Samsung’s Wave gets the preview treatment

Samsung's Wave gets the preview treatment

What, our hands-on with video wasn’t good enough for you? Fine, Eldar at Mobile-Review.com has a rather lengthy preview of Sammy’s 1GHz Bada phone, the Wave, including so many macro photos you could probably make yourself a compelling reproduction of Mr. Murtazin’s thumbprint. Impressions of this pre-production phone were very positive, coming to the conclusion that it will “definitely become one of the milestones not only for Samsung, but also the whole industry.” Yeah, it’s looking that good, but we do have to wonder just how warmly the buying community is going to welcome yet another mobile OS. We’ll find out soon enough, as the phone is set for release in April.

Samsung’s Wave gets the preview treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola CLIQ XT / Quench joins the Android family at MWC

Motorola has just announced its eighth Android phone at MWC, dubbed the CLIQ XT or Quench outside the US (and previously known as the Zeppelin). Highlights include a 3.1-inch touchscreen with a mysterious “high-resolution” (last time we heard, it was 480 x 320), “pinch and zoom” touch capabilities, 5 megapixel camera (with autofocus and LED flash), a navigation touchpad and a dual-mic noise cancellation system. The rest of the features are pretty bog-standard: stereo Bluetooth, AGPS, FM radio, Motoblur and Adobe Flash Lite. Unlike the CLIQ there’s no physical keyboard here, but if that’s how you roll then look out for T-Mobile USA’s launch and pricing for this phone next month. The rest of us shall quench our thirst with something else for the time being.

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Motorola CLIQ XT / Quench joins the Android family at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3GS pitted against Nexus One in 3D frame rate test (video)

We’d already seen first hand what kind of GPU improvements Apple made with the iPhone 3GS (in comparison to the iPhone 3G, anyway), but if you’ve ever wondered how Cupertino’s latest stacked up against Google’s Nexus One in the graphical department, your answer is just a click away. The technical gurus over at Distinctive Developments set out to determine which handset was capable of pushing more frames per second when really taxed, and through a series of pinpoint tests, they discovered that the Nexus One (in general) lagged behind. The reason? Reportedly, Google’s phone isn’t using Neon floating-point optimization, but if it did, the scores you’ll see just past the break could be quite different. Hey Mountain View, you getting all this?

Continue reading iPhone 3GS pitted against Nexus One in 3D frame rate test (video)

iPhone 3GS pitted against Nexus One in 3D frame rate test (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Samsung chips bring HD image sensors to slimmer, smarter mobiles

In case you haven’t noticed, Mobile World Congress is upon us, and you can bet that Samsung is here in a big way. The outfit is kicking things off with a couple of low-key releases: the S5K4E2 and S5K5CA CMOS image sensors. The former is a 5 megapixel chip that utilizes Samsung’s own Enhanced Energy Steering technology and can capture video at up to 15 frames per second. We’re told that it’s also pretty darn good at reducing noise, and better still, it can slip into some of the slimmest and smallest handsets this world has ever seen. Moving on, there’s the S5K5CA SoC imager, a 3 megapixel chip that combines both the image signal processor (ISP) with the CMOS image sensor. As the story goes, this one’s some 25 percent smaller than prior 3 megapixel chips and the 720p video capture capabilities aren’t too shabby, either. Both slabs are expected to hit mass production later this year, so go ahead and get ready to break the bad news to your existing cameraphone now. It’s better this way, we promise.

New Samsung chips bring HD image sensors to slimmer, smarter mobiles originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Wave: 3.3-inch Super AMOLED, Bluetooth 3.0, and new Bada OS (updated)

How’s about a little smartphone love on Valentine’s Day? Samsung’s press conference just got underway in Barcelona, and one of Mobile World Congress‘ first smartphones to debut this year is a real doozy. The Wave (S8500) that we’ve heard so much about lately is finally official, and it’s the first handset to ship with Bluetooth 3.0. It’s also packing 802.11n WiFi, TouchWiz 3.0 and the company’s own Bada mobile platform. You’ll also get a 3.3-inch “Super AMOLED” (saywha?) display, and while the 800 x 480 resolution is just dandy, the lack of multitouch is a real buzz kill. Digging into the internals, you’ll find a 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, aGPS, accelerometer, 2GB or 8GB of internal storage space, a microSD expansion slot, multi-codec support for DivX, XviD, MP3 and WMV, and support for virtual 5.1 surround sound and 720p recording / decoding. The company’s also touting its mDNIe (mobile Digital Natural Image engine) technology, which is already used in its LCD and LED TV lineups; in other words, this phone is probably one of the better ones for multimedia viewing (so long as you don’t venture under direct sunlight, of course). It’ll be available worldwide starting in April, but unfortunately pricing remains a mystery. Full specifications and press release are after the break.

Update: Check out our hands-on with the device! The at show prototypes do respond to multi-touch pinch and zoom… with an error. But at least the detect it.

Continue reading Samsung Wave: 3.3-inch Super AMOLED, Bluetooth 3.0, and new Bada OS (updated)

Samsung Wave: 3.3-inch Super AMOLED, Bluetooth 3.0, and new Bada OS (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation 3 controller used for N900 gaming (video)

Is the N900 the most hacker-friendly phone ever created? All sources are pointing to “yes.” Just two short months ago, we saw one determined code monkey turn his N900 into a PS3 controller; today, we’re looking at someone who did the exact opposite. If you’ve memorized the Debian source code and aren’t afraid to dabble in the wild and murky world of N900 modding, you too can one day use a spare SIXAXIS controller in order to dictate gameplay on your Nokia handset. All the instructions you need are there in the source link, and for everyone else just looking to have a watch from the sidelines, hop on past the break and mash play.

Continue reading PlayStation 3 controller used for N900 gaming (video)

PlayStation 3 controller used for N900 gaming (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 gets handled, reviewed in the wilds of Russia

We just heard about Garmin-Asus’ WinMo 6.5.3-packin’ M10 yesterday, and already the handset has been broken out for a photo shoot and hands-on review in Russia. The design itself isn’t anything otherworldly, but we have to say — we’re kind of digging the user interface. Granted, we’ve a soft spot in our hearts for Garmin’s nuvi line of PNDs, so anything remotely familiar gets a big thumbs-up ’round these parts. At any rate, critics noted that the phone was a pleasant mix of WinMo and nuvi, which is something that really sets it apart from other Windows Mobile-based offerings. There’s nary a mention of exactly how awesome this thing would be with Windows Mobile 7, but if you’re in no hurry to ponder the next big thing, give that source link a look.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M10 gets handled, reviewed in the wilds of Russia originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marvell’s Pantheon platform to bring $99 smartphones, Armada 618 to dominate HD clips

In a presumed effort to get its news out before the whirlwind that is Mobile World Congress officially begins, Marvell has just shot out two vital pieces of information that may very well impact the price and performance of your next smartphone. First off, we’ve got the new Pantheon platform, which is designed to “provide breakthrough levels of integration that lower the bill of materials for mobile devices while offering consumers excellent performance, connectivity, and a compelling user experience.” In other words, this is said to be the core ingredient in a future wave of “$99 smartphones” that can handle 3D gaming, HD media and some random thing called “calling.” Next up is the latest member of the Armada family, the 618. Packed with a 1GHz clock speed and the ability to chew through 1080p content, 3D graphics and pretty much anything else you can throw at it, there’s a halfway decent chance we’ll see this under the hood of a few upcoming tablets, e-readers and bodacious smartphones. Hopefully we’ll learn more at MWC next week, and we’ll be sure to share it as soon as we get it.

Marvell’s Pantheon platform to bring $99 smartphones, Armada 618 to dominate HD clips originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour launching somewhere on February 25th, everywhere on March 15th

Eager to get your mitts on the first Motoblur-enabled phone to land on Verizon? Sorry bronco, it ain’t happening today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. According to the leaked flyer above, however, the impatient among us should be able to secure a Devour on the 25th of this month. After it filters out through those “indirect channels,” the phone will make its way into all VZW channels on March 15th, though it’s still anyone’s guess as to a price. Speaking of guesses — got any insight you’d like to share in comments?

Motorola Devour launching somewhere on February 25th, everywhere on March 15th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola XT800 Android touchscreen phone hands-on in Shenzhen

Lusting for more Android love from Motorola? Then you should start searching for a Chinese soulmate. We’ve been told that this ¥5,680 ($830) XT800 dual-SIM (one CDMA and one GSM) smartphone had been out for just a few days in Shenzhen — right before the country shuts down for Chinese New Year on Sunday. Packing the same OMAP3430 core used by the Droid and Milestone, both the 2.0.1 firmware and a 720p sample video we watched were running smoothly on the lovely 3.7-inch 854×480 screen. The rubberized battery cover felt nice in our palm, too, but enough with the talking — go gorge yourselves on the gallery pics, won’t you?

Motorola XT800 Android touchscreen phone hands-on in Shenzhen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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