HTC Inspire Receives Aggressive AT&T 4G Pricing, Red Model

HTC  Inspire 4G:  4G handsets, such as the HTC Inspire 4G, can basically be considered as having arrived in two different groups. There were those which were the first 4G smartphones to arrive in the mobile marketplace 5 to 10 months ago, and then there was this second tier of 4G phones with more powerful processors, usually better resolution displays, and other advanced features that have been rolling out the last couple of months. You can consider these first-generation and second-generation 4G handsets.

Sprint was the first wireless service provider to become extremely aggressive with their first generation 4G smartphones, pricing many of those first generation handsets anywhere from one penny to $19.99 with a two-year activation. It didn’t take Verizon long to do the same thing with those first-generation 4G phones to enter their LTE mobile broadband network. AT&T is decidedly a much bigger player than all the other United States mobile broadband service providers other than those two, and recently followed suit.

The HTC Inspire 4G is the latest phone to benefit from AT&T’s aggressive first-generation 4G handset pricing structure. The HTC Inspire 4G Android smartphone was recently dropped in price to $19.99 with a two-year activation at certain AT&T authorized retailers, and a new red model was also released at the same retail price. As cell phone manufacturers strive to differentiate themselves from the competition, with so many phones offering basically the same feature set, HTC has added a unique red backing and side plate proprietary to their Inspire 4G handset. The HTC Evo 3-D 4G phone and HTC  Evo 4G recently debuted white phone options as well.

Aftermarket slip on covers and skins are available in many colors, however, ill fitting and sometimes damaging to the handset, by HTC providing a unique red color for the Inspire and white colors for the Evo 3-D and Evo 4G handsets, there is simply one more option for the Android smartphone shopper. The HTC Inspire 4G Android smartphone has a 4.3 inch S-LCD capacitive touch screen with 480 x 800 pixel resolution, and the 4G standard light and proximity sensors with multitouch gesture support.  Buy the HTC Inspire 4G starting at only $19.99.

The Inspire 4G also has a rear facing eight megapixel camera which records in 720P high definition, and provides dual LED flash, autofocus, and geo-tagging features. A single core 1.0 GHz Snapdragon processor and 768 MB of RAM memory are on board, and out of the box, the HTC Inspire 4G ships with Android’s 2.2 Froyo operating system, but a free over the air upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3 was recently released.

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Angry Birds has been downloaded over 350 million times

Talk about money in the bank. In an interview with Venture Beat, Andrew Stalbow, Rovio’s General Manager revealed that the popular bird-flying, productivity-wasting, and highly entertaining game Angry Birds had been downloaded over 350 million times.

In addition to being downloaded 350 million times, Stalbow also revealed that every day, over 300 million minutes are spent playing the game. Mobile isn’t the only place where Angry Birds is getting millions of numbers. Its Youtube videos have been viewed over 170 million times!

The goal of the company now is to expand Angry Birds from a game to a multimedia franchise. In the future, you will be seeing more Angry Birds-themed things, such as Movies, products, games, and more.
Stalbow, a former Fox Entertainment executive joined Rovio to fulfill the company’s plan to expand into a multimedia franchise. The company currently has 50 employees in Finland. In its last round funding, the company raised $42.
In their upcoming round of funding, the company could be valued at $1.2 billion.
Source: Venture Beat

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Google Wallet likely launching today

First there was the leak from Radioshack suggesting a September 1st launch. The 1st came and went and so we continued to wait patiently. This past weekend, Google aired an ad for Google Wallet featuring George Costanza. We knew then that an official launch couldn’t be far off. We didn’t however realize just how soon that could be until now. A document has been making the rounds to Google Wallet launch partners, stating that today is the day. Coinciding with the NFC World Congress, also kicking off today, certainly makes sense. While Google isn’t listed as part of the event, their main partner MasterCard is the official sponsor, so all signs point to an unveiling some time today at the NFC event in Sophia Antipolis.
Document screenshot after the break

[via TechCrunch]

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich Confirmed by NI for October

It’s difficult to take the folks at Notion Ink seriously after all we’ve heard from them, confirmations that turned out flat, a device whose insides certainly did not end up pretty, and stories of them leaving their customers in the dark the moment their device was shipped and the money was in the bank. Oh the other hand, they haven’t disappeared completely quite yet, and Rohan Shravan, their face, has a bit to say about Ice Cream Sandwich that may end up being dipped in truth sauce when it comes down to it. The key sentence: “Official (“update button”) Ice Cream Sandwich update in November after Google’s launch in late Oct”. Did Shravan just leak the launch date of the next Android treat?

Shravan may have done one of two things here. First, he could have some sort of insider knowledge of the future and he could be speaking with Google reps on the phone daily. This is a whole heck of a lot less likely than the second possibility: Shravan is able to use the internet and frequents sites like Android Community where he read the headline Ice Cream Sandwich coming October of November says Eric Schmidt. He’s also probably following news on the Nexus Prime like every other Android fan on the planet and happened across the story that noted in addition to its possible 1.5 Ghz dual-core processor, it’d have an October release alongside Ice Cream Sandwich.

Shravan does have a few more ideas though perhaps based in well-read near-reality. The first of these is that, as he says, “if you go by the industry signals, OMAP is the preferred platform for the next wave of devices.” He adds that OMAP will also “see ICS” before Tegra. This is certainly not the first time we’ve heard that Google would team with Texas Instruments for OMAP4, and since NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual-core processor was the hero for Google’s Honeycomb release (see: Motorola XOOM), we can assume that Google will be giving another group a chance at glory this time around. Fair is fair!

What do you think – should Notion Ink’s people be trusted? They DID give us the heads up on Gingerbread basically before anyone else in the world, after all. Perhaps we’re good to go for late October! Now the question is – or remains – will you wait for the Nexus Prime, or will you hit up either the DROID BIONIC or the Samsung Galaxy S II?
[via NotionInk]
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Rumors about Samsung Galaxy SIII circulate as specs are leaked

While the world is still regaining from the trance that the Samsung Galaxy SII has put it in, rumors about the next phone from the mobile phone giant in the same Galaxy series have surfaced. Unsurprisingly, the phone is to be called Galaxy SIII and is to be more than just a significant improvement over the current, popular SII. There is no working model of the device anywhere in the world except perhaps in the Samsung labs but some information and pictures and a few details have definitely been leaked.
The details of the phone have allegedly been sourced from Samsung representatives but irrespective of the source, they are impressive. That would be an understatement, they are mind-blowing. The Galaxy SIII will feature a quad core processor clocked at 2.0GHz, which if considered in the present, is more powerful than several computer CPUs.
In addition, it will have 1.5GB of RAM and a whopping 32GB of in-built hard disk space. The most impressive feature of the phone, hardware wise will be the screen. Users will be treated to 4.65” of Super AMOLED III display that is to be built exclusively for the SIII.
Rumor has it that the resolution will be an amazing 1280×1024, which is huge but quite weird as the aspect ratio will become 4:3. The size and the resolution of the screen mean that the pixel density will be 352ppi, the highest any smartphone has seen so far. The camera is going to be a huge 10 megapixel snapper that can record full HD video at 1080p resolution at a high quality 60fps.
On the outside, the phone will be cased in metal and measure no more than 9mm. All of this will be powered by a 2,250mAh battery, which should do the job for the average user. The newest feature of the phone is the in-built Near Field Communication capability so that means several services can be handled without taking the phone out of the pocket and the like.
Software wise, it will feature the Ice Cream Sandwich distribution of the Android OS with the TouchWiz 5 overlay for easy application access. Currently, the phone is under development and Samsung plans to announce it at the MWC 2012 event and probably release it sometime in 2012. While the specifications are very impressive, some of them are hard to believe and it is inconceivable to think of a 4:3 aspect ratio. For now, the best that enthusiasts can do is wait with crossed fingers!

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The Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Android Smartphone Launches, Lives up to the Hype

Unless you have been living under a rock, that is a rock with no television, print media or radio access, you have seen the advertisements by Verizon and Motorola heralding the arrival of the Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Android smartphone as the most powerful smartphone yet designed. It seems that every month or two a new phone is released and is claimed by its manufacturer to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, the new iPhone killer, and heir to the throne of the title Greatest Smartphone Ever.

The Motorola Droid Bionic is simply the next phone to be pitched in such a manner. Let’s take an objective look at the specs and features of the Droid Bionic 4G on Verizon’s 4G LTE network and see if it really is all that.

The Droid Bionic is right in the mid-range physically among all 4G smartphones at 5.02 x 2.63 x 0.43 inches, and is slightly heavier at 5.60 ounces as opposed to the average 4.4 ounce. The physical form is a typical black rectangular slab, with the familiar four Android control buttons below the touchscreen display when held in portrait mode.

Again not steering far from the norm, the Droid Bionic 4G offers a 4.30 inch capacitive touch screen with 540 x 960 pixel resolution, which is slightly higher than the 480 x 800 pixel resolution of the average smartphone. 16 million colors are supported, as well as multitouch gestures. A scratch resistant layer of Corning Gorilla Glass protects the display, which also contains proximity and light sensors.

As with all of the better performing and more expensive 4G smartphones on the market, the Motorola Droid Bionic 4G handset uses a dual core processor, this one a 1.0 GHz model with an above average 1.0 GB of PC quality RAM memory and a 3-D graphics hardware accelerator. Android’s most recent upgrade of Gingerbread operating system software, 2.3.4, is the OS which runs this phone. You can buy the Droid Bionic starting at only $179.

The rear facing camera of the Motorola Droid Bionic 4G
offers 8 megapixels of resolution, an LED flash, face detection, panorama ability, touch to focus and autofocus features. The resolution this rear facing camcorder offers when recording video matches the best that 4G phones have to offer, at 1920 x 1080 (1080p HD) and 30 frames per second. The front facing camera provides video chat and video call capabilities.

The Motorola Droid Bionic 4G definitely performs as one of the more capable Android smartphones on the market, and as usual, you have to pay for excellence. Currently offered at $179 at some retailers with a new two-year activation on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, the Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Android handset is priced in the upper half of the 4G smartphone price range.

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Sony Tablet S officially now on sale

OK, we'll admit we're a day late on delivering the news, but the fact remains that Sony's long-awaited Tablet S is now on sale.
Price-wise the Wi-Fi only slate comes in at £399 for the 16GB and £479 for the 32GB variant, which in case you were wondering is exactly the same price as that other iPad 2 tablet thingy from that other company called Apple.

Fortunately Apple doesn't have a legal monopoly on what gadgets should cost, though these days we wouldn't be surprised to see Apple's lawyers trying to sue someone for selling something at the same price as an iPad or iPhone.
Sure, that's maybe being a bit harsh, but the reference to the recent spate of legal battles against particularly Samsung is fair game here simply because the Tablet S is definitive proof that it IS possible to bring real variation to the tablet form factor.
Of course that doesn't mean that everyone should have to, or that the Tablet S will actually be popular, but anyway. It's certainly different, and pretty much delivers on that “folded book” analogy we were given when details of the Sony slate first leaked way back in February.
As for the boring spec stuff, well it's Android 3.1 Honeycomb on board, a 9.4in screen with 1280 x 800 resolution, a 5-megapixel camera with forward-facing video cam, and all the usual connectivity bits like DLNA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the like.

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HTC Thunderbolt 4G LTE Official Specs

The HTC Thunderbolt was released early in this 2011 with a huge marketing plan that seemed to see every other commercial on television touting the arrival of this new HTC handset amidst thunder and lightning and much dramatics. And to be honest, that is exactly how the Thunderbolt arrived. Albeit the only phone running on Verizon’s 4G LTE wireless network at that time, I’m sure you know by now that the Thunderbolt posted the fastest up and download speeds ever recorded on a 3G or 4G network.

Just recently, the out-of-the-box Froyo operating system received a leaked unofficial upgrade to the Android Gingerbread operating system 2.3.3 with an official release supposedly coming sometime in September, which will be released to more efficiently employe the features and specifications of the Thunderbolt. Let’s take a look at the Thunderbolt official tech specs below.

The HTC Thunderbolt 4G arrived in the typical candy bar or slab fashion or form factor. A black rectangular slab with the four familiar Android control buttons below the touch screen display when held in portrait mode make a very common statement, and in this regard it appears pretty much like other 4G big-screen smartphones. Physically, the Thunderbolt is 4.75 x 2.44 x 0.56 inches (121 x 62 x 14 mm) and 6.23 ounces, average in size and a little heavier than the average 4G smartphone.

Resolution is delivered at 800 x 480 pixels on the 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen, and multitouch gestures are supported, while the display is protected by a scratch resistant layer of Corning Gorilla Glass. A proximity and light sensor are built into the display, and the screen employees TFT technology.  Buy the HTC Thunderbolt 4G starting at only one penny!

The processor that helped the HTC Thunderbolt set those speed records is a single core 1.0 GHz Snapdragon chip set with 768 MB of RAM memory supporting it. As mentioned earlier, Froyo is pre-programmed out-of-the-box, but the new over the air upgrade to Gingerbread is already in effect. A rear facing eight megapixel camera and front facing 1.3 megapixel chat cam and video call camera are also on board, and the HTC Thunderbolt can record video in 720P resolution high definition.

Retail price for the HTC Thunderbolt is one penny with a two-year activation on Verizon’s LTE 4G network. This first-generation 4G handset supports Adobe Flash media player and HTML web browsing. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity are offered, and a microSD slot allows for storage expansion up to 32 GB, while a microUSB 2.0 port charges the phone and accesses other digital devices.

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CyanogenMod team continues to make progress on Android for the HP Touchpad — Wi-Fi, accelerometer now working

The project to port Android over to the $99 HP Touchpad is making great progress, thanks to the CyanogenMod team. Since the last video updated that we posted, the team has made significant progress on getting Android properly working on the HP Touchpad.
In their latest video update, we see that many new features have been added to the CyanogenMod port of Android on the HP Touchpad. Major updates include working Wi-Fi and accelerometer.
In the last video update, the Wi-Fi wasn’t working and the team used a USB connection to get internet connectivity. Now with the accelerometer working, you can automatically rotate screen orientation by holding the tablet in portrait or landscape mode. As a matter of fact, the accelerometer is working so well that a labyrinth game can be played on the Touchpad.

Angry Birds on the HP Touchpad

There are still some issues that need to be worked on with Android on the Touchpad. For one, the Touchpad is only using one of its dual-cores, and to make matters worse, there is a mediaserver program that is using up 50% of the core, something that should not be happening.
There are still problems with the sound, as you probably heard. In addition, there are some programs that simply don’t work at the moment. The Youtube program is one of them. While watching videos directly from the Youtube app isn’t an option at the moment, the videos do still load when accesses via the web browser.
In case you’re wondering why the CyanogenMod team isn’t porting Honeycomb to the Touchpad, it’s because the source code isn’t available yet. Another reason is because they would like to focus on building from the Gingerbread source (which CyanogenMod 7 is based on) to pave the way for when Google releases the source code for Ice Cream Sandwich, the next version of Android that is supposed to work on both phones and tablets.

Accelerometer on Android running on the HP Touchpad now works

Check out the video below to watch Android running on the HP Touchpad. As always, a big thank you goes out to everyone who is working hard to make this a reality for many people. Keep up the good work, and as always, we appreciate everything.

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