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Apple had unveiled the much hyped, oft-rumored tablet today in what is called the iPad, the elusive mobile slate tablet device that had captivated the interest of the tech community even before the launch of the iPhone. What we know are details of the slate and that a lot of tech-heads (via blogs and Twitter) seem disappointed by the announcement. We want to know if the iPad lives up to the hype and if this hybrid computing product born from a netbook father and has an iPhone as a mother really is a 10-inch worthy beauty, akin to a 6-foot tall supermodel, or a giant troll.
For [...]
Toshiba’s rumored Android tablet may soon debut at the IFA conference in Germany if rumors are accurate. The Android tablet is rumored to be called the Toshiba SmartPad and will come with a 10-inch screen and be powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset.
A photo was of the device was recently leaked onto the Internet ahead of its IFA rumored debut. The device will reportedly have a metal frame, four buttons on the right side when the SmartPad is held in landscape orientation, and come with USB and HDMI ports.
It’s unclear at this point whether the SmartPad will [...]
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An analyst from the Jefferies & Co. says that Research in Motion will indeed by launching the Storm 3 as the latest in the Storm franchise, contrary to any rumors that the device may have been cancelled. The new Storm 3, unlike its predecessors, is said to eschew the SurePress click screen and instead opt for a regular capacitive touchscreen, like that found on the new BlackBerry Torch. The device is said to be of similar thickness, but will come with more memory and BlackBerry 6 OS at its core. The Storm 3 is slated for a November launch.
Another interesting speculation [...]
New rumors on the BlackBerry Storm3 has it that the device will be a minor update from the BlackBerry Storm2. The third generation of the Storm franchise will have slightly improved specs and will include a mobile hotspot feature along with BlackBerry 6 operating system including the new Webkit browser, a first for RIM smartphones.
Among the improvements from the hardware side, the Storm3 packs a more modest 512 MB RAM–twice that of its predecessor–and a 5-megapixel camera, up from 3. With the BlackBerry Bold 9800 Slider launching soon, we’ll have to see if [...]
There hasn’t been a lot of news on what Verizon Wireless wants to do with its BlackBerry Storm franchise, which uses a SurePress touchscreen technology, requiring users to actually press in on the screen, like they would on a touchpad of a laptop. The devices in the Storm series have so far been met with mixed reviews, but it looks like RIM is planning on a storm revival with the Storm 3, a device that is said to be powered by a new OS that’s not quite the current BlackBerry OS nor is it the next-generation BlackBerry 6 OS. Additionally, the Storm 3 will be powered by [...]
It looks like Research in Motion is still working on their BlackBerry Storm franchise; after having released the Storm 2 last year, America’s leading smartphone maker will be following up with a Storm 3 later this year and a Storm 4 in 2011. The Storm series, in their tablet touchscreen form factor, will be competing with the yet to be released BlackBerry Bold 9800 Slider, which uses a touchscreen that slides in portrait mold to reveal a keyboard.
The Storm 3 will be a multimedia and gaming device with RIM reportedly working with EA on bringing some gaming titles to the [...]
It looks like Verizon Wireless’s Samsung Gem smartphone has been outed ahead of time by Best Buy Mobile via the retailer’s September buyer’s guide, which is listing the Android 2.1 handset as coming soon. The Gem will most likely be a mid-range handset, slotted under the carrier’s Fascinate variant of the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone. The Gem will reportedly come with TouchWiz, Samsung’s proprietary UI overlay, along with the Swype on-screen software keyboard. Also on-board are a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi, and 16 GB of storage via a memory card. [...]
After having outed the Samsung Gem for Verizon Wireless in the U.S. early as “coming soon,” Best Buy Mobile is now retracting its listing, stating that it does not know when the mid-range Android smartphone may be hitting the carrier.
The retailer is now saying:
“On page 9 of the September Best Buy Mobile Buyer’s Guide we advertised the Samsung Gem (SKU 1200581) as Coming Soon. At this time there is no estimated launch date. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”
Though the release date is now unknown, [...]
If you’re still waiting out on the Motorola Droid 2 in order to get the Android smartphone in its limited edition white R2D2 edition, an homage to the handset’s Droid’s moniker, then you’ll be happy to know that Motorola and Verizon Wireless will also be launching a white desktop docking cradle that will follow the R2D2 theme. It’s good to see a white handset with white accessories, and also to see the theme being carried through to the docking cradle. The R2D2 Droid 2 edition could also use the regular Motorola Droid or Droid 2 desktop cradle as well. [...]
If you’re holding off on the Motorola Droid 2, which launched with Android 2.2 Froyo and support for Adobe Flash out of the box, you may want to wait just a little longer if limited edition phones are your thing. The R2-D2 edition, an homage to the Droid name that the handset bears, is slated for September 30th. The photo above shows the device’s back side.
(via: Android Central)
Among some of the features and customizations of the R2D2 edition of the Motorola Droid 2 for Verizon Wireless is a new boot animation.
Also, it seems that the boot animation has been extracted into a zip file that can be installed onto the original Motorola Droid or even the Droid X. You can grab the file and follow the instructions–available for rooted and non-rooted users–on the Droid-Lige forums.
(via: AndroidSPIN)
If you’re the owner of the Droid X or jumped ship on the Droid 2 before the special Star Wars R2D2 edition launched yesterday at select Verizon Wireless communications stores yesterday, then you’ll be happy to know that the custom lock screen available on the R2D2 Droid 2 edition has been ported to the Droid X and Droid 2. The hack, which will require a rooted handset, is detailed on Droid-Life with instructions and the necessary files.
Although the U.S. government has recently “legalized” rooting with an updated version of the DMCA rules, the hack [...]
The Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless is the world’s first phone running on the next generation Android 2.0 operating system, which offers an evolutionary and incremental upgrade to previous Android 1.5 and 1.6 firmwares. The phone itself is gorgeous with strong angular lines, reminiscent in the wildly popular RAZR consumer flip phone in the earlier part of the decade. Motorola’s new smartphone is a gorgeous slab touchscreen device with a thin profile.
Looking at the device’s thinness, you would never guess that there is a sliding keyboard, but there is [...]
We’ve just got the new BlackBerry Bold 9650 in from Sprint and Research in Motion. The Bold 9650 is seen as the successor for the BlackBerry Tour 9630 for CDMA networks–both the Tour and the Bold 9650 are world phones and would operate on Sprint’s CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A network in the US and on GSM/EDGE/HSPA internationally for world travelers. the Bold 9650 represents a merge of the Tour line into the BlackBerry Bold product line and joins the Bold 9700, the device’s GSM counterpart for AT&T and T-Mobile.
The new Blackberry phone adds WiFi, more [...]
Web blog Android Central has gotten its hands on an early Verizon HTC Merge unit and had posted an initial review of the Android smartphone made by HTC. Initial impressions of the latest device by the blog seem to be positive–excellent hardware keyboard, great hardware design by HTC, world phone capabilities for travelers, and speedy performance that’s said to be comparable to the Google Nexus One running Android 2.2. There’s also HTC Sense integration on this device as well for those who prefer the HTC user interface.
The downside with the phone is the Bing [...]
It looks like if the tweet that Microsoft’s Oded Ran, which has since been deleted, is true, Microsoft will be hitting Apple where it hurts, bringing the fray of Windows Phone 7 devices to be compatible with the other desktop platform. Ran tweeted that the Zune desktop client will also be making its way to the Mac ecosystem, which would presumably bring synchronization, app management, and music discovery on OS X.
Microsoft had never really embraced Mac users–an official desktop synchronization client was never released for the Windows Mobile ecosystem, but since [...]
While Brandon had learned that Windows Phone 7 devices do come with removable memory cards, those cards will not be user replaceable. Microsoft’s Todd Brix had stated that fact when I had a chance to sit down with him at MIX10 in Las Vegas earlier this year, and Microsoft’s recent statement to the matter confirms what Brix had already told us.
According to Microsoft on its Windows Phone 7 website, “Windows Phone uses a special highperformance SD card that works differently than SD cards in other devices. When your phone is built and first set up, its internal [...]
For Verizon Wireless customers eager with envy of their T-Mobile brethren’s T-Mobile G2 Android smartphone with its full hardware keyboard in landscape mode, Android blog Android Central has gotten a hold of the Verizon Wireless HTC Merge in a video. It’s unclear if the final shipping retail units will be different from the unit that Android Central has obtained, but the video should give users a glimpse of the hardware and the awesome keyboard on the HTC Android device.
The Merge is slated as a world phone, so it will support a SIM card for international [...]
Just when Apple and the public thought it could put Antennagate behind with the iPhone 4, a new issue related to the flagship Apple smartphone has just arose, and this time it has to do with the glass screen. The iPhone 4 uses glass for the front and rear panel, which CEO Steve Jobs claims to be of comparable strength to sapphire crystal, and is much more durable than plastic. A new report published by insurance warranty company SquareTrade states that iPhone 4 damaged screen claims are coming in at 87 percent more than on the iPhone 3GS. The company says that overall accident rate for [...]
A leaked photo of what looks to be the Palm Pre 2 has been caught floating around the Internet. While the Palm Pre 2 doesn’t promise a radical body design, it does bring with it the next-generation webOS 2.0 mobile operating system, and improved hardware features that will make it a compelling smartphone or upgrade for those who are interested in Palm’s multi-tasking wonder. The device will get a 1 GHz processor, bringing it up to par and on spec with many modern smartphones, along with improved memory to aid in fluid transitions, multitasking, and support for more apps and [...]
If you’re looking to switch to T-Mobile and are looking for a subsidized Android phone on a two-year service agreement, Amazon’s pricing for the T-Mobile G2 is fairly attractive. While upgrading customers can continue to expect paying $199 for the newly launched Android smartphone, new customers can get the handset for $99 through Amazon and take advantage of the nation’s fourth largest carrier’s HSPA+ offering.
For users looking for a hackable Android device, do keep in mind that the T-Mobile G2 hasn’t been quite rooted yet.
(via: [...]
There are now speculations over Motorola’s next big Android handset that will launch after the Droid Pro. Dubbed the Motorola Terminator by Android and Me, the device is said to be launching with Android 3.0 and will be a gaming powerhouse that will take on Apple’s iOS platform. While Android hasn’t been strong on the mobile gaming department, companies like Motorola and Sony Ericsson, with its PlayStation Phone on Android 3.0 are hoping to change that.
To accomplish its mission as a gaming device and achieve graphics prowess, the Motorola Terminator is rumored [...]
Vertu, a Nokia company known for its exquisitely made luxury smartphones and beautiful designs, has never been known for its budget-conscious attitude and the company’s Constellation Quest smartphone teaser is no exception. The Constellation Quest will be the first Vertu to feature a full QWERTY keyboard, and as such may be geared towards corporate executives who desire a bit of prestige over traditional BlackBerry offerings.
The teaser shows a smartphone that looks to be a higher-end model of Nokia’s more pedestrian E71, E71x, E72, E73, or E5 smartphones, which [...]
