Hasta La Gadget!

Remeber the Motorola i1? Moto has just added its second rugged(ish) Android handset in the 3.7-inch Gorilla Glass-fronted Defy. It’s dust-, scratch-, impact-, and water-resistant. Matching up to the IP67 durability spec means it’s expected to resist being submersed in up to a meter of water for up to half an hour — making it a pretty awesome option for taking your Android to the beach, 854 x 480 is your screen resolution, backed up by an OMAP 3610 chip running at 800MHz (there had to be some tradeoffs, right?). Android 2.1 is another slight disappointment, we’re not clear on why Froyo had to be left off the table, but at least Motorola has bundled Swype as the default input mechanism. Should be a boon for some, we suppose. The Defy is expected to launch across Europe in Q4 2010.

Update: Hands-on video now available after the break.

Continue reading Motorola Defy: Android 2.1 goes rugged with water, dust and scratch resistance

Motorola Defy: Android 2.1 goes rugged with water, dust and scratch resistance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung has been trying to keep the lid on its upcoming 7-inch tablet called ‘Galaxy Tab’ ahead of the device’s official release later this week. But a video clip seems to have captured most of the details of the device.

The video from a Korean TV channel shows the Galaxy Tab as a device that could well rival Apple’s iPad in its sleek hardware. The Galaxy Tab includes a nice virtual keyboard, nifty features like Swype for easier text input, high-definition video, and what looks like a very responsive touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom capability.

Much of the text in the video, posted by Giz-China, including the user interface is in Korean but here’s what we know about the Galaxy Tab so far.

The device will run Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, include video-calling capability and full web browsing—which likely means support for Flash, according to an official teaser video that Samsung posted last week. The company expects to announce additional details on Sept. 2 at the IFA Berlin consumer electronics show.

Meanwhile, more news about the Galaxy Tab is trickling out. Verizon Wireless will likely offer the Galaxy Tab to the consumers in the U.S., according to the Boy Genius Report, which got a quick peek into Verizon’s inventory system.

The Galaxy Tab will be the first tablet from a big consumer electronics maker to compete with Apple’s iPad. Earlier this month, Dell launched the Streak, a device with a 5-inch display that has been billed as a tablet but is priced and acts like a phone. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and HP are reportedly developing tablets but those devices are little more than rumors at this point. Meanwhile, Apple has sold more than 3 million units of the iPad since the gadget’s debut in April.

If you are trying to decide whether you should get the iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab or wait for some of the rumored tablets, check out this tablet buying guide from PhoneDog.com for a neat overview.

See Also:

• Samsung to Launch 7-inch Tablet in September
• Samsung Enters Tablet Race With the Galaxy Tape
• First Look: ELocity’s Android Tablet Makes Great Media Player
• Samsung Ships One Million Galaxy S Phones in 45 Days

Photo: An earlier leaked photo of the Samsung tablet

Sometimes it takes a crafty, steel-nerved individual to leak an unreleased phone’s details ahead of time. And then sometimes all it takes is a negligently uploaded video. An official promo for the Milestone 2 has popped up on YouTube before quickly being yanked by Moto. The Droid 2‘s international sibling unsurprisingly looks to be its carbon copy by another name: it features a 1GHz OMAP SOC, 512MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel imager, and Android 2.2 as the OS (complete with Flash Player and Froyo’s native hotspot ability). We’ll go out on a limb here and guess that this means the rest of the world will be getting its dose of Moto’s latest and greatest QWERTY slider in very short order.

[Thanks, Thomas]

Update: Oh hello! Someone managed to rip the video before Motorola’s retraction, so we’ve naturally got it embedded for you just past the break. And yes, whether you like it or not, Motoblur lives on. Thanks, qakgob!

Continue reading Motorola Milestone 2 makes official, albeit unintentional, debut (video)

Motorola Milestone 2 makes official, albeit unintentional, debut (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The T-Mobile G2 — which will likely be known as the HTC Desire Z outside the States — is shaping up to be one of the more anticipated Android launches of 2010, and a handful of smaller-than-we’d-like official press shots that have just leaked over on Cell Phone Signal are doing nothing to make us believe otherwise. The site says it believes silver (pictured) will be the only color offered, and considering that we haven’t seen any leaks in any other shades, that seems like a reasonable assumption. Then again, a white, red, or black version of this would be pretty neat, wouldn’t it?

[Thanks, Nam]

Update: Turns out these images are chilling on T-Mobile’s servers right now — check the source links below. Whoops!

Update 2: And we’ve now got the clearest shot yet of a G2 in the wild, casually browsing Facebook as a laptop looks on with a mixture of curiosity and contempt; follow the break to check it out. Thanks, Sebastian!

Continue reading T-Mobile G2 official shots break loose, corroborate rumors of wanton awesomeness

T-Mobile G2 official shots break loose, corroborate rumors of wanton awesomeness originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already heard LG talk up its forthcoming Optimus tablet, and it looks like we now have our first look at it. As you can see above in a slide apparently shown during LG’s pre-IFA Dealer Days event, the Android-based tablet is now apparently known as the “Optimus Pad,” and it’s described as boasting “superior performance” and being “thinner and lighter than many competitors’ tablets.” Not much more than that at the moment, unfortunately, but here’s hoping that “more information to come” teaser is a lead-up to a full announcement at IFA this week.

[Thanks, Nicole]

LG’s Android-based Optimus Pad gets pictured, looking tablet-like originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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