This week was off to a pretty strong start with the launch of Apple's iPhone 4. Of course we all knew it was going to happen, but Apple did surprise us with a few features and a couple of bloopers - a la Steve Jobs - to remind us that even unicorns aren't perfect. Also this week, Sprint announced record sales for their flagship device the HTC EVO 4G. And while there were some errors in the amount of devices sold, it was still a record, and still a lot. The aforementioned topics alone took up much space on the site throughout the week, and while we always do our best to bring you the most important mobile tech news out there, some things will inevitably fall through the cracks. That being said, below you will find our best attempt at filling in some of the gaps we may have missed this week. Enjoy!
You may remember last month when Cellular South started teasing the arrival of a new Android device via various social media networks. Soon after they posted a riddle that spelled out 'Milestone' when extracting the first letter of each sentence to make up a word. Finally, this past Monday they officially announced that they would be selling the Motorola Milestone (which is the DROID on Verizon). Specific pricing information and release dates have yet to be revealed, but I imagine Cellular South customers won't have to wait too long. Anyone excited?
Via PhoneScoop
There's no denying that the two biggest topics of this week have been the announcement of the new iPhone, along with the HTC EVO 4G ,which seems to still be getting a lot of press after its release last week. This Monday, BGR wrote an interesting post on turning the EVO into a free Wi-Fi hotspot. Apparently, if your EVO is rooted, you can download the android-wifi-tether app and avoid the $30/month charge (i'm not sure how long before Sprint catches on though...). The only drawback of using this app, however, is the fact that it doesn't support WPA/WAP2 encryption. So if you're good with WEP there should be no worries. If you end up trying this out (at your own risk, of course) make sure to let us know how it goes!
Via BGR
On Sunday June 6, AT&T made the Palm Pixi Plus available to the public. When AT&T first put the device up for sale, they were asking for $50 on a two-year contract after applying the standard mail in rebates. Wednesday, only three days after the phone was first made available, AT&T made the unusual (but probably wise) decision to sell it for free, with the same contractual caveats. The catch, according to Engadget, is that you have to sign up for a minimum $15 per month data plan from the new tiered data pricing announced last week. If you're going to be using less than 200MB per month, this is actually a pretty good deal if you like webOS. Any takers?
Via Engadget
It looks like one of Gizmodo's readers tipped them off to some interesting news via BlackBerry site Driphter. Driphter managed to get a hold of an unofficial BlackBerry clamshell device known as the 9670. The 9670, which is thought to be headed to Sprint, is expected to have a "5MP camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 480x360 inside screen, external display, microUSB port and microSD card slot." The most interesting thing about the post however, is the two videos; one of BlackBerry OS 6.0, the other of the hardware on the 9670. Update: Unfortunately I was unable to put the videos up because they were removed from YouTube due to "terms of use violations." Sorry Folks! Follow the source link to read more.
Via Gizmodo
One of the iPhone 4 features touted by Steve Jobs this past Monday was the new devices retina display with 326 pixels per inch, which "makes text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size," according to Apple. In his keynote, Jobs suggested that the technology behind the retina display is superior to OLED, a technology widely used on phone and television screens across the globe. Apparently, Samsung - maker of Super AMOLED screens - was a bit offended and noted that the "high-res retina display on the iPhone 4 offers only a 3 to 5 percent advantage in sharpness over its own Galaxy S Super AMOLED screen, but sucks down a wasteful 30 percent more power." Samsung also mentioned that "structurally, IPS LCD technology cannot catch up with AM-OLED display technology." It looks like the industry wars are now extending beyond the OS, and in to the realm of touchscreen technology as well. Any thoughts?
Via Engadget
That's all we've got for now, but stay tuned to PhoneDog for all the latest articles, videos, news, phone reviews, discussions and more! Oh, and don't forget to have a great weekend!
