Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones This past summer, one of the biggest rumors was that of a Dell smartphone powered by Android. There were blurred shots of the device and a lot of people got excited about the company’s first foray in the smartphone market. Then we found out that the Dell Mini 3i was indeed an Android powered smartphone, but it lacked several features (like Wi-Fi) and was only coming to China. Now it looks like Dell might actually be entering the American smartphone market. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the computer manufacturing giant is getting set to release a smartphone through AT&T. The report states that Dell would in fact be producing an Android smartphone for the carrier. The two companies, however, are saying nothing of the possible deal. AT&T is saying, however, that it plans on carrying Android phones in the future. Dell is only stating that its dedicated to it’s “operator partners around the world to deliver mobile broadband enabled computing devices.” Being now the only major US carrier that doesn’t have an Android phone at least announced, AT&T is waiting for some sort of phone from Dell wouldn’t be all that surprising. Dell obviously knows how to make cheap PCs that people want to buy on an OS that is familiar to them. With the seemingly large number of Android smartphones coming, it’s possible that the same could happen with smartphones. Surely not everyone with a smartphone on AT&T wants an iPhone. There has to be some people who prefer the carrier over Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile for some reason, and for another reason hates Apple. However misguided those people may or may not be, they deserve a choice of a somewhat popular, open source OS from Dell and AT&T. Read [Reuters]
Image Source: Mobilewack.com Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Sidekick users have been suffering through a major data outage that began Friday morning. The outage knocked out internet service, IM, social networking, web browsing, the camera, and even users' address books. As of last night, T-Mobile said it had restored service to "critical functions" and hoped to have it completely restored by Thursday.
Microsoft, whose Danger subsidiary powers the Sidekick service, said, “We are working around-the-clock to get all our services back online and will continue to post status updates to our valued customers as issues are resolved,” Microsoft said. “We thank our customers for their patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this disruption has caused.”
Text messaging and voice service has not been affected but that has done little to soothe irate Sidekick users, who have flooded both T-Mobile's and Danger's support boards with angry posts. Many say T-Mobile was slow to acknowledge the issue and has shown poor communication throughout. Danger is blaming a server crash for the outage and promises services will be 100% restored by Thursday, almost a full week later. There's no word on why it has taken so long. T-Mobile, to its credit has announced it will issue users a credit equal to one month's service to make up for the outage. Read [CNet] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile Android is finally getting the attention a major mobile phone OS deserves. Today, named among the ranks of Android phones is Samsung Moment, a slider form factor that is due to hit the Sprint network at just $149 due November 1. The phone adds to the argument that users don’t want skinned Android phones. The Moment (formerly the InstinctQ) packs “an 800MHz processor, a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen, optical trackpad and a 3.2 megapixel camera.” Sprint dropped both the Instinct brand as well as any kind of skin over the OS instead deciding to go with a Google-on-board message. This is Samsung’s first Android offering in the US. The InstinctQ was rumored to be a high end offering of the Instinct and the Moment doesn’t disappoint in features: Android apps, GPS, bright screen, accelerometer and WiFi. Memory can go up to 32GB via SD slot. The $179 price is after $100 mail in rebate and $50 instant savings. Product page: [Sprint] via [Engadget] Image credit: Sprint Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Hardware, Networking, Gadgets / Other Windows 7 is just around the corner with its October 22, 2009 release date. The option to do a clean install can be frightening since you can easily lose your customizations that you've created over your time on a computer. However, a clean install is often a key to keeping a machine running nice and smooth. Belkin's Easy Transfer cable is designed to help you get your accounts, files, program settings, music, e-mail messages, and more to your new Windows 7 machine. This cable is meant to work with Microsoft's Windows Easy Transfer utility. Each computer gets hooked up via their USB ports and then you can transfer at either USB 2.0 speeds or even USB 1.1 if necessary. Get those computers nearby each other because the cable is only 8 feet. The Belkin Easy Transfer cable will be available the day after Windows 7 on October 23, 2009 for $39.99. Company Page: [Belkin] Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile  With all the new phones announced, revamped OS displays and carriers getting nutty, let’s look at where Palm stands today. This past week, two developments are changing how the world sees webOS and just how soon we’ll see its second device. Things are starting to move quickly for the little engine that could.
Palm announced it would be open. Giving developers almost run of the joint, Palm decided it would be the un-Apple. Forget the walled garden, Palm is as free as a flasher in the park. Developers can choose how much help they want in promoting their app. Developers that choose to use the open source code and distribute the app themselves are free to do so with no charges. Or developers can pay to use the non-open code. If developers want to get the app in Palm’s App Catalog, Palm charges $50 per app to do so. On the whole, this is pretty cool as it frees developers and users from the walled garden approach. The downside is things may start to get blurry fast. A powerful player for Apple is all the apps in one spot. Palm has always been quirky with apps here and apps there, things could head down the same path, but for the masses, the Palm App Catalog may be all they need. The choice is there and that plays a big role. Another bit of news is on the diminutive Palm Pixi. Another siting of the GSM model came to light, this time in Vietnam. The one leaked is a 4GB GSM version not like the 8GB that Sprint is expecting which is a little odd, but preproductions usually are. Will Palm’s move to keep the phone open pay off? Will Apple’s closed loop change under pressure? Read: [Palm Developer Network Blog] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Video, Portable Video The once rumored Qualcomm FLO TV device has recently been officially announced and with that we now have some details in terms of pricing and features. First things first though, still unannounced was a release date, or even a rough time frame for that matter. Instead we now know that the FLO TV device will set you back $249.99 and then run $8.99 a month for service. My first reaction was that this is a little pricey, but given the ease of use and portability, this could be a nice gadget to have when in the car or out running errands with a 2-year old in tow. Not that I recommend sitting your kids in front of a television, but at times it can be a handy tool, especially when they love Spongebob. Anyway, feature wise the FLO TV will have a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen display, built-in stereo speakers and be able to offer users up to 5 hours of television viewing time from a single battery charge. Overall the unit will measure in at 4.4 x 3 x 0.5 inches and weigh a little over 5 ounces. In terms of that content that you will be able to choose from for you $8.99 monthly subscription fee, well the service offers a mix of full length episodes as well as clips from networks such as CNBC, Comedy Central, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News, NBC Sports and the one I would like the most—Nickelodeon. Of course, the one point that would possibly turn me away is going back to the monthly service fee, while I would say the $9 is pretty fair, it is important to point out that this is a subscription. In other words you will have to agree to a 3-year commitment. Read [FLO TV News] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, Miscellaneous Amazon first unveiled the Kindle 2 back in February and had it priced well over the $300 price point, since then we had seen a price drop in July that took it down to $299—now once again the price has been lowered. Of course, that is not all, Amazon has also announced a second US and International edition. First things first, effective immediately the Kindle 2 is now selling for $259. Now that price drop is certainly exciting, but perhaps a little more exciting for our overseas readers is that the Kindle 2 has gone international. Of course, this does come with a little catch, but more on that in a second. In terms of pricing and availability, the international version will retail for $279 and go on sale October 19. In terms of features, the international version will sport the same features as the regular Kindle 2 except for the ability to purchase in “more than 100 countries and territories around the world.” Sounds good, but that catch comes in due to the fact that you are still using an AT&T SIM for service—that means unlike the ability to download books for free you will have to pay for your download. “When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99”
All things considered, I guess a buck 99 is not all that bad, especially considering that many titles are available for $9.99. I guess that will come down to whether or not you are willing to pay for the convenience. Either way, the Kindle going international certainly sounds like good news. Product [Amazon] Read [Business Wire] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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