Section: Communications, Smartphones Price drops on brand new phones usually aren’t good. A price drop just a few weeks after launch is even worse. We’ve seen it happen with the Kin phones, and we all know how that turned out. Now it looks to be happening to the Garminfone. When the Garminfone was released last month, T-Mobile priced the phone at $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate. Today T-Mobile has slashed that price down to $130 after a $50 rebate. That almost still seems like too much for the device in some aspects. Yes, it has Garmin GPS software, but all Android devices have Google Navigation that can do the same thing. On T-Mobile it runs up against the myTouch 3G Slide, which runs a more recent version fo Android and has a physical keyboard. On other carriers there’s phone like the Droid X, iPhone 4 and the EVO 4G. That’s not even getting into all those Samsung Galaxy X smartphones. Things don’t look good for Asus and it’s first phone. Maybe the company’s next phone will ship with more up-to-date hardware and software. Read [Electronista] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Email / IM, Web, Websites, Google 
In order to create a signature with links and/or pictures, Gmail users have employed Greasemonkey scripts, various browser plugins, or canned responses. Many people want this as a standard feature in Gmail, but the Google engineers have been slow to respond. However, we can get rid of all those scripts, plugins, and canned responses because last night Google announced users can now create their own rich text signatures right in Gmail under settings. Gmail users can format text, insert links, and insert pictures to make the best personalized signature possible. In addition, if you use many email addresses through Gmail, you can create a separate signature for each. For instance, you may choose to put your work cell phone and work address under your work email, but home address and personal cell number personal home email address. Unfortunately, rich text signatures are not compatible with mobile phones nor any older version of Gmail at this time. Via [Gmail Blog] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones We just heard the reason Verizon shipped a few Motorola Droid X smartphones early was because of a system error. According to reports, only a few customers actually received the Droid X early, but it turns out many customers should have received a Droid X. Droid-Life managed to obtain an internal doc over at Verizon which says 170 Droid X devices were shipped to customers ahead of time. While Verizon continues to investigate the cause and reason for early shipment, Big Red hopes customers will not activate their phone because “all of the proper network provisions…will not be in place until the official launch date.” I find it kind of funny that Verizon shipped 1/3 of all the Microsoft Kins sold in the form of the Droid X by accident. I doubt any more Droid X devices will be sold ahead of launch since Verizon is well-aware of the current situation. Via [Droid-Life] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones 
Back in late June, U.S. Cellular was gearing up to launch its first Android smartphone in the form of the Samsung Acclaim on July 9. Well, today is July 9 and U.S. Cellular is, indeed, selling the Samsung Acclaim right on cue. The Acclaim is selling for $99.95 after a $70 MIR on a new two year agreement, but there is also a buy one get one free offer going on for a limited time. The Samsung Acclaim features a 3.2 inch HVGA touch screen, slideout QWERTY keyboard, operates on Android 2.1, 3MP camera, full HTML browser, WiFi, and Bluetooth Connectivity. In addition, it comes loaded with a 4GB microSD card that can be expandable. The following is a list of preloaded apps: Alarm Clock
Calculator
Calendar
City ID
Evernote®
Facebook®
GmailTM
Google MapsTM
Android MarketTM
My Contacts Backup
Google TalkTM
The Weather Channel®
Tone Room Deluxe
Twidroid
Your Navigator Deluxe
YouTubeTM
Any Samsung Acclaim purchase requires a data plan and U.S. Cellular offers two different data plans. One is for $30 which includes email and web data. The other for $55 includes a modem service in addition to the email and web. If you are eligible for an upgrade on U.S. Cellular, then you may want to consider the new Android phone as it is a solid mid-range device. Via [U.S. Cellular] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Online Music/Video, Google  YouTube has announced today that they will now support video upload and support up to 4k. Just as a comparison, 1080p is 1920x1080 pixels and 4k is 4096x3072 pixels.
To view this when you select the resolution, choose “Original” rather than “480p.” Also, as you might imagine, these videos are pretty hard to come by considering the film producer has to have a camera capable of shooting at this resolution, so Youtube has gone ahead and compiled a playlist of the few supported videos that are out now.  YouTube let’s you know that view the 4k videos you must either be very patient or have a killer internet connection. But my question is, who will have the patience to upload any video at this resolution? Read [The Official YouTube Blog] Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week? Here's your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! - HTC: Expect Android 2.2 by Christmas, Gingerbread next year
” For all our HTC fans out there, I have a bit of bad news regarding your Android smartphones and Android 2.2. According to Eric Lin, HTC’s global PR and online community manager, HTC will roll out Android 2.2 to HTC…” MORE » - Why teens are missing our smartphone party
” This past week saw the plug pulled on two products aimed at teens: the Microsoft KINs and the Sidekick. Despite both being pulled, each shows what’s wrong with the other. The simple fact of the matter is smartphones and teens don’t mix. The Microsoft KINs were a…” MORE » - New LG Optimus line to feature 10 smartphones in the second half of 2010
” The new LG Optimus line of smartphones includes ten different phones that will run on many different operating systems and will all be available worldwide in the second half of 2010. At least two of the ten smartphones will be running…” MORE » - LG will launch a Android powered tablet, promises Froyo on Optimus Z
” LG recently told its fans to expect a Android powered tablet before the end of 2010, meaning right in time for the Holiday season. Unfortunately, LG provided very little details on the Android tablet, but I’m sure we will hear more…” MORE » - HP offering the Pre Plus, Pixi Plus and Pre Plus accessories for free
” In order to commemorate the opening of the HP Wireless Store, HP will be running a very nice offer for a limited time only. HP will be offering the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi…” MORE » - FCC receives Logitech Revue for Google TV
” When Google TV was announced at Google IO this year, Logitech was one of the first hardware companies to jump on board with their Revue set-top box. Although the Google TV service is not available to the world until this…” MORE » - More waiting for Verizon Droid Incredible buyers
“In the never-ending race to build the Droid Incredible, Verizon has now pushed the shipping date to 8/3. After making the running change to a S-LCD screen from a hard-to-get AMOLED, HTC looks to get back on track at fulfilling orders. However, 8/3…” MORE » - Best Buy to start limited pre-sale for the Droid X
” Even though Verizon isn’t offering pre-orders of the hot new Android phone, Best Buy has been offering on and off pre-ordering. Best Buy first began taking pre-orders on June 25, but last we heard, Best Buy…” MORE » - Samsung Intercept sold a week early to a Best Buy customer
” The Samsung Intercept on Sprint, set to replace the Samsung Moment, is going to launch on July 11. Best Buy happened to receive shipment of the latest Android smartphone a nine days ahead of time and sold one…” MORE » - Obama plans to expand broadband internet across U.S.
” President Barack Obama has announced a plan will provide over $1 billion in an effort towards installing broadband Internet across the United States. Approximately $800 million of that will be from tax-payer stimulus package money.…” MORE »
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones 
Two days ago we reported that a few lucky customers happened to receive the Motorola Droid X ahead of time because the customer service rep placed an order when he/she was not supposed to. A Verizon customer (name unknown) contacted a Verizon customer service rep and found out the only reason people received the Droid X was because of a “system error.” In fact, Verizon is not even going to activate the Droid X’s received ahead of time until launch day on July 15. However, Droid-Life is reporting that some people already activated their Droid X which makes me wonder how much Roy, the Verizon customer service rep, actually knows about this situation. The full email can be read below: Dear XXX,
I appreciate your interest in placing an order for the soon-to-be-released Motorola DROID X. My name is Roy and in review of my resources, I have confirmed that orders for the DROID X cannot be processed until July 15, 2010. At the present time, we do not offer the ability to pre-order this device.
I have also confirmed the reports that you have referenced about customers receiving these devices prior to the 15th. This was unfortunately due to a system error, allowing very few customers to receive this device prior to July 15; however, these devices cannot be activated until the phone is officially released on the 15th. I truly apologize for any concerns this may have caused.
Thank you again for your email regarding the release of the Motorola DROID X. I hope you continue to find the "Contact Us" section of verizonwireless.com a helpful option to resolve any issue you may experience the first time you email us. We appreciate your business and thank you for being a valued Verizon Wireless customer.
Sincerely,
Roy
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service
I guess those who managed to place a Droid X order a week ahead of launch and managed to activate it are really lucky. Via [Droid-Life] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Computers, Gadgets / Other, Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack 
What's the most common phrase heard around the Gadgetell newsroom? Is it "I love Apple?", "that's cool!" or "sweet!" ? Answer: none of them, it's "they are on crack". This week we see more than the usual share of illegal narcotics being passed around. Let's pick up the trail: Get these pants with a 2-year contract?
iTunes - overdue for a facelift?
Why does our software suck?
God Save the Queens BB 
Pants with strings from American Outfitters What goes together better than pants and mobile phones? American Outfitters believes the match is made in pants heaven with their new program. Our Robert Nelson wrote this up: “head on over to American Eagle, try on a pair of AE jeans and receive the instructions on how to claim your free phone upon exiting the dressing room. And no, a purchase is not required.” While you may go into the fitting room hoping pants fit, you may come out with a 2-year contract. A look at the phones and the choices will surprise you, there’s BlackBerry, Android devices and more. Something sounds suspicious. So I cruised over to internet cellphone powerbroker LetsTalk.com and found many of the same deals without having to don a pair of pants. Take the HTC Aria - offered at AT&T’s website for $129.99 but free from American Outfitters and free from LetsTalk.com. I found the same for the LG Ally, Moto Cliq and Backflip. But with the BlackBerry 8650 was different - free at American Outfitters but $49.99 over at LetsTalk. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for getting into someone’s pants for a good mobile phone deal, it pays to look around before you jump into them. 
iTunes hacked and jacked This past weekend, a Vietnamese developer hacked 400 iTunes accounts in an effort to boost his ebook app in popularity. Despite racking up fraudulent charges, accessing users accounts and threatening to harm iTunes reputation, Apple sat idly by. Our Sue Walsh raged at Apple: “Really Apple? This is no big deal? Just like the iPhone 4 reception issues and iOS battery killing issues are no big deal? This is a company that needs to wake up fast before they find their reputation beyond repair.” I think Apple’s attitude reflects it’s iTunes product. While regaled for having a sizable billing relationship with captive customers, it’s showing it’s age. Take the icon for example (or is it iCon?). A musical note on a CD. At least I think it is CD. It’s one of those artifacts iTunes help drive the nails into physical media’s coffin. The very product that has put CDs in the ground, bears it’s image on it’s icon. Is it Apple being smug? Kind of a, “na-na-na”? No, it’s Apple hasn’t gotten around to thinking about what to do with it, much like the iTunes name itself. The store now sells so much more than music (the tunes part) as it now sells TV shows, movies, apps, and automobiles. Nope, that’s wrong, they are not in autos, yet. Their icon shows the backward thinking that seems to be indicative of Apple’s customer service attitude. 
Giant sucking sound said to be software Our software sucks. That is the theme of the week if you are an iPhone owner. Both AT&T and Apple this week pointed to two separate instances where their woes were caused simply because the software sucks. AT&T blamed slow network speeds on software. Our Natesh Sood tells us, “AT&T came out with a statement claiming the significant drop in upload speeds is because of a software defect with Alcatel-Lucent's equipment.” Translation, our software sucks. Apple also said it’s got software issues. Appletell’s Kirk Hiner reports on Apple’s statement on iPhone 4 reception issues, “for the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.” Translation: our software sucks. Are we finally at the point where we’ve got hardware dialed in and it’s now the software that is falling behind? Has improvements and capital investment to make hardware production (mainly in Asia) surpassed the clever software we thought we had? Check out this book intro from David Platt: “Today's software sucks. There's no other good way to say it. It's unsafe, allowing criminal programs to creep through the Internet wires into our very bedrooms. It's unreliable, crashing when we need it most, wiping out hours or days of work with no way to get it back. And it's hard to use, requiring large amounts of head-banging to figure out the simplest operations.”
Software certainly isn’t infallible and is the easier of the two (hardware and software) to fix with an update. Are we relying on these updates too much? It looks like Apple and AT&T are; or is just an easy scapegoat? I have that sneaking suspicion that it’s the scapegoat. 
Queen gets a BlackBerry This is my favorite image of the week. A lowly subject (kinda, right?) handing over a fresh-from-the-line BlackBerry to the Queen of England. If you look closely, the worker hands it off in a way that she expects the Queen might try to eat it. It’s like when you let a baby hold keys. Our Hunter Clarke explains, “while everyone in America was celebrating the 4th of July, the Queen of England was getting her geek on at a tour of Research in Motion. And, after being shown around by RIM founder and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis (and after receiving one awesome lab coat), she was presented with a brand new White Blackberry Bold 9700.” Show of hands: who thinks she kept the lab coat? I know I would have. I bet she did, right after she tried to take a bit out of the 9700. Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Web, Online Music/Video 
Can’t get enough of the Samsung Captivate that’s going to launch on July 18 for $199? Check out the latest promotional video by Samsung on YouTube, which shows off many of the Captivate’s key features that makes me really want the phone. The video, albeit biased, definitely captured my attention and wonder how good the three other Galaxy S variants could be. Some of the features mentioned in the video include its Super AMOLED Display, pre-loaded Swype, HD Video Recording, more responsive touch screen, “twice as fast as leading android devices”, 3D graphics support, Social Hub, Media Hub, and sleek design. If you are considering purchasing the phone, or just like looking at phones you wish you could get, watch the video below.  Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, Portable Video, Communications, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers Those who may have had their eye on the 32GB Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android may be in luck as it looks there has been a price cut. In the past Amazon had been selling the Archos 5 for $379, and its now down to $276.14. In other words—its been given a little more than a $100 price cut. And for those not as familiar with the Archos 5, it features a 4.8 inch (800 x 480) touchscreen display, an 800MHz OMAP3440 processor, 32GB internal storage, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and a battery that is said to be able to offer up to 10 hours of audio playback and 4 hours of video playback. Product [Amazon] Via [ArchosFans] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Web, Websites  Apparently this is becoming a trend in the mobile phone space. With Apple coming off of its iPhone 4 debacle with Gizmodo, Nokia puts itself in a similar situation after a prototype of the unreleased N8 (pictured right) reached the hands of a blogger by the name of Eldar Murtazin, editor-and-chief for the Moscow-based mobile.review.com.
After requesting the return of all of its property, Nokia called in the help of the Russian authorities to help track down the the blogger-on-the-run, claiming that it’s actions were not against any of the blogging kind, but rather a compromise of their intellectual property. I’m going to go with Nokia on this one. For one they were perfectly open on their blog regarding their motives. After requesting their property back, they called in the calvary. I believe that if Apple had simply stated the situation to the public instead of leaving the storytelling to the victims, then things would have gone over much smoother. It is as simple as a blog post. It’s what separates my opinion of a situation handled well vs. a situation that ends in a task force unit busting down a door in a dramatic fashion. Read [The Official Nokia Blog] Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Motorola unveiled the Charm smartphone with Android earlier in the week and at the time the press release gave us some good information but not a complete picture. So without further adieu, here is the complete spec listing for the Motorola Charm… - 2.8 inch Gorilla Glass touchscreen display with 320 x 240 pixel resolution
- Backtrack Navigation Pad
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- GPS
- 3 megapixel camera with digital zoom
- Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- microSD card slot with 2GB microSD card included
- Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor & proximity sensor
- USB 2.0
- 1170 mAh battery
- 67.2 x 98.4 x 11.4 mm
- 110 grams
- WCDMA 1700/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 3.6 Mbps (Category 5/6), EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class
Finally, the Charm is running Android 2.1 with the Motoblur user interface on top and will be available in Golden Bronze or Carbernet. Of course, as a little reminder, the Motorola Charm is heading to T-Mobile where it will sell for a yet to be announced price on a yet to be announced date. Read [Motorola] Via [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones The Android Market has many Instant Messaging apps, but it’s hard to say any of them are stellar apps. However, we should be soon seeing a new player in town which already has quite a reputation. One of the best known Windows and Mac Instant Messaging applications, Trillian, will shortly be making its way to the Android platform. Some of the features for the Trillian Android app include: Connect to Facebook Chat, Windows Live, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber/XMPP and MySpaceIM
Synchronize your contacts, avatars, status, accounts and more with your Trillian-enabled desktop or mobile apps
Get notified easily with Android notification system integration
Contact list sorting, grouping, metacontacts support, privacy settings and various ways to organize
Set status, avatar and display name quickly in one simple screen
Tabbed chat windows with bubble view, photo transfer, buzz and emoticon support
Support for Android phones as far back as version 1.6 – works with your good old T-Mobile G1 or the newest HTC Evo 4G or Motorola Droid!
We took special care and respect to design and build the user interface to smoothly integrate with Android – this is not just a clone from the iPhone!
It’s nice that Cerulean Studios made sure the Trillian app would be compatible with all versions of Android because there are still many users touting older versions of Android. In addition, it is nice that Cerulean Studios realizes Android users do not simply want an iPhone app for the Android market - Android users want a revamped app that they call their own. Apparently the first beta release of the Trillian app is only a few weeks away, so that is good news for Trillian fans on Android. You can check out a screenshot of the app in action below. Via [Cerulean Studios] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Mobile Despite yesterdays reports of Microsoft only selling 503 KIN phones, it looks like there may have been more. Of course, 503 sounds pretty bad but the number may have been as high as 8,810. Granted, that is still pretty poor in terms of overall sales, but at the same time at least its in the thousands and not the hundreds. Anyway, this new information is coming by way of the PocketNow tech blog who noticed that the KIN Facebook app has “8,810 monthly active users.” And that Facebook app can only be used by those sporting a KIN phone. Of course, that is not to say that Microsoft did not sell 503 KIN phones and the remaining 8,307 are all in use by Microsoft employees. But in the end we are still talking less than 10,000, which ultimately seems like a good reason to have killed the project off. Read [PocketNow] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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