Hasta La Gadget!

Can you handle one more Android tablet? Let’s find out. That one up there is Huawei’s IDEOS S7 Pro, which is not to be confused with its new IDEOS S7 Slim. The Pro didn’t get a formal introduction here at MWC 2011, but it was lounging around the Huawei booth with a placard revealing its specs. Unfortunately, this one won’t be launching with Honeycomb — it packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Android 2.3, HSPA+, WiFi 802.11bgn, and two cameras. The metal model on display seemed to be just a mockup, and despite the LED buttons lighting up, it wouldn’t actually boot. We overheard a company representative say that it would be launching this spring and our comrades at Engadget Spanish have also heard that it will launch at 10-inch version later in the year. You know what that means? Yep, even more Android tablets!

Huawei IDEOS S7 Pro tablet sneaks out, coming this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For most of us, ZTE’s only known for its budget Android devices in the cellphone market, but this ever-expanding company’s aiming to change its image with a slightly more powerful flagship device come May. Dubbed the Skate, this Android 2.3 smartphone sports a generous 4.3-inch display (although no screen type or resolution is specified here), and is powered by an unnamed 800MHz processor plus a soon-obsolete Adreno 200 GPU. There’s also a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash on the back, along with the usual Bluetooth, A-GPS, and WiFi bundle. Sadly, the listed cellular frequencies indicate that the Skate won’t be heading to the US any time soon, which is rather ironic given ZTE’s desire to make it big in the North American consumer market this year. On the flip side, maybe the Chinese giant’s got some surprises for us, and we like surprises. Press release after the break.

Continue reading ZTE Skate coming near you later this year with Android 2.3, 4.3-inch goodness

ZTE Skate coming near you later this year with Android 2.3, 4.3-inch goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 02:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, would you look at what finally powered on! Yep, Acer’s brought its 4.8-inch phone / tablet to MWC, and not only is it finally ready to show off that beautiful 1024 x 480-resolution display but it also gave it a real name — it’s now the Iconia Smart. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Acer’s “100 percent phone, 100 percent tablet” that was introduced back in November, it packs a Snapdragon processor, Android 2.3, and is said to be coming to a US carrier sometime in April.

Now that we’re all up to speed on the details, we’re ready to tell you that the device is a pretty cool one. It’s obviously going to be for those with big pockets — it’s one long phone — but the high resolution 4.8-inch widescreen panel makes it incredibly unique and nice for viewing pictures and movies. The actual feel of the phone is quite good — it’s made primarily of plastic, but the border surrounding the display seemed to be made out of some sort of metal. As we note in the video, the four buttons look as if they are flush with the bezel, but they’re actually fairly stiff physical buttons. So, how’s the software? Naturally Acer’s taken to skinning Gingerbread a bit here — there’s an assortment of Acer widgets as well as that retooled homescreen you’re seeing in the picture above. That said, we actually like Acer’s neat webpage and media carousel widget. Hit the break for a short hands-on video.

Continue reading Acer Iconia Smart hands-on (video)

Acer Iconia Smart hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson’s MWC presser today may have been all about its new Play, Pro and Neo members of the Xperia family, but the CES debutant we know and love as the Arc was out in force as well. So, we thought, why not throw together our thoughts on this phone and splice them with a gallery of delicious new images plus some video action to boot? The first thing to note is that the Xperia Arc will be shipping globally in March and Sony Ericsson is aiming for the broadest possible operator coverage. Focusing on the handset itself, we’ve been wildly impressed by its design since first laying eyes on it, there’s something fundamentally attractive about the Arc’s look, something less tangible than its ridiculously slim profile. Sony Ericsson has used a similar plasticky material on the back as it does in the Neo, which doesn’t overwhelm us with any sensations of reassurance or quality, but seems to do the job. Guess some corners had to inevitably be cut along with the fat on this phone’s body.

The 4.2-inch screen is bright and lucid, though we’d warn against expecting too much from the Bravia Reality Display marketing. As we’ve mentioned before, the display enhancements only kick in when you’re consuming multimedia. Still, general performance looks more than satisfactory. Hard buttons around the body are well arranged and designed, a contrast from the fiddly keys we found on the Xperia Pro. What was consistent with the rest of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia crew, however, was the Arc’s inability to execute its pinch-to-zoom widget summary screen. It’s an ambitious function — gathering all your widgets from each screen into one cohesive overview — but, basically, it’s laggy as hell. Aside from that, general UI responsiveness could also stand some improvement, but we like where Sony Ericsson is going with the whole thing. If it keeps up its promise to repent from last year’s sins with relation to Android updates, the company has a very good chance of striking it rich with the Xperia Arc. It’s a phone that can truly get by on its looks alone. Video after the break!

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc video preview (video)

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc video preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh oh, looks like someone got the wrong date for Samsung’s MWC keynote. The above screenshot is captured by the eagle-eyed folks at Moveplayer, who spotted what appears to be an embargoed article about the Galaxy S 2 (or Galaxy S II) over at Korean news site Paran. While the offending press shot has since been removed, the text remains intact with the following specs: Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 4.3-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, HSPA+, Bluetooth 3.0, and 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi. Additionally, Paran says that this new handset weighs 116g (4.09 ounces) and is 8.49mm thick — which is close to, if not the, thinnest smartphone device we’ve heard of yet. (For the record, the Xperia Arc is 8.7mm at its thinnest point.)

The article also mentions that 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet that we heard of yesterday, confirming it will pack a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera with “full HD” video recording, and dual surround sound speakers. Sounds promising, but only time will tell whether all this is true or simply a matter of lost in translation.

Update: OK, so we’ve done some spying and can confirm that both devices are very real, and their specs look legit.

Update 2: Oh snap! Samsung Hub managed to get hold of a high res press shot of the Galaxy S 2 before it got pulled off the Korean sites. It sure resembles the Infuse 4G with an extra home button. We’ve posted the pic after the break for your viewing pleasure. [Thanks, Tran Quoc Hop]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet leaked on Korean website (Update: high-res shot!)

Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet leaked on Korean website (Update: high-res shot!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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