Hasta La Gadget!

HTC has just announced the Desire Z, an Android-friendly QWERTY slider. Like the T-Mobile G2, the Desire Z features a “pop-out” (don’t call it a slider) QWERTY keyboard with user assigned keys and system-wide shortcuts that let you quickly launch your favorite apps. Around back you’ve got a 5 megapixel camera with flash that’s HD video capable while an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 processor pumps away efficiently inside with HSPA+ and 802.11n radios providing the data. Unlike the US G2, however, the Deisre Z comes loaded with HTC’s enhanced Sense UI and new HTCSense.com services. Look for it to land in major European and Asian markets in October before hitting North America sometime later in 2010.

Continue reading HTC Desire Z is the QWERTY slider your Android’s been waiting for

HTC Desire Z is the QWERTY slider your Android’s been waiting for originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time to get down and boogie if you think the Android fragmentation issue is overblown. Google has dropped its latest platform version stats and Android 2.2, aka Froyo, has managed to corner a healthy 28.7 percent of all active Googlephones (those that accessed the Market within the two weeks leading up to September 1), rapidly closing the gap on version 2.1 and nearly matching in number the handsets still stuck on the Cupcake or Donut diet. When you consider that back in May those pesky 1.5 and 1.6 versions were on a whopping 62 percent of Android mobiles, you’ll probably agree that phone makers seem to be getting their act together in terms of delivering Google’s latest wares in a timely fashion. Who’d have thought it, the more practice they have, the better they’re getting at their jobs!

Continue reading Android 2.x now on 70 percent of all active Android phones

Android 2.x now on 70 percent of all active Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps the worst, and least repairable, shortcoming of touchscreens is their failure to act as viable game controllers. Keyboard-equipped smartphones alleviate that pain a little (particularly if you pair them with a Game Gripper), but ultimately we’d all prefer real controllers for our real games. Such was clearly the thinking behind the homebrewed setup here, which combines an HTC EVO 4G — with Android and an NES emulator inside — with an Arduino board, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, and a classic NES control pad. The result might look like a mess of wires, but who cares when you can rock Super Mario 3 the way Nintendo surely intended?

Continue reading NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video)

NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even without yesterday’s premature video promo, you had to know Motorola wouldn’t leave its international audience without a successor to the Milestone, so today — surprise, surprise — we’re being treated to the Milestone 2’s launch. The first thing to be said here is that if you’ve handled a Droid 2, you’ve also handled a Milestone 2 — the new phone follows Moto’s tradition of being a simple rebadge away from the Verizon-friendly Droid naming scheme, which means it retains the same 1GHz OMAP SOC, 512MB of RAM, 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of integrated storage (plus an included 8GB MicroSD card), and Android 2.2 as the default, albeit Motoblured, OS. Also, we got this straight from the Motohorse’s mouth: Motoblur’s not going anywhere, it’s the company’s “Android solution” and is here to stay.

One advantage over the Droid 2 here is the addition of 720p video recording. It’s still the exact same imager as on the back of the first Milestone, but now you can catch moving visuals in HD resolution. Moto were keen to point out the 5-device hotspot capabilities (courtesy of Froyo) on the Milestone 2, but they showed it off using a wired connection since the demo handset’s O2 SIM card wouldn’t permit wireless tethering. Well, that was a grand demonstration of how vulnerable our Android 2.2 goodness will be to the whims of mobile carriers. The Milestone 2’s expected to launch around Europe in Q4, with carrier-dependent pricing as per usual.

Update: Hands-on video now available after the break.

Continue reading Motorola Milestone 2 arrives, 720p HD video, Android 2.2, and Motoblur Enhanced in tow

Motorola Milestone 2 arrives, 720p HD video, Android 2.2, and Motoblur Enhanced in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sometimes it takes a crafty, steel-nerved individual to leak an unreleased phone’s details ahead of time. And then sometimes all it takes is a negligently uploaded video. An official promo for the Milestone 2 has popped up on YouTube before quickly being yanked by Moto. The Droid 2‘s international sibling unsurprisingly looks to be its carbon copy by another name: it features a 1GHz OMAP SOC, 512MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel imager, and Android 2.2 as the OS (complete with Flash Player and Froyo’s native hotspot ability). We’ll go out on a limb here and guess that this means the rest of the world will be getting its dose of Moto’s latest and greatest QWERTY slider in very short order.

[Thanks, Thomas]

Update: Oh hello! Someone managed to rip the video before Motorola’s retraction, so we’ve naturally got it embedded for you just past the break. And yes, whether you like it or not, Motoblur lives on. Thanks, qakgob!

Continue reading Motorola Milestone 2 makes official, albeit unintentional, debut (video)

Motorola Milestone 2 makes official, albeit unintentional, debut (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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