Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, HSDPA, UMTS

We powered up ye olde NAM 5800 XpressMusic today, and the weirdest thing happened: it worked on 3G. This comes after a day of frustration trying to get it hooked up to UMTS yesterday — a sentiment echoed by several others who took the plunge. The only theory we can come up with is that we were in Chicago yesterday at the Nokia flagship store — a place where many of the “defective” units were sold — and today we’re elsewhere, so it’s conceivable that there’s an issue with AT&T’s 3G network in Chicago. We’ve noticed an uptick in 3G loss on other devices in Chicago the past few days, so it’s possible that the 5800 is just particularly sensitive to crappy networks; then again, there seem to be others in New York that have the same issue, so it’s anybody’s guess. All we know for sure is that we’re showing a big, fat “3.5G” logo in the upper left corner of our unit at the moment — and we’re going to cross our fingers that it stays that way. We have a request out to Nokia for official comment on the issue, and we’ll let you know as soon as we have more.

Our Nokia 5800 magically starts working on 3G originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Well if your dreams of a new set have been dashed by the Nokia XpressMusic 5800′s issues but you still want to shop Nokia, here’s a deal for you. Amazon’s Gold Box sale today features the lovely — and arguably Nokia’s sassiest QWERTY smartphone — Nokia E71 in gray for $289 shipped. We peeked at Nokia’s shop and they have it priced at $349, and Expansys is at $389, so we’re fairly impressed at the price here, though it will only be about at this price today. Heck, we may stock up and make it an early Nokia Christmas this year, for ourselves. The read link will send you off to Amazon’s GOld Box page, so if you’re reading this article late, the set will be gone.

Filed under: Cellphones

Amazon’s Gold Box sale features Nokia E71 for $289, shipped originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

Sad business if true, but the UnwiredView is reporting that ASUS’ P565 Windows Mobile 6.1-toting, VGA, HSDPA, Blazing 800MHz monster has been quietly dumped. The reason? Nobody’s talking and we’ve not heard reports from either Garmin or ASUS to verify it either way — it has actually launched in a Germany and Poland, at least — but according to GPSAndCo, its debut in France isn’t happening and they point to the new partnership as the reason. In the end, it does seem as if the Garmin / ASUS team is going to deliver some pretty serious goods, so we’ll not shed a tear unless something happens to them, too. Of course, this could all be fluff, so do tell us if you catch sight of one of these at your local shop.

[Via UnwiredView]

Filed under: Cellphones

Asus’ P565 superphone canned due to Garmin partnership? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

First off, it’s rather amazing that someone in a developed nation is still using the Nokia 1600 as their primary handset. Secondly, it’s even more astounding that said handset lasted a week in the belly of a cod and could still make calls after it was rescued. In a just-barely-believable story hosted up at The Sun, a businessman was both shocked and confused when his presumably sunk cellphone began ringing his lady friend around five days after he dropped it at sea. As the tale goes, a 25 pound cod managed to swallow the thing, and a pair of fishermen discovered it upon gutting their catch. The best part? The bloke who it was returned to is still using it, despite the fact that it literally reeks of rotten fish. Who knows — maybe he suffers from ichthyomania.

[Via Nokia Conversations]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia 1600 survives week in fish’s belly, still makes smelly calls originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc

There’s no easy answer to erasing a staggering trillion-plus dollar deficit in a federal budget, but you’ve got to start somewhere — and Obama’s looking at the nation’s wireless carriers as cash cows just waiting to be milked. The President’s proposed budget for 2010 calls for an increase in spectrum license user fees from $50 million to $200 million, with further increases to $550 million over the course of the next decade, all of which would be on top of the billions carriers have already shelled out in spectrum auctions. A good way to bring in some extra cash? Yeah, probably, but considering that carriers will be more than happy to pass the increases on to consumers, let’s just be straight: it’s a tax.

[Via El Reg]

Obama’s proposed 2010 budget juices carriers for more cash originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

This may look like a beloved iMac, but make no mistake, it’s just a shell of its former self. CGCC forum member Logicdustbin decided to gut the all-in-one and replace its innards with a Sega Dreamcast and 15-inch LCD monitor. The result? The iCast, a beautiful homage to simpler times. Hit up the video after the break to see this Fronk-en-shteen in action, playing a game that’ll assuredly prepare our children for a post-apocalyptic world.

[Via hack a day]

Continue reading Apple iMac murdered, reborn as all-in-one DreamCast mod

Filed under: Gaming

Apple iMac murdered, reborn as all-in-one DreamCast mod originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Ross Miller

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola, Boost Mobile, Sprint, iDEN

Well Motorola’s first iDEN QWERTY effort has sailed through the FCC’s proving grounds and will apparently, or at least potentially, grace our push-to-talk pockets one day. We chattered about this wee red phone a bit on a recent podcast because from the looks of the pics we’ve seen, that keyboard will saw through fingers, and for a messaging handset, that’s just not good planning. If Boost Mobile literature is to be believed, then we can potentially expect this around June 15th this year, though, don’t hold us to that. Thanks FCC for testing and ensuring that this handset met 47 CFR 2.1093 (c) for RF exposure and found to be compliant with the limits specified in 47 CFR 2.1093(d)(2). Top job, love your graphs.

Motorola’s iDEN i465 passes muster with the FCC originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sean Cooper

We doubt you need a translation to figure out what’s going on here, but to summarize: the crew at mobile@mail.ru managed to get what they’re saying is an exclusive hands-on with a red Nokia E55. It’s the same compact QWERTY phone you’ve grown to love vicariously through photos and video, only now with a little rouge. Check out the read link for more pics.

[Thanks, Zavackiy]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia E55 blushes red for the camera originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Ross Miller