Android Mashup: Recent Posts From Android Community

Samsung Galaxy S II vs Infuse 4G
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 23:23:51 +0000
Below you can see the specs, but right here you’re going to get the most important factoid of them all: which one of these two Samsung superstars is thinner? Why, it’s the Samsung Galaxy S II of course! But just by a bit. By less than 1mm, if Philip Berne’s sources have anything to say about it. But what other tiny bits are different? There’s a few biggies, but what about the tiny bits? The battery is 100 mAh apart, the larger of the two being the Infuse 4G at 1750, the smaller of course then the Galaxy S II at 1650. Why would that be? Perhaps to create a slightly smaller phone to win the thin wars?
The Infuse 4G was announced at CES 2011, Samsung Galaxy S II announced at Mobile World Congress 2011. The Infuse has the ability to side-load apps (on AT&T this is a big deal because historically they’ve disallowed it,) while we’re still not sure what the deal will be with the USA version of the GS2. In the photos in this post, (all taken by Philip Berne,) the lighter of the two is the Infuse 4G. As you can see, they are VERY similar in their chassis.
Galaxy S II
4.27-inch 480 x 800 Super AMOLED Plus
Infuse 4G
4.5-inch 480 x 800 Super AMOLED Plus
G
8 megapixel camera back, 2 megapixel front
I
8 megapixel camera back, 1.3 megapixel front
G
HSPA+ connectivity plus Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth 3.0
I
HSPA+ connectivity plus Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n; DLNA, and Bluetooth 3.0
G
TouchWiz UI 4.0
I
TouchWiz UI 3.0
G
1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor
I
1.2GHz single-core Hummingbird processor
So what’s the decision? Bigger screen or more hardcore processor? Larger battery? That’d be strange. Maybe that extra .7 megapixels on the front-facing camera? Boy howdy, it’s all up to you, isn’t it?
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AT&T allows sideloading apps on the Infuse 4G
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 22:01:09 +0000
Whoa what do we have here, it appears that the new Samsung Infuse 4G now allows for side-loading apps. Something no Android phone on AT&T has been able to do before. From our hands on with the new Infuse 4G it looks like you are now able to select the box “Unknown Sources” and can now install non-market applications. This is huge news because until now users have had to resort to tricks and hackery to side-load applications to AT&T phones.
See the photo above for the hard proof. That is the new Samsung Infuse 4G on AT&T, and it is allowing non-market installs. For now as far as we understand AT&T policy is still the same, and they do not allow the installation of 3rd party applications. So either this is brand new, just breaking. Or Samsung forgot to lock it down on the new Infuse 4G.
We don’t have a lot to go by yet for this, we are looking into it now and will report back as soon as we hear more. For more information on the Infuse 4G go here.
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Samsung Infuse 4G Hands-On
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 21:57:42 +0000
Today at its New York City reveal we got the chance to take a peek at the brand new Samsung Infuse 4G. This is a phone with the biggest Super AMOLED plus screen ever seen on a handset, the thinnest phone thus far in the official Samsung USA released ranks (the absolute thinnest I think you already also know the name of) and it’s rolling out on AT&T’s 4G network. Would you like to know more? Have a peek at this monster and get your pants in a bundle!
First Impressions
The display and the extremely thin profile are obviously two of the strongest design choices here, with the 8 megapixel camera on the back and the 1.3 megapixel camera on the front almost seeming like par for the course (especially in these days of such levels of camera rating being everywhere.) WIth the DROID (Samsung) Charge having just been passed out to reviewers and the Samsung Galaxy S II out already in the UK, the Infuse 4G seems to be just that – a fusion of the two. Will it hold true as we pass it through the big review?
The display isn’t quite qHD, but the WVGA is certainly fine and dandy, and Super AMOLED Plus could make any display resolution flip out. This device starts out with Android 2.2 Froyo with TouchWiz 3.0, not quite the 4.0 we saw at CTIA 2011. Hopefully both a 2.3 Gingerbread and TouchWiz 4.0 in the near future. We’ve heard it both ways so far from people at the event – some say it’s too wide and tall, some, like our good pal Philip Berne (not at the event) say it’s large, but doesn’t feel like it when you use it.
Have a look at our quick unboxing and hands-on courtesy of Vince from our sister-site SlashGear:

And have a look at some lovely photos in the gallery below. Also note that yours truly will be getting this device in the mail tomorrow, so expect a swift review before the end of the weekend!

DALLAS, May 5, 2011 — AT&T* and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S., today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Infuse™ 4G.
Key Facts
• Exclusive to AT&T customers, the Samsung Infuse 4G will be the nation’s thinnest 4G smartphone at 8.99mm at its thinnest.
• Delivers the largest display in AT&T’s smartphone portfolio with a brilliant 4.5-inch screen featuring next-generation Super AMOLED™ Plus technology.
• Powered by a 1.2 GHz processor and the Android™ 2.2 platform, the Samsung Infuse 4G also boasts an 8-megapixel camera, and a $25 credit to download movie content from Samsung Media Hub.
• Pre-loaded version of Angry Birds features an exclusive hidden level for Infuse 4G customers.
• Samsung Infuse 4G will be available in AT&T company-owned stores and online at www.wireless.att.com on May 15 and will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract and no mail-in rebate. (Minimum $15 data plan required)
Customer Benefits
The Samsung Infuse 4G will be the thinnest 4G smartphone available in the U.S. and will feature the largest screen — at 4.5 inches — in AT&T’s smartphone lineup, and the largest touch screen on any Samsung phone. Powered by a 1.2 GHz application processor and running the Android 2.2 platform, the device delivers a brilliant display using Samsung’s next-generation Super AMOLED™ Plus technology which features 50 percent more sub-pixels for better contrast. The display also offers unmatched outdoor viewing quality, even in the brightest sunlight.
With the Infuse 4G, Samsung and AT&T are raising the stakes on pre-loaded content that is not available on any other device. In collaboration with Rovio, the Infuse 4G will feature a special edition of Angry Birds pre-loaded on the smartphone. Players can unlock a special “Golden Egg” level of the game, and once the special level is completed, users can register to win Samsung prizes exclusive to Infuse 4G users.**
The smartphone also includes an 8-megapixel camera/camcorder with auto-focus and flash that shoots HD video with incredible detail. A front facing camera is perfect for self portraits or video chat. Customers can also watch hit movies and TV shows from preloaded apps like Samsung Media Hub, U-verse Mobile and U-verse Live TV.
The first 500,000 Infuse 4G units sold will include a $25 voucher for consumers to get started on downloading content from Media Hub. With Media Hub’s progressive downloading feature, users can start watching their content almost immediately as the rest of the file downloads to the Infuse 4G. Plus, all Media Hub content can be shared among five Media Hub-enabled devices on the same account. The Infuse 4G also comes with a 2GB microSD card with preloaded trailers for upcoming summer movies.
Compatible with the Infuse 4G and other devices on the Android 2.2 platform or better, AT&T has also launched a new, fun app called JustUs. The app combines both social media and text activity from five favorite contacts into an animated wallpaper, keeping users better connected with those that matter most. Customers can download the app for free in Android Market today.
Quotes
“The 4.5-inch screen on Infuse 4G is enhanced further with Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus technology. Colors are rich and bright, even while outdoors in sunlight,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “When you juxtapose that with the fact that it’s the thinnest 4G smartphone out there today, it’s an incredibly compelling choice for our customers.”
“When you combine the powerful 1.2 GHz application processor with AT&T’s advanced 4G network, this device will truly be the fastest smartphone Samsung has ever created with AT&T,” said Omar Khan, chief technology officer & chief product officer for Samsung Mobile. “The Infuse 4G is our latest example of Samsung’s global leadership in Android platform smartphones. With every Android smartphone that we launch, we’re bringing something new and exciting to the market.”
Smartphone Portfolio
AT&T is a pioneer in smartphones and devices and expects to widen its portfolio in 2011. In January, AT&T committed to introducing 20 4G devices and 12 additional Android devices by the end of the year. Samsung Infuse 4G will be one of several new 4G devices that have been offered to AT&T customers in the first half of 2011.
Samsung Infuse 4G Accessories
To prepare for the arrival of the Samsung Infuse 4G in AT&T stores, the company has prepared a robust lineup of 14 fashionable and functional accessories including multiple case options, a vehicle mount and desk mount. All accessories are available in AT&T company-owned stores and online at www.wireless.att.com. For more details on the lineup visit www.att.com/mobilephones-news.
Key Specifications
• Android™ 2.2 platform
• 4G: HSDPA CAT 14 and HSUPA CAT 6
• 8.9 mm to 9.24mm thin
• UMTS 850/1900/2100
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• 1.2 GHz processor
• 4.5-inch Super AMOLED™ Plus screen
• 8-megapixel camera with HD 720p video camera and 1.3-megapixel front facing camera
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD card
• Text/Picture and Video Messaging support
• Samsung Media Hub, U-verse Mobile, U-verse Live TV, and Angry Birds
To learn more about the Samsung Infuse™ 4G, visit www.att.com/mobilephones-news, www.att.com/infuse4G or www.samsung.com/mobile.
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Samsung Infuse 4G First phone to support hspa+/hsupa at launch
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 21:01:30 +0000
We are at the Samsung event today, and they have opened the doors for everyone to jump at the Samsung Infuse 4G, in case you have missed it this device is sure to pack some excitement around it for the next few weeks. It will operate on AT&T 4G Network and it boasts some pretty nice specs including: 1.2 Ghz single-core processor, a huge 4.5″ SuperAMOLED+ Display, 8 MP camera and more. For more details click here
Other than having a team member live at the event, we don’t have much to go on regarding the claim in the title. “First phone to support hspa+/hsupa at launch”, other than they mentioned it having dual antenna’s and the first phone to support both on launch date. This is probably referring to the Motorola Atrix and its hsupa problems as of late. A lot of talk has gone around regarding why it wasn’t enabled, and why people were not getting hsupa speeds on their “4G” phone, only the download speeds but not the upload.
To keep the record straight, the Motorola Atrix had both at launch, but hsupa was disabled for unknown reasons, that has been a large part of the criticism Motorola and AT&T have faced because there was no mention of it and users just noticed it not working on their shiny new 4G phone. So for those tired of dealing with the Atrix, or have been waiting for something possibly better. We and Samsung present you the Infuse 4G. With its huge 4.5″ screen and full hspa+ AND hsupa support out of the gate, no updates required.
This should be a easy choice for those that don’t need the dual-core in the Atrix. So wait a few weeks, and come May 15th you can get your very own Infuse 4G for $199 with a new contract as usual. I can’t wait for some hands-on. That is coming up next.
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Samsung Infuse 4G official on AT&T
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 20:52:44 +0000
Having had a close call getting in from the airport to the big event here in NYC we’ve got our hands full with a real life Samsung Infuse 4G. We’ll have the device in our hands momentarily and a full review up for you before the end of the weekend, god willing. Meanwhile let’s go ahead and list some of the official specs we’re privy to now straight from the mouth of the officials.
This device has a 4.5″ Super AMOLED Plus screen, it’s 8.99mm thin, and it’s not the largest touch screen device from Samsung. The Infuse 4G also has a 1.2GHz single-core processor, is the very first to support HSPA+ at 14.4Mbps, and is the “nation’s thinnest” 4G smartphone. This device will be available on May 15th for a total of $199 on contract – and that’s with no rebate mess to go through. Also note – this is the first device to be released with both hspa+/hsupa at launch – dual antennas for your dually wild life.
Android 2.2 Froyo inside, and Philip Berne says that it’s got a 4.5″ screen but doesn’t feel like it. Massively awesome!
Also, a moment of game talk turned a few heads as they announced a contest that’d be going on between Rovio, AT&T, and Samsung that’ll result in prizes from Samsung. What could the prizes be? We’re guessing some Infuse 4Gs. With this marks the 10 billionth endorsement Rovio’s racked up for Angry Birds in the past few months – they’re doing quite well!

DALLAS, May 5, 2011 — AT&T* and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S., today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Infuse™ 4G.
Key Facts
• Exclusive to AT&T customers, the Samsung Infuse 4G will be the nation’s thinnest 4G smartphone at 8.99mm at its thinnest.
• Delivers the largest display in AT&T’s smartphone portfolio with a brilliant 4.5-inch screen featuring next-generation Super AMOLED™ Plus technology.
• Powered by a 1.2 GHz processor and the Android™ 2.2 platform, the Samsung Infuse 4G also boasts an 8-megapixel camera, and a $25 credit to download movie content from Samsung Media Hub.
• Pre-loaded version of Angry Birds features an exclusive hidden level for Infuse 4G customers.
• Samsung Infuse 4G will be available in AT&T company-owned stores and online at www.wireless.att.com on May 15 and will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract and no mail-in rebate. (Minimum $15 data plan required)
Customer Benefits
The Samsung Infuse 4G will be the thinnest 4G smartphone available in the U.S. and will feature the largest screen — at 4.5 inches — in AT&T’s smartphone lineup, and the largest touch screen on any Samsung phone. Powered by a 1.2 GHz application processor and running the Android 2.2 platform, the device delivers a brilliant display using Samsung’s next-generation Super AMOLED™ Plus technology which features 50 percent more sub-pixels for better contrast. The display also offers unmatched outdoor viewing quality, even in the brightest sunlight.
With the Infuse 4G, Samsung and AT&T are raising the stakes on pre-loaded content that is not available on any other device. In collaboration with Rovio, the Infuse 4G will feature a special edition of Angry Birds pre-loaded on the smartphone. Players can unlock a special “Golden Egg” level of the game, and once the special level is completed, users can register to win Samsung prizes exclusive to Infuse 4G users.**
The smartphone also includes an 8-megapixel camera/camcorder with auto-focus and flash that shoots HD video with incredible detail. A front facing camera is perfect for self portraits or video chat. Customers can also watch hit movies and TV shows from preloaded apps like Samsung Media Hub, U-verse Mobile and U-verse Live TV.
The first 500,000 Infuse 4G units sold will include a $25 voucher for consumers to get started on downloading content from Media Hub. With Media Hub’s progressive downloading feature, users can start watching their content almost immediately as the rest of the file downloads to the Infuse 4G. Plus, all Media Hub content can be shared among five Media Hub-enabled devices on the same account. The Infuse 4G also comes with a 2GB microSD card with preloaded trailers for upcoming summer movies.
Compatible with the Infuse 4G and other devices on the Android 2.2 platform or better, AT&T has also launched a new, fun app called JustUs. The app combines both social media and text activity from five favorite contacts into an animated wallpaper, keeping users better connected with those that matter most. Customers can download the app for free in Android Market today.
Quotes
“The 4.5-inch screen on Infuse 4G is enhanced further with Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus technology. Colors are rich and bright, even while outdoors in sunlight,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “When you juxtapose that with the fact that it’s the thinnest 4G smartphone out there today, it’s an incredibly compelling choice for our customers.”
“When you combine the powerful 1.2 GHz application processor with AT&T’s advanced 4G network, this device will truly be the fastest smartphone Samsung has ever created with AT&T,” said Omar Khan, chief technology officer & chief product officer for Samsung Mobile. “The Infuse 4G is our latest example of Samsung’s global leadership in Android platform smartphones. With every Android smartphone that we launch, we’re bringing something new and exciting to the market.”
Smartphone Portfolio
AT&T is a pioneer in smartphones and devices and expects to widen its portfolio in 2011. In January, AT&T committed to introducing 20 4G devices and 12 additional Android devices by the end of the year. Samsung Infuse 4G will be one of several new 4G devices that have been offered to AT&T customers in the first half of 2011.
Samsung Infuse 4G Accessories
To prepare for the arrival of the Samsung Infuse 4G in AT&T stores, the company has prepared a robust lineup of 14 fashionable and functional accessories including multiple case options, a vehicle mount and desk mount. All accessories are available in AT&T company-owned stores and online at www.wireless.att.com. For more details on the lineup visit www.att.com/mobilephones-news.
Key Specifications
• Android™ 2.2 platform
• 4G: HSDPA CAT 14 and HSUPA CAT 6
• 8.9 mm to 9.24mm thin
• UMTS 850/1900/2100
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900
• 1.2 GHz processor
• 4.5-inch Super AMOLED™ Plus screen
• 8-megapixel camera with HD 720p video camera and 1.3-megapixel front facing camera
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD card
• Text/Picture and Video Messaging support
• Samsung Media Hub, U-verse Mobile, U-verse Live TV, and Angry Birds
To learn more about the Samsung Infuse™ 4G, visit www.att.com/mobilephones-news, www.att.com/infuse4G or www.samsung.com/mobile.
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Samsung AT&T Event to Reveal Infuse 4G Imminently
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 20:22:16 +0000
We’re right at the door of the Samsung / AT&T event here in New York City and it’s basically definite that the big ticket item today will be the Samsung Infuse 4G. Exciting enough for you? As our good pal Philip Berne notes, this is a phone that’s “remarkably light.. weighs less than Nexus S, even with 0.5″ larger screen and larger battery.” Plus it’s got that utterly fantastic Super AMOLED Plus display we’ve been marveling over on the DROID Charge – play your cards right AT&T and you might have the first phone on the market with that display!
A few more specs while we’re waiting for the event to unfold: This is a 4.5-inch screen toting Android 2.2 Froyo having ARM Cortex A8 1.2GHz processor run machine with an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front. By all sights and sounds of the thing, this is most definitely the pre-cursor to the Samsung Galaxy S II.
We’ll have a hands-on with this device for you very soon since we’ve got word that we’ll get a closer peek before the event is over. We’ll also have a review up for you before the weekend is over because we just love you that much and that’s how we roll. Stick with us today to see if anything else new springs up!
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Touch Rally: World Tour THD game coming Summer 2011
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 19:55:41 +0000
It looks like the coming months we are going to see some great games coming to Android. What I am most excited about is all the games and developers that are going the Tegra HD route and taking advantage of the extremely impressive Tegra 2 dual-core CPU. One of those that has some games I am looking forward to isPlaybox, they have developed games for PS2, PS3, DS, PSP and more and now they have their full attention aimed at android and the Tegra 2 platform. Today I want to mention the game we know little about called Touch Rally: Wold Tour
If Touch Rally turns out to be anything like Playbox game Bang Bang Racing THD that is releasing tomorrow, and I have a feeling it will be, it will be a great game as well. The attention to details like skid-marks, muffler exhaust, and all the other little things they can throw in there because the power in the Tegra 2 makes their games just that much better than most of what we have now on mobile.
Little is known about Touch Rally, but I am stoked to see what they have in store for us over at PlayBox Games. They have three more games not including the two I have mentioned here today that are all listed as “Coming Summer 2011″ for Tegra 2 devices. So that means the coming months we should have plenty to enjoy on our Motorola Xoom, or G2x. More and more Tegra 2 devices are on their way as well, so hopefully everyone can enjoy these THD games.
[via PlayBox Games]
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Bang Bang Racing THD coming to android devices tomorrow
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 19:30:44 +0000
Bang Bang Racing THD is a fantastic looking top view racing game coming to Tegra 2 android devices, after reading more about it and watching the video (below) I must say I am pretty excited to get my hands on it. According to the twitter accounts of both @NvidiaTegra and the developers of the game @BBR_THD it will be released to the Android Market and on TegraZone starting tomorrow, May 6th. I will be getting it as soon as that happens, don’t worry.
According to the developers Playbox BBR THD is A home console racing experience designed and optimized for NVIDIA® Tegra™-powered mobile devices, and they even mention only the Tegra 2 has the power they require. It has given them the power to completely port this classic game from the console version that is on the PS3 to android devices without ANY loss in quality, they say the touch controls make it even better. Before I say any more, or talk about the great graphics or 8 stunning tracks to race on I’ll just show you all the preview to get you excited.

From the video you just saw above it looks a bit like the popular game Reckless Racing, only better in just about every way. With stunning graphics, huge tracks with little shortcuts all over the place, barrels of oil, flames and explosions going off. Looks pretty engaging to me. Those will probably be some of its stronger points, not to mention the cars look way better than anything we have seen. They are like little Hot Wheels from back in my childhood days, but on steroids. Playbox has been around for more than a few years and have made some amazing games for xbox and PS3 so I am pretty confident that this will be a great release for Android Tegra 2 phones and tablets. My Xoom can hardly wait.

Bang Bang Racing
A home console racing experience designed and optimized for NVIDIA® Tegra™-powered mobile devices and which utilizes NVIDIA® PhysX™ technology.
Bang Bang Racing THD is a fun, action-packed racing game that has cool visuals and pumped-up sports cars. But underneath its playful exterior, it has the pumping heart of a true racing game. Real-time dynamic physics allow for finesse and control – drifting through corners and clipping every apex delivers huge player satisfaction.
The game also features a unique control system allowing you to simply point where you want the car to go, as if you are drawing a racing line for the car to follow.
Features
* A brand new IP giving you an exclusive home console experience for your mobile device.
* 8 stunning tracks based on world-wide locations.
* 4 Racing classes including: Muscle based “N-Dura”, Sports style “Evo GT”, ALPS based “Protech” and open wheel style “Apex”.
* 20 cars in total with each car having its own handling model and selection of skins.
* Dynamic objects including exploding water, oil and fire barrels, as well as cones and tyres.
* The game also features, single race, time trial, championship and reverse track modes.
* In-depth unlockable achievements and leaderboard’s using Openfeint that lets you see where you rank amongst friend and foes globally.
Only Tegra 2 has given us the power to deliver our original IP from Playstation 3 to mobile devices without any loss in quality in fact the touch controls we have incorporated has made it more accessible than ever.
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Facebook inside Xperia Actually Kind of Cool
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 19:12:18 +0000
You may already know that we’ve taken a look at Sony Ericsson’s newest effort: XPERIA mini and XPERIA mini pro, both essentially the same device with the push-out keyboard sitting below the pro. Both of these devices feature what Facebook and Sony Ericsson are calling “Facebook inside Xperia,” an integration of the social networking site into the basic everyday functions of the phone. Turns out it’s pretty neat!
Upon closer inspection of this Facebook inside Xperia situation, it turns out that it’s not a completely separate app, but stays integrated with Facebook for Android. What this does is allow you to only have a single login instead of logging in once for every different Facebook app you’ve got running, then it plays out as extended functionality through Gingerbread. The places you’ll see it work right away are in your photo gallery and in your music app.
In your photo gallery, you’ll now be able to view not only the photos you’ve got on your device, but the galleries pulled down from your Facebook profile too, plus photos you’re tagged in. What more could you want? How about the ability to add photos to albums you’ve already created? Then there’s the music app – now with a Like button that allows you to share the name of the track you’re listening to your Facebook wall.
In addition, there’s also contacts sync (not entirely new) and calendar sync, contacts now having tabbed views of their likes, interests, recent wall activity, and photos / videos. Finally, there’s a media discovery app that pulls content in from recently shared items shared on your friends’ Facebook walls, complete with comments! All of this will also soon be available (in a few weeks, says Sony Ericsson) for XPERIA Arc and XPERIA Play as well – Facebook engulfs us all!
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T-Mobile updating unlimited Prepaid Plan, data caps removed
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 18:45:42 +0000
It looks like today we have some good news coming out of Team Magenta, the guys from T-Mobile are updating the prepaid plans they currently have. We first mentioned these back in April and T-Mobile took some heat from just about every blog and across twitter over the data caps they had included. If you went over 2GB of data usage (like facebook and emails) your speeds get throttled. Basically it wasn’t “umlimited” and after a certain amount they shut you down.
Starting May 22nd users will be able to access the new plans that T-Mobile have came up with. The current $70 unlimited plan which offers unlimited talk, text and 2GB of data will be extended to allow unlimited data, we still aren’t sure if it will truly be “unlimited” or they are just raising the cap to something more reasonable like 5GB. We will see in the coming weeks. Then the prepaid $50 plan that offers unlimited everything but just 100mb of data will be updated to throttle your data speeds once you reach the 100mb limit, rather than making you pay for more.
Nothing to huge here, but the fact that they noticed so many people complaining about the small 2GB limit on what was supposed to be an “unlimited everything” plan, and were so fast to change it is a good sign if you ask me. Plus these are prepaid plans so who are we to complain right, TmoNews was right about that. For now we will have to wait til these plans take effect May 22nd to see if there will still be some sort of data cap, I imagine there will be one of some sort, but we shall see.
[via TmoNews]
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Google Earth updated, optimized for Android Tablets
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 18:27:08 +0000
A new version of Google Earth is now available and it has been updated and optimized for the larger screens of android tablets, more specifically Android 3.0 Honeycomb. I remember when Google Earth first launched I loved it, and the thought of it on my G1 was awesome. Now it is available for most android phones and it shows how powerful it and android truly is. Google has updated it for not only the larger screens, but the more powerful processors we are seeing also.
They have introduced some pretty cool things like fully textured 3D buildings, so your tour through the streets of Manhattan or Las Vegas will look more realistic than ever. Some of the other much welcomed changes are things like the “Action Bar” up top that will allow users to fly to their location, quick toggles for different layers such as the new 3D buildings and more.
Google mentions, “Moving from a mobile phone to a tablet was like going from a regular movie theatre to IMAX”, and that the entire experience has been increased and is great on the larger screen. I’d have to completely agree with them. Just as the photo above shows, I tried the fly to location feature and went to the Colosseum as they mention and pictured above. It sure is awesome. Being able to float around and see it in full 3D is quite fun. Then i took off and went over to the Trevi Fountain in Italy, that is a sight to see if you haven’t done it with Google Earth already. Get the new app in the Android Market now by clicking here.
[via Google Blog]
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HTC Flyer Stylus gets priced for $79.99 at Best Buy
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 18:01:07 +0000
Recently the HTC Flyer has went up for pre-order at Best Buy. The price listed has been $499 for a while now, there was however no talk about the stylus they have mentioned quite a bit. Something they are calling a digital pen. This is a feature making the Flyer stand out, you can use the digital pen with your hand resting on the display, and it wont get confused from the multiple touches. Fancy for those that need it.
According to some new details the Flyer specific digital pen will be retailing for $79.99 at Best Buy, as well as a leather pouch carry case that has a spot for the stylus also for $34.99 making this a pretty expensive purchase if someone wants all three. Those wanting both accessories can also get it in a bundle and save a few dollars.
For those interested this should be some pretty good news, although that is one expensive stylus. If you would like to see more about this “digital pen” and how well it actually works with your arm on the display check out the demo here. From watching that video it seems to work extremely well and not notice your hand is wresting on the screen as you try and write with the pen. So this could be really convenient for some. Will you be getting the Flyer when it releases? Or maybe just wait for the Transfomer to be in stock again.
[via AndroidCentral]
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Barnes and Noble announcing new e-Reader tablet May 24th
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 17:44:55 +0000
It looks like a little news has slipped up that Barnes and Noble plan to announce a brand new e-Reader tablet on May 24th. So all you NOOKcolor lovers don’t have to wait long for the good news. For now we don’t have much to go on and this is really all that has been said. We still don’t know what they are planning, but with the success of the NOOKcolor I can only imagine they want to keep things going strong.
Recently the NOOKcolor got updated and they added all sorts of things like email, enhanced browsing, and games. Basically making it much more of a tablet than just a e-reader. So with Barnes and Noble looking to get more into the tablet part of this some are speculating that the May 24th news will be a bigger, better Android 3.0 Tablet that will also do some e-reading very well at the same time.
There is also a large possibility that they plan to release something better, yet thinner and more portable to keep up with the Amazon Kindle and to get everyone ready for the summer season, we wont know until more details surface or until the date mentioned above. If some of the stories floating around are true that Amazon is building a Honeycomb 3.0 Tablet, then that would probably make Barnes and Noble’s case to release a similar device even more likely. We will see in the coming weeks.
[via Phandroid]
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HTC Sensation clears the FCC, T-Mobile awaits
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 17:16:34 +0000
The HTC PG58100 (more popularly known as the HTC Sensation) has now officially cleared the FCC, it is now ready to go for all of us here in the U.S. According to T-Mobile, it is coming but no date has been revealed other than “summer”. So we are still waiting for more details on that. We did get this possible tipthat it will be releasing on or around June 8th. We will see.
Along with the FCC filing we see all the usual stuff about wifi, bluetooth and all those cameras we have come to expect from our favorite and top Android phones so I wont go into details here, but they were all present as you would have guessed. There was a little confusion at first as some were calling this the HTC Doubleshot, according to a few sources and from leaks we have previously seen the Sensation, and the Doubleshot are two different devices. The Doubleshot being the internal name, and the official name we expect to be the MyTouch 4G Slide when it launches on T-Mobile also.
Leaked files show the Doubleshot to have PG59100 as it’s model number, different from the Sensation indeed. The more sweet phones on T-Mobile the better, they sure don’t act like they are being bought by AT&T. Just in case all these code names and filing has you a little confused the Sensation is that beastly 4.3″ dual-core phone we have covered plenty. Check out our hands-on here to get more familiar again. For now it is up to the carrier as to when this phone is released, so we will wait patiently til we get more information.
[via UnwiredView]
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Sony Ericsson XPERIA mini and XPERIA mini pro Hands-On [UPDATED with ADDL Pics]
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 17:15:44 +0000
We’re live at a lovely Sony Ericsson event via our sister-site SlashGear in foggy-ol-England where we’re being allowed to peek at both the XPERIA mini and the XPERIA mini pro, both of which are planned for release in August of 2011. These phones are essentially the same in specifications save for the full QWERTY keyboard included on the pro. These devices may be tiny, but they’re not the itty bitty fishes that physical smallness of the past would have us believe they’d be – 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chips’ll do that.
They’re both made mostly of plastic, but feel tough and again, not in accordance to past tiny phones, they don’t feel cheap. They do feel a bit on the “plump” side, but they’s small nonetheless. Sony Ericsson has included their own auto-correct software on these devices along with brand new Facebook on XPERIA integration. It works, but whether or not people will find it appealing remains to be seen.
The displays are small in comparison to their motors, 1GHz processors for a 320 x 480 display is an odd combination to be sure. The last version of this phone came packed with a now-tiny 600MHz processor, this new 1GHz blowing its pants off while providing the reasonably speedy experience that choosers of this perhaps well-balanced phone are looking for.

Then there’s the 4×4 concept. Each of your four hotspot corners now open up to 4 icon spots where you can place whatever you like and have at it at a single tap. It’s basically smooth and utterly intuitive. Have a look at our hands-on video courtesy of our man in the UK, Chris Davies, and enjoy the gallery below, complete with a radically odd comparison between the XPERIAs and the Galaxy S II.
Also see a slightly different view of the situation over on SG.

Sony Ericsson unveils next-generation XPERIA minis
05 May 2011
Introducing two powerful, versatile and compact smartphones
Xperia™ mini – the world’s smallest HD video recording smartphone
Xperia™ mini pro –intuitive fast messaging in a compact smartphone
May 5th, 2011, London – Sony Ericsson unveils the new Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro, the latest additions to its Xperia™ family. Building on the success of the original mini series, these innovative smartphones come packed full of features, powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor, and run the latest platform of Google’s Android™ – Gingerbread 2.3. Beautifully designed, Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro both integrate best-in-class imaging and display technology from Sony, including Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine and HD video recording (720p).
The products offer a full multimedia entertainment experience. Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro enable access to over 150,000 apps on the Android Market™ and has a 3” scratch-resistant, multi-touch glass screen. The improved user interface allows up to 16 apps displayed on the home screen. Facebook inside Xperia™, a feature just announced for the Xperia™ family, provides a unique social media integration.
Xperia™ mini pro brings the optimized slide-out keyboard with smart functionality first seen on the Xperia™ pro to a compact smartphone. A subtle but fast Type & Send functionality eliminates the need to open a dedicated app for each type of message, and Smart Keyboard triggers predictive messaging actions automatically when the user slides out the keyboard. Xperia™ mini pro also comes pre-loaded with Office Suite and McAfee antivirus software, letting consumers manage documents and e-mails instantly and securely while on the move.
Steve Walker, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson said, “We wanted to provide consumers even greater choice across the Xperia™ range, while building on the success of the original mini series. These turbo-charged smartphones now contain even more power, enhanced functionality, a larger screen and premium features unique to Sony Ericsson. They are packed full of features, making them a perfect choice for consumers looking for all the benefits of Android and Sony in a beautiful and easy to use compact form factor.”
Sony Ericsson also unveils today a new integration, Facebook inside Xperia™, which will be included in the new Xperia™ mini and mini pro and soon to be available across the wider Xperia™ range. Facebook inside Xperia™ integrates social connections throughout the phone, by making Facebook immediately accessible from the most used areas of the phone such as the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar. As people are becoming increasingly reliant on their smartphones for instant communication, Sony Ericsson is enabling people to ‘like’, share and comment more easily than ever before with Facebook inside Xperia™.
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini – Key features
World’s smallest Android™ smartphone with HD video recording
Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
Place up to 16 apps in the corners of your home screen
Over 150,000 apps on Android Market™
Facebook inside. Keeping your friends closer
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini pro – Key features
Ergonomic keyboard and smart functions for fast messaging
HD video and Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
Synch your email and view office documents safely on the go
Place up to 16 apps in the corners of your home screen
Over 150,000 apps on Android Market™
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini pro and Xperia™ mini with HD will be available globally in selected markets from Q3.
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Sony Ericsson XPERIA mini and XPERIA mini pro Officially Announced
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 16:49:11 +0000
Our good pals at Sony Ericsson have just delivered the goods on the XPERIA mini and mini pro, a couple of devices that they say are the smallest HD smartphones in the world. What on earth does that mean? Let’s talk about it below. Meanwhile, these devices both have Android 2.3 Gingerbread running on them, can grab video at 720p, and use Sony’s BRAVIA engine along with Sony Ericsson’s custom UI. The big difference between then is that the XPERIA mini is a touchscreen-only device while the mini pro includes a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard for your tapping enjoyment.
Colors, colors! These phones come in a whole batch of different outer casing colorings, the XPERIA mini coming out with white, black, blue, or dark pink. The XPERIA mini pro, on the other hand, will be released as white, black, pink or turquoise. Both of these devices will be out in August of 2011, and the only place we know either of them will be carried thus far is Vodafone UK, and that’s just the mini pro – but surely they’ll be coming to the USA as well, right?
Both phones have basically the same specs aside from the keyboard: a 3-inch 320 x 480 scratch-resistant touchscreen, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 320MB of storage and a microSD card slot with included 2GB card included (max capacity not yet known.) For connectivity you’ll find quadband GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA, WiFi, AGPS, Bluetooth, an FM radio and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the back there’s a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash, and face-detection. A 1200mAh batter is included in each of the different phones, that being 30-percent better than the last version of the mini.
As far as UI, there’s still those fashionable four shortcut corners you love so much, but now each of them act as a shortcut to four icon spots for whatever you may want to place there. Then there’s a Facebook collaboration – one called “Facebook inside XPERIA” – adding a link button in the “most used areas” of the devices like picture gallery, music player, phonebook, and calendar. This same functionality will be offered as a download to XPERIA Play and XPERIA Arc later this year.
Behold them both, and have a look in the press release below for the whole tiny story.

Sony Ericsson unveils next-generation XPERIA minis
05 May 2011
Introducing two powerful, versatile and compact smartphones
Xperia™ mini – the world’s smallest HD video recording smartphone
Xperia™ mini pro –intuitive fast messaging in a compact smartphone
May 5th, 2011, London – Sony Ericsson unveils the new Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro, the latest additions to its Xperia™ family. Building on the success of the original mini series, these innovative smartphones come packed full of features, powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor, and run the latest platform of Google’s Android™ – Gingerbread 2.3. Beautifully designed, Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro both integrate best-in-class imaging and display technology from Sony, including Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine and HD video recording (720p).
The products offer a full multimedia entertainment experience. Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro enable access to over 150,000 apps on the Android Market™ and has a 3” scratch-resistant, multi-touch glass screen. The improved user interface allows up to 16 apps displayed on the home screen. Facebook inside Xperia™, a feature just announced for the Xperia™ family, provides a unique social media integration.
Xperia™ mini pro brings the optimized slide-out keyboard with smart functionality first seen on the Xperia™ pro to a compact smartphone. A subtle but fast Type & Send functionality eliminates the need to open a dedicated app for each type of message, and Smart Keyboard triggers predictive messaging actions automatically when the user slides out the keyboard. Xperia™ mini pro also comes pre-loaded with Office Suite and McAfee antivirus software, letting consumers manage documents and e-mails instantly and securely while on the move.
Steve Walker, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson said, “We wanted to provide consumers even greater choice across the Xperia™ range, while building on the success of the original mini series. These turbo-charged smartphones now contain even more power, enhanced functionality, a larger screen and premium features unique to Sony Ericsson. They are packed full of features, making them a perfect choice for consumers looking for all the benefits of Android and Sony in a beautiful and easy to use compact form factor.”
Sony Ericsson also unveils today a new integration, Facebook inside Xperia™, which will be included in the new Xperia™ mini and mini pro and soon to be available across the wider Xperia™ range. Facebook inside Xperia™ integrates social connections throughout the phone, by making Facebook immediately accessible from the most used areas of the phone such as the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar. As people are becoming increasingly reliant on their smartphones for instant communication, Sony Ericsson is enabling people to ‘like’, share and comment more easily than ever before with Facebook inside Xperia™.
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini – Key features
World’s smallest Android™ smartphone with HD video recording
Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
Place up to 16 apps in the corners of your home screen
Over 150,000 apps on Android Market™
Facebook inside. Keeping your friends closer
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini pro – Key features
Ergonomic keyboard and smart functions for fast messaging
HD video and Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
Synch your email and view office documents safely on the go
Place up to 16 apps in the corners of your home screen
Over 150,000 apps on Android Market™
Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini pro and Xperia™ mini with HD will be available globally in selected markets from Q3.
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Droid X getting official Gingerbread OTA soon?
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 16:40:33 +0000
For now this is just a rumor, but with all the leaks of 2.3 Gingerbread for the Droid X it has to be getting close to finished. We reported back in April that the OTA was starting to roll out, but it looks like that didn’t happen. These things take time.
The image above shows the latest leaked build, but that still is not the official version that will be coming OTA. According to sources Motorola has finished the update for the Droid X and submitted it to Verizon for approval, then it goes OTA to handsets. From what we gather the last few were either denied, or sent back for changes as the April release never happened. The leaks are all over the place, and rooted phones have been running the leaked OTA builds for more than a few weeks now. This isn’t an option for everyone though.
For those that are still waiting, this is only a rumor but could very well be accurate. Our friends at droidlife mention that the latest version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread for the Droid X has been submitted to Verizon yet again and if approved we could start seeing it roll out OTA (over the air) to handsets starting as early as May 13th. That is next Friday. So either get a leaked build now, or if your stock and not rooted just wait a few more weeks and you should have some tasty Gingerbread soon.
[via DroidLife]
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Samsung Galaxy S II Coming Today? FCC Says Possibly
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 15:57:56 +0000
The next generation of the best selling Android phone in history is about to break out in the USA – having been selling like the hottest hotcakes over in the UK. There’s an event today that we’ve been invited to by both Samsung and AT&T – this coincides with an FCC filing and approval that’s showing up today, one that clearly points to the Galaxy S II. Could it be? Could the USA be getting the superhero phone this week?
Nay, the phone will not be being released this week, but it’s certainly possible that the phone could be officially announced at this event. There’s also still the Samsung Infuse 4G which, if it were announced after the Samsung Galaxy S II, might look pale in comparison. We DO know that the Infuse 4G is coming to AT&T for sure, too, so we’ll see.
Now this FCC filing of the Galaxy S II, what’s the big deal about it? Nothing too earth-shattering, but there are a few fun items. One of them you can find in the gallery below – it’s the sometimes common request for confidentiality letter that companies send out when they’ve got a product that needs to be kept a secret lest blogs should spill ALL the beans early. Then there’s that yellow and blue and red image of the phone – thats indicating locations of the GPS, main, and Wifi antennas for SAR testing – interesting, so very interesting.
Everything else you can see in the FCC filing via Wireless Goodness – you gotta give em credit, they find every single FCC filing like they’ve got two eyes plastered on the group at all times. Craziness.

[via Wireless Goodness]
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Samsung Reveals SENS-240 and Hybrid Tablet Navigation Tablet
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 14:39:52 +0000
Samsung has a large line of Android smartphones and tablets that have turned out to be quite popular with Android users. The company has unveiled a new product today called the Hybrid Tablet with the SENS-240. The devices are made to work in coordination with one of the Samsung Android smartphones or tablets. The SENS-240 is a car navigation system that can connect to a normal phone using Bluetooth.
The connectivity to the SENS-240 allows the smartphone or tablet to provide all sorts of connectivity like voice, data, voice search, and video and then play that content on the 7-inch screen. I would think this would be more appealing to Samsung Android smartphone users than tablet users. The screen on the Hybrid tablet is 7-inches with a resolution of 800 x 480.
Other tablet features include 256MB of RAM, USB 2.0 host, and a SD card slot. The smartphone or tablet can be used as a remote to control the tablet and SENS-240 as well. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time, what do you think of this? It seems like a lot for an extra few inches of space.
[via Akihabara News]
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Vodafone HTC Desire HD Android 2.3 Gingerbread update goes live
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 14:28:18 +0000
Vodafone has begun pushing out the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for the HTC Desire HD, only a day after HTC began distributing the generic version of the upgrade. As with the general version, it brings the Desire HD up to the same software level as the HTC Desire S.
In addition to the usual bugfixes, Vodafone’s changelist suggests the following tweaks:
- Enhancements to the user interface (simpler and slicker)
- New Android Keyboard, with easy copy/paste feature
- Improved Power Management
- Internet Calling support
- Multiple Camera Management (front and back)
As far as we know, Vodafone is the first UK carrier to get their branded version of Gingerbread for the Desire HD into the wild. Let us know how you get on with the upgrade in the comments.