The Engadget interview: OnStar’s Nick Pudar talks smart grids at CTIA 2012 (video)

The Engadget interview: OnStar's Nick Pudar talks smart grids at CTIA 2012 (video)

While visiting the Innovation Showcase at CTIA 2012, we ran into Nick Pudar -- OnStar's VP of Business Development -- who was kind enough to give us a few minutes of his time. We sat in the LTE Skype-enabled Chevy Volt on display and discussed such topics as OnStar FMV, RelayRides and smart grids -- wherein power utilities can (with the customer's consent) send a signal to a vehicle to control when it charges. The idea is to allows utilities to maximize grid efficiency and minimize power spikes while giving customers options for when to charge the vehicle -- like when the rates are the lowest or when the power generated is coming from renewable energy, for example. Pretty neat stuff, eh? Watch our video interview for all the (pardon the pun) juicy details.

The Engadget interview: OnStar's Nick Pudar talks smart grids at CTIA 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 May 2012 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CTIA Wireless 2012 wrap-up

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Oh, how we will miss New Orleans. It's been a long and busy week in the Big Easy as tens of thousands of calories were sacrificed in the name of bringing you the most comprehensive coverage of CTIA's annual spring show. Not that we mind -- we love doing it, and it's easy justification for the dozens of beignets we downed during our stay. The event was a tad on the quiet side this year (no companies announced any buyouts, for starters) we still kept ourselves more than adequately busy sticking our noses in every nook and cranny of the show floor. After the break, feast upon our entire scope of coverage, in case you missed it the first time around.

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CTIA Wireless 2012 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget interview: Nokia VP of Developer Relations Richard Kerris at CTIA 2012 (video)

The Engadget interview: Nokia VP of Developer Relations Richard Kerris at CTIA 2012 (video)

This week at CTIA in beautiful New Orleans, we were lucky enough to spend some time with Richard Kerris, VP of Developer Relations at Nokia. Obviously, there's bit of a chicken and egg situation when it comes to attracting software talent to Windows Phone. Developers favor platforms with an established community, and users prefer an ecosystem with a broad selection of apps. We talked about what Nokia announced at the show -- including apps like City Lens -- and how the company is helping developers with its Business Development Kit (BDK) and App Highlights showcase. Want all the details? Just take a look at our video interview.

Joseph Volpe contributed to this report.

The Engadget interview: Nokia VP of Developer Relations Richard Kerris at CTIA 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 20:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CTIA 2012: a look back at our favorite devices

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CTIA 2012 is wrapping up and we thought we'd spend a few minutes reminiscing about some of the more interesting devices we had a chance to see for the first time or that were launched here. Unfortunately for us -- and thereby for you, too -- the show lacked the bite we've seen at previous events, in fact it barely registered a nibble. We did catch up with five products we'd like to highlight so follow on after the break for our recap.

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CTIA 2012: a look back at our favorite devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from President Bill Clinton’s CTIA keynote

Live from President Bill Clinton's CTIA keynote

It's the final day of CTIA Wireless 2012, and time for the week's big event. Will it be a new super phone? An epic new high-speed 4G network? The resurrection of webOS? Nope. The big get of the week is the 42nd president of the United States, Mr. William Jefferson Clinton. Honestly, we're not entirely sure what to expect of the event ending keynote. Most likely Willy (he let's us call him that since we're such close, personal friends -- it's no big deal) will wind up talking about the ability of wireless technology to empower the underclass and level the global playing field... you know, light-hearted stuff. But, there's only one way to find out for sure: follow along after the break.

May 10, 2012 3:00 PM EDT

Live from President Bill Clinton's CTIA keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Konka W900 hands-on

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If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, consider Konka the number one practitioner of that "craft." The company, (in)famous for its OEM-copycatting ways, has set up a booth here at CTIA 2012, letting us get some up close and personal time with its W900. The HTC-esque handset, previously released at this past Mobile World Congress, is yet another in a line of underwhelming Android offerings that subsists on design without delivering on performance. Although, the phone's official spec sheet lists it as running Ice Cream Sandwich, the build we encountered was actually that of Gingerbread 2.3.6 -- a very buggy version, at that. So, don't let your eyes deceive you, what you're seeing on the homescreen is simply a third-party launcher made to ape ICS' more streamlined UI. Beneath that 4-inch WVGA display lies quadband GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900) and WCDMA (2100) radios, VGA front-facing / rear 5-megapixel cameras, in addition to support for WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the company couldn't confirm what processor's powering this lackluster affair. But no matter, this is one uneven device you can safely ignore.

Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report.

Konka W900 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Car StereoClip hands-on

HTC Car StereoClip hands-on

Looking for something nice to take home alongside your shiny (oh, so shiny) new HTC EVO 4G LTE? How about the Car StereoClip? When the latest EVO hits shelves on May 18th, it'll launch with this Bluetooth accessory that lets you stream audio to any device with an mini stereo auxiliary input. The tiny, USB thumb drive-sized receiver has a micro USB port on one end for charging, and a male 3.5mm connector hides under a cap on the other side. While the dongle is being marketed for in-car use, it could be used to turn your home stereo into a set of Bluetooth speakers as well. HTC claims that Bluetooth 4.0 and aptX support should make for drastically improved audio quality -- at least when paired with a similarly specced phone. You'll be able to pick up the plug for $60 from Sprint, followed shortly thereafter by AT&T. Check out the gallery below for a few more pics.

HTC Car StereoClip hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint review

HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint review

HTC is on a roll in the US, first releasing the One S for T-Mobile and the One X for AT&T. Now, with the EVO 4G LTE on Sprint, it's ready to shift to the CDMA realm in a different costume. Internally, it's incredibly close to what's offered in the One series' flagship, but the Now Network has made a few tweaks to the device so it'll adjust to life as the latest smartphone in the fabled EVO lineup. This time it's packing a powerful processor, gorgeous display and the ability to connect to the still-dormant LTE. It's eager to show its face in retail stores beginning May 18th for $200, placing it in the high end of Sprint's selection.

This review, however, is just a bit different from any we've done before. How so? To our knowledge, we've never done one in New Orleans before. But when a phone gets dropped in our lap at CTIA 2012, we're naturally going to put it through its paces, regardless of location. As it shares so many commonalities with its One brethren, we've been expecting a very similar fit, feel and performance. In our review, we'll take you through what's different and what's better or worse. Is this the best device to grace the hands of Sprint customers? Follow us past the break to find out.

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HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First sample shots with HTC’s EVO 4G LTE for Sprint

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What better way to see what a smartphone camera is made of than taking a tour of the best of what New Orleans has to offer? We were given the opportunity to take the forthcoming HTC EVO 4G LTE on a brief tour of the city here at CTIA 2012. Our full review of Sprint's latest LTE-capable device is on the way, but we want to give you a small teaser to arouse your curiosity ahead of time. So check out some of the sights through HTC's 8MP ImageSense camera (including HDR shots) and take a look at how it stacks up against the likes of the One X and One S below!

Continue reading First sample shots with HTC's EVO 4G LTE for Sprint

First sample shots with HTC's EVO 4G LTE for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 20:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s SGH-i667 ‘Mandel’ Windows Phone: surprise, it’s the Focus 2

samsung mandel focus 2 windows phone at&t

Mystery, solved. That SGH-i667 'Mandel' Windows Phone that cropped up earlier in the month (and is shown above on the left)? Word on the street at that point was that it had been nixed from AT&T's lineup, but somehow, that same device actually made the trip to New Orleans. Sure enough, it debuted at CTIA as the Focus 2, a mid-range followup phone that's destined to tempt smartphone buyers to the WP7 side with a rock-bottom $50-on-contract price point. Hard to say if Samsung and AT&T mutually decided to carry through with launch plans after initially spiking 'em (or if that intel was just wrong to begin with), but we can think of it least one recently-canned phone that's hoping it's the former.

Samsung's SGH-i667 'Mandel' Windows Phone: surprise, it's the Focus 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 17:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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