Sep 03

Droid R2-D2 gets docked — not in a X-Wing

Posted in: Android, droid, motorola, Star Wars, Today's Chili, verizon

Verizon’s teaser site for the Droid 2 R2-D2 edition has been teasing a series of locked spokes, accessible by all as soon as anyone in the community solves the “puzzle.” We don’t know exactly what the magic code was, but regardless, thanks to David H. yesterday, we’ve got a new gallery of devices pics and — oh, lookie — a special edition Droid R2-D2 dock. We don’t see room for a hyperdrive anywhere, nor wings, proton torpedos, or a cockpit for future Jedi to blast orbital space stations. So, let’s just call it a vacation home for astromechs needing a respite.

Update: As a number of you have pointed out, it’s “proton” torpedo in Star Wars canon, and “Jedi” is already plural. We’re left with two options here: total retcon the scope of which would put midi-chlorians to further shame, or just fixing the copy. We’ll let ya know what we decide.

Gallery: Droid 2 R2-D2 edition dock

Droid R2-D2 gets docked — not in a X-Wing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Verizon officially announces prepaid smartphone data packages

Posted in: Today's Chili, verizon

After a flood of leaks, Verizon’s just officially announced its prepaid data plan for smartphones. The new 3G Prepaid data package will offer smartphone users “unlimited” data for $30 a month, while feature phone users can score 25MB of data a month for $10 with a 20-cent-per-meg overage fee — all contract-free, of course. The prepaid smartphones include all of Verizon’s Android phones, the Pre and Pixi Plus, as well as most recent BlackBerrys, which is a pretty solid list of choices — and you can sign up for them today or online on September 28. Of course, you’re still on the hook for a full price phone and a voice plan (and there’s no mention of texting), so whether or not this works out to be a deal is up to you, but we’re definitely seeing the prepaid data market start to significantly heat up, and we like it. PR with full device list after the break.

Continue reading Verizon officially announces prepaid smartphone data packages

Verizon officially announces prepaid smartphone data packages originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Skype updates Android app for Verizon users, lets you keep the WiFi on

Posted in: Android, BlackBerry, droid, skype, Today's Chili, verizon, wifi
Well, it looks like you still won’t be able to actually make calls over WiFi, but Verizon Android users can now at least keep their WiFi connection active while using Skype Mobile — something that was curiously not possible before. That’s just one of the improvements in the latest version of the app (also updated for BlackBerry), which also includes features like incoming caller ID, support for copy and paste and emoticons in IM conversations, and the ability to automatically set your location as your mood message.

Skype updates Android app for Verizon users, lets you keep the WiFi on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung Fascinate arriving in Verizon stores, early September launch seems a given

Posted in: cdma, GalaxyS, launch, leak, Pre-Release, samsung, Today's Chili, verizon, vzw

Lest all the paper-based leaks weren’t sufficient evidence for you, we’ve now got ourselves an insider at one of Verizon’s brick-and-mortar outlets informing us that Fascinate launch kits are being distributed. VZW is said to be training up its staff (presumably that involves more than just pointing out where the above puzzle piece should go) and the whole thing’s looking “right on track” for the mooted early September launch. So that basically gives us about a week’s time to kill with 21:9 HDTVs, 3D prototypes, slinky tablets, and whatever else we can find at IFA. We might just be able to manage it.

Samsung Fascinate arriving in Verizon stores, early September launch seems a given originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 02

Samsung Gem for Verizon shows up in Best Buy buyer’s guide

Posted in: Android, BestBuy, Google, samsung, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

We’ve heard talk of the Gem before, and a new listing for the phone in Best Buy’s September buyer’s guide confirms the existence of Verizon’s new low-end Android piece that’ll likely slot in below the Fascinate in Sammy’s lineup for the carrier. Looks like it’s slated to launch with Android 2.1, not 2.2, and will include both TouchWiz 3.0 and Swype — both Samsung staples at this point — along with a 3.2 megapixel cam and 16GB of microSD expansion (though it’s not clear whether they’re going to do you the favor of throwing a card in the box). Despite the high-end name, we’d argue pricing is definitely going to determine the success of the Gem, especially in a world where Vibrants go for next to nothing on contract. $79.99 at launch, perhaps?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Samsung Gem for Verizon shows up in Best Buy buyer’s guide originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 31

Prepaid Droid, BlackBerry and Palm phones coming to Verizon? (update: confirmed, box spotting)

Posted in: Android, BlackBerry, droid, leak, pre, rumor, Today's Chili, verizon
We’d heard a few rumors of some new prepaid offerings from Verizon recently, but it now looks like the carrier could really be about to expand things in a big way — at least if some purportedly authentic leaked documents are any indication. Apparently received by Android Does from a helpful tipster, the documents list a whole new lineup of prepaid phones, including a slew of BlackBerrys, the Palm Pre and Pixi Plus, and just about every Android-based phone Verizon offers (including all of the Droids and even the yet-to-be released Samsung Fascinate — again listed for September 9th). While there’s no indication of prepaid pricing for the phones themselves, they would apparently be available with an unlimited $30 a month data plan, which would have to be tacked on top of a minimum $45 a month voice plan. Yeah, that’s pretty aggressive for Verizon any way you slice it — maybe too aggressive to be true?

[Thanks, Bryan]

Update: Well, it looks like this chances of this happening just got a whole lot better — head on past the break for a shot we received of a Verizon Prepaid BlackBerry Curve box. If you look closely at the back of the box, you’ll also notice that the pricing matches up with the leaked documents, including monthly plans from $45 to 75 a month, and unlimited email and web for $30 a month. What’s more, while there’s no shots just yet, we’re hearing that the prepaid Droids are also a go (with the same plans), and that at least the Droid 2 has been specifically mentioned.

Update 2: As if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also now gotten a handful more tips confirming that this is the real deal, and that it will apparently include BlackBerry, Android and Palm phones only (at least when it comes to smartphones).

Update 3: And just in case you still don’t believe us, we just got screenshots of Verizon’s inventory system listing all the current Droids, the LG Ally, the Motorola Devour, the Palm Pre / Pixi Plus, and a host of Blackberrys as pre-paid capable phones. Check it in the gallery.

Gallery: Verizon pre-paid smartphones

Continue reading Prepaid Droid, BlackBerry and Palm phones coming to Verizon? (update: confirmed, box spotting)

Prepaid Droid, BlackBerry and Palm phones coming to Verizon? (update: confirmed, box spotting) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 30

Samsung Galaxy Tab headed to Verizon?

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, galaxy, GalaxyTab, leak, rumor, samsung, tablet, Today's Chili, verizon

We’ve already seen a Samsung Galaxy Tab in the wild with a not-so-subtle CDMA sticker on it, and now BGR has a leaked screenshot that shows the seven-inch tablet headed to Verizon. That certainly sounds like it could be the Samsung i800 tablet we’ve seen on Verizon’s well-leaked roadmap, and we can also say that we’ve heard (but not confirmed) that the Tab will have 512MB of RAM, that the interface is quite smooth but still stuttery in areas, and that battery life is about six hours — but we’d take all that with a grain of salt, since anything can change before release. We’re definitely poking around for more, we’ll let you know.

Samsung Galaxy Tab headed to Verizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 30

Motorola says leaked Droid X Android 2.2 build won’t be updated to the official release

Posted in: Android, droid, froyo, leak, motorola, Today's Chili, verizon

Can’t say this is a surprise, but Motorola posted a note on its support forums today warning Droid X users against upgrading to that leaked Android 2.2 build or any of those custom ROMS that’re out there — they’ll be cut off from the official upgrade when it hits in early September and potentially “stuck on the leaked version.” Ouch. Of course, that’s the risk you take when you start flashing your phone with unofficial firmware, but between this, eFUSE, and those cease and desist letters, it certainly feels like Motorola is decidedly unhappy that anyone would have the gall to hack or tweak one of its handsets, even if the phone in question is the size of a small tank and marketed by aggressive murderous robot hands insisting that it “does” everything one can think of with no restrictions. Contrast that with HTC, which is not only at peace with the hacking community, but even takes the initiative to resolve similar problems.

Of course, no one would care about any of this if Motorola would just release stock Android builds for its devices as soon as they’re ready, but why learn that lesson when it’s possible to waste money developing Blur and adopting painfully annoying staggered OTA rollout schedules at the behest of carriers? That would just be silly.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Motorola says leaked Droid X Android 2.2 build won’t be updated to the official release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 30

Samsung Fascinate launching on September 8?

Posted in: Android, GalaxyS, rumor, samsung, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

We’ve seen these kinds of Verizon launch decks before, so we tend to believe the September 8 date we’re seeing for the Fascinate here is legit — granted, Wednesday is an odd day to launch a phone, but not a lot weirder than the Thursday, September 9 date we’d had before. Either way, it’s looking like a sure thing that we’re going to see this on shelves come next week, completing Sammy’s impressive four-way coup to get its high-end Galaxy S line launched on all of the US nationals. Like the Droid 2 and Droid X, the Fascinate will feature Blockbuster Mobile to let you download full-length movies on the go — in other words, that’s a feature that won’t be a Droid brand exclusive — and Bing search will be installed out of the box, giving Microsoft a fun little foothold in Google’s kingdom. So, who’s buying? And while we’re on the subject, why isn’t this thing called the “Droid Fascinate?”

[Thanks, Bryan]

Samsung Fascinate launching on September 8? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 29

Samsung Fascinate ready for Best Buy in-store pre-order ahead of rumored September 9 launch

Posted in: Android, availability, BestBuy, GalaxyS, launch, pre-order, retail, samsung, smartphone, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless

Verizon can’t be feeling too hot about being the straggler to the Galaxy S party, but the wait seems to be almost at an end. Best Buy’s just started taking in-store pre-orders for the Fascinate, while the latest internal document leak from VZW indicates a specific September 9 launch for the 4-inch Android handset. That’s when you should be able to snap the Fascinate up along with a prepaid data plan from Big Red, which fits in nicely with earlier unsanctioned disclosures on the matter. Either way, Samsung’s quest to conquer all networks with its Super Gorilla phone will be coming to a victorious end pretty soon.

[Thanks, Brian G.]

Samsung Fascinate ready for Best Buy in-store pre-order ahead of rumored September 9 launch originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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