Saturday, March 19, 2011

MobileCrunch

MobileCrunch

Link to MobileCrunch

Speed Test: HTC Thunderbolt vs. iPhone 4

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:53 PM PDT

Third-party wireless retailer Wirefly (who has been all about the HTC Thunderbolt for the past few days) has just shared the video up above, which seeks to answer question that’s on just about every geek’s mind (or, at least, that I’m going to say is on every geek’s mind for the sake of this post): just how much faster is the data speed of the 4G-powered HTC Thunderbolt compared to the 3G-powered Verizon iPhone?

Turns out (in this test at least), it’s about twice as fast on the download count, and about six times faster on the upload. That’ll do, Thunderbolt. That’ll do.

Swappa: It’s Like Craigslist, But For Android Geeks

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:26 PM PDT

Buying a used Android phone can be tough. It seems like most of the people slingin’ their handsets up on eBay or Craigslist are doing so because they don’t really understand the phone, which doesn’t exactly lend to their ability to aptly describe it. Most of’em end up reading something like:

FOR SALE: The Verizon ANDROID. It has a touchscreen, buttons, microphone, four “G”s, buttons, and a battery. Runs all the apps! iPhone sucks! Brand new in box. Well, the box is new. The phone is broken.

“But wait! Thats not enough information at all!” you say. “Is it rooted? Is it running CyanogenMod? Is the ESN good? Also, what the hell is the Verizon ANDROID?” Alas, your e-mails go unanswered, with the buyer giving you whatever the Internet-equivalent of a blank stare is.

Enter Swappa. Swappa wants to be the trading post for even the geekiest of Android geeks.

From a cursory peek around Swappa, it looks like they’re expecting sellers to answer all of the above questions and more. You can view listings by model, carrier, and tell at a glance if any given handset is rooted, running a modified ROM, what kind of shape it’s in and whether or not it comes with any accessories.

What’s more, buyers are held to a pretty strict set of rules (Must be fully functional, must be as described, must not have a bad ESN [must not be reported lost or stolen], no water damage, and the screen/battery must be in great shape). If a seller breaks any of their rules, they’ll consider it fraud and back up the buyer in any Paypal refund claims.

So, why is this any better than eBay? According to Swappa, it’s all about the fees. Where as eBay will charge you more based on how much your handset sells for, Swappa charges a flat fee of 10 bucks — and with Swappa, you won’t pay a dime unless your handset sells.

Of course, there are risks. A seller could take your money, sling you a box of cat hair, and bolt in hopes that the troubles involved with a PayPal refund will be too much for you to bother with. With that said, the risks involved are inherent to pretty much any user-to-user market.

What do you think: is there room in the market for an Android-specific outpost? Weigh in down in the comments.

HTC Incredible S To Come In Strawberry Red?

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 12:34 PM PDT

Back in the day, back when phones still kind of sucked, these things came in every color. Want a sparkly pinkish-greenish blacklight sensitive faceplate for your crappy Nokia 8260? Sure, why not. The parts were swappable and cheap enough to make that if the original manufacturer didn’t make one, some Chinese third-party would be cranking them out within a week of the handset hitting the shelves.

Nowadays it’s a different story. Smartphones are all the rage, and most of their parts aren’t easily replaceable. You want it in something other than white or black? Good luck with that, crazy cat lady.

Fortunately, it looks like HTC’s still got some color flava up their sleeves. Though not officially announced, a Dutch retailer has just put up a listing for the HTC Incredible S in an awesome beet red hue. At the very least, it would probably go good with your superhero tights.

[Via Electronista]

Video: T-Mobile Shows Off The New Sidekick, Non-Spinny Opening Mechanism Included

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:50 AM PDT

Drooling over the idea of a new, Android-powered Sidekick? I am! But as for that new, non-spinning screen mechanism? Mega Meh (Damn you, patents!)

Check out the video above for T-Mo’s official runthrough of the device. Want to see the slider in action? Jump to 0:40. I expect to get some hands-on time with this device at CTIA Orlando early next week.

iPhone Makes Up 4.5 Percent Of Verizon Traffic

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 09:55 AM PDT

According to a study by Millennial Media’s Mobile Mix and reported on by Mobileburn, the Verizon iPhone 4 is sending 4.5% percent of iPhone-related traffic, a fairly large percentage considering that only a short month ago there were no Verizon iPhones.

The iPhone is also maintaining a nice lead in overall handset sales, topping Samsung and HTC.


AT&T Shutting Down Unauthorized Tetherers

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 06:21 AM PDT


An app called MyWi allows you to tether your iPhone or iPhone 2 without AT&T’s explicit permission, a situation that has led the carrier to send a stern letter to tetherers requiring that they stop tethering or automatically be added to a $20/month DataPro plan.

Why such draconian measures just for using data that they already, technically paid for? Well, according to AT&T’s contract using MyWi and other apps is, in short, forbidden in the carrier contract.

TUAW has an excellent piece on the whys and wherefores of this move and notes that the problems associated with offering massive streams of data to devices like laptops and Wi-Fi tablets will reduce throughput for everyone, creating a virtual tragedy of the commons. Regardless of which side of the argument you fall, AT&T has finally decided to take a stand and they’re playing for keeps.

via TUAW


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