Tech News and Reviews
Posts tagged AT&T
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 for AT&T review
Aug 31st
We’ve already published a pretty exhaustive review of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 some five months ago, but it’s taken until this month for it to reach AT&T’s network and retail chain. A lot’s changed in the mobile phone market since then — the iPhone 4, the EVO 4G, Dell Streak, numerous Verizon Droids, and so on. Does the X10 still compete? Read on to find out.
BlackBerry Torch is official, launching August 12th on AT&T for $200
Aug 4th
It hasn’t been announced just yet — we’re expecting that shortly at a New York event today — but the long-rumored BlackBerry Torch (née 9800) just went live on AT&T’s site offering the opportunity to sign up for a notification when you can buy the thing. Major features include a 5 megapixel cam with flash, full QWERTY on a portrait slide, 802.11n support, and — of course — BlackBerry 6 with an all-new browsing experience and a host of other features that should help position RIM within earshot of its less-stodgy rivals. You’ve also got 4GB of storage onboard paired with a 4GB microSD card in the box, 512MB each of ROM and RAM, a quadband 3G radio that’ll travel well around the globe, a 480 x 360 touchscreen display (same resolution as the Bold 9700) measuring 3.2 inches, the typical optical trackpad down below, and an interesting new Media Sync feature that’ll let you sync your media library right over WiFi — something various third parties have tried over the years, but has rarely been offered as an out-of-the-box capability. Interested? It’ll hit AT&T and third-party retail locations and websites on the 12th of the month for $199.99 on contract. Follow the break for RIM’s introductory videos and the press release.
Samsung Captivate coming to AT&T on July 18 for $200
Jul 15th
We’ve just gotten official word that the Captivate — AT&T’s rendition of Samsung’s global Galaxy S line of high-end Android phones — will be available starting Sunday, July 18 for $199 on contract with no rebate required. That pricing is more or less what we’d expected considering that T-Mobile priced the Vibrant the same way — and if rumors of T-Mobile’s launch date bump are true, the Captivate won’t be the first kid on the block. Still, all four US nationals are getting this thing pretty shortly, which is an extremely impressive Android coup for the boys and girls over at Sammy. Stay tuned for a review just as soon as we can make it happen.
AT&T: upgrade to iPhone 4 up to six months early
Jun 8th
So look, we know the dilemma you’re in. You nabbed that iPhone 3G or 3GS a little late in the game, and now you’ve got to wait until December in order to snag the iPhone 4 at a discounted rate. Lucky for you, Apple and AT&T have worked to give folks like you a little leniency, with existing AT&T users able to upgrade to the iPhone 4 “up to six months early.” In other words, if your current iPhone contract expires at any point in 2010, you’re now eligible to grab an iPhone 4 at $199 (16GB) or $299 (32GB) so long as you agree to stay faithful to a carrier you may or may not loathe for another two years. Good thing you’ve got until the 24th to really think it over.
Update: Good news, addicts! AT&T just pinged us to clarify that so long as your upgrade date is anytime in 2010, you’re now eligible to spend an additional two years paying dues to AT&T. In other words, a fair amount of you will be able to buy one of these at contract price on day one. The full statement is after the break, along with AT&T’s full pricing release.
SIM unlock now available for AT&T Palm Pre Plus
May 21st
The method ain’t new — it’s the same jictechnology developers offering the same code over at NextGenServer — but it will yield different results when used on the latest and greatest webOS device. Yep, that Palm Pre unlock that enabled international GSM Pre units to work on AT&T, Telus and T-Mobile is now officially certified for use on AT&T’s own Palm Pre Plus. That means your shiny new smartphone can now hop onto T-Mobile and Telus networks with a functioning SIM card from either carrier, but unlike other unlocks, this one will cost you $35.79. Or, you know, you could pick up Verizon’s Pre Plus, nab a free mobile hotspot along the way, and pocket an old Nokia candybar for those overseas jaunts — your call, broseph.
Palm Pre Plus launched on AT&T
May 17th
The boardroom drama behind the HP acquisition wasn’t the only Palm news today — the company also launched the AT&T Palm Pre Plus. No surprises here — it’s going to $149, decidedly more than Verizon’s $29 with free Mobile Hotspot service — but hey, at least it’s out there, and you get a free Touchstone in the deal, so that’s nice.
Verizon vs. AT&T: Pre Plus edition
Mar 24th
Sure, Verizon and AT&T shout at each other across our TV airwaves all the time, but how often do we get to see two exactly same phones running on both carriers? The Pre Plus and Pixi Plus have just such a distinction, and we stopped back by the Palm booth with our Verizon Pre Plus in hand just to prove to ourselves we weren’t dreaming. Naturally we couldn’t keep ourselves from a little browser battle (check out the video after the break, the winner may or may not surprise you!), and we even caught the two phones commiserating about that dismal plastic USB jack flap of infamy. Sure, we’re longing for a new webOS device, and have a hard time thinking AT&T will reverse Palm’s fortunes alone, but there’s something special about this new era we’re entering with the likes of Palm and Google where you can (almost) choose your device and then your carrier, not the other way around.
Motorola Backflip now on sale at AT&T
Mar 11th
Heads-up, kids — AT&T’s first-ever slice of Android is now available. Just let that sink in a minute. Feels good, doesn’t it? Motorola’s Backflip has gone on sale just as promised, and that debatably awesome Blur action can be yours for $99.99 after mail-in rebate and a 2-year agreement. So, you pulling the trigger, or you are you waiting for whatever Dell and / or HTC are bringing to the party?
Motorola Backflip for AT&T unboxing and hands-on
Mar 2nd
We’ve just taken delivery of an AT&T-branded Motorola Backflip — the carrier’s very first Android device — and we wanted to share with you our magical first moments putting the phone through its paces. Here’s a quick rundown of our first impressions:
- It feels solidly-built — probably a notch better than the CLIQ. There’s no wiggle or weirdness in the hinge whatsoever. Of course, we know from personal experience that “feels solidly-built” doesn’t necessarily mean it is solidly-built, so the jury’s still out on how it’ll hold up with regular use, especially with the keyboard exposed full-time.
- Opening and closing the phone isn’t a natural one-handed operation, unless you’re comfortable putting it at extreme risk of an unfortunate tumble.
- It’s laggy right out of the box, which doesn’t bode well for usability once you load it up with your own apps. Of course, it uses exactly the same processor as the CLIQ, so that doesn’t come as a surprise.
- It’s filled to the brim with pre-loaded AT&T stuff: AllSport GPS, AT&T Maps, AT&T Music (which takes the place of the standard Music app), AT&T Navigator, AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots, Mobile Banking, MobiTV, MusicID, Where, and YPmobile. We strongly prefer the approach of offering a special branded Android Market portal where you can download your carrier’s recommended apps.
- Blur looks and feels the same as it does on the CLIQ, though the main Blur widgets — Social Status, Messages, and Happenings — have been moved one home screen left of the main one (we prefer this configuration anyhow).
- Yahoo has replaced Google as the default search provider throughout the phone. It’s crazy: the home screen widget, the browser, everything’s been programmed to use Yahoo. We love us some irony, but golly, we’d prefer Google searches most of the time.
It spontaneously rebooted for us once in about an hour of use — a concerning sign, particularly considering Motorola’s inability to pump out a solid firmware for the CLIQ — but we’ll need a little more time with it. Want more right now? Follow the break for some more impressions, video, and a sample shot from the camera.
Xbox 360 will support AT&T’s U-Verse TV later this year
Jan 7th
Just a quick little note from Microsoft’s CES 2010 keynote, but man it’s a surprise. AT&T U-Verse subscribers will soon be able to use their Xbox 360s as a set-top box. AT&T U-Verse is the one IPTV provider in the US — admittedly there aren’t many — that utilizes Microsoft’s Mediaroom platform and while it was announced at CES three years ago that the 360 could act as a Mediaroom set-top, up until now AT&T customers didn’t have this option — well, maybe not now as an exact release date wasn’t mentioned. We also don’t have a clue if AT&T will charge for this type of thing. Another thing cool that was mentioned was that a Windows 7 PC can also work as a Mediaroom set-top and Mediaroom was even demoed on a Windows Mobile phone.
