Samsung Epic Touch 4G rooted

Just last week we reported that the Samsung Epic Touch 4G had it source code released by Samsung, in an effort to give back to the Android developer’s community. Unfortunately at that time, the source code release and all its mods and ROMs that followed would be pretty much moot unless the device itself was rooted.
It appears that the wishes of many Samsung Epic Touch 4G users have been heard and granted, and it looks like the device has been rooted, which is pretty darn fast considering it was just made available only last Friday!

There are currently two root methods available, one by Shabbypenguin and the other by Zedomax. They both appear to be largely similar in terms of their root methods, but Zedomax’s method seems to be working the best, with Shabbypenguin’s method causing the device not to have any haptic feedback. If you’re interested in rooting your Samsung Epic Touch 4G with either method, just head on down here for Zedomax’s method and here for Shabbypenguin’s method, both complete with instructions and downloads and accompanying videos.

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HP TouchPad Go images leak, show us what could have been

We knew that HP was working on delivering a 7-inch version of its TouchPad tablet, but when the company announced it was to cease development of its webOS hardware and look to either license or sell its mobile operating system, we never got the chance to see it.
A new leak, which surfaced on a Chinese forum, shows the TouchPad Go (codenamed Opal) in all it’s 4:3 glory, suggesting the company was actually working one something a little more unique than a like-for-like iPad competitor.

That the person who posted the new shots has been in possession of the TouchPad Go for around three months and claims it has the same 1024 x 768 resolution as the larger TouchPad and the same 1.5GHz APQ8060 Snapdragon processor. It is also said to have 16GB of storage, and both front and back facing cameras.

Interestingly, the device may also have included an NFC module.
In August, we spoke with a source close to HP who said that when the company announced it was to stop webOS device manufacturing, the TouchPad Go was already in production and was fully expected to launch in the coming months. Internally, HP employees saw the TouchPad Go as a better looking and nicer feeling device that had the potential to sell, with it believed that sales of the device would outpace the TouchPad’s if it had been released before its larger cousin.
Why the company decided against launching a 10-inch model over its small counterpart we may never know – we will just have to console ourselves with images that emerged today.

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Amazon Android Appstore now live in Europe

Amazon has finally pushed its US-only Android Appstore out to (at least some of) the rest of the world, with UK users and those in a handful of other countries now able to download apps via the official Amazon Appstore app.
The Amazon Appstore web site still carries the disclaimer that it’s only available to customers in the US, but we’ve just tried using the Amazon Appstore app on Android in the UK…

…and look, it’s actually working. Prices are still showing in dollars, but still. Free App of the Day is now GO without any region hacking. Ace. You’ll need to manually install the Amazon Appstore app direct from Amazon to make it work. Let us know if you also have access.
Link via PocketGamer.

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Acer gets network support – C6 Liquid Express coming to Orange

Acer has finally managed to bag a decent network distribution deal, with its latest in the Liquid line of Android phones appearing on the Orange UK site. The phone’s full name is the Acer C6 Liquid Express, which a quick Google session reveals is also known as the Acer E320.
It’s a 3.5″ model with a 5megapixel camera and LED flash, with previously spotted versions of the phone running Android 2.3.3 and powered by an 800MHz Qualcomm processor. This is it in its Orange incarnation:

You can register your interest over on the Orange site if you’d like to know when the C6 launches.
Link via SoMobile.

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Motorola’s 7-inch XOOM caught in wild

An image of what appears to be Motorola’s 7-inch version of the XOOM has leaked, presumably the same compact tablet CEO Sanjay Jha promised was in the pipeline earlier this year. No specifications in the image sent to This is my next, but the slimline slate does appear to have the Motorola logo – or something like it – in the top corner, and be running Android Honeycomb’s camera app.

As for connectivity, while we’re guessing that WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G/4G are all likely additions, the only thing visible at the moment are two ports on the lower edge. They, it’s suggested, are microUSB and microHDMI.
If authentic, gone are the chunky stylings of the original XOOM, to be replaced by an angled aesthetic more in keeping with the Photon 4G. No word on when, exactly, this new Motorola might hit the market, nor indeed what the chunky device in the upper right-hand corner might be.
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LG Optimus Q2 revealed: Super-bright QWERTY slider

LG has unveiled its latest Android smartphone, the LG Optimus Q2, a QWERTY-toting slider with a 4-inch WVGA IPS display and a 5-megapixel camera. Running a 1.2GHz processor, the Optimus Q2′s real draw is the display, which LG says runs at an eye-searing 700 nits.

There’s also WiFi Direct support, Bluetooth and a front-facing video camera. The phone is 12.3mm thick and weighs 147g, and LG says its shrunk down the dimensions of the slide section by 2mm compared to previous smartphones from the company with the same form-factor.
It’s unclear which version of Android is loaded, but LG has done some fiddling with its own UI system. South Korea will be able to pick up the LG Optimus Q2 from next weekend, though there’s no sign of a price or a release date for international markets.
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HTC October 6 event could deliver Euro HTC Vigor

The HTC Vigor could make its official debut in early October, with the news that HTC UK is sending out invites for a “press conference and party” on October 6. While the company has told us it cannot confirm details about the event – and asked that we not mention where in London it will take place – the language indicates this will be another of the company’s high-profile public events.

Saved for the firm’s more significant launches, and usually announced at the HTC UK Facebook page, these parties give would-be buyers a chance to play with new smartphones well ahead of retail availability. Although the early October timeline could indicate Windows Phone 7 related news, the fact that HTC has already announced its new Mango-based line-up suggests it’s Android that’s on the cards.
Most likely candidate, then, is the HTC Vigor, which is expected to see the company debut a 4.3-inch 1280 x 720 HD-capable display. Running what’s believed to be the same 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor as in the new Sensation XE, in addition to an 8-megapixel main camera, the Vigor has been described to Android Community as the first HTC handset to include Beats Audio in its design “from the ground up.”
Update: To be clear, we’re talking about a European version of the Vigor, seeing as that specific handset is expected to be a Verizon CDMA model.
Update 2: Reader Carl suggests it could be the European HTC Bass that HTC is revealing, though that handset is expected to be unveiled in the US tomorrow.
[via SlashGear]

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LG grabs Street Fighter IV for HD phones in Q4

LG’s first HD Android smartphones are expected to arrive in Q4, bringing with them classic game Street Fighter IV thanks to a new deal with CAPCOM. The agreement will see LG have three months exclusivity to the title, which will be distributed via the handset manufacturer’s own site rather than, it seems, through the Android Market.

“As we prepare our first HD smartphone for launch, it was important for us to be able to offer HD content that would really demonstrate this phone’s benefits” LG Mobile president and CEO Dr. Jong-seok Park explains. ”The HD version of Street Fighter certainly fills this objective. We are also confident that LG’s soon-to-be-unveiled HD display technology will give Street Fighter fans a whole new reason to play the game again.”
Unfortunately there’s no further detail on the HD smartphones themselves, though leaks earlier in the year suggested that the LG Prada K2 would have a  4.3-inch HD NOVA Display, an 8-megapixel main camera and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. LG recently showed off a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 panel, with an iPhone 4-challenging 329ppi pixel density.
[via MobileBulgaria]

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Samsung reportedly preparing for patent litigation against iPhone 5

The patent war between Apple and Samsung shows no signs of slowing down and the Korean company is now planning to launch a counterattack on Apple when the iPhone 5 makes its debut, according to a report by The Korea Times.
Citing senior officials within the company, the publication states that Samsung is determined to use its basic mobile telecom patents against Apple, which it is confident that the Cupertino company has no way of sidestepping in its developing the iPhone 5.
Samsung has taken some major blows in its legal battles against Apple, having seen its Galaxy Tab tablet banned in Germany earlier this month and been forced to delay the tablet’s launch in Australia. It was also compelled to modify its Galaxy S II phone after an injunction against it was granted to Apple in Europe.
The Korea Times reports that there are currently at least 23 pending lawsuits between Apple and Samsung in France, Germany, Japan, Korea and the USA, and it expects more to be filed in other countries in the coming months.
Samsung is currently one of Apple’s largest suppliers of component parts for its products, though the latter has been trying to distance itself from its rival in past months, but it seems that the Korean company is willing to go on the offensive to defend its products against Apple’s legal onslaughts.

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