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Android Market Logo via Google Android

The new batch of forthcoming Android tablets are all sporting the new version of Android (2.2, or Froyo). But Google says that this version of Android wasn’t optimized for tablets. This means three things for folks interested in buying an Android tablet this fall.

First: If your tablet is built to certain hardware specifications — specifically, those of an oversized smartphone — you’re good. Samsung’s much-anticipated Galaxy Tab fits the bill, as it really is just a Galaxy smartphone with a much larger screen. If you’re wondering (like I was) why the Galaxy Tab had phone-call capability and was laid out in portrait rather than landscape, there’s your answer.

Second: Functionally, the biggest hurdle is that most tablets won’t be able to use the Android Market, Google’s official store for Android apps. This actually makes sense, as not all of the apps on the market will work each tablet’s different hardware. But luckily, Android, unlike Apple’s iOS, is wide open. There are plenty of other ways to get Android apps onto your machine, including other app stores.

Third: Hugo Barra, Google’s director of mobile products, stopped just short of saying that the 3.0 and 3.5 versions of Android, also known as Gingerbread and Honeycomb (Android OS names make me hungry for breakfast cereal), would be optimized for tablets, and presumably there will either be a tablet version or tablet section of the Android Market at that time.

But he also didn’t quite say that. We can play Kremlinology all we want, and suppose that Google is sending subtly coded messages to consumers to wait for the next OS to buy an Android tablet, but it’s quite possible that Google just isn’t sure when or even if it can support a marketplace for everybody’s hardware.

This is the great and frustrating thing about having a wide-open gadget ecology for a platform. On the one hand, you’ve got a much wider variety of hardware options and price points; on the other, it’s much more difficult to provide an easy, unified consumer experience. That’s where we are with Android tablets, and where we’re likely to be next year, too.

See Also:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Will Cost Over $1000
• Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad
• Gadget Lab Podcast: iPods, Apple TV and Samsung's Galaxy Tab …
• Archos 101 Android Tablet: iPad Rival or Giant Phone?
• First Look: ELocity's Android Tablet Makes Great Media Player …
• LG Promises Two New Android Phones, Tablet
• Apple iOS 4 vs. Google Android 2.2: How Do They Stack Up?
• From the Game|Life Mailbox: Honeycomb Cereal

T-Mobile has announced the G2, the successor to the very first Android phone, the G1. The new handset loses the famous “chin” of the original, adds fast HSPA+ data and integrates Google Voice.

With so many Android handsets either blocking or replacing Google services on the “open” Google-owned operating system, it’s nice to see an Android phone as Googly as this one. In addition to Google Voice, there is Google Goggles, voice control and all the usual Google services like Gmail, maps and YouTube. All this, as you’d expect, runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and the T-Mobile press-release promises an “Adobe FlashPlayer enabled Web browsing experience” (read: stuttering video playback and reduced battery-life).

As for hardware, the CPU is an 800MHz Snapdragon and the phone will offer “4G speeds” via T-Mobile’s new HSPA+ network, if you can get it. A keyboard flips from behind the screen for a full, landscape-oriented QWERTY hardware experience, and the screen is a large 3.7-inch multitouch one.

Finally, there’s a 5MP camera with LED light, and the handset comes with 4GB memory and a microSD slot, in which you will find an 8GB card pre-loaded.

If you want the full, unfettered Googlephone experience, without weird carrier restrictions (apart from the coverage restrictions of T-Mobile, we guess) then this might just be the Android phone to go for. It has a plain and handsome design and while the computer inside isn’t the fastest, it is more than competent.

Availability and pricing have yet to be announced, but existing T-Mobile customers will get first bite “later this month.”

G2 product page [T-Mobile]

G2 press release [T-Mobile]

See Also:

• Android G2 Phone Is No Beauty
• Hands On With HTC G2 Android Phone
• T-Mobile's G1 Android Phone: Neither Open nor Exciting
• G1 Android Phone at Least $380 Cheaper Than iPhone
• Android-Powered G1 to Premiere in San Francisco

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

Galaxy Tab? Who needs that overpriced prima donna? Here’s the tablet the economical among us have been waiting for. Alright, so the Elocity A7 didn’t elicit the highest of praise when it made its cameo on The Engadget Show, but let’s congratulate its makers on achieving a pair of feats. Firstly, StreamTV has managed to get its Froyo tablet listed for pre-order on Amazon — which is no mean feat in itself, just ask Notion Ink — and secondly, it’s done so at an even lower price point than promised, with an encouraging $370 tag. Even if you’re like us and not entirely blown away by its performance, you’ve got root for this little slate to complete the narrative and start selling — if for no other reason than that it might incite others to stoop to the same price point.

Elocity A7 goes up for pre-order on Amazon with Android 2.2, Tegra 2, and a $370 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Should there be an international award for Cheekiest Man of the Year, it’d have to go to Meizu’s shameless Jack Wong. Shortly after Apple’s keynote last week, the CEO of KIRFdom seized the opportunity to cry foul on the new iPod touch, claiming it “looks a bit like” his forthcoming M9II Android phone, as pictured above. Wait, M9II? Turns out even though the M9 has yet to materialize in early October, Mr. Wong already has an enhanced model to be brought forth by his faithful unicorns. Assuming both M9 series devices will carry the same Meizu-fied Android 2.2 software, the only known differences on the M9II include a larger 4-inch display (as opposed to 3.5 inches at 960 x 640), the additional front-facing camera plus flash for the rear camera, and a Cortex-A9 CPU. To play devil’s advocate, we’d actually suggest Wong skip the M9 for this lovely dream phone, but we’re probably too late — check out his snazzy prototype M9 after the break.

Continue reading Meizu CEO Jack Wong: Oh hey, the new iPod touch ‘looks a bit like the M9II’

Meizu CEO Jack Wong: Oh hey, the new iPod touch ‘looks a bit like the M9II’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a week of painful teasing, Samsung has come clean about its Galaxy Tab 7-inch Android tablet. We got the nitty gritty specs, along with some quality time with the device, and we like what we’re seeing on both fronts. Follow along after the break as we break it all down, including some hot hot video of the thing in action!

Update: Added Samsung’s official press release, product images and first video ad for the Galaxy Tab.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab preview

Samsung Galaxy Tab preview originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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