Hasta La Gadget!

What’s that smell? According to a recent Twitpic post from Google Mobile’s official Twitter account, it’s the aroma of freshly baked gingerbread cookies, a scent which could signal the impending release of Android’s latest OS is coming sooner than we thought.

The picture shows a tray filled with the Android-logo shaped cookies, which are conspicuously decorated with holiday-themed frosting colors: green bow ties and red dot buttons. Is it merely a benign color palette choice to go with the seasonal dessert, or a clue to an OS release timed to launch during the biggest shopping days of the entire year?

Rumors of the new OS have been circulating for months, and have only escalated since Google’s late October ‘confirmation’ of Gingerbread as the release title with the addition of a giant Gingerbread man to the statuary located near the Android development building on the Google campus. It’s in line with past releases; version 2.0 brought an oversize ‘eclair,’ while 2.2 included an ample helping of ‘froyo.’

With Best Buy pulling ads from its mobile page that show Samsung’s new Nexus S appearing to run Gingerbread, and Engadget’s Thursday post showing an actual Nexus S in their hands, WIRED.com’s Tim Carmody speculates on an appearance as early as next week.

He may be right. Google’s secretive, guerrilla marketing campaign for Gingerbread is ramping up the hype, and judging from the amount of coverage it’s received, the tactics are working. We’ll see what the coming week brings with it.

Continuing with our cookery theme this morning, we now have a full tray of scrumptious-looking gingerbread Android men, courtesy of Google Mobile’s Twitter account. The whole world and his poodle already know that Gingerbread, Android’s next iterative update that’s presently expected to be given the numerical identifier of 2.3, is coming some time soon, but now Google’s taken to fanning the flames of anticipation with some home cooking. What could it mean? Well, if you’re an optimist, it means Android’s about to receive its update imminently, but if you’re a pessimist, you’ll look at that Christmas-themed red and green attire and foretell of another month of waiting and thumb-twiddling. Either way, though, this seems to confirm Gingerbread is on track to land at some point before we welcome in 2011. Which can only be a good thing.

Continue reading Google’s gingerbread Androids are fully baked, can the OS be far behind?

Google’s gingerbread Androids are fully baked, can the OS be far behind? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Attention humans: the Engadget Show is back in a big way next Saturday, November 20th at 6:30pm! We’ll be interviewing Sprint’s product chief Fared Adib as well as Google TV product manager Salahuddin Choudhary, plus we’ll have the usual mix of raucous editor roundtable, insane giveaways, crazy segments, and mind-bending chiptunes music from exileFaker! You don’t want to miss it! Remember, giveaways happen at the live show only, so make the trek and join us at The Times Center in person. We have a new ticketing policy, so if you’re coming to the live show, be sure to read about it below. If you’re geographically incapable of joining us in New York City, just tune into the stream right here on Engadget.

The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are — as always — free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served… so get there early! Here’s the updated info on our new ticketing policy that you need to know:

• There is no admission fee — tickets are completely free
• The event is all ages
• Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:00PM on Saturday, November 20th, doors will open for seating at 5:45PM, and the show begins at 6:30PM
• We now have assigned seating, so the first people to get their tickets — and the Sprint text-to-win winners (see below) — will get priority seating. This also means that once you get a ticket, your seat is guaranteed — you won’t have to get back in line to get a good seat.
• Ticketing will continue until all tickets are given away
• You cannot collect tickets for friends or family — anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket
• Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we’re full, we’re full
• The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break)
• The show length is around an hour

If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com.

Sprint is offering 50 guaranteed tickets to the Engadget Show taping to the first 50 entrants who text “ENGADGET” to 467467 or enter online! Standard text messaging rates apply. Click for the Official Rules and see how to enter online.

Subscribe to the Show:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
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Continue reading The Engadget Show returns next Saturday, November 20th with Sprint’s product chief, Google TV’s lead dev, and giveaways to really be thankful for!

The Engadget Show returns next Saturday, November 20th with Sprint’s product chief, Google TV’s lead dev, and giveaways to really be thankful for! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Troy, who clearly longs to relive the glory days of WebTV. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but I’ve got a curious desire for a good-to-great web browsing experience on my television. I know there are countless connected HDTVs out there, a few new Google TV options and the idea of using an HTPC. I’m not afraid of putting the legwork into hooking up a full-blown computer, but I’m trying to keep everything under $400 or $500, so that eliminates the high-end rigs with Blu-ray, CableCARD, and the like. I also am leaning towards the HTPC so I can have a standard user agent for viewing Hulu content, etc. Anyone in the same boat with any opinions?”

With Google TV just hitting the marketplace, you’ve got more options than ever before. Hard to say just yet if that’s a boon or not, but surely a few readers have a couple pennies each to share on the matter. Toss out yours in comments below.

Ask Engadget: best method for getting the internet on your HDTV? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so you’re not feeling Samsung’s Nexus S. We’d say that’s a little premature, but still, we get it. We understand. How about this, then? Is this more to your liking? We’ve just been tipped with a few morsels on what should become Samsung’s flagship Android device early next year — February, to be specific, suggesting we could see an unveiling at MWC — and it’s looking promising. Different parts of the slide deck describe it as having either a 4.3- or 4.5-inch “sAMOLED2” display, presumably standing for “Super AMOLED 2” and implying that Sammy’s made some advancements over the screens we’ve been seeing on the Galaxy S series this year. It’ll naturally have Android Gingerbread and be equipped with an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture, 14.4Mbps HSPA, Bluetooth 3.0, a 1.2GHz core of some sort, and 16GB of storage onboard. The deck describes it as having an “ultra sleek design,” and judging from the side shot, we’d tend to agree. So who’s holding out for this?

Exclusive: Samsung ‘flagship’ phone with Gingerbread and huge display coming in early 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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