a little peek at some new policies designed to “streamline” things that are apparently coming into effect next Sunday, January 23rd — and very few (if any) of them are going to bring a smile to your face. Here’s the gist:

• There’ll be a new text package of 1,000 messages for $10 with overage at 10 cents apiece. This compares to 5 cents at the 1,500 / $15 level and 10 cents at the 200 / $5 level.
• Speaking of those other text packages, they’re going away. Both the 200 and 1,500 text plans are goners. Obviously, if you’re already on them, you shouldn’t be affected — you just won’t be able to select them for new plans or changes anymore.
• Early upgrade pricing on new iPhones — the standard subsidized price plus $200 — will only be available six months into an existing iPhone activation.
• $50 and $100 discounts on top of subsidized pricing for upgrading customers — similar to Verizon’s recently-killed New Every Two program — are going away. If you’re currently eligible, you’ll still be eligible to take advantage through July 23rd of this year.
• Family plan add-a-line activation is increasing $10 to $36.
• International voice roaming prices are changing in 117 countries. That’s a lot of countries! We’re assuming most of those rates are going up, not down, though we don’t have details at this point.
• Calling to Canada is going from 29 cents per minute to 39 cents.
• The 3G MicroCell is increasing in price from $149.99 to $199.99, which seems like a really bizarre move to us — hard to say what the motivation is there. Certain “pre-selected” customers will still receive special discount offers for it in the mail, though.

Check out full details on the changes in the gallery below.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

AT&T tweaking messaging plans, killing some upgrade discounts, raising fees and MicroCell pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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