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Refresh Roundup: week of July 23rd, 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!
Refresh Roundup: week of July 16th, 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!
BlackBerry Torch 9850 officially coming to Verizon September 8th for $200
After over a month of speculation and rumors, Verizon is ready to get the BlackBerry Torch 9850 into the hands of eager customers. At a cost $50 higher than its arch CDMA nemesis (not to mention a couple weeks behind), Big Red has jumped aboard to offer the touch-only smartphone for $200 with a two-year agreement. The devices will begin selling online September 8th, with units showing up in stores a week later. If you're looking for the full scoop on Verizon's new OS 7-powered digs, continue below to check out the full press release.
Mobile Miscellany: week of August 22, 2011
This week 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: Phone Releases Fido launched the Samsung Galaxy Q, also known as the Gravity Smart in the US, on Thursday. [via MobileSyrup] The BlackBerry Curve 9360 can already be purchased on Telus for $50 with a three-year contract, and the Torch 9860 will be available on August 30th. [via IntoMobile and CrackBerry] SouthernLINC Wireless announced the immediate availability of the Motorola Titanium, offered for $150 with a two-year commitment. T-Mobile released the Samsung Gravity TXT, a basic messaging phone that's on sale for $10. [via UnwiredView] Cricket has begun offering a new messaging phone called the Samsung Comment, which offers a full QWERTY keyboard, stereo bluetooth, a microSD slot and 1.3MP camera. It can be had for $90 with no commitment required. [via PhoneScoop] Other news The government of South Korea, in reaction to Google's planned acquisition of Motorola, now intends to form a consortium of local companies that will work together in building a brand new mobile operating system. [via IntoMobile] Randall Milch, Chief Counsel for Verizon, is so frustrated with the patent wars going on that this week he filed an appeal to President Obama, asking for him to provide assistance in the matter. [via PhoneScoop] The Motorola PRO is expected to debut in the UK in mid-September, though pre-orders are already taking place at select authorized resellers. [via UnwiredView] Leaked posters indicate the BlackBerry Torch 9850 will be offered by Verizon and screenshots show the same phone going to US Cellular, though we're still unsure of the release date or pricing. [via CrackBerry(1) and (2)] Last week we reported on the rumored Sony Ericsson Nozumi, a smartphone that will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. At the time, it was assumed to be only selling in Japan; however, there's a good possibility the Nozumi will end up available globally instead. [via XperiaBlog] Pantech's LTE phone on Verizon may actually end up being called the Breakout (rather than the "Apache"), according to a leaked screenshot. When released, it'll feature a 1GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM, dual cameras, and will be preloaded with Gingerbread. Not much to write home about at this stage in the game, considering these are incredibly similar to the specs of the LG Revolution. However, it would be the first 4G phone on Big Red that has a 4-inch display. [via AndroidCentral] T-Mobile may be planning to throw a data pay-per-use feature onto any smartphone that currently has its internet access blocked. If this happens, it will affect current customers as well as new ones. [via TmoNews] Dish has petitioned the FCC for permission to use 40MHz of allocated spectrum to begin building out an LTE-Advanced network. [via PhoneScoop]
BlackBerry sucks at making fan videos
Wow! BlackBerry just released, and subsequently pulled, an awesome new video (which can be seen in full after the break) showing off its new Torch running BB 7 OS and sporting... an Android home button?! Man, that new Torch looks so awesome, particularly 15 and 27 seconds in, it hardly even looks like a BlackBerry at all.
Sprint welcomes BlackBerry Bold 9930 and Torch 9850 on 8/21, Bell now flaunts its 9900 and 9810
BlackBerry fans who prefer conducting business at the speed of "Now" will be getting their new fixations -- the Bold 9930 and Torch 9850 -- on August 21st. This is according to a pair of internal documents leaked from Sprint, which suggest RIM's new touch-enabled QWERTY handset will carry a $250 price tag, while its counterpart, the full touchscreen (and similarly specced) 9850, will sell for a more palatable $150. We understand the keyboard addiction is hard to break, but that's quite a monetary motivation to choose full touch. In related news up north, Bell has beaten its August 16th target date for the Bold 9900 and Torch 9810, as both devices are now available to its Canadian customers for $170 and $150, respectively. Granted, these prices represent Bell's standard three year commitment, but at least they remain reasonable -- unlike the option from a certain Magenta-themed network. Also, we've got some good news for Rogers customers, as the carrier has lowered the price of its Bold 9900 to a more suitable $200, compared to the original $250. Hey Sprint, care to follow suit? [Thanks, Luis]
RIM launches BlackBerry Torch 9810, Torch 9860 and Bold 9900, we go hands-on!
Here they are folks. Months after we first got our hands on pre-release Torch and Bold Touch handsets, RIM is finally ready to show off its latest hardware. They're all powered by a 1.2GHz processor, have 768MB of onboard RAM and -- most importantly -- run the latest operating system BB OS7. RIM claims its new OS is 40 percent faster at browsing compared to OS6-based smartphones, and 100 percent faster than OS5 handsets. It also supports RIM's Liquid Graphics technology, which uses a dedicated graphics processor for smoother scrolling, zooming and panning. Hands-on impressions and video follow after the break. %Gallery-129828% %Gallery-129831% %Gallery-129829% %Gallery-129832%
Leaked Sprint roadmap outs LG Optimus Slider and BlackBerry Torch 2, among others
Leaked carrier roadmaps are the closest thing we have to a crystal ball and can offer precious insight into upcoming devices and launches. Stumbling upon these lists isn't a common occurrence, and they can't be fully relied on since carriers tend to change their minds frequently, but the one shown here got our full attention. Among the highlights: the BlackBerry Torch 9850 Monaco, which is possibly a CDMA version of the Torch 9810 we previewed last week, is listed as a TBD release; the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 appears to be Sprint-bound on August 21; and the phone we've heard the least about thus far is the LG Optimus Slider LS700 (Gelato Q), most likely the successor to the Optimus S, prepping for a September launch. Several handsets are listed alongside dates for release, but we wouldn't take a lot of stock in the launch dates. Anything could happen in the coming months, and it's quite likely these are tentative dates the company hopes to hit so long as there aren't any hiccups along the way. Keep in mind that screen shots like this one can easily be faked, but the accurate prediction of the Motorola XPRT launch does make it slightly more believable. Scope out another shot after the break.
