BlackBerry Torch now burns in red and white hues at AT&T stores

Right on schedule, a day before Windows Phone 7 hits its stores in force, AT&T is letting a couple of new BlackBerry Torch SKUs out to play. They’re basic repaint jobs, described by the carrier as Sunset Red and Pure White, the latter of which almost lives up to its name by including a white keyboard but falters by sticking to the noir optical pad. Pricing is set at $499 if you never want to see AT&T again after purchasing one or $99 if you can commit to a two-year relationship. Same as with the “Charcoal” Torch.

Article: RSS via Engadget

Tags: AT&T, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Torch, Red, RIM, Smartphones, White

Posted in BlackBerry, RIM, Smartphones | No Comments »

No custom ringtones for Windows Phone 7? (video)

We just sat through an eight minute long video of someone at Pocketnow sampling every ringtone on his HTC Surround. Why did we do this? Just wanted to see if we could stand it; suffice it to say, we never want to hear a ringtone again. Perhaps more importantly, our man points out that Microsoft seems to have left the ability to add your own custom ringtones out of Windows Phone 7 altogether.

The Surround itself has a couple recognizable fan favorites that we recognize from AT&T and HTC phones past, so it looks like manufacturers and carriers will be able to bring their own to the table, but for the end user, it looks like you won’t be able to roll your own — at least for the time being. And now we’re going to go put our phones on vibrate.

Article: RSS via Engadget

Tags: AT&T, HTC, HTC Surround, Microsoft, Ringtones, Smartphones, Video, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7

Posted in HTC, Microsoft, Smartphones, Videos, Windows Phone | No Comments »

This Is What A Mobile Phone Looked Like In 1964…And There Were Over A Million Of Them

The first cellphones weren’t part of the Gordon Gekko, Zack Morris family. They were rugged, shock-proof, vacuum-tubed rigs that hijacked nearby radio waves, built so powerfully that car headlights dimmed when you talked. And this was half a century ago.

The always fascinating Pew Internet & American Life Project details these dinophones, for which calls had to be manually paired by a remote operator. They were huge. They were heavy. They were very expensive. And yet, by 1964, there were 1.5 million people using them in the US—running on AT&T’s “Improved Mobile Telephone Service” tech. To have had to rely on one of these beasts on a regular basis sounds like it might have been a pain—but boy, are they gorgeous.

Article: RSS via: Gizmodo

Tags: AT&T, Cellphones, Mobile Phones

Posted in Mobile Phones | No Comments »

Simple Dell Streak Hack Brings Sideloaded Content Without Root

A simple Dell Streak hack has emerged that will allow AT&T users to sideload apps not obtained from Android Market onto their tablet/smartphone device. AT&T has cited security reasons as to why the carrier isn’t allowing non-Android Market apps onto the device in the past. This hack, which doesn’t require your Android device to be rooted, works by entering a string of numbers into your Streak’s dial pad.

Users will need to:

1. Dial *#*#307#*#* on your Streak. Other than a quick flash on the screen, it will look like nothing has happened.

2. Go to your app drawer/program menu and tap a new icon labeled EMList. If the icon is not there, turn off the Streak. It should be there when you turn it on again. Scroll to the bottom and tap app_security.

3. Tap update unknown resource property to enable it.

4. Go to Settings > Applications, and you should now have an “Unknown Sources” check box available to you. This will now allow you to download any app of your choosing directly from a webpage or SD card. If for any reason you want or need to uninstall the EMList, simply go to your dialer and type in the following keys: *#*#308#*#*.

Article: RSS via: Ubergizmo

Tags: Android, Apps, AT&T, Dell, Hacks, MID, Streak, Tablet PC's

Posted in Android, Apps, Dell, Mobile Internet Device, Tablet PC's | No Comments »

Samsung Galaxy Hits 1 Million Sales

Good news for Samsung; their new Galaxy phone has hit 1 million sold after just 45 days of being on the market. That’s a pretty impressive number for a phone that doesn’t come from Apple. Electronista reports that Samsung considers the phone to an instant success, and expects the Galaxy to continue to sell quickly. The 1 million number was a combined total between AT&T and T-Mobile, but doesn’t include any sales from Sprint, as their version won’t hit the market on the 31st.

Article: RSS via: MobileCrunch

Tags: Android, AT&T, Galaxy S, Samsung, Smartphones, T-Mobile

Posted in Android, Samsung, Smartphones | No Comments »

HTC’s Windows Phone 7-equipped T8788 breaks cover for AT&T

In case you needed any more evidence that AT&T is going all-in with Windows Phone 7, take a gander at this little beast, a phone known only as the HTC T8788 at this point (rest assured, you’ll get a snappy, memorable, trademarkable name by the time it’s on shelves). Though it’s a landscape slider, it doesn’t slide to reveal what you’d normally expect — a keyboard, that is. Instead, you get a speaker, an unusual (though not unprecedented) concept that should make this a decent media device… and the kickstand around back should help with that, too. We’d argue that this is the prettiest WinPho 7-powered device we’ve seen so far — not surprising, considering HTC’s reputation — though we’re sure plenty of folks would prefer the QWERTY. Check another shot in the gallery below!

Article: RSS via: Engadget

Tags: AT&T, HTC, HTC T8788, Smartphones, Windows Phone

Posted in HTC, Smartphones, Windows Phone | No Comments »

LG GW910 slider turns heads at FCC; likes AT&T, Windows Phone 7, and long walks on the beach

So, BEJGW910, we meet at last… or should we call you the LG GW910 with Windows Phone 7? Oh, don’t act surprised, we’ve had you on our radar for some time now. You’re not as sneaky as you might think, you know that? Sure, you thought your FCC meeting was a private one, but that foul temptress is not one to keep things to herself, and lookie, she’s put some surprisingly decent shots online. External and internal, we’re afraid. She also tells us you’re wired for AT&T, is that to say you’re in cahoots with Ma Bell? We’ve got all the photos ourselves now in a gallery below, so don’t try and deny the rendez-vous. Oh, and your user manual showing off a “multitasking” button? We jumped ahead to page 25 and noticed the LG eXpo nod — it’s just a cobbled-together draft manual, a ploy to trick us. Good joke, you — now tell us about your evil twin brother, C900.

Article: RSS via: Engadget

Tags: AT&T, FCC, LG, LG GW910, Smartphones, Windows Phone

Posted in LG, Smartphones, Windows Phone | No Comments »

Dell Streak Without Contract Isn’t Unlocked, Still SIM-Locked to AT&T

Here in the United States, if you buy a device without a contract, even if it’s on a GSM-based network (like AT&T), it’s still going to be locked to the carrier. That’s something that’s not necessarily a new thing around these parts. Buying it off contract means just that: no contract. However, all over the world, buying a device without the contract tying it down, or lowering its price, usually (sometimes) means that you get it unlocked, and therefore can use it wherever you want, without the trouble of being locked to any one particular carrier. If, for some reason, you were expecting to get that latter deal with the Dell Streak, which goes for $549 san contract, you’ll be disappointed.

Dell’s Lionel Menchaca has just confirmed that the DELL MID/tablet Android-based device, which is going on pre-order today, will still be SIM-locked to AT&T — whether you buy it with a contract, or without. So if you want to access some good ol’ 3G speeds on AT&T, and you’re afraid of dropping almost $600 on a device, then that contract may just be the best way to go about things.

Article: RSS via: SlashGear

Tags: 3G, Android, AT&T, Dell, Dell Streak, MID, Tablet PC's, Unlocked

Posted in Android, Dell, Mobile Internet Device, Tablet PC's | No Comments »

Orange to supply first UK Windows Phone 7 Handset

It seems if you are one of those who wishes to dip your feet in Windows Phone 7 waters, Orange will be your first port of call.  HTC have announced they are shipping  an as yet undisclosed handset to AT&T in the US and Orange here in the UK.  It’s quite possible the undisclosed device will turn out to be HTC’s symphonically named Schubert handset, the so far only device to have surfaced running Redmond’s much hyped mobile OS.  Orange has traditionally been one of the main providers of Windows Mobile handsets, from the SPV branded HTC devices such as the SPV C500 to HTC’s own branded devices like the Touch Diamond and the HD2.  The Windows Phone 7 reboot of the aging OS however is not without its controversy and with iOS and especially Android, there is more than one player in the mobile OS game. Certainly, it will be one of the most interesting releases of the year – Q4 can’t come soon enough.

Article: RSS via: Tracy and Matt

Tags: AT&T, HTC, Orange, Smartphones, Tracy and Matt, Windows Phone

Posted in HTC, Orange, Smartphones, Windows Phone | No Comments »

Dell Streak on sale August 13 for $300 on AT&T contract, $550 without

After a brief delay in getting the ball rolling stateside, Dell’s finally ready to start selling its Streak this Friday to all comers. If you go for a new two-year contract through AT&T, you’ll be paying $299.99; if you value your freedom, though, you’ll be looking at $549.99 out the door — oh, and if you signed up for the pre-sale, you’ll be able to place your order a day earlier on the 12th. Unfortunately, we don’t have any indication that it’ll be launching with anything newer than Android 1.6, so let’s hope that juicy 2.1 update with 720p video capture wastes no time getting rolled out.

Article: RSS via: Engadget

Tags: Android, AT&T, Dell, Dell Streak, MID, Tablet PC's, Unlocked

Posted in Android, Dell, Mobile Internet Device, Tablet PC's | No Comments »