Radio Shack Prepping for September Google Wallet Launch?

Back in May, Google revealed its idea for a mobile payment system employing NFC technology, Google Wallet. We've heard of plenty of carriers, financial institutions, and smartphone manufacturers chime in with their ideas on how to launch such a mobile payment system that would really catch on with the public. It's far too early to predict how things will go, but Google certainly has the user base and the industry influence to have a fighting chance at success. Of course, to know which system will be successful, we'll have to see how it fares with national deployment. For Google Wallet, it looks like that could be coming in early September.

A leaked email sent out to Radio Shack stores advises them that select retail locations will be getting the ability to process Google Wallet transactions using NFC as of September 1. You might not be able to purchase your next pack of batteries with your Nexus S straight away, but stores that get the appropriate POS NFC transceivers will likely start using them before the end of the month.

We're not sure how large this initial group of stores offering Google Wallet services will be, or how evenly spread across the country, but it still looks to be a big step towards widespread deployment of mobile-based payments in the US, and could signal a larger Google Wallet roll-out; now you'll just need a smartphone that supports NFC. 

Samsung Impulse 4G to Kick-Off AT&T LTE?

As AT&T begins offering 4G LTE service this year, our eyes are on what will be the first smartphones to christen the carrier's new mobile broadband connection. While it first left the door open for plenty of both HSPA+ and LTE models to arrive before 2012, it later clarified that it would have at least one LTE smartphone debuting, making us expect to see far fewer LTE models – maybe even just that one. With the field narrowed, we're all the more curious to learn just what the phone(s) will be. There's not much in the way of detail available yet, but one model that could be up for the task is the Samsung Impulse 4G.

Besides the rumor that the Samsung Impulse 4G will be the first AT&T LTE smartphone, there's nothing to go on but this one render and image of a supposed Impulse 4G case. BGR, reporting the rumor, notes the Impulse's similarity to the also-LTE-running Droid Charge. Sure enough, it's got that pointy look to it, but the Impulse 4G would apparently replace the Charge's hardware buttons with capacitive, has a different earpiece grill, and seems to move the arrangement of the camera/prox sensor.

At this early stage, there's no guess on price or a release date, but if this is an AT&T LTE phone, it might not be until the very end of the year that it goes up for sale. 

HP Pre 3 Unboxing (Video)

While not slated for official release in the US, the HP Pre 3 is still on sale (and prices are getting lower each day), even after HP's announcementthat they'd no longer be selling webOS hardware. That said, the Pre 3 represents the best in terms of webOS hardware, which is an exciting prospect. It packs a WVGA 3.6" display, a single-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 512MB of RAM, and a rear-facing 5MP camera with flash. It's running on webOS 2.2, and HP promises future updates to keep Pre 3 owners happy. This particular model, which you can buy from Clove for £269 or $445, has quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and triband UMTS 900/1900/2100, meaning in some places, you'll get 3G connectivity over AT&T. 

The design of the Pre 3 is (perhaps too much) reminiscent of the Pre 2, Pre Plus, and Pre. It's taller to accommodate the higher-resolution screen, plus the keyboard is larger. Besides that, it's a Pre all the way.

How is using webOS with a WVGA screen? We'll have more in an upcoming video!

Samsung Teases The American Galaxy S II

 

There's an August 29 event scheduled by Samsung and everyone believes it will be (finally) about the launch of the Galaxy S II in the U.S. Up on Samsung Mobile USA's YouTube page, you'll get further hints towards the Galaxy S II.

According to the video below, the Galaxy S II sales are "kick ass" and the phone is big in Europe and everywhere else, slim and whatnot where it really has to be. Soon it will be big in America too says the teaser which makes us be certain what that August 29 event is for. Question is: is it too late for Samsung with the iPhone 5, Mango phones and maybe Ice Cream Sandwich with its devices just around the corner? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUinl4Wclr4&feature=player_embedded

Cheaper iPhone 4 With 8GB Storage Coming?

 

We've heard some rumors previously about a cheaper iPhone. According to some, the phone would be made of cheaper materials and according to others, Apple would turn it into an iCloud iPhone with less memory and more dependability on the cloud offering.

According to Reuters quoting "two people with knowledge of the matte", manufacturers have already started building the cheaper iPhone 4. It will come with only 8GB of internal storage and the chips are reportedly being made by a Korean company. This new information fits nicely with previous reports of a cheaper, iCloud-based iPhone, but according to the bits, it will be an iPhone 4.

Regardless if it will be September or October, it looks like we should expect two iPhones to come on stage. A next-generation iPhone 5, about which we've heard so many rumors lately and which will reportedly be a world phone, and the cheaper iPhone 4, with less memory.