Tablets are are great and all, but they sure can be expensive -- especially if you want one running a newer version of Android. Step in Xtex's $150 My Tablet, a 7-inch device loaded with Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3, a 16GB HDD (expandable to 48 GB via its TF card slot) and a 1.5Ghz CPU complimented by 1GB of RAM. That's not all, though, as the device also packs a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, an HDMI output and mini and standard USB ports. That low price does mean you'll be making due with a screen resolution of 800 x 480 and only WiFi connectivity, but you'll get to choose from its very neapolitan-esque black, white and pink colorways. Considering the My Tablet is nearly half the price of an Andy Pad Pro, it sure does looks appetizing on paper -- as long as you keep your expectations reasonable, that is. Satisfy your sweet tooth with more images in the gallery below and the press release after the break.

Continue reading Xtex's My Tablet gets you 7-inches of tasty ICS for just 150 bones

Xtex's My Tablet gets you 7-inches of tasty ICS for just 150 bones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Along with 4G LTE support, Apple’s new iPad will include a new personal hotspot feature that will vary from carrier to carrier. AT&T and Verizon Wireless are the exclusive carriers of the iPad in the U.S. and both carriers offer a mobile hotspot feature on their smartphones, however it was unknown if the feature would be offered on the new iPad as well. Verizon Wireless on Thursday  supplied GottaBeMobile with confirmation that the feature will be included — for no additional charge — with each data plan. “The tablet data plans include the mobile hotspot just as they do today,” a Verizon spokeswoman said. “Data plans begin at 2GB for $30 and go to 10 GB for $80 and includes the mobile hot spot. The iPads have one additional option of 1GB for $20.” AT&T will not offer the feature at launch, but may enable it in the future. “We are working with Apple to enable this feature in the future, but we currently do not offer it,â€� an AT&T spokesman told 9To5Mac.

Read [GottaBeMobile] Read [9To5Mac]

Here's an idea for your weekend plans. First get your 50 GB of Box storage for fuh-fah-foo-free. And then eat so much pizza a fat boy would tell you to cool it and then finally get in shape. Oh whoa. These apps will let you do just that! More »

Still carry around thumb drives? No worries, we do too from time to time. If you're in the market for a new compact, portable storage device, Verbatim has just revealed their Store 'n' Go Plus. With capacities ranging from 4GB on up to 32 GB, you're sure to find a suitable USB 2.0 option for your workload. The System in Package design doesn't force you keep up with an end cap and sports a ruggedized design that should withstand lengthy stays in your messenger bag. Available later in Q1, the family starts at $19.99 and heads north. We have to admit, though, these aren't nearly as awesome as the Swiss Army variety.

Continue reading Verbatim's Store 'n Go Plus thumbdrives get rugged, sport a one-piece suit

Verbatim's Store 'n Go Plus thumbdrives get rugged, sport a one-piece suit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite numerous rumors to the contrary, Apple will only launch one iPhone model this fall and it will be a modest upgrade that closely resembles the current iPhone 4. In a note to investors on Wednesday, Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair says that Apple will hold a special event between September 28th and October 5th to unveil several new devices. Only one of those devices will be an iPhone, however, and Blair says it will be an incremental update as opposed to the redesigned iPhone 5 that has been rumored on multiple occasions. Read on for more.

“We expect the focus of the new iPhone will be iOS 5, a speedier A5 processor and a higher resolution 8 MP camera with a small possibility of a larger 4 inch screen,” Blair wrote. “We believe the casing will be largely similar to the iPhone with some particular modifications to the antennae [sic]. We don’t expect a second, dramatically different iPhone to accompany this as we don’t think Apple needs to have 3 models in the market to address the high end, mid-tier and low end since the iPhone 4 (with memory lowered to 8 GB) will drop to $99 and effectively attack those markets.”

The analyst believes that in spite of the anticipation generated over the past few months by the possibility of a redesigned iPhone 5, launching two new models wouldn’t make sense for Apple. “Why would Apple bump up only the processor specs of the iPhone 4 in addition to a newly designed iPhone 5 if the goal is to sell it into the pre-paid market at a lower cost?” Blair wondered in his note. “A 4S would simply cost more and a 4S itself wouldn’t create a mid-tier market unless it was priced at $99 and the iPhone 4 went to $49 with the new iPhone at $199. We see this scenario as unlikely.”

But Wedge Partners does expect another device to be unveiled at Apple’s upcoming event: a 3G-enabled iPod touch. Blair says the iPod’s cellular data option will work just like the iPad, allowing users to purchase data plans on a month-to-month basis with no contractual obligations. The notion of a 3G iPod touch aligns with earlier rumors.

Blair’s iPhone estimates remain at 24-25 million units shipped in Apple’s September quarter, and he sees shipments growing to 27 million units in the December quarter. Calendar-year totals will come in at 91 million units according to the analyst’s estimates, which would represent growth of 92% compared to 2010 and will include sales by new carrier partner Sprint, which he expects to sell 4.5 million iPhones over the next year. Blair thinks Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for its next-generation iPhone within days of holding its media event, which will take place on October 4th according to a recent report.

Verizon has confirmed to FierceWireless that it will move to tiered data plans on July 7th, and the new plans are in line with earlier reports for the most part. If you’re worried about losing your existing unlimited plan, fear not; only new customers will be required to subscribe to one of three new data plans: $30 for 2GB of data per month, $50 for 5GB, or $80 for 10GB. Verizon Wireless will then charge $10 per GB of data past the monthly allotment. Mobile hotspot users will need to start paying a monthly fee starting on July 7th, too. Current 4G hotspot owners will be charged $30 for unlimited use and new customers will have to pay $20 per 2GB of data consumed. The good news? Verizon confirmed that existing customers can upgrade on or after July 7th and still hang on to their unlimited data plans — for now, at least.

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Finnish mobile giant Nokia has quietly made its business-centric E7 handset available to U.S. consumers. Released overseas in early February, the Symbian device packs a 4-inch, polarized, AMOLED display with a 640 x 360 pixel resolution, peta-band WCDMA radio, quad-band GSM radio, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, 16 GB of on-board storage, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video recording and dual-LED flash, HMDI connector, and 1200 mAh battery. The E7 is available from Amazon.com for $649, or Nokia USA for $679.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Apple on Wednesday posted details on its website surrounding voice, data and messaging plans that will be offered with the upcoming Verizon Wireless iPhone 4. The company also posted a utility intended to check subscriber eligibility, though it did not appear to be functioning properly at the time of this writing. Apple’s website confirms earlier reports that Verizon Wireless iPhone 4 users will only have two data options at launch: unlimited data for $29.99 per month and unlimited data with 2GB of Personal Hotspot and tethering services for $49.99 per month. Other plan details line up with current Verizon Wireless smartphone plans, for the most part:

Voice

• 450 minutes/month: $39.99
• 900 minutes/month: $59.99
• Unlimited minutes/month: $69.99

Messaging

• Pay per use: $0.20 per SMS, $0.25 per MMS
• 250 messages/month: $5
• 500 messages/month: $10
• Unlimited messaging: $20

Data

• Unlimited data: $29.99
• Unlimited data with 2GB  for Personal Hotspot and tethering: $49.99 ($20 per GB for overages)

The only difference between the iPhone voice and messaging plans compared to Verizon Wireless’ standard plans appears to be the $20 unlimited messaging option. With other smartphones, the $20 messaging option affords subscribers 5,000 messages per month, and the carrier charges $0.10 per message for overages.

UPDATE: The pages have been pulled from Apple’s website as of approximately 10:50AM.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac]

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Following AT&T’s lead, Apple has dropped the end user selling price of its previous-generation smartphone, the iPhone 3GS. Last week, AT&T announced that it would be dropping the price of the iPhone 3GS to $49 with a new two-year contract. Today, Apple has matched the $49 price online and at Apple Store retail locations. The new price is a 49% reduction and applies to new iPhone 3GS units, not refurbished devices. The iPhone 3GS was launched in the summer of 2009. When the iPhone 4 was introduced last year, Apple continued to sell the 3GS for $99 as a less expensive iPhone option. The company also did the same thing with the iPhone 3G when the 3GS was introduced. The iPhone 3GS is currently available with 8 GB of storage space in black only.

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Reuters is reporting that the world’s largest OEM handset manufacturer Nokia has delayed the release of its E7 handset until early 2011. A Nokia spokesperson said that the move was to “ensure the best possible user experience” on the device. The E7 is a peta-band WCDMA handset that also has a quad-band GSM radio, 4-inch polarized AMOLED display, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, 16 GB of mass storage, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video recording and dual-LED flash, HMDI connector, and 1200 mAh battery.

2010 has been a tough year for Nokia smartphone releases. Hopefully, the company will come out swinging in 2011.

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If you think a single $58,000 RED EPIC camera package is a lot to blow on a 5K resolution production camera, Peter Jackson and crew have just swooped in and snagged thirty of them. The entire package comes with the EPIC-M body, titanium mount, 5-inch touchscreen LCD, REDmote, four batteries, a four-pack of 128-GB SSDs to shoot onto, and of course, a charger. RED is planning on assembling Peter Jackson’s order by hand starting next month into January and then roll into full production one month after that. They are hoping for general availability by NAB in April, but as usual with RED, that’s not something written in stone. The Hobbit starts filming in February.

[Via Engadget]

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Today, Virgin Mobile USA quietly added a 1GB prepaid data-plan to its Broadband2Go offerings; the plan will retail for $20 per month. The 1GB plan, which will be a Walmart exclusive, fills the gap between the company’s $10, 100MB and $40, unlimited monthly data options. Here is an official statement from a Virgin Mobile representative:

Today Virgin Mobile launched an exclusive $20 Broadband2Go mobile broadband plan available only at Walmart stores and online at www.Walmart.com. This new offer, available only to consumers who have purchased or will purchase a Novatel Wireless MiFi^® 2200 device or Ovation™ MC760 USB device from a Walmart store or from www.Walmart.com, provides 1 GB of data for an affordable $20/month price point.

The company noted that the plan is aimed at “budget-conscious consumers who are looking for a mid-tier plan falling somewhere between heavy and light usage.” Not a bad option for those in need of both mobile connectivity and contract flexibility.

Like the idea of the Nokia N8 but need a physical keyboard? You’re in luck, as it looks like the Finnish company’s E7 handset might be right around the corner. Via a tweet responding to a user question, Nokia has seemingly outed its E7 handset for a December 2010 release. The aforementioned tweet reads:

E7 is scheduled to ship starting from Dec10. Exact availability varies country-by-country. Check your local nokia.com site

For those that need a quick refresher, the E7 is a full-QWERTY horizontal-sliding device with a 4-inch AMOLED, polarized screen and packs a peta-band WCDMA radio, quad-band GSM radio, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, 16 GB of mass storage, 8 megapixel camera with 720p video recording and dual-LED flash, HMDI connector, and 1200 mAh battery. Any takers?

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Recently, T-Mobile released a statement detailing how it would handle customers who utilize more than 5 GB of data per month on their mobile devices. The statement reads:

Beginning on October 16, T-Mobile will begin to reduce data speeds when a customer reaches 5GB of usage in a billing cycle, in accordance with T-Mobile terms and conditions. This change should only affect extreme data users (less than 1 percent) and is being made to ensure that all subscribers receive the best Web performance available by limiting the number of extreme data users on our network.

The majority of T-Mobile customers should not be affected by this change. The new 5 GB threshold limit, which is equivalent to approximately 125,000 yahoo.com page visits, is enough bandwidth to satisfy most customers’ Web and data needs.
If a customer happens to reach the 5GB limit, they will receive a free text message informing them their data speed will be reduced. Customers will continue to have Web browsing capabilities but at slower speeds, which will be determined by their device type. Once their new billing cycle begins, data speeds will no longer be restricted.

Customers can track their data usage through My T-Mobile, MyAccount, or the SIVR.

Any T-Mobile users out there eclipse 5 GB of data per month on a regular basis?

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According to market intelligence firm iSuppli, Nokia’s N8 handset is stuffed with exactly $187.47 worth of components. The Finnish handset manufacture’s Symbian^3 device sells for €529 and $549 in Finland and in the U.S. respectively. iSuppli notes that the most expensive component is the device’s 3.5-inch Samsung AMOLED display and touchscreen panel, which carry a price tag of $39.25. Other high end components in the device include 16 GB of mass storage ($37.12), a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens ($31.08), and a $22 chipset the houses components from both Texas Instrument and Broadcom. Nokia is aiming to sell 50 million Symbian^3 devices; Nokia’s second Symbian^3 device, the C7, was just recently released.

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BerryReview has been sent in an image of what their tipster is claiming to be the BlackBerry Storm 3. The device is reported to have a 3.7-inch display and 8 GB of internal memory; no processor, touchscreen, or other specifications were given. If the image is in fact real, we’re unclear as to why RIM would put an optical trackpad on a full-touchscreen device… your guess is as good as ours. Take a look at the above image and let us know what you think.

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Yesterday, Apple announced that its iPhone 4 smartphone would be available for purchase in China beginning on September 25 at 8:00 AM. The device will retail for CNY4,999 (~ $745) for a 16 GB model and CNY5,999 (~$894) for a 32 GB model. Apple also noted that China Unicom will also be selling the device and coule provide subsidies with a new 2-year contract.

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