Hasta La Gadget!

Though the HTC Droid Eris soldiers on in user pockets in a variety of guises, Verizon has unsurprisingly decided to disavow future updates for the canceled device. Carrier spokespersons told Computerworld that the Eris won’t see Android 2.2. “We have other options in Android devices, so this is part of the normal evolution of our portfolio,” a spokeswoman reportedly said. While we didn’t really expect Verizon to pull a T-Mobile and support phones that died even before the original G1, we have to imagine there’ll be a few ruffled feathers at that particular choice of words. No one likes to be told to buy a new device in order to get a software update. On the plus side, we expect XDA-developers will get a few new members this week, the better to unleash the potential of future neglected devices for us all.

Shocker: Verizon says Droid Eris won’t get Froyo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 23:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung is milking the launch of its 7-inch tablet called the Galaxy Tab by trickling out a little bit of news about it every other week. After announcing the Galaxy Tab’s launch in Europe earlier this month, Samsung held a press conference Thursday to say the device will be available in the U.S in the next few weeks.

The Galaxy Tab will be available on all the four major wireless service providers — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. There’s still no word on pricing or exact shipping date for the Galaxy Tab. The devices, which support 3G and WiFi, will arrive in time for the holiday shopping season, says Samsung. A Wi-Fi only version of the tablet will be available in the future.

The Galaxy Tab runs Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and has a LCD display with a 1024 x 600 resolution. At 0.8 pounds, the device weighs just about half as much as the iPad. It also supports Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 so it can display web pages that run Flash — something the iPad can’t. The Galaxy Tab will run many Android Market apps in full screen and those that are not scalable will be framed and centered on the screen at 800 x 400 resolution.

Another feature that U.S. customers of Galaxy Tab will get is the Media Hub, a mobile widget that will allow users to download and rent movies.

The Galaxy Tab will come with three accessories: a $100 keyboard dock, a $50 desktop dock, which will double as a charger, and a $100 car and GPS dock.

See Also:

• Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad
• Video: Samsung Tablet Looks Like a Strong iPad Rival
• First Look: ELocity’s Android Tablet Makes Great Media Player
• Samsung Ships One Million Galaxy S Phones in 45 Days
• BlackBerry Tablet ‘BlackPad’ Readies to Take On the iPad

Photo: Samsung

Uh, oh, looks like Verizon has indeed distanced itself from Microsoft after the Kin debacle: the carrier confirmed to Bloomberg Businessweek today that it won’t offer any Windows Phone 7 devices at launch this year, instead waiting until 2011 to support the new OS. That certainly ties right in with AT&T’s claims that it’ll be the “premier carrier” for Windows Phone 7 and the flood of Blue-tinted device leaks we’ve seen, but it also leaves Microsoft in a seemingly tough spot to start — we haven’t heard more than the slightest whisper about WP7 devices on Sprint or T-Mobile yet, and until we do it’s going to be the iPhone and WP7 head-to-head on Ma Bell while Android continues to dig in everywhere else. We’ll see — this launch can’t come quickly enough.

Verizon won’t sell Windows Phone 7 until 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re guessing Verizon has been pretty happy with the results of its V Cast App store for BlackBerry, as it looks like the carrier’s now accepting submissions in the Android category for software that’ll propagate its eventual marketplace on that mobile platform. According to a purported letter obtained by Android and Me, Big Red has been sending out letters to developers extolling the virtues of using its store in lieu of Google’s: no testing fee, 14-day turnaround, carrier billing (with the promise of an eventual subscription billing option), 70 / 30 split favoring the developer, etc. Froyo is the flavor of choice, and the only version of Android that’ll be supported from the onset — so that includes both flagship Droids, Droid Incredible, and Droid X. Verizon’s Developer Community Conference is the end of this month (21st and 22nd, to be exact), and we imagine the skinny will be gotten by then.

[Thanks, Ryan]

Verizon gearing up for Android V Cast App store? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We pretty much assumed this would go down at Samsung’s event on Thursday, but now we’ve got more confirmation Verizon will indeed carry the Samsung Galaxy Tab — check out this leaked screenshot from the employees-only VZWeb system. Details are light, but it looks like Froyo and Flash 10.1 will be preinstalled along with “a number of exclusive apps” to differentiate it from the rumored versions coming to AT&T and Sprint — we’d say Skype fits the bill quite nicely here, as does the thanks-for-telling-us-it-costs-$10-per-month NFL Mobile app with live game streaming and the RedZone channel. Unfortunately, it sounds like we’ll have a bit of a wait for pricing and availability details, which will be released “over the coming weeks,” and that’s really all we want to know — if this thing requires a two-year contract we’re thisclose to calling it a dud out of the gate. We’ll see, we’ll see — Thursday’s only two days away.

Verizon to announce Samsung Galaxy Tab on Thursday? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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