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Oct

Android Goes Cheap - LG Optimus S ($49), Sanyo Zio ($99), And Samsung Transform ($149) Officially Headed To Sprint, Feature New Sprint ID Service

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Kyocera, LG, Optimus S, Samsung, Sanyo, Sprint, Transform, Zio M6000

Last Updated: November 7th, 2010

If anyone needed any more evidence that Android wasn't created exclusively for us power users who insist on having the latest and greatest, Sprint's latest announcements should be enough to convince even the most doubtful - the nation's third largest carrier just announced three new Android budget Android devices: the LG Optimus S, the Sanyo Zio, and the Samsung Transform. The first of those three devices will go on sale starting October 31, while the latter two will be available from October 10 forward.

The LG Optimus S is the cheapest of the bunch, costing a mere $49, although I'm sure WireFly will be carrying it for free before too long.

Oct

[Hump Day Lollerskates] Samsung Galaxy Tab Shipping With Porn Button In Romania

Posted by Brad Ganley in Galaxy Tab, News, Off-Topic

In a hilarious display of linguistic differences, the Romanian Samsung Galaxy Tab will ship with an app drawer that looks like this:

If this doesn't make you want a Galaxy Tab, I don't know what will.

In all seriousness, though, the Romanian word for "Start" is "Pornire" and, apparently, gets abbreviated as "Porn" quite regularly. I guess that makes sense, but it's still pretty entertaining in my book. I'm not sure how Samsung is going to feel about it in the long run but,for now, we can get some laughs at the language barrier's expense.

Here's a video of the Romanian Galaxy Tab's porn button in action, if you're interested:

Source: MP4 Nation

Oct

Logitech Revue Unveiled, Now Available For Pre-Order

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Google TV, Logitech, News, Revue

The Logitech Revue site has gone live, and it includes all the details on the Google TV-powered box we've already heard so much about. You won't find much information on Google TV, but what you will find is plenty of information on the Revue itself, as well as its many accessories.

First things first: the Revue is available for pre-order right now, and is priced at $299.99. That price includes both the box and the keyboard; the keyboard has a touchpad and remote controls so you won't need a separate remote (you can check out a picture of the keyboard below).

Oct

US Cellular Joins The Galaxy S Party - Samsung Mesmerize Official, Launching October 27 For $199

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Eclair 2.1, Galaxy S, Mesmerize, Samsung, US Cellular

If you've got a good memory (I don't), you may recall that back when the Samsung Epic 4G, the Fascinate, and the Vibrant were announced, there was also an unnamed version of the Galaxy S headed to US Cellular.

Well today, over three months later (and also about a month after Verizon became the last major US carrier to receive an incarnation of Samsung's flagship device), US Cellular has finally announced that the Samsung Mesmerize, aka their version of the Galaxy S, will be available starting October 27 for $199 after an $80 mail-in rebate. Like most other versions of the Galaxy S, the Mesmerize features:

a 4" Super AMOLED touchscreen
a 5MP camera capable of recording 720p
a 3.5mm headset jack
WiFi
Bluetooth 3.0
a microSD card slot
Android 2.1 Eclair
Swype

Personally, I would have been happier if Samsung had announced that the long overdue update to Android 2.2 FroYo were now available, but hey, another Android device is never a bad thing, especially when US Cellular only gives their customers two other alternatives - the rapidly aging Samsung Acclaim, and the HTC Desire, which still doesn't look too shabby.

Oct

T-Mobile Announces WiFi Calling For Android: Available On The New myTouch, Motorola Defy

Posted by Brian O'Toole in CHARM, G2 (Vision), myTouch, News, T-Mobile

We've known it was coming for some time now, but T-Mobile just sent out a press release including details regarding their plans for a WiFi Calling application for their Android phones. The new T-Mobile myTouch will launch later this year with the feature, and the Motorola Defy will be receiving it as well. Additionally, the T-Mobile G2 should be getting it in the coming months, along with the LG Optimus and possibly the Motorola Charm.

The Boy Genius Report sought further details from T-Mobile and got a response explaining the difference between the Android version of WiFi calling and the version used by certain Blackberry phones.

Oct

Verizon To Launch 4G LTE In 38 Major Metropolitan Areas, 60 Airports By The End Of 2010

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Verizon Wireless

Excellent news for Verizon customers wondering just when exactly the largest carrier in the US is going to start gunning after Sprint 4G and other competition. In a press release published a few minutes ago from the CTIA conference, Verizon detailed plans for 4G LTE expansion that we can expect by the end of the year.

The press release outlines and lists all 38 major metropolitan areas and 60 airports that are set to receive LTE coverage (exact locations - thank you, Verizon, that is how press releases should be done!). A handy map that you can see below provides a quick overview of what's coming, at a glance.

Oct

The Bad News: Full Version Of Angry Birds For Android Delayed To Next Week. The Good News: You Have Your Life Back... For Now

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News

If there is one game on Android that keeps me coming back to it, even after I already beat all the levels, it's Angry Birds. The beta version, limited to 15 levels, was released about a month ago and proved to be a completely undeniable success, reaching 250k downloads in only 4 days. The game is so addicting that beating your own high scores can become a full time job to some. My wife, who never-ever played games before, mobile or any others, is now so hooked on Angry Birds that she steals my phone the minute I get home.

Oct

[Deal Alert] T-Mobile G2 Drops To A Low Tax-Free $99.99 At Wirefly

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in G2 (Vision), HTC, News, T-Mobile

Wirefly, notorious for launching the best mobile deals on the web, did not disappoint us today, which, if you remember, is the official T-Mobile G2 launch date.

While the competition sells the G2 at $199.99 and even $149.99, Wirefly's $99.99 deal for new accounts completely knocks it out of the park.

Add free shipping and the absence of tax, and you get some serious savings left in your pocket. So serious that this deal is now our Deal of the Week (see the top of the sidebar).

Existing T-Mobile customers - your deal isn't as sweet but still better than T-Mobile's own - $199.99 with no tax added on.

Oct

Fennec Dev Discusses Differences, Benefits, And Challenges Of Bringing Firefox To Android

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Applications, Development, News

We've seen Fennec (or Firefox for Android as it's now called) gradually progressing over the last few months, reaching a state of real usability in the last couple of weeks. There are many excited by Fennec's journey and the ability have a browser with near-full-desktop functionality, but it seems that even more struggle to see a place for another browser on their phone. After all, the stock Android browser is lightning-quick and works well enough for a pretty satisfying web experience.

Mozilla mobile developer Matt Brubeck recently penned a blog post set to explain the reasoning behind Firefox for Android, and why he believes it is a worthwhile addition to both Android and Mozilla families.

Oct

T-Mobile G2 Auto-Reinstalls Stock Android If You Attempt To Root

Posted by Brian O'Toole in G2 (Vision), HTC, News

Well, we didn't see this one coming. Hackers over at XDA-Developers have discovered that there is a hardware chip limiting the hackability of the G2, undermining the owner's ability to customize the Android OS. The chip acts as a rootkit and over-writes modifications to the /system partition after rebooting.

This is a very unsettling development. Heck, I thought we had a nice dynamic working in the Android manufacturer sphere: Motorola tried to lock down everything and HTC just made sweet devices. Guess that was too naive a viewpoint to take, as with this HTC have shown themselves capable of being just as stifling as Moto.