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US Cellular teasing 'The Belief Project,' unbelievably
Hard to say exactly what these guys have in store, but mega-regional US Cellular is chatting up a grandiose new marketing campaign entitled "The Belief Project" this week, promising a full unveiling of the details on October 1. From what we can see on USCC's teaser site, it'd seem that the promotion is going to revolve around contract-free plans, possibly tied in somehow with fast and frequent discounted hardware upgrade pricing and unlimited data and texting... but that's pure speculation based on what we're gleaning from the polls and comments posted over there. More on this soon enough. [Thanks, Chris H.]
HTC Desire (US Cellular) review
HTC's Desire is undoubtedly one of the headline Android devices of 2010 so far -- and heck, when you're using the already-great Nexus One as a starting point and re-upping it with an optical pad, physical buttons, and Sense, it's hard to argue otherwise. US Cellular has now become the first carrier to bring the device to the States (nearly five grueling months since its first spats of international availability, we'd like to note), and because USCC's a CDMA carrier, this is naturally a slightly different device than you're getting elsewhere. Don't get us wrong, most of the thoughts in our first review of the Desire still apply -- but needless to say, this launch is notable enough to warrant a second look. Read on! %Gallery-100792%
HTC Desire hits US Cellular today for $200
Right on time, US Cellular's CDMA-flavored version of the HTC Desire is now available for a nickel under $200, making it the undisputed big dog in the regional carrier's lineup (its first Android device, the Samsung Acclaim, launched a few weeks back). What you get for your hard-earned money here is a surprisingly accurate recreation of the GSM Desire the rest of the world has been enjoying for much of this year, with the same optical pad, 3.7-inch display, 5 megapixel cam, Sense, 1GHz Snapdragon core, and identical industrial design (which, considering how good the original looks, is just fine with us). With the Droid Incredible on tap, Verizon doesn't really need this thing -- but it'd be kinda nice if Sprint picked it up to slot under the EVO, wouldn't it? Follow the break for the full press release.
US Cellular adding BlackBerry Bold 9650 tomorrow for $160
For a carrier that only offers the lowly Pearl Flip 8230 and Curve 8530 right now, you could definitely argue that regional US Cellular is in desperate need of a BlackBerry freshening -- and it's getting exactly that this week with the launch of the Bold 9650. Though it won't have BlackBerry 6 at launch, USCC's press release is quick to note that the phone is "BlackBerry 6 ready" and will be available as an upgrade "in the coming months." Like other 9650s in the field, this version offers a GSM / HSPA radio on board for global roaming capability, a 3.2 megapixel shooter, optical pad, and -- of course -- all the portrait QWERTY action you can handle. Look for it in stores tomorrow for $159.95 after a $70 rebate on a new two-year deal.
HTC Desire launching on US Cellular August 27, ups 2010 Android total to five devices
Like many carriers these days, US Cellular is looking to go all-in on Android -- but it's just getting started, having launched only the Samsung Acclaim so far. We already knew we'd be getting the Desire in August, and now we've got a date: August 27, to be exact. Pricing has yet to be announced -- and unfortunately, they specifically call out Android 2.1 in the press release, so it apparently won't have Froyo at launch -- but from an Android perspective, USCC's still at a point where they'll take what they can get. Things are looking up, though; in June, the company had promised a total of four Android models in 2010, but in this latest announcement they've upped the total to five with the Samsung Galaxy S launching in October and two models from LG "following closely behind." Follow the break for the full release.
Verizon ropes in Samsung Fascinate, US Cellular gets a Galaxy S too
Scoring the top four US carriers plus a top-tier regional with a single family of smartphones in one fell swoop is a major achievement for any manufacturer -- a feat memorably pulled off by the HTC Touch Pro2 -- so you can officially color us impressed now that Samsung has unveiled the Fascinate for Verizon plus an unnamed device for US Cellular, both variants of the Galaxy S (generic version pictured). As a refresher, this is the same phone family coming to Sprint as the Epic 4G, T-Mobile as the Vibrant, and AT&T as the Captivate, so these guys have a bit of an Android coup on their hands. Like the others (Epic 4G notably excepted), the Fascinate is a non-keyboard Android slate and features the usual 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz Hummingbird silicon, and 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording; US Cellular's phone looks to be roughly the same thing, though it seems they've yet to choose a retail name for it. Both will be available on an unannounced date for an unannounced price -- but if the market is any indication, $199.99 on contract seems like a good bet. More on these models as we have it.
US Cellular adds HTC Desire and BlackBerry Bold in August, teases BlackBerry 9670 for 'later this year'
We were extremely close to cramping our sarcasm muscle with all the faux excitement we had to drum up for the 3.2-inch Acclaim, but US Cellular has now come back with word that it'll soon count HTC's Desire among its roster of phones. The Desire, which is mooted to be coming to other smaller carriers like Cellular South, will debut in August alongside the BlackBerry Bold. We're more excited, however, to find US Cellular promising it'll offer "a BlackBerry flip smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard" later this year. That sounds like RIM's slightly unorthodox 9670 to us, and will probably form the second part of the BB maker's pledged introduction of two new handsets. US Cellular's 2010 device lineup refresh will be completed with a pair more Androids, courtesy of LG and Samsung. The former is said to have a "large touch screen and slide-out, ergonomically-designed QWERTY keyboard," while the latter is only described as "highly-anticipated." Not too shabby.
Samsung Acclaim arrives in US Cellular stores July 9, we're sure somebody will care
Looks like we have a small band of US Cellular fans among our numbers, as we've received a slew of tips letting us know that the national carrier has dropped an official release date for the Samsung Acclaim. This most mundane of Android sliders will arrive on July 9, and... well, that's it really. US Cellular hasn't seen fit to entice us with any actual specs or even an Android version, though information floating about the interwebs suggests it has a 3.2-inch HVGA screen and a stock Eclair installation. We'll just have to wait until somebody at Samsung swallows the shame of being associated with the Acclaim and finally gives us some official details. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Acclaim Android slider revealed by Samsung's own site
We know you've been kept awake at night by this question: just what does the Samsung Acclaim look like? Well, thanks to one of our awesome readers, we now the first official pic of the handset. This was discovered on Samsung's site without too much effort, which might indicate just how excited the Korean manufacturer is about the whole thing. Clearly running Android as its OS, this slider offers a full QWERTY keypad with a dedicated number row and quite the curious coloration. Assuming Sammy didn't run out of dark navy paint halfway through, the cross pattern highlighted on the left may be indicative of some gaming inclinations to the R880. Earlier rumors peg the Acclaim's US Cellular-exclusive release at some time in July and also indicate a 3.2-inch screen gracing its visage. Can't wait. [Thanks, Jason]
US Cellular rolls out 'low-maintenance' CDM8635 flip
When the term "low-maintenance" appears in the first sentence of a phone's press release, you can pretty much guess what it's all about. Sure enough, the CDM8635 being offered through well-established industry middleman PCD to US Cellular keeps things simple with a 1.3 megapixel camera, 2.2-inch color and 1.5-inch monochrome displays on the inside and exterior, respectively, dedicated shortcut keys for top phone functions, and voice-activated dialing; we don't have pricing details just yet, but we can assume it'll be dirt-cheap on contract. Look for it to hit USCC's online store some time today -- and in the meantime, follow the break for PCD's press release.
Samsung Messager Touch comes to US Cellular for $50, still features odd spelling
Look, Samsung, we understand that "Messager" is probably trademarkable in ways that actual English words are not -- but it seriously still looks like a typo to us every time we type it, just as the original Messager did almost two years ago. Anyhow, the new model is distinctly different (and cooler) by swapping out the numeric keypad for a full 2.6-inch touchscreen with TouchWiz. It also gets a 2 megapixel camera, Blueooth, voice recognition, and microSD expansion up to 16GB, and it's available today for $49.95 after mail-in rebate in "black and vibrant eye-catching blue" (you be the judge on that one). Follow the break for the full release.
Or maybe US Cellular's Samsung Acclaim actually looks like this
Funny story: we were sent the same US Cellular slide deck by a number of folks last week that clearly showed an Android-powered Samsung handset alongside the HTC Desire for a near-term launch -- we posted the shot of it right out of the deck, assuming it was the Acclaim's final ID. Turns out that might not be the case, though, because there's apparently an Acclaim hanging out at Google's IO conference this week... and it looks precisely nothing like the device we'd seen. At this point, we don't know if the other image is of a canned device, another phone that's set to launch on US Cellular, or just a prior iteration of the Acclaim, but at any rate, it appears that the phone customers will be getting is far more rounded, glossy, and just a touch more chromey than we'd anticipated. [Thanks, BigE]
Is this the Samsung Acclaim for US Cellular? (update: we're pretty sure it is)
So regional carrier US Cellular dropped the bomb this week that it had scored an exclusive on a fresh Android handset from Samsung coined the R880 Acclaim, but unfortunately, it failed to actually show us the thing. We've just gotten a tip alleging that the handset you're looking at here is the Acclaim, and we'd say there's a good chance it's real -- we know it's got a QWERTY keyboard, for instance, paired to a 3.2-inch HVGA display. Unfortunately, prospective buyers are waiting until July for a release, but tell us: does this shot give you hope that the phone's going to rock, or does it break your spirit into a million jaded pieces? [Thanks, anonymous tipster] Update: Alright, we've gotten more evidence that leads us to believe that this is almost certainly the Acclaim. Our doubt meter is hovering near zero on this one.
Samsung's 'quick and simple' Stride for US Cellular is exactly that
When you pay $29.95 for a phone on contract, you have a pretty good idea of what you're going to be getting: basic communication. Indeed, that's exactly how we'd describe the Samsung r330 Stride for US Cellular, a red-accented flip sporting a 1.3 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, speakerphone, 55MB of internal storage for all of your address book needs, and not much else. It's available now; follow the break for Samsung's full press release.
Samsung Exec launched for US Cellular, suggests WinMo ain't dead yet
You probably won't hear Microsoft lauding this thing too much -- it's got bigger fish to fry at the moment -- but Samsung and US Cellular have just teamed up to launch the i225 Exec, a simple Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard-based smartphone with a portrait QWERTY keyboard. It's got a 2 megapixel camera and microSD expansion up to 32GB (assuming you can actually track down a 32GB SanDisk card), but otherwise, this is about as straightforward and basic as a modern smartphone can get -- no frills, just straight-up touchscreen-free legacy WinMo action. It's available right now for $99.95 on a new two-year contract after $70 rebate.
US Cellular launches national unlimited plan for $70
US Cellular's sounding like it wants to play with the big boys on news that it'll be charging a full $69.99 for its just-introduced unlimited individual plan -- the exact same that AT&T and Verizon are charging now that they've just slashed pricing. It's pretty interesting to see one of the smaller regional carriers dare to suggest that it can charge the same as the two typically regarded as the States' "premium" networks -- but then again, US Cellular's got a battery swap program, so there's your value-add right there. Along with the individual deal, there's also a new family unlimited plan for $119.99; in both cases, you'll need to tack on text and data packages separately.
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
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]
Samsung Trill and Caliber coming to US Cellular
US Cellular's just big enough of a carrier to command a few exclusive handsets of its own -- especially from a company like Samsung that somehow manages to announce about fifteen new models a day, 365 days a year (not really, but it'd be easy to think that they did if you didn't pay attention). Take these two puppies, for example; first up is the music-oriented r520 Trill slider (pictured left), which counts Bang & Olufsen's ICEpower signal processing and 1GB of onboard memory expandable to a total of 33GB as its headline features. To the right we've got the r850 Caliber, a full-touch piece with a 3.2-inch WQVGA display, TouchWiz, a 3 megapixel camera with video capture, and full HTML browsing -- not shabby, assuming the price is right. We don't have pricing or availability on either of these bad boys just yet, but we'll keep you in the loop. [Thanks, Doug]
Samsung Axle launches on US Cellular
We can say with confidence after perusing the Axle's specifications that the most exciting thing about this phone is the unusual name. The new flip from Samsung is launching today on US Cellular for $50 after rebate on contract ($40 for existing customers), offering a VGA camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, and not bloody much else. As far as we can tell from the specs and pricing in the remainder of US Cellular's lineup, that's about $50 too much -- but then again, we'll admit, the name alone might be worth the cost of admission.
