Sprint have announced their first EVDO-enabled netbook, though they don’t quite seem to have figured out the magic tipping point that really pulls in the customers. The carrier is offering a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with integrated EVDO Rev.A, but rather than do the sensible thing and hack great chunks off the up-front price (while knowing you’ll make it back with the mandatory two-year agreement) their netbook is in fact $199.99, and that’s after the rebate.
T-Mobile UK have announced that they’re preparing to offer the HTC Touch2 and HTC HD2, though it seems that someone in their web team hasn’t been keeping up with the rumor-mill. Both Windows Phones are listed as coming in November, but the HD2 is illustrated with an image of the Touch HD and said to come with a 3.8-inch display and access to the Android Market.
Having been spotted over the weekend, albeit unofficially, Motorola Europe and O2 have officially announced the Motorola MILESTONE, the GSM version of the Verizon DROID. The MILESTONE will run Android 2.0, just as with the CDMA handset, and has been confirmed for Germany and Italy on – according to Motorola Germany – at least Vodafone and O2.
While we already knew that November 10th was the magic day when UK would-be Apple iPhone 3GS buyers would have a choice of not just O2 but also Orange as their network, until today we didn’t know exactly what they’d have to pay. Now Orange have revealed iPhone 3GS pricing details, including a free 3GS on 24-month contracts of £45 ($74) upward, or a free 3G 8GB on a £30 ($49) 24-month contract.
Pay as you go details after the cut
We’re still playing avidly with our Verizon DROID by Motorola in preparation for the full review this coming week – check out some first-impressions and highlights in the meantime – but according to a leaked O2 Germany document the GSM European version may only be days away. The document lists the Motorola MILESTONE – with a shot of what’s definitely the Motorola DROID – as coming to the German carrier in the week beginning November 9th 2009; in fact there’s already a page for the MILESTONE on the O2 Germany site.
We’ve been avidly playing with the Verizon DROID by Motorola since its launch on Wednesday, and while we think it’s still too early to give a definitive opinion on the Android smartphone either way, we wanted to share some highlights. The Motorola DROID could be one of the most important smartphones of 2009, so check out our early thoughts on battery life, the QWERTY keyboard, some camera disappointments and more, after the cut.
Nokia’s trouble breaking into the US market has become a cliché over the years, so it’s good to hear that the Finnish firm may be turning their fortunes around. According to a VentureBeat report, Nokia and AT&T are working together to launch a Symbian handset that will be based on a Qualcomm chipset; definitive specifications are unknown, as is launch date, but Nokia are reportedly being more accommodating of US carriers’ desire to customize individual devices.
Neither Verizon nor HTC have officially confirmed the existence of the Verizon DROID Eris, but unless you’re looking at the handiwork of a particularly impressive Halloween costume (sized for hamster) then we’d say the Android smartphone’s existence is pretty much assured. The BGR received two live shots of the HTC DROID Eris – you can see the second after the cut – together with a little feedback as to how the handset performs.
Recently I asked, if a DROID could take on the Death Star? Now, Motorola and Verizon, along with some help from Google launched DROID. I’ve spent the day with a device and here’s what I think so far. First, Verizon was clear that DROID is going to be a family of devices running Android, Motorola’s device will be the only one called DROID, others will be known as the DROID-XXX. DROID is the first Android 2.0 device and the Google branding points to the fact that this is stock Android. And I do mean stock Android: there are zero Verizon services on this device (with the exception of a non-branded visual voicemail app). No VCast. No nothing. One wonders if Verizon were willing to go to this length a few years ago, would the iPhone have landed on Verizon? Android 2.0 is a great update and finally is starting to feel complete. Compared to V1 Android running HTC Sense, it’s a mixed bag. HTC’s UI is lightyears ahead of stock Android in my opinion but the DROID performs so much better than any Android V1 phone I’ve used and is nearly feature complete that it’s hard to recommend a V1x device at this point.
Having gone in sale in Europe this week, the initial reviews of the Nokia Booklet 3G netbook are beginning to show up. The Wall Street Journal have shared their impressions of the 3G and GPS toting ultraportable, praising its battery life but immediately dampening their enthusiasm over what they describe as a “tiny keyboard”. Meanwhile Engadget Spanish are yet to review the Booklet 3G, but they have taken the time to unbox it.
Unboxing and hands-on videos after the cut
SlashGear Japan
