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The R2-D2 Droid. (Motorola)
A limited-edition version of Motorola’s Droid 2 phone resembling lovable Star Wars droid R2-D2 will go on sale Thursday at one Verizon Wireless store in downtown Chicago.
Verizon, the exclusive carrier for the phone, said its store at 36 S. State St. will open at 12:01 am on Thursday. It has 100 of the devices in stock. The phone runs Google’s Android operating system and costs $249 with a rebate and two-year contract. Get the full story »
Smartphone maker HTC Corp. unveiled details Wednesday of its push into the increasingly important mobile services sector and introduced two new handsets using Google’s Android operating software.
The launch came a day after Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, launched three new smartphones at its annual showcase conference in London. Get the full story »
Verizon Wireless said Thursday it will offer no-contract data plans for many of its 3G multimedia phones and smartphones, including those from its premier Droid line of devices.
The prepaid data package costs $30 a month for unlimited access. For $10 a month, customers can get a data plan for their multimedia phones, or those that aren’t designed for intense Web browsing as smartphones are. The $10 data plan is capped at 25 megabytes a month.
The prepaid segment has grown rapidly in the last few years, fueled both by recessionary pressures on consumers and newer generations of phone users that dislike being tethered to a two-year contract. Major carriers such as Verizon have traditionally focused on post-paid subscribers, who tend to be a more reliable and lucrative source of revenue. But with increased competition from no-contract carriers such as Cricket Wireless, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, which have smartphones in their line-ups in addition to no-frills handsets, other companies have started to sweeten their prepaid offerings as well. Get the full story »
Google Inc. is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would allow its mobile users to play songs wherever they are as it steps up its rivalry with Apple Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
Google Vice President of Engineering Andy Rubin has been leading conversations with the labels about what a new Google music service would look like, according to these sources. Get the full story »
A customer looks at items for an HTC EVO smart phone at a Sprint store in Los Angeles, June 16, 2010. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
A hot new smart phone can be Incredible, Vibrant, Epic or just “eh,“ but no matter how it stacks up, it’s a safe bet that it will start selling at $199. And what’s so special about $199?
“The obvious answer is that $199 is a magic price point for smart phone volume,“ said George Appling, partner at consulting firm Booz & Co. “The not-so-obvious reason is that carriers are not charging customers what they pay.“ Get the full story »
Netflix iPhone app. (Netflix photo)
Netflix unveiled its long-awaited app for the iPhone on Thursday, sending the company’s shares almost 2 percent higher.
The free app lets Netflix members stream TV episodes and movies to their Apple iPhone or iPod Touch for no additional cost. Get the full story »
Dell Inc. put its first U.S. smartphone on sale on Tuesday, making the computer maker the latest technology manufacturer to enter the competitive mobile handset market.
The Round Rock, Texas-based company said its 3.5-inch touchscreen phone, dubbed the Aero, runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system and is available for $99.99 with a new two-year contract from AT&T Inc. and $299.99 without. It can be ordered on Dell’s Web site. Get the full story »
According to recent data from The Nielsen Co., 29 percent of BlackBerry users and 21 percent of Android users have contemplated switching to an iPhone. Nearly 90 percent of iPhone owners plan to purchase another iPhone for their next mobile device, while 71 percent of Android users plan to continue using their current device, and only 42 percent of BlackBerry users want another one.
PayPal reportedly is in talks with Google to add is payment service to Android phones. Users of phones such as Motorola’s Droid X and HTC’s Droid Incredible may be able to buy apps with PayPal by the end of this year.
Just because mobile phones are becoming more like small computers doesn’t mean you should have to do a lot of typing on them. That’s the thinking behind the latest update to Google’s popular Android software for mobile phones.
The latest version of Android 2.2, released Thursday, includes 10 new voice commands that can be used to operate phones without using a keypad.
Dell Inc. will begin selling its new tablet device called the Dell Streak to U.S. customers this week for $299.99 with a two-year AT&T Inc. contract, and for $549.99 without, it said Tuesday.
Dell said it would begin taking orders online Thursday.
The company is hoping the five-inch tablet, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, will help it take on Apple Inc.’s iPad.
Motorola unveiled Tuesday its follow-up to the Droid smartphone it released last year, introducing a new handset with a redesigned keyboard and other improvements.
The Droid 2 will be available for online pre-sales on Wednesday and in-store sales at Verizon Wireless on Thursday. It will cost $199.99 after a mail-in rebate and requires a two-year contract and a smartphone data plan.
The original Droid was released in November at Verizon Wireless to generally positive reviews, although some users had gripes with the keyboard. Motorola said the new Droid 2 has a new keyboard “with raised keys for more responsive typing,” and also features increased processing power and the ability to be a mobile hotspot for up to five WiFi-enabled devices. The hotspot feature costs an extra $20 per month. Get the full story »
See more photos of the BlackBerry Torch here.
Research In Motion unveiled a new BlackBerry smartphone with a touchscreen and slideout keyboard, hoping to raise its consumer appeal and fend off competition from Apple’s iPhone.
The BlackBerry Torch will go on sale in the United States on Aug. 12 for $199.99 with a two-year contract with AT&T Inc. The device uses a new operating system and has a faster and easier-to-use Web browser, RIM said on Tuesday. Get the full story »
Google Inc.’s Android has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iPhone in the high-profile smartphone sweepstakes, according to one market research firm.
New smartphone subscribers choosing Android handsets accounted for 27 percent of U.S. smartphone sales in the first half of the year, surpassing the 23 percent share held by Apple’s wildly popular phones, the Nielsen Company said Monday. Get the full story »
