Hasta La Gadget!

Verizon is seriously diversifying its portfolio today with the official in-store launch of four new smartphones. Three of them roll up in Android gear, though they all have major selling points beyond Google’s software. LG’s Revolution is the sole LTE-capable handset of the bunch, bringing with it a 4.3-inch screen and pre-installed Netflix for $250. The Droid X2 undercuts it on price, at $200, but doubles the core count with its Tegra 2 processor and ramps up resolution to qHD (960 x 540). Gaming aficionados can spend the same amount on the Xperia Play from Sony Ericsson, which offers a slideout gamepad and unique PlayStation Certified status. Bringing up the rear is HTC’s well-traveled Trophy, a 3.8-inch Windows Phone that accepts it’s a little late to the party and therefore slices $50 off its asking price, with a $150 levy before the obligatory two-year contract. What say you — buy, try, or keep waiting?

Verizon bonanza: Droid X2, Revolution, Trophy, and Xperia Play hit Big Red today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 02:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia has noted Microsoft’s announcement of the new Windows Phone 7 (aka Mango) with word that the software being demonstrated today will be the one we’ll see on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device. That’s singular, not plural, indicating that Nokia will likely start off with one phone and work its way up. It also slightly contracts the roadmap for the first handset born from the Microkia partnership, though Nokia’s statement makes sure not to make any promises about when said device will show up. Finally, we find the “Nokia with Windows Phone” phrasing somewhat peculiar, don’t be surprised if you see it turn into a branding strategy for Nokia’s smartphones going forward. Here’s the relevant statement, straight out of Finland:

“Today Microsoft has announced the key new ingredients of the latest ‘Mango’ release of the Windows Phone operating system. This is the software that will be used on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device, and so should be of keen interest to Nokia-watchers everywhere.”

Update: Microsoft just concluded its keynote with word that it already has Nokia phones running Mango in its labs. And none have leaked out yet, amazing!

Update 2: We were just contacted by a Nokia representative indicating that there was a mistake in the original announcement the company distributed. It wasn’t supposed to read device, it was supposed to be devices. More than one!

Update 3: Nokia’s Executive VP of Smart Devices, Jo Harlow, has told Forbes that the forthcoming “small portfolio” of phones — which are currently on target for a 2011 release — won’t look like the renderings we’ve seen before. Not only that, we may see a CDMA Nokia handset at some point, as the company is “working in that direction.”

Windows Phone ‘Mango’ will be used on first Nokia WP devices (updated: multiple!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re done listening, it’s time to start doing. Microsoft had a number of Windows Phone Mango devices scattered about after this morning’s intimate event concluded. So we grabbed one, went somewhere quiet, and got a little more intimate with the operating system itself, checking out the new hubs, groups, and Bing Vision search that should make cross-shopping a whole lot easier. Join us, won’t you, to see what Mango is — and what it isn’t.

Continue reading Windows Phone Mango and Bing Vision hands-on

Windows Phone Mango and Bing Vision hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft this morning added Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE to its stable of Windows Phone hardware partners, but look at that image above and you’ll find one name missing. Yes, Michael Dell’s surname is a notable absentee from the group of Mango manufacturers, which prompted us to reach out to someone in charge to see what’s what. A Microsoft rep informed us that the company has nothing to announce on that front at present, but urged us to “stay tuned,” whatever that may mean. If you’re wondering where Nokia is, fret not, it’s still very much in Microsoft’s future plans, it just got a separate mention. As to Dell? Not a peep in the entire keynote. This comes only a day after a Wall Street Journal article mentioned Dell’s intention to reduce its presence in the consumer market and focus on its enterprise strengths — could an abandonment of Windows Phone be one of those steps?

Update: Dell is not off the list of WP7 hardware manufacturers. Microsoft told us that the Round Rock gang simply isn’t one of the “partners ready to go” do the Mango tango right now.

Dell curiously missing from Windows Phone ‘Mango’ hardware partner list, Microsoft says ‘stay tuned’ (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Live from Microsoft’s Windows Phone VIP preview event!

Live from Microsoft’s Windows Phone VIP preview event! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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