Latest Gear Live Videos
Apple explains smartphone antenna performance
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
Following this morning’s iPhone 4 press conference, Apple has put up a page detailing the attenuation and signal loss of the antenna. They include videos of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris, and Samsung Omnia II (basically, iOS, BlackBerry OS, Android, and Windows Mobile) all showing the same issue, and explain why it happens.
Don’t forget, Apple is offering free cases to all iPhone 4 purchasers through September 30th, and if you’ve already bought one, they will even give you a refund.
Read More 
| Apple
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Unboxing Live 061: Motorola Devour
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Videocasts,
After all the Motorola and HTC Droid phones, Verizon launched the Motorola Devour, and Android messaging phone. We picked up a Devour to give you a look at the device, which certainly isn’t aimed at the high-end smartphone crowd. However, since the Sidekick has pretty much fell off the face of the earth, we thought the Devour would be attractive to that younger crowd that’s into text messaging but doesn’t need an overly expensive data plan. Check out the Motorola Devour in this episode.
Samsung Captivate Galaxy S unboxing
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds,
As mentioned previously, the Samsung Captivate launches on July 18th on AT&T for $199, making it the first respectable (in our opinion) Android smartphone on the AT&T network. So while you’ll have to wait until Sunday to get your hands on one, we were able to get an early look at the device thanks to AT&T, and while our review is forthcoming, we put together an unboxing gallery showing off the device. Hit the link below for a nice look at the Samsung Captivate hardware—we’ve got a good 25 images for you.
Gallery:
Motorola Droid X unboxing
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Galleries, Handhelds,
The Motorola Droid X gets released next week, and we were able to get our hands on the device a bit early to bring you some coverage. In case you’re unfamiliar, the Droid X will be available on Verizon, and sports a 4.3-inch 480x854 display, 8 megapixel camera, and can record 720p HD. It also has the ability to act as a mobile 3G hotspot for up to 8 devices, and can connect to an external display using HDMI. Take a look at the images in our Motorola Droid X unboxing gallery, and look out for our review soon!
Gallery:
Samsung Captivate hits ATT on July 18 for $199
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds,
AT&T just sent us official word that the Samsung Captivate will be launching on their network on Sunday, July 18th. The Captivate looks to be the first truly lust-worthy Android 2.1 smartphone that AT&T will offer. It’s got a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, and is super-thin. You’ll be able to pick one up for $199 with two-year contract, no rebates needed. Other carriers will be getting the Captivate as well, although branded differently, so if you aren’t an AT&T customer you’ll have to play the waiting game a bit more.
Read More | AT&T Samsung Captivate
First HTC EVO 4G OTA software update being pushed to devices
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
If you’ve got an HTC EVO 4G, you may wanna check for updates, as Sprint has started pushing out the first OTA (over the air) update to their 4G-enabled smartphone. System update 1.47.651.1 is 21.43MB in size, so we are guessing that it’s mostly meant to kill some bugs and optimize some things—but who knows, it may also unlock and enable the 802.11n antenna in the EVO 4G as well. If you get the upgrade, let us know what you find!
Motorola Droid X: $199 on July 15th for Verizon
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
A few minutes ago Verizon and Motorola got together to announced the new Droid X Android smartphone, and we’ve got all the details for you. First and foremost, the Droid X will ship with Android 2.1 and a new customized UI. It boasts a 4.3-inch 854x480 display, 1GHz TI OMAP 3640 processor, 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 720p video capture, and 8GB internal storage. It’s also got a flash card port that supports up to 32GB of storage, and the phone does ship with a 16GB card. The Droid X can also act as a mobile hotspot, providing WiFi access to up to five other devices, multitouch keyboard (thank you!), DLNA support, and even an HDMI out.
We know you are wondering when Froyo (Android 2.2) will hit the phone, and Verizon says that will happen later this summer, alongside Flash 10.1 support. You’ll be able to pick up the Droid X on July 15th from Verizon Wireless for $199.99 with two-year contract after rebate (rebate? really? still?) and if you wanna add the hotspot feature, that will be an extra $20 per month with a 2GB cap. Similar to how AT&T made all customers with upgrade dates through 2010 eligible for the iPhone 4 right away, Verizon is doing the same for the Droid X.
What is Google TV? Straight from Google
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet,
Earlier this morning at the Google I/O event, a major portion was dedicated to the announcement of Google TV. Google TV is basically a software layer that lets you find content to watch on your television. It’s build on Android, Chrome, and Flash, and lets you control things like live TV, as well as giving you the full power of the Internet. You can throw TV into a picture-in-picture box to fire up a web browser, search YouTube, pull up Hulu, or really just about anything else that you can do in a browser. Google Search sits on top of everything, and can be pulled up at any time. When you do a search, it will pull results from the web, as well as from TV listings, giving you the ability to find whatever you want to watch. If you like a show, channel, or search, you can save that as a bookmark for easy access later.
The interesting thing here is the integration with Android. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are mandatory in the Google TV hardware, which will be built by partners. That means that you can use an Android handheld device, pull up a website, and just beam it right over to Google TV. You can also perform a voice search on the device, and have that search carried out on the TV. Eliminating the frustrating tap-typing that we are all so tired of when it comes to searching on a big screen like a television? That is fairly awesome. Oh, and since Google TV runs Android, that also means that it runs apps as well. You get complete access to the Android market.
Take a look at the video above for a simple explanation of what Google TV is all about. You can expect to see devices shipping, like a Logitech set-top box, that will give you Google TV capabilities, later this year in the fall.
Read More | Google TV
Android 2.2 Froyo update brings USB tethering, Wi-Fi hotspot feature
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Software,
Okay, so we already know that Android 2.2 is gonna run 450% faster than 2.1, but we’ve just got even more awesome news about the ‘Froyo’ update by way of TechCrunch. It looks like Android 2.2 will also bring with it option for USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot support. In other words, you can use your phone’s 3G (or 4G if you are rocking the Sprint HTC EVO) signal to get your laptop, iPad, or whatever other device online, either by USB or Wi-Fi. Now, we’re guessing that the carriers get the ultimate say over how this will work and what it might cost, but hey, having the options built right in to Android is a major step in the right direction.
Read More | TechCrunch
Sprint HTC EVO 4G on sale June 4 for $199
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
Sprint has finally made their plans for the launch of the drool-worthy HTC EVO 4G public knowledge. The company’s first 4G smartphone will go on sale on June 4th for $199 after mail-in rebate. Before rebate, you’ll be paying $450, but if you pick it up at Best Buy (you can pre-order from them now) you get the rebate instantly with no waiting.
As a refresher, the HTC EVO 4G is an Android-powered phone that has WiMAX built in. That, alongside the 1GHz Snapdragon processor are what account for the phones tremendous speed. It also has an 8 megapixel camera for taking photos and videos, and a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front that will allow for video conferencing. Oh, and it has a ridiculously huge 4.3-inch touchscreen.
Aside from the typical Sprint unlimited plan, this phone has a mandatory $10 per month fee for the 4G access. The nice thing there is that, with that plan, you don’t get any bandwidth cap on 4G or 3G access. Seriously, truly unlimited. The other major feature that the EVO 4G sports is the ability to act as a 4G hotspot for up to eight other devices. As it turns out, that is an option that will cost $30 per month. Still, though, when you consider that $30 per month to tether up to eight devices at a time to the speedy Sprint 4G network, that isn’t really that bad at all.
Read More | Sprint HTC EVO 4G
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