ICD’s Tegra 2-powered Gemini is the most feature-complete tablet we’ve seen yet

Built around the 1GHz Tegra 2 SOC, the 11.2-inch ICD Gemini should provide comparable endurance to Apple’s A4-sporting iPad, while besting it in the grunt stakes with its glorious ability to chew through 1080p video when required. If that wasn’t enough, the rest of this thing’s spec sheet reads like a wishlist. Headlined by a 3G connection that allows cellular voice calls (crazy, we know!), it also includes a user-replaceable 40Wh battery, an SD card reader, FM radio, GPS, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, MicroUSB connectivity to PCs and USB peripherals, stereo speakers, and dual webcams — a 2 megapixel front-facing unit and a 5 megapixel autofocusing snapper on the back. Multitouch displays will be available in both resistive and capacitive flavors, with the 1,366 x 768 resolution being filled by Google’s snappy Android OS. Oh, and did we mention it will run Flash? Because it will. Full specs and a comparison to its direct competitors await after the break, though we’ve yet to find out when this JooJoo killer will be making its arrival or at what price.

Update: We’ve come across a couple of real (i.e. not rendered) pictures of an earlier prototype for the Gemini, which looks generic as hell but should give you a good idea of the dimensions and scale of the device in question. Yours after the break.

Continue reading ICD’s Tegra 2-powered Gemini is the most feature-complete tablet we’ve seen yet

ICD’s Tegra 2-powered Gemini is the most feature-complete tablet we’ve seen yet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe AIR developer demonstration: one game, five platforms, all the same code

We love the idea of Android apps running on iPhone and vice versa, and that’s exactly what Adobe’s selling with its multiplatform development solution AIR — but though we’ve seen a demo here and there, conversations we’ve had with the company led us to believe that AIR was not yet up to the task. However, Adobe dev Christian Cantrell has the proof — he created a game of Reversi that runs on five platforms without having to change a single line of code. In a video after the break, he demonstrates iReverse running on OS X, Windows 7, Ubuntu Linux, the iPhone, a Droid and the new iPad, explaining how it took only a series of seriously tiny platform-specific wrappers to make his program function on each. Since each platform has its own hardware strengths, this kind of convergence isn’t always a good thing — but if it provides extra incentive for developers to get cracking on hot new apps, we’re all for it.

Continue reading Adobe AIR developer demonstration: one game, five platforms, all the same code

Adobe AIR developer demonstration: one game, five platforms, all the same code originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S Pro to come with a QWERTY keyboard in June, says Eldar Murtazin

Those whispers you might have heard of a Pro version of Samsung’s delectable Galaxy S have just turned into a booming roar, thanks to Eldar Murtazin apparently confirming the existence and prospective arrival of the rumored handset. According to the legendarily loquacious mobile reviewer, Samsung will be strapping a QWERTY keyboard onto the already potent Galaxy S hardware and upping the pricing ante with an extra €50 (about $67) charge. He also manages to give us a June launch date, but pictures of this device are predictably not yet available. We’ll just have to let our imagination do the work until Mr. Blurrycam gets on the case. Screenshot of the relevant tweet after the break.

Update: HDblog.it has thrown up a pretty realistic (though fake) render of the rumored model, and if the real thing is anything like this, Sammy might have a contender on its hands. Now we sit and wait for June, eh?

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S Pro to come with a QWERTY keyboard in June, says Eldar Murtazin

Samsung Galaxy S Pro to come with a QWERTY keyboard in June, says Eldar Murtazin originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stats: iPhone OS is still king of the mobile web space, but Android is nipping at its heels

AdMob serves north of 10 billion ads per month to more than 15,000 mobile websites and applications. Thus, although its data is about ad rather than page impressions, it can be taken as a pretty robust indicator of how web usage habits are developing and changing over time. Android is the big standout of its most recent figures, with Google loyalists now constituting a cool 42 percent of AdMob’s smartphone audience in the US. With the EVO 4G and Galaxy S rapidly approaching, we wouldn’t be surprised by the little green droid stealing away the US share crown, at least until Apple counters with its next slice of magical machinery. Looking at the global stage, Android has also recently skipped ahead of Symbian, with a 24 percent share versus 18 percent for the smartphone leader. Together with BlackBerry OS, Symbian is still the predominant operating system in terms of smartphone sales, but it’s interesting to see both falling behind in the field of web or application usage, which is what this metric seeks to measure. Figures from Net Applications (to be found at the TheAppleBlog link) and ArsTechnica‘s own mobile user numbers corroborate these findings.

Stats: iPhone OS is still king of the mobile web space, but Android is nipping at its heels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Desire turning Japanese with SoftBank in late April

The HTC Desire is spreading its wings today with the announcement of a distribution deal with Japan’s SoftBank. One of the big heavies over on that most famous archipelago, SoftBank will carry a WCDMA version of the handset with the standard Android 2.1 with Sense software and brownish externals. Sorry to disappoint our dear readers yearning for a silver or black option. Maybe in the future, eh? We don’t know what reaction to expect from the Japanese audience, but we suspect the language of effortless responsiveness and snazzy AMOLED screens will prove to be universally understood.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Desire turning Japanese with SoftBank in late April originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Desire confirmed for March 29 launch on T-Mobile UK

Whatever you’ve got scheduled for this coming Monday, make sure to leave a slot to visit your nearest T-Mobile store. The UK Deutsche Telekom representative has now officially confirmed that the Desire will be landing in its stores on March 29, supplementing the already available online and telephone ordering availability that comes with a 7-day delivery time. If our time-space telemetry is correct, that means at this point you’re probably better off trying to grab one in store than putting your smartphone destiny in the gruff hands of your local delivery man. Check out the price plans for this handset below — there are a couple of surprisingly affordable options that include 3GB of 3G allowance per month.

[Thanks, Jason]

HTC Desire confirmed for March 29 launch on T-Mobile UK originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inbrics M1 gets Android 2.1 and CPU bump to 1GHz, insists on being called a MID

It looks like a smartphone, it has a smartphone’s form factor, operating system, and an extra-slim slideout QWERTY keyboard, yet Inbrics still insists on calling the M1 a Mobile Internet Device instead. When the company’s not busy sinking its own battleships, it appears to be doing actually beneficial stuff, such as cramming a new 1GHz Samsung CPU inside its device. The original 800MHz unit was the thing that worried us most during our otherwise praise-filled hands-on experience with the M1 at CES, so it’s a good sign to see it getting a bit of extra brawn ahead of launch. The software has also moved with the times, with Android 2.1 being the current OS on tap, which should look rather nice on that 3.7-inch OLED display. The M1 will have WiFi, but no cellular connectivity is planned just yet. It’s all dependent on having a Western vendor pick up the hardware and infuse it with its own requirements. Although at CES we were told to expect the M1 in March, the current timetable is for a July launch in Korea and US availability by the end of the year, provided Inbrics finds a partner for the device. Netbook News have also finally squeezed a price out of the company and have been told to expect it in the “low $200” range. Sounds kinda promising, don’t you think?

Inbrics M1 gets Android 2.1 and CPU bump to 1GHz, insists on being called a MID originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Aero is ‘the lightest’ Android phone yet, poses for pictures

AT&T’s teaser site for the Dell Aero has gone live and we can now fill in a few more gaps in our knowledge about this forthcoming handset. It’s looking every bit the renamed Mini 3 we thought it was, so click here and here to get a closer look at the body of the device. The official web mouthpiece confirms a 3.5-inch screen with nHD resolution — which may or may not signify the same 640 x 360 as on the Brazilian and Chinese versions — and one definite point of departure, a 5 (rather than 3) megapixel camera on the back. Claimed to be the lightest Android smartphone yet, the Aero will also come with WiFi and GPS built in, though its biggest attraction will undoubtedly be the thoroughly tricked out Android UI, which promises Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitpic integration right out of the box. Check out the gallery below for some hints of what that willl look like.

[Thanks, Chilko]

Gallery: Dell Aero

Dell Aero is ‘the lightest’ Android phone yet, poses for pictures originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s Incredible new phone may be in stores within ‘two weeks’

It’s a mighty aggressive schedule for a handset that hasn’t even been announced yet, but the latest scuttlebutt regarding the HTC Incredible suggests that the phone will make its debut on Verizon’s airwaves about two weeks from now. It was already known that the Incredible was destined for a rendezvous with Big Red, but this latest word solidifies and specifies that future nicely — and it’s claimed to come directly from internal sources at Verizon. There’s also further mention of 512MB of DRAM allied to a downclocked Snapdragon CPU (capable of 1GHz, running at 768MHz), an 8 megapixel camera, a 1,300 mAh battery, and body dimensions almost indistinguishable from those belonging to the Nexus One. Good thing too, since Verizon is still keeping us waiting on a mysterious Spring release of Google’s own-brand phone. We get the feeling Android 2.1 and the new Sense UI will fill that gap nicely, however, and if you really must have that 1GHz speed, there are ways to achieve such things too.

[Thanks, Carson R.]

Verizon’s Incredible new phone may be in stores within ‘two weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Spica grows up to Android 2.1

Also known as the Galaxy Portal in the UK, Samsung’s i5700 is today officially entering the Eclair portion of its Android existence. We got a nice leak of the 2.1 ROM in February, whose small glitches will no doubt have been ironed out in this official release. You’ll need to either hook up to the Samsung neural network using their proprietary PC Studio 7 software to leech the upgrade or just buy a new handset — it all depends on the ratio between your disposable time and income. Guess this will make the Spica that little bit more seductive to Rogers customers, who only just got the option to own the handset last week. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Spica grows up to Android 2.1

Samsung Galaxy Spica grows up to Android 2.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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