HTC Titan II landing March 18th

We’re sure you’re probably still trying to get over the possibility of the Nokia Lumia 900 launching with AT&T for a mere $99.99, but the news regarding AT&T isn’t over just yet. And in fact, it appears we’re hearing some additional juicy news that should no doubt get many AT&T customers extremely excited in the coming months.

This time around, it’s in regards to that other 4G LTE Windows Phone – you know, the HTC Titan II that made its debut during CES. According to a leaked Q1 2012 roadmap obtained by BGR, it mentions that AT&T is tentatively planning to launch the HTC Titan II on March 18th for $199.99 with a 2-year agreement. Of course, at that price point, people will look at the possible $100 price attached to the Nokia Lumia 900, but still, it has some advantages – like having a wickedly larger display.

Meanwhile, it’s also being reported that the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD, Samsung Exhilarate, and the gorgeous Sony Xperia ion will all be coming out sometime at the end of Q1 – though, exact dates and pricing weren’t mentioned. Interestingly, we’re also being introduced to a new tablet from Sony that AT&T will be planning to launch in the future, however, it’s looking to be an HSPA+ enabled tablet as opposed to offering 4G LTE. Dubbed as the Crystal, the report indicates that AT&T will have it priced at $409.99, but it’s unknown if that is its on-contract or outright pricing – albeit, we’d figure it to be the former.

Well,It seems that AT&T has many things in store for Q1, which should no doubt keep AT&T customers very content. Knowing that the HTC Titan II will be sporting a $200.

HTC Titan 2 Hands On:

AT&T’s HTC Titan now available online

AT&T’s gigantic (but hopefully not titanic in destiny) HTC Titan went up for sale online on Sunday just as promised and it’s got the biggest screen on a Windows Phone handset, a 4.7” SLCD panel nested in a sleek, under 0.39” (10mm), unibody design. The Titan underlines Microsoft’s big (literally) message conveyed with the six-storey high Windows Phone installation that lit up recently for a day on Times Square.

Apart from being big, AT&T’s HTC Titan is also pretty capable both in terms of pure processing power with a 1.5GHz single-core chip and in photographic terms with an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 1.3MP front-facing snapper. Sadly, the big screen can’t match heavyweights like the iPhone 4S and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Nexus in terms of resolution and pixel density. Despite its 4.7-inches diagonal, the Titan has a resolution of 480x800, which wouldn’t be too bad on a small screen, but seems a bit underwhelming when applied to a 4.7” canvas.

More information's:
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=HTC+TITAN+(TM)&q_sku=sku5400337#fbid=DL0LHtMDZRE
http://www.winrumors.com/att-htc-titan-now-available-for-199/

At&t HTC Titan Unboxing - Windows Phone

AT&T iPhone 4S unlocked accidentally, no jailbreak needed

Thanks to a glitch in the latest iOS 5 version some guys over at the Macrumors forums were able to unlock the iPhone 4S. The procedure doesn't require any software to be downloaded nor does the phone need to be jailbroken. Now there is a dint in this plot, however, as the unlock seems to work only on AT&T-locked iPhones 4S, 4 and 3GS and with a data-enabled T-Mobile SIM.

The steps are simple enough to follow but continue on your own risk. You have enable the Wi-Fi, disable the Location services, then turn Airplane mode while on your active AT&T network. Remove the SIM card and get ready to enter your T-Mobile chip.

Now try to take this news with a pinch of salt as users mileage varies. Some say it works, most say it doesn't. And so far it has only been confirmed with the AT&T and T-Mo duo of SIMs. Maybe the T-Mobile card is required because it's the only other GSM network in the USA.

One more disadvantage is that if you've been successful in unlocking your iDevice, you should avoid rebooting and resetting as those will void the unlock and you'll need to repeat the whole procedure.

Carriers still struggling to meet persisting customer demand for the iPhone 4S a month after its launch

The iPhone 4S joined on three of US biggest carriers – AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, and all of them reported very strong initial sales and Apple alone has confirmed record-breaking 4 million iPhones sold within the first weekend.

On AT&T, the waiting period reaches 21 days, but the carrier often manages to get the iPhone 4S out to customers within 10 days, spokesman Mark Siegel confirmed.

Sprint seems to handle the demand best of all and it would take you only around 14 days to get the next iPhone. Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse earlier had said that the lack of an iPhone in Sprint's phone lineup was the number one reason for the carrier loss of subscribers. Analysts expect the arrival of the iPhone 4S to Sprint to yield a 303,000 postpaid subscriber growth.

The iPhone 4S also recently launched on regional carrier C Spire Wireless, previously known under the Cellular South brand name. It seems getting it on C Spire, which unofficially has less than a million subscriber, is currently the fastest way to get the new iPhone.

More information's:
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/11/17/would-be-iphone-customers-still-facing-weeks-long-waits/

Samsung reconfirms Galaxy S II is getting ICS

The Samsung Galaxy S II is most probably the single best selling high-end Android for 2011, but just like most every other handset around it's running on Android Gingerbread.

Good news is that the Galaxy S II is not going to keep that Android version forever. We've already heard Samsung Italy spill the beans about the upcoming update to ICS for the S II, but now Samsung's UK Twitter account reconfirms that keeping all doubts away.

Now, our guess here would be for early 2012 as the majority of phone makers are aiming to roll out the ICS update around then, but we hope we've erred and it's coming even earlier. In the meantime, you can already get the ICS-based latest version of MIUI ROM on your S II.

More information's:
https://twitter.com/#!/samsunguk/status/136838488954912768

Black Friday deals roundup

Next Friday, the 25th, will see one of the busiest shopping days of this year, and there are plenty of deals in mobile to choose from, too. We are listing some of the more compelling of them by carrier in case you are in the market for a new phone or tablet.

We'll try and keep this updated if new stuff comes out, or the terms of the deals change. These prices are for new two-year contracts, of course, and some of them are available right now.

AT&T:
The best deal here seems to be Sam's Clubs Samsung Galaxy S II for $0.96, or, if you are not a member there, RadioShack's offer of a $49.99 Samsung Galaxy S II for Black Friday is too cool to pass up on as well. The Infuse 4G is to be free at Best Buy, and the LTE darlings - Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and HTC Vivid 4G - are $189.99 and $159.99, respectively, on Amazon.

Sprint:
The Motorola PHOTON 4G is to be $0.96 at Sam's Club with a membership, or $49.99 at Amazon right now. The flagship Samsung Epic 4G Touch is $99.99 at Amazon, and it all goes downhill from there, including $49.99 for the HTC EVO 3D.

T-Mobile:
while not exactly a Black Friday event, T-Mobile will be hosting a sale this Saturday November 19, where $49.99 hits the price ceiling for phones and tablets, including the flagships, after mail-in rebate.

Tablets:
Best Buy has a $249.99 Asus Eee Pad Transformer door buster, and the 7" Acer Iconia Tab will be $189.99 there, sulking the Kindle Fire. Staples is having a sale on the 10.1" Acer Iconia Tab for $299.99, while the BlackBerry PlayBook will greet you there with the modest $199.99 price tag.

Complete Siri experience only possible on the iPhone 4S because of a tweaked proximity sensor

Siri has been already ported with various success rates to the iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPod touch and even the lowly iPhone 3GS, proving that the software is not chained to the A5 only.

There is one small tweak in the building of the iPhone 4S, though, that might be the culprit why Siri would only work the way it is supposed to on Apple's latest handset. It is hold on the proximity sensor. iFixit, when taking the phone apart, noticed that little infrared sensor box was different that what we had before.

That in itself is not the reason for Siri's performance, but a software change is seemingly forcing it to always light up when the screen is turned on, instead of only when a call is coming, as in other handsets.

More information's:
http://www.ifixit.com/blog/blog/2011/11/09/little-sister-siri/

How Siri Knows When You're There:

HTC Vivid Review

Let's not forget to give credit where credit is due, but after a long year of seeing plenty of top-notch smartphones, we've probably forgotten about the HTC Inspire 4G for AT&T. Well, we really can't forget about it, because it brought HSPA+ connectivity to the masses for AT&T – priced competitively at $99.99 on-contract. Seeing that AT&T is on the verge of kicking things up with their 4G LTE network, it's naturally fitting for them to bring a device that showcases their network's potential. Seriously making it affordable on any budget, the $199.99 on-contract HTC Vivid seems remarkably priced to offer plenty of value for the dollar – while introducing us to the capability of AT&T's next-generation data network.

The package contains: HTC Vivid, microUSB cable, Wall Charger, Quick Start Guide

The Vivid packs a sizable 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with dual LED flash , which features backside illumination and a wide-angle F2.2 lens. Also, the speakerphone grill is barely seen and sticking out behind the stainless steel back cover. Sliding it off doesn't require that much force, but once it's off, we're given access to the SIM card slot, 1,620 mAh battery, and unoccupied microSD slot.

HTC Vivid Unboxing (4G LTE for AT&T):

Apple sends out its first OTA update for iOS 5.0.1-it's to fix the battery and more

While it is not exactly like Pinocchio signing "There are no strings on me", it must have been somewhat of a relief for iOS 5 users to receive their first OTA update and not have to plug in that unwieldy USB plug. The update actually brings iOS 5.0.1 to the Apple iPhone 3GS, Apple iPhone 4 and Apple iPhone 4S as well as both versions of the Apple iPad and the 3rd and 4th generations of the Apple iPod touch.

The most important part of the update for many is the removal of bugs that affect the battery life on certain devices, including the Apple iPhone 4S. Other changes include the addition of multitasking gestures for the original Apple iPad and the elimination of bugs for Documents in the Cloud. And for those Australian iPhone users whose phone doesn't understand them, this update should fix that problem as well.

To get the update, Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod users should go into Settings, click on General and then click on Software Update. The device will then ironically tell you to plug in to a power adapter. While the update says it can take an hour to download, Apple iPhone 4S users on Wi-Fi have been able to install the update in 5 minutes.

More information's:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/11/apple-ios-5s-update.html?utm_source=feedburnerutm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheTechnologyBlog+%28Los+Angeles+Times+Technology+Blog%29

New iOS 5 Wireless/OTA and Delta Updates (Preview):

Apps pre-installed on the Motorola DROID RAZR can be hidden or removed

Verizon customers holding an upgrade have had a tough decision to make between the Motorola DROID RAZR and the Samsung GALAXY Nexus. One of the factors that Big Red customers were using to decide between the two high-end phones was the fact that the DROID RAZR came loaded with Verizon and Motorola bloatware while the GALAXY Nexus is a pure Google experience.

But what if you could hide or even remove some of the pre-installed applications? There is a way. Holding on to an application inside the app tray will bring up some options including giving you the choice to hide the icon. It won't remove the app from the phone, but at least you will be able to replace the icon with your own choice on the app tray. If you ever need to find one of those hidden apps, simply press the menu button and click on "Hidden Apps" at the top right of the menu.

Some pre-installed apps can not only be hidden, but also removed such as Let's Golf 2, Madden 12 and a few others. To remove those apps, long press on them like you do to hide the icons on the other apps.

More information's:
http://phandroid.com/2011/11/10/hidden-motorola-droid-razr-apps-can-be-hidden-and-uninstalled/

Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Motorola Droid RAZR:

HTC Titan arriving on ATnT November 20

If you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the HTC Titan, the largest Windows Phone to date, then your wait is almost over as November 20 has been pegged as the release date for the highly anticipated device.

The HTC Titan is a monster-sized smartphone. It runs on the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile OS, Windows Phone Mango. It features a large 4.7-inch S-LCD display and is powered by a single-core 1.5GHz processor as well as 1GB of RAM. While other platforms such as iOS and Android are incorporating dual-core processors in their devices (and soon to be quad-cores), Windows Phone performs quite admirably with the single-core that it has been given.

The back of the device has an 8 megapixel camera that can record video in 720p HD. Around front is a 1.3 megapixel camera that can be used to video chat using Skype once Microsoft integrates their latest acquisition into the mobile platform or the newly launched Tango application.

More information's:
http://www.facebook.com/ATT?sk=wall

HTC Titan hands-on and first look:

The Galaxy S II arrives pretty in pink for South Korea, Samsung's baseball team gets a Galaxy Tab 10.1 Lions edition

The Samsung Galaxy S II was one of the best Android flagships this year, proven by its record sales figures for Samsung, but the black plastic shell is nothing to phone home about. Granted, we have a white version, too, but nothing in between. Well, the company is righting this wrong by issuing a pink version. It looks pretty nice, and somehow not overly girly, although that is the obvious target market.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Pink Edition is going on sale in South Korea only for now, but we hope this one and more colored versions can make their way outside the Korean Peninsula, and into our trembling hands, it's a good way to keep the interest in the handset high. The company will also make 150 units of a Galaxy Tab 10.1 Lions Edition, to commemorate the title of its baseball team the Samsung Lions, in the Korean series.

More information's:
http://asiadroid.com/samsung-introduces-galaxy-ii-pink-galaxy-tab-10-1-lions-edition/2011/

Samsung Galaxy S II hands:

Intuit GoPayment for AT&T processes credit card payments right there on your smartphone

With the volume of mobile payments expected to skyrocket over the following years, it is not surprising that more and more companies are trying to grab a piece of the pie. Well, the steadily growing list includes AT&T now, which has partnered with Intuit in delivering a solution of its own to the U.S. market. The newly-introduced Intuit GoPayment for AT&T is a mobile payment system tailored with small business owners in mind. It allows for easy processing of credit and debit card payments on the go by using a smartphone and a portable Bluetooth card reader.

Here is how the magic happens: first you fire up the GoPayment app on your smartphone and log in. The next step is entering the amount, after which you swipe your customer's card through the reader and let them approve the payment by signing on the device's display. That's it! The transaction confirmation will be sent in a matter of seconds, and an invoice can be sent straight to your customer's email inbox, shoud it be required. Those concerned about their personal data will be pleased to know that the communication is encrypted and no private information is stored in the phone or tablet's memory.

More information's:
http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/business-programs/small/solutions/industry-solutions/mobile-productivity-solutions/intuit-gopayment.jsp?wtLinkName=IntuitGoPayment&wtLinkLoc=LN
http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/11/08/deal.could.pose.threat.to.squares.mobile.service/

Intuit GoPayment for AT&T:

CWA says AT and T/T-Mobile merger could create 96,000 jobs

Although AT&T has seen a lot of resistance in their attempt to acquire T-Mobile, at least they have the backing of the Communications Workers of America union as they believe the merger could create up to 96,000 jobs. AT&T’s biggest opposition in their fight to purchase T-Mobile has been Sprint, who as of now is the nation’s third largest carrier and would fall way behind AT&T and Verizon in terms of subscribers if the merger is to happen successfully. Sprint has been very vocal in their attempts to block this from happening, but the CWA believes that Sprint’s argument that the merger will cause AT&T to cut jobs is incorrect.

AT&T has already made it clear to the FCC that if their acquisition of T-Mobile is allowed 5,000 overseas workers would be brought back to the US, a fact that the CWA has reinforced. That number is in addition to the 96,000 jobs that the union believes the merging of AT&T and T-Mobile could create. AT&T has a plan in place because with the merging of any companies that are part of the same industry there are bound to be workers who do the same jobs. AT&T will be providing a job offer guarantee to all non-management T-Mobile workers. Those workers which AT&T acknowledges will not be needed after the merger will be offered different positions within the company.

In the report published by the CWA, they reiterate that AT&T has an 8 billion dollar commitment to the expansion of their 4G LTE network. The investment is long term and will take place over the course of the next 7 years. The Economic Policy Institute is responsible for the estimate of being able to produce 96,000 more jobs. However, the low end of their estimate says the merger says about 55,000 jobs will be created. Still, even if AT&T can only make good on the low end of that estimate that is a pretty big figure to use in their legal battles.

So, AT&T now has the backing of the Communications Workers of America union that believes AT&T is correct in their argument that the merger will create jobs. AT&T is certainly going to have to keep their foot on the gas if they want to close this acquisition, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to see any reason why it will not happen.

More information's:
http://files.cwa-union.org/tmobile/20111107_ATTTmo_Real_Story.pdf