Wednesday, March 23, 2011

PhoneDog.com's Daily Digest

PhoneDog.com's Daily Digest

Acer Iconia Tab A501 to hit AT&T this summer

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We've already seen a handful of tablets make their debut at CTIA this week, but when it comes to those large-screened slabs, there's no such thing as "too many," right? Right. One of the newest tablets to come out of CTIA is the Acer Iconia Tab A501, which is slated to hit AT&T sometime this summer. As for specs, you're looking at a 10.1-inch 1280x768 display, 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 250 processor, 5 megapixel rear camera, a "high definition" FFC, and Android 3.0. For those of you that...


Why the ThunderBolt's LTE is always-on and how to fix it

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I've been carrying the HTC ThunderBolt for just under a week now. If you read my first impressions or full review , you know that while speeds are ridiculously fast, the battery life is pretty short lived, getting roughly 6 hours of use per charge...or less. I expected poor battery life when I first picked the phone up, but I never imagined this phone to eat batteries through batteries like it does. So what is cause of this pitiful battery life ? According to the native battery...


The advantages and disadvantages of custom Android ROMs

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If you have been part of the Android pool for any time, the chances of you hearing the term “custom ROM” is very high. A few months back, I gave a synopsis of rooting . I told what it was and gave its advantages and disadvantages. You may recall that the ability to flash custom ROMs was among the long list of benefits of rooting your Android phone. What is a custom ROM? Chances are, if you have heard the term “custom ROM,” you have likely also heard the...


ZTE to double its product offerings in 2011, including Windows Phone 7 devices

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ZTE isn't a particularly huge name here in the U.S., mainly due to the fact that they mainly produce low-end featurephones and USB data sticks, but the company is planning to make a big splash in the North American market in 2011. Speaking with PCMag, Jeff Ji, general manager of ZTE USA, revealed that ZTE plans to launch up to 28 phones in North America this year. Included in that number will be at least one Windows Phone 7 device, Ji said, and we could be seeing some Android phones as well as...


Nokia Astound Unboxing

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Nokia may be throwing most of their eggs into the Windows Phone 7 basket, but they're pushing Symbian until the end.  Aaron does an unboxing of the Nokia Astound , which is essentially a carrier-branded version of the Nokia C7-00 shown off at Nokia World last fall.  It offers a 3.5-inch display, 8-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording capabilities, front-facing shooter with Qik pre-installed, Bluetooth 3.0, and Symbian^3.  It lands at T-Mobile on April 6th for...


Motorola cooking up its own Web-based mobile OS?

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Motorola has been one of the biggest proponents of Android as of late, but a new rumor suggests that they may be preparing to build their own mobile operating system. According to a "source familiar with the matter" speaking to Information Week, Motorola has been going crazy hiring mobile and Web-focused engineers from Adobe and Apple to help them build a Web-based mobile OS. "Google is shooting itself in the foot," said the tipster, who claims that Moto is worried about issues with Android...


The Android Dance

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This is the official CTIA 2011 Android dance off, and Andy ain't got nothin' on PhoneDog Aaron.


Samsung shoots down rumors of a huge Galaxy Tab surplus

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There have been plenty of rumors claiming poor Samsung Galaxy Tab sales in the past and, even though Sammy has shot them down before, the speculation has risen once again. It's being rumored that the Galaxy Tab is due to see some pretty deep discounts soon due to hundreds of thousands of surplus Tabs sitting on shelves and collecting dust. When asked about the rumors, Samsung spokesperson James Chung said, "We don’t comment on market speculation but such talk is absolutely...


Why Verizon isn't arguing the T-Mobile purchase

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AT&T is trying to buy T-Mobile USA. AT&T and Deutsche Telekom recently announced that the motion is already under way, and that if everything goes smoothly, the purchase should be complete within 12 months’ time. Many people have already put their fists in the air and started decrying the purchase, saying it’ll be bad for business in general, as well as bad for consumers. There are some out there who don’t really have a problem with it, though. For one, Verizon...


HTC ThunderBolt discounted to $150 for some Verizon customers

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If you're a current Verizon customer in the market for a new HTC ThunderBolt, you may want to check your inbox. According to a document sent over to Droid-Life, Verizon is offering the TBolt to some customers for only $149.99 with a two-year contract, a full $100 off the normal asking price. It's not yet clear how Verizon is selecting the subscribers that get the discount (it's possible that it's going to folks due for an upgrade), but the good news is that it doesn't look like the offer is...


Motorola's position in the tablet market

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An interesting rumor  has popped up  that Motorola is considering halting production of their first Android-powered tablet, the  Motorola XOOM , by this June. If it’s true, that means that new tablets won’t be seeing store shelves even before the one year anniversary of the device. Speculation has it that the reason for this is either because Motorola is already planning on a second version of the XOOM, or worse, that the company isn’t happy with how the...


AT&T says it needs T-Mobile to avoid spectrum problems

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AT&T is regularly criticized for having some network issues in cities like New York City and San Francisco, but without a T-Mobile acquisition, the carrier would face even more problems. AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega has told CNN that one of the big reasons for their purchase of T-Mobile "was the need for additional spectrum" and that, without T-Mo, ATT would run into big challenges in the short term, especially in major cities. On another AT&T-Mobile related note, de la...


HTC Merge available for pre-order from Alltel beginning March 28th

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The HTC Merge has been the star of innumerable leaks and rumors (and a hands-on video with Aaron) since it was known as the Lexikon way back in August of last year, but it finally looks like the device is about to hit the market. Alltel has thrown the Merge up on its website, proclaiming that the Android 2.2-powered handset will be available for pre-order on March 28th for $124.99 with a two-year contract. There's no mention of an actual launch date on Alltel's site, but we should be hearing...


LG Optimus 3D spotted in the FCC with support for T-Mobile 3G

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If you happen to be a T-Mobile customer who's a little jealous of all of the 3D love that AT&T and Sprint are getting with the LG Thrill 4G and HTC EVO 3D , heads up: the LG Optimus 3D just passed through the FCC with support for T-Mo's 3G network. There's no word on exactly when it'll be launching or what it'll be called when it does, but at least we know it exists, right? While most of us aren't completely sold on having 3D in our phones just yet, it certainly seems like the...


HTC Merge Hands-On

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Wow, it actually exists!  Aaron gets a first glance at the HTC Merge , the QWERTY slider that's been shown off in rumors, leaks, and blurry pictures for months on end.  It offers an 800 MHz Snapdragon processor (like the G2), 3.7-inch display, 5-megapixel camera, four row physical QWERTY keyboard, and Android 2.2 with HTC Sense 1.5.  There's no official word as to which carrier (or carriers) it will be landing on, but if the red earpiece is any indication, it's coming to ...


T-Mobile Sidekick 4G Hands-On

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The Sidekick is back!  Aaron takes a first look at the T-Mobile (Samsung) Sidekick 4G, the first in the line to run Android.  It's packed with a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, 3.5-inch display, 3-megapixel camera (NOT 5-megapixel like he says in the video), a front-facing camera for Facebook lovers, and a custom build of Android 2.2 that provides former Sidekick users with a similar experience.  It also offers a great physical QWERTY keyboard for text messaging.  The ...


T-Mobile G2x Hands-On

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It's the Optimus 2X, but with T-Mobile branding!  Aaron takes a first look at the T-Mobile G2x , the carrier's first dual-core smartphone and one of the first to support T-Mobile's new 42Mbps HSPA+ technology.  Inside, it offers a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 4-inch display, 8-megapixel rear camera, a camera on the front for video calling, and Android 2.2.  It comes preloaded with quite a few games and the usual T-Mobile applications like My Device, Help,...


Winner of an Apple iPod Shuffle 3-22-11

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Congratulations to E. Lavin of FL on winning a brand new Apple iPod Shuffle on Tuesday March 22, 2011.  "Phonedog is a great site and I have been playing their instant win game for a few months. I am surprised and excited that I won because my birthday was just a few days ago so this is like a late birthday present for me. This is the real deal people, anyone can win! Thanks Phonedog!"


Rumor: Motorola to cease XOOM production at the end of June [UPDATED]

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Motorola'x XOOM may have only launched around a month ago, but according to a new rumor, they may be ceasing production of the tablet this June. Anonymous sources speaking with Digitimes are claiming that, while Motorola will likely order around 400,000 or 500,000 XOOMs for the month of March, that number will gradually drop to around 300,000 units in April and below 300,000 in May. By the time June rolls around, the report says, production of the XOOM will cease entirely. The reasons for the...


HTC EVO View 4G Hands-On

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We saw it at Mobile World Congress as the HTC Flyer , but HTC's new tablet is coming to the States as Sprint's HTC EVO View 4G .  Featuring a 1.5 GHz processor, 7-inch display, Android 2.3 with HTC Sense 3.0 (or so they're calling it now), and two cameras, it's a decent tablet.  Honeycomb would have been a nice touch, but HTC assured everyone that it would come in due time.  Can it compete with the Galaxy Tab series and the Apple iPad 2?  That's anyone's...


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