Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition

Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide fall 2012 edition

Shopping for a smartphone can be an exciting and arduous experience. Along with the promise of something new and fantastic, it brings the fear of commitment, and even worse, the prospect of saddling yourself to a lousy device for two years. Fortunately for you, Engadget spends tons of time playing with the latest gear and we're constantly on the lookout for what's coming next. If you're wanting to take the pain out of shopping for a smartphone, you've come to the right place. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: your one-stop resource to finding the best and most exciting handsets on the market today.

Before you dive in, however, we've introduced a few changes to the buyer's guide, so take a minute to prepare yourself for what's in store. First and foremost, you'll now find alternate selections to supplement our top picks. This should already be familiar to many of you, which is the same format we use for our seasonal gift guides. The next one is a biggie: we've dropped the QWERTY selection. By and large, manufacturers and carriers alike have shifted their focus away from keyboard-equipped smartphones, and you'll rarely find more than one option on any given carrier. That said, if you still insist on the tactile experience, you'll always find everything you need to know in our reviews. Finally, whenever possible, you'll now find prices from Amazon Wireless, which allows us to provide you with more compelling budget selections and highlight the substantial savings that you can score by circumventing the carriers. It's not like they need your charity, anyway.

If you're curious to see how it all unfolded -- and we know you are -- join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

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Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: fall 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Live: ‘Ask me anything’ Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop

Engadget Live 'Ask me anything' Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop

It's time to open the book! We're live from Nokia's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, with Stephen Elop. The smartphone maker's CEO has set aside 30 minutes to answer your questions about anything and everything Nokia. If you haven't already submitted your questions, it's not too late! Head over to Twitter and give us a shout @EngadgetLive -- we'll be pulling our questions directly from there, along with the comments section of yesterday's post. Unfortunately we won't be able to get to everyone, but we will be setting aside the second half of the session to respond to your follow-ups, so keep an eye on the Q&A and fire off your queries. Click the image above to get started -- this page will go live just before the clock strikes 4AM ET.

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Engadget Live: 'Ask me anything' Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 03:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Live: Join us at 4AM ET for an ‘ask me anything’ Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop!

Engadget Live Join us at 4AM ET for an 'ask me anything' Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop!

You may have since forgotten, but today was the original kick-off day for Nokia World 2012. With the big show canceled and the devices already launched, we instead opted to drop by the smartphone maker's headquarters just outside Helsinki. We're spending three days here in Finland, meeting with executives to get an inside look at the company's next-generation smartphone lineup. Our first face-to-face is with Nokia's chief executive himself, Stephen Elop, who has generously offered up 30 minutes to answer your questions. Because of the time constraints, we won't be able to accommodate every request, but we'll certainly do our best.

There are two ways to submit your questions: leave a comment below, or you can send us a tweet @EngadgetLive -- once the session begins, we'll only be able to accept messages through Twitter, and you're welcome to ask questions before we start and as a follow-up to Stephen's responses, as well. In order to accommodate the largest possible audience, we'll be using our liveblog tool to post both questions and answers, so bookmark this page and hop on over there at 4AM Eastern tomorrow. As always, you'll also find the local time just below. Now about those questions...


September 25, 2012 4:00 AM EDT

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Engadget Live: Join us at 4AM ET for an 'ask me anything' Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change the Nokia Lumia 710?

How would you change

While Nokia's Lumia 710 may have been imagined as the Jan Brady of the Lumia line, this supposedly awkward middle child does plenty of things right. In fact, for everyone outside of the smartphone hardcore, it'll serve you very well at a far lower price than the better-looking (yet similarly specced) 800. That said, does it really need to exist? Would you pick this over the cheaper 610, the better designed 800 or the LTE-packing 900? That's the question we're asking you today -- if you were bending Stephen Elop's ear off about his trials and triumphs, what would you say about the 710, and more importantly, what would you change?

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How would you change the Nokia Lumia 710? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 get Windows Phone 7.5 update, finally get to Tango (updated)

Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 updated to Windows Phone 75, finally get to Tango

We'd heard that the Lumia 800 and 710 were to get Windows Phone 7.5 a software update bringing fresh features sometime soon, but the time has officially arrived for these two to Tango. Today Nokia announced that the fresh code has already started rolling out, bringing hotspot and flip-to-silence functionality to the handsets. Plus, once you've updated via your Zune desktop software, access to the nifty Camera Extras software -- already promised to Lumia 900 owners -- is but a download away. As a refresher, those Extras allow Lumias to take Scalado-powered Smart Group Shots, provide a better burst mode for action pics, plus add a self-timer and panorama mode as well. Want to see the new camera features in action before taking the plunge? Check out the video after the break.

Update: As our astute commenters have pointed out, the Lumias both have Mango onboard, so this bit of software is but an update to Windows Phone 7.5 that brings additional features.

Continue reading Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 get Windows Phone 7.5 update, finally get to Tango (updated)

Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 get Windows Phone 7.5 update, finally get to Tango (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of June 18th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of June 18th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Lumia 710 phones on T-Mobile USA should learn to Tango on June 20th

Nokia Lumia 710 phones on TMobile USA should learn to Tango on June 20th

If you've been carrying around a Lumia 710 for T-Mobile in your pocket and waiting for the day when you'd get a taste of Tango (Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh), you'll be happy to know that it could very soon. An internal memo passed along to WPCentral has Microsoft delivering the update on June 20th. Much like you'd hope, it should switch on hotspot support to share that HSPA+ network with others; many of the fixes between Mango and Tango will have snuck their way in as well, such as the cure for the well-known disappearing keyboard bug. Assuming the schedule holds, about the only visible drawback might come from a staggered rollout that won't have everyone dancing until July 31st.

Nokia Lumia 710 phones on T-Mobile USA should learn to Tango on June 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of June 4th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany week of June 4th, 2012

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, the LG Optimus L7 and Sony Xperia U both arrived at Fido, and Verizon Wireless unleashed some wicked LTE expansion across the US. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of June 4th, 2012.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of June 4th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video)

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As much as we're familiar with mobile device torture tests, they're normally inflicted by us or otherwise not-so-voluntary. Nokia, however, has stepped up to the plate and doled out the abuse to the Lumia 900 itself with a hammer and nail, all based on a wager that the Windows Phone's use of Gorilla Glass would hold up to Sonim-level punishment. The company's Chris Ruble and Mike Meyers (not that Mike Myers) used a Lumia 710 as a dry run before an on-camera demo that not only saw the 900 assaulted with the hammer, but used as a blunt instrument itself -- all without a crack or scratch. We imagine that other toughened-glass phones would survive the hit, and there's every possibility that smacking the polycarbonate plastic would leave more than a scuff mark. Nokia's test still proves that its pride and joy can withstand more than just a casual roughing up, and you can see the slightly cringe-inducing test in the video below.

Continue reading Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video)

Nokia uses Lumia 900 as a hammer in a torture test, makes us wince (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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