I’ve been spending some quality time with HTC’s Titan II, and I would never call it a bad phone. But that’s not the question — good, bad, fast, slow, ugly, beautiful… they don’t matter unless I feel that I’d put down money and live my life with this device. And even though I expected this to be one of my favorites, I walk away from my review certain that I wouldn’t exchange cash for this handset.
HTC is great at building quality hardware and Microsoft’s new mobile platform is fresh, different, and intuitive. But the way that the duo comes together leaves me unimpressed and disappointed, namely in the camera and the display. Past that, the thickness of the device paired with poor battery life does nothing to make up for these more minor disappointments. In essence, it’s simply not good enough.
Let’s talk about why. → Read More
You’ve seen the ads. What once was Carly in a pink dress, talking about her myTouch 4G that let her Facebook her face off while making little “digs” at AT&T, has now become a biker chic badass whizzing by an iPhone biker with a wink and a hat tip. She’s now edgy, and has the leather to prove it.
But T-Mobile is getting punchier on its own. Even in its earnings call today, T-Mo’s CEO Phillip Hume said it himself, “the iPhone is slow, even on AT&T’s network.”
If you can’t join ‘em, might as well start punching, right? → Read More
Well, this morning seems like it’s going to be all about sequels. Not only do we have a shiny new Droid Incredible to wait for, AT&T has just pulled back the curtains on a new device in their Focus series of Windows Phones: the LTE-friendly Focus 2, which will launch on May 20 for a mere $49.99 with a two-year contract.
The Focus 2 may lack the star power and the marketing muscle behind devices like the Lumia 900, but it has managed to turn a few heads in recent weeks back when it was still known as the Samsung Mandel.
→ Read More
AT&T has just announced a new security and home-automation system called Digital Life, which will be an IP-based platform that allows users to monitor and detect activity throughout their house remotely, and “take action” (as AT&T put it) on devices like PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
AT&T actually goes so far as to say “there are no capacity limits to the number and variety of devices [they] can connect to and integrate,” since it’s an all-digital system.
Functions include access to automation, energy and water controls, and security systems. AT&T will thus be introducing a new branch called the Digital Life group, which will work in “AT&T owned-and-operated 24/7 security monitoring centers.” → Read More
HTC won over some hearts a while back when it released its bootloader unlock tool for a good number of devices. It basically allows owners of Android phones to load custom ROMs onto their phones in exchange for any warranty rights they may have been enjoying.
It’s a fair trade considering a solid percentage of Android power users prefer Android based mostly on the fact that they have this option, but without solid hardware the ability to load different versions of Androids becomes less and less appealing.
And so is the case with the HTC One X. It’s an excellent handset, and possibly the best HTC has ever made. But unfortunately, the company won’t be offering the bootloader unlock tool for this particular handset. → Read More
Sure, AT&T’s One X will officially hit store shelves this Sunday, but you may be in for an early weekend treat if you’ve taken it upon yourself to pre-order the thing.
According to a handful of reports from AndroidCentral’s and Phandroid’s forums, some lucky HTC fans have already received their new Android handsets well in advance of the device’s official launch. → Read More
In September 2010, I wrote a post that ignited an absolute shitstorm around these parts. “Shitstorm” in this case meaning a post with a thousand comments, the majority of which were spewed up by rabid Android fanatics. The title of that post:
Is Android Surging Only Because Apple Is Letting It?
At the time, we were in the midst of a massive Android surge to the top of the smartphone ecosystem food chain. This was happening all around the world, but the focus of this particular post was the U.S. market. Based on some comments made by developer David Beach at the time, I wondered if, as the title suggested, Android was only doing so well in the U.S. because the iPhone was still only available on one carrier, AT&T?
It’s time to revisit that thought because there’s now absolutely no question that this was the case. There’s now data to back it up. What’s more, despite what some surveys suggest, this trend may have fully reversed itself. → Read More
The Titan II is yet another success for the hardware team over at HTC. It feels excellent in the hand, even if it’s huge, has a nice balanced weight to it, and the little chin at the bottom gives it some extra pizazz when lined up against other designs on store shelves. It calls to me.
But there are a few issues, as is the case with most any phone. The first, and most important one, is the screen size vs. resolution. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Microsoft, please push out Apollo so that your hardware partners aren’t stuck slapping a 480×800 WP build onto a massive display. → Read More
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to venture into the depths of AT&T’s New York offices and check out the Research Lab. In essence, AT&T has about a zillion APIs that relate to cloud computing, navigation, translation, and a plethora of other fun technology, and its researchers then take those platforms and create really interesting products. → Read More
It was only yesterday that AT&T announced its Watson Speech API, meant to let developers of any kind provide products with real-time translation baked right in.
I got the chance to speak with Mazin Gilbert, AT&T’s AVP of Technical Research, about what this could mean over the next few months and years, and it sounds like useful, seamless translation might finally be in the pipeline. → Read More
Well, there you have it. After turning plenty of heads at this year’s Mobile World Congress, HTC’s latest and greatest handset now has an official release date for the United States.
AT&T has just announced that the HTC One X will hit store shelves on May 6 with a $199 price tag (2-year contract included, of course), and that pre-orders for the hotly anticipated handset will begin on April 22. → Read More
Guys, this one’s such a no brainer that I shouldn’t even have to lay it all out. But I will.
The Nokia Lumia 900 is an excellent handset, comes packed with a fresh new operating system in the form of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and thanks to a nifty AT&T bill credit from Nokia, you can essentially get this $100 LTE-equipped phone for free until the 21st. Repeat: for free.
Like I said, this one’s a no brainer. → Read More
Microsoft and Nokia have a lot riding on the success of their flagship Lumia 900 Windows Phone, but the usual new gadget honeymoon period has been cut short for more than a few unsatisfied customers. Shortly after devices started going home with their new owners, reports of dead data connections began appearing on Nokia’s support forums.
Well, Nokia knows about the issue and they’re not taking things laying down. AllThingsD spoke to Nokia U.S. chief Chris Weber, who stated that the company was hard at work on a fix and that Nokia would be issuing $100 credits to the bills of all Lumia 900 owners as a gesture of goodwill. → Read More
Well, after months of breathless waiting (and a Nicki Minaj concert in Times Square), Nokia’s Lumia 900 is finally sitting pretty on store shelves. If you haven’t heard about AT&T’s newest handset yet, you soon will: AdAge reports that the nation’s second largest wireless carrier will be spending up to $150 million to promote the Lumia 900 over the coming months.
It seems like a hefty sum to throw behind a Windows Phone of all things, and it’s reportedly even more than the carrier was thought to have spent on pushing the iPhone. → Read More
This is it. The stakes couldn’t be higher. The future of Windows Mobile Phone hinges on the success of the Nokia Lumia 900. The phone has a huge amount of hype. It’s priced right at $99 on-contract and it’s a drop-dead gorgeous device. Nokia’s latest marketing campaign directly targets Apple and Google. If any phone could rocket Windows Phone 7 to success it’s the Lumia 900. It’s just too bad Microsoft and Nokia tasked lowly AT&T of all carriers to launch this pivotal phone. And for whatever unknown reason, on Easter Sunday.
It’s just too bad Microsoft and Nokia tasked lowly AT&T of all carriers to launch this pivotal phone. And for whatever unknown reason, on Easter Sunday. → Read More
Longtime readers may already know that I have a peculiar fixation on white phones, and I’ll admit that my heart went a-quiver when AT&T revealed that a white Lumia 900 would be released shortly after its black and cyan brethren.
For those of who share my particular predilection, take a gander at AT&T’s latest snowy-white handset, which is scheduled to land on store shelves on April 22 with the same $99 price tag. → Read More
Really? I mean, really?
Yesterday, 1,900 T-Mobile employees got some very bad news — they would all soon be out of jobs, as the company announced their intention to shut down seven call centers. That in and of itself is a shame, but AT&T’s reaction to the announcement is even more shameful.
You see, AT&T’s Jim Cicconi (their Senior Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs, no less) took to the company’s public policy blog to say that “AT&T promised to preserve these very same call centers and jobs if our merger was approved.”
Don’t you see? AT&T could’ve saved those jobs, if only the merger was approved! This didn’t need to happen!
Please. → Read More
Those of you dutifully carrying around your HTC Vivids have probably already heard AT&T has officially started pushing out the handset’s Ice Cream Sandwich update. For all you other AT&T customers, fear not — the nation’s second largest wireless carrier has also announced which of their other Android handsets will be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment.
There aren’t many surprises on the list (which can be found below if you’d rather not wait), but a few fairly recent devices have been don’t seem to have made the cut yet. → Read More
Despite launching last October, the Ice Cream Sandwich club is still a pretty exclusive one, and even moreso in the United States. Let’s see, there’s the Galaxy Nexus… and, yeah, that’s really it.
Surprisingly though, while HTC mentioned earlier this week that the Vivid would be among the devices to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update, the new software is already available to anyone who knows how to push the right buttons. Literally. → Read More
Many of us have been confused over the past 24 hours about what exactly is happening with the new iPad data plans. First Apple screwed up and said AT&T would offer 2GB for $30 instead of 3GB, and one of Verizon’s plans was missing altogether from the site. It was kind of a mess.
But we’ve finally got things nailed down for you so this is the deal: → Read More
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