Hasta La Gadget!

T-Mobile doesn’t get to have all the fun with the CLIQ — we know with some certainty that the Sholes is destined to bring Motorola’s Android push to Verizon, and if CEO Sanjay Jha has anything to say about it, the fun doesn’t stop there. Speaking at an analyst conference, Jha mentioned yesterday that his company is “in talks with all large operators in the US,” meaning that Cellular South and Cincinnati Bell are probably out of luck in the short term — but AT&T and Sprint are likely getting the full-court press to sign up for a MOTOBLUR-powered phone or two as we speak. The US (and really, the entire world) is still fairly Android-starved with only a small handful of big-name models actually circulating in retail, so another manufacturer actively trying to get carriers on board isn’t going to hurt — and considering Moto’s impetus to turn big profits on the double, we bet these guys are putting on some slick, convincing, promise-filled presentations in the boardrooms.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Motorola looking to bring Android to ‘all the US operators’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve paid any attention whatsoever to the goings-on in the American cellphone market, you’d know that ponying up the dough to start an MVNO here is probably not your best shot at striking it rich. One after another has fallen flat, even ones that had millions (and millions) in marketing dollars behind ’em. That said, Japan’s own NTT DoCoMo is mulling the possibility of fully entering the US cell market next year, offering up smartphones and “other high-performance handsets with its i-mode mobile internet service.” We’re told that the operator may start as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), leasing capacity from T-Mobile USA or AT&T until it decides on its next move. Call us crazy, but we’re guessing it just might have a shot here on US soil if it snags the iPhone, enables all those 3G services that have been running for years on other platforms and only charges one (as opposed to three or four) human limbs for a monthly plan.

[Thanks, shinbunboi]

Filed under: Cellphones

NTT DoCoMo might just enter the US cellphone market, MVNO graveyard wishes it luck originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that most Americans could care, but Nokia is pushing back the US launch of its DRM-laden Comes with Music service into 2010. CWM, you’ll recall, is Nokia’s “free” all-you-can-eat music service that bundles the 12-18 month music subscription cost into the inflated handset price — although like any DRM music scheme, solutions already exist to break the CWM shackles. The delay is probably a wise move considering the weak state of Nokia’s US partnerships required to offset consumer costs, lukewarm response to its latest handsets, and the fact that most US consumers share a broad distaste for DRM music. We’d rather see Nokia launch late but with a compelling proposition than launch now in blind adherence to a timeline.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Nokia Comes with Music US launch smartly pushed back to 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve heard whispers that Apple might be unleashing Snow Leopard to the unwashed masses a bit earlier than September, but this listing in the company’s UK online store is the most concrete evidence we’ve seen to date. Still up as of this writing, the page clearly says Snow Leopard is shipping by next Friday, August 28th. No way to actually order it at this point and no clue whether or not this is just some glitch, but if the gang at Cupertino are really planning to launch in a week’s time, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear something official sooner rather than later.

Update: A pair of tipsters have revealed the same August 28th ship date for the US Up-To-Date program. Screenshot of a shipping confirmation after the break.

[Via TUAW, thanks Will G.]

Continue reading Snow Leopard shipping August 28th, says Apple’s UK online store (update: US too)

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

Snow Leopard shipping August 28th, says Apple’s UK online store (update: US too) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not the kind of thing you’ll probably want to brag about winning, of course, but, according to new research conducted by the OECD, people in the US, Canada and Spain come out on the top of the heap when it comes to high cellphone bills. The research was conducted by categorizing bills into three usage categories, with the mid-range being 780 minutes per year of voice calls, and 600 SMS per year. For that amount, people in the US of A pay about $635 (the highest rate), while runners-up Spain pay just over $500. The countries with the lowest phone bills include the Netherlands and Sweden, where that same usage runs about $130. Yes, that’s a huge discrepancy, alright, meaning that in the Netherlands you’d pay around $11 a month with that level of usage, while in the US the same amount will run around $53 a month. Then again, they don’t get to watch “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” in the Netherlands, do they?

Update: The CTIA has issued a statement in response to the OECD’s study, stating that it is, essentially, inaccurate by way or its choice of unrepresentative calling packages. The CTIA’s full statement is after the break.

[Via IntoMobile]

Continue reading US, Canada, and Spain ‘win’ the battle for most expensive cellphone bills

Filed under: Cellphones

US, Canada, and Spain ‘win’ the battle for most expensive cellphone bills originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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