Hasta La Gadget!

Aw, why don’t these CEOs say stuff like this in press conferences? Sony Ericsson’s head Bert Nordberg has shared with Swedish publication Sydsvenskan the rather salacious news that his company was asked to build the so-called Google phone before HTC… and it turned down the opportunity. Fearing brand dilution or something equally crazy, Nordberg states that Sony Ericsson is committed to building only its own-branded hardware and will not be a subcontractor to anyone. Haughty words from a company whose own Android device is still a good couple of months away from hipsters’ pockets, but we’re sure Bert knows best. After all, it’s not like HTC got a ton of positive press and brand awareness out of its partnership with Google, and it’s exceptionally clear that SE doesn’t need a dime of additional revenue. Oh, wait.

[Thanks, Michael N]

Sony Ericsson CEO: Google asked us to build the Nexus One, we refused originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are only two possible reasons for why a gadget freak like you would want a cheap phone: you’re either a very sensible person (who probably got mugged once), or you’re saving up for the phone of your life. Oh, who are we kidding? We all want a nice phone for next to nothing, right? The legendary Motorola MOTOFONE came close, but check out these new bad boys — the sub-$15 Vodafone 150 and the sub-$20 250, produced by TCL. Fine, they may look more like toys than your everyday eye candy, but you do get five hours of battery, SMS, two games on that mini monochrome screen, and even an LED torch on the back — and what’s more, the lowly 150 is claiming the holy grail “world’s cheapest phone” title that every manufacturer with an interest in emerging markets would kill to own. For an extra $5 there’s even a larger screen in color (!), not to mention FM radio. If you want one, you better start flying walking to either India, Turkey or Africa where the phones will be launched over the next few weeks, or you can just gaze at Fonehome’s hands-on video of the 150 after the break.

On a similar topic, ST-Ericsson has launched the U6715 mobile platform with 7.2Mbps HSPA modem for Linux-based OSes (Android and MeeGo, to name a couple), and expects participating manufacturers to deliver sub-€100 (about $137) smartphones in the first half of 2010. Apparently, the trick is to use “structurally-less expensive silicon, without compromising the end user experience.” With a 1000mAh battery, the platform will deliver up to 40 hours to musical entertainment — twice that of the Nexus One with 1400mAh — and up to seven hours of 3G talk time on one charge. Pretty sweet at first blush, except there’s no mention of what the CPU would be clocked at. Regardless, all we want is some smooth video playback from the “elegant and powerful multimedia engine” — is that too much to ask?

Continue reading Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G

Vodafone 150 lays claim to ‘world’s cheapest phone’ title, ST-Ericsson works on thrifty 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even on the latest round of Snapdragon-powered models, Android apps don’t typically seem to exhibit the same level of buttery-smooth prowess as their iPhone equivalents. There are a variety of reasons for that, but the most damning seems to stem from Google’s choice of the Dalvik Java runtime, which — to put it simply — trades performance for diminutive processor and memory footprints. You may not have ever heard of Swiss company (and OHA member) Myriad, but it sprung to life through the merger of Esmertec and Purple Labs and claims to have software running on an astounding 2 billion phones worldwide — in other words, these guys know a thing or two about phones — and they’ve applied their expertise to tighten up Dalvik and make it burn rubber. Follow the break for video!

Continue reading Myriad Dalvik Turbo hands-on: Android apps just got fast

Myriad Dalvik Turbo hands-on: Android apps just got fast originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At first glance, Bug Labs’ latest creation actually seems like a bit of a downgrade from the version it replaces — it loses the onboard LCD display and a handful of buttons, after all — but we sat down with CEO Peter Semmelhack today on the hustling, bustling floor of MWC to get the straight dope on what makes the BUGbase 2.0 a superior product. First of all, you can’t overlook the fact that they’ve moved to a Cortex A8-based OMAP3530, an appreciable boost from the ARM11 core it replaces, but it turns out there are a whole bunch of subtler changes too, like the inclusion of on-board audio out (pictured above toward the left of the base), HD video out capability through a module, and a second microSD slot. Why two, you ask? Isn’t 32GB of external storage enough? Probably, but Semmelhack points out that the second slot (covered behind a flap) is dedicated to loading the operating system, making it a trivial task to quickly switch between kernels or get unbricked.

Although the unit we saw today has functional guts, we’re told that the casing is pre-production — not to say that “production” BUGbases need to look amazing, anyway, considering that they’re frequently used for prototyping themselves. Though Android’s already been ported to the Bug platform, the company is really driving home the message in 2.0; when you think about it, this kind of makes any Android dev out there a de facto Bug dev, so that’s a nice angle to play. Look for it to ship by “early Summer,” so it’s time to scoop up that first-gen unit now if you’re jonesing for the integrated display.

Bug Labs’ BUGbase 2.0 prototype hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft just planted a massive flag in the ground with the debut of Windows Phone 7 Series. The company’s new mobile operating system is a radical and potent departure from the past, and there’s a lot to take in — so we’ve gathered together all our knowledge and impressions of the device so far and rolled them into a single, concise guide. Of course, there will be plenty more to learn in the coming months, and we’re going to be beating down Redmond’s door for more details on this thing, but for now let’s dive into what Microsoft has revealed so far about its latest and (potentially) greatest phone operating system.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series: everything you ever wanted to know

Windows Phone 7 Series: everything you ever wanted to know originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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