Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, Portable Video, Communications The Samsung YP-MB2, which is better known as the Samsung Galaxy S PMP, is Samsung’s latest rumored PMP featuring Android 2.1. While it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Samsung, the device’s specs have already leaked out and now we have some images to go along with it. To recap the device, it’s essentially the Galaxy S smartphone without voice capability, thus making it a strong competitor to the iPod Touch. It features a 1GHz processor, 4 inch Super AMOLED display, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3MP camera, Android 2.1, and full Android Market access. It looks the like the YP-MB2 will first launch in South Korea for 299,000 KRW, which is about $250. Hopefully the device one day launches in America because I believe many Android fans would definitely enjoy using said device instead of the iPod Touch. Via [SamsungHub] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones  For those who like solid and indestructible cell phones, you may want to consider the Motorola Jordan when it launches with T-Mobile sometime in November. According to BGR, the Motorola Jordan features an unknown version of Android, but more importantly, it comes with a ruggedized casing, is waterproof up to 10 meters, and the device is IP67 certified. No word one exact availability or pricing but it looks like the device will launch in November. Hopefully more rumors and leaks will surface of the Jordan so we have an idea of what it looks like and the specs it features.
Via [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones  While the Motorola Charm is still missing in action here in the United States, the Canadian carrier—Telus—recently launched the candybar Android device. In terms of contract pricing, for three years the device is available for $29.99, for a two year agreement it is available for $149.99, for a one year deal it is available for $199.99, and the off contract price is $249.99.
The Motorola Charm features a 2.8 inch touch screen, 3MP camera with flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, and it operates on Android 2.1 with a MOTOBLUR skin. In addition, it features a full QWERTY keyboard just below the screen and there is a Backtrack navigation pad on the back of the device. Perhaps we will see a launch in the United States shortly since it has already launched in Canada with Telus. Read [Telus] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile, Reviews, Features, Originals 
Recently, I have spent a few weeks trying out one of T-Mobile's latest Android smartphones, the Samsung Vibrant. I must say, for all the hype surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone, and more specifically the Samsung Vibrant—it was justified. The four inch Super AMOLED display is arguably the most alluring and noticeable feature about the Vibrant. While I would definitely recommend purchasing the Samsung Vibrant, it looks like T-Mobile may be gearing up to launch a few new smartphones, so it may be wise to wait until the end of September to see what launches. What is it? The Samsung Vibrant is T-Mobile's version of the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone. Some of its notable features include: four inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, 16GB onboard memory, 5MP camera, WiFi, GPS, pre-loaded with Swype, and it runs Android 2.1. In addition, T-Mobile preloaded the device with The Sims 3, the full-length movie Avatar, MobiTV, Kindle for Android, Gogo Inflight Internet, and Slacker Radio. The Samsung Vibrant has been available on T-Mobile since July 15, 2010 and it is currently selling for $199 on a new, two-year contract. In terms of physical design, the Vibrant features a headphone jack on top, USB charger input to the left of the headphone jack, volume control on the left hand side, and a power/lock key on the right hand side. The Good As I previously mentioned, the most obvious feature and key selling point of the Vibrant is its beautiful AMOLED display. Four inches, in my opinion, is the optimal screen size for smartphones (although 3.7 inches comes in a close second) and Samsung made sure the screen looks as sharp as possible with its 800 x 480 resolution. With such a large screen, email, surfing the web, IMing, Twitter, and games becomes a lot more enjoyable. The only drawback to such a large screen is inevitable battery drain, but more on that in a moment. Coming from a physical QWERTY keyboard on my LG enV 3, messaging and text input on the Vibrant with its large touch screen takes a little getting used to. However, the addition of Swype as its default keyboard makes messaging a piece of cake and it's hard to imagine typing on a touch screen device without Swype. Of course, if Swype is not your cup of tea, you can always choose to input text using the Samsung keypad or the Android keyboard. When I first received the phone, I showed it to my brother and he quickly remarked how similar it looks to the iPhone. Many people believe the iPhone has a nice, simple, elegant design so it probably bodes well for T-Mobile to have a phone that compares aesthetically to the iPhone. While the iPhone has the obvious one physical button on the bottom of the phone, the Samsung Vibrant features the typical-Android four soft button layout of options, home, back, and search. Just above the four soft keys are the four quick launch apps that include: Dialer, Contacts, Messaging, and Applications. With the applications launcher, it displays all the apps in a neat list and you can scroll across multiple pages to find what you are looking for. In terms of software, the Vibrant runs Android 2.1, which is second to the latest Android 2.2, and it features Samsung's native skin TouchWiz 3.0 which adds to the Android experience. Samsung already confirmed each Galaxy S device will be upgraded at a later date to Android 2.2 - good news for Vibrant owners. The Bad There are only a few shortcomings of the Vibrant, which prevents it from being an absolute perfect device. As with many smartphones, the battery life is decent at best—it'll get through the day with moderate usage, but don't expect much more time than that. Obviously, games, WiFi, web browsing, GPS, and video playback all drain the battery very quickly, but it lasts a long time otherwise. In addition, the 5MP camera is certainly nice and takes clean, crisp shots, but the lack of flash is disappointing. The addition of flash makes taking photos in low-light situations possible, but without it, it's nearly impossible to take good pictures. Also, I heard the Samsung Vibrant sometimes experiences problems with its GPS functionality, but my review unit seemed to work fine. However, Samsung is currently working on a GPS fix for all Galaxy S devices, so hopefully the software update will square away any issues Vibrant users are experiencing. I previously mentioned it comes bundled with a bunch of apps that you probably won't even use and they can't always be deleted from your phone. The Crux If you are on T-Mobile, or even a rival carrier, and are looking to experience one of the best Android smartphones currently available, the Samsung Vibrant is definitely a device worth considering. It is arguably the best smartphone available on the T-Mobile network and deservedly so. Samsung worked hard to make the Galaxy S smartphone a formidable opponent to the Droid series on Verizon and the iPhone on AT&T and I am going to miss using the Vibrant. Like I mentioned in the beginning of the review, T-Mobile should be announcing several new smartphones in the coming weeks, so it might not be a bad idea to wait and see what happens. Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile 
The Android operating system for smartphones is gaining in popularity in leaps and bounds. Devices running Android outsold the mighty iPhone in the first half of 2010. One battle the platform is not winning is apps. Currently, Android apps are sold in only 13 of 46 countries where the devices are sold. Vast regions where the phones are sold have no option to buy Android apps. Even if users in these unsupported countries wish to buy the apps, their only option is to turn to piracy or go without. Google says they are working on getting paid apps to more countries, but says it is a big job. Others have taken a more cynical view, like John Gruber, saying “Google prefers free Android apps over paid ones, because free apps try to make money through ads, and Google serves nearly all the in-app ads for Android apps.” However, Bloomberg is reporting that Google is looking to Paypal for more payment options. Paypal has a huge installed customer base and adds new users at an impressive clip, however the service competes with Google Checkout. It is not clear if a deal with come from these talks. So the question becomes, is Google dragging it’s feet on paid apps. Surely, Google realizes that paid apps that sell well only encourage more developers. More developers means more apps and the 225,000 Apple apps vs 70,000 Android apps battle goes away. In the diagram above, at App Store HQ’s survey finds more iOS developers than Android developers. The study also finds a significant number of cross platform developers, a portion we suspect will continue to grow as Google adds more devices and hopefully more customers that can purchase them. Read: [Pingdom] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile According to analyst estimates, RIM sold only 150,000 BlackBerry Torch smartphones. The numbers come by way of researchers at RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus, though it is worth pointing out that these have neither been confirmed or denied by RIM. In the end though and in fairness to the ‘only’ description, while that is a decent amount overall it is not all that much as compared to some of the other major players in the current smartphone market. Nonetheless, a BlackBerry is a BlackBerry and that really means that people will have them for better or worse, after all, business and enterprise users are not going away. Read [Electronista] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  This could be a sign of something to come, or maybe just a strange coincidence. Either way though it is interesting to see that the Palm Pre Plus is now sitting with out of stock messages with both Verizon Wireless and AT&T. You know, maybe they both just really ran out of inventory, or maybe something new is in the works and the current inventory is low for a real reason. Of course, even being a Palm fan I have to think the latter is not the case. That said, if you were planning to pick up a Palm Pre here in the US it looks like you have a little bit of a wait. And while some are going to poke fun at the webOS smartphone and Palm in general, I remind you that the Verizon branded Pre Plus still has a good thing going—free Mobile Hotspot. But with that, it looks like both models are still available direct with HP, by way of the HP Wireless Central store. In other words, if anything this looks like a case of HP offering better prices and the carriers not wanting to be bothered. Then again, in most cases you can get a smartphone cheaper with a third party as opposed to direct with the carrier. Product [Verizon Wireless] and [AT&T] Via [PreCentral] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Gadgets / Other Those waiting for Toshiba to release the dual-screened Libretto may want to break out their wallets as the device has come available for pre-order. As of now, the Toshiba Libretto W105-L251 is available with Amazon. With that, expect to pay $1,099.99 and at current there is not any estimate as to when this will begin shipping. As for what you would be getting, the Libretto, aside from looking really cool, features two 7 inch displays with a 1.2GHz Pentium U5400 processor, 2GB RAM, 62GB serial ATA hard drive, Intel HD graphics, 8 cell Lithium Ion battery and Windows 7 Home Premium. But the question remains, will this be a one-off interesting device that attracts the attention of your friends or will it be one that everyone wants and feels they need to have? Product [Amazon] Via [CrunchGear]  Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile This is not the first day that the Droid Incredible is showing a same (or next day) shipping date, but more like a few in a row at this point. In short, it looks like the Droid Incredible availability delays have finally come to an end. In other words, good news for anyone still looking to make a purchase. Of course, with other hot Android smartphones available with Verizon such as the Droid 2, Droid 2 and maybe even the upcoming Droid Pro, the Droid Incredible is not the only incredible handset available. That said, the Droid Incredible does come sporting the HTC Sense UI, which for some is likely a selling point. Me personally, I always loved Sense, that is until I installed the third party launcher—Launcher Pro. With that, the Droid Incredible was, and remains priced at $199.99 on a two-year agreement. Product [Verizon Wireless] Via [Brighthand] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Networking, Gadgets / Other, Peripherals, Storage Cloud Engines has returned with yet another Pogoplug related announcement. This time we have word of a new price as well as a new accessory. And an accessory that will take the Pogoplug wireless. First things first, the existing Pogoplug storage device has been lowered in price from $129 down to $99. The new accessory is called the Pogoplug Wireless Extender and is just what the name implies—a way to make your Pogoplug Wi-Fi capable. As for network compatibility, that is 802.11 b/g/n. Bottom line here, for $29 you can now have the freedom of placing your Pogoplug anywhere in your network as opposed to needing a hardwired ethernet connection. The Pogoplug Wireless Adapter is available for pre-order as of today and is priced at $29. But, and this is an important but, current Pogoplug owners can get the wireless adapter for free. The free offer for current users is described as being for a “limited time” and more information is available by way of the Pogoplug Facebook page. Read [Pogoplug] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web It looks like Nexus One owners now have the option of Flash. And by the option of Flash I am referring to the final, as in non-beta version of Flash Player 10.1. The app comes by way of the Android Market is 4.25MB in size and sporting the version number of 10.1.92.8. Either hit up the Market and install for the first time, or if you were one of those running the beta just go for the update. Bottom line, Nexus One owners have once again gotten something Android related before any of their other Android using counterparts. But they should enjoy it while they can as Motorola Droid users should also be getting Flash Player 10.1 final sooner rather than later. Via [Android Central] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications 
Could you imagine multiplying the speed of your Fios broadband speed by fifty? Downloading your favorite TV show would no longer be of any concern. Curing the lag gods in between matches of Team Fortress 2 would be a thing of the past. Oh, and that stupid little circle thingy on YouTube would never again read its ugly head. Sound too good to be true? A New Zealand based company seems to have created a device that promises these blindingly fast speeds. Created by Remote Management Systems, the device looks similar to a modem and connects your existing broadband speeds without having to pay any additional re-wiring costs.The device, known as a service delivery point, was created by the company’s operations manager Alan Jacks, production design engineer Hayden Short, and development engineer Chris Johnston. These three gentlemen have signed a contract with Telecom’s infrastructure division, Chorus, which has already taken orders for the product. RMS has also begun to marketing to Australia, and has received interest from Britain, Singapore, Taiwan and France. Remote Management Systems’ CEO Jon Feygan said they had tried to keep secret what they’ve been working on for the last few years, but now it’s time to celebrate. “This is going to make us big,” Mr Feygan said. “We have invested millions of investors’ money, worked weekends and long hours and it’s finally paying off.”
Over 1,500 New Zealand homes have been set up to get the system installed. The RMS has also been told to add 4,000 more devices each month until the end of the year. In addition, the Kiwi device is capable of acting as a backup electricity system for homes without fiber optic cables. The will keep the landline phone running for up to four hours after power has been cut. Via [Stuff] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  The in-store availability of the Sprint branded Samsung Epic 4G is still a few days away (August 31st), however if you are looking to get one and have not yet pre-ordered you may be waiting. According to the Sprint website, the “early reservations are full.” Of course, that does not mean you will not have any luck with other retailers such as Radio Shack or Best Buy. But either way, it looks like Sprint either has another winner on their hands.
Read [Sprint] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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