Sprint fails to impress Wall Street with Q3 2010 earnings, still notches 644k net adds
October 27, 2010 No Comment
Sprint certainly isn’t out of the woods yet, but at least it’s picking up customers from somewhere. The company’s Q3 2010 earnings were ushered out today, and while its stock fell around ten percent on the news, a few silver linings were present. The carrier saw postpaid subscriber losses of 107,000, but that’s an 87 percent improvement compared to Q3 2009. The CDMA network added approximately 276,000 postpaid customers during the quarter, 471,000 (net) prepaid subscribers and 644,000 total wireless subscribers from a net perspective. It also landed its second best postpaid churn result ever, but the bottom line still looks battered — the operator announced a net loss of nearly a billion dollars ($911 million, if you’re scouting specifics). Of course, phasing out iDEN should probably help things in the long run, but even its 4G advantage could quickly fade if (or more likely, when) Verizon gets its LTE act together next year. Sprint fails to impress Wall Street with Q3 2010 earnings, still notches 644k net adds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Ooh, Sprint’s just going to love this. T-Mobile just announced the launch details for its latest HSDPA+ handset, with a November 3rd touchdown date (possibly to go along with new data plans ?) and a $200 pricetag (after $50 mail-in rebate). But just to spice things up a little bit, T-Mobile also swapped names on the phone: what was previously known as the myTouch — a back-to-basics follow-up to the original myTouch 3G and myTouch 3G Slide — is now the myTouch 4G. In fact, it looks like T-Mobile has had this name for a little while , but was just waiting for the right moment to spring it on us. Wait, you didn’t know HSPA+ was 4G ? Ah, welcome to Sprint / Verizon / AT&T’s branding nightmare . T-Mobile myTouch redubbed ‘myTouch 4G,’ landing on November 3rd originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Vuzix Wrap 920AR dev bundle available ‘nowish’ with clear AR glasses 18 months away
October 27, 2010 No Comment
When we got our hands on the Vuzix Wrap 920AR at CES we saw a promising piece of gear without too many practical applications. And where do things stand, nearly a year later? Available now (aside from a “30 to 45 day delay” on all orders) the headset is strictly developers only. According to Pocket-lint , the company is only eighteen months away from clear AR glasses with heads-up displays — and, believe us, we’d love to see that — but in the meantime, your hard earned $2,000 will get you the glasses, a Vuzix VR Manager license, and access to the Vuzix SDK. So, who’s going to be the first to pitch us a system for Augmented Reality comment moderation? We’d love to some new and novel ways to “downrank” a few of our favorite commenters, if you get our drift. Vuzix Wrap 920AR dev bundle available ‘nowish’ with clear AR glasses 18 months away originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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A bumper crop of circumstantial evidence surrounding the Android-based PlayStation Phone is starting to come together today — when it rains, it pours, as they say — and one particularly interesting thread suggests that the ecosystem surrounding the device might be called “Z-System.” An astute tipster notes that the term appears in the upper left of one of our shots, which maps to a domain — z-system.com, naturally — that’s owned by Sony Ericsson. Turns out the company also holds trademarks for Z-System in the US and Benelux trademark offices (among others, presumably) that were filed (and approved) this year, and the filing category includes “software for interacting or playing with electronic or video games,” not hardware, so that strongly suggests we’re looking at a platform here. We suppose it’s possible that this specific device will be called Z-System, but we’re going to float the theory that its actually underlying gaming platform that’ll bear that name — possibly a premium game store and set of software libraries that together will earn a device the Z-System badge. As we already saw with the BlackPad / SurfBook / PlayBook fiasco, trademarks don’t mean much until a device is actually announced — but it’s something to keep an eye on. [Thanks, Andrew] Gallery: Sony Ericsson Z-System: the PlayStation Phone’s gaming platform? Sony Ericsson Z-System: the PlayStation Phone’s gaming platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Kmart may have been the first department store to get into the cheap Android tablet business , but it looks like Walgreens isn’t about to stay out of this race to the bottom — it’s now offering the Maylong M-150 Android tablet for a mere $100. As you can see above, it’s pretty much the tablet of your dreams. Not only does it run Android, but it boasts a familiar iPad design and interface, plus Internet Explorer for a web browser (icon), and access to the always useful “App Market.” As for specs, it looks like you’ll get a 7-inch resistive touchscreen with an 800 x 480 resolution, a 400MHz VIA VM8505+ processor, built-in WiFi, an unspecified amount of built-in flash memory, and a microSD card slot or expansion. Head on past the break for a video, and hit up the source link below if you’re ready to place your order. Continue reading Walgreens now selling $100 Maylong M-150 Android tablet Walgreens now selling $100 Maylong M-150 Android tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Moving from regular SIMs to micro SIMs for the iPad and iPhone 4 was a fairly user-hostile move on Apple’s part, seeing how it made moving between an iPhone and virtually any other GSM device quite a bit more difficult; the official explanation (for the iPhone 4, anyway) was that there simply wasn’t room for a regular SIM, but that seems unlikely considering that you’re only saving 10mm of length, 3mm of width, and 0mm of thickness. A more plausible scenario is that Apple viewed micro SIMs as a way to get ahead of the industry curve a bit and make it unpleasant for users to try to share an iPhone line with other devices, a concept that gets at the core of Apple’s mantra of owning the entire ecosystem from end to end. But could they be trying to take that concept another step further? GigaOM is reporting a rumor today that Apple is working tightly with security firm Gemalto — you know, the SIM guys — to integrate software-reconfigurable SIMs right into European iPhones that would be activated on the carrier of your choice using an App Store download. Why European models? Multiple carriers offer the iPhone in a number of European countries, so distribution is a bit more complicated there than it is in the US, though it’s a reasonable leap to suggest that the same integrated SIMs would be use on new North American iPhones as well. From Apple’s perspective, it’s a win-win: trying to use your iPhone line with another device would be akin to pulling teeth, and more importantly, Apple wouldn’t need to worry about bundling carrier-specific SIMs with devices. In fact, the move would make Apple’s (and the consumer’s) interactions with the carrier entirely virtual, all the way from manufacture to activation. Seems like the plan would require an extraordinary amount of buy-in from carriers who’ve become increasingly suspicious of Apple’s goals lately — but then again, they managed to get carriers to suddenly and rapidly deploy micro SIMs en masse, and if anyone could pull this off, it’d be Steve’s boys and girls. Apple, Gemalto working on integrated SIM for next iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Roku makes hardware and software available to license, embedded TVs can’t be far out
October 27, 2010 No Comment
Aw, suki suki now! Roku — the guys responsible for taking over your living room — just announced that it’s making its hardware and software platform available to license. At first glance, you may assume this means little to nothing for consumers, but you’re (hopefully) mistaken. If you’ll recall, the Roku XD was rebranded in order to slip into Netgear’s vast sales channels, but the software part of this equation has our interest very much piqued. We’ve already seen Vudu’s software baked into a number of HDTVs, and we’re envisioning a future filled with world peace, In-N-Out for all and Roku-embedded television sets. We’ll take two outta three if we have to, though. Continue reading Roku makes hardware and software available to license, embedded TVs can’t be far out Roku makes hardware and software available to license, embedded TVs can’t be far out originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …DVD2Blu trade-up scheme lets you swap any old DVD (plus $4.95) for a Blu-ray
October 27, 2010 No Comment
We may have to rethink our original stance comparing Warner’s DVD2Blu trade-up program to a particular Maine shop owner , now that it’s announced it will accept any DVD (only studio releases sold at retail and no porn, please) as trade towards one of its selection of 105 Blu-ray releases with most priced at $4.95 each . Add in the offer to waive the $4.95/per shipping fee for orders above $35 and you’ve got a pretty quick way to fatten up one’s Blu-ray library, assuming you like films like 2001: A Space Odyssey , American History X , National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation , etc. Hit the source link for a full list of titles available and other details (U.S. only, sorry Canada.) DVD2Blu trade-up scheme lets you swap any old DVD (plus $4.95) for a Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Curious where Palm model number P102UNA — the North American UMTS variant of the Pre 2 — might be headed? Since Bell and Telus rolled out their HSPA networks, Canada’s become far more averse to CDMA than the US has, so it makes sense that they’d be getting Palm’s latest handset in a GSM flavor, not a CDMA one (
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It’s hard to say what exactly Portable Sound Laboratories is going for with its latest iMainGo speaker, but for those who are still shedding tears over Sony’s decision to axe the Walkman cassette player, it’s probably a sight for sore eyes. The iMainGo X portable speaker doubles as a PMP enclosure, with a clear back that still allows for access to on-unit controls. It also packs a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, an internal speaker, a 3.5 millimeter auxiliary input and the ability to daisy-chain with other X devices. At $69.95, it’s not exactly an impulse buy, but at least they’re tossing in a travel bag, wrist strap and carrying case, right? Continue reading iMainGo X portable speaker doubles as a case, looks like a cassette iMainGo X portable speaker doubles as a case, looks like a cassette originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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