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Retail
March 30, 2011
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BlackBerry PlayBook arriving at Office Depot on April 19th

By on March 30, 2011 at 2:21 AM.

BlackBerry PlayBook arriving at Office Depot on April 19th

Research In Motion’s first QNX-powered device — the BlackBerry PlayBook — will be hitting a plethora of retailers beginning next month, and Office Depot has officially thrown its proverbial hat into the ring. Via a press release, the retailer has announced that beginning April 19th customers can purchase the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB PlayBooks for $499, $599, and $699 respectively. “Office Depot provides customers with the most innovative lineup of products that will help them take care of business, and the BlackBerry PlayBook is certainly one of those game-changing products,” said Randy Wick, the company’s Vice President of Merchandising. “There has been a lot of buzz and excitement for the BlackBerry PlayBook to hit the market, and we are thrilled to be one of the first retailers to offer this professional-grade tablet.” RIM’s first tablet venture will be available at Office Depot’s retail stores and online at officedepot.com. The full press release is after the break. More →

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Mobile
March 17, 2011
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T-Mobile to release LG G2X, G-Slate on April 20th, suggests rumor

By on March 17, 2011 at 6:43 PM.

T-Mobile to release LG G2X, G-Slate on April 20th, suggests rumor

According to blog TmoNews, T-Mobile will release the G-Slate tablet and G2X smartphone next month on April 20th. The blog notes that the two LG devices should be given firm release date on the nation’s fourth largest provider next week at the CTIA Wireless conference in Orlando, FL. The LG G2X will be a T-Mobile branded Optimus 2X and the G-Slate is the Honeycomb device we saw announced at CES back in January. We know the G-Slate will be sporting an HSPA+, 4G radio, but details on the G2X are still unknown.

More →

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Breaking
March 16, 2011
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Motorola’s Wi-Fi XOOM coming to U.S. March 27th, $599

By on March 16, 2011 at 9:31 AM.

Motorola’s Wi-Fi XOOM coming to U.S. March 27th, $599

In a press release just moments ago, Motorola Mobility announced the release of the its Wi-Fi only XOOM tablet in the United States. Available beginning March 27th for $599, the 32GB device will be available at Amazon.com, Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, select Sam’s Club locations, Staples and Walmart. The XOOM was the first tablet to launch with Google’s Honeycomb operating system (Android 3.0) back in February. The price tag, which has been a point of contention amongst technology pundits and analysts, mirrors that of Apple’s 32GB Wi-Fi iPad. The full press release is after the break. More →

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Tablets
March 14, 2011
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HP TouchPad confirmed to launch in June

By on March 14, 2011 at 7:33 PM.

HP TouchPad confirmed to launch in June

We exclusively reported that the HP TouchPad, the company’s first webOS tablet, would ship in June, and HP’s CEO has gone on record stating that. Leo Apotheker, earlier today, offered up the release date at the enterprise-focused HP Summit in San Francisco. He also went on to detail that the webOS PC initiative would launch in beta, and run in a web browser “later this year.” More →

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Mobile
March 14, 2011
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Sprint’s Kyocera Echo goes on sale April 17th for $199.99

By on March 14, 2011 at 3:28 PM.

Sprint’s Kyocera Echo goes on sale April 17th for $199.99

In a press release today, Sprint announced the availability of the Kyocera Echo — a dual-screen Android smartphone the company debuted last month. Sprint will offer pre-orders of the innovative device beginning on March 16th, with general availability starting on April 17th. As a quick recap, the device has two 3.5-inch WVGA displays for a full 4.7-inches of screen viewing (on the diagonal), 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with 720p video recording, Wi-Fi b/g with hotspot capabilities, Bluetooth 2.1 +ERD, 1GB on-board storage, microSD card slot (support for 32GB cards), and Android 2.2. Sprint even took the time to namecheck BGR in the official press release. The Echo will retail for $199.99 with a signed two-year contract. Hit the jump to view the full announcement. More →

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Mobile
March 14, 2011
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Nokia’s first Windows Phone device due in 2012, says report

By on March 14, 2011 at 1:41 PM.

Nokia’s first Windows Phone device due in 2012, says report

According to a report filed by Daily News & Analysis, Nokia will bring its first Windows Phone handset to market sometime in 2012. The information comes courtesy of Nokia India’s MD, D. Shivakumar, who was quoted as saying his company’s first Windows Phone handset would become available “roughly 12 months from now.” The information contradicts previous reports, and comments made by Nokia executives, that implied a smartphone running Microsoft’s mobile operating system was on target for a 2011 release. Nokia is expected to release close to twenty new Symbian smartphones in 2011. More →

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Mobile
March 11, 2011
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Verizon’s ThunderBolt to launch March 17th, tweets HTC sales manager [updated]

By on March 11, 2011 at 6:03 PM.

Verizon’s ThunderBolt to launch March 17th, tweets HTC sales manager [updated]

An eagle-eyed reader has directed our attention to an interesting tweet published by Imran Shahid, an HTC regional sales manager handling Verizon accounts. According to Shahid, HTC’s ThunderBolt handset will launch on Verizon Wireless next Thursday, March 17th. The aforementioned timeline predates our prognostication by a mere four days, but we’re sure that won’t upset you all that much. We’ve reached out to HTC and will update this post with any comment it provides.

UPDATE: That didn’t take long. Mr. Shahid has removed the tweet from his account. More →

15 Comments
Tablets
March 11, 2011
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Apple Online Store lists iPad 2 with 2-3 week shipping delay

By on March 11, 2011 at 9:21 AM.

Apple Online Store lists iPad 2 with 2-3 week shipping delay

The early bird gets the worm. If you didn’t rouse yourself at 4:00 a.m. EST to order an iPad 2 online, you’re going to have a little bit of a wait on your hands. Apple’s online store has now placed a 2-3 week shipping lag on all iPad 2 models and colors. If you absolutely must have the tablet before then, you may want to come up with a retail strategy. The iPad 2 will be available beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST this evening at a host of retailers across the States. If you plan on venturing out for a retail iPad 2 purchase, good luck. More →

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Mobile
March 8, 2011
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Verizon’s Samsung Stealth gets pictured; April release date rumored

By on March 8, 2011 at 11:01 PM.

Verizon’s Samsung Stealth gets pictured; April release date rumored

Formerly known as the SCH-i520, the Samsung Stealth made a brief appearance at the Consumer Electronics show back in January. Announced along with ten other LTE devices by Verizon Wireless, the Stealth was forced to play second fiddle to the ThunderBolt, BIONIC, and XOOM. But today, we get to pay a little homage to the forgotten, 4G handset, thanks to several images of the device frolicking in the wild acquired by blog TechnoBuffalo. If you recall correctly, the device boasts a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with 720p video recording, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, LTE/CDMA radios, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth, aGPS, HDMI-out, and Android 2.2. TB‘s tipster notes that the battery on the device seemed to perform quite well, yielding a full day of use with LTE enabled, and that the device should hit store shelves in mid-April. Pick your poison: ThunderBolt or Stealth. Hit the jump to check out some additional images of the Samsung handset. More →

36 Comments
Apps & Software
March 8, 2011
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iOS 4.3 to be released at 10AM today; personal hotspot supports 5 connections?

By on March 8, 2011 at 8:00 AM.

iOS 4.3 to be released at 10AM today; personal hotspot supports 5 connections?

One of our sources has just let us know something pretty interesting. There has been a lot of talk surrounding Apple’s personal hotspot feature, specifically it’s capability of only supporting 3 wireless connections (as opposed to 5 like many other devices). Well, we have been told it’s all left to the carrier to decide. If a carrier requests it, five devices will be supported, but by default, it’s three.

Oh, and we’ve also been told iOS 4.3 will be available for download publicly at 10AM PT today. Fire up iTunes and get your update trigger-finger ready!

129 Comments
Mobile
February 25, 2011
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Rumors put Windows Phone devices on Verizon’s network in late March

By on February 25, 2011 at 5:31 PM.

Rumors put Windows Phone devices on Verizon’s network in late March

According to information acquired by WinRumors, Verizon Wireless will begin to sell Windows Phone handsets towards the end of March. Citing “people familiar with the company’s plans,” the blog goes on to note that the HTC 7 Trophy — the same CDMA, WP7 handset to be carried by Sprint — could be announced as early as February 28th. The device will have Microsoft’s “NoDo” update (also known as the copy and paste update) and should retail for $199.99 with a signed two-year contract. Any Big Red patrons out there waiting on a Windows Phone set? More →

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Mobile
February 25, 2011
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Samsung Galaxy S II launching at the end of March, tips UK retailer

By on February 25, 2011 at 8:45 AM.

Samsung Galaxy S II launching at the end of March, tips UK retailer

UK-based online retailer Clove has posted some interesting information concerning the availability of Samsung’s Galaxy S II. Via a brief blog post, the company writes, “we’ve had word today that the first stock of the Samsung Galaxy S II i9100, both the 16GB & 32GB versions, will be landing mid to late March.” The March timeline predates Samsung’s target release, which has been communicated as Q2. The Gally S II — which boasts a dual-core 1GHz processor, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 1GB of RAM, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and Android 2.3 — is available for pre-order from Clove; £510 for the 16GB model and £590 for the 32GB model. The retailer does caution that “release dates are always subject to change,” but it’s nice to hear rumors of an early (as opposed to late) release by a manufacturer. Still no word on when/if the Galaxy S II will make its way to the States. Fingers crossed. More →

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Mobile
February 25, 2011
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Peculiar leak suggests HTC ThunderBolt hitting Best Buy March 10th

By on February 25, 2011 at 7:20 AM.

Peculiar leak suggests HTC ThunderBolt hitting Best Buy March 10th

The above photograph reeks of a coordinated leak, as it was sent to a handful of tech-centric sites and forums at around 11:30PM last night. What we’re allegedly looking at is a Best Buy Mobile launch roadmap that lists Verizon’s HTC ThunderBolt handset with a March 10th release date. We’re assuming that the sheet is quite old — it has a November 11, 2010 Continuum launch listed — making it unclear how much stock we can put in this one. Again, due to the timing and distribution pattern of this photo, we thought it was worth mentioning.

Also of note: that tweet from a Best Buy location tipping a March 4th launch has been deleted. So maybe the 4th is the date.

Come on Verizon, people want this handset and you, obviously, have it. Stop being stingy.

32 Comments