Motorola Shadow: What We Know About It

Tag Archives: exclusives

Motorola Shadow: What We Know About It

by Stefan Etienne on 02. May, 2010 10:03AM in Android, Featured, Mobile, Motorola

After months of quiet (or just that everyone forgot about it) the Motorola Shadow is making an unusual comeback. After Motorola confirmed that they were working on a phone with Google, possibly the Nexus Two, the whole mobile world went blazes over the idea. So starting off with as much confirmation of the Motorola Shadow’s existence is its model number: MB810, which came from a Japanese site . Then comes a recent certified Wi-Fi filing found to contain that same model number (seen after the line break), which states that the Shadow can use 802.11 b/g/n signals. Then comes the rumored spec list:

Large 4.3″ capacitive screen
Android 2.1 or 2.2 Froyo (possibly to be unveiled at Google I/O next month)
An 8 megapixel camera with HD video recording
Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
Some other important stuff in the next paragraph…

Then of course, comes the exclusive shot (above) that I believe is the side profile shot of the Shadow (which also displays clearly the 8 MP sensor), 3.5mm audio jack, micro-USB, and HDMI-out port. Since Google employees did throw a party recently with Android at its center, it comes to the idea that they were celebrating Android 2.2′s completion, and the Shadow (or Nexus Two’s) upcoming unveiling. Hopefully though, this upcoming handset will be a super awesome phone.

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Nexus One “won’t be carried by Verizon”, says Verizon? (update: Wrong. Great.)

by Stefan Etienne on 23. Apr, 2010 4:11PM in Android, Exclusive, Google, Mobile, Verizon

Talk about confusion, or maybe strange PR emails. In my quest of finding out whether or not the Nexus One by Google and HTC will ever head to Verizon; with that “coming soon” option on the Google Phone Store sitting there forever, what I found might have some doubts of whether or not a PR contact that I have at Verizon Wireless is speaking the direct truth from their superiors, but here’s what came up in the reply field:

“Thank you for your question. Google’s Nexus One phone will not be carried by Verizon Wireless. You will have to contact Google directly for any information. It would be inappropriate for me to answer questions on a phone that Verizon Wireless won’t sell.”

This could simply mean that Verizon just won’t sell the Nexus One in its retail stores, and that Google, as previously rumored, would take care of that. But that extra line, “Google’s Nexus One phone will not be carried by Verizon Wireless,” is a little strange to me, and probably wrong (hopefully?). While I try to get more info on this, I’ll leave this to the Internets to discuss. And no troll flaming guys.

UPDATE: You could definitely say that VZW will support the Nexus One, but won’t sell it, and Google will. So that’s that, I guess (?). Now onto the usual programming…

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The Apple Store iPad Experience Hands-On! (Video)

by Stefan Etienne on 22. Apr, 2010 6:05PM in Apple, Featured, Hardware, Tablets

I’ll say it now and I can say it again. This is a first for LaptopMemo and me: hands-on video. While I’m sure I’ll get snickered at on Twitter by my tech journalist peers, at least I tried (and did a good job, if I do say so myself). Anyway, not everyone who produced their first hands-on videos were perfect either, were they? On to the point: future videos will be way better than this one, and there’s gonna be a lot of ‘em, so get ready! PS: My kid-voice voice will actually come out well next time, too.

In search of iPads we stumbled to an Apple Store. The scene would even make Steve Jobs shed tears, with people crying out “I love the iPad!”. While getting shuffled around and patiently waiting, I was able to have a go with a basic 16GB Wi-Fi iPad. I can tell you here and now I would buy one on the spot, except that they were sold out (talk about unexpected demand). But for your gadget-obsessed pleasure I’ve embedded the hands-on after the break for all of you, and of course there’s the awesome gallery below. As for thoughts on the iPad, I can very well say that I have very little against it. Heck, the only thing that wasn’t perfect was the virtual keyboard, which you wouldn’t give a moot about while playing awesome games or wasting time in Google Maps or YouTube (or LaptopMemo, which isn’t time wasted!).

iPad Apple Store Experience Hands-On

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Leaked HTC Desire official U.S.A launch round-up

by Stefan Etienne on 20. Mar, 2010 2:03PM in Android, AT&T, Exclusive, Featured, HTC, Mobile, T-Mobile

So today’s Saturday; the gadget world has come to a halt, the ninjas and tipsters asleep, and PR people (hello, Sarah!) are checking in and out of Foursquare. In one word, today is a boring news day. Slow Saturday if you will. But not for the HTC Desire, HTC’s fully-branded version of the Nexus One. The Desire packs in the same Snapdragon CPU, 512Mb of RAM, 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen with multitouch, Android 2.1, and the new and improved Sense UI. What’s not to love?

Here’s what: There’s doubt it’s coming to the U.S.A. Well, let’s bash that idea, shall we? Boy Genius got himself some pretty good intel regarding a US launch of the Desire (and the Legend, as the Hero2). Afterwards, there was speculation that AT&T’s version would come in a different color variation, then the Silver Desire appeared. But that’s only BG’s intel. Here’s mine:

A pretty good ninja seems to have the goods on a United States Of America HTC Desire launch. And it’s on T-Mobile. There’s also word that several store managers are now training on how to use the HTC Desire and promote it, as well as keep secrecy. Of course, you could just say, “Hey, maybe it’s just the HTC HD2!”. Wrong. An employee that spoke to a particular manager reported that the device “was large”, ran Android, and was the Desire. The manager also said it was “awesome”.

If it sounds like it, runs Android, and is in this post, it’s that the HTC Desire might be headed to T-Mobile in its original brown coating, while AT&T would get the silver. So the Desire would be featured on two carriers, while it’s Google-branded sibling, the Nexus One, would be on all four major US carriers. Now that was interesting, wasn’t it? Now let’s wait and see if this salt-drizzled rumor turns out to be a Desire in my pocket on either AT&T or T-Mobile networks.

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Dell Inspiron 15 (with Intel Core i5) First Impressions

by Stefan Etienne on 04. Feb, 2010 1:45PM in Dell, Featured, Laptops

Starting the day off here was a pretty slow start, but now with our first impressions on the new Arrandale chips on the Dell Inspiron 15, I think things are a little less boring now. So far, so good with the new Core i5 processor; closing and opening applications are a thing to marvel at, which is complemented by the 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 15.6-inch HD 720p screen, despite it creating some amounts of glare. It’s truly a step up for Dell. For its size it comes well equipped with an ATi 4330 graphics card and HDMI port. Keyboard is comfy, even with the added numpad. Expect the full review later this month, but in the meantime, feast your eyes on the above photo. Oh, and thanks to Dell for sending this thing in.

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MSi X600 Notebook Review

by Stefan Etienne on 23. Jan, 2010 10:23PM in Featured, Laptops, Reviews

MSi released the X600 as the larger cousin of the X340, a line of ultraportables that are slim, inexpensive, and look very good for their price range. To phrase it all up in a simple sentence, the X-Series line is a “poor man’s Macbook Air”. Although the price is much lower than its main competitors, the X600 has power and affordability that has yet to be matched by other ultra-sleek computers. That of course, does not mean everything is “happy go lucky”. Nevertheless, the X600 packs a serious punch.

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