Hasta La Gadget!

It’s only been a few weeks since the Optimus 2X crossed the desk of our European review bureau as the first known dual-core smartphone in the universe. Now LG’s wunderkind has made its way across the pond and landed on US soil to be reborn as the G2x on T-Mobile. While the hardware remains the same elegant Tegra 2-infused slab of glass, metal and plastic, the software has been liberated from the shackles of LG’s UI customizations into a serving of vanilla Froyo — the exact same approach T-Mobile took when it introduced the Desire Z as the G2 without HTC’s custom Sense skin last fall. Unlike previous G-series phones, the G2x ditches the physical keyboard for a 4-inch WVGA display with HDMI output and an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture. Beyond the transition from messaging-centric device to multimedia powerhouse, what else is different about the hardware? Is plain Android a vast improvement over the lackluster software that shipped on the Optimus 2X? How does the G2x fare against T-Mobile’s current flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S 4G? Find out in our full review after the break.

Continue reading T-Mobile G2x review

T-Mobile G2x review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s been playing the all-encompassing Eco-Friendly card for some time now, and it looks as if last year’s Restore (now available on Virgin Mobile USA for $79.99 off-contract) is gaining an ultra-green sibling. Samsung’s newly unveiled Replenish feels a bit like an Android 2.2-powered, somewhat matured BlackJack, boasting a 2.8-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera / camcorder, inbuilt WiFi / GPS, a microSD card slot, an optional solar door charging accessory and a trio of color options (black, blue and — our personal favorite — “raspberry pink”). Curious about eco-cred? It’ll ship May 8th for $49.99 (on a two-year contract) with fully recyclable packaging and a casing that includes 34.6 percent post-consumer recycled plastic content. Oh, and there’s a postage-paid envelope to recycle your old phone, too. Folks opting to throw Ma Earth a bone by picking one up must activate it on an Everything Data plan, but the carrier will be waiving the $10 monthly premium data add-on charge to — get this — “make it easier for customers to make eco-friendly buying decisions.” Translation: you’ll buy whatever’s cheapest. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish

Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Believe it or not, we’re still rooting for Ruslan Kogan and the rest of his Aussie compatriots, but the company’s announcement today of an Android 2.2 set-top TV box with full Market access is, as usual, equal parts intriguing and unbelievable. The Kogan Agora Internet TV Portal: Powered by Android is priced at A$149 with a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor from Samsung, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of flash storage, HDMI output and three USB ports for external storage, that it claims will bring the full internet — including everyone’s favorite Angry Birds — to your TV screen. According to the sales page it’s expected to ship May 27th to anywhere you like, as long as it’s in Australia or the UK. We’ll mark our calendars to see if it beats official Google TV boxes to Market access in the living room (we’re still waiting for the TV shown off last year), but in the meantime check after the break for a press release with more details on this box, a familiar looking 7-inch tablet that also claims access to the Market’s thousands of apps and a couple of netbooks. Finally, we spotted a video from ARM fan Charbax checking out what could be the OEM version of the TV box at CeBIT, so that’s included after the break as well.

Continue reading Kogan’s Agora Internet TV Portal promises Android Market access, our LCDs remain skeptical

Kogan’s Agora Internet TV Portal promises Android Market access, our LCDs remain skeptical originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A G2x they ain’t, but AT&T’s newest duo from LG should certainly satisfy the cravings of less-demanding Android loyalists. Along with every other carrier in the world, Ma Bell has decided to pick up a couple of Optimus One variants, with the LG Thrive being christened as the operator’s first prepaid (GoPhone) smartphone. Aside from a tweak in hue, the postpaid Phoenix is the exact same handset, with both offering a totally familiar 600MHz processor, 3.2-inch (480 x 320) touchpanel, Android 2.2, a 3.2 megapixel camera and unlimited WiFi usage on the entire national AT&T WiFi Hot Spot network. Those opting for a contract-free affair can select the Thrive for $179.99, while the dark blue Phoenix will run $49.99 and demand two years of your cellular soul. In related news, AT&T is introducing a new prepaid data package with the LG Thrive, offering 500 MB of data for $25, with the fully skinny detailed just after the break.

Continue reading Froyo-based LG Thrive becomes AT&T’s first prepaid smartphone, ships April 17th alongside Phoenix

Froyo-based LG Thrive becomes AT&T’s first prepaid smartphone, ships April 17th alongside Phoenix originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got a hands-on sample of Haptify’s haptic-powered apps a couple months back and came away intrigued, but yearning for more. Well, the company is finally ready to sate our penchant for playtime physicality with its first game, Enzo’s Pinball. The game debuts with three tables (“more coming soon”), and is designed to let you feel every bump, rattle, and ricochet as if it were the real thing. It isn’t identical to its tangible counterpart, but it is an upgrade over the rumble-free digital competition. Haptify’s haptic black magic works with handsets running Android 2.1 and up, so there’s an awful lot of potential pinball wizards out there. You can grab the game in the Android Market and it’ll cost $1.49 to give in to your tactile desires.

Enzo’s Pinball gets you all touchy-feely with your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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