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IRL: Nike+, UTStarcom PPC-6700 and the Droid Incredible
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. We have an inside joke among the Engadget staff: one of these days, we say, we'll publish IRL: The Luddite Edition. It's not that we go home to bunny-ear TVs and VCRs, though for a group of journalists trained to calculate pixels per Super AMOLED inch, we're awfully set in our ways. That, and there's nothing like brainstorming IRL ideas to make a grizzled tech editor feel a little nostalgic. That's the place Darren was in when he dug up his PPC-6700 from '06 -- and Lydia, too, who thinks about ditching Nike+, but won't. As for Billy, he's not wistful; just biding his time until he can replace his Incredible with something he really wants. So how good is good enough for a bunch of tech writers? Meet us past the break to find out.
AT&T Quickfire is, as promised, available
As previously foreseen, the UTStarcom Sidekick knock-off Quickfire, also known as the Knick, is now available online and in AT&T stores. It's quite a deal for new subscribers -- $99.99 with a 2-year contract, mail-in rebate (ugh) and promotion card -- or $299.99 without any of those discounts. In case your memory stinks, the Quickfire is a 3G device with a 2.8-inch, 240 x 320 touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, and support for microSD cards up to 8GB. You're probably not reading this anymore because you're already on your way out to get one, right? Hello?[Thanks, Jordan]
AT&T Quickfire hits shelves a few days early
We hear that some truly lucky humans have gotten their hands on the AT&T Quickfire (also known as the Knick), which is supposed to go on sale November 10th, so that means... yup about two days early. The asking price for the device was $149.99 (with a $50 mail in rebate) with a new 2 year contract. As for details, all we know is that it was purchased in an AT&T store by an unnamed mystery customer in a "small town." Sometimes it truly pays to live in the real America.
AT&T Quickfire launching November 10
One of the more interesting devices to hit AT&T's lineup in recent memory -- the PCD-sourced Quickfire -- is getting ready to hit in the next few days, making good on a promise to deliver the 3G Sidekick killer in November. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Quickfire really is a Sidekick killer, but we'll all have an opportunity to find out come November 10 when it launches in three colors for $99 on contract. If you're feeling crazy enough to bypass the commitment, you can pick one up without signing your life away for $299, which still isn't that bad considering that you're getting a touchscreen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and HSDPA.[Thanks, Kal]
Best Buy nabs exclusive on Verizon Blitz Titanium
If you're not cool with the Blitz's original blue -- well, first of all: hater. Secondly, plan on trotting out to your friendly local big box come this Sunday, October 26 for the release of Verizon's baby QWERTY set in "titanium," which is an uppity word for gray. No word on pricing yet, but we're thinking it won't break the bank.[Thanks, Carter]
AT&T goes wild with texting, announces four QWERTY phones
If you're into that whole SMS craze and you're on AT&T, you're in luck -- four times over. The carrier's gone ahead and announced not one, not two, but four QWERTY-equipped dumphones today, including a dual slider and a Pantech being billed as "the world's thinnest device with a full QWERTY keypad."First up, the Pantech Matrix is available now in your choice of blue or green, with red being added on Thursday, October 16. It slides two ways -- a conventional vertical slide to reveal a numeric keypad, and a second side slider for the full QWERTY action. It's got 3G, AT&T Navigation, Video Share support, and a 1.3-megapixel cam, running $79.99 on contract with rebate. Next, the Samsung Propel apes the i620's industrial design -- but make no mistake, there's no Windows Mobile to be found here. It also does 3G and features the full host of AT&T services, packs a 1.3-megapixel cam, and will run the same $79.99 as the Matrix when it hits in late October in blue, green, red, and white with red accents. Next, the Pantech Slate is pretty appropriately named -- if its claim of being the thinnest QWERTY device in the world ends up holding water, anyway. It'll be available in late October alongside the Propel for $49.99 on contract with a 1.3-megapixel camera, but there's no high-speed data to be found in this sucker. Finally, the long-rumored Quickfire -- you may know it better as the Knick -- will come in November bearing AT&T branding and a Sidekick-esque style that'll likely appeal to the young'uns among us. It's got a touchscreen in addition to a slide-out QWERTY deal, a 1.3-megapixel camera (notice a trend here?), and 3G in your choice of orange, lime, and silver for $99.99 after you've inked up the dotted line.
UTStarcom's Knick gets renamed AT&T Quickfire for launch
Well, that mystery didn't take very long to solve. Remember that UTStarcom / PCD-sourced Knick that was getting shown around at some Radio Shack shindig not long ago? It's still very real and very much on the launch docket for AT&T -- but it's now the carrier-branded "Quickfire". Of course, PCD has never been a company to slap its own name on a handset being offered by a network, so the move makes a ton of sense. Right now it's tentatively scheduled to hit stores late this month for $99.99 on a two-year deal in silver, orange, and green, and it looks like it'll support AGPS for those rare instances when you're, say, driving instead of texting.[Thanks, Kal]
Sidekick-esque UTStarcom Knick surfaces for AT&T
Whoa, what's this? No, seriously -- does anyone in attendance know what this device is? Clearly, we're able to decipher that it's a UTStarcom Knick, and we're also pretty sure it's designed for AT&T, but considering that this is the first time we've ever heard of this thing, we're still a bit awestruck. The very Sidekick-like handset boasts a full QWERTY keyboard underneath the sliding display, and based on the informational placard accompanying it at some RadioShack kiosk, we can tell that it boasts an inbuilt still / video camera, GPS and support for mobile TV. Curiously enough, we've also found a random accessory site pushing universal belt clips for this very phone, so maybe we'll actually see something official sooner rather than later. Check out what looks to be a "press shot" after the jump. Update: More details listed after the break. Thanks, Michael![Thanks, Luppers]Read - AT&T Knick pictureRead - AT&T Knick accessories
When it rains, it pours: Verizon XV6800 gets hooked up with WinMo 6.1
We're not sure if it's coincidence or if there's some concerted effort to push out overdue Windows Mobile 6.1 updates all of a sudden, but for whatever reason, Verizon's XV6800 is joining the AT&T Tilt this week in offering an official upgrade package for the first time. Could've come a little quicker, honestly -- Sprint beat 'em out the door by a country mile -- but let's just thank our lucky stars that it finally happened, shall we?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon shows Blitz
Remember this? Yep, it popped up a while back as the uncreatively-named UTStarcom TXT8010, but never managed to launch on any US carrier -- a shame, considering the low price point (theoretically, anyway) and the somewhat trick look and form factor. It's all good, though, because Verizon has picked it up as the "Blitz" with a Wal-Mart launch on August 8 followed by Best Buy on September 28. Its main lease in life will be as an INpulse prepaid 'set -- so you know it'll be nice and cheap -- but it's still going to manage to eke out VCAST Music support, a microSD slot with support up to 4GB, stereo Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel cam, and VZ Navigator. And what's this, a default Verizon UI in orange? Are our weary eyes deceiving us?%Gallery-28756%
UTStarcom sells North American phone distribution biz
Apparently looking to concentrate its efforts on its network infrastructure businesses, UTStarcom has sold off its Personal Communications Division -- the guys pushing the corporate wares to Virgin Mobile, Verizon, and others in North America -- for $240-plus million to a group of private investors. The new company, creatively named Personal Communications Devices, LLC, will keep on doing the same thing with the very same team in place as before, so this looks to be little more than an exchange of some cash and it's back to business as usual. Phones will still be sourced from the UTStarcom mothership, and if that means we can expect some of the more creative stuff we've been seeing lately like the TXT8010, then it's all good by us.
Virgin Mobile rolls out Arc
Virgin Mobile has released the Arc, another in a long, long line of prepaid models designed to keep the upfront payment to a minimum at the cost of a killer feature list. Still, though, the UTStarcom-sourced flip makes out with Bluetooth, dual color displays, and a VGA camera for its $49.99 asking price, and the red / black color combo doesn't look half bad. We'll have a closer look at the Arc in the next few days, but if you simply must have one now, they're on sale immediately.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon slide deck reveals Verizon i770, Palm 800w, fun facts
Sandwiched between a pair of overdue TPS reports in our desk's inbox this morning was this little gem, a glossy Verizon presentation filled with magical, exotic wonders hailing from a place and time not too far from our own. For starters, we're guessing that the giant "ID NOT FINAL" label here means that the Samsung i770 won't look quite like this nightmarish blue slab of death by the time it's released, but even if it does, we're happy to report that it'll still be sporting the GSM radio for global service we've been hearing about all along.We've got a bit in here about the WiFi-equipped Treo 800w landing on Verizon in the third quarter, too, a device more frequently whispered in the same sentence as Sprint as of late. It also turns out that Big Red intends to launch a Novatel USB modem later this year that supports both EV-DO Rev. A and triband HSPA, likely becoming its first data device to let customers scream at 3G speeds while abroad. Watch out for those roaming charges, though -- yikes!Moving on, we've got details on upcoming Windows Mobile 6.1 upgrades for the XV6800 and Samsung i760, some shots and specs of the Motorola V750 and Casio G'zOne c711 for the soon-to-launch EV-DO Rev. A PTT service, and the list just keeps on going. Honestly, this whole novella is recommended reading, so go ahead and click on that there gallery to get the ball rolling, won't you?[Thanks, HTCkid]%Gallery-24151%
The Pantech... Elvis?
This dual-band CDMA handset with EV-DO just popped up on our FCC radar this morning with the model designation "ELVIS," and while we have no idea what it is, where it's going, or when, we have to admit -- we can kinda see the resemblance between this and The King in his later years. If you catch our drift.Update: Turns out it's the UTStarcom TXT8010, which has a QWERTY keyboard; no wonder it's so wide. Thanks, everyone!
UTStarcom's CTIA 2008 booth tour
UTStarcom are at CTIA with a few new products, including a prototype messaging device aptly named the TXT8010, the CDM7126c a CDMA clamshell, and an AWS modem, the UM100c. The CDM7126c -- the c stands for Cricket, there's also an m version but we'll let ya guess where it'll end up -- is low-end 800 / 1900 / AWS CDMA set that packs, Bluetooth, a 1.8-inch 65k display, into a very simple clean package. The TXT8010 in a messaging-centric device targeted at teens who care more about texting than talking. Featuring a slide out QWERTY keypad -- so nice -- Bluetooth, Openwave browser, a 2.2-inch 262k screen, SMS, MMS, and a 1.3 megapixel cam. The UM100c is a 800 / 1900 / AWS USB modem for Cricket and should find many friends with the new unlimited data offering they've started. Hit the pics below for a gallery of goodies.%Gallery-19705%%Gallery-19705%
AT&T release dates through May (hint: no Vu)
We've just received a fresh round of release dates on AT&T, and if we had to pick a single word to describe the theme here, it'd be "colors." Shades upon shades of phones -- both new and old -- will see a release on AT&T in the next couple of months, starting with the Sony Ericsson Z750a, the first 3G Sony Ericsson to be released by a carrier in the States (but not in North America -- that honor belongs to Rogers); it'll hit in your choice of gray, pink, or purple in early April. The now-ancient UTStarcom 5700 finally sees release toward the end of April more than a year after we first saw it in the FCC's business, giving a lower-end choice to the Windows Mobile faithful. Finally, May should bring about the LG CU720 Shine in black, following its initial offerings of silver and red.Oh, and it looks like the Motorola Z9 and the black Centro should be widely available pretty much any minute now -- stay tuned. Strangely missing from the list is the Vu, though that doesn't necessarily mean it won't be released by the end of May, it merely means that AT&T's not sure yet. Surprise, surprise.[Thanks, Kal]
Cricket launches first AWS CDMA handset
It doesn't look like much, but it's the innards of UTStarcom's unassuming CDM7126 flip that makes it a superstar. It turns out that this is the very first CDMA phone to launch in the US on AWS bandwidth, meaning that in addition to the typical 850 and 1900MHz support, this one adds in a little extra coverage punch via the new 1700MHz spectrum that T-Mobile is also sharing for its 3G services. We spied the CDM7126 at CES earlier this year -- hence the somewhat unusual picture -- and while we can't find it hiding out on carrier partner Cricket's website, residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma should be able to march into stores as soon as today to pick 'er up. Don't get too excited, though; other than the noteworthy use of AWS, the phone lacks EV-DO and an external display. Yikes![Via Phone Scoop]
Verizon wisely renames the Samsung U940 to "Glyde"
We're delighted to report that the Q-Ball name didn't stick around very long for the upcoming Samsung U940 on Verizon; it's now the far more reasonable-sounding "Glyde" (truth be told, it was probably an internal codename all along, but we're issuing a hearty "whew!" nonetheless). The high-end QWERTY handset is currently targeted for late March; we all know how internal launch dates go, but we're trying to stay positive with this one. On a somewhat unrelated note, it turns out that the Motorola Q9c -- a more buttoned-up form of the Q9m, currently available on Sprint -- is still in Verizon's sights, though at this point, the darned thing is running the risk of launching itself right into irrelevancy.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
AT&T's releases through early April: yes to Centro, no to Vu?
We've just been slipped some bittersweet information that we deliver with a heavy heart: AT&T's latest pricing information, which runs through April 7, apparently makes no mention of the hotly anticipated LG Vu. There's no mention of the Samsung Access, either, leading us to believe that the carrier's mobile TV launch may have been pushed out one more time for good measure. Of course, we suppose it's possible that there's no delay and they just haven't slipped pricing details to stores yet, but we're jaded enough at this point to say that another slip is entirely within the realm of reason. Now, onto some happier tidbits: the black version of the Shine should launch, along with the Sony Ericsson Z750 in pink, gray, and purple, the long-overdue 5700 low end smartphone, the white Centro sporting push-to-talk support, and the Motorola Z9 slider -- which AT&T curiously identifies as "ruggedized." We don't remember anything remotely rugged about the one we saw, but whatevs.[Thanks, Kal]
Patent granted on smartphones, everyone sued
What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a "mobile entertainment and communication device"? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung... amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo![Via Slashdot]
