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AT&T-owned Aio Wireless launches prepaid service in Houston, Orlando and Tampa

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Aio Wireless, a prepaid subsidiary of AT&T, is launching with a nationwide "unlimited" voice and data service. (As is so often the case, that buzzword comes in quotes because speeds will be throttled once you meet your plan's data cap.) The three plans range from $35 to $70 per month, and 4G downloads will reportedly top off at 4 Mbps. Customers can either choose from Aio's modest selection of handsets -- including the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 620 -- or bring a compatible, unlocked device of their own. The service will kick off in Houston, Orlando and Tampa, with additional markets launching later this year. Head past the break for the full press info.

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Source: Aio Wireless

VMK preps Africa-designed Elikia smartphone with $170 price, fast track for apps

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VMK preps Africadesigned Elikia smartphone with $170 price, fast track for apps

Congo-based VMK has been blazing a trail for mobile devices in Africa: its Way-C tablet proved that the continent could go its own way without leaning on Asia or Europe. The company promised several months ago to address the same gap with smartphones, and the result is here in the form of the Elikia ("Hope"). The hardware won't shake the cellular world's foundations with its 3.5-inch (and 480 x 320) display, 512MB of RAM, a 650MHz processor and both 5-megapixel rear as well as front VGA cameras, but that's not the point -- at $170 US off-contract, it's much more within the reach of Congo residents, and it even uses the unofficial Holo Launcher to bring a taste of Android 4.0 to what's really Android 2.3 underneath. There's also a minor revolution in app purchasing. As Google Play won't take Congo's credit cards, VMK has its own app store and prepaid gift cards to give the country a similar experience. You'll have to sign on to local carriers Airtel, MTN or Warid to use an Elikia in the near future, but we're hoping the phone expands its reach and levels the playing field.

Gallery: VMK Elikia

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VMK preps Africa-designed Elikia smartphone with $170 price, fast track for apps originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 packing 4G LTE comes to Verizon on August 17th

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 70 packing 4G LTE comes to Verizon on August 17th

Verizon subscribers jonesing for a 7-inch LTE tablet won't have to consider springing for the pricey Galaxy Tab 7.7 any longer. The carrier just revealed plans to offer up a 4G-equipped (and previously hinted) version of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 starting on August 17th. There's no revolution under the hood outside of the cellular link: it's still toting Android 4.0, the rear 3.2-megapixel and front VGA cameras, a (slightly faster) 1.2GHz dual-core chip and a somewhat thin 8GB of built-in memory. At the $350 contract-free asking price, however, the tinier Galaxy Tab is low-hanging fruit for data lovers.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 packing 4G LTE comes to Verizon on August 17th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ting becomes first US MVNO to hop the Galaxy S III bandwagon, outlines its device roadmap

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Ting has drawn a lot of attention among MVNOs for its unique mix-and-match approach to contract-free plans, but it's had to contend with some rather middling phones inherited from its network partner Sprint. That gap in high-end phones will narrow before the summer's up: Ting plans to carry the Galaxy S III within three to six weeks, becoming the first virtual carrier in the US to tout Samsung's flagship. Its version is identical to the Sprint model and will even cost $20 less when you skip Sprint's two-year term, at $529 for a 16GB edition and $579 for its 32GB cousin. If that doesn't satisfy the appetite, Ting is also giving a peek at its menu for the months ahead. Along with adopting LTE this year to make that Galaxy S III hum, the carrier expects to bring in a more moderately-priced LTE phone, a hotspot, an accessible phone and a budget slider. We wouldn't base any carrier switches around an iPhone or Windows Phone option, though. There's only "some progress" coaxing a deal out of Apple, and a Windows Phone is most likely to wait until the first quarter of 2013.

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Ting becomes first US MVNO to hop the Galaxy S III bandwagon, outlines its device roadmap originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry PlayBook with 4G LTE may reach Bell by July 31st, 1.5GHz chip tagging along for the ride

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BlackBerry PlayBook with 4G LTE may reach Bell by July 31st, 15GHz chip tagging along

RIM has been planning a 4G-capable BlackBerry PlayBook for so long that CEO Thorsten Heins' promises of a 2012 launch still made it feel distant. If Bell Canada information breezing past MobileSyrup's desk is any indicator, though, the launch is coming sooner than Heins implied -- just one week away, as of this writing. The slip has at least the one carrier reportedly offering an LTE-equipped, 32GB version of the 7-inch tablet on July 31st at a price of $550 Canadian ($540 US) without a contract. And yes, it would get that rumored 1.5GHz processor upgrade if there's any substance to the story. We'd still prefer to see the tablet jump to BlackBerry 10 more than anything, especially at that kind of price, but the RIM faithful could still find something to cheer if they're looking for a truly definitive PlayBook to make the BB10 wait feel shorter.

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BlackBerry PlayBook with 4G LTE may reach Bell by July 31st, 1.5GHz chip tagging along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola MOTOSMART comes to UK in July: we go hands-on

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Motorola MOTOSMART comes to UK in July, promises cheapaschips Android 23 video

Motorola isn't letting the Atrix HD hog all the spotlight today. If you'd like your smartphone a little more to-the-point, the MOTOSMART distills just about everything cellular to its fundamentals. It's as frugal as can be -- the tiny full-touch phone packs a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 display, a 3-megapixel rear camera and the same MotoSwitch-layered Android 2.3 we saw half a year ago with the MOTOLUXE. Then again, that essentialism is really the focus, isn't it? The MOTOSMART will cost just £100 ($155) SIM-free when it hits T-Mobile UK and other parts of Europe by the end of the month, so the barrier to entry is more like a speed bump. Click past the break for the video, some brief impressions, and the source for the hard details in the Italian-only listing that Motorola has so far.

Gallery: Motorola Motosmart hands-on

Continue reading Motorola MOTOSMART comes to UK in July: we go hands-on

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Motorola MOTOSMART comes to UK in July: we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prepaid MiFi coming to Walmart, starting at $10 for 100MB with no expiry

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Prepaid MiFi coming to Walmart, starting at $10 for 100MB

Hot on the heels of T-Mobile's new 4G prepaid options, Walmart has paired with TruConnect to offer a MiFi for "casual users." The service -- called Internet on the Go -- appears to be based on Sprint's 3G network (with no mention of LTE on the horizon) and claims to have 97 percent coverage as a result. It requires a MiFi 2200 made by Novatel, which can cope with up to five devices over WiFi and to which you then add a minimum of $10 for 100MB or up to $45 for 1GB. That's not cheap by any means, and the PR below doesn't actually specify the price of the dongle itself -- but at least the service looks flexible, as you can also choose automatic online refills at $20 for 450MB. And the last bit of good news? You can burn through those rations as quickly or as slowly as you please, because there's no time limit so long as you use the service at least once per year.

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Prepaid MiFi coming to Walmart, starting at $10 for 100MB with no expiry originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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