Hasta La Gadget!

The rich landscape of Android versioning just got a bit richer, with word of an official Froyo update for the Droid Incredible being launched tomorrow (based on the screencap pictured above), while the EVO 4G’s recent Froyo software just got rooted. If you’re crazily impatient, an Android 2.2 ROM for the Incredible just leaked out into the wild, and can be installed with a bit of work, but from the official-looking-ness of this leak from Droid Life, a painless official update is not far off. Meanwhile, in Sprint land, the xda-devs have a rather complicated, rather scary method posted for rooting 2.2 on the EVO 4G — you’ll have to ask yourself how much that freedom is worth to you, or just wait for the inevitably easier methods to come along and hold your hand.

The revolving door: Froyo for Droid Incredible coming tomorrow, Froyo for EVO 4G gets rooted originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Police  |  xda-developers, Droid Life  | Email this | Comments

Oh, won’t you look at this: A spy video of the mysterious new Samsung Galaxy Tab, the seven-inch Android 2.2 tablet to be announced next week at the IFA show in Berlin. The clip comes courtesy of the folks at the Electronista blog, who spotted a telco employee with what is presumably a testing unit.

As you can see, it looks like Electronista was secretly filming as it tried to extract the info from the unsuspecting worker. Listen carefully and you’ll hear the Tab being described as “different” from the iPad and “awesome.”

The video part doesn’t really show us much, other than just how the Tab fits in the hand. It looks to be comfy enough for the long-fingered to grip in a single paw. I do wonder, though, if this in between size has a use: It’s too big to fit in a pocket, yet much smaller than the iPad’s book-sized display.

The best part is at the end, when the Tab-toting tester finally realizes that he has said too much. “I can’t talk about it,” he says. Too late. You already did.

Samsung Galaxy Tab seen in the wild [Electronista via ★]

See Also:

• Samsung Enters Tablet Race With the Galaxy Tape
• Samsung to Launch 7-inch Tablet in September

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

Apple’s iPad will finally have some real competition. Samsung is set to introduce a tablet next month called ‘Galaxy Tab’ that will have a 7-inch touchscreen display.

The device will run the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, include video-calling capability and full web browsing—which likely means support for Flash, according to a teaser video that Samsung posted Tuesday morning. Samsung is expected to announce additional details on Sept. 2 at the IFA Berlin consumer electronics show.

Samsung’s video shows a tablet with a black bezel and four buttons that are similar to what we have seen in Android smartphones.

The Galaxy Tab will be the first tablet from a big consumer electronics maker since Apple’s iPad debuted in April. Earlier this month, Dell launched the Streak, a device with a 5-inch display that has been billed as a tablet but is priced and acts like a phone. Meanwhile, Apple is charging ahead with the iPad, with more than 3 million units sold. .

Other companies such as HP and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion are also working on tablets. HP has said its slate will use Palm’s WebOS operating system, but that tablet is unlikely to be released this year. RIM is hoping to get its tablet called ‘BlackPad’, a companion device to the BlackBerry phone out at the end of the year.

Samsung’s choice of a 7-inch screen is interesting. There have been rumors that Apple is working on a similar sized tablet.

So far, Samsung hasn’t revealed details around pricing or when the Galaxy Tab will be available to consumers.  But this is a major sign that the tablet market is heating up, and new devices that we have been hearing about for months are finally getting closer to market.

See Also:

• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• Dell’s Streak Tablet Is Priced Like a Phone
• Velocity Cruz Android Tablet: 7-Inch Display, $300
• LG Promises Two New Android Phones, Tablet

Photo: Samsung website

Recognize those bits and bobs? By now you should. It’s Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab and it’s on the loose right now in China with ifanr to thank for this round of pics. Better yet, in addition to images that would seem to confirm Android 2.2 and a GT-P1000 model number, the site has also passed along the tipster’s own impressions. First off, and this should be no surprise to anyone who’s ever owned a Samsung product (eh hem, Galaxy S), the Galaxy Tab is very plasticky and much lighter than the iPad. Ifanr‘s tipster also confirms a 1,024 x 600 pixel resolution packed into that 7-inch display on a device that’s much thicker than the Dell Streak. Other “confirmed” specs are a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3G network, and built-in “ebook” app that’s supposedly one of the best the tipster’s ever used on an Android device. Of course, while this aligns with specs we heard about earlier, this device looks to be very much a prototype (where’s the silver ring around the bezel) so don’t take this as the final word on the matter, ok? One more image after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 gets wild with Android 2.2

Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 gets wild with Android 2.2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  ifanr [translated]  | Email this | Comments

Hoping to spoon-feed your Droid X some Froyo before the official OTA rollout? You’d better do it now — Motorola’s sending out cease and desist emails in an attempt to shut the leaked ROM down. We can’t say whether it’s just red tape or to protect customers from a EVO 4G-like non-final build, but for whatever reason Motorola’s director of information security is asking sites like MyDroidWorld to remove the files ASAP. Given the company’s recent history with the mod community, however, we imagine there’s some sort of walled-garden reason behind it.
[Thanks, Dustin D.]

Motorola clamps down on Droid X’s leaked Android 2.2 upgrade with cease and desist scare originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DroidForums.net  |  My Droid World  | Email this | Comments