Hasta La Gadget!

So the story goes that some store-bought Norwegian butter was eaten away to reveal a very special Android-powered surprise at the bottom. It looks to us like the butter could have possibly been packed back in after the fact to create the effect, but even so: if you’re willing to sacrifice a Tattoo in such spectacular fashion, you deserve a little recognition.

[Thanks, Arif]

I Can’t Believe It’s An HTC Tattoo In My Butter! originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 05:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are still twelve hours to go before Samsung unveils its new products at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but somehow there are already a series of pictures allegedly “from the event.” We’re not complaining, though, because four of them show off the new 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab II. We discovered yesterday that Sammy’s slate will run Android 3.0 Honeycomb at 1280 x 800 resolution and on a 1GHz processor, and heard rumors it’d have an 8 megapixel camera with HD video recording as well, but this is the first time we’ve laid eyes on a decent image of the tablet, and we imagine you’re in the same boat. Join us on a journey over to Samsung Hub to see the full set (and more shots of the Samsung Galaxy S II), or if you’re too busy priming your touchscreen-smudging thumbs, simply hit the break to see a render of what the unit’s back might look like.

[Thanks, Dell P.]

Update: We’ve gotten another apparent shot of the Galaxy S II in all its glossy, rendered, press-shot-quality glory — and you can see it after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab II and Galaxy S II pics leak out ahead of Barcelona event (update: new pic!)

Samsung Galaxy Tab II and Galaxy S II pics leak out ahead of Barcelona event (update: new pic!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though hard facts on the HTC Thunderbolt’s availability were hard to come by, conflicting rumors were flying fast and strong — now, a Best Buy ad seems to clear most everything up. Like we’d originally heard, the 4.3-inch LTE smartphone will launch for $250 on a two-year contract — or a wallet-crushing $750 without — but the key ingredients here are three words at the very top. The Thunderbolt is apparently a “national retail exclusive” for Best Buy, which explains how the device could simultaneously face Verizon delays and yet come in for a Valentine’s Day landing at the big box store. You’ll also note that the ad mentions Skype video and 4G mobile hotspot functionality, so we’d be surprised if the phone came without, though it’s also possible that the whole kit and kaboodle has been delayed to match — Droid-Life says this ad comes from a February 20th circular, so we might not see anything until then.

In case you needed an additional reason to be excited about the Thunderbolt, the developers at AndIRC have some related news — they’ve already rooted a prototype version (which just so happens to have the familiar codename Mecha) and believe the same technique will work on retail devices. Wouldn’t it be nice to have root on day one… whenever that is?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Thunderbolt exclusively hits Best Buy for $250 at launch, rooted prototype provides hope for full unlock originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, we’ve just laid eyes on some internal Samsung documents and can bring you the official names and specs of the successors to the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab. Firstly, the Galaxy S II will tout a 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1GHz dual-core Orion / Exynos processor, NFC, Bluetooth 3.0, and 24Mbps HSPA+ connectivity. All those stats were leaked earlier this morning, along with the image above, and we’ve once again seen the 8.49mm thickness for this device, although we now believe it is the measurement at its thinnest point — it’s likely that the S II will fatten up to 9.9mm, presumably to accommodate the camera module, one of the last remaining parts of smartphone construction that require extra girth (NFC being another).

As to the Galaxy Tab II, it is indeed the 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet we’ve been hearing so much about, with the added bonus of it being a Google Experience Device. That should mean no Samsung-derived skin customizations atop the stock Android 3.0 UI — exactly what we expect to see from the Motorola Xoom. Also matching the Xoom are the resolution, at 1280 x 800, and CPU speed, at 1GHz, though we couldn’t determine whether the Tab II will be a dual- or single-core tablet. Our money’s on seeing the Exynos 4210 appear in both new Galaxy devices, but we’ll have to wait until Samsung’s presser tomorrow to find out for sure. One more note of import on specs: we saw a 16GB / 32GB / 64GB storage listing, but couldn’t be sure what product it referred to — wouldn’t it be lovely if the Galaxy S II was the first smartphone to step past the 60GB barrier?

Finally, looking toward the future, Samsung is apparently working on a 4-inch WVGA display with 3D capabilities — presumably autostereoscopic like LG’s Optimus 3D — and an intriguing “Motion UI” control scheme. The latter will allow you to pan inside Google Maps and StreetView just by the movement of your phone, as well as zoom in and out of pages by tilting the handset up and down (a gyroscope will be required for both functions). Samsung also has big plans for LTE, with a focus on pumping out whatever you receive over the 4G connection to a nearby HDTV using dual display technology. The two applications we caught sight of were personal broadcasting, where your Sammy handset would act as an extremely sophisticated internet TV receiver, and cloud-based gaming. Here’s hoping we learn more about these future ventures tomorrow.

Samsung Galaxy S II and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab II confirmed for MWC, 4-inch 3D display, LTE-based cloud gaming coming later originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh oh, looks like someone got the wrong date for Samsung’s MWC keynote. The above screenshot (now placed after the break) is captured by the eagle-eyed folks at Moveplayer, who spotted what appears to be an embargoed article about the Galaxy S 2 (or Galaxy S II) over at Korean news site Paran. While the offending press shot has since been removed, the text remains intact with the following specs: Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 4.3-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, HSPA+, Bluetooth 3.0, and 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi. Additionally, Paran says that this new handset weighs 116g (4.09 ounces) and is 8.49mm thick — which is close to, if not the, thinnest smartphone device we’ve heard of yet. (For the record, the Xperia Arc is 8.7mm at its thinnest point.)

The article also mentions that 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet that we heard of yesterday, confirming it will pack a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera with “full HD” video recording, and dual surround sound speakers. Sounds promising, but only time will tell whether all this is true or simply a matter of lost in translation.

Update: OK, so we’ve done some spying and can confirm that both devices are very real, and their specs look legit.

Update 2: Oh snap! Samsung Hub managed to get hold of a high res press shot of the Galaxy S 2 before it got pulled off the Korean sites. It sure resembles the Infuse 4G with an extra home button. We’ve posted the pic above for your pleasure. [Thanks, Tran Quoc Hop]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet leaked on Korean website (Update: high res press shot!)

Samsung Galaxy S 2 and 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet leaked on Korean website (Update: high res press shot!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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