Android Community |
- Samsung Galaxy Nexus appears in Best Buy systems as Nexus Prime
- Amazon could ship 5 million Kindle Fire units this year
- XOOM Family Edition is a Best Buy exclusive for $379
- Survey: most Android owners aren’t interested in the iPhone 4S
- I’m Getting Arrested app alerts friends and family when you’re off to the pokey
- Samsung Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound spotted in Verizon system
- ChatON lands on Android Market
- Motorola shareholders will vote on Google acquisition on November 17th
- Rumored DROID RAZR specs: “faster than the iPhone 4S”
- Total Honeycomb tablet sales estimate: 3.4 million units
- Epesitec launches new Android tablets starting at $189
- Sony Ericsson to go all smartphone in 2012
- U.S. District judge says Samsung tablets violate Apple’s patents
- Rumor: Google preparing its own MP3 store
- Verizon sends free dock back with delayed XOOM LTE upgrades
- Google’s Android team joins the rest of us on Twitter
- Ice Cream Sandwich statue at Google Unboxed [Video]
- Samsung says the Galaxy Note is for the female market
- HTC Hero S available today from US Cellular
- HTC’s new Bluetooth Conference Speaker matches your Aeron
| Samsung Galaxy Nexus appears in Best Buy systems as Nexus Prime Posted: 14 Oct 2011 10:52 AM PDT I’m ready for the Galaxy Nexus already and Tuesday just can’t come fast enough. For now we’ll just have to settle with the various leaks as I’m sure we’ll get one every few hours right up until Tuesday. Late yesterday the Galaxy Nexus was spotted in Verizon’s Cellebrite system, and now today it’s also appearing in cellebrite systems for Best Buy. Could this be another Best Buy exclusive like the original Galaxy S? Doubtful but it also wouldn’t surprise me either.
What we have is a screenshot from the cellebrite systems at Best Buy, and while they still have the device listed as the Nexus Prime we’ve all but confirmed it will be called the Galaxy Nexus. Either way this is a good sign seeing it pop up yet again in another big name retailer like Best Buy. The chance of it being an exclusive is a small one, but you never know these days. It’s so close I’m starting to smell the Ice Cream Sandwich, and if you can’t maybe you should watch this video.
The wait is almost over and all these leaks will be a thing of the past once we can see and handle this bad boy smartphone coming after the event next week. The more I think about it the more the chance this is a Best Buy exclusive might be accurate, we haven’t seen anything regarding Verizon on either of the announcements from Samsung. Either way we’ll all know soon enough. Be sure and check back Tuesday at 7PM PT and 10PM EST for the latest coverage of Android Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Nexus as we’ll be there live. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @androids [via Droid-Life] )
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| Amazon could ship 5 million Kindle Fire units this year Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:57 AM PDT
It’s important to note that analyst Ashok Kumar’s predictions deal with Amazon’s OEM operators and suppliers, not actual sales. That is to say, by the end of Q4 the company could have as many as five million Fire tablets in its warehouses, ready to go out to eager holiday shoppers. Current estimates put the Kindle Fire at between 250,000 and 500,000 sold just in preorders. The Kindle Fire is based on an extremely modified version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, designed to display Amazon’s retail and digital services prominently. To that effect the hardware itself is a loss-leader, costing Amazon slightly more to manufacture than the $199 selling price. While it won’t have access to the Android Market, Amazon’s own App Store will feature a lot of the same apps, and more should be added as the Fire gains in popularity. Kindle Fire orders begin shipping out on November 15th. [via SlashGear] )
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| XOOM Family Edition is a Best Buy exclusive for $379 Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:20 AM PDT We saw some leaked retail shots of the kid-friendly XOOM Family Edition just last week, and it won’t be long before you and yours can get your hands on it.According to a press release today, Motorola and Best Buy are partnering to bring the customized XOOM to market starting this Sunday, October 16th. The Family Edition will cost $379, a significant savings on the current $499 WiFi model.
Of course, there are a few sacrifices for the discount. The Family Edition has only 16GB of storage, half that of the original XOOM, and it’s running the slightly outdated Honeycomb 3.1. There isn’t a version with a cellular connection and there probably won’t be. Other than that, it’s the XOOM you know and at least some of you love: the same 1GHz Tegra processor, 1GB of memory, and 10-inch form factor, making the Family Edition a pretty good deal – though the press release mentions that the $379 price is a limited time offer. So what makes the Family Edition so special? Pretty much exactly what you’d expect – Motorola is including a decent bit of software designed for tiny fingers. The company says it’s included “over $40 worth of applications,” including Kid Zone by Zoodles and a selection of apps from the Motorola MotoPack, as well as the ever-popular QuickOffice HD. An important part of the puzzle is a special lmode that locks the home button, allowing parents to pass the XOOM to their kids without worrying about them accessing the Internet or email. So, what do you think, Honeycomb users? Is the included software or discounted price enough to drive a few more XOOM purchases before the upgraded versions arrive? [via Android Police] )
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| Survey: most Android owners aren’t interested in the iPhone 4S Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:40 AM PDT Apple’s
That’s a steep decline from current Apple users. 44% of iPhone 3 and 3GS owners said they’d buy the new phone, while a surprising 42% of iPhone 4 owners said they’d spring for the modest upgrade. Keep in mind, nearly all iPhone 4 owners will be paying full price for the 4S, since they’re at most about 16 months into a 24 month cellular contract. What’s even more surprising is that only 24% of Blackberry users said they’d buy a new iPhone, despite RIM positively bleeding marketshare in the last few months – no points for guessing where the rest are probably going. In other news, the iPhone 4S’s lack of true 4G connections is a major disappointment. Over 70% of smartphone owners and 50% of iPhone owners lamented the lack of LTE in the new model. The iPhone 4S will feature an HSPA+ radio, achieving speeds which AT&T has been advertising as “4G”, but it won’t be able to connect to the faster LTE network on Verizon or AT&T. That’s a pretty typical move for Apple – remember that the original iPhone launched with EDGE amidst a sea of 3G smartphones and featurephones. There’s no denying that the iPhone 4S will sell a boatload of units, but as with previous generations, it’s mostly selling to the Apple faithful. Expect a larger turnaround when the true iPhone 5 appears next year – of course, by then Android phones will be even further ahead in specifications and market share. [via eWeek] )
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| I’m Getting Arrested app alerts friends and family when you’re off to the pokey Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:34 AM PDT If you are the protest sort that plans to head off to chain yourself to a tree or to occupy Wall Street this weekend you might want to grab this app first. In the event that you get arrested this might be the easiest way to let people know that you haven’t just gone on a drunken bender, and you were carried the jail for one reason or another.
The app allows you to enter a pre-determined message and then enter numbers for the message to go to. Once configured and saved all you need to do is unlock your smartphone and then hold the bull’s eye. Depending in how aggressive the demonstrations are, you might need to be careful. A nervous officer might think you are reaching for something other than your smartphone. You could also use the app to program any one message that you send frequently. For instance if your pals like to text you constantly when you are driving you could use the app to tell them to STFU while you are driving. [via Download.Cnet.com] )
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| Samsung Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound spotted in Verizon system Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:13 AM PDT Not that you needed reminding, but the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is coming soon, and now Verizon’s internal device management software is offering a last bit of confirmation. The Galaxy Nexus (AKA the Nexus Prime) has been spotted in Verizon’s database, alongside the HTC Rezound (AKA the Vigor). No dates are available for either phone, but both have been confirmed as having Verizon 4G LTE radios.
The most interesting part about the Verizon database entry might be the name. We’ve been hearing rumors for months about Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich developer phone, and while “Nexus Prime” and “Galaxy Nexus” have both been bandied about, neither one seems to have completely overruled the other. With a probable announcement just days away in Hong Kong, Verizon may have inadvertently settled the argument: a Samsung UK executive said that the phone would be releasing “sooner than you think,” pointing to a launch within a few weeks after the announcement. Of course, that executive called the phone the Nexus Prime. Either way, we’re probably looking at a code name/retail name dichotomy here. The HTC Rezound has been leaking out for a few months as well, and while it doesn’t have Ice Cream Sandwich, the hardware is still suitably drool-worthy. According to some candid shots, the Rezound/Vigor will feature a 720p display (though it’s almost certainly LCD, not Super AMOLED) and a screaming 1.5GHz dual-core processor. An 8-megapexel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera and LTE radio round out the device. With the Motorola DROID RAZR expected at almost the same time as the Galaxy Nexus, Verizon may have top-of-the-line phones releasing from Samsung, HTC and Motorola within weeks of each other. Fall 2011 is shaping up to be a banner season in the Android world. )
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| ChatON lands on Android Market Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:08 AM PDT Back in late August, I mentioned that Samsung had a new cross platform chat service that would be coming to Android and a bunch of other platforms called ChatON. Several Android fans were excited about the prospect of a chat service that would link all major smartphone platforms in one free chat circle. If you were excited about that app, you can download it right now.
ChatON is now on the Android Market. For now, the service only supports Android, bada, and Samsung feature phones. However, Samsung still swears that support for all other platforms is in the work. The app has a web-based client that will let you chat using your PC as well. In addition to shared chats, the app supports private chatting and the sharing of media. On feature phones from Samsung the app allows for texting, image sharing calendar appointment sharing, and contact sharing. Other users will have a few extra options. There is also an animation message feature where you can draw something and seen it to someone you know. The Android version supports Android 2.2 and 2.3. [via TechCrunch] )
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| Motorola shareholders will vote on Google acquisition on November 17th Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:44 AM PDT Google made waves in the tech world when it announced its intention to buy Motorola Mobility outright back in August. The $12.5 billion deal would stabilize the cell phone icon, which has been struggling even after a successful revival based on Android smartphones. More importantly, it would give Google an in-house manufacturer for Android, creating a top-down supply chain a la the iPhone. Motorola announced via press release that its shareholders will vote to approve or deny the acquisition on November 17th.
The acquisition has been a quiet point of contention among Motorola’s Android rivals. Many analysts see Google’s purchase as a patent firewall as much as anything else, and Motorola remains the only one of the “big three” that hasn’t signed a licensing deal with Microsoft. Both Samsung and HTC pay royalties to Redmond to avoid patent litigation, and Samsung said specifically that they “can’t rely on Google” for legal protection. Google has stated on several occasions that they intend to run Motorola as if it were a separate company, and don’t intend to “play favorites” with in-house hardware. At this time two years ago, Motorola seemed to be the darling of the Android world after releasing the original DROID. Android has been a major force in reviving the company, whose featurephone sales were threatened by Samsung. In January of 2010 the company became profitable for the first time in three years, based largely on strong sales of Verizon phones like the DROID 2 and DROID X. It’s not unreasonable to say that Android (and by extension Google) have kept Motorola from sliding into a Nokia or Palm-style downward spiral. While it’s impossible to predict the whims of Motorola Mobility’s shareholders with any real precision, a “yea” vote seems more than likely. )
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| Rumored DROID RAZR specs: “faster than the iPhone 4S” Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:22 AM PDT The Nexus Prime isn’t the only superphone making headlines at the moment. Motorola has its own announcement coming just a day before Google’s, and it’s expected to reveal the DROID RAZR (AKA the DROID HD or DROID Spyder) along with Verizon in New York City on the 18th. Boy Genius Report has yet another tipster with the inside line on the new hardware, and it’s certainly worth a look.
According to the anonymous tipster, the DROID RAZR will feature a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a full gigabyte of RAM, making it “faster than the iPhone 4S”. That’s a hard claim to quantify considering the OS difference, but it certainly holds true from a hardware perspective (not that that’s anything new with high-end Android phones). The screen will be a standard 4.3 inches, much like the qHD screens already seen on the DROID X2 and DROID BIONIC. The device will be the “thinnest LTE phone to date”, a claim that certainly appears possible, considering some of the leaked photos we’ve seen. Both the Nexus Prime / Galaxy Nexus and the DROID RAZR are rumored to be on hand at Verizon right now. The shot at the iPhone 4S might be specious, but in any case, the DROID RAZR looks like it’ll be a tough competitor on Verizon, meeting or beating the best of the current smartphone lineup. It’s hard to say how long that will last with Samsung’s Nexus Prime so close at hand, but as always in the Android world, choice is a good thing. Check out the promo video for the upcoming Motorola/Verizon event for some suitably speedy imagery:
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| Total Honeycomb tablet sales estimate: 3.4 million units Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:58 AM PDT Google was quick to highlight the continuing rise of Android on the smartphone platform at their third quarter earnings call, citing 190 million total Android activations globally. Google didn’t mention how many of those activations came from tablets running Honeycomb, but according to a developer estimate, it isn’t much. With the Android team’s latest statistics, the total number of active Honeycomb tablets in the wild comes out to a depressing 3.4 million.
Developer Al Sutton reached the conclusion after combining the 190 million figure with the device percentage breakdown released last week, wherein only 1.8% of global Android activations came from Honeycomb tablets. Divide 1.7% into 190 million, and you get a total of 3.42 million. Comparing Honeycomb tablets with Android smartphones isn’t exactly apples to apples, but by contrast, Froyo has 86 million activations and Gingerbread is right behind at 73.5 million. It’s no secret that Apple still dominates the tablet world, with the iPad retaining an 80% marketshare more than six months after Honeycomb debuted. Analysts are putting 2011 iPad sales in the 20 million range, which just about evens out with the marketshare estimates. The 3.4 million figure doesn’t include low-cost or pre-Honeycomb tablets, most of which are running Android 2.3 Gingerbread by now. Popular devices like the original Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Nook Color don’t factor into these results, and neither will the Amazon Kindle Fire, which runs a heavily-modified version of Gingerbread. Considering how much the iPad dominates, reaching almost 20% of its sales in less than a year isn’t bad, even if it isn’t ideal. Part of the reason that cheaper tablets use Gingerbread is that Google hasn’t released the source code for Honeycomb, and doesn’t intend to. Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich announcement is coming next week in Hong Kong, and if the company offers the source code to the combined smartphone/tablet OS (as promised), expect cheap ICS tablets to hit the market a few months later. [via SlashGear] )
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| Epesitec launches new Android tablets starting at $189 Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:34 AM PDT There are hoards of Android tablets on the market today and it seems that everyone wants to get in on the action. I think that what the market needs isn't more Android tablets that have high-end features to sell in the same price range as the iPad. What we really need are some companies to step in and flesh out the cheap entry-level range of the Android tablet realm.
Amazon recently did this with the unveiling of the Kindle Fire tablet. Another company is stepping into the low-end tablet realm with a pair of offerings that aren’t the most powerful, but they are solid for the price. Both of the tablets come from Epesitec and have 7-inch capacitive touch screens. They also run Android 2.3 and have 512MB of RAM onboard. Storage is to 4GB of NAND flash and they have expansion up to 32GB. The processor is a Freescale 1.2GHz unit with PowerVR Series 5 graphics. The resolution of the front camera isn't specified, but the rear camera has a 3MP resolution. The devices support Bluetooth, WiFi, and have a USB port along with analog TV output. The only difference between the two offerings is that the E516 with 3G onboard sells for $249 and the E515 with WiFi only sells for $189. )
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| Sony Ericsson to go all smartphone in 2012 Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:07 AM PDT The numbers for Sony Ericsson (SE) for Q3 2011 are in and they show that SE is starting to turn things around a bit from the horrible quarter it had in Q2 2011. In Q3 2100 SE shipped 9.5 million units compared to the 7.6 million units shipped in Q2 2011. The Q3 11 number is still down from the 10.4 million SE moved in Q3 2010. The average selling price was up in Q3 2011 to 166 euros compared to 156 euro last quarter.
Total sales for Q3 11 added up to 1,586 million euro compared to 1,193 million euro in Q2 2011 and 1,603 million euro in Q3 2010. SE has also stated that 80% of the sales it makes are smartphones and it has shipped 22 million Xperia smartphones so far. The gross margin for the quarter was 27% down 3% year-on-year. The biggest thing that came out of the earnings event was the factoid that SE pans to move its entire portfolio to smartphones in 2012. That means a bunch more Android devices on the market since SE is using Android on its smartphones. It also means if you have your eye on some sort of SE feature phone you better buy it soon. [via SlashGear] )
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| U.S. District judge says Samsung tablets violate Apple’s patents Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:17 PM PDT Samsung is having a hard day. (They never got the hang of Thursdays.) After Australia upheld Apple’s injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with possible monopolistic implications, the judge in the United States case covering some of the same issues has confirmed that the Korean electronics giant is violating Apple’s patents here. This could pave the way for sales bans like those already in place down under and in Germany.
The comments come from the honorable U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who’s overseeing the ongoing patent case Apple brought forth against Samsung’s Galaxy line of phones and tablets. The news isn’t all bad: the judge said that she wouldn’t grant the requested sales block based on a “utility” patent, covering “graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics”. That’s excellent news for all tablet makers (except for Apple), as without that particular bit of IP it would be almost impossible to make tablet software in the style of Android Honeycomb. There are three more patents in question that could make a compelling case for an injunction, but all three are “Design” patents, covering the look and feel of iOS that Apple is claiming Samsung infringed. Judge Koh did not mention these patents, but she said she would issue a formal order “fairly promptly.” There’s been a lot of action in the Samsung case lately. Google, T-Mobile and Verizon have files amicus briefs in support of Samsung, claiming that Apple is using the courts to create a monopoly and that a sales ban would irreparable damage their businesses. It’s yet to be seen whether or not American courts will follow in the footsteps of others worldwide, but it looks like Samsung may be able to engineer their way around Apple’s design patents as they’ve done in the Netherlands already. Device Info
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| Rumor: Google preparing its own MP3 store Posted: 13 Oct 2011 05:57 PM PDT Android users have a lot of options when it comes to music. Amazon’s MP3 Store has become a de facto Android music platform, and there’s plenty of 3rd party stores and apps that offer paid and free song downloads. Google’s going head-to-head with Amazon with its cloud-based Google Music, but according to the New York Times, they may be after a more direct sales model with a full-on MP3 store.
Google’s no stranger to direct media sales. Google Books has been selling free and paid books for over a year, and the Android Market now rents movies and other videos to phones and tablets. But several music executives (all, apparently, without names) say that Google is preparing its music store for a launch very soon. The store would be integrated with Google Music Beta in the same way that Amazon’s Cloud Player and Apple’s iCloud are already working The search giant has been down this road before. Google wanted to introduce a music locker service earlier this year, but negotiations with music labels broke down. If they’ve finally secured the rights from from the musical powers that be, as Amazon and Apple have already done, Android could finally have an integrated music store. It’d be almost impossible for anyone to catch up with iTunes, at least in the short term, but the competition would certainly be a plus. Could a Google MP3 store be yet another announcement at the upcoming Nexus Prime/Ice Cream Sandwich event in Hong Kong? Keep an eye on Android Community Tuesday night to find out. [via Cnet] )
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| Verizon sends free dock back with delayed XOOM LTE upgrades Posted: 13 Oct 2011 05:15 PM PDT OK, so that one-week turnaround for the Motorola XOOM 4G upgrade was a little optimistic… at least as optimistic as the idea that the upgrade itself would come in the spring of this year. Customers who sent their tablets in to Verizon are seeing significant slowdowns in getting their LTE hardware back into their hands. But the company sends along an extra goody by way of an apology: a free XOOM desktop dock.
The official Motorola accessory is coming in to appease the long, long wait for the 4G upgrade that’s been promised to XOOM owners since the very start. It’s pretty good extra to receive – I can attest to the quality of Motorola’s official docks personally. The standard dock is currently going for $49.99 at retail, meaning that patient Verizon XOOM owners are pretty far ahead on the deal. If you’re not familiar with the XOOM’s dock, it’s your standard charging cradle, plus a 3.5mm audio-out port for listening to your tunes. Note that this isn’t the Speaker Dock with a small built-in amp and HDMI out – that one’s a more expensive version. In a strange move, neither dock includes a USB-out port for syncing with your computer. What say you, XOOM upgraders? Is the free dock worth the wait? Device Info
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| Google’s Android team joins the rest of us on Twitter Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:20 PM PDT If you’re reading this and you’re even a casual user of Twitter, you probably want to hit this link up right away. Google’s Android development team has just created its own Twitter account, @Android. Just an hour after their first message, they’ve already over 4,000 followers – and it’s growing fast.
Google’s most impressive feat of the day might have been securing that short and sweet Twitter handle – try signing up for a new account today and getting a snappy username. Twitter has been known to work with celebrities and companies for marketing purposes, and since Google’s as big as it gets in the tech world, we’re sure they came to some kind of amicable arrangement. The @Android avatar is currently the official Ice Cream Sandwich statue chilling out on the Google Campus. The account only has two tweets at the moment, but you can bet they’ll be highlighting the latest and greatest in the Android world soon enough. For a more in-depth look at the inner workings of the Android dev team, be sure to check out the official Android Developers Blog. Oh, and while you’re at it, add Android Community as well – our Twitter handle is almost as good as the official one: @Androids. )
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| Ice Cream Sandwich statue at Google Unboxed [Video] Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:59 PM PDT Today Google has finally taken the wraps off of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the event taking place next week in Hong Kong. Then just as every other version has been released we quickly saw a few photos of the new Ice Cream Sandwich statue over on Google’s front lawn, but now we have the video so check it out below.
Thanks to none other than the Android Developers YouTube channel we now present you with the official unveiling video of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right on Google HQ’s front yard. I want one but I’d throw it next to the palm tree and my pool. Essentially we have a hands-on and unboxing of ICS. Check it out! It doesn’t get any more official than that. We will see Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus next week, then we will finally be able to put the countless Nexus rumors to rest. In case you want more Ice Cream check out this leaked screenshot gallery, or this awesome Nexus Prime device render. Remember, Android Community will be LIVE in Hong Kong for the official unveiling of ICS, so stay tuned for details and hands-on. )
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| Samsung says the Galaxy Note is for the female market Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:52 PM PDT Speaking to a UK interviewer, a Samsung executive let slip that the upcoming Galaxy Note uberdevice will be targeted at women, not necessarily spec-hungry gadgeteers. Andrew Glass, Sales director for Samsung UK, made no bones about putting women squarely in the marketing crosshairs for the new device. The Galaxy Note’s 5.3-inch screen is apparently Samsung’s idea of a perfect purse size.
Glass told T3 of the new smartphone/tablet hybrid slate, “The Galaxy Note is really good for the female market. To have a handbag and be able to put a 5.37-inch phone in instead of a 10.1-inch tablet is something that I think will capture the female market.” Apparently in this case Samsung is looking at the Galaxy Note as a tiny tablet instead of an over-sized phone. Glass mentioned that in the UK at least, the device will be marketed specifically towards women, with a variety of device colors and other initiative to be unveiled later. Female-marketed phones are nothing new. The HTC Rhyme is the latest in a long line of “female phones” (even if Verizon and HTC aren’t quite as enthusiastic about its marketing as Samsung), and it’s a surprisingly solid handset at that. There’s nothing wrong with targeting women in a device’s development or marketing, but the assumption that women inherently want something smaller, less powerful or just plain “girly” tends to fray the nerves of the fairer sex. With the top-of-the-line Galaxy Note, Samsung seems to be bucking the trend in a very promising way. The current black/chrome/gray color scheme of the Samsung Galaxy Note doesn’t exactly shout “feminine” in any case, but I for one would buy it in a heartbeat even if it had Hello Kitty plastered all over the back. That huge Super AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800, and the 1.4GHz dual-core processor leaves most Android phones in the dust. The device makes a return to pen computing with its included capacitive stylus and specialized Gingerbread apps to take advantage of it. The Samsung Galaxy Note will be released in the UK on November 17th, and if the FCC is anything to go by, AT&T could have its own version sometime later. [via SlashGear] )
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| HTC Hero S available today from US Cellular Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:34 PM PDT The new HTC Hero S from U.S. Cellular is finally for sale and can be yours today. First leaked as the HTC Kingdom or the Design 4G we quickly learned the full specs of the Hero S. It was then leaked along with the Motorola Electrify as headed to U.S. Cellular. They have silently launched the device and can be purchased starting today.
U.S. Cellular officially announced the Hero S last month, along with the Wildfire S and the HTC Flyer tablet all coming soon and that was the last we heard. Starting today, you can head over to uscellular.com and snag the HTC Hero S for just $199 (after a $100 MIR). This device may not be the biggest and best smartphone available but it’s an excellent option for those using U.S. Cellular. The HTC Hero S is positioned as a nice mid to top end device being faster than the original EVO, but slower than new dual-core phones. With the Hero you get a 4.0″ qHD 960 x 540 high resolution display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, HTC Sense UI all running with a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm single-core processor. With a 5MP camera on the rear and 1.3 front for video chat this is overall a great buy. Perfect for those that don’t need the biggest and best and just want a great smartphone that is well designed, sleek, and up to date thanks to HTC. Let us know if you plan to pick one up, or if you opt for the dual-core ELECTRIFY. [via US Cellular] )
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| HTC’s new Bluetooth Conference Speaker matches your Aeron Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:21 PM PDT Well what do we have here? The FCC has outed yet another gadget bound for American shores, but this one’s of a decidedly more corporate flair. The HTC Conference Speaker popped up in the Commission’s database today with some scintillating details. The Bluetooth accessory can work with any mobile phone and should you have a matching set, it’ll work together.
The brushed aluminum Conference Speaker works a lot like the wired speaker phones you’ve seen adoring huge tables in soulless corporate meeting rooms: connect it to your Bluetooth phone and it’ll use multiple microphones and a large speaker to simulate a meeting. While a single Conference Speaker only supports mono audio, you can connect two at the same time to hear quarterly updates and TPS reports in stereo. Pressing the center button automatically pairs the speaker with any matching speakers in the immediate area. The speaker lasts for ten hours on a charge, so unsightly cables won’t deface your expensive mahogany finish. If you use the Conference Speaker for music playback it’ll last you for eight hours. There’s no word on a price or release date, but expect it pretty soon, since accessories take a lot less wrangling to get into the public’s hands. [via Wireless Goodness] )
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We already know that Amazon’s Kindle Fire is a hit: it’s reached the top of Amazon’s internal sales charts and has made a good bit of buzz on its 
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