Web site TmoNews is predicting a T-Mobile pre-sale of the new Android based HTC Dream to existing customers beginning September 17. This prediction goes against other rumors that have reported delays in the Android phones which could push its initial launch into 2008. According to the site, the HTC Dream will be up for existing customer pre-sale only on September 17th. Take this for what it’s worth. The site claims a trusted source pegs the SLP at $399 and that it will be available in black, while and brown. The data speed is 3G which leads to speculation that T-Mobile will follow AT&T’s lead and gauge charge their customers extra for the high speed data.

TmoNews

I feel like we should start a feature called “Where’s Vincent?!”, as he seems to wind up at a different tech event every few days; if I were using a map to keep up with his comings and goings, it would be full of pin-holes by now. It’s okay though, as long as he keeps it up, we’ll be reporting it here!

His latest is the Google IO event, and earlier today he got exclusive video of the new Android OS…

Google’s latest Android prototype is miles improved over the versions we last saw. Back at CES the GUI was clunky and the whole thing looked relatively primitive; Google themselves asked us to keep an open mind and instead concentrate on the OS’ potential. Now, they’ve brought out a device that you could, frankly, mistake for production hardware.

Continue Reading

Q.: Judie,

Hope this note finds you well. I need some gadget advice, if you have the time.  I have a birthday coming up in two weeks, and my wife wants a suggestion from me for a present. I am thinking about a new phone.  I have a Samsung Blackjack for work which runs Mobile 5.0 and I like it a lot.  Works very well with our Outlook Exchange server.  I also have a Motorola RAZR2 for weekends, which I also like, but I’d like a weekend phone that has a little more functionality.

I have looked at the N95, but if I am going to put that kind of dent in my wallet, I wanted to see if you have a favorite fun phone that you like and would recommend for a GSM system (I am AT&T).  Anything that really makes you smile?

Thanks for your time!!

Bill

Continue Reading

I’m really excited about exploring and learning more about Android, Google’s upcoming OS. So far we have seen it running on various bits of older hardware, but I think this has to be some of the most intriguing yet. XDA Forum has turned their attention to the platform, and managed to hijack a Windows Mobile TYTN II, and in a round-about way they have coerced it to run Android.

As Chris Davies of PhoneMag said, “apparently the TyTN II is basically running Android as an emulation: an .EXE on top of the original Windows Mobile OS. That’s a new approach; previous hacks to get the software working - such as on the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet we saw earlier in the week - took advantage of Android’s compatibility with things like OMAP chipsets, which are relatively common among mobile devices, to force the OS to install.”

Continue Reading

Q. Hi Judie,
I’m looking for an expert opinion on smartphones. I’m a Verizon customer, so I am due for my new every 2 free $100 in August.

I have a Palm TX, which I lovingly refer to as my electronic brain, and my cell phone LG8600.  The problem is that my brain often forgets the electronic brain, which is really bad for remembering meetings.  :(  So, I want to get an all in one device.

I’ve been reading reviews and checking out all kinds of info, but I’m so confused between Treos, Blackberries, etc.  What I need is a phone, calendar, to do list (mainly some organization software), contacts, camera, and the occasional internet use.  I don’t need to check my e-mail.  Work has not given me a phone to make me constantly check my e-mail, and until they do, I don’t want them to think I’m going to spend all my free time working. 

With that said, I thought maybe a blackberry would be overkill.  I don’t need the super-duper data package for my phone.  Plus, like most people, I’m all about the speed (RAM needed???), and reception.

I’ve thought about taping my phone to my Palm, but that’s just not the fashion statement I want to make.  Plus, the doublesided tape doesn’t hold very well.

Thanks,
Heather

P.S.

I had another question kind of related to the cell phone question: why is it that GSM seems to get the more advanced phones before CDMA.  I’m not talking about just the iPhone, but it seems that way for most new phones.  I thought it had more to do with the fact that more people use the GSM ‘network’, but is there something different about the tech that makes it more difficult to make CDMA phones.  I’m happy with my Verizon service, but I guess I’m a bit frustrated.

Continue Reading

Once again, we invite you to eavesdrop on our email conversations…

Wayne: R.I.P. … the Internet slays another print publication…

Mitchell: I was a subscriber to PC World for about 5 years, and then I realised that I was paying for a magazine with content that I had read weeks earlier on the internet.

It really is inevitable I suppose, tech magazines just can’t stay ahead of the game with online news sites getting information out hours after release. They have to wait a whole month…

Clinton: This is the same problem that many tech magazines face. Granted, most have a much smaller circulation than PC World, but the net result is the same: very few subscribers but a massive uptick in online “subscribers”. Amongst us Gear Diary types, I’d be shocked if many of these magazines were still printing this time next year.

Mitchell: Yeah I have the same thought each time I receive various magazines I have subscribed to, they just feel out of date. They have to know the end is coming as well.

Continue Reading