Previews and Reviews

Surprised? Well, you shoudn’t be as this is exactly what we told you last week. T-Mobile has officially announced the HTC HD2 for March 24 at $199.99 with a new two-year contract with a data plan. This highly anticipated chunk of powerful hardware may be one of the last great Windows Mobile devices before Windows Phone 7 hits the scene. In the meantime, check out our review of the unlocked HTC HD2 and don’t forget to enter our giveaway!

via T-Mobile StickTogether

This was promised weeks ago then cruelly yanked away. Now it looks like the Android 2.1 update for the Droid is almost a reality. The folks over at Android Central spotted this PDF on Verizon’s site detailing the wonders of 2.1 and a link to step-by-step instructions on how to perform the upgrade.

However, there’s no official date for when Verizon will push 2.1 to phones, though it looks like all Droid owners will be required to get it. There’s also no indication of how to trigger the update manually on Verizon’s website, but I’m sure that’s forthcoming from the more adventurous owners out there.

Update: according to commenter Corey, a Verizon rep said that the company would start pushing the update at 12AM this Thursday, March 18th. Less than 48 hours!

Thanks, Corey!

For reasons we don’t fully understand, Philadelphia has become the mobile broadband mecca of America. A few months ago, Clear and Sprint began selling 4G mobile WiMax service in the larger metro area (promising 3 to 6 Mbps), including nearby areas of New Jersey. And just last week, T-Mobile announced that it will be offering a faster version of 3G called HSPA+ in the city (with a theoretical max of 21Mbps).

This past weekend, we journeyed to the city of brotherly love to exercise our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of high-speed data transfers. Our goal was to see which devices and services offer the highest speeds, widest coverage, and best overall user experience.

Devices and Services Tested

We set out to test the following mobile broadband modems and their associated networks:

• Sprint OverDrive: For $99.99 (with two year contract) and $59.99 a month thereafter, you get a battery powered mobile broadband router (like the MiFi) that lets you connect multiple devices to either 3G or 4G, depending on what’s available in your location. While the 3G service is limited to 5GB a month (5 cents per MB overage charge), the 4G is unlimited. So if you live in a 4G coverage area you really could use this device all the time.

• Clear 4G Mobile USB: You can buy this sleek modem for just $59.99 without a contract and pay just $40 a month for unlimited 4G service. The downside is that, once you go outside of Clear’s WiMax coverage zone, the Mobile USB is a laptop ornament. Clear makes several accessories for the Mobile USB, including the Clear USB Performance dock, which boosts signal strength for added speed. We tried this dock in one of our test locations (see below).

• T-Mobile webConnect Rocket USB: T-Mobile’s new USB device supports 3G everywhere and the higher-speed (but not technically 4G) HSPA+ standard in Philadelphia and other markets in the future. The Rocket runs $99 with a two-year contract or $199 with no contract. The standard data plan is $59.99 for a strict limit of 5GB per month with a punitive fee of $0.20 for every megabyte over the limit. If you buy the modem without a contract, you can pay $49.99 a month instead, which adds up to $140 less in costs over 24 months. Too bad the software can’t tell you whether you’re getting a standard 3G or HSPA+ signal. You can only tell by the speed you are getting.

• Sprint MiFi 2200 (The Control): This 3G-only modem was used in a couple of our locations for comparison purposes only, just to show the difference between a typical 3G signal and the HSPA+ or 4G speeds supported by the other devices. It actually did quite well.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over at Gizmodo John Herrman is singing the praises of Internet Explorer 9, just announced today. The next version of Microsoft’s venerable browser is full of sound and fury, but is it worth getting excited over? There’s a key bit in Herrman’s analysis that pinpoints the answer:

“…while IE9 might not outpace the fastest browsers out there, it’s at least close. And hilariously faster than IE8. Again, they’re at least trying, and when you’ve got the market share (and history of ignoring standards) that Microsoft does, this is, again, worth a lot.”

It sure is.

Welcome to Game 2 of our March Smart Phone Madness, folks. Yesterday we saw the iPhone trample all over the HTC Touch Pro2 in what seemed like an unfair match-up. Will today’s round between the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and the Palm Pixi see the same one-sided results? Let’s go ahead and match them up to see where it goes!

Read the rest of this entry »

First eReaders, now this. APC reports that Samsung is getting into the tablet game. Philip Newton, director of Samsung Australia’s IT division, told APC that the company would release a slate PC in the second half of this year. Based on other statements he’s made criticizing the iPad’s lack of processing power and lack of ports, the site predicts an Atom-based tablet. And that means we could see something Windows-based, or maybe Chrome.

Here’s what Newton had to say about the iPad.

“The problems I see with the iPad are its processing power and (lack of) connectivity to a certain extent.” Read the rest of this entry »

Today Spring Design made a lot of gadget geeks very happy by announcing that the dual-screen, Android-driven Alex eReader is finally available for order. That’s right, you can now lay down some cash for the eReader we awarded Best of CES. Sadly, you’ll have to wait until mid-April to actually touch it.

The Alex caught our attention not just because of its dual screens — a concept we saw all over the place at CES — but also because it incorporated them into a slim, sleek device that can still be considered pocketable. Plus, unlike the Nook, the LCD screen was actually large enough to be useful on its own. And since it runs Android in a more or less traditional manner, users will be able to add apps. Unitasking eReaders, beware.

Read on: International versions, pricing, and a new hands-on video

Today was an exciting day for Microsoft as it made a number of new announcements regarding Windows Phone 7 Series. The company demonstrated several new applications, Silverlight extensions and even Xbox gaming on the phone. In addition to all this, Microsoft also made developer tools available for programmers who want to create applications for Windows Phone 7.

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to March Smart Phone Madness, ladies and gentlemen, where we pit 16 of the most popular smart phones from the four major carriers in the U.S. against each other. From the iPhone 3GS to the Samsung Moment, these phones will be battling it out to see who comes out on top in the smart phone world. So, remember to check back here for the daily match-ups and don’t forget to vote for your winners!

Without further adieu, let’s get started with today’s round: Apple’s iPhone 3GS against the HTC Touch Pro2.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dell has created yet another stylish business notebook in the Vostro V13. Like the Latitude Z600, it will make workers on the move feel important. Sporting a remarkably thin 0.7-inch profile, the V13 has a durable and stylish anodized aluminum casing and zinc hinges. But sacrifices have been made in the name of aesthetics. We can live with just two USB ports, but a little over 4 hours of battery life on a system that’s meant to be carried around will be too short for many. At $991 (for our configuration), this ultraportable will definitely have some reaching for the less sexy but more powerful Vostro 3000 series, but decide for yourself after reading our full review.