Posts tagged Cell Phones
More Signs of Microsoft Planning to Release Teen-Focused Phones Today
Apr 12th
While we are eagerly waiting to see what exactly Microsoft wants to share tomorrow, it appears that there are more and more signs of this being something focused on us. What do I mean? Look at the page Microsoft has set up with regards to the event– or better yet, look at the pic above. Somehow I don’t think this will be an event focused on the businessman. Also, take a look at this– the Microsoft Student Twitter that’s designed for “Representing the Student Experience team at Microsoft–we’re here to make sure students around the world have good experiences with Microsoft!” Out of all of Microsoft’s many Twitter feeds (such as for Windows Phone, Zune, Xbox, Office etc.), only it and the main Microsoft (@Microsoft) seem to mention this big event. Hmm… maybe this is Microsoft looking for the attention of a certain market?
Oh, and one last thing. In the top pic, look at the green dot in the upper right. That phone looks very curiously like the supposed “Turtle” phone… In all seriousness, I know my interest has definitely been even more piqued for this tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see what it is exactly Microsoft has in store (who knows, maybe if we’re really lucky they’ll announce the Courier!).
There will be a live webcast of the event at Microsoft’s site here for those interested starting at 10 o’clock AM PDT (or 1 PM for those of us on the East Coast), and you can make sure that whatever Microsoft’s got planned, we’ll have it covered for you here.
Apple Announces iPhone OS 4– What You Need to Know
Apr 9th
It’s here- our first look at the next version of the iPhone OS. Dubbed iPhone OS 4, Apple has once again raised the bar on what smartphone software should be. A lot was announced (spoiler: multitasking is one of them!), so without further ado, let’s get to it.
Android 2.1 Update for the Motorola Droid Released
Apr 8th
It’s been a long time coming for all you Droid owners out there, but Verizon and Motorola have finally begun the roll out of the long awaited (and much delayed) Android 2.1 update. A source discovered the new software when purchasing the phone from Verizon just yesterday, and so it is only a matter of time till all current Droid owners get the update as well.
Just a recap of what to expect in this update– multi-touch support in the browser and Google Maps (about time! And works really well from the brief time I tried it out. Zooming in and out was fast and smooth just like it should be), the News and Weather widgets as seen on the Nexus One, active wallpapers, as well as support for Google Goggles visual search. Unfortunately, other features like the new 3D app tray introduced in 2.1 didn’t make it over here but hey, multi-touch!
Thanks Dani!
Microsoft Sharing Big News Next Week… For Teen-Focused Phones?
Apr 6th
Think Apple is the only one that can dominate a news week? Think again. Microsoft has sent out invites to the press about something to “share” this coming Monday, April 12th. What this “something” is? Here are a few guesses.
There is a lot of talk about Microsoft perhaps unveiling 2 new phones– not Windows 7 phones, but new phones that are similar to the Sidekick. In 2008, Microsoft bought a company called Danger, the makers of the hit T-Mobile phone series, the Sidekick. Now these new phones, codenamed “Project Pink,” are very teen-focused phones, meaning an emphasis on strong social network integration (such as via sites like Twitter and Facebook) and full keyboards. But instead of these phones continuing to run on T-Mobile, it looks like Verizon will be picking them up. Read on for all the rumored details.
The Dell Aero: AT&T’s Second Android Phone
Mar 29th
The Dell Aero– coming soon to AT&T
AT&T was pretty busy during CTIA last week, definitely making some big waves. We already saw AT&T and Palm announce that the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus would be coming AT&T’s way, but that wasn’t all, not by a long shot– they also revealed their second official Android phone (this not including the Nexus One that just came out with support for AT&T 3G), together with Dell called the Dell Aero (yes, Dell the computer company).
So what is the Dell Aero? According to AT&T– not only is it an Android phone, but the lightest Android phone out there. Design and specs wise, it looks to be pretty solid as well:
- A thin, sleek all touchscreen design with a 3.5 inch touchscreen with nHD resolution (or what looks to be a solid screen that should be fine for doing all your tasks from viewing texts to watching videos)
- 5 megapixel camera with flash and built-in integration with Facebook, TwitPic, Flickr, Picassa and YouTube– For direct uploading of your pix and videos to your social network site of choice, straight from your phone.
- WiFi, GPS and 3G
Unfortunately, that appears to be all AT&T is saying on the Aero right now, and we don’t yet know other details such as price, release date or even what version of Android it is running (though whatever version it is, we know AT&T and Dell customized it pretty strongly as you can see in the pic above which looks nothing like the stock Android homescreen we’ve seen on phones like the Droid and Nexus One), but we’ll make sure to let you know as soon as we find out.
One more pic of the Aero’s customized menu after the break.
Pix and info from AT&T
The Future is Now: Sprint Announces the HTC Evo 4G
Mar 23rd
We figured this was on it’s way, and today Sprint and HTC made it official. The first 4G phone is coming to the US this summer in the HTC Evo 4G (aka the rumored HTC Supersonic) and wow is this insane–like blow your mind insane.
I mean look at these specs:
- 4.3 inch multitouch screen with a 480×800 resolution– in other words, a crazy awesome screen (similar to that on the Nexus One).
- Thin, sleek design– think like HTC’s recently released T-Mobile HD2
- 8 megapixel camera with flash and support to shoot 720p HD video– yes, your phone can now record videos in HD! (Oh, and this is even better than what was rumored to be only a 5 megapixel camera– showing rumors aren’t always right).
- 1.3 megapixel front facing camera– for you guessed it, mobile video chatting! All I can say to this, it’s about time we in the US get this feature that’s been around overseas for awhile (though don’t get me wrong– I’m still pretty pumped about it).
Taking a video with Qik on the HTC Evo 4G
- Android 2.1 (with an updated, higher quality YouTube app to take advantage of the faster 4G speeds) with the latest and greatest version of HTC Sense (as we saw back at MWC)– there also is a 1 GHZ Snapdragon processor in here that should keep everything on the phone itself nice and fast.
- GPS, compass and WiFi with the ability to turn this into a mobile hotspot (like the MiFi and Overdrive), with support for up to 8 (!) users at once! The MiFi and Overdrive by comparison only allow 5.
- 1 GB of built in storage with microSD card slot (with room for up to 32 GB).
- 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI port (seriously, when do you ever see this on a phone!), and a kickstand for media playback (so you can prop it up on a table and video chat, watch movies, view pix etc. like you would on a laptop).
And of course– built-in 3G and 4G! This phone has both, which means not only solid 3G coverage when you’re outside of the growing 4G coverage, but also for when you do have 4G– you can now make a call over 3G while at the same time browse the web over 4G (something you’ve probably seen of in AT&T’s latest ads. This is pretty big news in its own right).
For the first 4G US phone, I gotta say, HTC and Sprint look to have set the bar really high. This is the future of our cell phones– truly a computer in our pockets, and now finally with the 4G speed to let you do all you could want, wherever you want.
Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait till sometime this summer for this bad boy to arrive (and Sprint hasn’t yet said the price for the phone or the plan, if there is a different plan required for the new 4G devices), but again– wow!
We will of course be all over this as more info comes out, but what you think– are you impressed with this new 4G phone? Will this be your new phone (and would you switch to Sprint for it)? Sound off in the comments.
For more info on the HTC Evo 4G, see Sprint’s site here.
Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus Coming Soon to AT&T
Mar 22nd
CTIA is still a day away but that doesn’t stop some big news from coming out early. It’s been a long time coming, but sometime over the “coming months” AT&T will finally release their own versions of the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. The news was made official this morning, with the Pre Plus said to be coming in at $149.99 (same as Verizon) and the Pixi Plus at the very good price of $49.99 ($30 cheaper than Verizon’s Pixi Plus, and the price we thought the Pixi Plus should’ve been at all along).
Specs-wise, both of these are pretty much the same as the Verizon versions announced in January– WiFi, GPS, 3G, webOS, 16 GB of storage and a 3 megapixel camera with flash and video recording on the Pre Plus, and 8 GB with a 2 megapixel camera with flash and video recording on the Pixi Plus etc. The big add on for the AT&T Pixi Plus is that AT&T will also offer a blue backplate for the phone (a major change we’re sure interests you lots), in addition to the standard black and other swappable covers available for the Pixi.
These are definitely solid additions to AT&T’s lineup– giving you a full array of smartphones to choose from no matter what OS and design you prefer. Though seeing the recent problems Palm has been going through (their stock has dropped to below $4 today, with lots of speculation of perhaps someone buying the company), let’s hope Palm and AT&T make that “coming months” into a “really soon” real quick.
For all the details, check out AT&T’s Coming Soon page here, and Palm’s official blog post here.
Pic from Palm
Sprint Announcing a 4G Phone This Week?
Mar 21st
A rumored shot of the 4G packin HTC Supersonic for Sprint
Ok Sprint users– you can now think of this past week as an awesome one. Not only was it announced that you guys will soon be getting the Nexus One, but if these rumors are true– then we got for you something that will make that look like a toy. So what could possibly upstage news of the “Google Phone” coming to Sprint? Try the first US 4G phone! Yes, you read that right– a 4G phone!
As we know, for the past 2 years Sprint has been working hard on the rollout of their upcoming 4G network all across the US– already covering major cities such as Baltimore, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Seattle and Chicago (just to name a few); with others like New York, Boston and San Francisco said to be on the way in the “near future.” So with all that ever-expanding 4G coverage and only 2 data modems– like the Overdrive– being the only devices able to use it, it would make sense for Sprint to be preparing to launch a 4G phone to really kick off the 4G party (particularly with Verizon and AT&T beginning their 4G rollouts later this year/early next year).
So what could this first 4G phone possibly be? Obviously it has to be something insane, and from what this looks to be– we can definitely see this being it. Pix and info are pointing to an all touchscreen, Android 2.1 running phone called the HTC Supersonic (maybe the name has to do with the “super fast” 4G speeds?) to do the honors as the first Sprint 4G phone. The Supersonic is also said to be packing HTC’s latest and greatest version of it’s Sense UI (as we saw back at MWC), a 1 GHZ Snapdragon processor (as seen on the Nexus One), a 5 megapixel camera, and a 4.3 inch touchscreen (like on the HD2). All this in a very slim and sleek design as you see in a rumored shot of the device above.
Now those are just some rumored specs on the device (remember– until we hear official word from Sprint or HTC that’s all we can say this is), but according to the Wall Street Journal, we shouldn’t have to wait to long for this to all become official as Sprint is expected to do so this week at CTIA (think of CTIA as a part 2 of the big cell phone shows along with MWC, just this is taking place in Las Vegas and with more of a focus for US phones. This was where the AT&T Samsung Impression was announced last year for example).
We’ll of course have all things CTIA covered for you when the event takes place this Tuesday through Thursday– so stay tuned and keep checking back!
Pic and info from Phone Arena
Nexus One Coming to Sprint and AT&T
Mar 18th
There has been much talk about the Nexus One coming to Sprint and AT&T, and over the last two days, those rumors became fact. Google yesterday announced that those interested in an AT&T 3G version of the latest and greatest Android device, without the need to switch to T-Mobile, can now buy their own for $530 without contract, the same price as the unlocked, no-contract T-Mobile 3G version (T-Mobile also has a subsidized $180 with a new 2 year contract and special plan).
Additionally, Sprint announced today that they too plan to carry the Nexus One very soon– though unlike the AT&T-capable version, the Sprint Nexus One is still in the same territory as the Verizon Nexus One: we now know it’s coming, we just don’t know exactly when and for what price.
Both the Sprint and AT&T versions of the Nexus One will be sold only and directly from Google’s online store– google.com/phone.
So, anyone out there excited for the Nexus One to come to your carrier?
To learn more about the Nexus One, see our initial post here.
NFL Mobile Coming to Verizon Next Month
Mar 10th
NFL RedZone– coming soon to Verizon Wireless
We know, it’s March. All our focus should be on Selection Sunday next week and March Madness (and baseball, for those who only care about the pros) and not so much on football for the next couple of months, with football taking a seat in the way back. (And don’t worry, we’re gonna have a lot of ways for you to use tech to keep up with both March Madness and the MLB season very soon).
Today, however, we’re gonna keep the focus on the NFL– as what Verizon and the NFL announced today is pretty sick for all you Verizon users out there. Not only will you guys soon get exclusive Skype, but for the next 4 years (at least, according to the Wall Street Journal) you will soon be getting exclusive access to the NFL Mobile. Starting next month with the NFL Draft, Verizon users will not only be able to follow live on their phones (we’re talking live video, not just an ESPN livecast), but also will have access to on-demand video of NFL Network analysis of the Draft, pick-by-pick Draft tracker updated in real time, and in-depth prospect profiles, blogs, news and more.
And come next season, users will be able to not only watch Sunday and Thursday night games, NFL RedZone, and the NFL Network live from your phones, but also game highlights and an extensive collection of on-demand video featuring analysis and inside access from NFL Network and NFL Films, live radio broadcasts of every regular season and playoff game from both home and away teams, access to fantasy information, news, and player and team statistics, and customizable NFL alerts, ringtones and graphics.
All I can say, if your a football fan on Verizon, than today truly is your lucky day. We’re not yet sure exactly which phones will get the app or how much the app will cost (which again, is a Verizon exclusive, so sadly all you Sprint users that had the NFL Mobile Live app look to be out of luck now), but hopefully we’ll know more info before April 22nd.
In the meantime, who you think goes number one next month?
