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GPRS posts

HTC Hero approved by Global Certification Forum, rocking GSM and HSPA

by Ross Miller posted Jun 21st 2009 @ 3:28PM

We're unfortunately light on details here, but The Unwired is reporting that HTC's Hero has been approved by the Global Certification Forum, listed here as "HERO100," with support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 1800/2100 MHz. With the company's touted London event just around the corner -- this Wednesday, to be exact -- we wouldn't be surprised to see the phone and its oft-rumored "Rosie" Android UI take center stage, in possibly two variations. Other than frequency bands and the associative name, the GCF isn't giving us anything else to work with, so for now just sit back and hope this uncertainty is cleared up sooner rather than later.

O2's GPRS network gets a speed boost, EDGE-style

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 19th 2008 @ 10:39AM

We all can remember a time when our mobile Internet experience consisted of the painful trickling bytes that only GPRS can deliver. It would seem O2's trying to turn German's frowns upside down by broadening its EDGE footprint with 700 GPRS sites getting a speed bump from a measly 53kbps to a more pleasant 236kbps. A further 4500 sites are green lighted for upgrade and that can be expected before the end of the year. O2 has also noted that 75 percent of its UMTS network has already been upgraded to 3.6Mbit HSDPA and they are working to roll out HSUPA in 2009.

Rogers slated to get Novatel X950D and MC950D data cards

by Sean Cooper posted Mar 20th 2008 @ 7:46PM

Rogers seems set to sponge as much cake as they can out of your overtaxed mobile pockets with the announcement of two new HSPA data devices, the Novatel X950D and MC950D. We've seen the USB-friendly MC950D pop up before, but as a refresh: it rocks 7.2 Mbps triple-band HSPA, supports most popular OSes, quad-band GPRS / EDGE, and may well still be the world's smallest HSPA USB modem. The X950D, however, will be making its worldwide debut on the friendly Canadian provider's network, and we're sure a goodly pile of Canadians will be whooping it up at this news. Sporting triple-band HSPA, Mac and Windows-friendly, quad-band GPRS / EDGE, Novatel's newest express port product also features backwards compatibility with a handy PCMCIA adapter. Pricing on both is apparently the same: $49.99 on a three-year contract. Of course, with data rates what they are, that $50 is definitely gonna get you in a whole heap of trouble if you don't mind your bits.

Hands-on with the LG Prada

by Sean Cooper posted Mar 15th 2007 @ 10:04AM

At the O2 booth at CeBIT we had an opportunity to go hands-on with much-loved but not often touched LG KE-850-based Prada. We have been diggin' this phone since we first laid eyes on it, but now that we have finally had a chance to use it a bit, we can't help but feel fairly underwhelmed. The build quality looks top-shelf, but feels like inexpensive plastic, and while the idea behind the touch interface is grand, typing an address in a browser was nasty. That being said, the lovely PR type from O2 told us that it was most definitely her fav handset and that she was hoping to take one home, so what do we know? We won't bore you with the specs again, but we will share the pics!

Hands-on with the LG Prada

All hail Gupp Technologies' Linux-powered Phreedom

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 28th 2007 @ 11:09PM

Malaysian startup Gupp Technologies is prepping its baby (and by baby we mean ugly baby, that only mommy could love) -- the Phreedom -- for Q2 release this year. This dual-mode VoIP / GSM ~~abomination~~ little fella will be running a la Mobile's Convergent Linux platform, so fiddlers, start your engines because Linux anything means open source! It's good news for Gupp that this handset is also partially redeemed with a solid feature set, packing 802.11b/g, push and pull mail, 312MHz CPU, 320MB memory, VoIP with seamless handover to GSM, and a 2200 mAh battery to supply the juice for it all. Billed as a VoIP device first and a GSM handset second, this may be an interesting notion, but until we get our greasy hands on it, the jury is out -- and so far the looks are hurting its case.

[Via Linux Devices]

Sony Ericsson W880i and K810i mini-gallery

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 21st 2007 @ 12:20PM

We had a quick and dirty hands on with both the K810i and W880i this afternoon. Both were lovely, but sadly neither was able to stay but for a few minutes. We stacked and shot them with a K800i, BlackBerry Pearl, and an 02 Trion (a.k.a. HTC TyTn) for your viewing pleasure. Quick thoughts on the W880i: it has a gorgeous screen, the rubberized back feels secure in your hands, the keys actually might not make your fingers bleed -- and, oh yeah, the Nano-esque skinniness was enough to make our hearts sing. On the K810 side, keys are a bit odd-looking but feel just fine, the screen is on par with the K800i, and while this phone feels very solid -- it is still a bit on the portly side. Bottom line? We want them both ... now. Many thanks to Mr. Oli for bringing us the goods.

Sony Ericsson W880i and K810i mini-gallery

Sony Ericsson K550, the baby Cyber-shot reviewed

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 16th 2007 @ 12:41PM

The friends at GSM Arena has slapped up a very nice review of the baby Cyber-shot – the K550. This relatively small, 14 mm thick quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE device (850, 900, 1800, 1900), packs most of the goodies that we have come to expect from the Sony Ericsson team. Included is a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth for handsfree goodness, M2 slot to augment the system memory -- a 512 MB card is included, and even an RDS-enabled FM radio. ~~What this handset does lack, however, is 850 MHz support, and sadly this is a bit of a bust for the NA market.~~ Considering this is a low to mid range device, it has to have some shortcomings; including a lower-than-we-would-like-it resolution screen, the keys appear as if a heavy text messaging session might make your fingertips bleed, and the word is the camera quality is sub-par for a Cyber-shot branded phone. On the plus side, if the price is right, the great feature set will likely outweigh the negatives mentioned above. It does seem Sony Ericsson is starting to suffer from 'Nokia-itis': new handsets galore – but we are beginning to see a fair bit of rehash.

Edit: As astude reader johnnie points out - this device supports 850 MHz which of course makes it a quad band device.

Sierra Wireless to offer HSDPA, EV-DO Rev A via USB

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 30th 2006 @ 2:19PM

Not a day's passed after we caught word of Sprint's launch of Novatel's S720 PC Card do we hear that Sierra Wireless has a proverbial one-two punch of WWAN modems up its sleeve, this time of the USB variety. First up in Q4 of this year will be the 595U, an EV-DO Revision A device topping out at a purely-theoretical 3.1Mbps downstream, followed by the quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA 875U humming along at 3.6Mbps in Q1 2007. Both USB modems look to be coming in sleek little packages with internal antennas and matching cradles, support location-based services, and have upgradeable firmware. If these things really look as slick as the press shots make them out to be, we may not be whining for a Rev A ExpressCard after all -- if the ship dates hold up, that is.

[Via Macworld]

"3rd-i" cam for spyin' on the go

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 31st 2006 @ 9:51PM

There are undoubtedly less proprietary ways to go about doing this, but if you're looking for a quick, painless way to get a PC-free camera feed to your phone, a British operation by the name of 3rd-i reckons they have the answer. The concept is simple enough: take your garden-variety video cam, strap on a GPRS modem, and call it good for £199 ($370). Besides accessing live video and up to 30 days of archived footage via pretty much any Java MIDP 1.0- or 2.0-enabled phone, the unit can be set up to immediately text you upon detecting motion. Not bad -- in fact, we'd strongly consider using 3rd-i's cams to secure the Engadgetmobile, but the dual band 900 / 1800 support just doesn't cut it in these parts.

[Via Crowdedbrain]

Huawei intros HSDPA USB modem

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 26th 2006 @ 5:45PM

Huawei showed off what they're claiming is the world's smallest and fastest HSDPA USB modem, the E220, at CommunicAsia in Singapore last week. We don't know how long that claim will stand but it is, in fact, quite small (3.5 inches long) and fast (3.6 Mbps) -- and, while Huawei seems to mostly be playing up the HSDPA support, it also packs EDGE and GPRS compatibility, plus a nifty mini USB connector. No word on pricing or availability, as far as well can tell -- not that we're ever likely to actually get our hands on one anyway.

Possible details emerge on Samsung D830

by Ryan Block posted Jun 20th 2006 @ 8:14AM

We caught a brief glimpse of the Samsung D830 not too long ago during CommunicAsia, but it looks like some pics and specs are surfacing about the slimmer-than-thou RAZR competitor. Apparently the 9.9mm thick clamshell will have tri-band GPRS / EDGE, a capacious QVGA display and cramped but functional 96 x 16 external screen, Micro SD, 80MB internal memory, Bluetooth, mini USB, and 2 megapixel camera. Mostly standard fare (ok, so we didn't see the QVGA display coming), but a price still seems out of reach. Then again, this all came from a Hungarian mobile site, so there's little here we can trust, anyway, barring those pretty convincing pics.

[Thanks, Harel]

DoCoMo bringing BlackBerry to Japan

by Evan Blass posted Jun 8th 2006 @ 12:14PM

Having already conquered the US and much of Europe, Canada's most famous contribution to consumer electronics is poised to take over yet another Asian market, when the ubiquitous BlackBerry hits phone-mad Japan this fall. Coming hot on the heels of KT Powertel's introduction of the 7100i in South Korea, wireless giant NTT DoCoMo has announced that it is partnering with BlackBerry-maker RIM to offer customers GSM / WCMDA "worldphone" versions of the addictive handhelds -- which is yet another step towards the carrier's commitment of having an all-GSM-enabled lineup within the next two years. Besides the traditional push email functionality that we've come to know and love, nothing much is known about the specifics of these upcoming foreign models, like how the pocket-sized BlackBerries will manage to pack in the thousands of keys necessary to represent all those Japanese glyphs.

[Thanks, Gina]

HP iPaq hw6915 PocketPC phone reviewed

by Evan Blass posted May 15th 2006 @ 3:01PM

We've been on the fence about HP's hw6000 line of Swiss Army phones ever since we first spotted the GPS-equipped iPaq hw6515 -- these models include everything but the kitchen sink, but they also force you to use that non-standard 240 x 240 screen. Still, MobileTechReview's in-depth look at the latest member of the family, the hw6915, makes us think we could overlook the square screen and lack of 3G data options because, well, the rest of this Windows Mobile 5.0-powered smartphone sounds like exactly what us convergence-geeks are seeking. According to MTR, the quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE handset impresses on many fronts, including its solid keyboard, powerful internal antenna, GPS performance, and best-in-class benchmark numbers. HP also throws in some nice extras, like helpful Today screen plug-ins, a full-featured wireless radio manager, the ability to location-stamp photos, and even A2DP in the Bluetooth stack, which isn't normally included in WM5 AKU2 devices out of the box. Besides the fact that this screen resolution may not support all third-party apps, the only real knock to this model concerns the camera's startup/shutter lags -- and if that's the worst thing to be said about a device that seemingly does it all, then we're totally sold.

HTC Tornado available from O2 as the Xda IQ

by Evan Blass posted May 4th 2006 @ 1:51PM

As of today, Brits have access to one of the hottest Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones on the market, thanks to o2's much-anticipated release of the Xda IQ. Better known as the HTC Tornado (or the ~~Cingular 2125~~ / T-Mobile SDA / Qtek 8310 / Orange SPV C600), this quad-band GSM worldphone sports both Bluetooth and WiFi, a 200MHz processor, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, 1.3 megapixel cam, miniSD slot, and EDGE data capabilities. The best part is that AKU2, with its sweet, sweet MSFP, will be available for download at launch, so customers can get their push email-on right away -- and even their A2DP, thanks to the godsend of a .cab assembled by the good folks over at the xda-developers forum. Even though this handset is already available, our best efforts have been for naught when it comes to finding a price -- a little help, UK readers?

Mio A701 GPS-enabled Windows Mobile smartphone reviewed

by Evan Blass posted Apr 28th 2006 @ 2:27PM

On paper, the Mio A701 smartphone sounds like almost the perfect convergence device, sporting a Windows Mobile 5.0-powered 520MHz Xscale processor, SiRF III GPS receiver, tri-band GSM radio, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Sadly, at least according to Reg Hardware, the A701 has so many little faults that the device is often barely usable, and sounds like a skip except for those folks who absolutely must have GPS and aren't into the square-screened iPaq hw6xxx series from HP. Some of the Reg's gripes with this model include its crappy camera (one of the worst they've ever seen, apparently), GPRS-only data connection, flimsy telescoping stylus, lack of dedicated buttons for WM5 softkey control, and buggy navigation software (luckily it's optional). Besides the full suite of accessories that come included in the box, there doesn't seem to be much good to say about the $660 to $790 A701, which is no doubt a big disappointment to those who may have been looking to import what appeared to be such a hot phone.