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Archive for category Android

Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab goes official, has phone functionality

Sep 3

Posted by looda in Android, Samsung | No Comments

The Tab has landed – the Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab tablet just went official, confirming many of its rumored specs. The 7″ tablet has full voice call functionality, up to 7 hours of video playback, DivX and Flash videos included and the excellent Android web browser that has plenty of room to stretch its legs on the WSVGA screen.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is centered around a 7″ TFT screen with 1024×600 pixels resolution, driven by a Cortex-A8 processor running at 1GHz, 512MB RAM and PowerVR SGX540 graphics.

The OS running the show is Android 2.2 Froyo, of course, but without the TouchWiz skin. Samsung have concentrated on providing and excellent app package instead.

The Tab has GSM/GPRS/EDGE along with HSPA-enhanced 3G connectivity. Both for voice and data, SMS and MMS too. It even has a front-facing 1.3MP camera for video calls. On the back, there’s a second camera – a 3MP auto-focus snapper with LED flash.

The Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab is big for a phone but compact for a 7″ tablet, it measures 190.1 x 120.5 x 11.98mm and weighs 380g. The reduced weight compared to the iPad is in part due to the smaller size and because the Tab has a plastic body.

There are two options for the built-in memory – 16GB or 32GB, which is expandable using microSD cards up to 32GB. The connectivity of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is rounded off by Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n and an Apple-like 30 pin data connector.

And an HDMI will come in handy – the extensive video codec support (DivX, XviD, H.264, Flash 10.1 too) and the 4000 mAh battery that has enough juice for up to 7 hours of movies. The tab handles HD resolutions with ease too.

Samsung have added the Readers Hub, which boasts access to 2 million books and thousands of magazines and newspapers, joining on the tablet assault on eReaders. If the apps that come preloaded on the Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab aren’t enough, you have full access to the Android market. We’re not sure whether most apps there would be fit for the Tab’s 1024×600 pixel resolution.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab will launch in Europe in mid-September (Italy first) and expand to the US, Asia and Korea in the months to follow.

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ViewSonic ViewPad 7 Announced, A Tablet With Full Phone Features

Sep 2

Posted by looda in Android | No Comments

As the year goes forward, the line between tablets and smartphones is only bound to get even more muddled, with size likely playing the biggest difference between the two categories.  Take this just-announced ViewSonic ViewPad 7, a 7-inch Android tablet, fitted with complete phone functionalities.

While ViewSonic is mainly associated with LCD and plasma displays, the company has long been rumored to be at work on their own smartphone.  We guess the tablet is a logical  first foray into mobile electronics, as it’s a considerably less mature market than the now-crowded smartphone space.

Details of the ViewPad 7 include a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen (800 x 480 resolution), a rear-facing 3.0 megapixel camera module, a front-facing VGA webcam, onboard gyro-sensor, WiFi, 3G (both for phone and data) and microSD card expansion (up to 32GB).  Hopefully, there’s a way you can put this up to your face when making calls just like a real phone – that would be entertaining.

No word has been given about the tablet’s innards (e.g. processor, RAM), so we’ll have to see what kind of hardware it’s packing under the case.   It’s running Android 2.2 Froyo, along with the usual Google suite and a few pre-installed apps (such as an ebook reader).  Full phone features include standard voice calling, SMS, MMS and VOIP.

The ViewSonic ViewPad 7 will be part of the company’s exhibit at the IFA 2010 in Berlin, which is slated to begin this coming September 3rd.  Review units will be available starting October, with UK pricing expected to be no more than £350 (around $540), including VAT.

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Sony Ericsson to launch an Android 3.0 based, PSP Go gaming smartphone

Aug 13

Posted by looda in Android, Sony Ericsson | No Comments

Sony Ericsson is poised to launch an Android-based, PSP Go gaming smartphone, according to reports. It is understood the smartphone, which is rumoured for an October launch, will run Google’s Android 3.0 Gingerbread operating system along with PlayStation’s own gaming eco system. According to reports, Sony’s PSP Go-like smartphone is a landscape slider with a gaming D-pad and instead of a joystick, a long touchpad.

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Google’s Nexus One Is Officially Dead

Jul 21

Posted by looda in Android | No Comments

After much fanfare that sent tech blogs and the industry ablaze, Google is putting an end to its “superphone” aspirations.  Yes, the Nexus One is, for all intents and purposes, dead.

The company, which received its last batch of phones less than one week ago, has sold out every single one of the inventory from their online store.  Those hoping to score one can turn to European and Korean carriers who still have it on stock (both Vodafone and KT has them), along with some likely overpriced pieces on eBay.

Barely six months old, Google’s “experiment” as a hardware retailer and a mobile phone brand is a bust, something very few people expected at the start of the project.  In fact, many pundits declared the Nexus One as potential serious competition for the iPhone’s market dominance – a claim that quickly died a few months in, when everyone realized that nobody was actually buying the HTC-built “superphone.”

Google CEO Eric Schmidt says they’ve reached all their goals with the smartphone, which is, apparently, to challenge manufacturers to come up with extraordinary hardware to run Android on.  Of course, it’s an obvious load of nonsense.  It wasn’t that long ago, after all, that the company was talking about producing a family of devices around Android.

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Android and iPhone Cross Platform Multiplayer Enabled Thanks to Skies of Glory

Jul 20

Posted by looda in Android, Games iPhone, iPhone | No Comments

Although there are tittles out there like Raging Thunder 2 and Homerun Battle 3D that allow iPhone owners to join Android users in gaming sessions, this new title is a bomb. We’re talking about SGN’s Skies of Glory, that gets shown in action at the end of the article.

Skies of Glory is an aerial dogfighting game, that has recently been ported to Android (2.0 and above), being able to communicate with iOS device via WiFi, Bluetooth or 3G.

Let’s hope that such cross-platform action will expand to MeeGo, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry 6 and Symbian…

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Opera Mini 5.1 final version pops up in the Android market

Jul 14

Posted by looda in Android | No Comments

The Android version of the world’s most popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has just received an update. So far Droid owners only had access to the beta version of Opera Mini 5, but now they are getting an updated feature pack and the chance to enjoy a final version at the same time.

The optimized Opera Mini engine allows cutting on mobile traffic usage by as much as 90 percent, which should improve speed and decrease data charges at the same time. The latest 5.1 version is also designed to consume less system resources, being more suitable to low-end and mid-range handsets, where hardware constraints are stronger.

Finally the Opera Mini 5.1 now gives the Android users the option to select it as the default browser. The Norwegian company hopes to match its success with the iPhone, who got its first official version not long ago. In the 24 hours following its release to the App Store, Opera mini registered over 1 million downloads topping the charts in every single country, where the Apple application store is available.

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YouTube launches HTML5-enabled mobile website for iPhone and Android

Jul 8

Posted by looda in Android, iPhone | No Comments

YouTube launches HTML5-enabled mobile website for iPhone and Android and here’s what’s new about it:

  • It’s really fast.
  • The user interface incorporates larger, more touch-friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go.
  • It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, the ability to designate “favorite,” “like” or “unlike” videos directly from your device.
  • As we make improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

As the world continues to go mobile, Google think this is a great improvement for users who want a more consistent YouTube across many devices, no matter where they are. They are launching in English only today, but will be rolling it out in other languages in the coming months. You can access the latest YouTube mobile site from your iPhone or Android browser.

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Motorola Charm, A QWERTY Candybar Android, Announced

Jul 7

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | 1 Comment

Motorola has announced their third exclusive Android phone for T-Mobile USA.  Called the Motorola Charm, it brings an unusual form factor rarely seen with the OS into the mix: a QWERTY candybar.

Like most of Motorola’s Android releases, the squarish handset comes with the social networking-friendly MotoBlur (first phone in the US with the enhanced version of the UI), as well as Backtrack, a touch-sensitive pad along the rear that lets you perform navigational actions  without having to put your fingers to the display.  It will ship with Android 2.1 at the helm, with no word on whether a 2.2 Froyo update is forthcoming.

The Motorola Charm features a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 320 x 240 resolution, sitting above a four-row QWERTY keypad.  Slim with curved corners, it measures 98.4 x 67 x 11.4 mm and weighs 110 grams.

Details include a 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera module (with Kodak Perfect Touch), aGPS, 3G with HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, an FM tuner, a 3.5mm audio port, 512MB of onboard storage and microSD card expansion (2GB card included).  Like other Android-powered releases, it boasts  the full suite of Google services (Search, Maps, Navigation and more), multi-touch web browsing and Flash support.  Extra features include CrystalTalk Plus (which adds a second mic for improved voice calls), one-touch social media uploads and Moto Phone Portal (for accessing phone data from any web-enabled browser).

No word on pricing for the Motorola Charm, but it is expected for release during the summer.  The model will come in two colors, bronze and cabernet.

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LG announces Optimus One and Chic, Froyo upgrades on the way

Jul 6

Posted by looda in Android, LG | 1 Comment

LG will expand their Optimus range with two entry-level smartphones – Optimus One and Optimus Chic. They will both run on the latest Android OS v2.2 Froyo, while the current Optimus Q and Z will be granted Froyo upgrades in the coming months.
The press release announcing the existence of Optimus Chic and One (which we couldn’t stop calling Prime) brings almost no information about their specs. Both devices will be touch-based candybars running on Android v2.2 Froyo. They will most probably have Wi-Fi connectivity and some entry-level snappers and that’s all we know so far.

LG also promises Android Froyo upgrades for their current crop of high-end Android smartphones – Optimus Q and Optimus Z. Unfortunately there is no word on an upcoming update for the original Optimus yet.

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Sony Ericsson announces XPERIA X8, Yendo and Cedar phones

Jun 16

Posted by looda in Android, Sony Ericsson | No Comments

A press release graced our inbox and we were pleasantly surprised at what it said – the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is official, Sony Ericsson dusted off the Walkman brand with the Yendo and finally, the Sony Ericsson Cedar joins the GreenHeart ranks.

As we’ve already heard Sony Ericsson now reconfirms it’s working to bring Android 2.1 to their XPERIA X10 lineup, while the the big X10 should get 720p video capture too. These updates are coming in Q3 this year.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is like a grown up X10 mini. It features a 3″ HVGA (320 x 480) screen with a scratch resistant surface, a 600MHz CPU running Android 1.6 with the same customizations that the X10 mini has and Timescape too.

The camera on the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 is a 3.2MP snapper and the phone comes with a 2GB microSD card in the box. As far as connectivity goes, it offers quad-band GSM/EDGE, 3G with HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 will run for 259 euro.

Next up is the Sony Ericsson Yendo with Walkman. In terms of design and size, it’s very similar to the XPERIA X10 mini (though it’s 10mm taller at 93.5 x 52 x 15.8 mm and 81g). Although it appears to have the same UI as the X10 mini, it’s actually running a proprietary Sony Ericsson OS. The screen on the Yendo is a 2.6″ QVGA TFT unit.

The Yendo features a touch-enabled version of Sony Ericsson’s excellent Walkman interface along with Facebook, Twitter and Orkut integration. The Sony Ericsson Yendo is more like a Walkman with phone functionality added, so its specs are not very exciting in phone terms – dual-band GSM/EDGE, 2MP camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, FM radio and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Finally, the Sony Ericsson Cedar is from the GreenHeart line, complete with the Human Curvature design and recycled materials. It weighs just 84 grams and it features quad-band GSM/EDGE, 3G with HSDPA, a 2MP camera that can record VGA video at 30fps.

The Sony Ericsson Cedar boasts Widget Manager 2.0, which gives you access to social networks right from the homescreen.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8, Sony Ericsson Yendo and the Cedar are scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year.

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