Android Community |
- Motorola Xoom OTA update brings new market for tablets
- HTC Raider sails through the FCC with AT&T 4G LTE
- Disney dances into the Android smartphone market with two new phones
- Kindle Fire blazes to Amazon’s best seller list
- Infinite Dreams shows stop-motion trailer for Jelly Defense
- Motorola Xoom just $349 today only [Deal]
- Motorola DROID 3 Update rolling out now
- Best Buy cutting HTC Flyer price to $300 on October 6th
- Amazon Kindle Fire Q and A with PR Rep
- 7-Inch 4G Honeycomb tablet from Huawei bound for T-Mobile
- T-Mobile Promises complete store revamp
- T-Mobile, Verizon support Samsung in U.S. Apple Suit
- Barnes & Noble stock takes a hit on Kindle Fire news
- Samsung “can’t rely on Google” for patent protection, says executive
- Sharp AQUOS 104SH will run Ice Cream Sandwich for Softbank, among others
- Skype v2.5 adds video calls to Galaxy Tab 10.1, more
- Samsung’s Exynos 4212 1.5GHz SoC promises 3D prowess
- HTC Explorer delivers Android on a budget
- Plantronics announces their smallest mobile headset yet, the Marque M155
- Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2011 Google Episode announced
| Motorola Xoom OTA update brings new market for tablets Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:45 PM PDT New details are just hitting the wires that another update is hitting the Motorola Xoom. Last week it received an OTA to Android 3.2.1 and we are now hearing another update has hit devices this morning. Along with it brings a brand new Android market for tablets — looking beautiful just like what we now have on our smartphones. As soon as I get more details I’ll drop the APK so everyone can enjoy the new market too.
According to many over on XDA the update was actually started sometime yesterday for the Wi-Fi Xoom but most are getting the notification today. As always users can go ahead and manually pull the update by going to menu > settings > about tablet > and check for updates. The brand new market can be seen below, and is said to work amazing on tablets. I’ve seen it ported to the larger screen — but this is the real deal right from Motorola.
Regarding the Xoom, the update brings it to build HTK75D and from what users are reporting not a lot has changed. We are still on Android 3.2.1 and nothing looks different except for the awesome new Android Market for tablets. It is possible the update brought changes needed for the new market to work, but that is doubtful because then plenty of tablets will be waiting a while to see it themselves. As soon as we get more details and possibly a working APK for all you Honeycomb tablet users we will update this story — stay tuned.    Device Info
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 [via Droid-Life] )
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| HTC Raider sails through the FCC with AT&T 4G LTE Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:17 PM PDT The much rumored HTC Holiday is all set to receive its wings and come to the US now that it has recently cleared the FCC. The Holiday leaked back in August and looked pretty stellar from our point of view. Hopefully this recent FCC filing means it will be headed to AT&T here soon now that they’ve launched their LTE networks.
Recent reports suggest the HTC Holiday will be called the HTC Raider upon its launch on AT&T. The recent FCC filing is for a similarly sized HTC device headed to AT&T with those 4G LTE radios so it only makes sense. Not to mention we’ve even spotted the HTC Holiday in the wild showing off those 4G LTE speeds.
All the links above confirm the details but in case you missed them we have a 4.5″ display, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 4G LTE, 1GB of RAM and more with this beast of a smartphone. Last we heard AT&T officially outed this as the Raider, that along with the FCC reports lead us to believe it will be coming sometime soon. Stay tuned for more details on the HTC Raider with AT&T 4G LTE. [via FCC] )
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| Disney dances into the Android smartphone market with two new phones Posted: 29 Sep 2011 11:57 AM PDT It appears Mickey Mouse has found his ears and came to his senses with Disney set to launch two new Android smartphones. It looks like Lion King and the Little Mermaid are about to get replaced by the little green robot we call Andy. Along with the first Disney Android smartphone, they are about to launch two new updated models and we have the details below for all you Disney fans– we know there are plenty of you.
They will be called the DM010SH and DM011SH, I’m assuming “DM” stands for Disney Mobile here. Topping Walt’s list will be the DM010SH rocking a 4.0″ qHD 960 x 540 resolution display, with an 8MP camera for all those cute Disney moments and powered by a 1 GHz processor. Specs are a bit scant so we aren’t sure if this is a dual-core or not at the moment. Next up is the DM011SH, said to be a full out waterproof 3.4″ packing Android smartphone with a 854 x 480 resolution. It will also contain the same 1 GHz processor and 8 megapixel shooter around back. Both Android smartphones are said to be running the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will ship with a wide array of colors including pink, white, black and more. Both devices are said to be hitting Japan markets first with the DM010SH coming first in October, and the other will soon follow sometime in December just in time for the holidays. We currently have no further details or pricing so you’ll just have to wait until Mickey comes clean with all the information. [via Engadget] )
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| Kindle Fire blazes to Amazon’s best seller list Posted: 29 Sep 2011 11:32 AM PDT Just as we expected, the Kindle Fire is selling fast according to recent reports. The hot coals from the Kindle Fire can already be felt as Amazon has stated its flames have reached the top of their best sellers list, and it did on the first day. The high sales have continued and are going strong today suggests Amazon.
The Kindle Fire, announced yesterday seems to already be a big hit with buyers when Amazon threw it up for pre-order the same day — It will ship November 15th. If you’ve still been debating the purchase, we were able to snag some hands-on time with it and you can see all of our coverage by clicking here. We didn’t stop there either, we also have a quick Q & A for you to check out. Apparently the $199 Kindle Fire is in the top spot for the second day in a row and is showing no signs of slowing down. Amazon didn’t mention any sort of specific numbers but they expected sales to soar, and should have plenty on the way to fulfill all of those orders. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the number of sales should reach the “millions” but we have nothing further regarding an actual number although its only been two days. One appealing aspect is the new Amazon Silk browser that should make a huge difference for browsing the web on a mobile device, they also have plenty of Kindle Fire accessories available for pre-order that too will ship come the 15th. So, who plans to buy one, or who pre-ordered already? Do you think the Kindle Fire will be a success? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Bonus hands-on videos
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| Infinite Dreams shows stop-motion trailer for Jelly Defense Posted: 29 Sep 2011 11:03 AM PDT It’s pretty hard for a tower defense game to get noticed in the crowded mobile gaming space, but Jelly Defense has just done that. Developer Infinite Dreams has posted a colorful trailer created with old-school stop-motion claymation (think Gumby or The Nightmare Before Christmas) to drum up excitement for the game’s release. Jelly Defense debuts today, and is definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of the genre.
Check out the trailer below: Coming from the creators of the popular Sky Force games, Jelly Defense assigns you to protect the innocent citizens of the Jelly Nation. The cute little guys are attack from the mysterious Kiwi Halvas, and the player is tasked with protecting the tiny planet from a ruthless invasion. The cute gummy aesthetic sets Jelly Defense apart from some of the more standard tower defense games, while still keeping the core concepts that players love. Jelly Nation features 22 levels with kooky environmental hazards, plus achievements and leaderboards. The game is available now in the Android Market for a special introductory price of $.99 USD. Jelly Defense is also available in the iOS and Mac App Stores. )
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| Motorola Xoom just $349 today only [Deal] Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:56 AM PDT Today the Motorola Xoom can be yours for the low low price of just $350 although this is a refurbished unit and they are Wi-Fi only. This is still a pretty sweet deal on the original Honeycomb tablet that is sure to get the latest updates and Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the gate. Available today only for that price on woot.com
In case you’ve never used Woot before — it’s one day, one deal. So this will end tonight at midnight unless they run out of stock before the time runs out. I’ve never had any issues with refurbished units in the past so anyone looking to snag a good deal on the Motorola Xoom now might be a good time. According to Woot, the Xoom will come with Android 3.1 but we don’t know for sure. Either way it will get the update to Android 3.2.1 as soon as you connect it to a wifi network as that rolled out earlier this month for Xoom users. If you are on the fence you can read over out big Xoom review to get a better understanding of the device, although latest updates make it even better and much more stable. Head down to Woot.com and snag one up before they sell out. Device Info
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| Motorola DROID 3 Update rolling out now Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:31 AM PDT Well, Motorola and Verizon have finally started the 2.3 Gingerbread update rollout for the DROID 3. It was first announced earlier this month and after initially rolling out to a few testers it was pulled to make a few last minute changes. Now just a few weeks later everything is a go and the update should be hitting phones today.
The update today should bring the DROID 3 to build 5.6.890 and includes Google Talk with video chat along with a number of bug fixes that should help with things like battery life and overall stability. In case anyone missed it we have a great review of the DROID 3. Many devices don’t get OTA updates this quick after being released so it’s a good sign to see Motorola working so quickly on these types of things. Here’s the official update info from Verizon.
It clearly states a few important bug fixes such as audio clarity for phone calls and navigation, as well as a fix for the annoying continuous alerts from visual voicemail some users were having. The biggest two features I see is Google Voice with video chat support, and users can now stream video with the NFL Mobile application on the DROID 3. Below in the gallery you can see the update doc in full size for all the details. Go ahead and wait for the update, or as usual you can check manually by going to menu > settings > about phone > system updates and give it a try yourself if you’d rather not wait. Enjoy your freshly baked Gingerbread and let us know if you have further issues after the update.   Device Info
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[via Verizon] )
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| Best Buy cutting HTC Flyer price to $300 on October 6th Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:15 AM PDT
Rumors are flying that HTC’s first Android tablet will be seeing a significant price reduction soon. According to Phone Arena, Best Buy will be slashing the price of the wifi-only HTC Flyer to $300, a $200 reduction off the current retail price, next Thursday. If true, that could make the 7-incher a lot more attractive as the Android tablet market races to the bottom.
Reasons for the reduction are varied. First of all, the Flyer is definitely too expensive next to the $500 iPad and $400 Asus Transformer, both of which have a larger screen with a higher resolution. While the Flyer’s Gingerbread OS is a lot more capable that that of the Nook Color, mainstream consumers will have a hard time seeing the difference, capacitive stylus notwithstanding. But the more immediate issue is probably the Amazon Kindle Fire, due in mid-November at a doorbusting price of just $199. Combine that with lowered expectations after the HP Touchpad $99 firesale and the Blackberry Playbook’s $299 price for a similar 16GB model, and it’s awfully hard to make a case for the Flyer’s comparatively high price tag. HTC is taking a lot of heat for its expensive tablets lately: the $700 on-contract price for the AT&T Jetsream drew scoffs from press and consumers alike. Take this news with a grain of salt, as it comes from an anonymous tipster. A lowered price for the Flyer would certainly make it a lot more attractive, especially when the forthcoming Honeycomb update arrives. There’s no word yet on any similar price drops for the similar EVO View 4G, or whether or not the pricey stylus will also be reduced. Device Info
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[via Phone Arena] )
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| Amazon Kindle Fire Q and A with PR Rep Posted: 29 Sep 2011 10:15 AM PDT While taking a close look at the Kindle Fire this week in New York City at the big Amazon event, we got several different perspectives on the brand new cloud-heavy elementally-named tablet. What you’re going to find is that, like all presentations of products at events such as these, there is a bit more detail in wings that, while the group presenting the device doesn’t mean to hide, simply isn’t as relevant to the general public, and is therefor not revealed unless someone specifically asks. That’s where Vince (behind the camera in this case) comes in.
The video you see below is our Android Community hands-on (or eyes-on if you prefer) video of the Kindle Fire in which we’re given a basic rundown of the features that are public already, followed by some Q and A. Past the standard look, the PR rep we’re speaking with opens a 3rd party magazine app and the questions begin. Kindle Fire hands-on video Android Community: Do you have to swipe or can you just [tap]? Amazon PR: This one’s an app so it requires swiping. AC: What about zooming in and out? PR: I don’t know if they support it – we support multitouch zooming, but it doesn’t look like they support it here [in this app]. AC: Can you side-load PDFs? PR: Yeah sure, but we don’t think people are going to do that as much because under the docks tab you have an email address for each Kindle Fire so you can just email [content] for free and it’ll just magically appear on the shelf. At this point some of the questions come from other publications, so we’ll just switch to Q and A, watch the video to see who asks what if you need to know. Q: Do you have an email client on there? A: We do have an email client we’re not showing today, but it will come out of the box with an email client. Q: And what about if you want to do some word processing, what’s the best way to go about doing something like that? A: App store. Hopefully we’ll have multiple selections by the time we ship, in the app store, that’s the plan. Q: Is it just going to be Amazon App Store or will there be stock Android App Store [Android Marketplace] as well? A: Today it’s just he Amazon App Store – we’ll certainly talk to Google – if they’re interested – we’ll certainly talk to them. Q: You’re doing browsing, can’t you [access] the Android Market that way? A: Well no, because Google requires that you authenticate the device with their DRM and we don’t have their DRM on the device at this point. Q: From a hardware perspective, what ports are available? Is it just charging? A: Yes just USB, that’s for connecting to your PC or also we have a charger, fast charger, and then on the bottom you have a headphone jack for headphones and then a power/sleep button. Q: And then battery – how long? Usage-wise – video? A: You should get – in sort of a run-down test – you should get three films. If you want to play them without Wi-fi on you should get up to seven hours. We’re pretty bummed that this device doesn’t appear at the moment to have any capabilities for outputting video to bigger screens, in particular. As far as using the tablet for media, unless Amazon is seeing some sort of quick trend away from such functionality, transmitting to bigger screens is a must for your humble narrator and crew. WIll this hurt sales? We’re can’t quite yet be sure! Check out the rest of the news on this tablet by searching for FIRE! )
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| 7-Inch 4G Honeycomb tablet from Huawei bound for T-Mobile Posted: 29 Sep 2011 09:06 AM PDT T-Mobile customers will soon have even more tablet options if Huawei has anything to say about it. The Chinese manufacturer is readying a 7-inch Honeycomb tablet for the U.S. carrier, and new shots show the as-yet-unnamed tablet in the wild. No official info is forthcoming, but anonymous tipsters put the release date as sometime after CTIA in October.
The Huawei tablet shows some impressive specs: a 1280×800 screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor of unknown design (though Tegra 2 is a safe bet), front and rear cameras, 16GB of on-board memory and a solid 4100mAh battery. Android 3.2 is powering the HSPA+ device, with apparently minimal modifications on the part of T-Mobile. Best of all, the rumored on-contract price is a cool $199, making it the cheapest Honeycomb tablet available from a major carrier yet. Unfortunately, the source says that this pricing has not been finalized. Specifications line up pretty well with competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and 7″ Toshiba Thrive, and if rumors can be believed, it’ll show up on US shores well ahead of the former’s U.S. debut. T-Mobile already offers the original Galaxy Tab, the G-Slate made by LG, and the Dell Streak 7, with a 4G version of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 coming soon. T-Mobile has given no official word on the Huawei tablet, but we should know more about the latest 7-incher in the next few weeks. [via Droid-Life] )
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| T-Mobile Promises complete store revamp Posted: 29 Sep 2011 08:44 AM PDT As all good stores should every once in a while at least, T-Mobile has promised a complete overhaul of their retail locations here in the USA. What you’re about to see is a tour through their new look, an intelligently re-arranged setting that’ll have you visiting simply to get a glimpse at it. Bright pink lights in the background, lovely stark white tables in the foreground. Look like a place you’d like to shop?
There’ll be individual service pods for customers actually purchasing new plans and devices, devices will be separated in a way that’ll make it easy for customers to find what they want along with the accessories they might need without running from one end of the store to the other, and the whole thing simply looks more modern now with less metal and a whole lot more flat white surfaces. Not to mention, again, the glow. All your phones will be engulfed in the glowing pink love. It’s T-Mobile’s Senior Director of Store Development Debra Coates that’ll be bringing you on this journey through the sweet new haze. Without a doubt we’re looking forward to this format hitting stores across the nation – right at this moment there’s only a few select locations that have the physical update, with more on the way as the weeks pass by. Check out the full spread of T-Mobile devices by hitting our big [T-Mobile Portal] – gotta catch em all! )
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| T-Mobile, Verizon support Samsung in U.S. Apple Suit Posted: 29 Sep 2011 08:35 AM PDT Carriers are taking sides in the ongoing patent war between Samsung and Apple. T-Mobile is the latest to join the fray, filing an amicus brief against Apple’s injunction to halt sales of Samsung’s Galaxy phones and tablets in the United States. The wireless carrier argues that a halt of device sales would be against the public interest as the holiday shopping season approaches.
T-Mobile is following in the footsteps of Verizon, who also filed an amicus curae brief earlier this week. Both carriers feature Samsung’s phones and tablets heavily in their advertising, and models the original Galaxy S have been solid sellers on both. Apple reacted harshly to Verizon’s brief, saying that it was too far after the initial court filing to be included in the October case. Apple has achieved a preliminary injunction against Samsung in Germany, and Samsung has postponed its Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in Australia pending a court ruling on the local suit. An amicus brief needs to demonstrate an immediate and irrevocable harm in order to be accepted, and T-Mobile argues that its fall and winter advertising features products like the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II heavily. T-Mobile couldn’t alter their marketing or find adequate replacement products in time if Apple achieved a ban on these models. Other major carriers have yet to weigh in on the case, but with opening arguments fast approaching, expect news from both soon, either officially or off-the-record. )
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| Barnes & Noble stock takes a hit on Kindle Fire news Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:53 AM PDT Amazon’s Kindle Fire is sitting squarely in the spotlight at the moment, and Barnes & Noble investors are taking notice. The bookseller’s stock price took a sizable 4% hit yesterday, with early Thursday trading sending it down another 3%. At its lowest point on Wednesday Barnes and Noble’s stock hit $11.48, a loss of over 10%, but late trading helped the price rally.
The Kindle Fire is seen as a competitor to Barnes & Noble’s popular Nook Color tablet/reader, with the two Android-based devices sharing form factors and usage scenarios. To help spur sales, Barnes & Noble is offering existing customers a $25 discount on the Nook Color plus free shipping, bringing its total cost down to $225. The promotion was already in place at the time of the Kindle Fire announcement, but Barnes & Noble sent out additional emails afterwards. When Barnes & Noble released the Nook Color last year, they seemed to have a decided advantage in the small “e-reader+” space. Now that Amazon has undercut the Nook Color with its $199 Kindle Fire, not to mention a new range of cheaper e-ink Kindles to compete with the Nook Touch, that no longer seems to be the case. It doesn’t help that Amazon has a lead on Barnes & Noble when it comes to third-party media, like streaming video and the Amazon App Store. Of course, rumors persist of a Nook Color 2 coming in the fall or winter, when we’re likely to see Barnes & Noble face each other directly with current hardware. [via All Things D] )
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| Samsung “can’t rely on Google” for patent protection, says executive Posted: 29 Sep 2011 07:17 AM PDT According to an anonymous Samsung executive, the Korean manufacturer isn’t looking to Google for protection in the intellectual property realm. The exec told The Korea Times that “Samsung knows it can’t rely on Google,” going on to say that Google’s recent acquisition of Motorola isn’t going to help matters. Considering the ever-escalating worldwide patent war between Samsung and Apple, it’s easy to see where they’re coming from.
The executive went on to imply that the recent patent agreement between Microsoft and Samsung is also a way for Microsoft to lock in a major partner for its Windows Phone 7 platform. “As long as Samsung builds devices running Windows Phone, it will benefit from Microsoft's patents," said the source. Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility has some far-reaching industry implications, and one of them seems to be that a formerly friendly top-tier manufacturer is looking to diversify. Further expanding its operating system options, Samsung has also committed to the new Tizen platform. The next generation of Intel’s MeeGo OS has already been embraced by Acer and ASUS, with HTC also looking into adding support. Tizen is being developed as an agnostic OS, working on smartphones, tablets and netbooks – not unlike the forthcoming Android Ice Cream Sandwich. And of course, Samsung has its own internal OS in bada, designed for lower-specced phones and other devices. [via SlashGear] )
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| Sharp AQUOS 104SH will run Ice Cream Sandwich for Softbank, among others Posted: 29 Sep 2011 06:46 AM PDT The first officially-announced phone we’ve seen set to run Android version Ice Cream Sandwich will be Sharp’s AQUOS 104SH, slated for Japanese carrier Softbank. Details on the new device were announced by Softbank, along with other handsets from Sharp, Panasonic and Dell. The 104SH is definitely the pick of the litter, with a 4.5-nch 1280 x 720 screen, 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP4460 CPU, a 12.1-megapixel camera and a IPX5/IPX7 water resistance rating. Pricing on the new phone wasn’t announced, but Softbank is aiming for a Spring 2012 release window.
Taking a slightly more pedestrian approach is the AQUOS 102SH, a Gingerbread phone due in December. The 102SH appears identical save for a 1GHz processor and some slight adjustments to the phone body. Softbank is highlighting the phone’s dual CDMA/GSM antenna with support for high-capacity data networks with a download speed of up to 21Mbps.
Falling into Japan’s popular photo-centered phone niche, the Panasonic LUMIX 101P features an impressive 13.2-megapixel camera. Otherwise the specs are slightly lower than the AQUOS phones, with a 4-inch, 940 x 540 screen on a IPX5/IPX7 rugged body just 9.8mm thick. The Gingerbread phone is set for release in November.
Lastly we have Dell Streak Pro 101DL, a Gingerbread Android phone rocking a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 960 x 540. The 101DL has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 CPU and a camera with “just” 8 megapixels. The Streak is scheduled for release in January.
None of these phones are set for an international release, and with the possible exception of the Dell Streak Pro 101DL, don’t expect them to wash up on American shores any time soon. [via SlashGear] )
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| Skype v2.5 adds video calls to Galaxy Tab 10.1, more Posted: 29 Sep 2011 03:46 AM PDT Skype has updated its Android app to add video calling to more smartphones and tablets, with v2.5 adding support for 14 more models. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Google Nexus One and Motorola DROID 3 are notable models, though the ATRIX and LG Optimus 3D also make an appearance.
In addition to the new devices, Skype has also added the ability to switch between portrait and landscape orientations while within a call, as well as zooming by tapping the display. Bluetooth headset support has been improved, and the app as a whole should be more bug-free and faster.
On the downside, Skype has introduced advertising with this release, just as on the desktop versions for PC and Mac. You can bypass the adds if you have some Skype credit, however. Skype for Android v2.5 is a free download from the Android Market. )
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| Samsung’s Exynos 4212 1.5GHz SoC promises 3D prowess Posted: 29 Sep 2011 01:40 AM PDT Samsung has outed its latest mobile processor, the Exynos 4212, a dual-core chip based on 32nm build processes and running at a hefty 1.5GHz. The successor to the much-loved 1.2GHz SoC inside the Galaxy S II, the new Exynos 4212 has apparently been designed with 3D graphics as its focus, with developers Gameloft onboard with some custom titles to demonstrate its merit.
Samsung hasn’t said which devices the 4212 will appear in first, but it’s worth noting that the two LTE smartphones it announced last week for South Korea both use 1.5GHz chips. The Galaxy S II LTE and Galaxy S II HD LTE promise an extra jolt of performance to keep up with the high-speed 4G connection. However, with a Samsung event announced for October 11, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Exynos 4212 turn up in the rumored Samsung Nexus Prime. We’ll know for sure when we head over to see what Samsung and Google have up their collective sleeves in a couple of weeks time. [via SlashGear] )
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| HTC Explorer delivers Android on a budget Posted: 29 Sep 2011 01:02 AM PDT HTC has announced its latest Android smartphone, the HTC Explorer, targeted at entry-level users hoping to step up from their featurephone. Replacing the altogether underwhelming HTC Smart, only with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC Sense 3.5 this time rather than BREW, the Explorer packs a 3.2-inch HVGA touchscreen, 600MHz processor and 512MB of RAM.
Connectivity includes 3G, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, while there’s a microUSB port and a microSD card slot to augment the minimal 483MB ROM. The 1,230 mAh battery is hidden behind a soft-touch, rubberized rear cover, initially available in black or blue though HTC tells us they’ll have alternative colors soon. The camera is a mere 3-megapixel unit, further example of what HTC told us was a “focus on device expectations, not specifications” but what’s really more likely to be the result of building to a strict budget. Pre-pay users and cash-short students are the expected audience, with HTC adding a “data monitor” app which can keep track of how much data, SMS and calls you’ve used. Unfortunately – for the user, at least, not the carrier – the app won’t actually pop up and warn you when a limit is about to run out, you’re expected to check it manually, and there’s no homescreen widget at this stage. Otherwise the only app of note in the updated Sense 3.5 is “Best Deals”, HTC’s interpretation of the local deals market. Unfortunately we weren’t able to test that in our pre-briefing with the Explorer. The HTC Explorer is expected to go on sale in Europe and Asia from October 2011. Pricing will depend on market. Update: Vodafone UK tells us they’ll be offering the Explorer, though still no word on how much.             )
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| Plantronics announces their smallest mobile headset yet, the Marque M155 Posted: 28 Sep 2011 09:02 PM PDT Today Plantronics has announced their newest Bluetooth mobile headset, the Marque M155. This is their smallest and lightest headset yet and plans to be your on-the-go best friend for mobile. Being one of the smartest headsets around it will allow users to talk and listen while continuing to tap, text, and swipe away on their Android-powered smartphones. You can find more details and some photos after the break.
The Marque M155 is Plantronics smallest headset ever. It offers exceptional sound quality (and blocking) while remaining extremely small and lightweight. The M155 weighs in at just 7 grams, it actually weighs less than most pens and pencils, making it feel almost as if you have nothing attached to your ear at all. Plus it’s so small you’ll probably forget you’re wearing it to begin with. The Marque M155 also features voice guided pairing and setup with your favorite Android smartphones all hands-free. We also have stereo Bluetooth (A2DP standard), which allows you to listen to music, GPS directions or your email all with the headset. Plantronics has also gone one step further and integrated Vocalyst support. Vocalyst will act as your own personal assistant thanks to the Marque headset. You can send email or text messages, post to Facebook and Twitter, or check the weather— all completely and easily hands-free. To answer a phone call there is no button on the headset needing to be pressed, just simple say “answer” and it does the rest. I use Google Voice services a lot to send text messages and update my twitter, but if I could do it all hands-free that would be awesome. I’m excited to give this Plantronics headset a try on my Android smartphone. The Marque M155 will be available in both Jet Black, and Artic White and will start at just $59.99. Pre-orders start today, September 29th, at Amazon.com and Plantronics.com and many other carriers and wireless stores available nationwide.    )
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| Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2011 Google Episode announced Posted: 28 Sep 2011 08:28 PM PDT It’s time for some Ice Cream Sandwich. Or at least that’s what appears very likely for this October version of Samsung’s continuing “Unpacked” series of keynote speeches, each one revealing something monstrously neato each time they appear. This newest episode will take place aside CTIA’s Autumn show in San Diego, California, and is specifically titled “Google Episode”, this meaning quite possibly that it’ll be a rather tasty event, treats galore inside — could it be Prime time?
Before you go any further, you’ve got to check out two sources for a complete rundown of what we know about the very possible Samsung Nexus Prime device we’ll likely be seeing at this Unpacked event. First, you can hit our [Nexus Prime portal], then you can hit our sister site SlashGear’s “Google’s Next Nexus Phone Details Rundown [Mid-September 2011 pre-release]“. Those two should have you fully educated on what’ll likely be the vehicle in which we see Android’s next big operating system version Ice Cream Sandwich roll in on. Sound like the situation to you? Perhaps we’re totally off the wall in thinking Ice Cream Sandwich would come in on a Samsung device – you never know, right? The other things we could be seeing, though these are less likely because they’re already out internationally, are the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and HD, the oddly familiar Samsung Galaxy S II X, the unnamed “shv-e120l”, or of course the Samsung Galaxy Note. Will it be something we’ve already seen? One way or another, you’ll know quicker than anyone else as you’ll have both your YouTube tuned to Android and your Android tuned to Android Community – we’ll be there covering the event live while we all watch together via the internet. Welcome to the future! )
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