Hasta La Gadget!

Your Nexus One is a second-class citizen no more: Today, Google’s rolling out Android 2.3.3 to both its premier smartphones. The latest build, still referred to as Gingerbread, brings even more NFC goodies than foretold, as the Nexus S will soon be able to write (not just read) rewritable NFC tags as well as act as a glorified NFC tag itself. (You can see both possibilities in the three screenshots above.) What’s more, Google tells us Android 2.3.3 will fix the random reboots that have plagued the Nexus S as of late, and offers other random bugfixes as well. You’ll find the whole kit and kaboodle streaming to your phones over the air during the next few weeks to come.

Update: We’re also hearing that integrated Facebook contacts will be treated differently in Android 2.3.3 — we’ve reached out to Google for more information.

Update 2: Here’s the deal with regards to Facebook.

Nexus S and Nexus One get Android Gingerbread 2.3.3, fixes random reboots and writes NFC tags originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So how’s our little leaked friend the alleged BlackBerry Bold Touch doing as Canada’s winter continues to rage? Looks like he’s all wrapped up and toasty in a tasteful carbon fiber weave. N4BB nabbed the first real-life photos of the triple-input-device OS 6.1 smartphone, which confirm its 640 x 480 VGA screen, though the publication says it’s also gained storage space (6.5GB flash) and lost memory (512MB of RAM) since the last time we heard its specs. There’s apparently still a 5 megapixel camera to be had, as well as a magnetometer, accelerometer and proximity sensor, and — as the rumor mill whispered in January — integrated NFC. Still no word on processing power, but it sure sounds like it’ll mop the floor with the Torch either way.

[Thanks, Mike]

BlackBerry Dakota / Montana spotted in the wild, sporting threads of carbon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 21:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not interested in picking up an NFC-enabled smartphone? No matter — Morpho’s got you covered. The outfit was demonstrating a newly finished Simlink NFC keyfob here at Mobile World Congress, intended to provide contactless payment capability for those who lack it in their existing mobile. Rather than stopping at just payments, this dongle also supports frequent flier cards, membership accounts and pretty much any other members-only situation that may ever use NFC check-ins and registration. There’s even a WiFi module here and an onboard web server, enabling any WiFi-enabled phone to immediately see your most recent transactions as well as what data / cards you have stored on the device. We’re told that the onboard battery can last around a week if you don’t use it continuously, and a simple micro-USB connector is responsible for charging. The only unfortunate part is the size — it’s hardly inconspicuous, but we’re guessing revision two will lose quite a bit of weight. This particular model should go on sale by the end of Q4, with pricing to be determined. Head on past the break for a brief demonstration, you big spender, you.

Continue reading Morpho’s NFC / WiFi-enabled keyfob brings wireless payments, card management to the everyman (video)

Morpho’s NFC / WiFi-enabled keyfob brings wireless payments, card management to the everyman (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not one to let the name Snapdragon down, Qualcomm‘s gone and announced a much faster generation of the processor family, with speeds up to 2.5GHz per core. The multi-core (one, two, and four) 28nm chipsets, codenamed Krait, will feature WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM, support NFC and stereoscopic 3D video / photo (capture and playback), and also boast multi-mode LTE modem integration. Qualcomm claims a performance increase of 150 percent and a power consumption drop of 65 percent over current ARM-based CPU cores. Included is a new Adreno 320 GPU with support of up to four 3D cores. Samples for the dual-core MSM8960 will be avialable in second quarter this year, while single-core MSM8930 and quad-core APQ8063 (for “computing and entertainment devices” — i.e. tablets) versions are coming early 2012. The power-crazed products housing these chipsets? You’ll have to wait even longer to see those.

Qualcomm unveils next-gen Snapdragon family, including quad-core 2.5GHz CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 04:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Android versions keep on rolling today with the introduction of a new build in the 2.3 Gingerbread line — 2.3.3 this time — that improves developer access to the platforms newfound NFC capabilities as first seen on the Nexus S. What’s new, exactly? Well, there’s a new NFC read / write API that Google alleges will let you access pretty much any NFC tag on the market today, better control over what happens when a tag comes within range of the device, and “limited support” for peer-to-peer NFC communication — something Stanford cobbled together for the Nexus S not long ago. The new build is available now to developers using the Android SDK; no devices have received an update yet, but we’d imagine the Nexus S is queued up to get it before too long.

Android 2.3.3 announced with more developer-friendly access to NFC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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