cingular
Latest
Verizon preps to launch Motorola SLVR
Looks like Sprint won't have bragging rights after all as Verizon Wireless preps to be the first national carrier to launch the CDMA version of Motorola's popular SLVR phone. From the L7 to the L7c, the feature set has remained the same from with a 262,000 color display, VGA camera, expandable memory via microSD, and bluetooth. We still can't figure out why Motorola didn't up the resolution on the camera like its i-mode cousin though. Stay tuned for the price details! Update: Verizon is not the first national carrier to launch the SLVR L7c. This device was launched in November 2006 by Sprint. The device is currently an exclusive to Best Buy locations.
Hands-on with the Samsung BlackJack
The date: November 16, 2006. The network: Cingular. Smartphone meets HSDPA for the first time on a North American market, with the Samsung i607 BlackJack launching alongside the HTC-sourced 8525. We headed down to our local Cingular corporate store on that fateful day, trying to get a feel for what (if anything) the landmark launches were doing for foot traffic and sales. Much to our surprise -- our very pleasant surprise -- the store is busier than we'd ever seen it, with virtually everyone in the joint inquiring about that sleek new Samsung with a keyboard they've seen on the telly. As it turns out, the store didn't even have any of the bigger, more expensive, less hyped 8525s; the curious customers and would-be customers had all wandered in on the strength of the BlackJack alone. By the end of the day, they'd sold out. What is it about the device that has everyone fired up? More importantly, is it justified?
Cingular adds Globetrotter GT MAX to 3.6Mbps stable
If the promise of 3.6Mbps downstream data (eventually, anyway) on the wings of Cingular's HSDPA network gets you out of bed every morning, but the AirCard 875's bulbous antenna is enough to make you want to cry, just feast your eyes on this little number. Option's Globetrotter GT MAX is the latest (and only second) data card to hit Cingular with support for the higher HSDPA data rate, while still preserving a veritable who's who of backward compatibility (GPRS, EDGE, and plain ol' UMTS) on four GSM and three WCDMA bands. Unlike the aforementioned AirCard from Sierra Wireless, the Globetrotter has a nifty little retractable antenna that'll likely be a hit with road warriors weary of removing modems from their slots when trying to pack the PC away. Look for the Globetrotter GT MAX to be available today from Cingular for a nice, round $49.99 after rebate on a two year agreement.[Via PHONE Magazine]
Cingular jumps on the MySpace bandwagon
It looks like Helio isn't the only game in town touting a MySpace partnership anymore, as Cingular has not only joined the ranks (well, solidified the friendship, anyway), but upped the ante in the process. While we learned about MySpace's integration with Helio (and the subsequent perks for members) awhile back, Cingular's deal promises a "more expansive" offering. So expansive, in fact, that users will be charged an extra $2.99 per month to upload photos taken on their handsets to their profile, read / respond to MySpace emails, update their blog entries, and search / view friend profiles on their handsets. Apparently, these not-so-outrageous niceties are costing users due to the "small Java application" that they can download, which presumably makes accessing these luxuries an easy and painless process. About "30 cellphone models" will initially be supported, with another 20 or so to follow suit, and while online videos aren't currently supported, that functionality should be launched "sometime in 2007."
Treo 750 demo units in Cingular stores?
Looks like Palm's Windows Mobile powered Treo 750 might indeed hit this month like we heard. The Boy Genius snap above is of a reported demo unit said to be hitting "various Cingular stores" across The Nation over the weekend. Who knows, with the rumor-mill in a frenzy about a possible launch as early as today, things sure look promising for a stub-free, HSDPA holiday after all. Another shot 'round back after the break.
Details emerge on Cingular's NFC plans
We'd previously noticed that Cingular was collaborating with Citigroup on some sort of mobile payment system in New York City, though details were pretty slim for the picking at the time; now the carrier has come out with full disclosure on exactly what it is they have up their sleeves. Like its Atlanta trial last year, the New York program involves Nokia handsets fitted with NFC (near-field communication) guts -- though for the sake of the trial participants, we hope Cingular is offering something a little more up-to-date than the lowly 3220 this time around. Unlike Atlanta, however, Cingular has switched up their financial partner from Chase / Visa to Citi / Mastercard, giving users the ability to use their phone for payment anywhere Mastercard's PayPass system is accepted. Parties involved expect the trial to last a total of three to six months, at which point we should all have a better perspective on how folks feel about shedding cash by tapping their cellphones against various surfaces. Of course, Japan seems to like it just fine -- so why not us?
Samsung's Robin, Flipper, and Spear?
We're always up for getting to the bottom of corporate conspiracies to shield our eyes from upcoming products. This time the culprit is Samsung (along with its partners in crime, Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint), which sent out a rough copy of a press release introducing new products to be showcased at CES; in it, they made mention of three phones that are now mysteriously missing from the final release on Samsung's site. Our good friend Sascha Segan over at Gearlog keenly picked them out: the i760 "Robin" for Verizon, the "Spear" for Cingular, and the "Flipper" for Sprint. Now, we've previously heard of a 3G (albeit HSDPA, not EV-DO) Pocket PC going by the i760 monker, but the Spear and Flipper are both totally fresh to us. Sascha has since picked up on some intel that the Flipper might be the F300, but it's all speculation at this point. Care to elaborate, Samsung, or are ya going to make us wait for CES?
Sprint compares its EV-DO speeds to Cingy's EDGE -- guess what happens
While our general practice of unquestioning obedience to the boob tube has gotten us this far in life, we managed to wake from our mindless trance for a few seconds the other evening to notice some BS Sprint was trying to pull on national TV. Sprint's recent TV commercial features dork-in-a-suit A and B sitting next to each other on a park bench, one with a drab Cingular laptop card, and the other one rocking one of those spiffy Sprint PCMCIA numbers. The Sprint dude proceeds to rock the house with his download, from a shiny app that looks suspiciously like Outlook, while the Cingular guy gets left behind with his dorky wanna-be email app and a crawling download progress bar. A helpful narrator explains the situation: "Sprint mobile broadband downloads 5x faster than Cingular's EDGE." Good to know, right? Well, unless if you count the fact that Cingular's EDGE ain't quite the competition anymore, Sprint. It's called HSDPA. Google it. And sure, EV-DO Rev A gives Cingular's current HSDPA version a run for its money, but we suppose a fair fight just doesn't work for ye ol' PR firm, eh? Peep the commercial after the break.
HP teams with Cingular, offers up HSDPA-equipped nc6400 laptop
Built-in HSDPA isn't exactly a "must have" feature on laptops just yet, but it's getting there. Following Lenovo (not to mention the others) into the wild world of WWAN, the HSDPA-equipped nc6400 is HP's first endeavor into the 3G laptop realm. Teaming with Cingular, the firm has unveiled a nc6400 with "integrated UMTS / HSDPA connectivity," and also features your run-of-the-mill WiFi adapter and Bluetooth to boot. Although the machine touts Cingular compatibility, it will reportedly work with other EDGE networks as well, and apparently the specs on this otherwise ho hum business portable have remained the same. Weighing about 5.1-pounds, the Core 2 Duo-powered machine sports a 14.1-inch screen, 512MB of RAM, and a "starting price" of $1,599. Notably, HP states that current owners of the nc6400 can give their machine the HSDPA boost by adding an HP Broadband Wireless Module if you're down with the $59.99 monthly charge for unlimited domestic data, but folks looking to pick the new edition up have to wait until "late December."[Via CNET]
BlackBerry versus BlackJack: RIM sues Samsung for trademark infringement
Thoroughly annoyed by Samsung's entry into the smartphone sector with its new BlackJack, RIM (maker of the BlackBerry, of course), has sued Sammie for trademark infringement in US Federal Court in Los Angeles. Oh, RIM, we understand that you want to protect your trademark over the BlackBerry name. But do you really, honestly, believe that just because another smartphone has the name "Black" in it, that throngs of people will rush out to buy the BlackJack when they meant to buy the BlackBerry? Or is this just a ploy to squeeze some money out of Samsung when you two finally settle this dispute? Yeah, that's what we thought. (Needless to say, Cingular must find this whole thing pretty hilarious.)[Via Textually]
7.2Mbps HSDPA service to hit Cingular next year
There's always thrilling news coming from ITU Telecom World in Hong Kong for those residing overseas, but this time it's the Americans rejoicing. A Qualcomm official has stated that USA's own Cingular Wireless "is set to launch" a 7.2Mbps HSDPA service this coming January (at the earliest). While we're not sure if that figure is theoretical or otherwise, nor do we know its complementary upload speed, we've found that the service will hit speed-hungry laptops equipped with PCMCIA slots real soon. While upping the speeds of HSDPA services seems to be all the rage these days, we're glad to see such a substantial jump happening right here. Notably, Cingular probably won't be alone in such launches come 2007, as Australian service provider Telstra is already planning to hit its customers up with the same luxury, while a spokesperson from SK Telecom boasted that its networks were "already designed" to support the blazing speeds, insinuating that a boost in service could be just around the bend. Per usual, we've got no details as to just how much coinage this speed will demand, nor any way to tell if this January date will actually stick, but we've got just about a month until we know for certain. [Warning: subscription required]Update: A Qualcomm official pinged to let us know that this information was supposedly never given to Telecoms Korea, and that Qualcomm "doesn't speculate on operator plans." So there you have it, maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't.
Got cash in the new phone budget? Do some good
'Tis the season for giving, which leaves the rabid phone fans among us in a tight spot: how do we get in on a little new mobile tech for ourselves and help those less fortunate at the same time? Our friends over at Phone Scoop are hoping to fill the bill by auctioning off a handful of hot, current handsets graciously provided by carriers and manufacturers with all proceeds going to benefit The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria -- the same fund (RED) benefits. Loot includes a T-Mobile Dash, LRG Sidekick 3, Motorola MOTOKRZR K1, unlocked Samsung i320, M500 for Sprint, and BlackJack, and a Helio Drift (see, we told you the goods were hot). Bidding will take place via Phone Scoops' forums, with all auctions ending this Friday. Bid generously, and bid to win!
Cingular, Pantech update C300 with C3
Just a few short months after rolling out the silly-small C300 from Pantech, the diminutive flip phone is getting an update (sort of) and a new name to mark the occasion: C3. The re-upped model looks like a C300, walks like a C300, and quacks like a C300, but it's not quite a C300 -- the C3 adds interchangeable face plates for when the stock silver gets a little long in the tooth. Look for the C3 now on Cingular for $40 after rebates; for the record, that's $40 more than the C300 will run ya.[Thanks, Jonathan]
Cingular officially launches BlackBerry Pearl
Every day closer we get to Christmas is a day less Cingular has to push buyers to snag the sexy (yet still somehow boring and disappointing) BlackBerry Pearl. Expect to pay $400 for the phone out of contract -- way, way too much -- and as little as $200 with a two year and rebate. Frankly, for those with two Bens looking for a QWERTY device that plays media, we think you can do a lot better.[Thanks, Rich]
Cingular-branded Motorola V3xx hits the FCC
It may be no match for its MAXX cousin, but the scrappy lil' Motorola V3xx (alias "MOTORAZR xx") does alright for itself -- especially this side of the pond, where folks are still relatively starved for HSDPA-equipped handsets. The latest FCC filings reveal that the V3xx will be heading to (or at least tested by) Cingular, which we can say with some confidence thanks primarily to a user's manual absolutely riddled with Cingular references. With just a 1.3 megapixel external camera and that please-make-it-stop original RAZR styling, the V3xx seems ultimately destined for one of the lower tiers in Cingular's 3G lineup, but the presence of a secondary forward-facing cam indicates that it could also end up being one of the first to support video calling.[Via Phone Scoop]
Cingular's Pearl launches tomorrow, TeleNav offered
Not only should you be able to stroll into a Cingular store in the next few days and pick up a Blackberry Pearl (ahead of schedule, no less), but now we're finding out there's no way you'll get lost getting back home. Cingular's variant of the Pearl -- a device already launched to much fanfare on T-Mobile -- will be the first carrier-launched device in the US to feature TeleNav Maps, providing users with static maps (that is, no GPS link) and driving directions free of charge. Of course, folks ponying up the cash for an external GPS receiver will also be able to use the dynamic TeleNav navigation services already offered on several other Cingular devices. Other than this Pearl's push-to-talk capability, the spec sheet reads very much like its T-Mobile predecessor -- 260 x 240 display, 1.3 megapixel cam, SureType, crappy keys -- and it can be yours starting tomorrow for $200 on a two-year contract.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Cingular readying video download service?
Hot on the heels of Verizon's YouTube deal, it looks like Cingular wants to kick up the volume on its video offerings, too. Granted, they've already got Cingular Video kicking around, but what's the one thing Cingular Video won't let you do? It won't download clips to your phone, that's what -- and that's where the new service steps in. We don't have details on what sorts of downloads will be offered (full-length movies, perhaps?), but our intrepid tipster tells us he's been offered in on a trial to gather feedback using his LG CU320, suggesting that the new service may very well be 3G-only. Given the kind of bloat that comes with video, we're guessing a microSD card might be in order, too.[Thanks, Evan]
Cingular Premier customers can pre-order BlackBerry Pearl
Apparently today was the agreed upon date to launch (or "prelaunch," anyway) svelte new mobiles that we'd been waiting ever so patiently on, as this discovery comes just hours after Motorola officially released its MOTOFONE F3. While we've known the BlackBerry Pearl was coming, sneaked a few peeks of it in action, heard all about the pre-release reviews, and had strong suspicions (twice) that it was headed to Cingular, today we can finally say it's here -- well, almost. Accessible through Cingular's Premier web portal, the Pearl is available for pre-order as an interestingly-labeled prelaunch affair. While the design nor the specs have changed up on us, we're finally getting some concrete info on the price; it'll run you $579.99 straight up, or around $179.99 after corporate and web discounts, and while we're sure plain ole consumer pricing will be similar, you'll (probably) only snag this jewel for under $200 if you sign away your cellular soul for a couple years.[Thanks, Scott V.]
Best Buy Mobile opens up shop in New York
While Best Buy's been selling mobiles (and holding out on Wii hopefuls) for some time now, the big blue retailer is diverting a bit more fundage towards the cause. Aside from continuing to offer phones and plans in typical stores, Best Buy is opening up a smattering of New York-based Mobile stores to handle your cellular needs (and probably hassle you for an extended warranty as well). While details about the store layout and initial offerings are a bit scant at this point, we do know that nine locales will be opening up in the Big Apple alone, with a red (as in, not black) PRODUCT (RED) RAZR being their "exclusive" offering. The stores will partner with Verizon Wireless, Amp'd Mobile, Sprint-Nextel, and Cingular, and should have a plethora of promotional goodies surrounding each and every door to snag your attention.
Palm delays US Treo 750 into oblivion
Clamoring to get your hands on a Treo 750 here in the States? Does the very thought of a HSDPA, stub antenna-free, Windows Mobile-equipped slice of Palm goodness leave you dizzy with desire? Well, get ready to wait. And wait. And, oh yeah, then wait a little more -- just until you get to the point where the by-then-dated phone is a distant memory in your mind and you couldn't possibly care less about its release (much to Palm's chagrin, undoubtedly). Despite repeated rumblings about the Treo 750's imminent release on Cingular, Palm has dropped the bomb today that the 750 is now targeted for a US debut in the third frickin' quarter of 2007 in a report detailing its revised guidance for Q2 of next year. The slip is allegedly due to a "delay in certification," suggesting that the FCC might be responsible for gumming up the works here -- but any way you slice it, this doesn't bode well for folks looking to get their high-end Palm on who don't have the benefit of Vodafone coverage. Maybe we can occupy ourselves with the 680 in the meantime?[Via PDA247]Update: False alarm! Apparently these newfangled "fiscal years," as they're known, are way ahead of the calendar we normally know and love. The third quarter of fiscal '07 starts next month, so we might see some 750 action before the year's out after all. [Thanks, Dayton]
