Hasta La Gadget!

Here’s a little something to make your weekend fly by — Android Central scored a hands-on look at Verizon’s dual-mode CDMA / GSM worldphone, the HTC Merge (or is that Lexikon?) and it’s looking like one hell of a handset. Though the prototype’s Android 2.2 build is saddled with HTC Sense and Bing for search, the hardware’s reportedly superb, with a “clicky and responsive and very well spaced” slide-out QWERTY keyboard with no Desire Z hinge nonsense, and a weighty, solid feel. There’s also a 5 megapixel shooter that does 720p video, a likely 2GB of on-board storage and 512MB of RAM, not to mention an 800MHz processor that’ll surely help derail the megahertz myth with superb benchmark scores. See it pull a 1,500 in Quadrant after the break, and start dropping those nickels into your piggy bank.

Continue reading HTC Merge / Lexicon prototype previewed, 800MHz processor produces sweet scores (video)

HTC Merge / Lexicon prototype previewed, 800MHz processor produces sweet scores (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure exactly what Verizon is up to with these high-end Android phones that aren’t Droids and feature Bing over Google, but it looks like the Fascinate is about to get a friend: BGR just got these snaps of the HTC ADR6325, which appears to be the Merge we’ve heard so much about, and the same dual-mode set we saw at the FCC. Nothing’s confirmed specs-wise except a five megapixel camera, microSD slot, and SIM slot for global roaming, but we’re still pretty sure this thing will basically be the CDMA version of the Desire Z / T-Mobile G2 and feature a Qualcomm MSM7630 processor with 4GB of onboard storage. And then there’s that Bing logo on the homescreen — we don’t know how thoroughly it’s integrated into Sense, but here’s hoping it’s better than what Samsung accomplished with TouchWiz on the Fascinate — hardware this promising shouldn’t be saddled with carrier-wrecked firmware.

HTC Merge for Verizon gets snapped: another Android phone with Bing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite perennial delays that have mysteriously kept every slate of note from formally shipping out, there are actually a surprising number of Tegra 2 tablets floating around. Like this 10-inch Malata SMB-A1011, for instance, which seems to be very closely related to Hannspree tablet and the Interpad — all 1GHz, 1024 x 600 tablets with theoretically fabulous spec sheets including Froyo and HDMI-out. We found the device sitting alone and unloved at Allegorithmic’s texture compression booth, but after spending a few minutes of quality time we figured out why — though the Tegra 2 T20 was plenty powerful enough to tilt windmills in real time, build quality was severely lacking.

Though not light by any stretch of the imagination, the chassis nonetheless flexed when we picked it up, and we nearly dropped it more than once due to the lack of a good place to grip. There’s no stand of any sort to prop it up on a table, but the screen’s viewing angles are so poor (especially in the vertical directions) as to completely wash out or darken the screen when we set it down… and at least a half-dozen times the capacitive multitouch digitizer totally failed to respond to our finger. Though Froyo looked clean and had plenty of real estate to work with, the official Google suite of apps (and the Android Market) were lacking, often a major concern even on quality Android devices, and possibly the nail in the coffin for this one at the €399 (about $528) that Hannspree and E-Noa figure their versions are worth. Take a gander at the half-baked hardware yourself in our gallery immediately below, and for Tegra’s sake pray that things improve before the Malata hits the market.

Malata’s SMB-A1011 Tegra 2 tablet spotted at GTC 2010, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good way to start Wednesday, indeed. Right on schedule (and not a minute too soon), the over-the-air Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) update for Motorola Droid X has started propagating the radio waves. We’ve received dozens of tips already, from those who both checked manually and received notification in the status bar. In addition to a new Android, there’s also improves visual voicemail with Bluetooth support, a refreshed mobile hotspot app, and a fix to prevent data connections from dropping as you move between WiFi and 3G coverage. Go on, check your phone now — and don’t forget to pick up the new Gmail when you’re done updating.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Droid X now getting OTA Android 2.2 update originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve always said the native Gmail app is one of the best parts of Android, and it just got even better: it now supports Priority Inbox, has a “show quoted text” button, and features a floating message actions toolbar like the browser-based mobile Gmail webapp. The bigger news, though, is that Google’s releasing Gmail directly to Android Market, where it’ll be a separate download that can be revved with new features independently of Android itself. That’s a pretty great move, as anyone still waiting for a carrier-approved Froyo build can attest, but there’s irony afoot: the new Gmail won’t run on anything less than 2.2. Wah-wah.

Gmail for Android updated, becomes Market app originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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