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Refresh Roundup: week of July 9th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
AT&T announces Windows Phone Mango lineup coming this fall, existing devices to be updated
In the first of what we expect to be many announcements related to Windows Phone Mango devices, AT&T stepped up to the plate this morning by unveiling three new "4G" handsets that use the latest version of Microsoft's OS: the HTC Titan, Samsung Focus S and Focus Flash. We already know quite a bit about the Titan, but details on Sammy's selections are slim for now -- images aren't even available for either phone, though it's likely we've seen at least one of them before. In addition, the carrier's also planning to update its entire existing lineup with Windows Phone 7.5. As for the fall lineup, there doesn't seem to be a slacker in the bunch. The Focus S will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 1.4GHz CPU and an 8 megapixel rear camera that accompanies a 1.3 megapixel front-facing cam for video chat. Also bearing Mango is the Samsung Focus Flash, considered the lower-end offering by Sammy, which still brandishes a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screen -- no Plus involved on this one -- as well as a 1.4GHz CPU and 5 megapixel rear shooter and front-facing camera that for now has no specified resolution. Each of the phones are expected to arrive in the fourth quarter, and the existing lineup should be on the receiving end of the update sometime "this fall." This is just the beginning of the impending flood, so we can't wait to see what else is around the corner.
AT&T affirms: Windows Phone 7 NoDo rollouts start today for Focus and Quantum owners
What's this, a rollout hitting as planned? Believe it or not, the leaked memo we spotted a few days back has now proven true, with Microsoft's long-awaited NoDo update (complete with copy-and-paste) being pushed out today for select LG Quantum and Samsung Focus users. The update itself has been looping around for some time, but this marks the first launch of it on AT&T's airwaves. We've confirmed with the carrier that the folks in Redmond are indeed pushing it out as we speak, but there's no word yet on how long it'll take for everyone to get served. Let us know how the new build's treating you in comments below... should you be lucky enough to get it, that is. [Thanks, Sean] Update: Microsoft also confirms this rollout, and says that the update is currently being tested on the HTC Surround. Thanks, Jeff G.! Update 2: In case the upload speed is restricted on your updated Focus, wpcentral has published an easy how-to on reactivating HSUPA. Thanks, zblack!
LG Quantum brings its QWERTY slider to AT&T
Miss out on Amazon's LG Quantum-for-a-penny deal this past weekend? Well, good news.. sort of. LG has just announced that the QWERTY-enhanced Windows Phone 7 device is now officially available from AT&T for the decidedly ordinary price of $199.99 on a two-year contract. That will buy you a 3.5-inch display, along with the usual 1GHz processor, 16GB of built-in memory, a 5 megapixel camera, and ten free apps that are available in the LG app store within the Windows Phone Marketplace. Full press release is after the break.
HTC Surround and LG Quantum available for $0.01 at Amazon this weekend
Want the cheapest way to try out Windows Phone 7? Outside of getting yourself hooked up with a job at a tech blog, Amazon might have the very finest option for you with its newly discounted $0.01 pricing on two AT&T handsets for the new platform. The HTC Surround and its slide-out speaker are available immediately whereas the LG Quantum, which slides to reveal a more conventional QWERTY keypad, is on back-order. Fear not, though, both will cost you a mere cent when obtained in conjunction with a new AT&T line and a two-year bond with the carrier. We might still prefer their European counterparts, but you can't deny these phones look to be priced just about right for what they are. Shame that this pricing will only last through the weekend.
Poll: Did you get a Windows Phone 7 device today?
You may have heard that Microsoft unleashed its new mobile platform on unsuspecting Americans today (see our reviews here), and we were curious to see how many of you broke out the credit card. Let us know how you played things in the poll below, and we're welcoming everyone into comments for an open (and totally not trolltastic) conversation about what Day One with a WP7 handset feels like. So get to it! %Poll-55476%
Meet the new AT&T Windows Phone 7 family
Here they are. Are you impressed? From left to right we have: The Samsung Focus, HTC 7 Surround, and the LG Quantum. Indoors at least the Focus is easily winning the screen game, with the best blacks of the bunch thanks to AMOLED (and of course the requisite oversaturation), but the Surround and Quantum don't slouch on LCDs. While the Surround speaker is fun, it really seems like HTC spent some serious thickness on what might be perceived by many as a gimmick. The Quantum is barely thicker but gives you a QWERTY keyboard for the trouble. So, where do you think your $200 US dollars are going come November? There's a poll after the break. %Gallery-104790%
LG Quantum first hands-on! (update: video)
LG's representing the QWERTY slider sector for AT&T during this Windows Phone 7 launch with its new Quantum handset (formerly known as the C900), which goes by the Optimus 7Q moniker outside the US. It's a little frumpy at first glance, but it's just as impressive under the hood as the rest of this lineup, so we'll give it some more time before we form our full impressions. Super early first impression? We love this keyboard. For now check out the gallery below. Update: There's video after the break! Here are some thoughts: We're very torn on the LG Quantum. From the outside you've got a design that can only be named as "frumpy," with wasteful curves and rubberized edges, along with the smallest screen of the AT&T bunch. Still, slide this puppy open (if you can manage, it has a really stiff mechanism), and you're treated with one of the best QWERTY keyboards in the business. Not only is each key nicely articulated and easily but responsively clicked, but you can really feel each key with your thumbs. It's the touch typist's dream, at least for the landscape orientation. %Gallery-104774%
Microsoft announces ten Windows Phone 7 handsets for 30 countries: October 21 in Europe and Asia, 8 November in US (Update: Video!)
It may have "Windows" in the branding, but Windows Phone 7 is not the desktop PC experience shoehorned into a cellphone. Microsoft tried that with Windows Mobile... and we all know how that turned out. Today, eight months after the Windows Phone 7 OS unveiling in Barcelona, we're finally seeing the official launch of the retail hardware: nine new WP7 handsets, some available October 21 in select European and Asian markets and others from early November in the US. The phones will find their way to over 60 cellphone operators in more than 30 countries this year. Microsoft tapped Dell, HTC, LG, and Samsung to deliver the Snapdragon-based handsets with a carrier list that includes AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Vodafone, TELUS, América Móvil, Deutsche Telekom AG, Movistar, O2, Orange, SFR, SingTel, and Telstra. And that's just for the first wave -- Microsoft has even more handsets coming in 2011 including the first for Sprint and Verizon in the US. Here's the lineup of 480 x 800 pixel (WVGA) phones announced today: HTC 7 Surround -- The 3.8-inch T8788 with slideout speaker for AT&T and Telus HTC HD7 -- Schubert comes of age as a 4.3-inch HD2 cousin for T-Mobile and beyond HTC 7 Trophy -- the 3.8-inch Spark headed to international carriers HTC 7 Mozart -- another heavily leaked int'l player with 3.7-inch display Dell Venue Pro -- 4.1-inch portrait QWERTY slider for T-Mobile we broke as Lightning Samsung Focus -- AT&T's 4-inch Super AMOLED slate we broke as Cetus Samsung Omnia 7 -- the i8700 is a 4-inch Super AMOLED jobbie for Europe LG Optimus 7/7Q -- the E900 is the official 3.8-inch global workhorse LG Quantum -- AT&T's 3.5-inch landscape slider first seen as the C900 HTC 7 Pro -- a 3.6-inch QWERTY slider for Sprint (2011) "Glance and Go," is the slogan Microsoft is using to differentiate itself from an already crowded smartphone market. Something we've already seen alluded to in that leaked AT&T ad. As Ballmer notes, "Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience - one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a 'glance and go' format." He's referring to WP7's customizable Live Tiles, of course. Xbox Live integration is another biggie with EA Games just announcing its first Xbox Live-enabled wares coming to Windows Phone 7 in the fall including "Need for Speed Undercover," "Tetris," "Monopoly," and "The Sims 3." The other big differentiators are the slick Metro UI, integrated support for Zune media and Zune Pass subscriptions, Bing search and maps, Windows Live including the free Find My Phone service, and Microsoft Office Mobile. Now quit stalling and jump past the break for the full list of handsets per carrier and country. Update: Added the official WP7 overview videos after the break.
