Thought the launch of the Kin ONEm and TWOm was strange? Here’s another oddity with a Microsoft tie-in: Canadian startup Mobilicity has just announced the “Mobiflip,” a phone that the carrier’s own press release calls out as being “similar to the Sidekick LX.” It’s unclear whether what’s left of Danger will be supporting the device — the Sidekick line basically pioneered mobile cloud computing, after all — but what we see of the interface certainly rings true to the Sidekicks of days gone by. It runs CAD $99.99 ($98) contract-free, which is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than its American doppelganger launched for — $250 on contract, if you recall. Yowza! Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading Sharp Mobiflip channels Sidekick LX’s vibes for Mobilicity

Sharp Mobiflip channels Sidekick LX’s vibes for Mobilicity originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:57:00 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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We imagine that the lion’s share of people that need Exchange email access are getting it on a BlackBerry or some other manner of smartphone, but Verizon’s covering all its bases here today with the release of Mobile Email 4.0, a dumbphone-compatible release that lets even some of the cheapest handsets in Big Red’s lineup (the Octane, Cosmos Touch, and Zeal are specifically called out) in on the corporate action. Besides Exchange support, the release includes a “true push experience,” an all-new UI, and Outlook calendar synchronization — the perfect companion to Exchange email compatibility. It’s available now for free if you’re on a data plan of at least $15 a month, or for $5 a month with a pay-as-you-go data option. Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading Verizon outs Mobile Email 4.0: true push and Exchange support for dumbphones

Verizon outs Mobile Email 4.0: true push and Exchange support for dumbphones originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chumby isn’t just taking its platform to dedicated devices from other manufacturers, it’s also moving to software — a strategy that right out of Amazon’s playbook now that Kindle is available on just about every computer and handheld under the sun. The company’s new Android app simply connects to your Chumby account and lets you view and use the same Flash-based apps that you would on any other Chumby device, a testament to the fact that pretty much every Android handset hitting the market these days comes Flash-capable out of the box. Chumby says that the app works best for tablets and docked devices — which makes sense when you think of how you’d use a Sony Dash or Chumby One — and conveniently, you can set it to automatically show up as a screen saver whenever your phone is docked. Look for it in the Market right now for $4.99; follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Chumby releases Android app, not quite as plush as the original

Chumby releases Android app, not quite as plush as the original originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sick of seeing that little hard disk with an exclamation point popping up on your Android handset? Yeah, us too. Thankfully we can now count Skype among the apps that can be moved to external storage. This new release also adds compatibility with the Samsung Galaxy S — but there’s a catch. Android 2.2 is required, which many Galaxy S owners may or may not actually have yet and, while some are said to be getting a dollop of FroYo this very month, we’ve certainly heard that before.

Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading MetroPCS brings its LTE network to Boston, Sacramento, and New York City

MetroPCS brings its LTE network to Boston, Sacramento, and New York City originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interestingly, T-Mobile USA is specifically mentioned in Nokia Siemens’ press release as supporting the developments, a testament to the fact that the carrier is firmly committed to wringing everything it can out of legacy 3G standards before moving on — just as they’re already doing with their aggressive 21Mbps HSPA+ rollout. Considering that present-day LTE tops out somewhere in the 300Mbps to 400Mbps range, we can’t say we’re opposed, especially since the new technology will be backward compatible with today’s HSPA networks. Yes, granted: “Long Term HSPA Evolution” is a terrible name considering that LTE already stands for Long Term Evolution (and LTHSPAE isn’t the slickest acronym anyway) — but we’ll worry about naming logistics closer to launch, which is still years off. See the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Long Term HSPA Evolution specs come together, promise speeds of 650Mbps — and T-Mobile USA is on board

Long Term HSPA Evolution specs come together, promise speeds of 650Mbps — and T-Mobile USA is on board originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After making a false start last week, the official Latitude app from Google seems to have stuck its landing in the iTunes App Store. Surprisingly for an initial release, Latitude is already showing a 2.0.0.346 version number demonstrating, perhaps, just how long this one’s been waiting for Phil Schiller’s sanction. Whatever the case, there’s never been a better opportunity for iOS 4 users to track down their very own Ana Leftin.

Google Latitude lands in iTunes App Store, for good this time originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, it’s a bit odd to see the Jawbone name attached to something other than a Bluetooth headset or speaker, but Aliph is forging into the application game with a new voice messaging service for iOS. Called Thoughts, the software is basically like text messaging or instant messaging with voice. The free audio-based messaging iPhone app, which should be hitting the App Store today, lets you send short audio recordings to either a single contact or a group with a tap of a button. We got a chance to check it out at the D: Dive into Mobile conference this week and found the whole thing to be a really great way to circumvent voicemails or longer texts — all you have to do is tap the name of your contact and then leave a short voice message. There’s absolutely no ringing or waiting. If and when that contact responds it appears as a threaded message, and if you’re in an area that isn’t conducive to listening to those thrilling messages, there’s also a transcription feature. The app should be hitting today, but if you need more details before tapping install, hit the break for the full press release and a short promo video.

Continue reading Aliph gets into the app game with Jawbone Thoughts voice messaging

Aliph gets into the app game with Jawbone Thoughts voice messaging originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading US Cellular rolls out trio of new prepaid plans with unlimited messaging

US Cellular rolls out trio of new prepaid plans with unlimited messaging originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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