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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And here we go: Verizon just announced its 4G LTE pricing and full list of coverage areas. Some 38 markets will go live when the switch is flipped on December 5, including Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and LA, and pricing starts at $50/month for 5GB of data, with an $80/month plan for 10GB. Overages run $10 per GB, which isn’t insane, and there’s also supplemental coverage in around 60 airports. Check the full PR after the break.

Update: Some highlights from today’s press conference:

• More modems will be coming out within “weeks” and are all backwards compatible with its EV-DO network.
• Verizon will talk about “consumer-oriented devices” (translation: phones) at CES.
• The modems are capable of 4G-to-3G handoff, but not 3G-to-4G — they’ll stay on 3G until you’re done transmitting data.
• The LTE and 3G plans might integrate, according to CTO Tony Melone, but probably not until 2012 or 2013.
• It sounds like the modems will only be available in stores on December 5th — no third-party retailers at first.

Continue reading Verizon LTE plans start at $50/month for 5GB of data (update)

Verizon LTE plans start at $50/month for 5GB of data (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Motorola split wraps up on January 4th

Motorola split wraps up on January 4th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer may be calling this “100 percent smartphone. 100 percent tablet,” but something just doesn’t add up there. That being said, we have to agree that a 1024×480 screen resolution on a 4.8-inch smartphone is downright drool-worthy. Clocking in at just a smidgen smaller than Dell’s Streak, this here phone (no finalized name has been bestowed quite yet) was just revealed at Acer’s Global press event in New York City. It was only shown briefly, demonstrating an unknown version of Android and the “evolution of Acer UI.” Specs wise, there’s a two megapixel front-facing camera, eight megapixel rear camera (with LED flash), 720p video recording, a six-axis Gyroscope + accelerometer package and LED edge lighting. Per usual, Acer’s keeping a lid on any pricing estimates, but it’ll be shipping out to gape-jawed customers everywhere in April 2011.

Update: We’ve got the full PR after the break, which informs us of the atypical 21:9 aspect ratio in use here as well as its “full metal body.” Curiously enough, it’s also rocking a curved back (is that a trend we spot?), Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n WiFi, HSDPA support, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an HDMI output. Delicious, all the way around.

Continue reading Acer reveals 4.8-inch Android smartphone with 1024×480 screen resolution

Acer reveals 4.8-inch Android smartphone with 1024×480 screen resolution originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T’s finally taking a cue from its mobile hotspot-equipped archrivals at Verizon and Sprint, launching a branded version of Novatel Wireless’ MiFi 2372 this Sunday, November 21st, for $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. The device is a little more advanced that the one you’re used to using on American CDMA networks, featuring an integrated microSD slot that can be shared among connected devices and support for built-in, browser-based widgets that can take advantage of the unit’s AGPS for providing weather, local search, and so on. The unit tops out at 7.2Mbps on the downlink, which you’ll be able to enjoy via AT&T’s standard array of DataConnect plans: $35 a month for 200MB or $60 a month for 5GB, plus contract-free plans ranging from 100MB to 1GB.

AT&T starts selling Novatel MiFi at long last: November 21st for $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few weeks after third-party apps started filtering in, Google’s launched its own Google Voice app for the iPhone, and it looks to have all the most important features: call and text support, push notifications, and voicemail access (including transcriptions). It’s available right now — US only at the moment — on iPhones with iOS 3.1 or higher as long as you’ve got a valid Google Voice account set up… so get to it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Official Google Voice app for iPhone hits the App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, AT&T, it’s true: you’re charging $50 more for the Galaxy Tab than everyone else in the States off-contract. That’s a pretty gutsy sense of entitlement, though you’re bundling $50 in Samsung Media Hub credit — and, of course, no other Tab has access to AT&T’s $15 and $25 pay-as-you-go data plans at 250MB and 2GB, respectively. Pick your poison, we suppose. In related news, regional carrier US Cellular is going to start telling the Tab on November 19th for $399 on-contract or $599 off, effectively the same price schedule as all the big guys except AT&T. Data pricing on USCC seems like it needs another tier, though, because right now you’ll be able to choose between $14.99 for 200MB or $54.99 for 5GB with tethering enabled. Where’s the happy medium, guys? Follow the break for both press releases.

Continue reading Galaxy Tab coming to AT&T November 21st for $650, US Cellular on the 19th for $399 / $599

Galaxy Tab coming to AT&T November 21st for $650, US Cellular on the 19th for $399 / $599 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Woah, what do we have here? A new “In Store” web-based flier from Best Buy Mobile has this little nugget on its front page: a previously unseen Galaxy S, running stock Android (possibly 2.3, based on the green icons and black notifications bar) and harboring what looks to be a front facing camera. Sounds like a Nexus S to us! Paired with this morning’s little Nexus S slip-of-the-tongue from Best Buy, we’re starting to get our hopes up. Don’t let us down, Google / T-Mobile / Samsung / Best Buy / planet earth!

[Thanks, Ryan C.]

Is this the Nexus S? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trying to get a copy of the Skyfire browser for your iOS device? You may not have much luck, as the pseudo-Flash-capable browser has just disappeared from iTunes App Stores around the globe, mere hours after its splashy debut. When we try to download it for ourselves in the United States we get the message immediately above, and RazorianFly readers are chiming in with reports that the app is no longer available in Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Spain and the UK.

We just pinged Skyfire for comment and they say it’s not Apple’s fault; demand for a Flash video workaround is apparently so high that the company’s having server issues and decided to pull the app rather than introduce new users to a sub-par experience. Skyfire assures us that it’s adding servers as quickly as it can, but didn’t provide an ETA on when we might see the app once more.

Update: While we’re not sure how an digital app can be “sold out,” that’s exactly what the company says happened to its $2.99 browser today — after quickly becoming the top grossing app in the iTunes App Store, Skyfire is “temporarily not accepting new purchases” and says it will issue Facebook and Twitter status updates when the next batch of licenses is available. In other words, Skyfire’s throttling the flow of purchases from now on. PR after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Skyfire disappears from iTunes App Store due to technical difficulties (update: ‘sold out’)

Skyfire disappears from iTunes App Store due to technical difficulties (update: ‘sold out’) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What, you didn’t think Apple was just going to sit around and take it after Motorola first sued for patent infringement and then asked to court to declare some 20 of Cupertino’s patents weren’t applicable to its products, did you? Apple’s fired back with two lawsuits claiming that Motorola’s Android phones, including but not limited to the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BackFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1, and Charm, infringe a total of six multitouch and OS patents. That would be pretty much par for the course — you sue me, I sue you — but there are a couple interesting strategic wrinkles to note:

• We’ve only seen Apple litigate one of these patents before: #7,479,949, Touch Screen Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Determining Commands by Applying Heuristics. You should remember it well — it’s the patent covering scroll behavior on multitouch screens that was hyped as “the iPhone patent” and triggered a press frenzy over a possible Apple / Palm lawsuit. As we predicted at the time, that hasn’t yet materialized, but old ’949′s gotten pretty popular: Apple’s asserting it against Nokia and HTC as well.
• Apple might be suing over six patents in these two cases, but ultimately Apple will claiming Motorola’s devices infringe a total of 26 patents — part of Apple’s defense to Motorola’s 20-patent lawsuit will be to claim that that Moto’s in fact infringing each of those patents. That’s a lot of patents across a lot of devices, and it’ll just take one finding of infringement to cause a lot of pain.
• Apple’s filed its two cases in the Western District of Wisconsin, a patent “rocket docket” that tries cases quickly and are often perceived as being plaintiff-friendly. (Part of the Apple / Nokia lawsuit is happening in this same court.) Moto’s obvious next move will be to try and consolidate all these cases into a single proceeding at one court, a procedural tactic that will take likely take months. And that’s just the first step. Don’t expect these cases to be decided for at least a year — probably many years — unless Apple and Motorola decide to settle, which is always possible.
• Apple’s now seriously engaged in litigation with the two largest Android handset makers (HTC and Motorola), largely over OS-level patents. At some point Google has to get involved, if only to indemnify its partners against further liability for using Android, and we can’t help but think Apple and Google are eventually bound to face off directly. Or perhaps not — by suing Android handset makers, Apple’s essentially putting a tax on Android without having to further muddy up its complex competitor / partner relationship with Google by adding in a major lawsuit.

We’ve added in a list of the patents after the break, if you’re interested — and we know you’re interested, right? It’s not like it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon or anything.

Continue reading Apple sues Motorola right back over six patents

Apple sues Motorola right back over six patents originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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