Hasta La Gadget!

Who says the Streak is the only game in town if you want a 5-inch Android device? Well, no one, actually — there are lots of generic options if you just want something with a 5-inch display running on Google juice — but regardless, we had a chance to check out just such a device introduced at IFA this week, the so-called MX10 with Android 2.1 from South Korea’s For You Digital. Our first impression on seeing the MX10 is that it’s pretty stylish and doesn’t give off the air of jankiness that you occasionally get with these off-brand MIDs; it’s available in both black and white, and we especially liked the white which gets a matte silver ring around the edge (the black is paired with chrome, which obviously suffers from more fingerprint issues). There’s no internal cellular connectivity (the “E” on the screen above seems to be a bug), but the device supports USB host mode, which means you can connect a USB modem from your carrier of choice when the 802.11b / g just doesn’t cut it. Unfortunately, the MX10’s Achilles’ heel is its display, which we found to be exceptionally low-contrast — putting it up against a Super AMOLED would be almost comical — and resistive, which just isn’t a good option for a platform as finger-friendly as Android is. If anything, this might make for a good media tank that you can use to carry around a bunch of movies, since it’s available in internal capacities from 2GB up to 16GB and offers microSD expansion paired with HDMI-out (real HDMI, not micro) and 1080p capability. Check out some more shots (including more of the white) in the gallery.

For You Digital MX10 5-inch Android MID hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, Enso — must you really give us a reason to hope? After dealing with what felt like a case of the vaporwares, and then being epically disappointed with the zenPad (which is now out of stock, curiously) that you finally shipped, we just can’t muster up the courage to look fondly upon the five new products that are gracing your webstore. That said, those that don’t mind risk taking and actually enjoy the thought of fighting for a refund have three new MIDs / slates to ponder along with a pair of Android-based smartphones to consider. Let’s break ’em down real quick, shall we?

• zenPad 2 ($219; shipping now): Here you have a 5-inch, Android 1.5-based MID with an 800 x 480 resolution resistive touchscreen, a bundled stylus, inbuilt 3G, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, microSD slot (8GB included), 128MB of RAM, 256MB NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA303 Xscale CPU, integrated accelerometer, onboard GPS, micro-USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and a battery good for 4.5 hours of use. We’re told that an Android 2.1 update is “imminent,” but we believe that about as much as we believe BP’s promise to “make it right.”
• zenPad 3 ($249; pre-order): This here tablet boasts the exact same specifications as the zenPad 2 (right down to the battery life and resolution), but it rocks a 7-inch design that’ll aid those who can’t squint hard enough to see fonts on the 5-inch sibling.
• zenPad 4 ($199; shipping now): We hate to state the obvious, but this is quite obviously an iPad KIRF — right down to the Home button. You’ll find a 10.2-inch resistive touchpanel with a 1,024 x 600 resolution (one that Enso swears up and down “has a fast response and works very well”), along with Android 2.1, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of storage, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, built-in accelerometer and a 2,400mAh battery that’s good for 5 to 7 hours of life.
• zenPhone ($349; shipping now): So… it looks like a Nexus One KIRF, it’s called a zenPhone, yet it says it’s a MID. Oh, and it’s not this ZenPhone. Whatever the case, it’s got a 4.3-inch resistive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA radio, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 256MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 3.2 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 2,600mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and — wait for it — Maemo 5 running the show. Yeah, seriously.
• zenDroid ($319; pre-order): In the market for a Droid KIRF, are you? You’ve come to the right place, with this one offering a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, an FM radio tuner, Android 2.1 (“upgradable to 2.2,” we’re told), a microSD slot (8GB bundled in), 512MB of NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA935 processor, 5 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 1,500mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro-USB connector.

[Thanks, Neil]

Enso whips up two smartphones and three new slates, but we wouldn’t order any of ’em originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Streak. It needs no introduction, as this slate’s been gaining a lot of attention amongst gadget lovers around the world. Thanks to the UK launch last Friday, we were one of the first on this planet to procure Dell’s finalized Android 1.6 phone from O2. Yep, you heard right — Engadget’s now in possession of two Streaks, with the older one still in its original and somewhat unstable prototype state. Our new toy sports a matte “carbon” finish instead of chrome (no word on future availability; the red version’s coming in two weeks’ time), and now 399MB of RAM instead of 405MB (according to Android System Info app; yet it’s advertised as 512MB). Anyhow, now that we have the real deal, there’s plenty to go through, so join us after the break to see if the Streak’s really going to start a new trend.

Continue reading Dell Streak review

Dell Streak review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may sound like a mid-boss in some forgotten and poorly translated NES game, but Dr. Eye (aka the N18C) is actually a sort of keyboard-endowed MID from Inventec. This chubby clamshell sports a QWERTY keyboard, a 4.8-inch VGA touchscreen, 3G, WiFi, and a front-facing webcam. Power is said to come from a “Marvell 624,” which we’re guessing is a 624MHz PXA310 and, while it’s currently running 1.6, word is that it’ll be dipped in 2.1’s creamy filling in the near future. When will delivery be? Inventec has been showing this guy off since last year, and while the person doing the demonstration indicates they’ll be available “pretty soon” at a price point around $400, we found this guy for sale already at a price of 2688 yuan, or about $395. So, if you’re eager to get computing and prefer donuts to eclairs, we wish you happy importing.

Continue reading Inventec’s Dr. Eye puts Android in a pocket-sized laptop

Inventec’s Dr. Eye puts Android in a pocket-sized laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading X10 MID does 1080p video output on the cheap

X10 MID does 1080p video output on the cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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