Cell Phone Hub

Where’s the fail whale when you need it, right? Early yesterday morning, Nokia flipped the switch on its Ovi Store, claiming that it’s app market would potentially reach some 50 million users around the world. Unfortunately for Nokia, it seems as if all 50 million attempted to check things out at the same time. Web-wide, users were griping that things just weren’t working out, and we’re not talking about small packets of flustered users. In fact, Nokia was forced to admit that “shortly after launching, it began experiencing extraordinarily high spikes of traffic that resulted in some performance issues,” and judging by reactions, we’d say “some” is now a front-runner for understatement of the year. Have things smoothed over for you today? Are you even bothering to check?

Update: Nokia has apologized for the gaff and has reportedly added server capacity to handle the demand. Question is: is the fix working?

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia’s Ovi Store overwhelmed at launch, apology issued originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When T-Mobile finally decided to join the 3G data card bandwagon earlier this year, we figured it prudent to grab a few sticks from the likes of T-Mob, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and AT&T in order to see which carrier provides the most bang for the buck in the mobile data arena. And trust us, it’s about more than just uplink and downlink rates in 2G / 3G regions these days — it’s about figuring out which operator provides the coverage you need at the price you can afford, all while dodging those precarious overage charges and finding yourself out of luck when traveling overseas. Join us after the break as we delve into the deep, murky realm that is mobile broadband, and prepare to have your every preconceived notion about this stuff utterly destroyed.

Gallery: Mobile Data Card Shootout

Continue reading Engadget Labs: The best mobile data carrier in America

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Wireless

Engadget Labs: The best mobile data carrier in America originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Luckily we’ve got solid word of HTC’s Touch Pro2 headed for all of the majors Stateside, or this would come as a bit more of a blow for the hopelessly selfish Windows Mobile users among us: HTC’s QWERTY slider flagship is now available online and unlocked, though its Euro-centric nature means there’s no 3G for folks who’d like to use it in the wilds of the United States of America. Still, there’s plenty of greatness here outside the HSPA data, and the $800-ish pricetag doesn’t seem too unreasonable for what you get. And hey, maybe you live in Europe — we’re not ones to judge.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Touch Pro2 hits virtual shelves, unlocked and ready for action originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Timely, no? Just a month after Sharp aided in producing the planet’s first waterproof solar cellphone, the aforementioned outfit has just announced the industry’s thinnest solar module for handsets. Checking in at just 0.8 millimeters thick, the LR0GC02 shouldn’t take up too much space on your daughter’s great-granddaughter’s smartphone, and while Sharp isn’t handing over too many details just yet, we figure it’ll pretty much do what it says. You know — charge the handset it’s integrated into whenever sunlight is available. As for when we’ll see these in cellphones everywhere? Take a wild guess, tree-hugger.

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays

Sharp slings out industry’s thinnest solar modules for cellphones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mmm, the sweet smell of mobile data burning up the pipes in the morning. Gets us every time. Evidently, the same aroma does something to the brains of Ericsson and TeliaSonera, who have taken their January agreement to the next level by introducing the planet’s first commercial Long-Term Evolution (LTE) site in Stockholm, Sweden. Mind you, we’ve seen lots of trial runs over the past year and change, but this one’s no test. Rather, this site will become part of a commercial network scheduled to go live in 2010, bringing wicked fast mobile transfers to Stockholmers everywhere. Now, let’s hope these American carriers get jealous, and fast.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Ericsson and TeliaSonera reveals world’s first commercial LTE site in Stockholm originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We’ve just gotten word that Nokia has officially flipped the switch on the Ovi Store everywhere, which means you lucky Aussies, Irish, and Singaporeans just lost your coveted exclusivity. Nokia recommends that you hit up store.ovi.com from your phone’s browser to start pumping thousands of euros into Espoo’s (and, of course, developers’) pockets, so get to it, won’t you? Seriously, the economy isn’t going to stimulate itself.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia Ovi Store now live everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nokia’s E71 looks perfectly elegant in its Espoo-sourced attire, but there’s nothing that can’t be made more gorgeous / gaudy with diamonds. Enter Continental Mobiles, which makes its ends by shoving all sorts of glitz and glam onto handsets and charging a ridiculous price. The phone you see above is doused with an undisclosed amount of VS1 quality diamonds, and thus, it’ll run you a staggering £5,999 ($9,546). ‘Course, it is hand-crafted in England, but you’ll have to provide your own bodyguard when taking it to the streets.

[Thanks, Sierra]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia’s stunning E71 gets diamond-clad makeover originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With that May launch window closing fast, it looks like Nokia might get Ovi Store in under the proverbial wire: it just went live on Vodafone in Australia, which was soon followed by other carriers, and then Ireland and Singapore. According to a post that was subsequently pulled from Nokia’s Conversations blog, Nokia confirmed the rollout and said that it was progressively moving the Ovi Store to “production servers,” and that we could “expect a broader announcement and consumer availability soon.” Unfortunately, since that post has been pulled, we’re not really sure what to expect, but at least the lucky few with Ovi can beam back important missives on their Twittix apps about what life is like in the future. Above are shots of the store live on an N97.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia’s Ovi store makes soft landing in a few markets, might be headed to your neck of the woods soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Usually, Sundays don’t get too crazy at Engadget — after all, even super-nerds need to rest. That wasn’t the case yesterday, however, as we found ourselves knee-deep in a handful of seriously sweet smartphone leaks. Most of the news centered around AT&T’s upcoming devices (you know, like its first Android phones, brand new BlackBerry offerings, and… the Palm Eos), but we also saw a few new angles on the Pre. Do yourself a favor and hit all the links below — you won’t be sorry.

AT&T leaks

HTC Lancaster is a QWERTY slider with Android for AT&T
Palm Eos on track for AT&T release second half of 2009
HP triumphantly returns to AT&T with iPAQ K3 “Obsidian”
Blackberry Magnum, Onyx, Pearl 3G, and Gemini to harmonize on AT&T
HTC’s Warhawk and Fortress are AT&T’s Touch Diamond2 and Pro2
Nokia Grouper, Mako, Snapper, and Thresher rolling deep on AT&T

Pre leaks

Sprint’s Pre business launch guide leaked in its entirety
Plethora of Palm Pre interface videos emerge from leaked emulator

Filed under: Cellphones

Sunday scoops: Android on AT&T, Palm Eos details, BlackBerry Magnum, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Are you a druggie? A hipster? A white-collar suburbanite? Good news: the Pre might be for you. If you’re an “IT Centric business user,” though, steer clear — the Treo Pro might be a better fit. That’s the takeaway (sort of, we’ve admittedly taken some liberties) of one of the pages out of Sprint’s business playbook for the phone that reminds sales reps in big magenta text that they “can’t afford to sell the Pre to the wrong customers.” There aren’t any big surprises in here, but the takeaway seems to be that Windows Mobile is more manageable as a fleet device (as is BlackBerry, coincidentally) than webOS — a complaint frequently leveled against another buzzworthy, up-and-coming mobile platform, Android. That said, if we walked into a Sprint store expecting to buy a Pre and somehow ended up getting talked into a Treo Pro instead, we’d be feeling more than a little short-changed.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Sprint doc implores reps not to sell Pre to the wrong people originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 04:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.