Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Just yesterday, we reported the announced pricing of the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant available through Bell in Canada. At the time, the official availability date wasn’t announced, but we knew it was coming any day now. Well, today we have some good news for our Canadian readers as Bell is beginning to ship Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant devices to those who purchase one. In terms of pricing, the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant will be available for $149.95 on a three year contract, $349.95 on a two year contract, $449.95 on a one year contract, and $499.95 without a contract. If you’re looking for the top-of-the-line Android phone in Canada, you will probably find it in the Galaxy S Vibrant. Read [Bell] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Starting today, the largely anticipated Android device in Canda - the HTC Desire, will officially be available through Telus. As of mid-July, we knew the HTC Desire would be available at some point, but no one knew for sure what the price and availability would be. Since Telus decided to begin selling the phone today, we now have official pricing: $79.99 on a three year contract, $349.99 on a two year contract, $399.99 on a one year contract, and $449.99 off contract. The pricing for a three year deal is pretty enticing, but if you prefer to not be locked down by a contract, the off contract pricing is fairly reasonable. The HTC Desire will be upgraded to Android 2.2 sometime by the end of 2010, so it looks like you’ll be stuck running Android 2.1 for the time being. Read [Telus] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Reports of Asus’ first Windows Phone 7 device have surfaced with an image on Twitter. The leaked image, which can be seen above, seems like a prototype of an Asus phone running Windows Phone 7. If you look closely on the bottom, you can see the “powered by Asus” logo on the sleek metal finish. In addition, if you look closely on the top portion of the phone, it looks like a front facing camera rests there. Interestingly enough, the image reportedly surfaced from Pakistan, which isn’t really a hotspot for tech rumors. Again, this is simply a rumor but it could be a good indication of the type of WP7 phone we can expect from Asus. Check it out [@Shaistajafri] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Apple, Communications, Accessories, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile A short while back we saw the Sprint branded ZTE Peel 3G case in an FCC listing, and for those unfamiliar with the name—in short, it is a case that will allow you to get iPhone like functionality from your iPod touch. Or at the very least have a 3G connected iPod touch. Either way though, it looks like this Sprint branded case is not the only one around and the Chinese language gadget site, M.I.C. Gadget has recently reviewed another. The case in question is the Apple Peel 520 and it is a case that slips around the iPod touch and has a built-in battery and SIM card slot. Bottom line here, according to the review, the case does work as advertised however it is far from perfect. That said, even putting calls and SMS messages aside, it would be nice to have an iPod touch with 3G—just like the iPad 3G. Read [MIC Gadget] Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson 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! - What’s missing in the Droid 2.2 (froyo) update?
“In a letdown to many a Droid owner, the Android 2.2 update, known affectionately as Froyo, won’t allow many of the features 2.2 promises. Topping that list is the update will not turn the Droid device into a mobile WiFi hotspot. Verizon cites incapable hardware. “Verizon Wireless…” MORE » - Windows Phone 7 HTML email will not automatically load images in email?
” There are two sides with HTML email, those who prefer to have the images load automatically and those who prefer to have those images show as a placeholder. The reasoning behind…” MORE » - Android outsold iPhone in the first half of 2010
” It’s no secret that Android is starting to take more and more of the smartphone market from Apple, RIM, and others. We already know that Android phone shipments were up an incredible 886% year-over-year. That doesn’t mean that the phones are selling…” MORE » - iPad already being hailed as #1 Christmas gift
“With the economy stumbling along, many retailers are looking forward to holiday sales to spruce up their bottom line. Some companies, such as Electrical retailer DSG international plc, owner of Currys and PC World, believe that tablets, like the iPad will outsell netbooks 2:1 this holiday season. …” MORE » - Smartphone market grows 64%, Android 886%
” Analysts from Canalys have been working on some facts and figures now that companies have all filed their Q2 financial reports. And the results are astounding. Year to year the smartphone market has grown 64% globally, proving…” MORE » - Nokia’s MeeGo UI leaked via online survey
” We’ve seen a few UI renditions of MeeGo, the netbook and smartphone OS from Intel and Nokia, so far. The last time is was shown off from Nokia, it looked similar to Samsung’s TouchWiz, if not a bit generic. Now…” MORE » - HTC EVO 4G Android 2.2 update now rolling out
” As expected, Sprint has begun the official Android 2.2 Froyo update for the HTC EVO 4G. With that, according to the official change log, here is what you can expect; HTC EVO 4G Maintenance Release Instructions | 08.03.2010 The software upgrade available…” MORE » - Palm C40 webOS smartphone rumored for a fall release with Sprint
” The webOS news has certainly become slow these days. And as a Palm fan (and user) I say that with a little sadness. But I still like to believe there is some…” MORE » - Connect your iPad at 4G speeds with Clearwire iSpot hotspot
” Clearwire is going after Apple customers with their new iSpot 4G hotspot device. Capable of bringing blazing 4G speeds, the iSpot is similar in design to the popular MiFi. Clearwire is tilting their marketing to woo Apple…” MORE » - iPhone 4 jailbreak now available by way of resurrected jailbreak.me
” The iPhone Dev-Team has announced the return of the jailbreak.me website, which that alone is good news because it was a simple method jailbreak. But perhaps more importantly is that it will work…” MORE »
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones 
The Motorola Droid 2 has been heavily rumored from running Android 2.2 out-of-the-box to its expected launch date. Unfortunately, Verizon still has yet to officially announce the device, availability, or price. Many of the latest rumors seem to indicate an August 12 launch for the original Droid successor. Today, an internal document from Best Buy has been leaked which explains the phone is going to launch Thursday, August 12, and that the phone cannot be sold anytime before that date. The internal document (pictured above) also mentions the Droid 2 will be the first Verizon smartphone to run Android 2.2 and support Flash 10.1 out-of-the-box. Hopefully, we’ll hear official word from Verizon soon because all things point towards a launch within the next six days. Via [Droid-Life] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Websites Image via: today.msnbc.msn.com It is always fun to see a story in a local paper that has a tech/web angle and that is just what happened here. Coming from the Saint Petersburg Times, a man has learned that it is hard to cheat on his wife in todays social networking friendly world. According to the details of the story, a man was married to a woman and has two kids, he then later went to Florida and married another woman. And then that second wife decided to share pictures of the wedding on Facebook, and as a little kicker to the first wife—her two kids appeared in those images. Well, needless to say the images were discovered by the family of the first wife. Of course, that is just the tip of the iceberg in this twisted story because it seems the first marriage may not have been legally filed. Either way, it is an interesting read but the bottom line here: If you are cheating around you may want to try and find someone without a Facebook account. Granted that is becoming harder and harder to do with over 500 million users so that being the case, lets just not cheat. Read [tampabay.com] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Apple, Communications, Smartphones, Mobile  A little rant here, but why has it become cool to go into an Apple Store and jailbreak the display model iPhones? Well, the obvious answer is that it has become super easy to jailbreak an iPhone now that the jailbreak.me website has been revived. But seriously, what the hell does it accomplish by doing so? It is not making any statement to Apple. Not that I can see anyway. As for what I can see, the only ones that are affected are the in-store employees that have to take extra time and restore the phones back to an original state. Well, to be fair, the people who are doing the jailbreaking are getting something—a childish laugh. Seriously stop it. Oh wait, you will be stopping because Apple seems to have cut the practice off by using DNS forwarding. According to Cult Of Mac, if you try and get to the jailbreak.me website from within an Apple Store it will automatically be forwarded back to Apple.com. Well played Apple, well played. That said, I do have to wonder what took them so long. But the bottom line, jailbreaking is a good tool to have available but unfortunately when you make it super simple you attract a whole new group of immature idiots to the party. Maybe this is the older guy in me coming out, but I liked jailbreaking better back when it took a little work and not everyone was willing to try in fear of ruining their iPhone.
Read [Cult Of Mac] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Apple, Audio, Web, Online Music/Video It seems to have been a while since the topic of The Beatles coming to iTunes last reared its ugly head. Given that, what better time but now, except it is not all that good of news. Basically, the possibility is not fully out of question, however according to Yoko Ono; “Don’t hold your breath ... for anything,”
Furthermore, for all the Apple fanboys out there, Yoko did also mention that Steve Jobs was “a brilliant guy” but it still seems like Apple wants things that the EMI Group does not want. In the end, Yoko commented that; “There’s just an element that we’re not very happy about, as people. We are holding out.”
Maybe someday, maybe someday. But my suggestion to anyone that wants to see The Beatles in iTunes—buy and rip some CD’s because it seems that may be the only way it is going to happen. Read [Reuters] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Computers, 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 take a look back at the things that made us chuckle in the tech world. This week, it seems there was more folks on dope than not. Lets get to the accused: - iPad overheating
- iSpot overthought
- The Saudi’s didn’t get the email
- US to stand up for Canada
iPad getting hot under the collar? Besides being a hot seller, apparently when actually hot, the iPad shuts down. Our Sue Walsh reports, “three people from Northern California have filed a lawsuit against Apple, irate over the device's habit of overheating quickly when exposed to sunlight. User reports suggest it overheats and shuts down after only a mere 10 minutes in the sun.” This reaction may justify Apple’s dismissive claims about the iPad’s direct sunlight readability - it doesn’t matter as the unit shuts down. Scanning the Interwebs, more than a few people have had their units go into conserve battery mode (shut down) in the sun. A quick look over at Apple finds these gems:
Environmental requirements - Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
- Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
- Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
- Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m
)
Interestingly, the iPhone has the same specs. In the US, hitting temps of just ambient 113 degrees is easy in many of our states, before adding heat generated by the device. 113 seems a bit low to me. The best things to come out of these stories is how people are working around it (Apple fans will often go to extremes and be happy with it). “Just throw the damm thing in a fridge, and if your on the nice Californian summer day, remember to get your mini ice box with you…simple.” What’s funny is, I’ve seen people rationalizing doing this all over the comments on stories like this. I’ll just throw it in the freezer for a sec and be back in business. Really? You folks are on crack. (thanks, Chris) iSpot for the braindead? 
At first I was like, heck yeah! Then I was like, no, man, no. Here’s what will excite you then, have you wonder what ClearWire is on: “Clearwire is going after Apple customers with their new iSpot 4G hotspot device. Capable of bringing blazing 4G speeds, the iSpot is similar in design to the popular MiFi. Clearwire is tilting their marketing to woo Apple customers.” Only, it’s not just their marketing being tilted to mobile Apple products, it’s their hardware. The iSpot is useless as a hotspot for your laptop. Yes, it’s WiFi but it won’t allow non-Apple products to log on. How dumb is that? Here is a Who’s on Crack exclusive transcription from inside Clearwire:
Bossman: “I want iPad customers”
Product gal: “we could offer 4G to them, but we’ll have to keep it cheap to compete with AT&T”
Bossman: “fantastic, but I don’t want a bunch of freeloading laptops crippling our network.”
Geek: “we could make it work with just Apple mobile products and screw everything else.”
Bossman: “I love you.” Unfortunately, it seems ridiculous to me. Here’s superfast (let’s just say it is, OK?) WiFi but you can’t have it on your laptop. I can’t think of a better reason to hack this thing or jailbreak the iPad to spread some 4G love around. Crippling the device to minimize your risk seems childish and short-sighted. Bunch of crack heads. My editors suggest I mention that I cannot recommend hacking any product to get around limitations imposed by the manufacturer. It’s not an endorsement, just an opinion (that most sane people will probably share). 
The Saudi’s won’t get your BBM I learned last night on TV that BBM does not stand for Big Bowel Movement, instead, according to RIM it stands for BlackBerry Message. Huh, you learn something everyday. Anyhow, it seems the Saudi’s are banning some BlackBerry services (the best ones that make the device attractive) and the UAE looks to follow suit in a few months. Our Robert Nelson spills the beans, ” Saudi Arabia has banned the BlackBerry. Well, more specifically, they have banned some of the services and not the phones themselves. Nonetheless, they are taking part of what makes the BlackBerry the BlackBerry—the data services. “ The reasoning for the ban centers on security. Not a lack of it, mind you, but the government can’t influence RIM to give up emails of users that might be plotting bad things. Basically, it sounds like the Saudi’s want access to your BBMs, which is really funny if bowel movements are the first thing that jumps into your mind when you read BBMs. So RIM is stuck - valued for it’s secure data delivery and scorned for keeping it secure. Tough spot but I hear BlackBerry is in China now, so the Canadians probably won’t lose too much sleep over this. 
US to battle Saudi’s over Berry spat I love it when stories flow together. The twist in the above story is what follows it: namely the US is weighing in on BerryGate. Specifically, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is holding talks with UAE regarding the issue: “We know that there is a legitimate security concern, but there’s also a legitimate right of free use and access,” the Secretary said, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. “So I think we will be pursuing both technical and expert discussions as we go.” Does Secretary Clinton have a soft spot for hockey or Moosehead lager? Did the US take over Canada when I wasn’t paying attention? Nope, it seems this falls in line with a freedom of information cause and a noble one at that. And frankly, the US has a surplus of goodwill capital to spend in the region. I am sure we’ll be greeted as information liberators. Don’t get me wrong, information must not be held in the hands of the few. But, come on, have you seen the Torch? How about the 6th version of the OS? I am not sure these are things worth another black eye for the US. This whole thing may come back to bite us in the end as it is starting to stink like a BBM already. Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Websites  Google and Verizon have announced a deal regarding net neutrality. As part of it, Verizon has agreed not to throttle or prioritize Google traffic coming through its pipes, but the agreement doesn’t cover mobile phone data. The companies have been working on the deal for months, ever since Verizon Wireless began carrying Android phones.
When reached for comment, a Verizon spokesman offered this statement: “We’ve been working with Google for 10 months to reach an agreement on broadband policy. We are currently engaged in and committed to the negotiation process led by the FCC. We are optimistic this process will reach a consensus that can maintain an open Internet and the investment and innovation required to sustain it.”
The issue of net neutrality is shaping up to be a big one as the FCC started efforts to reclassify broadband services so it can impose net neutrality regulations. This is pitting broadband providers like Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, who are against regulation and feel they have a right to throttle and prioritize traffic coming through their pipes, against services such as Ebay, Google and Skype who fear they will be harmed if net neutrality isn’t enforced. A lack of net neutrality regulations would give broadband providers the right to, for example, block Skype traffic while giving Google traffic high priority. Supporters of net neutrality say all traffic should be treated equally. Read [CNet] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Despite some earlier reports that the Android 2.2 update was already underway for Droid X owners—it looks like that will not be happening until sometime in September. This latest information is coming by way of the Motorola Support Forums and makes it pretty clear. “A fix for this will be included in the upgrade to Android 2.2 scheduled for deployment by early September.”
As for the fix that is being mentioned above, that was for an issue dealing with Exchange 2003 email. Either way though, Droid X users have a few weeks to wait before Froyo is going to arrive. Read [Motorola] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking  In an interview with BusinessWeek magazine, the COO of Facebook said ad spending on the site is at an all time high, a sign that big advertisers are starting to see advertising on the site in a new and lucrative light. Sheryl Sandberg claims that the site’s advertisers have increased their ad spending by 10 and 20 fold.
I use Facebook a lot and I have to confess I do so with Firefox using Ad-Block. It’s not that I don’t want to help support the site, I do, but the ads were just getting too obnoxious and dangerous. Videos would appear out of nowhere and start playing, there were tons of flashing ads announcing scams like “Win a Free Laptop!” and there were even some ads that led to shady gaming sites that install spyware and other nasty things on your computer. Not good. Facebook, if you’re listening, I’m glad you’re getting support from advertisers, but don’t forget about the users who have to look at them. Vet ads before you approve them and keep the scamming, flashing, noisy ones out. Then, and only then, would I consider removing my Ad-Block plugin. Read [CNet] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile According to the latest rumors, the Motorola Droid 2 is set to launch August 12 on Verizon Wireless. To make the week even more interesting, BGR received a tip from a Sprint source claiming the Samsung Epic 4G will
launch August 11. The Epic 4G is Sprint’s variant of the Galaxy S smartphone and its two most notable features include a full QWERTY keyboard and 4G access. In addition, Sprint claims stores may be opening earlier that day, at 8 AM, to meet consumer demand. The Epic 4G marks Sprint’s second 4G capable phone, and we all remember the trouble Sprint had with keeping the HTC EVO 4G in stock. Hopefully Sprint and Samsung can work together to keep the smartphone available in retail and online stores. Via [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Google  Google is introducing a new feature that will allow users to log into multiple GMail accounts at once. This may be particularly useful for people who juggle personal and work accounts and for businesses that have separate accounts for sales, tech support, etc. It’s not perfect though-using the feature will break your bookmarks, doesn’t work on mobile devices, won’t let you use GMail or Google Calendar offline, and if you sign out of one account, you’ll be logged out of all of them. Still this could be the nudge companies considering moving over to Google Doc need to finally make the switch.
Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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