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Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: fall 2012 edition
Shopping for a smartphone can be an exciting and arduous experience. Along with the promise of something new and fantastic, it brings the fear of commitment, and even worse, the prospect of saddling yourself to a lousy device for two years. Fortunately for you, Engadget spends tons of time playing with the latest gear and we're constantly on the lookout for what's coming next. If you're wanting to take the pain out of shopping for a smartphone, you've come to the right place. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: your one-stop resource to finding the best and most exciting handsets on the market today. Before you dive in, however, we've introduced a few changes to the buyer's guide, so take a minute to prepare yourself for what's in store. First and foremost, you'll now find alternate selections to supplement our top picks. This should already be familiar to many of you, which is the same format we use for our seasonal gift guides. The next one is a biggie: we've dropped the QWERTY selection. By and large, manufacturers and carriers alike have shifted their focus away from keyboard-equipped smartphones, and you'll rarely find more than one option on any given carrier. That said, if you still insist on the tactile experience, you'll always find everything you need to know in our reviews. Finally, whenever possible, you'll now find prices from Amazon Wireless, which allows us to provide you with more compelling budget selections and highlight the substantial savings that you can score by circumventing the carriers. It's not like they need your charity, anyway. If you're curious to see how it all unfolded -- and we know you are -- join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.
Nokia reaffirms WP 7.8 support for existing Lumia handsets, announces handful of features
Nokia's legacy Lumia devices won't be graced with Windows Phone 8, but the company has reaffirmed its support for keeping them fresh with version 7.8 of Microsoft's handset OS. In addition to a revamped start screen, the introduction of City Lens and other expected perks, Espoo is tossing in a few extras. Among the new additions are the Cinemagraph GIF creator, a ringtone maker app, updates to Smart Group Shot and Bluetooth support for both file transfers and the firm's Contact Share application. Yearning to load up your smartphone with the raft of new features? Elop and Co. say the upgrades will be be rolled out in phases for the Lumia 610, 710, 800 and 900 models, but promise more details when their ETAs close in.
Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 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!
Nokia Lumia 710 phones on T-Mobile USA should learn to Tango on June 20th
If you've been carrying around a Lumia 710 for T-Mobile in your pocket and waiting for the day when you'd get a taste of Tango (Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh), you'll be happy to know that it could very soon. An internal memo passed along to WPCentral has Microsoft delivering the update on June 20th. Much like you'd hope, it should switch on hotspot support to share that HSPA+ network with others; many of the fixes between Mango and Tango will have snuck their way in as well, such as the cure for the well-known disappearing keyboard bug. Assuming the schedule holds, about the only visible drawback might come from a staggered rollout that won't have everyone dancing until July 31st.
Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 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!
Mobile Miscellany: week of May 14th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Verizon Wireless brought its LTE service to 28 new markets and expanded its reach in 11 additional areas. We also saw Straight Talk introduce the Samsung Galaxy Proclaim, and it appears that Rogers will soon offer the HTC One S. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of May 14th, 2012.
Nokia's Q1 2012 financials: $9 billion in sales can't stop a $1.7 billion loss
Nokia's released the bundle of spreadsheets that comprise its 2012 Q1 financials, just a week after it acknowledged that it would make a loss, despite bullish sales of the new Lumia 900. The numbers reveal that the company had net sales of €7.4 billion ($9.7 billion), down from €10.4 billion ($13.6 billion) at the start of last year. Net sales are down 30 percent year-on-year, which means the company's posting a loss of €1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months of 2012. That loss is broken down as €772 million to restructure Nokia Siemens Networks, €101 million to restructure the Devices & Services and Location & Commerce departments, principally in shedding employees and relocating its factories to Asia. It had forecasted an operating margin of three percent below "break even," and says it's likely to remain that way well into the second quarter. Stephen Elop pointed out that much of the loss is due to both increased competition and the costs of restructuring, but also seemed to tacitly confirm rumors we'd heard that UK carriers have been resistant to Nokia's new direction, saying that establishing momentum in the country has been "challenging." However, it's still promising to arrest the slump and in a statement to Moody's on Monday, the company pledged that it was prioritizing "cash conservation" exercises, although its liquid cash reserves have fallen 24% in a year, meaning that the company's only got €4.8 billion ($6.3 billion) put aside for a rainy day.
Canada's WIND Mobile lists Nokia Lumia 710, says it's coming soon
It's now been a few months since we first laid our eager palms on Nokia's Lumia 710, and although it isn't getting any younger, some carriers are still adding the device to their lineup. We'd previously seen Rogers land the entry-level 710 as an exclusive in Canada, but now it's looking like the deal's expiring and WIND Mobile's ready to give its users a taste of the Mango-flavored handset. So far, WIND's keeping deets to a minimum, with the site only listing the device as "coming soon." One thing we do know, however, is that specs-wise it's likely to be a clone of any other network's variant. Needless to say, WIND may have to match, if not best, Rogers' prices in order to attract a new breed of customers to its white and orange shop. While you wait for the rest of the info to spill, you can always give those free Nokia covers a gander and decide which one you'd like to snag if the promo ever hits the True North.
Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: spring 2012 edition
Springtime is here. It's a season of renewal, and similarly, an ideal time to replace your aging phone with one that you'll adore. With this in mind, we give you Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide -- your one-stop resource for selecting the best handset that fits your desires and budget. This time around, we're doing things a bit differently. In addition to naming the top phones for each provider, you'll now find more comparisons across carriers. This should help you find the best possible handset -- regardless of network -- if you're willing to make the switch. Also, you'll no longer see limited-time offers as our budget picks -- they'll still get a mention, but now, only phones that commonly retail below $80 will qualify for this coveted spot. Naturally, new smartphones are always coming onto the market, so before you make your final selection, be sure to consult our reviews hub for the very latest recommendations. With that in mind, read on as we round up the best smartphones of the season.
Nokia unveils the Lumia 800 in China, calls it the 800C
So if you live out in China, and were counting down the days until you could get your hands on a legit Lumia 800 (or the 610), you're almost there. Nokia's slab of Windows Phone, renamed the 800C was unveiled by China Telecom today as we'd heard, and will launch in stores fully next month. There'll be 20,000 apps available in the Marketplace when it does finally ship, which should be enough to keep you going. Color-wise there'll be cyan and black options, setting you back 3599 RMB sans contract. Head down to the official PR for the company pomp.
Nokia confirms Lumia 710, 800 to be knighted with mobile hotspot 'soon'
If you've pored over the specs of Nokia's Lumia 710 and 800 handsets during the last few months, you've likely noticed the duo's lack of mobile hotspot functionally. Of course, the Finnish phone maker didn't completely abandoned the feature in Windows Phone, as the ability to turn your device into a portable access point will ship with its flagship Lumia 900 and the recently announced 610 at launch. Nokia admitted that the feature would be coming to the 800 months ago, and now Elop & Company have announced that the 710 is also on the shortlist. A recent Q&A post on its Connects blog explained that software updates will be "coming soon" -- by way of Zune update -- to remedy the discrepancy between the old and new. No word on what Nokia's definition of "soon" is, but you can find all the available details at the source link below.
Stephen Elop: Nokia Lumia coming to China on March 28th
China recently greeted its first Windows Phone (on pre-order, anyway), but if Stephen Elop has his way, Nokia will be hot on HTC's heels. The company's CEO has revealed that Nokia will unleash its Lumia handsets upon the People's Republic on March 28th. While Elop offered no clues to suggest which models will be available, recent regulatory approvals hint that the Lumia 800 and 710 are both top candidates -- though personally, we'd be shocked if the Lumia 610 didn't rear its head sooner rather than later. Both China Telecom and China Unicom are said to be partners with Nokia, which is undoubtedly eager to offer something other than Symbian to its Chinese fan base.
Refresh Roundup: week of March 5th, 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!
Engadget Giveaway: win one of five Nokia Lumia 710s on T-Mobile, courtesy of Nokia!
Last week we launched our weekly giveaway with a killer device, and for week two we're following up with another solid offering. Our friends at Nokia are showing up big, offering not one but five T-Mobile branded Lumia 710 units for our lucky readers! Indeed, we'll be picking out five winners and shipping one out to each. So head on below to leave a comment, and good luck!Note: You'll definitely want to read the fine print this time around, as there are a few caveats: the Lumia 710s being given out are strictly locked to work with T-Mobile US SIMs, and service is not coming with the prizes.
Mobile Miscellany: week of January 30th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This week, we've spotted a leaked Android 4.0.4 ROM for the Nexus S 4G, and we've also come across a price and release date for the Droid 4. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride. Let's explore the "best of the rest" for this week of January 30th, 2012.
Lumia 710 busting through Rogers' door in February for $149 or $99, you call it
Rogers subscribers are about to get their very first second taste of Windows Phone, and as you know, it's coming in the form of the Lumia 710. Said to debut during the first week of February, a leaked internal memo has outed the structured price tiers for the lovable runt of Nokia's litter. It can be purchased outright for $254, while those who saddle up for a one, two or three-year commitment can snatch the handset for $149, $99 or $49, respectively. Feel free to run those numbers through your depreciation and amortization schedules, and let us know what you decide.
Nokia releases Q4 2011 earnings report: operating profits drop, Lumia sales break one million
Nokia released its latest quarterly earnings report today, following up on a somewhat disappointing Q3 with a similarly bleak Q4. The Finnish manufacturer finished 2011 with a little more than €10 billion ($13.1 billion) in net sales -- 11 percent higher than Q3, but 21 percent lower than 2010, when Nokia raked in about €12.7 billion (approximately $16.7 billion). Operating profit, meanwhile, rose by 90 percent over Q3, but is still down on the year by a whopping 56 percent; this quarter, in fact, saw an operating loss of €954 million (about $1.3 billion). Its net cash and liquid assets also dropped by €1.4 billion over the year, marking a 20 percent decline. The general takeaway, then, is that things are looking better than they were last quarter, but worse than they were last year. To date, the company has sold "well over" one million Lumia devices, but this Windows Phone surge has apparently come at Symbian's expense. "In certain markets, there has been an acceleration of the anticipated trend towards lower-priced smartphones with specifications that are different from Symbian's traditional strengths," CEO Stephen Elop said in a statement. "As a result of the changing market conditions, combined with our increased focus on Lumia, we now believe that we will sell fewer Symbian devices than we previously anticipated." Looking forward, Nokia expects to break even during the first quarter of 2012, due in part to lower than expected seasonal sales and what it calls "competitive industry dynamics." For the full report, check out the source link below.
PSA: T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 710 hits stores, $50 on contract
It's been a pretty busy week for Nokia. We now know that AT&T will be getting its own slice of the Lumia pie, and now its T-Mobile branded Lumia 710 has finally touched down on US soil. The middleweight Windows Phone is priced up at fifty bucks (after a mail-in rebate of the same amount) on a typical two-year contract, which should explain any queues forming outside your nearest T-Mob outlet. Or not.
Nokia confirms Canadian plans: Lumia 800 exclusive to Telus, Lumia 710 exclusive to Rogers
There's still no word on Canadian availability for the new Lumia 900, but Nokia isn't about to ignore the country altogether. It confirmed today that the Lumia 710 will be available on Rogers in February for $49 on-contract, and that the Lumia 800 will be available on Telus (in Cyan, Magenta and Black) at a date and price still to be announced -- each an exclusive to their respective carriers.
Nokia Lumia 710 for T-Mobile review
It's not the Nokia / Microsoft lovechild we've all been patiently awaiting here in the states. No, it's the other Lumia -- the low-end one. And it's headed for a berth on T-Mobile's airwaves next week, on January 11th. Rather than go big (or go home), Espoo's chosen to wade gently into the shallow waters of the US smartphone market, loading this budget Mango device with respectable mid-range specs and an irresistible price. The Lumia 710 is a $50 on contract proposition geared towards easing folks inept at the smarter aspects of wireless gadgetry into the 21st century. With a 3.7-inch ClearBlack LCD display, a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor aided by 512MB of RAM, a decent 5 megapixel rear shoot capable of 720p video capture and, of course, Windows Phone 7.5, it may do just that. The obvious hurdle keeping this able phone from flying off the shelves has little to do with performance and everything to do with Nokia's stateside brand recognition. So, join us after the break as we put this unassuming handset through its paces and determine whether or not the 710's training wheels are worth a Grant.