Well looky here. After all of the commotion over who is getting the Galaxy S II first in the US (Sprint, really), a regional carrier shows up with a pretty incredible deal. GCI, who does the HSPA+ version of 4G in the Anchorage Alaska area is already fulfilling orders on the phone for $99 with plan as we wait for Sprint’s version to hit shelves later this week. Engadget tipsters already have them in hand in fact.
How did they do this? Well, it looks like they just snapped up some of the international S II version without any mods. Regional carriers, you win.
Due to weather conditions, Samsung is pushing back their Galaxy S II event from Monday, to Tuesday. Currently, Hurricane Irene is barreling its way to New York, where the event is going to take place. Thanks Samsung for making a good decision, to keep all of us bloggers safe. You bet we’ll have full coverage Tuesday, but in the mean time stay dry — will ya?
Pocketnow has leaked an exclusive shot of all of Samsung’s Galaxy S II variants on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. You’ll notice both the T-mobile and Sprint versions are rounded, while the AT&T version is square. Besides the shape we don’t see any noticeable differences between the devices (besides the branding of course). You might be thinking, where’s the Verizon version? This week we reported that Verizon wouldn’t be carrying a Galaxy S II variant for the time being, and it was later confirmed by the WSJ.
The Galaxy S II is going to be announced next Monday, maybe along with a few more devices. At any rate you bet we’ll be there to cover the event.. if the weather doesn’t stop us.
According to SprintFeed, the Sprint Samsung Galaxy S2, dubbed Epic Touch 4G phone will be announced by Samsung on Auguust 29th and released by Sprint two weeks later on September 9th. But that’s not all…
Verizon will be a no show. There are likely still some kinks to be worked out in the LTE version of the Galaxy S 2 which will be announced at a later date.
Sprint’s phone called the Epic Touch 4G or the will be WiMAX and slightly thicker than the others with a grated plastic backing. 4.5 inch screen 480×800
T-Mobile’s version will also be 4.5 inch screen 480×800 and be the first phone to run on its (theoretical) 42Mb radio network. It will require a Qualcomm dual-core CPU unlike the other devices which will use Samsung’s own dual core processors.
AT&T’s will be the most similar to the international version at 4.3 inches.
All of them will have the Netflix app ready on launch – only some will have it pre-installed however.
Even these incredible phones pale in comparison to the rumors of a 720PIce Cream Sandwich phone on the horizon however.
The sickest of them all has to be the I9250 superphone. Probably your next handset, it rocks a monstrous 4.65-inch SuperAMOLED display with native 720p resolution (1280-by-720 pixels), the obligatory five megapixel camera (what, no eight-megapixels?) and Android Ice Cream, the latest and greatest version of Android due for release in the fourth quarter of 2011. Expand Expanding Close
This is my next has unveiled an Android device heading to Sprint, which is said to be a beefed up Motorola XPRT with a dual-core processor. The device is code named the Motorola Pax, and is looking very Blackberry esque with its portrait keyboard. Besides the dual-core processor, the Pax is also believed to include Sprint’s new CDMA 1X Advanced push-to-talk system. There is no word on pricing or availability. Check out another shot after the break.
Carrier Sprint today announced a fifteen-year deal with LightSquared enabling them to offer 4G LTE services on their network. As you know, Sprint currently offers wireless broadband marketed as 4G through its majority stake in Clearwire, utilizing their WiMax technology. Sprint couldn’t have signed a better deal to joing the 4G LTE craze. LightSquared will actually pay the carrier $9 billion in cash over the course of eleven years to deploy an LTE network, spending itself $13 billion over the next eight years on boosting their network capacity. In return, the company will be allowed to sell their 4G service to Sprint customers. Sprint can tap up to 50 percent of LightSquared’s 4G capacity and a roaming agreement will be in place by 2012.
On the downside, LightSquared plans on launching its first 4G market in 2012 and finish commercial deployment by 2015. Compared this to AT&T and Verizon Wireless which already operate 4G LTE service in select markets and plan to commercially deploy their networks by the end of next year. However, Sprint is the nation’s third-largest carrier with 51 million customers as of June so the ability to host on their network an increasing number of 4G LTE smartphones will positively impact their bottom line and competitiveness. Plus. Sprint is rumored to have been testing a Sprint iPhone for some time, with Apple seeking a carrier engineer in the Kansas City area, where Sprint is headquartered.
SprintFeed is reporting that the Evo will be given the end of life status, along with a few other phones on Sprint’s network, this fall. The White Evo will cease in September, and the black Evo and Samsung Epic will cease in October. The Evo was a breakout phone for Android and 4G technology, but it is certainly understandable as Sprint puts better phones in its lineup. Check out the rest of the phones in the image above. Anything you’re sad to see go?
Sprint announced on their blog that they will be unveiling an update to their Nexus S 4G. The update will include tweaks to increase data speed, Wi-Fi connectivity, speakerphone audio quality, and adds TTY support for the deaf and hard of hearing. The update will be dubbed Android 2.3.5 and will be available Monday, July 25th.
Engadget has exclusively received the update to test data speeds. As you can see in the screenshot above, speeds were improved — even enough Engadget says the speed change is noticeable.
This is my next has received exclusive photographs of a Samsung Galaxy S II-esque phone with all the markings (literally) of a Sprint phone. While seeing much success across Europe, the Galaxy S II has yet to hit the U.S shores, but we are expecting it, or a varient, soon. The device photographed above is expected to be Sprint’s version of the Galaxy S II, packing a 8-megapixel camera and the texture that the Galaxy S II currently has. There is also word that the phone in the shot above is running Android 2.3.4. This is my next mentions that this device could be called the Samsung Within, instead of Galaxy S II. Whatever the name might be, all we want is this beautiful piece of hardware.
Motorola’s answer to the rugged business phone is the Motorola Titanium, announced with the Xpert over two months ago. We never heard an official release date from Sprint, but SprintFeed is reporting that the Titanium will launch July 24th on Sprint’s network, for $149. The body style of the Titanium reminds us of the Droid Pro, packing a full QWERTY keyboard. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera, 2GB microSD, Wi-Fi, and..
Android 2.1…
WTF..That’s Original Droid two year old vintage software people!
In the flyer above it says the device meets “Military Specifications 810G”, being able to withstand dust, shock, vibration, solar radiation, and low pressure (and recent Android updates).
A feature that we believe could be a great selling point is Nextel’s push-to-talk. The service industry relied on push-to-talk on Nextel’s older phones, and the Titanium could bring it back. We look forward to seeing how this device will work in the field.
Early adopters that bought into the tablet craze by picking up a Samsung Galaxy Tab as then the only viable iPad alternative will be delighted to know that carrier Sprint has begun pushing the Android 2.3 Gingerbread software update over-the-air. Their gadget girl Michelle Leff boasted on Twitter that Sprint is the first carrier to roll out Gingerbread for the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The new firmware brings HID Bluetooth and it updates the device’s baseband software to version S:P100.08 S.EF17 (build GINGERBREAD.EF17).
As you know, Gingerbread is technically a phone operating system. Google was strongly discouraging vendors from building tablet products until Honeycomb arrived. Samsung, of course, didn’t listen. As the iPad had taken everyone by surprise, the Korean gadget maker went on to launch the Galaxy Tab in September of last year. Despite Steve Jobs’ claims that the seven-inch tablets will be dead on arrival because users would need to sandpaper their fingers down to hit the tiny on-screen controls, the form factor has actually been quite compelling, at least among the Android community.
The HTC Evo 3D has passed through the FCC’s desk packing AWS bands, reportsTmoNews. Interestingly, these AWS bands point to T-Mobile’s 4G network. But as we have experienced before, something going through the FCC doesn’t necessarily mean its coming out anytime soon.
The EVO series has been exclusive with Sprint since the EVO’s release. This FCC filing definitely points to this device going to T-Mobile, breaking Sprint exclusivity. We’ll keep you updated if this phone actually hits or not, but in the mean time read our review of the device. Expand Expanding Close
An image leaked yesterday by The Pop Herald suggests a possible successor to the Motorola Droid Pro, which Sprint marketed as the XPRT. In a nod at business users, the yet-to-be-named device packs in a physical QWERTY keyboard, in addition to both capacitive touchscreen and buttons, a possible Sprint 4G WiMax network connectivity and Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box:
According to the tipster, the next QWERTY Motorola smartphone is curvier compared to the Motorola XPRT. The tipster added that the physical QWERTY keyboard of the unannounced phone was slightly modified, now with a “smile pattern,” compared to XPRT’s “ruler pattern.”
Considering that Sprint began offering the business-centric XPRT on June 5 of this year, full six months following its November 18, 2010 debut on the Verizon network, here’s to hoping we won’t have to wait that long for this handset.
It is no secret that Sprint is formally opposing AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $39 billion. Sprint argued the transaction would legalize duopoly in America and asked the government to intervene. The transaction is currently pending federal review by the FCC and Department of Justice, which could take at least a year.
This morning, Bloombergcast more light on Sprint’s plans to block the deal, which include “nukes” mapped out in red, blue and green ink on a huge whiteboard in the company’s “White Room”. Sprint’s boss Dan Hesse’s used the nuclear tactics analogy in his one-on-one with Bloomberg’s Greg Bensinger, telling the journo that his company has put considerable resources to block this deal:
Clearly, purely, we want to win and block the merger. This one poses real risks.
Hesse is also adamant to spur the public debate around the issues of the merger and lobby Congress to scrutinize the transaction. He enlisted “lobbyists, consulting groups, two former US House Judiciary Committee counsels and lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP”. Sprint even “tapped its own engineers to show AT&T how to get more capacity from its wireless network so it wouldn’t need to buy T-Mobile”, the report notes. Then, there’s money. Sprint, the nation’s #3 carrier, has been losing some of its 50 million subscribers to AT&T and Verizon – which both carry the iPhone – in 14 of the last 15 quarters. Their debt-to-capital ratio is 57 percent versus 41 percent for Verizon and 37 percent for AT&T.
Pocketnow has published exclusive pictures of what they say is a Samsung QWERTY slider on its way to Verizon Wireless. As you’ll notice, the device is very similar to the Epic 4G on Sprint. It is not clear yet as to whether this device will have 4G capabilities like the Epic 4G, but we are hopeful. More importantly, we’re wondering if Verizon is going to saddle this thing with Bing like it has its other Samsung (save the Droid Charge) and LG Android devices. If so…pass!
The device has the model number SCH-i405, following Samsung Continuum’s of SCH-i400, reportsAndroidSpin. The device has already earned Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certifications, but has not made its way past the FCC. There isn’t any other information as to what’s actually inside the device. For those of you who can’t wait to get your slide on, this device should be hitting stores in a month or two. Expand Expanding Close
There is a lot on the line with Sprint’s new EVO 3D launch today. The EVO brand has now become the flagship Sprint Android device moniker and for more than a year, the EVO has been just about the most burly Android device you could get on the WiMAX 4G network.
Background:
The original EVO was a milestone in Smartphone development. When it was released, the Nexus One and Droid were the top of the Android heap and Apple was still selling the iPhone 3GS. The EVO was the first Android device with front camera, 8MP back camera, 4.3-inch display, 4G network access and a kickstand! Even the Apple guys’ heads were turning. I got an EVO 4G at Google I/O last year and have used it off and on since. Among other things, it has one of the best GPSes of any phone I’ve used, it is always first or one of the first carrier phones to get an Android OS update and it pioneered (sorry HD2) HTC’s line of 4.3 inch devices which are now on every carrier in the US in multiple forms (Incredible 2 and Thunderbolt on Verizon, Inspire 4G on AT&T, Sensation on T-Mobile).
So how does the EVO 3D stack up to the original as well as the top of the other flagship phones out there? Read on to find out:
At a Sprint press conference which took place half an hour ago, Motorola pledged to launch more than ten new wireless gizmos this year, including the flagship Motorola Photon 3G and Motorola Triumph smartphones. The Photon 4G files as Motorola’s first 4G device and the Triumph is their first Virgin Mobile USA device.
The Photon 4G, pictured above and available this summer, sports a dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 chip from Nvidia, a 4.3-inch qHD display, dual cameras and a kickstand. The device runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, features international GSM capabilities and has the Motorola webtop application that lets you access desktop-class applications while hooked up with a Motorola accessory dock. Go past the break for the Triumph info and official specs.
When you pay with your phone, it automatically redeems offers and earns loyalty points for you
Boom, Google Wallet has gone live at the just-finished presser in Google’s New York office. The search Goliath means business, that’s for sure. They’ve managed to convince the journos like us who have seen it all that Google Wallet is no toy. We have here an end-to-end mobile payment solution which quite possibly marks an inflection point in e-commerce. I ain’t drinking Google’s Kool-Aid, bear with me for a sec.
There are two pieces to it: Google Wallet itself, which runs as a native app on your mobile device equipped with an NFC chip, and Google Offers, a Groupon-like service providing rebates, savings and offers that can be easily redeemed on your device, at the points of sale. One click on an offer on the web sends the coupon over-the-air to your devices authorized for Google Wallet. You can also use your device’s camera to snap the Google Offers icon found on printed marketing materials such as in-store posters, banners, print ads and so forth.
Paying for goods is a one-tap affair involving waving your device in front of the wireless payment terminal at participating merchants. The transaction is processed within seconds and directly settled with your issuing bank. In addition, your device negotiates with the merchant’s terminal to automatically redeem offers and earn loyalty points for you. Someday, Google boldly proclaimed, stuff like boarding passes, tickets, ID and keys will be stored in your Google Wallet. You will also get electronic receipts that will eliminate bills on paper. Looking good so far. What’s the catch?
The keynote demonstration had Google’s speaker buying a shorts for his daughter. He waived the phone and the clerk’s terminal took into account his loyalty card and automatically deducted his saved coupon. The live transaction was handled successfully in the second try.
So how do you stand out in the crowded Android space? I know – let’s put a bunch of cats in a television commercial, Sprint’s marketing people must have said when pitching creative concepts for the Nexus S 4G campaign to their bosses. The resulting advert is cutesy and a bit mischievous, but not bad at all. Plus, you gotta love the closing line:
It’s the first phone that’s Google to the core with Sprint’s lightning fast 4G speed. It’s powerful enough to do just about anything, including filling the internet with more cats.
The cats theme runs throughout the campaign and on the Nexus S mini-site.
