Archive for the ‘Android’ category

The Mobile World Congress is steaming up with hot and trendy phones from the eminent mobile manufacturers and the audiences are having a gala time exploring new handsets and their nifty features. While we are missing Nokia at the event, there are others creating waves with their superior technology and enhanced applications. Bringing some scoops of mobile news from Barcelona, here is HTC with their all new much anticipated superphone, the Desire.

From the makers of the Google Nexus One, the new Desire shares pretty similar specs to the Nexus apart from the new Sense UI. IT uses an optical track pad unlike the trackball in the nexus one and also bosts of a new “friend stream” feature which keeps social-networking updates in one list. For a recap of its specifications, the Desire carries a GHz Snapdragon processor, 3.7-inch multi-touch AMOLED (480 x 800 WVGA) screen with pinch-to-zoom capability, 512 megabyte ROM and 576 megabyte RAM, 5 Mpixel color camera with face detection, auto-focus, flash and geo-tagging functions, and the most importantly the Android 2.1 operating system. Other features include Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate connectivity, FM radio and Internal GPS antenna.

The handset will be available in Europe and Asia in early Q2 this year with no news for the U.S. market. Check out the phone in the video by Engadget.

Pictures of the upcoming HTC Incredible smartphone are wandering in the wild after the spy team at pocketnow managed to reveal them on their site. The new smarthphone from the eminent maker HTC, will be another model to ship with Android platform.

The Incredible will boast a Snapdragon processor inside, with an adequate 256MB of RAM and 512MB of flash storage, 3.5- to 3.7-inch AMOLED display, 5 megapixel camera at the rear with a dual LED flash, Bluetooth , WiFi connectivity , a microSD card slot and an optical mouse pointer towards the bottom . The device will run version 2.1 of Android, which is the same as on the Nexus One. The HTC Sense solution is also expected in the handset. The Incredible would be available on Verizon’s wireless network.

The model is very appealing and will help HTC boost its competition in the smartphone segment. While the other major details are still not officially released by the manufacturer, the phone is expected to unveil at the Mobile World Congress next month. Check out the video to have a closer look.

Motorola Zeppelin, isn’t a new name we have heard as few of its pictures had already been leaked on the web. But we thought looking at the market trends and existing super Smartphone Motorola will dust off its old style and bring something innovative for the consumers. But seems Moto is just not serious about getting back on its foot and making a mark in the smartphone industry as yet again it is just about to bring a rather not too great phone to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.

Not bad but neither impressive features, it boast of a touch-sensitive buttons below the display, a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2-inch 320×480 HVGA display, a built-in GPS sensor company’s MOTOBLUR interface and a 550 MHz processor. It is not known which Android build it will ship with, but it 2.0 or 2.1 are only the ones as an option.

We may not call it the highest-end phone on the block. As we see the handset doesn’t blow our mind away with its design that has a metal casing along with HTC type form factor. After Razr, the company hasn’t been able to create a stir in the market and this phone may line up as the next disaster spilling water over Motorola’s hopes of getting back its lost glory.

Japan’s largest mobile-phone company NTT DoCoMo Inc.  had released its first ever Android powered mobile phone HT-03A model in May an year ago. Marching ahead the company is now ready to release a new smartphone model, Xperia, as it aims to make a difference in the Smartphone market.

Xperia, created by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB will run Google Inc.’s Android operating system and is scheduled to reach the Japanese market by April. The basic features include a four-inch screen with a touch-panel display, 7.2Mbps down/2.0Mbps up, Wi-Fi connectivity, an 8.1-megapixel camera and will roll out in “Sensuous Black” and “Luster White” colors The model is said to be priced between 35,000 yen to 40,000 yen with some discount offers for a 2 year usage period by the customer.

The move is said to be Docomo’s attempt to attack its rival, SoftBank Mobile Corp., the company which sells Apple Inc.’s iPhone in Japan and is currently a major leader in the smartphone business in the country. DoCoMo already offers RIM Ltd.’s BlackBerry and mobile devices using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile software.

At an event that was held to promote the new model, company President Ryuji Yamada said, “ This is a model that we can call the nouvelle entertainment machine. With this handset, you can handle such data as music, pictures and movies as you like…I’m confident that Xperia is superior to iPhone in terms of both hardware and software.”

Image source:  ubergizmo

Google and China strife isn’t seeing any chances of coming to some settlement and now this news should not come as surprise to anybody. Google has decided to postpone the launch of its phone in China as its dispute with Beijing over Internet censorship and e-mailing reaches no conclusion.

An anonymous company spokesman said   “ It would not be a good experience for consumers to receive a phone right now with its applications.” However Marsha Wang, a spokeswoman for Google Inc., only stated that the planned Wednesday ceremony with local carrier China Unicom Ltd. was delayed for some time in future.

China has the world’s most-populous mobile phone market with more than 700 million accounts and increasingly affluent customers who are always ready to pay for the latest technology and services. For Google who has just stepped into the smartphone industry, the current situation may pose a serious threat to its business in the country. Also under adverse circumstances, Google search which has a potential market share at present, will loose on to world’s biggest Internet market by users.

So what will be the final effect? Android that was launched a year ago has already been adopted by China Mobile’s OPhone and Dell’s Mini 3. But will the open mobile OS hold on its place in the Chinese market? The story has real interesting twists and turns and the final result will be surprising and divisive.

Image source: csmonitor

Motorola, the largest cell phone manufacturer in the United States, has finally unveiled Motoroi, its first ever Android 2.0  powered smartphone in the South Korean market.

MOTOROI offers an array of user applications that will be powered by SK Telecom Co.  These include  effortless pinch-and-zoom browsing to cinematic navigation through music, videos and maps of the world. Motoroi features a full touch screen with a 3.7 inch, high-definition WVGA (480X854) display, 8 megapixel camera with Xenon flash that also functions as a 720p HD camcorder. The phone offers 8GB of storage and up to 32 GB of microSD support and allows 8 open browser windows at a time. The phone is said to have better specifications and higher resolution than Droid.

“MOTOROI is a smartphone without compromise, delivering a wiser, richer web and messaging experience with the most delightful touch-interface you have ever experienced, all made possible through the combination of Motorola’s expertise in design, a truly differentiated Android experience, and the power of SK Telecom’s network,” said Sanjay Jha, chief executive officer of Motorola Mobile Devices.

The phone is said to hit the stores across Korea by next month.  The penetration rate of the smartphone in Korea records only 1.2% of the total mobile phone market as of June 2009 and the telecom regulator KCC  is working to  expand its market expecting  the rate to reach 20 percent of total mobile users, or 4 million units of sales in 2013. Android  has well attracted the interest of almost every smartphone maker and Korea is just flowing with the new wave.

Image source: TheHindu

After Google Nexus One made its way into the smartphone industry, the rumors for the Nexus Two too started blooming in the mobile forums. As spies continue their hunt for the hidden models, here is a new smartphone that all are speculating to be the next Android powered Nexus Two by Motorola.

Motorola Shadow, that’s what the net is gossiping about and while no details are available from any side, all we have is a snapshot of the new Android superphone. Having some resemblance to the Motorola Droid, the phone features a slide out QWERTY keyboard and a large screen. It also has a wrist strap that I presume to be helpful for the forgetful people but for a future smartphone , its just little immature.

Well its just some news churned out from the rumor mill so none of us are really sure as to what this rendered image points to. But Andy Rubin, overseer of the Android platform, had hinted that the next Nexus smartphone, that will be an enterprise edition, might have a hardware keyboard. So whether it’s a Moto’s sequel to the Droid or it’s the Nexus Two, that is still a mystery and we got to wait to know the real stuff under the cover.

LG’s first android phone  GW620 could not create much waves in the smartphone market and made few hits and misses, but that could not stop the handset maker from taking another dive into the Android pool. LG is now ready with its second Android powered handset , the LG GT540 Swift , with an officially unveiling at CES 2010.

Available in various color ranges that include white, pink, dark gray, and black,  the phone is simple and yet nice with rounded edges and wavy ridges at the back. As for the front it features a 320 x 480 pixel resistive touchscreen and a 3-megapixel autofocus camera on the back. Other features include a 3.5mm jack, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth, a microSD card slot that can accommodate 32GB memory card and a host of handy applications. The phone focuses majorly on the social media and networking and may be an ideal choice for the first time smartphone buyers.

LG plans to launch the phone globally in April 2010 and most probably will be powered by the Android 2.0 according to few sources. As for the price,  the smartphone is expected to be pretty affordable.

While Acer and Dell had already stepped into the smartphone industry, how could Lenovo ignore the rising demand of the technology in today’s world? So after Skylight smartbook, IdeaPad S10-3t tablet, S10-3 netbook and IdeaPad U1 Hybrid laptop/tablet, Lenovo is finally making its entry with its first smartphone called LePhone, as it revealed at Lenovo CES press conference recently.

Aiming to make its debut in the Chinese market around May, the phone is pretty good package powered by Android 1.6 that includes vibrant 3.7-inch 800×480 capacitive touchscreen, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, an extra battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Also the 12 millimeters thick phone has cameras on both the sides with 3 megapixels for the main. There are no buttons on the front and the handset features gesture support. The price still remains under cover.

For a closer look check out the video here as Engadget folks get their hands on the new device:

Image source: engadget