Sony debuts Android tablets; HTC steps things up

With IFA kicking off this week, you can bet there’s tons of toys in store for Android lovers. This week brought news of new Sony and HTC Android tablets, each making their mark in this red-hot market. Sony Ericsson also revealed the Xperia Arc S smartphone, while Samsung unmasked a new lineup of Galaxy handsets geared towards the masses. Here are this week’s most notable Android devices.

Sony S and P tablets

Sony’s in it for the long haul, focusing its Android devices on quality over quantity. That’s been the case with its Xperia PLAY smartphone for gamers, and the same principle holds true for its debut tablets. The S and P are Sony’s first Android tablets, the P with a clamshell case. The S runs android Honeycomb (3.1 or 3.2), comes with a 9.4-inch IPS display and a Tegra 2 processor, along with Sony TruBlack and Bravia technologies. It supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 4G, and comes in 16GB and 32GB sizes, with a full-size SD memory card reader. With a clear focus on its own technology, there’s cross-device connectivity for controlling Bravia TVs and the PlayStation 3.
The P tablet comes with the same hardware in a dual-screen clamshell design, sporting two 5-inch 1024x480 displays. The screens can work independently or together, so you could use one as a keyboard, or use both for reading e-books. The tablets are set to hit European stores at the end of September, with shipments in the States slotted around the same time. The S & P are priced at $499 and $599 for their respective sizes.

HTC Jetstream

AT&T is scoring big with all the new Android tablets hitting the market, which includes the new HTC Jetstream. The 10-inch device is HTC’s latest Android tablet, hot on the heels of the 7-inch Flyer. Featuring a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, the Jetstream has two cameras including an 8-megapixel shooter with dual LED flash in the rear, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. HTC’s tablet is also LTE compatible, making it AT&T’s only non-modem LTE device. With a launch date for September 4th, AT&T may have a hard time selling the Jetstream in volume, as it’s priced high at $699 with a 2-year contract. With the new tiered pricing for data users, tablets are becoming pricey little gadgets.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S

Sony Ericsson further expands its Xperia line with the newly unveiled Xperia Arc S. The manufacturer was short on details, but we do know it will be powered by a 1.4GHz processor, and will come with Sony’s Reality display, run on the company’s mobile Bravia engine. That indicates a high quality media device, reiterating Sony’s desire to attract a certain demographic (namely existing fans) around its smartphone efforts. The Xperia Arc S will also be able to shoot panoramic photos with its Exmor R image sensor, and images can even be converted to 3D (and subsequently viewed on 3D Bravia TVs). All in all, this is a minor update to the original Xperia Arc, with a bit of extra power. Expect the Xperia Arc S to hit stores in October.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung’s looking to stay on top of the Android market, despite its recent indications that it’s shifting some efforts towards its own mobile OS, Bada. A new family of Samsung Galaxy devices was launched this week, spanning the Galaxy W, Galaxy M Pro, Galaxy Y and Galaxy Y Pro. Like automobile connotations, this new naming system indicates where in the ranking each device stands, with Galaxy S devices marking flagship products, R (Royal) for premium models, W (Wonder) for mid-range, and M and Y (Magical and Young) for lower end devices. Pro devices are those that come with QWERTY keyboards.

The Galaxy W has a 3.7-inch touchscreen with 800x480 resolution, a 5-megapixel camera, and runs on a single-core 1.4GHz processor. The Galaxy Y has an even smaller screen at three inches, with 320x240 pixel resolution, a 2-megapixel camera and an 832MHz processor. The Galaxy M and Y Pro devices are the business-driven BlackBerry competitors, sporting a 1GHz processor and a 5-megapixel camera. All four devices run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The release date and carrier information has yet to be confirmed.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 vanishes from sight

Here we go again.
The general consensus is that the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 has been one of the stars of the IFA technology show in Berlin this year, with Samsung continuing to be the biggest Android hitter in town.
But if you actually want to see one, you've missed your chance, as Samsung has removed the Galaxy Tab 7.7 – and all mention of its existence – as a result of... you guessed it, Sammy's ongoing legal spat with Apple.

To be fair to Apple, Samsung says it has removed the tablet from the public eye voluntarily, but it won't have taken such drastic action unless it was pretty sure it was a choice between jumping or being pushed.
Apple is engaged in a multi-frontiered legal battle with Samsung over claims that the Korean tech firm's Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablets infringe on Apple copyrights on a number of levels. So far the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been the device Apple has taken most offence to, but now it seems to be after its newly announced little brother too, despite it being significantly smaller than the iPad.

“Samsung has removed the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from our stand at IFA,” a Samsung Europe spokesperson is quoted as saying. “We cannot make any further comment as we have not received an official statement from the court.”
It's not clear what the end game is here, though Samsung will know that Apple wouldn't be pushing the issue so hard unless it saw its rival as a major threat.
But we can't help but thinking Apple is losing sight of the fact that some degree of similarity is unavoidable in rival devices simply because of the nature of the devices themselves. It's like a car maker suing one of its rivals for producing a vehicle with four wheels. Of course it has four wheels. It's a car.

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Best Buy anticipating iPhone 5 for Sprint, preorders starting next month

Thanks to a leaked document from a Best Buy source, we have discovered that Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores are anticipating taking preorders for the iPhone 5 starting in the first week of October. What’s a tad bit more interesting, however, is the mention (and further anticipation) that Sprint will be carrying the iPhone 5 at launch. Best Buy makes sure to note that Apple product introduction and launch dates are subject to change, but a preorder date changing is pretty different from a new carrier getting a phone for the first time.
UPDATE: Our source clarified that it’s actually possible presales will be starting this week with the phone arriving in the first week of October, not preorders starting in October.
Thanks, Tee!

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Apple wins German injunction against Samsung, Galaxy Tab 7.7 pulled from IFA

Apple's ongoing patent battle with Samsung has taken yet another twist, now that Cupertino has won an injunction blocking German sales of the recently unveiled Galaxy Tab 7.7. According to FOSS Patents, Samsung pulled its new Android tablet from both the IFA show floor and its German website on Saturday, in compliance with a Friday decision handed down by the same Düsseldorf Regional Court court that banned sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 last month. The 7.7-inch model had previously been on display with a sticker that read "Not for sale in Germany," but, as we noticed yesterday, all demo models, posters and other promotional materials have since been removed. Samsung spokesman James Chung told Bloomberg that the new injunction "severely limits consumer choice in Germany," but confirmed that the Korean manufacturer "respects the court's decision," and vowed to do everything it could to defend its intellectual property. Details on the ruling remain hazy and Apple has yet to comment, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear more.

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HTC Titan vs HTC Radar

Two Windows Phone 7 Mango powered HTC devices go head to head with the HTC Titan facing off against the HTC Radar
We see how HTC's two new bloods stand up to each other in a Windows Phone 7 Mango stand-off.
Form:

HTC Titan - 131.5x70.7x9.9 mm, 160g
HTC Radar - 120.5x61.5x10.9mm,137g
In the main, HTC has a habit of producing handsets which are not offensive to the eye but at the same time unlikely to grab you by the lapels and demand your attention.
It’s almost as if the majority of HTC’s phones are made with a cookie cutter template, being more or less the same shape each time.
Ultimately these are both HTC’s standard bold rectangular shape with the now almost signature slightly rounded corners.
Each is pretty thin and light, but while the Radar comes in either bright white or silver and features tonal soft-touch panels, the Titan settles for a much more tasteful carbon grey and a minimalist treatment to the exterior.
Each phone has been given a high level of build quality, both being made with an aluminium unibody, they’re pretty solid when stacked up against much of the competition.
Compared to the Radar the Titan, as its name implies, is a good deal bigger and more imposing, and it’s also the heavier of the two as a result.
We prefer the aesthetics of the Titan even if it’s the slightly more cumbersome model in terms of size and weight it’s more svelte in overall design and allows for a larger screen to boot.
Winner – HTC Titan


Display:
Speaking of those screens, the Titan’s larger expanse of metalwork means it can cram in an impressively scaled 4.7-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen made by Sony, no less.
The resolution is a little disappointing, however, at a mere 480 x 800 pixels and 198 pixels-per-inch (ppi), in truth we were hoping for something a little meatier.
The Radar offers the same resolution and S-LCD screen as its cousin but on a smaller size display at 3.8-inches giving a higher pixel density of 245ppi.
Both devices feature scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass alongside accelerometer and gyro sensors and multi-touch input.
It may have a smaller screen but the much higher pixel density of the Radar at the same resolution as its opponent means it will deliver better image quality time and again.
Winner – HTC Radar

Storage:
The Titan has a storage capacity befitting its stature with 16GB of space at your disposal. An accompanying 512MB of RAM is certainly enough to tackle most smartphone tasks.
The Radar has the same amount of RAM and half the internal storage at 8GB.
Sadly neither handset features a card slot.
A higher capacity on the Titan secures it an easy victory this round.
Winner – HTC Titan

Processor:
Both phones run on single core Qualcomm Scorpion processor on the Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset and each is accompanied by an Adreno 205 graphics processing unit (GPU).
The Radar has the lower spec of the two at an even 1GHz while the Titan is, as always, the heavy hitter being clocked at 1.5GHz.
The ever reliable Qualcomm tech means there’s plenty of zippy performance here whichever one you choose but the extra half gig clock speed on the Titan closes the deal in its favour.
Winner – HTC Titan

Operating System:
As we mentioned at the start, these phones are each new additions to HTC’s range of Windows Phone 7 powered handsets and both are on the most recent build dubbed Mango.
Mango aims to rectify most of the (quite reasonable) complaints many users had of the system when it launched and in fairness it does a sterling job with its 500+ feature updates, changes and additions.
On the surface the user interface remains much the same with its distinctive Live Tiles, but look closer and you’ll see the tiles have been improved to display more detail than ever before.
Microsoft has added support to allow developers to utilise this feature, meaning for example that a diary app might show full clock and calendar information within the tile rather than a more simplified reminder.
Integration is certainly a watchword with Mango, social networking has been thoroughly blended into the very fibres of the system so not only do you have native Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn apps but access to these features from within many other parts of the phone’s interface and native app screens.
The ‘People’ hub is also a key enhancement to this area and it allows you to see continuous threaded conversations with your contacts across all social networking, instant messaging, email and text platforms.
Mango goes as far as ensuring you know when someone is online in any given medium, so  you won’t waste time and money on a text when a free Facebook poke would suffice.
Not only is this useful for individual contacts but the People hub lets you create groups of priority contacts, going into a group will show an aggregated collection of all their Tweets, Facebook updates and messages across multiple media.
You can also use this feature to simultaneously send messages across all channels rather than going into each individual app.
A few other handy features include the ability to combine or segregate your inboxes, you’ve essentially got complete organisational control of your email and best of all you can pin both basic and custom inboxes to the start menu to make things as easy as possible.
Also of note, Mango will check any invitations you receive via email against your calendar and if there’s a conflict in your schedule it’ll post a warning right into the email text.
With both phones running the same system there’s nothing to compare between them but certainly we feel Mango is a very intuitive, fluid and usable system.
Winner - Draw

Camera:
HTC’s lower spec Radar runs a 5-megapixel primary camera at 2560х1920 pixels resolution, which is up against the Titan’s 8-megapixels at 3264x2448.
Both are capable of video capture at 720p and support video calling. The features list for each is identical with autofocus, LED flash and geo-tagging.
The Radar has a VGA secondary shooter while the Titan sports one at 1.3-megapixels.
Decent setups all round but the Titan has been souped-up with a better primary at a higher resolution. The higher quality images it can capture win this round.
Winner – HTC Titan

Final Thoughts:
A landslide victory for the Titan, though perhaps to be expected being the more premium model.
Aside from the distinctly lacklustre screen it outperforms the Radar in most categories with more storage space, processing power and a snappier camera.
Add to that a better looking exterior and a wonderfully slick operating system and you get a clear winner.

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Verizon Labor Day Sales include XOOM, ThunderBolt, Galaxy Tab, Continuum

There’s a big handful of devices on sale this weekend up until Labor Day including more than a couple of our old favorites on the Android front. All of these sales are online exclusives and each of them requires a 2-year activation, but beyond that you’re in the sweet, sweet discount world. First there’s the HTC ThunderBolt which is now $149.99 – this is the only LTE-capable smartphone on the whole list, and buying it here will mean it’s pre-owned. Then there’s the Motorola XOOM for $299.99 – note that this is a pre-owned model you’ll be getting – this is the only LTE-capable tablet on the list. There’s a couple of LTE mobile modems on sale too but I’ll let you check those out for yourself since they’re not Android-based.

Next there’s the LG Cosmos Touch and the Samsung Continuum, the latter of the two being one that we’ve reviewed with glee when it was released, both of these devices being free here with a 2-year contract. There’s the Casio G’zOne Commando, an ultra-rugged device set for being tossed around and dunked in water for $99.99. If you’re aiming for a smaller tablet, there’s always the first Samsung Android on the market, the Original Samsung Galaxy Tab (pre-owned) for just $69.99. Cheep!
Then there’s the awesome Motorola DROID 2 Global, quite similar to the original DROID 2 but here in Global form meaning you can pretty much use it anywhere on earth supposing you’ve got the right SIM cards, and it’s in white, which of course means its awesome.
There’s a few more deals going on right this moment at Verizon you might want to know about, these not necessarily having just to do with Labor Day: Motorola Droid 3 and Motorola Droid X2 both on Buy One Get One deals, and Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY for $99 (half-off). There’s the LG Revolution, another LTE-capable Android device on sale for $199.99, that being about $50 off its normal price.

Deals!
Check them all out over at Verizon Wireless online store – lookin good!

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Goes Missing from IFA

Samsung in a surprise move has removed the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and all traces from the showroom floor at IFA 2011. The device is no longer visible and they’ve covered everything regarding the Tab 7.7 in the building. Details are scant but this appears to be further fall-out from the ongoing and irritating legal battle between the company and Apple.

Our man Chris Davies from SlashGear is live at the event in Berlin, and after digging around for a few answers (and snapping some photos) he found a spokesman that had this to say,

Samsung has removed the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from our stand at IFA,” Samsung Europe spokesperson Brendon Gore told SlashGear. “We cannot make any further comment as we have not received an official statement from the court.”

The spokesman Gore also commented that the decision to remove the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from the showroom floor was made voluntarily, and not at the court’s request although the statement above sounded like Samsung has heard from the court, but has yet to receive an official statement. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 was announced just Thursday, and with plenty of excitement so a move like this so quick is a bit odd.

Back in August, Apple was successful in getting an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, stopping all sales from continuing and most likely these two event are related. I don’t know about you guys, but the Galaxy Tab 7.7 looks nothing like the iPad in my opinion.
It sounds like Samsung and Apple’s lawyers are already hard at work this weekend but we’ve yet to hear any further details. As soon as we get an official statement or more information we will be sure to update everyone on this situation.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy Tab 7.7

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier :

Announced Date : September 01, 2011

Release Date : January 01, 1970

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 7.70 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 7.74 Inch
• Width : 5.24 Inch
• Depth : 0.31 Inch
• Weight : 335 Grams

Battery & Power

• Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 5100 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

• Android OS:
• 3.2.x

• Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3
• WMA

• Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)
• WMV

Hardware

CPU :

CPU Clock Speed : 1400 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1024 MB

Internal Storage : 65.536 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution :3 MP

• External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

• Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

• Network Technology:
• GSM

• GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

• Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

• Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

• Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

[via SlashGear]

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Google’s Schmidt: Motorola buy is about ‘more than just patents’

Google Executive Chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt on Thursday reiterated that the company’s proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility is about more than just patents. When Google announced the deal, CEO Larry Page said in a statement, ”Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.” He also noted, however, that Motorola’s extensive patent portfolio would greatly assist Google and its Android partners in defending Android against patent complaints from the likes of Apple and Microsoft. Read on for more.
Several experts have since weighed in on the acquisition, and many believe Motorola’s portfolio of 25,000 issued and pending patents will do less to protect Android than initially believed. One patent expert went so far as to call the deal “an immense mistake.” On stage at the Salesforce.com Dreamforce conference, Schmidt made certain to communicate that the benefits of the Motorola buy extend beyond patents. “We did it for more than just patents. We actually believe that the Motorola team has some amazing products coming,” Schmidt told Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on stage at the conference. “We’re excited to have the product line, to use the Motorola brand, the product architecture, the engineers. These guys invested the RAZR. We know them well because they’re Google Apps users.” He continued, “[We enjoy] having at least one area where we can do integrated hardware and software.”
Schmidt continued, noting that the current U.S. patent system has created a hostile environment that is in serious need of an overhaul. His only idea for a proposed solution, however — to crowd-source patent applications and let the general public comment on possible prior art — is not legal under the current system.
Read

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Amazon Kindle Android Tablet Hands-On Revealed

It appears that Amazon’s future plans for a brand new line of Android tablets is very real and that tech journalist MG Siegler has gotten his hands on one this week. This device is a 7-inch tablet whose form factor is not unlike the BlackBerry PlayBook according to Siegler, and yes, indeed, it is running Android [SORT OF]. What Siegler is saying he’s acting on is strict orders to not reveal anything TOO telling about the future of Amazon’s tablets, but he’s sure got a whole heck of a lot of information from a source that doesn’t appear to want to give too much of the surprise away. No photos, no video, only the word of the man himself. Let’s talk about it.

First of all, this is not an E Ink device, instead being back-lit, full color, and capacitive in its full touchscreen abilities. This device appears to have 2-finger touchscreen capability, and the 7-inch form factor appears to be the only tablet they’ve got any plans to release at the moment, and they’re currently aiming at the end of November for a full release. The version Siegler saw was a Design Verification Testing unit and is therefor not a final build by most means, but the hardware appears to be set, while the software needs tweaks before release.

Apparently it’s confirmed that this Amazon Kindle was originally one of two, the smaller of the two with the 10-inch version still somewhere in the works should the 7-inch version prove to be a hit. This 10-inch tablet would then be released in Q1 if all goes to plan, costing some sort of amount more than the release cost of the 7-inch Amazon Kindle which will be, unbelievably, $250 USD.
Remember though, that the Barnes & Noble Nook Color also currently costs right around that price, and both this and that tablet have a 7-inch display. Also in a similar fashion to how the Nook Color is running Android but you’d never know it because of its totally different user interface, the Amazon Kindle has its own version of Android – as Siegler says, it looks nothing like the Android you’re used to seeing. The interface is very brand-specific to Kindle and Amazon, it being covered with black, dark blue, and lots of orange, and the main screen is set up sort of like the carousel you’ve got on your everyday average Android, but looks much closer to Cover Flow in iTunes.
This spinning set of options includes all the content you have on the device including books, apps, movies, and more. Right below this set of moveable icons you’ll see a dock where you can pin your favorite items for later use. This dock only appears in portrait mode, disappearing when you hold the device in landscape mode. Above the dock (below the carousel?) is a status bar which shows time, battery, and other items including notifications. The very top bar here shows “YOUR NAME’s Kindle” and shows the number of notifications you’ve got in bright orange text.
There are no physical buttons anywhere on the device, save for a single power button on the bottom when you hold it in portrait mode, a single tap of the screen bringing up your navigation menu from whens you can get back home or go to several other places as well. Amazon’s content store, for example. You can read books with a Kindle app, and you can play music with Amazon’s Cloud Player. To play movies, you’ll be using Amazon’s Instant Video Player. Amazon’s Android Appstore is the place you’ll be downloading apps, and there is no Android Market out of the box.
From what we’re to understand from Ziegler’s report, this device’s software is build on a very basic version of Android prior to version 2.2 FroYo. How this will play out with apps created in the meantime that require higher versions of Android to function we cannot be sure at the moment. This device will not be updated in the same fashion that other Android tablets are updated, that meaning you wont get “the Honeycomb update” if you know what I mean, all updates coming from Amazon and being either invisible or working to improve the Amazon user interface.
Beyond the fact that Amazon has used an early version of Android to build their new user interface on, Google’s influence is nonexistent. While most manufacturer’s work directly with Google to get their devices approved so that they can have access to the Android Market, Amazon has opted to do whatever they want since they’ve got their OWN Android Appstore. There’s a web browser that appears to be very similar to the current Android (WebKit) app, but with tabs, and Google search still appears to be the web standard while there’s an entirely separate Kindle search tool on the device to search through your local content. Pulse may be included in the final build as a standard app, and a simple game like Angry Birds will more than likely be included as well.
Another bit of the plan is to push for people to subscribe to Amazon Prime, this given away for free with the purchase of an Amazon Kindle tablet. What Amazon Prime does is offer you free unlimited two-day shipping on products purchased at Amazon.com with no minimum purchase price to get said perk. Another piece of the Amazon Prime pie is Amazon’s Instant Video service, and it’ll almost be a certainty that other perks will come along with the launch of the tablet as well. Currently Amazon Prime costs $79 a year.
This device appears to have only a single-core processor, though the 10-inch version will likely have a dual-core chip. Inside there appears to be 6 GB of storage, with emphasis placed on the cloud services Amazon uses for all sorts of different media. Mentions appear to have been made about an SD or microSD card slot for memory expansion, but the unit being looked at here did not appear to have any way to access it (if it exists.) The first version of this tablet will be Wi-fi only, with a possible 3G version coming afterward. The back of the device is rubbery for grip, there are speakers on the top of the device (when held in portrait mode) and there’s a microUSB port for power (and perhaps data transfer). And there are no cameras.
In addition to this tablet, Siegler has been told by his source that Amazon is working on a multi-touch E Ink hybrid tablet device, but that it’s not coming any time soon. This Amazon Kindle will be a real contender from what we’ve heard here, and it’ll likely be out by the end of 2011, right on time for the Western holiday season.
[via TechCrunch]

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