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Palm Pixi on sale November 15 exclusively at Sprint for $100 on contract
Just as we'd heard earlier this morning, today's the day that Palm and Sprint come clean with their undercover plans for the former's second-ever webOS device. The Pixi, which we toyed with back on our first Engadget Show, is slated to hit Sprint stores, Best Buy, RadioShack and select Walmart locations on November 15th for $99.99, but that's after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate that you'll be waiting ages for. Nothing here is all that surprising -- after all, we knew it'd be on shelves before the holiday season -- but the $100 price point is downright depressing. The Palm Pre can be had right now for just $150 (also on contract), and beyond that, both webOS devices are being offered on the exact same network. Throw this thing on Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, and you've got a whole new wave of Palm customers; as it stands, who's really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?
Verizon Storm2 on October 28th, BlackBerry OS 5.0 for original Storm out now
If you have an original Storm purchased through Verizon then first, our condolences. At the risk of rubbing it in (since you're still on contract) we have to tell you that the second generation Storm2 -- the full-screen BlackBerry you should have waited for -- just got an official $179.99 (after $100 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract) October 28th release date as expected. Storm owners can, however, take solace in the BlackBerry OS 5.0 update now available for download that boasts several improvements including those keyboard and general usability enhancements we already knew were coming.
BlackBerry Storm update landing tomorrow, bringing lots of good stuff (update: now with changelog!)
Hey, you -- yeah you, the BlackBerry Storm owner over there. You listening? Good. That mythical software update we heard about just last week is obviously the real deal, and a screen grab from Verizon's internal systems has shown up to prove it. We're told that it should go live tomorrow (that's October 25th for those in strange, potentially illegitimate time zones) at 6PM. On the whole, it'll make your Storm act a lot more like the forthcoming Storm2, but specifically you can expect a "faster, more accurate and more natural text input experience, word completion, a virtual QWERTY keyboard in portrait view and enhanced sensitivity when editing, copying and pasting." You'll also get the ability to "enable Auto Correction as opposed to Word Completion in landscape view." The full changelog should be coming soon, so hang tight! Oh, and cancel those plans for tomorrow night, okay? [Thanks, Anonymous] Update: Check out the full (purported) changelog after the break!
Motorola Droid gets fully previewed, 'must-have' claims may not be far off
Boy Genius Report has thrown up a full preview of the Motorola Droid -- or some prototype of it, anyhow -- and any way you slice it, it looks like Android fans, Verizon fans, phone fans, and red-blooded Americans alike should all be feeling pretty good that this thing is gonna kick some ass. As if feeling and looking like a rock-solid, metallic beast wasn't enough, Big Red's first Android outing is said to have killer battery life -- surprising, considering how mediocre the CLIQ's is -- and the seemingly flat keyboard apparently performs admirably, all things considered. Android 2.0 clips along at a nice pace thanks to an OMAP3 core, and obviously, there's not much to complain about visually when you're staring at a 3.7-inch capacitive display sporting roughly WVGA resolution. The icing on the cake, though, might be a magnetic sensor that detects an accessory dock that'll be sold at launch, turning the Droid into a desktop clock and weather station -- perfect for those rare moments when you're not out and about scaring little kids with the phone's robotic red eye. Needless to say, we're looking forward to the 28th.
Verizon launching Storm2 on October 28 for $179.99?
Say you're North America's largest wireless carrier -- how do you go about burying a product you're about to carry that you secretly wish didn't exist? One creative option would be to opt out of announcing it when its manufacturer does, then quietly launch it on the same day that you're announcing the phone you're calling the "must-have device of the year." Tricky, eh? Yeah, sure enough, by all appearances it seems that Verizon doesn't plan on celebrating the arrival of the Storm2 with the same fanfare it gave the Storm, despite the fact that the new device directly addresses the biggest complaints dogging the original model. It's a "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" sort of situation, we suppose. Anyhow, it looks like pricing should come in at $179.99 on contract, though $100 of that comes in the form of a mail-in rebate that you'll get on a prepaid debit card, so you'll actually be laying out close to $300 before taxes when you march into the store on October 28. Hey, look at it this way: at least you can keep refreshing Engadget on your old Storm to learn about the Droid while you're waiting in line for the Storm2, right? [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Bell drops Pre by $50, now down to $149.95
Anyone in Canada who took a wait-and-see approach with the Pre can do a little dance of joy now that Bell's finally dropped the phone by CAD $50, which means you're now looking at CAD $149.95 (about $143) on a three-year deal. That's still a far cry from the $99.99 you can pay these days on Sprint, especially considering that you're talking about a two-year contract there, but who knows -- maybe Bell's not bothering to compete too hard on the CDMA arena as it starts putting some serious marketing force behind its HSPA spectrum in the next few months. At least this gives the Pixi some breathing room on pricing if Bell decides to launch it, we suppose. [Via Palm Infocenter]
Casio's G'zOne Rock C731 for Verizon oozes tough
We've been hearing about Casio's next US-bound G'zOne for a while now, but the Rock's been taking its sweet time getting to market -- not unlike the EXILIM before it, we suppose. We still don't have a release here, but PhoneArena appears to have nabbed solid shots of the C731 in the wild, showing totally typical G'zOne styling cues with the pointy tips, textured components, and a total disregard for beauty (at least in the traditional sense of the word). They still haven't managed to scrounge up a possible release date -- but really, you could argue that the Boulder still has some life in it, so we wouldn't be surprised if this didn't hit until closer to the holidays at the earliest.
Samsung Trill and Caliber now official for US Cellular
Remember these two bad boys? Sure enough, the rumored Trill and Caliber from Samsung have made their way to US Cellular, just two of the bazillion Sammies that the regional carrier already offers. The Trill (pictured left) is an audio-centric slider with B&O's ICEpower tech, a dedicated music key, 1.3 megapixel cam, stereo Bluetooth, and 1GB of built-in storage with microSD expansion; it clocks in at $89.95 on contract after rebate. The Caliber (right) is arguably the more interesting of the two, offering a legit TouchWiz setup with a full HTML browser, 3 megapixel cam, and a WQVGA display. This one ends up being a little less -- $49.95 on contract with rebate -- which pushes the Delve it replaces all the way down to $19.95. Good time to be in the market for a full touch experience on US Cellular, eh? Read - Samsung Trill Read - Samsung Caliber
Verizon hosting Droid event on October 28
Verizon has yet to give a firm date on when we can all get our hands on some Droids, but we know one thing's for certain: it'll be fully revealed for the first time one week from today, October 28. The invitation that's been extended to the media confirms that it'll come from Motorola (of course), it'll be Verizon's "must-have device of the year," and it's got a very close association with giant, scary, glowing eyes. A far cry from Google's friendly green bot, isn't it?
Samsung Moment unboxed!
It's here, folks. We'll naturally have more impressions in the near future, but for now feast your eyes on the Samsung Moment and one of the least eventful unboxings of all time -- Sprint sure isn't packaging this like a premium handset, but at $179 we suppose it isn't really pricing it like one either. The hardware itself might tell a different story, with a solid, hefty feel to it and great screen. So far our editors are divided on the keyboard, with Chris not being sure it meets up to the CLIQ's standards, while this writer feels it's far superior -- not tiresome to press, but super clicky and very touch type-able. While we sort out this astonishing bit of interoffice drama, check out the unboxing shots in the gallery below. The phone goes on sale November 1st. %Gallery-76131%
Samsung Code comes to MetroPCS, Windows Mobile 6.5 decides to stay home
Can you imagine Dell or HP selling a Vista laptop a couple months from now? No, you probably can't -- but we've got the mobile equivalent of that faux-pas going on here with MetroPCS' introduction of the rumored Code from Samsung, a portrait QWERTY device with EV-DO, a 2 megapixel camera, and microSD expansion up to 32GB. To be fair, WinMo 6.5 does far less for Standard than it does for Professional over its 6.1 equivalent, but still, it's just a little awkward for all parties involved. If you can get past that minor oversight, though, check it out now at your local retailer for $299 contract-free.
Motorola 'Calgary' to bring BLUR to Verizon, Droid not looking worried
The Droid's shaping up to be a beast of an Android phone -- well played, Verizon -- but Motorola's banking much of its future on its MOTOBLUR platform, which the Droid curiously lacks (though Android 2.0 adds at least some of BLUR's functionality back in). Don't worry, though -- Verizon hasn't forgotten about BLUR altogether, and the rumored Calgary is looking to arrive as the carrier's next Android phone from Moto featuring BLUR in all its social network-aggregating glory. It's clearly positioned as a lower-end device than the Droid, stepping down to a 3 megapixel cam but still managing nifty features like an optical pad, 3.5mm jack, and naturally, a full QWERTY keyboard. Considering Rubin's ties to Danger, you could think of this as the ill-fated Sidekick Slide all grow'd up. Word has it this might hit before the end of the year, so we'll see just how much breathing room Verizon and Moto feel like giving the Droid before coming back for Round 2, eh?
Sprint proves money can solve problems, buys iPCS to settle litigation
Considering Sprint's financial position and the overall credit market, we're not exactly sure where the carrier managed to pick up $831 million, which it promptly used to acquire affiliate iPCS and take on $405 million of net debt. If you'll recall, the aforesaid youngin' was worrying papa way back in May of 2008, and it seems that Sprint has finally had enough of this whole "litigation" thing. The acquisition puts all of the court battling to rest (or at least it's expected to), enabling the operator to stop divesting its iDEN network in select iPCS markets. Money may not buy happiness, but it sure buys a good muzzle.[Via Reuters]
Verizon's anti-iPhone gets its first commercial: 'Droid Does'
We knew Verizon Wireless would soon be throwing caution to the wind in an effort to sway uncommitted smartphone buyers towards Big Red, and it looks like the November-bound Motorola Droid will be VZW's anti-iPhone. The spot, which launched tonight and can be view in its entirety after the break, is a 30 second clip that begins by mocking Apple's cutesy music and iconic font typically seen in iPhone plugs. It reels off a number of things that the iPhone can't do, and then abruptly goes into full-on tease mode by flashing glimpses of a robot-controlled future and a tagline that simply states: "Droid Does." No shots of the actual Motorola Droid (or Sholes, as it was known in the past) are shown, but a dedicated teaser portal has already been erected; through that, we're told that the phone will boast Android 2.0 and a 5 megapixel camera. At this point, we'd say the gloves are definitely off -- AT&T, have anything to say for yourself, or is the iPhone doing just fine on its own?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon confirms: Palm Pre hitting Big Red "early next year"
Oftentimes a picture shouts a thousand words. Other times it belts out precisely a dozen. Straight from Verizon Wireless' official Twitter account comes this, a confirmation that the Palm Pre we knew was coming to Big Red, well, is coming to Big Red. If you can hold off through the tempting holiday rush, you'll find Palm's first-ever webOS device on VZW "early next year." Huzzah![Via Boy Genius Report]
Verizon getting an Android phone (with WiFi tethering!) via Open Development program?
Verizon mentioned that it'd pick up "several Android-based devices" as part of its sweeping tie-up with Google last week, and we know two of them -- a tweaked version of the HTC Hero and the unannounced Motorola Sholes / Tao / Droid -- but what else is in the pipe? Turns out that Verizon's historically boring Open Development program -- designed to let anyone with a good attitude and some elbow grease gain the know-how to connect a device to Verizon's network -- is about to heat things up by spitting out an Android handset of its own in early 2010, according to Unstrung. Oh, and the best part? It'll apparently feature WiFi tethering out of the box, a feature carriers are typically loath to support; of course, the whole point of "open development" is that Verizon theoretically shouldn't care what's being developed, so it'll be interesting to see whether the company throws any marketing weight and retail support behind the device or if it'll be left to fight for attention on its own. [Via PhoneArena]
Some HTC Hero units shipping sans EV-DO Rev. A on Sprint? (update: nope!)
Ruh roh. Without claiming that there's some sort of high-speed conspiracy going on at Sprint (read: there's not), we'd like to point out that quite a few early adopters are claiming that their Hero refuses to hop on the carrier's EV-DO Rev. A network. We took a peek back at the company's press release for this very phone, and sure enough, the Rev. A experience is promised. We're guessing that a simple firmware update will be all it takes to remedy the issue (if there's truly an issue at all), but 'til then, there's always WiFi! Right, guys?[Via Examiner, thanks Tracknod] Update: We just heard directly from HTC about this snafu, and as it turns out, the message that Sprint Hero users are seeing is merely a mislabeling. If you're within an EV-DO Rev. A area, you'll get Rev. A speeds -- despite that fact that your phone says it's only on Rev. 0. We're also told that a future maintenance release will address the message. Check the full quote after the break.
BlackBerry Tour coming to US Cellular
A spec page unearthed on the carrier's website (complete with an image of a branded handset) tells us that US Cellular is going to end up carrying the BlackBerry Tour at some point, following Sprint's and Verizon's leads down the path of BES-compatible global roaming QWERTY joy. That's cool, but we don't have an inkling of a date or a price -- and with trackball-gate still fresh in Tour users' minds, it'll be hitting shelves with a bit of an image to overcome; then again, the alternatives are the ancient 8330 and 8830, so let's be honest -- it'll probably do alright for itself. [Via PhoneArena and Boy Genius Report]
Anxious Sprint users ordering HTC Hero now through telesales
Too impatient to wait for October 11th to arrive? Yeah, we feel you. If you're up with killing a few minutes and dealing with what may end up being four or five CSRs, word on the street has it that the Android-powered Hero can be ordered this very moment via Sprint telesales. A number of members over at Sprint Users have had success in getting the phone headed their way, and one even mentioned that his SERO plan was set to remain firmly in place even with this new phone on the bill. Let us know if you stumble across similar luck in comments below, won't you?[Thanks, JayTV]
Motion brings durable Gorilla Glass to C5 and F5 tablets, tries to break it
It's been a minute since we've heard from the gang at Motion Computing, but as always they've used the time wisely, quietly working to improve their beloved C5 and F5 slate PCs. If recent upgrades to Verizon EV-DO, WiFi n, 64GB SSDs and the like weren't enough to get you psyched for your next trip to the ER, the company is proud to announce that you can now order your tablet with some of that hardcore Gorilla Glass you've read so much about. Just how durable is the display, you ask? How would you like a video to demonstrate it? What if we told you that some vaguely U2-esque stock music provided the soundtrack? Go ahead, you know you want to -- it's after the break.
