Devices By Manufacturer

Apr

Samsung DROID Charge Launching April 14 At Sears, Incredible 2 To Follow On April 21

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News, Rumors, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Verizon Wireless, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Last we heard, Samsung's DROID Charge was scheduled to be released on April 7th - yesterday. Well needless to say, that date has come and gone without so much as a mention of Samsung's LTE handset; however, thanks to Sears, we now have a new timeline: April 14.

The leak also brings news that's bound to make HTC fans smile - the Incredible 2's release date has been rescheduled from April 28th to the 21st, a decidedly welcome change.

Finally, Sony Ericsson's Xperia PLAY is, apparently, still pegged for a 4/28 release, despite reported supply shortages.

Of course, all this info comes with a disclaimer - in the words of the leaked pamphlet itself, "[these] launch dates [are] subject to change." Still, it's refreshing to at least have a general idea of when these three smartphone behemoths will be available for purchase - that way, you can start preparing yourself and your camping materials for a long night outside your local Verizon store.

Apr

Deal Alert: Motorola ATRIX 4G Now $50 At Amazon Wireless, $100 Off Webtop Accessory

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Deals, News

If you have been lusting over the Motorola Atrix 4G but waiting for the perfect deal to come along, wait no more. Throughout the weekend, you can grab this super-hot dual-core device for only $50 with a new two year agreement on AT&T from Amazon Wireless. Unfortunately, this deal doesn't apply to upgrades on existing plans, so those of you that are already with AT&T will be stuck paying $99, which is still quite a good deal for a phone this beastly.

Just in case you have forgotten how awesome this phone is, here is a quick look at the specs:

1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor
1GB RAM
16GB built-in storage
4-inch LCD
5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera
Android 2.2 with Motoblur

If you really want to go for the gold, you can also get $100 off of the Webtop accessory via a promotional code that will be sent your way after you purchase the ATRIX.

Apr

Notion Ink Launches Official Support Forums, Support Email Inbox Must Be Full

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Adam, News, Notion Ink

Notion Ink is one of the most controversial companies in recent Android history - it's gone through product delays, building up one of the most passionate communities around, followed by communication issues that you could write a suspenseful thriller about (I am fairly sure there is enough for a trilogy with twists at the end of every chapter), and some of the weirdest reasons for shipments delays we've ever seen.

So far, the only communication methods available were commenting on the official blog, where your thoughts were quickly drowned in a sea of others', and emailing customer support, which probably resulted in more frustration and rage than trying to have a meaningful conversation with a concrete wall (those walls just don't get it, do they?).

Apr

Let The Tablet Pricing Wars Begin: Acer Iconia A500 Coming Out For $449 On April 24, Pre-Order Now

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Acer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Iconia Tab A500, News

Last Updated: April 29th, 2011

Just last week we reported the first reasonably priced Android tablet, the Asus EEE Pad Transformer, and it already looks like the competition is going to get thick where pricing is concerned. Acer has officially announced its Iconia A500 tablet, which will be hitting the Best Buy sales floor on April 24th for a cool $449. This brings it in at $50 above the rumored price of the Transformer, but still $150 less than the almost-equally-spec'd Motorola XOOM.

If you haven't heard anything about the Iconia A500, here's the skinny:

1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor
1GB RAM
10.1 inch, 1280x800 screen
2MP front camera and 5MP rear camera
16GB built-in storage (a 32GB model is in the works)
SD Card slot that supports up to 32GB
Stock, vanilla Android 3.0

If you plan on picking this little gem up and want to make sure you get it on launch day, you can pre-order it right now through Best Buy's website.

Apr

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Neo, And PLAY Will All Face Supply Shortages, Neo Delayed

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Facing massive infrastructure disruption caused by the earthquake and tsunami last month, Japanese manufacturer Sony has been forced to cut back production on all of its upcoming Xperia devices.

The Xperia PLAY and Arc are both going to be in short supply at launch, just how short Sony Ericsson will come up on shipments is unknown. This could be a massive blow to the much-hyped Xperia PLAY, which Sony has spent a bundle advertising here in the US and abroad.

The super-thin Xperia arc will also be feeling the crunch, having launched in the UK with its US-debut presumably right around the corner.

Apr

Canucks Rejoice: Nexus S and Motorola Xoom Now Available In Canada

Posted by Zak Stinson in News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Rogers, TELUS, XOOM

If you travelled back in time to the middle of 2010 and asked your average Canadian about the selection of Android devices available to them, you would not be impressed with their answer - it seems that up until this year, the Android selection in Canada was about 6 months behind the curve.

Canadians, myself included, can now stop bemoaning their second rate options. As of today, two major new devices, the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom, have been made available to those in the Great White North.

The Nexus S has landed on Videotron, Mobilicity, Telus and Koodo as of today, with Wind and Rogers expected to release it in the very near future.

Apr

ASUS Releases Eee Pad Transformer Kernel Source Code Before It Even Lands On Shelves

Posted by Cameron Summerson in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, News

While it seems like it's becoming more and more difficult to get manufacturers to do what they are supposed to do in regards to releasing source code on time, ASUS stands tall and fulfills its responsibilities to the Android community by releasing the source code for the Transformer before the device even hits shelves. Take note, HTC, Motorola, Notion Ink, and the rest.

This means a great deal to those of you who are looking to pick up the Transformer when it's finally released and hope for a quick turnaround on custom ROMs and tweaks to the kernel.

If you are interested in developing for the Eee Pad Transformer, head over to the official Transformer page, hit the "Download" tab, choose Android in the dropdown, download the code, and get to work!

Apr

HTC Incredible 2 Press Shots Surface, Evince DROID Branding

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News, Rumors, Verizon Wireless

Like all good things Verizon, the HTC Incredible 2 didn't remain hidden from the public's eye for long; following the release of a leaked RUU and a Big Red roadmap confirming the device's impending launch, PocketNow got its paws on the following triad of press shots:

From the looks of it, the Incredible 2 will be virtually identical to HTC's popular Incredible S, with the exception of a Verizon logo and the inclusion of a CDMA radio. In fact, Android Central reports that it'll sport the same 8MP camera, Android 2.2.1 firmware, and HTC Sense keyboard.

Also noteworthy is that, as shown by the eerie red robot eye, the Incredible 2 will most likely belong to Verizon's DROID family.

Apr

Motorola XOOM Hack Brings Forth Desktop Browsing, Voice Calls, SMS, And More

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Dev, Mods, News, Tips, XOOM

WARNING: This fix is for rooted 3G XOOMs only. The Wi-Fi only version is not supported (yet).

Most XOOM owners will tell you that they love their tablet, but that it does have its annoyances - like the fact that the stock browser loads pages in their "mobile" view by default. What good is a 10 inch screen if you can't load the desktop version of a website? Of course, there is the about:debug fix, but that can be tedious, since you have to reapply it every single time you restart.

Thankfully, sangreal06 over the XDA forums has created a hacked framework-res.apk that not only fixes that little annoyance, but also adds some other desired features to the XOOM.

Apr

Motorola Milestone X, LG Axis, HTC Merge, and Samsung Gem All Hit Alltel Wireless

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Alltel, Axis, Droid X (Shadow), Merge, News, Samsung

It looks like it's Android season in Alltel country, because four new handsets have just dropped on the regional provider's network. As of right now, Alltel customers can choose between the Motorola Milestone X - most of us know this one as the Droid X, the LG Axis - a low-end phone with a full slide-out QWERTY, the Samsung Gem - a tiny Froyo starter phone, and the HTC Merge - a mid-range Froyo device with a slide-out QWERTY.

This many phones coming out so close together can be a little bit confusing, so allow me to break each one down for you.