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PSA: Sears charging $50 less for new DROID activations than Verizon

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 11:14AM

If you walk into a Verizon store today and pick up a DROID, you'll be out $300 (before tax) out of pocket, then you'll twiddle your thumbs for a few weeks while you wait for some mysterious PO box in Texas to send you your $100 rebate on a debit card. Wouldn't you rather just pay $200 upfront? Or better yet, $150? Sears -- which, we have to admit, we didn't know sold phones -- is charging just $150 without a rebate for the DROID today, a full $50 less than Big Red proper with rebate. We don't know how good these guys are with customer service (Simplexity is running the store on Sears' behalf, it seems), but truth be told, we can deal with a little incompetency for $50.

[Via I4U]

DROID mania sweeps the nation, so to speak

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 9:19AM

It appears that last night's midnight opening in Manhattan went off like gangbusters, but the situation across the country is a little more subdued this morning with seemingly short lines and easy access to DROIDs at every location we've visited. We won't put out a number, but we can confirm that several Engadget editors have taken the plunge today -- and if riffraff like us can waltz into the store and get them, you should certainly be able to. Good luck being assimilated out there today, and be sure to post pictures of your experience in comments (up above we've got San Francisco's first buyer courtesy of Ross Miller, and after the break, you can live it up with the good folks of Albany as they were paid a visit by Tim Stevens).

Continue reading DROID mania sweeps the nation, so to speak

BlackBerry Curve 8530 now official on Sprint

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 3:03PM

As we revealed this morning, the BlackBerry Curve 8530 -- a CDMA remix of the 8520 now available on T-Mobile -- is coming to Sprint to do battle with its Verizon-branded cousin. Unlike Verizon, which promises a November 20 launch for $99.99 on contract after rebate, Sprint isn't revealing pricing or availability details for the low-end BlackBerry -- but naturally, if they're smart, the answers will be "cheap" and "soon," respectively.

Sprint getting BlackBerry Curve 8530, too

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:12AM

Great news, Sprint-ites (or whatever it is that you like to be called): the BlackBerry Curve 8530 that was just announced for Verizon today isn't a Big Red exclusive. We just reached out to a Sprint spokesperson for comment on the device's future in yellow clothes, and sure enough, it's coming; we don't know when exactly, but we imagine it'd be in the same time frame as Verizon's, which launches on the 20th of this month. This would become Sprint's first optical trackpad-equipped BlackBerry device -- and with both EV-DO and WiFi on board, it should be a solid option if the price falls in line with the $100 that its rival is charging. More on this shortly, we suspect.

Samsung Convoy is a rugged push-to-talker for Verizon

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 9:30AM

For some reason known only to its users, push-to-talk and mil-spec protection seem to go hand in hand -- and that trend continues with Samsung's Convoy for Verizon. The beefy little flip offers 810F compliance for resistance against shock, dust, vibration, salt, fog, humidity, sunlight, and temperature extremes, EV-DO-based push-to-talk, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 2 megapixel camera plus VZ Navigator support. Verizon's also touting its "long battery life" (we'll be the judge of that) with a 1300mAh pack on board, so you should be able to chirp-chirp your way through the night if you play your cards right and you've got some willing participants on the other end. Look for this one to drop (quite literally -- it's rugged, after all) on November 15 for $49.99 on contract after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Verizon's LG Chocolate Touch skips on the BL40 influence

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 9:15AM

We've suspected it for a while, and now it's 100 percent confirmed: Verizon's latest Chocolate device, the Chocolate Touch, takes absolutely zero influence from the lovely BL40 with which it shares a name. That said, it definitely seems to continue the Chocolate line's music-oriented tradition with an integrated FM radio, dedicated music key, stereo Bluetooth, equalization tech from Dolby Mobile, and a curious "Join the Band" function that lets you add in your own beats to the music with a full on-screen drum kit. It's got a 3.2 megapixel cam, full touch display, and for the impatient among us, the best news might be that it's available today -- yes, today -- for $79.99 on contract after rebate.

BlackBerry Curve 8530 brings optical trackpad to Verizon

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 9:00AM

Twinning nicely with its 8520 counterpart currently available on T-Mobile, RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8530 marks the brand's new low-end full QWERTY device with a 2 megapixel camera, 528MHz "next generation" core and QVGA display all paired up with EV-DO and WiFi, marking Verizon's newfound commitment to launching WiFi on BlackBerrys that we first saw on the Storm2. It's got a full 256MB of storage on board (expandable with 32GB microSD cards, theoretically, when they're available) and is going to see duty in your choice of black or "smoky violet" -- just hold out for November 20, when it'll materialize for $99.99 on contract after rebate.

Verizon's DROID ERIS by HTC does Android and keeps it cheap

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 8:45AM

Verizon is making no secret about which Android device it wants to make waves this week -- that'd be the DROID from Motorola -- but there's another model that'll be available the same day with one-tenth the fanfare: HTC's DROID ERIS. Codenamed Desire ahead of launch, the phone is essentially Verizon's custom remix of the venerable Hero as found on Sprint and various GSM carriers around the world, featuring a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2-inch capacitive display, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD expansion up to 16GB. Check it out in your local store hiding somewhere in the shadow of the DROID starting Friday for $99.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, which -- if you can forgo a physical keyboard, faster processor, and high-res display -- works out to a cool hundred less than Moto's entry.

Canceled Motorola RAZR3 reemerges as KLASSIC in South Korea

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 5th 2009 at 4:29AM

When the bulk of your business suddenly shifts virtually all of its marketing and engineering resources to Android, certain things are bound to fall through the cracks -- take the "Ruby," for example, once said to be the fallen would-be successor to the RAZR 2. We guess Moto got far enough along on engineering with this one that they figured they'd toss it over to one of its lower-volume markets rather than canning it altogether, though, because the higher-end flip has reemerged in South Korea as the KLASSIC. For anyone who keeps track of these sorts of stats, that's exactly three more letters than the typical Moto model name has, but the phone breaks all sorts of rules -- after all, it combines an old-school 2G radio (which in operator SKT's case, means CDMA) with a relatively fresh 5 megapixel cam, not unlike the ZN5. There's no word on a release outside South Korea at this point, but frankly, we're pretty sure the DROID would eat it anyhow.

[Via AVING]

Verizon announces early store openings for DROID launch

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:05PM

We'd already heard through the grapevine that select Verizon Wireless stores would be cracking their doors open early to deal with the presumed flood of ~~consumers~~ "Humans" eager to snap up the first-ever Android 2.0 device, and now the carrier has come right out with the official details. We're told that "many" of its over 2,000 retail locations will open at either 7AM or 8AM local time to field orders for the DROID, though VZW mall stores will all open at their regular time. You should check with your local store to see exactly when they'll open, and while we can't guarantee it, we'd guess that having an Android-related tattoo on your person is a good way to get VIP treatment once you arrive on scene. Or, you know, you could just get your Best Buy pre-order in now and save $100 up front by dodging the mail-in rebate.

Sprint touts Palm Pixi's nonexistent WiFi

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:14AM

Sprint has a time-honored tradition of screwing up its ads. Remember the Palm OS-powered (yes, Palm OS, not webOS) Motorola Q2? How about the Pre's mythical tethering capability? Here's a new one to add to the history books: the "WiFi capable" Pixi, yours for just $99.99 after mail-in rebate. Count us in.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sprint lights up WiMAX in NC, Chicago and Dallas, launches subsidized Mini 10

by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 9:44AM

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Or better yet, when a leaked roadmap doesn't get delayed in the slightest? After months upon months of waiting, broadband-lovin' citizens in the North Carolina Triangle and Triad will be celebrating alongside DFW residents and Chicago natives as Sprint's 4G WiMAX service rolls into town. As of right now (that's today, junior), consumers in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and Charlotte, NC; Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas and Chicago, Illinois can roll into a Sprint store and snag a U300 3G / 4G WWAN modem on a $69.99 monthly data plan. We're told that San Antonio and Austin will get lit up later this month, while Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Salem, Oregon and Seattle, Washington will join the fray before 2010. Oh, and did we mention that Palm's favorite carrier finally snagged itself a WWAN-equipped netbook? 'Cause the Dell Mini 10 is available starting today for $199.99 at select Sprint stores in the metropolitan Baltimore area.

Update: Looks like Sprint changed "Baltimore" to "Bay Area." Odd.

Read - Sprint WiMAX in the Triangle
Read - Sprint WiMAX in the Triad
Read - Sprint WiMAX in Charlotte, NC
Read - Sprint WiMAX in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
Read - Sprint WiMAX in Chicago, IL
Read - Sprint's first netbook is Dell Mini 10

Sprint launches Samsung Moment, Android empire expands by one

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 5:22AM

And here comes more trouble for your wallet. Mixing up that unholy trifecta of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, AMOLED screen and Android inside, Samsung's Moment -- in spite of its quirks and niggles -- is likely to lighten the load for quite a few Sprint customers today. Pricing is as expected, with a $279.99 initial outlay that gets reduced to $179.99 after rebates, but you'll also have to agree to a two-year contractual commitment. Unless you're locked in to Sprint for whatever reason, we might advise holding out for a couple of days and seeing if the DROID takes your fancy, but don't take our word for it -- check out what your fellow readers think right here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Leaked docs show HTC's DROID Eris launching on November 6th for $99, running Android 1.5

by Paul Miller posted Oct 31st 2009 at 1:20PM

Like it or not, we've got it on pretty reasonable authority that HTC's first "DROID" phone is nothing more than a rebadged, shape-shifted Hero (something we've been hearing for a while now), and that it'll be launching on Verizon on November 6th, the same day as Motorola's DROID. That means Android 1.5 "Cupcake," Sense UI, 3.2-inch screen, 528MHz processor and so forth. The Eris will retail for $199 but with a $100 mail-in rebate. It'll pack in an 8GB microSD card and the hopes and dreams of a generation of cheapskates that will be hopin' and prayin' that HTC manages to push Android 2.0 onto this thing so they don't look too bad in front of their DROID-toting buddies on Verizon.

[Thanks, anonymous]

Gallery: HTC's DROID Eris leaked docs

HTC Droid Eris peeks its head out once more, shows off 5MP camera

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2009 at 2:24PM

Hey, HTC -- we're onto you. We know you're a little upset that the lower-end Droid Eris isn't getting much attention now that the DROID is all over Verizon's marketing agenda, but it's not like we don't feel your pain. For those interested in spending a full Benjamin less on their next Android handset (on Big Red, anyway), the Droid Eris looks to offer that very solution, and now a few more sneak peeks have shown that a 5 megapixel camera (with a video record mode) is gracing the rear. We're also told that WiFi will be onboard (right, VZW?), and a bundle of joy will also be thrown in after mail-in rebate. Whatever that means.

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