Hasta La Gadget!

In a year, Android’s gone from shaky upstart to mobile juggernaut. And nowhere is that more apparent than the apps—the Marketplace is positively bursting, with over 14,000 apps. Here are the ones you need, the essentials.

If you want them all on one page, click here.

If we’ve missed anything or you’ve got a superior alternative, let us know in the comments, since you vastly outnumber us. By ‘us’ I mean me.

You know that leaked HTC Sense ROM with Android 2.1 underneath? Well, somebody did some digging and found a wild stack of HTC Android handset codenames buried within. It starts in the realm of the familiar, with mentions of Dragon, Passion, Dream and Hero, but then it starts to get a little wild. Here’s the full list: Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Dream, Espresso, Halo, HeroCT, HeroC, Hero, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire and Supersonic. Pretty wild, right? There’s no telling what exactly this list implies, other than the fact that Passion and Dragon are indeed on the books, and that HTC’s naming department can really let the superlatives fly, but we’re sure all will be made clear over the next year or two.

Huge stash of HTC Android codenames found within 2.1 ROM originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC promised the world an Android 2.0-based firmware for its Hero line once it figured out the nitty gritty details of porting Sense to Google’s latest code, leapfrogging Donut altogether — but now, it looks like they’re gonna do one better. Screenshots found today show a Hero running Android 2.1, which would dovetail nicely with the fact that Google had teased a “minor update” to 2.0 before the end of 2009 back when it announced Eclair last month. The interface looks largely untouched from 1.5, proof that HTC was able to bring Sense up to speed with minimum drama; it’s unclear when this’ll all be available, but considering that Sprint’s version just got a super-minor update, some carrier-branded versions could be in for a wait. One more pic after the break.

Continue reading HTC Hero caught running Android 2.1?

HTC Hero caught running Android 2.1? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaning back and forth between the $100 HTC Eris on Verizon and the $179 HTC Hero on Sprint? Well, your decision just got a bit more difficult, as Best Buy has now kicked off a new holiday promotion that’ll net you a chin-less Sprint Hero for the same hundred bucks as Verizon’s Eris. If you prefer, you can also now snag a Samsung Moment for the same price, but each will of course have to be paired with a new two-year activation, and you’ll have to take the plunge before the end of December — although there’s at least a decent chance there will be another discount / price drop by the time this one ends.

[Thanks, Daniel]

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Hero, Samsung Moment now $100 on Sprint courtesy of Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXL: HTC Hero gets iPhone flair

Filed under: Cellphones

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXL: HTC Hero gets iPhone flair originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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