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This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but Android Central seems to have obtained a screen shot from a deep, dark, top-secret Verizon system that indicated that the upcoming CDMA version of the Nexus One will be “available only through www.Google.com/Phones.” That, of course, matches T-Mobile’s strategy of quietly letting Google do its thing — and Verizon’s strategy of keeping its network “open” — so you’ll just have to remember to not line up at your local store at 8PM the night before the launch, otherwise you’re going to come away very, very disappointed. What’s a whole lot stranger, though, is a mention that it runs HTC’s Sense UI, which means one of a few things: Google’s allowing carriers and manufacturers to have their way with the Android builds sold directly through its own store, the Verizon-branded Nexus One is the Incredible, or the document is just sorely confused. The way we see it, there’d simply not be enough differentiation between the Nexus One and the Incredible for them to come to market as separate products if they were both running Sense — and besides, isn’t variety the spice of life?

Update: That was quick — it seems Verizon has already updated its specs to remove the reference to Sense and change the URL from google.com/phones to google.com/phone — no plural. Thanks, ninjalex76!

Verizon’s Nexus One to be sold only through Google, have Sense UI (or not) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Forums is alight today with fresh HTC Incredible chatter — a phone every Android fan on Verizon is desperately waiting for — and we’ve managed to glean a few more pictures and possible specs out of the mess. It looks like we can expect a half gig of RAM with about 320MB available (roughly the same as what you find on the Nexus One) and an 8 megapixel cam, but interestingly, the phone’s Snapdragon core is apparently underclocked to 768MHz, almost certainly a battery-saving measure on HTC’s part; fortunately, the Sense-powered Android 2.1 firmware is still said to be “blazing fast.” It measures 117.5 x 58.5 x 11.9mm — just a hair narrower, shorter, and thicker than its Nexus One doppelganger, small enough of a difference so that we think it’ll be virtually indistinguishable in person. As shots go, we’re seeing now that HTC has moved from the brightly-colored glossy shell to a soft-touch black one while keeping the strange contours; we think there’s at least a chance that this is final ID, too, since the Verizon logo is silkscreened at the bottom. Inside, the entire thing (including the battery itself) is a shockingly loud shade of red, mirroring an odd design trend first seen on the HD mini. We definitely dig it. If the stats over on the forum hold up, the Incredible’s on track for a launch in April or May, so it’s still a few weeks off — in the meanwhile, we encourage you to check out more of the new shots after the break.

[Thanks, Matt and EBBY]

Continue reading HTC Incredible out in the wild once more, Verizon color scheme alive and well

HTC Incredible out in the wild once more, Verizon color scheme alive and well originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, you ultrafast mobile broadband zealots, whip out your calendars and draw a big red tick around the middle of 2011. Verizon’s CTO Anthony Melone has identified next summer as the carrier’s release window for its first LTE handset, which should be preceded by the 4G service being rolled out by the end of this year. If you’re wondering what you’ll be using on that “faster than 3G” network while waiting for the vanguard handset, we saw plenty of LTE-equipped gear at CES and let’s not forget about that 1080p-decodin’ NVIDIA tablet that was teased during the show. The one bit of bogus news from Melone was the statement that contracts with “as much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change.” Verizon seems resolutely set on introducing some type of tiered or metered price plans, which is unfortunately the same path AT&T is headed down. The message from the networks is therefore clear: with great (downloading) power comes great (bill-paying) responsibility.

Verizon promises first 4G handset for next summer, foretells end of unlimited data plans originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That’s the “glass is half full” attitude we like, Verizon — always looking for a way to sign a few more of those lucrative data contracts, no matter the circumstances! Turns out Big Red is tipping off its staffers on how it can encourage customers to go with the WiFi-only version of the iPad and pair it up with a device like the MiFi rather than shelling out $130 more for integrated AT&T 3G and waiting a few extra weeks. As usual, Verizon’s keen on playing up the anti-AT&T sentiment it’s cultivated in its recent ad campaign by openly calling its biggest competitor’s 3G network “overloaded,” but we see one big hangup: 5GB of data on a Verizon MiFi is going to run you $60 a month, twice as much as AT&T will be charging for its dedicated, unlimited iPad plan. Then again, AT&T’s own boss thinks WiFi’s a bigger deal than 3G for this thing, so who knows — maybe this is a zero-sum game for both of these guys.

[Thanks, Mark]

Eternal optimist Verizon calls iPad launch ‘an opportunity’ to sell some data plans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Motorola’s vanilla-Android Droid has become the most recognizable Android device on the market — thanks in part to a bombastic ad campaign — Motorola’s primary focus has been on its own custom Blur UI. At least, if quantity of devices are any indication. Hitting Verizon just as the Blur-powered Backflip heads to AT&T, the new Motorola Devour is an odd cross section of the “consumery” Backflip and Cliq, and the high-end Droid slider. We’ve been playing with the phone for a week or so (you can find our initial hands-on, video walkthrough and unboxing here), so follow us after the break as we walk through the triumphs and tragedy that is this device.

Continue reading Motorola Devour review

Motorola Devour review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d heard that the NFL would be bringing the RedZone channel to phones this season, and it looks like Verizon was the highest bidder: NFL Mobile will launch on Big Red next month with the draft, complete with live streaming video of the event, on-demand video analysis from NFL Network, a pick-by-pick draft tracker, and other content. Once the season starts, customers will get RedZone, live streams of Sunday night and Thursday night games, on-demand video highlights and analysis, live home and away radio broadcasts, fantasy info, and the usual nasty ringtones and graphics. That’s a ton of content, and it certainly makes Sprint’s NFL package seem a little light in comparison — we’ll have to see what pricing is like and what devices this’ll run on closer to launch, however. Bring on the draft!

Update: We just confirmed that NFL Mobile will be exclusive to Verizon for the next four years, which means Sprint customers are out of luck. Verizon paid a pretty penny for the rights: the Wall Street Journal values the deal at $720 million.

NFL Mobile comes to Verizon with livestreaming RedZone channel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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