Promises, promises. Motorola wasn’t exactly fibbing when it said all future phones would ship with unlockable bootloaders, as it appears they will. There’s just one teensy obstacle impeding the joy of ROM flashers worldwide: it’s up to the carriers’ discretion to keep it that way. In a chat with AusDroid, Moto’s VP of Enterprise Mobile Devices, Christy Wyatt, revealed that the RAZR would indeed be the OEM’s first device to ship with a software unlock. Unfortunately, as in the case of the DROID variant, operators like Verizon have chosen to put the smack down on any custom hackery, citing the typical concerns over security. But it’s not all grey wireless skies, the handset’s global version will ship with the code on board, so your best bet for CM7 and MIUI looks to be an off-contract option. Or, you know, there’s always that Big Red Galaxy Nexus.

Motorola RAZR open for unlocked bootloader business, if the carrier says so originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

There’s no doubt the demand for mobile broadband has skyrocketed worldwide, but the US is leading the LTE charge(s) — plural, ’cause you know, battery life sucks on a… nevermind. According to Pyramid Research, by the end of the year, the United States will claim 47 percent of LTE subscriptions globally. This is thanks in large part to three mobile operators: Verizon, MetroPCS and AT&T have created seven million connections across the country. Combine that with the fact that 71 percent of all LTE handsets will be in the pockets of Yanks by year’s end, and you’ve got a formula for domestic LTE domination. It comes as no surprise that VZW is the largest LTE operator in the US as it’s been making money hand over fist lately — which has allowed it to expand its high speed network at a dizzying pace. We salute you, Big Red, for carrying the banner for the ol’ US of A, blazing the trail littered with dead batteries and over-worked phone chargers.

US leads global LTE adoption, rides Verizon’s coattails originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Could it be? Are the rumors true? If this screenshot, apparently culled from Radio Shack’s inventory system, is any indication, Sprint will indeed be among the carriers offering the iPhone 5. That lines up just right with previous reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, slating the phone to hit the Now Network in mid-October. There’s no indication of actual dates at this point, but if Sprint’s getting Apple’s next-gen iPhone, we’re guessing we’ll hear more about it on Tuesday.

[Thanks, Anon]

Radio Shack inventory screen pegs iPhone 5 for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

As expected, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 and BlackBerry Bold 9930 went on sale at Sprint yesterday as part of its BlackBerry 7 lineup. Both phones feature 1.2GHz Snapdragon processors and five-megapixel cameras, but the 9850 has a 3.7-inch touch-only display compared to the Bold’s 2.8-inch screen and keyboard combination. Purchased online with contracts and after rebates, the 9850 is selling for $150 while the 9930 is going for a cool $200 — a departure from the originally announced Bold price tag of $249, with no mention of cash back. For Sprint users, a rebate is clearly better than no rebate — even if it does require a stamp.

BlackBerry Bold 9930, Torch 9850 go on sale at Sprint for $200, $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Verizon says it will put location warning labels on all phones sold originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

We’ve already heard a fair bit about RIM’s plans for NFC-based mobile payments, but it’s starting to look like some of those plans don’t quite line up with what the carriers have in mind. As the Wall Street Journal reports, there’s a brewing dispute between RIM and a number of carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile and Rogers over just how NFC payment-related data, or “credentials,” are stored, and who actually controls that data. For its part, RIM unsurprisingly wants to store the data in a secure area of the phone itself, which would obviously tie folks to their BlackBerry more than ever, while the carriers are pushing to have that data simply stored on the phone’s SIM card, which would let customers move from one phone to another more easily. While things apparently haven’t gotten that heated just yet, it does certainly seem like there’s a bit of a fight in store — according to the Wall Street Journal, RIM is already reaching out to banks on its own in an effort to strike some deals, while Canadian carriers have apparently been telling RIM in a “gentle” way that “you won’t be doing this.”

Carriers at odds with RIM over NFC payment data originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

The Independent is starting our week off on a sour note with the information that Apple’s next iPhone won’t have NFC hardware built in. Near Field Communication has found itself coming to the fore this year, thanks in large part to the Nexus S touting it as a major feature, however sources at “several” of the UK’s major carriers have told the newspaper that Apple intends to skip on it for this year. That intel is reportedly coming directly from meetings with the Cupertino brain trust, which is said to be dissatisfied with the current lack of a clear, universal NFC standard. It’s generally been Apple’s wont to omit or delay features it doesn’t feel it can implement well, and NFC looks fated to be another one on that list.

iPhone 5 won’t have NFC, say insiders at UK carriers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Joining AT&T and Verizon in offering some software-based data security for owners of its handsets, Sprint is today introducing its Total Equipment Protection app. Funnily enough, it uses the same Asurion software as the aforementioned other carriers, which would be why its functionality mirrors them so closely. With the TEP app, you’ll be able to track your phone via a web interface, force it to sound an alarm even if muted, lock it, and finally wipe your contacts (which can later be restored once you get your handset back). The app itself, compatible with Android and BlackBerrry devices, is free, however you’ll need to be signed up to Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection program, which costs $7 a month. You’ll find more details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection app searches out lost Androids and BlackBerrys

Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection app searches out lost Androids and BlackBerrys originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

The unthinkable has happened. After spending 99 percent of their recent marketing budgets figuring out ways to sling mud at each other, AT&T and Verizon have now come together to dance a merry waltz — all in the name of Apple’s hallowed iPhone. The latest commercial for the phone that really doesn’t need advertising shows that you can FaceTime, read iBooks, navigate maps, and do everything else on the Verizon iPhone just as well as you could do it on the AT&T-friendly GSM variant of the device. As if you didn’t already know. Still, it’s fun to see these guys trying to turn their lack of competitive diversity into some sort of an advantage. Video after the break.

Continue reading Apple brings AT&T and Verizon together for a happy dance in latest iPhone commercial (video)

Apple brings AT&T and Verizon together for a happy dance in latest iPhone commercial (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

As AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity reluctantly teeters on the brink of oblivion, it seems a good time to take one last look at the smartphone playground, the way it is before V-Day. The New York Times has handily done that job for us with the above chart, which simultaneously gives us a sense of scale when comparing US carriers and lays out the concentration of Android devices across those networks. It also shows a big fat bump of iOS on AT&T, making it the biggest carrier in terms of combined iPhone and Android users — nothing shocking there, but the real fun will be in taking a look at this same data a few months from now. Will the iPhone fragment itself all over the four major networks? Will AT&T’s Android stable ever be respectable? Tune in to your next installment of “fun, but mostly irrelevant statistics” to find out.

Visualized: the state of the smartphone wars originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink