Hasta La Gadget!

If you were looking for just one more reason to ditch Sprint then this could be it. A CDMA-flavored Palm Pixi just cleared the FCC — yes, another one — and we can say with confidence it’s not coming to Sprint this time around. Better yet, Palm’s model P121EWW matches up with that P121 code we saw leaked a while back for Big Red (Sprint’s model is P120EWW), and this sucker got tested for 802.11b/g WiFi. Looks like that Sprint ad touting the Pixi’s non-existent WiFi was more than just wishful thinking. With webOS-powered Palm gear already confirmed on Verizon for “early next year,” are you really going to make the jump to a WiFi-less Pixi on Sprint knowing what’s on the way? And more importantly, can we expect another terrifying series of ads targeting Sprint this time instead of AT&T?

Palm Pixi clears FCC with Verizon frequencies and WiFi in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still haven’t gotten that Android 2.0.1 OTA update on your Droid? You’re not alone (most people are still waiting for 2.0 on their Android handset, you self-centered power user, you), but luckily there’s a simple solution. Basically you just have to manually download the update file, copy it to an SD card and restart your Droid while tapping out a simple succession of hardware keys. You can check out the “detailed” and “badass” versions of the instructions at the two respective source links below.

Manual Android 2.0.1 Droid update detailed for the impatient originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The “coming weeks” timeframe that Verizon had promised for 2.0.1 to start pushing to Droids has been mercifully condensed down to just a few days, because a number of folks are starting to report that they’re receiving the update on their retail units today — and we’ve been able to confirm with the company that it’s going down. That’s great news for a Monday, we’d say, and if you haven’t gotten the update just yet, Big Red has now posted update instructions and details on the Droid’s support site that should be enough to tide you over for a few minutes. In brief, this looks like bug-fix nirvana with improved stability and battery life, better camera and call quality, faster visual voicemail, and a host of other goodies — anyone hoping for new features is probably primed for disappointment, but we’ll take what we can get. Keep an eye on your Droid today, owners, and let us know how the experience treats you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Droid getting 2.0.1 now, Verizon posts details originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Early termination fees have always represented the flipside of subsidized pricing — the necessary evil that keeps free phones free. Thing is, they were tough enough to swallow at $175 or $200, but Verizon’s recently gone for the jugular in a hell-bent effort to keep subscribers locked in by upping the fee on vaguely-defined “advanced devices” (read: any phone a power user would ever want) all the way up to a mind-bending $350. Turns out the FCC is as confused and worked up as everyone else, though, having fired off a 4-page communique to Verizon’s veep of legal and external affairs today asking how customers are notified of the new ETF, how the prorating formula is calculated (hint: they don’t like that you still pay $120 after 23 months of a 24-month contract), and how an “advanced device” comes to be, among other things. Riding on the letter are a few extra questions about inadvertent mobile web charges for customers that aren’t signed up for a data plan, totaling nine paragraph-long queries that the feds want answered by December 17. Your move, Verizon.

[Thanks, Daniel P.]

FCC gives Verizon the third degree over $350 ‘advanced device’ ETF originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re looking for the fast, fun, and easy way to “enhance the user experience” on your Droid this holiday season, look no further than the Android 2.0.1 update that Verizon just slipped us some info on. We don’t have an exact drop date at this point, but we’re told that Droid owners can expect an over-the-air package in the “coming weeks” — and most notably, changes will include improved camera autofocus and better voice reception. Since these particular fixes are presumably device-specific, it’s interesting that this is being done in lockstep with an official Android trunk release — but all Google’s saying is that the underlying platform contains “several bug fixes and behavior changes, such as application resource selection based on API level and changes to the value of some Bluetooth-related constants.” Good stuff.

Update: Google’s got a changelog posted — check it out. Nothing that’s going to blow your mind.

Android 2.0.1 SDK materializes, Droid getting it in ‘coming weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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