Hasta La Gadget!

Though it’s really quite a capable handset, Dell’s Streak brought several disappointments to its belated US launch; namely, a pastry-based OS without any creme filling, and a $549 version that’s still SIM-locked. While we doubt AT&T’s iron grip will release the Streak from the latter servitude, Dell’s Lionel Menchaca suggests that the former problem may get solved all at once, because the company is considering skipping Android 2.1 altogether for stateside Streaks and upgrading them directly to the faster, more capable Android 2.2. We don’t have a timeframe for a potential release, of course, as the device just went on sale, but it’s clear that Dell hears your cries for the functionality Froyo brings.

Dell: Streak likely going straight to Froyo in US originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did it get hot in here all of a sudden or is it just this extremely sexy prototype we’re looking at? Yes, the Dell Thunder that boomed onto your internet screens back in April is back, and this time we’ve got video of it too. Our tipster reports an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash on the back — which includes 720p video capture capabilities — along with a removable 1,400mAh battery. His prototype’s running vanilla Android 2.1 at present, though the final units can probably be expected to ship with Dell’s custom skin on top. Screen resolution is purportedly 800 x 480, though judging by that 7 x 4 icon grid up there and our tipster’s own experience, it could be even higher; the 4.1-inch display looks to indeed be of the OLED variety, as our earlier leak had indicated. All that and it has the looks of a pocket-sized supercar. Enough teasing, skip past the break for the video.

P.S. With Thunder now confirmed as an honest to goodness device (and not just renders), the rest of the April leak would seem to be validated including the Windows Phone 7 Lightning handset, the 7-inch Looking Glass Android tablet, and the two mid-range Flash and Smoke Android devices.

[Thanks, Fahad]

Continue reading Exclusive: Dell Thunder prototype rumbles into the wild (video)

Exclusive: Dell Thunder prototype rumbles into the wild (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can you believe we’ve waited on the N8 long enough for (at least) three KIRF versions to beat it to market? This latest one’s pretty special too, as it gives us a glimpse into one of the fevered dream of Engadget commenters: a Nokia flagship rocking Android (2.1, in this case). The iZiNN CJ-3 copies the N8’s form factor, styling, and 3.5-inch screen, but throws in an upgrade of its own by going with a higher-res 800 x 480 capacitive panel. Yeah, we’re shocked too. A 5 megapixel imager, a budget Rockchip CPU, and an HDMI port fill out the rest of the known specs, while a release in China is expected some time later this month. Anyone know why this thing isn’t being built and sold by a legitimate manufacturer?

[Thanks, Ludger]

Keepin’ it real fake: Nokia’s Android N8 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been flooded with a deluge of tips about the HP Zeen ever since we posted those first FCC images of the tablet device this morning, and it’s actually a little surprising at how perfectly everything aligns. We’ve now had multiple tipsters confirm that the Zeen is an e-reading-focused Android tablet with the unique ability to connect directly to an HP printer and function as its interface without the need for a computer. But that’s not all — here’s everything else we know:

• The Zeen is a capacitive tablet running a HP skin on top of Android 2.1 — it won’t get shifted to webOS, and it’s not clear if it’ll get upped to Froyo before launch given the development time required. It has capacitive touch buttons, a SD card slot, video support, and at least some prototypes have cameras with a special webcam app installed.
• The goal is for the HP home screen and skin to be the only home screen available, but that hasn’t been fully implemented yet.
• E-reading is a major focus, and the Zeen has “significant” integration with the Barnes & Noble Nook bookstore and ecosystem. Makes sense, as the Nook itself is based on Android, and being able to print e-books from the Zeen would be a huge differentiator — and a great way for HP to sell more ink.
• The Zeen will come in two configurations: a $399 bundle with a new printer called Zeus and as a standalone unit for an unknown price. The Zeus has its own “basic” control setup, but when the Zeen is docked it provides a rich interface to the printing functions — presumably a web-connected interface like the one HP’s been moving towards with other printers.
• Despite the CQ model number, the Zeen is a straight HP product, with a laser-etched logo on the back.

So that’s what we know about this enigmatic product. It certainly adds up — HP has long said one of the reasons it bought Palm was to use webOS as a consistent interface to other connected devices like printers, and it only makes sense that the company was working on executing that strategy with an OS like Android long before Jon Rubinstein and company joined the team. Besides, how better to sell more ink than by making it easy for consumers to hit Facebook and print pictures without having to use a computer at all? It’s certainly interesting — we’re waiting patiently to see when and where the Zeen next appears.

The HP eStation Zeen, the Zeus printer, and everything we know about them originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Confirming our FCC-inspired conjecture, here we have a gallery of pictures giving us a detailed look at Motorola’s latest (though probably not greatest) Android handset. Just as we posited, this QWERTY slider is bound for AT&T’s airwaves and it comes with a Motoblur 2 skin, as seen most recently on the Droid X. We keep telling these manufacturers that bone stock Android and a rapid upgrade cycle would be preferable but they don’t listen. You’ll have to make do with Android 2.1 when the Sage launches, which can’t be too far off from now given that our tipster has had his test unit for a good month already.

[Thanks, Charlie W.]

Motorola Sage pictured in glorious detail, on a collision course with AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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