Dec 11

Google Instant for mobile studies abroad: now in 40 countries, 28 languages

Posted in: Android, froyo, Google, ios, Today's Chili

We’ll keep it short and to the point: Google Instant for Mobile — that is, for iOS4 and Android 2.2 devices and up, officially — has taken an accelerated language program or two. Or 28, rather, representing 40 countries. Which ones? We’ll let you find that out for yourself (which is a nice way of saying we don’t know). Pick up your phone of choice, head to google.com, and let us know if you get the new option.

Google Instant for mobile studies abroad: now in 40 countries, 28 languages originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Download Squad  |  sourceOfficial Google Mobile Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 11

LG Star preview

Posted in: Android, benchmark, dual-core, DualCore, froyo, Google, hands-on, impressions, leak, LG, NVIDIA, Pre-Release, preview, prototype, smartphone, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili, video

The LG Star. The dual-core beast from the east that was once a mere twinkle in our eye has managed to find its way to the Engadget mansions, having been lent to us by a very generous (and very anonymous) tipster. It’s clearly a test device, as evidenced by its diagnostics menus and lack of a lockscreen, but there’s no disguising the power that lies within it. We put the Star through a battery of common Android benchmarks and the results were, in a word, outstanding. Basically, Tegra 2 will give anything your current phone‘s running an inferiority complex. Join us after the break as we delve deeper into this upcoming powerhouse of a handset from LG. One thing’s for sure: CES 2011 can’t come soon enough.

Gallery: LG Star hands-on

Continue reading LG Star preview

LG Star preview originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 11

HTC Legend finally updates to Android 2.2 in Europe

Posted in: Android, froyo, Google, GoogleAndroid, HTC, Today's Chili

Sure took a long while, but the Android 2.2 update is now available to all HTC Legends residing in Europe and… no, sorry, this isn’t the just-announced Gingerbread. It’s Froyo, the one before it — trust us, this isn’t a frozen dessert you won’t mind in the midst of winter. And don’t bother asking about 2.3 because HTC isn’t giving specifics yet. Wildfire? That’s “coming soon,” according to the person behind the HTC UK Facebook curtain.

HTC Legend finally updates to Android 2.2 in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 06:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Spanish  |  source@HTC (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 09

Notion Ink Adam pre-order to begin today, pricing starts at $375 (updated!)

Posted in: Android, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili
It has certainly been a long long road for Notion Ink, but the company is finally opening the Adam tablet pre-sale gates today. Now before you run off and grab your wallet, it appears that initial pre-orders will only be open to tried-and-true fans (apparently, they exist!) — Slashgear is reporting that at 1:30 p.m. EST registered commenters on Notion Ink’s blog will be sent the pre-order links. Then, about six hours later, the general pre-order page will be launched. Naturally, along with this news NI team is revealing detailed pricing, and as expected, there are lots of models to choose from. The entry level Adam will start at $375.33 and will pack a regular LCD and WiFi connectivity. Adding 3G shoots the price up to $425.33. On the higher end there’s the Pixel Qi model, which will start at $499.95 with WiFi and $549.99 with 3G. As for software, the company’s also released a lot of details on the Android skin it’s been working on, and we have to say it looks pretty snazzy, though we’d love to see this on a working unit. Either way, check out the screens in the gallery below.

Of course, there’s one major question left: when will the Adam finally ship? Well, you won’t be getting it in time for Christmas, that’s for sure — if all goes as planned, they will be landing around January 6th. With that said, the tablet still hasn’t cleared the FCC and we still haven’t seen any live photos of this stuff in action, so click that pre-order button at your own risk.

UPDATE: The order site is live now, but there appears to have been major issues with the pre-order process. AndroidPolice reports that the site was up and down and points to an incredibly suspicious return policy. Apparently, it has been changed quite a few times, but as it stands now, if you want to return the unit you will have to pay a five percent “repack” fee and a five percent “service fee.” Oh, and there’s no reimbursement on the return shipping fees to India even if the product is “dead on arrival.” Crunchgear also says there were lots of payment issues.

On top of that, Notion Ink is citing that the device will now ship in six to eight weeks — that’s longer than that January 6th date we heard. Like we said, be wary, very wary!

Gallery: Notion Ink Adam UI screenshots

Notion Ink Adam pre-order to begin today, pricing starts at $375 (updated!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear (1), (2)  |  sourceNotion Ink  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 09

Notion Ink Adam pre-order to begin today, pricing starts at $375

Posted in: Android, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili
It has certainly been a long long road for Notion Ink, but the company is finally opening the Adam tablet pre-sale gates today. Now before you run off and grab your wallet, it appears that initial pre-orders will only be open to tried-and-true fans (apparently, they exist!) — Slashgear is reporting that at 1:30 p.m. EST registered commenters on Notion Ink’s blog will be sent the pre-order links. Then, about six hours later, the general pre-order page will be launched. Naturally, along with this news NI team is revealing detailed pricing, and as expected, there are lots of models to choose from. The entry level Adam will start at $375.33 and will pack a regular LCD and WiFi connectivity. Adding 3G shoots the price up to $425.33. On the higher end there’s the Pixel Qi model, which will start at $499.95 with WiFi and $549.99 with 3G. As for software, the company’s also released a lot of details on the Android skin it’s been working on, and we have to say it looks pretty snazzy, though we’d love to see this on a working unit. Either way, check out the screens in the gallery below.

Of course, there’s one major question left: when will the Adam finally ship? Well, you won’t be getting it in time for Christmas, that’s for sure — if all goes as planned, they will be landing around January 6th. With that said, the tablet still hasn’t cleared the FCC and we still haven’t seen any live photos of this stuff in action, so click that pre-order button at your own risk.

Gallery: Notion Ink Adam UI screenshots

Notion Ink Adam pre-order to begin today, pricing starts at $375 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear (1), (2)  |  sourceNotion Ink  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 07

LG LU3000 taking its 1080p talents to South Korea in a week’s time

Posted in: 1080p, Android, froyo, korea, LG, official, optimus, South Korea, SouthKorea, Today's Chili

Ah, LG’s LU3000, the sprightly young thing that made the iPhone 4 and Galaxy S look a wee bit aged in some YouTube tests has now become official over in South Korea. It boasts a 1GHz TI OMAP3630 chip, allowing it to jot down 1080p video playback on its spec sheet, which in turn goes very nicely with the built-in HDMI port and DLNA wireless capabilities. A 3.8-inch screen offers an 800 x 480 resolution, there’s a 5 megapixel camera around the back, and a mildly skinned Android 2.2 performs the OS duties. Curiously enough, the LU3000’s home screen looks identical to the one on the leaked LG Star, suggesting that the stuff they’re running will represent LG’s default Android treatment for the near future. 800,000KRW ($705) buys you the 3000 when it ships in its native land a week from now, though there are apparently no plans to spread the wealth to other nations. Why so selfish, LG?

LG LU3000 taking its 1080p talents to South Korea in a week’s time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phone Arena  |  sourceMobile-Review  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 07

Samsung makes an Android 2.2 clamshell; unless you’re in China, you can’t have it

Posted in: Android, froyo, samsung, Today's Chili

It’s not every day you see an old-school clamshell running Android, and really, there’s a great reason for that: when your entire UI is touch-centric, putting the screen a few inches away from the user’s thumb is a usability nightmare waiting to happen. Be that as it may, Samsung’s rolled out a fairly sophisticated new folder in China under the name SCH-W899 that features not one, but two separate 3.3-inch Super AMOLED displays on either side of the phone’s top half. You’ve got a 5 megapixel camera, 512MB of onboard storage expandable with a 32GB microSD slot, CDMA EV-DO compatibility for service on China Telecom, GSM roaming capability, and — of course — the kind of respect that only comes with using a phone with gold accents. We wouldn’t expect to see this one in the Western Hemisphere apart from the rare import, so if you were thinking of getting into the collectible Android phone business, there might not be a better time. Lucrative, we hear.

Bonus points: count the number of gratuitous lens flares on the phone’s official product page.

Samsung makes an Android 2.2 clamshell; unless you’re in China, you can’t have it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News  |  sourceSamsung China  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 04

Official Android 2.2 (Froyo) update emerges for Sprint’s Epic 4G

Posted in: 4G, Android, download, froyo, galaxy, GalaxyS, Google, GoogleAndroid, official, ota, samsung, Sprint, Today's Chili, update, WiMAX

Samsung may have missed its promised September (and November) ship dates for Froyo on the Galaxy S range, but at this point, we’re just pleased to see any progress at all. Sprint’s Epic 4G has just become the first US Galaxy S phone to nab an official Android 2.2 (v2.2.1, in fact) build, with the requisite files populating Google’s servers this evening. If you’ll recall, a near-final build actually leaked out around three weeks ago, but the DK28 version making the rounds at xda-developers looks to be the real deal. Head on over to get your update going, and be sure to let us know how everything turns out in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Official Android 2.2 (Froyo) update emerges for Sprint’s Epic 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BriefMobile  |  sourcexda-developers (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 04

Android Market update brings long-awaited ‘Related’ tab, similar app suggestions

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, app, AppStore, froyo, gingerbread, Google, GoogleAndroid, HTC, market, motorola, nexus one, NexusOne, Today's Chili, update

Remember that “Related” / “Similar” tab we spotted in Google’s own Gingerbread video? Looks as if you won’t have to wait for Android 2.3 to enjoy the spoils of having El Goog sort out what similar apps you may like after you download one. This morning, waves of Android loyalists are finding a new tab in their Market, with a Droid 2 and Nexus One both seeing the update here at Engadget HQ. Naturally, it works just like the App Store’s equivalent, but it remains to be seen just how accurate the advice is. When looking at ‘Related’ for the (also recently updated) Engadget app, we’re finding items we’d prefer to be listed first about a page or so down, but we’re sure the mix-and-match engineers in Mountain View are already fine tuning things as we speak. You know, during the brief moments they aren’t preparing for Tuesday’s big Chrome reveal.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Gallery: Android 2.2 Market update brings ‘Related’ tab

Android Market update brings long-awaited ‘Related’ tab, similar app suggestions originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 02

Android 2.x now accounts for 83 percent of all active Googlephones

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, AndroidOs, froyo, Google, mobile os, MobileOs, operating system, OperatingSystem, statistics, stats, Today's Chili

We’re not totally sure that Android 2.1 users will be happy to be bundled in with 2.2 consumers — after all, there’s plenty in Froyo that’s not available on Eclair — but the fact remains that a cool 83 percent of actively used Android phones right now run one of the two latest iterations. A reminder is merited to say that by “active” we mean those that accessed the Android Market over the foregoing two weeks — which might have a slight bias toward over-representing the newer phones with folks either abandoning their Cupcake and Donut handsets or simply not searching for new apps for them. Either way, we reckon it’s good to see such nice big slices taken up by Android’s most advanced versions, it seems almost a shame that Gingerbread’s arrival will soon disrupt things all over again. For now, we’re off to our delicatessen, all this food talk’s given us the munchies.

[Thanks, Dan]

Android 2.x now accounts for 83 percent of all active Googlephones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Developers  | Email this | Comments

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