Reviews - Engadget Mobile

T-Mobile Pulse review

by Paul O'Brien posted Oct 9th 2009 at 9:00AM

From humble beginnings with the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1, Android is starting to gain traction in the marketplace. A steady growth in the number of devices from HTC together with more and more manufacturers coming on board means Google's entry into the mobile space is really making inroads. The next year is going to be exciting for Android fans, with Motorola launching the CLIQ / DEXT and the Sholes, Samsung following up their i7500 with the i5700 and Behold 2, Acer shifting focus from Windows Mobile to Android not to mention LG and Sony Ericsson shipping their first Android devices.

In amongst the larger players aiming for the higher end of the market comes Huawei, best known for its mobile broadband dongles, with the Pulse for T-Mobile Europe - a rebrand of the U8220 handset. What makes the Pulse particularly interesting is it's price point. As well as being available free of charge on virtually any contract (as is frequently the case in Europe), the Pulse costs only £176 ($280) on a pre-pay plan. This represents a significant move downmarket for Android with the only other low-end handset being the forthcoming HTC Tattoo, which is expected to ship SIM free for £299 ($475). Interestingly our review unit was even SIM unlocked, although it remains to be seen whether this will remain the case as handsets hit retail.

We've spent some time with a production specification T-Mobile Pulse to see whether Huawei's first attempt at Android stands up to scrutiny. Read on to find out!

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BlackBerry Messenger 5 now available, we go hands-on

by Jacob Schulman posted Oct 8th 2009 at 4:20PM

BlackBerry Messenger: it's the holy grail of the BlackBerry platform, and, for many, the only real reason why they don't make the jump to another smartphone. Well, RIM has finally gone ahead and released the latest and greatest version upon the world (in an official capacity at least), and we're definitely pleased with the added functionality and other updates that they've cooked in to the app to make it even more useful and better. Read on after the break for a full breakdown of what's hot, what's new, and what we think of it all.

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BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac now available, we go hands-on

by Jacob Schulman posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 2:15PM

Today is the day that the BlackBerry-toting Mac faithful have been waiting for. After years of "making do" with less-than-desirable options like PocketMac and Missing Sync, RIM has taken it upon itself to finally release a home-cooked solution for Mac users who simply want to back up their devices without having to install a virtual machine or revert to a Windows PC. Well, it's been a long month and a half since they first announced it was coming, but BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac has finally landed (officially, we mean), and we're glad to say it definitely gets the job done. Check out our full impressions and a quick rundown of the big features after the break.

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AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon goaded into customer service showdown

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 29th 2009 at 2:59PM

It doesn't matter who your carrier is, you're gonna have some complaints. But is the grass always greener somewhere else? To answer that question, the kids at Laptop Magazine have conducted a test of the customer service practices of the big four (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T) to ascertain each company's friendliness, knowledge, and timeliness. The publication placed customer service calls twice during a week (once at midday and once during rush hour), visited two stores per carrier in New York City, and tried to find solutions to its problems using each carrier's online knowledge base. Apparently, T-Mobile takes the prize for in-store assistance and web support, and Sprint, while not always able to answer questions, at least had taken steps to streamline the support process (and the fact that its employees were friendly didn't hurt). Apparently Verizon Wireless offered solid in-store support (albeit with grumpy employees), "quick and accurate phone support" and "solid" online help. AT&T, sadly, was the loser here -- Laptop says it left the store "shocked" that one representative couldn't figure out how to get email up and running on its Blackberry. Shocking! Hit the read link to see for yourself.

INQ Mini 3G review

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 18th 2009 at 2:00PM

The INQ Mini 3G is quite the intriguing little phone. It has the dimensions and outward appearance of a standard issue featurephone, yet aims to provide the multifunctional utility of the bulkier QWERTY keyboard-sporting smartphones that now roam these lands. With deep integration of Facebook, Twitter and Skype, it's designed to be a do-it-all social networking device, so we thought we'd run a few status updates through it to see if the latest spin on an award-winning heritage lives up to its billing. Slide on past the break to find out.

Gallery: INQ Mini 3G Review

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Samsung UltraTouch S8300 review

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 24th 2009 at 1:30PM

Samsung has had quite a sideline in handsets sportin' AMOLED displays as of late, and you know what? We're fans -- that's why we were more than happy to get our hands on the UltraTouch S8300 for some in-depth use and abuse. At first glance it seems to be a worthy successor to the Soul -- we had no complaints with the 8 megapixel camera, the integrated FM radio brought us our tunes loud and clear, and who can find fault with 16GB microSD card support? But that isn't the whole story, not by a long shot. Hold tight as we examine the pros and cons and answer the question: Is this one destined for greatness, or just an average feature phone in a handsome package?

Gallery: Samsung Ultratouch S8300

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Nokia Surge review

by Darren Murph posted Jul 31st 2009 at 1:00PM

Some might say that the phone you're peering at above is the most un-Nokia-like Nokia device produced in quite some time (if not ever), but remember, this one was custom made for US consumers and AT&T's audience -- something that's not true for too many Espoo-sourced handsets. Once known as the Mako, Nokia's Surge (or 6790 in international speak) is certainly unorthodox in design, though the actual specs list is fairly familiar. We get the feeling that Nokia was aiming to hit a very specific niche with this device, somewhere in-between the text-happy handsets adored by tweens and the smartphone desired by Mr. Suit. Care to see if we think Nokia accomplished said goal? Then head on past the break, vaquero.

Gallery: Nokia Surge hands-on

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HTC Hero review

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 23rd 2009 at 2:42PM

The HTC Hero has been an object of lust for some time now for gadget enthusiasts. Even from the earliest days of leaked hardware shots and blurry demo videos of its UI, smartphone fans seemed to agree that the company had finally achieved what has been missing in the world of Android. Namely, a polished and attractive device -- polished enough to go head-to-head with the iPhone -- that kept its open source heart. So, here we are months later with an actual, bona fide Hero in our midst. Yes the reports were true, it is a beautiful device, both inside and out (though of course opinions differ on that chin). But does being a beautiful device mean Android is about to move to a bigger stage? Is HTC's spit-shine enough to overcome some of the hurdles that have plagued the platform? That question -- and more -- is answered in our review, so head on over to Engadget for the full story.

Verizon BlackBerry Tour review

by Jacob Schulman posted Jul 7th 2009 at 1:30PM

It's here, folks. The BlackBerry Tour has been unboxed, and now that we've had a few days to mess around with it, we're able to tell you how we truly and deeply feel. There have been countless leaks and unofficial reviews circulating for the past few months, but now that it's finally legit we can give this sexy piece of tech a proper shakedown. It's been roughly described as a CDMA Bold, but does it surpass its GSM counterpart? Read on to find out!

Gallery: Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing

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Nokia N97 review: a tale of two bloggers

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 22nd 2009 at 2:00PM

Thomas Ricker and Chris Ziegler came away from their N97s with very different opinions of Nokia's premier superphone -- and they weren't afraid to let those opinions be known in a series of vicious verbal volleys. Head on over to Engadget for all the drama!

iPhone 3G S review

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 17th 2009 at 1:00PM

As we know from its WWDC unveiling, the iPhone 3G S is basically a 3G with some faster bits, more memory, and a better camera -- but is it worth the price of admission? Head on over to our full review for the answers you seek (and maybe some you don't)!

Verizon MiFi 2200 review

by Chris Ziegler posted May 13th 2009 at 12:01PM

We've been following Novatel's MiFi with bated breath since its December announcement, and the totally pocketable 3G / WiFi router has finally graced a US carrier. Though it'll ultimately come in a variety of physical designs, bands, and radio technologies for different carriers and parts of the world, the MiFi 2200 for Verizon naturally packs CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A, which means uplink speeds should be reasonably speedy to go along with your 1Mbps-plus downloads. Obviously, the concept of a credit card-shaped object connecting up to five WiFi-enabled devices to high-speed internet from wherever the road takes you is an incredibly intoxicating one -- but does the MiFi 2200 deliver? Let's have a look.

Gallery: Verizon MiFi 2200 review

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T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 review

by Chris Ziegler posted May 5th 2009 at 1:15PM

T-Mobile's Sidekicks have been cult favorites stretching all the way back to the original grayscale model -- a device with a design only a mother could love, may we add -- when it launched nearly seven years ago. Though the unusual form factor with the addictive spring-loaded pivoting swivel has largely prevented it from attracting a mainstream audience, the countless teens and twenty-somethings who've latched on to the Hiptop ecosystem have cited many of the same reasons for loving it since day one: an easy, foolproof UI, push email, high-quality customizability, decent web browsing capabilities, and a stellar messaging-optimized layout (remember that QWERTY was little more than a twinkle in most manufacturers' eyes back in 2002).

At its launch, the first-generation Sidekick LX represented a new high end for the franchise -- big shoes to fill for the 2009 model of the same name. Does it live up to the hype? More importantly, could this be the first Sidekick complete enough and robust enough to reach new audiences? Read on.

T-Mobile Sidekick LX 2009 review

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Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 30th 2009 at 1:00PM

It's not the company's first touchscreen device, but the 5800 XpressMusic is the first touchscreen device that Nokia has designed to appeal to the masses, and as such, there are certain expectations. By even the most forgiving of standards, Nokia is now officially late to this game -- all of the remaining top-five manufacturers have been offering mass-market touchscreen phones for some time now -- so there's plenty of ground to be made up. What's more, the 5800 marks the retail introduction of S60 5th Edition, the latest incarnation of the world's most ubiquitous smartphone platform; future iterations of this very code will lay the groundwork for the Symbian Foundation's next-gen offensive, so the stakes have never been higher. You might say the weight of the world -- or Finland, at the very least -- is on the 5800's shoulders, but is this unassuming little slate up to the task? Let's have a look.

Gallery: S60 5th Edition

Gallery: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic review

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SocialScope for BlackBerry impressions (and invites!)

by Jacob Schulman posted Mar 23rd 2009 at 1:46PM

Twitter clients for the iPhone are pretty much a dime a dozen, but unfortunately, the same can't be said for the BlackBerry platform. Things are looking up for the Waterloo faithful, though, with a number of clients on the horizon -- and one of the best we've seen thus far is SocialScope from the guys at Ubiquitous Systems. The app has been around in the form of an invite-only alpha for a few months now, and with more recent releases the guns are coming out and it's really starting to develop into a fairly advanced app. Read on for more impressions and an exclusive hands-on with the latest build -- and oh, yeah, we've got loads of invites for you certifiable addicts as well!