Update, 10:21 a.m. PT: After this story was posted, Wirefly updated its Web site to show that the Xperia Play's carrier is "to be determined," and all mentions of Verizon Wireless have been removed.
Will the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play--a combination smartphone/game player and one of the worst-kept secrets in tech circles--be coming to Verizon Wireless when it launches later this year?
Wirefly, a mobile phone and service retailer, recently posted a detailed comparison of the Xperia Play and iPhone 4 on its site. Although Wirefly didn't provide a launch date, the retailer … Read more
For a second-tier carrier in just 14 markets, MetroPCS has been grabbing some top-tier headlines. The latest is this morning's revelation that Metro will be the first to make commercially available a 4G LTE Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Indulge.
Like its cohorts in the Galaxy range, the Indulge is an Android 2.2 (Froyo) slider phone with the Samsung TouchWiz interface and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It features a 3.5-inch HVGA resolution (800x480 pixels), 3-megapixel camera, and 32GB microSD card slot, and it runs on a 1GHz Hummingbird processor. The Indulge will cost $399 without a contract. … Read more
HTC may have vaulted to glory in recent years with its selection of Android phones, but last month at CES the company broadened its portfolio just a bit with the new Freestyle quick-messaging phone.
The Freestyle, which goes on sale from AT&T this Sunday, February 13, lacks the high-end features of the new HTC Thunderbolt and its simple design won't stand out in the cell phone crowd. Yet, for users who don't need a lot, the BREW-powered Freestyle should deliver.
The aluminum body features a 3.2-inch touch screen with just a few navigation controls below. … Read more
If you're struggling with languages at home or abroad, the new Google Translate app for iPhone is a faster way to untangle your tongue than the iPhone-optimized Web app that was previously your ticket out of confusion.
The app has a handful of main features. First, you can speak into the app (in 15 languages) to translate words and phrases into one of 50 languages.
Second, you can listen to translations read aloud in 23 languages. (Sadly, Catalan isn't one of them, so the playback feature isn't pictured in the image to the right.)
Sony Ericsson is busting out all over in the run up to Mobile World Congress. First, the company teased us with a peek at the long-awaited Xperia Play, and now we catch a glimpse of another handset called the Xperia Neo.
Android Community posted photos today of a candy bar smartphone that looks not unlike the new Xperia Arc. Like the Arc, the Neo should run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, though on a slightly smaller 4-inch touch screen. On the outside it also promises Mini-HDMI and Micro-USB ports.
According to Android Central, other features should include a 1Ghz Qualcomm processor, … Read more
Best Buy announced today that it will have an exclusive on the upcoming HTC Thunderbolt for Verizon Wireless. Though it won't arrive in stores until the middle of this month, customers can preorder the Android smartphone starting today.
The Froyo-powered Thunderbolt, which first saw light last month at CES 2011, will be Big Red's first commercially available 4G LTE phone. On the outside it sports a candy bar design with a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen and a virtual keyboard.
Other features include a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, messaging and e-mail, an 8-megapixel camera with HD video capture, … Read more
Good news, T-Mobile lovers! All T-Mobile phones will be offered for free at T-Mobile retail stores this Friday, February 11, and Saturday, February 12, just in time for Valentine's Day. Of course, you have to sign up for a new two-year contract, so it's not completely free. But it's still a great deal, especially if you want a fancy new HSPA+ phone like the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G. Do note that mail-in rebate cards might apply, and that the deal is only applicable in select locations.
Editor's note: This live event has concluded. You can replay our full coverage of the announcement--including the David Blaine magic show Sprint used to warm up the crowd--in the Cover It Live module at the bottom of this post. Or, for details on the new Echo device and hands-on photos, check out this summary post.
NEW YORK--Sprint Nextel will take the wraps off a new smartphone at an event here this evening.
NEW YORK--After weeks of teasing an "industry first," Sprint finally took the wraps off its secret project and unveiled the Kyocera Echo, the first dual touch-screen smartphone, at a special event in New York today.
Available later this spring for $199.99 with a two-year contract, the Kyocera Echo boasts two 3.5-inch WVGA touch screens and a "pivot hinge" that allows you to place the two displays side by side to form a larger 4.7-inch display. In development for more than a year and a half (even longer for the hardware), the Echo runs Android 2.2 and features software that is optimized to take advantage of the two screens.
There are actually four modes in which you can use the Android 2.2 device: standard, tablet, optimized, and simultasking. In standard mode, you can use the Echo as a traditional touch-screen smartphone. The pivot hinge allows you to tuck the second display under the first, so you can navigate and operate the handset like many of today's latest devices. Meanwhile, tablet mode lets you view and interact with an app on both screens.
The optimized and simultask modes are a little more advanced in their capabilities. The former supports a single app and gives you the main view on one screen, and the app's complementary features and functionality on the second screen. For example, if you're checking e-mail, you'll get a view of your full inbox on one side of the screen, and the second will give display the full text of a selected message. Another example is the photo gallery. You can get a full view of a photo on the top screen and a thumbnail photo gallery on the bottom.
However, the simultask mode is where the Echo's true attraction might lie. In this mode, you'll be able to take multitasking to a new level as you'll be able to use two apps concurrently with each displayed on one of the dual touch screens.… Read more
Sprint's New York event is today and the carrier promises to reveal another "industry first." For weeks, the tech community has tried to guess what that industry first might be but for once, it looked like a company was going to escape the usual leaks and spoilers. But not so fast.
A new report by Wall Street Journal says Sprint will reveal a dual touch-screen smartphone by Kyocera at this afternoon's press event. Citing a source familiar with the situation, the Android device will be called the Kyocera Echo and sport two 3.5-inch touch screens. … Read more
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