Microsoft’s Bing and Google’s Android aren’t exactly complete strangers (hello, Moto), but now the company is saying it’ll bring a full-featured client to the platform sometime within the next six weeks. Not much is known, but according to PC World (via Yahoo! News), it’ll at least include desktop-parity with features such as web, image, and news search (in addition to maps, of course). ¿Está tu Nexus One listo para los links?
It’s been a long, ugly road, but HD2 owners and hackers alike can finally bask in the glory of an open device with top-notch hardware and specs that still give mid 2010’s best phones a run for their money. We’d already seen a stock Android 2.1-based ROM, but now we’ve got your choice of stock Android 2.2 or Android 2.1 with Sense, too — seriously, pick your poison. Though HTC clearly never intended to get this kind of Sense on the HD2, there’s something that just feels right about it, isn’t there? Follow the break for videos of both firmwares in action.
Don’t worry, it’s not déjà vu — these SmartQ T7 tablets may appear just like their Ubuntu-riding R7 sibling, but they offer Android 2.1, an integrated 3G option, a speedier 720MHz CPU, and a colossal 4,700mAh battery — 1,400mAh more than before! If that’s woken you from the slumber brought on by yet another boilerplate tablet, SmartQ’s also boasting support for a similarly impressive range of video codecs, meaning you can grab any RMVB, AVI, MKV and WMV files (even at 1080p) from your various, ahem, sources, and just play them back on the 7-inch LCD (probably at 800 x 600 like the R7) as they are. If you’re cool with just WiFi connectivity, then go for the ¥1,480 ($219) T7; if 3G is a must, be prepared to dole out ¥1,880 ($278) and ¥1,980 ($292) for the EVDO and WCDMA flavors of the T7-3G, respectively. And if you’re hanging out with China Mobile, price for the TD-SCDMA version’s to be confirmed later.
Until now, the iPad has faced almost no competition. Soon, though, the Android and WebOS tablets will start to ship in bulk, and things may change. Amongst the first will be Velocity Micro’s Cruz lineup, which brings a wide-screen (16:9) tablet running Google’s Android OS for just $300.
It’s not the first Android tablet (the underwhelming, underpowered Archos 7 holds that distinction) but the Cruz is the first you might seriously consider buying. It comes from Velocity Micro, a company that makes notebooks and desktops but is probably best known for its high-end gaming PCs.
The touchscreen Cruz is flanked by an e-reader and a “kid-friendly” (read: drop-resistant) model, which come in at $200 and $150 respectively.
The Cruz tablet looks a bit like a cut-down iPad. It has 802.11n Wi-Fi, 800 x 480 pixels on the little 7-inch screen, 4-GB storage (expandable via SD-card, with an 8-GB card in the box), an accelerometer, a seven-hour battery-life and (oh Lord, can it be true?) a USB port.
The Cruz is essentially a slab of screen, which is just what a tablet should be. As such, it will succeed or fail based on its software, which is Apple’s big advantage, and also on battery life. The seven-inch screen seems like a great idea — for some, the iPad is too big — but the 16:9 ratio is a little odd for a device that can be used in portrait orientation.
Velocity Micro confuses the customer with the other options. For $100 less ($200), you can opt for the 4:3 “e-reader” which is essentially the same tablet with less memory (none built-in, 2-GB card in the box), slower Wi-Fi (802.11g) and a 800 x 600 display (yes, more pixels, but not capacitive, demoed above).
The tablets all ship Sept. 1, just six weeks away. Once we get them in our hands, we’ll see how they measure up to the iPad.
The software and language engineers at Swiftkey have been toiling on this app for the past two years, and at long last, it’s being made available for precisely nothing to anxious Android users. Hot on the heels of Swype’s own beta, the Swiftkey beta is now available to download directly from the App Market, and once installed (along with language packs of your choice), it can be used in place of your stock Android soft keyboard. We’ve never been the biggest fan of Google’s factory keys, and while we still feel that Swiftkey’s letters are a tad on the skinny side, it’s definitely an improvement. But that’s not where the magic’s at — this software has an uncanny ability to guess what your next word will be, and it actually looks at your prior SMS list (if allowed) in order to “learn” how you converse. In our early tests, we’re pretty darn impressed, and yes, it’s definitely worth the $0.00 price tag. Get your download on right now, or hop past the break for a video demonstration if you still need convincing.
We knew the original Droid’s replacement was coming, but we were never able to nail down the market name with confidence — until now, it seems. The Droid 2 makes a prominent appearance in an official catalog of Verizon devices leaked to BGR, talking up its 5 megapixel cam, 8GB of onboard storage, and 1GHz processor, positioning it just ever so slightly below the mighty Droid X. Also finding their way into the catalog are the recently-launched Pantech Jest, the self-branded Verizon Salute, and the Intensity II and Gusto both from Samsung, all dumbphones that just add more evidence to the theory that all the good names for mobile devices have already been taken. No date’s given for the Droid 2, but we imagine it can’t be long now that they’re openly talking about it, right?
As you may or may not be already aware, the Nexus One and HTC Desire have the same Broadcom chip. Seems trivial at cursory glance until you realize the Desire has a FM radio app, which should ergo be just as feasible on the Google-branded device. Cut to xda-developers’ intersectRaven, who’s released a custom N1 kernel that theoretically brings life to the FM receptor. It’s available to download, but as for when you’ll get a chance to really use this yourself, that’s entirely up to the custom ROM developers updating their respective wares. For his part, Paul O’Brien said today he’s already got it working on an upcoming Froyo Sense build for the device — hang tight, folks, it’s coming.
We haven’t heard much about Velocity Micro’s Android-based Cruz Reader since it sort of came out of nowhere back in April, but it’s now finally nearing a release (sometime in August), and the company is starting to show it off a bit more. As expected, the Cruz Reader is just one of a series of tablets from the company and, despite the “reader” moniker, is actually more of a full-fledged Android tablet, complete with support for apps, games, web browsing, and other tablet-like activities. Velocity Micro is playing up the reader angle though, and has announced a partnership with Borders and Kobo to deliver ebooks to the device. Somewhat confusingly, however, it will be joined later in August by the $299 Cruz Tablet, which opts for a 16:9 capacitive display, adds 4GB of internal storage and an 8GB SD card, and Flash support, which the Reader apparently doesn’t have (we’re not quite sure what that means OS-wise). Rounding out the initial group is the kid-friendly Cruz StoryPad, which boasts a spill-resistant case and will run $149. Head on past the break for a look at the Cruz Reader on video, and the complete press release.
The Pandigital Novel e-reader may have had its share of problems since its launch just a month ago, but it’s starting to look like a slightly more attractive option for those willing to hack the device. As detailed by Nate of The Digital Reader blog, the procedure for installing a new home screen and additional apps is fairly straight forward, and doesn’t involve actually rooting the device (although others are working on doing that as well). Of course, it’s not quite a seamless experience as an Android tablet (there’s apparently some stability issues), but it doesn’t look too shabby for a $179 device. Head on past the break for a video of the hack, and hit up the link below for the necessary details to do it yourself.
When we met with Finnish startup Aava Mobile today, they pulled out the same old prototype phone… then, to our great surprise, dropped a brand-new device right alongside to show us how their Moorestown-based ambitions have grown. This is the Virta 2 reference design, which will ship to developers soon, with the same basic hardware inside but a few important tweaks. First of all, you’ll note that’s MeeGo on this screen, not the droid we were looking for, but that’s because the development kit can switch between operating systems by merely swapping out the microSD card.
Whereas the original prototype had a thin, flimsy shell, the Virta 2’s gone downright rugged, ditching the iPhone chrome for a more durable gunmetal frame, and there’s a full compliment of sensors (compass, accelerometer, ambient light and proximity) alongside quad-band radios, WiFi, Bluetooth and a pair of cameras for your video chat testing needs. At €1900 (roughly $2393) per unit, the dev handset isn’t exactly cheap, but where else are you going to get an Atom Z600 to play around with? Devices ship late August or early September, and Aava expects the platform (but not this exact handset) to see commercial availability next year. Find preorders at our source link, if you’ve got the bankroll.
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