Hasta La Gadget!

C’mon now, don’t act all surprised. This one followed the picture perfect path to shipping: announcement, hands-on, a stop by the FCC’s database and now, a formal portal in Creative’s webstore. If the Galaxy Tab, eLocity A7, G Tablet and Advent Vega haven’t exactly tickled your fancy, there’s hardly a chance the 7-inch ZiiO will have what it takes. That said, it’s now up for grabs at $249.99, with that sum getting you 8GB of storage ($20 more doubles it to 16GB), an 800×400 resolution display, Android 2.1, a ZiiLABS ZMS-08 HD processor, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a front-facing VGA camera. Unfortunately, this thing has a zero percent chance of revolutionizing your life in the way that the ZiiEagle already has, but perhaps it’ll bring you joy in some smaller, less meaningful way.

[Thanks, Terrence]

Creative’s 7-inch ZiiO Android 2.1 tablet now on sale for $250 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know this isn’t exactly the news you wanted to hear, AT&T customers, but it’s comforting to know that the diminutive Aria has been upgraded to Froyo somewhere, isn’t it? HTC’s support page for Southeast Asia now reports availability of an over-the-air update to build 2.37.708.5 for the phone, which brings it up to Android 2.2 — topped off with Sense, of course — presumably along with all the normal benefits of Froyo like tethering, improved enterprise support, and some serious performance boosts. It’s unclear when this update will take a flight across the Pacific to AT&T’s version — but if nothing else, it’s good to know that HTC’s officially gotten the Aria working with something newer than Eclair. Remember, the glass is half full.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Aria gets Android 2.2 update… but not on AT&T yet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re still coming down from that rush of adrenaline that accompanied the launch of the dual-core Optimus 2X last night, but we’ve had a hunch lately that LG is planning on taking Android very seriously in 2011 — seriously enough to have something even sexier than the 2X up its sleeve. Looks like that sexiness could be delivered in the form of a device codenamed “B,” shots of which have been delivered to Phandroid in a direct comparison with the iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S — two handsets we’re sure LG would love to embarrass. As you can see up there, the screen’s looking pretty insane, especially when you consider that those other two phones in the picture have arguably the best displays in the mobile business right now; it’s claimed to offer 700 nits of brightness, a 40 percent improvement over the Galaxy S. Oh, and if that doesn’t impress you, Phandroid‘s tipster has also sent in a shot of the edge that appears to make the 9.3mm iPhone 4 look downright chubby. No word on a release date for the B just yet.

LG ‘B’ Android phone caught in the wild, looking thin and ready to spank Super AMOLED originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve already seen ninjas take on the Nexus S box, now see the device laid out component-by-component, thrashed by some sick and twisted individual. Nothing too crazy to see here, except perhaps the awesome curves of the front display laid out (another shot after the break). It’s interesting to note that only the front panel is actually curved — “the rest of the components are flat as a board, just as any other phone on the market.” Hope that doesn’t ruin any dreams you might’ve had. Check out the Full Monty over at iFixit.

Continue reading Nexus S torn asunder, its curves laid out on display

Nexus S torn asunder, its curves laid out on display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s new Nexus S smartphone went on sale Thursday at Best Buy stores for 200 bucks with a two-year contract, a move with poor timing, says an analyst.

That’s because by this time of year, the holiday season, retailers and competing manufacturers have already slashed prices for relatively new Android smartphones to between $0 and $50. (The HTC Droid Incredible, for example, is free with a two-year plan at Best Buy.)

These holiday discounts will make the $200, T-Mobile-compatible Nexus S seem like an unattractive option for the average consumer, explained Tero Kuttinen, a telecom analyst at MKM Partners.

“I don’t know what Google is doing here,” he said. “They do software so well. I don’t understand why they do this hardware strategy in such a half-assed way.”

Google’s hardware strategy with its previous Nexus One smartphone was unsuccessful. The search giant failed to get major carriers such as AT&T and Verizon to subsidize the phone; only T-Mobile played ball. So, the only way non-T-Mobile-subscribers could get the phone was by throwing down $500 for an unlocked version of the device.

Surprise, surprise: The only people willing to spend that much on Google’s Nexus One were nerds like us, and the phone didn’t sell well. Duly, the Nexus One was discontinued. (Wired.com’s Ryan Singel recently told a thorough version of that story.)

The Nexus S seems to have the same story. It’s currently available at Best Buy for $530 unlocked, and for $200 with a T-Mobile plan.

The fact it’s December makes the Nexus S smartphone launch even worse, Kuittinen said, because more powerful Android smartphones will be announced at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show, meaning the Nexus S will quickly be superseded. On top of that, there have been multiple rumors that a Verizon iPhone will be announced January.

“When we get to January, there will be multicore phones and the iPhone on Verizon,” Kuittinen said. “That’s the real competition here, not the phones you see right now. For those reasons, the Nexus S doesn’t really offer any sizzle.”

See Also:

• Google Unveils Nexus S Smartphone, Gingerbread OS
• What You Need to Know About Android 2.3 Gingerbread