Sony Ericsson prepping a 5-inch Android phone with QWERTY keyboard? (updated)

Well, this is just great timing. What we’re looking at here is supposedly a Sony Ericsson smartphone, which seems to sport a five-inch screen and a hinged slide-out keyboard like the HTC Shift and the Eking S515. Even if this prototype turns out to be legit, our tipster — who has a solid track record — says it’s only running on Android 2.1 and that development is in its infancy while low-level drivers are being tested. Well, we can probably wait, except we’re also told that internally SE doesn’t appear to have any plans for 2.2 yet. Cue the angry tomatoes and eggs, but bring us a PSP phone any day and we’ll call off the rally.

Update: We’ve received word from a second highly-trusted source who says that the display is 5.5 inches (too big to fit in the front pocket), and runs a clean Android 2.1 install. Oh, and it’s launching in the fall.

Sony Ericsson prepping a 5-inch Android phone with QWERTY keyboard? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceIT168 Sony Ericsson BBS  | Email this | Comments

Case Manufacturer Mails 4G iPhone Cases to Wired.com


Apple’s iPhone-centric developer event is still days away, but a case manufacturer sent Wired.com two protective rubber cases designed for the next-generation iPhone.

The company, Gumdrop Cases, said it based the case design on a combination of specifications provided by inside sources in the plastics industry, as well as features seen in the prototypes leaked to Gizmodo and a Vietnamese blog. The company, which has offices in California, the U.K. and Hong Kong, said it did not receive the specifications from Apple.

“It’s supposed to be announced on Monday is what we’re being told, so we wanted to make sure we had cases available,” a Gumdrop spokeswoman told Wired.com.

The third-party accessories industry has historically been a leaky boat for Apple, according to Leander Kahney, Cult of Mac writer and former news editor of Wired.com. In the past, we’ve seen a number of case manufacturers begin selling protective cases for Apple products ahead of release. However, those leaks usually occur in China, and this is the first time Wired.com has actually received a case for a next-gen Apple product before it was released.

The characteristics of the two cases line up with the prototypes of the next-gen iPhone revealed in video and photos. Its overall form factor is slightly more square than the current iPhone. The case also fits awkwardly around the current iPhone: The holes for the audio/silent switch, volume button, power button and microphone jack don’t line up. The camera hole is slightly too large, giving enough room for a camera flash — a feature that Gizmodo and the Vietnamese blog saw on their prototypes of the next-gen iPhone.

A Gumdrop representative admitted the company deliberately mailed the cases, labeled “iPhone 4G Case” on a press flier, in order to gain attention prior to Apple’s official announcement of the product — you could call it a publicity stunt.

We have to get a next-gen iPhone to see if these will really fit, but the story about overseas insiders in the plastics industry is intriguing.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off Monday, where Steve Jobs is expected to announce Apple’s fourth-generation iPhone during a keynote speech.

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com


White iPhone 4 casing shows up in yet more photos

Steve Jobs didn’t seem too upset over the story of the lost / stolen iPhone 4 last night at D8, so we’re sure he won’t mind that yet more parts for his next-gen phone have leaked out — this time PowerBookMedic.com has scored the white version of the casing. As usual, the Engadget staff is now in a fierce and somewhat disturbingly violent debate over the relative style merits of black and white iPhones, so don’t look for us to get much done for the rest of the day. Many more pics at the source link.

White iPhone 4 casing shows up in yet more photos originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePowerBook Medic  | Email this | Comments

The iPhone 4’s outer case makes it on camera… in Portugal

iPhone 4 parts just keep on dribbling out of China and turning up around the world — this time it’s the next-gen phone’s outer case on a video from iPhone Portgual. The site actually has two cases, which it says were purchased by a reader in China, and while they look genuine enough, we obviously can’t tell for certain whether they’re real. In any event, at this rate we’ll have enough leaked parts to assemble the entire damn thing by the time Steve takes the stage at WWDC to announce it in a few days — or hey, maybe he’ll just show it off at D8 tonight. Either way, we’ll be there. Videos after the break.

[Thanks, Mike]

Continue reading The iPhone 4’s outer case makes it on camera… in Portugal

The iPhone 4’s outer case makes it on camera… in Portugal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Huffington Post  |  sourceiPhone Portugal  | Email this | Comments

ABC’s subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey?

At Engadget HQ, we take great care not to trumpet the claims of a web survey, as it’s always difficult to tell who’s actually doing the surveying — and even if we could, consumer surveys are all about a “what if” that may never actually come to pass. That said, it looks like maybe ABC is conducting a study asking folks whether they’d be interested in a subscription to an ABC.com streaming video service, and maybe that service might have a wide variety ABC shows, past and present, fully on-demand. Sound familiar? Interestingly, the subscription would seem to be offered alongside the existing free service, and both paid and free would have advertising, though reduced by 20 percent for those coughing up the fee. You can find a list of potentially potential shows included in the gallery below, forwarded to us by an anonymous tipster; we tried to take the survey ourselves, but were promptly rejected for our love of FlashForward.

ABC’s subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Shadow is the Likely Successor to Motorola Droid

Motorola’s Droid phone has been a big hit for the company — and if you are wondering what’s next, say hello to Shadow, the codename for the successor to the Droid.

The Shadow phone may be another device exclusive to Verizon and will be packed with features that could put it among the best in the market.

The phone will have a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It will sport a 8-megapixel camera that can shoot 720p video, have a 4.3-inch display, an HDMI port and 16 GB of internal storage, says Gizmodo. That sounds a lot like the HTC EVO 4G phone on Sprint, minus the blazing-fast 4G data connection.

Shadow is also likely to run Android FroYo or Android 2.2, the latest version of the operating system that allows tethering and the ability to turn the phone into a wireless hotspot. There’s no word though on whether Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 will run on the Shadow.

And in keeping the precedent set by Apple of losing prototype phones, the latest Shadow prototype was reportedly found left behind in a corporate Verizon gym. The phone was remotely locked, says the guy who found it. But at least this time around, it looks like no one paid money to get a peek at the device.

See Also:

Photo: Motorola Shadow/Gizmodo


More BlackBerry Bold 9800 pics surface: AT&T and virtual keyboard in, SurePress out?

You might’ve been intrigued by the previous show of the BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider, but this new series of images blows those all out of water. The Berry Fix has a plethora of pics for your perusal, chief among them a showing of the virtual keyboard to complement the physical QWERTY. We gotta say, every announce of good design sense lost on the 9670 must have been spent on this guy; we’re really intrigued by this one. If that wasn’t enough, we’ve got two more details that’ll tickle your fancy: an AT&T splash screen for one, and claims from the article’s author (via Twitter) that RIM’s not using SurePress here. That’d actually be quite a relief, but until we get our hands on the sucker, let’s just curb our enthusiasm, mkay?

More BlackBerry Bold 9800 pics surface: AT&T and virtual keyboard in, SurePress out? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 May 2010 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Into Mobile  |  sourceThe Berry Fix (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

HTC Hengshan and Huashan for Windows Phone 7 make another online cameo

The Android-powered Vision isn’t HTC’s only possible user agent-borne leak from this week. Now comes word of two potential Windows Phone 7 devices , the HuaShan and T5588 HengShan. The former has a 480 x 800 screen (no obvious relation to the Mondrian spotted yet) while the latter sports the more typical 320 x 480. Beyond that and an apparent lack of physical keyboards, we’re kind of in the dark here — assuming this turns out to be legit, but those names popped up previously on a roadmap with a 4.3-inch / 3.4-inch screen size, respectively. At any rate, whether or not it’s this pair, we definitely have at least some HTC Windows Phone 7 devices to look forward to by the end of 2010.

HTC Hengshan and Huashan for Windows Phone 7 make another online cameo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 May 2010 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPoweruser, Conflipper  |  sourceHengShan, HuaShan  | Email this | Comments

Accessory Makers Prepare Cases for Next-Gen iPhone

coque4g

The folks at HardMac have received an image purporting to reveal protective skins for the next-generation iPhone. The shape of the skin and the round holes for buttons come in line with the characteristics of the prototype iPhone leaked by Gizmodo last month.

Third-party cases have provided clues about unreleased Apple hardware a number of times in the past — sometimes they were legitimate, and sometimes they weren’t. Former Wired.com news editor Leander Kahney explained that the third-party accessory industry has historically been a leaky boat because the people who create the plastics that come with the iPhone are likely connected to the companies making third-party protective cases. (They are all in the plastics industry, after all.)

This time around, however, it could be the case that third-party manufacturers are confident that the prototypes leaked by Gizmodo and a Vietnamese website are the near-final product. MacRumors’ Arnold Kim did a quick search and found additional cases for an “iPhone 4G.”

Via HardMac

See Also:


Motorola Ruth / Flipout leaks again, due in June?

We’re still not quite sure to make of this odd little square of a Motorola, but it certainly looks like it’s coming our way soon: Italian site Zumo says the Ruth (or Flipout, as we’ve seen it called) is actually the Moto MB511, and it’s due out sometime in June. We’re also told that it’ll have WiFi, GPS, and a memory card slot, but that’s pretty par for the course — what we’re really curious about it how this thing actually works in person. We’ll just have to wait and find out.

Motorola Ruth / Flipout leaks again, due in June? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceZumo  | Email this | Comments