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HTC Puccini tablet shots leak out with AT&T branding, may sport stylus functionality
Is this the fabled HTC Puccini tab we recently saw fly through the FCC's embrace? Only time will tell for sure, but BGR has some leaked shots that show the purported tab cozying up to a Flyer-like stylus, in addition to its AT&T branding. A glimpse of this Honeycomb-based 10-incher's backside also reveals an 8 megapixel rear-mounted camera accompanied by what looks like a dual-LED flash. There's also that dual speaker set-up we peeped in the tablet's prior filing. Of course, what lies beneath this LTE slate is still up for speculation, but a rumored dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 1280 x 800 display aren't beyond the realm of today's future specs. Hit the source for an extra shot.
HTC Holiday to be a 4.5-inch behemoth with qHD resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core, and AT&T future
HTC brought in the 4.3-inch craze, but now that that form factor has gone mainstream, it's looking to even larger dimensions. A 4.5-inch HTC Holiday has been dug up by none other than 911sniper, which is said to pack a qHD resolution (960 x 540), a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera, and the very latest version of Android Gingerbread (2.3.4). That comes on the heels of Pocketnow unearthing a supposed image of the AT&T-bound smartphone, showing a predictably uncomplicated design framing a vast display. Let's just hope the Holiday codename doesn't mean we'll have to wait till the holidays to see this overpowered new beast in action. [Thanks, Connor]
HTC Puccini touted as a 10-inch LTE tablet with 1.5GHz processor, Honeycomb flavor
Hey look, the Flyer just got itself a bigger brother. A 10-inch tablet codenamed the HTC Puccini has been revealed by our old buddy 911sniper (who has a habit of finding and leaking HTC ROMs), living up to a longstanding rumor that places two 10-inch Android slates on HTC's roadmap for this summer. It's said to pack LTE for Cingular (AT&T) in the US and to be built atop Android 3.0.1. A dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 offers plenty of processing power and screen resolution should match the 10-inch pack with 1280 x 800 pixels. Gazing at the above screenshot reveals a UI very similar to the Flyer's Sense 3.0 look, including the Notes app being in a prime position, which could very well mean Magic Pen compatibility will also be part of the Puccini's arsenal. You'll know more about this as soon as we do.
iPhone AT&T exclusivity lawsuit granted class-action certification, every AT&T iPhone customer included
Hey, remember that iPhone class-action lawsuit we poked around in a couple months ago and discovered Apple's lawyers confirming the original five year AT&T exclusivity agreement? Well, get ready to hear about it a lot more in the months to come, as the judge in the case has officially certified the case as a class action, meaning it now officially includes anyone who's ever bought an iPhone on AT&T. If you'll recall, the argument is that iPhone customers signed up for a two-year contract without being told that AT&T had an exclusive for five years -- thus in reality being held to the carrier for an additional three years without recourse. Sure, that sounds a little silly, but if you bought the first-gen iPhone and wanted to stick with the platform it's the truth -- discounting the fact, of course, that no one's required to buy another Phone after two years, and even then you have to sign a new contract. While we're definitely curious to see if the plaintiffs can get past that little logical hurdle and win something more than a token settlement, we're far more interested to see if they can get any more documentation from Apple nailing down its actual agreement with AT&T. Should be juicy -- we'll keep you in the loop.
How-to: resize your SIM, change your APN, and drink the sweet nectar of mobile freedom
Myriam Joire (tnkgrl) was born wearing combat boots and holding a keyboard; moments later she picked up a soldering iron. She's been stomping, typing and hacking ever since. In her regular series, she'll share her tips, tricks, and mods on everything from phones to netbooks -- and be sure to catch her weekly on the Engadget Mobile podcast. Things used to be simple: you either had a CDMA device with no SIM, or a GSM device with a SIM. If your GSM device was unlocked you could swap SIMs between carriers, and if was locked, you could swap SIMs between accounts on the same carrier. Basically, an unlocked phone meant mobile freedom. At first, the only complication was the different frequencies used for GSM in different parts of the world, which was remedied with quadband radios. Then 3G was introduced, with different frequencies used by different carriers in the same geographic area, like North America. Today, this proliferation of bands makes it difficult to build universal radios, and makes it less appealing to switch carriers. In fact, the only phone that currently supports all 3G frequencies used in North America is the upcoming pentaband Nokia N8. The second obstacle was the introduction of special data plans, either requiring additional service layers (such as BlackBerry or Sidekick plans) or restricting the types of devices permitted as the iPhone and iPad plans do. What used to be as simple as changing APNs is now a Kafkaesque nightmare, complete with nasty "you are using the wrong data plan and we are going to send you a bill" text messages from carriers. Strike three was the micro SIM (also known as the 3FF SIM), popularized by Apple's iPad and the iPhone 4. This smaller form-factor SIM is electrically compatible with the standard SIM we all know and love -- and as such, it's easy to convert a standard SIM into a micro SIM and vice-versa (but still, it's one more hurdle standing in the way of happiness). Let's dive in and take a look at how it's done.
AT&T / Cingular class action gets go ahead from federal court
This one goes back a little ways, but a U.S. District Court in Seattle has now given the go ahead to a class action lawsuit brought by former AT&T Wireless subscribers, who have complained that their service went downhill after the company was bought by Cingular and ultimately became the new AT&T. They're also not too happy that they were forced to pay to get new Cingular phones, and they're now asking that AT&T pay back all those extra charges, plus the usual damages, of course. For its part, AT&T isn't saying anything more than that it "respectfully" disagrees with the court's decision, and that it's now studying the ruling and considering its options.
Aigo's stretchy USB speaker borrows sock technology to boom the bass
Mmm, elastic, is there anything you can't do? First it turned that quitter of a sock into a winner, now it promises to assist in producing "the deepest music" from an open Aigo E086 portable speaker. The 1.7 watt USB speaker features a single 36mm driver, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a 3-hour charge for up to 4 hours of usage. And hey, Cingular was done with that logo anyway. Yours in Japan for ¥2,580 or about 27 greenbacks. [Via Impress]
WinMo 6 ROMs for HTC Star Trek bring it out of the graveyard
HTC's Star Trek can now be safely categorized in the "classic" file, but it'd be a big mistake to put this interesting footnote in HTC's history out to pasture just yet. The handset, after all, ranks among the smallest Windows Mobile phones ever made, among the only clamshells, and arguably, among the most attractive (alright, maybe that's a bit of a stretch). But with that stale Windows Mobile 5 build on there hastening its death, what's an owner to do? Turn to the wizards at xda-developers, of course, who've come out swinging with a number of different Windows Mobile 6-based ROMs for a variety of Star Trek flavors, including the Cingular 3125 likely owned by many American customers, and it's all available for download. Always fun to see new life breathed into perfectly decent hardware, ain't it?[Via pocketnow.com]
Chinese PMP knocks off Cingular logo for no apparent reason
You know, sometimes product development can take a long time. A really long time. A really, really long time. Sometimes you slap a Cingular logo on an iPod nano knockoff, expecting to pull in tons of sweet cheddar for your novel idea, and before you know it -- bam! -- Cingular becomes AT&T. Of course, once you've got a warehouse full of these ugly-as-sin players, you might as well try to sell them, which shouldn't be hard considering all of the unique features this little guy has, like a 1.8-inch color LCD, MP3, WMA, AVI, and JPEG playback, plus... um, it fits nicely in a pocket. At the very least, those clinging to happier days when Cingular logos roamed the land can now return to their happy place. No word on price or availability, but we're told the feelings of extreme humiliation when using the player are included free of charge.[Via SlashGear]
iPhone reveals carrier logos
For those of you readers who have been curious, here is the canonical list of carrier logos installed directly on the iPhone. I know we've bandied about a bunch of carrier names here at TUAW. And, yes, it's easy enough for Apple to change its mind as negotiations go on and just do a software update to add or change logos and/or carriers. Leaving all that aside, at this time, the built-in carriers appear to be Cingular/AT&T, T-Mobile, and Vodafone. Each logo appears in two files in /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app, as Default_CARRIER and also FSO_CARRIER using a non-standard png encoding.
Activation Video reveals some interesting details and... an 80GB iPhone?
Oh Apple, you're so sly with the way you slip in the useful (and sometimes bizarre) details with your iPhone demo videos. In the activation video posted today, more intricacies of what and how the iPhone synchs have been revealed with a walk-through of how to get one's iPhone set up at home with iTunes. First, it appears as though Apple and AT&T have thought of just about everything: The setup asks whether you already have an AT&T account and you'd just like to add your iPhone to it, or if you're creating a brand new account. Users can also activate two or more phones all from the comforts of their pajamas and iTunes.
Engadget Mobile relaunch giveaways - Samsung BlackJack
HSDPA, Windows Mobile, QWERTY, slim design -- what more could a road warrior ask for? The Samsung BlackJack for AT&T packs all of the above and a whole lot more, even offering up a little somethin' for the music lovers in the form of stereo Bluetooth support. The good folks at Samsung have hooked us up with AT&T's little 3G Smartphone wonder, and guess what? We'd like to pass it on to you.A few rules (yeah, there are always rules): You may only enter this specific contest once. If you enter this contest more than once you'll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) In other words, be careful when commenting and don't submit more than once, ok? You may enter our other EngMob relaunch contests, but you can't win more than once; if you happen to win more than once (which is pretty unlikely, but still) we'll ask you to choose just one of your prizes. The prize is open to US entrants only. Hey, it's a US phone, you couldn't do anything with it anyway. Contest is open until 11:59pm EDT on Friday, June 8th. We'll be shipping all the phones to winners once all the relaunch giveaway contests are over. (Yeah, we know it bites to have to wait, but dems the breaks!) Thanks and good luck to everyone! Have a look at our other contests, too, before it's too late: Sprint UpStage by Samsung (the first one), Nokia N75, Motorola T305, Samsung u620, (PRODUCT) RED MOTORAZR V3m for Sprint, Sprint UpStage by Samsung (number two)
Engadget Mobile relaunch giveaways - Nokia N75
Carry around a little piece of history in your pocket, the recently-launched Nokia N75. And no, we don't mean it's an ancient phone -- far from it, in fact. The N75 makes history as the first S60 handset (and the first Nokia, period) with American 3G to see launch. Features include QVGA internal and huge 160 x 128 external displays, a 2 megapixel camera, dedicated music controls, Bluetooth (with A2DP rumored to be in the pipe), and a pair of some of the loudest speakers we've experienced on a phone in recent memory. Read our quick take, then try your luck at winning your own!A few rules (yeah, there are always rules): You may only enter this specific contest once. If you enter this contest more than once you'll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) In other words, be careful when commenting and don't submit more than once, ok? You may enter our other EngMob relaunch contests, but you can't win more than once; if you happen to win more than once (which is pretty unlikely, but still) we'll ask you to choose just one of your prizes. The prize is open to US entrants only. Hey, it's a US phone, you couldn't do anything with it anyway. Contest is open until 11:59pm EDT on Friday, June 1st. We'll be shipping all the phones to winners once all the relaunch giveaway contests are over. (Yeah, we know it bites to have to wait, but dems the breaks!) Thanks and good luck to everyone! Be sure to get in the running for our previous giveaways, too: Helio Ocean, T-Mobile Wing, Sprint UpStage by Samsung
AT&T gets green flag to rebrand Burton's NASCAR ride
We know that there's another grueling week to survive between now and the Coca-Cola 600, but here's a NASCAR tidbit that will hopefully satisfy your Sunday desire for a little roundtrack action. AT&T has been given the green flag to rebrand Jeff Burton's (very orange) #31 race car after Judge Marvin H. Shoob of the US District Court, Northern District of Georgia, "granted AT&T's motion for preliminary injunction in its suit against NASCAR." It was noted that the decision gives AT&T "the immediate right to put its logos and brand marks" on the vehicle, and while we're not certain if we'll see a slightly new look come May 27th, we're sure it won't be long before the blue sphere makes its official debut.[Via RCRNews]
AT&T gifts iPhone, Apple contemplates 3rd party software access
Your latest "anything iPhone related happens" post is here, this time with the news that AT&T has given away an iPhone to a member of the public, coupled with a recent statement that Apple is wrestling with the decision of whether to allow 3rd parties to develop iPhone apps. It's rather odd that the first iPhone to make it into the hands of a mere mortal didn't cost its new owner a single cent, but in a video taken at the commencement ceremony at West Texas A&M University, the CEO of Cingular Wireless Stan Sigman gave away an iPhone to one Dr. O'Brien. (At least, that's what the very crackly movie of the speech shot on a Treo appears to indicate.) The statement about the 3rd party iPhone software comes from a similarly authoritative voice -- Steve Jobs -- and through a clearer medium -- a phone-in of a recent Apple shareholders meeting. Jobs said that the company "is wrestling with" the decision to allow external developers to create their own software for the iPhone. Our wish is for Apple to open up the iPhone, or at least compromise and allow developers to create their own widgets. In the phone industry, standing still (which is effectively what Apple would be doing with a closed iPhone) is not an option: or, maybe it is. Hmm, we seem to have missed the smackdown.Read -- AT&T's Stan Sigman gifts iPhoneRead -- 3rd party iPhone apps?
Rumor: Wireless downloads on the way - for the Zune
Engadget is reporting that a rumored firmware update to Microsoft's Zune DAP (Digital Audio Player) could usher in wireless downloads from their Zune Marketplace digital media store. No word yet on whether these would be all-you-can-eat subscription downloads or purchases made via the Zune Marketplace's points system, but regardless: if Microsoft gets this out in the near future and Apple hasn't stepped up to the plate (possibly with wireless iTunes downloads to the iPhone), they'll be one of the last major players in the DAP market that hasn't snipped the chord on downloading yet. Mobile phones and services from the likes of Cingular, Sprint and Verizon are all enabling wireless downloads, with Sprint recently matching the iTunes price of $.99 per song.While Microsoft doesn't seem to be causing any loss of sleep for Apple in terms of iPod sales just yet, wireless downloads is one of the undeniable holy grails that digital media lovers everywhere have been clamoring for since the rumor mongers first began posting their silly claims of 'wireless iPods any day now' many years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if the debut of this feature alone made at least a few potential iPod switchers finally make the leap to black, white and brown waters.
iPhone anticipation continues to shake up cell market
We've already heard from some of the usual suspects on the "iPhone drag effect" that may be impacting sales and phone upgrades in advance of the June arrival of the iPhone; customers who would ordinarily be snapping up new smartphones and renewing two-year service agreements seem to be hedging.Now, courtesy of the Seeking Alpha stock blog, we have more data on the presales impact of the iPhone: a survey of potential early adopters in the ChangeWave Alliance research network reveals some dramatic shifts in attitudes. Both Motorola and Nokia lose ground on likely purchasers, and those likely to switch carriers are saying Cingular/AT&T more often than they say Verizon, a first in the CA survey. The article suggests that this "striking impact" on carrier and handset businesses "rocks the cellphone industry." Meanwhile, another analyst report on SA anticipates iPhone sales of 17 million units in fiscal 2008 and up to 25 million in 2009. Ye gads.I'm starting to wonder if the most sophisticated technology in the iPhone isn't the multitouch screen or the visual voicemail -- maybe it's the North America-wide expansion of the RDF.via Apple Hot News
Nokia N75 and LG CU500v now on sale (seriously)
Sorry for the emotional rollercoaster, AT&T subscribers; we know it's been a rough week. Happily, the LG CU500v (AT&T's first Video Share phone) and Nokia N75, both anticipated devices in their own right, are finally on sale. No, seriously. Check out the links below if you don't believe us.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - LG CU500vRead - Nokia N75
Nokia N75 hands-on - part 2, launches the 4th
Hard to believe we had to wait until 2007, but here we are, finally able to say Symbian, 3G, and US all in the same sentence. Even after last week's misfire launch of the N75, Nokia's uber-hot flip phone made its way into our grubby hands under more legitimate circumstances than last time. Knowing how slim HTC made the Star Trek, it's hard to call the N75 anything but a little chunky, but besides having, you know, 3G, it's got a few other things going for it: we really dug the classy black, copper-flecked finish, but crack it open and it's got a very spacious keypad and large bright screen (littered with Cingular app-swag). We took a ton of shots of this thing, including some size comparison's to Nokia's other Cingular handset, the E62, as well as the aforementioned Star Trek. Launch is thankfully still scheduled for sometime in May (i.e. this month) -- we can almost taste it.Update: We just got an official launch date! The N75 will go on sale tomorrow (Friday, May 4th) for the price of $200 (with two year agreement and with $50 mail in rebate).%Gallery-2939%
The Boy Genius Report: AT&T's N75 training docs!
Field tidbits from Engadget's mobile insider, the Boy Genius.Did you know that AT&T plans on marketing the N75 to males and females ages 25 to 45? Or that said individuals should be "spontaneous and fun"? Personally, we think that North America's first 3G-compatible S60 device suits 18 year old curmudgeons and 80 year old hermits just as well as it does anyone else -- just don't expect your friendly local AT&T sales associate to agree after he or she takes a gander at AT&T's training guide for the device. Nothing too surprising in here from a device features perspective, though we're glad to see that AT&T lists "hundreds of compatible applications" as one of Symbian's selling points, suggesting that the carrier is going to be making at least a half-hearted attempt to keep the phone open. Hit the gallery for the full doc! AT&T's traning guide for the Nokia N75