More than two years have gone by since Google, HTC and T-Mobile gave us the world’s first Android phone, the G1. Tucked behind the 3.2inch display and 5-row keyboard was an infant OS with exponential potential. Now the same team has come together again. The G2 gains a modern design and HSPA+ support, while retaining the G1’s landscape qwerty keyboard. Evolution or just a spec bump? Will it stand as a great device even with all of the new dual-core phones? Read along to find out.
T-Mobile Announces Vibrant 4G, Coming This Month
Well, it’s probably not the most popular decision, but Tmo and Samsung officially announced the Vibrant 4G. As expected, it’s more or less exactly like the original Vibrant, with Froyo, an HSPA+ radio, front-facing camera, and T-Mobile TV. There’s no official date or pricing, but we do know it’ll be available in February, so we expect to see it within the next few weeks. In the press release, Tmobile touts their 4G speeds until they can’t tout them anymore. Tmo also announced that they’ve launched HSPA+ in 8 new cities, including Chattanooga, TN, and Rochester, MN.
There’s not much to say on this one. It follows the whole Vibrant-Froyo fiasco from a few weeks ago. But since we first got word of this device, hell hath frozen over, as the original Vibrant got its precious Froyo. Anyone going to pick one of these up when it launches? Anyone going to buy one just to throw it on the ground and spit in Samsung’s face? Sound off in the comments! You can check out the full press release below.
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Galaxy S 4G from T-Mobile to Offer Blazing-Fast Speeds and Unparalleled Entertainment Experience Featuring Movies, TV and Video Chat
T-Mobile expands America’s Largest 4G Network to eight new
metropolitan areas in South and Midwest
BELLEVUE, Wash., and DALLAS — Feb. 2, 2011 — T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S. 1, today announced the anticipated February availability of the Galaxy S™ 4G, exclusively from T-Mobile. According to T-Mobile, the Galaxy S 4G will be the fastest smartphone running on America’s Largest 4G Network™2. The Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile’s first smartphone capable of delivering theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps, offers enhanced mobile experiences and unparalleled entertainment including mobile HD TV3 through T-Mobile TV, the ACADEMY AWARD® Nominated film INCEPTION, and T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik™ — delivered at 4G speeds on its 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display.
T-Mobile also announced the expansion of America’s largest 4G network into more than 100 major metropolitan areas, reaching more than 200 million people nationwide. In addition to expanding its 4G footprint, T-Mobile also has aggressive plans to double the speed of its 4G network in 2011, and the company expects that 140 million Americans in 25 major metropolitan areas will have access to these increased 4G speeds by midyear.
“The Galaxy S 4G pushes the envelope by reaping the benefits of our network’s unprecedented speeds and by offering groundbreaking entertainment experiences,” said Andrew Sherrard, senior vice president, product management, T-Mobile USA. “We are excited to continue to expand our portfolio of 4G devices that enable our customers to have access to unique and compelling features and an optimal 4G experience.”
“The Galaxy S 4G offers customers Samsung’s core premium product investments to speed, screen and content,” said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer, Samsung Mobile. “Galaxy S 4G is T-Mobile’s fastest smartphone and offers Samsung’s brilliant Super AMOLED display and rich multimedia features for premium movie and TV content.”
Through the delivery of faster speeds comes an enhanced experience when viewing video entertainment over the Web using services such as YouTube. In addition T-Mobile TV, a preloaded application, offers consumers access to live and on-demand mobile HD TV on T-Mobile’s 4G network, including free programming from select stations like ABC News NOW, FOX Sports, PBS Kids and Azteca America.
To further enhance the entertainment package on the Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile has preloaded, at no additional cost to consumers, Warner Bros. Pictures’ ACADEMY AWARD® Nominated film INCEPTION which is nominated for Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Music (Original Score), Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. Customers also have the option to rent or purchase their favorite movies and TV programs directly from the Samsung Media Hub, which features a robust collection of new releases and TV shows.
The Galaxy S 4G’s blazing-fast speeds will make sharing memories via e-mail, social networks or video quick and easy. For example, the preloaded T-Mobile Video Chat application powered by Qik enables customers to share any moment with loved ones virtually whenever and wherever they want through T-Mobile’s network or Wi-Fi. Using either the front-facing or the rear camera, which features a 720p HD camcorder, paired with Video Chat allows customers to hold video conversations with friends and family who have a compatible mobile device.
Featured as a pre-installed application, doubleTwist® with AirSync™ provides customers with a useful and easy way to auto-sync and back up photos, HD videos and music to and from their home computer. With a Wi-Fi connection, customers can easily sync their media wirelessly and at no additional cost. The doubleTwist Player lets customers enjoy their favorite tunes and videos directly from their phone while on the go. The Galaxy S 4G also comes preloaded with Slacker Radio, offering music fans more than 130 genre stations and ability to create their own custom stations for free.
With a slim and sleek design, the Galaxy S 4G’s 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display gives customers a vivid, sharp viewing experience, whether consumers choose to watch a movie or read a book or newspaper with the preloaded Kindle for Android application while on the go. Powered by Android™ 2.2, the Galaxy S 4G is equipped with a speedy Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor, an ST-Ericsson M5720 HSPA+ 4G modem to enable theoretical peak downloads of up to 21 Mbps, a 5 megapixel camera, a pre-installed 16GB microSD memory card, and a 1650 mAh lithium ion battery.
Availability
The Galaxy S 4G is expected to be available to T-Mobile customers in February. Customers can visit http://galaxy-s.t-mobile.com/4G for more information.
Beginning today, T-Mobile’s network will also be delivering 4G speeds to Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Macon, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn., in the South region as well as in Champaign, Ill.; Lansing, Mich.; and Rochester, Minn., in the Midwest.
[/spoiler]
Android Eclipses Symbian to Become #1 Smart Phone Platform in World
Booya. Android has just become the number one smart phone platform in the world. The latest figures from Canalys are in and it shows Android accounting for 33.3 million handset shipped in the fourth quarter of 2010, slightly ahead of Symbian’s 31 million smart phones. Coming in third, Apple pulled 16.2 million shipped, which was nearly double what it had last year. BlackBerry handset maker RIM took fourth with 14.6 million smart phones shipped, up from 10.7 million the year before. Microsoft rounds out the top five at 3.1 million shipped, just slightly ahead of “other” smart phones. Hit the break to see how each fared in terms of overall market share.
Market share for Q4 2010
- Android 32.9%
- Symbian 30.6%
- Apple 16%
- RIM 14.4%
- Microsoft 3.1%
Keep in mind that these figures should not be taken as gospel, rather, they are indicative of trends in the industry. Every report that comes out offers a slightly different perspective. The best thing to do is to look at the bigger picture which shows how the various platforms are performing. As a whole, the smart phone jumped 89 percent from this time last year, topping 100 million units in the fourth quarter alone. For the year of 2010, the total figure comes in just under 300 million smart phones shipped. New efforts from all players involved will see this figure decimated come January 2012.
T-Mobile and Samsung Formally Recognize Galaxy S 4G with Press Release
Following directly on the heels of today’s acknowledgment, T-Mobile and Samsung have issued a press release to announce the Galaxy S 4G. And really, that’s about all they did. The press release (after the jump) only tells us that it’s set to arrive in the coming weeks and that more details are forthcoming. The Galaxy S 4G is said to be the first device from T-Mobile able to achieve the theoretical speeds of 21Mbps on the carrier’s network.
Review: LG Optimus U (U.S. Cellular)
While we all drool over the current cutting edge in Android phones, the likes of the Atrix and Droid Bionic that were announced at C.E.S., another kind of revolution is happening at the other end of the spectrum. A great example is the LG Optimus U, which debuted on U.S. Cellular last month. The sibling of the Optimus T, Optimus S and Vortex, it’s a capable Froyo phone that’s only $30.
(If you’re a current U.S. Cellular customer and in their “Belief Program,” it’s $30 after rebate without requiring any new contract commitment. New customers will need to sign on for two years.)
U.S. Cellular Says: “The LG Optimus U is a good fit for first-time smartphone customers who are looking to explore a wide range of games, multimedia entertainment and time-saving Android applications.”
What We Liked:
- Despite a 600 MHz processor, the OS and all but the most demanding apps run smooth and fast, thanks in large part to Froyo’s performance enhancements.
Samsung and Verizon Announce 3 New 4G LTE Devices
At CES 2011 Samsung Mobile announced 3 brand new 4G LTE devices. All 3 new devices are the first of their kind. These new 4G gadgets will all be available on the Verizon Wireless network. LTE (long term evolution) is a standard in the wireless industry and Verizon has decided to launch their “4G” network utilizing this technology. Verizon is touting up to 10x faster speeds than their current 3G service and plans to cover the same area using their fourth generation data network within 3 years.
CLIQ 2 Officially Announced, Available Jan. 19 [VIDEO]
Confirming recent rumors, Motorola and T-Mobile have officially announced the CLIQ 2, a 1 GHz landscape slider with a 3.7″ screen and a funky, reptilian keyboard. Like its predecessor, it seems intended for the middle of the market, but unlike the original CLIQ, includes a lot of enterprise friendly features. It is not an HSPA+ phone.
Highlights include:
- Motoblur social connectivity
- Android 2.2
- an “ultra-fast” 1GHz processor
- a 3.7″ display
- 5 MP camera with LED flash
- Wi-Fi calling
- DLNA-enabled, allowing users to stream and share content on other DLNA-enabled devices.
- Business-oriented features like LinkedIn integration, Quickoffice, Froyo’s enterprise security features such as remote locate and SD card wipe.
- Device and SD card encryption are expected to be available in early 2011.
Motorola XOOM Announced!
It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for since Andy Rubin showed off a curious little tablet at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference. That’s right, Motorola has officially announced the XOOM tablet for Verizon. It’s packed full of awesomeness, like:
- The amazing Honeycomb, made specifically for tablets
- A 1GHz dual-core processor
- A 10.1-inch widescreen HD display (look out, iPad)
- 5 megapixel rear camera with 720p HD video capture
- 2 megapixel front-facing camera for all your video chatting needs
- WiFi and Verizon 3G connectivity
- Full 1080p HD support with an HDMI out port
- LTE capabilities with a 4G LTE modem
- Bluetooth keyboard and docks available
Now, you’re probably wondering the same thing we are: why isn’t this an LTE-enabled device right now? Well, as it turns out, Verizon and Motorola plan to release a fully-LTE capable XOOM in Q2. My guess is that they’re either trying to see if marketing it as a 3G tablet would get more attention, or they’re waiting to see if their LTE network can take the strain of all these devices. No word on pricing, but expect this bad boy to be somewhere in the upper $400 to $600 range. We’ll keep you posted if anything else pops up. So, who’s getting one?
Thanks to BoyGeniusReport for the tip.
T-Mobile and LG Announce G-Slate 4G Honeycomb Tablet
With all the excitement surrounding tablets at CES, it’s no wonder everyone wants in on the action. T-Mobile has just announced via Twitter that it will be bringing the world its first 4G equipped Honeycomb tablet. Dubbed the G-Slate, this LG tablet will run Android 3.0 and be equipped with HSPA+ (4G according to T-Mobile’s standards).
Google Confirms Gingerbread for Nexus One in “Coming Weeks”
Google’s official twitter account for their Nexus series of phones confirmed what we had already heard a few weeks back. Android 2.3 will hit the Nexus One in the “coming weeks” in the form of an over-the-air update. We had heard unofficially from members of the Android team, but this is the first from Google directly. As we’re advised by the tweet, we need to hang tight. So hang tight.
Level Up is where we explore the gear that actually makes a difference, whether that’s in how you live, work, or unwind. Each edition brings together standout products, whether tied by brand or by theme, that turn the everyday into something a little more exceptional.