While we here at Gadgetell have been wondering just how well the Palm Pre is actually doing, it seems like we are still getting mixed signals overall. And in this particular case, the mixed signal is actually a price drop. And a price drop that has quickly followed another price drop.

In this case that means that our friends who are north of the border, well those who are either on or willing to switch to Bell will be able to score a Palm Pre for just $99.95 (CAD).

Now normally I would consider a price drop a nice thing, and and just rejoice in the fact that any would be customers can save a little money, but in this instance I am left wondering if the drop has anything to do with poor sales.

You see, I only say that because the Palm Pre was given a $50 price drop back towards the end of last month which brought the price down to $149.99. And now another $50 price drop has brought it down to $99.99.

Either way, good for Bell customers, maybe bad for Palm and Bell. Maybe now we can see a little bit of that lower Pre pricing come down here to the US and Sprint. Of course, with all the recent press Sprint has been getting for their Android offerings lately, a price drop on the Pre may be a helpful thing.

Read [Bell]

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Courtesy of a Best Buy Reward Zone member advertisement, we now know that the Nokia Booklet 3G will be available as of November 15. Which is of course much nicer than the previous time frame of sometime during the holidays.

For those interested, the Booklet 3G will set you back $299.99, but that price does required a two year commitment. Otherwise, those looking to make the purchase contract free can expect to pay the full retail price of $599.99. And yes, for good or bad that contract is with AT&T.

Additionally, although we did know many of the details and features surrounding the Booklet 3G, except the actual release, I did at least get a nice little chuckle from the

“Windows 7 operating system is crazy fast”

comment in the ad. Crazy fast, really? That is the best they can do.

Anyway, for those waiting, well for those that are also a Reward Zone member, you can now head out to Best Buy and get your pre-order in.

Read [Nokia Mobile Blog]

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As if the new Droid phone from Motorola wasn’t enough, Verizon Wireless has announced the launch of the LG Chocolate Touch.  The Chocolate Touch has a 3 inch touch screen, a 3.2MP camera, full HTML browser, 1GB of memory with additional memory up to 16GB easily added via the SD slot, a music player that plays back MP3, WMA and ACC files, a built in FM radio, Bluetooth, EVDO Rev. 0 connectivity and easy access to social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Verizon is offering the Chocolate Touch for just $80 with a 2 year contract and after a $50 mail in rebate.  Be warned however that the rebate will come in the form of a prepaid debit card, not a check.  The Chocolate Touch looks to be a big seller this holiday season and is just the first in a line of hot new phones being introduced by the big 4 cell providers.  T-Mobile will be offering the My Touch 3G Fender Limited Edition and Samsung Behold II while Sprint will offer the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment and AT&T will have the Pantech Reveal.

Sprint and AT&T are also said to be working on a nationwide launch of new netbooks. Sprint will offer the Dell Mini 10 while AT&T will offer the Nokia Booklet 3G, which will be a Best Buy exclusive over the holidays.  The netbook boasts a 10 inch display, 12hr battery life and Windows 7.  It will be offered for $299 with a data plan or a whopping $599 without.

Read [PR Newswire]

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It looks like AT&T users may soon have one more BlackBerry to choose from, that is assuming we can believe the latest rumor. Sadly, though aside from the above image there are little to no details as to when this is expected to be available. Price wise, it would be safe to think that it would drop at the same price as the existing Curve 8900 in black, which is currently $149.99.

That said, I am not sure I really like this model. Which is a change because I am typically a fan of white phones, but this one sort of looks a little toy like. Maybe it is just because of the image.

Of course, a white BlackBerry Curve 8900 would fit the pattern. After all the black Curve 8900 has been out for a little while now, and it has also been reasonable successful.

Via [BGR]

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We have been seeing some talk about increasing Early Termination Fees (ETF’s), most recently from Verizon Wireless. With that and perhaps in an effort to get the word out, Sprint has come out and stated that they will not be increasing their ETF’s. The message came short and sweet via the official Sprint Twitter account.

One more tweet on ETF policy. We won’t be following suit as other carriers increase fees.

Of course, they then linked to their existing policy in regards to ETF’s. Nothing has changed and the fees are still being prorated depending on what is left on your contract. Which means those looking to cancel an agreement with Sprint can expect to pay an ETF as high as $200 or as low as $50 if you are in month 19 or higher in your two year agreement.

So, basically nothing is new with the policy, but at the same time it is nice to see that there will not be any ripple coming down from the recent Verizon Wireless announcement.

Read [Sprint]  Via [Twitter]

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FCC listings are always a nice way to get an advance look at what we can expect to see product wise, and this latest listing is not any different. The listing is for the Mini 3iX smartphone, which is the upcoming Android based handset from Dell.

Of course, even though these FCC listings tend to give us an advance look, they often do not give us all of the details. And this is certainly a case of that. What we can tell you though is good news and that comes in the form of 3G support on AT&T bands as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

That said, we have already seen this same handset get released in China, and based on those specs it would seem likely that the US version will also have the a 3.5-inch touchscreen display and 3-megapixel camera.

In terms of a release, while nothing has been made official, the Mini 3iX is expected to hit AT&T sometime in early 2010. Which should make it the first Android based handset to become available with AT&T.

Via [Unwired View]

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Verizon, Verizon, Verizon—it seems they are determined to get some attention lately. We have seen the endless, but exciting Droid coverage, then earlier today we saw the BlackBerry Curve 8530 get announced.

Now, it looks like Verizon is getting into the pre-paid data game. Which personally I have to say it a wonderful thing. Especially for those who like to have Internet access on the go, but do not need it often enough to necessitate a service plan with a contract.

Anyway, detail wise it looks like customers will be able to get a daily, weekly or monthly option. And as you would expect, each of those levels comes with a set amount of data transfer. Here is a breakdown of the available data transfer along with the pricing.

• Daily – $15 for 75 MB
• Weekly – $30 for 250 MB
• Monthly – $50 for 500 MB

Finally, I think they only thing that would have made this announcement better is if they would have offered the pre-paid service in a plan that worked with the MiFi. However instead users will be able to use the pre-paid mobile broadband plans with the Verizon Wireless USB760 modem which will be selling for $129.99.

In terms of what you can do with the above plans, here is a breakdown which comes courtesy of Verizon.

To assist customers in determining their service levels, the following chart provides examples of different applications based on approximate size assumptions. Actual file sizes may vary.
Data Type

E-mail (1 text page, no attachments)

• Daily: 25,600
• Weekly: 85,300
• Monthly: 170,000

Typical Web page lookup

• Daily: 500
• Weekly: 1,700
• Monthly: 3,400

Low-resolution digital photos

• Daily: 150
• Weekly: 500
• Monthly: 1,000

Read [Verizon Wireless]

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Perhaps in an effort to not be outdone by Verizon, at least in terms of the BlackBerry, Sprint has also announced the upcoming availability of the Curve 8530. Though the Sprint unveiling was a little light on the details.

Instead of announcing the handset with a release date and price, Sprint choose to simply offer up an “introducing” style page that simply lists the details of the phone and notes it as “coming soon.”

Otherwise, we can tell you that the Sprint branded Curve 8530 will be 3G and Wi-Fi equipped and available in either black or royal purple.

One nice perk about the 8530 is the optical trackpad which comes in lieu of the trackball. Of course, I suppose that would just come down to a matter of personal preference.

Anyway, like I mentioned, nothing in terms of a release date or price. But if Sprint were smart they would release it very close to, if not on November 20 for $99.99, because after seeing the Verizon announcement that is what customers are now going to expect.

Product [Sprint]

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While there are plenty of people that are getting excited about the upcoming handsets becoming available with Verizon Wireless, we now have one more to add to that list—it is the BlackBerry Curve 8530.

Of course, unlike the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris, the Curve 8530 is not going to be available just yet. Instead interested customers will have to wait until November 20 to satisfy their BlackBerry needs. Once available, the newly announced Curve will be selling for $99.99, which comes after a $100 mail in rebate.

Feature wise, the Curve 8530 will offer users an optical trackpad and the full QWERTY keyboard that BlackBerry users have come to both expect and love. Additionally, the Curve will also offer users 3G support, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, a built-in GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with zoom and video recording and 256MB of internal storage.

And just one last bit, the Curve 8530 will be available in both black or smoky violet.

Read [Verizon Wireless]

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The lesser known droid, the HTC Eris, is finally shown in an unboxing event.  This Droid, unlike the Motorola Droid, has not hardware keyboard.  The Eris is a touchscreen beauty running Android 1.6 with Sense UI skin for an HTC feel.

Boy Genius notes that their source says the phone feels lighter and thinner than the HTC Hero.  Another tidbit is this phone supposed is the next best Android phone to date, after the Motorola Droid with 2.0 software.

Our Shawn Ingram had this to say about the Eris:
“The Droid Eris appears to be a repurposed model of the HTC Hero.  It features the same Sense UI as well well as the exact same specs as the Hero.  The only real difference comes in the phone’s body, carrier and price.  While the Hero sells on Sprint for $180 (after rebates), the HTC Droid Eris will be sold by Verizon for $99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.  Given the price point it’s obvious that Verizon views it more as the lesser model to the Motorola Droid.  The phone does have a less powerful processor, a lower resolution screen, no hardware keyboard and runs on Android 1.5 as compared to 2.0 on the Droid so that viewpoint does make sense.”

Read: [Boy Genius Reports]

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Yesterday, two tech greats chimed in on reviews of the Droid.  Both Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue of the New York Times reviewed the phone and both came away with an overall positive overview.  Neither reviewer could stay away from constant iPhone comparisons.

Mossberg’s review

Mossberg reviewed the Droid and only managed to say, “iPhone” nine times.  He thought the phone would be a success on the Verizon network, perfect for loyal Verizon users who lust after a decent smartphone without jumping carriers.  “I regard it as a success overall. It’s the best super-smart phone Verizon offers, the best Motorola (MOT) phone I’ve tested and the best hardware so far to run Android.”

That is not to say Mossberg didn’t find problems, it is no secret Mossberg is a huge iPhone fan.  Things like, “Unfortunately for lovers of physical keyboards, I found the one on the Droid to be pretty awful,” and “Another downside: The Droid’s screen has only three panels for displaying apps, versus 11 on the iPhone, and some large apps, called widgets, hog much of the space on these panels.”

Pogue’s review

Pogue, gets right to the heart of the matter: “So is it true? Is the Droid an iPhone killer?  No, but it’s certainly a killer phone.”  Pogue mentions the iPhone 18 times in his review but is able to sum up the phone’s successes:

Since Verizon seems to want a Droid-iPhone faceoff, here it is: the Droid wins on phone network, customizability, GPS navigation, speaker, physical keyboard, removable battery and openness (free operating system, mostly uncensored app store). The iPhone wins on simplicity, refinement, thinness, design, Web browsing, music/video synching with your computer, accessory ecosystem and quality/quantity of the app store.

Pogue laments not having multitouch when surfing.  He must use that a lot more than I, as double tapping seems to be my predominate way to focus.  Pogue also points out that the Droid won’t work out of the USA, out of CDMA anyway which is a point to consider.  Other phones like the BlackBerry Storm can do both CDMA and GSM networks so it can make the trip, too bad that wasn’t included in the Droid.

Summary

Both writers liked the phone and would recommend it.  The tone of both reviews wasn’t one of giddy excitement as they had when reviewing the iPhone.  Both suggest the iPhone is still the king though the little droid is getting close.

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If there’s one thing we can all agree we hate about cell phone contracts, it would have the be the Early Termination Fee.  The ETF has long been the bane of anyone who cannot stick to a single phone or carrier for any extended period of time.  Up until now they’ve ranged anywhere from about $175 to $200, but for some Verizon Wireless customers that’s about to change.

Starting November 15th, Verizon Wireless will be raising the ETF for devices like smartphones and netbooks to $350.  That number will decrease by $10 for every month or service, so even if you want out of the contract at month 23 you’ll have to pay $120.  The reason for the change makes sense for Verizon, smartphones and netbooks cost much more than feature phones do.  Verizon subsidizes the phones, and makes it’s money back through the monthly payments.  A smartphone that costs the buyer $99, like the BlackBerry Bold or upcoming Droid Eris, is paying much less than what Verizon paid for the phone, so this is really just Verizon trying to make that money back.

No matter how much business sense it makes, the change won’t make consumers any happier.  The ETF is already frustrating enough, and there are those who don’t want to be stuck with the same smartphone on the same network for two years.  Especially not Verizon’s network which until the Droid has had fairly poor choices of smartphones.  Of course there are those who don’t mind having the same phone on the same carrier for two years who won’t be affected.  It’s likely this give customers even more reason to stick with their plans until they run out, or just not use Verizon.

Read [USA Today]

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Yesterday I posted on the Verizon Droid and what appeared to be the carrier charging more for Exchange access.  It looked ridiculous and it turns out it is.  If you are getting a personal line for the Verizon Droid, you can pay the $30 data plan and enjoy all the Exchange you wish.

The confusion looks to have stemmed from the definition of business.  Carriers consider you a business customer if you use a business credit card and purchase from their business department.  If you are just doing business on a phone in your name, then technically from the carriers point of view, you are not business.

Thanks to Sacha Segan for sorting this out for us.

Read: [GearLog]

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LG had unveiled the GW620 in mid-September and at the time, at least according to the press release it was noted as being headed to “select European markets.” Of course, that did not stop some from hoping to see it become available with AT&T here in the US. Well, in a little bit of good news and bad news, the GW620 did launch somewhere else. In fact it will be coming to North America—but not here in the US.

Instead, Rogers has just listed the GW620, which is also the first Android handset to come from LG. As of now, the handset is listed on the website and is priced at just $49.99 with a three year agreement. Additionally, you can also grab it contract free for a pretty reasonable $399.99. Sadly though, as of now, the GW620 is still listed as being out-of-stock.

Feature wise, the GW620 will offer users a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and video capture, Wi-Fi, GPS, an accelerometer, Bluetooth and support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity. Additionally, the handset will also ship with a 2GB microSD card. And of course, it is running the Android OS, but the listing does not confirm which version.

All things considered, Rogers seems to be shaping up quite nicely as an Android provider. They are already offering both the HTC Dream, err G1 for us here in the US as well as the HTC Magic.

Product [Rogers]

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Just yesterday we saw the introduction of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 with Rogers. And at the time, the Bold 9700 was listed for $299.99 with the now older model Bold 9000 at a slightly lower $249.99.

Not much of a difference in price, but thankfully the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is now much lower in price, its down to $99.99 on-contract. Of course, that contract is three years.

Additionally, Rogers has also listed the once rumored white BlackBerry Bold 9000. And as you would expect, the white model is priced the same at $99.99 on-contract.

Product [BlackBerry Bold 9000 (white)] Product [BlackBerry Bold 9000 (black)]

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The successful launch of the Palm Pre, Palm’s darling of a phone running the “revolutionary” webOS was supposed to save Palm.  Launched on June 6 in the US, the Pre was off to a fast start, depending on who you asked.  The Pre continues to be sold on one network, Sprint, while it’s application catalog fills out.  The question now becomes, did the Pre save Palm?

That was the question poised to me by our Robert Nelson who was standing next to me when the phone was announced at CES last year.  Both of us left with a sense of hope and excitement about the new phone and about the webOS.  Where are we now?

Robert says, “To me, I think it has gone stale.  It almost seems that Palm is back on life support.  But at the same time, I like the Pre (of course, that could just be the fan boy in me).”

My take is two parts: I agree with Robert the gloss has faded a bit on the Pre.  I attribute that to an unappealing design, at least for me.  I am edging closer to despising key’d phones, the split second it takes to slide out the keypad or worse, reorient the device is far too long for me.  The Pre doesn’t live on the now network, it lives on the, wait for it, slide out, network.

So it’s clear I am not a big fan of the hardware on the Pre.  That’s a personal call and one that I may be on my own with it; I can deal with that.  I have the same problems with the Moto Droid and the slew of Android phones with slide out full-size keyboards.  A phone store clerk explained it to me like this: the teens and 20 year olds love the slide out, the 30 and up crowd digs the slider phones.  Test that one out, I’ve found it to be a decent predictor.

Part two is this, while the Pre hasn’t saved Palm, the webOS will.  The OS is fun, simple, brilliant in some ways.  I think the Pixi will do well, assuming it gets off Sprint in record time.  I think the phone after Pixi will do even better.  There is much competing operating systems could learn from webOS.  While it still could use some polishing around the edges, it works and works well.

There is no question in my mind that the webOS can compete with Android for most people.  Competing with the iPhone OS isn’t the problem, it’s the Santa’s sack of apps that is getting harder to get around.

What is your take, did the Pre do enough good for Palm?

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

We knew it was too good to be true.  We knew Verizon couldn’t keep it’s mitts off the phone and tweak something to make it less fun. The good news is unlike most of Verizon’s disabled phone, this one can be fixed by throwing money at it.  $15 per month to be exact.

Thanks to the geniuses at Verizon, if you wish to access Exchange mail on your Droid phone you’ll need to cough up another $15 per month.  This is the case for accessing work email on a Microsoft Exchange server as well as accessing GMail via the Exchange platform.  If this seems a bit harsh to you, you’re spot-on.

Verizon’s response to criticism on this is to point out Droid is designed as a non-corporate phone.  A consumer oriented phone like this, isn’t expected to go into Exchange servers, or so the thinking goes.  Tilting the phone as a non-business phone is odd to me.  Horse hockey is what I say.

From InfoWorld: “Verizon offers three data plans for Droid customers: $30 month on top of your voice plan’s rate for non-Exchange usage, $45 per month on top of your voice plan’s rate for Exchange usage, and $50 per month total cost for a data-only plan (whether or not you use it to access Exchange). Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney notes that the requirement to get the $45 “smartphone plan” for corporate e-mail usage applies to any smartphone, such as the BlackBerry—not just to the Droid.”

Contrast that with AT&T’s iPhone and BlackBerry smartphone plan that adds $30 on top of voice and includes Exchange access.  AT&T does have a business plan that mirrors Verizon’s at $45 per month.

While realizing it’s tough being a carrier these days, profiling data is a bad idea.  Data costs the same whether it is a movie streaming, Exchange email or surfing the net.  Verizon should not penalize users based on what data they consume.  Maybe, it’s just $15 a month but it bugs me.  How about you?

Read: [InfoWorld]

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We have recently seen reports of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 begin delayed here with T-Mobile in the US, but that is not the case north of the border with Rogers.

The newly listed BlackBerry Bold 9700 will set potential users back $299.99, which comes with the standard three-year contract. Of course, there are options for those that prefer to avoid a little bit of that contract. You can also choose to pay $499.99 or $549.99 to go with a two year or one year contract.

One other notable change includes the older model BlackBerry Bold, which has been lowered in price from $299.99 down to $249.99. Still no sign of the white model just yet though, but maybe that is still set to be listed later today.

Product [Rogers]

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The Samsung Moment, the world’s first AMOLED screen with slide-out keyboard phone featuring Android is now available from Sprint at $179 after rebates and another 2-year commitment to the carrier.  The phone definitely has some muscle under the hood but does it make up for having Android 1.5?  Read on to find out.

The Moment features a 800MHz processor that drives the phone faster.  Faster than, say, the Motorola Cliq - Engadget found the boot times to be 41 seconds for the Moment and 1:22 for the Cliq, ouch.  A lot of that has to do with the processor and the lack of a skin on the Moment.  The Cliq features a skin on top of the OS called Blur that will add some time to load in.  In other tasks, the faster processor was noticeable making transitions faster and movement through menus faster

The AMOLED or active matrix organic light emitting diode, is inherently rugged, very thin and lightweight and is intended to have lower power consumption rates.  These all add up to a win in the mobile phone market.  In the smartphone wars, every battery-saving advance is a big plus.

Should you buy the Moment?

Sprint recently began selling two Android phones, the Moment which is launching today and the HTC Hero, launched a couple of weeks ago.  The Hero is a physical keyboardless phone running HTC UI skin over the top to give a very specific user experience.  The Hero runs Android 1.5 and it is not clear if an upgrade to 2.0 will be supported (though, we believe it will).

The Moment runs Android 1.5 and again the same upgrade questions abound.  If you need a qwerty keyboard that will fit big hands, the Moment might just be up your alley.  Be warned though, they keyboard is a little on the awkward side: the “z” key extends past the “a” key instead of the other way around.  A nice feature is a row of dedicated number keys.  Keyboard action is good with positive clicks keeping the action familiar.

With just the Cupcake update to the Android system, users will miss out on the updated Android Market, Google Navigation and the goodness that built into 2.0.  Sprint ought to be upfront with potential buyers on the upgrade possibility for this phone.  The phone is capable of over-the-air updates, so upgrading is a real possibility.

My call: hold off until either Sprint makes it clear on upgrades or you get some time on the new Verizon Droid (a 2.0 device) so you can decide if you need the latest.  Nobody likes walking out of a store with last years software and at $179 and two years commitment, you shouldn’t have to.

Product Page: [Sprint]

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By now we all know that the Motorola Droid is coming to Verizon this Friday, November 6th.  Verizon hasn’t been keeping many secrets about the Droid, aside from maybe the fact that Droid is looking to be a full brand rather than just one phone.  A leaked document found by Engadget is pointing to a new phone, the Droid Eris, which is made by HTC and is set to be released on the same day.

The Droid Eris appears to be a repurposed model of the HTC Hero.  It features the same Sense UI as well well as the exact same specs as the Hero.  The only real difference comes in the phone’s body, carrier and price.  While the Hero sells on Sprint for $180 (after rebates), the HTC Droid Eris will be sold by Verizon for $99 after a $100 mail-in rebate.  Given the price point it’s obvious that Verizon views it more as the lesser model to the Motorola Droid.  The phone does have a less powerful processor, a lower resolution screen, no hardware keyboard and runs on Android 1.5 as compared to 2.0 on the Droid so that viewpoint does make sense.

The only real downside to the Droid Eris being on Verizon at such a (relatively) low price-point is that Sprint HTC Hero owners might feel bad about spending the extra $80 on what is essentially the same phone.  Verizon could be missing a big point in not marketing the Droid Eris if it is coming in on the same day as the Droid.  True, the focus is (and should be) on the Droid, but that doesn’t make the Sense UI any less desirable to many people.  It’s clear that Verizon is really getting the Android platform and pushing the newer features, which is definitely a welcome move.

Via [Engadget]

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Just yesterday, Sprint executive David Owens took some time and did a live chat for Sprint customers and in that chat were some interesting tidbits.

To begin, plenty of Android users have been wondering about the Hero. Well he confirmed that the HTC Hero, along with the yet-to-be released Samsung Moment would both be getting an update. With that the speculation is that it will skip the current version 1.6 and go directly to Android 2.0. Of course, we still do not have a firm timeline on when that will happen.

Additional Android related news came in the form of an interesting product. It seems that Sprint is “considering an Android phone with a built-in MiFi-type router.”

That last bit by itself is interesting, but at the same time it is good news because David Owens also mentioned that Sprint will never allow “tethering for phones that require Everything plans (such as all smartphones) from here on out.”

Moving on, for those not interested in Android, we also have some BlackBerry and Windows Mobile details.

The BlackBerry news included that the Tour will have Wi-Fi support added and that they will also begin offering other Wi-Fi equipped BlackBerry models in the future.

As far as Windows Mobile, this was mentioned, but less than exciting. Sprint is currently in the testing phase for Windows Mobile 6.5 updates on the HTC Touch Pro2 and other Windows phones. So far nothing firm was given as to when you can expect to see that available, however it is planned for “early 2010.” Additionally, Windows Mobile 7 is coming, but as you would expect that timeline is still in the hands of Microsoft.

Finally, Sprint is also looking to release some WiMax phones next year.

Via [GearLog]

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Word is that Verizon will launch not one Droid phone in early November, but two.  You know one, the Motorola Droid, the other looks to be the HTC Eris and is quite unlike the Motorola’s version.  The two will run Android but that is about all that keeps them similar.

OS

The Motorola phone features the hot-off-the-presses Android 2.0 and offers unfettered access to the Android operating system.  HTC, on the other hand, features Android 1.5 with the sense UI from HTC.  The sense UI acts as a skin to provide users a different feel than just Android.  The experience is intended to be simpler for common tasks; HTC is regarded as top dog in the skins world.  It is unclear if HTC will upgrade its sense UI to 2.0 and if so, will the HTC Eris be supported for this upgrade.

Form factor

The Motorola Droid features a slide out QWERTY keypad that is getting mixed reviews.  The trade off for being oh-so-slim is very short key action and the result seems to be a less than stellar typing experience.  As with anything, the more you use it, but better it feels.

The HTC Eris is a true touchscreen phone.  The soft keyboard has more in common with the iPhone than Motorola’s version.  This makes choosing a Droid phone very easy: how do you like your keyboards: hard or soft?

Processors

This is an oft debated aspect, but for what it worth the Motorola has a 585MHz processor while the Eris has a 528MHz

Price

Yesterday, Verizon and Motorola announced their phone would be $199 after appropriate contracts, rebates, spiffs, and insults were done.  The HTC Eris in contrast is rumored to be the working-man’s phone at just $99. 

Marketing

So far, Verizon’s only talked freely about the Motorola version.  Pricing the HTC touchscreen version at the iPhone price seems to suggest the Motorola version is more of an upgrade in buyers’ eyes.  Verizon knows phone folks are going to gravitate to the up-speced version, the Motorola Droid.  Word is the $99 Eris will be just fine for most folks looking to get some of that soft keyboard touchscreen love.

Read: [BoyGeniusReports] and [Phandroid]

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I spent some time this morning digging around for some Android information, and ended up with some interesting info on the BlackBerry Bold instead. According to a Phandroid tipster, it seems that Rogers has a few goodies in store for customers beginning on November 3.

Of course, due to the website that provided this information, the highlight of their post was in regards to the Android based LG Eve that will be available for $49 on contract. Granted the Eve is no Verizon Droid, but that considered, it seems like a good deal. A few of the features of the LG Eve include a full 5-line slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 3-inch QVGA display.

But moving on to the BlackBerry Bold, according to the image that was provided, Rogers will soon begin offering the BlackBerry Bold in white. That part we already new, but perhaps the better part of that news comes in regards to the pricing—$99 on contract. Sadly though, Rogers like all of the Canadian carriers requires a three-year agreement.

This seems to be a big drop from the current $249.99 price tag. Unfortunately, this is just coming from a tipster and nothing has yet to be confirmed by Rogers. Luckily November 3 is not all that far away.

Read [Phandroid] Read [Rogers]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Verizon, today, made Droid official.  They’ve been teasing us with the “Droid does” and “idon’t” ads that poked good fun at the iPhone.  Now that it’s here, priced, and dated, we’ve got three surprises they’ve been holding back on.  Each one is a potential game changer.

Surprise 1: Google Navigation

Say what?  I’ve been saying Google Navigation was logical for eons now, but Google finally made it happen and it could be an instant changer.  Available as a free part of Google Maps on Android 2.0 phones, Google Navigation will provide turn-by-turn directions.  By leveraging their simple search engine (just type in or say just about anything and Google will go find it) along with their satellite imagery to make navigating an unknown area feel almost downright home-like, Google nailed this.  While it still remains unclear if there is voice-guided directions, Google is clearly serious about this.

Google has made a point about saying this is only for Android phones and it is free.  The free part is debatable as there is no free lunch - don’t kid yourself you are trading privacy for the chance to have location-based ads served.  Only for Android I am willing to bet is a temporary deal.  Google is an advertisement company first and foremost.  This will trickle down to other OS at some point, you can bank on it.

Surprise 2: Gmail AND Exchange push

Typically, you can sync your phone with one and only one profile.  For example, if your corporate email uses Exchange, you can set up your iPhone to sync with them while your GMail will be accessed through IMAP or POP, not through the Exchange server as you can only chose one.

Droid, ala Android 2.0 seems to allow multiple profiles.  Sync to this AND that.  Hot diggity dog.

Surprise 3: Flash 10 ready browser

I really didn’t think this would happen but yes, the Droid is slated to have a full Flash 10 which means Hulu will be in the house.  Interesting but it gets better, Flash games anyone? 

To say that the Droid is going to be a big player is easy.  While the form factor doesn’t do much for me, I’ll be extremely interested in the next two Droid phones that are coming down the pipe not to mention the 20 phones Motorola has coming in 2010.  And it should be said, well done to Moto.  It looks like they are back in the game.

Read: [Motorola]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Motorola and Verizon Wireless have officially unveiled the pricing and availability details for the Droid. In short, the Verizon Droid will be available in Verizon Wireless stores as well as online as of November 6, 2009. In terms of price, the handset is $199.99, but that does come after a $100 mail in rebate. Additionally, as you would expect—a two-year contract is also required to get that price.

Otherwise most of the specs and other details are what we have seen already leaked. However for those that may not have been following as closely, the Droid will feature a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with an 854 x 480 resolution, 5.0-megapixel camera with auto-focus and dual-LED flash, full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and EVDO Rev.A support. Additionally, the Droid will also come bundled with a 16GB microSD card.

In terms of apps, of course you have access to the Android Market, however the Droid will also come pre-installed with Gmail, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Maps, Calendar, Contacts, Facebook, the Amazon MP3 Store and Visual Voicemail by Verizon Wireless.

It is also worth noting that the Verizon Droid marks the first Android handset to come installed and running Android 2.0.

Product [Verizon Droid] Read [Motorola]

Keep reading to check out the full press release:

 
Hello Humans: DROID by Motorola Arrives Next Week
Verizon Wireless DROID By Motorola: World’s First Smartphone with Android™ 2.0

October 28, 2009

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – High-speed Web browsing, voice-activated search, customizable large screen, access to thousands of Android applications and hundreds of widgets and the best 3G mobile network in the country: DROID by Motorola arrives on Nov. 6.

Verizon Wireless, the company with the nation’s largest wireless 3G broadband network, and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a pioneer in the mobile industry, today unveiled DROID by Motorola, the first smartphone powered by Android™ 2.0. DROID by Motorola features the brainpower and breakneck speed of a modern smartphone, designed to outperform where other smartphones fall short.

“We’re proud to work with Verizon Wireless and Google™ on the first smartphone to feature Android 2.0,” said Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of Motorola and chief executive officer of Motorola Mobile Devices. “DROID by Motorola delivers a rich consumer experience with warp-speed Web browsing, a mammoth screen, and Motorola’s expertise in design and voice quality. Combined with Android’s open, flexible graphical user interface and the power of Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, DROID is a smartphone that simply doesn’t compromise.”

“This is an exciting announcement for Verizon Wireless, as the DROID by Motorola is the first device that we are bringing to market under our ground-breaking strategic partnership with Google,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “DROID by Motorola gives customers a lifestyle device with access to more than 12,000 applications that will help them stay in touch, up to date and entertained, using the best 3G network in the country.”

DROID by Motorola has a solid exterior, intelligent interior and is one of the thinnest full-QWERTY slider phones available. It is a no-fuss, high-tech, location-aware, voice-recognizing, over-the-air updating, multi-tasking machine – and it is available just in time for holiday wish lists.

With DROID by Motorola, you can:

• Zip through the Web: Access the Internet at 3G speeds via the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network or from any Wi-Fi hotspot. The multi-window HTML browser with a massive processor delivers the Web the way you expect.
• See it all in cinema-style: View the Web, e-mail, Google Maps™, videos and more in widescreen on a brilliant 3.7” high-resolution screen. Boasting a width of 854 pixels to reduce the need for side-to-side panning and more than 400,000 pixels total, DROID has more than twice that of the leading competitor.
• Run multiple applications at once: Customize your DROID with thousands of applications and hundreds of widgets available on Android Market™. Toggle back and forth between up to six applications at a time to juggle the universe and your apps.
• Perform Google Search™ at the speed of sound: Simply tell DROID what you’re looking for using voice-activated search, and it will serve up Google search results based on your location. If you want more, simply type what you’re looking for into the search bar on the home screen and DROID will also search content on your phone, such as apps and contacts, and the Web.
• Capture moments: Snap digital camera-quality photos with a 5 megapixel camera loaded with the works, such as a dual-LED flash, AutoFocus and image stabilization, or capture your friend’s antics in 16 million colors with DVD-quality video capture and playback. Store it all on the included 16 GB memory card, so you always have it on hand.
• Multi-task like a master: Keep tabs on all your messages with integrated Gmail™ and Exchange e-mail pushed directly to you, but don’t let them get in your way. With the handy Android notification panel, go straight to the message or simply ignore it, and get back to the task at hand. And, a smart dictionary learns as you type and automatically includes your contacts.
• Get where you need to go with Google Maps Navigation (Beta): DROID is the first device with Google Maps Navigation, providing turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps. It’s powered by Google and connected to the Internet. Use voice shortcuts and simply say “Navigate to [your destination],” and you’ll be on your way. See live traffic, use Street View or satellite imagery to view your route, and get access to the most recent maps and business information from Google Maps without ever needing to update your device.

Pre-loaded Applications and Enhancements to Google Mobile Services:

• Google Maps: With layers in Google Maps, view geographic information, such as My Maps, Wikipedia, and transit lines, right on the map.
• Gmail: Multiple accounts support and undo for common operations.
• YouTube™: One-touch recording and playback from homescreen widget or app, one-touch sharing with friends, and the ability to view your own uploaded videos and high-resolution videos.
• Google Talk™: Easily switch between chats, search your chat history, and preview pictures and videos sent by links.
• Android Market: Browse and download applications created by third-party developers.
• Calendar: Ability to see who has R.S.V.P.’d to your meeting invitations.
• Facebook: Syncs Facebook contacts to your address book, and a live widget gives the ability to update status and view latest updates from friends.
• Amazon MP3 Store: Download the latest tracks over the air.
• Verizon Wireless Visual Voice Mail: Delete, reply and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions.

Pricing and Availability:

• DROID by Motorola will be available in the United States exclusively at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online on Friday, Nov. 6, for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
• Experience the all-new DROID by Motorola at www.droiddoes.com.
• To get the most from DROID by Motorola smartphone, customers will need to subscribe to a Nationwide voice plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide voice plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access for 450 minutes and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan is $29.99 for monthly access.
• For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Good grief.  Cruising over at the AT&T site and like some adult sites, you’re whisked away to refurb-phone-land looking at an 8GB 3G iPhone and asking yourself, why look at anything else?  Does an Android phone, a BlackBerry, webOS or WinMo phone even come close?  Chances were pretty good you’re considering getting a new iPod anyhow.

Palm will be launching their new Pixi, the cute candybar webOS sibling on Sprint next month at $99.  The phone, to its credit looks great, runs the fun webOS and even one-ups the Pre with a new Facebook app.  But can it stand a chance against the $49 iPhone?

AT&T and high monthly data plans might give the others a chance.  Carrier loyalty might do it as might the stigma of refurb (my iPhone is a refurb - shhhh).  Nah, none of this.  It is the in-store gotta-have-it-now crowd that will keep a refurbed $49 iPhone our secret.  And I am sure that works for them.

You’ve got to wonder what lower monthly data plans might do to iPhone sales.  Provide a GB limit of data transfer and make data a palatable $20 a month.  Now AT&T isn’t about to do that, they get a lot of income out of the hefty iPhone data fees, but we can dream about demand curves, right?

Over in refurb land, you can find the Pantech Matrix Nokia Surge, LG Vue and Samsung Rugby as well.

Product page: [AT&T Wireless]

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Tomorrow, Wednesday the 28th is a big day for Google’s Android operating system.  The biggest carrier in the USA will launch its first Android-powered device.  You’ve read the reviews, you’ve seen the galleries, you’re ready to go.  But what do we really know about Android?  There are some downsides, right?

The Adware attack

That is the argument presented by RoughlyDrafted.  The site takes a long look at how Google will use Android to hunt you down like the depraved internet addict you are.  Android is reduced to nothing more than mobile adware:

Google is an adware vendor. You may decide that this is an acceptable tradeoff, but you can only do that if you actually stop and weigh the costs yourself. It’s completely delusional to blindly buy into Android as the free lunch with no strings.

This attack is a tough one to qualify for consumers.  Roughly Drafted presents it as a free lunch problem (you’re paying at some point, we just don’t know when).  Will it matter to consumers?  Tough to say, the problem with this line of thinking it, the experience is open-sourced so any forced ads are likely to be circumvented in short order.

The no good app attack

Robert Scoble makes an interesting case for why iPhone users are trapped in their world.  The reason?  100,000 apps.

“...now that Apple has apps the world has changed and challengers to the iPhone will find it very tough.  Here’s why: everyone is using a different set of 20 apps. Trillions of combinations. You can see this on Appsfire’s VIP list (my iPhone apps are listed there, along with a number of others). None of us have the same set of apps.

So, to get me off of the iPhone you are going to have to duplicate all my apps (and I’ve gotten several more since doing this list a couple of weeks ago).”

Scoble makes a very real and interesting point: if you’re hooked on the almost infinite variety of apps, moving off that platform gets very difficult to do.  For example, in the past week I’ve used RunKeeper (a program to track my exercising by GPS),  AT&T Navigator for turn by turn, Navionics for navigating by boat, 6 games, Geocaching and eBay.  Each iPhone could be as diverse in apps as their owners personality making replicating the experience on another phone almost impossible.  You’re trading down.

No good apps in the future attack

To fix Scoble’s app problem, Om Malik offers up some data.

“With a number of Google’s Android OS-based smartphones on the horizon, developers are devoting significant resources to the mobile platform, which will result in a boom in Android apps, according to reports from two Silicon Valley startups, Flurry and AdMob. Flurry, a San Francisco-based mobile metrics company, today said that it had seen an unprecedented 94 percent increase in the number of projects started by Android developers between September and October. “

More phones on more networks could work to get Android closer to the Apple App store. Om points out the disparity between earnings for developers between the iPhone and Android platform.  Om loosely suggests that the marketing muscle behind Android will help this cause as well.

Om does not come down on one side or another here, merely points out that we just don’t know.  There could be a boom, offering benefits to Android users and providing a serious threat to iPhone dominance.  The flip side is also possible, users don’t give a darn about what OS their phone is running as long as they can call, text and Facebook, the world is a good place.  What more do you need?

Summary

Android-haters have little tangible to hate.  We’ve seen the “in the bush” potential threat of Google doing evil things and turning your phone into mobile spyware.  We’ve seen the argument of being locked into an app environment and we’ve seen arguments that an Android app boom is looming. 

What does that mean for potential buyers of Verizon’s Android Droid phone(s)?  Personally, I think it means flux.  We don’t know quite what to make of Android yet.  Today it is a very usable OS that is about to get a lot of new users on multiple carriers on a variety of phones with multiple form factors.  Users coming from another other phone other than the iPhone are bound to get excited about the apps and open environment.  Chances are good you’ll like your phone more as time goes on as more apps build in and potentially bad as Google shows more of it’s hand.

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

T-Mobile has announced it will begin offering Wi-Fi calling for its corporate BlackBerry users.  The as of now un-named service would allow offices to make calls without using their plan minutes.  Calls would automatically switch over to the T-Mobile network when leaving the office Wi-Fi connection.  While T-Mobile is saying this service is designed to help companies save money, there is a catch.  They will charge them a flat fee on top of their monthly plan to use it. That fee would vary depending on the amount of users.

Sprint, AT&T and Verizon offer a similar service but with the addition of hardware, known as a femtocell.  Sprint, for example, offers unlimited calling on its Airave for a flat fee of $10 a month in addition to your plan and it doesn’t use your minutes.  However it will also drop the call when you leave its coverage and move onto the local tower.  Aside from that, however, it is an excellent service.

VoIP is a useful and valuable tool but remember the call quality depends on your connection.  VoIP calls were horrible when I had DSL. Calls were choppy and garbled.  Now that I have a much faster broadband connection, calls are crystal clear. 

Read [MobileCrunch]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The wait for the follow up webOS handset has almost come to an end. Just this morning Palm and Sprint have officially announced that the Palm Pixi will be available as of November 15.

Price wise, the Pixi will be $99.99 with a two-year agreement. Sadly though that price comes AFTER a $50 instant and $100 mail-in-rebate, which means potential Pixi owners will have to pay $199.99 to get out the door. Otherwise there is not much in terms of surprises. Customers will be able to pick up a Palm Pixi at Sprint retail stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart locations as well as by calling Sprint telesales.

Feature wise the Pixi has a 2.63-inch 320 x 400 touchscreen display, built-in GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash, accelerometer, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack and 8GB of internal storage. Additionally, the Pixi is 3G EvDO Rev A capable, but does not come with Wi-Fi.

Read [Business Wire]  Product [Palm Pixi]

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In today’s world of launch events for new phones complete with anxious customers sleeping in the streets, it is very telling that Verizon has decided to push the BlackBerry Storm 2 out of the back door with very little fanfare, as Verizon announced today that the phone would be available October 28th for $179.  Verizon’s dumped loads of cash to build interest in Droid, their forthcoming Android phone, but almost nothing on the Storm 2, a follow-up device that sold over a million units in the first go round.  So what is wrong with this new phone?

Is it the screen that still clicks?  A big sticking point for many reviewers was the oddity of the entire screen moving and clicking.  While BlackBerry hung tight to the company line: BB users love positive click feedback, the rest of us were not so sure.  Other issues remained making the phone cumbersome at best.

How is the Storm 2 different?  The Storm 2 is faster and more responsive than the original, adds Wi-Fi and more memory.  The display is gorgeous and is great for movies.  The screen tapping feature is refined to allow faster typing than the original.

How is the 2 received by BB experts?

From Crackberry: “Picking up the BlackBerry Storm2, it’s clear that Research in Motion’s thought process here was simply to build a better BlackBerry Storm. They weren’t thinking about building an iPhone killer or worrying about what Palm is up to with their Web OS or what the next wave of Android phones might look like.”

From InfoSyncWorld: “Even with the improvements, and they are significant, using the BlackBerry Storm 2 was a real chore, as the extra pressure required to ‘click’ makes every action a bit harder compared to other touchscreens. The interface design was continually frustrating, even while newer phones, like the HTC Hero on Sprint, manage to surprise and delight with clever and adaptive touchscreen interface ideas”

From PCMag: ” The Storm2’s screen is much better than before, but the UI still lacks the intuitive response of a device designed with touch in mind from the very beginning.”

In any event, each review went on to end up with the same feeling, the Storm 2 is definitely an upgrade to the original but stops short of being best-in-class out there. For BB users, this may be as good as it gets, for others not hooked on BB servers, there are other choices, even on Verizon.  Perhaps Verizon is gun-shy with the Storm 2, after getting a little embarrassed on the first one?

Press release: [Verizon]

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We’ve been hearing for quite a while about T-Mobile’s “Project Dark/Black,” with the promise of better prices for more phones.  The plans were meant to help T-Mobile leap over Sprint in terms of subscribers, up to the number three spot.  The new plans were put in place today, being advertised on the T-Mobile website as the first thing a visitor sees.

The new plans are being called Even More and Even More Plus, both of which as advertised as “affordable unlimited” plans.  The biggest difference between the plans is that Even More Plus require no monthly contract, while Even More locks customers into the standard two year contract.  Even More Plus plans begin at $49.99, while Even More starts at $59.99.  Each of those include 500 minutes and no data or SMS.  Even More adds the standard services onto the price for SMS and data, while $59.99 with Even More Plus can get 500 minutes with unlimited data and SMS.  The downfall to Even More Plus, however, is that you have to buy phones outright, so the MyTouch 3G will cost $499.99 rather than the current $149.99 for other plans.

The new plans certainly seem interesting, though it’s not clear if they’ll take too many customers away from Sprint.  Sprint has unlimited data, SMS and mobile to mobile calling for $70 on a two year contract, with a subsidized phone like the Palm Pre.  However, T-Mobile does have the ability to use data and still get a phone call, unlike Sprint.  There were rumors of the Nokia N900 launching with these new plans, but with that phone being delayed perhaps we’ll see it next month on T-Mobile.  Even if not waiting for the N900, waiting might be the best option right now.  It’s getting close to the holidays, and AT&T and Verizon must have their own plans.

Read [T-Mobile]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

AT&T announced mixed results this week during an earnings call: landlines continue their downward spiral while iPhone activations were up.  Perhaps the most interesting news for consumers was talk of life after the iPhone exclusivity has ended.  Could this mean a Verizon iPhone or other carrier in the US could be up sooner than expected?

While the iPhone is driving new customers to AT&T, it is not clear that AT&T is making a bundle off it.  After all, even the 3.2 million new iPhone activations couldn’t offset the decrease in landlines for the company.  While being the exclusive carrier for the iconic phone carries a bunch of brand cache, AT&T may not be earning the return they were hoping for.  Management breached the issue of iPhone non-exclusivity on this call.

“Even if we lose exclusivity [of the iPhone], we will be the only carrier with HSPA 7.2 [a network specification being deployed at AT&T] and [new devices] will work on our network faster,” AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said.

The groundwork for the new marketing angle for a non-exclusive iPhone is already being laid down.  De la Vega stressed that AT&T is the network that “works best” for the iPhone and new Android devices.  He touted the ability to connect voice and data simultaneously.  ComputerWorld along with many industry watchers expect exclusivity to run out mid-2010.

What could this mean for you?  If industry watchers are right, the announcement would likely come at the iPhone refresh in June.  Hold out until then on committing to another new phone.  By then, Verizon will have a track record with the Android phones, so you won’t get hit with paying the early adopters fee should the Verizon iPhone be a no-show.  With the marketing tack AT&T is taking, it looks clear to me that there will be an end to the iPhone exclusivity and this is AT&Ts way of preparing analysts for that day.

Read [ComputerWorld]

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Pantech and AT&T kick off the holiday line up of quick messaging phones with the release of the sleek slider Reveal.  One of the only phones I am aware of that has both number keys and qwerty keys always active, the Reveal is destined to become a hit with the texting crowd.  The phone will cost $79.99 after 2-year contract, AT&T mail-in rebate.

Those looking to attempt scoop one of these phones for free can do so via Pantech’s contest on Facebook.  To enter, simply become a fan of Pantech and make a Reveal-related post on the fan page wall.  A new winner is chosen every day.

AT&T’s new HTML mobile browser and att.net home page are preloaded on the Pantech Reveal.  The browser is reportedly very fast and should be a standout feature.  Other features include 3G service, GPS (with available turn-by-turn directions for a monthly fee),  Napster and eMusic compatible as well as video and still pictures.  Pantech is sending out a review unit so check back in as I share my thoughts on this new gadget.

Product page: [AT&T]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Verizon’s running ads everywhere (even on our site) for their first Android phone dubbed Droid (they actually had to license using that name from Lucasfilm, how cool is that?) in anticipation for a launch next month.  In today’s have-it-now world, why wait?  Gadgetell has your back and can point you to eBay where you circumvent all the hype and just get the biggest phone to hit Verizon in recent memory.

Over on eBay, one can bid on the Droid auction, currently at $899 with one bid.  The auction is set to end on October 29 at 15:42 (PDT) and the phone ships from Glendale, CA.  Of interest, the phones specs are listed and among them are a surprising 8GB SD card that comes with the phone, nice touch.

It isn’t clear if the auction-er actually has the phone or is going off an expected launch date of October 29th at this point.  The ads I’ve seen say November and that correlates to a promotional mailing to press citing 11.09.  It seems likely the image was taken from Verizon’s website and the auction says the phone has never been opened.  If the phone is available on the 29th, the auction winner will have it more than a week ahead of the general public, is that worth a premium to you?  If so, bid it up as it might be a fair bet that a large number of Verizon subscribers will be looking for this phone.

Questions to the Ebayer were not immediately answered.

Product page [eBay] via [MobilitySite]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

It looks like the Motorola Droid, which is the Android phone that is expected to be announced by Verizon on October 28 has been unveiled a little earlier than expected.  And unveiled by way of the official Motorola website.  Of course, that fact that it came from Motorola.com just means we can trust that the leaked images and specs are the real deal.

According to the website, the Motorola Droid will be running the yet to be released Android 2.0, which is also known as Eclair.  In terms of features, here is what we can expect;

• 3.7-inch display with a 480 x 854 resolution
• 550MHz processor
• Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth
• A microSD card slot that will come pre-filled with a 16GB microSD card
• 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus, 4x zoom and a dual-led flash
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• 1400 mAh battery
• Measure in at 2.4 x 4.6 x .5 inches
• A weight of 6 ounces
• And a browser that will offer HTML 5 support out-of-the-box with Flash 10 support coming in 2010

Of course, as you would expect, this page has already been removed, which means it looks like we are back to waiting until October 28 for another official look.  In the meantime, hit the gallery below for a few images of the Droid handset.

Via [Phandroid]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Today, as you probably already know, is the release of Windows 7.  The day comes not only with the new OS, but with a number of new computers to go along with the release.  One of the biggest features is that Windows 7, unlike Vista, works fairly well on netbooks, which means today there’s a few new netbooks being released.  It only makes sense then, that the cellular networks would take advantage of it.

Verizon Wireless has announced that it is now carrying two new HP netbooks that are released today.  The new netbooks are the HP Mini 311-1037NR and the HP Mini 110-1046NR.  The Mini 110 is a standard netbook running Windows XP, while the Mini 311 runs Windows 7.  The Mini 110 will sell for $199 and the Mini 311 will sell for $249, both after a $100 mail-in rebate.  The extra $50 will get you an extra GB of RAM (The 311 has 2GB, compared to 1GB) in addition to the upgraded OS.  The plans for both are the same as the current Verizon Wireless netbook plans, which is to say expensive.

It’s great to see that Verizon is supporting the new OS on day one so users don’t have to try to find a way to get 7 to work nicely with the network after upgrading.  What would be nice, would be if Verizon lowered the price of the data. $60 a month for 5 GB of data is not a good deal at all.  Plus, its locking users into the same netbook for two years.  It might just make more sense to get a new Windows 7 netbook with a Sprint MiFi.  There’s no usage caps, you can upgrade the netbook, and the data is usable by more than just the one device.

Read [PR Newswire]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

MetroPCS, possibly the most intriguing pay-as-you-go services is finally adding another “real” smartphone to their phones offerings.  MetroPCS earlier in the year started carrying a BlackBerry Curve like just about every other carrier.  Aside from that, it labels any phone with an HTML browser and email capabilities as a smartphone.  Until now those other smartphones haven’t been using one of the more widely accepted smartphone OSes like Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian, or Android.

That changed today when MetroPCS announced that it will start carrying the Samsung Code, which will be its second true smartphone.  The Samsung Code runs Windows Mobile 6.1, so not only is it late to the carrier, but it’s not even using the newest OS.  That does make sense, however, as MetroPCS would be trying to keep the phone price down.  The Samsung Code is currently selling for $299 since it, like all of MetroPCS’ phones, isn’t really subsidized with the $50 unlimited everything plan the company sells.  Features of the phone include 3G, a 2.4” screen, Bluetooth and expandable memory up to 32 GB.

Giving a real smartphone option to MetroPCS customers if they want to pay a premium for the phone is a great idea.  Data for feature phones, or smartphones without the standard OSes and less features can be nice to have, but can ultimately be fairly useless.  Web browsing on one of those phones is not a fun experience to say the least, and most other uses can be done through SMS rather than data.  While the Code is a WinMo phone, and therefore not spectacular, it’s not a terrible option.  At least it can take advantage of a handful of useful apps, and do most everything your average BlackBerry Curve will do.

Read [Information Week]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

We’ve been telling you it was coming, and now it’s all official.  The latest RIM device is the BlackBerry Bold 9700, or the “Onyx.”  It has been officially announced, and is coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Bell, Rogers and more. 

So to go through the recap of what it brings you—some pretty nifty features on this new model with more memory for your apps at 256 MB, a faster processor speed (624 Mhz), the camera is upgraded to 3.2 megapixels, and the general style of the phone is cooler.  It’s slimmer, has the optical trackpad, and just a jazzed-up look.  Yet, you’ve still got the parts that you probably love—the keyboard has barely changed, and it still also has the leather backing.  Also included in the latest Bold is OS 5.0.

Even with all the info we do have and the fact that RIM is launching the Onyx to just about every GSM carrier in both Europe and North America, they have yet to give a “this is it” official news on pricing and carriers.  However, AT&T has said they will be offering it for $199 after a mail-in rebate of $100.  T-Mobile hasn’t mentioned price as of their press release, but, they did say that the phone will be able to make unlimited calls off Wi-Fi for $10 a month.  No such promise from AT&T.

The latest on the streets is that we can expect the new Bold in November for that holiday shopping.  As always, stay tuned for more details as we get them.

Read: [intomobile]

Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Google is a self-proclaimed advertising company.  They sell ads.  It is their bread and butter.  Now it seems, they might be using give-a-ways like phones and phone service as a way to create a new place to serve ads.

Android was all about this plan though, we’re still not sure how it helps Google other than, perhaps, a guinea pig testing ground until it perfects the Android OS.  Back years ago, Google honcho proclaimed, “phones should be free” and it rings in my head every time a new rumor spouts about a true Google phone. 

Today, TheStreet.com writer Scott Moritz says:

Google is working with a smartphone manufacturer to have a Google-branded phone available this year through retailers and not through telcos, according to Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar, who has talked to Google’s design partners about the plan.

Not through telecos

This will not be through telecos.  It will not be a Verizon phone, nor AT&T or any other.  This will be a freed phone, if you will.  Now, take with a grain, make that a whole bag, of salt as analysts tend to spout rubbish from time to time, but the idea is right.  The senario being painted is this: Google leases services (think MNVO) and provides users with a special Android OS phone that is unleashed.  Google foots the bill for service (perhaps within reason) while serving up ads.

The big question becomes what phone and how intrusive are the ads?  Would a rotating wallpaper serving ads be too far?  Would hijacking the browser upon opening to an advertisers page be too much?  Of course, that’s assuming this analyst actually knows what he claims to.  A big “if.”

Read [TheStreet]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

It was a few weeks back that AT&T officially announced the Windows Mobile based HTC Tilt 2 and as of today that handset is now available for purchase.

The Tilt 2, which is a Windows Mobile 6.5 handset will set you back $299.99, which comes after a $50 mail in rebate.  In other words, expect to pay $349.99 on the day of purchase and then wait for that last $50 to come in the mail.  Additionally, that price also requires a two-year agreement.

Feature wise the Tilt 2 offers a WVGA display, a full slide-out (from the side) QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2-megapixel camera with 4x zoom, Bluetooth, 3G and a full HTML browser.

Basically, if you are an AT&T customer and also a fan of Windows Mobile then the HTC Tilt 2 may be worthy of consideration.

Product [AT&T]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »