Section: Communications, Gadgets / Other We knew this had to be coming soon, but a new leak to Engadget is placing the announcement of the Verizon-branded Galaxy Tab in just a few days. It seems we might see the Galaxy Tab on Verizon sooner than expected. The leak to Engadget only mentions that Verizon will be holding a surprise event on Thursday to announce the Android tablet. The only real detail about the device aside from what we already know (Froyo, Flash 10.1) is that the it will feature “a number of exclusive apps.” That could probably mean Skype, Bing and NFL apps. Otherwise, there’s not much to the leak. We don’t even have any announcement of the surprise event, like the exact time and place. Now we can only hope that the Verizon Galaxy Tab, or any US version of the tablet for that matter, doesn’t require a two-year contract. Subsidy is always nice, but requiring a monthly payment to use a tablet isn’t. Hopefully someone can give a plan more akin to the iPad’s data plans on the Galaxy Tab. Read [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile  According to a Consumer Report blog post, iPhone 4 has a design flaw and the group continues not to recommend the device. The point of contention is iPhone 4’s external antenna that wraps the phone which if consumers bridge part to part can lead to degraded cell performance. Apple is discontinuing it’s free case program at the end of this month.
“But putting the onus on any owners of a product to obtain a remedy to a design flaw is not acceptable to us. We therefore continue not to recommend the iPhone 4, and to call on Apple to provide a permanent fix for the phone’s reception issues.” Is that accurate? Well, maybe not. Apple isn’t really discontinuing the case program, rather, they will deal with individual claims via support. Users affected by the anntenna issue will still get free cases. From Apple, posted yesterday, “we now know that the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought. A small percentage of iPhone 4 users need a case, and we want to continue providing them a Bumper case for free.” From Consumer Reports, “our tests found the Bumper successfully mitigates the iPhone 4’s reception issue, which was a weak point in the phone’s otherwise-stellar performance in our tests. And we agree with Apple that not all iPhone 4 owners will experience reception difficulties with the device.” So where does that leave us? Apple is still giving out free cases. Consumer Reports is still miffed at Apple, yet the iPhone 4 is the highest rated phone they’ve reviewed. And consumers can’t seem to get enough of the device. Carry on. Read: [Consumer Reports blog] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile  Whoa, Nokia is pissed. The company is hosting Nokia world this week in London and appears eager to jump back into the smartphone ring. Nokia’s suffered a string of ho-hum phones that have paled in comparison to developments by Apple and Google.
"I recognise that we haven't been as competitive as we want to be in smartphones. Well, that's about to change. Today, we shift in to high gear in Nokia's fightback in smartphone leadership." Nevermind the past, Nokia EVP Nicklas Savander said: "Today is about the here and now, about three words. NOKIA IS BACK." Can you hear the excitement in that speech? Is that passion from the lumbering Nokia? Perhaps Apple and Google have finally gotten to the company. "We're not going to apologise for the fact that we're not Apple or Google or anybody else - we're Nokia and we're unique," said Savander. Sounds like the pressure of upstarts is getting into Nokia HQ. Not only is Nokia excited about smartphones again, it looks to be focusing on mobile services as well. Things like GPS. "Contrary to popular perception, Nokia - not Google - is the leader in mobile navigation. functionality quality and reach….Soon, everything on the internet will have a location coordinate - it is a space that we intend to OWN." Strong words that require strong actions to live up to them. Salander acknowledged the company has a lot of work in front of them to make his claims a reality but with a new boss at the helm, everyone will be pulling hard to impress. It will be interesting to see Nokia’s next moves. Read [moconews] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Apple, Communications, Smartphones, VoIP, Mobile, Web, Google While we are still waiting to see if Apple is going to allow Google Voice apps back into the App Store, we are getting more information on the app that should be the first—GV Mobile +. This is going to be an update to the previous version of the app which was simply called GV Mobile at the time it was removed from the App Store. Of course, some that had a later version of the app from Cydia will likely recognize the name with the + at the end. With that, according to details from the developer, GV Mobile + has been submitted for approval and is “currently undergoing review which should last 7-13 days before hitting the U.S App Store.” It is also expected to be available in the Canadian App Store as well. Though, Google Voice is officially a US only service. Otherwise the app will have a $2.99 price tag and a free version will also be available (for about a week). This is being done to take care of those who have previously paid for the app and just want an official version again. And while this version of GV Mobile + seems to be feature rich (you can check out the full list of features by way of the ‘read’ link below), there is already word of more features that will be coming in the future such as support for push, alternate dialing and even VoIP. Though that last was noted as how it “will take some time.” Read [SeanKovacs.com] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video  It looks like TiVo is trying something new, they are currently offering a free DVR with a two year service agreement. This latest promotion, which is said to be coming only as a “limited test” and is expected to be available for only about a week. In other words, if you are going to take advantage, you may not want to wait all that long and miss out. That said, according to what we can see the offer means signing up for a two year agreement which will cost you $20 per month. And some will likely notice that is more than the normal rate of $13 per month. But as a plus, that $20 per month price includes a subscription to Netflix, which means you really come out ahead by a buck or two each month. And similar to canceling a cellular agreement early—should you decide to cancel the TiVo service you will be charged $300 for the cost of the DVR minus $7 for each month that you have already paid. Hey, while it is not always the best to have to pay each month, in this case you would have to pay either way so it sounds fairly nice to get the DVR for no upfront cost. Of course, personally I would rather pay upfront and go without having to pay monthly. Product [TiVo] Read [Yahoo!] and [Zatz Not Funny!] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Web It was announced today that the country’s only 1 Gbps internet service will be available in: Wait for it, wait for it… Chattanooga, Tennessee. Seriously though? Not New York City, Seattle or maybe even Philadelphia? Chattanooga, Tennessee. Okay then, we’re still intrigued. These are some mind blowing numbers for us Americans who are still playing catch up with the rest of the world in terms of internet speeds. As it just so happens to be, the 1 Gbps speed is roughly 200 times faster than the current national download average. Remind me again how much I’m paying for my broadband service? Speeds this crazy do come with a hefty cost though, my friends. If you’re looking for the luxury of being able to download full movies in approximately three seconds, be prepared to cough up a $350 monthly charge. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden Verizon doesn’t look seem so terrible. "Chattanooga is light years ahead when it comes to providing ultra fast broadband," said Tom Edd Wilson, President and CEO of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. "By offering the fastest available speeds to a whole community comprising a diverse population living in both urban and rural areas, Chattanooga has become the living laboratory for today's innovations and tomorrow's companies." Hats off to our southern brethren indeed. I think I’ll sit this one out and wait for the early adopters to tell me how the speeds are. $350 per month can be more than half of rent in some cases ya know! Via [Chattanooga] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Apple, Gadgets / Other, ebooks  It looks like Amazon has returned with yet another commercial for the Kindle, except this one is unlike those previous stop-motion style ones that we have seen in the past. And not only is this featuring live people, it is taking a nice jab at the Apple iPad and the issue with glare from the sun. As you can likely imagine, the man in the commercial is having a slightly harder time reading in the sun while the woman is having no trouble at all. He asks how she is reading so easily and she tells him “it’s a Kindle” and then goes on to brag about how much she spent on her sunglasses. Hint, more than she paid for the Kindle. And while I realize this was a commercial for the Kindle, I cannot help but feel bad for the person who spends more than $140 for a pair of sunglasses. Watch [YouTube] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Gadgets / Other Since before the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy Tab there has been plenty of speculation as to which carrier(s) the 7-inch tablet will release on. Now, thanks to some leaks obtained by Engadget we can all but confirm that the Galaxy Tab will be coming to AT&T. The leaks on Engadget are all said to be devices that will be coming to AT&T before the holidays this year. The biggest news is that the Galaxy Tab is pictured with AT&T branding on the back, so we now know one carrier the device will be on. The images leaked to Engadget also point to Windows Phone 7 devices shipping before the end of the year. Those devices include the Samsung Cetus (also known as the Samsung i917), Samsung Focus and HTC Surround. Those phones are said to launch alongside three other devices, which definitely solidifies AT&T’s stance as a premiere Windows Phone 7 carrier. The leaks also point to three other Android devices and a collection of three special edition colors of the BlackBerry Torch. The leaks look quite promising, again especially in regards to the Galaxy Tab. AT&T may not be the most loved carrier in the US, but it’s promising that it could be carrying four more Android devices by the end of the year. We just need to hope that AT&T doesn’t gimp the Galaxy Tab like it does other Android devices. Read [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile So much for the “couple of weeks” time frame that we heard mentioned, the webOS 1.4.5 update for both the Verizon and AT&T branded Palm Pre Plus is now ready and available for download. With that, the complete change logs are unavailable at the moment, however the updates should include some goodies such as GPS fixes and improvements to the PDK support. Oh and, webOS 1.4.5 means we will now be able to download and play Angry Birds and that alone sounds like a good reason to update. With that, if you are rocking a Pre Plus and looking to get the update now, just launch the “Updates” app and then after that finishes checking hit the “Download Now” button at the bottom. Read [Palm] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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