Android Community |
- DROID R2-D2 Unboxing and Hands-on
- Vodafone Announces Android “945” Smart Phone
- More details surface on Amazon’s Android App Store via Distribution Agreement leak
- 7-inch Dell tablet due in weeks; 3- and 4-inch models soon after
- Developer agreement for Amazon’s Android app store leaks
- Droidrover uses Nexus One to control NASA rover [Video]
- iControlPad Will Work With Android Devices Via BlueTooth
- 4 Free Phones At Best Buy Every Friday In October
- Sony Ericsson announces LiveView, A remote for android devices
- Amazon Also Planning on releasing a tablet
| DROID R2-D2 Unboxing and Hands-on Posted: 29 Sep 2010 11:17 AM PDT “The Force is strong with this one”; “This could be the DROID you’re looking for”; “Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed.” The Star Wars clichés almost write themselves when it comes to Verizon’s new DROID R2-D2 by Motorola special edition so stand well back and clutch your beloved DVD box set close. Although creating limited editions of smartphones isn’t new, it’s rare that they prompt the level of interest this Star Wars model has; Verizon and Motorola have obviously discovered a rich seam of Android-loving Star Wars crossover fanatics.
To give the companies some credit, they’ve not simply slapped on an R2-D2 sticker like George Lucas slotting in a bounty hunter and calling it a day. Where the original DROID 2 is dark blue and black, the Star Wars edition is silver and white and has high-quality printing on the battery panel and around the camera lens panel. There’s also a stylized “R2-D2″ logo on the back of the screen section, and some discrete decoration around the touchscreen itself. If you’re not a Star Wars fan – what, really? – then you might find it all a bit garish, but short of reworking the casing with three legs and a pico-projector we’re pleased with what Motorola has delivered.
Underneath the decorative chassis, of course, is the regular Verizon DROID 2, which we reviewed some time back. That means you get the same 3.7-inch touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard (with buttons much improved over the first-gen DROID) and 5-megapixel camera. At its core it remains one of our preferred handsets if you demand a physical ‘board with your phone, but it’ll face strong competition when the T-Mobile G2 finally arrives at the beginning of October. Motorola also includes a Star Wars media dock, though they missed a trick in not making it look like R2-D2 complete with tiny legs.
As for the software, there’s Android 2.2 and the same MOTOBLUR-inspired tweaks that we felt the regular DROID 2 didn’t really need. There’s also a fair amount of exclusive Star Wars content, which will inevitably be ripped from the ROM and offered to other Android device users. Still, they round out the DROID experience well, with R2-D2 noises for your ringtones and messaging alerts, an R2-D2 clock widget and a choice of four Live Wallpapers (Blast the Probe Droid, Luke Balancing Yoda, Navigating the Asteroid Field and Watch Bespin's Cloud City). None of it could legitimately be described as information vital to the survival of the rebellion, but it’s better than nothing. More details on the Verizon DROID R2-D2 by Motorola in the unboxing video (coming shortly) and hands-on gallery.          ) |
| Vodafone Announces Android “945” Smart Phone Posted: 29 Sep 2010 10:25 AM PDT Yesterday we heard that Vodafone was releasing 3 new phones, one of them the 945 is an update to it's own 845 launched earlier this year. The phone itself is an self-branded, competitively priced, Android smartphone. Shipping with 2.1, it's not the most up to date phone software wise but hopefully that will change. 
The hardware of the devices includes the following: a 3.2-inch capacitive multi-touch screen with haptic feedback, 5MP camera with flash, WiFi, 300MB built in memory, and a Micro SD card slot supporting up to 32 GB storage.  It will be available in black or silver giving it a "contemporary" look and will ship before this years holiday season. [Via Vodafone] ) |
| More details surface on Amazon’s Android App Store via Distribution Agreement leak Posted: 29 Sep 2010 09:59 AM PDT While Amazon still has not made an official word of their plans stepping into the Application Market, an App Store Distribution Agreement has been sent out. The terms and conditions are pretty thorough and similar to what we heard a few days back. Among them, the royalties for app placement in the store is "equal to the greater of (i) 70% of the purchase price or (ii) 20% of the List Price." 
This royalty structure as well on top of a $99 dollar annual fee gets your app in the Amazon Android Market. However, it's not that simple. Amazon still has the right to edit your code, modify and add binaries of their own, and add their own form of DRM on your form of apps. As of now this is planned to be US only, no word yet on worldwide availability. You can check out the full (restrictive & lengthy) contract here, and we are almost sure to hear official word from Amazon on this process in the coming days. [Via SlashGear] ) |
| 7-inch Dell tablet due in weeks; 3- and 4-inch models soon after Posted: 29 Sep 2010 02:47 AM PDT Dell’s 7-inch Android tablet is expected to launch within the next few weeks, according to Dell Greater China President Amit Midha, who confirmed the slate’s launch to the WSJ. The tablet is a larger version of the Dell Streak, though according to early leaks will use NVIDIA’s Tegra chipset rather than the Streak’s Snapdragon.
However, while we’ve also been hearing mutterings of a larger, 10-inch slate from Dell, that’s not necessarily going to run Android. Midha confirmed that the bigger tablet is due in 6-12 months, but said that Dell will be using Windows for some devices and has even been testing Google Chrome OS as another possibility. Before then, though, there will be 3- and 4-inch devices, likely falling into Dell’s smartphone line-up. [via SlashGear] ) |
| Developer agreement for Amazon’s Android app store leaks Posted: 29 Sep 2010 02:33 AM PDT Amazon’s rumored Android App Store has had a shot in the arm this morning, with the suppose developer T&Cs leaking to SlashGear. Although the store has not yet been officially confirmed by Amazon, the document does set out the various royalty details we’ve previously heard about, together with the retailer’s DRM demands.
For instance, while developers can choose whether or not to allow users of their apps to install them on one, more, or an unlimited number of devices, they don’t get a choice as to whether or not to include the DRM. Amazon also reserve the right to edit the original binaries, and to maintain copies even if the developer later opts out of the program. ) |
| Droidrover uses Nexus One to control NASA rover [Video] Posted: 29 Sep 2010 01:24 AM PDT We love Android, we love remote-control toys, and so this Droidrover project presses all the right buttons. You can’t really describe it as a toy, though; it’s actually the handiwork of several of the team at NASA Ames Research.
Basically, they’re remotely-controlling a Senseta rover from a Google Nexus One, with an Arduino and Bluetooth in-between. The Arduino and Android pairing apparently makes for a much smaller controller bundle, which in turn means the rover is lighter, more manoeuvrable and uses less power. It’s also a reasonably priced alternative; including a Nexus One, it all came to under $600 (though that doesn’t include the rover itself). Click here to view the embedded video. [Thanks mdNomad!] ) |
| iControlPad Will Work With Android Devices Via BlueTooth Posted: 28 Sep 2010 03:39 PM PDT It has now been confirmed that the physical button, mobile gaming keypad – the iControlPad – will support Android devices equipped with Bluetooth. It used to be expected that the device will ship with a dock connector to connect to iPhones and iPod Touches, but ever since Apple's showdown with Hypermac, they have decided to go with Bluetooth to avoid licensing issues. 
They need a bit of help getting everything ready for production, and they are looking for knowledgeable developers to lend a hand and help they get Bluetooth working. "Due to apple starting to sue people using their iPhone dock connector we are having to reveal a little secret. The iControlpad has a Bluetooth chip in it – we planned to add support for this in good time mainly for Android devices. However due to us now having to drop the iPhone dock connection we need help in making this work now. Simple question, would SPP protocol ever work on the iPhone? " If you have any knowledge that may be of use, or just want to check out the discussion, you can check out the forum post here. We will soon be able to game on our Android devices like an actual Mobile Gaming platform, fingers crossed! [Via SlashGear] ) |
| 4 Free Phones At Best Buy Every Friday In October Posted: 28 Sep 2010 03:11 PM PDT Today at it's Holiday Preview event in New York, Best Buy announced a bold phone selling strategy for the month of October. Beginning the first of October, Best Buy will be offering 4 phones, one for each carrier, free of charge. The phones will, of course, require a new two-year agreement. 
This following Friday Best Buy is starting off the Free Phone Fridays promotion with the following 4 phones:
Interestingly enough, each week this promotion will feature at least one high-end, in-demand smart phone, this is very good news for someone looking for a great deal on a new Android device. "We are seeing an amazing amount of curiosity and demand for mobile phones right now, especially smart phones, and we want to give consumers another reason to visit Best Buy Mobile in October," said Scott Anderson, the head of merchandising for Best Buy Mobile. "While we already offer a number of free mobile phone options for our customers every day of the year, launching 'Free Phone Fridays' with a great smart phone like the Samsung Fascinate shows that Best Buy Mobile is serious and committed to bringing the best mobile technology and best deals to our customers." [Via Best Buy Blog] ) |
| Sony Ericsson announces LiveView, A remote for android devices Posted: 28 Sep 2010 11:43 AM PDT Sony Ericsson today announced a new accessory for use with Android phones, the Sony Ericsson LiveView. Essentially it is a watch-face-like 1.3" touchscreen that will display important information from your Android device. 
Using an Android app, users will be able to control many of their phones key features, open some apps, read text messages, and read emails directly from their LiveView. The LiveView is even open to third-party developer integration, Sony Ericsson is allowing developers to be able to write apps that can interact with the device itself. A LiveWare Manager application will gather all of the LiveView compatible apps so you can browse with ease and download to further customize your device. Pricing has not been made known yet however, we are expecting a release by the end of this year. Click here to view the embedded video. [Via Sony Ericsson] ) |
| Amazon Also Planning on releasing a tablet Posted: 28 Sep 2010 11:30 AM PDT Yesterday we covered Amazon's apparent plans to venture into the App Store market, it was also said that they may be releasing a tablet soon after. Alongside the upcoming store will be a tablet release directly competing with the iPad, this of course, filling the gap that the Kindle has in competition with the famed Apple tablet. 
Not much news has been heard about this tablet, but coming from Amazon we can expect an array of features such as Amazon MP3 integration, a native Kindle app, access to the thousands of eBook's the Kindle Store as to offer, as well as a lot of features hardware wise. Interestingly enough the Kindle runs Amazon's own software, where the upcoming tablet will run Android. This leaves a lot of possibilities for the tablet and will allow them to further focus on hardware and integration with their array of services. More information is expected soon as we hear more about the Amazon App Store so stay tuned! [Via TechCrunch] ) |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android Community To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment