Hasta La Gadget!

Does Droid know a marketing tie-in when it sees it? Droid does. We’ve been speculating about what Motorola might do to take advantage of its licensing deal with LucasArts (who owns the trademark to “Droid”) since this time last year. The answer came in the form of the Droid R2-D2, a limited edition Star Wars-branded Droid 2 device.

The back of the Droid R2-D2 is designed to look like everyone’s favorite rolling trashcan. Inside you’ll find R2-D2 sound alerts and ring tons, Star Wars wallpaper, an exclusive Star Wars binocular app, and more.

Verizon this week announced that the device will go on sale September 30th on the provider’s site and select Verizon stores. The R2-D2 ships in a carbonite-esque box, with a Star Wars media dock and a wired stereo headset.

It runs $249 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Fancy the idea of having Big Brother track your handset if it goes missing, but aren’t so keen on owning an iPhone, ponying up for MobileMe and signing a deal with AT&T? Fret not, fretful one, as Verizon Wireless has just launched an extension of its Total Equipment Coverage program that essentially provides the same services, but for VZW-branded BlackBerry, webOS and Android phones. The full list of compatible phones is down there in the source, and the best news is that the Mobile Recovery app is offered free of charge to those already ponying up $10 per month for TEC. When enabled, it will allow users to remotely lock the device, sound an alarm (solving the infamous “couch cushion” dilemma) and wipe contacts from the phone. If a recovery proves unsuccessful, the carrier will supposedly provide you with a next-day replacement, but we’ve got an idea that there are quite a few lines of fine print to read beforehand. At any rate, it’s a lovely option to have — particularly if you’re already paying for TEC — and it’s available to download and activate as we speak.

Continue reading Verizon’s Mobile Recovery: like ‘Find my iPhone,’ but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets

Verizon’s Mobile Recovery: like ‘Find my iPhone,’ but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We told you so. The Wall Street Journal has updated its recent article detailing disclosures from Verizon Wireless chief Ivan Seidenberg, and the latest news is as bad as it is predictable: VZW plans to consign unlimited data plans to the annals of history over the next four to six months, to be replaced by tiered, consumption-based pricing. Seidenberg says Verizon’s prices will surely differ from what AT&T recently introduced, noting that his company values data differently to the competition — though he wouldn’t say whether that means costs will be higher or lower. Either way, Droidsters, enjoy your last few months in the unlimited sun.

[Thanks, Tyler]

Verizon CEO confirms plans for tiered data pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Foresman

Though rumors about the possibility of Apple launching a CDMA-compatible iPhone on Verizon have been picking up steam lately—our own sources have told us that an LTE-capable iPhone has been in testing in Boston for several months—Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg suggested Thursday that it might not be coming in January as many had hoped.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York, Seidenberg made no mention of an iPhone model being made to work on Verizon’s current EVDO/CDMA network. Instead, he “hoped” that Apple would consider making an iPhone to work with its nascent LTE 4G network.

“We would love to carry [the iPhone] when we get there, but we have to earn it,” Seidenberg told investors. “I think 4G will accelerate the process, and any other decisions Apple makes would be fine with us. Hopefully, at some point Apple will get with the program.”

Those comments may be bad news to the significant percentage of current iPhone users locked to AT&T in the US who would likely switch to Verizon if given the chance. Our own reader survey earlier this year also suggested that there are plenty of existing Verizon customers who would be interested in an iPhone that worked on the largest US network. Though Verizon has been very successful with a strong lineup of Android-powered smartphones from Motorola and HTC, pent-up demand for a CDMA-compatible iPhone definitely exists.

However, other evidence suggests that a CDMA-compatible iPhone is in the works, even if Seidenberg isn’t willing to work with Apple to bring it to his network. Component suppliers have hinted that Apple is prepping to build at least 3 million CDMA iPhones in December, which would track with a manufacturing ramp-up for a rumored January launch.

As mentioned above, we’ve heard through the grapevine that an LTE/CDMA iPhone has been in testing on Verizon’s network in the Boston area, and that the rumored January launch was contingent on Verizon meeting its stated goal of launching its LTE network in 30 major markets by year’s end. If Verizon isn’t on track to meet that goal, it may have resulted in Apple changing its mind. Still, a CDMA-compatible iPhone could launch on other networks, including Sprint in the US, and China Mobile and SK Telecom in Asia.

Whatever the problem is between Verizon and Apple, though, customers certainly don’t care—they just want the popular device to work on their preferred network. It would be beneficial to both Verizon and Apple to work out a deal, and work it out soon, while demand is still high.

This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.

Image credit: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

See Also:

• Bloomberg: Verizon to Launch iPhone in 2011
• Big Chunk of Verizon Customers Would Switch to an iPhone
• AT&T Sees No Threat in a Verizon iPhone
• Verizon to Apple: We Want the iPhone
• WSJ: Apple to Produce Verizon iPhone in September

Verizon’s holding its developer conference (VDC, for those in the know) this week where it courts software and hardware developers alike to make stuff that works on its airwaves, and one of the bigger pieces of news to come out of it so far has been from Bug Labs. Now, Bug’s not exactly a company we’d expect to be working with Big Red, as CEO Peter Semmelhack notes in his blog post on the matter: “it may come as a surprise to you that a company that is so often vilified for being closed is teaming up with Bug Labs, a company that is defined by its openness.” What changed? Basically, Bug modules are going to serve as pre-certified building blocks for developers, saving little guys with limited budgets the time and expense of going through Verizon’s certification process — you just integrate Bug’s hardware and you automatically inherit its approval. No word yet on when the new modules will be ready or how much they’ll cost, though (we’re still waiting on the new BUGBase to launch). Follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Bug Labs to offer pre-certified modules for Verizon’s network

Bug Labs to offer pre-certified modules for Verizon’s network originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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