GAME NEWS:
This week was a fantastic week for all things mobile.
Late last week, iPhone users received the all-too-welcomed Netflix app, finally giving hardworking employees an excuse to take long bathroom breaks. This week, amazingly, has been even better. First up is this week's hot news that Sprint has added Daytona Beach, Providence (Rhode Island), and Boston to their already decent selection of 4G coverage areas. If you live in or near those cities, now is the time to pick up that Evo you've been holding off on.
Fans of the first Android handheld, the G1, have anxiously been waiting for a new model of the genius phone to be released. Thankfully, that wait is almost over. Pictures of the T-Mobile device leaked this week and they look fantastic. Android phones seem to be released just about every month as of late, but the G1 was the first and its nice to see that it hasn't been forgotten.
Several phones from Verizon have been confirmed this week as being slated for Prepaid release. These include the Droid, Blackberry, and Palm, and would allow users to purchase the phones up front without having to sign contracts. More importantly, the plans are essentially pay-as-you-go, meaning you can toss the devices (or sell them) once you have moved on to another carrier, another phone, or another country perhaps.
Samsung went Epic this week, and in 4G. Their latest device rounds out our Hot Spot, with the spicy gadget hitting retail shelves on Tuesday this week. The device marks the second 4G handheld for Sprint, who also just bumped up their coverage of the speedy service. But don't be too fooled, the Epic is a Samsung Galaxy S in disguise, sporting the 4G capabilities and a nice slide out keyboard. Each of the big carriers is getting a different version of the popular Samsung phone, yet Epic is the only one to feature the 4G ability.
Sprint Expands 4G
In a big announcement this week, Sprint announced additional coverage for their 4G service, adding Boston, Providence (Rhode Island), and Daytona Beach. The added coverage area takes their market count up to 50, giving 21 states here in the U.S. 4G service. With the release of the Samsung Epic this week (see below), that makes two handhelds on the Sprint network capable of using the speedy service (see also the Sprint Evo). While usage of the 4G service could still use some minor tweaks, most users have found it to be quite worth their hard earned pennies.
T-Mobile G2 Confirmed
The very first Android phone, the G1, is officially getting a sequel. Pictures leaked of the device earlier this week, and it looks amazingly similar to the Nexus One which came and went in a timespan of just six months. The phone consists of a sleek, silver shell and has the row of home, back, and menu buttons that Android fans of grown quite accustomed to. The G2, like the G1, has a slide out QWERTY keypad and looks to be running Android 2.1. The device should launch sometime before the holidays, but no specific release date has been given.
Prepaid Verizon Phones
Confirmation, in the form of official boxing, leaked this week in regards to Verizon's latest prepaid phone release. The Big Red is planning on giving consumers the ability to purchase the prepaid phones without contract, and use on a month to month basis. The prepaid phones launching are the Droid, Blackberry, and Palm. Verizon hasn't released official specs for any of the devices or for the service, but it appears that pricing will be a monthly fee of $45. The phones will also include an unlimited data plan for the standard $30 a month. Rumors have been flying about Verizon dropping their unlimited data plans, ever since AT&T dropped theirs, but these new prepaid phones almost seem to confirm the opposite.
Samsung Epic 4G
The Samsung Epic 4G released for Sprint this week, bringing the carrier their second 4G phone. The phone is $249.99 with the standard two year contract. The device is shipping with Android 2.1, though rumors have the 2.2 update hitting over the airways by the end of September. The device features the 1 GHz 'hummingbird' (as opposed to the snapdraggon) and comes with two cameras, a 5 mega-pixel rear and a VGA (standard) front-facing for video calling. The phone has been available globally, but this week marked its release for sales here in the U.S. This model is merely Sprint's version of the Samsung Galaxy S, only with 4G and a slide out keyboard.
