Mar 24

Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred?

Posted in: Android, droid, hack, HTC, moto, motorola, sense, Today's Chili
It seems that man’s mad quest to unite Sense UI and Droid continue at breakneck speed. This next bit of evidence comes from the blurrycam of AllDroid forum member Greek35T, and befitting its status as an experimental Alpha release, there are a few hiccups. Data is available when 3G is enabled, but not voice (although a quick perusal of the forum has indicated that at least one user has had success placing 3G calls — but none receiving them). Bluetooth is also out of the question, for the time being — as is airplane mode and the GPS (although aGPS seems to be working fine). That said, you do get Flash (as a rousing game of Alien Attack demonstrates). See for yourself after the break — or hit the source link to try it out for yourself. You know, if you’re crazy like that.

[Thanks, Steven]

Continue reading Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred?

Sense UI ROM available for Droid; is nothing sacred? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 24

Hands-On With The Dell Aero, But Only Kinda

Posted in: Android, att, Today's Chili

IMG_2122.JPGTouchy much, AT&T? At the CTIA Wireless trade show tonight Dell let us handle the Aero (aka the Mini 3), the first Dell smartphone for the US – but we couldn’t turn it on. Dell reps said that was because AT&T didn’t want us looking at the pre-final software.

So all I can say about this one is that it’s an unusually small, light full-touch Android device. AT&T has some more details and photos of the Aero on their teaser page. According to them, it has a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch screen and a thoroughly customized interface. Unlike on most Android phones, there’s a persistent bar of icons at the top of the screen (not the bottom), and the default home screen shows the weather and information about alerts like missed calls. The AT&T shots don’t show any of the typical AT&T bloatware that the carrier added to the Motorola Backflip.

Also at the show, Dell had a Mini 5 demo tablet. They confirmed that right now, the device is still called the “Mini 5,” and not the “Streak” as rumored elsewhere on the Internet.
I’m hoping we’re going to learn much more about these devices at AT&T’s CTIA luncheon Wednesday at 2:45 PM ET. 

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Mar 23

Dell Aero first hands-on!

Posted in: Android, att, breaking news, BreakingNews, ctia, Features, hands-on, smartphone, Today's Chili

Here she is, folks — Dell’s first-ever Android device destined for a Stateside release, and AT&T’s second overall handset (the first being the Backflip) with a Google-based operating system. At CTIA’s MobileFocus event, we were able to brush up against a fully functional Aero (shown beside a Mini 3, just for your information), but we left without seeing the actual home screen. The closest we came to witnessing Android 1.5 boot up was the typical AT&T intro screen, and once that popped up, our presenter promptly popped the battery out in order to stop what would’ve otherwise been a truly momentous occasion. We begged and pleaded for a few interface shots, but Dell insisted that AT&T was holding an invisible gun to its head in order to keep the screen dimmed. We were told that the interface was still being tweaked, and the carrier simply wasn’t ready for the world at large to take a peek.

Outside of that, we learned that this will indeed be the planet’s lightest Android phone ever when it ships (believe us, it was light), and while v1.5 will be onboard, Dell seemed confident that 2.1 (and beyond) would be made available shortly after launch. We were also told that it would ship with a 5 megapixel camera (a step up from the Mini 3’s 3 megapixel shooter), an undisclosed amount of internal storage, a new color / design scheme (the one you see here will be the only shade available at launch) and a 2GB microSD card bundled in at purchase. You’ll also find a good deal of AT&T baked into the OS, but it’s not like you should be surprised to hear of carrier meddling. Finally, we were informed that pricing would be set by AT&T, and that it would be shipping “soon” — far sooner than “six months from now” — from both AT&T and Dell channels (though not available unlocked from the latter). There’s also the possibility that Dell could arrange some sort of Aero / Mini 10 combo deal for those looking to really sink their teeth into a hefty AT&T contract, but there’s nothing substantial to go on just yet in that department. Enough chit-chat — give the gallery below a look to see what’s coming your way.

Gallery: Dell Aero first hands-on!

Dell Aero first hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Kyocera Zio M6000 hands-on: you get what pay for

Posted in: Android, hands-on, Today's Chili

It’s totally unfair to Kyocera that we played with its new Zio M6000 mid-tier Android smartphone mere hours after our first look at the HTC EVO 4G, but while we were excited to see a cheaper phone with an 800 x 480 screen, the end result is pretty disappointing. The device crams that resolution into a 3.5-inch screen, which wouldn’t be so bad if the capacitive touchscreen element wasn’t so low-end. It seemed both unresponsive and lacking in accuracy — at times we had trouble even dragging open the notification tray. We were told that we were looking at a prototype of the device, but the crumminess seemed pretty uniform across multiple Zios we tested. The device also seemed just generally sluggish — we’d think the 600MHz Qualcomm processor could handle Android 1.6 just fine, but perhaps there’s some optimization left to do. Kyocera told us that the phone is easily upgraded to 2.0 or 2.1, based on carrier wishes, and that they don’t have any plans for skinning it. Ironically, running 1.6 on this high res display actually ends up looking worse than a regular low-res screen, due to the blurry icons and UI elements. The cheap looking capacitive touch buttons aren’t much out of the norm for Android, but interesting the phone doesn’t have any haptics to let you know if you’ve clicked one. Meanwhile, the haptic feedback for touchscreen typing is cranked to 11 and significantly unhelpful.

In one final negative note, the phone takes one of the worst pages out of the Palm book and put plastic doors over not only the USB plug but the microSD slot and side-mounted headphone jack as well. On the plus side: this is an incredibly thin and light phone, and we doubt the price (less than $200 or so unsubsidized) probably will be beat in the US for a while. Expect to see it on a low-end CDMA carrier (like Virgin Mobile or Cricket) near the middle of the year. Check out a video after the break!

Gallery: Kyocera Zio M6000 hands-on: you get what pay for

Continue reading Kyocera Zio M6000 hands-on: you get what pay for

Kyocera Zio M6000 hands-on: you get what pay for originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

HTC EVO 4G vs. HD2 and Desire… fight!

Posted in: Android, ctia, hands-on, HTC, sense, Today's Chili, Windows Mobile, windows mobile 6.5, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.5

Now that the excitement of the EVO 4G announce has finally worn off, it’s time to get down to more practical matters — in a street fight, would the WiMAX-powered beast hold its own against an HD2 and a Desire, for example? We had all three in a room just now, and here’s what we’ve got to say:

  • It feels significantly beefier than the HD2, but in reality, it’s not — it’s just a single millimeter thicker. The brushed metal back of the HD2 is a little sexier, but just by the tiniest of margins; it’s hard to argue with soft touch and a kickstand, obviously.
  • We would’ve never noticed this without the Desire next to it, but the EVO’s text is pretty huge, a side effect of the fact that it’s running the same resolution on a screen 0.6 inches larger. It’s not annoying, really, but it struck us that they could’ve comfortably fit quite a bit more information on the screen without getting cramped. The Desire’s display is more vibrant, too, but that makes sense — we’re indoors under artificial lighting and the Desire has AMOLED on board.
  • The EVO’s got touch-sensitive buttons below the display that function much like the Nexus One’s, but no worries: they work quite a bit better. We think this might be because there’s more touch-sensitive bezel real estate below the keys; on the Nexus One, you’ve got to be far too accurate for comfort.
  • Interestingly, this is the first EVO we’ve seen today with a silver earpiece grill — Sprint’s have been red. We’ve confirmed with HTC that production devices will be silver.

Want to draw some of your own conclusions? See the shots for yourself in the gallery below.

Gallery: HTC EVO 4G vs. HD2 and Desire… fight!

HTC EVO 4G vs. HD2 and Desire… fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Motorola Milestone gets 2.1 firmware upgrade in Hong Kong, Europe to follow by ‘end of March’

Posted in: Android, droid, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, moto, motorola, Today's Chili, update, upgrade
Look away now, Droid owners, as Motorola’s finally uploaded the Milestone‘s Android 2.1 firmware update to its servers. It’s only officially sanctioned for users in Hong Kong and Macau for now, but judging by the inclusion of a Dutch language pack in the new firmware, it looks like it’s the same stuff that will shortly be rolling out all across Europe as well. In addition to the funky live wallpapers, users will also get a new feature called Motorola Car Home — a special interface for in-car usage — along with some speed improvements. Now, we’re not exactly sure what the rollout plan is for each nation, but Moto’s Facebook page tells us we’ll see an end to the Milestone’s upgrade saga before March is through. The source contains a direct link to the fresh firmware file, and you can find a straightforward upgrade how-to at Android World below. We’ll be right here for your upgrade stories.

[Thanks, Peter]

Motorola Milestone gets 2.1 firmware upgrade in Hong Kong, Europe to follow by ‘end of March’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid face off on the charted field of battle

Posted in: 4G, Android, droid, HTC, nexus one, NexusOne, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX


HTC EVO 4G
Google Nexus One

Motorola Droid

Android OS2.1 with Sense UI2.12.01
CarrierSprintAll2Verizon Wireless
Network technology1x / EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAXVarious (including 3G)1x / EV-DO Rev. A
Processor1GHz Snapdragon1GHz Snapdragon550MHz TI OMAP 3430
RAM512MB512MB256MB
Screen size4.3-inch3.7-inch3.7-inch
Resolution800 x 480800 x 480854 x 480
TouchCapacitive multitouch Capacitive multitouch Capacitive multitouch
Physical keyboard——Slide-out landscape QWERTY
Internal storage1GB512MB512MB
Expandable storagemicroSDmicroSDmicroSD
Rear camera8MP w/ LED flash5MP w/ LED flash5MP w/ LED flash
Video recording1280 x 720720 x 480720 x 480
Front camera1.3MP——
Battery1500mAh1400mAh1400mAh
WiFi802.11b/g802.11b/g802.11b/g
HDMI outYes——
KickstandYes——

As you’ve probably noticed, we have something of a propensity for charts — hey, organization is key to a well-balanced life, right? Since we last tackled an Android device faceoff, the sheer number of competitors has branched out far and wide, but despite the propagation / fragmentation, including today’s unveiling of the HTC EVO 4G, three clear frontrunners have taken most of the spotlight for being the pinnacle of the Android experience: the aforementioned, HTC / Google’s Nexus One, and the Motorola Droid. Here, the latter device is looking a bit long in the tooth, but that physical QWERTY keyboard and its volcanic rise to prominence gives it some strong staying power. Cold, hard data isn’t going to tell the full story, but until you can get to try each of these yourself — all at the same time, if you’re lucky — it’s a great place to start.

Notes:
1 A purported 2.1 upgrade has been promised and delayed more times than we care to count anymore.
2 The Nexus One is currently available unlocked for T-Mobile, and on track to hit Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T’s 3G network.

HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid face off on the charted field of battle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Samsung Galaxy S hands-on with video

Posted in: Android, ctia, galaxy, GalaxyS, hands-on, samsung, Today's Chili
Samsung dragged the Galaxy S out for us to gawk at this morning at CTIA and after the 30 minute video presentation, we were itching to actually check it out in our hands. Let’s just get this out of the way right off: the 4-inch WVGA 800 X 480 Super Amoled display on the Galaxy S is nothing short of stunning. Put side by side with an iPhone under some very harsh lighting, the difference between them — feel free to have a peek at the video after the break — is pretty astounding. Everything is bright and crisp, text legible, and the colors are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Touchscreen performance? This is another standout on this Android 2.1 device and coupled with Samsung‘s 1GHz Application Processor, not only is it responsive but the UI is smooth and fast. The Galaxy S can shoot HD video at 720p using its 5 megapixel cam, plays it back with aplomb, and did we mention the display? The spec sheet lists this as triple-band HSPA device living in the 900 / 1800 / 1900 realm — and while US availability was announced for this year, no word on what carrier — so we hope to see that 900 swapped out with 850. This is one for the wish list friends, and we’re seriously hoping that wish gets filled long before this year’s holiday season.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S hands-on

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S hands-on with video

Samsung Galaxy S hands-on with video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Sprint’s HTC Evo, the First Ever 4G Phone: Meet the New Terrific [Sprint]

Posted in: 4G, Android, flash, Google, HTC, Sprint, Today's Chili, top, WiMAX

It’s official: Sprint’s first WiMax/4G phone is everything we hoped it would be. The HTC Evo combines the “perfect specimen” hardware of the Touch HD2, the Sense-on-Android smoothness of the Legend, and unprecedented download speeds. It’s a beast. UPDATED: Hands on! More »

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Mar 23

Samsung announces Galaxy S Android smartphone

Posted in: Android, breaking news, BreakingNews, ctia, GalaxyS, samsung, Today's Chili

That’s right, the Galaxy S is officially official, as are its 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, and “Smart Life” ecosystem integration, and more. It’ll be available worldwide — including the US — this year, and as we type this our hard-working team on the ground is rushing off to get a hands-on with the device. In the meantime, check out the image gallery below and PR after the break.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S announcement PR images

Continue reading Samsung announces Galaxy S Android smartphone

Samsung announces Galaxy S Android smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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