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Refresh Roundup: week of April 30th, 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!
T-Mobile's You Fix gives budget-minded Brits a new approach to pay-as-you-go
If you're a Londoner who's struggling to live within your means, T-Mobile is hoping its latest You Fix plans are the solution to your budgetary woes. The Magenta-clad carrier's UK arm promotes You Fix as the ultimate hybrid of pay monthly and pay-as-you-go. Customers sign a 12 month commitment to one of three plans that range between £15.50 ($25) and £26 ($42) per month, and the most expensive plan brings 300 minutes and texts. Once the allotment is met, consumers can top off their accounts based on T-Mobile's traditional PAYG rates, or bide their time until the new month rolls around. Additionally, You Fix'ers may choose between one of seven free add-ons each month, including options to add data or unlimited texts. Subsidized phones are also on the menu, with the BlackBerry Curve 8520, HTC Wildfire S, and Samsung Galaxy Gio leading the pack. Looking to save a few quid? Check the full schedule of plans in the PR beyond the break.
Engadget's back to school guide: Mobile phones
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we have mobile phones in our sights -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Back in our day, the only "mobile phone" at school was the one that broke off the dorm wall after our roommates got a little too rowdy, but nowadays, a capable, high-power handset is quickly becoming a must-have for students of all ages. Regardless of your budget, your parent's budget, or your little one's budget, we've got options that should help with studying, gaming, music, and maybe even the occasional call home.
Nothing black about these berries: T-Mobile outs fuchsia Curve 8520, white Bold 9700
We kind of already had a hunch on this one, but it's totally official now: the "fuchsia" version of RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8520 is now totally real and available on T-Mobile for $49.99 on a two-year deal (interestingly, you can get either the black or the white versions for free, so you'd better really want the red). Alongside that, the Bold 9700 is getting repainted in white -- a trick we've seen before with the original Bold 9000 -- on May 26 for $129.99 on contract. Oh, and that Bold will come loaded with BlackBerry OS 5.0.586, an update that's now available to existing customers as well. High fives all around -- at least until 6 drops, right?
T-Mobile Complete: a $300 contract-free BlackBerry Curve 8520 with one month service
Good old T-Mobile's on a roll these days with new phone plans, and this one seems perfectly catered to stocking stuffers. The quartet of phones start at $59.99, but so far we know of two: BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $299.99 and the Pearl for $149.99, according to the Best Buy stores we contacted. There's no contract commitment, and according to the press release, the first month is included in the bill from the point the phone's out of the box and activated. We don't know the details of that first month of service (data? texting?), but it's still a pretty penny for an unsubsidized handset. After that second month, of course, T-Mo's probably hoping you'll be enticed to keep with the network. If not already, you should start seeing the phones pop up at local Best Buy and select Walmart locales shortly. Press release after the break.
Vodafone launches BlackBerry 8520 in the UK
BlackBerry's newest consumer-class QWERTY smartphone -- the Curve 8520 -- seemed like a lock to launch on Vodafone UK on account of some scanned advertising a little while back, and sure enough, here it is. Considering that you can get virtually any phone in your wildest dreams for free on Voda as long as you pair it with an appropriately pricey contract, we're not sure why you'd take up their offer of the 8520, really -- especially considering that it tops out at EDGE speeds in a country where EDGE-only phones are antiquities better suited for museums than pockets. We guess that'd be what the "Why get this" section on the carrier's product page is for, eh?
T-Mobile's BlackBerry Curve 8520 unboxed and handled (with video!)
That new BlackBerry Curve 8520 for T-Mobile is in the house, sucking down EDGE data like it's going out of style (oh, right, it is). For a device that can be scored for $50 at Walmart as of tomorrow ($130 at T-Mobile stores), this is a surprisingly solid handset. The keyboard is classic BlackBerry goodness, and the overall heft gives us at least a little bit of assurance that the phone can hold up to wear and tear better than its predecessors. Most of the changes are for the better, like a trio of media keys up top and the rubberized sides, but we're not completely sold on the touchpad. It works great when it works, but if it's too clean or our thumb is at the exact wrong moisture level, we found that we kind of "stuck" to the pad instead of gliding across it. A bit of texturing could go a long way. We also found the QVGA screen to be pretty dim, which is particularly unfortunate in light of RIM's higher-end, high-res wonders, but it's certainly passable. We're planning on spending some more time with the handset, testing that EDGE network to the limit, giving UMA time to handle some of legendary conversational stylings, and seeing how many Engadget Podcast episodes we can narcissistically cram onto the bundled 1GB microSD card. In speaking with RIM, it's quite clear that the decision to go EDGE was primarily based on price, along with the fact that T-Mobile's 3G rollout is still lacking -- it's still a head scratcher to us, though. The spokesperson also seemed pretty confident that the new touchpad interface is the way of the future, and we get the feeling the BlackBerry's legendary trackball isn't long for this world. Check out a quick video hands-on after the break, or you could opt for some fine unboxing shots below.
BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a go for US, says FCC
Whether or not it's coming to T-Mobile (spoiler: all signs point to yes), BlackBerry's Curve 8520 has now been ordained with FCC approval, clearing the hurdle for its sale stateside. Optical trackpad and EDGE connection your cup of tea? You know where to look, and for everyone else, there's always the Tour.[Via Boy Genius Report]
BlackBerry Aries spotted: a Gemini with CDMA in its heart
If you had your eye the BlackBerry Curve 8520 / Gemini, somehow above all the other number of RIM devices that have surfaced as of late, it looks like the stars have aligned (har har) for you. The gang at Crackberry have gotten a first peep at the Aries, which they say is essentially a CDMA-equipped Gemini that's likely to go by the eventual name Curve 8530. Not much else to note here, here's hoping we got some more concrete details -- and maybe a committed carrier or two -- in the not too distant. As for the naming conventions, we now anxiously await for alliterative darlings like a touchscreen Taurus, slide-out Sagittarius, and 18 megapixel Pisces.
BlackBerry Curve 8520 gets pre-reviewed
We've been dying to know more about that crazy BlackBerry Curve 8520 with the optical trackball in place of the usual spinner, and the crew over at CrackBerry's finally posted their pre-release review. Overall, it seems like a nice enough phone, and the optical trackball apparently works well, which is a nice surprise given our experience with them. On the downside, it's not nearly as nice as the Curve 8900, and while the overall design has been updated, components like the screen, battery, and camera are carryovers from the Curve 8300 -- a particular shame considering the raves RIM's been getting for its amazing screens lately. Of course, we can't complain too much considering this thing is EDGE-only and potentially destined to be a pay-as-you-go phone, but it sure does look nice, and we're interested in seeing how this design philosophy translates into higher-end sets... like, say, the Storm 2. Check the full review at the read link.
BlackBerry Curve 8520 "Gemini" image surfaces
Well, what do we have here? The folks at Crackberry seem to have gotten their hands on a pic of the BlackBerry Curve 8520, a.k.a. "Gemini." From what we can see and from what they tell us, there's an optical trackball, dedicated media player buttons, and a "rubberized" body. Lack of 3G is a big bummer, and we're sure the non-classic trackball is gonna ruffle some feathers, but the hardware's enticing enough for us to give it a look over. Intrigued?
