Hasta La Gadget!

The G-Slate from LG (aka Optimus Pad) was on display at T-Mobile’s booth here at CTIA, so we spent a few minutes investigating the apps the carrier is bundling with the 8.9″ Honeycomb tablet at launch, namely Need for Speed Shift, T-Mobile TV, and Zinio eReader. Interestingly, the same three apps are also pre-installed on T-Mobile’s other dual-core LG device du jour, the tantalizing G2x. Check out the tour in our video after the break.

Continue reading T-Mobile G-Slate bundled apps tour (video)

T-Mobile G-Slate bundled apps tour (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve just put our paws on the EVO 3D for the first time, and what struck us immediately is that it’s not as beefy, bulky, or overwhelming as the 4.3-inch display or specs might have you believe — if you’re familiar with the EVO 4G, you’ll feel right at home here (and you might even be pleasantly surprised). The screen’s stereoscopic 3D effect is about as good as what we’ve seen on the Optimus 3D in the past — very good head-on with decreasing effectiveness as you move your head to the side. The 2D / 3D switch along the side is for the camera, not the display; it seems that all management of the screen’s capabilities is managed in software alone. Check out the shots in the gallery below; now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go play with this monster some more!

Continue reading HTC EVO 3D first hands-on! (video)

HTC EVO 3D first hands-on! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Amazon Appstore is the exclusive source (for now) for Angry Birds Rio, which is a free download on Tuesday only.

Amazon opened the doors Tuesday on its own marketplace for Android apps.

As reported by Wired.com last week, Amazon’s new store, the Amazon Appstore for Android, appears to be a more-carefully curated, selective virtual storefront than the Google’s default Android Market. It features the new Angry Birds Rio game, as well as many other popular Android apps, including Twitter, Fruit Ninja, Shazam, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and others. The Amazon Appstore has 3,800 apps, according to reports.

While most of these apps (with the exception of Angry Birds Rio, which is an Amazon exclusive for now) are also available through Google’s Android Market, Amazon’s sales pitch to customers appears to be trust and ease of use. For developers, it’s access to Amazon’s vast customer base.

“The Android platform’s openness provides a great opportunity to reach new customers,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds, in a statement provided by Amazon.

The Google Android Market is primarily accessible through Android phones, which makes comparison shopping difficult, hampers the ability to read many reviews and slows down search to the speed at which you can type on your phone’s keyboard. (Google recently added a web version of its store.) In addition, the Android Market has been frequently criticized for the low quality of and even security risks posed by some apps, a probably inevitable side effect of Google’s rather open policies. However, it contains over 200,000 apps, a far wider selection than any mobile app store save Apple’s.

With the Amazon Appstore, by contrast, apps are easier to browse and appear to be more carefully vetted by Amazon. Customers can browse Android apps through Amazon’s familiar web interface, which makes it easy to see customer ratings and reviews, look at screenshots, read details on the app and see related apps.

In addition, Amazon says it will provide the ability to “test-drive” apps in the web browser, through a simulated Android phone. We were not able to find this feature on any apps in the store, however.

To purchase apps, customers must install an Amazon Appstore app on their Android phones, which requires Android 1.6 or higher.

One problem for Amazon is that its store does not work with AT&T phones, although Amazon says AT&T is working on a solution. AT&T Android devices are currently configured to install apps from the Android Market only. There are workarounds, but they require a bit of comfort with using the command line.

AT&T told Wired.com that it plans to support third-party app stores, including the Amazon Appstore, on Android phones soon.

“We’re working to give our Android customers access to third party application stores,” an AT&T spokesman said. “This requires updates to our systems and finalizing arrangements with Amazon.  We we will share more info with our customers in the near future.”

Apple Sues

Another obstacle Amazon will face is a lawsuit Apple filed March 18, which claims that Amazon is improperly using the term “App Store,” which Apple says it has trademarked.

In addition to its store’s ease of use, Amazon’s biggest advantage may simply be the option to pay for apps through Amazon.com, which is available in more countries than Google Checkout and has been around more than a decade longer than Google’s payment system.

Once installed and connected with your Amazon account, you have the option of shopping through the Appstore app or on the Amazon.com website. However, you need to use Amazon’s app to actually download and install your new apps (they cannot be “pushed” to your device).

In addition, the Amazon website displays information about each app’s compatibility with your phones, since it knows what kind of hardware you have.

We reported the rumors, we spied it on the show floor at CTIA yesterday, and T-Mobile finally announced it this morning. Well here it is now in the flesh: the G2x from LG. The hardware looks pretty much identical to its sibling, the LG Optimus 2X that we reviewed recently, but instead of featuring a custom UI, the software is plain Froyo (Android 2.2.2). Another major difference is the inclusion of “4G” support, which is missing from the Optimus 2X. Tegra Zone comes pre-installed, along with the usual T-Mobile add-ons like WiFi calling. Overall, the G2x made a very strong first impression, and we’re looking forward to getting more in-depth coverage soon. Take a look at our gallery below, and hit the break for our hands-on video.

Update: It turns out the “4G” radio in the G2x is quadband (2100 / 1900 / 1700 / 850MHz) but strangely, it’s limited to 14.4Mbps downlink speeds. Apparently, this also applies to the T-Mobile G-Slate. We’re reaching out to T-Mobile to check if the G2x radio is HSPA+ or merely just HSPA.

Continue reading T-Mobile G2x from LG hands-on (video)

T-Mobile G2x from LG hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can benchmark the cycles of your CPU, power of your GPU, speed of your internet connection, and a myriad of other seemingly important things. However, there’s one missing benchmark that could make all those seem rather frivolous: the openness of your connection. Google wants one and has just awarded Georgia Tech a $1 million grant over two years (with a possible $500k bonus for a third year) to come up with a benchmark capable of detecting just how neutral your net is. When ready, it’ll look for any artificial throttling that’s been set in place and will also check for evidence of digital censorship. No word on when an early version might see release, but hopefully it comes before we need to start paying extra for the ability to download non-ISP-approved content.

Continue reading Google gives Georgia Tech $1 million to build a benchmark for the open internet

Google gives Georgia Tech $1 million to build a benchmark for the open internet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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