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First Picture of Chat-r Wireless’ Nokia 2680 Slider Emerges
Jul 15th
With all the talk about the imminent launch of Chat-r Wireless lately it was just a matter of time that this picture surfaced. Our friends at Mobile Syrup got this from a tipster, and though it doesn’t say much in ways of release, pricing or availability one can anticipate a price point of $89.99 (obviously as an outright purchase).
Watch out for more pictures and launch information on Chat-r Wireless as we get them.
[via MobileSyrup]
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Blackberry 9800 To Be A Rogers Exclusive?
Jul 14th
There has been plenty of talk lately of the Blackberry Bold Torch 9800 Slider, the first device from Waterloo to not only have both touch screen and QWERTY keyboard, but also run their now infamous Blackberry6 OS. As of yet nothing has been officially acknowledged by either RIM or any carriers, but as with almost every RIM device to date, there have been numerous leaks to keep fan boys excited, including but not limited to one of the device booting up with an AT&T splash page. That’s where this gets interesting.
The talk has always been that AT&T would launch it at some point this summer and would have exclusive rights for a certain (undisclosed) time period. As exciting as this sounds to my American readers, it comes across as a bit confusing to my Canadian ones. RIM and Rogers have always had a close relationship. Rogers was first to market with the Blackberry Bold 9000, the first North American 3G Blackberry and had it for months before AT&T saw it and well over a year before Telus/Bell launched their HSPA coverage and started to sell it as well. This being said Telus and Bell have their HSPA network live and working well, so why an exclusivity to Rogers when they all launched the last 3G Blackberry 9700 simultaneously? Simply put the 9800 has a touch screen and until now the only Canadian carriers to have ANY Blackberry touchscreen devices are Telus/Bell with the CDMA Storm 1 and 2 series devices.
Again, this is still just speculation.
No release dates, pricing, or acknowledgement have been given by Rogers. Stay tuned for more on this as we hear it.
[Via Mobile Syrup]
Follow me on twitterMotorola Droid X on Verizon Official: $199 After Rebate, Available July 15th
Jun 23rd
After seeing the Motorola Droid X’s teaser page go live there was little doubt that we would see the handset become official very soon. Today at an event in New York City the phone was made official by Motorola and Verizon. As expected the Droid X will boast a 854×480 4.3″ screen, an OMAP processor clocked at 1GHz, 8 gigs of built in storage with an included 16gig microSD card, 512MB of RAM, HDMI out, and an 8 Megapixel camera with 720p video recording. Even with all these features the Droid X is only 9.9mm thick. Verizon has also announced the ability to tether via WiFi to five devices (just like the Palm Pre) but use is capped at 2GB for the feature and will cost an additional $20 per month.
Surprisingly the Droid X will come equipped with three microphones-one for noise cancellation, one in rear for video recording, and one down low for regular use. Battery life will hopefully be comparable to the current Motorola Droid by including a 1570mAh battery with the Droid X.
Unfortunately the Droid X will not come with Android 2.2 (it will come in “the latter part of the summer”) and will instead roll out with Android 2.1 and a new rendition of Motorola’s Motoblur skin. Don’t tune it out just yet, as Motorola has promised that it is much better than the version on phones like the Cliq, Devour, and Backflip.
In a move similar to AT&T’s early upgrade option for iPhone buyers, Verizon is offering the Droid X on-contract to anyone whose contract ends in 2010. Look for the Droid X on July 15th for $199 after $100 mail-in rebate.
Peep the press release after the break and take a look at the Droid X’s official page here.
July 2010: DROID X By Motorola Lands On The Nation’s Largest & Most Reliable 3G Network
DROID X Delivers More Browsing, More Connectivity, Personal HD Video and Enterprise Features – All on a 4.3” Widescreen
June 23, 2024
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless 3G network, and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a pioneer in the mobile industry, today unveiled DROID X by Motorola. DROID X does more with ultra high-speed Web browsing; a fast 1GHz processor; 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities; loads of memory; intuitive social messaging; Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 ready; and access to Android Market™, which has more than 65,000 applications, along with a host of unique Verizon Wireless applications such as NFL Mobile, Skype mobile™, V CAST Video, EA Need for Speed Shift™ and more.
“Nine months ago, we made a commitment to our customers to bring the openness of Android to the Verizon Wireless network,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “Since then, we have introduced the top-selling Android phone in the marketplace today – the DROID by Motorola. DROID X takes that commitment to another level with exclusive content, faster processing speeds, and, of course, the reliability of our network.”
Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of Motorola and chief executive officer of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home business added, “Motorola designed DROID X to push the extreme limits of Android innovation, and enable you to do even more with your mobile device. We are breaking down barriers so that you can experience the Web the way it was meant to be and create, share and view content like never before, either in your hand or in your home. Enterprise users will also find DROID X appealing with features including push e-mail and live widgets for e-mail and calendar updates.”
DROID X gives customers a 4.3-inch high-resolution screen for viewing the latest movies and video from BLOCKBUSTER On Demand® presented by V CAST Video, the newest addition to the Verizon Wireless V CAST application, which also includes access to favorite TV shows. The DROID X video capabilities let customers capture spontaneous fun, combining a dual-flash, 8-megapixel camera, HD camcorder, as well as DLNA and HDMI connectivity to download, stream and share personal HD content.
DROID X customers will also receive Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 with an over-the-air update in the latter half of the summer. With the update, the Flash Player will allow mobile users to experience hundreds of sites with rich applications and content inside the browser, including games, animations, rich Internet applications (RIAs), data presentations and visualizations, ecommerce, music, video, audio and more.
“It has been an exciting time for Android momentum and global consumer adoption since the announcement of DROID by Motorola nine months ago,” said Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Google. “There are 160,000 new Android-powered devices activated daily and Android Market has grown to over 65,000 applications. Plus later this summer, Verizon Wireless and Motorola will update all the DROID by Motorola phones to the latest 2.2 software. For customers, this means great new features and improved browser performance. For developers, this will provide new tools such as cloud-to-device messaging and enhanced enterprise functionality.”
“We are excited about full Flash support coming to the DROID X and other devices from Motorola,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer of Adobe. “Flash Player 10.1, which is one of Adobe’s most anticipated releases ever, has been redesigned from the ground up to deliver the kind of highly engaging experiences that consumers now expect from their mobile devices.”
Once updated to Android 2.2, business customers will find DROID X offers the features that turn the device into a workhorse with support for both Exchange and Gmail™ for business. Corporate users can enjoy push delivery of e-mail; live widgets that stream messages to the home screen; filter widgets to differentiate work and home e-mail; corporate directory and Global look-up along with a unified calendar for Enterprise and sync with Google Calendar™. Security protocols allow remote password control and wipe via Exchange server.
Pricing and Availability
DROID X by Motorola will be available at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 15 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. In addition to subscribing to a Nationwide Talk plan or a Nationwide Talk & Text plan, customers will also need to subscribe to an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access. Email and Web for Smartphone plans start at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.
Customers can add the optional 3G Mobile Hotspot service to their DROID X for $20 per month. The 3G Mobile Hotspot allows customers to turn the phone into a wireless modem for up to five compatible Wi-Fi devices. In addition, current Verizon Wireless customers who have contracts ending by December 31, 2010, can upgrade to any smartphone, including DROID X, without penalty.
For more information on DROID X by Motorola, go to http://phones.verizonwireless.com/droid/x/. For information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
6 New BlackBerry Devices Coming In Q3/Q4 2010?
Jun 16th
RBC research analyst Mike Abramsky has put together a roadmap for RIM’s future BlackBerry releases for the remainder of 2010. We cannot confirm that everything on the roadmap will hold to be true, as RIM has been known to make many changes as time goes on. Abramsky used TheCellularGuru, CrackBerry, BGR, and RBC Capital Markets Research as sources to create the roadmap. Its very interesting to see a breakdown of future releases from an analyst perspective.
Is this the immediate future of BlackBerry? Looking at the line-up, do you see a device for you? There are only 6 1/2 months left in 2010 but RIM has really been stepping their game up lately. We’ll just have to wait and see how this all unfolds.
Source: Business Insider
iPhone 4 Pre-Orders a Huge Success
Jun 15th
Looks like it was a very busy day for Apple and AT&T. Pre-orders for iPhone 4 brought the web to its knees. Twitter was atwitter (ugh, sorry!) with displeasure as users attempted to set one aside for themselves. As for exact numbers, I remembered reading today that it was over 1,000,000 pre-orders but I couldn’t find any sources that weren’t more than conjecture. That’s a pretty substantial number if it is to be accepted as truth. On top of this, only black iPhone 4′s are available. Expect white to also be a big seller when it hits the shelves. If Apple can sell that many, in one color, based only on a promise (like, you can’t even see the device in person) — then I think it’s safe to say, iPhone 4 is going to be HUGE. If you missed your chance, you’ll have to wait. Pre-orders are closed, sold out!
Bell Sets Release Date For The HTC Legend
Jun 14th
Just days after launching the Legend on its discount brand Virgin Mobile, Mobile Syrup is reporting that Bell plans to launch their own version on June 16th. Bell is positioning the device to compete with Rogers’ recently released Sony Ericsson X10 and Telus’s HTC Hero, with pricing set at $79.95 on a 3-year contract, $249.95 on a 2-year; $349.95 on a 1-year and $399.95 no contract (Just $50 above the asking price of Virgin).
Apparently the Virgin-sold handset, while SIM-locked, will work on Bell’s network without need for an unlock code, though we have yet to confirm this. More to come.
[via MobileSyrup]
Follow me on twitterVirgin Mobile Officially Launches The HTC Legend
Jun 11th
Kudos to Virgin Mobile for thinking ahead of their competition in Canada. Not only are they the first discount brand (Bell being their parent company) to launch an Android powered smartphone, but they did it with one sexy machine and are the first carrier in North America to have it.
The Legend comes loaded with OS 2.1 with HTC Sense, a gorgeous 3.2-inch display, 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, flash and video capabilities, Wi-Fi, 3.5 mm audio jack, can hold up to 32GB with a microSD card, music player, FM radio. Overall dimensions are 112 x 56.3 x 11.5mm with a weight of 126 grams. All while launching at a very reasonable $79.99 on a 3 year term or $349.99 outright, positioning this device to be a sure fire hit.
For more information visit Virgin.ca
[Via Mobile Syrup]
Follow me on twitteriPhone 4 - What Do I Expect?
Jun 11th
So we’ve had some time to ruminate Apple’s new iPhone 4. Some people are salivating, some people are just as turned off as they were before (looking at you Androidies!). Yes, it’s meta, but without actually using the device or knowing what’s in Apple’s head, I can only speculate my opinions on the new device. I broke things down into a few categories I felt were the most interesting.
Here again, is a quick overview of the iPhone’s new stuff:
- New design. The metal side casing acts as an antenna for the various radios. ‘Extra strong’ glass front and back. Apple says the glass is “thirty times stronger than plastic.”
- Camera on the front for video chat, called “FaceTime.” This camera can also be used to take photos of yourself in the Camera app.
- Camera on the back has been bumped up to five megapixels and uses a special backlit sensor to help with low-light photos. By all accounts, Apple’s choice to go with a lower pixel count to improve quality was an accurate one. Megapixels are purely the print size and have little to do with quality. LED flash.
- Screen is probably one of the biggest things here. Apple calls it a “retina display.” That’s mostly a buzz term for what is a truly incredible improvement. Resolution bumped up to 960×640. IPS for really wide angle viewing. 326 ppi, which is about 100 ppi higher than art magazines.
- Processor is now an A4, which is the same as the iPad processor.
- New gyroscopic sensor. My favorite comment about this addition was something like “With two cameras, light sensor, motion sensor, gyroscope and compass…, the iPhone 4 is like a tricorder.”
- More GSM bands supported, along with 802.11n.
Comparison
Compared to the 3GS, this is quite the improvement, far greater than the 3G to 3GS bump. I’m actually somewhat regretting my choice to upgrade a year ago. I can’t imagine how 2G and 3G owners must be feeling right now, they’re due for quite the improvement. As for iPhone 4 not being “competitive enough” when compared to other phones…, I think that’s poppycock.
Think of it this way. When someone buys an iPhone, they get a guarantee that it will be supported, useable and competitive for the next two years. When someone buys an Android phone, they become outdated and irrelevant in a matter of months. Other complainers seem to focus on particular elements like, “the processor is only X MHz.” I ask, what does a 1 GHz processor in a Nexus One DO? Compared to an iPhone, scrolling is still choppy and 3D games are few and far between. As long as the iPhone runs well, runs apps well, and does its job without being slow then the details like that don’t matter. Anyway, rant mode over, the iPhone 4 is still a very powerful, attractive phone and there shouldn’t be any doubt that it will continue to be for some time.
Gaming Potential
While Apple has always fancied the iPhone as a gaming device, I think iPhone 4 makes even more inroads in this territory. The addition of the gyroscope is the equivalent of the Wii Remote getting the Wii MotionPlus adapter. Games will get even more precise control and will make up for the accelerometer’s shortcomings (although personally, I haven’t played a game that didn’t control exactly how I wanted to via accelerometer).
On top of better controls, Apple’s Game Center will be the unification of the game platform. Before there were several gaming networks, Plus+, Crystal, and OpenFeint are some of the popular ones. To the best of my knowledge, all of these networks are committed to handing things over to Apple. Apple is playing hardball, and on the surface, it appears that they are in the right spot. They have a super great media player, great games from indie and accomplished publishers/developers, online play, friends lists, DLC ecosystem, capacity for many games on the device at a time, cheap prices and mobile downloads. Of course, the common complaint is “no buttons,” but as gamers change, their taste’s change. I don’t think “no buttons” is a problem for anyone that isn’t some sort of gaming elitist.
Construction
I really hope that people will appreciate the hardware design of iPhone 4. Metal, glass, really nice screen, the right blend of hard edge straight lines and curved ones. Awesome. That’s all.
FaceTime
Video calling is finally here! Actually, we’ve had it for awhile in numerous forms. Heck, even the web version of Gmail can do it. Other phones have had front facing cameras for a very long time but the idea has never been popular. I think the current success of the Evo and the eventual success of iPhone 4 (come on, you know it will happen) will popularize the concept (finally). Since developers can access this camera and the FaceTime framework, I expect to see this everythwere, with the ability to interface with other phones. I’m told the problem with current phones with front facing cameras is that they have no capacity to talk to other models (sans Android devices). That it’s a per phone, per model, per OS basis. I can’t actually verify that though. The wifi only limitation sucks. AT&T’s data caps don’t make me very hopeful for the future.
New Subscribers / Upgrades
It’s a bummer that anyone changing to AT&T or moving up from a dumbphone will get stuck with AT&T’s crappy new data plans. Especially with all this new, good stuff that the iPhone can do, that data is going to get sucked up so fast. Netflix and tethering are two huge things that lots of people will want to use all the time, but will be scared to because of this 2 GB cap. I can’t completely recommend iPhone 4 to new AT&T subscribers for this reason. Apple too. As if AT&T wasn’t already a big downer for Apple, it’s going to get a lot worse. Many may upgrade, but I foresee lackluster new subscribers.
Speaking of upgrades, AT&T is offering quite the interesting upgrade. Gizmodo seems to think that AT&T is being too generous, and that there is an ulterior motive at hand. Their interpretation is that AT&T wants to get as many people on contracts as possible because the iPhone will likely be moving to other carriers very soon. By locking users in now, they can prevent the massive “abandon-ship” to another carrier. While this certainly wouldn’t surprise me, I’d like to think they aren’t completely disingenuous. My guess is that AT&T is aware that iPhone subscribers are loyal (to the platform), want upgrades, have gotten breaks in the past and are a major revenue source for them. By cutting the evangelists a deal, they can hope that it will have a positive effect on everyone on the network.
To summarize, I’m confident the iPhone 4 will be a big seller, and will get positive reviews upon official release. Apple has proven before, that having the top of the line everything doesn’t not a popular phone make. Even still, iPhone 4 has some pretty compelling features and design…, it’s no slouch. I’ll be looking forward to getting my hands on one to see wether it’s actually worth it to upgrade.
Rogers’ Releases the Nokia CS-18 Mobile Internet Stick
Jun 9th
Rogers is really devoted to continuing their relationship with Nokia. We posted yesterday about their soft launch of the Nokia N97 Mini Symbian powered smartphone and today comes word of the release of the newest internet stick to be added to their growing HSPA+ roster. It also happens to be the first internet stick from Nokia. This speedy tool offers 21Mbps download speeds and up to 32GB of microSD expandable storage, all for $0 on either 2- or 3-year commitment.
Read more via Rogers.com
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iPhone 4 Pricing, Power, and Availability
Jun 7th
So the event is over, but an introduction isn’t what you’re interested in. Here’s all the details of what happened. Well…, at least the updates that are phone related. From our very own GuruChristine:
Honestly the iPhone 4 just blew everything else out of the water… Again #WWDC
And with that kind of glowing review, let’s hop right into the details.
PRESTUFF
-iBooks updated; note taking, PDF support. I think this propagates into the iPhone 4.0 version as well.
-Netflix on the iPhone! (Officially) It works on 3G and streaming started on an iPhone can be restarted on any other device. Pick up EXACTLY where you left off.
-Farmville on the iPhone…, guh, I’ll stick with We Rule.
-RIM at 35%, iPhone at 28%… closing the gap.
NEW iPHONE.
DESIGN: But you knew that. Stainless steel, glass screen. Thinnest phone ever. LED Flash, front facing camera. Second microphone for noise cancellation. The steel casing is apart of the antenna system. Tons of battery improvements. N speed wifi. Highly recyclable.
DISPLAY: Retina display, 4x the pixels. 326 ppi, 800:1 contrast ratio, IPS technology (which Steve claims is better than OLED), 940 x 640, the font smoothing is incredible…, it’s already amazing on the iPhone too. I can’t wait to see this in person. Yikes, things look good. Automatically will fix apps to look good on the screen.
“It makes it so your apps run automatically on this, but it renders your text and controls in the higher resolution. Your apps look even better, but if you do a little bit of work, then they will look stunning. So we suggest that you do that. So that is the Retina Display. Awesome text, awesome images, and awesome video. We think this will set the standard, and no one is going to come close.”
PROCESSOR: iPhone 4 is powered by the A4 chip. Same one as the uh, iPad.
GYROSCOPE: New Motion APIs, better motion based gaming. Think Wiimote to WiiMotion+. It will work from any orientation since uses gravity instead of velocity. Seems like this is going to be really good for augmented reality and compass stuff.
“We’re adding a 3 axis gyro, and we tied the gyro and accelerometer, compass, and gyro together for six axis. It’s perfect for gaming.”
CAMERA: 5 megapixels, backside illuminated sensor, LED Flash, 5x digital zoom. Apparently, squeezing pixels reduces quality. Apple’s doing something different here. 720p at 30 frames per second…, HD video recording. Built in editing, iMovie for iPhone! Flip is dead! Shoot, I was just about to write a neat movie editor I found…, I guess it still works for the 3GS. iMove is $4.99 “if they approve it.” Har har har.
Now everybody loves to talk about megapixels, but we tend to ask the question how do we make better pictures? Megapixels are nice, but what these cameras are really about is capturing photons and low light photography. So we’ve gone from 3 megapixel to 5 megapixel, but we’re using a backside illuminated sensor.
OPERATING SYSTEM: Apple is changing the name from iPhone OS 4.0 to iOS 4. Most of this stuff we know already. Multitasking, new APIs, unified mailbox, yadda yadda. Oohh, Bing search! Gold Master available today (I’ll let you guys know how it is). Update is free for everyone. iPhone 3G doesn’t support all the features and the iPhone OG/iPod Touch 1G aren’t eligible.
Yahoo, Google and Bing search. Thanks Engadget.
iBOOKS: Same as the iPad stuff, but, you know, smaller.
“Same bookshelf to keep your books… PDF reader… we’re really excited about this. And of course, the iBookstore right on your iPhone.”
iADS: Deja vu. Jeaze…, these last three are all rehashes from earlier this year. 60% profit, paid from iTunes Connect. Ads look good/fun, as weird as that sounds.
ONE MORE THING: Video calls, they call it… “FaceTime?” Wifi only, iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 only.
“The video and audio quality is great. Now it’s going to be WiFi only in 2010. We need to work a little bit with the carriers…”
It looks like which camera can be used can be flipped. The demo video showed people using sign language. Uses tons of standards, so it may be possible to link this into Skype and other things.
AVAILABILITY
White and Black. $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 GB. 8GB 3GS for $99. Preorders available June 15th on sale June 24th. AT&T has an upgrade offer. France, Germany, UK, Japan and US get it right away, everyone else later. Apple is making a new dock, and case.
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