Barnes and Noble Nook Color 2 in the works

It appears that the booksellers Barnes & Noble have another Android tablet in the works, this next generation Nook Color 2 (or whatever it may be called) appearing to be set to be released as early as this month, so says Digitimes in Taiwan. It is in Taiwan that manufacturers are said to be speaking about a brand new version of what we know as a quite decent eReader and undeniably hackable Android tablet. Details on the next eBook reader are at the moment still sparse, but we’re to understand that this new device will have the same 7-inch display size as the current generation, companies TPK Holdings and Inventec responsible for touch panels and the device’s assembly process respectively.

One of the new unique features we’re seeing as a possibility for this next tab is a possible E Ink partnership with the company providing e-paper backplates for the Nook Color 2, this meaning the tablet may have one of the first color E Ink displays on the mass market. Take a look at Chris Davies hands-on with a new color E Ink tablet over at IFA 2011 and let us know if you think this is what the Nook Color 2 could be looking at:



[via Digitimes]

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Verizon to offer free NFL Mobile Premium Access to 4G LTE Customers

The lockout is over and now Verizon has yet again teamed up with the NFL to provide exclusive NFL content to their subscribers. With the Verizon NFL Mobile App users will have access to all things Football. Teasing us all with the Droid Bionic on the flyer the NFL and Verizon has announced that they will be giving 4G LTE customers the premium app service for free.

I almost want to switch to Verizon for the NFL Mobile App alone. With this new deal 4G LTE customers will get the NFL Premium subscription absolutely for free. 3G and regular users pay $10 a month for the same service so this is a pretty stellar deal. With NFL Premium you get to watch every ESPN Monday Night, NBC Sunday Night & NFLN Thursday Night Football games. Basically you have all the games one would ever need.
Even better is you’ll get access to NFL RedZone where they show every single scoring play from every game across the league. Again head over to the Android Market and download the official NFL Mobile App, and now you have just one more reason why you should buy the Bionic.
[via Verizon]

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Motorola DROID Bionic Rooted Before We Can Even Get an Official Release Date

MyDroidWorld have already found a method to root the DROID Bionic. It looks like it’s the same method being used on most new high-end Motorola phones. Their source loaned them the “tools” (and by tools I certainly do mean the DROID Bionic) to get the job done and the result was obviously satisfactory. Now we just need the device, Verizon. [via Droid-Life]

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Philips unveils new Fidelio docks for Android that are full of rock

Philips has shown off three new docking stations in the Fidelio family and all three of these are made specifically for the Android devices out there. The docking station line includes the AS111, AS351, and the AS851. The Android units are based on the same speaker systems as the range made for the iPhone and promises superior sound. The key to allowing the docking stations to work with all Android devices is a special micro USB connector on the dock.

The connector can be adjusted for portrait and landscape modes allowing any tablet or Android phone to be plugged in. Philips also has a dedicated Fidelio app for Android devices that pairs the smartphone with the docking station using Bluetooth. The app has some interesting features like the ability to let you find new artists, new music styles using music and media stores, and it can play your media library along with media from the web.
The AS851 is the high-end offering with 30W RMS of output power and special bass pipes to provide deeper bass. The A351 is made for use at home and the go with options for AC power or battery power. It has bass boost technology and 10W RMS total power. The last model is the AS111, which is a compact dock. It has a 360-degree design made to sit on a table and offers omni-directional sound.
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Samsung has no plans to bring Galaxy Tab 7.7 or Galaxy Note to the US

If you watched the hands on videos we posted up yesterday about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Note and though you would like to get one of those new tablets for yourself, we have some bad news. Apparently, those tablets will not be coming to the US. That means if you want one in the States you will need to import or go without.

The confirmation that the tablets would not be coming to the US came by way of a company statement that said there are “no plans” to launch either tablet in the US. Perhaps that could change if a carrier shows interest in either device. That doesn’t seem likely to happen though with all the other tablet offerings already available unless these two can be offered at a low price.
Davies speculated yesterday that the Tab 7.7 would still come to the US lacking its voice service capability. That doesn’t seem likely at this point. With Samsung saying it has no plans for the US it has likely shopped the tablet around and found no carrier interest at this time.
[via MobileBurn]

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Imo instant messaging app for Android gets update

The geeks behind the multi-chat service app imo have announced a new update for the app that is now available to download. The update adds some interesting new features to the app. If you aren’t familiar with imo for Android the app allows you to take all those IM apps that you use to chat with people and combines them into one place. The app supports Skype, GTalk, MSN, ICQ/AIM, Yahoo, Jabber, Vk.com, Hyves, Myspace, Facebook, Google Talk, and Jabber.

The new update brings some interesting features with a new easier to use UI. The chat history is now viewable and searchable from inside the app. You can also have chat groups set up. The chat groups will work with people on different devices included from the web, Android phones, the iPad, and Blackberry devices.
The group chats also allow for photo sharing and a bunch of bugs are fixed as well in this update. The update landed yesterday and is up for download right now. The current versions is 2.2.7 and you need a device running Android 1.6 or higher.

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New Verizon Leaked MAP Outs HTC Rhyme – Coming Sept 29th

Another leaked Verizon MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) made it’s way online, this time outing the mysterious ADR6330 as the HTC Rhyme. The model number of the Rhyme puts it smack in between the HTC Merge (ADR6325) and the Droid Incredible 2 (ADR6350). What device could this be? Well, the name alone hints at something “musical” (no, I’m not talking about A Day to Remember) hinting at a possible mid-range “Beats by Dre” device.
Oh- and it looks like the Motorola Xoom LTE capable version will be in stores the same day as the Droid Bionic (Sept. 8th). This can pretty much be seen as nothing less than a five-finger slap in the face to current Xoom owners who will likely still be waiting for their 4G LTE upgrades from Motorola.
[Via DroidLife]

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New Leaked Image and Specs For the 4.7-inch HTC Runnymede 2

HTC seems to be taking to heart the phrase “bigger is better” and it’s no better exemplified than in their upcoming 4.7-inch HTC Runnymede 2. Wait- 2? When was the first one released? In any case, we’ve recently posted some of the supposed specs but it seems now we’ve finally got it down in print, complete with a render of the device. Everything on this spec list screams “premium device” except for the dreaded single-core processor. I know, it’s dual-core or bust for a lot of you. So why the “lesser” processor? Well, maybe it has something to do with the bundling of that huge Beats Solo headset with the device. Have to cut costs somewhere.
This device will most likely turn out to be the Android version of the recently announced Windows Phone 7 HTC Titan. The camera on this behemoth is also said to be right up there with the Mytouch 4G Slide (and HTC Holiday Raider). Anyone a smidgen interested in this device?
[Via AndroidGuys]

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AT&T offers customers 1,000 free rollover minutes

AT&T sent text messages to its customers on Thursday offering 1,000 free rollover minutes. The message specifically said: “There’s no cost or obligation to you. It’s our way of saying thank you. To have your minutes added, reply “YES,” by 9/7/2011.” We received the SMS on an iPhone in the office and confirmed that we did indeed receive 1,000 free rollover minutes. An AT&T spokesperson did not immediately responded to a request for further details on why AT&T issued the offer.

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