Engadget Mobile

Cellphone inventor says they've become 'too complicated,' rock-n-roll too loud

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 6th 2009 at 3:37AM

You know that smartphone you love, that ultimate expression of handheld convergence that some would call a mobile computer? It's crap. Or so says octogenarian, Martin Cooper, former lead engineer at Motorola said to have invented the handheld cellphone -- really, his name is on the "Radio telephone system" patent and he's credited with making the very first private handheld cellphone call from a busy New York City street on April 3rd, 1973. Well Marty doesn't like those newfangled handsets. In fact, according to our sterling Mr. Cooper, "Our future I think is a number of specialist devices that focus on one thing that will improve our lives." Words uttered this week during a conference in Madrid. Imagine it: a future where we carry a portable radio, film camera, wind-up watch, Kaypro luggable computer, HP calculator, and Atari handheld... oh wait, that was the eighties.

DROID and DROID Eris now cash sentient on Verizon

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 6th 2009 at 1:01AM

After weeks of buildup the day is here: the DROID (and his little HTC buddy, the DROID Eris) is now for sale on Verizon's website. As expected Motorola's new flagship will set you back $200 after $100 online discount and two-year commitment while his underhyped Eris little bro is a penny shy of $100 after the same discount and contractual prostration. If you're looking to shed your contractual duties then you can hand over $560 in non-Android green for the option of going month-to-month.

[Via Gearlog, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read -- Motorola DROID
Read -- HTC DROID Eris

BlackBerry Bold 9700 available now from Rogers

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 10:56PM

AT&T and T-Mobile customers have a little bit to wait yet before they can clamp down on a 9700 of their own, but Rogers -- which has a history of being in the VIP section for new BlackBerry launches -- has already brought the new Bold flavor to market. RIM's latest high-end full QWERTY device will run you CAD $299.99 (about $281) on a three-year contract, scaling all the way up to CAD $599.99 (about $563) commitment-free -- so needless to say, you have to really want this thing. The original Bold's running CAD $99.99 on contract, so depending on what you're looking for (read: you're not a rabid early adopter like we are), that could come out the better deal.

[Via CrackBerry]

Acer Liquid handled, evaluated, 'not too shabby'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 5th 2009 at 7:38PM

Looks like quite a few folks have got their hands on the Acer Liquid as of late, and lucky for us they've been rather loose-lipped with their thoughts on the subject. As suspected, the handset is running a 1GHz Snapdragon that's been under-clocked to 768MHz. And it looks like Acer didn't go crazy with the User Experience either, pretty much staying true to its Google Android 1.6 roots, albeit with a number of additions, including: social networking integration (Facebook and Flickr contacts and photo sharing), nemoPlayer for multimedia files, DataViz for Microsoft Exchange support, and the Spinlets music streaming service. In addition, Acer has redesigned some of the widgets, including the clock and the task manager, which now includes a preview of open apps. All-in-all, it seems to be a pretty solid Android handset with a few useful additions -- but as always, the verdict is out until we get our hands on one. In the meantime, hit up the read links below for a generous helping of screenshots, hands-on pics, and impressions.

[Via JK On The Run]

Read - PREVIEW: Acer Liquid Android 1.6 WVGA Touchscreen Smartphone
Read - Acer A1, Screenshot and Interface

Palm demos web-based Ares SDK for webOS

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 6:50PM

Currently, mobile entrepreneurs wishing to hawk their wares on the Pre (or Pixi, or unnamed webOS device of the future) use a software development kit from Palm called Mojo, a stack of Java-based tools that must be installed, studied, understood, loved, and respected before serious development can get underway. Palm sees that as a barrier of entry for web-oriented developers who want to make the leap to mobile apps, though, which is why they've crafted a new SDK called Ares that's based entirely on web technologies -- in fact, there's no install at all, apparently. Much of the interface is said to be drag-and-drop with enough JavaScript exposed to make your local .com designer feel right at home, potentially opening the app landscape to a whole new set of folks -- and considering that the App Catalog is tens of thousands of goodies behind the App Store and Android Market, they can use every loyal dev they get.

iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 5th 2009 at 6:31PM

I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn't have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we've been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID's hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn't do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it's missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don't despair, though -- while I'm not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.

Continue reading iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

Nokia 3711 flips its way onto T-Mobile

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 4:41PM

Say "AWS-compliant Nokia" and the first thing many folks are going to be thinking about right now is the mighty N900, but yeah, that's not what T-Mobile's getting around to launching today. Instead, it's the 3711 that we first met back in early October, offering a QVGA primary display, 2 megapixel camera, GPS, and FM radio in a smooth little clamshell package that'll run $69.99 on an Even More contract after rebate or $159.99 on Even More Plus. It's available now -- just don't expect to be running Maemo on this bad boy and you should be fine.

BlackBerry Curve 8530 now official on Sprint

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 3:03PM

As we revealed this morning, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 -- a CDMA remix of the 8520 now available on T-Mobile -- is coming to Sprint to do battle with its Verizon-branded cousin. Unlike Verizon, which promises a November 20 launch for $99.99 on contract after rebate, Sprint isn't revealing pricing or availability details for the low-end BlackBerry -- but naturally, if they're smart, the answers will be "cheap" and "soon," respectively.

Verizon "Mobile Web" service currently down

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 5th 2009 at 2:32PM

We've been getting a slow trickle of tips telling us that Verizon's Mobile Web service is currently down nationwide, with no ETA on a fix. That's Mobile Web, the featurephone service, not, you know, big-boy data, so chances are you're fine -- our various VZW smartphones are unaffected. (Although we did have a dropped call and some spotty voice quality on a DROID this morning -- ruh roh.) We'll let you know if we hear further.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola DROID goes on sale a little early at Best Buy Mobile

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 5th 2009 at 2:14PM

Looks like the DROID invasion is starting a little early -- we were just sent these pics of Motorola's beastly Android slider on sale at an unspecified Best Buy Mobile somewhere deep within America's heartland. Or perhaps it's lurking around the fringe of our nation's coasts. In either case, we're told BBM reps can sell you a DROID as of today, so it might be worth checking out if you're not psyched to hit up your local Verizon store at 7AM tomorrow. And do let us know if the DROID ERIS is available, will you?

P.S.- Just got a tip that Wal-Mart is now selling 'em early too. The DROIDs are loose, people. Gather your valuables.

P.P.S.- Target Mobile Solutions, which operates kiosks in California Target stores, has opened the floodgates too -- but the catch is that you'll be paying $249.99 for a new activation, $50 more than Verizon after rebate. Thanks, Tony! (Update: we're hearing it's back down to $199.87 now -- nice!)

[Thanks, Mike and Jesse]

Continue reading Motorola DROID goes on sale a little early at Best Buy Mobile

Saygus VPhone V1 hits the FCC, headed for Verizon next?

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:26PM

We had some indication that Verizon would have a third Android device ready by early 2010 in addition to the DROID and ERIS -- one that may be boosted by the carrier's Open Development program -- and it looks like the FCC may have now given us our first real look at it. While it's obviously still unconfirmed as of yet, this Saygus VPhone V1 phone that recently sailed through the agency certainly seems to fit the bill, and the company has even gone so far as to not so subtly feature an article about a Verizon's mysterious third Android device on its own website. As you can see, however, the phone itself doesn't exactly do too much to stand out from the current crop of Android sliders, but it should hold its own when it comes to specs. That includes a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, a 624MHz Marvell PXA310 processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a second, front-facing camera for video calls, built-in GPS, WiFi, a microSD card slot and even an FM radio, among other standard fare. Still no indication of that rumored WiFi tethering out of the box, unfortunately, but we're guessing this one could win quite a few fans if that pans out -- and, of course, if it's actually the real thing.

[Via SlashGear]

Verizon's BlackBerry 8530 and LG Chocolate Touch go hands-on

by Paul Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 12:41PM

Rounding out the flurry of interesting Verizon Wireless launches today are the BlackBerry Curve 8530 and LG Chocolate Touch (pictured). The 8530 is pretty much just the Verizon edition of T-Mobile's 8520, but the LG Chocolate Touch bears closer examination. Basically it's just a war on the eyeballs of anyone who's ever seen the BL40, with the front, back, materials and interface of the device all falling incredibly short of aesthetic pleasure. However, the $80 phone does have a relatively responsive and usable touchscreen interface for a "dumbphone," and we've used worse touchscreen keyboards on Windows Mobile. So it's not a complete tragedy, but we really feel sorry for someone who skips over the DROID ERIS for this just handset just to save $20.

Casio G'zOne Brigade brings whole new level of rugged insanity to the QWERTY clamshell

by Paul Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:21AM

We've seen some crazy phones in our day, many of them from Casio, as it turns out, but the G'zOne Brigade really pushes the envelope. It's a ruggedized, weatherproof, Push to Talk QWERTY clamshell, with some of the odder physical protrusions we've seen on a handset this decade. Unfortunately, the QWERTY keyboard, which is populated with large and very clickable keys, is arranged in possibly one of the least sensible layouts conceivable. Software-wise the handset runs the full gamut of V CAST apps and also includes a document viewer for opening Microsoft Office files and PDFs. Price and availability info will be revealed "closer to launch."

Sprint getting BlackBerry Curve 8530, too

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:12AM

Great news, Sprint-ites (or whatever it is that you like to be called): the BlackBerry Curve 8530 that was just announced for Verizon today isn't a Big Red exclusive. We just reached out to a Sprint spokesperson for comment on the device's future in yellow clothes, and sure enough, it's coming; we don't know when exactly, but we imagine it'd be in the same time frame as Verizon's, which launches on the 20th of this month. This would become Sprint's first optical trackpad-equipped BlackBerry device -- and with both EV-DO and WiFi on board, it should be a solid option if the price falls in line with the $100 that its rival is charging. More on this shortly, we suspect.

DROID ERIS hands-on and unboxing!

by Paul Miller posted Nov 5th 2009 at 10:03AM

Hey look, it's a Hero! We've got the brand new DROID ERIS for Verizon in hand, and it's not hard to see which particular family of phones it hails from. Still, Verizon has its own twist on the form factor, almost scoring a compromise between the "shiny" Sprint Hero and the more angular, matte GSM Hero. Confusingly, the capacitive touch buttons along the bottom of the ERIS' screen are a haphazard twist on the DROID's arrangement (though it's really Motorola that's the non-standard one here), but the phones don't look completely unrelated. In all the rounded, black matte body of the ERIS sort of "fades away" and you're just left with a nice, bright LCD -- it's not making a statement, which is sort of the statement. There's also an iPhone-style face proximity sensor for turning off the display during calls, and HTC has multitouch pinch-to-zoom on here, something Motorola hasn't seemed to manage. Sure it can't stack up to the DROID for aggressiveness or sheer specs, but it's got it's own sort of budget-friendly charm that's not overshadowed by the DROID's bombastic ways, and two out of three Engadget editors agree that the HTC keyboard beats the pants off the stock Android keyboard.