Hasta La Gadget!

We’re pretty sure that Gingerbread is to be Android 2.3, but we’re still missing the official Google confirmation, and beyond that still waiting to hear exactly what the heck this point release will entail. It’s certainly looking like there’s a new Android Market in the works, though, with Google adding new fields to the submission that accept higher resolution icons, a high-res “feature graphic” measuring 1024 x 500, and an optional link to a YouTube-hosted promotional video. Google has also confirmed that up to eight screenshots will be able to be submitted in the near future, with a maximum resolution of 480 x 800. This could all be to make things rather more friendly for higher-res displays, like one would find on a tablet or a TV, or it could simply be the web-based interface that the Market so desperately needs. We’ll surely find out when Google dishes all the details on this next version, which should happen any day now. Any day now…

Google’s spicy new Android Market to display high-res images, videos, be more tablet-friendly? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt showed the world the Nexus S from a distance just a little while ago, but we knew you’d want more, and so we managed to convince the man to show us the device in person just a few minutes ago. What should you know about the heir apparent to the Nexus One? Well, it’s exceptionally thin — we weren’t able to compare, but we’d say it’s at least comparable with an iPhone 4 if not slimmer still — and it’s thinner in the middle than at either end, giving it a mildly concave profile. There’s a glossy plastic bezel up front housing an AMOLED screen, a pair of discrete volume buttons on the left side, and a black plastic back (textured similarly to the BlackBerry Bold, though patchier) which seemed too roughly manufactured to be anything but a prototype. We saw the handset for all of three seconds and weren’t able to snap a single picture nor touch it for ourselves, but as Schmidt walked away he left us with one last lingering look at Gingerbread — the screen shutting off. When he pressed the power button, the image winked out like an old CRT TV, an animation which you’ll see a carbon copy of right after the break.

Continue reading The Nexus S: a closer look

The Nexus S: a closer look originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Along with a Sony Ericsson Anzu, the James Bond of cellphones — alias Eldar Murtazin — claims to be playing with a Samsung GT-i9100 right now, calling it the “Galaxy 2” and saying it’s “so technically advanced” thanks in part to a dual-core processor. It seems like a long shot that this would be the Cortex-A9-based Orion since chips and development boards are just now being sampled — but considering how far in advance Murtazin tends to score phones, we can’t rule anything out.

One possible scenario is that the i9100 could be something akin to a TouchWiz-skinned version of the upcoming Nexus S, much as HTC’s Desire was essentially a Sense-skinned version of the Nexus One. Samsung, of course, has been pushing TouchWiz very hard across its Galaxy S line this year, and if the Nexus S is as beastly as the rumors are claiming it to be, there’s little doubt that Samsung would love to repurpose the hardware for something with a little more of its flavor thrown in. Speaking of the Galaxy S, keep in mind that the original European GSM model goes by the code GT-i9000, so it would stand to reason that the i9100 could be the proper successor — and with Gingerbread-based TouchWiz and a dual-core processor on board, we’d say they’re off to a strong start.

[Thanks, Peter]

Samsung i9100 is the dual-core Galaxy 2, sequel to the Galaxy S? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so you’re not feeling Samsung’s Nexus S. We’d say that’s a little premature, but still, we get it. We understand. How about this, then? Is this more to your liking? We’ve just been tipped with a few morsels on what should become Samsung’s flagship Android device early next year — February, to be specific, suggesting we could see an unveiling at MWC — and it’s looking promising. Different parts of the slide deck describe it as having either a 4.3- or 4.5-inch “sAMOLED2” display, presumably standing for “Super AMOLED 2” and implying that Sammy’s made some advancements over the screens we’ve been seeing on the Galaxy S series this year. It’ll naturally have Android Gingerbread and be equipped with an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture, 14.4Mbps HSPA, Bluetooth 3.0, a 1.2GHz core of some sort, and 16GB of storage onboard. The deck describes it as having an “ultra sleek design,” and judging from the side shot, we’d tend to agree. So who’s holding out for this?

Exclusive: Samsung ‘flagship’ phone with Gingerbread and huge display coming in early 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure what Sony Ericsson’s gotten to lately with its mythological codenames, but if Xperia X10 Blog’s source is to be trusted, what we’re looking at here is supposedly an upcoming handset codenamed “Anzu” (a lesser god of Akkadian mythology), or simply the X12 according to the often reliable Eldar Murtazin. Details are thin right now, but the leakster claims that said device is “very, very slim” yet packing a 4.3-inch display and HDMI output — sounds very much like the Droid X, if you ask us. Although this particular photo shows an Android 2.1 build on the phone, rumor has it that it’ll be shipped with Gingerbread (which is now pretty much officially 2.3) in Q1 next year.

Here’s another interesting bit of gossip to take with you: we’ve heard from a couple of reliable sources close to the matter that the Anzu lies in the same category as the PlayStation Phone “Zeus” (also on Gingerbread but lacking the Xperia branding), and that they’re being tested alongside each other. Whether this is an indication that the mystical Z-System gaming platform is heading to the Anzu, we don’t know, but it makes sense given that both upcoming SE devices appear to bear the same screen size, or at least the same aspect ratio. Either way, we’re told the pair will be officially announced some time before or shortly after Christmas, which again supports Xperia X10 Blog’s leak. Time to stock up on some fine champagne, folks — looks like 2011 is going to be a good year.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Well that was quick. Xperia X10 Blog’s just posted a few more lovely pics of the Anzu, and boy it sure is thin — check out the profile shot after the break. The site’s also just heard that said phone can capture 1080p video and will have a front-facing camera. [Thanks, Tejstar]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson’s Anzu / X12 to be Xperia Gingerbread flagship? (Update: more pics!)

Sony Ericsson’s Anzu / X12 to be Xperia Gingerbread flagship? (Update: more pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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