Hasta La Gadget!

Square makes a larger mark on the brick-and-mortar scene, available in more outlets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After inking a wholesale spectrum agreement with Sprint last year, Leap’s going for broke and rolling its “value-driven” Cricket service out nationwide on September 25th. The expansion includes a sprinkling of Walmart stores, Dollar General and even cable-shopping channel HSN, but the majority of its new reach will come from a partnership with Best Buy. In addition to offering monthly plans for dumb and smartphones alike, the operator’s also serving up specific Muve Music service packages to play nice with three upcoming handsets. Along with the Samsung Vitality and ZTE Chorus (both to be available before the holidays), Cricket’s introducing its first ZTE smartphone — the Score. Don’t go looking for high-end specs here, as the 3.5-inch Android device runs Gingerbread atop a 600MHz processor and includes a 3.2 megapixel camera. Feature phone users will also get a couple of new options to choose, with the Huawei Pillar and Samsung Chrono offered on the provider’s PAYGo service. If you’re in the mood to dig through PR spiel, skip past the break for a trio of pressers.

Continue reading Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends

Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walmart and its MVNO partner, TracFone, are preparing to plunge into the shallow depths of Android with the Samsung Galaxy Precedent. While little is known about the device itself, it appears strikingly similar to the Samsung Prevail, from the chunky volume rocker and external microSD card slot on the side of the phone, to the absent flash on the rear. Of course, Straight Talk’s primary selling point with the Precedent is the price itself, which — according to a promo video for the device — is said to be just shy of $150 off-contract. This, combined with Wally World’s competitive pricing of $45 per month for unlimited voice, text and data, could be a boon for many users who rely on Verizon for coverage (assuming this is a CDMA phone, anyway). While no official launch date has been set, you’re welcome to get in line and reserve yours today. Or, just check the video after the break.

[Thanks, Nickolas]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Precedent coming to Straight Talk, seemingly $150 off-contract (video)

Samsung Galaxy Precedent coming to Straight Talk, seemingly $150 off-contract (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can’t wait for August 12th for Nintendo’s 3DS price drop to take effect? Good news, neither could two giant retailers, apparently. Walmart reportedly got the ball rolling yesterday, cutting the asking price down from $250 to $170 in-store, and Target quickly followed suit — the price is still listed as $250 on both sites for the moment. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata acknowledged late last month that the drops, officially scheduled for August 12th, were due to concerns from retailers and game designers. As Joystiq points out, those who buy the console before the switchover is official will likely be able to take advantage of the price drop and Nintendo’s offer of free games for early adopters. Score.

Walmart, Target jump the gun on Nintendo 3DS price drops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems like only yesterday that Walmart was doing its best to beat Apple at the digital music game by delivering us DRM-free digital music. Alas, the inexorable might of iTunes has, at last, become too much to bear. According to Digital Music News, Wally World’s MP3 store will shut its digital doors forever on August 28th. Chin up, Walmart, we won’t be coming to you for the new Kanye jam (not that we ever would), but we’ll still head on down when we’re in need of damn near anything else.

Walmart to shutter its online music store, somewhere Steve Jobs is smiling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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