It’s an open secret (okay, it’s not really a secret at all) that Verizon plans to carry Windows Phone 7 handsets before too long, and in preparation for that grand event, it seems Big Red is populating the platform’s Marketplace with a few wares. Verizon versions of Slacker Radio and Netflix are now in there alongside a carrier app — My Verizon Mobile — that lets you pull the usual stunts with your account like changing features and paying your bill. ‘Course, they can drop 50 apps in there and it still doesn’t mean much without hardware… so hopefully we see that Trophy launch within a few weeks.

Verizon apps start showing up in Windows Phone 7′s Marketplace, you figure out the rest originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let’s be real: it should come as little surprise that Sammy — a company with multiple Android phones on Verizon already — would be joining LG, Motorola, and HTC in prepping a new model for its LTE network. Sure enough, Gizmodo has scored an alleged shot of said phone, showing Froyo (Android 2.2.1, to be specific) along with a front-facing camera and a model number of SCH-i520; it’s said to feature TouchWiz (as most non-Nexus S Android phones from Samsung tend to do) and, fortunately, lacks the Bing integration that Verizon’s been pushing on its low- and midrange smartphones lately. Given the company’s iffy track record on getting Froyo deployed in a timely manner to the Galaxy S line, we’re not sure how we’d feel about buying a new Froyo model when Gingerbread’s now available — especially with all these other LTE models that Verizon’s going to have on top — but options are good, we suppose.

Samsung LTE phone with front-facing camera headed to Verizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We had our doubts the last time we encountered an HTC EVO Shift 4G, but it looks like they were mostly unfounded — here’s Sprint’s new QWERTY slider in the flesh — armor finally shed — revealing a chrome bezel beneath. PhoneArena obtained these pics from an anonymous tipster, who says the device has an 800MHz processor much like the T-Mobile G2, and while we can’t infer much more about the internals than we have before, there are a few new things to note: HTC Sense is alive and well, there’s a particularly large camera module buried in the smooth plastic back and a headphone jack up top, and it appears there’s a pair of status LEDs for Caps Lock and Function Lock right above the keyboard. See two more pics of the device at the source link below, while we wait for Sprint to own up.

HTC EVO Shift 4G spotted in the wild, said to have 800MHz CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Out of the box, many Windows Phone 7 devices aren’t really equipped to deal with the reality that you might want to use a network other than the one the phone launched on. The oversight sort of makes sense since Microsoft’s launches have been closely tied to carriers so far — but it’s still an oversight that needs to be fixed on the double. Indeed, they’re working on a fix — probably to be included in future firmware revisions, we’d guess — but in the meantime, Samsung has followed HTC’s and LG’s suit by releasing an app that keeps your MMS functional when you insert a third-party SIM. The version that Sammy had let loose previously apparently didn’t work too well, but an update this week promises to handle its business a little better — though as you might expect, it explicitly warns you that it may not work if you’re on a contract (and presumably locked) phone.

Samsung launches improved network config tool for unlocked Windows Phone 7 handsets originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When the Optimus 2X was announced a few days ago, North America was conspicuously left out of the nebulous launch plans mentioned in the press release — but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not coming. RCR Wireless says it has it on “rather good authority” that LG’s beastly Tegra 2-powered Android phone will in fact see a US launch, and that said launch will be on T-Mobile in late February (which would be right after MWC) or early March. Considering how aggressively T-Mobile has been pushing Android dating all the way back to the G1, we tend to believe it — and between the dual-core processor, HSPA+, and the promise of a Gingerbread update in the works, this could easily hang with the HTC Mechas and Motorola Olympuses of the world (likely launching on Verizon and AT&T, respectively) over the next few months.

LG Optimus 2X coming to T-Mobile USA by March? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s chief operating officer John Stratton mentioned today that “LTE smartphones are on the horizon,” a sentiment the carrier has been echoing since it launched its 4G network earlier this month. That alone isn’t new, but what is new is the mention of Moto in the same breath: “Motorola will be right there.” He wouldn’t go into specifics about models, specs, release dates, or prices, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the offering looked a little like the Tegra 2-powered device codenamed Olympus (pictured) — allegedly for AT&T — that we’ve seen floating around recently. For what it’s worth, we’re also aware of models from HTC and LG in the pipe, so by all accounts, Big Red is planning on coming out with guns blazing when it rolls out 4G handsets next year.

Motorola has an LTE phone for Verizon in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So we’ve got a crazy theory here: Slashgear just got a couple closeup shots of some heretofore-unknown HTC. So did we — one in common with Slashgear, one different. Could it be that Taiwan’s finest are “leaking” us these shots in an effort to drum up interest going into CES in a couple weeks? We wouldn’t doubt it in the least — with the LG B, Optimus 2X, and Samsung Nexus S all fresh off the presses, HTC probably wouldn’t mind getting a little boost in mindshare right now, and there’s no better way to do it than by teasing a phone that looks an awful lot like the previously-leaked Mecha. As a refresher, the Mecha is the beast that might end up on Verizon as the Incredible HD, offering LTE compatibility for the carrier’s new 4G network — and we know that Verizon plans on showing a whole bunch of LTE devices at CES, so this is all lining up pretty nicely. Follow the break for the other shot we received along with Slashgear‘s.

Continue reading New HTC device starts leaking piecemeal — is it the Mecha / Incredible HD?

New HTC device starts leaking piecemeal — is it the Mecha / Incredible HD? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t need Chinese pinyin support? Well, Swype has a little treat for you: a new version available from the company’s beta installer on your handset reduces the size of the final installed package by a whopping 75 percent, down from 10MB to 2.5MB, simply by dropping support for languages other than English and Spanish — and for a platform where the app storage issue still isn’t fully resolved, every megabyte counts. On a related note, Swype has posted a note for EVO 4G owners stymied by Sprint’s recent inclusion of the keyboard in ROM: if you were already running the beta, you just need to uninstall it, reboot your phone, and let the official version take over.

Swype for Android gets lightweight build with less language support originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading HTC confirms new research and development office in RTP, North Carolina

HTC confirms new research and development office in RTP, North Carolina originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has decided to finally dish out some sales figures for its new Windows Phone 7 platform, but alas, these are not the sales figures we are looking for. Instead of giving us the juicy number of actual devices sold to end users, the Redmond crew has given us a neatly rounded 1.5 million figure of sales to mobile operators and retailers. That tells us that the mobile industry is buying into Microsoft’s new OS, and it’d be foolish not to, but it doesn’t really educate us much on the relative success of the platform’s launch. All that Microsoft’s Achim Berg would say is that early sales are “in line” with his company’s expectations.

Microsoft: over 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 devices sold to carriers and retailers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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