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Mobile Miscellany: week of August 29, 2011
This week, as always, was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011: More rumors are circulating about the upcoming Sony Ericsson Nozumi, originally leaked two weeks ago. The new specs getting floated around are even better than we previously thought, which include a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution for a PPI of 342, and NFC. (Thanks, David) [via XperiaBlog] The Motorola Milestone 3 -- the GSM twin of the Droid 3, essentially -- was released in Brazil this week and will be available in select Latin American countries later this month. [via AndroidCentral] Just as we're getting used to the idea of a white HTC EVO 3D at Radio Shack, it's now reported that a purple version will soon be available exclusively at Best Buy. [via PocketNow] The BlackBerry Torch 9860 has two new Canadian homes, as it launched this week on Telus for $100 and SaskTel for $130. Both carriers involve setting up a three-year commitment. [via MobileSyrup(1) and (2)] Did someone mention SaskTel? Yes, the carrier is jumping on the 4G bandwagon by announcing its intent to deploy LTE by the fall of 2012. [via MobileSyrup] AT&T's LG Thrill 4G is finally getting released tomorrow after several weeks of delays. While the phone will be offered for $100 by the carrier itself, you'll be able to get it at Costco for $30. [via PhoneArena] Alongside the Kyocera Milano, Sprint will also launch a new feature phone called the Kyocera Brio. The Brio will offer a QWERTY keyboard, a 192MHz CPU and will run Java. [via Electronista and AndroidCentral] At HTC's Windows Phone launch this week, reps confirmed that all of its new Windows Phones will indeed have the mobile hotspot feature included, though it won't be a part of the software update to the company's existing lineup. It's likely to be added with a future refresh, but apparently the feature was added too late in the process to get thrown into the initial rollout. (Thanks, Gilles) [via Pocket-Lint]
Motorola XT860 4G is the Droid 3's curling loving cousin for Bell
Looks like someone took the Droid 3, slapped a new name on it, and shipped it north to our friends in Canada, but added one neat twist -- it's now rocking an extra "G." Officially known as the XT860 4G, Bell's version of Motorola's QWERTY slider comes packed with a HSPA+ radio that can handle the 850MHz, 1900MHz, and 2100MHz bands. That means not only can our ice-sweeping neighbors enjoy blazing fast mobile data, but they can roam the globe without sacrificing their deliciously speedy connection. Otherwise, you're looking at the same 4-inch, dual-core Gingerbread device that just launched here in the states. For the moment though, price and availability are still up in the syrup-scented air.
Motorola Droid 3 up for order, helps to usher in Verizon's new data plans
What better way to open a new era of limited, tiered data plans than to bring it on back to the QWERTY slider that had a huge part in starting the Android revolution? That phone was the original Droid and now its grandchild, the Droid 3, is out of the nursery and up for order on Verizon's page. Full-price is $459.99, but on-contract it'll set you back a quite reasonable $199.99. For that you get a 1GHz, dual-core processor, 16GB of storage, 4-inch qHD display, and an eight megapixel camera around the back. To get it you'll need one of Verizon's new data plans, which start at $10 monthly for 75MB and go on up to $80 for 10GB. Oh, sweet unlimited data, we're missing your soft embrace already. Update: We've added the official PR after the break. Looks like this one won't be making an appearance in stores until July 14th or so. %Gallery-127914% [Thanks, Wyatt and Peter]
Droid 3 leaks reveal manual, confirm July 7th and 14th release dates
The oft-leaked Motorola Droid 3 is dripping information yet again, this time over on Droid-Life where an internal flyer confirms it will be available at retail locations July 14th, with direct fulfillment orders (upgrade in-store, get the phone by mail) starting a week earlier. If that's somehow not enough, there's also a PDF copy of the manual available for download but if you watched the tutorial videos there's probably not much new information to be digested there. The one detail that continues to elude us however, is a confirmed price for Verizon's QWERTY slider w/ 1080p camera and dual core processor, but after all the early reveals we're sure you've had time to scrape together a suitable dowry.
Droid 3 headed to Best Buy on July 14th?
Red-eye alert, all ye Droid faithful! A leaked screenshot over at Droid Attic shows Motorola's worst kept secret -- the Droid 3 -- supposedly hitting Best Buy's shelves on July 14th. With all the unofficial leaks we've seen in the past few months, we have a pretty good idea of what this successor's got running under its QWERTY slider. Favoring a dual-core OMAP 4430 processor, a rear-facing 8 megapixel cam capturing video at 1080p, and baked with latest Gingerbread update, this black block of does shouldn't disappoint. Make note, VZW's new plans go into effect one week prior to this, so if you're clinging to that grandfathered plan, you can still pick this one up on-contract, and cross your toes it gets an LTE surprise. [Thanks, fuzzball]
Motorola Droid 3 official in China under Milestone 3 moniker, packs 4-inch qHD display
The Droid 3 is upon us! Well, it is if you live in China and don't mind calling it the Milestone 3. A new XT883 model has just been made official by Motorola during China Telecom's CDMA Summit, touting the tagline "the third Milestone" and a new five-row slideout QWERTY keyboard. The salient specs include a 4-inch touchscreen with qHD (540 x 960) resolution, a dual-core Tegra 2 processor capable of driving 1080p video recording, an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, up to 32GB of built-in storage, and of course, Android 2.3 as the shipping OS. A pretty compelling package, we think you'll agree. It's coming to China this summer, though Moto could still be crafty enough to squeeze the US launch in before actual units start shipping to Yao Ming's homeland. Because, well, who's ever heard of a Milestone coming before a Droid? %Gallery-126585% Update: Appears this handset is sporting an OMAP 4430 processor, not Tegra 2 as we had first assumed.
Motorola Droid / Milestone 3 gets previewed, Verizon release finally nearing?
The Motorola Droid 3 hasn't exactly been doing the best job of staying under wraps, and it (or the international Milestone 3 variant, to be specific) has now landed in the hands of Chinese website xda.cn, which has provided what's surely the most extensive look at the phone to date. That includes some additional confirmation of specs like a 4-inch qHD screen (of the PenTile variety, it seems), an 8 megapixel camera, HDMI out and a 1500 mAh battery, as well as what appear to be the first benchmarks of the phone and its dual-core OMAP 4430 processor, which is apparently slightly hampered by a mere 512MB of RAM. In other Droid 3 news, Droid Life notes that the device has turned up in Gameloft's compatibility listings for its Android games, and says that its hearing that Verizon is now targeting a July 7th launch. That's obviously still far from confirmed, but it seems safe to bet that a release can't be too much farther off now. Hit the source link below for xda.cn's complete preview.
Motorola Droid 3 leaks out in tutorial vids, confirms 8MP camera and 1080p recordings (video)
Verizon and Motorola have kept a tighter lid on the Droid 3 than many recent smartphones we've seen, but a nice big leak just sprang from the bottom of the pot -- startup gadget blog PhonePads obtained three tutorial videos of the five-row QWERTY slider strutting its stuff. While there's no discussion of any dual-core silicon, there is indeed an 8 megapixel camera on board, which is apparently capable of 1080p HD video recordings. Other changes include what seem to be a pair of volume keys on the right edge (instead of the usual rocker), the apparent lack of a dedicated camera button, and both micro-USB and mini-HDMI on the left edge in the Droid X2 configuration. You'll apparently still get your Swype virtual keyboard, but it's hard to say what version of Android the handset will include -- Verizon clearly states "Software Shown Not Final" on every single video. Find more footage after the break.
