Carriers - 187/218 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

Motorola Charm Review: The Pixel-Faced Killah

Posted by Brian O'Toole in CHARM, Eclair 2.1, Motorola, Phone Reviews, Reviews, T-Mobile

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Getting my hands on the Charm was no mean feat. Motorola didn’t seem keen to send out review units to anyone in a hurry, so I took it upon myself to go buy one, under the pretext of it being a gift for my girlfriend (she has a Nokia 1661 for chrissakes).

That in itself was quite a quest, as not a single store in the state of Maine seemed to have one in stock. Several broken promises later, and I was on the bus to Boston, having been assured that there were “less than 10” units in stock in T-Mobile’s downtown store.

Sep

T-Mobile Officially Announces G2, Available First To Existing Customers

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in G2 (Vision), News, T-Mobile

T-Mobile sent out a press release this morning to officially announce the G2. We've been hearing about (and seeing) the G2 for some time now, especially in the past few weeks. Now, however, we have the official word - and it seems to confirm most of what we've heard.

MSM7230 CPU @ 800 MHz
3.7" screen
HSPA+
Slide-out four row QWERTY keyboard
720p video recording (with automatic upload to Photobucket - nifty)
5 MP Camera with LED flash and autofocus
8 GB mSD card pre-installed (support for up to 32 GB cards)
4 GB ROM
Swype

Interestingly, T-Mobile says existing customers will have first dibs at the device - an interesting move considering how many customers a new high-end phone can bring in, but understandable for customer loyalty.

Sep

The Latest In The World Of Android Hacks: Jailbreaking A PS3 With A Nexus One

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Froyo 2.2, Nexus One (Passion), O2

Update: All good things must one day come to an end, and alas, it looks like Sony's just decided to issue a mandatory update to all PS3s that breaks this jailbreak method. Heartbreaking, I know.

If Sony's PS3 gaming system took a step backward in functionality when Sony disabled its ability to install Linux, it's just taken two steps forward again.

t4nav, a Senior Member of xda-developers, has just discovered a method to hack the PS3 using a Nexus One or a Desire! All you have to do is:

Download this
http://www.mediafire.com/?cgst1aw26i26b60

and place it's contents onto the root of your SD-card.

Sep

Samsung Fascinate Officially Coming To Verizon Starting September 8/9; World Feigns Surprise

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Fascinate, News, Verizon Wireless

Verizon sent out a press release this morning announcing that the Samsung Fascinate we've been hearing so much about lately will, in fact, be dropping on September 9 (as rumored). Even better, it'll be up for sale online tomorrow (September 8\) - meaning you won't be able to get your grubby paws on it until the 9th at the earliest anyway.

As rumored, pricing will be $300 with a $100 mail-in-rebate (MIR), for a final cost of $200. No word in the release if they'll be running the rumored Buy-One-Get-Any promo we heard about, but at least we don't have to wait long at all to find out, do we?

Sep

US Cellular HTC Desire Review: A Phone That's Passed The Test Of Time

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Eclair 2.1, Froyo 2.2, HTC, Phone Reviews, Reviews, US Cellular

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

Well, well, well. I never thought the day would come: the HTC Desire, first announced at Mobile World Congress in February, has finally landed in the States! Of course, six months is a long time in the world of technology, so when I first started reviewing the Desire, my expectations weren't nearly as high as those of, say, my colleague Ian Douglas when he began reviewing the Samsung Epic 4G.

Nonetheless, the carrier HTC decided to bless - US Cellular - was in desperate need of a decent Android phone, and, if nothing else, the Desire absolutely beats the pants off its only other Android offering - the Samsung Acclaim.

Sep

FroYo Update For HTC Desire On O2 Goes Live Before Dying A Sad, Sad Death

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Froyo 2.2, HTC, O2

Well it's not the first phone to get FroYo, or even the first phone with HTC's Sense UI to receive the delicious update, but Froyo is coming to UK carrier O2's HTC Desire. The update hit the air - before being pulled almost immediately!

According to O2's full statement posted on their forums,

Hi all
As some of you will have noticed the Android 2.2 Froyo update for HTC Desire on O2 went live this morning. While we’re pleased that so many of you have been able to download it successfully and are enjoying the benefits of 2.2, we have seen that a small number of people are having problems installing the update.

Sep

First Custom ROM For Motorola Droid 2 Lands: Epic Unleashed 1.0

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Droid 2, News, Verizon Wireless

Good news on the Droid 2 modding front: the first custom ROM for said phone has been released. As this is the first ROM out for the device - and it's fairly soon after release - there's not a ton of customization. Still, any improvement is better than none at all, right?

The ROM (Epic Unleashed 1.0) is the work of Matt4542, and requires root and koush's recovery. It retains a feel pretty close to stock:

Things in the rom:
Removed bloatware(Stupid Verizon!)
Added scripts
Many build.prop mods

Still has Motoblur, just took my system folder and edited it like ****.

Sep

Motorola Droid 2 Return Rate And Dropped Call Rate Are Both Low

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Droid 2, News, Verizon Wireless

Looks like the Motorola did a pretty solid job of improving on the Droid: BGR's heard word that the Droid 2 has a great return rate; in fact, it's "the lowest smartphone return rate on Verizon Wireless." Better still, it has a very low dropped call rate. Way to go, Moto - stick it to the man in your ads and products alike.

[Source: BGR]

Sep

Samsung Fascinate Hitting Verizon Storerooms Ready For September 9 Release?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Fascinate, News, Verizon Wireless

We'd already heard it was hitting warehouses, and now it looks like it's moving down the line: PhoneArena has scored a tip and some photos of the Samsung Fascinate sitting pretty in the Verizon storeroom. Their tipster reports that they're off-limit to customers until this Thursday - which would jive with earlier reports that it would be launched on September 9. Good sign for those looking to pick up a Fascinate - the BOGA (Buy One Get Any) deal now looks even more reliable, doesn't it?

[Source: PhoneArena]

Sep

Samsung Galaxy Tab May Sell For Carrier-Subsidized $200-400, May Pack 4G

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Tab, News, Sprint

Well this is getting downright interesting - after some pricing confusion, rumor has it that the Samsung Galaxy Tab will sell for somewhere between $200 and $400 on contract. That's a hell of a lot better than some of the numbers that were floating around after its official unveiling on September 2 - we'd heard upwards of $900.

Even better: looks like the earlier rumor about Sprint getting the Tab may hold some water after all - now, word on the street is that it'll be rocking WiMax (4G). That these two rumors originated from separate sources lends some credibility to the idea.