Posts tagged with android

Dell Mini 3i For China Mobile

Posted on November 23, 2009 7:00 AM

Dell has confirmed that its Dell Mini 3i Android-powered smartphone will be made available in China via China Mobile. The phone will debut with 2 color options, namely the “red passion” and “oiled bronze” color schemes. Aside from quad-band GSM/EDGE, 640 x 360 display, GPS, 3-megapixel camera, and Bluetooth, the phone will also support China Mobile’s “Mobile Market” app, though Dell says that the phone’s features may vary from operator to operator.

HTC Sync Updated For Magic, Hero And Tattoo

Posted on November 23, 2009 6:42 AM

For those of you owning HTC phones running Google’s Android, HTC has released an updated version of the HTC Sync software. The latest version (2.0.8) features minor upgrades such as media enhancements and synchronizing with your PC’s time. If you feel that those aren’t important to you, then you could always skip the update. But find out more on the update here.

Motorola To Fix Droid Camera Problem

Posted on November 21, 2009 9:13 AM

Motorola has confirmed that it will be sorting out the Droid camera problems via an automatic over-the-air (OTA) update. As we had noticed in our complete Droid Review, the phone's current 5-megapixel camera often seems to have trouble focusing and it also seems to produce red corners in photos taken. The problem has been cited as a rather weird timing bug related to the time, which seems to be correct as users seem to have been able to avoid the problem by changing the date on the phone. Leaked documents indicate that the fix will be released on December 11th, but that hasn’t been officially confirmed just yet.

Camangi WebStation Powered By Android

Posted on November 21, 2009 7:54 AM

While everybody is waiting for baited breath of the unconfirmed Apple Tablet, a company called Camangi has already gone ahead and created the WebStation, which is a 7-inch touchscreen tablet computer powered by Android 1.5. Features of the device include Wi-Fi, GPS, microSD card reader, web browsing, Gmail, and other features. You’ll get about 4 to 5 hours in a single charge, based on the information shared by the company. If you’re thinking of picking one up, it’ll be available in early December for $399.

Dell cuts Motorola Droid price

Posted on November 20, 2009 9:14 PM

Dell has slashed the Motorola Droid (see our review) price to a mere $119 with a 2-year contract with Verizon Wireless. Good news for those who want a Droid and don't mind sticking to the same carrier as this deal also applies to contract extensions. At $119 a pop, it is clearly tempting, especially when Dell will Fedex it to your doorstep for free.

Google OSes might merge

Posted on November 20, 2009 8:04 PM

Google co-founder Sergey Brin revealed that the two operating systems from the company, Chrome and Android, were "likely to converge over time," without offering any specific date for our reference. This is interesting news, and it would certainly bode well for developers as they won't need to make too many modifications to the coding when releasing an application for both mobile devices and computers, but does this mean the merged OS on a PC will be rather gimped since it will need to cater to the lowest common denominator, which would be a smartphone? After all, smartphones are still far behind in processing power even when compared against netbooks.

Gameloft to slow down on Android games

Posted on November 20, 2009 6:37 AM

Gameloft is famous for their range of mobile games, but they have just revealed that they will be slowing down on Android game development due to a lack of potential revenue and slow adoption of the platform. According to Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort, “We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like … many others. It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue.” Oh, is this a big blow to Android as we all know that games do sell hardware. Would this result in a snowball effect for buying more iPhones?

Best Buy Mobile offers cheaper HTC Hero and Samsung Moment

Posted on November 16, 2009 9:31 PM

Best Buy Mobile knows that times are hard, and they are currently offering a lower price for their HTC Hero and Samsung Moment, retailing for $99.99 after rebates and a new 2-year contract. This is a good $80 discount off the original $179 sticker price, where this deal is good till December. If you're on the lookout for a couple of Android phones at the moment without waiting for the Motorola Droid, this could be it. [Press Release]

Droid voice quality issues?

Posted on November 16, 2009 3:53 PM

A relatively small number of unhappy Droid customers are reporting voice quality issues with the Droid and it quickly made the news. There's a "Droid phone quality is not great" thread on Motorola's support forum. Those who have the problem are talking about "clipping. echoes." If you have experienced this, you can go check the discussion. We have not been able the reproduce the issue in our office, but please post a comment down here if you want to share your experience, good or bad. Related: Motorola Droid Review

Alex eBook prototype hands-on

Posted on November 16, 2009 12:46 PM

This is the prototype that led to the Alex eBook (from Spring Design) that we told you about on Oct 19th. The LCD screen on the bottom runs Android, so it looks like many of the smartphones out there. If you browse the web (via WiFi) and find an interesting page, you can switch to e-Ink mode to read it comfortably. It works really well and the reformatting is very decent. I have not spotted any problems while browsing a few popular sites (NYTimes, CNN...). Obviously, you can use real eBooks too. This was a prototype, so I can't tell you what the real product performance is, in terms of reactivity. The eBook is powered by a Marvell system on a chip (SoC) that is designed specifically for eBooks. Don’t miss our Marvell 166E coverage - that could become a major eBook enabler.

HTC Hero For $99.99 On Sprint

Posted on November 16, 2009 7:28 AM

Folks who have been holding back on buying a new phone will want to check out the HTC Hero, which is currently going for $99.99 from Sprint, after taking into account the instant discount. If you’ve been waiting to find a good deal to try out the Android platform, this is probably a good time to give it a go.

Dell Mini 3i Unboxed Already!

Posted on November 16, 2009 7:05 AM

Dell’s Mini 3i Android-powered cell phone wasn’t officially announced too long ago and some folks have already managed to get their hands on one and unboxed it. Good that they’ve been kind enough to upload the pictures online, so that we can see what goodies we’ll be getting. Surprisingly, it seems that Dell decided to ditch the built-in 3.5mm audio jack that is becoming more and more popular nowadays. The saving grace is that there is a miniUSB to 3.5mm headphone adapter cable included in the package. You’ll be getting a stylus that works on the capacitive display. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you up to date on the Dell Mini 3i and many other items.

Android 2.0 Source Code Released

Posted on November 16, 2009 5:37 AM

While Motorola and HTC have been privy to the Android 2.0 source code for a while now, Google has taken the extra step and published the source code of Android 2.0, which is the current version of its mobile operating system. If you’re the techie type and like to see what’s under the hood of your mobile phone, then check it out, if not you’re probably better off waiting for your cell phone manufacturer to implement the Android 2.0 update than do it yourself.

Windows Mobile Loses Serious Market Share

Posted on November 15, 2009 10:19 AM

According to market researcher Gartner, Windows Mobile lost a whole 28 percent of its smartphone market share between last year’s Q3 and this year’s Q3, dropping from 11 percent to 7.9 percent. Apple’s iPhone unsurprisingly rose from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent, as did RIM’s share jump from 16 percent to 20.8 percent. Symbian’s share dropped about 10 percent from 49.7 to 44.6, and Google’s Android stands at 3.9 percent share. With the recent rise of Android’s popularity, Microsoft might need to buck up or risk losing more business.

Flash 10.1 Coming To Android In 2010

Posted on November 15, 2009 8:55 AM

We already know that Adobe has promised webOS users that they’ll get Flash 10.1 on their devices in the first half of 2010, and now it looks like Android users will be getting the same deal too, as a message from Adobe reads: “Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is coming to Android 2.0 and future releases in the first half of 2010." Now hopefully Apple will succumb to the pressure and allow Adobe to offer Flash on its iPhone.

BlackBerry App World To Allow Carrier Billing

Posted on November 14, 2009 2:50 AM

RIM looks like it's trying to make its App World seriously challenge Apple's AppStore, and RIM CEO has announced that users will be able to buy apps off App World and have it billed directly to their carrier's bill. This will eliminate the need for users to go through Paypal for the whole payment process, making buying an app a lot easier. This is certainly a step in the right direction. App World has a serious battle on its hands, especially since it's fighting against Apple's AppStore and the Android Market.

Android-powered Moto MT710 For China

Posted on November 13, 2009 10:07 AM

Nobody can deny that Motorola’s Droid is riding an amazing wave of popularity, and we’re certainly happy for the big M. It seems that Motorola isn’t going to stop with just the Droid, as it’s planning to launch the Motorola MT710 in China, which will be powered by an Android OS that has been customized for China Mobile. At a glance, it looks like Motorola’s Droid, but it doesn’t have the sliding QWERTY keyboard. While the exact release date and pricing aren’t available just yet, features of the MT710 include:

• 3.7-inch touchscreen display
• 845 x 480 resolution
• Wi-Fi
• TD-SCDMA connectivity and CMMB support

Palm Treo 650 runs on Android

Posted on November 13, 2009 7:23 AM

The Palm Treo 650 is an ancient smartphone by any means, but that doesn't mean it still cannot be tweaked as in this case. This Treo 650 has been modified to run on Android, and it remains a mystery as to how this is done while the Android operating system boots up slowly but surely. Something worth drooling over for fanboys, that's for sure.

VIA MID does Windows XP and Android

Posted on November 13, 2009 7:20 AM

So we've seen a device that runs on Windows CE and Android just a couple of posts back, but here's another one that does Windows XP and Android simultaneously. The VIA MID will be powered by a 500MHz VIA processor, boasting telephony and messaging functions as well. IT seems one can just switch seamlessly to Android OS when you want to use the telephony and messaging functions.

Broncho A1 spotted

Posted on November 11, 2009 12:21 PM

The Broncho A1 is a relatively unknown device that runs on the Google Android operating system as well, complete with a full touchscreen display and all. While there are no further details available concerning its hardware specifications, we can safely say that the Broncho A1 will make its way to the market sometime next year, with whispers of a phenomenally low $235 price point being bandied about.