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Jan

T-Mobile G-Slate, Made By LG, Launching "In The Coming Months," Bringing HPSA+ And Honeycomb With It

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, LG, News, Optimus Pad / G-Slate, T-Mobile

Come on, you thought LG was just going to sit there and watch Motorola rip up the Android 3.0 tablet scene?

Quite the contrary - the company has just announced the G-Slate, a HPSA+ Honeycomb tablet headed T-Mobile's way. It's also going to feature the new Google Maps (version 5.0) as well as Google Books and Google Talk.

The closest you'll get to a release date is "in the coming months," and the processor, RAM, display, and other specs have yet to be announced, but we'll be sure to update the post if we happen to come across any additional information.

Jan

Android Platform Version Chart Updated: Froyo Dominates, Éclair Still Strong, Cupcake And Donut On The Way Out

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Cupcake 1.5, Donut 1.6, Eclair 2.1, Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, News

As per usual, Google has updated their Android Platform Version Chart, which gives us a clear indication of how many devices are running each version of Android, based on Market usage. The results won't shock anybody, but they do say good things about the current state of fragmentation in Android. Froyo continues it dominance, taking over half of the chart, while Android 2.1 still remains strong with 35%, likely due in large part to the massive number of Galaxy S phones still running it. Our obsolete friends, Cupcake and Donut, continue to fall into obscurity, although devices running them are unlikely to be updated.

Jan

[Update: It's Official] Meet The Droid Bionic, Motorola’s LTE Phone For Verizon

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Bionic, Motorola, News

Last Updated: January 6th, 2011

Nope, Motorola hasn't announced this gem at their CES press conference yet, but it's already live on their site - it's called the Droid Bionic, and it's Motorola's LTE phone for Verizon.

It packs:

512 MB of RAM
A dual-core processor of some sort (our bet is on the Tegra 2)
A front-facing web cam (VGA variety)
An 8 MP rear camera
A 4.3-inch qHD (960x540) display

Of course, it's also got a LTE radio under the hood, as evidenced by the "4G" logo in the top right corner and the "4G-like power" mentioned in the description. Excited? So are we...

Jan

Notion Ink Adam Gets Handled And Praised By Engadget

Posted by Jose R. Ortiz in Adam, News, Notion Ink

Engadget has scored some hands-on time with the much anticipated Notion Ink Adam and have captured it on video for all to see.

The video shows off the Adam's Eden UI switching between panels with ease, even in the cover-flow view. The smooth performance shows off how powerful the Tegra 2 CPU is.

The browser also looks promising - scrolling through the browser seems smooth though there appears to be a slight lag in reacting to the swipe gesture. Pinch-to-zoom is in full effect but the text flow adjustment doesn't make it appear as smooth as we might like.

The standout feature is definitely the PixelQi display, which delivers amazing readability in direct sunlight.

Jan

Samsung Finally Releasing WiFi-Only Galaxy Tab In Q1 2011

Posted by Anuj Ahooja in Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung, Tablets

Remember back when Samsung first introduced us to the Galaxy Tab, the tablet to save us Android fans from the iPad? They promised that a WiFi-only version would eventually come out for those who didn't want to pay for another data plan.

Well today, Samsung finally announced that it will be coming to the US in the first quarter of 2011. No dates have been given for international releases, but since this is a WiFi device, it should be easy to ship it over from the US for international use.

It will hold 16GB of internal storage and will also include a microSD slot for up to 32 more gigabytes of external storage.

Jan

Honeycomb Confirmed To Be Android 3.0, Demoed In Official Google Video

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Last Updated: November 2nd, 2011

We've seen quite a few tablets running Honeycomb as of late (and I'm sure there are still a lot more to come - after all, CES is only just beginning), but up until now, we haven't had a chance to get a good look at the OS itself. The wait is now over, however - a teaser video for the OS was recently uploaded to YouTube via androiddevelopers, Google's official Android developer account. Google has since made the video private (thus not allowing the general public to view it), but luckily, we managed to grab a backup of it before they did so:

As you can see, Google has completely rethought the Android interface in an effort to make it more tablet-friendly - clearly, Google didn't purchase BumpTop for nothing.

Jan

AT&T Seriously Stepping Up The Game With LTE/HSPA+ 4G Expansion, 12 Android Devices In 2011

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in AT&T, News

AT&T has been keeping very quiet about its 4G plans over the past year, letting the other 3 major players freely roll out their respective 4G technologies - HSPA+ for T-Mobile, WiMax for Sprint, and LTE for Verizon. However, after the announcements at this morning's AT&T Developer Summit, it is clear AT&T is seriously stepping up its game.

According to Ralph de La Vega, AT&T's CEO, AT&T has already completed the upgrade of the whole mobile broadband network to HSPA+, or Evolved HSPA, which is the same technology used by T-Mobile that currently offers theoretical speeds of about 21Mbps downstream.

Jan

AT&T’s New Galaxy S Phone, The Samsung Infuse 4G, Pairs A 1.2 GHz Processor With A Massive 4.5″ Screen

Posted by Nate Kimmey in AT&T, Infuse 4G, News, Samsung

Last Updated: January 27th, 2011

It appears that Samsung is going to continue with the Galaxy S brand name, but this upcoming AT&T handset is unlike any other Galaxy S phone you've seen before. The Samsung Infuse 4G improves on the original in just about every way - in fact, it easily tops any phones on the market today:

1.2 GHz (single core) processor
4.5" Super AMOLED Plus display
8 megapixel rear camera
1.3 megapixel front-facing camera
HSPA+ support
TouchWiz UI
Extremely thin (thinnest phone on AT&T when it launches)

The most interesting aspect is the Super AMOLED Plus display. A 50% increase in sub-pixel count promises better readability in sunlight (a common complaint of Super AMOLED screens) and better contrast.

Jan

AT&T Gets A 4.3″ 4G Phone To Call Its Own – Introducing The HTC Inspire 4G

Posted by Nate Kimmey in AT&T, HTC, Inspire 4G (Ace, Stallion), News

Last Updated: January 27th, 2011

Eyeing the HTC Thunderbolt or EVO 4G with envy but stuck on AT&T? Fortunately, the carrier, which has a long reputation of not embracing Android (none of their Android phones can officially sideload apps) has just announced its next "superphone." The HTC Inspire 4G looks to be just about the same as the Thunderbolt, with a 4.3" screen and 4G connectivity, although it will support AT&T's HSPA+ network instead of their upcoming LTE network. Also worth noting is that this device will launch with the latest Sense UI, the same as we've seen on the Desire HD and Desire Z abroad, which will allow access to HTCSense.com as well as extra features such as offline maps and fastboot.

Jan

Comcast: Streaming Of Live And On-Demand Content Coming To Android Tablets Later This Year

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Tablets

Android isn't exactly the most media-centric smartphone OS, but that may change soon, with the introduction of Honeycomb and more third-party media stores (like Samsung's Media Hub).

The latest development comes from Comcast, who is, apparently, planning to bring both live and On Demand content to Android tablets (and iPads) across the nation. The company hasn't announced much yet, but from the looks of it, we can expect to see an app (or a tablet-optimized website) that will allow users to watch live news, TV shows, and movies right on their favorite Android tablet.

Great, but before getting too excited, I'd like to know how much Comcast plans to charge for this - that trivial piece of information somehow escaped the press release (which can be found below).