Motorola Droid 3 Leaks again, 4.0″ screen and front facing camera

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Well this is some interesting news, and a odd way to find it also. Apparently we have some new information about the Motorola Droid 3 we told you about in March. This news comes from globaldirectparts.com and they sell OEM parts for mobile devices. They have screen replacements for all types of devices. Usually the device has been announced, or released before they have parts listed so that makes this a little odd.


According to Global Direct Parts, this is the Motorola Droid 3, and it will be coming with an upgraded 4.0″ screen and a front facing camera. It also has lost the lip and edge on the bottom of the device making it flush and much prettier. Looks like the pictures leaked in the link above were just prototype designs. That is if globaldirect is right with these pictures but there is no reason to doubt them for now.

What else is weird is they have it listed as the Motorola Droid 3, and the Motorola Targa both, we were under the impression they were different devices, and the Targa might be the redesigned Droid Bionic. Either way this is good news to see the Droid 3 getting closer to a release. The Motorola Droid has been very popular since it first launched and hopefully the Droid 3 will have an unlocked bootloader.

One good sign is according to the image above Motorola has finally decided to keep the capacitive buttons in the same order for once. Almost every device they have changed a little and it would be nice to have a universal design and them in the same place on all phones, but companies like to be “different”. Check out the source for full photo’s and even more information on the Droid 3.
[via GlobalDirectParts]

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Shazam App updated, Unlimited tagging free til next year

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I’m sure you have all been out to dinner, or getting drinks with the friends and a song comes on you wish you knew the name to. That is where Shazam comes in handy. You’ve probably all used it at one point or another. It is that fancy app that will discover music for you. Takes a few seconds to “listen” and then you get all the details you possibly would ever need. Now users get free tagging for the rest of the year basically. The free app has just been updated in the Android Market.


Instead of buying Shazam Encore for $4.99 you now get unlimited free tagging of music until January 1st 2012 on the free app thanks to none other than Ebay. They have a promotion going on with Shazam and we all get to reap the benefits. I’ll take it since I missed out on SoundHound Infinity free at Amazon a few weeks ago.

The new version 3.0 available in the market now also has the new Shazam Friends feature where you can share tags with friends, or on Facebook. A feature Android has been waiting to get. So what are you waiting for, next time you hear a commercial and wonder who sings that song be sure to break out Shazam and capture the moment.
Press Release:

Shazam Launches “Unlimited Tagging” Globally in Free App for Android
First of its Kind Sponsorship with eBay and Facebook® Integration with Shazam Friends makes Discovering and Sharing Music Effortless
London, UK – 28 April 2011 – Shazam®, the world’s leading mobile discovery company, today announced a major update to its Shazam App for Android which brings with it two exciting new features: unlimited tagging sponsored by eBay for all Shazamers using the Shazam Free App and “Shazam Friends”, a real-time feed within the App of songs that Facebook friends have tagged, creating a continuously updating list for Shazamers to discover and share new music with their friends.
This is the first exclusive App sponsorship deal agreed by eBay anywhere in the world, and the first time Shazam has selected a partner to provide free services to their customers.
Alex Musil, Executive Vice President of Product Marketing at Shazam said, “eBay is a brand people know and love, and we’re excited to announce them as our exclusive sponsor, bringing all Android Shazamers the benefit of unlimited music discovery.” Musil continued, “In addition, we’re pleased to offer Android Shazamers access to the Shazam Friends social feature, allowing them to share their music discoveries with their Facebook friends and family while discovering exciting new music and content themselves in a continuously updating feed.”
This update of the Shazam Free App – which usually comes with five tags per month – will enable new and existing users to receive free unlimited Shazaming until January 1, 2012.
Steve Yankovich, Vice President of eBay Mobile said, “Like eBay, Shazam connects consumers with the content, products and information they want. We are excited to sponsor Shazam’s Android App offering millions of consumers the chance to do even more of what they love, while expanding their ability to Shazam and share the music they’re most passionate about.”
Shazam Friends is easy to set up and, upon updating the App, a new “Friends” tab will appear. Once a Shazamer logs into their Facebook account and confirms they would like to connect and share with friends, they can:
* Browse all of their friends’ tags, watch music videos, read reviews, access biographies and get artist tour information
* See all recent tags from a particular friend in one list
* Add friends’ tags to their Shazam tag list
* Purchase the track
* Where available, use streaming services to play the song from their playlist
* Post tags to Facebook and Twitter, add comments, and give their friends a chance to comment
* Encourage friends to join them in using Shazam Friends
Shazam Friends is already available in both Shazam Free and Encore Apps on Apple’s iOS devices and now on Android devices. Shazamers can manage the sharing of their tags and decide to stop sharing at any time, while still being able to see their friends’ tags. For two friends to see each other’s tags, they both have to connect their Facebook accounts to Shazam.

 

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HTC Doubleshot Rom leaked, Gingerbread for the G2 leaked also

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It looks like overnight some good things happened for the Android and HTC hacking communities. We have what appears to be confirmation that there is a HTC Doubleshot coming to T-Mobile, as well as a leaked build of Gingerbread for the G2. Earlier we mentioned the G2 should have Gingerbread by summer, but things are looking like that might be coming sooner than later.


The guys from 911Sniper have what looks to be leaked builds of Android 2.3 Gingerbread for both devices, the HTC Doubleshot we still don’t know much about, and the G2 that we all know and love already. I am told both leaks are more for developers or cooks, and you should be able to make a nice Gingerbread ROM for the G2 and other HTC devices with these files. Feel free to open them up and look around if you’d like.

HTC DoubleShot
HTC G2 Gingerbread
According to some recent information and from what people are saying about this HTC DoubleShot leak, the Doubleshot is real, and coming to T-Mobile. There is no keys or buttons and it looks like it will possibly be a MyTouch4G Slide, coming with a full slide QWERTY Keyboard. This is not confirmed yet, but we will update you all on that as we hear it.

 

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HTC Droid Incredible 2 for $99 at Amazon

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Looks like Amazon is at it again, trying to 1-up the carriers and offer a lower price. This should be more than enough of a reason to order through Amazon. This is the Droid Incredible 2 for Verizon Wireless at Amazon.com now for the low price of $99. For more information and live shots check out our sister site SlashGears Hands-On, they mention it feeling great in the hands. This phone is up for sale starting today, April 28th.

It may not be a 4G LTE Device like the Samsung Droid Charge, but it is $100 cheaper for those that are on a budget but still want a great phone. HTC makes some of the best hardware out there.
Earlier in the week we told you about the original Incredible at Amazon for a penny. It looks like they were selling some stock to make room for the Incredible 2. Amazon has been known to do this in the past to get buyers, obviously this low price is with a new 2-year contract of course. Take note the Incredible 2 at Amazon is listed as back-ordered but was scheduled to be released today, so they should start shipping any day now. Will you be getting one? Or are you holding out for a 4G LTE Phone?
 

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HTC Rider, and Kingdom pictures leaked

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Well what do we have here, these could be really fun to see. Next generation devices from HTC possibly? Or they might be the European version of upcoming phones like the EVO 3D or the HTC Sensation. We aren’t sure as they look pretty familiar. See for yourself below.

The first photo above is being called the HTC Rider, it looks to be very similar to already released phones like the Thunderbolt with a 4.3″ screen and front facing camera, only it is red. We don’t have much to go on here but thought you’d all like to see it anyways. The HTC logo is covered by something and we don’t see the Verizon branding in the top right either. Maybe it will say T-Mobile there instead, Just saying!
Next we have the HTC Kingdom below, and just like its brother or sister above it also looks like a possible twin of current phones on the market with that strikingly similar speaker grill and front camera as well. I will mention that just as our source said the Kingdom looks to be a little thinner than the other phones out. It still looks 4.3″ but seems thinner and taller like the Droid X rather than the EVO. Interesting indeed. Hopefully we will be finding out some more information on these soon. We will be sure to keep you all posted.

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Motorola Xoom Camera Connection Kit now available at Verizon

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It looks like Motorola has now introduced a Camera Connection Kit for the Motorola Xoom. I know this may be as of use to some of you out there, but for me I just transfer with Dropbox or over USB from my computer. This is basically a cable that will let you easily, and conveniently transfer pictures from your camera right to the Motorola Xoom.

For me personally, I don’t think I’d spend the $20 on this cable being how easy it is for me to transfer things like photo’s to the Xoom, but those that transfer large amounts of photos and often, this may be extremely useful. It is available now according to sources, but only through Verizon.
So if this is something you’d like, or need then feel free to call your Verizon Wireless customer service or stop by a store today and get your own. They should be able to get one to you right away, or shipped at least. You might need the following SKU - MOTMZ600ADPKIT or just tell them you want the Motorola Xoom Camera Kit. In case you haven’t heard we are expecting a OTA update for the Xoom today, and we are still giving some away for FREE.
[via Phandroid]
 

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Samsung Epic Android 2.3 Gingerbread build leaked

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Looks like the amazing developers from XDA have done it again, as always they bring us the latest and greatest for our android phones. This is a leaked build of Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread for the Samsung Epic. It comes pre-rooted for your convenience and is brought to us by ACS the Android Creative Syndicate Team. This is an official leaked build, but it still has some bugs to iron out, but as always we bring it to you as we see it. You can flash this if you’d like.

You could just do what many of us around Android do, and flash CyanogenMod7 for the Epic instead. That would be my first choice, but an official build is nice as well and I would be fine with that. ACS mention that there is still bugs to fix, and there is currently no EXT4 support in this rom, they tried but didn’t get it working in time. I’m sure that will come soon enough.
As with anything this involved, make sure you are careful and know what you are doing. If you are looking to flash this I’m assuming you already know the risks of flashing leaked builds, but as always make sure to use caution and be sure to back up or nandroid before you continue. I like to always have backups of everything. For all the information check out the source link below, and make sure to read post 2 for all the bugs and issues still currently listed.

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LG Optimus Big launches in Korea, we want some in the U.S.

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You may or may not remember this device named the LG Big, but we sure do. It looks like a great phone, we mentioned it back in March and it looked good then, and even better now it is launching. With that 4.3″ NOVA IPS Display, 16GB built-in storage and all those other specs we have grown to love on our Android phones, this surely looks nice.

We aren’t sure what processor it will have. We have heard the usual 1 Ghz, but are still unsure if that is single or dual-core, but hopefully it is the latter of the two. LG has been touting their display technology and claims this NOVA Display we also saw in the Optimus Black is some quality stuff. Taking on Samsung and their SAMOLED Display. LG promises better colors, deeper blacks, and better battery life, oh and that it is way brighter at the same time.
This is all good news for LG, that has been hitting Android hard as of late. With phones like the G2x just launching, and the LG Revolution coming to Verizon. LG looks to be getting excited with all this, and I can’t wait to see what else they bring our way.
 

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Mossberg Said iPad 2 is better than LG G-Slate.

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The gadget godfather over at the Wall Street Journal is Walter Mossberg. This is a geek of a different color than us normal folks and one review good or bad from Mossberg can make or break a new product on the market. More than one bad review from Mossberg has heralded the demise of the dreams of sales glory for a manufacturer.

Mossberg has laid his hands on the LG G-Slate tablet that we have talked about before. The G-Slate sells for about $750 with no data contract. He noted in the review that the tablet performs pretty well overall. However, the real killer comment for LG was this one, “The G-Slate isn’t as good a tablet as the iPad 2. I’d only recommend it for people who want the higher cellular speeds, or who prefer Android.”
If you don’t care what Mossberg thinks you can get the tablet right now. It’s got nice hardware with a dual-core Tegra processor and Android 3.0 as the OS. The screen is an 8.9-inch unit that is multi-touch compatible and it will show 3D content if you wear glasses. The tablet is Google certified as well and has a 2MP front camera and a 5MP rear camera.
 

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