Garmin-Asus A10 brings pedestrian-optimized GPS to European and Asian Android lovers

You ain’t nobody if you don’t have an Android handset (or two) these days, and Garmin-Asus has just added the A10 to its own stable of devices. It’s a pretty humble 3.2-inch HVGA communicator, but it has a healthy 1,500mAh battery, a multitouch-friendly WebKit browser, and an autofocusing 5 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging. Coming with preloaded Garmin Navigation maps and software, the A10 eliminates the need for a web connection when looking up your local topography, and similarly retains turn-by-turn voice instructions while used offline. It’s not altogether clear what the pedestrian optimizations are, aside from the public transport-aware cityXplorer maps, but in-car navigation is also obviously fully supported and encouraged. We’re told to expect the A10 in mid-2010 for European and Asia-Pacific markets. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Garmin-Asus A10 brings pedestrian-optimized GPS to European and Asian Android lovers

Garmin-Asus A10 brings pedestrian-optimized GPS to European and Asian Android lovers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox now available for Android 2.0 and above, still at pre-alpha stage

Fennec, Mozilla’s codeword for mobile Firefox builds, has just made its pre-alpha debut on Android. The tastefully named Vladimir Vukićević informs us that it’s pretty much a debug release, with unoptimized memory utilization and some quirks rebooting the app when it’s started and when add-ons are installed, but it is at a stage where the devs felt they could get useful feedback from a broader user base. It’s not yet available on the Android Market, so you’ll be needing to download it from the link below, and remember that you’ll have to have an Android 2.0 or higher device, with OpenGL ES 2.0 capabilities also being recommended. If you’ve got all those boxes ticked, get downloading and come back to tell us how that WeaveSync is working out for you. We’ve got video of an older build running on a Nexus one after the break, just to whet some appetites.

[Thanks, Jonathon]

Continue reading Firefox now available for Android 2.0 and above, still at pre-alpha stage

Firefox now available for Android 2.0 and above, still at pre-alpha stage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hulu app for Android revealed by Google search

Dell’s Android-loving Thunder already boomed about its future “integrated web video Hulu app,” but now we’re also getting confirmation, albeit an unintentional one, from Hulu itself that an Android app for the streaming service is in the works. A reader spotted the incriminating info above when searching for more info about just such a program — as you can see, “Hulu App for Android devices” is specifically named in the blurb below the link to Hulu Labs. The actual Labs page has no new info, and our suspicion is it will stay that way until Android 2.2 brings integrated Flash support to the platform. We’re also seeing a reference to an iPhone OS application, but since that bit of text trails off, it’s a more equivocal implication — though not an illogical one at all. Either way, this is the most concrete indication we’ve had yet that Hulu is going mobile, in what seems to be a pretty big way.

[Thanks, Zach S.]

Hulu app for Android revealed by Google search originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One launches on Vodafone UK this Friday, April 30

The first European carrier for the Nexus One is all set to start offering Google’s superphone for free on two-year contracts costing £35 ($54) or more per month. Pre-orders are being taken today and full retail availability is slated for April 30. It’s kind of an anticlimax now that the Incredible has started stalking the American prairies, but we’re sure there’ll be plenty of Brits who’ve been waiting with bated breath for this. There’ll be 18- and 24-month contract options, with prices starting at £25 per month, and a 1GB 3G data allowance is included together with a 1GB WiFi allowance via BT Openzone hotspots. Not exactly the most generous price plans we’ve ever heard of, but then the handset’s looking eminently affordable with its zero cash up front requirement. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Nexus One launches on Vodafone UK this Friday, April 30

Nexus One launches on Vodafone UK this Friday, April 30 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 2.2 spotted in analytics data, running on Magic?

Hero owners, look away now. Google’s Froyo appears to be almost ready to exit the freezer and enter handsets on an official basis. Since April 7, Android and Me have noticed visits from devices identifying themselves as having Android version 2.2 on board, while German site MobiFlip.de has come across pictures of a T-Mobile myTouch 3G (aka HTC Magic) that is supposedly running the latest software. The images are certainly easy to spoof (including a wonky looking .2), but their timing and our eternal optimism invite some attention. They indicate a new option for automatically pulling down app updates from the ether, which would be kinda neat, while Android and Me have also compiled a list of other rumored new features for Android 2.2 and confirmed with “sources familiar with the matter” that the new OS is indeed being tested right now. Their tip is to gaze expectantly toward the Google I/O conference starting on May 19 when we’re sure to learn at least a little bit more. Considering Android 2.0 got a full features demo at that meetup last year, chances are good that Froyo will be on show in just under a month’s time.

Android 2.2 spotted in analytics data, running on Magic? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Hero won’t see upgrade to Android 2.1 until June, at least in Europe

Plenty of UK Hero owners were disappointed this morning upon hearing the news that free Google Maps Navigation had spread beyond the borders of the USA but required Android 1.6 as the minimum OS version. Stuck in their Android 1.5 world, they must have hoped that HTC would just hurry up and open the gates to Eclair heaven, but hurrying up is, regrettably, the opposite of what’s happening. Tech Radar heard from a Google rep that the Hero’s move to Android 2.1 won’t be happening until June, and followed it up with HTC directly. The official response was that a free update for European Hero variants will indeed be provided “starting in June.” At least this cloud of disappointment will only hang over Europe, as other territories — like Taiwan — might still get the update reasonably soon.

[Thanks, Paul]

HTC Hero won’t see upgrade to Android 2.1 until June, at least in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google brings free turn-by-turn Navigation to UK Androids (updated)

Talk about random gifts from the ether. British Android device owners are waking up this morning to discover their robot-themed operating system has gone and upgraded itself overnight. We’ve confirmed for ourselves that Google Maps Navigation — yes, the free turn-by-turn stuff with voice directions — has made its fully functional way across the Atlantic. This is the 4.1.1 Beta released on April 6 to US customers, but as we say, it’s now working over in Blighty as well. We’ve tested it out on a Desire and Nexus One from HTC, with the latter offering the extra-cool option to orally instruct your Google search bar to “navigate to” your destination. Check out the gallery below for some visual edification.

[Thanks, Tes]

Update: We’re now also sure the full Navigation service works on at least some Android 1.6 devices, such as the Dell Mini 5 and a reported Sony Ericsson X10 success over on the xda-developers thread.

Update 2: Numerous users have reported successfully using turn-by-turn Navigation on the 4.1.0 version, leading us to believe that the capability was in the Google Maps app all along and it’s only now that the company has chosen to activate it. If you aren’t yet on board, direct your Android 1.6 or above device to the Android Market and get navigating.

Google brings free turn-by-turn Navigation to UK Androids (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid Incredible specs confirmed on Verizon site

Yes, good people of Engadgetland, we finally have an official spec sheet for the eagerly awaited Incredible handset. A 3.7-inch OLED touchscreen leads the way, with an 800 x 480 resolution, which will offer the full Google Experience on Android version 2.1. That sounds remarkably like a refashioned Nexus One to us, even down to the 1GHz Snapdragon chip inside, but where the Droid Incredible differs is in its inclusion of Sense UI (à la the Desire) and an 8 megapixel autofocusing camera. We’re also seeing GPS and 8GB of integrated memory — expandable to 24GB via MicroSD cards — on this list, which can be found in its entirety at the source link below. Not long to wait now.

[Thanks, Henry]

Droid Incredible specs confirmed on Verizon site originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ODROID tablet sports Hummingbird application processor, shows off naked dev edition on video

Time to add another candidate for the tablet portion of your gadget budget. The ODROID tablet — being developed by Hardkernel, the folks behind the ODROID portable console — has at its heart a 1GHz Samsung S5PC110 application processor. Also known as Hummingbird, this chip can drive 1080p video at 30fps according to Samsung, and its ability to deliver a flawlessly smooth user experience was demonstrated in our Galaxy S hands-on. It is an extremely promising core to build around, and the 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen with 1,366 x 768 resolution and Android 2.1 inclusions are nothing to sniff at either. For now, all we have is the demo video after the break — starring your favorite tech blog — but we’ll surely keep an eye out for developments with this device. Particularly if the bezel matches the thin metal frame we’re seeing right now.

Continue reading ODROID tablet sports Hummingbird application processor, shows off naked dev edition on video

ODROID tablet sports Hummingbird application processor, shows off naked dev edition on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel adds Android to Moorestown compatibility list, wants to Atomize your smartphone

Alright, so this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Android running on the x86 CPU architecture, but it’s notable that Intel has ported the OS to run on its Atom CPUs with the specific aim of offering Android plus Atom smartphone combos. Such is the news that has emerged today at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, which means Intel loyalists will have a second option in the smartphone sphere, beyond the already known Moorestown-powered MeeGo handsets. It would seem that Chipzilla is taking the ARM threat to its home markets seriously, and is launching a counter-offensive in the mobile space. As to when that will happen, Intel’s bigwigs are saying they’re still “on track for introduction during the first half of this year,” meaning we’ll be seeing (or at least hearing about) the vanguard of its attack by the end of June.

Intel adds Android to Moorestown compatibility list, wants to Atomize your smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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