Hasta La Gadget!

Looks like Microsoft took Big Red’s challenge and decided to respond in kind, as the official Windows Phone Twitter feed claims that Windows Phone 7 devices are finally headed to Verizon. They’ll allegedly arrive this holiday season, a good bit earlier than we were told, but we doubt you’re exactly dismayed to get your hands on CDMA WP7 phones ahead of schedule. You know how we hate to mince words, but “devices” does suggest more than one phone, and those of you warily eying your local retailer’s selection of Christmas lights could even argue that “this holiday season” has already begun. So when, exactly, will we get these handsets… and which ones?

Update: The original entry hasn’t been pulled, but there’s a brand-new tweet now, reading “Verizon is a valued partner and we look forward to seeing Windows Phone 7 devices in their stores in 2011,” which doesn’t quite refute the idea of seeing devices in time for Yuletide too. Needless to say, we’ve pinged Verizon and hope to clear up this matter soon.

[Thanks, Jay and Jonathan D.]

Windows Phone 7 hitting Verizon stores ‘this holiday season,’ according to Microsoft tweet (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 7 may be the talk of the town, but good ‘ol Windows Mobile is still gettin’ ‘er done in industrial devices around the country, gadgets like the Trimble Nomad 900 series. These rugged and suitably yellow handhelds are now even better at finding their way through the wilderness with improved GPS circuitry to decrease the time it takes to pull coordinates from the heavenly bodies above. Also new is a 5 megapixel camera with flash, paired with the same 806MHz processor, and 3.5-inch VGA display, 128MB of RAM, and 6GB of flash storage. Not enough for you? CompactFlash expansion is on offer, and you know how cheap CF cards are these days.

Continue reading Trimble enhances its Nomad 900 series rugged computers, takes WinMo further into the field

Trimble enhances its Nomad 900 series rugged computers, takes WinMo further into the field originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Check it Microsofties, it’s time to get back into the game. While some phones have already launched in Europe and beyond, today is the first day that you can put down cash in the US for a Windows Phone 7 device all your own. The Microsoft online Store just loosed the HTC HD7 (T-Mobile), HTC Surround (AT&T), and Samsung Focus (AT&T). Rumor has it that the 4.1-inch Dell Venue Pro (T-Mobile) will be out on shelves at Microsoft retail locations today as well. So why not use that extra hour of wakefulness that Apple provided to think it over?

Update: Prices drop to as low as $149.99 at Dell Mobility (which still doesn’t list its own Venue Pro) and $99 at Amazon Wireless when purchased with new service plans. The LG Quantum is up for pre-order too with Amazon claiming an 8 to 9 business day delivery.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 now on sale in the US

Windows Phone 7 now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Canalys numbers are out, and with Android coming off an 886 percent jump reported at the end of the second quarter we were expecting something big. So, here it is: Android is up 1,309 percent worldwide from this time last year, taking over 43.6 percent of the US smartphone market in the third quarter. In terms of mobile operating systems that makes it the dominant player in America, but with Apple capturing 26.2 percent it now jumps into the lead when it comes to hardware, beating out RIM’s 24.2 percent. That’s a swap from last quarter, where BlackBerries beat iPhones 32 to 21.7 percent, and worldwide things are looking the same: Apple at 17 percent compared to RIM’s 15. However around the globe it’s Nokia and the Symbian Foundation still dominating the stage as the leading smart phone OS vendor, owning 33 percent of the market compared to 38 last quarter, while Microsoft sits at a lowly 3 percent. With WP7 ready to rock the world, and Ballmer ready to release the advertising hounds, that’s a figure we’ll be keeping a close eye on for the next few quarters.

Update: NPD has posted its third quarter smartphone market share and Mobile Phone Track reports; they basically back up Canalys’ report, though NPD gives both Apple and RIM slightly less market share. Interestingly, RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 8500 series is identified as the second-best selling phone in the US in the quarter, while the lowly LG Cosmos for Verizon takes third. Weird, huh?

Canalys: iPhone becomes most popular smartphone in the US, Android continues as most popular OS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even though we’ve seen a torrent of Windows Phone 7 devices, we couldn’t leave you hanging on a review of the Samsung Focus. In the last few days, a flurry of new Microsoft-powered devices have hit the market, boasting slight differences, but all looking and acting largely the same. We’ve taken a deep dive on the operating system itself, the Omnia 7, Optimus 7, Mozart, HD7, and Surround (phew!) — now it’s time to focus on the, er… Focus. The device itself has a lot in common with its European brother, the Omnia 7, boasting the same 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 8GB of internal storage, 1GHz CPU, and 5 megapixel camera. The device will soon go on sale in America for $199.99 on AT&T’s network — in fact, it’s the only Windows Phone 7 device you’ll be able to buy on the network when they go public on November 8th. But is it really worth your hard earned cash when there are so many other options in the market? Read on for the full Engadget review to find out!

Update: Just a note, the HD7 will also be available (for T-Mobile) on November 8th and we’ve updated the above information to reflect that.

Update 2: We had the numbers wrong on the RAM / ROM. It’s 512MB and 1GB, respectively.

This review is primarily of the Samsung Focus hardware. Check out our full review of Windows Phone 7 for our thoughts on the OS.

Continue reading Samsung Focus review

Samsung Focus review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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