Hasta La Gadget!

Move over, Kobo — following the promise of a Summer launch, Amazon’s Kindle app for Android is now live, bringing the usual array of features that existing Kindle users will hold near and dear: access to the Kindle store right from the app, adjustable font sizes, free book samples, and most importantly, wireless bookmark synchronization with your entire stable of Kindle-equipped devices (because we know you’ve all got an iPad, iPhone, and physical Kindle lying around somewhere). The app requires Android 1.6 to operate, which is going to leave a few people in the lurch — but it’s always good to have a compelling reason to upgrade hardware, is it not?

[Thanks, Neil]

Kindle for Android now available originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid 2 rumored to be launching August 23rd with Android 2.2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t know exactly what’s included, but Sprint’s sending out that rumored over-the-air Android software update to HTC EVO 4G devices this morning. It’s labeled as version 1.47.651.1, and it’s just 21.43MB, so we’re guessing it’s just mostly bug fixes, but word on the street was that it would “enhance” WiFi, so there’s a chance it could enable the EVO’s 802.11n support, and we’re also hoping for some improved battery life. We’ll update you once we see some release notes, but in the meantime let us know how it goes, yeah?

Update: Release notes have been posted, and they’re just as expected — and unfortunately, we still don’t have confirmation on whether “improvements to WiFi performance” means 802.11n. Check the full notes after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading HTC EVO 4G gets an OTA software update

HTC EVO 4G gets an OTA software update originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scoring the top four US carriers plus a top-tier regional with a single family of smartphones in one fell swoop is a major achievement for any manufacturer — a feat memorably pulled off by the HTC Touch Pro2 — so you can officially color us impressed now that Samsung has unveiled the Fascinate for Verizon plus an unnamed device for US Cellular, both variants of the Galaxy S (generic version pictured). As a refresher, this is the same phone family coming to Sprint as the Epic 4G, T-Mobile as the Vibrant, and AT&T as the Captivate, so these guys have a bit of an Android coup on their hands. Like the others (Epic 4G notably excepted), the Fascinate is a non-keyboard Android slate and features the usual 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz Hummingbird silicon, and 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording; US Cellular’s phone looks to be roughly the same thing, though it seems they’ve yet to choose a retail name for it. Both will be available on an unannounced date for an unannounced price — but if the market is any indication, $199.99 on contract seems like a good bet. More on these models as we have it.

Verizon ropes in Samsung Fascinate, US Cellular gets a Galaxy S too originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That rumored Galaxy S Pro is very real and very official for Sprint this evening, ‘cept it’s not actually called the Galaxy S Pro — instead, it’ll be known as the Epic 4G when it comes to market “in the coming months.” Like the EVO 4G before it, the Epic 4G sort of blows everything out of the water on paper: 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 5 megapixel primary camera with LED flash and 720p video recording paired with a VGA front-facing cam for video calls, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, six-axis accelerometer, and a 1GHz Hummingbird core. Oh, and of course let’s not forget those EV-DO Rev. A and WiMAX radios, the latter of which will earn you theoretical downlink speeds in excess of 10Mbps — speeds that will work nicely with the phone’s five-device mobile hotspot support (three devices fewer than the EVO 4G, interestingly).

As software goes, the Epic 4G will be running Samsung’s reworked version of Android 2.1 offering features like DLNA support and Social Hub. In other words, this is the closest you’re going to get to an EVO 4G with a landscape QWERTY slide — and at 14.2mm thick, you’re only about a millimeter and a half thicker than HTC’s entry. Like AT&T’s Captivate, the Epic 4G is being described as “a Galaxy S smartphone,” so it’s pretty clear that Samsung’s looking to group all of these things under a global brand with big-time name recognition. Neither pricing nor a launch date have been announced — but hey, the EVO deserves a few more days in the spotlight, wouldn’t you say? Follow the break for Sprint’s press release.

Continue reading Samsung’s Epic 4G for Sprint seems to live up to its name

Samsung’s Epic 4G for Sprint seems to live up to its name originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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