Samsung "Galaxy Nexus" details leak out: Verizon Wireless exclusive

BGR has gotten their hands on what they claim are the details surrounding the new device that Samsung is expected to announce with Google next week. The supposed "Galaxy Nexus" is said to be the next member of the Nexus family of pure Google Android smartphones, and it packs an impressive list of specs.
According to BGR's sources, the Galaxy Nexus will feature a 4.65-inch, 1280 x 720 pixel HD Super AMOLED display complete with curved glass. It will be powered by a 1.2GHz, dual-core TI OMAP processor, with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The back of the phone will have a 5 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, and the front will feature a 1.3 megapixel camera for video calls. It will also sport LTE or HSPA data support, depending on carrier, and will have support for NFC. All of these features will be crammed into a 9mm thin chassis, and a 1,750mAh battery will provide juice to the Galaxy Nexus.
The Galaxy Nexus is said to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and it will be a "pure Google Experience device," without any customization to the software by Samsung. BGR says that it will be exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the U.S.
Samsung has announced an event for next Tuesday where it has teased the unveiling of a new product. We should find out more details then.

Read more »

Riptide GP Racing Game Coming to All Android Devices This Month

The developers at Vector Unit have mentioned that their Android game Riptide GP, a wave racing game, will be coming to all Android smartphones sometime this month. The game, highly regarded by many for quality graphics, gameplan and lots of fun, was previously only available on Tegra 2 devices. I covered this game at CTIA this past March and I can say without a shadow of doubt that many non-Tegra users will want to be up bright and early to check this one out when the expansion goes live. No specific date yet but we’ll keep our ears to the street. [Droid Gamers]

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy S II stock arriving at T-Mobile early

T-Mobile appears to be gearing up for some pretty impressive sales of the new Samsung Galaxy S II for their network. Codenamed the Hercules it will come to market as just the Galaxy S II for T-Mobile. Officially announced a few weeks back, the T-Mobile branded version of one of the best phones around will be available come October 12th. It appears T-Mobile stores are already starting to receive tons of stock, gearing for a big launch.

The device should be available for pre-order on the 10th according to the press release, but with stores already getting tons and tons of stock (see photo), there is a small chance you might be able to pick one up in stores on the 10th if you’re lucky.
 According to TmoNews, stores are seeing upwards of 50 units each, so it’s safe to assume T-Mobile expects this smartphone to sell fast.
It will only be $199 with a new 2-year contract and available soon so be ready and waiting with that plastic or all those pennies you’ve saved. If you’d like to wait and see what everyone (we) think before making your decision be sure to stay closely tuned to Android Community because we will have one very soon to unbox and show you in detail.

Read more »

In-app purchases coming to the Amazon Kindle Fire

Android users have been able to take advantage of in-app purchases via PayPal, Glu Mobile or the Android Market’s native tools for a while now, and Amazon is naturally going to be bringing the same capability to the Android-based Kindle Fire tablet. The online retailer is beginning a developer beta program for in-app purchasing even before the tablet goes on sale next month. Developers can request access to the program today.

The Kindle Fire uses a completely skinned/forked version of Android Gingerbread, and has precisely zero of Google’s proprietary software installed. That means that since it swaps out the Android Market for the Amazon App Store, developers selling apps for the Fire don’t have access to Google Mobile Services. Amazon’s solution will use their own extensive back-end to allow games and marketplaces to sell digital items and upgrades directly within apps.
The pre-registration form for the beta program indicates that Amazon is targeting subscription apps and one-time purchases. The form also asks applicants if they’ve used Google Checkout, PayPal or the iOS App Store for in-app purchases before, but that’s likely just for research. I can’t imagine Amazon using anything except its own checkout process for purchases on the Fire.
The Kindle Fire is currently set for a November 15th release. Amazon has already racked up more than 250,000 preorder sales.

Read more »

Pandigital SuperNova confirmed, 8-inch Gingerbread tablet for $229

It’s positively raining cheap wifi tablets lately. The big brother to the original Pandigital Nova is the SuperNova, and after munching down a Super Mushroom it’s upgraded to an 8-inch capacitive display. Unfortunately, the resolution is still a rather disappointing 800 x 600 in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The budget tablet should hit retailers soon at a price of $229.

Other hardware details include a 1Ghz single-core processor, an onboard micro-HDMI port and Bluetooth 2.1. Internal storage is 4GB with a free MicroSD slot for expansion. Pandigital doesn’t have Google’s blessing for any of their tablet offerings, so users will have to make do with the GetJar alternative app store. A few built-in apps like Barnes & Noble’s ebook store, YouTube and Adobe Flash help spruce up the Gingerbread operating system before owners download anything new. According to Pandigital’s press release, the SuperNova will be available in mid-October at retail locations across the US.
Slightly larger screen notwithstanding, it’s hard to see why anyone would pick up a SuperNova over any of its close competitors. If you’re looking for a cheap, hack-friendly tablet, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color is just $20 more (or even less if you play your cards right) and the solid HTC Flyer now provides a full Gingerbread tablet with access to the Android Market for $299. If you’re dead-set on a cheap tablet and you’ve got some spare patience, Amazon’s Kindle Fire will release in just over a month for only $199.

Read more »

Motorola Droid Bionic 4G has the specs and the price drop that could make most users take the plunge

Motorola released their Droid Bionic 4G Android smartphone recently, and it is exclusive to Verizon’s 4G LTE mobile broadband network. While it is the fourth phone to land on Verizon’s LTE 4G platform, it is the first Verizon LTE phone with a dual core processor. There is one other important designation that the Motorola Droid Bionic owns in comparison to the other three Verizon LTE 4G network handsets. Beginning with the HTC Thunderbolt, which was the first handset to arrive on the Verizon 4G LTE platform, the three handsets other than the Droid Bionic seem heavy and dense feeling, and definitely at up battery life at a rapid speed. The Motorola Droid Bionic is the lightest and thinnest of all Verizon 4G LTE handsets, and is the stingiest when it comes to battery usage.
New customers can buy the Motorola Droid Bionic for only $149 at select online retailers.
Physically it appears like most other 4G handsets, arriving in a rectangular, black slab form factor. The familiar four Android control buttons lie beneath the display when held in portrait orientation, and the screen offers a 4.3 inch qHD display. The exterior is made from heavy-duty plastic, which keeps the weight down, but doesn’t feel poorly constructed. 540 x 900 pixel resolution is offered with a coating of scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass. The screen supports up to 16 million colors and multitouch gestures, and light and proximity sensors are built into the display.
The improved run time on a single battery charge approaches 11 hours, easily the best of all 4G LTE devices. A rear facing 8 megapixel camera offers dual LED flash, touch to focus, face detection features, panorama picture taking mode and autofocus, and records video in 1080P HD at up to 30 frames per second. There is also a front facing VGA quality chat cam which provides video calls as well.
Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, Twitter and Adobe Flash​ media player software is preloaded, a dual core 1.0 GHz processor with 1 GB of RAM memory is present, a 3-D graphics hardware accelerator is also present and Google’s Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread operating system is present out-of-the-box to round out the software set. The Motorola Droid Bionic offers a microUSB port for charging the device and connecting to other peripheral electronics, a microSD slot for memory and storage expansion, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity. HDMI and DLNA video out are also present.
The Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Android smartphone retails for $149 with a two-year activation and is exclusive to the Verizon wireless 4G LTE mobile broadband network.

Read more »

Best Buy Drops 16GB HTC Flyer to $100

After dropping the price of the HTC Flyer to $300, Best Buy has slashed off a couple hundred more, now offering the 16GB version of the Android slate for a mere $99.99. Of course, Best Buy’s inventory dropped just as quickly and the tablet is currently sold out for those ordering online. Not sure if the deal holds up in-store, but it is worth investigating. The Flyer might not have made the biggest splash upon its release, but it still features a high build quality and comes from a manufacturer with a proven track record in terms of Android devices. Besides, $100 is a steal for a tablet that once cost five times that much.
[via Best Buy]

Read more »

T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q are now official

Yes, we knew that T-Mobile was about to roll out a couple of myTouch devices earlier yesterday morning, but here is an official statement from the mobile carrier themselves on the myTouch and myTouch Q – whereby both LG smartphones were specially designed to be easy to use, and is touted to be an introductory handset to those who are about to plunge into the world of smartphones for the first-time.
In order to make them accessible rigth from the get go, LG decided to throw in two different styles of hardware – the myTouch comes with a 3.8″ touch screen display and a virtual keyboard with Swype, while those who prefer a physical QWERTY keyboard to go along with the 3.5″ touch screen display can always settle for the myTouch Q.

Read more »

Android continues to gain market share in U.S. while Blackberry OS continues to dwindle

comScore released their latest U.S. smartphone market share report, and as expected, Android continues to dominate. During the 3-month period ending in August, 2011, 84.5 million people owned smartphones in the U.S., a 10% increase from the previous 3-month period.
During the 3-month period ending in August, Android’s OS market share increased by 5 percentage points to control 43.7 percent of the smartphone market in the U.S. Apple came in second with 27.3 percent of U.S. smartphone market, an increase of 0.7 percent from the previous period.
While Apple and Google gained market share, RIM on the other hand didn’t do so good. Overall, Blackberry OS saw a decline in market share by dropping to 19.7 percent, a 5 percent decrease from the previous period where they controlled 24 percent.
Source: comScore

Read more »