AT&T

Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

September 12

It’s Sony Ericsson’s first entry into the Android marketplace here in the United States, and they weren’t fooling around when doing so. If your brain can remember, but last year SE showed us all the first 1GHz Snapdragon in an Android smartphone: the XPERIA X10. But with a release delayed by nearly a year, tons of other Androids took the lead in the Snapdragon race. Here, I tested, annoyed, scrutinized, and tortured the AT&T Xperia X10 for the two weeks I’ve had this loaner.

That could only mean the 13-Year-Old Gadget Blogger’s take on it is after the break.

Editor’s Column: Why I’m Going For An iPhone 4 Over Android. For Now.

September 4

Strangely, it has occurred to me that AT&T has approved a request of mine to be added to their network. In fact they told me, the 13-Year-Old Gadget Blogger, that I was eligible for 2 lines, no deposit. This left me with two choices: an iPhone 4, or a Samsung Captivate. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve covered the Captivate plenty of times here on the site, and I find it to be a great Android phone, albeit the least interesting of the Galaxy S line, mainly being that side loading of non-Market apps is a simple act of being idiotic by AT&T.

And this left me feeling utterly torn. Dare I say it, but I have a very mushy and soft spot for Android. And yet this recent turn of events tells me I’m getting an iPhone 4.

But I do have one excuse to those that may feel betrayed by my decision. I’m a gadget blogger, and as one (although being incredibly young), it’s my job to know what I’m talking about. If you asked me what Angry Birds was 48 hours ago before the Android beta release, I’d say you’re talking about a male duck that’s quacking at something. So by buying an iPhone 4, I get to have the best of both worlds I guess. And anyways people, it’s just a phone.

Well not any phone, it’s an iPhone 4. What have I gone and said now? Darn it.

Dell Streak on AT&T review

August 22

The Dell Streak — early name the Dell Mini 5 — has had its release with a ton of press coverage. One reason being that it was Dell’s first go at an Android tablet. Two, for the sake of it, it is an actually good looking Android tablet. A 5-inch WVGA screen with Gorilla Glass, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5 megapixel camera on the back with a VGA front-facing, Wi-Fi/3G HSPA+/Bluetooth combo, a user-replaceable battery, along with a 16GB microSD card in our review unit which we tortured with tests for over the course of a week.

So how did the 5-inch Dell Streak Android 1.6 tablet fare?

Dell Streak: On Sale August 13th, $300 on AT&T contract, $550 without

August 10

In a new press release by PR manager of the Dell Streak, the 5″ Gorilla glass display, 5 megapixel camera dual LED flash, VGA front-facing, 3G/Bluetooth/Wi-FI, Android 1.6 tablet due on AT&T August 13th will be sold for $300 (on AT&T contract) and $550 without.

Dell’s PR agents also mentioned that “We will ship [the] Streak to customers in the US with Android 1.6 and will offer an over-the-air upgrade to Android 2.2 later this year.”

Looks good if you ask me. Expect an unboxing (this week!), video commentary, and full review later next week of Dell’s Streak!

Source: BusinessWire

Blackberry Torch: OS 6 and AT&T Partners For A New Type Of Berry On August 12

August 3

The Blackberry Torch was revealed a little earlier than expected, and of course was leaked like a waterfall over a course of many months. With Blackberry OS 6 backing it up, there is a reported spec list that isn’t so bad to go up against ita Android and iPhone 4 rivals: a 3.2 inch 480 x 360 scree, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi b/g/n, BlackBerry OS 6, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB Flash + 4 GB Flash + 4GB micro-SD card, 5 megapixel camera with flash, a 1300 mAh battery, and the following dimensions of: 161.1 g. (H X W X D) 111 x 62 x 14.6 mm. An extra image of Blackberry’s latest is after the break.

UPDATE: The Torch will be priced at $199.99 on August 12th for a 2-year contract by everybody’s favorite carrier (har-har), AT&T.

Source: AT&T

So Here’s The Story: Steve Jobs Giving Out Free Bumper Cases For iPhone 4

July 16

So here’s the deal: free bumper cases for iPhone 4, Apple can’t produce enough of these things, so you’ll have to select between a variety of bumpers and cases, and you can apply online next week. Anyone who previously purchased an iPhone 4 bumper case gets refunded.

This is a hit to Apple’s coffers, but also a hit to the iPhone 4: in order for it to work, you need to put a colorful rubberband around it. Alas, at least it’s free.

I have a feeling everyone will have a bumper case around their iPhone 4 now. Albeit that’ll greatly annoy tech enthusiasts like me who find adding Chinese plastic to an expensive gadget distasteful. Oh well.

So here’s the deal:

If you already bought another bumper case, you get a refund.
The offer applies until September 30.
Have an iPhone 4 = bumper case free.

Oh, and white iPhone 4 ships at the end of the month. A full post about this will come on LaptopMemo later today.

Source: Apple

Apple iOS 4.1 released to devs, offers signal bar ‘fix’ change

July 14

So in a whip of news in today’s cycle (I’ve been busy all day y’know, with other gadgets), iOS 4.1 just got the go to the official dev channels at Apple’s website (developer.apple.com), which brings plenty of bug fixes, the Game Center (which has yet to launch), and interestingly that “signal bar fix”, which falsely according to Apple at this point fixes the death grip issue. The trick here is that even a single bar of service doesn’t look so bad — due to all bars now being taller, as seen below. This won’t work on me, Steve Jobs and Cupertino! Via: BGR

Samsung Captivate goes promo in new video

July 9

The above 2:12 minute video is a promo for the Samsung Captivate, the first not-so-sucky Android phone on AT&T. Mainly yamming about the Super AMOLED display and features, this video will please your need for special effects and blue colors.So just sit back, and have some popcorn with that.