May 29

Stream sits still for the camera, shows off its camcorder abilities (video)

Posted in: 720p, Android, stream, Today's Chili, video
Stream sits still for the camera, shows off its camcorder abilities (video)

In these halcyon days of impromptu Vietnamese gadget reveals, it should come as no surprise that Acer’s Stream has gone from FCC filing to hands-on honey in a few days flat. Now it’s been the subject of a rather more thorough photo shoot in Ho Chi Minh City, and also was kind enough to share a little footage filmed from its five megapixel camera. Sadly, it’s not raw 720p footage that was YouTube’d, so it’s perhaps too early to draw conclusions — but we’ll go ahead and say the video doesn’t look very good just the same. Still, it looks to be yet another intriguing entry to the Android assault, and we can’t wait for the next leak.

Update: Thanks to kreatos for pointing out that there’s a second, albeit shorter 720p video on YouTube as well. We’ve got that embedded below and it does indeed look a good bit better — but you can certainly still tell it came from a cellphone.

[Thanks, Tran]

Continue reading Stream sits still for the camera, shows off its camcorder abilities (video)

Stream sits still for the camera, shows off its camcorder abilities (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

Pandigital Novel e-reader / handheld hits the FCC

Posted in: Android, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, e-books, e-readers, Today's Chili
Pandigital’s already manage to at least pique our interest with its Android-based Novel e-reader / handheld, and it looks like the device has now reached one more milestone on the road to availability — it’s just turned up at the FCC. As you can see, the particular device undergoing testing is black (not white as the final version will apparently be), and the FCC unfortunately doesn’t give us much of a look of that bright 7-inch LCD in the on position. It has, however, given us a glimpse of the device’s insides, subjected it to the usual battery of tests, and kindly provided us with the device’s user manual — though there’s not too many surprises in there at this point. Hit up the link below for all that and more.

Pandigital Novel e-reader / handheld hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview

Posted in: Android, Google, hands-on, HandsOn, impressions, preview, review, Today's Chili

We can practically hear the collective sigh of relief among Slingbox owners now that Sling’s finally just about ready to push out a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for Android — by far the biggest hole in the company’s lineup of mobile players ever since the iPhone version went live. This is no mere port, though; the company is boasting that it worked hard here to reduce load times, meaning the total wait you’ve got from app load to the time you’re actually seeing General Hospital should be less than you’re accustomed to, and that’s a big win in our book. Check out our quick impressions (and video) after the break!

Continue reading SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview

SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 28 May 2010 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

Sirius XM Android app hits the Market

Posted in: Android, app, Today's Chili

That’s right, we’re downloading the brand new Sirius XM app to our favorite, not-at-all-fragmented Android handset as we speak. Sure, we don’t actually have a paid satellite radio subscription, but if you hit up the source link you can sign up for 7 days free while you multitask it up against Robo Defense on your own phone. There’s no mention on the download page of specific handset compatibility, so let us know if you have any trouble running the app on that Motoblur phone your mom bought you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sirius XM Android app hits the Market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

Shanghais Roewe 350 Gets Android 2.1 In-Car Nav

Posted in: Android, Google, navigation, Today's Chili
Android_Car_Engadget.jpg
We’ve heard rumblings about Android finding its way into in-car entertainment systems before. But here’s something that’s actually in production: Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) announced that its Roewe 350 sedan will feature a custom “Inkanet” version of Android 2.1 for its navigation and DVD entertainment system, Autoblog reports.
The system includes China Telecom 3G-powered mobile Internet access, OnStar, and a nifty “walkie-talkie” system for chatting with other Inkanet users. The SAIC Roewe 350 will cost about $20,000 when it goes on sale in China shortly; production line assembly began last week, according to the report. Just imagine the syncing possibilities with an HTC Droid Incredible or Sprint EVO 4G…
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May 28

Samsung Responds to Our Behold II Android Post

Posted in: Android, samsung, Today's Chili

Samsung_Behold_II_Handson.jpg

Yesterday I posted about the Samsung Behold II, and the company’s backpedaling about a promised Android OS upgrade for the device. Today I received the following official response from Samsung regarding the Behold II:
“Samsung Mobile and T-Mobile USA are planning to update the Behold II to Android 1.6 which provides access to Google Maps Navigation, Google Voice Search capability and quick search box for Android.  The update will also supply additional benefits including Swype, an improved Media Player, updated core Android applications and improved Bluetooth capabilities.  However, the Behold II is not upgradeable beyond Android 1.6.”
I still don’t understand why OS updates for these devices are such an issue. It’s one thing if a company wants to prevent the wholesale installation of a buggy third-party app, in order to ensure its product continues to run smoothly. But an entire, official OS update, that other devices can run just fine? These things are computers. Computers get OS updates. Why the heck not?
At any rate, Samsung says the Behold II will soon gain many of the newer Android features, including the excellent Google Maps Navigation. I guess something is better than nothing, right?
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May 28

RAmos W7 Android MID is alive and shipping (in China)

Posted in: Android, MID, slate, tablet, Today's Chili
It’s been a long strange trip for the onetime “mystery MID,” but now it looks like the RAmos W7 is finally finding its way to customers. According to Pocketables, the Android 1.5 device is selling for 999 yuan (about $146), which isn’t bad seeing as how they’ve gone on eBay for four times that — although the price suggests that the rumored 3G connectivity is a non-starter. Whatever the case, we’ll definitely keep our eyes peeled for a stateside appearance.

RAmos W7 Android MID is alive and shipping (in China) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

Shanghai’s Roewe 350 auto rolls off the assembly line with Android 2.1

Posted in: Android, automobile, Today's Chili
This is probably not what Google means by a mobile OS, but no matter: SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) has recently announced that the Roewe 350 — which began production last week — will feature a custom variant of Android 2.1 called Inkanet for its entertainment and GPS system. This bad boy sports Internet access (via China Telecom 3G), OnStar, and a “walkie-talkie” function for chatting with other Inkanet users. With the vehicle estimated to cost upwards of 130,000 yuan ($20,000), this is certainly the most expensive Android MID we’ve seen yet — as well as the least pocketable. Peep the car itself after the break.

Continue reading Shanghai’s Roewe 350 auto rolls off the assembly line with Android 2.1

Shanghai’s Roewe 350 auto rolls off the assembly line with Android 2.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

Skype Mobile with video support coming to Android Market later this year?

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, AndroidOs, app, application, apps, Google, skype, Today's Chili, VoIP

Skype’s PR folks have been unusually loquacious today, as they’ve responded to a query about whether HTC’s EVO 4G would get a Skype client with a deep and meaningful forward-looking statement, underpinned by a promise of an Android app “for all consumers globally to download regardless of carriers.” This universally available addition to the Market should arrive “later this year,” but what’s important about it is that it’s preceded by a lengthy spiel about Skype’s ambition to “set the bar on mobile video calling,” which it also intends to do this year. Does this necessarily mean that Skype video calling is coming to Android in time for us to wish granny happy Hanukkah over video chat? No. Is it a well constructed insinuation to that effect? Hell yes. Read the full statement at the source, or find the juiciest excerpt after the break.

[Thanks, Jeremy]

Continue reading Skype Mobile with video support coming to Android Market later this year?

Skype Mobile with video support coming to Android Market later this year? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 27

Samsung planning Android 1.6 update for Behold II — but that’s it

Posted in: Android, Google, samsung, t-mobile, Today's Chili, update, upgrade

Remember the good ol’ days when companies were honest to their customers? Aw, who are we kidding — those days never actually existed, so it’s good to see Samsung carrying on the time-honored tradition of playing the CYA game by belting out a bald-faced lie or two. So the Behold II for T-Mobile USA has been the subject of some serious buzz the past few days as buyers have grown weary of the lack of new builds, all while the Android world has passed them by with not one, not two, not three, but four major updates. Samsung Mobile finally broke the silence today on a forum — good on them — saying that there’s a Donut update in the works featuring “Swype, an improved Media Player, updated core Android applications and improved Bluetooth capabilities.”

That’s all well and good, but Samsung goes on to say that “the Behold II is not upgradeable beyond Android 1.6” — and we’ve got a serious problem with that wording. We know (and Samsung knows) damn well that they could upgrade the Behold II beyond Android 1.6, considering that the community has managed to shoehorn even Froyo onto prehistoric devices like the Dream; rather, Samsung chooses not to upgrade it beyond Android 1.6. That’s a business decision that Samsung has to make, and far be it from us to try to push Sammy into continuing to sink cash into a phone that didn’t sell very well — but the least these guys could do is be honest, face the music, and tell us that’s what’s going on rather than insulting our collective intelligence and insisting that there’s some cosmic force preventing Eclair or Froyo from loading onto a phone that was just released a few months ago. Seriously though, Sammy — thanks for the Donut, we guess.

Update: We’ve now received Samsung’s official response independently and have it for you after the break.

Continue reading Samsung planning Android 1.6 update for Behold II — but that’s it

Samsung planning Android 1.6 update for Behold II — but that’s it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 01:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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