Cell Phone Hub

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Software

Dynamic Controls unveils integrated iPhone app for wheelchair controls originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It was late-August when we first got word of a new addition to the Eee PC lineup, the 12-inch, Ion-smuggling Eee PC 1201N. ASUS has just now confirmed the thing and a few sites have rather coincidentally posted hands-on impressions of it — but let’s go over those specs one more time before we dive into that, shall we? It has a 12.1-inch, 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display (that’s sadly glossy), a dual-core Atom 330 processor at 1.6GHz, 2 or 3GB of DDR2 memory, either a 250 or 320GB HDD, a six-cell battery, and Windows 7 Premium. All that for just $499 which, to us, sounds like a stupendously good deal. So, those impressions? They seem intentionally brief, as if nobody’s quite allowed to give real opinions, but a short video below from Laptop shows off the sleek, Seashell-style design from all angles. Surely more thorough coverage will be online before the latest netbook hits retail sometime in mid-December.

[Thanks, John B]

Continue reading ASUS’ Ion-packing Eee PC 1201N gets official, gets handled (video)

ASUS’ Ion-packing Eee PC 1201N gets official, gets handled (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Good old T-Mobile’s on a roll these days with new phone plans, and this one seems perfectly catered to stocking stuffers. The quartet of phones start at $59.99, but so far we know of two: BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $299.99 and the Pearl for $149.99, according to the Best Buy stores we contacted. There’s no contract commitment, and according to the press release, the first month is included in the bill from the point the phone’s out of the box and activated. We don’t know the details of that first month of service (data? texting?), but it’s still a pretty penny for an unsubsidized handset. After that second month, of course, T-Mo’s probably hoping you’ll be enticed to keep with the network. If not already, you should start seeing the phones pop up at local Best Buy and select Walmart locales shortly. Press release after the break.

Continue reading T-Mobile Complete: a $300 contract-free BlackBerry Curve 8520 with one month service

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile Complete: a $300 contract-free BlackBerry Curve 8520 with one month service originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We’re still not entirely sure why Samsung feels the need to launch its own mobile operating system while still cranking out Android and Windows Mobile devices, but it seems like things are going full steam ahead: a spokesperson told CNET Asia today that a Bada phone would arrive in the first half of 2010. Sure, that sounds like a long time off, but really it’s just six months after the big Bada SDK reveal in December, so we’ll have to see if that’s enough time for developers to sort things out and release any apps.

[Thanks, Siobhan]

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Bada phone to be announced first half of next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boy, AT&T sure isn’t taking Verizon’s Map for That campaign too well. After losing a request for an injunction (for now), the company seems to have decided that the only thing to do in the short term is to start advertising right back at Verizon. Unfortunately, it looks like AT&T threw this one together in a hurry, grabbing a bucket of magnets and a board and sticking them into some abandoned warehouse with Luke Wilson and some Apple-ad-style music. Luke didn’t even have time to shave! As for the claims made by Luke’s magnetic board, it’s hard to take issue with them since they don’t really say lot. So AT&T’s present and accounted for in this newly minted ad war, but Verizon clearly still has the upper hand… though this is clearly just the beginning. Check out the 30 second spot after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading AT&T ‘hits’ back at Verizon’s Map for That campaign with an ‘ad’ of its own

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T ‘hits’ back at Verizon’s Map for That campaign with an ‘ad’ of its own originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in much simpler times, TomTom’s navigation app had claimed compatibility with all iPhone and iPod touch models. Then suddenly, somewhere along the primrose path to publication, original iPhone and iPod touch support evaporated. But no more. TomTom’s pushed an update that allows for turn-by-turn navigation, but of course, you’ll still need the car kit to work. Was this the missing link between your $100 and owning this app? [Warning: iTunes link]

[Thanks, Scott M]

Update: So, the Car Kit for iPod touch has hit TomTom’s e-store, and it’s $20 cheaper than the Car Kit for iPhone due to the lack of handsfree support (we guess, anyway). Thanks, Philippe!

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

TomTom updated to support iPod touch and original iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Looks like AT&T’s not getting its holiday wish after all — a federal judge just ruled against Ma Bell’s request to have Verizon’s Map For That ads pulled off the air. That doesn’t mean that this whole thing is over, though: the judge called the ads “sneaky” and said that it was possible people might misunderstand them because “most people who are watching TV are semi-catatonic.” Whether or not that’s enough to support a legal conclusion that the ads are misleading is a fight for another day — specifically December 16th, when AT&T will have a second chance to argue its case. Still, this is a big win for Verizon — everyone ready to be inundated with these ads for the next month?

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T loses request for injunction against Verizon’s Map for That ads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft’s been pretty cagey with the future of Windows Mobile so far, but apparently the Office Mobile 2010 team just doesn’t care — in addition to leaking a new interface in that confidential slide deck last month, they’ve now included this screen shot on the Office Mobile 2010 beta website. Here’s what’s wild: this design language completely matches the first set of Windows Mobile 7 leaks we saw nearly two years ago, so either Microsoft hasn’t made any changes in that time, or what we’re seeing here is something else entirely. Combine that with rumors that WinMo 7 isn’t due to hit until the end of next year, and we’re starting to think there’s something bigger afoot here — the only other alternative is that Microsoft has waited nearly three years to launch what’s little more than a refresh of its current interface, and even Redmond can’t be that slow to execute… can it?

Filed under: Cellphones

Microsoft leaks a screenshot of Windows Mobile… something originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We’ve seen the new Android-based XPERIA X10 from Sony Ericsson at a fast pace and a snail’s pace, but have we ever seen it so stunningly middle of the road? We just got a chance to play with the phone in person for the second time, and from our random sampling of three or four different handsets, it seems that performance is very contingent upon how much content is loaded into the device and what particular thing it’s trying to perform. Sometimes we’d fly through the stacks of faces, while other times we’d sit there waiting for the simplest thumbnails to load up. The good news is that we have until next year to see this thing really come together, and the word is that the software is improving and at a rapid pace. The big change about this phone is the “Nexus” UX platform, which actually all takes place in two “apps” at the moment, Timescape and Mediascape. Timescape is an integrated view for social networking and messaging, with an “infinite view” to see all types of communications for a particular person, while Mediascape is a more tame media app with a modicum of internet and social integration. It all seems very logically placed, and we like the fact that SE hasn’t really sacrificed the Android experience — you can still do Gmail and the Android Market and so forth, with very familiar UIs — but it’s going to have to be a lot more bulletproof before it hits the market if Sony Ericsson really expects us to use this day to day. Oh, also: the soft keyboard is terrible. We hear they’re working on it, but boy does it need work.

Update: We’ve added the video below, go check it out!

Gallery: XPERIA X10 hands-on: lukewarm edition

Continue reading XPERIA X10 hands-on: lukewarm edition (now with video!)

Filed under: Cellphones

XPERIA X10 hands-on: lukewarm edition (now with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pixi one step closer to free, now $25 on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.