This release puts a dual-core Cortex-A7 CPU sub-system in place clocked at up to 1.2GHz on 28nm process technology. Where late 2012 was a time when it made sense for MediaTek to reveal its so-called “world’s first quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC”, here in the spring of 2012, that MT6589 SoC becomes ever-so-slightly less important than the markets this new MT6572 will be able to address. Emerging markets are the markets of choice here, places where smartphones have only just started to appear.

This processor build is made for Android (at first) and works with MediaTek’s own multi-mode Rel. 8 HSPA+/TD-SCDMA modem as well as support for up to qHD (960 x 540) pixel displays. This SoC is able to work with 3D Graphics, support for 5 megapixel cameras, and support for HD 720p video playback (and 720p video record). Jeffrey Ju, MediaTek smartphone business unit GM, commented this week on the release:

“As smartphones move to a baseline of dual-core processing and with worldwide operators looking to reduce device subsidies, enabling highperformance, multi-core platforms with easy-to-adopt reference designs will be key to enable our customers to rapidly address the fast-moving mobile market opportunity.” – Jeffrey Ju

This hardware will begin to be available in smartphones starting in June of this year. At the moment, no specific hardware manufacturers have been named in MediaTek’s push for the baseline market.

This machine comes in two flavors, the first being the $99 4GB version – that’s 4GB of internal storage space, mind you, so watch out if you plan on adding a bunch of 3rd party videos to this beast. The other version will cost you $129 and has an internal storage space of 16GB. The display size is, again, 5-inches, with 800×480 pixel resolution – not the best, but certainly not the worst.

This device also offers a really strange – and awesome – rotating camera that your kids will be able to snap away with all day long. You’ll be working with Fuhu’s own kid-friendly app market where they can download at will. You’ll also have access through the parent-secured profile on the nabi Jr to the Amazon Appstore – side-loading apps like a pro!

Again take a peek at our review of the nabi 2 to get an idea of the direction this smaller tablet is coming from. The folks at Fuhu are not messing around when it comes to presenting a kid-centric experience for your family, and this new smaller (and less expensive) version of their nabi universe might be just what the doctor ordered for your tech-friendly toddler. Check it out!

Earlier this month we mentioned the 13-inch model was on track for this year, but now it’s official. While the news is just dropping we have a few quick specs to share with everyone. This 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro comes with a 13-inch 2560 x 1600 truly impressive HD display. Being the second highest resolution laptop available. Apple’s 15-inch being the first.

Compared to the previous 13-inch MBP, the Retina MBP is just .75-inches thick, 20% thinner than the previous generation. It’s an entire pound lighter than last years, being just 3.75 lbs. You’ll get USB 20, USB 3.0, HDMI out, Magsafe, SD card reader, and 7 hours of battery life. All while being thinner, lighter, but way more pixels.

Apple’s going over all the details as we speak but options include Intel’s new dual-core i5 or i7, HD 4000 for graphics, WiFi, BT, 8GB Memory, and all models come with SSD flash storage. No old-school slow hard drives here. Stay tuned for more details. Oh and these are shipping TODAY starting at $1699.

The teardown reveals that the chip has been highly customized, as it sways away from the standard ARM-based design and layout for Apple’s own needs. This is completely custom and and ARM-based CPU cores seem to all be arranged manually for optimal performance. The microscopic inspection by iFixit shows just how advanced this SoC really is.

While we already knew the A6 was a dual-core processor, this reveals things such as 1GB of RAM, dual CPU cores and a triple-core GPU for graphics and rendering. Those three GPU cores will help with all those smooth UI transitions, as well as the stunning gameplay and graphics performance Apple touted during their announcement of the iPhone 5.

When we said manually arranged above, we mean that each core was placed manually, rather than automated like most processors these days. iFixit states this is “much more expensive and time consuming” but obviously the performance benefits outweigh the costs. This allows the chip to be extremely powerful, efficient, and perform great without the need to boost CPU speeds like the competition. The teardown also confirms the Apple A6 processor powering the iPhone 5 is indeed a Samsung 32nm chip. This makes us excited to see how Apple can maximize performance with other ARM-based layouts moving forward.

[via Electronista]

This device works with a powerful 1.2GHz dual-core processor under the hood and will be working with a 5 megapixel camera on the back and a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front. This device has NFC integrated to make use of Google Wallet and works with S Voice, Samsung’s own voice recognition system that enables device-user communication for questions, answers, and commands galore.

The Galaxy Victory also works with S Beam, AllShare Play, and AllShare Group Cast. S Bean allows you to connect with Google’s integrated “Android Beam” system of NFC sharing device-to-device with media transfer. You’ll be pushing photos, videos, and documents galore from phone to phone without a hassle. AllShare Play allows you to connect to other devices that also use AllShare Play – like the Galaxy Note or the Galaxy S III, for example, playing media between devices with great ease. AllShare Group Cast works within the AllShare universe to show presentations and photo albums between devices on the same wi-fi network.

Above you’ll see these systems working on the Samsung Galaxy S III. The Galaxy Victory will work essentially the same way but will be doing it with a smaller display and a slightly different phone body. Stay tuned as this device hits the market this Sunday!

Gone is the chrome finish that will get scratched up within days, and instead the all new iPod has a brushed aluminum finish just like the iPhone 5. Then they’ve added the same impressive 4-inch HD Retina display for stunning visuals while you enjoy all of the latest games. Here’s the rundown:

The brand new iPod Touch is looking rather impressive dressed in white. They’re rocking out to some Foo Fighters and we’re loving the new camera. This is the thinnest iPod Touch yet being just 6.1mm thick. It’s also the lightest weighing 88 grams while still managing to get improved in all areas. We have the larger 4-inch Retina 326 ppi display, dual-core A5 processor, and of course the camera. The new iPod Touch’s 5 megapixel camera (with flash) has tons of improvements, is 25% thinner, and will have most of the features like panoramic mode and dynamic low light modes just like the iPhone 5. Oh and the new Touch’s camera can now shoot full 1080p HD video. Then the 720p Facetime front shooter is clearly present.

Apple managed to fit all of this into a super sleek iPod Touch while still boosting battery life. You can expect over 40 hours of music and 8 hours of continuous video. Those might not be amazing results but with all the boosts this device received, we’ll welcome those usage results. Whoa! The new iPod Touch has Siri but more on that is coming shortly. Enjoy all the pictures below and continue on with us at live.slashgear.com

This device has a 5 megapixel camera on the back with a “cheese shutter” – timed capture for your family portraits. This device works with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and AT&T’s 4G LTE network for high-speed data. You’ve got QuickMemo for personalized memos – this will also almost certainly be cross-compatible in some way or another with LG’s current and future line of note-taking smart devices like the aforementioned phablet. You’ve got a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Bluetooth 4.0, Gorilla Glass over the front of the device, and Android Beam with NFC. This device will be appearing on September 16th for $50 with a 2-year contract attached.

This device had been leaked by EVLeaks earlier today as as several other recent smartphones have been, here showing a device that’s extremely thin and ready for AT&T speedy data action. Any information below this paragraph was written before the official press release was out, and should therefor be taken for what it is. Above this paragraph is nothing but facts.

This device has a 4.3-inch qHD display, works with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and will likely be appearing on the official wire sooner than later. Judging by the leaks from this source over the past few weeks, it’d be a pretty good bet to say that this device will be officially announced within a week from today. It’s almost certainly got a front-facing camera to compliment its 5 megapixel shooter on the back, and it may have new connections to the rest of the LG family including the LG Intuition for Verizon.

The LG Escape has not been confirmed in any way other than the leaked information already presented. That said, it does appear that this device may have a removable battery, but because of the massive size, it would be hard to fathom. LG generally does release devices with a removable back panel, but with a device as thin as this with a battery as large as that, it may just be for a microUSB and/or SIM card port. Have a peek at our LG tag portal to see more information on this device as it appears soon!

[via EVLeaks]

We are live here in Berlin catching all the details, and will continue to bring you anything and everything Samsung related as the day continues. What you see above appears to be a relatively close cousin to the recently announced [and reviewed] Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet only running atop Windows RT instead.

There are a few important and notable differences though. The Samsung ATIV 10.1 won’t be quite as powerful, and the display isn’t as nice either. They are hopefully aiming for a more budget minded crowd with this one. The Samsung ATIV 10.1 Tab with Windows RT comes complete with a 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display, and tosses out Sammy’s quad-core for a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. The camera on the rear has been improved from recent Samsung tablets and will be 5 megapixels on the rear — followed by a 1.9 shooter frontside.

The details are still light and the story is developing as we are watching Samsung unveil all their goodies here live. The ATIV 10.1 will come with HDMI, USB, is super skinny and weighs only 1.2 lbs. Hopefully we’ll hear more about pricing and availability shortly after Windows 8 launches at the tail end of October. Stay tuned to our IFA 2012 Hub for all the latest and greatest news!

NeNaMark 2 results show that the handset features a 1196×720 display, with the 84 missing pixels taken up by the on screen buttons in Ice Cream Sandwich. An Adreno 225 GPU is also onboard, which means we should be looking at Qualcomm’s extremely popular Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 SoC.

AnTuTu indicates that the clock speed is 1.5Ghz, so Sony’s latest handset should feature the same silicon that HTC and Samsung are using for their phones in the United States. Several carrier variants are in the works too: the LT25c is said to be tailor made for China Telecom, the SO-01E will make an appearance on NTT DoCoMo, the SOL21 will feature on KDDI, and the LT25i and LT25i will be LTE and HSPA+ models for other international markets.

Sony has an event at IFA 2012 lined up, and we’d hazard a guess that it’s where we’ll see this new handset, along with the recently leaked Sony Xperia Tablet. Sony’s event starts on August 29th, and we’ll bring you coverage of all the goodies that Sony unveils on the big day.

[via Unwired View]

Hardware

This device has a fairly standard 1GHz dual-core processor, a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) resolution TFT LCD display, and the ability to work with HSPA and EDGE/GPRS, with networks differing depending on the country you’re in. Inside the device you’ve got 8GB of built-in memory as well as a microSD card slot that accepts up to 32GB of extra storage in a single card.

On the back of the device you’ve got a 5 megapixel camera with single LED flash and on the front you’ve got a 1.3 megapixel camera. The entire device measures in at 124 x 64.2 x 12.5mm at 145g light. It’s not the smallest device on the market, but it’s certainly small and light considering its ability to tote a projector onboard.

The projector is bright to a degree of 15 Lumen at 1W and can project at nHD resolution (640×360 pixels). You’ve got the ability to project images from the display in mirror mode – this by simply pressing the dedicated hardware button on the right of the device – or in a collection of presentation modes. See more on this in the “Projecting” section later in this review.

The device has a rather nice feel to it with a rubbery textured back and a form-fitting shape all around. The device functions generously as a standard smartphone, which will be rather important to many users at it costs essentially the same as much higher-powered devices also on the market at the same time. Then there’s the yellow band – a daring aesthetic choice which we hope very much will pay off for Samsung so that they’ll continue to go wild with color in the future – it’s nice!

Software

Most of the software aspects here are included in the “Projecting” section – everything aside from that is a fairly standard Android 2.3 Gingerbread experience. If you’re looking for the most advanced standalone software experience for a smartphone on the market, this isn’t it. But for a Gingerbread machine – that is, two generations of Google mobile OS before the current version 4.1 Jelly Bean – this device is perfectly legit.

You’ve got no attached carrier (at the moment) so you’ll only have Google app and Samsung’s collection of pre-loaded apps plus a couple of projector-friendly apps as well. Apps such as QuickPad, Samsung’s Social and Music Hubs, and Kies 2.0 are included.

Benchmarks on this device show, again, that this isn’t the battle-ready gaming and processing beast that’ll be beating all competitors, but it’s certainly beefy enough to make the projector elements worthwhile. The processor at work here is the rare NovaThor U8500, that is working with a 45 nm architecture with 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 for CPU and ARM Mali 400 (single-core) for GPU. This processor also exists in the Sony Xperia P and U, Samsung Galaxy S Advance, and several other lesser-known devices.

Projecting

You’ve got a whole host of options with your built-in projector up top of this device. Samsung lists personal theater, fun group sharing, mood generator, outdoor entertainment, professional presentations, education, and room decoration amongst their suggested use cases. Users purchasing the Samsung GALAXY Beam will likely use the device less than they expect that they’d planned, but will find that when they DO use it, they’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well it works.

You can play movies at home with whatever movie app you’ve got on the device – like the Samsung Movie Hub, of course. You can play YouTube videos at a party. You can project images of disco balls and fireplaces – a collection of repeating images such as these are included on the device so you can get the idea rather easily. You can bring this device with you camping to watch a movie projected on to your camper – an idea, again, I’d never have thought of if Samsung hadn’t suggested it.

Then comes the professional uses, the first of which is showing off a slide show in the classroom or at a meeting. You’ll look positively magical busting out your smartphone in a meeting that projects your ideas onto the wall with no outside assistance. And what a fun idea it’d be to show off your portfolio in a coffee shop up on the wall where everyone can see at once!

Then there’s OHP mode – over-head projector – where you’ll be doing both input and output at the same time. This mode projects whatever images are on your screen while at the same time your back-facing camera is watching whatever is in front of it to see what your device wants to project. Such a simple concept and certainly something a Samsung engineer one day realized was awesome enough to be included as a sell-point in their big list of features.

The camera’s position on the back (closer to the center than the top where it’d normally be on most smartphones) is certainly intentional. While it may simply be down there to get out of the way of the projector which sits at the head of the smartphone, it also feels more natural here to do over-head projector action.

Battery

With the package we’ve got, there are two full removable batteries that can be switched in and out of the device along with a battery charger that doesn’t need the smartphone to work. This means you can have a battery charging in your home or office while you’re out and about with the smartphone, then when you need more power, all you’ve gotta do is swap. We’d certainly recommend this setup for any smartphone user who needs to be up and running at all times, but especially here with the projector situation.

The reason for this is that the Samsung GALAXY Beam uses its 2,000 mAh battery up relatively fast if you’re using the projector quite often. It’s an impressive feat to see this device playing a full-length 2-hour movie without needing to be plugged in, but if you’re thinking about then taking it out for a night on the town with the same battery, you’ll be out of luck. Without using the projector you’ll easily have a full day’s moderate use with one battery.

And remember to keep that charger handy regardless of how much you think you’ll need it!

Wrap-up

The Samsung GALAXY Beam is certainly a specialty device. If you have a need for a projector that’s also a smartphone, or a smartphone that’s also a projector – this is your only real legitimate choice. This smartphone is powerful enough to be your normal everyday driver, but you’re certainly going to want to know that you’ll be using the projector on a daily basis to make it all worth your while.

This device is currently available internationally (UK, France, Singapore, India and Brazil) and USA launch dates have not been announced, but are expected soon – rather soon, we hope!

On top of that, the MT6577 is designed to work with an eight megapixel camera with support for 1080p playback. High-resolution video output is also supported up to 720p, and you can expect to find all the other niceties such as Bluetooth, WiFi b/g/n, GPS, and even an FM radio. Better yet, the platform is pin for pin compatible with the MT6575, so new devices can be created using the same PCBA hardware.

MediaTek says that dual-core processors currently account for over 20% of smartphone CPU shipments, while the entry-level and mid-range smartphone market is expected to swell from 200 million to 500 million by 2016. The company is hoping to capitalize on that growth, saying that it already has several partners on board who will ship products with the new chipset by the third quarter of this year.

Zenith is said to be the flagship product, and will feature a 4.7-inch Super LCD2 display with a 720p resolution. In addition, there will be an undetermined Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor, an eight megapixel sensor, and support for HSPA+ speeds up to 42Mbit/s. The Accord, meanwhile, comes in at the mid-range, featuring a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD2 display, Snapdragon S4 Plus dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, the same eight megapixel sensor and HSPA+ support, plus NFC.

The Rio is the entry-level device for the company. Screen size is said to be 4-inches with a WVGA resolution, a Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8227 processor, 512MB of RAM, five megapixel camera with 720p video recording, and HSPA speeds up to 14.4Mbit/s.

Both the Rio and Accord are currently slated to launch in October, with the Zenith tipped to come sometime in the fourth quarter. The Verge is told that the dates are currently tentative and may slip, and some of the specs still need to be finalized.

Snapdragon S4 Plus encompasses the same dual-core Krait-based chips that can currently be found in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X, so Windows Phone 8 shouldn’t be wanting for raw performance or power efficiency. Qualcomm also said that additional chips may make a future appearance, but for now Microsoft is keeping things simple.

The Windows Phone Summit brought a whole host of new features to Windows Phone 8, such as 720p resolution support, a new user interface with resizable live tiles, a shared Windows core, NFC support for mobile payments, and Nokia Maps integration. You can find the full round-up here, as well as the timeline from yesterday’s event below.

This can only mean one of two things. One: that a site like Amazon – who often enough does have links that are posted in error then taken down later on – was once again caught with its pants down attempting to sell the tablet before it was supposed to be listed. The second possibility is that Samsung actually meant to release availability of the device today and decided at the last minute to pull it. We’re guessing it’s the former.

UPDATE: A Samsung spokesperson has just sent confirmation that the listing was, indeed, a mistake, and that what was listed wasn’t even entirely accurate – have a look:

“The Note 10.1 is NOT available for pre-order, and in fact
we have not yet announced final details, timing or pricing for this
product. The information Amazon published is also not entirely
accurate.

Samsung does appreciate all the interest and excitement about this
upcoming offering and we will have more details to share soon.” – Samsung

Also it’s important to note that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has been changed several times since it was first released, and we do not know what it will be like in the end: stay tuned!

Have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Hands-on and be sure to let us know if you’ll be picking this beast up when it actually is released later this year. Also be sure to have a look at our timeline below to see how far the Galaxy Note 10.1 has come between the original Galaxy Note and here when the Note 10.1 has an S-Pen slot and a dual-core processor to be envied by all!

There will be four different tiers for the Snapdragon S4 range. Prime will lead the pack, and feature a quad-core 1.5Ghz MPQ8064 chip based on the Krait architecture, paired with a Adreno 320 GPU. Snapdragon Pro, meanwhile, is aimed at tablets and other devices with high-resolution displays, and includes the APQ8064 and MSM8960T chipsets.

The Snapdragon S4 Plus chips will sit comfortably in smartphones needing an integrated LTE modem, which we’re already familiar with in products like the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X. Finally, S4 Play is intended for for the entry level market, featuring dual-core 1.2Ghz processors and an Adreno 203 GPU. Qualcomm say the new SoC is backwards compatible with Snapdragon S1 solutions, so OEMs can easily port their designs over to the new S4 chips.

[via Engadget]

Hardware

Huawei has jumped right into the limelight recently by offering some good quality hardware, and specs that can compete with the big boys. The Ascend P1 is no different although isn’t quite as thin as its P1 S cousin that takes the crown for the “world’s thinnest smartphone.” To start on the hardware look over our hands-on here, then we’ll dive into the rest.

Huawei’s equipped this new phone with a large and vibrant 4.3-inch qHD 540×960 AMOLED display, a 1.5 GHz dual-core TI OMAP4460 processor, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The initial specs don’t match that of the Galaxy S III or the HTC One X, but it comes to market with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and an impressive hardware design to keep the others at bay.

The phone is extremely well designed, durable, and feels excellent (for the most part) while in use. As you can see the design is similar to what we’ve seen from Samsung in the past, right up to the camera around back like the Galaxy S II. They’ve opted for the same lightweight plastic material and the constructions feels quite familiar. As you see above the button layout is what we’ve come to expect from Huawei and others. Along the right we have the power/wake button and a micro-SD slot for expanded storage. The other side rounds it out with the volume up/down button in a nice aluminum design.

Oddly up top is not only the SIM slot (as the back is not removable) but they’ve also tossed the micro-USB for charging on top as well, something I’m not a fan of. Then you have the 3.5mm headphone jack as expected. The rest of the hardware is completed with an 8 megapixel rear camera and dual LED flash, and a 1.3 front camera for those self portraits although I feel their front camera is better than most.

The only downfall hardware wise for me would be the hump on the bottom (again similar to most Samsung phones) and while the phone has a nice curved design around the square edges, the bottom is quite sharp and wasn’t extremely comfortable for my style of grip with my pinkie finger resting on bottom. The hardware and design is otherwise excellent — as long as you don’t mind having a non-accessible battery. The back is not removable.

Software

Now for software we have a little toss up. The phone looks and runs great on Android 4.0 ICS. Is smooth for daily use, games and multitasks with ease — but is the Chinese market version. What this means is we have no Google Apps. No Play Store (Android Market,) no Gmail, Google Talk, Google Voice, Google Maps… they are all missing. This is expected with the Chinese market so we can’t dock it, and Huawei has confirmed the European and other markets will all have the usual array of Google applications.

We have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a pretty lightly modified skin over the top. Nothing has changed too much aside from the lockscreen, and some power widgets in the notification drop down. However, once you hit menu there’s an option for a 3D homescreen instead of the usual, that will completely change the look and feel of the Ascend P1. I actually found myself enjoying the 3D home over the original. With neat animations, a fancy weather widget, and cool effects. The photos below give you a better idea of what you can expect. I like the simple and quick toggle they’ve provided, and it keeps all your icons in place once enabled.

In general the software performed just as you’d expect on a powerful dual-core processor. Everything was smooth and swift, and the 3D animations worked great even though we don’t have a 3D display. All the Ice Cream Sandwich effects and cyan blue colors pop with the AMOLED display too. Since being installed for the Chinese markets, the phone did have Mobile QQ, as well as HiSpace mobile app store. They have a pretty limited selection and nothing looked familiar for someone like myself, and I wasn’t even able to find Angry Birds – Sadness. Many of the menus were difficult to navigate considering I don’t speak or read Chinese, but again that won’t be a problem for the European models.

Benchmarks

What would a review be without a few benchmarks right? Although we have an older 1.5 GHz TI dual-core on board performance was strikingly decent. While no where near the HTC One S and it’s Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core the Ascend P1 still managed some above average dual-core results similar to the Galaxy S II. Reaching around 3500 in Quadrant Advanced with impressive I/O speeds passing 6000. Benchmarks are only a small part of performance but these affirm our daily usage results that this phone is fast and stable.

Camera and Battery Life

One aspect that I was quite surprised with by Huawei is the cameras on the Ascend P1. Both the rear and front cameras were extremely capable. The rear facing 8 megapixel camera has two LED’s for those dark moments and handles a low lit room with ease. The front 1.3 camera also seemed better than most in my opinion. My little Android models from the gallery below was snapped with the front shooter for a sample, the rest were with the rear 8 megapixel camera. The phone also records in full 1080p and was a little jagged at times of extreme motion but should handle most situations quite well.

Here comes one big downside for the Ascend P1 for most Android users. That is the size of the battery, and the fact that it isn’t user accessible or replaceable. The 1670 mAh battery is smaller than most we’ve seen the past 6 months, and can’t be accessed if needed. While this phone was clearly for Chinese markets I did toss in and use an AT&T SIM for a few days for battery tests. That wasn’t ideal but I averaged about 8-10 hours of uptime. This will vary by carrier, HSPA+ speeds and data usage, and location so we’ll leave that be for now.

Wrap-Up

Our final conclusion for the Huawei Ascend P1 was quite favorable. Other than a few design decisions we’d probably change ourselves the phone is promising. Huawei has continued to improve from an OEM brand into a mainstream competitor and the Ascend P1, the thinner P1 S, and the upcoming Ascend D Quad are a fine example of that. It appears they’ve taken some strong hints from Samsung with their smartphone design and direction — and with good reason. Samsung is the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world and their numbers have continued to climb.

Out of the multiple Huawei handsets we’ve had the pleasure of working with as of late, the Ascend P1 is one of the most polished and best devices to date. They are headed in the right direction and I’d love to have this phone be available for a good mid-range price on AT&T or T-Mobile. Overall the Ascend P1 has a vibrant screen, impressive specs, the latest version of Android, a top quality camera, and everything fits in a simple and sleek 7.6mm thin chassis. We look forward to what else Huawei sends to market this year and you can expect the Ascend P1 to be available in Hong Kong and Taiwan this month, followed by Latin America in June, and with Europe getting the handset this summer.

Wrong – at the moment the AT&T 4G LTE network is spreading at a relatively high rate while the HTC EVO 4G LTE has just Baltimore and Kansas City to call its own for 4G – and that’s it. AT&T’s LTE, not to mention the rest of its data network on 3G and below, have worked a whole lot more reliably than any connection on the EVO 4G LTE – have a peek at our reviews of both devices we’re looking at at this point to get an idea of what the carriers have provided us as far as data coverage across the nation:

• HTC EVO 4G LTE Review
• HTC One X (AT&T) Review

Then make sure to keep up with the HTC One S as well, if you’re up for it. This smartphone contains a whole lot of the same awesome specifications that these other two titans do, but it’s a bit smaller for those of you with human sized hands. Consider the fit!

• HTC One S (T-Mobile) Review

Then back to the main competition – the HTC EVO 4G LTE has a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution display, that being the same as the HTC One X, both of them with a fabulous 312 PPI in the end. The difference between these two in their displays though is the Super LCD technology in the EVO with just LCD tech in the X. Have a peek at the difference in the straight-on photos above and below (they’re all taken with full brightness on all screens.)

The EVO has the ability to carry microSD cards in its one slot with 32GB capacity, while the X has no storage and 32GB built-in. The EVO then has 16GB built-in which allows it to have up to 48GB of storage in all. The HTC One X weighs a bit less than the EVO (though both sit right around the X’s 130g, light!) To keep up with its slightly brighter display (we must assume,) the EVO has a bigger battery, with 2,000mAh instead of the X’s 1,800mAh.

Hands-on with the HTC EVO 4G LTE:

Hands-on with the HTC One X with AT&T:

Both devices run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, both run HTC’s own Sense 4.0, and both are extremely well put together. The EVO has a dedicated camera button where the X does not, the X comes in white while the EVO just comes in red/black, and both devices will end up costing you a bit over $150 if you can grab the right weekend deal. In this battle now more than ever you’re going to have to consider the data speed. If we had to choose solely based on data, we’d choose the HTC One X without question.

On the other hand, if we had to choose based solely on the amount of kickstand either device had, we’d have to go with the EVO – last kickstand in the west!

UPDATE: We have our winners and are currently attempting to contact each of them. If you entered this particular giveaway and have a friend request or a message from Chris Burns, this means we are attempting to contact you ASAP! Once we have each of our winners confirmed to be eligible and in contact, we’ll post their names here – stay tuned!

In addition to the three prize packs we’ve got, Android Community has a set of three packs as well, and NVIDIA also has seven prize packs to give away that consist of the same set of devices. To get a prize pack at NVIDIA, you’ve got to vote for your favorite NVIDIA TegraZone game, that being anything from Shadowgun with its fabulous third-person shooter action to Riptide, the king of jetski games made next-level excellent for the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor with next-level water physics and fabulous tricks in mid-air.

First have a look at how you can win one of the SlashGear-hosted game packs here:

1. “Like” us on Facebook: at facebook.com/slashgear/ and leave a comment in this Facebook thread: http://tinyurl.com/crkhold telling us your favorite TegraZone game and why you love it so much – or if you don’t own a Tegra-toting device as of yet, let us know what game you look forward to most!

2. Winners will be selected like so: we’ll pick a set of our favorites and put them in a hat to pick a winner each week for a total of three!

And that’s it! There’s nothing more simple than a two-step giveaway. Next you can get another chance to get in on these packs through the TegraZone itself, NVIDIA providing the packs sent from them (the same sets of prizes) through their portal which leads to a voting interface where you’ll be choosing your favorite game from amongst all the games they’ve got in the TegraZone today! Click on this link: [Player's Choice Awards] or scan the QR-code below with your smartphone – both will work!

And for those of you who haven’t experienced the fury of the tablet you’ll be winning here, have a look at our ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 full review! ASUS sums it up quite nicely: “Running latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the ASUS Transformer Pad is a value packed tablet that with multi-color style, and productivity with expandability when connected to the mobile dock. With a 1.2MP front and 8MP rear auto-focus camera with large F/2.2 aperture and exclusive office software, staying connected and productive has never been easier.”

Giveaway begins May 10th and ends May 31st, 12:01AM PST barring any complications finding the winners. Both winner will be announced once we’ve contacted and confirmed them here in the main news feed and at our official Facebook/Google+ pages.

Competition is open to residents of the US only, over the age of 18. One entry per person. Family members of NVIDIA, ASUS, and SlashGear/Android Community are not permitted to enter. Competition entries are only accepted via the specified SlashGear Facebook page; entries left in the comments section of this or any other post will not be recognized.

The winner will be contacted by an Android Community/SlashGear staff member upon being selected and will be expected to respond to that staff member; they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected. Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winners agree that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to Android Community, SlashGear, and NVIDIA.

Prize consists of a pack including one ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 tablet, one TF300 mobile keyboard dock, one Logitech game controller, and one Jawbone Jambox Speaker. There is no other alternative for prize winners unless this prize should become unavailable, in which case SlashGear reserves the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.

Giveaway provided by SlashGear/Android Community. Prizing provided by NVIDIA and ASUS. Any questions regarding this giveaway should be directed to giveaway[AT]slashgear.com.

This 10-inch 1280 x 800 resolution tablet comes with an impressive Qualcomm 1.7GHz MSM8960 dual-core Krait processor with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a micro-SD for expanded storage. Another thing here is the tri-band HSPA+ and full quad-band 4G LTE radios on board. The tablet looked like a final design and was running on Android 4.0.3 ICS, and those 4G LTE radios should work great with AT&T’s new LTE network.

With a solid design, impressive specs, 4G LTE capabilities and a nice aluminum design around back the tablet was quite decent — although we’d love for it to be slightly thinner if possible. The build quality was durable and strong too. Android 4.0.3 ICS was completely stock with no changes whatsoever from ZTE, but that could change if this comes to the US with a 4G LTE carrier such as AT&T.

While there was nothing extremely unique to this tablet that other 4.0 tablets don’t offer, the faster 1.7 GHz dual-core processor could be what puts potential buyers over the edge to make the plunge.

This device is Samsung’s new hero phone for the whole wide world, over in London today being announced with Samsung’s own Exynos quad-core processor for ultimate processing power. Here in the USA we’ve heard that it may well have a dual-core processor instead, but no confirmation has been given by Samsung at the moment. Have a peek at what Samsung has revealed thus far on the USA release here:

“Samsung Mobile is planning a U.S. version of Galaxy S III, optimized for the fastest LTE and HSPA+ networks in the U.S., which will be available in the summer of 2012. Exact timing and retail channel availability is not being announced at this time. We believe the Galaxy S III is the most anticipated product in the 20-year history of Samsung Mobile; therefore, we will continue to share information as it becomes available.” – Samsung

Then have a peek at the rest of our Samsung Galaxy S III content for today by heading to the timeline included below. You’ll see everything from a hands-on with the Galaxy S III international edition to a hands-on with Flipboard upon it, no to mention the first comparison video between the Galaxy S III and the HTC One X on the web! Stick with us all day here on SlashGear for all the Galaxy S III you can handle!

The final picture you’ll find sitting on your screen tomorrow will likely be a smartphone by the name of Galaxy S III with a 4.6 or 4.8-inch display, a dual-core or quad-core processor inside (depending on your region), and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a new version of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface built in. This device will be the new hero device for Samsung from tomorrow on, and we’ll likely see the device released internationally first followed by a USA launch some time later. Perhaps just days, but more likely several months or more.

Check out what you’ll want to be picking up here first in our guide by the name of You want a Galaxy S III, not a Google Galaxy Nexus. You should also be considering the difference between this new device and the HTC One series – check out Samsung Galaxy S III vs HTC One Series: The Future War before you make your decision!

Then head down to the many multiple images we’ve seen of this device Dummy 1, video Galaxy, the case-covered beast, and the really light one.

Next have a peek at the real-life Samsung Galaxy S III trailer video in all its lamb-filled goodness. See the tip on a non-Pentile 720p AMOLED display. Marvel at the Unpacked app name drop. See a fantastic benchmark or two. Note that in addition to that benchmark saying the device will have a quad-core Samsung-made Exynos processor, there’s also talk of a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor for a Verizon USA release (with LTE!) See the screen protector leak, and get your hands on the user guide.

Samsung has also confirmed that the device will have a Samsung Exynos 4 Quad processor (that’s quad-core, of course) in at least one iteration. There’s also the possibility that this event will contain a tablet or two. Have a peek at our Galaxy S III and more post for the whole lo-down.

Hang out all night and wait for the time to get busy! It’s at 3PM London time – be here and be square, as all the details will be handed to you right on time! Seeya then!

There are two devices currently on the market with the superpowered Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor we’re being told will be on the Galaxy S III here and now, that being the HTC One X and the HTC One S. These devices have been reviewed by us in several iterations: HTC One X for AT&T, HTC One S for T-Mobile, and the international HTC One S. These devices have each shown themselves to be impressively powered and surprisingly well-matched against higher-powered processors with more cores than two.

The tip we’re seeing today shows the Verizon (likely LTE) version of the Galaxy S III, this a welcome addition to the carrier that this past year gave up the Galaxy S II in order to gain favor with Samsung and Google for the Galaxy Nexus. Or so we’ve been told by the powers that be. Now the Galaxy S III with its massive display (probably 4.8-inches), next-level software (Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a new TouchWiz on top), and a bump from Qualcomm for dual-core prowess will all make this dream that much sweeter.

Note also that the international version of the Galaxy S III will likely still have Samsung’s own quad-core Exynos processor. That’s been tipped as well!

Now we’ve got to decide whether we want this or to wait for what’s been called the “Galaxy Journal” – aka the Samsung Galaxy Note for Verizon. Don’t hold your breath for that one if Verizon does indeed get first dibs on the Galaxy S III. Again, we’ll find out everything we need to know tomorrow!

This device has a fabulous 4.3-inch display and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC’s own user interface HTC Sense 4.0 running on top. We’ve also had the opportunity to review this device in its international form as well earlier this month. Both versions contain Qualcomm’s impressive next-generation dual-core processor the Snapdragon S4 and is the subject of several hands-on experiences we’ve done over the past week and a half.

This device is running on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network for high speed data delivery, its display runs at 540 x 960 and has AMOLED technology for ultra-brightness, and has rivaled essentially the entirety of the dual-core world for processing power in our mobile benchmark tests. Could this be the greatest 4.3-inch smartphone in the USA? Sources point to yes, very possibly.

While most phones from Motorola such as the RAZR or DROID 4 have all used TI OMAP processors, some in the past relied on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 to power Android. The newly leaked benchmark available today shows not only a shift to Qualcomm, but possibly a 720p HD smartphone headed to AT&T with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich made by Motorola — possibly a new Motorola Atrix or a RAZR HD for AT&T.

The results show a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm being used, most likely the extremely powerful and efficient dual-core processor found in HTC’s new One S that we reviewed here. Being listed as the MB886 and code-named the Qinara – similar to the Motorola Dinara — this could in fact be a real phone. The listing states Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and a resolution of 720p once you factor in the on-screen navigation buttons of Android 4.0 ICS. The TI OMAP 4 is starting to show its age but we’ve yet to see what they’ll offer in the OMAP 5. We’ve also heard Motorola could be using Intel’s Medfield this year too. Until then it looks like Motorola could be switching to Qualcomm for some, or all of their upcoming smartphones and tablets.

What you’re going to see here first is a hands-on experience with the HTC One S’s camera app – it’s the same software as the HTC One X, so you can expect to be working with the same set of buttons and controls on either device. Here you’ll find that this HTC-made experience takes what Android is capable of and delivers a whole new level of fabulous mobile photo and video capture. Included are effects on both video and photo, settings, adjustments, and results below.

Check out our full reviews of the HTC One X and the HTC One S right now!

Next let’s have a look at a couple examples of video. We’ve got a couple of different situations here, one outdoors with high sunlight, the other indoors looking out a window. First we’ll have a 1080p video sample collected with the HTC One X at a flea market in London on a fine spring afternoon:

Next we’ve got a 1080p video sample taken with the HTC One S. The difference here is in the processor’s additions to the quality of the video. Minute though they may be, the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor in the One X does handle image and video processing different from the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4. Both devices have the same “HTC ImageSense” processing chip, from what we understand, this working directly with the camera, but there is some final processing to be done between what you’ve captured on the device and here.

Have a peek here also at some Slow Motion video capture from the HTC One S. Both devices are capable of working with this effect, they capturing frames at an extraordinary speed to bring you all the slo-mo action you could possibly desire. First have a peek at the HTC One S’s capture of the dog named Emme:

Next we’ve got video showing off the HTC One X taking some slow-motion video, this time with a child involved! Note that this video comes from the Android Community review of the One X, and also note that the Slow Motion effect does not include sound, just video.

For photos we’ll begin with an HTC One S example in some mixed light – some natural and some generated by lamps – of the rather complicated machine you saw moving above.

Then a photo with the One X of a traditionally relatively dark area, the London tube, here with nothing but unnatural light. The only scarier place on earth is the same place in New York City – watch out for mole people and Ninja Turtles!

A couple of HD photos outdoors from the Android Community review of the HTC One S are next – the detail can be seen sharp and hot from back to front, wouldn’t you agree?

Then we’ve got some action from Burst Mode. The following set of images was photographed during the hands-on video you see at the head of this post. Notice the slight variations in quality throughout the series:

This camera experience yields an extremely entertaining and diverse environment in which we’ll be able to work on a day-to-day basis with ease. HTC has also created a set of cameras that produce videos and photos which are set to compete with the best smartphone-based cameras on the market without breaking a sweat. Have a peek at the timeline below to continue your HTC One experience, all the way from Barcelona to London to Minnesota to Arizona and back again!

Also included below is a set of photos each captured in the hands-on video you see above. These photos show off the vast majority of the effects you’ll be able to use in photos here in Sense 4.0 on the HTC One series – enjoy!

You’ll find that Qualcomm’s newest effort here with HTC is bringing some intense processing power to the forefront. Qualcomm has concentrated their efforts into two CPU cores at a time when one of their biggest rivals, NVIDIA, has been working with four for some months. The question since we realized that NVIDIA would be the only company out there with four cores on one chip has been thus: does it really matter how many cores you have?

Of course whatever kind of architecture you’ve got in the System on Chip in your smartphone or tablet really does matter, but will Qualcomm be able to keep up with what, at first glance, might seem like a system with half the amount of CPU power? The answer, if you’re watching this video that is, is absolutely yes. The S4 dual-core processor (also known as Krait) is more than up to the task of taking on an undeniably impressive amount of tasks all at once.

This device, the HTC One S, has also proved itself as a fantastic battery manager as well as a photo and video taking beast, not just because of Qualcomm’s S4 input into image processing. Have a peek at the video above and keep your eyes open for more hands-on videos here on SlashGear. Qualcomm is bringing the heat in 2012!

What we’re seeing is that both NVIDIA and Qualcomm have become conscious of the real-world problem of extremely quickly drained batteries with their next generation processors. We’ve seen both handsets being released this week to have sleep modes with next to no battery drain whatsoever. What that means is that while the smartphone sits idle in the consumer’s pocket, the HTC One series can stay powered on basically indefinitely – a hefty claim, to be sure.

Have a peek at our review of the HTC One S as well as the HTC One X now to see how these devices size up as one complete package. Then keep a weather eye out for further comparisons of the processors that sit inside these devices in the near future here on SlashGear. If what we’re seeing is true, the battery war will be over right here in 2012 – an exciting time for smartphone users!

The ARCHOS 80 G9 is a device that we’ve looked at before, have a peek at our [full review of the ARCHOS 80 G9] and see how it faired back several months ago. The differences between that model and this one are great – not only do you get a different and much more powerful processor with a 1.5GHz dual-core rather than its original 1.2Ghz dual-core, you get Full HD 1090p video recording and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as well!

The 80 model has an 8-inch display while the 101 has a 10.1-inch display, both of them having the ability to run Android 4.0 and both still run a Texas Instruments OMAP 4 smart multi-core processor, this time upgraded to 1.5GHz. You’ve got multiple options for both tablets including Flash storage or 250GB hard-drive storage, and the action will be yours for a price that’s rather fetching! See both models in the ARCHOS online store today!

This tablet will have the ability to stay closed and entirely protected by its outer shell when you do not need to use it, twisting to reveal two separate pieces when you’re ready for some advanced Android action. As you’ll see in the preview video, this unit has a tablet top like Archos has released in the past with such tablets as the G9 and 80 (which we’ve also got a full review of from a few months ago), and a keyboard dock for its other half.

This unit looks to be coming in a sleek white and gray color scheme and appears very much to be as thin a tablet as any of Archos competitors in the Android realm. We can expect at least a dual-core processor under the hood here and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box, this along with, once again, a low cost for a full package. Archos is coming back with a hefty value proposition this Summer – of that you can be sure!

[via Android Community]

To jump right in I’ll start by saying the Sony Tablet P is available today, right now from AT&T for $399 and a 2-year contract, or for $549 contract free. With dual screens, cores, and cameras it makes for one interesting device to say the least. Is the Tablet P practical though? That is the question. Check out our hands-on first, then enjoy the rest of the review.

Hardware

The hardware is extremely unique to say the least. With two 5.5″ 1024 x 480 screens, the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor at 1 GHz, 1GB of RAM, 2GB of storage (SD card) and dual cameras it has some specs that most tablets can’t even compare to. We also get dual cameras with a 5 megapixel rear and VGA front for video chat. Has Sony reinvented the wheel here, or will this be soon forgotten?

This is an 11″ tablet with the footprint slightly larger than a smartphone. Out of the box it’s slightly fatter than most phones but around the same width being 3.1″ wide and a little over 7.1″ tall. Easily pocket-able makes this one of the most portable tablets we’ve used to date. The design looks and feels nice but in reality is just cheap plastic. I couldn’t help but wish they used a better material for construction as the entire device just seems a little cheaply built if you ask me — almost like a toy. Then again this is a crossbreed between a tablet an a gaming device.

The matching 5.5-inch screens are nice and pretty but the large, almost 1-inch wide bezel around the entire thing could have been cut down and made smaller. The front has a nice cut out to help open the clamshell design and a slit is also included with a green LED for notifications.

As far as buttons and ports they are all on the side, bottom portion of the device. We have the volume rocker, micro-USB for sync (not charging) the proprietary charging port, and the power button with a red/green LED for charging. On bottom are some small feet to sit it on a table and the 3.5mm headphone jack. Then on the left is a lone grill for the speaker and that is all. The design is actually nice, elegant, and simple but the cheap feeling just leaves me wanting more.

The dual-screens are 5.5″ and use Sony’s Bravia engine and Tru-Black technology and look great — so long as you look straight on. At much of an angle colors go bad and whites turn yellow. For a dual screen device that you won’t always be looking at straight on this was a major bummer.

One of the best parts of the design, and the durability is the extremely strong hinge. You can lay it on any surface and open the top screen to any angle you’d like and the strong hinge will hold it in place, and the tablet wont fall over backwards. Watching the video below you’ll get another great example of the hardware and my last complaint is the sharp corners on the inside. The outer shell is nice, smooth and round. The inside isn’t so lucky and the sharp corners cause extreme discomfort after about 5-10 minutes of use.

Software

The software is Android 3.2 Honeycomb and while it works well, could be better. Android 4.0 ICS should bring along plenty of improvements to this device and is said to be coming soon, but for now we get Honeycomb. Obviously with two screens the operating system will need to be thrown together, and that is how it seems. Some aspects work great while others are terrible. Some games are enjoyable on both screens and take full advantage of the real estate while others don’t. Even the pro-loaded Crash Bandicoot doesn’t work that great although we do have complete PS2 controls.

As you see above many of the icons have been replaced with generic blue ones from Sony. Things like the camera, browser, calender and other stock apps. Why these aren’t the same as Honeycomb icons beats me. The software is basically untouched in regards to Android 3.2 Honeycomb and is everything we know and expect with the Android OS. but does have moments of lag from sliding icons and such onto a different screen.

The bezel is something that for now we can’t get away from, and it kills the experience. You don’t actually miss content but it does ruin the experience and makes things harder to read and do. Now most apps don’t work with both screens although Sony has worked with developers and we have around 40 available in the market that take full advantage. Not a lot but it’s a start. Most apps will use the bottom, or the top and occasionally we can use the “fit to screen” option in Honeycomb and that sometimes works, and often causes problems. YouTube fails to work completely and in fact was not pre-installed. So that could be a huge con for many.

I wont talk too much about the dual-screen experience because my extended hands-on video below will show you the performance, and usage situations with both screens. Not to mention a few games, apps, and the fact that YouTube is missing in action.

Benchmarks

As usual we’ve ran a few benchmarks and things are not looking good for Sony. Obviously we have two screens and far more pixels than most phones and tablets so the results will be lower, but they seem extra low. This isn’t too big of a concern as gaming was fluid and I didn’t experience any issues from the multiple games I’ve tried.

Quadrant was lower than expected for a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 but at the same time we are pushing nearly 1/3 more pixels of even 1280×800 tablets with two 1024 x 480 screens. AnTuTu however was very very low and the Sony Tablet P barely outscored single core phones from early last year.

Gaming

While this is still a full tablet experience with a browser, Android Market (Google Play Store) and many other things gaming is where this will shine. Well that and portability. Sadly the gaming aspects didn’t have me sold. It was fun to use, and playing split view with Battleship and Lazer Wars from the market was fun, it isn’t something I’d do often. The Sony Plastation certification and Sony apps are where it shines.

With Music and Video Unlimited, not to mention the Sony store with tons of optimized games that is mostly what this should and would be used for. At the same time many will just opt for the Sony PS Vita. The games you see in the screenshot below will become your best friend with this tablet, and many of them still don’t use both screens well but we do enjoy Playstation-like controls.

Camera

Sony has released some pretty impressive cameras in the past. With the new Xperia line having 8 megapixel cameras that work great we were surprised to see how terrible they were with the Tablet P. The 5 megapixel camera on the back takes decent photos as long as you have enough light. The shutter speed was extremely slow and required more attempts than we’d like. Video is capable of 720p but it wasn’t anything special. Playing video only used part of the top screen and the entire bottom had a terrible and over-sized UI to forward, pause, and play the video. Video playback is a key area this should excel — even with the bezel in the middle — but sadly it does not. Either way here is a sample from the mediocre camera with more in the gallery below.

Battery Life

The Tablet P comes with a 3,080 mAh battery under the hood. While that would be great for a smartphone, a tablet with two screens totaling 11″ I feel we need more. Many tablets like the recently reviewed Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 has a 5,100 mAh battery and lasts far longer than the Tablet P. We do have enough juice for about a single day of usage on 3G/4G from AT&T or on WiFi. Gaming takes the battery down faster but in general it lasted through a days use.

Wrap-Up

Sony has redesigned most of the core apps to work with the dual-screens. They have a few that launched in the market with full dual-screen support and work great too, but in general the experience is sub-par at best. They did a good job with what they could — like the browser but many apps just wont work right and give you a poorly put together and rough experience. Honeycomb needs to be tossed out and upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as soon as possible, and Sony needs more developers on board to not only support both screens, but at least one’s odd 1024 x 480 5.5-inch size.

I really wanted to love the Tablet P and I’ve enjoyed using it day to day and can really see it having potential for those needing portability. Sadly it has a little bit of a personality disorder and doesn’t know if it wants to be a 5.5″ phone, a tablet, or a gaming console and doesn’t do any of them well. The design is simple until you open it and start using it day to day, and the corners are sharp and hurt your hand after a mere matter of minutes.

If Sony could do this again with more developer support, the latest and greatest specs and OS, and cut down on the bezel this could be a real winner. For now it seems tossed together and a halfway finished experience. If you want an excellent and portable tablet with data access get the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, for gaming get the PS Vita, and for a true tablet experience try the Transformer Prime or the iPad.

Tim Cook immediately went into talking about the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor in all those Android tablets when talking about their own new A5X. After confirming the processor under the hood he revealed that the X stands for quad-core graphics. Graphics that are capable of around 4x the performance of the Tegra 3.

Apple A5 was already twice as fast, this is a graphics powerhouse”

The graph above makes the Tegra 3 seem tiny in comparison. If that turns out to be completely accurate the Android tablet and gaming market will have some catching up to do. We have a feeling we’ll be testing this very soon. His comments regarding the original A5 being twice as fast might not be completely true and when we compared the iPad 2 vs the quad-core Transformer Prime we didn’t find the same results. Hit the links below for our gaming and benchmark comparisons of the previous generation iPad.

Either way the iPad 2 was already fast, smooth, and extremely capable. Adding more power to the graphics side will only open things up more and offer more games with even better performance than before. iPad has grown up as a device from media consumption to a production machine! Who wants one? Get all of the news, details, and pricing from our Apple Hub!

Plastic – even if it’s micro-drilled and carefully polished – always runs the risk of feeling cheap; that’s not a criticism you can level at the One S. HTC has readied two versions, each study metal and creak-free, one black with so-called “Ceramic Metal” finish and another with a grey “Graded Anodization” finish.

The former One S finish is the more exciting, though not necessarily as eye catching. Both have an almost soft-touch feel, but the “Ceramic Metal” One S borrows manufacturing processes from satellite production for something that’s five times stronger than regular anodized metal. Called “Micro Arc Oxidation”, the unibody fame is effectively bathed in plasma and then electrocuted, resulting in a momentary temperature hotter than the sun that oxidizes the surface and leaves it incredibly scratch-resistant. Although you can mark it with a fingernail, HTC promises us the scratches are in fact our nails wearing down, not the surface of the phone being marred.

Overall, the One S feels long and narrow. It’s fronted by a 4.3-inch AMOLED running at qHD 960 x 540 resolution, with excellent viewing angles and the sort of rich colors we’re used to from OLED-based displays. As with the other phones, HTC has turned to optical lamination to bond the AMOLED panel to the fascia glass, leaving the picture looking as though it’s swimming on the surface of the phone itself.

Inside there’s a 1.5GHz dualcore Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM, HSPA+ connectivity – along with WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 – and MHL-HDMI via the microUSB port, though no NFC unlike the One X. HTC has also opted for a micro SIM, which slots in underneath the camera surround panel on the back of the handset, but you won’t find either a removable battery or a microSD card slot. Instead, the 1,620mAh power pack is fixed, as is the 32GB of internal storage.

On the back is an 8-megapixel camera, using a Backside-Illuminated (BSI) sensor and a new f2.0 lens for 44-percent more light than the typical f2.4 lens other smartphone cameras might make do with. HTC has also introduced its own image processing chip, the uninspiringly named HTC Image Chip, which applies color correction and generally processing to the RAW frames, rather than – as with most phone cameras – converting to JPEG and then processing.

HTC is particularly proud of its camera experience on the new range, and the effort put in shows. The camera app boost swiftly – HTC tells us 0.7 seconds – and autofocus lock is even faster, at 0.2 seconds. We’ve seen fast autofocus on the Galaxy Nexus, though the downside can be somewhat poor fixes in the process, something which in our limited play the One S looks to have avoided.

Useful are the dual controls which allow for both stills and video to be captured simultaneously, and the burst photo mode that, rather than demanding you dig through the settings to activate it, automatically triggers when you keep your finger on the button. You can preset it to take up to 99 frames, and as soon as you lift your finger you’re presented with a gallery of all the shots to choose between (though you seemingly can’t play them back as a stop-motion clip). Even the flash has been fettled, addressing one of our common complaints – that LED flashes often wash out the frame – by having it automatically choose between seven levels of brightness depending on the proximity of the subject.

HTC Sense 4.0 is present, the company refusing to grant us pure Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but the UI is less cartoon-like overall. HTC claims to have made a conscious effort to pare back anything that unnecessarily added lag, such as widget animations or screen transitions, and Sense now feels crisper and less faux-analog.

Openness to third-party ecosystems has apparently been HTC’s watchword with Sense 4.0, and so the preloaded apps play more readily with external services. The Music app has now become a hub, bringing in not only your own local music but FM reception and services like Spotify, TuneIn radio and others. New services can be added from within the hub itself, and the end result is less jumping between apps (though you can’t apparently create a single playlist from multiple sources). You still get HTC Watch – now with support for HTC’s new MediaLink HD wireless HDMI dongle – and access to the HTC marketplace of apps and HTCSense.com online.

Best of all, though, with this phone HTC seems to have delivered everything the company promised was in the pipeline: the One S is solid, feels premium in the hand and is almost completely up to date with top-tier hardware from rivals – the only blip really being the missing NFC. With availability expected within 60 days – and, HTC told us privately, with a target of early April in Europe, with a Spring release on T-Mobile USA – this could be one of the stand-out phones of Q2. We’ll save our full opinion for the full SlashGear review, but HTC is definitely off to a better start than last year.

[Video Processing]

This device’s display is a 4-inch WVGA while the projector, again, runs at 640 x 480 up against your wall. You can use this device to project on to your ceiling, your wall, a gigantic screen outside your house, and more. The device runs a 5 megapixel AF camera on the back so you can capture fine videos to project from the projector, and the battery is a 2000mAh so you can project for as long as possible. The lamp has an LED life of 20,000 hours (essentially permanent) and the battery life is set to be improved while the device goes through its final design iterations.

The Samsung Galaxy Beam has a Ebony Gray tactile feeling non-slip back with a yellow band around the entire unit for a “youthful feel” for the entire experience. The entire unit is relatively light, has the ability to catch your eye from afar (in more ways than one) and will be coming to the market inside 2012. The projection quality is amongst the nicest we’ve seen for a projector this size. Videos look fabulous, there’s absolutely no flicker or break in the projection in any way, and the idea of projecting as a real-world use case suddenly seems like a real possibility for everyday life.

Once you project you’re able to manually refocus your image, and accessories are in the works – such as stands, for example, so you can make full use of your new projector smartphone in the wild. A fun bit of information here on projecting, too – if you hold the device flat, it’ll project the image in landscape, while if you hold the device diagonally, the image is in portrait. Again the software is not final when we’re getting to see it here, and such items as automatic keystone fixing are not going to be available at launch, but such improvements will be available at the upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This device will be available in the second quarter of 2012 in Europe and no announcements have been made in regards to a USA launch.

Check out the rest of our Mobile World Congress 2012 coverage as well as all the hot Samsung action by heading to the [MWC 2012 portal] and the [Samsung portal] all this week!

This device comes with the ability to access the TegraZone, an application store in which the games for the most part only work with Tegra processors. The smartphone has advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP), Dolby sound, and digital living network alliance (DLNA) compatibility. Inside you’ve got 4GB of built-in storage, there’s a microSD card slot for 32GB more, and of course you’ve got HD video recording and playback. The back facing camera will be 5 megapixels, there’s two microphones for noise cancellation, and there’s a gyroscope for awesome gameplay abilities.

Michael Rayfield, General Manager of the Mobile business at NVIDIA notes the following:

“The ZTE Mimosa X is exciting for a few reasons. The Mimosa X marks the first time NVIDIA technology powers all the major processors in a single smartphone, and also the first time a premium mobile computing experience is coming to the mainstream smartphone market.” – Rayfield

We’ll be checking this device out as soon as possible, it and its lovely NVIDIA Icera 450 modem with the ability to support 21Mbps category 14 HSPA+ data. IceClear interference cancellation technology inside will allow faster throughput at the cell edge and advanced Release 7 features for supporting ultra-low latency network response. Know what all that means? It means you’ve got support for going ultra fast on whatever network you’re on. We’re looking very much forward to this device!

NVIDIA has come strong to the show with not only a massively impressive first release of their chip on the Transformer Prime, but with detailed descriptions of how their processors work and why we should be jumping for joy at them. As for how excited we should be for Tegra 3 on smartphones, well, just look at the rumors! Just this morning we had another note come through on the HTC Edge, a device that will almost certainly be coming to the MWC 2012 stage with a Tegra 3 processor under the hood.

And you can bet we’ll be there at Mobile World Congress 2012 to bring you all of the NVIDIA action as it drops, including but not limited to phones, tablets, and straight up Tegra 3. You can bet there’s also going to be some LG smartphone action here as well – check the image above to get an idea of what that LG device might look like. Also watch the MWC 2012 and Tegra portals for more up to the minute updates about the whole show! Meanwhile check the power –

This smartphone is both light and powerful, it rolling out with the most high-clocked dual-core processor on the market and a collection of applications right out of the box that will have your head spinning. There’s ESPN ScoreCenter for your sports needs, it connected to the NFL, the MLB, and NASCAR to name a few. You’ll notice that this and other apps are collected cleanly in the apps drawer which has a unique face, it being part of LG’s own custom user interface over Android.

While you’re watching the hands-on video for this device, please feel free to write down any and all questions you’ve got on its technology or its build. We’ll be giving this smartphone a full review by the end of the week, and we want you to have all the information you need on what’s going on here! Wouldn’t want to buy a phone unless you had the full story, yes? Have a peek at the sharpness for now!

I’ll start with the smaller sibling first — the Lenovo S2 5″ phone/tablet. With the 5″ Lenovo has equipped is with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a fancy burnt orange color. Currently only for China we can hopefully expect the 5″ to head to other markets soon. Hopefully we’ll see Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich come to the phone/tablet hybrid too.

Making sure to hit the sizes of most tablets they also have the 7″ and 10″ versions on the floor — although we are still tracking down the latter. The Lenovo S2 7″ tablet specs are slightly improved to a more reasonable 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 1280 x 800 resolution display. Powered by Android 3.2 Honeycomb we expect an Android 4.0 update to follow shortly.

The Snapdragon GameCommand app will contain over 100 games right out of the gate, and one game specifically will be shown off at the event next week: “Fight Game Heroes.” Qualcomm executives will be facing off against the UFC monster by the name of Alistair Overeem in a video game battle on the game just mentioned, this putting them both in a strange position where the winner will be the one with the swiftest face-smashing fingers on an Android device. Other games on the platform include such odd titles as “Bunny Maze 3D” and mini-game “Desert Winds.”

While we wait for the big names in future games to launch on this platform, we’ll be keeping our eyes to the grindstone for how well it all adds up agains the already popular Tegra Zone. Unlike the Tegra Zone, not all games launched on GameCommand will be restricted to the chip the manufacturer’s game zone is pushing – but some of them will be. Just like Tegra-restricted games, some games in this Snapdragon game arena will be restricted to Qualcomm chips, but only for a limited time.

Optimization is the key here, folks, and with more chip-makers promoting games by giving them awesome resources like this, we’re set for a fabulous 2012 in mobile gaming!

The benchmark from OpenGL we’re seeing here shows off the fact that this device is running a screen thats a massive 1920 x 1152, just like the Acer Iconia A700 Tab that also remains in the shadows as of yet. We can also see that this device currently runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb, but we must wager a guess that we’re starting to enter Ice Cream Sandwich territory as the first device with Android 4.0 in full final release mode has already been sent out to reviewers and is in users hands over in the UK. Note also here that the cores this benchmark is seeing has a minimum CPU freq of 102 MHz, this showing how low the device can go, as it were, as well as 1.4GHz (aka 1400 MHz), this tying in precisely with what we’ve heard from NVIDIA as to what their non-overlocked SoC will be working with out of the box.

We can expect this processor to stay the same throughout its lifespan as the Tegra 2 has, as NVIDIA has kept their clocks on the same dial from start to finish thus far on mobile devices – as evidenced by the start of the Tegra 2 in the LG Optimus 2X and the Motorola XOOM and its most recent house in the Samsung Captivate Glide: all dual-core 1GHz, the lot of them. This Lenovo tablet is also said to be coming with 2GB of RAM and of course will be a powerhouse in the making. Can’t wait!

[via Android Community]

Hardware

This device features a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, meaning it’ll be very very bright and has 480 x 800 pixel resolution. This crushes the mid-range competition for brightness and in most cases for resolution as well, but doesn’t quite match the Galaxy S II for either energy efficiency or, again, brightness. Thus is the difference between Super AMOLED and Super AMOLED Plus – though you won’t likely notice it unless you’ve got both phones in your hands at once.

This device has a relatively solid construction throughout, but when you do handle the phone often you’ll notice the slide-out action happening a little TOO readily, the power button’s placement on the side of the device making a strange bit of accidental flipping happening for your humble narrator more than once. Similarly there is a bit of a downfall on the back cover as it’s easily the thinnest piece of plastic Samsung has ever produced for a smartphone. Once it’s on though, you may well forget about how light it is. This device won’t win any awards for perfect toughness, let’s just say that.

The keyboard is OK, certainly not on the same level that HTC has gotten to with such hits as the recent T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide, but not quite as tightly knit and difficult to type with as the Motorola DROID 3. It lights up for nighttime typing, and as with all extendable keyboards, the whole unit becomes much easier to play racing games with – racing games such as the greatest racing game available for the mobile platform today, Asphault 6, and what do you know – there it is pre-installed!

Software

While the fact that this device does have a pretty decent display and a keyboard for those of you not quite ready to take the plunge with on-screen keyboards just yet, the real power lies in the fact that this handset employs the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor. While this processor may seem less powerful than some of its competitors as it is clocked in at 1GHz per CPU core, you’ll see the results in these benchmarks say otherwise.

The Tegra 2 processor also affords you access to an elite set of games otherwise not available to those without said processor. These games can be found in the NVIDIA Tegra Zone as seen both online and on device as well. This means you’ll be able to play Zen Pinball when its eventually released – yes!

As for the user interface, you’re using one of the newest versions of Samsung’s TouchWiz as introduced back when the Galaxy S II lineup was revealed for the USA. This is Samsung’s finest user interface over Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread yet, and your humble narrator has no complaints. Software is your usual set of Samsung and AT&T added applications as well as the Google standard fare including the Android Market, Gmail, and of course Maps.

Pro-tip: as with essentially all recent Samsung handsets, you can take a screenshot by holding down your home key and tapping your power key. Slick!

Camera

The camera is 8 megapixels powerful and capable of 720p video, and while it doesn’t have the massive amount of editing software built-in like HTC devices do, it does get the job done with some lovely results. Have a peek at a photo or two below and some 720p video as well, and mind the Target:

Battery

This device has a 1650 mAh sized battery inside and hasn’t lasted any less than 10 hours on a single charge for me thus far while using the device for email, web surfing, and playing the occasional game. Playing streaming videos fares not nearly so well at 4-6 hours, but you’ll likely be doing so with your MHL/HDMI converter cord (that you do have to buy separately) to output to your HDTV. That will have you charging at the same time as playing, so no worries!

Wrap-up

This device is surprisingly high quality. There were only two moments when I had my doubts, one of them being when I put the battery in for the first time since the back cover is so very very thin, and the other when I first started to hit the power button and realized I’d have to find a new way to hold the handset because the slide-out keyboard wasn’t held nearly as tight as it was on other recent keyboard phone models from other manufacturers. That said, once I got going, it all went well.

This certainly isn’t the Galaxy S II, but it’s pretty darn nice. Take a look at the brief comparisons in the videos above to other devices on AT&T right this moment, then see if you’ve got any other questions you’d like to ask and ask them in the comments below – we’ll be sure to answer!