Verizon Wireless chief financial officer Fran Shammo said the company is looking to market a third mobile platform to help develop a strong competitor to Apple and Google. That operating system will be Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 8. “We’re really looking at the Windows Phone 8.0 platform because that’s a differentiator. We’re working with Microsoft on it,” Shammo said in an interview with Reuters following the company’s earnings call on Thursday. The carrier expects to have Windows Phone 8-powered handsets in time for the 2012 holiday shopping season. The executive suggested that Verizon could play a similar role in helping Microsoft’s platform to grow as it did with Google’s Android OS.

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PSA: AT&T now unlocking out-of-contract iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Goggles could soon become a set of physical goggles if murmurings from within the company are true. Could this be the death knell for smart phones? More »

Got your kid an iDevice for the holidays? Now they'd like some headphones with inline controls, you say? Well, being the amazing that parent that you are, you're okay with it, but you'd also like to ensure they can't blow-out their eardrums before hitting high school. Fret not, as Etymotic has just unveiled its updated volume-limiting ETY-kids3 in-ear headphones with an iPhone-certified inline remote / mic. The intra-aurals also come with Ety's Awareness app, which mixes in louder noises like traffic, for the sake of extra safety. Ety plans to show off the 'buds during CES, and you can expect to find them on store shelves come January 30th for about 80 bucks. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading Etymotic revamps its ETY-Kids3 in-ear headphones, kid-safe volume, now with iPhone controls

Etymotic revamps its ETY-Kids3 in-ear headphones, kid-safe volume, now with iPhone controls originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the coming year, Sony Ericsson plans to have more of an Android presence in the United States. Earlier rumors suggested that Sony is planning a high-end smartphone that will land on AT&T, code-named “LT28at.” Additionally, another high-end device code-named “Nozomi” is currently being tested by carriers in Hong Kong and could possibly make its way stateside. According to a recently filed trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Sony is looking to market a new device as the “Xperia Ion.” The trademark was filed shortly before the holidays on December 13th for use in connection with “mobile phones.” With the Consumer Electronic Show just around the corner, we could certainly see this new Xperia device revealed at the show in just over a week.

[Via The Next Web]

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We hate to be the bearer of bad news during the holidays, but Samsung has announced that it will not update the Galaxy Tab or its Galaxy S smartphones to the newest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. This of course is a bit troubling considering the huge popularity of the Galaxy S: Samsung has sold nearly 20 million units since it first launched the device in 2010. As The Verge notes, the Galaxy S offers similar hardware to the Nexus S, which is receiving the Android 4.0 update, but Samsung says its “experience enhancing” TouchWiz operating system, in addition to other carrier-added software, will put too much of a strain on the phone’s hardware. Samsung also confirmed that its 7-inch Galaxy Tab will not receive the update, which isn’t too surprising since most versions never received the Honeycomb update, either. Samsung stated earlier this week that it will issue an Android 4.0 update for its Galaxy S II and Galaxy S Note products next year.

[Via The Verge]

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Well, it seems as if the holiday freebies won't stop coming. Chances are, if you own a smartphone you're an app collectionista (sorry, guys), and if you've got a certain Samsung Galaxy device in particular you're about to get a major boost to your application arsenal. In the spirit of the holidays, or maybe its 100 million downloads, Sammy's going to hook you up with some free virtual treats from its Apps store. The selection of up to 16 games won't be available for the entire line of galactic phones -- and may vary by region -- but if you own a Galaxy WiFi 5.0, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Ace or Galaxy Gio, then you are amongst the lucky ones. Included in the deal are games such as: Air Penguin, Air Attack HD, Bubble Fish, Samurai 2 and a few others (full list after the break). There's no word on when the bargain ends, so hop into the store before you miss out.

Continue reading Samsung's in a gifting mood, is giving away up to 16 free games for select Galaxy devices

Samsung's in a gifting mood, is giving away up to 16 free games for select Galaxy devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready to celebrate the holidays this year? Google has gone and refreshed its free Androidify app with some season-appropriate gear for your avatar. The new virtual wardrobe selections should certainly please a variety of tastes, whether you're itching to fit your robo with an ugly Christmas sweater or just a pair of New Years party specs. You can catch our bot's new winter threads below, and snag the update for yourself by hitting up the Android Market link below.

Google's Androidify holiday wardrobe update lets your bot ring in the New Year originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last year more than 100 tablets were unveiled during the Consumer Electronics Show and this year it appears the focus could shift to Intel-powered ultrabooks. Demand for ultrabooks — devices defined as powerful thin and light notebooks with long-lasting battery life — is expected to begin to heat up following the holidays and January’s Consumer Electronics Show. More than 50 new ultrabook models will be displayed during CES and the category is expected to be one of the hottest consumer electronic segments on the show floor, Taiwan Economic News said Tuesday, citing insights from a show organizer. Intel, which invested $300 million in the utltrabook platform, also said that there will be more than 60 different ultrabook models available during 2012, and the chip maker’s upcoming Ivy Bridge processors will power many of them. Initial reports suggested that ultrabooks are off to a slow start, with just 50,000 units shipped so far from Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Toshiba combined. Additionally, weak sales of the first models from Asus and Acer forced both firms to scale back production by as much as 40%, another report suggested.

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This is a very simple, quick method to make everyone have beautiful skin in these holidays family photos, even if your family is on meth. I've used a variant of this method in the past years and it works perfectly. More »

If you have children aged 6-12 in your family, chances are they want an iPad, iPod touch or an iPhone for the holidays. According to new data from The Nielsen Company, the iPad is the most desired electronic gadget this season. 44% of the children surveyed are interested in buying (read: receiving as a gift) an iPad in the next six months, 30% want an iPod touch and 27% want an iPhone. Those figures are on a par with last year’s numbers. In 2010 31% of kids aged 6-12 wanted an iPad, 29% wanted a computer, 29% wanted an iPod touch and 25% wanted a Nintendo DS/DSi/DS Lite. The story changes a bit for kids over 13, but the iPad still sits at the top of gadget wish lists. 24% of teenagers older than 13 are interested in buying an iPad during the next 6 months, 18% want to buy a computer and 18% want to buy an eReader. Nielsen’s survey was conducted during October 2011 and it involved 3,000 participants. An infographic showing data for kids aged 6-12 follows after the break.

Motorola Facebook phone resurfaces as Motokey Social, destined for Telus? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just spent a couple minutes with HTC’s latest and greatest, the HTC Rezound for Verizon Wireless complete with Beats audio, and it’s surely positioned as an iconic media device. It’s reasonably thin, packs 4G LTE, a super high resolution 720p display which looks amazing, and that’s not mentioning the 8-megapixel camera with improved optics and low-light performance. And then, of course, there’s Beats audio processing that will work with the included Beats headphones or ones you might already own. All in all, Verizon’s lineup for the holidays is incredible, and the HTC Rezound will surely be music to a media-centric person’s ears. Check out all of the photos in our gallery!

HTC is holding a press conference today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, 12:00 p.m. Pacific to unveil its latest “latest innovation.” That innovation is expected to be a king-sized Android powerhouse dubbed “HTC Rezound” that is expected to land on Verizon Wireless ahead of the holidays. Beyond the presence of Beats Audio, as tipped in the event invitation pictured above, the Rezound will supposedly sport a 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel camera, hopefully on par with the terrific camera touted by the Titan. Nothing is set in stone until it comes from from the horse’s mouth, however, and we only have a few hours left until HTC unveils the newest edition to its smartphone lineup.

Bookmark this link, which will go live shortly before the event begins later today, and make sure to head there for our live coverage of HTC’s press conference! Coverage starts at or around 3:00 p.m. EDT / 12:00 p.m. PDT.

T-Mobile USA may launch the LG DoublePlay on November 2nd, at least, according to a leaked internal screenshot obtained by TmoNews. The LG DoublePlay was announced on October 18th and it is a mid-range Android handset with a unique slide-out QWERTY keyboard that is home to a secondary 2-inch touchscreen display. The phone is equipped with a 3.5-inch primary screen, a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video and support for T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. T-Mobile said the phone will be available in time for the holidays, but it has not provided any pricing details just yet — we wouldn’t be surprised to see the DoublePlay end up in the sub-$100 category.

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