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Cincinnati Bell brings Froyo to Milestone XT720, holds your hand through rooting process
Rooting is the dark side of the Android platform. It opens your phone up to a world of unsanctioned opportunities and typically has carriers swatting you back with illegal network usage fees. So you'll understand how bizarre it is that Cincinnati Bell is offering Milestone XT720 users software and an instructional video how-to that boots Eclair out, for its Froyo successor. Making use of the widely-popular SuperOneClick app, intrepid owners will be walked through the usual root, back-up and ROM-flashing steps. But the regional carrier's no dummy as the procedure ends with users unrooting their devices, freeing the network from unwanted congestion and reducing the risk of a bricked phone. Customers of this Ohio-based provider should check the source for a forbidden peek into Android's underbelly.
Smartphone buyer's guide: the best phones for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and more!
The world of smartphones changes mighty quickly, and if you blink, you're bound to miss the latest and most delectable devices. That's where we come in, to provide timely roundups of everything your friends expect you to know, along with the insight that you crave. To bring you up to speed, in our December buyer's guide, at first blush you might have thought we were doing an overview of the best Android phones on the market. That's because of our 16 highly-esteemed handsets, a whopping 13 of them had Google's operating system at the core. As you'll see, the landscape has changed somewhat, and these new contenders that have come out swinging. We've broken down this buyer's guide by mobile carrier, each including the best handset money can buy, our favorite QWERTY alternative, and the most well-rounded budget phone available (with $79 as the absolute ceiling). For smaller US providers, we're providing a single selection, though we're confident it's a good one. You'll definitely be presented with some difficult choices, but that's merely a testament to the abundance of stellar phones that aggressively compete for your dollar. With that said, let's dive in -- it's roundup time.
Sharp Jump sidekicks its way onto Cincinnati Bell
Canada's Mobilicity relaunched the Sidekick LX as the Mobiflip out of nowhere late last year -- and the odd trend's picking up stream, it seems. Next is Cincinnati Bell, rechristening Sharp's latest (and most likely last) Hiptop model the "Jump." Now, seeing how Microsoft and Danger are shutting down the Hiptop back end on May 31st, we can only assume that both the Jump and the Mobiflip are both specially modified to bypass the cloud, much the same way Verizon tweaked and relaunched the Kins to turn them into low-end texting machines without the benefit of the Kin Studio. It's an odd move, but we suppose Sharp had some inventory to clear out -- and $39.99 on contract ain't bad for a WVGA device with a full QWERTY keyboard, we suppose. [Thanks, Adam]
Motorola's Milestone XT720 makes US debut... on Cincinnati Bell
We aren't quite sure what kind of deal Cincinnati Bell has going on, but darn if this regional carrier doesn't score some fairly fantastic handsets. Also known for landing Nokia's white E71 and its XpressMusic 5800 first in the US, the operator is now the first American home to Motorola's Milestone XT720. As we'd heard most recently, the smartphone packs a 720MHz TI OMAP3440 processor, 3.7-inch FWVGA touchpanel (854 x 480), Android 2.1, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an inbuilt accelerometer, USB 2.0 connectivity, proximity sensor, 8 megapixel camera (with Xenon flash) and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It's yours for the taking -- provided that you reside in southeastern Indiana, southwestern Ohio or northwestern Kentucky, that is -- but the $199.99 on contract ($449.99 sans strings) price tag might just push towards more fully featured alternatives. Tough call, we know. [Thanks, Josh]
Cincinnati Bell rolls out multi-room DVR that can pause live TV
Yep, believe it or not when a cable company deploys a multi-room DVR in 2010 that can pause live TV at every TV in the house, it is news. Sure you might've been doing this with TiVo or Windows Media Center for the last five years or so, but the poor sap with the free cell phone equivalent of a DVR from their cable company is just happy to not have their recordings tied to one TV. We give Motorola a hard time about this but honestly it is just catering to businesses that just do enough to keep their customers from revolting and not a thing more. Of course the real sad news is that the headline says Cincinnati Bell instead of a provider that actually has a decent size footprint. No doubt this'll be enough to warrant a comment to the FCC by the NCTA about how cable providers around the country are innovating. Just awesome.
Cincinnati Bell's Blaze is probably the rarest carrier-branded Android phone you'll find in the States
Of all the regionals to score a completely custom, self-branded Android device, we admit that we wouldn't have guessed that Cincinnati Bell would be in that list -- and yet the carrier managed to roll out this here "Blaze" running Android 1.6 "at speeds 86 percent faster than AT&T and Verizon." That's a pretty bold claim, but our tipster reports that he saw 2Mbps down and 1Mbps up on a phone he checked out -- not bad, all things considered. Unfortunately, the phone appears to have a rather wacky skin, which -- considering the no-name brand involved here -- might really doom the Blaze to an Eclair- and Froyo-free life. Hit up the gallery below for some shots of the phone in the wild, or march into your Cincinnati Bell store to grab one for $100 on contract. [Thanks, Justin H. and Adam M.] %Gallery-93806%
Cincinnati Bell lands Nokia's XpressMusic 5800: $149.99
Good one, Cincinnati Bell -- you totally got us. Oh, wait. This isn't a joke? For the second time in as many months, the aforesaid carrier has somehow managed to land a white-hot Nokia handset before any other operator in America. This go 'round, the company is becoming the first in the US to offer a subsidized version of Nokia's polarizing XpressMusic 5800, bringing it to customers in the Ohio region for $149.99. Those looking to do without any strings can procure one for $349.99 (which is still $50 less than what Nokia's asking), but it's the bragging rights here that make it all worthwhile. So, how long before a real carrier follows suit?Update: And here's the press release.[Thanks, Adam]
White Nokia E71 arrives in America... on Cincinnati Bell
Whoa, wait up, what's this? On the very same day that Nokia's white E71 invaded North America via Rogers Wireless, one of America's least known carriers is following suit for those in and around the great state of Ohio. For reasons unknown, Cincinnati Bell (of all carriers) has managed to pick up the suddenly hot color of this here QWERTY-packin' smartphone, and best of all, it's available for free on a two-year agreement. What's next? Mexico getting this for -$100 after rebate?[Thanks, Jordan]Update: You can also get this bad boy unlocked, if you're so inclined. Still, though, seriously -- much love, Cincinnati Bell. You're a prince among carriers for launching this for free on contract. Thanks, Chris!
