Today in Berlin at the IFA consumer electronics show, Samsung confirmed that the next iteration of Google’s Android OS will be called Honeycomb. Rumors have swirled for some time that the 3.5 OS would be called Honeycomb, but now it’s much more official – though Google itself still hasn’t commented.
Huawei Ideos U8150
Chinese manufacturer Huawei have released a budget Android Froyo device called the IDEOS. The recommended price bracket ranges from £99 ($150) and £129 ($200) and according to the company, “is the world’s first affordable smartphone powered by Android 2.2″.
The IDEOS is actually quite nicely equipped, with a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen also boasting down-link speeds of more than 7.2Mb/s and offering 3G + Wi-Fi dual network support. Although I’m not sure how carriers are going to police this, the IDEOS can also function a Wi-Fi router for up to eight devices at a time. This device is alleged to be on display at IFA so we might veen be able to squeeze out some live photos for you if it is. The device will be released across Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America. No exact word on release dates yet.
Flash 10.1 on Motorola DROID
My Motorola DROID received a second Froyo update yesterday, this one being the FRG22D update that adds the ability to download the Adobe Flash 10.1 browser plug-in from the Android Market.
So if I got it, you guys should all get it pretty soon, too.
I installed Adobe Flash 10.1 and it seems to work decently, so far. I will have to play around with it more to see how it compares with the built-in one on the DROID 2.
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Our parent site MobileBurn.com is reporting live from IFA Berlin, where Samsung have released the Samsung Galaxy Tab. This device is a direct competitor to the iPad and follows on from Samsung’s success with the Galaxy S smartphone line. It offers the same 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor and according to our man on-site, Todd Haselton, it “felt very snappy as I flipped through the various home screen panels.”
The Tab sports a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution touchscreen TFT display. With its glossy back and rounded edges, it felt awesome in my hand, and it is sized somewhere between a smartphone and the iPad. I was actually able to palm the 380g (13.4oz) tablet, and its on-screen keyboard was a breeze to type on. The built-in web browser looks good on the large display and has Adobe Flash 10.1 support built-in, too.
Todd also noticed that the speakers on the Tab sounded really nice and could fill out the conference room he was sitting in. Furthermore, the device will come in 16GB and 32GB flavors along with a microSD card slot for adding another 32GB storage. We’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Tab to become available in Europe in mid-September but we have no word on pricing and carriers yet. For our hands-on video and picture gallery, see you after the jump. (more…)
In July, T-Mobile put up a teaser page about its newest Android smartphone, the G2. The G2 will be the wireless carrier’s first HSPA+ phone and is expected to sport a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Our friends over at TmoNews have posted what looks to be the official pricing sheet for the upcoming handset. From the looks of it, the G2 will run $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and $499.99 retail.
G2 Image
We recently posted pictures of the forthcoming T-Mobile G2, but we can now provide you with further information to get those hearts racing. Unfortunately, this might not be as exciting as you had hoped for. As the title suggests, the G2′s MSM7x30 chip will be clocked at 800MHz. If you are anything like us, you would have been hoping for a a 1Ghz processor.
The upside to this news is that the battery will probably last a lot longer and T-Mobile are still calling it “the fastest smartphone experience in America”. They are either lying through their teeth, ignorantly blissful, or in fact it is actually really fast. After all, cutting out the bloatware and providing and vanillia version of Android 2.2 may offer a lot in terms of a speed boost.
Moving on, thanks to TmoNews, we can expect the T-Mobile G2 to cost around $199.99 with a $50 mail in rebate on Even More plans. At full retail it will cost around $499. Other specifications include a 3.7 inch OLED display, 5 megapixel camera and HSPA+.
[Source: TmoNews]
Skype Mobile for Android still exclusive to Verizon
Skype has been going from strength to strength recently having recently filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. Although the Android version of this popular VoIP application is only available to Verizon customers in the USA, updates to the software are looking promising.
It is now possible to use Skype Mobile for Android with an active Wi-Fi connect, which was previously not allowed. All voice calls still make use of Verizon’s voice network as before, best we can tell, but at least you don’t have to turn off Wi-Fi to use the application.
[Editors note: This story originally stated that Skype was now capable of making calls over WiFi and 3G data networks, which is not true. All versions of the Skype client use Verizon's voice network for voice calls, it is just now possible for the app to work with WiFi enabled.]
Today Motorola announced two new Android smartphones, the MILESTONE 2 and the DEFY. The Motorola MILESTONE 2 smartphone, which is the non-U.S. version of the Motorola DROID 2 for Verizon Wireless, works on UMTS and GSM networks, but otherwise offers the same basic design and features, including a full QWERTY keyboard and WVGA touchscreen display. The MILESTONE 2 runs on Android 2.2 Froyo.
The Motorola DEFY is a ruggedized smartphone that features a 3.7-inch WVGA display and can withstand exposure to both dust and water. The phone offers MOTOBLUR social networking and messaging support, runs on Android 2.1, and include Adobe Flash Lite support, a 5 megapixel camera/camcorder, a music player, a 3.5mm jack, and IMAP/POP/Exchange and Gmail email support.
T-Mobile has announced that it will soon offer its first HSPA+ smartphone but we weren’t’ privy enough to see actual photos. Until now.
[via CellPhoneSignal]
In an email sent out to its existing users, SocialScope, a social networking aggregation system, hints that the company will soon offer its app to both Android and iPhone users. Currently SocialScope is available in beta form for RIM BlackBerry users.
SocialScope currently integrates Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and FourSquare into its BlackBerry client.
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