28
Jan
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Well, this didn't take long - the hackers over at NotionInkHacks.com played around with Notion Ink's dual-core Adam Android tablet that finally started shipping last week and already managed to root the device.

The next logical step and the primary motivation for rooting Adam was, of course, getting the absent Android Market onto the tablet. As we all know, those with almighty root privileges are not easily stopped, so I'm happy to report that full Android Market is now also available on the Adam.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Screenshots

Check out these screenshots I've taken from videos by FreezerBite1 and Inspiron41 of their rooted Adams - the first one showing the Android Market, the second one playing Dungeon Defenders installed off said Market, and the third one of Launcher Pro that replaced the Eden UI (good riddance, in my opinion - I've always thought of it as too crude and poorly designed):

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Videos

And here are the aforementioned videos:

Rooting + Market Instructions

Here are the latest available instructions, as per this NotionInkHacks post.

27
Jan
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Nexus S owners, listen up. If you own Samsung's flagship "Google Experience" device, it's likely you've experienced a random reboot bug that we reported on over 2 weeks ago. The Google bug tracker thread for this issue has been a roller coaster of emotion - after getting filled with a large number of comments, it was declined by a Google employee, only to be reopened shortly after due to a public outcry.

As if adding fuel to the fire, the thread was closed yet again in the past hour by a different employee. His action were reverted mere minutes later, which is making me wonder whether Google engineers sometimes need to talk to each other a bit more often.

27
Jan
2011-01-27 20h35_14_wm

The launch of the Atrix 4G is drawing near - yesterday, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha himself reminded us of this on the company's earnings call, and today Amazon hinted at the same thing by putting up its order page for the phone.

2011-01-27 20h35_14_wm

The move probably wasn't intentional (clicking the 'Buy at AmazonWireless.com' button leads to an error message), but it certainly has revealed some juicy details. Most importantly, the on-contract price is said to be a mere $149.99 - not bad for America's first dual-core phone. As for the off-contract price, Amazon lists it at $599.99, which is pretty much in line with what you should expect to pay for a device like this.

27
Jan
andr_sidekick3

Been wondering when we'd hear more about T-Mobile's newest Sidekick? If so, today's your lucky day: TmoNews has some new info on the device, and a few blurrycam shots to boot. Perhaps the two most important facts: it will be manufactured by Samsung, and is apparently running Android 2.2.1.

andr_sidekick1 andr_sidekick3

You'll never guess where these images are from.

That's not exactly great news, especially for those who had high hopes for the device. Why? Well, because Samsung doesn't exactly have a great reputation when it comes to Android updates, and for good reason. Further, T-Mobile has previously stated that they are committed to keeping their Android devices updated - and yet this phone is running Froyo.

27
Jan
sony-tokyo-event-1307

Sony's new PlayStation Suite isn't the PlayStation Phone (or the Xperia Play) we were expecting, but it's arguably something even better for those of us who love gaming but hate the idea of giving up our current Android device(s).

Sony claims that PlayStation Suite will offer "legendary original PlayStation content" and says it will be a "cross platform, cross device" PSOne emulator. In reality, it's limited to Android 2.3 and beyond - a version of Android only one currently available handset runs (and it's not Sony's own Xperia X10). Still, PS Suite does look intriguing, especially when you consider Sony's "PlayStation Certified" program for hardware manufacturers, which will, supposedly, ensure a high-quality gaming experience.

27
Jan
gals2_tab2_MWC

It looks like a bit of an oopsie has resulted in Samsung's official Mobile World Congress (MWC) schedule leaking out. The details of the slip aren't available and aren't especially important, because this looks and sounds legitimate - especially since it (sort of) reinforces rumblings we've heard before.

gals2_tab2_MWC

Surprisingly, we have absolutely no idea what kind of hardware to expect. What I do know, though, is that if The S 2 ends up being this... boy, will my face ever be red. But hey - I still feel fairly safe in saying it won't be. (I hope.)

[Source: Electronista via Mobile Crunch]

26
Jan
thunderbolt-3g-voice-data

With training for the HTC Thunderbolt starting today, a few Thunderbolt goodies surfaced. According to the leaked screenshot, the HTC Thunderbolt will be able to handle both voice and data simultaneously on Verizon 3G. As many of you probably already know, Verizon's CDMA network was incapable of producing this in the past (voice and data use separate channels on CDMA), but apparently HTC and Big Red have done some magic and figured out a way on this new 4G device.

thunderbolt-3g-voice-data

For those who can’t see the text in the watermark in the image above:

There is functionality in the Thunderbolt that allows simultaneous voice and data while on the VZW 3G network, however, we cannot promise the experience will be one that is consistent with our brand.  As a result, do not reference this functionality as a benefit during your conversations with customers.

26
Jan
Motorola-Mobility-Crimson-Logo

You could say Motorola's earnings call ended on a high note - the company's CEO, Sanjay Jha, told analysts that the Atrix 4G will be launching at the end of February, as will the 3G version of the XOOM. That doesn't quite line up with the rumors we've been hearing about a February 17th release, and Jha later added that the XOOM might even be bumped to a release in March if things don't go according to plan. Bummer.

dbionic

As for the Droid Bionic and the LTE-capable version of the XOOM, Sanjay said those devices should arrive at the end of Q2.

26
Jan
xperia

Engadget was lucky enough to get its hands on a prototype of Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation Phone (believed to launch as the Xperia Play), and while not everything on the unit they got was finalized (Wi-Fi was completely broken), it does give us a pretty good idea of what to expect when the phone officially launches.

First, we have some of the most important specs:

  • 4.0" 854 x 480 LCD display
  • Single-core 1 GHz processor (believed to be Qualcomm) with Adreno 205 GPU
  • 512 MB RAM
  • Android 2.3 with Timescape UI
  • 5 megapixel camera

That single-core processor might seem disappointing with all the excitement surrounding Tegra 2 phones, but the Xperia Play still manages to get high marks in a number of benchmark tests (including a Quadrant score of 1,689).

26
Jan
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Last Updated: May 14th, 2012

Samsung is well-known for its ubiquity in the feature-phone market, and it's starting to look like they'll be employing the same assault-on-all-sides approach with Android phones too. As if they aren't struggling already to keep their phones up to date, Sammy is now digging a deeper hole with today's announcement of four budget-oriented devices set to prop up the rather premium Galaxy S.

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Galaxy mini

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Starting from the bottom, we have the Galaxy mini, intended to be a "first smartphone" for those crazy, hip youths you keep reading about. Not quite sure where the fun springs from in a 3.14-inch QVGA device, but Samsung is betting heavily on the "flashy color stripe along the side" to shift units.