Jul 20

Netflix app on Android updated to work on 24 models including Galaxy S, Droid 3 (update: tablets too!)

Posted in: Android, att, froyo, GalaxyS, Google, lenovo, netflix, samsung, Sprint, tablet, thunderbolt, Today's Chili, watch instantly, WatchInstantly

The number of Android devices officially compatible with the Netflix streaming app has more than doubled in v2.3, growing from 9 to 24. Last night the description was updated with a new list of devices but the actual updated APK only started pushing this afternoon, bringing Netflix not only to the Lenovo tablet announced last night but also to the Droid 3, HTC Thunderbolt, Motorola Atrix, several Galaxy S phones including the Epic 4G and Fascinate and more. Fragmentation is clearly still an issue for DRM’d apps like this and Hulu Plus, but at least now there’s a growing number of recent superphones supported instead of sitting on the sidelines. We’ve got the updated list of devices after the break, hit the source link to download the app from the Android Market.

Update: As multiple commenters have noted, sideloading the Netflix APK will still work for devices that haven’t yet made the list. We were able to confirm the app works fine on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola Xoom, however we’re hearing it’s not up and running on the Tegra 2-based Transformer just yet. Itching for some Watch Instantly on your Honeycomb tablet? Check XDA-Developers for a download link.

Update 2: Alex wrote in to let us know that things are now operational on the Transformer, too. Check out xda-developers for the details.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Netflix app on Android updated to work on 24 models including Galaxy S, Droid 3 (update: tablets too!)

Netflix app on Android updated to work on 24 models including Galaxy S, Droid 3 (update: tablets too!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

Olivetti’s Olipad 110 and 70 tablets stop by Brazil, say ciao (video)

Posted in: 10-inch, 7-inch, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, demo, honeycomb, Today's Chili, video

Olivetti’s no carioca. It’s a bonafide Italiano electronics company, but that didn’t stop its latest round of tablets from making an appearance south of the equator. Shown off at the 2011 Eletrolarshow in Brazil, the 10-inch Olipad 110 made its second video appearance to strut its sleek NVIDIA Tegra 2-processing, Honeycomb-operating stuff. The successor to the Olipad throne also brought its little brother, the Olipad 70, to the party — rocking a 7-inch capacitive display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, WiFi and Bluetooth. Sadly, our penchant for bossa nova does not extend to Portuguese language fluency, so you’re on your own after the break.

Continue reading Olivetti’s Olipad 110 and 70 tablets stop by Brazil, say ciao (video)

Olivetti’s Olipad 110 and 70 tablets stop by Brazil, say ciao (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

Samsung’s Next Galaxy Phone Set for August U.S. Release

Posted in: Android, Apple, lawsuit, patent, Phones, samsung, smartphone, Today's Chili

Samsung's Galaxy S2 will make its U.S. debut soon. (Photo courtesy Samsung)

Samsung plans a U.S. release for the sequel to its most successful Android smartphone by the end of the summer, according to a senior executive of the company.

“We expect to release the Galaxy S2 in the U.S. market sometime in August,” said Shin Jong-kyun, Samsung president of mobile business and digital imaging, in a briefing with reporters in South Korea on Wednesday. The story was first reported by Yonhap News.

The phone was initially released in South Korea — Samsung’s global headquarters — in April, subsequently rolling out to Europe and southern Asian countries in the months that followed.

The release of the Galaxy S2 comes at a particularly contentious time for Samsung, one of the largest manufacturers of Android-powered smartphones. The company is embroiled in a bitter patent dispute with Apple, the latter claiming Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Galaxy S products were utter rip-offs of Apple’s iPad and iPhone devices.

“We love competition, but we want people to invent their own stuff, and we are going to make sure we defend our intellectual property,” Apple COO Tim Cook said on the company’s earnings report conference call on Tuesday.

Samsung’s first Galaxy smartphone model — which admittedly looks a lot like the first iPhone — was hugely successful for the company. In its first six months after release, Samsung sold 10 million Galaxy S smartphones worldwide. Total sales of the Galaxy S2 from the countries it has already been released in amount to approximately 3 million devices thus far.

Considering the patent dispute with Apple, Samsung’s sales figures beg for comparison to the iPhone’s success. Apple reported record sales of its iPhone devices in its earnings report on Tuesday, with 20 million iPhones sold in a period of only three months.

But Shin has the company’s sights set high. Samsung is heavily promoting its latest tablet offering, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. And Shin expects the company to sell over 60 million smartphones by the end of this year.

Whether that number is realistic or not remains to be seen. If customers love the phone as much as our sister site Wired.co.uk does, Shin’s expectations may not be far off base.

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Jul 20

Tango brings video calling to desktop PCs — giant baby head not included

Posted in: Android, app, apps, desktop, ios, PC, Today's Chili, video, Windows

Back when we first laid eyes on Tango, the startup was sticking strictly to mobile, serving up free video calls over 3G, 4G, and WiFi to both iOS and Android devices (with front-facing cameras, of course). Now the company’s thinking big — quite literally — with the announcement that it plans to bring its video calling service to PCs sometime later this summer. As of now, it looks as if this will be a Windows-only affair, and will remain free of charge — as before, you won’t need to register to get your videophone on. We’ve yet to see Tango at work on the big screen, but from what we gather from the press stills, the desktop edition will bring a bit of the old Apple to your PC. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Tango brings video calling to desktop PCs — giant baby head not included

Tango brings video calling to desktop PCs — giant baby head not included originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

Gingerbread heads to T-Mobile myTouch 4G starting today, won’t stop anytime soon

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Google, HTC, t-mobile, Today's Chili

Looking to spice up your myTouch 4G? Don’t move a muscle. Starting today, T-Mobile will begin taking Gingerbread out of the oven, so to speak, for a limited number of users, with the majority of owners to see it in the weeks ahead. Included in the update is the latest Swype build and compatibility with Exchange 2010 — along with fixes for Bluetooth, a more stable and responsive display, improved domestic roaming, saving from the messages inbox, and the usual “other” software improvements. The company also reminds subscribers that it’s unable to push the update manually, so you’ll just have to wait your turn. But in the meantime, you can get all those awesome cookie decorations ready. Huzzah!

Gingerbread heads to T-Mobile myTouch 4G starting today, won’t stop anytime soon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

Viber’s free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android

Posted in: Android, app, Apple, AppStore, Today's Chili, video, VoIP
Hey there, friends. Do you have the voice-calling blues, wishing for a better way to talk to your friends — without using your minutes? Consider Viber, a free VoIP app that launched for the iPhone last year. Usable over 3G or WiFi, with built-in SMS, it requires no registration, using your existing phone number and contact list. Our only quibble? A disheartening lack of Android support. But our spirits are lifted today, with the app making its way to the everyone’s favorite olive-green market. It has all the compelling features of the iOS version, plus a few extras we saw in the limited beta, like pop-up text message notification, in-app call logs, and the option to use Viber as your default dialer. The company must be doing something right, as it claims 12 million active users just seven months after launch. Interested in being one of them? Check the full PR — with video! — after the break.

Continue reading Viber’s free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android

Viber’s free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

Contour brings viewfinder app to Android, goes with you where we won’t

Posted in: Android, app, apps, Sports, Today's Chili
What do extreme sports, helmet cams, and little green robots have in common? Not much before today, but Contour’s gone and changed all that by releasing an Android version of its iOS app — you know, the one we first got our grubby paws on back at CES. Just like its Cupertino-blessed counterpart, the El Goog variant allows future X Games wannabees to use their phones as a viewfinder for those who possess a Contour+ or ContourGPS. We assume the ability to peep at the camera’s battery life and how much memory remains also helps as you shred some epic, radical mountain, bro. If you’ve got either cam handy and a slab of Android in your pocket, tap the source link and take your cinematic skills to new, gnarly heights.

Contour brings viewfinder app to Android, goes with you where we won’t originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 19

Lenovo Storms Tablet Market With a Triple Threat

Posted in: Android, lenovo, Tablets and E-Readers, thinkpad, Today's Chili

Lenovo’s ThinkPad comes complete with stylus. (Photo courtesy Lenovo)

Better late to the tablet game than never, Lenovo announced three new tablet offerings Wednesday, officially unveiling designs and specs on the products for the first time.

The IdeaPad K1 and ThinkPad tablets are set to debut in August, with the IdeaPad P1 to arrive at an unspecified date later in the year. The K1 and the ThinkPad will run Android Honeycomb 3.1, while the P1 will run Windows 7.

What may be even more exciting is that all three tablets will run Netflix, the first of any Android Honeycomb-powered tablets to do so. Although a handful of Android phones are able to run Netflix’s Android app, Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch are all able to run the streaming movie service. It’s a big deal that Lenovo’s tablets will finally offer another solution to Netflix users who don’t necessarily want to go with Apple.

The real star hardware is found in the ThinkPad, Lenovo’s business-oriented Android tablet (pictured above). It comes with an optional stylus pen, but unlike the exorbitantly priced HTC Flyer’s stylus — which cost a whopping 80 bucks to purchase with the Flyer — the ThinkPad’s stylus will cost less than half that when bought with the tablet, a modest $30.

It’s got some of the usual accoutrements found in Android tablets — dual-core processor, front and back-facing cameras — but also includes a number of uncommon connectivity options. HDMI output, USB 2.0 port, micro USB port, SIM card slot, 3-in-1 memory card reader — with this kind of connectivity, it’s like we’re looking at the back of a PC tower rather than a tablet. There’s also a dock connector to hook the tablet up to both a charging station or the optional $100 folio, which acts as both a carrying case and a keyboard.

The ThinkPad will first launch in Wi-Fi only versions, but at an unspecified date shortly after a 3G version will go on sale. The carrier for the 3G version is yet to be named.

The IdeaPad K1 is more run of the mill, touting a list of specs similar to other tablets already on the market. (Photo courtesy Lenovo)

The K1 doesn’t look much different from most Android tablets currently available for purchase. It sports a dual-core 1-GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor backed by a full gig of RAM, and it comes with a 10.1-inch display — all of which is identical to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was released far before the K1 will come out. And like Toshiba’s recently launched Thrive tablet, the tablet’s back casing comes in multiple colors.

The one big draw — you’ll be able to buy a 32 GB version for $500, the same as a 16 GB iPad 2.

Lenovo’s IdeaPad P1 rounds out the threesome as a Windows 7-powered tablet. (Photo courtesy Lenovo)

Last but not entirely forgotten, the P1 touts a 1.5-GHz Intel processor, can support up to 2 GB of DDR2 memory, and will come in both Wi-Fi and 3G versions upon its eventual release. Like the ThinkPad, you can also purchase the P1 with an optional stylus.

The 32 GB IdeaPad K1 will be available for preorder online for $500 beginning today, with a release set for August. The 16 GB ThinkPad will also be available for pre-order online today for $530 with the optional stylus, and $500 without. It’s also set to drop come August. Finally, the P1 hasn’t got any availability or pricing information outside of a “fourth quarter” release time frame.

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Jul 19

Lenovo’s Android 3.1-powered IdeaPad K1 tablet hands-on (video)

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, hands-on, honeycomb, lenovo, slate, Today's Chili, video

Is the next major Honeycomb tablet play seriously coming from Lenovo? Sure looks it, as the company has just taken the (final) wraps of its IdeaPad K1. For all intents and purposes, the K1 is a LePad dressed up in Android — this one’s packing a 1.0 GHz Tegra 2 chipset, a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) capacitive touchpanel, Android 3.1, a two-cell battery (good for “up to ten hours”) and a few minor software tweaks that may or may not appeal to you. The Lenovo Launcher is the first of those, acting as a five-pane launchpad that’s completely customizable by the user, and it’s one that can even be disabled if you so choose. The other is the introduction of the Lenovo App Shop, yet another venue to suck down applications for Google’s tablet OS. The reason for its inclusion? According to reps here at the show, it’s there to provide a secure, safe haven for people to download from — the software that makes the cut here has been tested in Lenovo’s labs for stability and security, though the company did confess that certain app developers may fork over a bit of cash to have their program(s) considered for inclusion. More after the break…

Gallery: Lenovo IdeaPad K1 Honeycomb tablet hands-on

Gallery: Lenovo IdeaPad K1 Honeycomb tablet (press images)

Continue reading Lenovo’s Android 3.1-powered IdeaPad K1 tablet hands-on (video)

Lenovo’s Android 3.1-powered IdeaPad K1 tablet hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 19

Sprint’s Fared Adib: we made a conscious decision to scale back bloatware on smartphones

Posted in: Android, cdma, mobile os, MobileOs, smartphone, Software, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

If you’ve ever wondered what companies take your advice (read: complaints) to heart, here’s yet another one that is: Sprint. Recently, HTC received oodles of praise from a minuscule-but-passionate group of folks who appreciate the company’s stance on unlocking its bootloaders, and today we learned that folks at The Now Network made a similarly impressive change after hearing yet another enthusiastic sect… our readers. If you’ll recall, Sprint’s VP of Product Development Fared Adib appeared on the November 2010 episode of The Engadget Show, and it was during that appearance that he heard a rather shrill cry of users begging for a smaller amount of “bloatware,” or at the very least, bloatware that users could customize or outright remove. For those unfamiliar with the term, it generally refers to applications that are preloaded onto devices from the carrier; by and large, these clutter up the application grid, and many power users aren’t exactly enthralled by any carrier-imposed OS changes.

In speaking at length today with Adib during a Sprint campus walkthrough, he confessed that he jetted back from NYC and immediately informed his team that the bloatware needed to go. To quote: “Ben, we’ve got to get rid of these preloaded apps on our devices. A lot of customers don’t want this.” You may have noticed a dearth of those very apps on the EVO 3D, and according to Fared, customer feedback on the newly cleaned slate has been overwhelmingly positive. We inquired on whether this approach would be pushed across the company’s product spectrum, and he seemed eager to admit that it would. In fact, Sprint’s taking quite the different approach internally than some folks may be used to. It’s effectively trying to get out of the way in as many areas as possible, and in turn, litter your future phones with as little content as possible. In fact, he’s pushing to make whatever programs Sprint does preload user-removable, and it’s a mantra we can only hope other carriers latch onto. Nothing against NASCAR, of course, but having the ability to burn rubber in our own way is definitely preferred.

P.S. – This slide was just one of many, and is definitely not a comprehensive view of partners and plans. We were specifically informed to not read into it as a solo slide.

Sprint’s Fared Adib: we made a conscious decision to scale back bloatware on smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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