LG Optimus 2X coming to T-Mobile USA by March?

When the Optimus 2X was announced a few days ago, North America was conspicuously left out of the nebulous launch plans mentioned in the press release — but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not coming. RCR Wireless says it has it on “rather good authority” that LG’s beastly Tegra 2-powered Android phone will in fact see a US launch, and that said launch will be on T-Mobile in late February (which would be right after MWC) or early March. Considering how aggressively T-Mobile has been pushing Android dating all the way back to the G1, we tend to believe it — and between the dual-core processor, HSPA+, and the promise of a Gingerbread update in the works, this could easily hang with the HTC Mechas and Motorola Olympuses of the world (likely launching on Verizon and AT&T, respectively) over the next few months.

LG Optimus 2X coming to T-Mobile USA by March? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung nabs Tegra 2 for Galaxy Tab 2, Google makes Tegra the Honeycomb reference platform?

It sounds like all of NVIDIA’s wrangling and cajoling finally paid off, if a couple of analysts are to be believed — both say the company’s dual-core Tegra 2 chipset is racking up wins in the tablet space. We’ve seen it seemingly raise the bar for smartphone silicon in the LG Star and tease us in slate after slate, but Citigroup’s Glen Yeung says that Samsung has “placed a sizeable order with Nvidia for Tegra 2 chips in the first half of 2011, geared for both tablets and smartphones,” and BMO Capital Markets analyst Ambrish Srivastava anticipates the next Galaxy Tab will be one of the devices that use it. If that sounds obvious, remember that Samsung was supposed to be producing a dual-core chip of its own. What could cause companies to embrace Tegra 2, if that’s indeed what’s happening? Any number of reasons, to be sure, but Glen Yeung also says that Google has made Tegra the reference design for Honeycomb, aka Android 3.0, and so Tegra 2 may sound like a fast track to victory in the budding tablet space. Here’s hoping it’s a good choice for consumers, too.

Samsung nabs Tegra 2 for Galaxy Tab 2, Google makes Tegra the Honeycomb reference platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viewsonic G Tablet pulled from Staples stores, ‘manufacturing defect’ to blame

Oh boy, we’ve not been shy about our love for NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, but the tablets that have opted to use it so far keep meeting the same miserable end: discontinuation from shop floor availability. First the Toshiba Folio 100 bit the British dust because of a bunch of quality control issues, and now Viewsonic’s G Tablet is getting its marching orders from Staples, with only a “manufacturing defect” cited as the cause. If we weren’t such charitable souls, we might suggest the defect was simply that this tablet wasn’t very good yet someone still chose to manufacture it. Let’s not be hasty, though — it’s a good idea to see what Office Depot does with its inventory before completely writing the G Tablet off.

[Thanks, Rob]

Continue reading Viewsonic G Tablet pulled from Staples stores, ‘manufacturing defect’ to blame

Viewsonic G Tablet pulled from Staples stores, ‘manufacturing defect’ to blame originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hannspree’s HSG1164 10.1-inch Froyo tablet drops by the FCC

You know what they say about a trip to the FCC‘s database, right? Why, it’s much like the step just prior to achieving manhood — one more leap from here, and you’ll be ripe for the pickin’. Just a few months after Hannspree teased us with a formal introduction of its (then unnamed) 10.1-inch multitouch Froyo tablet, it looks as if that very device has now found a moniker. The 1.6-pound HSG1164 will eventually bring a fairly impressive build of materials to light, offering a 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, 16GB of internal storage, 512MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot, Android 2.2, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, mini USB / HDMI connector, an inbuilt light sensor, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a Li-ion battery of unspecified size. There’s obviously no direct mention of a ship date in the documentation here, but we’re putting our money on an early 2011 release. Care to wager, too?

Hannspree’s HSG1164 10.1-inch Froyo tablet drops by the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 10:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eLocity A7 tablet finally shipping, $399 still buys you Froyo and Tegra 2

Looking for a bargain bin tablet without the bargain bin stigma? We told you around three months ago to look Stream TV’s way, but it seems that the same message could be applied today. For whatever reason, the 7-inch eLocity A7 tablet actually didn’t ship in September, but according to a fresh piece of PR, that’s being remedied today. The A7 — complete with Android 2.2 and NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 silicon — has started shipping today to those who placed a pre-order, and it’s also found a safe and secure spot on Amazon’s website. ‘Course, it’s listed as “out of stock” for the time being, but as soon as the factory lines start cranking at a decent clip, the $399 slate should make an appearance at Walmart, NewEgg, BJs, Tiger Direct and Micro Center (among other places). Emphasis on should.

Continue reading eLocity A7 tablet finally shipping, $399 still buys you Froyo and Tegra 2

eLocity A7 tablet finally shipping, $399 still buys you Froyo and Tegra 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life

You’ll remember that back at Computex MSI introduced two tablets or so-called WinPads — there was the Windows 7 / Atom slate and another one of the Android / ARM variety. Well, MSI is planning to resurrect those with some slight improvements for CES, and this time it’s gearing up to actually release them both. First up is the 10.1-inch Windows 7 Home Premium version, which will be one of the first Intel Atom Oak Trail-powered devices out there, says the company. According to MSI’s Director of North American Sales Andy Tung, Intel’s tablet solution does show both battery life and performance improvements over the current Atom chips, but it’s “not extremely significant.” Based on our discussion with Tung, we got the feeling that it’s a step in the right direction for Atom but still not as long-lasting as it needs to be to compete with ARM-based tablets. Beyond that, the tablet measures less than an inch thick and will have a 1024 x 600-resolution, multitouch display, mini-HDMI and mini-USB ports, an SD card slot, and an accelerometer. Tung wasn’t ready to reveal pricing, but he said it should be available in early 2011.

On the Android side of things, MSI’s got a dual-core Tegra 2-powered 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800-resolution slate prepped with the same selection of ports and features — although, this one is slightly thinner and also has a drop-proof design. So, what version of Android will it run? Well, that depends on Google’s timing, says Tung. If Android 3.0 or Honeycomb is available by the February / March timeframe MSI will go with that option — however, if it’s not, it will go with Gingerbread, so it can hit the market earlier in 2011. We have to say both tablets sound rather intriguing, but will they be able to go up against the hundreds of others coming at CES: The Tablet Year? We’ll know more in Vegas, that’s for sure!

MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Star preview

The LG Star. The dual-core beast from the east that was once a mere twinkle in our eye has managed to find its way to the Engadget mansions, having been lent to us by a very generous (and very anonymous) tipster. It’s clearly a test device, as evidenced by its diagnostics menus and lack of a lockscreen, but there’s no disguising the power that lies within it. We put the Star through a battery of common Android benchmarks and the results were, in a word, outstanding. Basically, Tegra 2 will give anything your current phone‘s running an inferiority complex. Join us after the break as we delve deeper into this upcoming powerhouse of a handset from LG. One thing’s for sure: CES 2011 can’t come soon enough.

Continue reading LG Star preview

LG Star preview originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Android tablet specs and Honeycomb home screen leaked in Taiwan?

Turns out Andy Rubin might not be the only fella who’s been showing off the elusive Motorola Android tablet. Earlier this week, some lucky guy from Taiwan claims to have stumbled upon the same Honeycomb device, and was kind enough to share the above homescreen spy shot as well as some thoughts on his one-hour hands-on. We’re told that there’ll be a 7-inch version as well as a 10-inch version (the latter appears to be what Rubin had), and the one we’re looking at here has a 1280 x 800 display of unknown size, NVIDIA Tegra 2 T20 dual-core chip, gyroscope, a 5 megapixel main camera, and a 2 megapixel front camera. Memory-wise it has a 32GB embedded MMC and a microSD slot.

The poster reckons the hardware — which is “pretty light” — is all ready for launch, but Honeycomb still needs some final fine-tuning. Sadly, he hasn’t got a date, but said device will apparently be priced like the current Motorola high-end phones, and will be available in three flavors: UMTS, CDMA, and LTE (which we heard about a little while back). Well, only time will tell whether this guy really does have a good friend at Motorola, or that he’s been talking to some unicorns.

[Thanks, Samson]

Update: And just like that, the poster’s removed the offending screenshot and trimmed down his first post.

Motorola Android tablet specs and Honeycomb home screen leaked in Taiwan? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA touts the benefits of multi-core processors for smartphones and tablets

It may simply be a case of stating the obvious, but NVIDIA has just published a rather lengthy whitepaper extolling the many benefits of multi-core processors for mobile devices. That obviously includes some talk about Tegra 2, which is now shipping for tablets (and appearing in some phones), and a couple of fairly bold statements — namely that dual-core processors will be “the standard” for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets in 2011, and that quad-core processors are coming “in the near future.” The ultimate conclusion, of course, is that smartphones and tablets will effectively follow in the footsteps of desktops and laptops, and that as far as NVIDIA is concerned, it intends to be a big part of making that happen. Hit up the source link below for the complete paper (in PDF form).

NVIDIA touts the benefits of multi-core processors for smartphones and tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 03:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Olympus shows up in the wild, demonstrates unyielding commitment to Motoblur

Witness our last review of an Android smartphone from Motorola and you’ll know what we think of Motoblur. Then again, we reckon we could get over our qualms when Moto’s skin is stretched out over this delectable-looking, supposedly Tegra 2-boasting smartphone. The Olympus has been snapped again, this time by someone claiming to have bought it at a flea market, and it now shows off an HDMI output alongside the standard microUSB connector, both of which are planted on the side of what’s looking like a very thin device indeed. The Olympus is carrying over the Defy‘s penchant for minimal bezel up front, though now that we have something to judge its size against, it does look to be equipped with at least a 4-inch screen. Pretty good competition for LG’s Star, we’re sure you’ll agree. If only we knew when it might launch

Continue reading Motorola Olympus shows up in the wild, demonstrates unyielding commitment to Motoblur

Motorola Olympus shows up in the wild, demonstrates unyielding commitment to Motoblur originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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