Hasta La Gadget!

Like it or not, it’s a Big Red kind of day. The latest VZW news to splash down in our inbox is the shot you see above — the first hint of promotional material surrounding Samsung’s Droid Charge. If you’ll recall, this phone began its (public) life at CES 2011 sans a name, but as a source correctly predicted, the name shown above will be the one that sticks. Proving that the Atrix 4G setup was more than just a fluke, Sammy’s also showcasing a must-have peripheral: the multimedia desktop dock. Said accessory ships with a built-in battery charger and spare cell, but with no apparent signs of a video output, we’re having a hard time getting too hot and bothered.

Samsung’s Droid Charge spotted in leaked promo material, multimedia dock in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If app developers have a pattern of going after the iPhone first and Android second, well, the same is apparently true of the folks who write software for the code monkeys. Novell just announced Mono for Android, the first set of tools that lets devs write .NET and C# apps for Android phones and tablets. Novell already lets developers do the same for Linux, iOS, and Mac OS X and, as always, lets coders continue to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 to write applications — if that’s the testing software they’re used to. In addition to the Visual Studio plug-in, you get bindings for native Android APIs and the core Mono runtime. It’s available now, starting at $99 for students (minus the ability to, you know, send finished apps to Android Market) and $399 for everybody else. Already developing for the iPhone? Prove that you own MonoTouch (essentially, the same Novell product for iOS devices) and get 50 percent off an Android tool kit.

Continue reading Novell’s Mono tools let devs create .NET apps for Android devices

Novell’s Mono tools let devs create .NET apps for Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The world’s most adored across-the-pond mobile retailer has just received its first batch of LG superphones, a gem by the name of Optimus 2X. As you well know by now, the company’s playing this up as the planet’s first dual-core smartphone, and while we’d hoped that the Tegra 2-based device would be everywhere by now, at least it’s sticking to its scheduled release date over in Europe. Those interested in picking one up can get a SIM-free version headed their way for £449.99, while a free-on-contract affair can be had with T-Mobile, Vodafone and a host of others. Your credit card’s been awful naughty of late — dish out a little punishment by visiting the source link below.

[Thanks, Robert]

LG’s dual-core Optimus 2X superphone now available from Expansys originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You read that right — RIM just announced that its forthcoming BlackBerry PlayBook will support both BlackBerry Java and Android apps. That includes native C/C++ development support, HTML5, Flash and AIR support, not to mention game engines from Ideaworks Labs (AirPlay) and Unity Technologies (Unity 3). That means that you’ll have access to over 200,000 Android apps should developers choose to “quickly and easily” port them over, and assuming you dive into one of two optional “app players” in order to do so. It’s also worth noting that RIM’s presser only focuses on Android “2.3 apps,” and while we’re assuming Honeycomb apps will eventually be supported, there’s no mention of Android 3.0 just yet. Furthermore, devs can look forward to an imminent release of the native PlayBook SDK, which will specifically enable C/C++ application development on the BlackBerry Tablet OS. So, now that you can look forward to digging into the near-limitless Android Market via BlackBerry wizardry of some sort, are you actually considering picking up a PlayBook on April 19th? Let us know in comments below!

Continue reading RIM adds Android app support to BlackBerry PlayBook via ‘optional app player’

RIM adds Android app support to BlackBerry PlayBook via ‘optional app player’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who says CTIA is going to be overshadowed by news that actually broke prior to the event starting? Okay, so it’s entirely possible that the AT&T / T-Mobile buzz will be impossible to ignore here in Orlando, but that’s not stopping Ma Bell from rolling out two new (er, rebadged) handsets for those looking for iPhone alternatives. First up is the LG Thrill 4G (available in the “coming months”), an unpriced 4.3-inch superphone that features a glasses-free 3D display, dual 5-megapixel stereoscopic camera, 16GB of preloaded memory (8GB onboard, 8GB microSD card), access to Google’s Android Market and a special 3D marketplace coined LG 3D Space. The camera’s capable to snagging video clips at 1080p when shooting 2D, or 720p when opting for 3D. You’ll also get a dual-core 1GHz processor, HDMI output, DLNA streaming support and pretty much anything else you’d expect to find in a run-of-the-mill Optimus 3D — you know, considering this is that very phone, albeit with an AT&T logo on it.

Moving on, there’s the HTC HD7S, which is essentially an AT&Tified version of the HD7 that has been on T-Mobile USA for quite some time now. In other words, you’ll get a 4.3-inch WVGA Super LCD, 1GHz CPU, 5-megapixel camera, Windows Phone 7 (with copy and paste functionality baked right in) and a preloaded U-Verse Mobile application that enables “qualifying AT&T U-verse customers to download and watch TV shows” so long as they pony up an extra $9.99 per month. AT&T claims that its version of the HD7 will be the first in the US with an “improved Super LCD display,” but as with the Thrill 4G above, no specific pricing is mentioned. That said, it should be popping up online and in retail locations “within the coming weeks,” so you shouldn’t have to wait too terribly long for those details to emerge.

Continue reading AT&T launches HTC HD7S with WP7 and LG’s 3D-enabled Thrill 4G Android phone

AT&T launches HTC HD7S with WP7 and LG’s 3D-enabled Thrill 4G Android phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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