Saturday 19 November 2011

Android Community

Android Community


Galaxy Nexus does not have Adobe Flash, nor can it be downloaded

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 08:05 PM PST

That’s right, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus does not have Adobe Flash installed. Of course, when an application isn’t included we tend to query a quick search in the Android Market. And as you can see below, it was nowhere to be found!


But what could this mean? Just earlier we speculated Adobe’s plans for future mobile Flash development, and clearly all evidence suggests HTML5 will eventually be king. There may very well be something included in Android 4.0 that we may have missed, or something big planned on the way. One of the big selling points for Android over iOS and other competitors is its ability to play Flash content, so the fact that Google’s latest “developer” phone doesn’t have it must be a sign of innovation soon to come.

The theory that Flash could be converted on the fly to HTML5 could change the game completely. Devices running Android 4.0 like the Galaxy Nexus could potentially never need a Flash update again. How this would affect the overall browser speed is a different story.

Update: We got word that Flash hasn’t been released for ICS yet so as far as we know, Adobe will support Flash for ICS. We’re reaching out to Adobe for release date.

Update 2: Flash confirmed for Ice Cream Sandwich.

[via Reddit]

)


Google Swiffy May Solve Future Mobile Flash Support

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 07:40 PM PST

Google Swiffy Beta is a tool used to help developers convert their Adobe Flash content to HTML5. When Adobe finally decided to pull out from the mobile scene, we all wondered how Flash updates (if any at all) would hit our devices. The ability to play Flash content on cutting edge mobile devices is important for a complete browsing experience, and at the rate Android OS is growing and evolving, Flash compatibility is a must.


The tool has been out for a while now, but just recently developers using Adobe Flash Professional will notice Google Swiffy has been added as an extension. This directly follows their decision to cease mobile support for a reason: they want developers to continue using the Flash developer environment. Could future versions of Android perform instantaneous Flash conversions with Swiffy?

This would completely eliminate the need for a dedicated Adobe Flash application all together. Flash is not yet available for Android 4.0, and who knows if it will be? HTML5 is the future, Adobe knows it, and this is their sign of embracing it.

[via InfoWorld]

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More ICS video: face unlock, camera features and battery results

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 05:36 PM PST

We’re still blazing along on our Galaxy Nexus loaner units, letting you know everything we can before our final review. The latest video we’ve got for you shows some interesting quirks of the front camera face unlock feature, plus a full walkthrough of the spiffy new Ice Cream Sandwich camera. There’s also an interesting setting under the Developer menu that speed freaks won’t want to miss.

By now you probably know that Ice Cream Sandwich can unlock the phone via face recognition software used in conjunction with a forward-facing camera. But we found something strange after extended usage: if you cover your chin and mouth, or simply allow the bottom part of your face to stay out of frame, the Galaxy Nexus will still unlock. This is some strange behavior and obviously mileage may vary by face – our UK editor wasn’t able to replicate the behavior on his device. Assuming that this is intentional, we’re guessing it’s put in there so a smile or frown, or changes in mens’ facial hair won’t create an issue. Since it’s been proven that a photograph can unlock a Galaxy Nexus anyway, consider that you probably shouldn’t use the facial unlock feature if you’re security conscious.

The fancy new camera that Google made a point of highlighting in the official Galaxy Nexus presentation is undeniably neat. Just like the demos, there really is no shutter lag. However, the decision to go with a lower-quality 5MP camera seems to be hurting here – there’s no denying that even under photography lights and on a standard white background, there’s a lot of fuzziness and graininess in the pictures. There also appears to be no anti-shake feature like on other Android phones – bummer.

As our reviewer has been using his Galaxy Nexus almost non-stop for the last few days, the battery results we’ve gotten so far are far from typical. That said, they aren’t exactly promising, either: it looks like about 8 hours of continuous use on WiFi. Take note that this is the international HSPA+ version, not Verizon’s LTE model. Lastly, when (and if) you receive your Galaxy Nexus, be sure to poke your head into the Developer section of the Settings menu. Within you’ll find an option to enable 2D GPU acceleration. This is a small bump, but a quick look at the browser shows some obvious speed and smoothness improvements. Every little bit helps.

We’ll be adding any relevant new information as it comes in.

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : GALAXY Nexus
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : Verizon
    Announced Date : October 18, 2011
    Release Date : TBA
    Also Known As : Nexus Prime
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x720
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 5.33 Inch
  • Width : 2.67 Inch
  • Depth : 0.35 Inch
  • Weight : 135 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : OMAP 4460
    CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 1000 MB
    Internal Storage : 32 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution :5 MP
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
  • CDMA
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
    CDMA Band:
  • 900
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

)


Galaxy Nexus benchmarks: good, not great

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 04:35 PM PST

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve got a Galaxy Nexus in the house. We’ve been busting our collective humps to get you as much information as possible about the new hardware and Ice Cream Sandwich, and our latest effort is n that all-important and relative statistic, CPU and GPU benchmarks. If you want to get to the goods right away, you can hit the gallery at the bottom of this post.

So, how does the Galaxy Nexus fare? Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that it’ll beat many of the current phones on the market… the bad news is, it won’t beat them all. The Galaxy Nexus scored between 1800 and 2140 on the Quadrant benchmark, which is respectable, but nowhere near what some other phones are getting these days. For example, the T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II scored a scorching 3915 when we reviewed it, and the Skyrocket on AT&T got almost 2500, both of them using dual-core processors. The quad-core Tegra 3 is putting up mind-blowing numbers on the Asus Transformer Prime.

So why is the Galaxy Nexus looking pokey in Quadrant and other benchmarks? The obvious answer is that Ice Cream Sandwich is using a lot more hardware power than the Gingerbread phones that came before it. ICS has more in common with the tablet-centric Honeycomb than previous versions, and the visual goodies and enhanced features are likely squeezing top-end hardware for all they’re worth. What does this mean for users? Well, from everything we’ve seen, the ICS interface and most apps do just fine. But a deceptive as hardware benchmarks can be, it’s hard not to think that the Galaxy Nexus will be noticeably slower running high-performance games and Flash video, at least until the first round of updates.

We’ll be sure to put all the relevant software through its paces for our final review. In the meantime you can check out the other benchmark results in the gallery.

quad3_galaxynexus quad2_galaxynexus quad1_galaxynexus cfbench_galaxynexus linpack_galaxynexus sunspider_galaxynexus
Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : GALAXY Nexus
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : Verizon
    Announced Date : October 18, 2011
    Release Date : TBA
    Also Known As : Nexus Prime
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x720
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 5.33 Inch
  • Width : 2.67 Inch
  • Depth : 0.35 Inch
  • Weight : 135 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : OMAP 4460
    CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 1000 MB
    Internal Storage : 32 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution :5 MP
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
  • CDMA
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
    CDMA Band:
  • 900
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

)


Samsung Captivate Glide review

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 04:13 PM PST

It seems that lately Samsung has been trying to cover all levels of the smartphone market, and with most carriers too. With the Samsung Captivate Glide they’ve done just that over on AT&T. Along with the Doubletime and a few other phones they have the entire range covered. Today we’ll be showing you the mid to higher end of that spectrum with the Captivate Glide and its slide-out QWERTY keyboard and dual-core processor. It might not be the biggest or the best but it will put up a good fight, that is for sure.

I’ll mention a little about the hardware to start and then direct your attention to my quick hands-on and unboxing video. I’ve also compared it to the other big dog on campus regarding dual-core sliders in the myTouch 4G Slide from T-Mobile. The AT&T Samsung Captivate Glide features a 4.0″ Super AMOLED display at 800 x 480, Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and a pair of quality cameras. We also have the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor at 1.0 GHz, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Yup, only 4 GB and around 1.89GB is usable but we do have a micro-SD slot for additional storage options. For now here is the unboxing video:

Samsung Captivate Glide hands-on and unboxing

Hardware
Like mentioned above we have a brilliant and bright 4″ Super AMOLED display and it looks great as usual. Unlike most dual-core Sammy phones we are running on the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor here and performance is just fine. The Glide does feature an 8 megapixel camera on the rear with flash and 1.3 up front for video chat. It has a 4 row slide-out QWERTY keyboard that is well spaced, decent travel, and overall a very enjoyable typing experience.

The Glide is a perfect blend of the original Captivate and the new Galaxy S II. Keeping the same screen size as the original while getting a bump in specs and a hardware keyboard for those in need. As usual we have the 3.5mm headphone jack up top as well as the micro-USB port for charging. I’d rather it be on bottom but that is just nit-picking. Power button is on the top right side just like all Samsung phones of the recent past with the lone volume rocker on the left bezel. Below is a small gallery around the phone.

P1080066 P1080063 P1080062

For being dual-core and having a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard Samsung has managed to keep the Glide quite thin. It’s not as fat as the myTouch4G Slide shown in the video above and its much lighter too. It does have the usual Samsung plastic and feels a bit cheap, even more so than some past Samsung phones. Most likely that is to help hit that awesome low price of just $149 with a new 2-year contract. Here’s another view to show you how thin it really is.

Software
Running on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with the latest Samsung TouchWiz UI performance is just as you’d expect from a Samsung device. The latest Touchwiz features like motion control and the improved camera interface are all welcomed changes and anyone stepping up from the Captivate or another Samsung Android device will be very pleased, and comfortable. The dual-core keeps performance speeding along and I’ve yet to experience any slowdown. AT&T and Samsung also have very little bloatware, something I’d glad to see. They’ve bundled Asphalt 6 racing for free — awesome! We have Amazon Kindle, Asphalt 6, ATT Navigator, Facebook, Qik, and Quick Office pre-installed as “bloatware” and that is all. I’ve seen way more in the past, so good job guys.

I wont talk about software much because we all know what to expect with Gingerbread. Whether this will get upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich remains to be seen, but it’s completely capable. For what it offers most users will be plenty happy here.

Performance
As usual I’ve ran a few benchmarks real quick just for a comparison. Most Galaxy S II’s score well over 3500 in Quadrant Advanced but they all have a slightly faster processor. We got around 3380 in Quad here, I never broke 3400 but considering the slower CPU these results were great and are about where I’d expect them to be for a Samsung device. Vellamo wasn’t as nice to the Glide, I’ll let you see for yourself below.

Battery Life & Camera
We do have a 1650 mAh battery included which is a nice size and the same many larger screen devices have. Running with a 4.0″ screen and that huge battery the Glide lasted me almost an entire day. I seem to be having a few problems where standby life wasn’t quite as good as I’ve seen from recent phones but I’ll keep testing that. The Captivate Glide should get all average users through an entire day with enough to spare.

Camera is 8 megapixels on the rear with flash and Samsung continues to offer some of the best cameras for Android, something Motorola needs a little help with. While it only records 720p and no 1080p it did an overall good job in that category too although a bit choppy compared to the Galaxy S II. Auto focus was fast and stable and I had no issues with bad or blurry results. Here are a few camera samples in case you’d like to see.

glide camera glide camera 5 glide camera 4 glide camera 3 glide camera 2

Wrap-Up
Overall I’m actually pretty pleased with the Captivate Glide for what it is. Not a top end flagship phone but definitely better than mid-range. It has a surprisingly decent feel that doesn’t seem too cheap and is as close as you can get to a Galaxy S II, without actually getting one. I keep sliding it partly open on accident trying to hit the power button but that is something users will get used to and wont be an issue. The screen may be smaller then some but the dual-core processor and QWERTY keyboard should make plenty of keyboard fans very happy. I’d say the Glide is one of, if not the best QWERTY slider Android handset available.

Again this is no Galaxy S II and the 4G is not LTE, only HSPA+ but that didn’t seem to slow things down here much. While some may opt for the bigger, better, faster Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket for those wanting a great phone at a great price that also has a keyboard the Captivate Glide is perfect. The Glide will be available November 20th starting at $149. Enjoy all the photos in the full size gallery below.

Captivate main P1080074 P1080072 P1080071 P1080070 P1080069 P1080068 P1080067 P1080066 P1080065 P1080064 P1080063 P1080062 P1080060 P1080057 P1080054 Glide Vellamo all Glide Vell Glide Vell both Glide Quad glide camera glide camera 5 glide camera 4 glide camera 3 glide camera 2
Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : Captivate Glide
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : AT&T
    Announced Date : October 11, 2011
    Release Date : TBA
    Also Known As :
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.00 Inch
  • Resolution : 480x800
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : Inch
  • Width : Inch
  • Depth : Inch
  • Weight : Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 2.3.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • MP3
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : Tegra 2
    CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 1000 MB
    Internal Storage : 8 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution :8 MP
    External Storage:
  • MicroSD
  • MicroSDHC
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 720p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

)


Latest rumor: Galaxy Nexus Verizon launch date pushed back to December 8th

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 04:03 PM PST

The rumored Galaxy Nexus launch on Verizon has obviously slipped its November 17th deadline, and things aren’t looking too good for the 21st, either. Reports out of Droid-Life and Twitter user “Tech FanatiX” indicate that the new date might be… ugh… December 8th. DL is showing some sort of internal VErizon database, whereas Tech FanatiX appears to have an employee email or bulletin.

We’ve seen so many conflicting reports about the Galaxy Nexus’ Verizon launch that we’ve stopped sending out every little bit of hearsay. The new dates seem likely, since Verizon doesn’t seem very interested at all in promoting the phone at the moment – they’d probably prefer you to buy a branded DROID RAZR or HTC Rezound instead. That’s small comfort to US citizens who’ve been waiting a month for the “November” release date. So far the only official word out of Verizon has been the sign up page, which didn’t even have a photo of the device.

So, another three weeks to wait for the latest version of Android in Google’s home country. Thanks a lot, Verizon – it’s beginning to become apparent why they didn’t have any Nexus phones before now. Settle in folks: unless you’d like to import an international version of the Galaxy Nexus for use on T-Mobile or AT&T, it looks like you’re stuck for the moment.

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : GALAXY Nexus
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : Verizon
    Announced Date : October 18, 2011
    Release Date : TBA
    Also Known As : Nexus Prime
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x720
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 5.33 Inch
  • Width : 2.67 Inch
  • Depth : 0.35 Inch
  • Weight : 135 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : OMAP 4460
    CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 1000 MB
    Internal Storage : 32 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution :5 MP
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
  • CDMA
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
    CDMA Band:
  • 900
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

)


ICS ROMs start appearing, Galaxy S II and Optimus 3D get it first

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 03:23 PM PST

We told you that it would only be a few days after the source code dropped that Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs would begin to come out. Lo and behold, some extremely sleepy custom ROM builders have already got Android 4.0 running on retail hardware. The first two devices to see early ports are the Samsung Galaxy S II and the LG Optimus 3D.

Now, SGSII and Optimus 3D owners, don’t rush to install these just yet. They’re both extremely early builds, and on the Galaxy S II version not even the WiFi is working yet.  Moreover, the separate YouTube users haven’t posted links or instructions – not that you’d want to use something so unfinished as a reliable ROM anyway. Rest assured these and other Android modders are hard at work on just about every active and popular device, and even a few that aren’t. You can check out the two phones in action below:

So, when can you get a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich? If you’re in Europe and you’ve got several hundred dollars worth of local currency, you can go and buy a Galaxy Nexus now. Here in the U.S. they’re still thin on the ground, with one very notable exception. Verizon still hasn’t given an official date for the Galaxy Nexus release date, because they hate you and don’t want your money they just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Here’s hoping that it sees the light of day in the next week or two. On the software side, more stable versions for existig phones will be coming out of the mod community soon, with super-ROMs like CyanogenMod likely coming in the spring.

[via Engadget]

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Steve Wozniak is cooler than you, so Google gave him a Galaxy Nexus

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 02:53 PM PST

Listen, it’s alright. There’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s a rare person that can match the sheer geeky awesomeness that is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Knowing this, Google thought that the Woz would be the perfect person to receive the very first U.S. Galaxy Nexus. The company invited him down to the Google Mountain View campus to pick it up, and had time for a brief photo op in front of the new Ice Cream Sandwich statue.

If you don’t know who Steve Wozniak is, he’s the half of Apple’s founding team that you might actually like in person. Way back in 1970 Woz partnered his engineering skills with Steve Jobs’ business acumen to create Apple’s very first products. Wozniak left Apple in the 1980s to pursue his own interests, though he’s technically still an employee and draws a small paycheck. For decades he’s used his considerable fortune to become one of the world’s premiere geeks, always present at high-profile Apple launches and called upon to comment on all things technology.  In the last few years he’s become something of an icon, due to his eccentric obsessions and appearances in major media outlets and Dancing With the Stars.

Unlike certain billionaires I’ll refrain from mentioning, Woz is something of a tech agnostic, and dabbles in everything from iPhones to Segways. He’s been an Android user and high-profile commenter for years, so it’s no surprise that he’s got the inside line at Google. Now if only the rest of us here in the US could get a chance to buy one…

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : GALAXY Nexus
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : Verizon
    Announced Date : October 18, 2011
    Release Date : TBA
    Also Known As : Nexus Prime
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x720
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 5.33 Inch
  • Width : 2.67 Inch
  • Depth : 0.35 Inch
  • Weight : 135 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : OMAP 4460
    CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 1000 MB
    Internal Storage : 32 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution :5 MP
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
  • CDMA
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
    CDMA Band:
  • 900
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

)


BobbleDroids turns your Androidify avatar into a custom bobblehead

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 02:22 PM PST

A new breed of geeky desktop toys for Android fans has launched today and they're called BobbleDroids. These Android bobbleheads are custom handmade based on your Androidify avatar, making them truly unique gifts this holiday season for yourself or your hardcore Android-loving friends and family. Have the coolest desk in the office and show off your Android pride with no less than a fully decked out BobbleDroid – created to your exact specifications, obeying and bobbling at your every command.

BobbleDroids stand about 7 to 9 inches tall on a circular wooden base and are made from a combination of clay, foam, wood, and other non-toxic craft materials. They not only have heads that wobble in that fun quirky way, but also arms that can rotate to strike a pose. They are made with great attention to detail and are each like an individually commissioned one-of-a-kind artistic creation. No two BobbleDroids are identical.

You will need to get the free Androidify app from the [Android Market] to design your own avatar as BobbleDroids are only custom made at the moment. Limited edition original design BobbleDroid series may be available later on down the road. But for now, if you want to get one in time for holiday delivery, you'll have to order by December 1, as they can take up to 3 weeks to make.

For more details check out the BobbleDroids website.

)


Lenovo Tegra 3 tablet benchmarked, may have 1920×1200 resolution full HD display

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 12:47 PM PST

We saw out first look at Lenovo’s upcoming Android tablet earlier this week along with a few pictures and leaked specs. Among those was a 10.1″ display and as we all expected, the NVIDIA Quad-core Tegra 3 processor. Today a few benchmark results have appeared at the GLBenchmark site calling it the LePad K2 and we’ve now got a few additional details.

Obviously benchmark results are usually taken with a grain of salt. No images were available other then spec info and the details are a bit light. We are seeing Android 3.2 Honeycomb but an Ice Cream Sandwich build is probably under development but we don’t know what OS the new tablet will launch with. Most likely it will be called the Lenovo IdeaPad K2 tablet, just like the IdeaPad K1 before it.

While we don’t have any actual numbers that we can compare with other tablets currently available we did get a few added bits of information. According to the specs listed the Lenovo K2 Tegra 3 tablet will be rocking a full HD 1920 x 1200 resolution over the standard Android tablet 1280 x 800 we’ve seen lately. This goes right along with similar reports that the Acer Iconia A700 Tab will also have the same huge resolution. We are also hearing the Lenovo Tablet will rock 2GB of RAM and be quite powerful. We’ll be digging through the results and update if we find anything else juicy.

lenovo_tegra_3_tablet_leak-540x350 Lenovo K2 info Lenovo k2 more

[via liliputing]

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Motorola DROID XYBOARD (Xoom 2) 8.2″ Tab spotted with Verizon 4G LTE branding

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 12:06 PM PST

We’ve seen plenty of the Motorola Xoom 2 and its smaller 8.2″ brother being called the media edition but today we have a clear image of the 8.2″ model imprinted clearly with Verizon Wireless 4G LTE. This isn’t really anything new as we figured it would obviously land on Verizon just like the original Xoom, but now we have an official picture not to mention we are hearing that absurd name is official too.

If you were like me and thought the name “Xoom” was terrible then wait to you hear the new name. They’ll officially be calling the Xoom 2′s the DROID XYBOARD — Most likely meant to evoke the term “cyborg.” Either way the name sounds a bit ridiculous if you ask me and I think a 12 year old could come up with something better. As you can see from the design if you didn’t notice from all the previous leaks, Motorola’s taken a huge direction change most likely to avoid any lawsuits and to be different from the pack. I also understand a name change given the low sales of the Xoom, but XYBOARD — really?

These new slates from Motorola have been roaming around the FCC lately and according to many sources we still expect to see some sort of launch late November or very early December. With this official press image being leaked we have a feeling the official US announcement from Motorola and Verizon will be any day now — stay tuned in an XYBOARD interests you.

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : XOOM 2 Media Edition
    Manufactuer : Motorola
    Carrier :
    Announced Date : November 03, 2011
    Release Date : TBA
    Also Known As : XOOM 2 ME
Display
  • Screen Size : 8.2 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x720
  • Screen Type : NA
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 8.5 Inch
  • Width : 5.47 Inch
  • Depth : 0.35 Inch
  • Weight : 386 Grams
Battery & Power
  • Battery Capacity : mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 3.2.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MP3
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
Hardware
    CPU :
    CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 1024 MB
    Internal Storage : 16 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution :5 MP
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 2.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

[via PocketNow]

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Orange San Francisco II Smartphone unveiled on video

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 11:52 AM PST

You all may remember the ZTE Blade, better know as the Orange San Francisco budget phone that was launched late last year. It ended up being more successful than many probably thought and now they have the big brother set to debut. This is the Orange San Francisco II and it should be available late this month.

It should be available on Orange’s pay monthly plans by the end of the month but no specific date was actually given. Along with the details we also have a hands-on video below. The SGII is also known as the ZTE Crescent features a 3.5″ display, Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, 5 megapixel camera with VGA front all powered by a single-core 800 MHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:

San Francisco II

The Orange San Francisco II may not be a powerhouse or sport a dual-core processor, but the price is just as low as those quite decent specs. Coming in at £99 ($155) on an Orange PAYG plan or free with their pay monthly offerings. Either way this is a pretty decent phone for the price but most likely it’ll only be available on Orange UK. So anyone over in San Fran most likely wont be buying this phone any time soon.

Orange SF2 orange SF2 main orange-san-francisco-II

[via Orange UK]

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Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1N Apple-dodging slate gets caught on video

Posted: 18 Nov 2011 11:32 AM PST

If you haven’t been following along, over in Germany the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been banned thanks to Apple’s team of lawyers claiming it is a direct copy of the iPad and after plenty of litigation it was banned across Europe. Earlier this week we saw details of a Tab 10.1N with a very slight change of design to avoid those lawsuits so Samsung could sell their tablets in Germany. Today we have that new tablet on video in case you’d like to take a look.

Now that the new slate is on sale German site NewGadgets quickly picked one up and fondled it on camera with a nice English speaking review so we can all check it out, and know what is going on. The main differences on the slate are the bezel and metal around the device. Apple claimed the edge to edge glass was what made the iPad special and Samsung completely stole the look. You can see all the differences in the video and the demonstrator neatly walks us through them. Samsung has added a little to the bezel, shows more aluminum instead of all glass on top and even pointed the speakers more forward then sideways. I actually think I might like that as audio will be better. Here’s the video:

The final results of this new tab make it arguably better — and like I said above it probably has better audio quality now the speakers are aimed forward. Samsung took this opportunity to also put their logo front and center on the bottom of the device, and have also included Bluetooth 3.0 capabilities. The differences are subtle but should be enough to dodge any further lawsuits or issues with the fruit company. Apple has not yet commented on the new design but I have a feeling we may hear something soon. Go Samsung!

[via SlashGear]

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