Hasta La Gadget!

We still don’t know what it looks like or when exactly it’ll arrive — rough estimate sometime in 2010 — but Windows Mobile 7’s being given special care by Microsoft with a chassis concept of “carefully defined hardware specifications” for hardware vendors, according to James McCarthy. As for what those specs are and how strictly it’ll enforce adherence, we’re still in the dark. If it’s anything like what we saw with the rumored “Pink” specs from back in May, we’re not too worried, but it’s really in Microsoft’s hands to screw up. If they say it’s okay to see StrongARM chips in WinMo 7 devices, someone’ll do it, and we gotta imagine some negative vibes towards the mobile OS in general should someone ever have to manage with a handset like that.

[Via WMPowerUser]

Filed under: Cellphones

Windows Mobile 7 chassis concept confirmed by Microsoft, not detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, any luck socking away $350 worth crisp, unmarked, non-sequential US currency over the past week since the Touch Pro2 was officially announced for Sprint? If so, we’d just like to offer a friendly reminder that you can now head over to Sprint’s online store to place your order — and yes, that $349.99 you’ll be shelling out is after rebate and discount on a new two-year contract. Being second doesn’t come cheap, it seems.

[Thanks, Wilson]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Sprint kicks off HTC Touch Pro2 sales at $349.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look, we don’t mean to rain on the 6.5 parade — it’s not even coming out until next month, after all, and both Microsoft and its hardware partners all have a lot riding on its success since competitive pressure from RIM, Nokia, and others is arguably as strong as it’s ever been. Thing is, all signs point to an extraordinarily tight schedule for getting Windows Mobile 7 into customers’ hands hot on the heels of 6.5’s release — and that means both hardware and software need to be very real by now, in the hands of testers, developers, and engineers responsible putting the finishing touches on the platform.

As a key part of its corporate renaissance, Motorola’s made no secret of the fact that it’s placing a heavy emphasis on Android going forward, putting WinMo’s continued role (especially outside Asia) within the company in jeopardy. Thing is, well-trained eyes at UX Evangelist have found a Moto software engineer’s job experience on LinkedIn with app development and migration to Windows Mobile 7 beta — yes, beta — listed front and center. The project’s mentioned for a device codenamed “Caesar,” which would slot in nicely with Moto’s trend of assigning ancient rulers’ names to smartphones ahead of release. We have no idea what Caesar might be, but if everything we’ve heard is true, odds are good that it’d have to comply to Microsoft’s so-called Chassis 1 specifications that require ample touchscreen resolution and processor power. And if 7’s seriously in beta, that means it’s moving right along with a mid-2010 release totally plausible. Sholes repping the Android camp and Caesar holding down WinMo 7? Sounds good to us.

[Via MobileTechWorld]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Motorola’s WinMo ambitions not dead yet: ‘Caesar’ on the way with WinMo 7? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been waiting with bated breath for some real news on the XPERIA X2, wait no longer. News has just broken that the re-styled, gutted refresh of Sony Ericsson’s popular (and expensive) X1 is due to hit “selected markets” in Q4. According to a post on SE’s Xperiancers blog, the company is in talks with various carries right now, and will be detailing the plans in the coming weeks. Additionally, the blog delivers some info on the device itself, calling out its 8.1 megapixel camera, inclusion of a standard 4GB microSD card, and 13 pre-loaded “panels” in its reworked Windows Mobile skin (which appears to have a new SDK for the forthcoming OS update). Oh, and speaking of Windows Mobile, it’ll be shipping with 6.5 onboard. To learn much, much more, check the two videos after the break. We’ll also be grabbing an up close and personal hands-on with the device in a few moments, so keep your inter-set tuned to the Engadget channel.

Continue reading Official: XPERIA X2 launching Q4, Windows Mobile 6.5 onboard (video)

Filed under: Cellphones

Official: XPERIA X2 launching Q4, Windows Mobile 6.5 onboard (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we could beat around the bush and say, “well, the test report calls it an iPAQ and it’s got both GSM and HSPA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, so it’s probably headed to AT&T” — but let’s cut to the chase for once, shall we? Despite much of the documentation still falling under confidentiality, HP’s latest phone has “AT&T SKU” written right on its publicly-available ID label, so that pretty much settles that. Interestingly, the documentation repeatedly refers to the new WinMo-powered handset as the “iPAQ KB1,” but we have every reason to believe this is the K3 Obsidian that’s been floating around for a while now. To be fair, we don’t know whether that’s a go-to-market name — nor do we know the price or launch date, for that matter — whatever it’s called, we can now take comfort in the knowledge that it’ll be 100 percent legal to use on American soil.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HP’s iPAQ K3 Obsidian gets FCC approval enroute to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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