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Buying an iPhone 4 from a Canadian carrier? It's locked

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 11:44AM

We've been tipped this morning (and have now been able to confirm, thanks to our own Myriam Joire braving the lines) that if you buy an iPhone 4 in a Canadian carrier's store today, you leave with it locked to that carrier -- despite Apple's trumpeting that you can buy it SIM-free. It appears as though the activation process might be responsible for causing the carrier lock -- either that, or the carriers' subsidized models are shipped locked, unlike the full-price devices you can buy directly from Apple. Either way, it's a bummer, and it's certainly something to take into consideration before you buy.

[Thanks, Chris]

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EVO 4G's Froyo features detailed in pictures, car dock coming in September?

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 11:17AM

Exclusive

We're not far from seeing this big update in the flesh, but in the meanwhile, EVO 4G owners (and fans) might be interested to take a closer look at the features they'll be getting once it arrives. HTC appears to have put surprising effort into rendering a lifelike torch for its Flashlight app, while app sharing (seen after the break) is a neat addition -- and don't worry, devs, it only works on items that aren't copy protected. We're also being told that the update has car dock-specific functionality, which will match up with a dock release somewhere around the second week of September. Has everyone decided what dark things they plan on illuminating with their EVO's LED once this thing goes live?

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Samsung's 4-inch Windows Phone 7 handset gets named: Cetus (SGH-i917)

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 10:54AM

You'd probably assume that Samsung would have a difficult time overshadowing the Galaxy S right now, but all it really takes is a salacious Bluetooth SIG entry that leaves only the most important parts to the imagination. We've known for some time now that Sammy would be one of Microsoft's closest Windows Phone 7 launch partners, and we've even taken the time to toy with a prototype earlier in the year. But a new Bluetooth certification is now all-but-confirming a name: Cetus. The SGH-i917 is apt to be North America's first WP7 device from Samsung, a 4-inch smartphone with an 800 x 480 AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera, a VGA front-facing camera, an FM radio tuner, inbuilt GPS, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, USB 2.0 and of course, Bluetooth. As for pricing, availability and form factor? "Not yet."

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Validas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhones

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 9:19AM

You know how we've good reason to believe that Verizon Wireless is at least mulling the switch to capped / tiered data plans? Yeah. An independent Validas research report has found that, between January and May of this year (pre-AT&T caps), Verizon's stable of smartphones collectively averaged more data consumption per month that Apple's iPhone. Of course, this quite literally compares an Apple to every smartphone on Verizon save for BlackBerries, but given how much squalling we've heard from Ma Bell about this rampant iPhone data usage, we're pleased to see a few facts that spin things the other way. The company's full report is due out in September, but investigation of over 20,000 wireless bills found that VZW smartphones "are consuming more wireless data than AT&T iPhones by a ratio of roughly 1.25:1," with the average Verizon user eating up 421MB per month and the average iPhone user consuming 338MB per month. It also points out that "nearly twice as many Verizon Wireless smartphone users are consuming 500MB to 1GB per month compared to AT&T iPhone users." You learn something new everyday, right?

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Samsung confirms Galaxy S will get Froyo in September

By Tim Stevens

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 7:56AM

Samsung confirms Galaxy S will get Froyo in September

Wondering when the Galaxy S will be getting its own cup full of Froyo, the 2.2 build that every Google handset is screaming for? Samsung promised that an update would be coming not long after release, and now courtesy of the company's official UK Twitter feed we know it's due in September. At least, Samsung is saying it's coming in September. That company has shattered our little hearts before with its broken promises, and we'd sure hate to see it happen again.

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Official: HTC rolling out Android 2.2, 720p video, iTunes sync to unlocked Euro Desires this weekend

By Vlad Savov

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 6:45AM

Breaking News

We've just heard directly from HTC regarding that hotly anticipated upgrade to Android 2.2: it's happening this weekend for lucky Euroland owners of the Desire. Provided your Sense-laden 3.7-incher is not carrier-locked, you should be receiving your serving of Froyo by the end of the week, together with a new 720p video mode and iTunes sync for your music. HTC is also throwing in its App Share widget that it first introduced with the Wildfire, along with its smart Caller ID feature. Very nice, though it's quite a shame that operator-specific versions of the update are still stuck in testing and are expected "in several weeks' time." Ah well, guess that'll teach us to buy our gear unlocked.

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Droid 2 cases arrive at Best Buy, Droid 2s soon to follow?

By Vlad Savov

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 2:44AM

At this point, we're starting to think that Motorola is intentionally (and cruelly) teasing us with its Droid successor. Today we can add to the parade of leaks preceding the Droid 2's debut in the form of the above hard case, which has just landed in Best Buy's storerooms. Before you go off on some conspiracy theory comparing this to the iPhone's Bumper and questioning whether this Droid might need a jacket, you should be aware that Rocketfish does similar paraphernalia for the Droid Incredible, marking this out as an entirely unremarkable run-of-the-mill accessory. Which might be the best news of all, we figure -- if the unexciting peripherals are already being shipped, the handset itself shouldn't be too far behind.

[Thanks, Justin]

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Samsung SCH-R900 approved by FCC: first US LTE phone is go

By Thomas Ricker

posted Jul 30th 2010 at 1:53AM

We first caught wind of the SCH-R900 after MetroPCS announced that it would be first to carry the Samsung handset when its fledgling LTE network lights up in select markets sometime after the summer. Now the FCC has been kind enough to bless a preproduction R900 with its approval. Not much is known about the dual-mode CDMA / LTE device other than what we can glean off the broad-shouldered image above and certifications for Bluetooth, 802.11b/g WiFi, dual-band 1700 / 1900 LTE and EvDO data. The future: it's what's for breakfast.

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LG VL600 LTE / CDMA modem for Verizon in the wild?

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 9:36PM

You might remember that an LTE modem for Verizon passed FCC muster not long ago -- now, it seems we're getting our first glimpse of it. As is usually the case with these early devices on next-gen networks, this USB stick doesn't look quite as svelte as we'd probably like it to be, but we have little doubt that they'll get progressively thinner and sexier over the course of a year or three. And hey, in the meantime, far be it from us to steer clear of faster download speeds just because the modem's a little chubby, you know?

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LG Optimus Z now available in South Korea

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 9:18PM

Announced back in April, LG has now launched its so-called Optimus Z Android handset on a pair of South Korea carriers -- SK Telecom and KT -- bearing model numbers SU950 and KU9500, respectively. You've got the usual range of features like a 3.5-inch WVGA display, 5 megapixel cam, DivX compatibility, and support for LG's neat Air Sync service, but what really sets these bad boys apart is something LG is aptly calling "On Screen Phone": using Bluetooth, you'll be able to see and interact with the Optimus Z's screen from your PC, which is awesome when you're too lazy to extract the thing from your pocket. It also offers something called "Drag & Shake," which will let you transfer files between devices with a mere shake of the phone -- something that conjures visions of Seoul residents meeting on the street and executing a series of odd gestures to exchange information. Paired with the announcement (which you can read after the break) is an affirmation of LG's plans to launch an Android tablet as part of the Optimus series in the fourth quarter, which should be an interesting foil for the so-called Galaxy Tab. We'll happily take one of each, of course.

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EVO 4G's Android 2.2 update starts trickling out tomorrow, loads of new features and fixes in store? (update: official for August 3rd!)

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 7:35PM

Breaking News

Exclusive

We're not certain that this date is going to hold -- things like this have an uncanny tendency to slip at the last possible moment -- but we're at least hopeful to see some internal Sprint communication that they're trying to get the EVO 4G updated to Froyo as soon as tomorrow, July 30. It'd be the perfect way to kick off the weekend, wouldn't it? Turns out this is no mere 2.2 upgrade, though -- they're making a bunch of changes, too, including a host of new preloaded widgets, a flashlight mode for the camera's LED flash, light-assisted 720p video, and "improvement" to the quality of said video capture (something we specifically complained about in our review). Unfortunately, it looks like the hotspot hack might be sealed off with this update, but that really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. As we said, we're hopefully the date sticks, because Sprint has identified it as a "high priority for competitive reasons" -- in other words, these guys must be feeling the Droid heat -- but the PR is apparently going to identify the week of August 1 as the first push, so the devices getting the OTA tomorrow might just be a very small, select group to ensure that nothing spectacularly bad happens. We're pulling for you, EVO owners.

EVO 4G getting Android 2.2, loads of new features and fixes tomorrow?

Update: It's been made official! Notifications will go out starting August 3, but Sprint's doing something extremely cool by allowing eager users to opt-in early and grab the download at their choosing. Follow the break for the full press release.

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Obama says presidential BlackBerry ownership is 'no fun,' should've gone with the Sectera Edge

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 7:06PM

It's hard out there for a prez, you know? Hardly anyone knows better than one Barack Obama, who sat down this morning on ABC's The View in order to talk smack with a few ladies who undoubtedly helped put him in office. If you'll recall, Obama fought hard early on for the privilege of maintaining his prized BlackBerry, and while he eventually won out, we learned today that a grand total of ten individuals are authorized to ping it. Yeah, ten. Needless to say, he described that depressing fact as "no fun," and even the folks that are cleared to make contact with it won't send over anything juicy. Why? They know that messages sent to it "will probably be subject to the presidential records act," so those lucky enough to have the digits are also smart enough to divert their ramblings to Texts From Last Night. But hey, at least hanging in there despite the limitations grants you early access to BlackBerry OS 6, right? Right?

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Canadian iPhone 4 launch details emerge: Rogers offers 6GB for $30, iPad sharing for $20 (update: Bell's iPad deal cheaper)

By Donald Melanson

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 6:48PM

The iPhone 4 may be launching on all the major Canadian carriers tomorrow, but we're only just now starting to get the actual details on what they'll be offering. Rogers is the first out of the gate and, for a change, it looks like folks in the US may just be a tad jealous of their northern neighbors. It's not only offering the iPhone 4 for a further discounted price -- $159 for the 16GB and $269 for the 32GB on a three-year contract (for both new and existing customers eligible for a hardware upgrade) -- but it's bringing back its 6GB data plan for $30 a month as well. On top of that, Rogers is also offering a new iPad sharing plan that will let you share those 6GB between the two devices for an extra $20 a month. Still no official word from the other carriers, but MobileSyrup has turned up a leak that suggests Bell will be offering 6GB for $30 as well, and iPad sharing for just $10 a month -- although that's yet to be confirmed. We'll keep you posted as more plans are announced.

Update: Bell just flipped the switch, and their numbers are largely the same with one notable exception -- iPad data sharing is an additional $10 a month instead of $20, just as had been rumored. Thanks, everyone!

MobileSyrup

Rogers Redboard, MobileSyrup

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Motorola's EX112, EX115, and EX245 exposed enroute to Brazil

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 5:44PM

If you think this dynamic duo is running Android, well... think again! Turns out Moto apparently isn't abandoning its Google-free low end just yet, with Celular Cafe -- a site that has developed quite a track record for leaking South American Motorolas -- showing a pair of new models that have all the smartphone looks without guts to match. The EX112 (pictured right) is actually available in two variants, with the second -- the EX115 -- featuring dual SIM capability; it's got a 3 megapixel cam, quadband GSM, full QWERTY (obviously), and apparently not much else. The EX245 on the right is arguably the more interesting of the bunch, stepping up to a full touchscreen while carrying over the same camera; what's particularly notable, though, is that it seems to be gunning for an Android-like UI with a widget-based home screen and a status bar that looks suspiciously similar to a variety of Motos with higher-end aspirations. No word on pricing, availability, or distribution, but we imagine these will be kept solidly out of the North American market.

Celular Cafe (1), (2)

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THQ Wireless has 'a number of games' coming to webOS

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 3:40PM

Still feeling abandoned, webOS users? Take heart, as the good folks over at THQ Wireless are working hard with that recently released PDK in order to port a number of its titles over to Pre and Pixi users. We aren't being clued in just yet as to what games are undergoing the all important conversion process, but a tweet from the company's official account has made it abundantly clear that it has "a number of [its] games in development for webOS." We'd caution you against hoping for Star Wars: Trench Run and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but we're fully aware that it's too late for that.

Pre Central

Twitter (THQ Wireless)

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Samsung Intensity II descends on Verizon

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 3:09PM

Breaking News

Though Samsung has developed a near-legendary reputation for giving its phones silly names, it turns out that "Intensity II" is surprisingly appropriate in a way: this thing's got an infrared camera. Or at least the 1.3 megapixel shooter has an infrared mode, which should make it unusually adept at taking pictures of things that people never intended to be captured for posterity. Like its predecessor, the Intensity II has a slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard paired with a numeric keypad in front; you've got a 2.2-inch QVGA screen and microSD expansion up to 32GB, perfect for those thousands of night shots you'll undoubtedly be taking. It's available today for $49.99 on contract after rebate in your choice of silver or blue.

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Droid 2 manual leaks, teaches you everything you need to know about a phone you don't have

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 2:57PM

You know the drill: blurry shots of phone get leaked... user's manual gets leaked... excited would-be buyers voraciously consume manual's contents... phone finally gets released. Indeed, that's precisely the same well-trodden path the upcoming Droid 2 is taking, so if you're looking at getting this thing in the next few weeks, you might want to start skimming the documentation so there aren't any embarrassing newbie missteps in your first few moments of ownership. As Droid Life notes, we've got more confirmation here that the phone will be running the same skin as the Droid X, complete with the Swype-enabled (and presumably multitouch-enabled) soft keyboard for those times when you're too lazy to pull out the physical keyboard. We can't imagine what else could possibly leak at this point -- so hey, Verizon, can we recommend you go ahead and get this show on the road?

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T-Mobile's apparent myTouch 3G HD gets spied from the rear

By Chris Ziegler

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 1:27PM

So, how do you feel about the look of this myTouch 3G HD we've been seeing this week? Haven't formed a complete opinion yet? Well, maybe this new shot -- seemingly of said phone's backside -- will help. As we've seen on past models, the rear features a tastefully-sized myTouch logo, lending a dose of credibility to the picture that seems to have been covertly snapped off a monitor where the render was being shown. In other words, we don't have much reason to doubt this thing -- and considering that the Vibrant isn't a member of the myTouch line, T-Mobile's overdue for a refreshed non-QWERTY Android device in that segment of the market. Should be an interesting few months for these guys, no?

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Motorola Bali and Rambler flip phones hitting Boost Mobile on August 11

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 1:27PM

Boost Mobile does a fine enough job advertising its $50 monthly unlimited plan, but how's about the phone selection? If you're a fan of flips, Motorola has a new duo headed to the aforesaid operator next month. First up is the Rambler (shown right), which boasts a full QWERTY keypad, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth, IM / email capability and inbuilt GPS. The Bali, on the other hand, rocks a more traditional input surface along with an MP3 player, external touch controls and a microSD slot. Both handsets will go on sale August 11th, with the Rambler running $99.99 and the Bali $149.99. Who said Boost never gave you more (keys) for less (dough)?

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Bell's Galaxy S gets front-facing camera, rumored August 6 launch date

By Darren Murph

posted Jul 29th 2010 at 12:58PM

It's a crying shame that the American flavors of Samsung's otherwise stunning Galaxy S lack a front facing camera, but even those camped out in the Great White North should know that the European versions (i9000) do have such a feature. Lucky for them, Bell's Galaxy S Vibrant will also have a camera mounted on the front, enabling video chats with a lot less hassle. Oh, and if you're wondering exactly when you'll be able to grab hold of one and brag to your friends down south, a contest from Bell is providing reason to believe that August 6th is the day to watch. Furthermore, the fine print makes mention of a CAD$599 retail value, so we're guessing that you may be able to pick up an off-contract Vibrant for that very price. Fingers crossed, right?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Bell 1, 2

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Motorola Cliq / Dext gets leaked Android 2.1 update, not pinch-to-zoom (video)

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LG Optimus Z now available in South Korea

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Posted Jul 2009

1.5
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Number of applications downloaded from the iPhone App Store

After hitting a historic 1 billion downloads, Apple says the store cleared another half a billion apps in the following three months.

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"I am absolutely dying to know what the best product(s) are to maximize and organize power outlets. I have 9 cables at one outlet (big nest of cables). I ran out of space there and had to go to a completely different wall to find 2 more vacancies. That's without actually plugging in everything I would like to. I'm not a fan of having to compromise but when it comes to outlets, I'm being beat! Help me Engadget!"

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