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Sony Xperia S makes a visit to the FCC
Jan 27th
The Sony Xperia S has made the prerequisite visit to the FCC en route to release and had all sorts of connectivity in two. The handset’s quad-band GMS/EDGE radio was put through its paces on the 850/900/1900/2100 UMTS bands along with HSPA, RFID, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and GPS. We also can’t forget ANT+ connectivity for fitness tracking devices such as heart rate monitors. You’ll notice the broad swath of radio waves covered includes bands compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile though there are no plans for an official US release at this time. AT&T will get the very similar Xperia Ion. The government committee’s approval nonetheless is an important step towards the release of handset.
Sony Xperia S makes a visit to the FCC
Jan 27th
The Sony Xperia S has made the prerequisite visit to the FCC en route to release and had all sorts of connectivity in two. The handset’s quad-band GMS/EDGE radio was put through its paces on the 850/900/1900/2100 UMTS bands along with HSPA, RFID, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and GPS. We also can’t forget ANT+ connectivity for fitness tracking devices such as heart rate monitors. You’ll notice the broad swath of radio waves covered includes bands compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile though there are no plans for an official US release at this time. AT&T will get the very similar Xperia Ion. The government committee’s approval nonetheless is an important step towards the release of handset.
Shadowgun: The Leftover now available in Android Market
Jan 27th
Madfinger Games has just released an expansion pack to their hit game Shadowgun. The new update, dubbed The Leftover, picks right up where the original left off and adds four new levels in addition to a lot of other goodies.
Shadowgun was first released as a Tegra Zone exclusive, but was later released as a separate download that supported more devices. Confusingly, Madfinger games has only released the The Leftover update for the non-Tegra version while the THD version has yet to receive it.
Expansion pack details include:
- The story directly follows the events of original Shadowgun
- 4 new levels
- New enemy creature
- New gun
- New type of gaming interaction
- New collectibles
- New soundtrack
- Lot of new graphics, animations and cutscenes
I loved the original Shadowgun when I first reviewed it, but I complained it was too short and there was no replay value since the game lacked a multiplayer mode. It’s nice to see Madfinger games release this add-on and they already announced a free multiplayer mode that is coming soon called Deadzone. The multiplayer pack will be released as a separate download when it’s ready and best of all it will be free of charge.
If you don’t hear from me for the next couple hours, I’ll be gaming on my ASUS Transformer Prime as I try to complete this add-on pack.
Amazon Wireless Offering Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX for $200 to New Customers, $230 to Existing
Jan 27th
Amazon’s posted another great deal for another great Android phone. The all-day battery having DROID RAZR MAXX is normally $300 in Verizon stores but Verizon’s willing to let it go for just $200 if you’re a new customer signing a new two-year contract. Existing customers will naturally have to pay more, but even your discount is quite desirable compared to the MSRP.
You’ll be able to get it for just $230. The device boasts all of the same features from the original – dual-core processor, 4G, 1GB of RAM, 4.3 inch qHD display and more – but has a 3300 mAh battery that Verizon claims will get users 21 hours of talk time. Check it out here if you’re interested. [via AndroidGuys]
Amazon Wireless Offering Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX for $200 to New Customers, $230 to Existing
Jan 27th
Amazon’s posted another great deal for another great Android phone. The all-day battery having DROID RAZR MAXX is normally $300 in Verizon stores but Verizon’s willing to let it go for just $200 if you’re a new customer signing a new two-year contract. Existing customers will naturally have to pay more, but even your discount is quite desirable compared to the MSRP.
You’ll be able to get it for just $230. The device boasts all of the same features from the original – dual-core processor, 4G, 1GB of RAM, 4.3 inch qHD display and more – but has a 3300 mAh battery that Verizon claims will get users 21 hours of talk time. Check it out here if you’re interested. [via AndroidGuys]
RIM CEO talks about Android, needs a reality check
Jan 27th
RIM’s success has been declining since the iOS and Android operating systems started skyrocketing. Currently, Blackberry devices hold a dismal position in distribution charts, and Research in Motion is in desperate need of rescue. In an attempt to seek a newer approach, past co-CEO’s have gotten off their thrones, and allowed Thorsten Heins to take over the Canadian company. It seems like RIM will need a bit more than this man’s leadership to get out of that hole, though.
One of Thorsten’s first duties as CEO included sitting down for an interview with Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry. In the interview, RIM’s CEO goes into what he sees coming in RIM’s future. When asked about the possibility of BlackBerry building on Android, he responded the following:
Just take a look where the Android OEMs are. I leave this to you. Take a look at their recent announcements and what you will immediately see is there is just no room for differentiation because they are all the same.
What we choose is the harder way. I get it. Did we miss on some commitments? Yes, I admit that. That happens in high tech. This is not baking cookies. This is building high tech products. From time to time your aspirations and your development timelines hit some bumps in the road that were not foreseen. But I think going down that path is exactly right for BlackBerry and its customers.Thorsten HeinsRIM CEO
Needless to say that Thorsten is completely wrong. Android fans frequently brag about the amount of options the little green robot offers. Yes, most devices are black slabs, and usually have 4 buttons below the screen. There is no doubt that it is the most flexible when it comes to innovation, though.
We have seen a plethora of designs here. Dual-screen devices and even BlackBerry-esque ones are just the beginning of the list. Not to mention the fact that most manufacturers design their own UI overlays, and (whether we like it or not) it gives a different feeling to all Android smartphones.
We are not here just to point out that Heins’ opinion of Android is wrong, though. We all have our preferences. The issue here, with all due respect, is that this CEO seems to be a bit out of touch with reality.
It first hit me during his introduction video, where one of his first statements was that “if they continued doing well what they are doing, he sees no problem with RIM being among the top 3 players.” I believe the contrary – unless RIM makes some good changes soon, it will probably disappear off the face this little place we call Earth, relegated to the likes of Symbian. I am not the only one that says it, and certainly, the numbers don’t lie.
There are reasons why RIM has been considering licensing its services (with rumors of RIM probably licensing its software) to other operating systems. Undoubtedly, RIM has great services, especially for Businesses, but their hardware sales have been abysmally decreasing. We believe that these products have not been able to keep up with the evolution of the smartphone market in general.
I remember my first BlackBerry device, about 5 years ago – it looked almost identical to the latest and greatest BlackBerry phones. The software’s look and feel is unbelievably similar, as well. Then they released some designs like the Storm, followed by the Torch, with a closer resemblance to your typical black slab smartphones. Yet RIM CEO Thorsten Heins believes that Android-related products and services are “all the same.”
Don’t get me wrong. Competition is a good thing, and we want BlackBerry/RIM to come out of this hole. And we will have to wait and see what improvements RIM can make. We simply don’t know if Thorsten’s plans and views have what it takes to do this. Other operating systems are currently focusing on Enterprise solutions, as well.
In sum: You do need some changes, RIM, and you need them quick.
Rumor: Samsung Coming to Mobile World Congress With 2GHz Exynos 5250 Tablet
Jan 27th
While some are wondering what’s going on with a quad-core Exynos processor of some sort, most of us know that Samsung still has yet to push the boundaries of dual-core. Their Exynos chipset series is one of the most efficient, fast and capable chipsets around and the Exynos 5250 will take things a step further.
It’s an ARM Cortex-A15 chipset that will boast a 2GHz clock speed, all the while sucking even less power than some of their earlier chipsets. The chip has begun sampling, according to Samsung, and will hit mass production sometime in Q2’12.
This gives them a good timeline to put the chip into an early device and showcase it at a recent event. Taylor Wimberly from Android & Me says that recent device could be a new Galaxy Tab and that the show could be Mobile World Congress in a new rumor.
The device they’re looking to bring out is reportedly bigger than 10 inches. Yes, I know – it’s hard to imagine anything bigger than 10 inches to be considered wieldy enough for practical use. “Well what if the device is just 10.1 inches,” I asked myself. That’d be plausible if not for the belief that it will come with a WXQGA display (2560×1600), something that the Exynos 5250 will indeed support.
Wimberly reportedly saw a prototype device of the same cloth but was unable to take photos of it. We’re not sure if his rumor stems from that device alone but we can’t say excitement will drape all over us if it did.
Prototypes and development devices are usually specced well beyond what is usually necessary for consumer use. We do hope to see a device of some sort with the Exynos 5250 at MWC, though.
I can confirm that Samsung System LSI was indeed on-hand at CES showing off top secret prototypical Exynos devices, however I was not ultimately granted permission to take a look myself.
In my meeting with them they sounded like they had a product ready to show off in the very near future. We’re hoping this rumor holds true and we’ll be at Mobile World Congress to see whatever they’re willing to show.
Rumor: Samsung Coming to Mobile World Congress With 2GHz Exynos 5250 Tablet
Jan 27th
While some are wondering what’s going on with a quad-core Exynos processor of some sort, most of us know that Samsung still has yet to push the boundaries of dual-core. Their Exynos chipset series is one of the most efficient, fast and capable chipsets around and the Exynos 5250 will take things a step further.
It’s an ARM Cortex-A15 chipset that will boast a 2GHz clock speed, all the while sucking even less power than some of their earlier chipsets. The chip has begun sampling, according to Samsung, and will hit mass production sometime in Q2’12.
This gives them a good timeline to put the chip into an early device and showcase it at a recent event. Taylor Wimberly from Android & Me says that recent device could be a new Galaxy Tab and that the show could be Mobile World Congress in a new rumor.
The device they’re looking to bring out is reportedly bigger than 10 inches. Yes, I know – it’s hard to imagine anything bigger than 10 inches to be considered wieldy enough for practical use. “Well what if the device is just 10.1 inches,” I asked myself. That’d be plausible if not for the belief that it will come with a WXQGA display (2560×1600), something that the Exynos 5250 will indeed support.
Wimberly reportedly saw a prototype device of the same cloth but was unable to take photos of it. We’re not sure if his rumor stems from that device alone but we can’t say excitement will drape all over us if it did.
Prototypes and development devices are usually specced well beyond what is usually necessary for consumer use. We do hope to see a device of some sort with the Exynos 5250 at MWC, though.
I can confirm that Samsung System LSI was indeed on-hand at CES showing off top secret prototypical Exynos devices, however I was not ultimately granted permission to take a look myself.
In my meeting with them they sounded like they had a product ready to show off in the very near future. We’re hoping this rumor holds true and we’ll be at Mobile World Congress to see whatever they’re willing to show.
Rumor: Samsung to announce 2 GHz Galaxy Tab at Mobile World Congress
Jan 27th
Samsung might be holding their Galaxy S III from next month’s Mobile World Congress show, but that doesn’t mean this will be a quiet show for them. Thanks to a little digging around I did during CES and some other recent news, I now believe I know what Samsung will introduce in its place. Read on for the full rumor report.
The Rumor
Samsung will announce the next-generation of the Galaxy Tab at Mobile World Congress. It will feature a dual-core 2 GHz Exynos 5250 processor and feature a display larger than 10 inches with a WXQGA (2560×1600) resolution. The device will run the latest Android 4.0.x.
The Source
For once, I am the source of my own rumor report. I visited with Samsung System LSI during CES to discuss their upcoming Exynos processors and I saw one of their prototype tablets which was powered by Exynos 5250 and already running Android 4.0. I actually took pictures of the device (not really knowing what it was), but I was politely asked to delete them from my camera after the briefing was over.
One Android Insider’s take on the rumor
Last year at Mobile World Congress, Samsung unpacked the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab 10.1. Many of us were focused on the Galaxy S III for this year’s show, but Samsung is still weighing their options and it’s not likely to be announced. However, that leaves open the possibility of them showing the next-generation Galaxy Tab.
Samsung already announced their dual-core 2 GHz Exynos 5250 processor last November, which is their first mobile processor to feature ARM’s latest Cortex-A15 CPU core. The chip is built on Samsung’s new 32nm High-K Metal Gate (HK/MG) low-power process and it also includes ARM’s next GPU, the Mali-T604.
Many competitors are also working on Cortex-A15 parts, but they were not expected to be widely available in products until late 2012 or early 2013 (see TI’s OMAP5). However, Samsung has been sampling their A15 part for quite some time and they just announced it will go into mass production in Q2.
I can’t say for sure how Samsung was able to deliver their A15 part so far ahead of the competition, but it could be because they chose the more mature 32nm process while others are using a 28nm process that is rumored to be having yield issues.
For those of you just joining us, I suggest heading over to ARM’s site and reading up on Cortex-A15 and Mali-T604 if you want to know why this is such a big deal. Basically we should see twice the compute power, insane memory bandwidth(12.8 GB/s), 5x the graphics horsepower, and all day battery life.
Even though Samsung’s Exynos 5250 will not hit mass production till next quarter, they still have enough of the chips laying around to pop them into some demo devices and put them on display at Mobile World Congress. The fact that Samsung already has Android 4.0 up and running on the Exynos 5250 shows me how serious they are about being first to market with an A15 part.
I realize there’s a chance I could be wrong about this rumor, but if Samsung was showing off this next-generation tablet behind closed doors at CES, then it should definitely be ready for show time at MWC. Given the fact that the Galaxy S III will be absent, it makes perfect sense that this tablet will be the star of the show for Samsung.
Motorola Xyboard Wi-Fi Tablets rolling out today
Jan 27th
Folks looking to get their hands on the Wi-Fi Motorola Xyboard 8.2″ and 10.1″ tablets, the wait is over. Though the device has been up for preorder for a few weeks now, the follow up to the Xoom tablet is now shipping from Motorola’s website.
Starting today, customers who order the Xyboard will be treated to free two-day shipping on their orders. The pricing for the Wi-Fi models range from $399.99 for the 16 GB 8.2″ model to $599.99 for the 32GB 10.1″ model.
Highlights of the Motorola Xyboard include:
- Android 3.2 Honeycomb at launch
- 8.2- or 10.1-inch IPS display with Gorilla Glass
- 1.2 GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor
- 5 MP rear camera
- 1.3 MP front facing camera
- 1 GB RAM
- 16 GB or 32 GB internal storage
Frankly, unless you’re a big fan of the form factor of the Xyboard, we can’t see much of a justification for plopping down $400 to $600 on a tablet, especially when you’re putting these devices on shelves next to the Transformer Prime ($500 and $600, same as Xyboard) and upcoming 7″ Tegra 3 MeMO 370T at $250.
If you’ve still got your heart set on the Xyboard, you can head over to Motorola’s site to order your shiny new Android tablet. Anyone planning on picking one of these up? Which model?
