Hasta La Gadget!

After suffering numerous delays, it seems that the Huawei Ascend D1 quad-core smartphone is finally ready for prime time. The company announced today that the phone will be launching in China on September 12, and after that, it should slowly roll out to other regions around the world. Why will the roll out be slow? Blame it on that in-house K3V2 1.5GHz quad-core processor.

Huawei’s quad-core processor has been going big in the benchmarks, but developing it in-house has proven to be something of a hassle. It was the reason behind the numerous delays the Ascend D1 was hit with, and even though the company is gearing up to launch the phone in China next week, it seems that production on the processors is still slow-going. So, it may be a while before it comes to other areas of the world, but nonetheless, that quad-core K3V2 lines the Ascend D1 up to become Huawei’s new flagship device.

The 4.5-inch 1280×720 IPS display and Ice Cream Sandwich help with with that too, naturally. We’re also working with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, along with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. On the front there, we can see a set of capacitive buttons, bringing everything together for one sleek-looking handset. With that power under the hood, it’s no wonder Huawei is marketing this phone as its new flagship device, but with all of the delays, will the Ascend D1 be arriving too late to the party?

We shall see when it releases in China next week for around 2699 Yuan. That’s about $425, and while that would have been an acceptable price to pay back around the time of the Ascend D1′s original release date, it’s a little steep to pay today, even with the quad-core processor. At the very least, we can finally stop wondering when this phone is going to make it to market, which is never a bad thing. Stay tuned for more details!

[via Android Community]

Huawei Ascend D1 lands in China on September 12 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This morning AT&T and Pantech just announced their latest budget friendly smartphone for the entry-level only the specs are anything but entry-level. This Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich device packs plenty of punch, 4G LTE, and more and can be all yours for just $50. Pretty great price for such a nice smartphone. Head down past the break for full details.

We first spotted the name Flex in some benchmarks and then late last week this smartphone leaked as the Pantech Magnus. Today however AT&T has confirmed the name will in fact be the Pantech Flex and part of the name comes from the fact that it features an “Easy Experience Mode” to be flexible to first time smartphone buyers.

The Pantech Flex includes specs that could almost rival top handsets too. It comes with a 4.3-inch qHD 960 x 540 display (its lowest quality) but runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It is powered by the same 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor as AT&T’s Galaxy S III, has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Other specs include an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video, 2 megapixel front for self portraits and video chat, and then all of this will last all day with Pantech’s 1,830 mAh battery.

The announcement didn’t reveal much on the Easy Experience Mode but it should be able to quickly be toggled on and off for those loving the specs of this device but don’t need that mode. Again all of this will be available starting September 16th for just $50 after a new 2-year contract. If you’ve been eying a powerful budget smartphone or a new device for Mom or Dad this would be a good start. Enjoy the video and let us know what you think about the “Easy Experience Mode” in the comment section below.

Pantech Flex for AT&T announced with 4G LTE and ICS for $50 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve already been alerted to the existence of a Pantech phone by the name of Flex, but we only got teased with the fact that it’s heading to AT&T and will offer LTE connectivity and few (if any) other details. Fortunately, both the manufacturer and carrier are now ready to make the phone official, complete with images, pricing and availability. As you can see, the Flex is the device we leaked last week as the Magnus — and it’s actually much more unique than even the outer design would have us believe. First, the juicy specs: the Flex uses a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display and will run Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). It’ll be powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 SoC, and we’ll be able to enjoy 8GB onboard storage, a microSD slot, 2MP front-facing cam and an 8MP rear camera capable of taking 1080p video. Finally, powering the device is an 1,830mAh battery.

The Flex, which weighs 4.6 ounces and will be available beginning September 16th for $50 after a two-year commitment, also has another clever feature: dual Android skins. While the main UI should be standard fare for Pantech devices running ICS, the secondary skin is a simplified system dubbed the “Easy Experience” mode, which has pretty much the same type of feel as Verizon’s Pantech Marauder. According to the press release, the new system is meant to appeal to new smartphone users hoping to ease into the transition from featurephones without too much trouble, though going back and forth between modes shouldn’t be terribly difficult. The announcement doesn’t go into much detail pertaining to what you’ll be able to do in Easy Experience (or exactly what makes it easier, aside from “[prioritizing] apps on the home screen in an easy-to-read format”), so we’ll choose to remain intrigued until we hear more from Pantech or AT&T on how it works. In the meantime, we have a few press shots below showing off the new UI as well as a press release past the break.

Continue reading Pantech Flex coming to AT&T on September 16 for $50, offers ICS and new ‘Easy Experience’ mode

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Pantech Flex coming to AT&T on September 16 for $50, offers ICS and new ‘Easy Experience’ mode originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon has officially unveiled the Intuition by LG, the carrier’s LTE version of the 5-inch Optimus Vu phablet, with sales kicking off September 6. Priced at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement, the LG Intuition will come preloaded with the company’s QuickMemo app, intended to gather up handwritten notes and sketches made with the bizarrely named “Rubberdium” stylus.

There’s also LG Tag+ loaded, which uses NFC to control settings and modes, and Verizon will throw a couple of programmable NFC stickers into the box. These can be used for automatically kicking the Intuition into silent mode, for instance, when you tap it on your nightstand. The Intuition comes preprogrammed with four different modes: Car, Office, Sleep and User.

The 5-inch display uses the unusual 4:3 aspect ratio and has a 650 NIT backlight for easier outdoor use; there’s also an 8-megapixel main camera, with LED flash and 1080p Full HD video recording, along with a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. OS is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, running on an 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, while connectivity includes Bluetooth 3.0+HS and that all-important LTE, complete with mobile hotspot sharing for up to ten WiFi-tethered devices.

Online sales kick off on September 6, with in-store sales following on September 10. Of course, with Samsung’s Galaxy Note II freshly announced, it’s entirely possible that Verizon and LG have collectively waited too long to bring the Intuition to market.

Verizon Intuition by LG brings 4G phablet fun on September 6 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

UK carrier O2 faces the prospect of hugely disappointed Android users, with the news that the carrier will not be pushing official Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades to select Sony smartphones. Sony’s updates for the Xperia ray, arc and neo failed to meet O2′s exacting standards, the carrier says, being found to impact “the phone’s speed and performance,” and as such the three handsets will remain on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

“These issues were present on three separate versions of the Android 4.0 software we tested and are caused by the software having more advanced hardware requirements than previous versions” O2 said in a statement on the decision. “Because the software affects the phone’s performance in this way and because you can’t revert back to an earlier version of Android without having your phone completely restored, we have decided not to approve the update. This means it won’t be available for O2 customers on these phones.”

Android fragmentation – different versions of the OS spread across different devices – has become an increasingly frustrating issue for users. In general, those who bought unlocked, SIM-free devices get the upgrades first (assuming the manufacturers themselves actually take the time to create them), with carrier testing processes often adding further delay into the roll-out.

Unfortunately, sometimes carriers also decide, as O2 has done, not to release upgrades altogether, usually because of concerns that they might face even greater backlash from owners whose devices become frustratingly slow. Those arc, ray and neo owners desperate for Ice Cream Sandwich will have to turn to the aftermarket ROM community, who will likely be able to bring them up to date.

Meanwhile, Sony itself has already begun pushing out ICS to non-carrier-supplied versions of the three phones.

[via Engadget]

O2 axes Sony Xperia ray, arc and neo Ice Cream Sandwich plans is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.