| T-Mobile Galaxy S III hands-on (video) Jun 21st 2012, 22:33  T-Mob's variant of the Galaxy S III made its in-store debut on this very day, and we just had a chance to go hands-on with the flagship smartphone. The carrier brought the handset down to the Metropolitan Pavilion for Pepcom's baseball-themed shindig and we just had to get our greasy paws all over its shiny Pebble Blue shell -- and it is a serious fingerprint magnet. Aside from that, though, it's hard to take issue with such a slim and marvelously engineered device. The plasticky build quality does leave something to be desired, but it's something we've become accustomed with Samsung devices. We've also got to give it to Sammy for getting carriers, including T-Mobile, to leave well enough alone. Other than the innocuous logo on the back there are no physical differences between this version of the S III and its 4.7-inch cousins on other networks. There's no keyboard, redesigned corners or rejiggered buttons. Truth is, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between Big Magenta's variant and the international version. The only obvious changes come once you fire the device up, and you'll have to dig around a bit to find them. T-Mo has added a few apps to the standard Samsung Suite. Most of them are relatively inoffensive, but if you're the type who was taken aback when you discovered My Verizon Mobile on your LTE Galaxy Nexus, you might not be a happy camper. On board you'll find T-Mobile TV, Name ID, Access T-Mobile, Mobile HotSpot and Visual Voicemail -- pretty standard additions. Our brief time with the device turned up no surprises. Performance was snappy -- apps opened without a hitch and webpages loaded as fast as the congested wireless in the room would allow. If you're a Carly Foulkes fan with an upgrade on tap you could do worse than to pick up the Galaxy S III (which is available today) for $279.99. Though, that price tag is, admittedly, a bit hard to swallow. Be sure to check the video after the break. Continue reading T-Mobile Galaxy S III hands-on (video) T-Mobile Galaxy S III hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | INSTEON says apps are better than switches with networked LED bulbs Jun 21st 2012, 21:34  We'll spare you the puns and meme references here. (Besides, how many Xzibit jokes can you take?) INSTEON has decided that simply saving you money on your electric bill isn't enough anymore. If you're going to cough up nearly $30 for an LED lightbulb, there better be some value added features. So, the company stuck a proprietary dual-band wireless receiver inside each of its eco-friendly lights allowing them to connect to a home automation system. There is a dedicated remote you could buy, but why bother when there's an app available for both Android and iOS that lets you turn on, off and dim the lights from the comfort of your touch screen. You can even create custom "scenes" for preset lighting levels. Unlike most remote lighting solutions, though, all the necessary hardware is built into the bulbs themselves. In fact, each one acts as a signal repeater, passing along instructions both wirelessly and though the powerlines to make sure ever corner of your home is covered. For more check out the PR and video after the break. Continue reading INSTEON says apps are better than switches with networked LED bulbs INSTEON says apps are better than switches with networked LED bulbs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  CNET | | Email this | Comments | | Huawei Ascend P1 XL hands-on Jun 21st 2012, 21:13  Knowing that Huawei's just announced the Ascend P1 XL for power users alike, we swung by the company's booth at Mobile Asia Expo to see how much bulk the 2,600mAh battery adds to the body. In fact, at 9.9mm thick, the Android 4.0-powered XL is almost as thick as the original P1's thickest point, and in terms of weight the extra 930mAh of battery juice adds another 25g on top of the P1's 110g, which isn't all that noticeable when we fiddled with the new phone. Leaving the thickness and the camera shape aside, the XL is otherwise identical to its sibling device. We'll let you see the external differences in our hands-on photos below. Huawei Ascend P1 XL hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
