LG Optimus One headed to T-Mobile with 3G hotspot and WiFi calls?

If the allegedly leaked slide immediately above is the real deal, it looks like the LG Optimus One is destined for T-Mobile, and it’s going to get some serious use out of that 802.11 b/g WiFi radio. We knew the quad-band GSM handset was going to have a shot of Froyo on top of some fairly middling specs, but here’s an unexpected treat: the Android handset just might be the first Android device with UMA support. If you’ve already forgotten what that particular acronym means, we don’t blame you, as Unlicensed Mobile Access hasn’t held the spotlight since the days of HotSpot@Home, but suffice it to say the tech uses a WiFi access point to make free VoIP calls, no cell signal (or minutes) required. It’d be easy to point to this move as a nefarious T-Mobile plot to free up cellular bandwidth a la the femtocell, except it apparently also works the other way, too — the Optimus One will allegedly let you share that HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connection over WiFi with your thirsty laptop.

LG Optimus One headed to T-Mobile with 3G hotspot and WiFi calls? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhoneNews  |  sourceTmoNews  | Email this | Comments

How would you change Dell’s Streak?

Oh, sure — our international contemporaries have been toying with the Dell Streak for the better part of 2010, but Americans have just recently had their equal opportunity to indulge. It’s a mini tablet, or a huge phone. Or both. And sometimes neither. But whatever the case may be on any given Sunday, the 5-inch Streak has caused more of a stir for the folks in Round Rock than any product since the Adamo. For those who eagerly pre-ordered and then not-so-eagerly paid the credit bill upon receipt, we’re interested in knowing exactly how things are going so far. Are you still stoked about having a 5-inch phone? Would you have made it any larger / smaller? Changed the casing? Made it available on another carrier? Thrown in a slide-out QWERTY keyboard? Let us know in comments below, capiche?

How would you change Dell’s Streak? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Sep 2010 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Android-based AlessiTab home tablet gets November release, higher price

Eager to get your hands on that Stefana Giovannoni-designed AlessiTab home tablet first announced back in April? Then it looks like you’ll have to wait a bit longer, and shell out a bit more cash than first expected. According to Design Boom, the device is now set to roll out in Italy sometime in November (instead of this month), and it will run €399, or about $535 (a full hundred euros than previously expected). Otherwise, the Android 2.1-based tablet looks to be the same as we’ve seen before, including a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a DVB-T digital TV tuner, built-in WiFi, and a webcam for video calls. Notably absent, however, is access to the Android Market, but Alessi promises it’ll provide a selection of its own apps specifically designed for the home environment.

Android-based AlessiTab home tablet gets November release, higher price originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceDesign Boom  | Email this | Comments

Android App Uses Cellphone Camera to Measure Air Pollution

If you think there’s something in the air, you could know for sure by just pointing your Android phone at it.

An Android app called Visibility, developed by researchers at University of Southern California, lets users take a photo of the sky and get data on the air quality.

The free app is currently available for phones running Android 2.1 version of the operating system.

“Airborne particulate matter is a serious threat to both our health and the environment,” say the researchers on their blog. “We are working towards an optical technique to measure air visibility, and hence an estimate of some kinds of air pollution, using cameras and other sensors available on smartphones.”

It’s a neat idea and it’s interesting to see how smartphones are giving rise to the trend of citizen science and crowdsourced data.

As smartphones become ubiquitous and increasingly powerful, researchers are increasingly using the devices to do complex computations and use it for crowdsourced data gathering. For instance, as part of a project called ‘Common Sense’ Intel’s research labs developed sensors that could be attached to GPS-enabled phones and measure air quality.  The data gathered from these sensors would be brought back and processed to help researchers understand pollution levels.

The Visibility Android app hopes to offer something similar but make the process more user friendly.

With the Visibility app, each user photo of the sky is tagged with location, orientation and time. The data is transferred to a server where the calculations take place. The level of air quality is estimated by calibrating the images sent and comparing their intensity against an existing model of luminance in the sky, say the researchers.

The result is sent back to the user and the data is also used to create pollution maps for the region. An iPhone version of the app is in the works.

See Also:

Photo: Mobile Sensing/USC Robotics
[via TreeHugger and Gizmag]


The Orb Lets You Stream Music Anywhere in Your Home for $70

the_orb.png

Ladies and gentleman, it’s the Orb! What is the Orb? Some sort of spacecraft? A time travel device? No, nothing quite that exciting–though it does seem pretty cool, nonetheless. The Orb is a cheap ($69) device that lets you stream music from your PC or Mac to any stereo in your home.

Users can control music playback via the iPhone, Android handsets, the iPod touch, and iPad. You can stream your iTunes library, Pandora, Sirius, and a number of other Internet music services through the device. Orb Networks calls its smartphone interface “familiar” and “iTunes-like.” You can use your phone to play, pause, skip around, and adjust the volume of playback.

The hockey puck-sized device is available now, as is the iPhone app, which can be downloaded from iTunes. We’ll be getting some hands-on time with the device here at Gearlog shortly.

AT&T-branded Motorola Flipout released… on eBay

You might not be able to score a Flipout in AT&T stores just yet — in fact, AT&T still hasn’t fessed up to the fact that it’s coming — but if you’ve got $388 and a can-do attitude, you can still grab one. The swiveling Android set in full AT&T livery and packaging has shown up on eBay for $388.88… which, ironically, is probably less than you’ll pay off contract once it officially launches. There appear to be a few available at that price, so let us know if you pull the trigger.

[Thanks, Jon]

AT&T-branded Motorola Flipout released… on eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceeBay  | Email this | Comments

Archos 32 Internet Tablet review

With there now being five (oh yes, five!) Archos Android Internet Tablets on the market, it’s understandably hard to keep ’em all straight, but in our minds the 32 is easy to separate from the rest – it, along with the 28, is more of an Android PMP than anything else. With 3.2 inches of resistive touchscreen, the 32 packs the specs of a typical media player: 8GB of storage, media player software with support for loads of audio and video formats, and a VGA camera. But unlike most, it runs Android 2.1 (2.2 will be a firmware update, we’re told), which adds quite a bit more functionality in terms of applications and web browsing. And it’s also got an accelerometer for playing games. At $150, it seems like a pretty good deal, especially when you consider that it’s cheaper than an iPod Touch or even a Zune HD (depending on where you’re shopping), but there are a few issues that may hold you back from forking over the cash. You’ll want to check out our full review after the break to find out just what those are.

Continue reading Archos 32 Internet Tablet review

Archos 32 Internet Tablet review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceArchos  | Email this | Comments

Google’s Schmidt says requiring stock Android would violate ‘the principle of open source’

The suggestion has been made countless times that manufacturers who customize their devices’ builds of Android (that is to say, nearly all of them) should have the decency to offer users the option of reverting to a completely clean, stock version of the platform if they so choose. The concept came up at a press lunch featuring Google CEO Eric Schmidt last week, and the dude responded with an interesting explanation for why they don’t require that of their partners: “if we were to put those type of restrictions on an open source product, we’d be violating the principle of open source.”

Of course, “the principle of open source” is open to wild differences in interpretation, the source of well over 20 years worth of intense debate in the developer community and the reason why countless types and versions of open source licenses exist (GPL, BSD, MIT, and so on). We’d also argue that the fact that Google is allegedly placing a range of arbitrary restrictions on certified devices (that is, those that feature the Market and other Google apps) gives them the platform they need to impose one more… but hey, Schmidt’s an opinionated guy, and until Android stops growing by leaps and bounds, there’s probably not a great capitalism-inspired argument that can be made here. Peep the video of the luncheon after the break.

Continue reading Google’s Schmidt says requiring stock Android would violate ‘the principle of open source’

Google’s Schmidt says requiring stock Android would violate ‘the principle of open source’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSearch Engine Land  | Email this | Comments

Editorial: Nokia’s not going to switch to Android or Windows Phone 7, so stop it already

I’ve had it. I can’t take all this Nokia operating system speculation anymore. The final straw came with a VentureBeat piece citing a “trusted source” that claims “Nokia is now likely to use Windows Phone 7 as an additional platform for its phones.” Enough already. Nokia has a strategy and hiring Stephen Elop away from Microsoft’s Office team isn’t going to change that no matter how much the US media (where Nokia has near zero presence) wishes it were true — if anything, it’s going to accelerate it.

Continue reading Editorial: Nokia’s not going to switch to Android or Windows Phone 7, so stop it already

Editorial: Nokia’s not going to switch to Android or Windows Phone 7, so stop it already originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

T-Mobile G2 pre-orders go live for current customers, available to all on October 6

Just as promised, T-Mobile has started offering its subscribers that “exclusive access” to early G2 pre-orders. There have been a couple of early hiccups with the pre-order page for that select group, but they’re being ironed out as we type and there’s also word that the rest of us unwashed Android geeks will be able to join in on October 6. One of our tipsters forwarded along a bill for his purchase showing the phone to be valued at $249.99 and an estimated delivery date of September 30. That’s quite the steep entry fee, considering Best Buy will have the phone on October 6 as well for just under $200 and Radio Shack is undercutting all with a $150 price on the typical two-year contract.

[Thanks, Justin and Wei]

Update: Our tipster’s $250 levy is before the standard $50 mail-in rebate, making for the predictable $200 price when all’s said and done.

Continue reading T-Mobile G2 pre-orders go live for current customers, available to all on October 6

T-Mobile G2 pre-orders go live for current customers, available to all on October 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceT-Mobile  | Email this | Comments