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The last time we saw MeeGo, it was a simple lock screen on the Nokia N9 that showed up a couple of weeks ago. Today we've got some meatier screenshots for you that show off all kinds of aspects of the OS, including how multitasking will work. Looking at all of the images, I'm definitely getting a webOS/Android vibe, which is not a bad thing. Many people regard the card system of webOS to be one of the best implementations of multitasking around, and judging by the photos, MeeGo will borrow some ideas from Palm's OS. While the OS isn't quite ready for public consumption just yet, these screenshots show that MeeGo is definitely growing, and it should be a strong contender when it does finally launch.
After examining all of the screenshots available, it's obvious that MeeGo will be pretty customizable. There are different lock screens, different docks at the bottom of the screens, different app launchers, etc. It's important to note that this is a stock version of the MeeGo OS, so it looks like users will have several different theming options to make the OS suit their needs. So now that we've gotten a good look of some of the different bits and pieces of MeeGo, what do you all of the new OS?
Earlier this week, Palm announced some of the major new features coming to webOS 2.0 and allowed a select group of developers access to the new version's SDK. Unsurprisingly, some of the devs began tearing through the code, trying to find some hidden nuggets of information that Palm had failed to mention. One of the lucky users was able to find a reference to a virtual keyboard inside the webOS 2.0 SDK, which is something that Palm apparently decided to skip over in their explanation of 2.0's new features. In response to the leak, Palm has elected to suspend new admissions to its Early Access Program which allowed devs the ability to get their hands on the new SDK.
A virtual keyboard in webOS has been a long-requested feature, and I'm surprised that it's taken this long for one to be added. Considering HP itself has stated that a webOS tablet is coming early next year, though, a virtual keyboard is pretty much a necessity. The actions that Palm has taken since the keyboard leak is kind of strange since I'm not sure potentially alienating devs is not a great move at this point. As MobileCrunch points out, leaks happen all the time to every company on the planet, and this news isn't even that groundbreaking. If Palm had revealed the virtual keyboard and the dev had leaked Stacks, Just Type, etc., I would would maybe understand, but that's not the case. Let's just hope that Palm reopens its Early Access Program and allows access to the webOS 2.0 SDK again soon. What do you all think of Palm's reaction to the virtual keyboard leak?
Motorola is no stranger when it comes to crafting snarky ads touting the abilities of their handsets compared to their competitors (or should I say, competitor). Today Moto took out another full-page ad in the New York Times that promotes the DROID 2 and its ability to handle Flash content. Adapting the familiar "There's an app for that" tagline, I'd say it's pretty obvious who Moto is targeting with this latest promotion. So now that there have been Motorola ads that attack both the iPhone's antenna problems and lack of flash, I wonder what Moto will go after next. Perhaps an ad for the DROID 2's proximity sensor?
Android has certainly become the home for users who demand Flash when it comes time to browse on their handsets, as several high profile Android phones have Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 available for download. Some users have found a way to hack Flash capability onto the iPad and iPhone, but it doesn't look like official Flash support will be coming directly from Apple any time soon. Meanwhile, there have been varied reports on how just well Flash content actually works on Android handsets. So now we pose the question to you, Android owners: how smoothly does your handset handle Flash content?
Congratulations to L. Moody of TX for winning the One-Paw bandit game on Friday September 3, 2010 at 2:58PM. Stay tuned for a quote and photo of our latest game winner!
On paper, Sprint and T-Mobile seem like complete opposites: Sprint has 4G, T-Mobile has "4G speeds" with HSPA+; Sprint is CDMA, T-Mobile is GSM; Sprint is yellow, T-Mobile is magenta. Ok, maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch, but you get the point. Despite the glaring differences, a rumor has surfaced today stating that the two carriers may soon be in cahoots to finish building out Sprint's 4G network. Three people "familiar with the situation" have spoken to the Wall Street Journal, saying that Sprint's board of directors is considering allowing T-Mobile to invest in Clearwire, the company that is aiding Sprint with their WiMAX network (Sprint also owns 54 percent of Clearwire). Clearwire currently needs billions of dollars to finished expanding its 4G network, the WSJ says, and it needs to figure out if it will continue to soldier on alone or get some financial aid from T-Mobile. This isn't the first time we've heard the possibility of Sprint and T-Mobile teaming up and, if Clearwire and Sprint need as much cash as the WSJ says they do, it may not be the last time.
Although Sprint and T-Mobile could use each other to help bring the fight to AT&T and Verizon, I would be kind of surprised to the number three and four carriers come together. T-Mobile seems pretty invested in their HSPA+ network upgrades and, if they were to invest in WiMAX, their hot new HSPA+ phones would become kind of obsolete. It would, however, allow them to immediately have a 4G network available to some of its customers, so maybe the idea isn't so far-fetched. What do you think, readers? Will we soon be hearing about SprinT-Mobile?
The Samsung Fascinate for Verizon has been involved in the usual string of leaks, including photos and a release date. Today the string of leaks is complete, as we've finally gotten some pricing info for the device. Unsurprisingly, Verizon will be selling the Fascinate for $199.99 with a two-year contract. What is interesting, though, is that Verizon will be offering the Fascinate as part of a buy-one-get-one deal, as well. Oh, and that September 9th launch date? It's pretty much a lock at this point.
Considering that $199.99 seems to be the golden price point for smartphones as of late, I think we all kind of expected the Fascinate to launch for that much. The fact that Verizon will be offering a BOGO deal on the device is pretty awesome, though, and should definitely help boost sales of Big Red's Galaxy S phone. We're officially less than a week away from the Fascinate's launch, so if you've been trying to decide on which new Android phone to pick up, your decision is about to get much more difficult!
Sprint's Epic 4G was a pretty big hit with the media before it launched, including our own Noah Kravitz, who called the Epic "one of the best Android phones in the world." Today Sprint announced that the Epic has been a pretty big hit with consumers, too, as it launched with one of the best first-day sales of any device on the carrier. Unfortunately, Sprint didn't feel like giving out hard sales numbers. The carrier made a similar announcement when it launched the EVO 4G, so it's obvious that customers really like their 4G Android phones. Check out the full press release below.
Samsung recently touted the fact that it had shipped one million Galaxy S devices in the U.S., and with the popularity of the Epic and the impending release of Verizon's Fascinate, I wouldn't be surprised to see that number doubled in the future. We can't forget that U.S. Cellular and Cellular South will be launching their own Galaxy S phones this year, too. So with the popularity of both the EVO and the Epic, when can we expect out next 4G Android phone, Sprint? Second 3G/4G Phone, Samsung Epic 4G, Launches with One of the Best First-Day Sales for Any Sprint Device The Only 4G Samsung Galaxy S Smartphone is a Hit, Receiving High Praise from Media and Excited Customers OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Sep 03, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Sprint (NYSE: S) retail stores celebrated the arrival of America's second 3G/4G phone Tuesday by opening their doors early to accommodate anxious customers interested in getting their hands on the acclaimed Samsung Epic(TM) 4G, the only Galaxy S(TM) smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard and front-facing camera along with a brilliant Super AMOLED touch-screen. Samsung Epic 4G didn't disappoint as it became one of Sprint's best-selling devices for first-day sales.
Tuesday marked another historic milestone as Sprint continues to lead the 4G revolution. In addition to two award-winning Android(TM) phones, Sprint offers Overdrive(TM) 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot, enabling 4G connectivity for up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices, as well as five Sprint mobile broadband devices that can access Sprint 4G data speeds.
"We're very excited by the customer response to Samsung Epic 4G and the capabilities of our 4G network," said Fared Adib, vice president of product development for Sprint. "With its beautiful Super AMOLED touch-screen, full QWERTY keyboard and two cameras, Samsung Epic 4G is a terrific smartphone that delivers the promise of the Sprint 4G network. As we continue to build out our 4G network, more and more of our customers will realize the benefits of these amazing devices and the realities of life at these blazing-fast speeds."
Samsung Epic 4G is available in all Sprint retail channels, including Sprint.com, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and national retail partners, RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart. It costs $249.99 (taxes excluded) with a new line or eligible upgrade after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new service agreement on select plan with Premium Data add-on. Customers can use the Reserve Now process if their local company-owned retail store temporarily runs out of inventory. Reserve Now allows them to purchase a $50 gift card to hold a Samsung Epic 4G when the smartphones arrive back in stock.
Samsung Epic 4G works on Sprint's 3G and 4G networks. This flexibility allows customers to enjoy 4G performance in any Sprint 4G market or to use Sprint's reliable 3G mobile broadband network when outside a 4G area. Sprint 4G is already available in 51 markets and continues to expand to new cities, bringing wireless speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G1.
Customers also praised Samsung Epic 4G:
"I've been an Android user since the very beginning and I'm switching to Sprint because I want 4G. I can't wait to have a phone with a flash for one thing, definitely the Hummingbird processor, the super AMOLED screen, 4G."-Mike Huntington "The main thing is just that full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It's going to give me a bigger keyboard, and it's going to give me faster processing speeds." - Jason Von Moss "I just heard a lot about the Google Android system and the operating system so I'm excited to try something new. I think the integration with social networking sites, e-mail, just the transition taking video, pictures and post them directly to your networking sites is probably the biggest feature I'm looking forward to using." - Sean Powell "I really like the slide-out keyboard, the fact that it seems to be a really fast, bright LED screen." - Keith Gray Accolades Continue to Roll In
Samsung Epic 4G received Editor's Choice awards from Laptop and PCMag. Respected technology and telecommunications media and analysts lauded Samsung Epic 4G:
Epic 4G's 4-inch Super AMOLED display absolutely mesmerized us. - CNET Like the EVO 4G before it, the Epic 4G sort of blows everything out of the water on paper: 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 5 megapixel primary camera with LED flash and 720p video recording paired with a VGA front-facing cam for video calls, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, six-axis accelerometer, and a 1GHz Hummingbird core. - Engadget Overall it's Samsung's best Galaxy S series phone and yet another compelling reason to switch to Sprint. - Laptop The one stand-out feature that the Epic will offer you that the Vibrant, Fascinate or Captivate won't is the front-facing camera that will allow videoconferencing. - IntoMobile Blazing trails with Sprint 4G
Samsung Epic 4G joins a powerful list of 4G-capable devices from the only national wireless carrier to offer 4G service today. Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier.
Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service today in 51 markets: California - Merced, Modesto, Stockton, Visalia; Delaware - Wilmington; Florida - Daytona Beach, Jacksonville; Georgia - Atlanta, Milledgeville; Hawaii - Honolulu, Maui; Idaho - Boise; Illinois - Chicago; Maryland - Baltimore; Massachusetts - Boston; Michigan - Grand Rapids; Missouri - Kansas City, St. Louis; New York - Rochester, Syracuse; Nevada - Las Vegas; North Carolina - Charlotte, Greensboro (includes High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (includes Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon - Eugene, Portland, Salem; Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Reading, York; Rhode Island - Providence; Texas - Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, Wichita Falls; Utah - Salt Lake City; Virginia - Richmond; and Washington - Bellingham, Seattle, Tri-Cities, Yakima.
Sprint is delivering the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.1 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
One of the biggest tablets of the year is bound to come with a price tag that would lighten any wallet, and though Samsung hasn’t revealed how much a Samsung Galaxy Tab will set you back or a solid release date yet, online retailers around Europe may have beat them to it.
UK store Expanseys has the tablet up for sale at £679.99 with an availability date of October 11th. It’s in the same price range as the iPad, except you’ll be paying for a 16GB Galaxy Tab in this case, whereas a 64GB version of Apple’s tablet will cost you £699.99. If these figures turn out to be true, the iPad might not have so much to worry about anymore!
Prices for the tablet have appeared across the channel too. It has been reported that an unlocked version of the Galaxy Tab will cost 9,000 Swedish Kronor, which works out to be a rather hefty £806. In France and Germany, rumoured prices are €599 and €699, which we’re assuming is for a 16GB and 32GB Samsung Tab respectively. However, O2’s official German Twitter did unveil a data plan for said device, with buyers having to put a €99 deposit down and then paying €27.50 a month for two years, which works out to be £632 overall, which sounds a little easier on the bank balance.
Engadget are reporting that Samsung are still sticking to their word at IFA saying that no prices have been announced and that any figures floating around are purely speculation. However, with some official word on the matter from other sources, we’re not sure who we should believe right now!
All UK networks are expected to offer the Samsung Galaxy Tab and hopefully 3G data plans will be available too. Samsung’s Tom Richter also added that providers might be offering a “two SIM option” so users can run the tablet and a mobile phone from the same number. Looks like we’d best start saving up!
Samsung have confirmed that they will be bringing a slide out QWERTY device to the UK later this year. TechRadar broke the news after the handset, which is thought to be the Samsung 15510 that Vodafone have been showing off recently, was spotted at IFA yesterday.
Carey McGregor, the Senior Project Manager at the company, revealed that it would be a mid-range Galaxy phone and true to their word about prioritising Android, the new handset was seen sporting Froyo at the Berlin convention.
The specs are unconfirmed at the moment, but it seems to be a Galaxy S with a smaller processor and LCD screen instead of an AMOLED one. It also has:
TouchWiz layer
600MHz processor
5 megapixel camera
3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3
This isn’t the first time a QWERTY Galaxy handset has caught the public’s eye, but the slightly lower-tech specs suggest that the device isn’t the Samsung Galaxy Q or Galaxy Pro. Fans may be disappointed to find out that the Epic 4G lookalike isn’t the UK equivalent of the second 4G handset to hit US shores however, the rumoured £200 price tag may be a welcome alternative for users who aren’t quite so keen on trading up to a full touchscreen device just yet.
Enjoy our roundup of some of the best mobile phone stories you may have missed this week:
1. Google Fights Back Against Jobs’ Claims.
At the Apple special event earlier this week, Steve Jobs claimed that they were activating 230,000 new iOS devices everyday, and wondered if their ‘friends’ were adding in upgrades to make up their numbers. He was of course, referring to Google’s 200,000 daily Android activations. However, Google have responded by saying that upgrades are not included and that their figures only include those with Google Services, meaning the actual figure may be even higher.
2. Download Swype for Symbian.
The alternative keyboard that lets you type without lifting your finger from the display is now available for Symbian S60 via the Nokia Beta Labs site. After a few tries, Swype feels much more natural that you may expect and it’s well worth trying out. Enjoy the video of Swype in action on a Nokia X6 and download the keyboard app here.
3. Nokia Closes Ovi Files.
After the recent demise of Nokia’s Messaging for Social Networks, Ovi Files has followed it to the grave. Nokia’s cloud storage solution will be gone in a month, so if you’ve got files stored there, you need to back them up soon.
4. Nokia Dual-SIM Phones Released for Indian Market.
Dual-SIM phones are popular in many developing markets, where different networks often offer special deals for certain numbers, so these two new devices could prove popular. The C1-00 and C2 are basic entry-level phones, although the C2 will use the S40 UI and have a 3.5mm headphone socket, a microSD card slot and an FM radio. The C1-00 should be out now, with the C2 following later in the year.
5. Samsung to Focus on Android and Bada.
The news that Samsung are to concentrate their efforts on producing phones running their own bada operating system and the ever-popular Android system isn’t surprising, but it doesn’t bode well for Microsoft and Windows Phone 7 or Symbian. Samsung say they will introduce a Windows Phone 7 device later in the year, but see no ‘visible demand for Symbian’.
6. HTC Smart2 Render.
A render showing the HTC Smart2 has appeared and it looks very shiny indeed! The Smart2 could be running the BREW platform, previously seen on mobiles including INQ’s Skype Phone, and will feature an Office suite of apps and Wi-Fi.
7. Apple Provide iOS and iTunes Stats.
An Apple event just wouldn’t feel right without lots of stats, and we weren’t disappointed this week! Amongst other things, Steve Jobs let on that 120 million iOS devices have been shipped since its launch, while inside the App Store there are 200 apps downloaded every second, bringing the running total up to 6.5 billion downloads! There are 250,000 apps to choose from, with 25,000 being specifically for the iPad.
8. HTC 7 Trophy Coming to Europe?
Although there are no official pictures of the Trophy yet, this could be a potential Windows Phone 7 handset which was originally conceived to run WinMo 6.5. Don’t be put off though, as the Trophy could be one of the few big-screen QWERTY phones on the market, boasting a 3″ capacitive touchscreen as well as 3G/HSDPA.
9. Skyfire Browser Submitted to Apple.
It wasn’t long ago when we were campaigning for the approval of Opera Mini for the iPhone, and now we have a new cause, Skyfire. Any Symbian or WinMo users may well have some experience with this great mobile browser – famed for its video capabilities and similar compression techniques to Opera – so it’s with baited breath that we wait for Apple’s decision.
10. Hamster Power for your N8.
Battery chargers are a thing of the past, and the universal charger is already obsolete, as now, your mobile phone can be powered by a hamster. What could be more eco-friendly than that?!
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