Motorola says Droid 2 Global Gingerbread update isn’t ready after all

Verizon said otherwise earlier this week, but Motorola has now finally chimed in to say that a Gingerbread update for the Droid 2 Global is not, in fact, rolling out at the moment — as Droid 2 Global owners have probably noticed. Unfortunately, it’s not provided any indication as to when such an update will start rolling out, but it does seem like you can rest assured that it’s still a question of “when” not “if.”

Motorola says Droid 2 Global Gingerbread update isn’t ready after all originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Revolution review

The army of high-speed broadband phones is actively seeking new recruits to join its rapidly-growing force, and the LG Revolution is the latest to graduate from boot camp. We’ve witnessed the emergence of three Verizon LTE handsets in as many months, beginning with the HTC Thunderbolt and the Samsung Droid Charge a few weeks later. As if this wasn’t enough choice to tempt your tastebuds already, the LG Revolution — the entertaining climax to the classic 4G trilogy — was born one full moon after that. With three options, all so close to each other in dimension and features, it’s natural to compare all of ’em and make the call on which one is the best of the bunch. Is LG’s first crack at Verizon’s LTE network truly a game-changer, as its name suggests? Or does this Revolution fail to even get its feet off the ground? Read on after the break to find out.

Continue reading LG Revolution review

LG Revolution review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon video shows an unannounced tablet, could it be the Xoom 2? (update: it’s back!)

Oh Verizon, did you just spill confidential information all over your YouTube channel? The guys over at Droid-Life spotted a VZW ad starring a mysterious new Honeycomb tablet, which to our ninja-trained eyes looks to exhibit many of the design elements of Motorola’s Xoom. It could, of course, be just about anything, given that Verizon yanked the video almost as soon as the above screengrab was lifted, but the rear of this 10(ish)-inch tablet looks very much like a Xoom designed to be used in portrait orientation. We know Moto has a Xoom 2 cooking in the oven and it’s not unreasonable to surmise that Verizon is putting together the finishing touches on a promo campaign for it. Now if only we could get a look at that video with our own eyes…

Update: The video is back! Watch it after the break.

Continue reading Verizon video shows an unannounced tablet, could it be the Xoom 2? (update: it’s back!)

Verizon video shows an unannounced tablet, could it be the Xoom 2? (update: it’s back!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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California stops automatic phone book delivery following pressure from Verizon

We’ve long known paper books are on the decline, but now we’re seeing the first death knell for the fattest of them all. California’s public utilities commission has ruled that it will no longer deliver doorstops residential phone books unless folks specifically ask for it — a move that’s expected to prevent 1,870 tons of material from entering the state’s waste stream. Californians, like everyone else, can search the White Pages online, but they’ll still be able to request a paper copy or CD-ROM if they’re feeling old-fashioned. For now, though, the state will continue to ship government White Pages and the Yellow Pages for local business listings (in a post-Yelp world, that seems antiquated). What’s especially fascinating about all this is that the pressure to cease automatic phone book deliveries came from none other than Verizon, which mounted a case back in October, citing the enormous human and natural resources required to get updated phone books into people’s hands each year. Of course, the estimated 1,870 tons of averted waste is a fraction of the 660,000 tons BanthePhoneBook.org says these tomes create every year, but here’s hoping it’ll be enough to make other states take note.

California stops automatic phone book delivery following pressure from Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US DOJ greenlights Google’s $900 million bid for Nortel patents; Apple, RIM also interested

It looks like Google will be able to bid on Nortel’s patent portfolio after all, now that the Department of Justice has weighed in on the matter. According to the Wall Street Journal, El Goog’s $900 million bid has passed a governmental antitrust review, just a few days ahead of next week’s auction. Rivals like Microsoft, AT&T and Verizon had previously filed complaints with the DOJ, arguing that the sale of Nortel’s 6,000 patents would give an unfair advantage to the auction’s winner by providing it with a fresh arsenal for patent-infringement lawsuits. Google, however, claims it needs the portfolio to defend itself against legal challenges, since it has comparatively few patents to its name. The DOJ apparently sees nothing illegal with this argument, having determined that singular ownership of Nortel’s intellectual property would pose no threat to market competition. This is obviously music to Google’s ears, but the battle isn’t over yet. Sources tell the Journal that both RIM and Apple are interested in filing their own bids for the patents, and have already begun discussing the matter with the Justice Department. None of the companies involved have commented on the story, but it’ll all go down on June 20th, when the auction finally gets underway.

US DOJ greenlights Google’s $900 million bid for Nortel patents; Apple, RIM also interested originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon prolongs its free hotspot party on 4G LTE phones, but then what?

If you’ve been maxing out on Verizon’s mobile hotspot offer that came with your new Samsung Droid Charge, HTC Thunderbolt or LG Revolution, then do carry on. The offer has been extended again, letting you use your 4G LTE handset as a WiFi hotspot for free until July 6th. On that miserable day, a software update will pull the plug and then who knows how much you’ll have to pay? Verizon says its $20/GB tethering charge won’t apply to 4G LTE phones, but it doesn’t state exactly how much it will cost. Oh well, who needs 12Mbps anyway?

Verizon prolongs its free hotspot party on 4G LTE phones, but then what? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid 2 Global gets Gingerbread, customizable dock and more in latest update from Verizon

Droid 2 Global users, your moment in the Gingerbread sun has arrived. Verizon’s put up a page with download instructions for a 103MB update, taking your QWERTY slider from version 2.4.330 to 4.5.600. Updating isn’t the most taxing of activities, you just look for a system update in the About Phone menu and then give your blessing for the download to commence. VZW will also be prompting tardy users to take their OTA medicine in due course. So what’s new apart from Android 2.3? Well, the big change is that the previously static phone, contacts and apps icons at the bottom of the UI have now been turned into a user-customizable dock, with three links of your choosing sidling up next to the App Launcher. There’s also a freshened up UI look, a Download Manager App, user-definable App Groups, encryption for data both on the device and its SD card, improvements in battery life while using WiFi and Bluetooth, and the obligatory stability fixes. If all that sounds irresistible and you have the requisite phone in hand, go get it!

[Thanks, Jon]

Droid 2 Global gets Gingerbread, customizable dock and more in latest update from Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Droid / Milestone 3 gets previewed, Verizon release finally nearing?

The Motorola Droid 3 hasn’t exactly been doing the best job of staying under wraps, and it (or the international Milestone 3 variant, to be specific) has now landed in the hands of Chinese website xda.cn, which has provided what’s surely the most extensive look at the phone to date. That includes some additional confirmation of specs like a 4-inch qHD screen (of the PenTile variety, it seems), an 8 megapixel camera, HDMI out and a 1500 mAh battery, as well as what appear to be the first benchmarks of the phone and its dual-core OMAP 4430 processor, which is apparently slightly hampered by a mere 512MB of RAM. In other Droid 3 news, Droid Life notes that the device has turned up in Gameloft’s compatibility listings for its Android games, and says that its hearing that Verizon is now targeting a July 7th launch. That’s obviously still far from confirmed, but it seems safe to bet that a release can’t be too much farther off now. Hit the source link below for xda.cn‘s complete preview.

Motorola Droid / Milestone 3 gets previewed, Verizon release finally nearing? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Recalls ‘Extremely Small’ Number of Verizon iPad 2 Tablets

The iPad 2 is available as a Wi-Fi-only device, or with 3G access from ATT or Verizon. (Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com)

Apple recalled an unspecified number of Verizon-carried iPad 2 tablets because of connectivity issues related to their mobile equipment identifier codes.

Late last week, a number of people reported in online forums that their iPad 2s were being returned to China mid-shipment, prompting rumors of a recall. After getting shipment notification for an iPad 2 from FedEx, some who had placed orders received a delivery exception notification that Apple had requested the unit’s return.

9to5 Mac first brought the issue to light on Thursday, with a number of readers confirming via e-mail or comments on the initial blog post.

One such reader, a recent iPad 2 purchaser from Louisville, Kentucky, said:

I bought an iPad2 on Wednesday (6/8) from the Apple Store in Louisville, KY. It is a 16GB black Verizon 3G edition. Have been using it for past couple days on wi-fi and went to activate the 3G service on it today. Had trouble doing it on the iPad, so I called Verizon for assistance. They told me that there is a batch of iPad2’s with duplicate MEID’s (which I believe are hardcoded into the device) out there and apparently I have one of them. Only way to fix is to bring my iPad2 back to the store for exchange to new iPad.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed this and the limited recall, saying, “Duplicate MEID codes were flashed onto an extremely small number of iPad units for the Verizon 3G network.” An MEID is a one-of-a-kind numerical code that is used to identify a mobile device when it connects to a CDMA network, which is why only the Verizon units were affected.

Apple unveiled its second generation tablet earlier this year, and the device originally went on sale March 11. Network connectivity is available in three options: Wi-Fi only, or 3G service provided by either AT&T or Verizon.

An Apple Store employee commented on instructions for identifying the affected tablets:

Apple has given all the stores a list of serial numbers to scan, if it’s a match we were told to set aside and ship back to Apple, these are only for Verizon iPads. This was to be done on Monday and continue to scan all shipments thru June 11. I had over one hundred to send back.

The exact number of affected units has not been released, but Apple is in the process of replacing affected iPad 2s with new ones.

See also:


Droid Charge update brings personal hotspot back in time, adds improvements

Boy, it sure has been a fun ride for Samsung Droid Charge fans. Since the beginning of this month, said LTE phone’s been plagued by a rather silly bug: its mobile hotspot feature only works if you set the date to some time in May. Thankfully, Verizon has now released an update that’ll bring the device back in time for some hassle-free hotspot action, so that TARDIS of yours can be stowed away for now. Also added in the package is a whole stash of enhancements here and there, including boosted battery life during voice calls, better browser performance, new email folder structure, improved GPS performance, and many more goodies. As usual, anticipating owners can keep an eye out for the OTA update notification, but feel free to chill in May if you’re enjoying the vacation.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Droid Charge update brings personal hotspot back in time, adds improvements originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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