Hasta La Gadget!

Yeah, $900 for the netbook, and a hefty chunk of change for Verizon data — you’re not made of money, right? Verizon Wireless is making things a little easier on VAIO P buyers hesitant to activate 3G service, and offering $200 rebates, in the form of a debit card, if they sign up for a two-year data contract. Hopefully Sony’s working up a similar rebate program to help with the uptick in eye care due to that impossibly high resolution screen.

Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

Verizon softens the blow, offers $200 rebates on VAIO P wireless broadband activations originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Feb 2009 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We had a chance to get our grubby mitts on Verizon’s new VOIP / home phone — the Hub — and we thought we’d give you a little preview of what’s in store if you’re planning on busting out the credit card. The device, which we’ve seen floating around in various forms since January of 2007, is a combo of a cradled wireless handset and 7-inch, resistive touchscreen display. It’s an interesting play for a sector of the market that’s all but forgotten (and maybe for good reason). If you want to hear some thoughts on the device, follow the bread crumbs beyond the break.

Continue reading Verizon Hub hands-on and impressions

Filed under: Cellphones, Household

Verizon Hub hands-on and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While our experience says otherwise, we really hope that the practice of launching buggy smartphones hasn’t been institutionalized. The Wall Street Journal just published a report about the “bumpy launch” of the BlackBerry Storm — a handset that WSJ sources say sold some 500,000 units in the first month following its global release. Not bad, but well off the 2.4 million launch pace seen by the iPhone 3G — the phone the Storm had hoped to unseat as sales champ. The WSJ speculates that the relatively timid response stems from buggy or otherwise “clunky software” that crippled the user experience and performance at launch only to be (partially) corrected later via software updates. An abysmal scenario which echos the buggy 2.0 software that accompanied the iPhone 3G at launch.

Now, instead of pleading for mercy at the feet of disgruntled consumers, RIM co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, calls the post-launch scramble part of the “new reality” of making complex cellphones in large volumes. A Verizon spokesman noted that return percentages are measurable in single digits (standard for a smartphone) adding, “The sales and performance of the device have lived up to our expectations.” Fine, but when expectations are high that the consumer experience will be poor, somehow that doesn’t sound like a victory to us.

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM CEO: Buggy smartphone software is the “new reality” originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been on the trail of the Verizon Hub since way back when it was called the Verizon One, in fact, but it’s just been officially announced, and there are plenty of details to report now. The system boasts a 7-inch touchscreen display, and will work with Verizon wireless subscribers handset(s) to eliminate the need for a landline (people still have those!?) The idea here is that the hub can sync to your calendar, contacts, maps, traffic and weather reports via broadband. It can also send and receive text messages, and do all kinds of cute little tasks like send driving directions to your phone. Subscribers have to live in an E911-capable area, and will be able to bring any phone number with them if they want to sign up for new service. The hardware’s going to cost $200 (after a $50 mail-in rebate) with a subscription fee of $35 per month — which comes with unlimited minutes and texts to and from the device. It’ll be available starting February 1st. Get ready.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon Hub “landline slayer” officially unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint had the jump on this by a few months with its AIRAVE, but Verizon’s not far behind in bringing femotcells to the masses with its less-elegantly-named Wireless Network Extender later this month on the 25th. The little black box will puke out a cloud of CDMA covering up to 5,000 square feet of domicile with support for up to three simultaneous calls — enough for you, the hubby / missus, and little Joey / Susie to all be yapping away at the same time. Like Sprint’s solution, the Wireless Network Extender uses GPS to verify that you’re not creating little tiny Verizon networks in Laos, Kenya, or Uruguay and plugs into the internet source of your choice via Ethernet. It’ll be available in Verizon stores and online starting January 25 for $249.99 — not a bad deal for Verizon, considering you’re saving them the expense of erecting a tower.

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon launching Wireless Network Extender femtocell on January 25 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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