Motorola BACKFLIP Coming In Q1, With CLIQ & Droid Getting Android 2.1

January 6, 2010 9:44 PM ⋅

The Motorola BACKFLIP is official, with a first quarter release coming soon, but no pricing yet if you’re interested. Complete with Motorola’s MOTOBLUR UI running on Android 2.1, the BACKFLIP has a backwards-facing, outward-facing keyboard, a touchpad on the back of screen that even is API accessible, and a 5 megapixel camera. The BACKFLIP is headed to several carriers around the world, but in the US it’ll be AT&T. Here are some juicy details for current Motorola Android owners:

  • ALL Android-based Motorola handsets will get Android 2.1
  • Flash 10.1 is in the works for the Motorola Droid
  • The motorola Droid will get a second maintence update in the future

That’s it for Motorola’s CES folks! Enjoy the new site for the BACKFLIP, and the PR is after the jump. [Via Motorola]

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Posted in: Android, Breaking, Mobile, Motorola ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Sony Dash Internet Viewer: A Tablet With a 1,000 Apps

January 6, 2010 8:26 PM ⋅

If you can’t get an Apple Tablet, you get a Sony Dash!?? Well, that’s what Sony calls it, the Dash Internet Viewer is the full name, and it has access to over a 1,000 Chumby Apps, with Sony stating that they will add Sony Pictures and Sony Music for access to movie trailers, music videos, and so on. It has a 7-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi access, and can be propped up like a digital photo frame, or carried around like a tablet. It’s $199 and stands at different angles so it can be very flexible while in you hands. The Sony Dash will ship in April 2010. Press release after the jump.

[Via Sony]

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Posted in: Sony, Tablets ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Samsung’s New Sliding e-Readers: The E6 & E10

January 6, 2010 8:01 PM ⋅

Samsung’s first e-readers have a one-of-a-kind feature. A “precision stylus pen” that recognizes handwriting and allows you to take notes, just like you would with a normal book. Furthermore, there’s no backlit display, meaning that just like a book, you’d have to be in a brighter area to read your “book”. The above shot is for the E6, and the E10 is merely a 10-inch version of the 6-inch version E6. Google will be providing you books via the Google Books service, but the only main disappointments is not having 3G, meaning that you will be at the mercy of a 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connection  (a real disappointment). Otherwise you have a soft QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, and a price tag of $399 for the E6 and $699 for the E10 (ouch). The release date isn’t solid, but according to Samsung it’s “early 2010″, whatever that means. Press release after the break.

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Posted in: Breaking, E-Books, Samsung ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Nexus One Gets a Teardown, Reveals 802.11n Wi-Fi and FM Transmitter

January 6, 2010 4:52 PM ⋅

Who knew? Even though up there I have a banner explaining the Nexus One, I didn’t know about this myself! iFixit (as usual) has teardowned the poor Nexus One to pieces and made 2 interesting discoveries. One, according to the Google spec page, the N1 has a 802.11n Wi-Fi transmitter, even though HTC only lists it as 802.11b/g. Two, there’s an FM transmitter as well. Other things of interest found is a Samsung-branded OLED display, Qualcomm QSD8250 “Snapdragon” 1 GHz ARM processor, Synaptics touchscreen controller. Then there’s the Broadcom chip labeled Broadcom BCM4329EKUBG, which is what provides Wi-Fi to the Nexus One. Hit the source link for the full teardown.

[Via iFixit]

Posted in: Android, Breaking, Google, HTC ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Google Serving Nexus One Ad on Their Homepage

January 6, 2010 2:24 PM ⋅

It only makes sense, right? This is probably better than any advertising campaign.

[Google]

Posted in: Android, Google ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

AT&T Releasing 2 webOS Phones This Year

January 6, 2010 2:17 PM ⋅

AT&T’s CEO Ralph de la Vega says that AT&T will not only be releasing Android phones, but webOS ones too! Whoaaa. Maybe a better Palm Pre and Palm Pixi? Only CES brings the best tech stories, doesn’t it?

[Via Giz]

Posted in: Breaking, Mobile, Palm ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

AT&T Joins the Android Race, Will Release 3 Handsets

January 6, 2010 2:07 PM ⋅

AT&T has finally decided that Android is a great way to make more money off of you and me, so they have decided that they would relrease 3 different Android handsets this year. They are (in speculation):

  • A Motorola handset using MOTOBLUR, very possibly the Motorola Enzo/Backflip/Motus
  • The Dell Mini 3i, which was confirmed by Dell today at CES
  • An unknown HTC smartphone, exclusively for AT&T

Besides those three, there are phones like the Nexus One or Motorola Calgary, which is another strong contender.

Posted in: Android, Breaking, Dell, Google, HTC, Motorola ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Google’s Nexus One: The Videos

January 5, 2010 3:41 PM ⋅

With the launch of the Google Nexus One complete, we know have a hold of all the videos, which are the next best thing besides owning the phone, no? The videos cover a variety of subjects, from a complete overview to the voice-to-text feature. Check them out after the jump. [TechCrunch]

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Posted in: Android, Google, Mobile, News ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , ,

Explained: Google’s Nexus One is Official, Web Meets Phone

January 5, 2010 2:38 PM ⋅

It’s Official and Specs

Google’s Nexus One is official, and who didn’t think it would be? Sporting a 3.7 AMOLED display, Snapdragon processor, Android 2.1, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, light and proximity sensors, GPS, Wi-Fi, accelerometer, 3.5mm audio jack, dual microphones for noise canceling, and you can get custom engraving on the metal bezel back.  The Nexus One is the official gPhone everyone has dreamed of for so long. According to Google it’s thinner than a #2 pencil and lighter than a Swiss Army knife. Also, don’t call it a smartphone, because according to Google it’s a “superphone”. Interesting. I wonder if that will take off.

Customization

Customization is something that Google seems very passionate about. The News & Weather widget allows you to grab feeds of you guessed it — news and weather. The live wallpapers that react to touch is another nice touch, courtesy of the Snapdragon chip. And did I mention Google Earth is finally on Android handsets? It’s about time. Oh, just a minute — apps are now finally stored on the SD card. Yessss.

Pricing & Availbility

As for pricing: The Google Nexus One will be $189.99 on T-Mobile and $529.99 unsubsidized, with a Verizon Nexus One coming soon to the States and Vodafone carrying it in Europe.  Both models would come in Spring 2010, with the Verizon model being CMDA based. As for US customers who are interested in getting a Nexus One right now, there’s the $529 option and the $189 option, and you can get it at google.com/phone. One note for subscribers who are interested in getting the Nexus One with AT&T: it will only work on EDGE bands. Sorry, suckers guys.

Full press release and video after the break.

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Posted in: Android, Breaking, Google, HTC, Mobile ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Apple acquires Mobile Advertising Company Quattro Wireless

January 5, 2010 12:15 PM ⋅

Apple has turned the switch and has eaten up Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising company. While we don’t know how much Apple paid to gobble up Quattro, but $275 million is the popular number right now — the company’s CEO Andy Miller has been elevated to the new VP of Mobile Advertising position at Apple.

In a news post at the Quattro site, Andy says that “for now” their products won’t change. Of course the words “for now” means something will change later, but I wonder what? Hopefully in the long run, devs will just have an easier time making apps for the App Store

[Via Yahoo!]

Posted in: Apple ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , ,