Hasta La Gadget!

HTC’s latest Android phone, the Droid Incredible 2, becomes available on April 28. Photo courtesy of Verizon Wireless

Almost a year to the day after HTC launched its Droid Incredible smartphone, a successor to the throne arises.

On Tuesday morning, HTC and Verizon announced the debut of the Droid Incredible 2 on Verizon’s network. The phone will hit the shelves on April 28.

The Incredible 2 isn’t straying too far from its predecessor in features: It will have a similar 1-GHz Snapdragon processor (though with a second-generation core), the same 8-megapixel camera shooting 720p HD video, and will run on the same Android version 2.2 (Froyo) as the first Incredible. 3G mobile hotspot connectivity supports a data connection for up to five devices at once.

To be fair, there are a few new hardware perks the Incredible 2 offers that the first generation doesn’t have. DLNA compatibility on the camera means you can stream videos wirelessly to compatible devices, which is always nice. The front-facing 1.3-megapixel video camera allows for video chat, and the new display is bigger, at 4 inches instead of the former phone’s 3.7 inches. And instead of the 512 MB of ram in the first generation phone, the Incredible 2 comes with 768 MB.

There’s one strong selling point for potential buyers who travel internationally: The Incredible 2 is global ready. Verizon claims the phone will run in over 200 countries.

HTC’s original Droid Incredible garnered considerable praise (including ours) upon its release in April of 2010. Critics lauded the phone’s 1-GHz processor, which was at the top of its class in power at the time. But coming out with the sequel a year later with much of the same hardware, it’s difficult to see why new smartphone buyers wouldn’t choose a recent, more powerful dual-core processor release. And with HTC’s Thunderbolt able to access Verizon’s super-speedy 4G network, the Incredible 2’s 3G radio is looking somewhat pale in comparison.

The phone will be available beginning April 28 for $200 with a two-year Verizon contract.

You’ve been able to pre-order the Sprint-ified version of the Nexus S for a good while now, but it’s always good to add a concrete date for the end of the anticipation and the beginning of the Android 2.3 fun. That date has now been officially marked as May 8th. That’s when your Pure Google device will be ready for use and abuse, though you’ll have to accept the usual two-year commitment with Sprint and pay up the typical $200 entry fee. Intriguingly, the Nexus S 4G’s release date matches up with a roadmap leak we saw recently, which also featured the Motorola Xoom launching on Sprint in “early May.” Can’t be long before that goes official as well now. Jump past the break for Sprint’s PR regarding today’s news.

Continue reading Nexus S 4G launch on Sprint now official: May 8th for $200

Nexus S 4G launch on Sprint now official: May 8th for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The US had to wait for its Eee Pad Transformer launch a little longer than the rest of the world, but it’s finally gotten its wish today and consumers’ reaction seems to have been nothing short of voracious. Amazon’s order page for the $400 Android 3.0 tablet appears to have gone from “in stock” to “out of stock” within mere minutes, while Target — the supplier fulfilling orders on behalf of Amazon — also lists the Transformer as presently unavailable. ASUS’ own Where To Buy page leads us to a bunch of dead ends as well, with Best Buy being the only retailer we can currently find with stock in the US. We can’t say for sure whether we’re looking at overwhelming demand or just limited supply, but it’s hard to argue with ASUS’ excellent value proposition here: a 10-inch IPS display, a dual-core SOC and a feature-rich tablet OS all for less than four Benjamins. You’ll just need to be quick on the trigger if you want one.

[Thanks, Noah]

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer goes on sale in US, immediately sells out at Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hurry and order yours today — before they run out of magic dust.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Want a PlayBook that runs Android 3.0? You can get one at MacMall! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This could be what Lenovo’s tablet looks like, according to a leaked Powerpoint presentation. Photo courtesy of This is my Next

Yet another major electronics manufacturer may throw its hat into the tablet ring this summer according to a recent report.

Chinese PC manufacturing giant Lenovo has plans to debut its Android 3.0-powered ThinkPad Tablet come June, according to a leaked Powerpoint presentation obtained by tech reporter Joanna Stern.

As the document says, the device will be powered by Honeycomb, the tablet-optimized version of Android. It will run on the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, a chip which has virtually reached mobile-industry standard status after being featured on myriad phones and tablets debuted in 2011.

Other touted specs remain similar to the already-existing pack: Micro USB, HDMI, SD card and USB 2.0 ports are all included. 16, 32 and 64-GB versions will be offered, as well as the eventual release of 3G and 4G-enabled versions.

The tablet does deviate from its brethren somewhat, but you’ll have to spend a little more to see the differences. Optional choices include a stylus pen for “sketching and note-taking,” as well as a docking bay with keyboard attachment, which essentially turns the tablet into a laptop. Think HTC Flyer meets the Motorola Atrix.

Since Lenovo’s tablet is marketed in the Powerpoint pictures as the tablet “for on-the-go business professionals…and the IT Managers that support them,” we may be seeing a rival to Research in Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, a device also aimed at the enterprise market. Originally a laptop designed and manufactured by IBM, the ThinkPad brand was purchased by Lenovo in 2005.