Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ can encrypt all your data, needs a full hour’s charge

Diving through the Motorola Xoom’s sweet, sweet blend of Android 3.0, we found an interesting perk — there’s an “Encrypt Tablet” option buried in the settings page, intended to secure all your personal data with a password or PIN. While a handy Google rep couldn’t tell us which cryptographic standards the OS uses, he did tell us the feature is part of Honeycomb as a whole, not a Motorola exclusive, so we’re sure to see the option in other business-minded Android slates to come. Oh, and Google asks that all you sysadmins stay tuned, as the company’s whipped up an API that lets you enforce policy restrictions upon your peons as far as encryption is concerned. Just make sure they remember to keep the tablet charged. See a close-up after the break.

Continue reading Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ can encrypt all your data, needs a full hour’s charge

Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ can encrypt all your data, needs a full hour’s charge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Using Google’s Android 3.0 Tablet, the First Real iPad Fighter [Video]

This is how an Android tablet should feel. Android 3.0 running on Motorola’s Xoom tablet is almost iPad-like, a legitimate threat to the only successful tablet on the market right now. It’s about damn time! More »

Motorola Xoom first benchmark: 1823 in Quadrant

We’re unabashed spec junkies here at Engadget, and can you blame us? There are mountains of new devices every year, and it helps to have bullet points and numerical differentiators to cut through the fluff. That’s why we’re happy to say we got the chance to run the Quadrant benchmark on Motorola’s Tegra 2-powered Xoom, and have a number with which to compare it against the many competitors sure to breech Android’s bow soon. 1823 is the magic number — which doesn’t quite compare to the LG Optimus 2X — but that’s with a non-optimized smartphone version of Quadrant running the app on the tablet’s sizable 1280 x 800 display, no less. What’s more, Quadrant cleared up some of the codename confusion we’ve seen out of Moto as of late, as it turns out the Xoom also identifies itself as both Trygon and Stingray. Good to know!

Motorola Xoom first benchmark: 1823 in Quadrant originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Honeycomb / Motorola Xoom hands-ons: widgets, Grocery IQ, and Monster Madness (video)

Fully-functional Xooms with complete (or seemingly complete) builds of Honeycomb are out in force here at Google’s event in Mountain View today, and a bunch of partners are hanging out to demonstrate the tablet apps they’ve been working on. We checked out both Monster Madness — a game that’s been on Xbox 360 and PS3 for some time — and Grocery IQ, both of which obviously bring very different experiences to the table (unless you consider grocery shopping “a game,” which some of us admittedly do).

Though we thought we detected some stuttering and lag from Monster Madness when it was demoed on stage, the experience up close and in person was much smoother — definitely 100 percent playable. We double-checked and confirmed that the tablet game is a 100 percent content port from the console games, you’re not missing anything here. It features three control modes that let you toggle between two on-screen analog sticks, one stick, and a fully accelerometer-based mode that most users probably won’t consider practical because you’ve got to tilt the screen too much. Interestingly, the developer noted that there’s a low-res mode that he actually toggled in an area of the game with a lot of water because it tends to slow down, despite the fact that it’s running on Unreal Engine and is fully optimized for multiple cores. Could it be that game studios are already pushing the limits of this hardware from day one?

Moving onto Grocery IQ, it’s basically a fancy shopping list with coupons — it’s already on both iOS and Android phones, and odds are good you already know what it is. What was really interesting, though, was that we got a full demo of “application fragment” layout switching between landscape and portrait views (the app has a two-pane view for tablets) and the process of adding and removing widgets. As with some of the first-party widgets we’ve seen, Grocery IQ seems to have done a good job making its widgets visually rich and engaging — particularly the coupon browser, which appears as a stack of rotating coupons with color graphics. See videos of both products after the break!

Continue reading Android Honeycomb / Motorola Xoom hands-ons: widgets, Grocery IQ, and Monster Madness (video)

Android Honeycomb / Motorola Xoom hands-ons: widgets, Grocery IQ, and Monster Madness (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from Google’s Android event!

We’re holed up in Building 43 of the Googleplex here in lovely Mountain View, California for today’s event promising an “in-depth look at Honeycomb, Android ecosystem news, and hands-on demos” — and if you ask us, that sounds like a trifecta of potential awesome. We’ll be liveblogging all of the action and hopefully following up with some hands-ons, so keep it locked right here for all the little green robots (and — just maybe — large black tablets) that you can handle.

Continue reading Live from Google’s Android event!

Live from Google’s Android event! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated)

Though it was technically announced back at CES, T-Mobile just barely talked about the LG G-Slate there, spending more time chatting up Dell’s Streak 7 and letting Motorola’s Xoom get virtually all of the Honeycomb attention. Well, that’s changed today with a handful of official new details: turns out the G-Slate features a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 32GB of internal storage, both a gyroscope and accelerometer, and — this is key — stereoscopic rear-facing video cameras capable of 1080p 3D capture, one of which doubles as a 5 megapixel still camera with LED flash. There’s also a third 2 megapixel camera up front for video chat over T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network or WiFi. Going back to that 3D business for a moment, you’ll need glasses (it’s unclear if they’re active or passive) to enjoy recorded or downloaded 3D content on the G-Slate’s 8.9-inch display — but you’ll also be able to output 1080p video over HDMI to the external display of your choice. Pricing is still an open question, but the companies are now comfortable enough to say that we can expect it “this spring,” so go ahead and start thinking about all the blooming springtime plant life you’ll be filming in three glorious dimensions. Follow the break for the full press release.

Update: While T-Mobile hedges its bets with a “spring” launch, LG says that it’ll be hitting US soil in March as one of the first Honeycomb tablets. The honor of being first will almost certainly go to the Motorola Xoom — Google’s in-house “dogfooding” tablet.

Continue reading LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated)

LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile teases 3D capability (on LG G-Slate, probably) in the vaguest possible way

The rumors about 3D support on LG’s G-Slate tablet (both recording and viewing) have reached a dull roar in recent days, and a little teaser just posted on T-Mobile’s official Facebook account certainly isn’t going to do anything to quell the trend. The simple clipart image of some old-school red / blue anaglyphic glasses pretty much says everything you need to know — that there’s something 3D in store from these guys — and the Honeycomb-powered G-Slate is the only thing in T-Mobile’s immediate future that we know has had 3D rumors attached to it. Any other solid theories out there?

T-Mobile teases 3D capability (on LG G-Slate, probably) in the vaguest possible way originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honeycomb for Nook Color released for download (update: video)

Android Honeycomb on a humble e-reading tablet? Why yes, it’s not only possible, it’s downloadable. Deeper-blue, the chap who’s been spending the past few days porting the Honeycomb SDK over to the Nook Color, has today decided to release his latest work out to eager users and fellow coders. He’s enabled the accelerometer, touchscreen, buttons, graphics acceleration, and wireless connectivity, but other things like sound remain on the to-do list. Hit the source link for all the code and info you require to be among the first to run Android 3.0 on their tablet.

Update: Video walkthrough after the break!

[Thanks, Forrest]

Continue reading Honeycomb for Nook Color released for download (update: video)

Honeycomb for Nook Color released for download (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom lands in Chad Ochocinco’s safe hands, is ‘pretty awesome’

The Motorola Xoom’s release is close, very close. How do we know that? Well, Moto has just handed one to Chad Ochocinco — one of the NFL’s most recklessly loquacious players — and you don’t do that with an unfinished product. For his part, Chad’s finding the Honeycomb tablet to be “pretty awesome” and regretfully informs Motorola that it “won’t be getting this back.” Tracking Chad’s tweets reveals that he’s just landed in Dallas, site of this year’s Super Bowl, where he’s received the Android-driven hardware. Something tells us neither he nor Motorola’s tablet will spend the next week hiding in the shadows — look for a lot more screen time for both in the buildup to the big game (and Moto’s big halftime ad). One last note? Chad’s image above was taken using an iPhone 4. Guess he’s holding out for the Atrix 4G.

[Thanks, Zizo]

Motorola Xoom lands in Chad Ochocinco’s safe hands, is ‘pretty awesome’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Honeycomb port for Nook Color gets graphics acceleration, first demo video

Can’t wait until February 2nd to see more of Android 3.0 in action? That’s not a problem, as today we’ve got a whole 129 seconds of video showing Google’s latest mobile software doing its thing on the Nook Color. The OS was ported to B&N’s tablet on Friday, when we were promised further work would be taking place over the weekend to enable hardware acceleration of the GUI, and what do you know, that goal has been achieved with plenty of Sunday to spare! Most core functionality is still not available, but the delicious Honeycomb interface is very much in effect. Jump past the break for the eye candy feast.

[Thanks, Jules]

Continue reading Android Honeycomb port for Nook Color gets graphics acceleration, first demo video

Android Honeycomb port for Nook Color gets graphics acceleration, first demo video originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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