Hasta La Gadget!

Guess who posed for a family gathering here in Hong Kong? From left to right, we’ve got the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II, Nexus One and Nexus S. The panels on all of these guys are stunning, but we’re finding it mighty difficult to choose a favorite between the Galaxy Nexus and the GSII. Have a look at some close-ups in the gallery below, and a typical home video just after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Galaxy S II, Nexus One and Nexus S (macro hands-on)

Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs. Galaxy S II, Nexus One and Nexus S (macro hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• Motorola Xoom owners who swapped in their devices for one with LTE capability may have found an OTA enhancement waiting for them when the tablet arrived. It included a few minor changes, such as updates to Android Market and some additional browser security measures. The full changelog can be found at the link. [AndroidCentral]
• The update to the Motorola Droid 2 Global was pulled last month due to an Exchange encryption issue, but we’re hearing reports that it’s once again resuming the rollout with that concern resolved. [Droid-Life]
• Motorola’s Photon 4G on Sprint is on the receiving end of a minor bug fix update, which includes video chat capability for Google Talk. [PhoneArena]
• The good news for unlocked Dell Streak 7 users: the official update to Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) is now rolling out and you should see it over the course of the next couple weeks. the coming weeks. [Dell]
• The bad news for T-Mobile Dell Streak 7 users: Honeycomb isn’t coming to your tablet, for unknown reasons. [Android Community]
• According to a tweet from LG, there’s a small refresh in the works for the Optimus 7 which will finally enable WiFi tethering. [WPCentral]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• A new piece of firmware for the AT&T Galaxy S II was leaked via RootzWiki, and includes a few bug fixes. Sadly, it adds some bugs as well. [Android Community]
• Samsung’s officially released the kernel source for the Stratosphere, Transfix and Galaxy Y Pro. [Android Community]
• And now for the best news for TouchPad owners: after several weeks of progress, it appears that CM7 is now ready to roll on the HP TouchPad. As always, download and install at your own risk — we have a feeling this may be a bit more involved than your typical Android custom ROM. [Redmond Pie]

Other platforms

• Redsn0w 0.9.9b5 is here, giving you the go-ahead to jailbreak iOS5. Up for the task? Head to the link for all of the details on how to make it so. [Redmond Pie]
• Some Windows Phone users have noticed a few bugs popping into their updated devices ever since they received Mango. The main concerns seem to be found in the keyboard and live tiles, though the reported issues are much more numerous. Have you experienced any of these on the list at the link? [WMPowerUser]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Motorola a bit slow boomerangin’ back with LTE update
• iOS5 now available for download

Refresh Resource: week of October 10, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we knew this day was coming, but now the wait is finally over. Now the main question for T-Mobile customers at the end of their contract is whether to pick up the Samsung Galaxy S II or HTC Amaze 4G. Both handsets are now on sale from the carrier, running $229 and $259, respectively (plus plan, post-rebate, naturally). Thankfully, we’ve got a full review of the 4.52-inch Galaxy S II magenta edition and a hands-on with the 4.3-inch Amaze 4G, which should help make the deciding a bit easier.

Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Amaze 4G on sale at T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What else is there to say? Whether in its original, exotic exterior, its lightly changed but rather more accessible AT&T-flavored model, or the decidedly Epic Sprint version, the Samsung Galaxy S II has never failed to impress us. In fact, we called that first release “the best Android smartphone yet” and still, nearly six months later, it sits mighty close to the top of the pile — if not squarely at the peak, waving its flag proudly whilst taunting the others below.

Here today we’re looking at the last of the Three Musketeers: the T-Mobile version. This marks the final US release of the Galaxy S II, unveiled in late-August. At that announcement event the device was curiously locked up in Lucite, but now it’s right here in our hands. While we didn’t really want to set down this 16GB, 1.5GHz, 42Mbps HSPA+ wunderphone, we gently laid it aside just long enough to write this very review. Join us as we see what sets this latest and final revision apart.

Continue reading T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II review

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mo customers, don’t get jealous of everyone pre-ordering an iPhone 4S, you’ve got your own super phone ready to hit retail channels — the Galaxy S II. As promised, the 4.5-inch variant of Samsung’s current flagship device hit T-Mobile’s site today for pre-order and is expected to start popping up on retail shelves on Wednesday, October 12th. If you want to make sure you’re one of the first on Big Magenta to leave your fingerprints on its sizable Super AMOLED Plus screen, head on over to the carrier’s site now to put in your order. The privilege will set you back $230 with a two-year contract.

[Thanks, xkaosu9x]

T-Mobile Galaxy S II pre-orders begin today, should land in stores October 12th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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