Bev's News

It doesn't have the X10's beefy spec sheet -- nor the X10 mini's cute-as-a-button looks -- but if you're looking for a midrange Android device that's a little lighter on the pocketbook, you might want to keep your eyes glued to O2 in the UK where the X8 is now slated for a September launch. Pricing hasn't been announced, but considering that it tops out with a 3.2 megapixel camera and will go unsubsidized for €259, we imagine you won't need to spend very much on your monthly plan to get it for free. Let's hope it comes off Android 1.6 rather quickly, eh?

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 coming to O2 UK in September originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Oh, Enso -- must you really give us a reason to hope? After dealing with what felt like a case of the vaporwares, and then being epically disappointed with the zenPad (which is now out of stock, curiously) that you finally shipped, we just can't muster up the courage to look fondly upon the five new products that are gracing your webstore. That said, those that don't mind risk taking and actually enjoy the thought of fighting for a refund have three new MIDs / slates to ponder along with a pair of Android-based smartphones to consider. Let's break 'em down real quick, shall we?

• zenPad 2 ($219; shipping now): Here you have a 5-inch, Android 1.5-based MID with an 800 x 480 resolution resistive touchscreen, a bundled stylus, inbuilt 3G, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, microSD slot (8GB included), 128MB of RAM, 256MB NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA303 Xscale CPU, integrated accelerometer, onboard GPS, micro-USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and a battery good for 4.5 hours of use. We're told that an Android 2.1 update is "imminent," but we believe that about as much as we believe BP's promise to "make it right."
• zenPad 3 ($249; pre-order): This here tablet boasts the exact same specifications as the zenPad 2 (right down to the battery life and resolution), but it rocks a 7-inch design that'll aid those who can't squint hard enough to see fonts on the 5-inch sibling.
• zenPad 4 ($199; shipping now): We hate to state the obvious, but this is quite obviously an iPad KIRF -- right down to the Home button. You'll find a 10.2-inch resistive touchpanel with a 1,024 x 600 resolution (one that Enso swears up and down "has a fast response and works very well"), along with Android 2.1, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of storage, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, built-in accelerometer and a 2,400mAh battery that's good for 5 to 7 hours of life.
• zenPhone ($349; shipping now): So... it looks like a Nexus One KIRF, it's called a zenPhone, yet it says it's a MID. Oh, and it's not this ZenPhone. Whatever the case, it's got a 4.3-inch resistive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA radio, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 256MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 3.2 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 2,600mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and -- wait for it -- Maemo 5 running the show. Yeah, seriously.
• zenDroid ($319; pre-order): In the market for a Droid KIRF, are you? You've come to the right place, with this one offering a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, an FM radio tuner, Android 2.1 ("upgradable to 2.2," we're told), a microSD slot (8GB bundled in), 512MB of NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA935 processor, 5 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 1,500mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro-USB connector.

[Thanks, Neil]

Enso whips up two smartphones and three new slates, but we wouldn't order any of 'em originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

We here at Engadget Mobile tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol' Federal Communications Commission's site. Since we couldn't possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there, we've gathered up all the raw info you may want (but probably don't need). Enjoy!

Phones
Read - Huawei G6620
Read - Huawei M860
Read - Sharp 843SH
Read - Motorola W418g
Read - Iridium 9555
Read - ZTE S265
Read - ZTE C70
Read - Samsung E2152L
Read - Samsung SGH-T249
Read - Samsung B6520L
Read - Samsung SHW-M130K
Read - Samsung SCH-R900
Read - LG C320
Read - LG C320i
Read - LG GW370
Read - LG A165
Read - LG A310
Read - LG P500
Read - Fujitsu F-10B
Read - Kyocera / Sanyo SCP-6780
Read - Kyocera / Sanyo SCP-8600

Peripherals
Read - Huawei E173
Read - ZTE AC3781
Read - HTC BH-M400
Read - Samsung HM3600
Read - Samsung HM1100
Read - Samsung HM6400
Read - Motorola HX520
Read - Sony Ericsson VH410

FCC Fridays originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Our own Myriam Joire was in the thick of things for Canada's iPhone 4 launch today out in lovely Vancouver, and as you might expect, hysteria was reaching... well, iPhone 4 levels. Lines formed early and stayed strong through much of the day, and generally, camaraderie seemed high -- always a good thing when you're standing a foot away from the same handful of people in summer heat for hours on end. As you might expect, the wait for subsidized phones was longer than for the considerably pricier unlocked ones. Weren't able to make it yourself? Aren't Canadian? Want to pretend for a few sweet moments that you are? Follow the break for our video!

Continue reading iPhone 4 launch day in Canada: the experience

iPhone 4 launch day in Canada: the experience originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The pool of choices for WiMAX hotspots continues to expand, and thanks to the FCC, we now know of another up-and-comer. The Rover Puck -- trademarked by Clearwire and previously unheard of -- joins the ranks Sprint's Overdrive and its various rebrandings by providing pocketable 4G WiFi service. Unlike its predecessors, however, we finally have a new, more aerodynamic form factor. There isn't much to the glean from the user manual at this point, and the oft-referenced Rover website still isn't live -- a WHOIS lookup reveals it was last updated via GoDaddy on July 2008 with no other details disclosed. So, until we get some word from the official news pipelines, a plethora of external / internal photos and user manual screenshots are only a mouseclick away.

Rover Puck WiMAX hotspot gets FCC'd, traction on ice subject of fierce debate originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Like we said, you don't have to wait until August 3rd to get your Android 2.2 Froyo update for the EVO 4G. You can grab the update file right now from HTC's servers (via source link). All you gotta do then is move the file to the root directory of your SD card, boot the phone into recovery mode (hold the "up" button while the phone is turning on), and select apply update from the associated .zip file -- you might also have to rename the file "update.zip" and expect a few other variations in the instructions, user depending. Too much thought process for Friday evening? Feel free to take a crack at it tomorrow, or simply wait for Sprint to give your phone the head's up next week.

Update: HTC just shot us a message to clarify that this is not the final ROM version and that the company is strongly recommending not to install this. Additionally, a request has been put in to remove the file from the server, so if you still want to try at your own risk, better download now while it's still available.

Update 2: ... and now it's gone. We're sure crafty internet users can still find the file lingering elsewhere, but you won't be getting it from HTC's servers this weekend. You know the old saying, ye who snoozes, something something, tough luck.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

EVO 4G's Froyo firmware was available for download, manual install (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

We tend to go into full-on conjecture mode when we see an interesting FCC filing, but our instincts haven't let us down in the past, so allow us to throw something out on the table. A new Motorola just hit the feds with 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, quadband EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth, AGPS, and a digital compass. In other words, this is definitely an Android set, and it could definitely work on AT&T. The Backflip's already looking plenty long in the tooth, and we wouldn't be surprised to see Moto fire its second Google-powered volley on AT&T before too long -- it's certainly been doing its duties on Verizon (and to a lesser extent, T-Mobile) after all. Any thoughts on what wild form factor this one might be?

Motorola Sage: AT&T's next Android phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

After an ever-so-brief hiatus, we're back in business today -- and as always, we've got a lot to discuss, possibly in a heated tone. Fortunately, the hosts are thousands of miles apart, so we can't injure one another. Follow the break for all the action! (Note: we're recording hot on the heels of the Engadget Classic podcast, so you might catch the tail end of it if you join the livestream early.)

The Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 6:15 ET! originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

It's not guaranteed to make you any smarter, but having such an intelligent little bird upside your ear may at least give you a minor boost in confidence. A full 1.5 years after the original Q1 made its debut, BlueAnt is introducing its Q2 Smart Bluetooth Headset. Aside from being able to cancel out noise while traveling at up to 22mph (read: Usain Bolt's average walking speed), the Q2 also touts a fully integrated text-to-speech feature that belts out news, weather, sports and the latest gossip from Microsoft's Bing 411. And if you just so happen to use a smartphone with Android 2.0 or newer, it'll actually read your text messages and emails aloud without you having to fish your handset out of your britches. It's available now at AT&T stores for $129, and just in case you're wondering, you can freak mall walkers out for five solid hours without needing a recharge. Not that we'd encourage such behavior.

[Original image courtesy of Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]

Continue reading BlueAnt Q2 Bluetooth headset enables noise-free calls during Usain Bolt's sprints

BlueAnt Q2 Bluetooth headset enables noise-free calls during Usain Bolt's sprints originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

You're probably thinking "chi" or "zee," right? Nope: NTT DoCoMo has laid down the law in its press release touting the LTE service it'll be launching later this year, and it turns out that "Xi" -- in this case, anyway -- is pronounced "crossy." Of course, ultimately, they can call it whatever they like -- it's the service itself that matters, and to that end, we can expect downlink speeds up to a positively blistering 75Mbps, rolling out first in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya in December followed by "other major cities and then additional areas of the nation." DoCoMo's accounting for handoffs, too, so you won't be dropped (theoretically) when you move between Xi and FOMA areas. 75Mbps seems a bit optimistic for a first-phase LTE launch, but hey, we're pulling for 'em. Pricing and hardware will be announced later; in the meantime, you can follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo announces 'Xi' brand for LTE, somehow pronounced 'crossy'

NTT DoCoMo announces 'Xi' brand for LTE, somehow pronounced 'crossy' originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you spend a lot of time in a web publishing environment, it pays to be aware of all the little things that make writing and layouts work — and not work. The wrong line height or kerning/font combination can be disastrous to readability. You can, of course, read books on the subject, but a [...]

Disclaimer: You brick your phone doing this, don’t blame me. I’m just letting you know you can do this, not telling you that you should. That being said, if you’re feeling saucy and want to download the latest version of Android for the EVO now instead of waiting until it rolls out naturally, you can [...]

Get your funny hats and noise makers ready, Droid owners: it’s party time! As long as the note that Verizon just sent over to our buddies over at Engadget holds true, the Droid should be seeing Android 2.2 grace its screen as early as next week. It won’t be the first Android handset getting the [...]

In greek mythology, Cetus was a term for massive, serpentine sea monsters. In Samsung rumor-ology, Cetus is a term for an unannounced Windows Phone 7 handset. Thanks to the good ol’ Bluetooth SIG, we’ve got a few details on what exactly will make up the Samsung Cetus’ not-so-mythical innards (including a bit of a surprise. [...]

Remember the CrunchGear Geek Weekend series, where we attempted to show some fun stuff to do in various cities across the U.S.? Yeah, we kind of let that peter out, didn't we? Also, there are lots of great non-geek things to do in and around cities. This is especially important for families: the kids might be more interested in Tecumseh! than the early television museum. With the A Day's Outing website, and now its new iPhone app, you can quickly find all sorts of interesting things to do.

Our buddy Wille in Sweden sent us some thrilling video of the International Dia Del iPhone in Sweden where Swede, blonde, ruddy, and beautiful to a one, lined up to get them some Facetime-capable phones. UPDATE – Hold the phone: China gave out McDonald’s! According to these photos China totally knows how to party down [...]

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Android Market watcher AndroLib says there aren't 100,000 applications available in the store - yet. There have, however, 100,000 apps been submitted to Android Market since its public debut, the site wagered this morning, up from approximately 5,000 in June 2009. The Androlib directory covers multiple markets, including international ones, so not all apps and games are available in the United States, necessarily. Not all markets are counted, even, so AndroLib claims it may potentially undercount the number of apps, although it's safe to say there's somewhat of an error margin either way as with every data aggregation.

This is kind of a strange rumor, and if it ends up being true, the Peel will be a strange device. Essentially, Sprint is developing another variation on the wifi hotspot – which is good – but this particular product works directly with the iPod Touch. Now assuming you can control the wifi hotspot with [...]

Delicious Froyo will be hitting the huge and controversial EVO 4G starting in early August, according to Sprint. The update will begin its OTA rollout on August 3rd and they expect it to be done by “mid-August.” Once it goes public, I’m sure there will be a way to force it onto your handset if [...]

You know how we’ll know when we’re living in the future? When user manuals for gadgets start leaking out before that gadget even officially exists. Oh, that’s now. Welcome to the future! If you’re just itchin’ to know all the right places to touch the Droid 2, you’re in luck: the user manual has just [...]

De afgelopen weken is er online heel wat te doen over de invloed van handen op de antenne en ontvang[...]

Ach, het gevoel van die goede oude Nokia tijd. Eennvoudige, degelijke toestellen met een bijzonder v[...]

Op het moment dat dit artikel online verschijnt (30 Juli, 08u55) ben ik bij de officiele lancering v[...]

Er circulren al enkele Android 2.2 versies voor de Samsung Galaxy S, maar die zijn vooral voor de sl[...]

LG heeft vandaag bevestigd dat ze nog dit jaar (Q4) een Android Tablet op de markt zullen brengen. G[...]

Ok, er is nog geen GSM mast die de 400.000 kilometer lege ruimte tussen de Maan en Aarde kan 'dekken[...]

Begin deze week dook al een (wazig) kiekje op van een toestel dat volgens de geruchten de BlackBerry[...]

Soms kan het voor de consument een voordeel opleveren als ze ergens langer op hebben moeten wachten [...]

Eerder vandaag kon je hier al lezen hoe je zelf Android 2.2 op je Samsung Galaxy S kunt 'hacken'. De[...]

In de Italiaanse webshop van Nokia kunnen lokale klanten vanaf nu al de Nokia N8 bestellen. Het toes[...]

Samsung will introduce a slate device running Google's Android operating system this quarter, but a few key challenges could hold back the 7-inch tablet from widespread success. The hardware might be ready, but the software isn't for at least two reasons. Samsung might want to wait.

Join James, Matt and Kevin live for this week’s audio podcast where they’ll cover this week’s mobile technology news and share experiences with the latest software, hardware and web services. If you missed the live show, you can grab an MP3 audio recording.

Sprint will roll out the Android 2.2 (Froyo) update in waves beginning Aug. 3, and it should be available to all EVO owners by the middle of August. Froyo brings faster performance, the ability to install apps on external memory, and voice dialing over Bluetooth.

For the 99th time I get to share my week with you. I've seen gadgets going out the door of Mobile Tech Manor, other gadgets taking on bigger roles in my work and cool software running on them all. Plus there's that button obsession thing...

Microsoft should be making its own handsets, says Peter Bright of Ars Technica. There's merit in the argument, but it's far too late for such a change. Doing so would cut off hardware partners that also build Windows notebooks and desktops -- a recipe for disaster.

Motorola today said it sold 8.3 million handsets in the second quarter, earning the Mobile Devices division $1.7 billion in sales and returning the unit to profitability after a string of quarterly losses. What's the biggest catalyst for such a change? In a word: Android.

The iPad is good at many things, and having fun with it is one of them. We're such a busy, task-oriented society that sometimes you need to let your hair down and have a little fun. Here are five good apps to help you do that.

Amazon is riding the wave created by high Kindle e-book sales by releasing two new Kindle readers. The new readers offer the same size screen, while reducing the physical size and weight of the devices. They start shipping on Aug. 27, and pricing starts at $139.

HTC, one of the most vocal and early proponents of Android, wants to start selling phones in China. The question is will they use Google's search or opt for the market leader, Baidu. Given Google's stormy relationship with China, HTC may not have a choice.

A handful of the hottest smartphones are at risk of losing fizzle due to supply issues, and the overall problem is likely to get worse, not better. Ashok Kumar agrees, telling me that consumer technology products are gaining complexity faster than some supply chains can handle.