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.

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Verizon’s got a couple of loose ends to tie up. It’s nothing important, you understand, just a tweak to its privacy policy that will allow the carrier to monitor your physical movements and browsing activities. It actually did much the same thing back in 2007 to monitor phone calls. The aim, of course, is to tailor ads to your interests, while also gathering information about your habits that it can sell on to others in the form of “business and marketing reports.” Oh, one more thing: VZW promises not to share any information about you “personally” and it also gives you the option to opt out. (Opt out.)

Verizon wants to know where you go, what you look at, that’s all originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Imagine if Verizon’s Testman was actually the admiral of a fleet of Chevy Tahoes, all dedicated to the purpose of testing and comparing networks and asking if others can hear them now over a million times each year. The famous Testman himself is just an actor, of course, but Verizon’s self-proclaimed “test cars” are a thing of reality; in fact, the fleet numbers a cool hundred nationwide. We had the opportunity to take a quick peek inside one of these cars, each of which drive an endless number of miles to measure the performance of not only Big Red’s network, but its competition as well.

You wouldn’t recognize any of these unmarked cars if they drove past you on the street unless you were trained to look for the outside clues: on the roof lies a GPS module in concert with several black nubs, each one acting as its own phone antenna. If you look close enough at the back windows, you may be able to make out the multitudes of USB data sticks taped to them. All of these elements are crucial for Verizon in order to collect real-time data on how its network stacks up against the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, not to mention regional carriers such as Cricket and MetroPCS. Thus, each test car is equipped with phones that work on almost every network and try each one out thousands of times a year. The company’s goal? To ensure that it maintains a standard of excellence in its network performance for both its voice and data quality. So how does this all happen? Read on past the break to find out what’s inside the car.

Continue reading A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011

A look inside Verizon’s test car: we go heads-in at CTIA E&A 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yeah, that makes just as much sense to us as it does to you. Following yesterday’s PR debacle, the final word from Sprint appears to be as follows:

“Sprint’s policy is to have the iPhone 4S SIM locked to our network domestically and internationally. At launch, the International SIM will be unlocked. We do expect a SIM lock to be pushed to the devices shortly after launch. We will then allow existing customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use if needed in the future.”

So, if we’re reading that correctly, the iPhone you purchase and activate will be unlocked. Then, a SIM lock will be “pushed” to your device. But, if you’ve been a good, policy-abiding customer, your iPhone can then be unlocked manually by Sprint. Who knows what’ll happen if you buy your phone and flee to a non-extradition country before Sprint comes knocking at the door, shackles in hand. Will you be left to live in peace with your newly-acquired international Micro SIM? Will you need to plead your case before a tribunal of mobile carrier overlords? Only time will tell, we suppose, or perhaps further clarification from Sprint. Jump past the break for the complete announcement.

Continue reading Sprint explains iPhone 4S unlocking policy: phones will be unlocked, then locked, then unlocked again

Sprint explains iPhone 4S unlocking policy: phones will be unlocked, then locked, then unlocked again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xoom owners that hastily shipped off their slates for an LTE upgrade are in for a surprise. Turns out the newly equipped 4G tablets are not only being expediently returned, but also come with an upgrade to version 3.2.2 of Honeycomb. Details of just what’s been included in the new firmware are scant, but the main takeaway from Verizon’s overhaul is the now functional microSD slot. That’s right, unless you were privy to that non-U.S. Android 3.1 update or installed the Tiamat kernel, you’ll now finally be granted read/write access to your microSD card. It seems wishes do come true in Big Red land, you just have to practice extreme patience.

Xoom 4G LTE upgrades boomerang back with Honeycomb update, microSD card support now a go originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, that was fun. If you wanted to read along with the liveblog, but couldn’t hang with all of those words, or if you just need some help processing all of the Cupertino-based iPhone 4S-related excitement, stay-tuned. Tim Stevens, Darren Murph and a number of guest Fraggles (schedules pending) are live on the scene to help you wade through the deluge of news from today’s Apple event.

Update: And we’re done! Check out video of the broadcast after the break!

Continue reading Apple’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ post-event live broadcast!

Apple’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ post-event live broadcast! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not an iPhone mini or anything, but it’s the first iPhone with Siri. And that has to count for something, right? Right? While it’s no iPhone 5 (not even close, really), the iPhone 4S is far from being “last year’s iPhone,” and the greatly enhanced camera, bolstered A5 dual-core processor and inbuilt voice command should provide plenty of reason for folks to upgrade if they’re near the end of their contract. Furthermore, having the option on Sprint — despite Apple almost announcing it as an afterthought — is bound to make folks already entrenched on the Now Network think twice about what their next phone will come upgrade time.

We were able to spend a few quality moments with the refreshed iPhone 4 here at Apple’s campus, the Sprint flavor no less, and as you might expect… it’s an iPhone 4. But S-ier. Much in the same way that the 3GS improved the overall experience of the 3G, the 4S does likewise compared to the existing 4. The dual-core A5 chip is a laudatory improvement, and whisking about pages, loading the camera application and launching — well, just about everything — just feels zippier. As it should. The other major change, the antennas, weren’t readily different at a glance, but as Mr. Cook stated, you’d have to be iFixit to notice (and we’re sure they will).

The most impressive part was the demo of Siri, the new assistant that lets you do just about anything you can do on your phone — but with your voice. We tried to psych it out with a bunch of random requests, including the history of Chester, Vermont (a lovely town) and the best Ramen places in San Francisco. Siri never faltered, never missed a beat. It worked as well as Scott’s demo up on the stage. There’s nothing better to say than that. We even sent ourselves a few text messages, which Siri transcribed to a T. Of course, the lady on the other end still sounds eerily robotic, but we’re hoping for smoother responses from the alien within in a future update.

The 8 megapixel sensor doesn’t look any different from the outside, but we’re trusting that Apple’s re-engineered the interior. We snapped a few photos in the demo room to test and not a one came out as great as the retina-bursting contrasty pictures of balloons and flowers we saw in the demo, but then again, we didn’t have any balloons or flowers to capture.

As for weight and feel? Just like the old king. We’ll be updating this post with our impressions live from Cupertino, and are working to get you some better pictures to look at. Hang tight — they’re coming!

Relive the announcement in our liveblog right here!

iPhone 4S hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We did it at WWDC, and we’re doing it from 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California. Apple’s holding its hotly-anticipated iPhone 5 (and iPhone 4s?) launch event here this morning, and we’re on-hand to bring you a bit of pre- and post-show banter. Join Tim Stevens, Darren Murph and a plethora of Sesame Street characters* as we break down what’s likely to go down during today’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event. And once we’re ushered inside (you know, where live video streams aren’t allowed), follow our liveblog right here. Check out the video after the break.

*Pending a response from Cookie Monster’s publicist.

Update: And we’re done! Stay tuned for the liveblog and more throughout the day!

Continue reading Engadget, broadcasting live from Apple’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ event in Cupertino!

Engadget, broadcasting live from Apple’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ event in Cupertino! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple pulled a fast one by leaving the iPhone 5 in its back pocket during WWDC, and little did we know that it’d be Tim Cook — not Steve Jobs — revealing the company’s next-gen handset. ‘Course, Tim already had a bit of experience by doing the honors alongside Lowell McAdam for the Verizon iPhone 4, but this is another beast entirely. Will the “Let’s Talk iPhone” keynote bring about a cheaper, perhaps prepaid iPhone 4s? Will Sprint finally get an iPhone to call its own? Will the iPhone 5 read our minds? Will this change everything, despite everything already being changed? Bookmark this page here and return at the times below for our blow-by-blow coverage live from Cupertino!

Psst… and toss your own time zone / day in comments below!

07:00AM – Hawaii
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM – Central
01:00PM – Eastern
06:00PM – London
07:00PM – Paris
09:00PM – Moscow
02:00AM – Tokyo (October 5th)

Apple’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ event is tomorrow — get your liveblog right here! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, well. Looks like those leaked press shots (and hands-on photos and video walk-through) were on the money. HTC just officially announced the Rhyme — that womanly handset otherwise known as the Bliss. As it happens, HTC isn’t explicitly marketing this as a lady phone, though it bears all the markers of a device pandering toward those of us with XX chromosomes. Which is to say, it’s petite and purple with middling specs. What you’re looking at is a handset with a 3.7-inch WVGA display, a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS radios and dual 5MP / VGA cameras. The phone runs Android 2.3 with “next-generation” Sense (that would be version 3.5) layered on top. And, as rumored, you can pair it with an optional “Charm Indicator,” a bubble that glows purple when the phone is ringing so that you’ll never again miss a call because your phone is buried beneath nail files and fifty tubes of lipstick. Other accessories include a wireless dashboard speaker for the car and a workout armband. As that tell-tale FCC report revealed, the purple version you see up there will land on Verizon as a 3G device, with a silver version arriving in Asia and Europe next month. HTC has yet to confirm pricing or availability. If leaks are to be believed, though, those of you with small hands and deep murses should be able to pre-order yours any day now.

HTC Rhyme official: 3G, 3.7-inch display, single-core CPU, headed to Verizon in the ‘coming weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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