Gadget Reviews

It’s not much to go on but after months of rumors and then the sudden appearance of Dell’s 5-inch MID on video, well, even unsubstantiated reports from the Commercial Times can be taken with a degree of truthiness. The latest tattle has QISDA manufacturing Dell’s Android 2.0-based MID (spotted with a 5 megapixel camera, 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, 3G data, and WiFi) with the intent of ramping up for an AT&T launch sometime in 2010. Given the uptick in leaks recently, we’d expect a Q1 launch to be just about right.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Dell’s 5-inch Android Streak MID on AT&T in 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sure, Verizon’s doubled down on the 3G map ads in response to AT&T’s false advertising lawsuit, but eventually the company’s lawyers had to file a response and, well, ain’t nobody backing down in this one. Here’s the freaking introduction:

AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.

Yeah. It’s gonna be like that. Verizon goes on to argue that even AT&T concedes the maps are accurate, and that pulling any of the ads off the air without proof that they’re misleading consumers would be unfair, and that at the very least both parties need time to investigate further. Honestly? We’ve read it over a couple times now and while the legal arguments are certainly interesting, it’s hard not to get the impression that Verizon drafted this response with publication in mind — check out this quote:

In the final analysis, AT&T seeks emergency relief because Verizon’s side-by-side, apples-to-apples comparison of its own 3G coverage with AT&T’s confirms what the marketplace has been saying for months: AT&T failed to invest adequately in the necessary infrastructure to expand its 3G coverage to support its growth in smartphone business, and the usefulness of its service to smartphone users has suffered accordingly.

See what we mean? Now, we still think there’s some merit to the idea that Verizon’s ads improperly conflate 3G coverage area with 3G service quality, but that’s really not what AT&T’s arguing — hell, it’s busy pimping EDGE. We’ll see if these two can solve their differences and get back to work, but we’ve got the feeling this thing ain’t over yet.

Update: Here’s the PDF, in case you’re interested.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Verizon responds to AT&T’s Map For That lawsuit: ‘the truth hurts’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

That successor to AT&T’s wildly popular LG Shine that we spied back in August has finally popped official today, becoming the Shine II (surprise, surprise). It’s a very evolutionary set — if you squint, you can’t see much difference from the original — but this might be a situation where it’s in AT&T’s best interest not to mess with success just as long as they don’t end up pulling a RAZR over the next several years. It’s got a 2 megapixel cam, a mirror-finish 2.2-inch LCD, GPS, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, and microSD expansion to 16GB; look for it on November 22 for $119.99 after rebate on contract. Perhaps more notably, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 has migrated from T-Mobile over to AT&T today with the same EDGE data and optical pad as its cousin; it’ll be hitting in the “coming weeks” for $99.99 after rebate. Of course, the Bold 9700 hits on the 22nd for a hundie more, so there’ll be some soul searching among AT&T-based BlackBerry lovers over the next few days, we suspect.

Filed under: Cellphones

BlackBerry Curve 8520, LG Shine II coming to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AT&T just added a pair of Windows 7 Starter netbooks to its stable, and while we’ve got nothing against the Samsung Go and the Acer Aspire One, we just can’t help but feel preloading 7 Starter makes the already-dubious subsidized netbook value proposition even worse. Let’s break it down: both the Go and the Aspire One will set you back $199 upfront (well, after mail-in rebate), and then you’re on the hook for two-year data contract, which will cost you either $35 a month for a 200MB cap or $60 a month for a 5GB cap. Now, $35 a month for 200MB of data is basically worthless for a netbook — that’s what, a half-day of watching YouTube? — so assuming you do what most people do and buy the $60 plan, you’re out at least $1,639 over two years for last-gen netbook hardware running a gimped OS that doesn’t even let you change the desktop wallpaper. Not exactly a screaming deal. We’d say you’re much better off finding a netbook with XP on sale and just getting a regular free-on-contract USB data card, which you’ll be able to use on multiple machines — or, if you absolutely must have Windows 7, holding out for the coming flood of Pine Trail netbooks at CES, which we’re hoping will come preloaded with 7 Home Premium.

Filed under: Laptops

AT&T adds Samsung Go to netbook lineup, dumbs it down with Windows 7 Starter originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The nüvifone G60 took nearly two years to go from introduction to on sale at AT&T, and just weeks after its introduction, it has been nearly completely forgotten. Smartphones like Motorola’s Droid and HTC’s Droid Eris have already snagged the spotlight, and of course, that $300 (on contract) price tag that it debuted with didn’t help attract any eyes, either. That said, we’re sure at least a few (couple?) of you bit the bullet post-price drop, and now we’re overly anxious to hear how you feel about it. After two years, does this thing really live up to the expectations? Are you satisfied with the navigation capabilities? Is the lackluster battery life worrying you yet? Should Garmin-Asus even bother with a second-gen device? Sound off in comments below!

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change Garmin-Asus’ nuvifone G60? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

AppleInsider published a piece this week that does a good job rounding up the latest counterarguments we’ve been hearing against Verizon’s claims in its suddenly ultra-aggressive attacks on archrival AT&T’s network — attacks that have offended AT&T right into getting the legal team involved. Both sides are applying enough spin to make you dizzy at this point, so let’s break down the latest round of pot shots, shall we?

• Verbiage on Verizon’s site suggests that swaths of its 3G network are still running at EV-DO Rev. 0 speed: false. In fact, 100 percent of Verizon’s 3G coverage has been Rev. A since 2007 — the wording refers to 1xRTT, which is the transport technology in use where EV-DO hasn’t been deployed.
• You can’t distinguish between EV-DO and 1xRTT on Verizon’s coverage map: false. Turns out Verizon has one of the more comprehensive coverage browsers among top-tier carriers. The technologies aren’t called out by name, but they’re there — they list compatible features in different coverage zones, ostensibly to reduce customer confusion since your average Joe (not to be confused with our own Joe Flatley) doesn’t know or care what “1xRTT” means.
• EDGE approaches the “low end” of EV-DO Rev. A: false. At the top end of the specification, EDGE can theoretically approach 500kbps in a cleanroom environment — but in reality, it runs at a fraction of that and suffers more severe latency issues in practice (which is sometimes a greater detriment to a mobile web browsing experience than raw speed) than UMTS and EV-DO. Heck, AT&T itself claims 75-135kbps. Meanwhile, we got 823kbps on the downlink in real-world modem use on Verizon’s Rev. A.
• AT&T’s 3.6Mbps and 7.2Mbps deployments are significantly faster than EV-DO Rev. A: true, but only in theory. We’re getting downlink speeds ranging from the low 100s — yes, 100s — to the high 800s in Chicago and New York; Chicago’s got a trial 7.2Mbps network that’s live, but even if we’re not connected to it (hard to say), we should still be on 3.6. We seriously have no idea what AT&T’s doing behind the scenes with these rollouts, but in urban areas, at least, they’re not helping. At all. And that’s assuming we can help ourselves from dropping down to EDGE.
• AT&T’s service is augmented by the nation’s largest WiFi network: we won’t even justify that with a rebuttal.
• Verizon’s gaming the system by comparing only their 3G networks: the truth hurts, AT&T. Verizon’s commercials would have you believe that by comparing only 3G coverage, Verizon wins by a country mile. And guess what? They do. To AT&T’s credit, the 3GPP’s WCDMA technology path is considerably more advanced and extensible than EV-DO Rev. A is, but beyond UMTS’s simultaneous voice / data capability, the end user’s experience is pretty similar in day-to-day use. We go where the faster real-world speeds (and the reliable calls) are.
• Verizon is “defending steep losses” with its anti-AT&T, anti-iPhone commercials: false. Verizon added 1.2 million net customers in the most recently reported quarter, excluding acquisitions.
• LTE is “still years away from viable use” on Verizon: false. They’ll have 20-30 markets commercially live in 2010, which is 20-30 more than AT&T will have. It’s not nationwide coverage by a long shot, but it gives the carrier a notable lead in the 4G transition since AT&T has sparsely detailed its LTE plans and isn’t expected to go live with any markets until 2011 at the earliest.

To be fair, Verizon’s taking a questionable angle in its advertising by trying to associate 3G coverage with call reliability — in AT&T’s case, the two are totally, completely unrelated — but the fact remains that for a bunch of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco-based Engadget editors, Verizon bests AT&T in both categories, and we’re having a hard time arguing with personal experience.

So listen, AT&T, we’re sorry Verizon made you upset, but the solution’s actually pretty simple: compete. Fix your network, keep scoring hot exclusives, and get hungry again — because in a year or two, no one’s going to give a damn that you used to have an exclusive on the iPhone.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Editorial: Hey, AT&T — drop lawsuits, not calls originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Looks like AT&T will be launching at least two smartbooks at CES — the Tegra-powered Mobinnova Beam just hit the FCC database with a device ID of BEAMATT. Yeah, that’s not so subtle. Sadly the listing doesn’t have much else to say about the machine formerly known as élan, but we’re guessing we’ll find out way more about what AT&T’s got planned for these not-quite-netbooks in Vegas.

Filed under: Laptops

Mobinnova Beam Tegra smartbook hits the FCC en route to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

My iPhone 3GS, in downtown Chicago, as I wrote this post.

Verizon certainly seems to be getting under AT&T’s skin with its ads focused on comparing 3G coverage — not only is Ma Bell suing over ‘em, it’s now issuing PR to clarify what it sees as the inaccuracies of the entire campaign. If you’ll recall, AT&T thinks Verizon’s 1:1 comparison of 3G coverage maps makes it look like AT&T doesn’t have any coverage at all across most of the country — which means that our nation’s largest wireless carrier is now in the sad position of pimping its gigantic EDGE network in response. Let’s all gloss over the absolutely huge difference in 3G versus EDGE together, shall we?

With both 3G and EDGE coverage, customers can access the Internet, send e-mail, surf the Web, stream music, download videos, send photos, text, talk and more. The only difference – with some data applications, 3G is faster than EDGE.

Right, right — the only difference. That must be why Apple named it the iPhone EDGE Slightly Faster.

Now, AT&T has a valid point when it says that its 3G map covers 75 percent of the nation’s population, and that Verizon’s conflation of total 3G coverage with actual network quality is slightly misleading. But you know what? We watch our iPhones drop from 3G to EDGE and even to GPRS all day long in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, and that has nothing to do with the damn map, and everything to do with AT&T’s actual network quality. Let’s put it this way: Verizon’s ad campaign would be totally ineffective if it didn’t ring so true, and the best way for AT&T to counter these ads is to build a rock-solid network, not filing lawsuits and issuing press releases bragging about freaking EDGE. We all clear on this? Good.

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T responds to Verizon’s 3G ad campaign — by bragging about EDGE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

It may still have a few lingering problems with the “smartbook” name, but it looks like Qualcomm is pushing ahead with the still-nascent product category nonetheless, with CEO Paul Jacobs taking advantage of a recent investor get-together in New York to show off a new Lenovo-built smartbook that will apparently be offered by AT&T. Unfortunately, neither Lenovo nor AT&T is saying anything about the device just yet, and Jacobs doesn’t seem to have offered much more than what was already known from the standard smartbook specs. There is the requisite low-res photo captured from the webcast, however, and all parties involved should be doing plenty more talking when this one makes its official debut at CES in January.

Filed under: Laptops

Qualcomm shows off Snapdragon-powered Lenovo smartbook for AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Well, you knew this was coming — AT&T’s amended its advertising lawsuit against Verizon to include Big Red’s new holiday ads, including that oh-so-cute Island of Misfit Toys spot, and demanded that they be taken off the air. At question is the same map of AT&T’s 3G coverage used in the other commercial, which Ma Bell says misleads customers into thinking it has no service at all in large swaths of the country. Best part? AT&T’s lawyers had to describe the ad in their new filing, leading to passages like this:

The spotted elephant, in a surprised manner, asks the iPhone “What are you doing here? You can download apps and browse the web!” and a Dolly for Sue asserts that “Yeah. People will love you [the iPhone].”

Happy holidays, folks.

Read – Digital Daily
Read – AT&T’s amended complaint [PDF]

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T adds Verizon’s Island of Misfit Toys holiday ads to lawsuit, demands they be yanked off the air originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments