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- LG Optimus Black review: First look
- Asus Eee Slate review: hands on first impressions
- Asus Eee Pad MeMo review: first impressions video and photos
- iPhone 3G runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc running Android 2.4 Gingerbread?
- Verizon Wireless to announce CDMA iPhone Tuesday?
- Andy Rubin previews Android 3.0 Honeycomb in detail
- Asus Eee Pad Slider review: hands on first impressions
- DirecTV and Samsung deliver wireless multi-room DVR
- Samsung Smart TVs to land Adobe Air and Adobe Flash Player
| LG Optimus Black review: First look Posted: 07 Jan 2011 07:14 PM PST  We’ve waited a long time for the LG Optimus Black to come along. Finally, the company appears to have made a decent smartphone. And it might be a spectacular one.
It’s hard to believe that though Android has been around for close to two and a half years now, LG has never released a high end Google phone with specs equal to those of its South Korean arch rival Samsung’s Android handsets. Until now. We got to grips with the LG Optimus Black at the company’s stand at CES today, and were relieved to discover that LG hasn’t played any tricks when it comes to claiming how thin it is: the LG LG Optimus Black really is anorexic, at just 9.2mm, and at points it gets even slimmer. In the hand, it feels like just as sturdy and pleasant as a HTC Desire HD, but lighter too.
That’s almost all there is to say about the build of the LG Optimus Black: it’s pretty nondescript, in a good way. The screen meanwhile looked top notch: LG is touting its NOVA technology as a super bright alternative to AMOLED. The 4-inch screen certainly is bright and responsive, but we really need to test one outdoors before making any definitive statements. Check out our Best Android phone Top 5 now As for Android itself, we were surprised to find that the LG Optimus Black model we tried out didn’t use LG’s typical S-Class skin interface, even though the LG Optimus 2X next to it did, and official press pictures seem to suggest it will. That’s a good thing, as it leaves an untouched homescreen very similar to that which Google intended, though we don’t know if it’ll stay that way come launch.
There are a couple of LG branded apps included on the LG Optimus Black, including an App Advisor (Cool) and a custom version of Facebook (Not so cool), and the custom keyboard was easy enough to type on on the 4-inch WVGA screen. The notification bar meanwhile looks eerily like the one found on the Samsung Galaxy S (Funny that), complete with connection toggles and a music player in the tray. Unoriginal? Yes. Helpful? You bet.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to try out one of the LG Optimus Black’s big new features, Wi-Fi Direct connection for slinging date wirelessly to another Wi-Fi device outside of a hotspot. Even without it though, we’re loving what we’ve seen so far of the LG Optimus Black. It’s just a shame LG won’t commit to anything sooner than the first half of the year for a release date. Related posts:
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| Asus Eee Slate review: hands on first impressions Posted: 07 Jan 2011 06:41 PM PST  The Asus Eee Slate was another form factor we thought looked a bit odd at the Asus press conference. Up on stage, this 12.1 inch tablet looked ridiculously big, clunky, and too awkward to have hanging around even just for the sofa. In the flesh, it’s not as big as it looked, and Windows 7 gives it a bit of extra oomph. Click through for more photos.
Video playback on the Asus Eee Slate was smooth, although like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, we found the multi touch gestures a little bit laggy. This could be because we’re not looking at final version of software. The Asus Eee Slate felt most unfamiliar to use. The version on show had a compact keyboard hooked up, and switching between the two, with no mouse, felt odd at first. Withe the keyboard this felt clunky – to use it for typing you’d have to carry around a stand for the Asus Eee Pad Slate as well as the keyboard, which although compact, wasn’t as compact as a netbook or the equivalent iPad keyboard dock, and would be quite cumbersome. The extra screen space is nice though, although it makes the tablet just that little bit too big to be truly portable in the way you’d want a tablet to be if you were on the go and were happy to sacrifice a keyboard. This is a sofa-bound tablet. What do you think about the extra large screen on the Asus Eee Slate? Can you see it on your sofa? Related posts:
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| Asus Eee Pad MeMo review: first impressions video and photos Posted: 07 Jan 2011 06:40 PM PST  The Asus Eee Pad MeMo is a smaller tablet, that’s in the seven inch form factor along with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Like the Galaxy Tab though, we can’t quite imagine what the Asus Eee Pad MeMo is for, despite it having a phone function. Click through for a full gallery and short video demo.
The Asus Eee Pad MeMo runs Android (Froyo in the video and this version, but it will be running Android Honeycomb by the time it makes it to market). The touchscreen is capacitive, but there’s also a stylus too. This raised some eyebrows at launch, possibly because there hasn’t ever been a truly successful device that’s had a stylus. The software isn’t final, but we were impressed with the painting app, which with the stylus means that the Asus Eee Pad MeMo can react to pressure, adjusting your brushstroke accordingly. A spokesperson for Asus said that the stylus was also added because the web is not built for touchscreens, which is a valid point – the stylus means it’s easier to browse on the smaller screen. We also discovered that the Asus Eee Pad MeMo has phone functions, and it will be shipping with a small “Nokia sized” add-on for making phone calls. There wasn’t a hardware version we could take a look at, but this sounds a bit clunky to us. Asus weren’t sure on whether the phone device would be sold separately or shipped in the box, but it puts the Asus Eee Pad MeMo firmly in a category with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The UK will be one of the first to get the Asus Eee Pad MeMo, arriving in March this year. Here’s a short demo of the Asus Eee Pad MeMo in action: Out March | £320-£450 | Asus What do you think? Is this a device that doesn’t know what it’s purpose is, or is it a decent alternative to the Galaxy Tab? Related posts:
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| iPhone 3G runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:58 PM PST 
Android 2.3 Gingerbread running on the HTC HD2 is nothing new, but the iPhone 3G is a serious feat. Now for even more exciting news — the port is based on the iDroid project, which means you'll be able to keep both iOS and Android in a dual-boot configuration. A public release has not been announced just yet as the kinks are still being worked out, but for now at least we can confirm it works. Hit the link below to see the full video, but keep in mind it's simply a demonstration. If you are looking to install Android on your iPhone 3G today, you can always go for the iDroid Android 2.2 Froyo port. via Redmond Pie | Twitter | Video Related posts:
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc running Android 2.4 Gingerbread? Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:07 PM PST 
Here's what we know about Android 2.4 Gingerbread. If we are to assume Tweakers.net is in fact using the purported OS and not simply pulling our leg — Android 2.4 will be an incremental upgrade with "miscellaneous stuff Google might not have had time to include 2.3". This miscellaneous stuff would include things like new animations or possibly even something bigger — like video calling in Google Talk, as seen on Android 3.0 Honeycomb. For now take this news with a grain of salt. We'll have to do some digging to see if there's any other evidence out there to suggest Android 2.4 Gingerbread is in fact legitimate. It's not completely out of the realm of possibility for Google to want to increment their smartphones with 2.X for a while since Android 3.0 is a couple month out. Let us know what you think about the Android 2.4 Gingerbread news. Do you think this is a real build or is this simply some sort of cooked ROM being used by Tweakers.net. Related posts:
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| Verizon Wireless to announce CDMA iPhone Tuesday? Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:50 PM PST 
The Verizon iPhone saga is reminiscent of the old tale of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Eventually, if you say it enough, some things will come true. For over a year and a half, "unnamed sources" have been reporting to major news outlets that a CDMA version of the iPhone was in the works, but more recently they've given us a date — January 2011. Since first launching in 2007, the iPhone has been locked down to At&t in the US, but complaints surrounding coverage quality have plagued the device. With a Verizon partnership, the coverage would likely improve and if it supports 4G LTE — so would the speed. There are are still doubts over the subject of Tuesday's press event. Apple enjoys the spotlight, in fact they skip CES and hold their own press events through out the year. It would be very unlikely that Verizon Wireless would have the opportunity of making an announcement in lieu of Apple. Second, 4G LTE is a new technology — even the original iPhone used the EDGE network at launch, despite a decent level of 3G coverage readily available. The main reason for the lack of 3G was battery life, 4G LTE promises incredible speeds and speed equals battery consumption. Just take a spin on the HTC EVO 4G and see how long it takes battery life to dwindle away. For now we know there is a press event in NYC for Verizon Wireless. There's a chance it could be the CDMA iPhone, but a high possibility it could have nothing to do with Apple. Anyone have any guesses on what Verizon might announce other than the CDMA iPhone? Related posts:
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| Andy Rubin previews Android 3.0 Honeycomb in detail Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:28 PM PST 
Designed from the ground up to work on devices with larger screen sizes, "particularly tablets", Android 3.0 Honeycomb is being described as a "holographic user interface". At the core of Android 3.0 is refined multi-tasking and elegant notifications along with new home screen customization and a 3D experience. There's been some powerful upgrades to the web browser — most importantly "tabbed browsing", also auto-fill and syncing of your Chrome bookmarks from your desktop or laptop. With the buzz brewing this week surrounding Skype video chat coming to many Android devices, Google Talk also supports video in addition to voice in Android 3.0. Honeycomb also improves in location with Google Maps 5, complete with 3D interactions and offline mode. In a move Google hopes will help it compete with the Kindle Store, there's over three million Google eBooks to consider. Take a look at the video, tell us what you think and sound off in the comments. We couldn't be more excited for the Motorola XOOM tablet. Let's just hope we get word on a UK release date before we leave Sin City. All aboard the Android 3.0 Honeycomb train. Coming Soon | Google | Free Related posts:
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| Asus Eee Pad Slider review: hands on first impressions Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:08 PM PST  When we saw the Asus Eee Pad Slider at the Asus press conference earlier in the week we thought it looked a bit bonkers. the hinge mechanism and the 10.1-inch screen made it look like a giant HTC Desire Z, and we weren’t sure we wanted one of those. Up close though it doesn’t look so weird, and the mechanism is surprisingly smooth. Click through for more photos.
We liked the form factor here, and while it feels a bit like there’s wasted space on the keyboard base because of the screen tilt, this is compact and light. It’s good for those wanting something neater, and better looking than a netbook, without sacrificing the convenience of a full QWERTY. We can see a clear use for the Asus Eee Pad Slider, which is praise indeed – many of the tablets we’ve seen at CES seem to be tablets for the sake of it, without much of a target in mind. Unlike the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, the hinge mechanism on the Asus Eee Pad Slider feels very solid, like you could bash it about without it suffering too much. It’s spring loaded, and has a metallic clip and second hinge too, for extra strength. Just like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, this model had felt the brunt of CES, but looked none the worst for it. The hinge is pleasingly solid, and requires a bit of effort to open and close, which is reassuring, as it hadn’t got loose over the course of the week. This Asus tablet netbook hybrid is running Android, and like the rest of the Android tablets Asus had on show, it’s running Android Froyo at the moment, but will be fully loaded with Honeycomb by the time it launches. This tablet is headed to the UK in May, so there’s not much time to get that software up and running. Related posts:
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| DirecTV and Samsung deliver wireless multi-room DVR Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:07 PM PST 
Here's the skinny: the RVU protocol will be supported on Samsung's LED D6000, LED D6400 and LED 6420 TVs. RVU allows a set-top box server to provide a multi-room, complete viewing experience with DVR services, without the need for additional boxes. Using RUI technology based on DLNA and UPnP, RVU is able to make this magic happen, wirelessly. Now in order to take advantage of the RVU protocol, you'll need one of the aforementioned TVs along with the new DirecTV RVU server. This server (multi-room DVR) is capable of supporting multiple connected televisions simultaneously. Under this partnership, Samsung will embed support for RVU in their smart TVs and provide its customers with the full DirecTV experience, including DVR services, live pause abilities on all screens in the home, 200 hours worth of shared storage, picture-in-picture capabilities and the power to record up to five shows at once. Samsung's RVU-compatible TVs will be available in March 2011. Coming March 2011 | Samsung | TBD Related posts:
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| Samsung Smart TVs to land Adobe Air and Adobe Flash Player Posted: 07 Jan 2011 03:51 PM PST 
Whether you are using a Samsung smartphone (Galaxy S), tablet (Galaxy Tab) or new Smart TV, you'll be covered by Adobe support. The significance of Adobe Air support on the big screen is critical so that developers can leverage existing code to create and deliver standalone applications across all of Samsung's products. Samsung's Smart TV platform was designed from the ground up with the developer in mind. Using common web standards such as Javascript, XML and now Adobe Air, they can use a single Software Developer Kit (SDK) for Apps that runs across HDTVs, Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Home Theater systems. The bottom line is that opening the door to Adobe Flash and Adobe Air means Samsung Smart TVs will have a leg up on the competition and some exciting apps we'll be coming to the living room Coming Soon | Samsung | TBD Related posts:
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