Nokia Asha 200, Asha 300 and Asha 303 hands-on (video)

You know, Nokia wasn't only firing its first Windows Phone salvo -- there was also a volley of Series 40 handsets, with the Asha family. First up is the dual-SIM capable Nokia 200. The phone itself bears a strong resemblance to the C3-00, with a non-touchable screen and QWERTY keyboard, priced, pre-tax, at €60 (about $85). Nokia promises admirable battery-life and a rainbow of color choices.

Up next is the Nokia 300, pairing a 2.4-inch resistive touchscreen with a numbered keypad, with a long narrow frame very similar to last year's Nokia C3, but now toting a 1GHz processor, five megapixel shooter and a €85 (about $120) bounty. Meanwhile, €115 (about $160) will net you the Nokia 303, which brings together both touchscreen and QWERTY input and rocks a 3.2 megapixel camera. While Nokia's first Windows Phones remain the stars of the show, these sub-$200 prices and pre-2012 arrival will tempt residual Series 40 fans still out there. Skip on past the break for a brimful of Asha.

Gallery: Nokia Asha phones hands-on

Zach Honig contributed to this post.

Continue reading Nokia Asha 200, Asha 300 and Asha 303 hands-on (video)

Nokia Asha 200, Asha 300 and Asha 303 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

RIM confirms PlayBook OS 2.0 delayed until February, still no BBM in sight

Well, we hope you weren't expecting to have PlayBook 2.0 up and running on your BlackBerry tablet any time soon, cause it's been officially delayed till at least February. Word has come straight from the mouth (well, keyboard) of David Smith, senior vice president for the PlayBook project. In a blog post Smith announced that RIM would be holding back on the release to ensure many of the new features, including native email and enterprise app deployment, work as advertised. The OS update will be getting a decently long beta test, with it rolling out to some in the Early Adopter Program "shortly." Sadly, it seems that some features have fallen by the wayside with the focus on polish -- namely, BBM. Since the messaging service relies on a one-device per-PIN model, getting it on the tablet has proved troublesome. For now users will have to rely on BlackBerry Bridge and their RIM handsets to get their BBM fix. Considering the company's track record, we wouldn't be shocked if the OS update slips even further into the future -- remember an email client was promised within 60 days of launch... that was back in April.

RIM confirms PlayBook OS 2.0 delayed until February, still no BBM in sight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nokia Lumia 800 hits UK carriers this November, Xbox 360 used as bait

Nokia fanboys and girls across the British Isles are getting the Lumia 800 love as early as November. Confirmed on a trio of carriers earlier today, Espoo's "first real Windows Phone" is slated to hit Vodafone, Orange and 3 UK sometime next month, though no specific street date has yet been revealed. You can hit up the operators' respective sites now to sign-up for the availability updates, or go whole hog with an in-store pre-order in the case of 3 UK. At least one of these networks is sweetening the pot for potential subs, as Orange's enticing lure of a free Xbox 360 with handset upgrade is sure to reel in bargain hunting customers. So, what are you waiting for? Hit up the source below to hand over your deets and claim your spot in this Finnish Mango queue.

Nokia Lumia 800 hits UK carriers this November, Xbox 360 used as bait originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Droid RAZR pre-orders go live on Verizon tomorrow, ships to Blur fans before November 10th (updated)

Who said there's no such thing as a second chance? After resurrecting the RAZR brand just last week with Motorola's newly minted Droid member, Verizon's now gearing up for a pre-order deluge on the 27th. That's right, starting tomorrow morning at 8AM EST, Big Red's dual-core 4G LTE handset'll ship out to eager subs who plunk down the $299 on contract price before November 10th. If you're not the early bird type, you'll have to sit tight a wee bit longer as plans for an in-store launch have yet to be announced. Of course, you could always hold out for that eventual Galaxy Nexus to make its first place carrier debut, or even cross your toes for a Nokia Lumia 800 (one can hope, right?). Whatever your preference, this holiday season's sure turning out to be a cornucopia of high-end mobile options. Check out the official presser after the break.

Update: Droid Life got a hold of an internal Verizon screen that pegs the Droid RAZR's off contract price at $650. Still no word on an actual retail date for the device, but we're sure that's right around the corner.

Continue reading Droid RAZR pre-orders go live on Verizon tomorrow, ships to Blur fans before November 10th (updated)

Droid RAZR pre-orders go live on Verizon tomorrow, ships to Blur fans before November 10th (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tango video calling service for Windows Phone Mango set to roll out November 7th

We've already seen Tango video calling demonstrated on a Windows Phone Mango handset, and the company has now confirmed that it will indeed be the first video calling service available for the OS. The app is slated to roll out on November 7th, and it will include both some tight integration with the operating system (aided by some input from Microsoft) and hardware acceleration for smoother video calls. It will also apparently come pre-loaded on at least some of the forthcoming Mango-based handsets, although Tango isn't ready to specify exactly which just yet. Naturally, all of this now puts some considerable attention on Skype, which Microsoft acquired earlier this year for the tidy sum of $8.5 billion, but it still has some catching up to do with Tango on the Windows Phone front -- a spokesperson tells Forbes that it "does not have anything to announce at this time regarding Skype on Windows Phone."

Tango video calling service for Windows Phone Mango set to roll out November 7th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nokia's kinetic future: flexible screens and a twisted interface (video)

Hidden within Nokia's Future Lounge, this very flexible display offers up a glimpse of what sort of thing we could possibly be dealing with when we roll up to Nokia World in 2021. The prototype Nokia Kinetic Device, including its display, can be flexed across both the vertical and horizontal planes -- with bending and twisting motions controlling the interface. If you bend the screen towards yourself, it acts as a selection function, or zooms in on any pictures you're viewing. In music mode, you can navigate, play and pause with the tactile interface. It's still a way off from arriving on phones, though Nokia is aiming to whet developers' appetites with this prototype. We may have seen some twisty interfaces already, but nothing packing a four-inch screen and built-in functionality like this. Nokia couldn't confirm the screen technology being used. Could that be a flexible AMOLED display? See those impressive viewing angles and contortions after the break and judge for yourself.

Gallery: Nokia Kinetic Device hands-on

Continue reading Nokia's kinetic future: flexible screens and a twisted interface (video)

Nokia's kinetic future: flexible screens and a twisted interface (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon, Netflix ink licensing deals with ABC, add new content for you to munch on

It was a pretty busy day for the Disney-ABC Television Group yesterday, as the company announced a new licensing deal with Amazon, while renewing its pre-existing agreement with Netflix. The Amazon deal will allow Amazon Prime members to access all prior seasons of Grey's Anatomy, every episode of Lost, and all previous seasons of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, among other series. Amazon expects to add a total of some 13,000 titles to Prime Instant Video by "early next year," and just in time for the holiday season (as well as the release of the Kindle Fire). The renewal of Netflix's deal, meanwhile, ensures that the company will continue to offer episodes of shows like Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters, and Ugly Betty, as well as new additions, including Switched at Birth, Kick Buttowski and Alias. Basically, though, it's just more of the same. But at a time when Netflix is losing customers in the wake of its price hike and Qwikster debacle, maybe stability isn't such a bad thing. Surf past the break for a pair of dueling PRs.

Continue reading Amazon, Netflix ink licensing deals with ABC, add new content for you to munch on

Amazon, Netflix ink licensing deals with ABC, add new content for you to munch on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.