Motorola Admiral to directly connect with Sprint on October 23rd for $100
We all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time — that, of course, is the Motorola Admiral that Sprint sure had a difficult time keeping a secret. But no matter now, as the fleet captain is ready to hook you up with the Now Network’s CDMA-based Direct Connect service online starting October 23rd (November 13th for all sales channels) for $100 on a two-year commitment and after a $50 mail-in rebate. Summing up the specs: the Admiral features a 1.2GHz CPU, 5MP rear camera with 720p HD video capture, rugged 810G mil-spec design, 3G Mobile Hotspot for up to five devices at the same time, a 3.1-inch VGA display and Android 2.3. For a smartphone that you can kick the trash out of, that’s not too shabby. Check out the full press release below.
Continue reading Motorola Admiral to directly connect with Sprint on October 23rd for $100
Motorola Admiral to directly connect with Sprint on October 23rd for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sonim brings a trio of rugged devices to CTIA E&A 2011, we go hands-on (video)
Sonim doesn’t crank out smartphones. It’s too busy flooding the earth with uber-rugged featurephones that would most likely withstand an actual flood, and it’s darn proud of that fact. That’s the impression we got, at least, after visiting the company’s booth at this week’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications. We had the opportunity to play around with Sonim’s three new devices: the XP1301 Core NFC, XP3340 Sentinel and XP1330 Core PTT. Announced on Monday, the first two phones are already available in the US while the third is targeted squarely at Latin America over the next two months. Quite frankly, the new GSM / EDGE lineup looks so similar that it’d be incredibly easy to forget which one was which — aside from having an appearance not unlike a tank, all three devices seem to come from the same mold. As similar as they are, each one has its own specialty: the XP1301 offers a Near-Field Communication tag reader, the XP1330 takes advantage of Push to Talk and the XP3340 Sentinel throws in a customizable man-down sensor that triggers an emergency alarm when something is awry. But we’ll tell you what won’t require emergency assistance — viewing the galleries and videos below.
Zachary Lutz contributed to this report.
Continue reading Sonim brings a trio of rugged devices to CTIA E&A 2011, we go hands-on (video)
Sonim brings a trio of rugged devices to CTIA E&A 2011, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sonim introduces trio of rugged phones, including one with NFC support
Sonim’s established a rather solid reputation in the rugged phone genre, with its XP3300 Force claiming the Guinness World Record for surviving the longest freefall this past February. Now it’s branching out by announcing three more mil-spec devices at this week’s CTIA, two of which will be available in the US starting today. First at bat is the XP1301 Core NFC, a device that lives up to its name by supporting a tag reader optimized for the workforce. It was announced for European availability last month, and is now ready to be sold in the US. Next up is the XP1330 Core PTT, a Push-to-Talk device shipping to select areas in Latin America over the next two months. Finally, the XP3340 Sentinel offers an emergency panic button and a man-down sensor capable of monitoring your phone for any freefalls or impacts, and can make an emergency call in your behalf. All of the above devices include quadband GSM / EDGE radios — don’t expect to use them for hyperspeed browsing — and have been drop-tested at least 24 times from over six feet. They may not do your laundry, but at least you won’t freak out when it drops a story or two. Head to the press release for more specifics.
Continue reading Sonim introduces trio of rugged phones, including one with NFC support
Sonim introduces trio of rugged phones, including one with NFC support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Motorola Admiral spied in the wild, waiting patiently for its turn to sail out of harbor
We can’t imagine this Admiral wants to stick around in the docks for much longer, yet its date of departure from port is still unclear. Fortunately, the Motorola Admiral — the device that we presume will become the fearless leader of the Direct Connect fleet — is one nautical mile closer to the sea of finished products, now that we’ve been handed some pics of the skipper itself in the wild. It’s exactly as we’ve expected, as it looks rather close to the version we saw in the now-pulled “official” video. According to the image snapper, the Admiral is “awkward to hold due to the bottom being so thin and the phone being very top heavy.” It’s also known as the XT603, and unsurprisingly runs on Moto’s proprietary UI (formerly called MotoBlur). We didn’t hear of any change in the specs, so for now we’re still expecting to see the military-certified handset come with a 1.2GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU, Android 2.3, 3.1-inch VGA display, a 5MP rear camera with 720p HD video capture and a 1,860mAh battery. One more pic of the sides below. Sound off, loose cannons — is this Admiral going to command your next two-year contract?
[Thanks, anonymous]
Motorola Admiral spied in the wild, waiting patiently for its turn to sail out of harbor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sprint’s 2011 Q3 roadmap leaks, gives a glimpse of our smartphone future?
Sprint finally released its much-anticipated Evo 3D into the wild today, but it turns out that’s not the only good news for fans of the Now Network. Courtesy of This is my next, we’ve got some tasty tidbits regarding Sprint’s forthcoming phone lineup for Q3 of this year. Apparently, we can expect to see the successor to Samsung’s Epic 4G, the Epic 2, sporting a 4-inch display, a single-core 1.2GHz Hummingbird processor, and an 8-megapixel shooter. There’s also an unnamed 4G device from Sammy in the works, which our gadget senses tell us may be Sprint’s version of the Galaxy S II, the Within. Not a fan of little green bots? Not to worry, because RIM is bringing its Bold Touch and Monaco handsets to the carrier, plus a push-to-talk BlackBerry, too. Well played, Mr. Hesse — with all these fancy new phones in the works, might this be the summer of Sprint?
Sprint’s 2011 Q3 roadmap leaks, gives a glimpse of our smartphone future? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sprint Direct Connect will replace iDEN with CDMA, launch late this year
Wait, didn’t they try this already? Looks like Sprint is gearing up to take another shot at its seemingly unsinkable (but aging) iDEN push-to-talk network that it inherited from its Nextel acquisition — which is a good thing seeing how it’s only signed up for another three years’ worth of maintenance. The new so-called Sprint Direct Connect service is slated to launch in the fourth quarter of this year using CDMA underpinnings, a throwback to the QChat-based push-to-talk network that Sprint launched back in 2008 but never gained traction. Presumably, Sprint thinks that it knows how to make the transition work this time around, promising wider coverage, better in-building signal strength, user availability notifications, support for up to 200 chat participants, and — of course — far faster data services than iDEN could ever deliver. Sprint says that it’ll offer “an ultra-rugged camera flip phone” along with a QWERTY Android device this year, with more devices in the pipe for 2012. Follow the break for the full press release.
Continue reading Sprint Direct Connect will replace iDEN with CDMA, launch late this year
Sprint Direct Connect will replace iDEN with CDMA, launch late this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Motorola i1 — Sprint/Nextel’s push-to-talk Android phone
The Motorola i1 is neither big, nor bad, but it certainly fills a niche that many believe is dying off — push-to-talk on the IDEN network. Applications and services from other carriers try to replicate it, but if you’ve ever used an actual "chirp" phone (either because you wanted to or otherwise) you know it’s not the same. Those who need PTT service on their phone now have an Android choice, so let’s have a look and see if it would be a wise choice to make after the break.
Posted originally at Android Central
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Sprint roadmap leaked, shows new Android phones, more 4G locations
Well what have we here? Looks like a screenshot of Sprint’s latest playbook, and there are a few interesting things for Android lovers on the list. July 11 looks to be a good day. First up would be the Motorola i1 (see our hands-on) hitting the shelves at your local Sprint store. If you don’t remember, that’s the mid-spec military grade Android handset with push-to-talk functions. Perfect for the jobsite, or the tackle box. We also have the addition of Nextel Direct Connect on Sprint plans — not sure what to expect here, but launching in tandem with the Moto i1 makes it something to keep an eye on. Next up is the rollout of 4G in more cities. We can see the whole line here, but what’s visible is:
- Merced, Calif.
- Rochester, New York
- Eugene, Ore.
- Syracuse, New York
- Tri-cities ares of Washington (Kennewick, Richland and Pasco)
- Visalia, Calif.
- Yakima, Wash.
Put that $10 premium data fee to good use if you’re living in one of these cities! And last, but not least, the launch of the Samsung Intercept M910. We saw this one go through the FCC not too long ago and may well be the Moment 2. Something tells me the fellas will learn a bit more about this one when they head back to the big apple for the Samsung event next week. Stay tuned, you know you’ll get all the details as they happen right here at Android Central. [BGR]
Posted originally at Android Central
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Motorola i1 now available on SouthernLinc, coming to Boost Mobile
The Motorola i1, the first push to talk Android-powered phone, is now available on SouthernLinc Wireless. We had expected Sprint to be the first carrier to carry the Motorola i1 but we guess a little carrier no one’s heard about beat them to the punch. And it looks like Boost Mobile is hot on its heels, with MobileCrunch scoring confirmation that the i1 is on the way to the MVNO.
The Motorola i1 is actually a rather decent phone for those in the iDEN market — it packs a 5-megapixel camera, gorilla glass screen, and is Military Spec 810F certified for blowing rain, dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, low pressure, salt fog, humidity and solar radiation. Now that’s a spec list for you. The i1 also comes preloaded with Opera Mini 5 (and the native browser too) and Swype, so in all, a pretty decent option for those looking for a rugged handset. [via southernlinc and MobileCrunch]
Thanks for the tip Adam!
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Motorola announces i1, the first Android push-to-talk device on Sprint
On the eve of CTIA (translated: While we’re all on planes headed to Las Vegas), Motorola announced the Motorola i1 (aka the Opus One), bringing you the very first push-to-talk Android-powered smartphone.
The i1 sports a 3.1-inch touchscreen at 320×480 pixels, WiFi and Opera Mini 5 with Flash Lite, a 5-megapixel camera and 2GB microSD card included. The Swype keyboard also is included.
Exact pricing wasn’t announced, and availability is listed only as the second quarter. So look for it in the next three months. Full presser after the break, if you’re into that sort of thing. [Motorola]