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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Awesome Nexus One soft case

Google Nexus One Pure Crystal Slip (Smoke Grey)

Perfect case for those that want a decent amount of protection for their Nexus one goodness, without the bulkness of some cases. This seems to be one of the better soft cases on the market at the moment.

Still feels like the Nexus-One with the case on which is unusual for most. Cut outs are perfect. Good if you keep your phone in your pants pocket because you dont have to struggle to pull it out.

Spend the extra ten bucks and get this case other than the cheap plastic one.

Paypal to offer In-App Purchases on Android & iPhone?


Apparently during an informal meeting at its Amsterdam headquarters, Paypal has announced it will be facilitating In-App Purchases in iPhone and Android applications.

According to Paypal Benelux Country Manager Dennis van Allermeersch, Paypal has managed to come up with a solution that is acceptable to Apple, Allermeersch noting: “We have found a way, Apple is OK with it”.

Android users will also be able to use Paypal as a payment method in the Android Market, adding an alternative to Google Checkout transactions.

At the time of writing there are very few details explaining how Paypal’s new service will work.

Paypal will apparently launch their In-App payment service in Q2 to the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, The Netherlands and Australia.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Dell Looking Glass tablet : Tegra 2, coming your way in November


It was already rumoured that Dell was working on larger tablets, and tonight's huge leak brought us tons of info on the Looking Glass, a seven-inch big brother to the Streak 5 that's due out in November.

For starters, it's running Android 2.1 on a Tegra 2 processor, with an optional TV tuner module so you can watch ATSC or DVB-T programming on the seven-inch 800x480 display -- the same resolution as the Streak.

RAM is pegged at 4GB, with another 4GB of flash for storage and an SDHC slot for up to 32GB of expansion, and there's a 1.3 megapixel camera.



Dell Flash appears, will offer Android 2.2 'Froyo'


Apparently, Dell plans to fashion this thing out of a slice of "curved glass," topping out at 11mm thick with a 3.5-inch WVGA LCD, 850 / 1900 / 2100MHz HSPA, a 5 megapixel autofocus cam with image stabilization and smile / blink detection, 512MB of RAM and ROM with microSD expansion up to 64GB, WiFi, TV-out, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 3.0, and a Qualcomm MSM7230 core humming along nicely at 800MHz.

The MSM7230 is part of Qualcomm's next generation lineup of midrange smartphone cores, a series that looks to bring Snapdragon-class performance to the masses with HD video out capability and -- hopefully, anyway -- the performance you'll need to make Flash 10.1 fly.

Dell plans to load this bad boy with Android Froyo, presumably with the same kind of custom skin that it'll start pushing with the Streak series this year; we're seeing references to a so-called "Stage UI," and we think that's what it is. This one's mentioned for a first quarter '11 release on AT&T and globally.. sometimes thereafter.

Dell Thunder surfaces, sporting Android 2.1 with 4.1-inch WVGA OLED


It's like Dell's making up for lost time with smartphones: while "Lightning" is the company's answer to Windows Phone extravagance, the Dell Thunder that's leaking out alongside sports Android 2.1, a 4.1-inch WVGA OLED screen and a heavily custom Dell "Stage" UI on top, which seems much different (and classier) than what we've seen on the Streak or Aero.

It apparently ties into Facebook and Twitter for social networking, and taps Swype for a touchscreen keyboard replacement, along with grabbing just a pinch of HTC's Sense good looks.

Dell's document also claims this has Flash 10.1 for watching web videos, along with a mention of an "integrated web video Hulu app."

Under the hood we'd guess there's the same Snapdragon chip that's powering the Lightning, but we don't have specific specs. There is supposed to be an 8 megapixel camera, however, and the phone will be sold in AT&T and world-friendly HSDPA versions around Q4 of this year, with an LTE model to follow near the end of 2011.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Android 2.2 on the horizon.. ?

Quite likely fake image

According to website logs, Google is actively testing Android 2.2. Better known as Froyo (frozen yogurt), the future release is showing up in web logs from those visiting sites.

What 2.2 will entail hasn't been discussed by Google, but it should have a number of important additions despite the small version number. Among the steps may included an attempt to reduce Android fragmentation by making it possible to update some OS components without needing entirely new firmware. It should also provide the necessary underpinnings for Flash 10.1.

Many of the less critical changes should still improve performance and could bring new OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics features, free up RAM and solve problems with the accuracy of the touchscreen on phones like the Nexus One. Many features in the Nexus One may actually be hidden until future Android releases come out, Google's Erick Tseng said at CES.

The most likely release window for Android 2.2 is May 19th, when Google starts its I/O conference. The event in the past has included significant Android news.

Google has been on a relatively aggressive update schedule and has been adding large feature updates even with minor upgrades. The add-ons have been critical to the successes of phones like the Droid but, in the current architecture, has left many Android phones running outdated platforms and being locked out of certain apps.

Chief rival Apple is believed to have benefited from taking direct control of both hardware and software by giving every recent device the same features at the same time. The strategy is known to have spurred on the creation of the Nexus One.

Some of the rumored features for Android 2.2 include:

  • JIT compiler
  • Free additional RAM
  • OpenGL ES 2.0 enhancements
  • Flash 10.1 support
  • Fixed problem with “crazy screen” / Resolution of cross multitouch
  • Activation of Color Trackball
  • Enable FM radio in Nexus one

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ford’s SYNC AppLink Brings Android and BlackBerry Apps to Your Car

Today Ford released SYNC AppLink, a downloadable software upgrade for Ford SYNC systems that will allow hands-free voice control of popular applications for the Android & BlackBerry smartphones. The first car to get SYNC AppLink support will be the 2011 Fiesta which will be available later this summer.

In January Ford announced the next version of the Ford SYNC system, MyFord Touch which incorporated, amongst other things, in-car internet connectivity (when parked). When MyFord Touch was announced, Ford also said it would support third-party mobile applications for a seamless connected experience. Enter SYNC AppLink.

Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile apps that will be available. Using AppLink, BlackBerry and Android users can access and control their applications using their voice and in-dash car controls, rather than having to connect a phone to an line-in jack and fumbling with the phone while keeping an eye on the road.

Furthermore, Ford is launching a new Mobile Application Developer Network so that Android and BlackBerry developers can build in SYNC support for their applications. The possibilities for this sort of integration are tremendous. Just imagine the potential of leveraging a geolocation app with an in-dash navigation system.

Check out this video that shows Ford SYNC AppLink in action with Pandora and Stitcher:



Saturday, April 17, 2010

Dell's 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablets leaked



It looks as if a 7-inch and 10-inch Dell Streak tablet is on the horizon. Apparently the "coming soon" we heard earlier regarding the Aero's release date on AT&T really means "June."

Later this "summer," the phone will be joined by the Streak 5 for those who prefer a more capable mobile. As for the 7-inch Streak? Look for it to launch (presumably with or without AT&T support) late in 2010, while a 10-inch flavor follows in "early 2011."

Dell Aero coming to At&T in the USA


Dell's first entrant into the US smartphone market with a renamed Mini 3 called the Aero for AT&T. There's some serious Android UI skinning going on here, promising Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitpic integration right out of the box.

Some features:

  • 3.5-inch 640 x 360 touchscreen
  • The form factor is very, very sleek, it feels surprisingly light compared to a Nexus One or Droid.
  • The UI has been completely reskinned, and there are multiple skins available -- but also missing is Google Maps, Gmail, and a handful of other Google-centric features.
  • Dell has merged the home button and back button into a single target on the left side of the phone -- long press for home, short press for back.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

LG takes the wraps off the LU2300

 

Allow me to introduce the InTouch Max’s big brother, the LG LU2300.

With a 1GHz processor as standard it packs enough of a punch to compete for the affections of android smartphone users with the likes of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and the HTC Legend.


Features:

  • 3.5inch capacitive touchscreen
  • 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
  • 4 line landcape slide QWERTY keyboard
  • DivX support
  • Wi-Fi
  • DMB Tuner
  • 5 megapixel camera complete with geo-tagging

The word on the street also says that it has a commitment to Augmented Reality, with built in AR apps as standard.

It is due for release in Korea in April or May this year and we can only hope that it is such a big hit that it is given a wider release soon.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

More Android phones to hit Aussie shores in the next few months..


This month sees the launch of a new wave of Google phones in Australia. Most run the much-improved Android 2.0 OS.

First in Android's new wave is Motorola, which hopes its Google phones will spur a return to the glory days of the stylish, slim RAZR and, a decade before, the original Star Trek-style flip phone.



This week sees the launch of the Motorola Dext and Backflip on the Optus network.

Both complement the now-mandatory touchscreen with a compact QWERTY keypad. The Dext is a more conventional slider, while the Backflip uses a hinge to position its screen at a lean-back angle suitable for watching videos or even using as a bedside alarm clock.

Despite using a mid-range 530MHz processor and running last year's Android 1.5 operating system, the Dext and Backflip are snappy performers with their own appeal beyond the Android OS itself.

That's because both sport a customised interface known as Motoblur. This puts the social networking services of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace right on to the phone's home screen.

Instead of having to log into individual apps for each service to read messages, post updates and browse uploaded photo galleries, widgets on the Motoblur home page provide live feeds that are updated constantly over the 3G network.

Motoblur also integrates messages from these social networking sites, plus emails and SMS texts, into a single view.



This month Telstra will release its first Android smartphone, the HTC Desire, which will use its Next G network. The Desire ticks every box on the techno-lust list. There's a powerhouse 1GHz processor, the over-fresh Android 2.1 operating system, a five-megapixel camera, FM radio and a brilliantly crisp 9.4-centimetre AMOLED (active-matrix organic LED) screen. Unlike the iPhone and some other smartphones, the Desire supports Flash, so you don't have to miss out on most of the streaming video clips on news and entertainment websites.

HTC has also planted its own Sense user interface onto the Desire. Sense comes with dozens of classy widgets, integrates each contact's Facebook and Twitter details into your address book and includes a Friend Stream app that combines feeds from Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.


Also sitting on the Android launch pad is Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10, which will arrive on Vodafone and Three in early May.

The Xperia X10 matches the HTC Desire with its 1GHz processor but ups the digital camera to eight megapixels, with snaps and video clips shown to best effect on the 10.2-centimetre screen.

Sony Ericsson's Timescape user interface ties together social networking updates with emails, phone calls and text messages but it's more akin to the Motoblur home screen than the top-to-tail experience of HTC Sense.

By mid-year we'll also see the palm-sized X10 Mini, which has a 6.3-centimetre touchscreen and, in the X10 Mini Pro version, a tiny slide-out keyboard.

Also poised for a likely mid-year release is Samsung's second-gen Android handset, the Galaxy S. This is another phone packing a 1GHz powerplant and a 10.2-centimetre screen but the enhanced Super AMOLED screen has to be seen to be believed. It's not just brighter but the colours have more density and punch, while also less reflective of sunlight and drawing less power (which means longer battery life).
Things are really starting to heat up!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

LG LU2300 Android phone gets some pics, possibly coming soon


Just to add to the slew of sexy Android devices that have appeared recently, it appears that we finally have some pictures of the LG LU2300 Android handset. This phone has been rumored for awhile now but now we get to see what this beauty looks like.

The LG LU2300 runs Android 2.1 w/ the “S-Class UI” (LG’s own user interface), a 3.5″ capacitive AMOLED touchscreen (800 x 480), 5MP camera capable of HD video, a roomy 4 row landscape keyboard, and a 1GHz Snapdragon on board.

According to all the talk it may only be available in Korea for now with not much evidence that it will make it’s way to the US. However, PocketNow is speculating that it could be released under the “C710 Aloha” in the States.

LG hasn’t done too much with Android so far so it’s good to see that they are coming with a powerful device. While it is no Samsung Galaxy S, the LU2300 looks like it could be a contender. The next few months are looking like they're going to be filled with amazing Android handsets. No wonder all those consumers are thinking Android.
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