Hasta La Gadget!

No huge surprises here, but Google just announced Android 2.2 “Froyo” at I/O, and the big addition is a just-in-time compiler, which brings a 2-5x speed boost to the system. There are also 20 new enterprise features, including better Exchange integration and device administration APIs, as well as a new device backup app that’ll let you transfer personal data to a new device. Android 2.2 also features a new cloud-to-device messaging API that Google called “much more than a push notification service designed to make up for a lack of basic features like multitasking,” and of course, WiFi tethering — which was used to get a WiFi iPad online during the demo to great cheers. Google also demoed a new JavaScript engine in the Android browser, which is billed as “the world’s fastest web browser,” and a Chrome browser plugin that allows you to send directions from Maps on your desktop directly to your phone.

It’s all going on live right now, so make sure to go hit our I/O liveblog!

Android 2.2 Froyo officially announced originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G Slide — the QWERTY-enabled version of the venerable myTouch 3G — has been priced and dated, and we’re happy to see that “expected to be available in June” has turned out to mean the very beginning of the month; June 2, to be exact, in your choice of red, white, or black. What makes us less happy, though, is the notion of paying $179.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate for an Android device that now has the unenviable job of lying in the massive shadow created by the brilliant EVO 4G. Granted, the two phones are for very different carriers, but that doesn’t really excuse T-Mobile from offering up a phone with a lower-class processor, 40 percent of the screen resolution, and three megapixels lopped off the camera for just $30 less upfront, does it? Time for some serious price correction across the smartphone landscape, wethinks.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide coming June 2 for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Image credit: Seattle Times

[Thanks, Kris Hill]

Quartet of Dell Streaks spotted in the wild in Seattle, testing for AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well we just got to lay hands on the above Foxconn-manufactured, Tegra 2-powered Android prototype, and we’ll be honest — it was awfully sweet. There wasn’t much going on beyond some gaming action — we didn’t see it boot into standard Android — though it was running the 3D football title you see above at a pretty healthy clip (check out the video after the break). NVIDIA reps weren’t very keen on sharing info about the device, though we can tell you that it’s apparently got 1GB of RAM inside cuddled up to that 1GHz ARM Cortex 9 CPU, a front-facing camera, and the WSVGA screen measures 8.9-inches (it’s also a much wider aspect ratio than something like the iPad). We’re going to hold any judgment till we see this thing cooking with a full UI, but we’re not knocking it — get this in at the right price, and we’ll likely be first in line.

Update: Correction, the screen size is 8.9-inches, not 9.7.

Continue reading Foxconn’s Tegra 2-powered Android tablet hands-on (video)

Filed under: Handhelds

Foxconn’s Tegra 2-powered Android tablet hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 19:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cellphones and batteries. It’s an eternal struggle, but one that Google’s Larry Page says should at least be manageable. That topic arose at the recent Google Zeitgeist forum, where Page responded to a question about battery life on Android phones by saying that he actually found it to be “pretty good,” and that “if you are not getting a day, there is something wrong.” That prompted Google CEO Eric Schmidt to chime in and explain that the main culprit for excessive battery use on the phones is the transmit / receive circuit, which he says some apps are “not particularly smart about” using.

Google’s Larry Page says there’s ‘something wrong’ if your Android phone’s battery doesn’t last all day originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 14:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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