Carriers - 179/216 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

US Cellular Joins The Galaxy S Party - Samsung Mesmerize Official, Launching October 27 For $199

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Eclair 2.1, Galaxy S, Mesmerize, Samsung, US Cellular

If you've got a good memory (I don't), you may recall that back when the Samsung Epic 4G, the Fascinate, and the Vibrant were announced, there was also an unnamed version of the Galaxy S headed to US Cellular.

Well today, over three months later (and also about a month after Verizon became the last major US carrier to receive an incarnation of Samsung's flagship device), US Cellular has finally announced that the Samsung Mesmerize, aka their version of the Galaxy S, will be available starting October 27 for $199 after an $80 mail-in rebate. Like most other versions of the Galaxy S, the Mesmerize features:

a 4" Super AMOLED touchscreen
a 5MP camera capable of recording 720p
a 3.5mm headset jack
WiFi
Bluetooth 3.0
a microSD card slot
Android 2.1 Eclair
Swype

Personally, I would have been happier if Samsung had announced that the long overdue update to Android 2.2 FroYo were now available, but hey, another Android device is never a bad thing, especially when US Cellular only gives their customers two other alternatives - the rapidly aging Samsung Acclaim, and the HTC Desire, which still doesn't look too shabby.

Oct

T-Mobile Announces WiFi Calling For Android: Available On The New myTouch, Motorola Defy

Posted by Brian O'Toole in CHARM, G2 (Vision), myTouch, News, T-Mobile

We've known it was coming for some time now, but T-Mobile just sent out a press release including details regarding their plans for a WiFi Calling application for their Android phones. The new T-Mobile myTouch will launch later this year with the feature, and the Motorola Defy will be receiving it as well. Additionally, the T-Mobile G2 should be getting it in the coming months, along with the LG Optimus and possibly the Motorola Charm.

The Boy Genius Report sought further details from T-Mobile and got a response explaining the difference between the Android version of WiFi calling and the version used by certain Blackberry phones.

Oct

Verizon To Launch 4G LTE In 38 Major Metropolitan Areas, 60 Airports By The End Of 2010

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Verizon Wireless

Excellent news for Verizon customers wondering just when exactly the largest carrier in the US is going to start gunning after Sprint 4G and other competition. In a press release published a few minutes ago from the CTIA conference, Verizon detailed plans for 4G LTE expansion that we can expect by the end of the year.

The press release outlines and lists all 38 major metropolitan areas and 60 airports that are set to receive LTE coverage (exact locations - thank you, Verizon, that is how press releases should be done!). A handy map that you can see below provides a quick overview of what's coming, at a glance.

Oct

[Deal Alert] T-Mobile G2 Drops To A Low Tax-Free $99.99 At Wirefly

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in G2 (Vision), HTC, News, T-Mobile

Wirefly, notorious for launching the best mobile deals on the web, did not disappoint us today, which, if you remember, is the official T-Mobile G2 launch date.

While the competition sells the G2 at $199.99 and even $149.99, Wirefly's $99.99 deal for new accounts completely knocks it out of the park.

Add free shipping and the absence of tax, and you get some serious savings left in your pocket. So serious that this deal is now our Deal of the Week (see the top of the sidebar).

Existing T-Mobile customers - your deal isn't as sweet but still better than T-Mobile's own - $199.99 with no tax added on.

Oct

WiMax 2 Scoffs At LTE, Samsung Demo Takes The Speed Crown All While Streaming Multiple HD Sources Without Breaking A Sweat

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Carriers, News, Samsung

Over at the on-going CEATEC show at the Makuhari Messe in Japan, visitors have been treated to a display by Samsung of the next generation in WiMax. While you may be excited about getting HSPA+ (<56 Mb) on your G2, or the forthcoming LTE (<100 Mb) network promised by Verizon late this year, the 330 Mbit connection of WiMax 2 (up from <30 Mb) rather puts those in the shade. Showing off speeds that most would trade limbs for even on their home network, the new 802.16m implementation is capable of streaming full HD 3D video with ease.

The WiMax 2 standard is set to be finalized within the next month or so, and a commercial application is expected by the end of 2011.

Oct

Epic Experience ROM Lands On Samsung Epic 4G, Makes Itself At Home With Less Bloatware, More Live Wallpapers, And YouTube HQ

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Epic 4G, News, Samsung, Sprint

Last Updated: October 10th, 2010

Well it isn't CyanogenMod 6, but according to our tipster, it's close - one of the Epic 4G's first ROMS has just gone live on xda-developers, and it looks... promising, if nothing else.

While we haven't had a chance to test this ROM out ourselves, the forum post states that the ROM's standout features include:

Deodexed

Sprintware Removed

Modified MMS/SMS app

Bootup/Shutdown sounds ported from the Samsung Galaxy S I9000

Changed shutdown display screen

Choice of 4 launchers

ADW Launcher

LauncherPro

Launcher (Vanilla)

TouchWiz

AOSP apps:

Calculator

Calendar

Clock

Car Home

GenieWidget (News & Weather)

AOSP Lockscreen

EVO YouTube App

Spare Parts

Superuser

Google Maps & Google Street View are up to date

Pandora Compatible

Live Wallpapers ported from the Samsung I9000 & Samsung Fascinate:

Aurora

Blue Sea

Connection

Dandelion

Flow

Forest

Layers Of Light

Luminescence

Ocean Wave

Spark

As with most other ROMs, a full wipe of both the data and cache partitions is required, but since one of my wife's main gripes with the Epic has always been its lack of an option to play YouTube videos in HQ (something my EVO is capable of), I think the Epic Experience ROM might just be worth a try.

Oct

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Motorola Droid Pro Official For Verizon; Fans Of The BlackBerry Form Factor Now Have A Decent Android Option

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid 2 Global, Droid Pro, Motorola, Verizon Wireless

Verizon has just announced the Droid Pro (that's right, the same device that was previously rumored to have a dual GSM /CDMA radio for global roaming, a 1.3 GHz processor, and a 4" display), and let me tell you, the thing's got a few surprises hidden up its sleeve.

For starters, it's not a landscape slider, unlike the Droid 2. Instead, Motorola's decided to go with a candybar form factor for this one, much like the form factor used by RIM for numerous BlackBerries and also by Palm for the Pixi. That in itself should set it apart from the rumors we'd heard earlier, which claimed that the Pro would essentially be a world edition of the successor to the most popular Android phone ever to grace what us humans know as the Earth.

Oct

Motorola Bravo, Flipout, And Flipside Make Their Debut On AT&T

Posted by Nate Kimmey in AT&T, Bravo, Flipout / Twist, Flipside, News

Even though they were the last major carrier in the US to release an Android phone, you can't question AT&T's commitment to Android now! Their latest offerings are all from Motorola and all feature the MOTOBLUR UI, but are still a huge step up from phones like the Cliq and the Backflip.

Each runs Android 2.1 with MOTOBLUR on top and feature a lackluster 3.2 megapixel camera. However, that is where the similarities between the phones end. First up, we gothe highest-end offering, the Bravo, featuring:

800 MHz processor
2 GB internal memory
3.7-inch, 854 x 480 screen
No physical keyboard

Then you have the Flipout, which we've seen a few times before.

Oct

T-Mobile Expands HSPA+ To Cover 16 New Markets

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, T-Mobile

T-Mobile is certainly not resting on their laurels when it comes to bringing 4G speeds to all of their customers! Hot off the heels of the release of their first HSPA+ capable phone, the G2, T-Mobile has turned on their powerful 4G network in the following 16 markets:

Biloxi and Gulfport, MS
Denver, CO
Huntsville, AL
Knoxville, TN
Myrtle Beach, SC
Norfolk, VA
Omaha, NE
Phoenix and Tucson, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
San Francisco, Sane Jose, Oakland and Sacramento, CA
West Palm Beach, FL

If you still aren't covered, T-Mobile plans to continue expanding their 4G network, ending the year with 100 major markets and 200 million people covered.

Oct

CyanogenMod 6 Coming Soon To Epic 4G? [PIC]

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Development, Epic 4G, Froyo 2.2, News, Sprint

The invasion continues! Development of CyanogenMod 6 for the Epic 4G is clearly coming along nicely, as a picture of it running has just been released as a quick "status update" on the CM forums.

The fact that it is actually running on the device is encouraging, but we could still be pretty far away from a testable version: no downloads are available yet, and if you look at the notification bar, you'll see a pretty significant bug in this build. Still, if you're desperately awaiting Android 2.2 (or just vanilla Android) on your Epic, just know that it's on the way.