Hasta La Gadget!

The MEDIAS N-04C might well be the hotness in the world of super slim phones right now, but if you’re looking for something with a little more oomph and protection against water, then NEC’s also got you covered. According to a pamphlet obtained by datacider, the MEDIAS family will soon be welcoming a Gingerbread-powered N-06C, which closely resembles the N-04C except for the extra 0.2mm thickness plus 10g weight, as well as touch buttons instead of physical ones. But what we really care about here are the IPX5 and IPX7 waterproof ratings, meaning this 7.9mm-thick Android’s been tested against small water jets and one-meter immersion, respectively. On the inside, apart from the faster 1GHz chip and 14Mbps FOMA download speed, the rest are pretty much what we’ve seen before: 4-inch 480 x 854 LCD, 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM, 802.11n WiFi, and 5 megapixel camera with 720p video. There’s no clear indication on a release date, but you’re welcome to kill some time by checking out the full spec sheet after the break.

[Thanks, Pavlo L.]

Continue reading NEC’s waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power

NEC’s waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung said its Android 2.3 update for the Galaxy S would come in mid-April and, by golly, it meant it literally. Sometime during the night between the 15th and 16th days of this month, the Korean manufacturer’s Kies servers started serving up a fresh portion of Gingerbread to Galaxy S owners in parts of Europe, and now reports are coming in of users successfully updating their Hummingbird-equipped handsets. It’s a limited rollout, benefiting the Nordic countries, Holland and Germany first, but we doubt Samsung will hold out on the rest of Europe for much longer. If you want to try your luck, boot up your Kies updating utility and pray to your nearest tech deity.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Vodafone UK is now dishing out this update to its Galaxy S owners as well.

Galaxy S Gingerbread update now rolling out across Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Other than saying Gingerbread will be forthcoming for its dual-core Optimus 2X Android handset, LG has been pretty mum on the subject of software updates. It’s good, therefore, to finally extract a timeframe out of the company, albeit from a somewhat obscure source. LG’s Danish support site tells us that the P990 (the internal code number for the 2X) will be updated to Android 2.3 “in June-July 2011.” That’s a fair bit later than we might have expected or hoped for the upgrade to happen, particularly given the various software foibles that the device we reviewed suffered from, but the summer of 2011 will always be preferable to the summer of never. A final warning is perhaps merited here to say that LG has a history of inconsistency when it comes to software roadmaps, so consider this one scribbled down in pencil until we hear more concrete confirmation from the company.

[Thanks, Michael]

LG Optimus 2X to be upgraded to Gingerbread in June or July, says Danish support site originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As promised, Sony Ericsson has just flipped the switch for its Android bootloader unlocking service, meaning those with an unbranded Xperia device from 2011 and onwards — Play, Arc, Neo, and Pro so far — will be able to try out custom ROMs and other dirty mods with ease. All that’s required here is your phone’s IMEI number, which in return gives you the unlocking key to go with the Android SDK’s fastboot program — all will be clear once you’ve read the instructions at the source link. But remember: SE does warn that this service may void your warranty if all goes pear-shaped, so just be careful, won’t ya?

Sony Ericsson’s Android bootloader unlocking site goes live, modders rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You saw the specs confirmed a little earlier today and you even got to glimpse HTC’s new Sensation in the flesh. Now it’s time to watch this 4.3-inch Android device strut its stuff on video. We’ve gotten our mitts on the Euro model and you can check out all the delicious visuals after the break.

As we mentioned in our preview of this handset, the new lock screen is perhaps the biggest (it’s certainly the most immediately apparent) change in the Sense UI that comes with the Sensation. HTC describes now describes it as “smart,” because it can both serve you with live information, like weather and those all-important stock prices, and also lets you unlock straight into an app by dragging its link into an unlocking circle. Frankly, we used the functionality so much that we almost forgot how to unlock the phone “normally.” It’s something the Inq Cloud Touch and other lower-end Android devices have previously exhibited, and a feature we really, truly appreciate.

Performance was, as you’d expect from a 1.2GHz dual-core machine, snappy all around, though we still caught some slight lag and insufficient frame rates when the Sensation was dealing with some of those yummy new 3D animations. The higher resolution (960 x 540) screen is a definite upgrade over the 800 x 480 standard that Android devices have been coalescing around and the 4.3-inch size seems like a perfect fit for it. Both the camera app and video playback in the HTC Watch app showed great speed and responsiveness to our input. Those are the things that will really harness the processing power of the Sensation.

Physically, the Sensation somehow manages to feel more compact than its predecessor atop the European jumbo phone throne, the Desire HD. The two phones both have 4.3-inch screens, but the 16:9 screen ratio of the Sensation makes it narrower, while HTC’s ingenuity has managed to make the new device marginally thinner too. All in all, a definite upgrade in ergonomics. Aluminum construction is present here as well, however the entire aluminum chunk — which spans the middle portion of the back, separating two plastic parts (each of which has its own color, giving you a tri-color rear) — is in the removable cover. This is unlike most of HTC’s aluminum “unibody” phones, which make the aluminum piece part of the phone’s framework. Hey, at least you get much easier access to what’s under the back cover. Delve into the gallery below for more!

Continue reading HTC Sensation first video hands-on!

HTC Sensation first video hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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