Eternal archrivals-to-the-death Samsung and LG have a tendency to match one another tit for tat in virtually every consumer electronic category, but for whatever reason, LG’s been far less interested in going for broke with Android over the past year — though a preoccupation with Windows Phone 7 Series is a solid guess at this point. Things may be changing, though, now that we’ve got news out of Telecoms Korea that they’re prepping a more brutal assault than the weakling GW620 could ever provide in the form of a so-called LU2300 for the domestic market (we’re assuming the actual thing will be a little more… well, “designed” than the snow-white mockup above). The site is playing up LG’s announcement that the phone will bundle a bunch of popular apps in ROM (awesome?) but the real news is the impressive spec sheet, which is said to include a Nexus One-like 1GHz Snapdragon and WVGA AMOLED display paired with Android 2.1 and a 5 megapixel cam capable of 720p video. It certainly sounds like it’s ready to give Samsung’s M100S a run for its money, but we’ll need to wait until its second quarter release to know for sure.

LG’s LU2300 set to challenge Samsung’s M100S for Korean Android dominance? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what’s black and yellow all over, fits in the average mailbox and gets the imaginations of camera junkies running wild? These cards, that’s what. Over the past few days, mysterious cards have begun to arrive in the hands of Nikon users, and while the company’s name is nowhere to be found, the colors and hints are starting to build a case for something new. It seems a countdown from 8 has begun, with the first card stating “I am…” and the second “I am fun….” In case you weren’t aware, Nikon has yet to dabble in the Micro Four Thirds world (or even hint at a competitor like Samsung’s NX range), but whispers of a so-called EVIL lineup have been building steam. Nikon aficionados have pointed out that the countdown will end just prior to a UK press meeting on March 8th, which could very well mean that an all-new compact is just days away from being properly revealed. Or it could be nothing at all. Keep your expectations low — it’s better to be pleasantly surprised than deflated and alone, right?

Mysterious yellow and black cards lead to wild Nikon speculation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What better way to start your Saturday afternoon than with another Nexus One release rumor. Without further ado, today we’ve got whispers care of Neowin that the recently-FCC’d CDMA device is launching on Verizon’s network March 23rd, perfect timing for the beginning of CTIA. And while that fits pretty neatly into that initial “Spring 2010” launch window, there’s really no way for us to corroborate at this point other than just taking their word for it. You can wait diligently, can’t ya?

Nexus One coming to Verizon March 23rd? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The progression of ever-faster notebooks seems to have dwindled, but the quest for thinner and lighter goes on. Acer is said to be finding the balance between those two goals with its next suite of thin performers, starting with a range of mid- and high-end portables based on Intel’s Calpella series of processors, the Nehalem spin-off that we haven’t heard much about lately. Sizes are said to be 13-, 14-, and 15-inches, all will be manufactured by Wistron, and all said to be one inch thin at their thinnest point — hopefully not much thicker elsewhere if they want to turn heads. These higher-performing machines will eventually phase out Acer’s CULV offerings, which apparently have had unimpressive sales thanks to a perceived lack of performance by consumers. We can’t imagine where they got that idea…

Acer launching thin, Calpella-based notebooks this summer? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If we had it boil it down, the singular image burned in our brains of Windows Phone 7 Series so far is that of a large, nondescript slate — the so-called “dogfood” device being passed around internally for the platform’s development — and although Microsoft isn’t talking specs at this point, it’s widely believed that this phone roughly represents the Chassis 1 spec that Redmond is passing around to hardware partners. Is this the only way you’ll be able to get your WinPho 7 served to you, though? We might yet be months away from an official answer, but a pair of Microsoft developer evangelists on an Australian podcast are saying that Chassis 1 (full touchscreen, gigahertz processor, and dedicated graphics acceleration) will be the sole option at launch, with Chassis 2 and 3 following on after that. 2 is said to be “more like a Palm Treo” with a dedicated QWERTY keyboard, while 3 remains a mystery, though there’s some speculation on the podcast that it could be a candybar — a form factor that’s becoming something of a lost art these days, particularly among smartphones. The speakers note that there’s a lot of value in offering some form factor variety — not everyone wants a keyboardless slate, after all — so the real question might be how quickly after initial launch we’ll see some of these other chassis filter down to retail.

Windows Phone 7 Series getting one chassis spec at launch, two more in the pipe? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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