Wednesday, August 31, 2011

AT&T to finally launch LG Thrill 4G on September 4th, $99.99


AT&T is finally set to launch its first 3D smartphone, the LG Thrill 4G. No, that 4G doesn’t mean users will be able to take advantage of AT&T’s soft launched 4G LTE network, but the Thrill will begin burning up AT&T’s previous-generation fourth-generation network when it becomes available for purchase this Sunday, September 4th. We reviewed the LG Thrill 4G last month and we were a little surprised by the fact that we really did enjoy recording and viewing 3D content on the device. Overall, however, we found the Thrill 4G to be a mediocre phone that’s bulky, heavy and not overly competitive with modern Android offerings from the likes of HTC and Samsung. At $99.99 however, those looking to play around with the 3D features shouldn’t be disappointed.
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Motorola announces PRO+ Android phone; likely headed to AT&T, T-Mobile [video]


Motorola on Tuesday unveiled a new Android smartphone that is likely soon headed to both AT&T and T-Mobile here in the U.S. The Motorola PRO+ runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a candy bar form factor with a full QWERTY keypad. The BlackBerry-like QWERTY sits beneath a 3.1-inch VGA touchscreen display, and spec highlights include a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera, 4GB of internal storage, microSDHC support, 512MB of RAM and a 1,600 mAh battery. “The Motorola PRO+ is built for people who want to take the pressure off and consolidate their work and personal lives with an efficient smartphone that acts like your personal assistant,” said Alain Mutricy, Motorola’s senior vice president, portfolio and device product management, in a statement. “Today, with our demanding 24/7 lifestyles your smartphone should make your complex life easier and give you an edge at work and at play.” Pricing and availability have not yet been announced for AT&T or T-Mobile. Motorola’s full press release follows below along with a video.

Motorola Mobility Delivers the Smartphone that Works and Plays as Hard as You Do: Motorola PRO+
A powerful smartphone optimized for business but fun enough to use for your personal life – Motorola PRO+ is your personal assistant and best friend
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Aug. 30, 2011 – Life is full of demands, and we all could use a little extra help. With the sleek and sophisticated Motorola PRO+, brought to you by Motorola Mobility Inc., you can have your own personal assistant that fits right in your pocket. Motorola PRO+ gives you the power to edit important documents on the go, multitask when every second counts, and encrypt sensitive work information so your IT manager can sleep at night. This supreme blend of touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard and Android™ 2.3 (Gingerbread) makes this smartphone ready for anything. The Motorola PRO+ will be available in Asia and Europe starting in October.
Motorola PRO+ has a super quick 1GHz processor and physical QWERTY keyboard for more efficient typing and texting when you need to update a client on the fly, for browsing for really important information, or multitasking as necessity demands. The device is also packed with productivity features to make your life easier and to help you impress your boss or your friends, including the pre-loaded Quickoffice Connect for accessing, creating and editing documents on-the-go. We know that in a fast paced world, going in and out of apps wastes precious time, so now key apps such as your calendar and email are scrollable direct from your home screen.
Motorola PRO+ merges all of your personal and business information for you in a convenient system designed to make your life easier. Take the pressure off knowing Motorola PRO+ syncs services from multiple sources, so all your contacts are viewable the way you want them, calendar options are available to arrange, edit, and respond to meeting invites, there are direct dial conference options, and intuitive email solutions that can anticipate who you may be sending an email to before you do. Its 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities enables you to connect multiple devices, such as a laptop or tablet, for quick access to the Web, corporate email and calendar syncing. Plus, it features scratch resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass so tossing your phone in your bag or pocket doesn’t have to be a disaster.
“The Motorola PRO+ is built for people who want to take the pressure off and consolidate their work and personal lives with an efficient smartphone that acts like your personal assistant,” said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president, portfolio and device product management, Motorola Mobility. “Today, with our demanding 24/7 lifestyles your smartphone should make your complex life easier and give you an edge at work and at play.”
Motorola PRO+ knows how to have fun too – it is ready for full customization to bring you the games and applications most important to you. With Music, Motorola’s unique music player you have a dashboard for music discovery. You have easy access to all your favorite artists and song lyrics. Plus, you receive live, personalized recommendations for songs and videos as well as news and event updates from the world of music. With Gallery, you can aggregate all your photos from social networking and photo sharing sites like Facebook and Picasa for easy viewing. Plus, with Adobe® Flash® Player 10.3, you’ll be able to access the online content you love. Motorola PRO+ is also preloaded with the latest *Google mobile services including Google Maps™ 5.0, Google Talk™ and more than 250,000 apps from Android Market.
Motorola PRO+ is a smartphone that you and your IT department can agree upon. Nothing says business ready better than the leading security features; whether it’s remote wipe of your device and SD card, password expiration and history, or full encryption, your IT manager will breathe a sigh of relief. Motorola PRO+ comes loaded with 25 Exchange ActiveSync security policies – including PIN lock, auto-discovery of Exchange Servers, Extended Device Management API’s and 3LM integration. Your sensitive information – your career – is guarded in this virtual vault with Motorola PRO+. It’s fully loaded with support for Exchange and Gmail for business, including corporate directory options. With these leading features your IT manager just might give you a smile.
Smart Accessories
A suite of smart accessories ensures users get the most from the Motorola Pro+. Available accessories include a Bluetooth® headset, Bluetooth car kit, portable power, and car charger.




















Motorola PRO+ Features and Specifications
Form Factor Touch Screen, QWERTY
OS Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Size 62 x 119.50 x 11.65mm
Display 3.1” VGA, 640 x 480 pixels, scratch resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Weight 113g
Processor 1GHz
Battery 1600mAh
Talk and Standby Time1 Up to 8 hours of talktime and 13 days in standby
Bands/Modes Dual-band WCDMA 850/1900/2100, 850/1700/2100, 900/2100

Quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900,
HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 2Mbps,
EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 12
Connectivity 3.5mm headset jack, USB 2.0 HS, BOTA, PC Sync

3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities – Allows customers to connect up to five other Wi-Fi®-enabled devices and laptops
Messaging/Web/Apps MMS, SMS, Email, IM (Dwnld Java, Embedded)
Camera 5MP auto focus with LED flash
Audio FM Radio Receive, AAC, AAC+,

AAC+ Enhanced, AMR NB, MIDI, MP3, RA, WAV, WMA
Video Capture/Playback/Streaming, H.264, MPEG4
Storage & Memory 4G internal storage, expandable up to 32GB

512 RAM
Location Services aGPS (assisted)
Pre-loaded Applications Access to Google Maps with Navigation, Google Talkand Web browsing
Sensors eCompass, Accelerometer, Light and Proximity Sensor

AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Hands-on

AT&T also has their own Galaxy S II to show off today and we were able to snatch a few photos and a quick video before they threw it back under the glass. I’ve wrote Galaxy S II so much today I think I’ll just say SGSII from here on out. So, AT&T will be launching the SGSII come September 18th and be just a few days behind the others, but don’t worry it will be yours with a new 2-year contract for only $199.


Just like the rest of the carrier today, AT&T announced the Galaxy S II and you can read all about that here. Since AT&T already offers the Samsung Infuse 4G with a large 4.5″ display they must have decided against that large size for the SGSII because they are the only carrier in the US offering it with a 4.3″ display rather than the 4.52″ that was announced today. Either way here are the official specs.
– 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus Display
– 1.2GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos processor
– Ultra-thin (8.89mm) and thinner than on other carriers
– 8MP rear and 2MP front cameras
– 1080p HD video recording
– Wifi calling
– NOVA 2 HD pre-loaded
– Swype pre-loaded
– Bluetooth 3.0
– Hotspot controls up to eight devices
– Android 2.3 Gingerbread
– Optional USB Host kit for connection keyboards, cameras, printers and thumb drives
– Optional HDMI adapter
– Multimedia and Car docks will be available soon

Now for our hands-on we actually brought along the little/big brother the Samsung Infuse 4G. While it has a 4.5″ display it only offers a single-core CPU so that is clearly where the SGSII has the advantage as it’s 1.2 Ghz and has an extra core for when you need it most. The smaller of the two pictured below is the new Samsung Galaxy S II headed for AT&T come September 18th.
AT&T Galaxy S II Hands-on Video


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Again performance was excellent and no one will really have any issues there. Everything was extremely fluid and performed great and we experienced little to no lag at all. Touch Wiz was fast and stable too. The AT&T Model looks closest to the version launched in Europe because it features the same size display and you will all be just as pleased with it as those Europeans are. We plan on fully reviewing the phone come launch time but for now here are some pictures for you to enjoy.
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Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Hands-On

In case anyone missed it, today was Samsung day and they’ve officially announced the Samsung Galaxy S II Smartphone is headed to all three major US carriers with the exception of Verizon (they have bigger plans so I’m told). We were live at the NYC Samsung event getting all the juicy details. For the official announcement of the Epic 4G Touch click here. The WiMAX version will be available starting September 16th for the low price of just $199. We have pictures and videos below.



After Samsung leaked the details earlier this morning we can now officially confirm those details were all accurate. The Galaxy S II offered by the Now Network will be the Epic 4G Touch and will come with some awesome specs and those include:
– 4.52″ Super AMOLED Plus Display
– 1.2GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos processor
– Ultra-thin (9.59mm) design
– Wimax 4G Connectivity
– 8MP rear and 2MP front cameras
– 1080p HD video recording
– Wifi calling
– NOVA 2 HD pre-loaded
– Swype pre-loaded
– Bluetooth 3.0
– Hotspot controls up to eight devices
– Android 2.3 Gingerbread
– Optional USB Host kit for connection keyboards, cameras, printers and thumb drives
– Optional HDMI adapter
– Multimedia and Car docks will be available soon

[VIDEO PROCESSING]
Pretty impressive right? Basically it is everything that made the original SGSII popular but with a bigger screen, I love it. Obviously with the 1.2 Ghz dual-core CPU performance was top notch and everything was extremely quick, speedy, and very fluid. We experienced zero issues or lag with our very limited time with the phone. You all know plenty about the SGSII so I’ll just skip down to the pictures. Video is coming shortly.
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Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Coming September 16th for $199

Samsung and the Now Network have also confirmed that they will also be launching the Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch (long name I know) with 4G WiMAX coming this September. Prior to the event in NYC going on as we speak Samsung accidentally unveiled the details on the SGSIIE4GT — yes that is what I’m calling it.



The Galaxy S II with 4G WiMAX will be available from the team in Yellow first, they get exclusive rights as the first Galaxy S II to the US. It will be rocking that awesome 4.52″ Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1.2 Ghz dual-core Samsung Exnyos processor, 16GB internal storage with 1GB Ram. a Powerful 8 MP rear camera with LED flash capable of 1080p video capture, 2MP front facing camera and more.
Galaxy S II Unveiling Video


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As expected these will all be running on the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread as well as an updated Samsung Touch Wiz UX. The video above is the quick unveiling live from the NYC event just for fun, call it a bonus. Samsung will also offer an HDTV adapter and dock for those looking to get HD content from the phone to their HDTV’s and should have those available soon. We are also hearing since they are the first carrier they’ll also be offering pre-orders so stay tuned for full details.
We are just getting some hands-on time now and will be sure to update with plenty of pictures and videos shortly, but you already knew that right?
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Samsung Galaxy S II Official for AT&T with 4.3″ AMOLED Display Coming in September

The details just coming in over the past few minutes but just as we guessed Samsung has announced the Galaxy S II for all three major carriers in the US with the exception for Verizon. We have some press photos for everyone to enjoy and as soon as we get some hands-on time with the real devices we will be sure to update. Sadly the AT&T version will be coming to market with the same 4.3″ display we’ve seen on current models.



Again we are here live in NYC and will update as details come in. It appears AT&T and T-Mobile have both decided to leave the name untouched and are calling it just the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II. I like that better than the Attain, or Function or whatever else we’ve heard. AT&T’s version of the S II features an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with flash and 1080p video capture, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and the latest generation of TouchWiz atop Android 2.3. but they did opt for the smaller 4.3″ display vs the 4.52″ we’ve seen leaked recently.
Galaxy S II Unveiling Video


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Like we already knew it will be coming to market with the Samsung dual-core 1.2 Ghz processor and 1GB of RAM. With the smaller screen AT&T is also claiming they have the thinnest model so that is a plus. The Samsung Galaxy S II on AT&T will be available September 18th. Stay tuned for more details and hands on video coming very shortly
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Samsung Galaxy S II Gets Official on T-Mobile this Fall

The long wait is finally over and today at the event in NYC Samsung is just about set to start announcing what we have all been waiting for. The Samsung Galaxy S II here in the US. T-Mobile has quickly jumped out and has just pinged us to inform everyone and our readers that they will be carrying the Galaxy S II. We aren’t sure if this is the rumored Hercules or not but either way it’s good news.



The Galaxy S II event in NYC is just getting started and we have exciting news coming out already. We are expecting to hear about all three major carriers except for Verizon today, but we will report it as we hear it as we are LIVE in NYC. T-Mobile will be launching the Galaxy S II shown above coming this fall and just as we have heard from numerous rumors T-Mobile confirmed it will sport an upgraded 4.52″ Super AMOLED Plus display rather than the 4.3″ on most SGSII’s. It will also feature the same 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8 MP rear camera with full 1080p video and a 2MP front camera for amazing quality video chat. Comes with 16GB internal storage and will run on T-Mobile 4G speeds.

These same details were also leaked earlier by Samsung for the WiMAX version of the Galaxy S II headed to the now network and you can see that here. As soon as Samsung gets rolling and some phones are in the wild we will be sure to update with plenty of pictures and hands-on video so don’t forget to check back shortly. Again we are live at the NYC Samsung Galaxy S II event and will be bringing all the details shortly.
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