Hasta La Gadget!

Motorola has launched its first Intel-based Android smartphone, the Motorola RAZR i, a 4.3-inch handset running a 2GHz Intel chip. RAZR i uses a qHD Super AMOLED “edge to edge” display that, Motorola claims, delivers a 40-percent larger panel than an iPhone 4S, or a 15-percent larger display than an iPhone 5, size for size. On the outside, there’s Kevlar for tough, lightweight protection.

Motorola’s three goals with its latest range are speed, power management, and a demonstrable commitment to Android. “A phone is only half a phone if it only last halfway through the day,” Jim Wicks, senior VP of design at Motorola Mobility, said today. So, the RAZR i gets a 2,000 mAh battery good for 20hrs of mixed use.

Intel’s Atom processor is built using 32nm processes, and the chip company says there are big advantages to its faster silicon. Intel has apparently spent “years” polishing Android on x86, and bringing it up to speed with HyperThreading, so that Java and HTML performance is suitably swift.

You get NFC, as you’d expect from a modern Android phone, and Motorola has customized the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich UI with “circle” interface. Where it can, Motorola will be leaving the bootloader unlocked, too, for those who want to modify their handset.

As for the 8-megapixel camera, that starts up in under a second, and is capable of a 10 photo burst in a second. In fact, Motorola and Intel claim, the RAZR i is faster than a regular DSLR. A 0.3-megapixel camera is up front.

The Motorola RAZR i will hit select markets – including the UK on Orange, T-Mobile, Phones 4U, Virgin Media, and Tesco, and several countries in Europe – from the beginning of October.

Hands-on with the RAZR i here!

[Update: We originally reported a 720p HD display, but the RAZR i actually has a qHD display]

Motorola RAZR i official: 2GHz Intel Android smartphone is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As one major event wraps, we look forward to what’s coming up next: Motorola’s Intel announcement. We have a hard time believing we’d see anything besides a smartphone with an Intel chip inside, but the biggest mystery is in what type of phone. Are we going to see something ho-hum, or mind-blowingly awesome? Whatever it is, we think we may have stumbled upon a clue. Motorola’s XT890, which has been rumored to be a global RAZR M with a 2GHz CPU and 897 x 540 screen resolution, just wandered through the FCC with AT&T-friendly 2G and 3G radios. There’s no hint of LTE here, though the FCC doesn’t require OEMs to mention non-US frequencies. The docs, however, indicate that we can expect dual-band WiFi — no word on NFC, but we’d be very surprised if it didn’t make the final cut. The supercharged processor seems almost too good to be true, but we wouldn’t offer up any complaints if there is any truth to the idea.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Motorola XT890 approved by FCC, may be next week’s 2GHz Intel phone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think the world’s top PC maker was going to sit out the laptop / tablet hybrid trend, now did you? HP, one of the last OEMs to share its Windows 8 plans, just announced the Envy x2, an 11-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard dock. And while that form factor may already seem tired, HP is dressing it up with some higher-end features, including an aluminum build, NFC, pen support, Beats Audio and a 400-nit, IPS display. (The resolution is 1,366 x 768, as is the case for many of these 11-inch Windows 8 hybrids.)

The tablet itself measures about 8.5mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, while the dock weighs 1.6. Unlike competing products, the device combines magnets and a mechanical latch to keep the tablet from falling out of its dock (watch us manhandle the x2 in the video below to see what we’re talking about). All told, we were impressed by how surprisingly light the tablet and dock feel — given the metal armor encasing it all, it’s easy to assume otherwise.

Under the hood, the x2 runs an Atom-based Clover Trail processor. Though HP isn’t ready to talk battery life, we’ve noticed that every other OEM releasing a Clover Trail device is promising between nine and 10 hours of runtime, so we expect the x2 to deliver comparable performance. What’s more, the dock has a built-in battery of its own, so you’ll definitely have some reserve power there. Poke around on the dock and you’ll find two USB ports, HDMI output and a full-size SD slot. The tablet itself is home to an 8-megapixel rear camera and microSD slot, in case the 64GB of built-in storage isn’t capacious enough.

Right now, it’s unknown how much the x2 will cost, or when, exactly, it will go on sale, except that it’s expected to arrive in time for the holiday shopping season. For now, feel free to poke around our hands-on photo gallery, and avail yourselves of our walk-through, embedded just past the break.

Continue reading HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets

HP unveils Envy x2 laptop / tablet hybrid: 11-inch IPS screen, NFC and pen support, arriving later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Intel-powered mobile machine has been slowly picking up pace this year. Now, the chip-maker has signed up a new partner in the form of Russian operator MegaFon. So, it looks like we might see another (and we must say familiar looking) network-branded Android Medfield phone in the form of the MegaFon Mint. The spec-sheet, again, poses no surprises, with the same 1.6GHz Z2460 chip 1GB of RAM, 4-inch screen and 8-megapixel camera only further enhancing the sense of deja vu. What will be unique, however, is the price, which looks set at 17,990 Rubles (about $565), available from today.

Filed under: Cellphones

Intel brings Medfield to Russia with the MegaFon Mint originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS must want its Windows 8 tablet family to move together as one. The Tablet 810 has swung past the FCC just two days after a visit by its younger brother, the Tablet 600. While not what we’d call a stunning revelation, the filing for the 810 (as the TF810C) shows a WiFi-only device with the expected NFC for quick peripheral syncing. The 11.6-inch transforming slate is still devoid of a few key details in spite of having its wireless life laid bare — namely, if and when it reaches the US. Clearing the approval hurdle, however, leaves few obstacles to ASUS being one of the first out of the gate with an Intel-based Windows 8 tablet after October 26th rolls around.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

ASUS Tablet 810 with Windows 8 transforms its way past the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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