Little-known Plum Mobile appeared at CTIA with the four dual SIM Android sets pictured above and the Might, a Galaxy Note twin we had a peek at a little earlier today. From the top left we have the Debut, which is a 7-in WVGA tablet -- that can be used as a phone -- with Android 2.2 powered by an 800MHz CPU, a 5-megapixel camera and a 4250mAh battery. Pricing for the Plum Debut is somewhere in the neighborhood of $180. The $90 Plum Capacity runs Android 2.2 with a 650MHz CPU, it also offers a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, a 3.5-inch HVGA display, and comes in "several" color options. The Wicked 3G is a quadband GSM dualband 3G set with a 3 megapixel camera around back, personal hotspot, and a 2.8-inch resistive display. Rounding out the set is the Android 2.3 Plum Orbit, this $50 dollar set lacks 3G but does have a quadband GSM radio, a 2 megapixel camera and a 3.2-inch display.

All of Plum Mobile's sets are fairly low cost but the materials and build quality were decent. The Wicked 3G -- aside from having the best name of the group -- was somehow our favorite of the bunch. Sure it is pretty shiny plastic but the shape was just great to hang onto which is something of a rarity in our world of giant slabs. We doubt that we'll be seeing these phones in any brick and mortar stores on these shores, so we thought we'd treat you to some glossies of them all. Check the gallery just below.

Zachary Lutz contributed to this report

Plum Mobile lineup at CTIA 2012 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC's One S -- launched earlier this year at Mobile World Congress -- features a nifty ceramic-like finish that is achieved using micro arc oxidation. We've of course heard about the process and been treated to the details of the treatment but had yet to see it translated for our eyes to behold. HTC has a stand set up at CTIA detailing the steps from blank lump of aluminum to the finished HTC One S product with its lovely smooth black shell. Have a quick peek at the gallery below and then on to the video tour of the process steps from stamping to grinding to 10,000 volt shock. Plasma!

Zachary Lutz contributed to this report.

Continue reading HTC One S unibody housing micro arc oxidation process eyes-on

HTC One S unibody housing micro arc oxidation process eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CTIA, while focused on mobile technology, often gives us the chance to peek at other devices that bridge into our beloved mobile world. Clarion's Next Gate is one such device, running on a 7-inch WVGA display and interfacing with your iPhone via the dock connector. Once you're hooked up -- which should be straightforward as it only needs plugging in -- the Next Gate allows control of apps on your device. First off, we like the idea that your iPhone is controlled by the Next Gate -- in fact when firing up an app in the demo you can see it cycle open on the iPhone display -- but its lower resolution display, hung adjacent to an iPad, made us immediately yearn for an upgraded display. The selection of usable apps includes such niceties as Twitter, Facebook, streaming radio, and of course navigation. All the apps we saw seemed to perform quite well, though we weren't on the open road in bright sunlight with the top down and the quadruplets screaming bloody murder in the back seat, thankfully. Have a peek at the video and gallery below for a tour of the interface and some of its functionality.

Joseph Volpe contributed to this report.

Continue reading Clarion Next Gate hands-on (video)

Clarion Next Gate hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 May 2012 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Giveaway: win a Samsung Galaxy Note, courtesy of Bell Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bell Canada's updated its Mobile TV service to introduce a bevy of new features and content. The mobile TV service now offers 26 channels of live programming and a pile of on demand content thrown in for good measure. The interface has been tidied up, a programming guide has made an appearance, alerts are now here so you won't miss shows and flipping to portrait mode from landscape lets you browse the new guide while your current show plays on. Bell's Mobile TV service is priced at $5 a month for five hours of content; overages -- measured in hours -- cost an additional $1 per hour, though using the service with WiFi is thankfully free. Is it worth the $5 on top of your already potentially pricey phone bill? Follow on through while we take Bell's TV offering for a quick spin with words and some pretty video, too.

Continue reading Bell Canada Mobile TV service hands-on

Bell Canada Mobile TV service hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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