PantechCrossover
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Refresh Roundup: week of April 2nd, 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!
Samsung Android slider leaked, likely en route to AT&T (Update: new photos)
Looking at AT&T's current lineup of Android QWERTY devices sure instills a feeling of depression, doesn't it? When the best handsets in the category are the HTC Status and Pantech Crossover, there's plenty of room available for something a bit... well, fancier. A new Samsung slider recently leaked by BGR may be on its way to remedy the carrier's ailment "in the coming months." The render (displayed above) shows off the phone's standard four-button layout, front-facing camera, and a four-row keyboard; sadly, the leak didn't include any other specs. The likelihood of this being the Attain -- the AT&T-branded version of the Galaxy S II -- is low, since the layout on front doesn't match up with the global model in the slightest. So it may not be that phone, but it'll at least do a better job of Rethinking Possible than its QWERTY brethren. Update: BGR added more photographic evidence of the mystery slider, sporting Android 2.3.4. The photos show off the model number as I927, causing speculation that this is indeed the Galaxy S II on AT&T. We still remain skeptical, since the layout is completely different from the global version: the front-facing camera is on the right instead of left, the rear camera is designed much differently, and the navigation buttons on the front are the same style as the Captivate. If it is the Attain, AT&T has mandated a complete redesign (beyond the obvious addition of the keyboard). The new images can be found after the break.
AT&T confirms Gingerbread coming to entire 2011 Android lineup (and Samsung Captivate)
The HTC Status was the only device with Gingerbread on AT&T's lineup for a small slice of time, but that's quickly coming to an end. The carrier has confirmed that Android 2.3 will be pushed to its entire 2011 postpaid lineup, beginning with an OTA rollout of the Motorola Atrix 4G today (though and the HTC Inspire 4G "in the coming weeks." In addition to the phones released this year, Samsung Captivate users will be able to enjoy the upgrade as well. There's no hard details on the timing for everyone else, but at least anyone with a 2011 model can breath a sigh of relief. Full press release can be found after the break.
Pantech Crossover review
Time to ditch the pull-ups, because Pantech's a big kid now. It's hard to fathom that the company responsible for hits like the Zoolander-ish C300, Helio Ocean and dual-sliding Duo is only now -- after five long years -- taking a chance at the Android market in the US. Certainly its long-time partnership with AT&T is finally looking to pay off in a big way, as the network introduces the appropriately-named Crossover. The carrier's been starving for a decent physical QWERTY to add to its (fortunately) blooming Android lineup, so seeing Pantech step up to the plate and fill the void should come as a huge relief. Though it's serving up monoliths in Korea that feature 1.5GHz dual-core processors and other outlandish specs, Pantech looks to be starting its stateside tour with a less-risky investment: at $70 with a 2-year agreement, its modest first impression appears targeted toward first-time smartphone buyers. Is it worth dropping a Grant and a Jackson to adopt the Pantech Crossover for the next two years? Read on to find out.
Pantech's first US Android comes to AT&T as the Crossover, launches June 5 for $70
Pantech and AT&T have been BFFs for several years, but the two companies have never taken things to the next level -- until now. Alluded to by an AT&T exec earlier this month, the Crossover will be the Korean manufacturer's first attempt at Android in the US and will be on sale June 5th for $70 with contract. We can't help but notice the similarities between the device you see above and the P8000 that cleared the FCC a few months back, but now we actually have some cold hard specs to go along with it. Packing a modest offering of Froyo, 3.1-inch touchscreen display, 3 megapixel camera, and a less-than-stellar 600MHz CPU, it's no Atrix 4G or Vega Racer. Despite the less-than-stellar features, it should fill an empty niche in AT&T's lineup quite well as a durable QWERTY slider with textured back and rubberized corners. You only have a few days to decide which kind of shock tests you'll put your new phone through, and you may find the press release (found after the break) to be full of great ideas.
