Android integration for car stereos and rear-view mirrors, hands-on (video)
CES may be over , but we’ve still a few interesting gems to share from our weeklong trip in Las Vegas. Far off the beaten path of glitzy booths and familiar brand names, we discovered a few companies that are looking to bring Android gadgetry into automobiles. One that exemplifies this nascent product realm is known as Rydeen .
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Android integration for car stereos and rear-view mirrors, hands-on (video)
ESI 250 deskphone wants to make business smartphones easy (hands-on)
Over at Showstoppers, ESI offered up an Android-based desktop phones hoping to bring the world of Google’s OS kicking and screaming onto a business desk near you. The ESI 250 runs on Android Froyo (2.2), with a color display capable of running a limited bunch of (ESI-vetted) third-party Android apps like Evernote, text messaging and visible voicemail and reminders
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ESI 250 deskphone wants to make business smartphones easy (hands-on)
Android 2.3 continues soaring upward, now installed on 55 percent of Google devices
Google’s monthly Android distribution charts may be the most visual piece of evidence that the mobile OS is riddled with fragmentation, but at least Gingerbread has clearly become the dominant player — and it continues to build momentum at a healthy pace (for now, at least). As always , Google reviewed which devices accessed the Android Market during a 14-day period of time in the month of December, and found that over 55 percent of those units were running a version of Android 2.3, a ten percent turbo boost from October and an increase of seventeen percent over three months . Froyo devices — many of which are likely older phones or tablets sentenced to a upgrade-less future — numbered over 30 percent, and Honeycomb still amounts to a meager 3.3 percent.
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Android 2.3 continues soaring upward, now installed on 55 percent of Google devices
Tiny Tower breaks ground on Android
Android takes another step closer to iOS’s arguably superior gaming offering, adopting cult low-fi sim Tiny Tower. Froyo is the minimum requirement for the game run, but given the very dominant status of Android 2.0 and up, most won’t find it an issue. This management sim lets you create a mix of businesses and attractions to draw Bitizens (the pixelated chaps you see above) to come live, work and play in your property. There looks to be some kind of smartphone game exchange going on, with this not-so-tiny timesink transfer following the recent appearance of Minecraft on iOS. Those willing to write off the rest of the weekend can download it now at the source below.
[Image credit: Box Brown]
Tiny Tower breaks ground on Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Orange hopes to drive smartphone sales with three Facebook phones, two seem kinda dumb
Orange is unhappy. The company cites that of its new phone sales, nearly half are feature phones. While the statistic isn’t exactly a shocker, the French telecom believes it can do better. In an effort to drive the adoption of smartphones, Orange has chosen to jump on the Facebook bandwagon with three new options that offer immediate access to the iconic social network. Perhaps the carrier’s efforts are a bit misguided, however, because of this trio, only one handset is actually a smartphone. (As such, it’s the only one we care about.) Known as the Alcatel One Touch 908F, it’s a re-configured 908 with the same 2.8-inch display, 600MHz Qualcomm CPU and Froyo — yeah, you read that correctly. Could it be that the two feature phones are so unpalatable that they’ll also drive smartphone adoption? Whatever the case may be, each device is squarely aimed (and priced) at teens and emerging markets. For example, the 908F will debut south of €100 off-contract, accompanied by plans that start at €9 per month. Before year’s end, Poland and Romania will be among the first victims to receive the bunch, followed by countries such as Armenia, Botswana, Cameroon and France. Speaking of misguided, perhaps Orange should have asked AT&T how the Status is selling.
Orange hopes to drive smartphone sales with three Facebook phones, two seem kinda dumb originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ZTE Light Tab 2 hands-on: another 7-inch phone to stuff your generous pocket
Following the likes of Samsung’s original Galaxy Tab, here’s yet another option for fans of comically-sized phones: the ZTE Light Tab 2, an obvious follow-up to the original Light. In fact, this 7-inch Android 2.3.5 slate was announced back in June and was expected to launch around October, but the ZTE folks here at Mobile Asia Congress still couldn’t shed light on its actual availability (pun intended). It sure makes one wonder if any carrier’s picked up this tablet.
Anyhow, here’s the lowdown: the 12.6mm-thick package comes with a 1024 x 600 non-IPS LCD and a capacitive touchscreen, garnished with a 1.4GHz Qualcomm single core chip, 4GB of ROM, 512MB of RAM, a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 3.2 megapixel imager on the back, a generous 3,400mAh battery and, of course, 14.4Mbps HSDPA connection that supports voice call. Despite the soon-obsolete OS version, the UI response on the new Light isn’t bad at all, and the body felt solid. Take a look at our quick hands-on video after the break.
Alternatively, there’s also the 7-inch Froyo-powered T72 tablet (yes, Froyo) featuring an “iOS-like UI.” Seriously, that was what we read on the spec sheet! Again, we couldn’t get a date out of ZTE, but feel free to check out this shameless device after the break, if you must.
Continue reading ZTE Light Tab 2 hands-on: another 7-inch phone to stuff your generous pocket
ZTE Light Tab 2 hands-on: another 7-inch phone to stuff your generous pocket originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung Captivate Glide, Doubletime and Pantech Pocket join AT&T’s Android brigade on November 20th
Two flavors of TouchWiz and an oddly-dimensioned handset are making their way to AT&T’s lineup come next week. Sammy’s QWERTY duo, the Tegra 2-powered Captivate Glide and Froyo-based Doubletime, along with Pantech’s uniquely formed Pocket will make their US carrier debut on November 20th, offering a little bit of everything for Joe Consumer. There’s no official word on the contracted pricing for this Android trio, but you shouldn’t have to wait much longer for that essential bit of info.
Update: And just like that, official pricing for AT&T’s latest trio has arrived. If you’re curious, both the Pocket and Doubletime will retail for $50, while Sammy’s Captivate Glide will set you back a solid $150. Naturally, each of these figures assume you’ll sign a new contract. If you’re of the skeptical type, just hop the break for confirmation.
Samsung Captivate Glide, Doubletime and Pantech Pocket join AT&T’s Android brigade on November 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung Captivate Glide, Doubletime and Pantech Pocket join AT&T’s Android brigade on November 20th
Two flavors of TouchWiz and an oddly-dimensioned handset are making their way to AT&T’s lineup come next week. Sammy’s QWERTY duo, the Tegra 2-powered Captivate Glide and Froyo-based Doubletime, along with Pantech’s uniquely formed Pocket will make their US carrier debut on November 20th, offering a little bit of everything for Joe Consumer. There’s no official word on the contracted pricing for this Android trio, but you shouldn’t have to wait much longer for that essential bit of info.
Update: And just like that, official pricing for AT&T’s latest trio has arrived. If you’re curious, both the Pocket and Doubletime will retail for $50, while Sammy’s Captivate Glide will set you back a solid $150. Naturally, each of these figures assume you’ll sign a new contract. If you’re of the skeptical type, just hop the break for confirmation.
Samsung Captivate Glide, Doubletime and Pantech Pocket join AT&T’s Android brigade on November 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung Captivate Glide and DoubleTime hands-on
Samsung’s got a pair of QWERTY-sporting Android handsets heading to AT&T, targeting distinctly different different ends of the smartphone spectrum. Sure, both the Captivate Glide and the DoubleTime attempt to woo messaging addicts with their physical keyboards, but that’s about where the similarities end. The Glide is packing a full gig of RAM, a 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, 8GB of internal storage, an 8 megapixel camera (plus a 1.3MP front-facing cam), Gingerbread slathered with TouchWiz and a 4-inch Super AMOLED display. The 800 x 480 panel isn’t the best we’ve ever seen, but it’s brightness and superb contrast certainly don’t disappoint. Like many Samsung handsets, the Glide is surprisingly light thanks to its all plastic construction, but the textured battery plate and satisfyingly firm sliding mechanism keep it from feeling cheap. The landscape keyboard is quite pleasant. The keys don’t have much travel, but they’re well spaced and we had no trouble quickly banging out a bunch of texts right away.
Continue reading Samsung Captivate Glide and DoubleTime hands-on
Samsung Captivate Glide and DoubleTime hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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