Hasta La Gadget!

Remember the Droid RAZR? That’s so yesterday. Or, earlier today. Whatever. The point is, Samsung’s just busted out the planet’s first Ice Cream Sandwich-based smartphone here in Hong Kong, a few days late but hardly worse for the wear. The Galaxy Nexus (formerly referred to as the Nexus Prime) carries on the Nexus torch in spectacular fashion, and we’ve just spent a few quality moments with one here at the launch event. Design-wise, it’s clear that the Nexus S DNA is here, though the rear reminds us most of the Galaxy S II. Those who abhor physical buttons will also be delighted, and while we’d gotten used to the whole Power + Home for a screenshot on the GSII, Power + Volume Down works just fine on this fellow.

The 1.2GHz dual-core processor was startlingly fast. It actually felt a wee bit quicker than our Galaxy S II, and given that Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Nexus were apparently built for one another, we’re assuming there’s some deeply ingrained optimizations to thank. Swiping from pane to pane was faster than its ever been on Android, and the new Roboto font actually is super eye-pleasing. The touch response of the capacitive buttons — much like those on the original Nexus One — take a bit of getting used to, and we had to mash ’em just a touch harder than we anticipated to elicit a response. [Update: turns out our demo phone was a bit of an early build; we touched another model later in the day, and our response gripes were gone. Perfectly responsive. Hopefully that’s the one that’ll ship out.] Not necessarily a bad thing, just a thing worth noting. We’ve built our impressions after the break, replete with a video. Enjoy!

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich hands-on (video)

Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready to play PC with your smartphone? If you aren’t picking up a Lapdock 100 from AT&T on the 17th, you won’t have to wait very long — Motorola’s faux-laptop phone dock has been outed for a October 21st launch date for Sprint via an employee rewards email. Passing the Lapdock 100 Sprint Rewards Me training quiz nets employees $10 in Sprint scratch and the opportunity to sell you a rig that lets a handful of devices play netbook. The laptop shell gives users a full Firefox browser, Quick Office, Google Docs, Adobe Flash, a PC-like File Manager and a luxurious 10.1-inch screen. Still no word yet on just how much this ultra-portable peripheral will set us back, but we’ll keep hoping that it’s cheaper than the Atrix 4G’s axed lapdock.

[Thanks, David]

Motorola Lapdock 100 hits Sprint October 21st, earns employees extra scratch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Google Translate for Android gets v2.2 update, adds more language support for speech-to-speech

Google Translate for Android gets v2.2 update, adds more language support for speech-to-speech originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We double-took when we noticed this strange little handset on T-Mobile’s leaked fall roadmap under a ‘Flip II‘ codename, and now it’s emerged in some press shots with a doubly playful new moniker and a touch more clarity. We can see a five megapixel rear camera with LED flash, a front-facer of unknown resolution, and what’s reported to be a 320×480 HVGA main display. We know very little about the secondary display except that it seems to give you quick access to your apps — although we’re hoping there’s more to it than that. The roadmap indicated an imminent November 2nd launch for $150 on contract and it surely won’t be long before we get some hands-on time. Til then, we’ll just try to imagine the ergonomics.

LG Doubleplay packs dual screens, likes being different originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking to harness all the power of your smartphone PC-style? Motorola is looking to help with its Lapdock 100 for a number of devices, including the Atrix 2, Photon 4G and Droid Bionic. The laptop shell sports a 10.1-inch screen (smaller and hopefully cheaper than the Atrix 4G’s axed lapdock), keyboard with dedicated Android keys, touchpad, multi-tasking and tabbed web-browsing via WiFi or your phone’s data plan. You’ll also be able to utilize a full Firefox browser, Adobe Flash, Quick Office, Google Docs and a PC-esque File Manager. Just in case your smartphone’s SD card doesn’t offer enough storage space, the dock packs two USB ports for all those extra documents you might collect. Looking to stay ultra-portable, the peripheral weighs a hair over two pounds (less than 1Kg) and touts five hours of battery life — which can also be used to recharge that tired handset if needed. If you’re looking to snatch up one of these bad boys, you’ll have to wait until October 17… and even then, it’ll only hit shelves at AT&T. Verizon and Sprint customers will get their chance “later this quarter” and there’s no word yet on pricing. Need more info? Hit that coverage link for product page and get yourself better acquainted.

Continue reading Lapdock 100 brings a Webtop IQ boost to Moto phones on Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T

Lapdock 100 brings a Webtop IQ boost to Moto phones on Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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