Hasta La Gadget!

ASUS’s mighty morphing Eee Pad Transformer might be a commercial success (even despite early delays) but, it seems, there’s something amiss with the shape shifting tablet. Earlier today, the company admitted to an issue relating to the slate’s keyboard dock. A post to ASUS’ UK Facebook page reads:

Apologies to anyone who has encountered issues with their Transformer keyboard dock (power drain and charging). The issue is related to the way we configured the device’s power management in/out of sleep mode. We will shortly be announcing details on how this will be resolved for our customers.

We’d say that’s about as vague a promise as a company could offer, but we’ll keep you posted as ASUS opens up.

Update: Looks like the Transformer is set to join the Xoom on the Android 3.2 bandwagon, as ASUS’ Twitter account announced that the company is testing the latest Honeycomb build on the Transformer as we speak, and ASUS hopes to release it “soon.”

ASUS promises fix for Eee Pad Transformer power drain, keeps the apologies coming (update: Android 3.2 is coming “soon”) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We gotta say — we dig where this is headed. Between Virgin Mobile’s Intercept, Boost Mobile’s Prevail and Cricket’s Ascend II, it’s getting harder and harder to justify a mid-range smartphone on a post-paid carrier. Huawei’s latest prepaid smartphone has just landed on Cricket, quite a few months after we first touched it at CTIA. What’s wild isn’t the predictable design or middle-of-the-road 5 megapixel camera — it’s that $179.99 off-contract price tag coupled with a copy of Android 2.3. Gingerbread is proving tough to find even on the big boys, so having a prepaid option is all the more surprising. You’ll also get a 3.5-inch HVGA touchpanel, WiFi, a microSD slot and a 600MHz processor. Granted, you’ll likely experience plenty of lag when trying to multitask, but with an all-inclusive $55 / month plan (which includes unlimited talk, text, 411 information, international text, data and video picture messages), what’s to kvetch about?

Continue reading Huawei Ascend II on sale now, brings off-contract Gingerbread to Cricket for $180

Huawei Ascend II on sale now, brings off-contract Gingerbread to Cricket for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Too often, “expected summer launches” translate into “the very last day possible,” so we were happy to learn that Sprint’s latest collaboration with Motorola, the Photon 4G, will be available July 31st for the usual $200 on contract. To say the upcoming Android device will come loaded is an understatement: it’ll ship with Gingerbread, a Tegra 2 dual-core 1GHz CPU, one full GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch qHD display, dual cameras (8 megapixel rear, VGA front) and 16GB of internal memory. Not surprisingly, Sprint’s also integrating its signature Sprint ID feature into the user interface. While the device will be available to the general public on July 31st, Premier Customers will have the golden opportunity to get it online three days earlier. If you were perched on the fence about the HTC EVO 3D, this may be the only Sprint phone that’s ready to push you in either direction. Full PR following the break.

Continue reading Motorola’s Photon 4G ships to Sprint on July 31st: $200 on contract

Motorola’s Photon 4G ships to Sprint on July 31st: $200 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Normally, we don’t cover contests, but this Air App Challenge from Sony and Adobe does deserve some special attention. Why? Well, for one, Air hasn’t exactly taken off quite like the Flash makers had hoped — especially in the mobile space. And two, that new S2 tablet is going to need some apps that are designed to take advantage of its dual screens. The $200,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to developers who whip up the best creations specifically for the forthcoming Sony Honeycomb devices, using Adobe’s Flash-plus-browser environment. Challenges have proven successful in the past to spur interest in platforms from Android to New York City’s vast databases of information. If the contest is successful it could turn that little folding Sony from a novel design into a unique and compelling product. If you really need to know more, full PR is after the break.

Continue reading Adobe and Sony create contest to put Air apps on Android tablets

Adobe and Sony create contest to put Air apps on Android tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These tablets, codenamed S1 and the S2, are why we need Sony—the Sony we love—in a world where almost every gadget of consequence is effectively a blank slate for software. More »