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LG have announced that they will be offering a Snapdragon-based Android smartphone in Q2 2010. The device - which will initially be available in the Korean market - has not yet been named, and LG are keeping full specifications close to their chest, but according to the company's VP of electronics, it will be a "more mature" device than the LG GW620 Eve which went on sale in Canada this week.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 may have been making the Android headlines this week, but it’s not the first smartphone running Google’s open-source OS to pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. That honor goes to the Acer Liquid A1 – though the company have apparently underclocked the CPU to 768MHz – set to be the first Snapdragon Android phone to reach consumers’ hands. Arne from the::unwired has been playing with the Liquid and has put together a “preview” review.
Sony Ericsson have finally come clean on their latest smartphone, and as expected it’s an Android flagship. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 – previously known as the Rachael and the X3 – is a Snapdragon-based touchscreen candybar, with a huge display, 8.1-megapixel camera and some “special sauce” in the shape of two homegrown applications – for communication aggregation and media aggregation – with a custom UI. SlashGear caught up with Sony Ericsson in London yesterday to take a look at the new smartphone, and find out why the company reckons this is the launch not only of the Android X10 but of a new “user experience platform”.
After the cut: live XPERIA X10 gallery and video
Nokia’s trouble breaking into the US market has become a cliché over the years, so it’s good to hear that the Finnish firm may be turning their fortunes around. According to a VentureBeat report, Nokia and AT&T are working together to launch a Symbian handset that will be based on a Qualcomm chipset; definitive specifications are unknown, as is launch date, but Nokia are reportedly being more accommodating of US carriers’ desire to customize individual devices.
Bargain hunters looking for a new ultraportable this Christmas could do well to hold off until the new year, as ASUS CEO Jerry Shen has announced the company plans to launch an Android-based Smartbook in Q1 2010 that could be priced at around $180. ASUS were among the companies demonstrating Smartbook prototypes – based on Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor – back in June, but since then have downplayed their involvement with the format.
Acer have pushed out their Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone range, and they’ve segmented the handsets into two different categories. The Acer beTouch line is intended for style-conscious, “trendy” users, while the Acer neoTouch line are more serious, high-end devices. Four models have been announced, the beTouch E100, E101 and E200, and the neoTouch S200 (aka the Acer F1).
Acer have officially announced their first Android smartphone, the Acer Liquid A1, and it’s also the first handset running the Android platform to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor. The Liquid has a WVGA touchscreen, HSPA connectivity and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, geo-tagging, ISO and a self-timer.
The speedy Qualcomm chipset also means the Liquid can support 3D graphics, and the phone will run Android 1.6.
Having seen its packaging making the rounds, it was only a matter of time until Qualcomm made their FLO TV Personal Television official. The palm-sized touchscreen mediaplayer has a 3.5-inch display and is 0.5-inches thick; FLO TV offers wireless live and time-shifted TV that up until now you’d have needed to have a compatible smartphone from Verizon or other carriers in order to view. Unfortunately, the monthly subscription fee those carriers levied is still in place: as well as the $249.99 of the FLO TV device itself, you’re looking at the equivalent of $8.99 or more for each month.
After weeks of rumor, HTC have confirmed the existence of their latest flagship Windows Phone, the HTC HD2 (aka the HTC Leo). As expected, the HD2 runs Windows Mobile 6.5 on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, with a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen and 5-megapixel autofocus camera; it’s also the first Windows Phone to support both multitouch and HTC Sense. Perhaps best of all, HTC CEO Peter Chou has confirmed that HTC will be offering a US 3G version of the HD2 in Q1 2010. SlashGear sat down with Chou earlier on today to get a preview of the HD2 and find out more about HTC’s focus moving forward.
Video hands-on with the HTC HD2 after the cut
Details are scant right now, but according to the early leaks HTC are already working on their first Qualcomm Snapdragon Android smartphone, believed to be called the HTC Dragon. The Android counterpart to the HTC HD2, the HTC Dragon is said to have an 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen along with the 1GHz processor.
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