Engadget Mobile

Palm Pixi one step closer to free, now $25 on Amazon

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 18th 2009 at 12:44PM

Start placing your bets folks,'cause it now looks like its almost certainly no longer a question "if" the Palm Pixi will drop to a free-on-contract price, but "when?" The latest stop on the saga is none other than Amazon, which is now offering the webOS-based phone for a mere $24.99 with a service plan, beating Walmart's already bargain price by a full five dollars -- which should be just enough to let you buy a second Pixi next month at the rate things are going.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Achtung! Motorola Milestone now free on contract in Germany, sort of

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 17th 2009 at 5:03PM

Already jealous of the multitouch functionality afforded by Motorola Droids (or Milestones, as it were) sold outside the United States? Well, you might just want to look away for this one -- it seems that O2 is now practically giving away the phone in Germany. Specifically, it's selling it for a mere €1 with a 2 year-contract, which itself can be had for as little as €20 per month. As with other non-US carries, however, you'll have to make do without Google's own free navigation service, but you will at least get a 60-day Motorola's MotoNAV service in its place, and the endless joy that comes from telling your American friends that you got a free Droid.

[Via MobileTechWorld; thanks Bob]

Update: As some commenters have helpfully pointed out, that €20 a month for two years is actually on top of a standard contract, which certainly makes the deal a tad less attractive -- although you can technically still walk away with a Droid for just a handful of Euros.

Magellan debuts GPS app / car kit for iPhone and iPod touch

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 17th 2009 at 12:31PM

Magellan's new iPhone navigation app won't do much for the iPod touch on its own, but it looks like the company's forthcoming Premium Car Kit will in fact work just fine with the handheld out of the box, unlike TomTom's similar Car Kit. Otherwise, there aren't exactly a ton of surprises, but the cradle is fully adjustable to accommodate a range of sleeves or cases, and it'll of course also charge your iPhone or iPod touch, and give it some amplified sound courtesy of the built-in speaker. The navigation app itself also seems to be more than ready to challenge the competition, with it boasting spoken street names, NAVTEQ maps, 3D landmarks, in-app music control, a pedestrian mode, and a price tag of $79.99. No word on a price or release date for the cradle just yet, but Magellan says it is "coming soon" -- iPhone users can get the app from the App Store right now.

[Thanks, djphatjive]

HTC Hero, Samsung Moment now $100 on Sprint courtesy of Best Buy

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 16th 2009 at 8:19PM

Leaning back and forth between the $100 HTC Eris on Verizon and the $179 HTC Hero on Sprint? Well, your decision just got a bit more difficult, as Best Buy has now kicked off a new holiday promotion that'll net you a chin-less Sprint Hero for the same hundred bucks as Verizon's Eris. If you prefer, you can also now snag a Samsung Moment for the same price, but each will of course have to be paired with a new two-year activation, and you'll have to take the plunge before the end of December -- although there's at least a decent chance there will be another discount / price drop by the time this one ends.

[Thanks, Daniel]

PhoneSuit Primo adds extra juice, minimal bulk to your iPhone / iPod

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 13th 2009 at 3:56AM

We were suitably impressed by Mophie's Juice Pack Air extended battery / iPhone case when we got a chance to try one out earlier this year, but if you're looking for an extended battery without the case you might want to consider this new Primo micro battery pack form PhoneSuit. Designed for use with various iPods in addition to the iPhone, this one packs an 800mAh battery inside its tiny enclosure, which promises to add up to 45 hours of music playback time to your iPod, or up to three hours of extra talk time to your iPhone 3G. Better still, it has a fairly reasonable price tag of $35, or you can snag a three-pack for $89.95 if you like to be extra prepared (or are looking for a few stocking stuffers). We'll also be checking this one out ourselves shortly, so stay tuned to see if it actually lives up to its claims.

Windows Mobile 7 'Maldives' test program reportedly on track for Q1 2010 release to OEMs

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 10th 2009 at 8:19PM

Ballmer may have wanted it to be out yesterday, but it looks like the initial release of Windows Mobile 7 may now finally, actually be in sight. According to ZDNet Taiwan, the mobile OS is now on track for a release to OEMs for testing (the so-called "Maldives" program) sometime in the first quarter of 2010, and will be launched publicly sometime in the third quarter of the year (or about a year after the release of Windows Mobile 6.5) -- all of which more or less lines up with earlier rumors of a release to manufacturing in Spring 2010. If past history is any indication, however, it seems likely that the earliest builds of the OS could be circulating around the usual channels well before that -- probably right on the heels of the release to OEMs.

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

Palm Pixi seen running webOS 1.3.1 on video

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 10th 2009 at 4:52PM

We've already seen a quick Palm Pixi unboxing and hands-on video, but we're guessing most folks are looking for a bit more than that in the lead-up to launch day. Thankfully, YouTube user stayfly2407 has come through with a video that, for the first time, clearly shows the Pixi running webOS 1.3.1, which may or may not be the version the phone actually ships with -- it was only just recently seeded to developers. The video unfortunately doesn't show any new features associated with this version, however, but it does seem to be speedy enough even in spite of the Pixi's slower processor. Head on past the break to see for yourself.

Continue reading Palm Pixi seen running webOS 1.3.1 on video

Saygus VPhone V1 hits the FCC, headed for Verizon next?

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:26PM

We had some indication that Verizon would have a third Android device ready by early 2010 in addition to the DROID and ERIS -- one that may be boosted by the carrier's Open Development program -- and it looks like the FCC may have now given us our first real look at it. While it's obviously still unconfirmed as of yet, this Saygus VPhone V1 phone that recently sailed through the agency certainly seems to fit the bill, and the company has even gone so far as to not so subtly feature an article about a Verizon's mysterious third Android device on its own website. As you can see, however, the phone itself doesn't exactly do too much to stand out from the current crop of Android sliders, but it should hold its own when it comes to specs. That includes a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, a 624MHz Marvell PXA310 processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a second, front-facing camera for video calls, built-in GPS, WiFi, a microSD card slot and even an FM radio, among other standard fare. Still no indication of that rumored WiFi tethering out of the box, unfortunately, but we're guessing this one could win quite a few fans if that pans out -- and, of course, if it's actually the real thing.

[Via SlashGear]

HTC DROID Eris unboxed and examined: 'feels much better' than Sprint Hero

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 4th 2009 at 4:11PM

If recent leaks are any indication, we should be seeing plenty more HTC DROID Eris unboxings any day now, but right now it looks like the Boy Genius Report has scored one of the first courtesy of one its helpful "connects." Of course, there aren't exactly a ton of surprises with the packaging apart from a bright splash of color upon opening the box, but the unboxer does say that the phone itself is thinner and lighter than the Sprint HTC Hero, and generally "feels much better in the hand." Hit up the link below for a few more shots, and watch this space (well, not literally this space) for what's sure to be more Eris news to come.

Dutch hacker seeks out jailbroken iPhones for fame and fortune

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 8:23PM

Jailbreaking an iPhone certainly brings many benefits, but it's also frought with some peril, as amply demonstrated by a Dutch hacker who decided to go snooping around for vulnerable jailbroken iPhones in the Netherlands. While he apparently didn't actually swipe personal information or cause any damage, he was able to find some jailbroken iPhones with SSH running, which allowed him to display a message saying "Your iPhone's been hacked because it's really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked and secure your iPhone right now!" A noble gesture of a white hat hacker? Not exactly, 'cause that site demands €5 for the "fix" to let folks go back to using their phone securely -- or it did until the hacker apparently had a change of heart and posted the instructions for free, along with an apology for his misguided moneymaking scheme.

[Via TUAW]

Workaround for HTC Hero battery life issues discovered

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 29th 2009 at 5:26PM

Well, there still isn't a fix for the problem some people seem to be having with receiving text messages on their HTC Hero, but it looks like a workaround has been discovered for another pesky issue that can put a strain on the phone's battery life. Apparently, the phone has a bit of trouble going back into sleep mode after you send a text, or after you simply turn on the phone and immediately disable the screen without any activity. While some fairly elaborate fixes were tried by some users initially, it looks like the simplest actually works the best: just don't use the default SMS app to send texts. Instead, you can use a third-party app like ChompSMS or HandCent, which apparently have no problems letting the phone go back to sleep after you send a text. Of course, an official fix would still be the best but, in the meantime, you can hit up the link below for all the necessary details on making the (hopefully temporary) switch.

[Thanks, Sean]

LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 29th 2009 at 4:54PM

LG's GW620 handset may be easy to miss among all the other current Android-based offerings, but it looks like LG is now starting to ramp things up a bit to help it get noticed, with it recently launching (inadvertently, judging from the copy) the official site for phone complete with some fresh new images and promo videos. While there's expectedly not much in the way of new details, LG's ads and promo videos (check one after the break) do seem to position the phone squarely in CLIQ territory, with LG even going so far as to dream up a series of mascots (including a "Social Butterfly") to demo the phone's social networking capabilities. Head on past the break to see for yourself, and keep an eye on the link below for what should soon be the "official" official website.

[Via Android-France]

Continue reading LG launches official site for GW620 Android phone, sort of

Telus kicks off HSPA+ network with iPhone November 5th, HTC Hero, LG New Chocolate and more to follow

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 26th 2009 at 9:10PM

Telus already announced that it'd be launching the iPhone in November, but it's just now gotten official with an actual date: November 5th -- which just so happens to also be the day that it lights up its brand new HSPA+ network. Unfortunately for anyone hoping that a little competition would spark a price war, Telus is matching Rogers' prices across the board, starting at $99.99 for the basic 8GB iPhone 3G, and moving up to $199.99 for the 16GB 3GS, and $299.99 for the 32GB 3GS (all on a three-year contract, of course). What's more, Telus has also taken the opportunity to offer the first official confirmation of some of the other devices that'll take advantage of its new network, including the HTC Hero, the previously rumored LG New Chocolate (a.k.a BL40), the Blackberry Bold 9700, and the Nokia E71 (plus a USB stick, for good measure). No prices or release dates for any of those just yet, unfortunately, but the Hero and New Chocolate are apparently Telus exclusives.

HTC Hero having intermittent text messaging problems?

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 26th 2009 at 3:38PM

There's not exactly much in the way of official statements on the matter just yet, but it looks like support forums have been piling up with reports of text messaging problems on the HTC Hero over the past few weeks, and with no signs of a fix in sight. Apparently, the phone can send texts just fine, but runs into a little trouble when it comes to receiving 'em, with most folks reporting only intermittent problems, and at least some not receiving any at all. Interestingly, the problem seems to be occurring in both the US and the UK, so it would seem to be a problem on the phone's end and not the carrier's, and a few people seem to have had some (brief) success after resetting the device. Of course, there are also plenty of folks having no problems at all, but there doesn't seem to be any question that the issue is out there. So, have you been missing some texts on your Hero? Let us know in comments.

AT&T Mobility CEO suggests iPhone exclusivity will end... sometime

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 6:23PM

Well, it's not much, but AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega doesn't exactly have to go too far out on a limb to attract attention when he's talking about something as big as an end to iPhone exclusivity. His latest, and seemingly most extensive ruminations on the matter came during a conference call with analysts this week, where he reportedly said that AT&T has a "legacy of having a great portfolio...that will continue after the iPhone is no longer exclusive to us," and that he thinks AT&T's ability to drive results "will continue after the iPhone." He did seem to dial things back a bit later in the call, however, switching to langauge like "even if we lose exclusivity" instead of "after the iPhone," and going on to extol the virtues of the iPhone, noting that "others will try to emulate them [Apple], but that device by far is the best in terms of ease of use."