Samsung Galaxy S II [AT&T] Ice Cream Sandwich alpha build hands-on

Now that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is out in the wild and the source is available to all we are starting to see a few ICS ROM’s appearing for select handsets. This is not a port from the SDK but a ROM built and modified right from the source code. What I have for you today is the highly popular Samsung Galaxy S II running the latest and greatest 4.0 ICS from Google. Remember this is very much an alpha build and not remotely close to being finished — but it’s still fun to use and enjoy as well as show all of you.

Being very much an alpha build many things currently aren’t working, especially those needing a data or internet connection. We have no WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and the camera has issues. Obviously this will all get worked out and one day soon become a completely smooth and stable ROM for daily use. From what we are seeing so quickly, this will indeed be one blazing fast ROM as it already is and it’s no where near being complete.


Most of what you’re about to see in our video has been covered in-depth already in our ICS 4.0 hands-on, and our Galaxy Nexus hands-on but I’m sure many SGSII users will thoroughly enjoy the video below. What does it show you? Obviously we all knew that ROM’s would be coming soon, and that the Galaxy S II line will be getting updated to ICS eventually from Samsung — but this video shows you just how amazingly fast and smooth most of the things that are currently working actually are. And what we can expect to see in the future. GPU rendering works wonderfully and the scrolling and panning is exceptionally smooth. Once the bugs get ironed out and Samsung officially updates we will all be loving us some Ice Cream Sandwich.
Interesting point before the video — we have two menu buttons here. The on-screen ICS and the standard capacitive button, makes things both feel and look a bit odd but that shouldn’t be an issue. As all these ROM’s are built we can expect to see the soft touch buttons be removed to give us more real-estate on screen. We have the buttons already so there is no reason to waste screen space. We can expect this to be an option that users can toggle in most builds and ROM’s in the future.

Galaxy S II Android 4.0 ICS hands-on: Alpha build
Just like I stated in the title of this article and the video — this is seriously an alpha build and in no way intended for actual use in the current form. Either way it was very fun and entertaining to give it a whirl for a few days and see what Ice Cream Sammy is all about. Once more things get ironed out and daily features get incorporated you can bet we’ll be posting another video. This is just one of many many devices all at XDA that have similar alpha builds available. We urge you to check our your favorite developer portals to see if you can enjoy the same beta software on your own device.
For more information on this specific ROM or to try 4.0 ICS on your own Galaxy S II (we used the AT&T version here) feel free to head to this XDA thread. Thanks to @xplodwild we were able to enjoy this for a few days and look forward to more. If you are new to hacking Android we suggest you wait a little while or for an official OTA from Samsung. For more video’s specifically about Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich we have those right here. Enjoy!

Samsung DoubleTime Review

The flexibility of Android and the continuing march of mobile technology progress are making Android available on hardware and price points that would have seemed impossible just a couple of years ago. The latest phone to skirt the line between smartphones and featurephones is the Samsung DoubleTime, a QWERTY phone with a novel hinged and double-screen design. For $50 on a new two-year contract it’s definitely on the low end of AT&T’s smartphone lineup, but can it stand up on its own? Let’s find out.


Hardware
In fact the DoubleTime can literally stand up on its own, thanks to its horizontal clamshell design. In the fashion of “messaging” phones that have gone out of fashion as of late, the 3.2-inch screen flips up to reveal a second, identical LCD panel below, opposite the large and comfy QWERTY keyboard. 480 x 320 resolution isn’t anything to write home about, but on this screen size it’s as dense as is practical. Below the exterior screen you get pink-shaded physical nav buttons, which are repeated on the inside above the keyboard.
The phone is undeniably chunky for its width and height, but considering the keyboard and both screens that’s understandable. A phone like this can live and die on its hinge mechanism, and in that regard it does very well indeed: it snaps into place at about 130 and 160 degrees with a firm click, making it useful both as a speedy text-entry device and a desktop or nightstand display. The exterior is clad in eggshell white, and feels commendably sturdy.

The DoubleTime’s specs, alas, leave a lot to be desired. It’s one of AT&T’s few new smartphones that only uses 3G, not the HSPA+ “4G” that they’re so keen on advertising. A 600 Mhz processor is pokey, even at this price point, and a mere 260 megabytes of user-accessible storage is downright frustrating, even with the included 2GB MicroSD card. A 3.2 megapixel camera is suitable only for low-quality snapshots in good lighting, and you’d better hope you’ve got good lighting, since an LED flash is painfully omitted. The primary draw for the hardware is the clamshell keyboard form factor – unfortunately, you’ll have to ignore just about everything else to consider the DoubleTime over its AT&T contemporaries at a similar or even lower price.
Software
The Samsung DoubleTime comes loaded with Android 2.2 Froyo. Let’s go over that again, just to make sure: the Samsung DoubleTime comes loaded with Android 2.2 Froyo. For the record, it’s been just shy of one year since Gingerbread became available, and similarly spec’d phones have had it almost as long. It’s possible that the DoubleTime’s low storage space prevented a later version of Android, but even if that’s true, another gigabyte or two surely wouldn’t have made this little phone too expensive. Given that Samsung and AT&T seem to think that Froyo is good enough for the moment, it’s my opinion that they won’t be interested in updating it. Ever.

That said, the software is pretty solid as Froyo goes. There’s very little in the way of AT&T or Samsung add-ons, besides the now-ubiquitous account manager and AT&T Navigation. (That makes me laugh every time I see it.) IT’s possible that the phone’s low storage actually prevented it from being burdened with bloatware. The slimmed-down version of TouchWiz is snappy in both portrait and landscape modes, and Samsung’s customizations take advantage of the hardware to the fullest extent.
Calling and Texting
Call quality was in line with other AT&T phone in my area, though it dropped them on two occasions. This isn’t unusual for my home town. 3G speeds were reliable in urban areas. But if you’re interested in a phone at this price with a full keyboard, odds are you want to text, and text a lot. On that score the DoubleTime is hard to beat. Because the keyboard essentially takes up an area of space that’s the same at the entire height and width of the device, it’s nicely spaced with a full number row and D-pad. Firing off long texts or URLs was an easy and pleasurable experience, and thanks to the extra height enabled by the clamshell design, significantly more comfortable on my fingers than slider phones with their narrow keys.

Media and Battery

You’ll absolutely want a larger MicroSD card for music or photos. With that caveat, the DoubleTime works well enough as an MP3 player, with a surprisingly loud speaker for its small size. The built-in YouTube app ran well, though Flash video is a choppy and generally frustrating experience. Videos taken with the camera were smooth, but on a screen this small, it’s not much fun to watch them.
The battery is a small 1200mAh, but that’s rather typical on a phone this size. Keep in mind that only one screen is active at any given time, so the dual-screen design doesn’t hinder the battery at all. The DoubleTime lasted me all day even in a low-signal area – it’s probably getting some very efficient use out of Froyo, minimal bloatware and Samsung customizations. Users should have no issue getting through a tough workday without recharging.

Wrap-Up
As an Android fanboy, the choice to limit the DoubleTime with Froyo really, really gets on my nerves. But from the perspective of a first-time smartphone buyer, who just wants a phone with a great keyboard and decent call quality, with Android and app installation as an after thought, it’s a pretty good choice. Music fans and shutterbugs will want a bigger SD card, but excellent battery life means that this little phone is ready for lots of service in between charges.

The DoubleTime probably isn’t the phone for our most dedicated readers, but it’s worth considering for family members or friends who aren’t interested in Ice Cream Sandwich or massive screens. At $50 on contract it’s a little pricier than some other AT&T phones (most of which have better hardware) but that excellent keyboard makes it worth considering even so.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : DoubleTime

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : October 11, 2011

Release Date : TBA

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 3.2 Inch
• Resolution : 320×480
• Screen Type : NA

Dimension & Weight

• Height : Inch
• Width : Inch
• Depth : Inch
• Weight : Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1200 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

Android OS:
• 2.2.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MP3

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• 3GP

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU :

CPU Clock Speed : 600 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 260 MB

Internal Storage : GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution :3.2 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 2.0

Location Features:
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

Kyobo eReader launches in South Korea with mirasol and Android 2.3 Gingerbread

Kyobo Book Centre has unveiled the world’s first eReader based on the new mirasol display technology by Qualcomm. This color e-paper display technology will allow for an enhanced reading experience as well as offer bright colors for pictures and video and exceptional battery life. The Kyobo eReader with mirasol is on sale starting today in South Korea and will initially be targeted at education customers.

We’ve mentioned the mirasol display before, Qualcomm’s new technology that aims to change the display markets while offering a technology that promises exceptional color, video-capable e-paper eReaders with amazing battery life. For more information head to mirasoldisplays.com or watch their innovation video here. Essentially using mirrors to reflect light back and control the color at the same time it offers an extremely efficient technology that will work great indoors, and look even better in direct sunlight. Basically a front lit technology rather than conventional backlight displays that are power hungry and become washed out with brightness from the sun or other sources while being used.
The Kyobo eReader will be using the newest mirasol 5.7″ panel with a 1024 x 768 resolution, a 1.0 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and running atop Android 2.3 Gingerbread with what we are hearing will be a locked down and custom UI — although I’m sure the Android hacking world will get on that right away.
Kyobo, Korea’s largest bookseller — will offer 90,000 ebooks for the mirasol eReader, as well as video education content and many other educational options, integration with social networking services and English text-to-speech support. With magazines for the down-time between study classes and possibly 3 weeks of battery life this will be one interesting eReader. The Kyobo eReader is available today starting at $310 USD in South Korea but we have no details on when or if it will see any other markets. Most likely we’ll be seeing more from Qualcomm and their mirasol technology at CES 2012.
)


AndroidCommunity

CyanogenMod ROM based on ICS coming to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 early next year

Steve “Cyanogen” Kondik has announced that his extremely popular ROM series CyanogenMod will be coming to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 when his group upgrades their ROM base to Android Ice Cream Sandwich in version 9.

The CM9 (7 is for Gingerbread and 8 for Honeycomb) is already in the works and the CM team expects the first stable versions to arrive early next year.
“ICS on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is pretty great. Coming soon to a CM mirror near you ” is what Kondik posted on his Google+ page. His words make us think that there have been successful tries to run CM9 on the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Ice Cream Sandwich has already been rumored and officially declared coming by many manufacturers and the CM team is working to bring ICS to its 60+ supported devices. And we’re happy to see that he (Steve) is still working on his CM project even after been drafted by Samsung earlier this fall.

Source | Via

HTC HD2 gets an Android 4.0 AOSP port, other stare in disbelief

You may have already forgotten all about the HTC HD2, but the hacking community clearly hasn’t. The Windows Mobile (that’s BC in Microsoft speak) smartphone got its lifetime extended way beyond what its manufacturer expected thanks to the efforts of some indie developers, who keep porting the latest versions of Android to it.

Now, the HTC HD2 is even ready to run the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, long before most Android smartphones can do so. An HD2 ROM based on the AOSP release of Ice Cream Sandwich is available for download and you can try it right now.
The ROM is still pretty early in its development and there are plenty of glitches, but those should be dealt with soon enough. For now there are three pretty major items on the not working list (USB Mass Storage, Camera and HW acceleration) and the audio is only partially working, so the ROM doesn’t seem ready for everyday use.

Still, if you are interested you might take it for a spin by following the source link below. Those not courageous enough to do so will have to settle for seeing it in action in the following video.

Source | Via

HTC loses S3 patents leverage, as ITC clears Apple of patent infringing

Apple has scored a point in their ongoing court match against HTC. The US International Trade Commission has ruled that the Cupertino-based company doesn’t infringe any of the HTC-owned patents.

Earlier, ITC declared that Apple was, in fact, violating some of the patents that HTC acquired with its purchase of S3 Graphics. However, it was OS X, rather than iOS, which was found in the wrong and Apple has obviously done enough to fix that. By acquiring S3 graphics HTC was hoping it could use the graphics company patent portfolio as a leverage to cut a deal with Apple.

The HTC general counsel Grace Lei said that the company was disappointed by the decision and that an appeal is on the cards.

We are also still expecting the ITC to confirm if HTC has been infringing some of the Apple patents. The iPhone manufacturer has filed a case on its own saying that the HTC Sense uses technology that’s its property.

Source | Via

HTC Sensation XL dares enter our battery life trial, lives to tell the story [TEST]

We’ve got the battery tests results of yet another smartphone to share with you. The HTC Sensation XL will try and protect the honor of the company after the rather disappointing performance of the HTC Radar yesterday.

If you are just looking at the specs, you wouldn’t back the Sensation XL to do too greatly. A 1600 mAh battery and a 4.7″ LCD seemingly put the XL at a disadvantage, but maybe it has an ace up its sleeves.

That turned out to be just the case, as the Sensation XL put out a brilliant performance in our first test – 3G talk time. 9:30 hours passed before the HTC Sensation XL finally switched off – an achievement far better than even what its own specs would lead you to expect.

We had lower hopes for the HTC Sensation XL performance in our browser test as the screen does come into play here, but the droid did quite fine. It survived for 5 hours and 20 minutes of the intensive browsing that our automated script simulates – reloading a page every ten seconds.

There are no flash elements on the tested web pages, the display brightness is set to 50% and we use a Wireless N connection, with the router placed a few meters away from the tested phones, so we are getting full bars on every one of them.

We concluded the round of individual tests with video playback, but unfortunately the Sensation XL failed to keep its impressive performance here. The smartphone lost 90% of its battery (this test concludes at that point) in just 6 hours and 12 minutes – barely enough to lift it off the bottom.

We use an SD video for this and have the screen brightness set to 50% and all radios switched off.

As usual we conclude with the performance of the smartphone in the most important of them tests – the overall usage one. Luckily the stand-by of the Sensation XL was much more efficient than that of the Radar and it got an endurance rating of 40h, which is among the better scores we have seen. This suggests that you’d need to charge this one every 40 hours if you do one hours of each of the three activities described above per day.

2.5GHz quad core HTC Zeta leaked online

The HTC Zeta, complete with Android 4.0, a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU and 4.3-inch 720p display, has leaked online

The HTC Zeta has been leaked online – and what a phone it is. We’re talking Android 4.0, a 4.3-inch 720p display and, best of all, a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU. Pick your jaw up off the floor and read on.
The scoop comes via Engadget, which reports that Zeta – most likely a codename – has a much faster CPU at 2.5GHz than last week’s other HTC leak, the Edge.

According to the source, the uniquely shaped HTC Zeta ‘will come with Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed with Sense UI (version 4.0 wasn’t specified, but we’d be surprised to see it any lower on an ICS device) and have 32GB of internal storage space, an 1,830mAh battery, Beats Audio, Bluetooth 4.0, an 8-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, 1080p video capture and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing cam.’
Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well that may well be the case. You see, HTC has yet to even confirm the Edge, which means this device could be a hoax or, most likely, just a conceptual handset – the image does look rather a lot like PC-generated render.
In terms of dimensions, the Zeta is said to measure 109.8×60.9×9.8mm and weight in at 146g – 5g lighter than the Sensation XE.

It also looks like HTC has finally started to shake things up in its design department. The Zeta looks very different from what we’ve seem to date from the Taiwanese manufacturer.
Nonetheless, we’ve seen plenty of HTC leaks that turned into real handsets within a couple of months of them first showing up online, anyone remember the HTC Pyramid? That turned out to be the Sensation in the end.
There’s no word on a release date as yet nor is there any details regarding pricing. But judging by how impressive the spec is, we’d say what you’re looking at here is HTC’s up-and-coming flagship device for Q1 or Q2 of 2012.
Expect to see more of this handset, along with the Edge, at Mobile World Congress 2012, if it actually exists.


knowyourmobile.com

Report: Steve Jobs Considered Building Apple Mobile Network

It should be no surprise that Steve Jobs liked to do things himself, hence Apple’s “walled garden” approach, but did the company almost become a wireless carrier?
Jobs reportedly “wanted to replace carriers,” according to wireless industry vet John Stanton, who spoke at a Law Seminars International event this week. As reported by NetworkWorld, Stanton said Jobs considered using unlicensed spectrum currently used by Wi-Fi networks in order to provide an Apple-based network for the iPhone.

“He and I spent a lot of time talking about whether synthetically you could create a carrier using Wi-Fi spectrum. That was part of his vision,” Stanton said, according to NetworkWorld.

Jobs abandoned that idea in 2007, Stanton said, which is when Apple revealed the iPhone with AT&T as its exclusive U.S. partner. That continued until this year, when Apple added Verizon Wireless in February and Sprint and C Spire last month.

Verizon famously passed on the iPhone when Apple first proposed it, allowing AT&T to nab the lucrative deal. According to a 2007 USA Today report, Apple wanted a percentage of Verizon’s monthly cell phone fees as well as control over where and when the iPhone was sold.

Given the complexity of starting up, building out, and funding a wireless network, it was likely a smart move to let an existing company handle that, despite peoples’ protests over the initial selection of AT&T. Apple’s pre-iPhone mobile efforts, like MobileMe, weren’t exactly smooth sailing.

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Wireless Internet from PCMAG

Product News : New 4G LTE Tablet Available For AT&T Customers

• AT&T* introduced its second 4G LTE-enabled tablet for customers, the Samsung Galaxy™ Tab 8.9, an ultra-thin tablet perfect for Android fans who want an optimized Honeycomb experience in a best-in-class form factor.

• Customers can purchase from AT&T stores and online beginning Nov. 20.

• For a limited time, customers who select a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 will receive a Samsung Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket or Samsung Galaxy S™ II smartphone at no cost. A two year agreement is required on the smartphone.

• Additionally, AT&T will launch 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) in six new markets on Nov. 20: Charlotte, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• The Nov. 20 launches will expand AT&T 4G LTE to 15 markets total, meeting its 2011 market commitment. AT&T plans to reach 70 million Americans by year-end 2011.

• AT&T offers the only devices capable of 4G speeds utilizing both 4G LTE and HSPA+, for a consistently fast connection in and out of 4G LTE areas.

• AT&T topped its goal to offer 20 4G devices this year. The addition of the new 4G LTE devices brings the 4G device total to 24.

Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 8.9
Exclusive to AT&T customers, the 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 8.9 is a slim, lightweight tablet, running Android™ 3.2 and packed with optimized services from Google, AT&T and Samsung. The new tablet features a vivid 8.9-inch 1280×800 pixel high-resolution screen, powerful processor 1.5 GHz dual-core processor for fast multi-tasking, and tabbed browsing with support for HTML 5 and Adobe® Flash® Player.

• 4G LTE backed by 4G HSPA+
• Android 3.2 (Honeycomb)
• 15.9 ounces light, 8.6mm thin
• Brilliant 8.9” HD widescreen
• 3.2 megapixel rear facing camera with LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing camera
• Tabbed browsing, Adobe Flash and HTML support
• Snapdragon 1.5 GHz dual core processor
• 16 GB internal memory and expandable up to 32 GB via accessory option
• 1 GB RAM
• TouchWiz® UX
• Dimensions: 230.9 x 157.8 x 8.6 mm

Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 8.9 will arrive in AT&T company-owned retail stores and online Nov. 20 for $479.99 with a two-year commitment. For a limited time, customers who select a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 will receive a Samsung Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket or Samsung Galaxy S™ II smartphone at no cost. A two year agreement is required on the smartphone. Learn more at www.att.com/tablets.

AT&T 4G LTE Data Plans
AT&T tablet customers can choose a $35, 3 GB monthly data plan option with a two-year contract, and customers who do not choose a long-term commitment may still select one of two existing monthly billing options for tablets:

• Postpaid: $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB. Customers on the 2 GB plan who exceed their monthly data plan will be charged $10 per 1 GB of overage. Charges will appear on customers’ monthly wireless statements offering the simplicity of a single bill.

• Prepaid: $14.99 for 250 MB or $25 for 2 GB. Customers on the 2 GB plan who exceed their monthly data plan may choose to purchase an additional 2 GB for $25. Charges will appear on customers’ credit card statements.
AT&T 4G LTE smartphone customers can choose from tiered data plans starting as low as $15 per month. Existing smartphone customers do not have to make changes to their data plan. All plans include access to AT&T’s national Wi-Fi network of more than 29,000 hotspots.

• DataPlus provides 200 megabytes (MB) of data for just $15 per month. An additional 200 MB of data usage is $15.

• DataPro provides 2 gigabytes (GB) of data for $25 per month. An additional 1 GB of data is $10. Customers who want to use their device as a mobile hotspot can sign up for DataPro 4GB for $45 a month, which lets you tether or share your data connection across multiple devices.

AT&T 4G LTE Footprint
With the Nov. 20 launches, AT&T 4G LTE will be available in 15 markets: Athens, Ga., Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
AT&T is the only U.S. carrier providing 4G using both HSPA+ and LTE technologies. HSPA+, when combined with enhanced backhaul, provides customers with compatible devices 4G speeds, meaning customers get a faster and more consistent 4G experience, even when outside of an AT&T 4G LTE area. Customers of other carriers that have transitioned to 4G LTE without further speed upgrades to their existing networks are likely to see a jarring drop-off in speeds when they move out of LTE coverage.

Quotes
“The arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 8.9 adds to our outstanding Android lineup and our growing portfolio of premier 4G LTE devices,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We’re constantly adding new 4G LTE coverage and only AT&T offers 4G LTE plus 4G speeds through our HSPA+ network.”

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. 4G speeds delivered by LTE or HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul, where available. Deployment ongoing. Compatible device and data plan required. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Learn more at att.com/network.

Handset Offer: Offer is available November 20, 2011 through January 7, 2012. No two year commitment required for the tablet when purchasing the tablet at an AT&T company owned retail store. Online purchases require a two year commitment (see promotional tablet pricing below).. Samsung Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket or Samsung Galaxy S™ II smartphone requires new 2-yr wireless agrmt of $39.99 or higher and min $15/mo data plan. Wireless Service: Subject to Wireless Customer Agrmt. Coverage and svcs not avail everywhere. Credit approval req’d. Activ. fee $36/line. Geographic, usage, and other terms, conditions and restrictions apply, and may result in svc termination. See store or visit att.com for complete details and coverage maps. Data: Min $15/mo, 200MB, data plan required. If you exceed your initial 200MB allowance, you will automatically be charged an overage of $15 for each additional 200MB provided. All data allowances and overages must be used in the billing period provided or they will be forfeited – details att.com/dataplans. Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge up to $1.25/mo. is chrg’d to help comply with gov’t obligations and chrgs; it is not a tax or gov’t req’d chrg. Early Termination Fee (ETF): After 30 days, ETF up to $325 based on device (details att.com/equipmentETF). Restocking fee up to $35. Taxes and other charges apply.
Handset Offer cannot be combined with any other equipment promotion, discount, or other offer. Subject to availability limitations. Tablets must be returned within 14 days of purchase. If tablet is returned within 14 days of purchase, customer will be charged the two year commitment price for the Samsung Galaxy S™ II Skyrocket of $249.99 or the Samsung Galaxy S™ II of $199.99.

Promotional tablet pricing requires a two-year agreement and a minimum $35 a month 3 GB DataConnect Plan for tablets. If you exceed your initial 3GB allowance, you will automatically be charged an overage of $10 for each additional GB provided. All data allowances and overages must be used in the billing period provided or they will be forfeited – details att.com/dataplans. Coverage not avail everywhere. Credit approval req’d. Geographic, usage, and other terms, conditions and restrictions apply, and may result in svc termination. Early Termination Fee (ETF): After 30 days, ETF up to $325. Restocking fee up to 10% of sales price may apply. Equipment Fee may apply if service is canceled within 30 days of purchase – details att.com/returns. Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge up to $1.25/mo. is chrg’d to help comply with gov’t obligations and chrgs; it is not a tax or gov’t req’d chrg. Taxes and other charges apply. See store or visitatt.com for complete details and coverage maps.

AT&T Data Plans for Tablets. Postpaid DataConnect Plans are billed monthly and automatically renew every month, unless you cancel service prior to the start of the monthly renewal. No term commitment or termination fees apply (with no service commitment plans). Overage charges apply if the monthly data allowance is exceeded. Offer not available for on-tablet activation. Credit check may be required. Geographic and other restrictions apply. Session Based DataConnect Pass Plans for Tablets: Time begins expiring immediately upon purchase/activation, whether you are using the service or not. Once your time expires or the allotted data is used, whichever comes first, your data access will cease. 30-day domestic plans automatically renew, unless you cancel auto-renewal. Fees are non-refundable. Other restrictions apply. For full terms see DataConnect Pass Wireless Data Services Agreement on att.com/wirelesslegal .
CRU and IRU customers must purchase a qualifying DataConnect Plan for Tablets.
AT&T Wi-Fi access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.

Samsung US News

Blackberry Knight

German car maker, Porsche, along with the RIM BlackBerry Knight plans to launch on October 27, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

Knight or the BlackBerry 9980 series is an adaptation of the BB Bold 9900, still with a 1.2 GHz processor, Random Access Memory (RAM) 768 Megabytes of internal memory with a capacity of 8 GB, as well as a microSD card slot that can expand the memory up to 32 GB. According to Porsche, this smart phone is a special sale in the United Arab Emirates and a number of other areas where the BlackBerry is still the product of interest.