Hasta La Gadget!

The Samsung Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Rugby Pro, Galaxy Express, and Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 have all been added to the AT&T 4G LTE family with a beastly wave of Android goodness. These devices have all appeared in one form or another in the past, here coming with their most powerful set of features and builds ever for AT&T’s ever-growing LTE connectivity environment. The Samsung Galaxy Note II will likely be the most noted device of the family, taking the original Galaxy Note (also on AT&T’s LTE network) and boosting its greatness with a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor and a massive 5.5-inch display.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II will be coming to AT&T with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as well as HD Super AMOLED display technology and AT&T-specific software additions. You’ll find the Samsung Galaxy Note II working and looking essentially the same as it is on every other carrier around the world, this being part of Samsung’s new initiative to keep a solid single experience for each hero device they produce from the Galaxy S III forward.

This set of releases includes the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet as well. This device has VPN access for secure business use, a giant 7000 mAh battery for super-long uptime without the need to charge, and Samsung apps galore like Media Hub, Smart Remote (for your HDTV), and AllShare Play. Check our full review of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 right this minute to see the device in its wi-fi-only form.

The Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro is a hardcore device made with 810g military specifications. It’s waterproof, shock resistant, and dust proof as well. You’ve got a 4-inch display thats WVGA resolution and Super AMOLED for ultra brightness, and you’ve got a 5 megapixel camera on the back with the ability to record 720p video. This device also includes full device encryption and EAS corporate email support as well as Enhanced Push-to-Talk functionality when the service is launched. This device is a next-generation version of the original which we took a peek at in our Samsung Rugby Smart Review.

Finally there’s the Samsung Galaxy Express a device with a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 2000 mAh battery, 5 megapixel camera on its back. The Galaxy Express as well as the rest of the devices here will be available from AT&T “in the coming months” – we’ll be getting pricing and release dates soon, very soon!

AT&T 4G LTE expands with four new Samsung smart devices is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The folks from ASUS gave North American Transformer Pad Prime and Infinity owners a tease yesterday, telling them that the TF201 and TF700 models would receive an update to Android 4.1 within the next three days. Today, the Tawianese firm’s made good on half its promise, delivering Jelly Bean to the Prime OTA. We confirmed that the update is rolling out, as our in-house TF201 has, indeed, been upgraded to version 4.1.1. Alas, Infinity owners are still sans their software goodies, but ASUS still has plenty of time left in that 72 hour window.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Filed under: Tablets, Software

ASUS Transformer Prime TF201 gets Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Wikipad is an anomaly. It’s a 10.1-inch, $500 Android tablet aimed squarely at gamers — an expensive portal to a platform many mobile game developers have abandoned due to piracy. It’s got an IPS display with 1,280 x 800 resolution, an NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 quad-core 1.4GHz processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (at launch). So … it’s not quite as sharp in the graphics department as some other tablets on the market, nor is it as pretty as its main handheld gaming competition, the PlayStation Vita. On top of that, it’s from an engineering firm that you’ve never heard of — Wikipad is also the name of the business behind the tablet, and this is the company’s first product launch. Oh, and did we mention that the main selling point is an attachable game controller that frames half the tablet in a mess of plastic buttons, joysticks, and speakers? And no, the controller won’t be sold separately, nor will it work with any other tablet.

Defying all logic, however, the Wikipad feels like a surprisingly solid piece of equipment (regardless of the fact that the prototype model we used was hand-built). From the light but solid construction of the tablet’s chassis, to its grippy molded rear — which helps both for gripping the tablet without the controller attached and assists sound amplification when the device is laid down — nothing about the device feels cheap. As a tablet, it’s speedy and responsive. Apps load quickly and smoothly, and it’s got extra loud speakers for gaming without headphones (or for David Guetta, as was demonstrated to us). The custom skin it was running felt a bit rough — the apps get reorganized with a gaming focus and slapped onto a flippable cube, which caused some visual stuttering from pane to pane. Another feature of the custom OS is a special 3D game launcher, which includes sections for Nvidia’s Tegra Zone, PlayStation Mobile games, GameStop-suggested titles, and Google Play. There are some less than exciting ad banners attached to this launcher, but they’re easily ignorable. Though Gaikai is still working with the Wikipad post-Sony buyout, CEO James Bower told us the game streaming service won’t be there at launch — he’s hoping it’ll arrive by year’s end, “but that’s up to Sony.”

Continue reading Hands-on with Wikipad, the $500 Android gaming tablet (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile

Hands-on with Wikipad, the $500 Android gaming tablet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve entered the last full week of September, which means that autumn, pumpkins, and little children asking for free candy are all in the near future (for some of us anyway). Today we found out that the iPhone 5 managed to sell 5 million units in its first weekend of availability, and that iOS 6 has been downloaded by 100 million users since it was released last week. Some enthusiastic analysts were left explaining their generous iPhone 5 sales predictions today, while others were saying that the iPhone 5 could top 50 million sales by the end of Q4.

Apple TV was upgraded to iOS 5.1 today, while the company reminded iCloud users that former MobileMe accounts will be downgraded to 5GB of free storage on September 30. Verizon says that its version of the iPhone 5 will remain unlocked, while iOS developers were sending out updates for their apps left and right. One of these developers was Google, which launched an iOS 6/iPhone 5 update for Google Chrome, with Sparrow promising that iPhone 5 support will be coming soon.

Samsung released a list of devices that will soon be updated to Jelly Bean, and T-Mobile was seen trying to pull attention to its 4G network, which is due for some upgrades soon. The Aakash Android 2 tablet was revealed today with a super low price tag, and Facebook did its best to dispel rumors that private messages are popping up on public timelines. Google’s stock hit an all-time high today, breaking company records set back in 2007, and Sony announced some new super-slim external batteries for mobile devices.

Toshiba had some skinny offerings of its own to show off, unveiling the new Canvio Slim 500GB hard drive, and camera samples for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 2 leaked out today as well. Experts warned that BlackBerry growth has become stagnant and that BlackBerry 10 may not do much to help, while YouTube enhanced its caption translation tools for content creators. In one of the most surprising stories of the day, Myspace began showing off its incoming redesign, and it actually looks really good. Meanwhile, we heard about a particularly nasty Borderlands 2 bug, and Sony reiterated plans to support the PS3 through at least 2015.

Finally tonight, we have a new column by Chris Davies that examines why iPhone 5 users may eventually save the poorly-received Apple Maps app in iOS 6. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, so go out and enjoy the rest of your night!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 24, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today’s Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S III will be “gradually introduced” to markets outside Eastern Europe, Samsung has said, but it’s bad news for slightly older devices as subsequent updates will leave many out in the cold. Samsung has listed the fifteen smartphones and tablets in line for Android 4.1, and there are some notable omissions, including the original Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Samsung isn’t saying exactly when the rest of its devices will get Jelly Bean, only that the update is “coming soon,” and nor has it confirmed the rollout timescale for the Galaxy S III. In addition to that flagship phone, the following devices are in line for the new software:

• Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
• Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
• Galaxy Note 10.1
• Galaxy S II
• Galaxy Note
• Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
• Galaxy S Advance
• Galaxy S II LTE
• Galaxy Music
• Galaxy Chat
• Galaxy Ace 2
• Galaxy Beam
• Galaxy Ace Plus
• Galaxy Mini II
• Galaxy S DUOS

Conspicuously absent is the Galaxy Tab 10.1, however, which Google gave out free to all developers at Google IO 2011 for them to create apps for Android slates.

Google’s own enhancements to Jelly Bean – which include Project Butter, the company’s reworking of the Android UI engine for increased touchscreen responsiveness and smoother animations – aren’t the only improvements coming with v4.1. Samsung has been doing some fettling of its own, as part of its TouchWiz modifications.

So, the new build gets the ability to adjust the size of the “Pop Up Play” floating video window, as well as pause video capture – and then resume it as part of the same clip – in the camcorder. There’s a new Easy Mode which puts certain frequently-accessed features, such as favorite contacts, into resizable widgets on the homescreen, and more control over incoming calls and other notifications.

Unlocked devices are likely to see Jelly Bean first; those sourced through carriers could well encounter delays in the new software arriving, Samsung warns.

Samsung details Jelly Bean upgrade roadmap (and it’s not all good) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.