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Apple investigating 3G issues on some Verizon iPad 2s, software fix expected soon
Having trouble hooking up your iPad 2 to Verizon's 3G network? Turns out you're not alone, and thankfully, Apple's well aware of this. In a statement to All Things Digital, Cupertino said it's investigating this CDMA connectivity issue as reported by "a small number of iPad 2 customers," and word has it that a software patch will be available soon. Until then, personal hotspot is your friend, or you could just borrow some mobile WiFi from your actual friends -- protip: a smile goes a long way.
HTC Thunderbolt test menu exposes missing 4G / 3G switch
As we mentioned in our recent HTC Thunderbolt review, there's no option provided in the settings to switch off 4G (LTE) and force the phone to operate solely on 3G (EV-DO). Obviously this is an issue when conserving battery is more important than reaping the benefits of LTE's ludicrous data speeds. Fortunately, we can thank the good old *#*#4636#*#* test menu for remedying this odd deficiency. This hidden menu, which became popular with the Nexus One and is available on most Android devices, allows you to enable / disable radio modes. On the Thunderbolt it lets you select between LTE+EV-DO, EV-DO only, and LTE only. Now you can have your cake and eat it too -- well almost. Follow the source link for step-by-step instructions.
HTC's dual-mode CDMA / GSM Android slider hits the FCC, decked out in shades of Verizon
Remember that big, honking red-and-black HTC slider that dwarfed an EVO 4G? It's back sporting Verizon colors just as we were told, and with a few more confirmed specifications thanks to the ever-reliable FCC. The HTC "PD42100" is still missing a proper internal codename, but test reports confirm it's ready for at least CDMA 2000 and GSM 850 plus EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n WiFi at 2.4GHz frequencies. There's no word on that 1.2GHz processor or 4-inch display, but it's clear we're looking at some chunky chiclet keys and there's definitely a removable battery. We can't wait to get our hands on what surely looks like the new king of Droids. %Gallery-101407% Update: As it turns out, the size of the screen has been staring us in the face for hours -- we just had to think back to high school geometry class, specifically the Pythagorean Theorem. Starting with the FCC's handy-dandy picture of the phone's rear next to a square ruler, we had only to superimpose an image of the front on top, then calculate the diagonal (after translating to inches, of course) to discover it was a 4-inch display all along. Oh, and the phone has EV-DO Rev. A for data. [Thanks, Mark]
Motorola Ming A1680, MT810, and XT806 begin their Android mercy mission in China
Motorola's venerable MING handset revisions were just made official in three Android-toting varieties for China Unicom (model A1680 pictured above left), China Mobile (MT810, pictured center), and China Telecom (XT806, on the right). The TD-SCDMA riding MT810 ships with the Android derived OPhone 2.0 operating system and two touchscreen displays: a 3.2-inch stylus-friendly resistive touchscreen and a second transparent capacitive cover that provides a finger-friendly experience when closed. Other specs include 720 x 480 video capture, 720p video playback, and support for China's CMMB mobile television spec. China Telecom's XT806 is built on Android 2.1 with GPS, 720p video capture, and support for both CDMA EVDO and GSM for global wanderings. Finally, China Unicom's A1680 packs a 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen, Chinese WAPI WiFi, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, and Motorola's sixth-generation SoftStylus handwriting system.
Qualcomm to ship 1.5GHz QSD8672 Snapdragon processor in Q4
And you thought a dual-core 1.2GHz chip was quick. If all goes to plan (that's a big "if," by the way), Qualcomm will one-up its Computex standout before the end of this year, with vice president of product management Mark Frankel affirming that his company is on track to ship a 1.5GHz dual-core QSD8672 chip prior to the dawn of 2011. He's quoted as saying that the blazing new Snapdragon could find a home in smartphones, low-cost laptops and tablet PCs, and while we're led to believe that the vast majority of said products won't actually greet consumers until early next year, a few aggressive partners may get wares out "by Christmas." For those unfamiliar, the fancy new 8672 is based on an ARM design and will be crafted using a 45nm process technology, and the individual voltage scaling will enable each core to be clocked independently of the other in order to maximize battery life and performance. Naturally, 1080p video playback will be supported, as will DDR2, DDR3 and HDMI interfaces. Oh, and don't sweat it -- you've still got plenty of time to get on Santa's 'good' list.
SmartQ T7 and T7-3G Android 2.1 tablets announced and priced in China
Don't worry, it's not déjà vu -- these SmartQ T7 tablets may appear just like their Ubuntu-riding R7 sibling, but they offer Android 2.1, an integrated 3G option, a speedier 720MHz CPU, and a colossal 4,700mAh battery -- 1,400mAh more than before! If that's woken you from the slumber brought on by yet another boilerplate tablet, SmartQ's also boasting support for a similarly impressive range of video codecs, meaning you can grab any RMVB, AVI, MKV and WMV files (even at 1080p) from your various, ahem, sources, and just play them back on the 7-inch LCD (probably at 800 x 600 like the R7) as they are. If you're cool with just WiFi connectivity, then go for the ¥1,480 ($219) T7; if 3G is a must, be prepared to dole out ¥1,880 ($278) and ¥1,980 ($292) for the EVDO and WCDMA flavors of the T7-3G, respectively. And if you're hanging out with China Mobile, price for the TD-SCDMA version's to be confirmed later.
Qualcomm ships first dual-core Snapdragon chipsets clocking 1.2GHz
Oh yeah baby, Qualcomm's finally shipping its first dual-core Snapdragons. To whom, is the big question. Its third-generation Mobile Station Modem MSM8260 and MSM8660 Snapdragon chipsets for high-end smartphones -- originally announced in February 2009 -- are now sampling and capable of running at up to 1.2GHz. The MSM8260 supports HSPA+, while the MSM8660 brings support for multi-mode HSPA+ and 1xEV-DO Rev. B. Both integrate GPS, a GPU with 2D / 3D acceleration engines for Open GL ES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1, 1080p video encoding and decoding, a dedicated low-power audio engine, and support for 24-bit WXGA 1,280 x 800 pixel displays. Anybody at Computex care to step forward with a reference design? Update: We just spoke with company representatives here at the show, and try as we may, we couldn't convince anyone at the company to show off a dual-core reference design. We were flat-out told that the only people at Computex getting a glimpse at the new silicon were prospective customers, though we did manage to pry out a few interesting details about the chip itself and the future of the line. For one, these new chips have two application cores and a single modem core, whereas existing chips have a single application core alongside a single modem core. We were also told in no uncertain terms that an even quicker version of the Snapdragon would be launched before the year's end, and as you'd likely surmise, it'll be aimed at "larger screen" devices -- you know, like slates and tablet PCs. [Image courtesy of Carina Larsson]
Motorola XT800 Android touchscreen phone hands-on in Shenzhen
Lusting for more Android love from Motorola? Then you should start searching for a Chinese soulmate. We've been told that this ￥5,680 ($830) XT800 dual-SIM (one CDMA and one GSM) smartphone had been out for just a few days in Shenzhen -- right before the country shuts down for Chinese New Year on Sunday. Packing the same OMAP3430 core used by the Droid and Milestone, both the 2.0.1 firmware and a 720p sample video we watched were running smoothly on the lovely 3.7-inch 854 x 480 screen. The rubberized battery cover felt nice in our palm, too, but enough with the talking -- go gorge yourselves on the gallery pics, won't you? %Gallery-85263%
LG commits to Android 1.6 -- not 2.0 -- for Rogers' Eve
We suppose we should be excited that Canada's version of the LG GW620 Eve is getting any major update at all, but still: what the heck? LG Canada has communicated via its official Twitter account this week that Rogers' version of the phone -- its second QWERTY-equipped Android set after the Dream -- would be getting an update to Android 1.6 (known to the bakers in the room as Donut, of course) this Spring. What's crazier, it apparently won't be an over-the-air boost since they're saying it'll be available from both LG's and Rogers' sites. That's not a huge deal, but seriously guys, why 1.6? If it were to drop today it'd feel old -- and by Spring, when HTC, Motorola, and likely Samsung all have 2.1 updates at the ready, this is just going to look a little silly, isn't it?
Walmart greeters will soon welcome you to a Nexus One with Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T 3G? (update: nope!)
Today's Nexus One may be the hottest keyboard-free Android smartphone on the market today, but it doesn't exactly have the hottest network support. That looks like it'll be changing soon thanks to Walmart of all places, which has put up a "Coming Soon!" page for the Nexus One, listing an impressive suite of wireless bands including 1xEvDO for 3G on Sprint and Verizon and UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900 for 3G on AT&T. Could this finally be the network-agnostic smartphone (or smartphones, as the case may be) that Google has wanted, or is it just a case of some optimistic web admin letting his fingers do the walking when writing up this teaser? We're leaning toward the latter, and there's also a rumor of a $99 price when purchased at Walmart. We're having a hard time swallowing that one, too -- if only because the Droid went for $188 there at launch. Update: Seems Walmart slipped up! Spokesman Ravi Jariwala states: "Due to a technical error, this item erroneously was displayed on our site. We're working with our partner Let's Talk to have it removed as quickly as possible. We have no plans to carry Nexus One in Walmart stores or online at Walmart.com at this time."
Sprint Overdrive 3G / 4G router officially announced
We saw the Sprint Overdrive 3G / 4G mobile hotspot leak out last week, and now it's official -- Sprint just announced it here at CES. It's pretty much what you'd expect: the Sierra Wireless-built box connects to Sprint's WiMAX network and shares that connection with up to five devices over WiFi -- and if the 4G connection drops, it'll seamlessly switch to EVDO. You're looking at $99 after a $50 rebate with a two year $59/mo service agreement when it goes on sale January 10 at Best Buy and Sprint stores. Looks like the MiFi just got shown up, eh?
Tablet speculation: How could a tablet connect to the world?
Do you know what word Dave Caolo is hearing in his sleep? Tablet. What phrase is trending mightily on Google Search? Tablet. What is every Apple fanboy and fangirl dreaming of for...um...some new gift-giving holiday in the March/April timeframe? Tablet. It's what good little geeks hope to find on their doorstep if their credit cards are not maxed out and Apple ships on the rumored schedule. In addition to bringing world peace, universal vaccination, and rainbow puppy unicorns, the tablet carries its own compliment of mobile issues: specifically, how and how well will it connect? This is a question we were kicking around this morning in the TUAW chatroom, after encountering a number of speculative reports in our morning RSS feed. Rather than predict which way Apple is going to go, we thought we'd run down the most likely possibilities. We all agree that a tablet would be, at a minimum, no less connected than an iPod touch. That is, none of us think that Apple will ship a tablet sans Wi-Fi connectivity. And with McDonalds now offering free Wi-Fi at over 11,000 restaurants world wide, let alone sponsored municipal Wi-Fi, new Wi-Fi for pay services on airplanes, and other commuter-based Wi-Fi services, you can easily imagine an urban tablet that works in most major cities around the globe. A Wi-Fi-only approach, though, cuts out a lot of possibilities for tablet use on the go, when users move away from cities. 3G/4G access, similar to the kinds of deals currently offered on Dell netbooks and laptops, might be a way for Apple to go as well. Of course, that would involve signing up for 2-year contracts at outrageous prices (it doesn't matter who does the service, the prices are outrageous across vendors). That could seriously put off existing iPhone contract holders, who might not be willing to expand their obligations to another multi-year commitment.
Sprint Overdrive dual-mode WiMAX / EV-DO mobile hotspot leaks into the wild (update: $50 U301 on contract?)
Move over, MiFi -- this Sprint Overdrive dual-mode WiMAX / EV-DO mobile hotspot that just hit our inbox has taken over as our new object of broadband desire. Our tipster says internal training on the Sierra-built device has already begun, and that the unit itself features a microSD slot, support for location services, and has a 100-foot Wi-Fi range -- but sadly we don't have pricing or availability deets to share yet. We're hoping we find out more at CES -- and we'd bet that new dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem that leaked a couple weeks ago makes an appearance as well. Fingers crossed. Update: The same tipster that sent us the information to start with is back with a few tidbits on the U301. According to the anonymous individual, that USB modem will be launching in February for $49.99 on contract. Also on the horizon? A WiMAX home desktop modem with a special price plan of its own.
Road Tested: Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 from Sprint
Back in August of this year, my local TUAW blogging buddy Erica Sadun posted some information about the Verizon MiFi portable broadband router. The MiFi device, created by Novatel Wireless, is a tiny Wi-Fi router with a built-in EVDO 3G modem. Essentially, what this means is that anywhere you go with the device, you become a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 4 other users. Erica found that the Verizon version of this box is quite useful, but is dependent on both the 3G signal quality and the user's desire to pay extra for broadband. For me, the decision to get the Sprint version of this product was a no-brainer. I have used a Sierra Wireless 595U USB broadband modem for the past two years, and I frankly couldn't do my business without it. I travel a lot, and I don't trust public Wi-Fi services. The Sprint Mobile Broadband service and USB dongle have made it possible for me to work at fairly fast speeds in airports and have kept me from spending money on the ridiculously-priced Wi-Fi service that more upscale hotels charge US$10 - 15 dollars a day for. I was even able, with an earlier version of Sprint's SmartView software, to share my connection with students in some of my Business Analysis classes (this capability disappeared a while ago). The USB dongle also made it possible for me to download drivers and look up troubleshooting information when working with consulting clients who were having network issues. Read along as I take you on a quick review of Sprint's version of the MiFi, and whether or not you might want to consider it for a Christmas present.
T-Mobile cautiously resumes Sidekick sales at lower prices
After a protracted "let's be absolutely certain we're in the clear" period, T-Mobile has gone ahead and lifted its self-imposed moratorium on Sidekick sales following that little meltdown you may have heard about. Oh, and there's a bonus, too: they're a little cheaper this time around. The Sidekick 2008 has dropped to $49.99 on contract while the top-of-the-line LX 2009 has shed $25 down to $149.99 on contract, so if you were looking for an excuse to live dangerously with your precious address book, this might be as good of a reason as any. Then again, what are the odds of lightning striking twice? Read - Sidekick 2008 Read - Sidekick LX 2009
ViewSonic heats up phone collection, V901 spotted on Microsoft China site
In just one week, ViewSonic has gone from a glint of a 3G phone maker to having two models prominently on display. We've already seen VPC08 Windows XP phone, and now up to bat is the V901, found in the pages of Microsoft China's official site. The Windows Mobile 6.5, apparently TouchWiz-skinned device has a 3.6-inch, 480 x 800 touchscreen, a Marvell PXA310 processor, 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM storage with microSD expansion, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, all hailing to the wavelengths we call CDMA EV-DO Rev. A. Launch is Q4 2009, so sometime very soon -- but we get the feeling this is China-only, at least for now. [Via iTech News Net]
BlackBerry Storm2 hands-on and impressions
For a company with the most starched, buttoned-up roots of any major wireless manufacturer, RIM's venture out of its enterprise comfort zone to the consumer space went amazingly smoothly thanks to the introduction of the original Pearl, a phone that's still sold in a variety of colors, configurations, and carriers to this day. At some point, though, it became clear that the industry was moving toward touch -- a space RIM had never dabbled in -- and the trend gave birth to the Storm, a product that had obviously been rushed to market with countless software bugs and a dodgy SurePress concept that caused more problems than it solved. With prototypes floating around in the wild mere months after its predecessor's release, RIM's message was loud and clear earlier this year: "we need to fix the Storm, and we need to do it quickly." Ultimately, it's ended up taking the company just about a year to get the Storm2 to market, a product that attempts to tweak Waterloo's touchscreen strategy just enough to undo a few mistakes and send it down the right path. Mission accomplished? Read on.
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three'
At $100, the underpowered Pixi doesn't look like a great value against its bigger, older brother -- but at the $30 Walmart is charging through its partner LetsTalk, the game changes a bit, doesn't it? Sure, $70 isn't that huge of a difference quantitatively, but emotionally, $30 is basically an overpriced meal or two -- and considering the old adage of "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips," wouldn't you just rather have webOS? We've heard of some bad experiences with LetsTalk rebates in the past, but in this case, it's just an instant discount, so it seems like it could be a no-brainer for on-the-fencers. [Thanks, Snake]
Palm Pixi reviewed on Engadget
Palm's second-ever webOS device has just landed at Engadget HQ, and naturally we put it through the paces to bring you the low-down. Is the Pixi the perfect device for those who held out on the Pre (and didn't get sucked in by the Droid)? Is the omission of WiFi really a deal-breaker (ladies)? There's really only one way to find out, and that's by clicking over to our review right here.
Palm Pixi arrives early for the people of Walmart
Brush back that mullet and adjust your ill-fitting halter tops folks 'cause Palm's newest webOS device has been spotted at Walmart. This pair of Pixi lovelies was ogled overnight inside one of Sam Walton's finest Tennessee locations reportedly sporting a $400 price tag and little else -- it wasn't in Walmart's system so it wasn't yet available for purchase. Something that should be rectified in time for Sunday's official launch with Sprint ($100 on contract) if not sooner.
