There’s nary a sign of the Motorola MILESTONE (the Euro-spec version of the Motorola DROID we’ve been so enamoured of) in the UK or indeed across the majority of Europe, but German buyers now have a plurality of choice should they want an Android 2.0 handset. Joining O2 Germany is Vodafone Germany, who are now listing the MILESTONE priced from €99 ($148) with a new contract.
Perhaps we’re naive, but we’d have thought that the sort of people who get early access to unannounced mobile phones would also have a decent camera, but perhaps it’s the thrill of the unknown that causes heavy hand shake. No matter, you’re looking at a blurry image of the Motorola Motus, the company’s mid-rage Android smartphone expected to arrive in 2010, that showed up at the Motofan.ru forums.
We were hoping Qualcomm might whip out Lenovo’s upcoming Smartbook at today’s event, but unfortunately the diminutive all-day ultraportable is still being nursed for an official CES reveal. Instead, the company had Quanta’s functional Android Smartbook prototype and a non-working Smartbook/Tablet concept out for us to play with.
Video demo after the cut
Nine out of ten blurry-cam operators agree, a diet of caffeine and Twinkies is best for getting those sneaky shots that make you so popular among tech blogs. Someone has sent CrunchGear a deliriously wonky photo of what’s said to be an e-reader from a company with no track record in the tablet or ebook reader segment.
The device apparently runs Android, and there’s speculation that it’s a musical-themed gadget since there are some decidedly note-like icons up near the top of the image. Of course, given the fact that there are exposure trails from most of the on-screen images, it’s entirely possible that those “notes” are in fact simply circular, with camera shake creating the hooked tails.
Either way, it’s seemingly bigger than other Android touchscreen devices we’ve seen previously, and we’ll always welcome a new entrant to the tablet/e-reader sphere. Anybody have any idea what this mysterious gadget might be?
Having tracked Sony Ericsson for years now, it comes as little surprise to see that, after plenty of happy noises about the apparently confirmed February 2010 release of the XPERIA X10, the company’s online store has now whipped away the date details. The “coming soon” page now merely says “to be announced” and reiterates the Q1 2010 window, which is all Sony Ericsson would tell us officially when the XPERIA X10 was announced a few weeks back.
Continued »
Things have been quiet on HTC's Snapdragon Android plans since CEO Peter Chou squashed talk of an Android-based HD2, but that hasn't stopped "senior Android guys" from carrying around such a handset for at least the past few weeks. According to TechCrunch, the so-called HTC Dragon or HTC Passion is expected to hit shelves very soon, and will likely be thinner than the Motorola DROID or the Apple iPhone 3GS together with including Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon chipset.
Ever since Android was first vaunted, people have been asking for an official Google Phone; however the search giant has always said it was only taking the lead in software, not hardware. Now, according to TechCrunch’s sources, that’s all going to change: they claim that an official, Google branded handset will drop in early 2010, with the company dictating every element of hardware and software to put together their own interpretation of today’s smartphone.
It’s been a rainstorm of Archos 5 Internet Tablet newness over at UMPC Portal today, with our friend Steve Paine taking delivery not only of the Archos 5 Mini Dock but the latest firmware which has also released today, v1.3.07. Together they’ve taken the Android-based Archos 5 even closer into MID status: USB host support means that you can plug a full-sized keyboard and mouse into the Mini Dock’s USB port, while the new firmware now supports full-screen YouTube HD playback together with outputting that content, via HDMI, onto your TV.
Video demo after the cut
Acer have confirmed that their first Android smartphone, the Acer Liquid A1, will arrive in late November, at least in the UK. According to retailer Clove, the Qualcomm Snapdragon based smartphone – which will run Android 1.6 Donut rather than the newer Android 2.0 OS – is priced at £286 pre-tax ($481).
Sony Ericsson’s launch event for the XPERIA X10, their first Android smartphone, was slightly undermined by the fact that their single demo prototype proved to be not exactly the Snapdragon speed-demon we all expected. The company’s homegrown Timescape and Mediascape apps ran like molasses in a permafrost, which Sony Ericsson told us was due to them not having been optimized for the hardware. Happily HDblog have had access to a newer prototype, and theirs looks positively snappy.
Video demo after the cut
Chrome OS: Waiting Is The Hardest Part…Though Necessary
Apple is no longer the Nordstrom of Tech, they’re the “New Nordstrom”
Can Anything Replace Windows XP As the Best Netbook Operating System?
Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!
SlashGear Japan
