Aug 16

Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 Android with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises

Posted in: breaking news, dual-core, DualCore, launch, qualcomm, Sharp, Today's Chili

If you’ve already seen the Xiaomi M1 announcement about a month ago, well, forget it, because Xiaomi has already made some significant changes since then. What we’ve just learned from today’s Beijing launch event is that the M1 — now officially “Xiaomi Phone” — no longer packs a 1.2GHz dual-core chip; instead, it’s been given a bump to a Qualcomm MSM8260 SoC, thus becoming the first Chinese phone to sport a 1.5GHz dual-core chip. As part of the Snapdragon package, the phone is also powered by a powerful Adreno 220 graphics processor, which will no doubt make good use of the phone’s 1GB RAM and a staggering 4GB ROM. Oh, and that ¥2,600 (about US$410) price tag? It’s now ¥1,999 ($310), and will be available for pre-order on August 29th for October delivery. Read on for more surprises!

Update: We’ve just been informed that there will also be a 1.2GHz version available for an even cheaper price!

Update 2: Our hands-on post is up!

Gallery: Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 phone with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises

Continue reading Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 Android with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises

Xiaomi Phone with MIUI OS: a $310 Android with 1.5GHz dual-core SoC and other surprises originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 04:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 15

TabCo reveals itself as Fusion Garage, unveils Grid 10 tablet and Grid 4 smartphone (update)

Posted in: breaking news, tablet, Today's Chili
After months of teasing, TabCo finally revealed itself to the world — as suspected, the brand is, in fact a reboot of Fusion Garage, the company that gave the world the much maligned JooJoo tablet. Company head Chandra Rathakrishnan took to the stage to unveil the new product, explaining that the teaser campaign had been put in place to give its new Grid 10 tablet a fair shake. The tablet runs the new Grid operating system, itself based on the Android kernel. According to Rathakrishnan, the 10-inch tablet has the highest resolution of any on the market, at 1366 x 768. Also on-board is a 1.3 megapixel front-facing webcam, 16GB of storage, Bluetooth 2.1, and a microSD slot.

The Grid 10 packs an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip and utilizes the newly announced Grid Shop, a Fusion Garage-specific app store, for which the company will be accepting applications in the near future — though the operating system will support Android apps, as well. Among the departures from Google’s operating system is the company’s decision to support Bing — the better of the two search engines, according to Rathakrishnan. The tablet will run $499 for the WiFi-only version and $599 for a WiFi / 3G model. It’s up for pre-order now via Amazon and will begin shipping on September 15th.

Fusion Garage also took the wraps off of the Grid 4, a handset that also runs the Grid OS. The four-inch phone has a Qualcomm dual-core processor, 16GB of memory, an 800 x 480 resolution, and a front facing 0.3 megapixel camera and a rear facing five megapixel camera with autofocus. The phone will run $399 unlocked. It will begin shipping in Q4, with carriers announced closer to that date.

Update: We should also mention Fusion Garage stated that anyone who bought a JooJoo will receive a Grid 10 free of charge, with details forthcoming through email.

Gallery: Grid 10

Gallery: Grid 4

TabCo reveals itself as Fusion Garage, unveils Grid 10 tablet and Grid 4 smartphone (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 15

Google acquiring Motorola Mobility

Posted in: Android, breaking news, business, Google, GoogleAndroid, industry, merger, mobile, motoblur, smartphone, Today's Chili
Google acquiring Motorola Mobility
Happy Monday to you, and happy Monday to Motorola Mobility, which Google has announced is about to become its next acquisition. This comes hot on the heels of a $56 million Q2 net loss for Moto — and CEO Sanjay Jha’s less than subtle hints about going fishing for Android-related patent royalties. Now, at a price of $40 per share for a total of about $12.5 billion, Big G will be making Moto a “dedicated Android partner” to “supercharge the Android ecosystem” and “enhance competition in mobile computing.”

Larry Page had this to say about the deal:

Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.
What happens next? While this will of course strengthen the ties between hardware and software, Google is pledging to continue offering Android as an open platform — Moto will license it and others will be able to as ever. Additionally, Google will continue to operate its new toy as a separate business and not morph it into an in-house hardware wing. But, one has to wonder what this means for companies like Samsung, which partnered closely with Google on the Nexus S, and of course HTC, which released the Nexus One and the iconic G1. And then there’s the big question: just where does Moto Blur fit into this equation?

Update: More quotes from Android partners after the break.

Continue reading Google acquiring Motorola Mobility

Google acquiring Motorola Mobility originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 11

Beats Electronics’ Jimmy Iovine: ‘we have got to get to the phone’

Posted in: audio, breaking news, headphones, HTC, Today's Chili
The HTC teleconference announcing its $300 million partnership with Beats Electronics just wrapped, and we were able to grab a few tidbits that weren’t so clearly evident in last night’s press release. The largest questions HTC CEO Peter Chou and Beats head honcho Jimmy Iovine fielded were focused on the effects of the purchase and why it happened. Neither Chou nor Iovine shared many specifics, but we learned that the two companies will be deeply committed in a “special” and “exclusive” relationship, which Iovine referred to as a “marriage.” In discussing the possible deal, he mentioned that Beats felt a need of urgency to penetrate the mobile marketplace and were bent on making it happen with HTC: “we have GOT to get to the phone…this marriage expedites that process.” Computer and phone companies alike are realizing that they need to upgrade the (currently subpar) audio experience in their products, he said, and we should expect to see many of these businesses launching stellar improvements in sound quality over the next three months.

In answer to what HTC is looking for in terms of ROI, Chou discussed the desire to have more differentiation in the market, in terms of the branding and technology the purchase will bring to its products; he also told us that the investment will generate several hundred millions of dollars in return beginning later this year. Rather than solely focusing on headsets, HTC plans to integrate the Beats tech completely into the product portfolio. Exactly how extensive that consolidation will be remains a mystery for now; since the effects of this deal will come to fruition sometime this fall, however, we doubt we’ll have to wait terribly long to find out.

Beats Electronics’ Jimmy Iovine: ‘we have got to get to the phone’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 10

Cablevision and Viacom settle lawsuit over live TV on iPad

Posted in: Apple, breaking news, cable, ipad, lawsuit, tablet, Today's Chili

Well, that was anticlimactic. Viacom quickly sued Cablevision after the Optimum for iPad (now on iPhone and iPod Touch) app launched and allowed cable customers to stream the entire channel lineup on their tablets, but now they’ve resolved that and “an unrelated business matter”. Viacom’s case against Time Warner’s similar offering is on hold while they also try to work out a deal, but Cablevision’s stance from the start is that its approach fell within the existing agreements and they appear to have gotten their way. Just like most other channel carriage disputes, it was likely a deal on the supposedly unrelated issue that got things moving, but as long as we can keep watching Teen Mom in the kitchen, bathroom or out on the patio it doesn’t really matter. Check the official statement from both companies after the break.

Continue reading Cablevision and Viacom settle lawsuit over live TV on iPad

Cablevision and Viacom settle lawsuit over live TV on iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 09

German Apple suit ruling blocks Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sale in Europe

Posted in: Apple, breaking news, europe, GalaxyTab, germany, ipad, lawsuit, patent, samsung, Today's Chili

The plot thickens yet again in the seemingly endless patent war between Apple and Samsung. A new ruling by a regional court in Dusseldorf, Germany has granted Cupertino a preliminary injunction, blocking the sale and advertising of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across Europe, save for the Netherlands. Samsung can still appeal the ruling — in the meanwhile, however, the decision will stand. According to The Telegraph, the likely appeal will take about a month to be heard by the judge who granted the injunction.

German Apple suit ruling blocks Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sale in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 08

HTC Developer site goes live: OpenSense SDK and kernel source offered aplenty

Posted in: Android, breaking news, developer, developers, HTC, htc sense, HtcSense, mango, sdk, Today's Chili, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone7, Wp7
HTC’s flipped the switch on its development website, which was designed to be a “one-stop shop” for a wide variety of SDKs and other resources for developers. As promised, the manufacturer’s OpenSense SDK — which includes a S3D SDK for HTC’s 3D stereoscopic interface and pen SDK for its Scribe feature — is now available for download; there’s also plenty of kernel source codes to peruse and access. Finally, the Bootloader Unlock web tool, one of the most highly anticipated pieces of software that the company’s promised to unleash, only shows as “coming soon” on the site. There hasn’t been any official word on when it’ll go live, but we’re expecting it to happen later this month as the EVO 3D and the Sensation both get adorned with their unlocks. It’s great to see the company follow through completely on one of its promises, eh?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Developer site goes live: OpenSense SDK and kernel source offered aplenty originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 07

Droid Bionic hits FCC, brings manual

Posted in: breaking news, droid, Today's Chili
When it rains, it pours, and the latest in the torrential downpour of Droid Bionic news comes straight from the FCC itself: we’ve got a manual. The user’s guide starts by confirming the usual suspects: a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4G LTE, a 4.3″ screen and a rear-facing camera capable of capturing 1080p video. The good stuff comes in on page thirteen: the Motorola XT375 supports LTE CDMA, GSM, and UTMS, a world phone with support for over 200 countries, but unlike its WiMax cousin, the Photon, UMTS support is limited to 2100MHz only

Gallery: Droid Bionic hits FCC, gets teardown

Developing…

Droid Bionic hits FCC, brings manual originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

Nokia N9 countdown page goes live, 49 days to launch?

Posted in: bluetooth, breaking news, BreakingNews, launch, meego, mobile, nfc, nokia, smartphone, teaser, Today's Chili

Google’s powers of awkward PR translation may have been right on the MeeGo-money, judging by this countdown page for the N9. The Swedish site, which just went live today, has begun its 49 days and counting creep to the Gorilla Glass-clad handset’s eventual overseas debut. We’d previously heard whispers of an impending September 15th release pegged for the OEM’s backyard, but we’ll err on the side of Nokia’s official launch clock. Head to the source to watch this tantalizing tease of time ticking by.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Nokia N9 countdown page goes live, 49 days to launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

AT&T users in New York City suffering partial phone outage (update: restored)

Posted in: att, breaking news, new-york, Today's Chili

We’ve been inundated with a flood of tips from Big Applers this morning, and we just confirmed ourselves — a large sect of AT&T users in New York City aren’t receiving calls. Even the ones who aren’t just holding it wrong. It seems as if outgoing calls operate just fine, but folks trying to dial in are greeted with eternal ringing. As in, it doesn’t even go to voicemail. We’re assuming the engineers at Ma Bell are all over this as we speak, but be sure to let us know how wrecked your Big City life is due to this in comments below.

Update: Right on cue, AT&T pinged us to say everything should be back to normal. The formal quote is below: “Wireless voice service has been restored and is back to normal now after a software issue occurred during routine maintenance which caused some customers on Long Island and in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan to experience voice service disruptions this morning. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.”

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

AT&T users in New York City suffering partial phone outage (update: restored) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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