Dec 22

Pantech Vega Xpress comes with DDR2 memory, extravagant performance claims

Posted in: Android, froyo, korea, qualcomm, smartphone, South Korea, SouthKorea, Today's Chili

Pantech‘s bringing a new wrinkle to the mobile hardware space with its newly announced Vega Xpress handset. This 4-inch Android 2.2 beastie will come equipped with an unspecified amount of DDR2 RAM — yes, the stuff that usually goes into x86 laptop and desktop computers — which Pantech will have you believe is going to blow the competition out of the proverbial water. The company claims the new phone doubles 3D graphics performance relative to its previous best, while power efficiency is also said to be two to three times better. Other specs include a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, 802.11n WiFi, an 800 x 480 resolution, and a 1500mAh battery. Yours, provided you’re anywhere near Korea, some time soon.

Continue reading Pantech Vega Xpress comes with DDR2 memory, extravagant performance claims

Pantech Vega Xpress comes with DDR2 memory, extravagant performance claims originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 22

Samsung Epic 4G getting post-Christmas Froyo treat?

Posted in: Android, froyo, Google, rumor, samsung, Today's Chili, update
Samsung Epic 4G getting post-Christmas Froyo treat?

We’re horrible at getting gifts and cards to their recipients on time, usually showing up in mailboxes at least a day late. Samsung, it seems, is in a similar boat with its Epic 4G. According to Phone Arena, Android 2.2.1 (you know, Froyo) will begin rolling out to the handset on December 26. For real this time. Like, really real. Given all that history we’re a little bit skeptical about this happening on that date, but don’t let that stop you from setting some milk and cookies next to your charging stand on the 26th. Worst case: morning cookies for you on the 27th!

Samsung Epic 4G getting post-Christmas Froyo treat? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 22

Android trademark lawsuit tossed out, Google in the clear

Posted in: Android, Google, lawsuit, legal, Today's Chili

This is just sad, in a happy way. Last week, a judge threw out Erich Specht’s attempt to extort $94 million from Google, Android Inc, and Open Handset Alliance. Apparently, the court wasn’t swayed by the website that Specht threw up in order to prove he was still using the mark after his company went under in 2002. The judge then punctuated the decision with a cancelation of Specht’s “Android Data” trademark on grounds that he attempted to use it as a “sword” against Google and because it could create confusion with the little green bot that consumers have become so enamored with. Ouch. Hooray for legal sanity.

Android trademark lawsuit tossed out, Google in the clear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

Ford Sync AppLink ready to download for 2011 Ford Fiesta, iPhone support coming early next year

Posted in: Android, Apple, BlackBerry, Ford, iPhone, sync, Today's Chili

Wouldn’t it be nice to connect your phone to your car and control Pandora with your voice? If you drive a 2011 Ford Fiesta, you can do so right now, by downloading the Ford Sync AppLink platform that’s finally ready for primetime. So far, Pandora’s one of only two apps that natively support voice commands (the other being OpenBeak) and it only works on BlackBerry and Android, but Ford says that Apple’s iPhone will play nice with AppLink sometime in “early 2011.” You’ll find a thorough press release trumpeting the news after the break, and the download should be available at our source link any minute now. Then, you get to transfer it to a USB stick, and plug it into your car. Just imagine saying that to someone fifty years ago.

Continue reading Ford Sync AppLink ready to download for 2011 Ford Fiesta, iPhone support coming early next year

Ford Sync AppLink ready to download for 2011 Ford Fiesta, iPhone support coming early next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

HTC EVO Shift 4G spotted in the wild, said to have 800MHz CPU

Posted in: Android, HTC, in the wild, InTheWild, leak, leaks, QwertySlider, slider, smartphone, Sprint, Today's Chili

We had our doubts the last time we encountered an HTC EVO Shift 4G, but it looks like they were mostly unfounded — here’s Sprint’s new QWERTY slider in the flesh — armor finally shed — revealing a chrome bezel beneath. PhoneArena obtained these pics from an anonymous tipster, who says the device has an 800MHz processor much like the T-Mobile G2, and while we can’t infer much more about the internals than we have before, there are a few new things to note: HTC Sense is alive and well, there’s a particularly large camera module buried in the smooth plastic back and a headphone jack up top, and it appears there’s a pair of status LEDs for Caps Lock and Function Lock right above the keyboard. See two more pics of the device at the source link below, while we wait for Sprint to own up.

HTC EVO Shift 4G spotted in the wild, said to have 800MHz CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

Viliv to debut Android-based X7, X10, Windows 7-based X70 tablets at CES

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, tablet, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 7, Windows7
We can’t say for sure just yet, but we’re starting to get the feeling that we’re going to see lots of tablets at CES. The latest to join the party is Viliv, which has just announced that it will be showing off its new Android-based X7 and X10 tablets, along with the Windows 7-based X70 “slate” — the latter of which is touted to be the “most slim and light Windows 7 based tablet in the world,” and is presumably a successor to the company’s existing X70 tablet. As you might expect, however, Viliv is still saving most of the key details for the official unveiling at CES, but you know we’ll be there to check them all out first hand.

Viliv to debut Android-based X7, X10, Windows 7-based X70 tablets at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

New HTC device starts leaking piecemeal — is it the Mecha / Incredible HD?

Posted in: Android, Google, HTC, in the wild, InTheWild, leak, lte, rumor, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

So we’ve got a crazy theory here: SlashGear just got a couple closeup shots of some heretofore-unknown HTC. So did we — one in common with SlashGear, one different. Could it be that Taiwan’s finest are “leaking” us these shots in an effort to drum up interest going into CES in a couple weeks? We wouldn’t doubt it in the least — with the LG B, Optimus 2X, and Samsung Nexus S all fresh off the presses, HTC probably wouldn’t mind getting a little boost in mindshare right now, and there’s no better way to do it than by teasing a phone that looks an awful lot like the previously-leaked Mecha. As a refresher, the Mecha is the beast that might end up on Verizon as the Incredible HD, offering LTE compatibility for the carrier’s new 4G network — and we know that Verizon plans on showing a whole bunch of LTE devices at CES, so this is all lining up pretty nicely. Follow the break for the other shot we received along with SlashGear‘s.

Update: Android Central got another picture, too, presumably from the same source. Shenanigans!

Update 2: Gizmodo, too. At the rate we’re going, we’ll have these pictures assembled into an actual working phone by the time the night is over.

Continue reading New HTC device starts leaking piecemeal — is it the Mecha / Incredible HD?

New HTC device starts leaking piecemeal — is it the Mecha / Incredible HD? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

FCC: We didn’t impose stricter net neutrality regulations on wireless because Android is open

Posted in: Android, Google, Today's Chili, verizon

Rest assured that we’re working on a full analysis of the FCC’s major net neutrality decision today, but the Commission hasn’t actually released the full text of the order yet, and we just came across something in the press release we wanted to break out: one of the specific reasons the FCC gives for regulating wireless broadband more lightly than wireline is the release of Android. Seriously — the release says that only “measured steps” to regulating wireless are necessary because “open operating systems like Android” have been released, and that it wants to see how Verizon and other 700MHz spectrum winners handle the hotly-contested openness requirement when building out 4G. Here’s the full quote:

Further, we recognize that there have been meaningful recent moves toward openness, including the introduction of open operating systems like Android. In addition, we anticipate soon seeing the effects on the market of the openness conditions we imposed on mobile providers that operate on upper 700 MHz C-Block spectrum, which includes Verizon Wireless, one of the largest mobile wireless carriers in the U.S.

In light of these considerations, we conclude it is appropriate to take measured steps at this time to protect the openness of the Internet when accessed through mobile broadband.

Now, we obviously love Android, and there’s no doubt that Google’s OS has been part of some wonderfully furious competition in the mobile space recently. But we’re not sure any of that has anything to do with net neutrality — it doesn’t matter how open your OS is when you’re stuck with a filtered and throttled connection, and it’s a pretty huge stretch to think Android’s openness (however you want to define it) has anything to do with network access itself. And let’s not forget that the primary proponent of the 700MHz open-access rules was Google, which promptly flip-flopped on the issue when it became Verizon’s policy BFF after the Droid launch — if we were slightly more paranoid, we’d be pretty sure there’s a link between the FCC’s Android mention and the combined furious lobbying of Google and Verizon. Nice try, boys — but how about you make with the actual rules now?

FCC: We didn’t impose stricter net neutrality regulations on wireless because Android is open originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

LG Optimus 2X coming to T-Mobile USA by March?

Posted in: Android, Google, LG, rumor, t-mobile, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili

When the Optimus 2X was announced a few days ago, North America was conspicuously left out of the nebulous launch plans mentioned in the press release — but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not coming. RCR Wireless says it has it on “rather good authority” that LG’s beastly Tegra 2-powered Android phone will in fact see a US launch, and that said launch will be on T-Mobile in late February (which would be right after MWC) or early March. Considering how aggressively T-Mobile has been pushing Android dating all the way back to the G1, we tend to believe it — and between the dual-core processor, HSPA+, and the promise of a Gingerbread update in the works, this could easily hang with the HTC Mechas and Motorola Olympuses of the world (likely launching on Verizon and AT&T, respectively) over the next few months.

LG Optimus 2X coming to T-Mobile USA by March? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 21

Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, app, luxury, Today's Chili, watch
Moine-Garde recently came to our attention, and we were quite frankly amused by its offer of “fine virtual timepieces” — if only because, in this context, “fine” and “virtual” would seem to cancel each other out. But like the best websites and catalogs catering to the wealthy, social climbers, or the just plain gullible, this company is not just selling Android apps, it’s selling a lifestyle. Some of our favorite item descriptions:
  • EX-01 Homme ($15) Entering the boardroom at 8:30 AM – everyone awaits a decision. Mentally going over the broader picture. Calmly sitting down at the end of the table. Placing the phone quietly on its black glass surface. Time: 8:31. Let the meeting begin.
  • F-01 M’elle ($7) Strolling down Rue Saint-Florentin. New dress: Check. Artichokes: Check. Hometown Crémant: Check. All is ready. Thinking about his smile on the last date. Loving the scent of vanilla from the bakery across the road. 7:10 PM. Incoming text message: “Chéri – Can’t wait to see you tonight.”
  • M-01 Jaune ($3) Finally got around to reading Fritz Neumeyer’s essay on Mies Van Der Rohe. 3:05 PM, Sunday afternoon – Coldplay in the background. Sitting comfortably with a tall glass of Chablis. The patterns of rain on the terrace windows are simply amazing. Page 122.
  • M-02 Verte (Coming soon!) 12:30 PM, Singapore. Lunch break at the School of Art & Design. On the rooftop enjoying a Katong Laksa. Green as far as the eye can see. Remembering a Murakami sentence. Watching a plane go by. How time flies. Have to return to the lecture. Guess that’s ok.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself if this is all a joke, or if these guys are serious — and to be honest, we can’t tell either. But we do know this: $15 is quite a lot to spend on a watch app, even if it does display hours, minutes, and seconds. PR after the break.

Continue reading Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners

Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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