While the US goes DROID crazy after Friday’s launch of the Android 2.0 smartphone, O2 Germany are not far behind when it comes to the GSM version. The Motorola MILESTONE – as the DROID will be known outside the US – was spotted on the carrier’s site last week and officially announced on Monday; it’s now being listed on the O2 Germany site, priced at €549.99 ($816).
Dell’s upcoming Android smartphone has been caught clearing the FCC, complete with support for AT&T’s 3G bands. The Dell Mini 3iX was spotted in Brazil earlier this week, when it was said to support triband UMTS; the FCC listing for the handset mentions 850 and 1900 band support, which are the 3G bands AT&T uses for its high-speed network, together with WiFi (missing from the Chinese-version Mini 3i).
The MOTO Development Group is no stranger to Android – they showcased an Android-based e-ink prototype a while back – and now they’re cashing in on that familiarity with a number of new devices targeted at developers. The MOTO Android Media Platform will eventually consist of three models – 3.5-, 5- and 10.4-inches – each with OLED displays as standard, OMAP processors and capacitive multitouch-capable touchscreens.
Verizon’s second smartphone announcement this morning is one for the heavy messengers (no, we’re not talking about fat couriers): the BlackBerry Curve 8530, tipped as dropping this month back in August. The Curve 8530 has not only EVDO Rev.A but WiFi b/g and GPS, together with a full QWERTY keyboard and 2-megapixel digital camera.
Samsung’s latest AT&T cellphones, the Samsung Mythic and Samsung Flight announced last month, will both go on sale today. Each handset has a touchscreen and the Flight throws in a slide-out QWERTY keyboard; neither are going to cause as much excitement as a proper smartphone, though, and the Mythic’s support for Samsung’s TouchWiz UI will seem like little consolation when your friends are taunting you with Android.
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Verizon's apparent intention to show up AT&T and the iPhone at every turn continues, with the latest snook to be cocked being confirmed tethering for the Verizon DROID by Motorola. According to the CDMA carrier, early 2010 will see the Verizon Broadband Access Connect plan arrive on the Android slider, likely priced at the usual $15 per month on top of your regular data contract.
Whether or not Barnes and Noble liked it enough to copy it, Spring Design’s Alex prototype dual-display ebook reader is certainly nifty enough to capture our interest. MaximumPC had a chance to go hands-on with the Alex, which has a 6-inch e-ink screen up top and a 3.5-inch color capacitive touchscreen underneath for control and navigation, as part of a Marvell demonstration for the company’s new ARMADA 166E SoC.
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eviGroup's new 10.2-inch tablet, the Pad, went on sale in its premium 3G-toting form a week ago, but if the €599 plus €30 shipping ($932) sticker price is too rich for your blood they've a cheaper model available from today. The entry-level eviGroup Pad has the same specifications as the premium model but lacks 3G; it's on sale from today for €549 (again with €30 shipping; $852).
AT&T’s occasionally janky 3G coverage has become a generally acknowledged thorn-in-the-side for iPhone users, but the carrier still isn’t pleased that arch-rival Verizon Wireless have called them on it. Verizon’s “There’s a map for that” adverts compare AT&T’s 3G network with their own, an act which the latter claims is “misleading” and – as you’d imagine was Verizon’s intention, really – has caused them to lose “incalculable market share”. While subscribers would be happy with AT&T deciding to fill in those gaps, the carrier has taken the easier option and filed a lawsuit against Verizon.
With the holidays fast approaching cell phone carriers are stocking up on inventory and amongst the new Motorola DROIDs, HTC Heroes, and Palm Pixies are a slightly larger, yet unfamiliar crop of devices – netbooks. AT&T is all giddy about its exclusive availability of the Nokia Booklet 3G and Sprint announced just yesterday that it will be selling the Dell Inspiron Mini 10V. Verizon already has three netbooks in its arsenal, including HP’s new powerful Mini 311. Clearly, lining up the selection isn’t a problem, but what the carriers haven’t figured out yet is that selling netbooks requires a totally different approach than selling phones. The deals and the subsidized model, in my mind, make as much sense for netbooks as building and then plowing a virtual Farmville farm!
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