| Plum Mobile nicely KIRFs the Galaxy Note: hands-on with the Might May 8th 2012, 20:34  You've likely never heard of Plum Mobile before, and to be honest, neither had we before CTIA. Nonetheless, the smartphone creator is here to make a name for itself in New Orleans, even if it needs to ride on the coattails of other manufacturers. It goes without saying that of all the smartphones on display, it was the Might that immediately caught our eye. From a distance, it appeared to be a rebranded Galaxy Note. We then turned it on and discovered a clock widget that's undeniably reminiscent of HTC. The phone features Android 2.3.6 with an unusual UI that combines features of Sense, TouchWiz and stock Gingerbread, and while it's a bit of a mishmash, it's reasonably intuitive. Plum Mobile stopped short of cloning the Galaxy Note, but the resemblance is uncanny. Sadly, there's no stylus to speak of. The Might features a 650MHz CPU, a 5-inch display and a beefy 2,800mAh battery. Unlike the previous KIRF of the Note that we'd seen, this one features only a 5 megapixel camera, which is accompanied by an LED flash and a front-facing VGA. While none of the specs stand out as amazing -- including the display, which was a bit blurry -- we're told the phone will sell for approximately $180. Most fascinating about the Might, however, is its dual-SIM capabilities. Unfortunately, when we tried to play around with this functionality in the phone's settings, it locked up the phablet and we were unable to proceed. We know you're curious to see more, so be sure to check the gallery below. Sean Cooper contributed to this report Plum Mobile nicely KIRFs the Galaxy Note: hands-on with the Might originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | HTC EVO Design 4G for Boost Mobile hands-on May 8th 2012, 20:34  No, your eyes aren't deceiving you -- that's the very same EVO Design 4G we reviewed late last winter when it bowed on Sprint's lineup. Surfing along the carrier's increasingly antiquated 4G WiMAX network, this handset's getting a new berth on Boost Mobile priced at an affordable $299 for pre-paid customers. Much like its girthier Android cousin the EVO V 4G, the physical construction and internal specifications of this device have remained unchanged. It's still packing a 4-inch 960 x 540 qHD display, single-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon S2, 1.3 megapixel front-facing / rear 5 megapixel cameras and 4GB of internal storage. So, for the price the prepaid carrier's asking, it's not a bad deal. The phone is still just as pleasant to hold in hand, owing to a soft touch plastic back that's broken up by a smooth piece of aluminum plating. Again, if you've seen its earlier incarnation, you know what you're getting into, but there is a distinct difference here -- a combo of Sense 3.6 and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Luckily for prepaid consumers, the phone's set to launch sometime this June with that software combo pre-loaded; a sweet perk given its place on the lower end of the consumer spectrum. Hit up the gallery below for a further peek at this re-badged handset. Myriam Joire contributed to this report. HTC EVO Design 4G for Boost Mobile hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | HTC EVO V 4G (Virgin Mobile USA) hands-on May 8th 2012, 19:54  Does that handset above look familiar to you? It should because you've seen it once before when Sprint debuted it as the EVO 3D. This time, however, the phone that failed to ignite much consumer interest is back with a rebranded moniker -- EVO V 4G -- a new home on Virgin Mobile, a 2D-only screen and a $299 price. We managed to get some hands-on time with the device and for better or for worse, it's still packing the same list of specs: 4.3-inch qHD display, 1.3 megapixel front-facing / dual 5 megapixel rear cameras, dual-core 1.2GHz processor buffered by 1GB RAM and packing 4GB of internal storage with an additional 8GB furnished by an included microSD card. Cosmetically, nothing has changed from its postpaid to prepaid journey, so you're still getting that same bulky build, jarring button layout for the 3D to 2D slider and the three quarter grooved plastic back. What counts, however, is the software it runs, namely Android 4.0.3. Yes, right out of the gate the company intends to ship this 4G WiMAX device (sorry, it's not future-proofed for LTE) with a Sense 3.6 skin running atop Ice Cream Sandwich. It's not HTC's latest lightweight 4.0 UX, but for the market it's aimed at, it'll do just fine. Check out our gallery below for additional shots of this fat smartphone ahead of its planned June launch. Myriam Joire contributed to this report. HTC EVO V 4G (Virgin Mobile USA) hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | NEC announces Ivy Bridge processors for some, not all, of its series refreshes May 8th 2012, 18:51  Ivy Bridge continues to subsume its aging Sandy brother, this time as part of NEC's refresh of both its laptop and desktop families. However, only two machines have been gifted Intel's third-generation processors. The ValueStar L desktop series arrives with a Core i7-3770S at 3.1GHz, accompanied by a 2TB HDD and a 23-inch display. The LaVie L series packs a Core i7-3770S clocked at 2.3GHz, alongside a 15.6-inch screen, 1TB hard-disk, USB 3.0 port and digital TV tuner -- well, it is Japan. NEC expects both models (alongside the renewed LaVie S, E, M and ValueStar W and N series) to hit Japanese stores later this month. NEC announces Ivy Bridge processors for some, not all, of its series refreshes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Akihabara News |  NEC (translated) | Email this | Comments | |
