Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not everyday that we come across an Android phone with an exposed keyboard, so naturally Acer’s beTouch E130 caught our eye here at Computex. The BlackBerry-esque phone is equipped with a 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen display, a scroll ball and a full QWERTY keyboard. In hand the device felt really solid, and though the screen is smaller than most Android phones, the rough-feeling scroll ball is great for navigating the menus. The keyboard is probably our favorite part of the phone — like Nokia’s E71, it has a rubber-like coating giving the keys a nice bounce. But all of that good stuff came to a bit of a halt when we realized that the E130 is part of Acer’s lower end BeTouch line — it packs only a 416MHz ST-Ericsson CPU, 256MB of RAM, and 512MB of ROM. Additionally, it runs a now-dated Android 1.6 OS. We guess we can’t expect every smartphone to boast a 1GHz Snapdragon and a beta version of Froyo, though. Vid’s after the break, if that’s what you’re into.

Continue reading Acer beTouch E130 kicks it BlackBerry-style, but runs Android 1.6 (video)

Acer beTouch E130 kicks it BlackBerry-style, but runs Android 1.6 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s oftentimes easy for us to get swept up in Android mania and forget that Google’s mobile platform is still in its infancy. Then we get cold hard numbers like these — showing iPhone OS owning 28 percent of the US smartphone market and closing in on RIM’s leading 35 percent — and we face up to the realization that Android handsets still account for less than one in every ten smartphones owned by Americans today. In spite of collecting 28 percent of all consumer smartphone purchases in the first quarter of 2010 (according to NPD), Google’s OS was only able to climb up a couple of percentage points in terms of total market share, showing just how long a road lies ahead of its world-conquering plans. Guess that now explains why Apple’s response to the earlier numbers was so nonchalant.

Other intriguing figures include a high rate of loyalty among iPhone OS and Android users, with 80 percent of the former and 70 percent of the latter expressing a preference for the same OS in their next phone — both rather shaming Microsoft and RIM’s numbers, which were a mediocre 34 and 47 percent, respectively. Funnily enough, despite its inflammatory title, this report finds Android and iPhone users are more similar to each other than anyone else — an uncomfortable fact for both parties to deal with, we’re sure. The source link contains some more demographic comparisons, so why not go check them out and drop some sage analysis for us in the comments?

‘iPhone vs Android’ report finds Apple has three times Google’s market share originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And you wonder why the cabbies here are so addicted to mobile TV. Innocomm’s latest — hailed as the first Android 3.5G smartphone with Telegent’s mobile TV solution — was on-hand here at Computex, and while the Shark didn’t look too special at first glance, it actually proved to be a mighty respectable phone after we opened our mind and gave it a few precious moments of our lives. The handset itself manages to boast an impressive WVGA (800 x 480) 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, and there’s an 8 megapixel camera around back to accompany the 3.5G connectivity, inbuilt WiFi and analog TV tuner. We found the device to be running Android 2.1, and for all intents and purposes, it hummed along like a clock. Touchscreen response was top notch, and the TV application loaded and closed with nary a hitch. Innocomm plans to ship the thing worldwide in the coming weeks, though users in need of a digital receiver will have to wait for a future model. Have a look at us presumably getting cursed at by a daytime drama queen just past the break.

Continue reading Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video)

Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jun 2010 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you don’t know the names yongzh and ZodTTD, you can certainly be forgiven, but they’re basically the cell phone emulation dream team — where the former has been cranking out high-quality Nintendo and Sega emulators for Android, the latter is the one who brought PSX to iPhone, iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. Today, we hear they’re collaborating on a PSX emulator for Android that’s running faster than the 3GS version — before Froyo’s even factored into the equation — and that when his domination over the PSX is complete, ZodTTD intends to begin work on an Nintendo 64 emulator for Android, and then VLC. Without letting our enthusiasm get the better of us, let’s just say it’s an exciting time to be an Android owner, to say the least.

PlayStation emulator coming to Android, courtesy of yongzh and ZodTTD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No patience left to wait for Google TV? Tough luck, bubs — ’cause Bonux’s Android set-top box ain’t shipping till the year’s end, either. Tucked away in a small corner of Computex was the gem you see above: an Android 2.1-based set-top box designed to bring… well, Android to your television. The white mockup box was strictly in place to demonstrate the software, and the inability to find a live internet connection on the floor crushed their desires to demonstrate connected extras. Essentially, this STB would scale a mobile OS up to TV size, which isn’t exactly the most elegant of solutions. That said, it does “work,” and the idea of using Android to pull in local media and web content may tempt those who aren’t willing to deal with the expense and complications of snagging a full-blown HTPC. We were told that the box could play back nearly every major file format known to man, and the HDMI output ensures broad compatibility with practically every HDTV ever sold.

When speaking with company representatives at its booth, they asserted that their goal was to shrink the white box down to the size of the black unit sitting beside it, or something barely larger than a deck of cards. If all goes to plan, they should be shipping worldwide by the end of this year, but they stated that it would be awhile before Froyo (Android 2.2) was supported given the intrinsic need for more potent hardware. Speaking of which, they’ve yet to actually nail down a final processor, and they’re still debating whether they’ll have WiFi as an option. In the end, consumers should expect “between one and three” variants (including one with an integrated TV tuner, possibly), and a retail starting price of around “$120 to $130.” So, found that patience you were looking for yet? Per usual, a video demonstration awaits you after the break.

Continue reading Bonux’s Android set-top box is pretty much Google TV lite… really lite (video)

Bonux’s Android set-top box is pretty much Google TV lite… really lite (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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