Hasta La Gadget!

As far-fetched as it may seem, rumors that RIM is working on some sort of Android app support for its QNX-based PlayBook tablet have persisted in various forms for months now — and they’ve turned up once again in a video posted by development community MobileMonday’s Rio chapter taken at MWC earlier this month, where a RIM rep seemingly says “we will also support Android apps” after talking about Java-based offerings. Of course, this could’ve been staged by some rabble rousers or a rep could’ve simply been echoing back the rumors he’s seen on the interwebs — but regardless, it adds fuel to the fire. Follow the break to see the video of that.

But it gets weirder. ShopSavvy — which makes versions of its app for iOS and Android — has started turning up a couple of older BlackBerry devices in its Android build’s usage statistics on Flurry: the Curve 8300 and 8520, to be specific, along with an 8600 model that doesn’t exist (at least, not yet). The 8300, in particular, is pretty ancient at this point and we’re having a hard time wrapping our brain around RIM’s game plan in porting Dalvik (or a Dalvik-like) VM and associated libraries over to it; if anything, Flurry could be confused. Then again, a next-generation full-touch BlackBerry that just happens to run a full suite of Android apps in a sandbox could be a pretty compelling product, indeed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Continue reading PlayBook Android app support mentioned during demo at MWC, old BlackBerrys show up in ShopSavvy’s Android logs

PlayBook Android app support mentioned during demo at MWC, old BlackBerrys show up in ShopSavvy’s Android logs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our program today is XXXXXL heavy in a lot of different ways, and most of those ways lie under a big robotic green umbrella. Get it? It was a weather-related Android allusion; please forgive us. It’s the Engadget Podcast, wedged firmly between the past and the future, unsure of what to feel about either one, but trying to exist really completely in the now.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Love Will Tear Us Apart

00:05:30 – Samsung Galaxy S II official: dual-core 1GHz CPU, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus, coming this month (hands-on with video)
00:05:50 – HTC Incredible S, Desire S, and Wildfire S video hands-on
00:06:00 – Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 preview (video)
00:16:22 – Qualcomm promises Netflix streaming support on ‘future Android devices’ with Snapdragon
00:16:43 – Android-powered LG Revolution caught streaming Netflix at MWC (video)
00:23:02 – Next version of Android will combine Gingerbread and Honeycomb, arrive on a six-month cycle
00:23:58 – The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (update: video and full spec sheet!)
00:24:25 – Sony Ericsson touts Xperia Play multiplayer gaming, promises 50 titles at launch
00:24:40 – Sony Ericsson Xperia Play available in March, on Verizon in ‘early spring’
00:35:26 – LG Optimus 3D hands-on
00:44:48 – HTC’s Facebook-worshipping phones headed to AT&T later this year
00:46:20 – HTC Salsa and Chacha bring the dedicated Facebook button to Android (update: eyes-on)
00:51:30 – Motorola Xoom vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. LG G-Slate — battle of the Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablets
00:52:08 – Motorola Xoom price official: $799 unsubsidized on Verizon, $600 for WiFi-only
00:53:00 – Motorola’s Sanjay Jha on Xoom: ‘Our ability to deliver 4G justifies the $799 price point’
00:59:10 – HTC launches 1.5GHz, 7-inch Android 2.4 Flyer into the tablet wars (update: hands-on video!)
00:59:48 – HTC Flyer tablet hits Amazon.de for 669 euros
00:59:55 – The stylus isn’t dead: more pen-based tablets and apps coming this year
01:05:01 – Exclusive: Sony ‘S1’ PlayStation tablet (updated)
01:06:02 – Nokia: ‘Our first priority is beating Android’
01:06:20 – Eric Schmidt: ‘We certainly tried’ to get Nokia to use Android
01:06:40 – HTC CEO Peter Chou on Microsoft / Nokia partnership: ‘it’ll make the ecosystem stronger’
01:07:00 – The Engadget Interview: Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman talks Windows Phone 7 and Nokia
01:07:30 – Windows Phone 7’s multitasking uses zoomed-out cards to check on your apps
01:08:50 – Microsoft Rally Ball demo shows Windows Phone 7, Kinect, Xbox Live living in perfect harmony (video)
01:09:10 – Microsoft shows off WP7’s future with multitasking, Twitter integration, and IE9, all coming this year
01:12:40 – Nokia’s marginalization of MeeGo came as a surprise to Intel
01:13:58 – Intel’s Otellini insists company is committed to MeeGo, says he ‘understood’ why Nokia moved to Microsoft
01:14:25 – Editorial: Intel keeps pushing MeeGo, but why?
01:14:50 – Intel shows off more of its MeeGo Tablet UI, still needs lots of work
01:27:50 – Motorola Atrix 4G review

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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 233 – 02.21.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to say if Intel CEO Paul Otellini was simply misquoted the first go ’round, or if he really had a change of heart in the course of 48 hours. Either way, the most recent quotes coming from the highest of highs at Chipzilla paints a very different story than the one we first heard, and it’s beginning to look like Intel and Microsoft may eventually wage some sort of war — even if it’s one that remains strictly at the software level. Reuters is reporting that Otellini had this to say when questioned about Stephen Elop’s decision to select Windows Phone 7 as the future of Nokia’s handset business:

“I wouldn’t have made the decision he made, I would probably have gone to Android if I were him. MeeGo would have been the best strategy but he concluded he couldn’t afford it.”

That contrasts starkly with comments made just days ago, where he was quoted as saying that he would’ve made “the same or a similar call” if found in Elop’s shoes. Continuing on the topic of differentiation, Otellini noted that “it would have been less hard on Android, [but] on MeeGo he could have done it.” That said, he’s confident that Intel “will find another partner,” noting that carriers “still want a third ecosystem and the carriers want an open ecosystem, and that’s the thing that drives our motivation.” Now, the real question: which Paul can be believed?

Intel CEO Paul Otellini flip-flops, says he ‘would’ve gone Android’ if he were Elop originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Humans, allow us to present the latest episode of The Engadget Show — you won’t want to miss it. First up, Josh and Tim Stevens sit down with GM’s chief electrical engineer Micky Bly for a frank conversation on the future of automotive technology, chatting about everything from networked vehicles (with a surprise visit from the unmistakable EN-V prototype), electric cars, advancing smartphone integration, and a world without stoplights. Then, Micky announces and demos Chevy’s new MyLink infotainment system, in a world-first, Engadget Show-exclusive look at the new technology.

Fresh off a resounding victory over mankind, IBM’s Watson researcher David Gondek joins Josh and Paul for a breakdown of Watson’s Jeopardy domination and an in-depth conversation about machine-learning, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and the meaning of love. Last up, Josh, Paul, and Nilay bust out the Motorola Atrix 4G and break down the week in news, including Nokia’s Windows Phone announcement, the rise of Honeycomb tablets, and everything worth talking about from Mobile World Congress.

This is one you absolutely should not miss. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! Hit up the video stream after the break or download the show in HD below!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Special guests: Micky Bly, David Gondek
Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm
Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger
Edited by: Danny Madden
Music by: Note!
Visuals by: Batsly Adams
Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec

Taped live at SIR Stage37
Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 018 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 018 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 018 (Small)

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Continue reading The Engadget Show – 018: GM’s Micky Bly, Watson researcher David Gondek, EN-V demo, Atrix 4G

The Engadget Show – 018: GM’s Micky Bly, Watson researcher David Gondek, EN-V demo, Atrix 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What if you could run Android apps on other platforms? That’s exactly the question Benoit Shillings and his team at Myriad asked themselves before setting out to create Alien Dalvik. The resulting software provides a host environment for the (mostly Java-based) Android apps to run pretty much anywhere. Alien Dalvik behaves a lot like Wine on Linux, which allows Windows programs to run inside Linux without installing Windows or using a virtual machine. We stopped by the Myriad booth at MWC this week where Benoit was kind enough to give us a demo of Alien Dalvik running on a Nokia N900. Despite being in the early stages of development and still un-optimized, the software worked as expected. Benoit showed us Google Maps, a chess game, and the IMDb app all running as separate processes inside Maemo. This version of Alien Dalvik was written using Qt and should also be able to run on Symbian devices. You can’t buy the product as an end user, but Myriad wants to make the technology available to carriers and device manufacturers to help streamline the deployment of apps across platforms. Watch our video after the break.

Continue reading Myriad Alien Dalvik hands-on (video)

Myriad Alien Dalvik hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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