merging

In most respects, the HTC Merge for U.S. Cellular is a fairly standard Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone. It's got a decent but standard touch screen, a nice but not superlative 5-megapixel camera (with 720p HD video capture and playback, we might add,) and an unremarkable keyboard that's nevertheless sufficient.

The phone's primary point of difference lurks below the back cover, a SIM card slot that international travelers can use while taking the phone abroad. Even if you never step foot outside the continent, there are plenty of other features to keep you handy and connected. … Read more

U.S. Cellular scored quite a coup today with the announcement of two new Android phones, the HTC Merge and the LG Genesis.

The HTC Merge is U.S. Cellular's first "global ready" smartphone, meaning it supports both CDMA and GSM chipsets for travel abroad. It has a 3.8-inch touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, plus it ships with Android 2.2 Froyo. Other features of the phone include a 5-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile hot-spot capability. There were rumors that the Merge might head for Verizon Wireless, but it looks like U.S. Cellular beat it to the punch. The Merge ships with an 8GB microSD card.… Read more

Cellular South announced today that it will be among the first carriers in the United States to offer the HTC Merge. Officially introduced back in late February, the Merge is HTC's first dual-mode CDMA/GSM handset to run Android.

Even without a full review, there's a lot to like about the Merge. It features HTC's Sense UI with Android 2.2, a full sliding QWERTY keyboard, a 3.8-inch touch screen, and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video. What's more, the HTC Merge will be the first device to launch with Amazon.com's new Android app store preloaded on the device.

Although the press release doesn't spell it out very clearly, the Merge also will offer the Android Market for apps and games. When reached for a comment, a representative of Cellular South told CNET that the carrier is giving customers access to both distribution models. … Read more

ORLANDO, Fla.--How's that for timing? We just wrote up our feelings on the HTC Merge this morning, and now we have our first North American carrier to offer the smartphone.

Alltel Wireless announced today that it will begin taking preorders for the Merge on March 28, with pricing set at $124.99 with a two-year contract.

Highlights of the dual-mode phone include world-roaming capabilities, Android 2.2 with HTC Sense, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, and a full QWERTY keyboard. You can find out more about the smartphone in our hands-on blog.

(Via Android Community)… Read more

ORLANDO, Fla.--Introduced back in late February, the HTC Merge is due to hit North American carriers this spring. Fortunately, HTC brought the Android smartphone to CTIA 2011, so we were able to get some hands-on time with the device, and we're liking what we see so far.

First off, it's nice to see another Android-based world phone coming to the CDMA carriers, since the selection has been lacking. Verizon currently has the Motorola Droid 2 Global and Droid Pro, and Sprint, well, it has nothing in the Android department, so the Merge would certainly be a … Read more

In addition to the HTC ChaCha and Salsa Facebook phones coming to AT&T later this year, HTC will release its first Android-based CDMA world phone with multiple North American carriers this spring.

Today the company introduced the HTC Merge, an Android 2.2 smartphone with dual-mode CDMA/GSM functionality.

Though specific carriers were not announced at this time, one would hope that Sprint and Verizon Wireless will be among the providers to offer the Merge. The dual-mode technology allows the smartphone to run on the CDMA network domestically and then automatically switch over to the GSM network when traveling overseas.

Aside from the world roaming capabilities, the HTC Merge also offers a 3.8-inch touch screen, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, HTC Sense, GPS, and Wi-Fi.

We suspect we'll hear more details about the Merge at CTIA Spring 2011, which kicks off on March 22 in Orlando, Fla. … Read more

In late September, Xmarks, the popular browser add-on that syncs bookmarks, saved passwords, open tabs, and so on, took its some 4.5 million fans on a roller-coaster ride.

It announced the imminent shutdown of the service because of lack of funding just to retract that a few days later when CEO James Joaquin hinted that a knight-in-shining-armor rescue was likely.

Now that rescue has been confirmed. In a blog posted today, Xmarks announced that it has been acquired by LastPass, a cross-platform password management service. This also means that Xmarks is now in transition from a "free" to a "freemium" business model.

The new model, which is similar to that of LastPass, allows people to utilize most of Xmarks' existing functions for free. More-savvy users, however, can also opt for Xmarks Premium, which costs $12 per year and includes new enhanced features such as support for iPhone iOS and Android, priority support, and more.… Read more

The next few months should bring us a few more Android phone announcements coming from Verizon. According to information obtained by Android Central, the nation's largest carrier has at least four new devices expected in the fourth quarter. Look for pair of Motorola models, and offerings from HTC and LG.

The first Motorola phone, the Droid Pro, was announced earlier this month at CTIA. Bearing a very BlackBerry-esque form factor with enhanced enterprise security features, the Android 2.2 smartphone offers a 3.1-inch HVGA touch screen with a QWERTY keyboard below. Other details include a 1GHz processor, a … Read more

Trying to identify the differences between two text documents full of hundreds of lines of code can be time-consuming and frustrating. Fortunately, there are utilities that can do this work for you, making document comparison both faster and more accurate. AptDiff is an easy-to-use program that can compare both text and binary files and easily identify differences.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive. When AptDiff is opened, a dialog box appears asking users to select the two files that they want to compare. Users simply choose the desired files, and AptDiff will display a side-by-side or top-bottom comparison, … Read more