Hasta La Gadget!

Excuse us, ViewSonic, but we think there’s been some sort of mistake — your ViewPad 7 tablet is on sale at Amazon for $599, over a hundred dollars more than you said it would cost just two weeks back. Yes, we certainly understand you have to import the OlivePad rebadge from a substantial distance and negotiate with Google for its Android Market innards, but we’re not exactly ecstatic about the 600MHz ARM CPU — even with front- and rear-facing cameras on board. Given that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab doesn’t have phone functionality stateside, we admit there’s a market for a seven-inch Froyo tablet that can do voice calls, but did you really have to take Sammy’s controversial price point as well?

[Thanks, onelove]

ViewSonic ViewPad 7 tablet up for pre-order, now costs a wallet-crunching $599 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like Japan’s not the only one that’ll have Froyo on a five-inch tabletphone this year — Dell’s official Facebook account confirms that Android 2.2 will be rolling out to the Dell Streak starting this very month. That date’s just for the UK, mind you, as Dell plans to stagger the release from country to country for that winsome Stage UI. That said, if you’re a particularly astute diner you may be able to get your sweet spoonful sooner than some, as just last evening Dell directed a number of Streak owners to the website pictured above. While that “Continue with Update” button reportedly didn’t work and the website has since been pulled, it seems that Dell’s considering the idea of letting users directly download Android 2.2 themselves. See what that update might include (spoiler: mobile hotspot!) over at StreakSmart.

[Thanks, Naz]

Dell Streak Android 2.2 update imminent in UK, other territories on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 15:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may not solve some of the problems involved with actually running Android on an iPhone, but the recently released Bootlace 2.1 application for jailbroken iPhones does at least make the installation process easier than ever. Unfortunately, it only works with the iPhone 2G and 3G at the moment, but it will let you install Android 2.2 (a.k.a. Froyo) directly on the device without the need for a computer. Hit up the source link below for the complete installation instructions — and insert your own joke here about the iPhone running Froyo while your Android phone is still stuck at 2.1.

Bootlace lets you install Froyo on your iPhone without a computer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nothing unforeseen here, folks, just a friendly reminder that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has kept to its release schedule and is now available to purchase from T-Mobile USA. $399 gets you the 7-inch Tab plus a two-year contract with the American arm of Deutsche Telekom, or you can pay the full $599 and make off with just the tablet itself. Or you can even wait an extra day for Verizon to start dishing Android slates your way as well — the choice, as always, is yours. Just try not to think about that gorgeous 7-inch Super AMOLED panel that Samsung’s busy showing off in Japan right now.

[Thanks, Aaron]

Samsung Galaxy Tab fulfills its destiny, now available on T-Mobile for $399 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first time the words “Stage UI” passed our lips, they were in relation to the Dell Thunder leak, but now we’re hearing that Dell’s custom Android user interface will actually appear alongside Android 2.2 when the update finally arrives on the five-inch Streak. We’ve just learned that’s going to happen this winter in Japan when the Streak launches on SoftBank at the very least, as both are advertised for early December there, but we expect we’ll see the updated OS even sooner in the US and Europe for obvious reasons. What’s more, an unofficial build of Froyo that leaked out for the Streak last month has since been found to have Stage UI on board. StreakSmart‘s got a video of a custom ROM running a series of Dell-specific widgets on the Streak, and sister site Good and Evo managed to trick the very same software to run on a rooted HTC EVO 4G. You can see examples of both on video after the break, but here’s the basic idea behind the UI — giant panes of contacts, apps and shortcuts that fill an entire screen each, but leave your app drawer accessible at a swipe. If you’re feeling daring, you can try the ROM for yourself at our more coverage link. Just be careful flashing that new baseband, eh?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Dell’s Stage UI headed to Streak, also unofficially works on EVO 4G (video)

Dell’s Stage UI headed to Streak, also unofficially works on EVO 4G (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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