Somy X5: basically a Sony Ericsson Pureness for a tenth the price

Here’s the thing about Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Pureness: once you get past the translucent display, there’s not much to it. Seriously — it doesn’t have 3G, a camera, hunks of precious metal, or even a fancy name to flaunt like Vertu, Dior, or Versace; it’s just a low-end phone from a mass-market manufacturer that can’t do much other than make calls. We suppose that’s why it was so easy for a Shenzhen KIRFer to pop out this near-perfect duplicate of the Pureness — the Somy X5 — in no time. Heck, it’s even got support for two SIMs, or exactly twice as many as you’ll find on the $1,000 genuine article — which, if you’re keeping track, is over twelve times the bargain-basement sticker on the Somy here at RMB 550 ($81). Anyhow, looks like it’s back to that search for a faithful Aura replica, eh?

Somy X5: basically a Sony Ericsson Pureness for a tenth the price originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China

Motorola’s Backflip has yet to springboard itself over to AT&T, but those who call China home can hop on the bandwagon right away. Said phone — which sports a full touchscreen and a physical QWERTY thanks to the horizontal clamshell design — is now available from Moto’s Chinese portal for 4,298 Chinese yuan (in unlocked form), which translates to right around $630. While the rest of the world awaits the phone’s launch later this quarter, you can hit up Mobile.163.com for a downright beautiful gallery of in the wild shots. Go on, it’s safe. We think.

[Thanks, Me]

Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One for AT&T’s 3G bands likely in the works

By all appearances, Google’s trying to break Android free of the surly bonds of the manufacturers and carriers that support it, opening its own online store and selling unlocked Nexus Ones to anyone willing to pony up the $529. Problem is, the Nexus One as we know it today is only available in a configuration that supports North American 3G on AWS spectrum, meaning you’ve got to go with the States’ fourth-largest carrier if you want to blaze — you’ve got no other option. That’s not very “open,” is it, Google?

That brings us to an FCC finding today. Take a look at the two labels above; the one on the right comes from the current Nexus One. The label on the left, meanwhile, is physically identical and comes from a new filing for a device with FCC ID NM899110. The old Nexus One has ID NM899100, so this new device is just a single digit off — likely a variant of the existing model. If you look into the RF reports a bit, you’ll immediately notice that the new handset supports 3G on WCDMA Bands I, II, and V, meaning that it’ll work on AT&T (and Rogers, Bell, and Telus for the Canadians in the room) along with most of Europe. Same label style, nearly identical model ID, different bands — we think we know what’s going on here. Google, your move.

[Thanks, wonderbread]

Nexus One for AT&T’s 3G bands likely in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bleep Labs builds Arduino-based Nebulophone, wants to sell you one

What do you get when you mash together an Arduino-based synth with a Stylophone-like keyboard? A month ago, even we wouldn’t have known, but now that Handmade Music Austin has come and gone, we’re happy to say that this beautiful concoction leads to the creation of a Nebulophone. Unfortunately, there’s no video (yet) to showcase what this musical wonder can do, but we’re told that it has “adjustable waveforms, a light controlled analog filter, LFO and an arpeggiator that can be clocked over IR.” Hit the source link if you’re looking for all the code, schematics, and instructions necessary to give yourself a weekend project, and feel free to drop the guys / gals there a line if you’re interested in just buying one.

Bleep Labs builds Arduino-based Nebulophone, wants to sell you one originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One experiencing nationwide data outage? (update: it’s back!)

Well, Happy Friday to you, too! We’ve been inundated with tips from perturbed Nexus One users across the country (and even in Puerto Rico) suggesting that their T-Mobile data coverage is completely out of commission. As you can see above, our own Josh Topolsky is seeing the error in Brooklyn, NY. Some users have reported that their SIM card pulls down data when swapped out of the Nexus One and into another handset, and both T-Mobile and HTC tech support centers have purportedly been slammed. At the moment, no one really seems to know what the issue is, but we have seen some reports from owners that their data is coming down just fine. So, what say you? Let us know what’s going on with your Nexus One in the poll below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: As of 12:54PM ET, it seems that data is back in action for Nexus One users. You should probably try rebooting your phone if it’s not.

Nexus One experiencing nationwide data outage? (update: it’s back!) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba TG02 lives, drops by the FCC

Before the Nexus One and the HD2, there was the Toshiba TG01, sprinting along with a 1GHz Snapdragon in its belly and a 4.1-inch front end. Alas, that phone was hamstrung by a resistive touchscreen and a poorly thought-out skin atop an even worse OS (WinMo 6.1), but even by today’s standards its hardware spec is top notch. Color us intrigued, then, to find its successor finally making its FCC debut — with Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi (802.11b/g) connectivity in tow and a case outline suggesting some earlier leaked shots might still be accurate. It’s a quad-band GSM handset, though from the tests we’ve seen it appears to sadly lack 3G frequencies for the US. The marketing name has also been confirmed as the TG02 and with MWC 2010 fast approaching, who’s to say we’re not going to have a brand new Toshiba handset to fawn over? Go past the break for more.

Continue reading Toshiba TG02 lives, drops by the FCC

Toshiba TG02 lives, drops by the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Magic’s Sense update ready for download

You’ve waited long enough, now today’s the day that HTC releases ROM Version:3.05.401.3 that brings the Sense user interface to Magic owners. Just be sure and heed HTC’s warning to backup your data since this update will overwrite whatever it is you’ve been doing. Now hit that source link and get to updating, heroes.

HTC Magic’s Sense update ready for download originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: Best noise cancelling Bluetooth headset?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Jonathon, who’s currently preparing for a summer of fun with top dropped. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m looking for a Bluetooth headset with the best noise reduction. I’ve got a convertible and would like to be able to have a conversation with the top down (at least around town, highway would be fantastic but probably unrealistic). So, any thoughts and / or suggestions?”

BT headsets have come a long way since we first posted a similar question in 2005, so we suspect the answers here will be quite a bit different. Do you have a particular earpiece that you enjoy while cruising under the open skies? Don’t hold back on us, now.

Ask Engadget: Best noise cancelling Bluetooth headset? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cypress demos 14-inch TrueTouch capacitive multitouch screen

Continue reading Cypress demos 14-inch TrueTouch capacitive multitouch screen

Cypress demos 14-inch TrueTouch capacitive multitouch screen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC expands ETF inquiry, fires off letters to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Google

Verizon might be getting picked on for introducing its whopper $350 “advanced device” ETF, but the FCC has decided that it wants answers from everyone on concerns that “there is no standard framework for structuring and applying ETFs throughout the wireless industry.” The commission has sent letters (via fancy certified mail, in case you’re wondering) to all of the other biggies — AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile — along with Google, asking a series of questions probing how each carrier’s ETFs are determined and applied. Google gets roped in for its nasty equipment recovery fee, but all of the recipients share a common dubious distinction: the frickin’ FCC — a bureaucracy filled to the brim with lawyers and… well, bureaucrats — can’t figure out terms that everyday customers are expected to understand. Of course, most customers don’t have the distinction of being able to send a certified letter to their carrier probing fees and require a prompt and complete response, so we’re happy to see the feds get to the bottom of this. Sure, ETFs may ultimately prove to be completely justified in their current form considering the expense that carriers put up to subsidize hot hardware, it’s true — but regardless, it’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure they’re spelled out in ways even FCC commissioners (and Engadget editors) can appreciate.

FCC expands ETF inquiry, fires off letters to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Google originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walmart greeters will soon welcome you to a Nexus One with Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T 3G? (update: nope!)

Today’s Nexus One may be the hottest keyboard-free Android smartphone on the market today, but it doesn’t exactly have the hottest network support. That looks like it’ll be changing soon thanks to Walmart of all places, which has put up a “Coming Soon!” page for the Nexus One, listing an impressive suite of wireless bands including 1xEvDO for 3G on Sprint and Verizon and UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900 for 3G on AT&T. Could this finally be the network-agnostic smartphone (or smartphones, as the case may be) that Google has wanted, or is it just a case of some optimistic web admin letting his fingers do the walking when writing up this teaser? We’re leaning toward the latter, and there’s also a rumor of a $99 price when purchased at Walmart. We’re having a hard time swallowing that one, too — if only because the Droid went for $188 there at launch.

Update: Seems Walmart slipped up! Spokesman Ravi Jariwala states:

“Due to a technical error, this item erroneously was displayed on our site. We’re working with our partner Let’s Talk to have it removed as quickly as possible. We have no plans to carry Nexus One in Walmart stores or online at Walmart.com at this time.”

Walmart greeters will soon welcome you to a Nexus One with Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T 3G? (update: nope!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pen input faces off against hardware and software QWERTY keyboards: there can be only one (maybe)

It’s completely anecdotal and lacking in what some might call “scientific rigor,” but we’re digging the, ahem, relevance of Phil Gyford’s little text input faceoff he performed for his blog recently. The piece pits an Apple Newton, Palm Vx, Treo 650, and Apple iPhone up against each other, with regular pen and paper and a laptop’s full QWERTY keyboard thrown in for reference. The results may or may not surprise you, but (spoiler alert) after the MacBook Pro took top honors in blazing through a 221 word passage twice, the iPhone beat out the rest of the competition, with the three pen-related inputs (pen and paper, Newton MessagePad and Palm Graffiti) all taking up dead last. The iPhone, Treo and pen and paper all were relatively close in speed, and naturally your mileage may vary. That said, where do you think you fall? Drop in your results in comments (the full text he used can be found at the source link) or hit up the poll below with your best guestimate. We’re dying to know!

View Poll

Pen input faces off against hardware and software QWERTY keyboards: there can be only one (maybe) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google: Nexus One 3G issues result of poor coverage, bugs; patch possibly within a week

Looks like Google’s investigation into the crappy 3G claims on the Nexus One are winding down, and it’s a one-two combo of good news and bad news. First, the bad: preliminary findings suggest that poor 3G coverage factors into it, at least in part — a believable story considering that T-Mobile has the smallest 3G footprint of the four US nationals. Now, the good: there’s a software component to the problem, too, and the company says that it’s already testing a fix. So far, testing is looking good — so good, in fact, that an over-the-air update could be available “in the next week or so.” It sucks that this partly boils down to crappy coverage, but we’ll have to see where things stand after the patch gets rolled out — and hopefully this’ll serve as a high-profile reminder to T-Mobile that it needs to step on the gas (and to Google that it might want to expand its horizons).

[Thanks, Wesley]

Google: Nexus One 3G issues result of poor coverage, bugs; patch possibly within a week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola MOTOROI almost certainly bound for T-Mobile (thanks, FCC!)

We needed to independently connect and verify a few dots before sounding the alarm here, but sure enough, it looks like Cell Phone Signal has unearthed the best smoking gun yet suggesting Motorola’s MOTOROI — the phone formerly known as the Sholes Tablet — is destined for T-Mobile USA. The evidence comes in the form of an FCC filing, a Motorola device with ID IHDP56KC6, that’s certified for quadband EDGE plus T-Mobile-friendly 1700 / 2100MHz HSPA humming at a peak of 10.2Mbps down and 5.6Mbps up (not too shabby) with Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and magnetic compass. By and large, Moto managed to paint over revealing portions of spectrum analyzer screen shots that contained the product’s codename, but there are a couple they forgot to touch — and sure enough, the part they didn’t want you to see reads in part “SHOLES.”

So why are we so sure this is the keyboardless MOTOROI as opposed to an AWS-compliant form of the Droid / Milestone, which shared the Sholes name internally? The answer lies in the SAR report, which didn’t test the phone’s radiated power in both “slider up” and “slider down” configurations like we saw in the Droid’s documentation — there’s just one set of figures here. That, of course, means no slider, which in turn means no QWERTY, which ultimately means MOTOROI. Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to close fourteen sets of FCC filings, restart our computer, and grab a quick drink — but in the meantime, T-Mobile folks, take comfort in knowing that your Moto rollercoaster doesn’t start and end with the CLIQ. Don’t suppose this would be a March release, would it?

Motorola MOTOROI almost certainly bound for T-Mobile (thanks, FCC!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bell’s Palm Pre now free — in exchange for three years of your life

How long does it take for a smartphone to go from two hundred bucks on contract all the way down to a big, fat goose egg? If you’re Bell — and the phone is the Palm Pre — the answer is right around five months, apparently. Following its August release and a couple of mid-course pricing corrections, Bell’s now making Palm’s first webOS-based device available for free just as long as you’re willing to commit to three years at a minimum spend of CAD $50 (about $47) a month. The move likely comes on the announcement of the Pre Plus, perhaps as a preemptive strike against any of its competitors planning on carrying it — and if we were Sprint right now, we’d be paying very, very close attention to these guys.

Bell’s Palm Pre now free — in exchange for three years of your life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change RIM’s BlackBerry Storm2?

It’s sort of stunning how many stellar smartphone options Verizon Wireless customers suddenly have, but lest we forget that RIM’s hotly-anticipated Storm2 was rockin’ the suburbs late last year. For those who sprung, we’re curious to know if you’re happy with your decision. Do you think RIM adequately addressed the gripes from round one? Is the display responsive enough? Was the addition of WiFi what sealed the deal? Are you annoyed that you didn’t hold out for the new Palm lineup? Feel free to get really real in comments below — we get the impression that Waterloo needs all the feedback it can get when it comes to QWERTY-less mobiles.

How would you change RIM’s BlackBerry Storm2? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stanford University shows that clothes make good batteries too

Remember when Stanford University turned mere paper into a proper battery? That was just the beginning. The same team, led by Yi Cui in the Department of Engineering, now wants your pants to be an electrical storage device. They’ve managed to dye fabric with carbon nanotube ink, still allowing the cloth to stretch and move like normal but also giving it the supernatural ability to hold a charge. Imagine the day when hipster jeans charge Droids, when booty pants juice up iPhones, and when your wristwatch is powered by the very band you use to strap it to your person — assuming, of course, the whole “asbestos-like effects” thing turns out to be false.

Stanford University shows that clothes make good batteries too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon prices Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus — offers a free Pixi Plus for limited time

In case you missed it in our review, Palm has gone and spilled its Verizon pricing info on its official blog. The Pre Plus is hitting shelves at a cent under $150, closely followed by the Pixi Plus at $99.99 — both after $100 mail-in rebate and on two-year commitments. Available to buy from this coming Monday, the new handsets are also incentivized with a free Pixi Plus coming with every purchase — a limited offer running until February 14. That’s after yet another mail-in rebate, meaning you’ll probably be shelling out a cool $450 to get your webOS fix on Verizon, but we can’t argue with the final tally after all the paperwork has been done, filed, triple-checked, lost, recovered, and your money’s finally reimbursed.

Verizon prices Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus — offers a free Pixi Plus for limited time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC HD2 extended battery with kickstand up for pre-order in the UK

British electronics e-tailer Clove has started listing a new £53 ($86) HD2 accessory that should be of interest to everyone who owns or plans on owning the device. We always thought that generous 4.3-inch screen could do with some backside support, and indeed the new kickstand-equipped extended battery will provide just that. You’ll also get a nice energy bump, as the new accessory is set to double the 1,230mAh capacity of the default juice pack. Deliveries are expected by Clove in February, meaning it shouldn’t be too long before this official appendage makes its global debut — let’s just hope other nations don’t have to suffer as much wallet damage as the UK.

HTC HD2 extended battery with kickstand up for pre-order in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wilson Electronics Sleek signal booster reviewed: surprise, it works!

Signal booster. There, we said it. Quick — what immediately comes to mind? We’re guessing you’re suddenly disgusted by the fact that you paid $19.99 (plus a nominal shipping and processing fee) for one of those worthless stickers back when your Snake-laden Nokia candybar had the worst reception of all time, but Wilson Electronics’ Sleek is a horse of a different color. Our good pals over at Gadling were able to test out the Sleek after catching it at CES, and amazingly enough, they found that it worked exactly as advertised. It’s engineered to be mounted in a car so that your phone can rest in the cradle while you use some sort of headset to communicate, but an AC adapter is available for those who need a boost indoors. The only real downside (besides the steep $129 asking price) is that you can’t very well have your mobile in the cradle and the cradle upside your head. Unless, of course, you’re still looking to relive the days when Sidetalkin‘ was all the rage. Man, where’s the N-Gage when we need it?

Wilson Electronics Sleek signal booster reviewed: surprise, it works! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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