Hasta La Gadget!

We know, we know, it’s gonna be awfully hard to part with the comfort of your current beloved Meizu M8, but trust us, change can be good. We’ve already heard reports of an Android-centric UI refresh, and now company CEO J. Wong has chimed in to outline a tentative upgrade plan for the upcoming M8 3G. Current users of the eerily familiar 8GB / 16GB device will need to pay approximately 1,300 RMB to 1,500 RMB (translation: about $190 to $200 US) for next year’s model. Oddly enough, despite these estimates, he’s not confirming any market selling price. Wong also adds the screen size has been expanded from the initially planned 3.54 inches diagonal to 3.6, with same 720 x 480 resolution. Keep saving your pennies, last we heard launch date was still (lightly) penciled in for March 2010.

Filed under: Cellphones

Meizu CEO: current M8 upgradeable to 3G, estimated cost about $190 to $220 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those tears of joy shed by iPhone loyalists are turning into cries of grief with the announcement by AT&T that it will impose a $200 fee to upgrade to the next-generation iPhone, which lands in stores Friday.

For iPhone 3G users who are not eligible for subsidized pricing, the upgrade “tax” brings the grand total to not $200 or $300 — but a hefty $400 or $500 for the iPhone 3GS, depending on the model (16GB or 32GB, respectively).

But tech geeks and criminal masterminds share one philosophy: They understand there’s a way around everything. You don’t have to pay that extra fee, iPhone 3G customers. Here are a few quick, painless methods to shave off that $200.

Sell your iPhone 3G to Gazelle

Gazelle, an e-junk trader, is offering $200 to $300 for used iPhone 3G handsets, depending on their condition. The site makes it extremely easy to sell your iPhone: Just enter “iPhone 3G” in the search bar, select your model, click “Sell it now,” rate the condition of the phone, mention which of the included accessories you still have and then click “Calculate.” Then, Gazelle will give you an estimate. As you can see in the screenshot above, a 16GB iPhone 3G in perfect condition, including accessories and the instruction manual, will sell for $232. Not bad!

From there on, Gazelle will send you a shipping label to print out. Then you’d pack your iPhone in a box, slap the shipping label onto it, drop the package at a UPS location and wait for payment. Oh, and it gets better — this week you get an extra 10 percent for your iPhone if you use the coupon code “iPhone.” Pretty sweet, huh?

I sold my first-generation MacBook Pro through the site, and I got a pretty good deal. I procrastinated on shipping it out, and Gazelle even sent me a notebook-friendly box to ship it in. After dropping off my MacBook Pro at UPS, I received the promised payment within a week. (If you lie about the product’s condition, of course they’ll dock some dollars off the provided estimate.)

Unlock your iPhone 3G and sell it on Craigslist
This is a pretty obvious option: Stick an ad on Craigslist asking for a reasonable price for your iPhone 3G. Don’t expect much from AT&T customers, though, since Apple is still selling the iPhone 3G for a new low price of $100. Your target market is non-AT&T customers who have intentions to Jailbreak and unlock the iPhone to work with their carrier.

Want to add value to your used iPhone 3G? Jailbreak and unlock the thing yourself, before you put it on Craigslist. To figure out how to do that, visit the Dev-Team Blog, where a group of hackers is providing all the instructions and tools to stick it to the man.

Pay the early termination fee
We’re listing this trick last because it’s the least beneficial. You pay a fee to cancel your AT&T account before the two-year contract is up. Here’s the kicker: The fee is pro-rated; Each month AT&T shaves $5 off your termination fee. That means if you bought the iPhone 3G when it hit stores in July 2008, you’ll be paying $120 rather than the initial $175 termination fee ($175 – $55 = $120). Then, you start a new AT&T contract with a new iPhone 3GS.

With this method, after adding the $120 and the $18 account setup fee, the total for the 16GB iPhone 3GS comes to about $340. That’s $60 less than you’d have to pay normally. The cons: You’re committing to yet another two-year contract with AT&T; sometimes early cancellation is subject to extra fees and a new number, according to Cult of Mac.

Not ideal — and what are you going to do with an extra iPhone lying around anyway? Just sell it with one of the tips listed above.

See Also:

• T-Mobile Accidentally Posts Secret iPhone 3G S Specs
• iPhone 3GS Will Cost an Extra $200 for 3G Upgraders
• New iPhone 3GS: 3MP Camera, Video, Compass and Voice Control …
• AT&T Taking Pre-Orders for iPhone 3GS
• Apple Debuts Aggressively Priced iPhone 3GS, MacBooks
• How to Take Your iPhone Overseas

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Ouch. We’re guessing this is one that the suits at Best Buy would like to have back. A leaked company memo detailing how the retailer will handle Windows 7 upgrades has accidentally given the world a tasty tidbit to opine upon. The note starts off as such:

“Microsoft is launching Windows 7 in mid-October 2009. This new operating system isn’t just a “Vista that works” program – it’s a new operating system with improved productivity, functionality and creativity that uses less computer resources.“

Never mind the fact that we never knew an OS could posses “improved productivity” — how about admitting that Vista, in effect, doesn’t “work.” Moving on, the note also makes clear that any PC sold with Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate between June 26th and the Windows 7 launch day (October 22nd) will be eligible for a free upgrade to Win7. Better still, the individual OSes also qualify for the update, and starting on June 26th, Best Buy will begin “pre-selling” the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade ($49.99) and the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade ($99.99). Have a look at the full letter below, and if you’ve come here for advice, here’s the best we’ve got: don’t buy a PC at Best Buy until June 26th.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Best Buy memo explains that Vista doesn’t work, details Windows 7 upgrade plans originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This month, the Apple rumor volcano erupted with purported details of the next-generation iPhone. Various blogs claim receiving tips from informed sources about features in the highly anticipated handset, such as a magnetometer (digital compass), a video camera and a speedier processor.

Here, we round up every rumor that’s appeared about Apple’s next iPhone, which many are betting will be announced June 8 at the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. We’re also accompanying each rumor with a percentage rating for its probability to be true, as well as our analysis.

When WWDC arrives, we’ll present a report card showing which publications were correct and which were wrong. And of course, we’ll grade ourselves on our predictions, too.

With that said, here’s everything we’ve heard about the next iPhone:

Speedier processor and more RAM
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps; MacRumors; WeiPhone
Probability: 95%
This is pretty obvious: Any hardware upgrade typically receives a performance boost. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has historically been one of the most accurate with Apple rumors, and his sources tell him the next iPhone will have a 600MHz processor (up from 400MHz). That would make the next iPhone 1.5 times as fast as the current one. Also, a recent job listing reveals that Apple is hiring a low-level iPhone programmer who is familiar with the ARMv7 Cortex mobile processor, which is much faster than the current iPhone’s ARMv6-based chip. As for memory, we’d expect Apple to increase RAM to complement the processor upgrade.

Magnetometer (digital compass)
Source: The Boy Genius Report; Daring Fireball; WeiPhone
Probability: 90%
A large amount of evidence indicates that the next iPhone will feature a magnetometer, a 3-axis compass that will greatly enhance its global positioning capabilities. Developers testing the iPhone 3.0 beta have found system files and screenshots referring to a magnetometer, which suggests the hardware feature will appear in the next iPhone.

Same industrial design as previous models
Source: WeiPhone; Daring Fireball
Probability: 90%
All the probable rumors suggest this will be an incremental upgrade, so we would not expect Apple to change much in the industrial design. That would mean the screen resolution should remain the same. Also, Apple would hesitate to change much about the overall form factor, as it would require iPhone application developers to dramatically change their apps just for the new phone.

Storage options increased: 16GB and 32GB
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 80%
The current iPhones come in two models: 8GB and 16GB. Upping the storage to 16GB and 32GB is a small, incremental upgrade, which would allow Apple to maintain the price points for the handset.

$200 and $300 price points to be maintained
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 75%
Apple’s iPhone 3G was a tremendous success, selling over 10 million units in 2008. Apple relies on hardware upgrades to boost sales numbers, and given the solid performance of the previous iPhone, the company has no strong incentive to reduce the handset’s costs.

Video-recording and editing capabilities
Source: Engadget; MacRumors; BusinessWeek
Probability: 70%
Some developers have published screen captures of a video interface discovered in iPhone 3.0 beta. A major complaint about the current iPhone is its inability to record video, so it would be surprising if Apple didn’t deliver this feature. We would give this rumor a higher rating if there were evidence of video-editing capabilities. Currently, we haven’t seen any.

Sleeker design
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 60%
No solid evidence of this, but the traditional evolution of Apple products is they get slimmer and sleeker.

1.5 times the battery life of the current models
Probability: 60%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
A major complaint about the iPhone 3G is its meager battery life. Therefore, Apple will most likely claim the next iPhone has improved battery life. We’ll have to test the next iPhone’s battery life to see if Apple’s claims are true.

OLED screen
Source: Apple iPhone Apps; Register Hardware
Probability: 20%
An obscure iPhone blog reported a rumor that the next iPhone will feature an OLED screen. However, this is unlikely as OLEDs are expensive and would likely drive the iPhone’s price points higher. Evidence of this feature is scant.

Glowing Apple logo on the back
Probability: 20%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Unnecessary. Rumor comes from an obscure blog with little cred.

Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device
Probability: 20%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
No evidence of this. We’re not sure why Apple would choose to remove this band.

Rubber-tread backing
Probability: 15%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Unlikely, as it would be ugly, and Apple likes pretty things. Also, the rumor comes from the same obscure blog as the one above.

Built-in FM transmitter
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 10%
We see no compelling reason for Apple to put this in the iPhone, as it is not a feature that users have been demanding, and it hasn’t appeared in other iPods.

What are your bets? Add your predictions in the comments below.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Ready for some totally prototypical corporate non-answers regarding the alleged release of Android 1.5 on T-Mobile USA’s G1s? Good. Here you go:

“T-Mobile USA will confirm details of Android 1.5 availability for our T-Mobile G1 customers in the near future.”

Doesn’t mean much to us — and it’s hard to tell from that alone whether 1.5’s actually begun over-the-air distribution — but at any rate, it seems like they’re not ready to talk about it yet. Don’t keep us waiting long, guys.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

T-Mobile neither confirms nor denies Android 1.5 availability for G1 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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