Amy Eichelberg

When Research In Motion launched their QNX-powered Blackberry PlayBook tablet, they promised the device would support Android applications through a virtual player this summer. Even though we’ve seen some leaked builds for the Android player surface, nothing official has come from RIM yet. According to sources at Engadget, RIM has delayed the support for the Android app virtual player until “late fall”. RIM offered no official reason for the delay. We can only hope they push through the unexplained delay as many PlayBook users are suffering from Android app envy. Source

It looks like Verizon is prepping to release another new Samsung device, dubbed the Stratosphere. A place holder for the device was listed on Verizon’s support page despite the device actually being officially announced to the public. Little else is known about the unannounced handset other than it will most likely be a 4G LTE device with a dual core processor. Some believe the Samsung Stratosphere is just codename for the Galaxy S II, but at this point this remains to be speculation. We anticipate additional details surrounding the unknown device to surface throughout August. Source

An internal document leaked from Telus reveals a plethora of release dates for some of the most anticipated handsets this year. The document outlines the Blackberry Bold 9900 to be available for purchase starting around August 15th in North America. If you are patiently awaiting the upgraded Blackberry Torch 2 the device is expected to launch around August 15th in Canada. Additionally, the Blackberry Torch 9860, the full touchscreen model, is scheduled to launch on or around August 22nd. The Blackberry Curve Apollo device is scheduled to close up the month of August with a launch slated for the 29th. The low-cost touchscreen Curve, the Blackberry Orlando, is scheduled for

If you are one of the proud owners of the limited edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Google I/O, then prepare yourself for your tablet life to become a bit more enticing as Google movies is only an update away. The 11.22MB update is now available that will enable users to now rent movies from Google Videos. Keep in mind as this tablet is Wi-Fi only, this is not an update to Android or the TouchWiz update slated for New Yorkers this Wednesday. The update does require you to remove any widgets or app icons that point to the Pulse news reader app. No explanation as to why,

Apple’s highly anticipated iCloud service is now available in its beta stage for developers. The iCloud allows the user to store documents and important data in iCloud. The iCloud will then wirelessly push the saved data to the user’s iOS device automatically and update the documents when changed on any iOS device. Developers can look forward to web applications for Calendar, Contacts, Mail, iCloud for Pages, iWork and Find My iPhone all with the same feel and appearance of iOS. Apple has already confirmed it will offer users 5GB of free storage. What we didn’t know was how much Apple was planning on charging for any

Apple and Samsung have reached an agreement that ceases all sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 device in Australia for the time being. All tablet sales will be temporarily halted until the Australian court system can decide if the device infringes on ten Apple patented copyrights. Apple claims the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the same “look and feel” as their iPad, specifically regarding the touchscreen technology Samsung integrated into its tablet. Samsung has agreed not to sell the device providing Apple agrees to pay any lost damages should Samsung win the case. The two companies currently are involved in other copyright infringement cases here

Nokia introduced a new Symbian-powered smartphone today that will be solely marketed with the budget conscious smartphone user in mind. The Nokia 500 weighing in at only 93 grams will make it the lightest Symbian phone on the market.The device will be priced at €150 or approximately $217 giving it an entry level price point despite having specs we usually don’t see on other entry level devices. Spec highlights include a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch 640 x 360-pixel touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, 2GB of storage, and HSPA data. An exact launch date for the Nokia 500 was not specified, but Nokia did suggest that the device will

The only thing better than a good bargain is finding out that the bargain in question involves the newly released Motorola Droid 3. You can score the Motorola Droid 3 free on contract via LetsTalk.com, an online wireless retailer. The LetsTalk  promotion is going on now and is the best deal we’ve seen to date on the device. If you somehow missed all the extended buzz for the Motorola Droid 3 we included a refresher course below: Dual Core 1Ghz processor 5-row QWERTY Keyboard with Ergonomic design 16GB Internal memory for emails, texts, and apps, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS with Motorola Application Platform

The Motorola Photon 4G device is now available on the Sprint network, and most can’t wait to get their hands on this bad boy. Consumers can snag the device in Sprint retail stores or online for $199.99 with a 2 year contract. The Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) enabled handset houses a dual-core 1GHz processor and a 4.3 inch qHD display ready to stream your favorite videos thanks to its out of the box Netflix capability. Additional specs include a 8 mega pixel camera with camcorder and replay via HDTV, 1GB RAM, and Sprint’s WiMAX data. Source

Google announced on Friday, that it will release an improved search experience for users accessing www.google.com from a tablet. Highlighted improvements include simplified search results and  easier to tap text areas which are larger in size. Additionally, users can enjoy a new continuous scroll feature. Google improved this feature with faster loading image thumbnails and larger image previews. The new search UI is expected to roll out within the “coming days” and can be utilized on devices running Android 3.1+ (Honeycomb) and on the iPad in 36 different languages. Source

According to a leaked image of window decals designed for T-Mobile, 4G Windows Phone devices might be headed to the carrier sooner than we expected. Microsoft promised 4G Windows Phones earlier this year but has yet to confirm any additional details regarding future launch specifics. While the window decals don’t provide a plethora of information we do know from Microsoft that HTC, LG and Samsung will be among the first to launch the 4G-equipped handsets. The new devices are expected to run the next major software revision being Windows Phone 7.1. Source

According to a handful of tipsters it appears Radio Shack is preparing to reduce the cost of AT&T’s 16GB iPhone 4 from $199.99 to $169.99 with a two-year contract. The 32GB version will also take a $30 price cut at Radio Shack, costing a cool $269.99. For the budget conscious consumer still looking to sport an iPhone the price of the 8GB 3GS device will drop to an all time low price of $19.99. Yes, you read that correctly, only $19.99. Also rumoured to be getting in on the price slashing action is retail giant Target. The difference being that Target will vary their device prices based on carrier.Target is also speculated

According to a memo intended for Radio Shack employees, AT&T has delayed the LG Thrill 4G launch until August 21st. The 3D Android device was originally scheduled to launch August 7th but will be delayed now due to unknown reasons. Pre-orders for the device are now expected to be extended until August 15th. The LG Thrill  4Gwill house a 4.3-inch glasses-free 3D display that comes paired with dual rear cameras to capture 720p 3D video (1080p in 2D) in addition to still photos. It will also represent LG’s fastest phone with a dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP chip and dual-channel memory. The handset will ship Android 2.2 enabled but will hopefully receive

AT&T made an official announcement today that it will begin throttling unlimited smartphone data plans beginning October 1st. So what does that mean for AT&T customers? Well, smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may expe reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. AT&T went on to explain further, “One new measure is a step that may reduce the data throughput speed experienced by a very small minority of smartphone customers who are on unlimited plans – those whose extraordinary level of data usage puts

Samsung is expected to launch its Galaxy S II any day now here in the United States and we’re sure there are plenty of consumers just dying to get ahold of this beast of a device. While we all patiently or impatiently (in our case) wait for the device’s arrival, a beautiful white version of the device was spotted online in all its sleek and seductive glory. European retailers have only had the black model available for purchase, until now that is. Lucky consumers will now have to choose between the new white model (pictured below) or the black version. Oh,