Motorola readies ET1 7-inch rugged business tablet

Android still isn’t considered especially business-friendly (that title still rests with the increasingly humble Blackberry) and most “business tablets” come with either a full version of Windows, Windows CE or a custom operating system. Motorola is aiming to change that with the ET1, a rugged business tablet designed specifically for point-of-sale operations and other things done while listening to Bachman Turner Overdrive. Compared to Cisco’s Cius tablet, it could be a winner.

The 7-inch tablet isn’t likely to fulfill the wishes of the Android enthusiast crowd, but then it isn’t really meant to. It includes a rather standard 1024 x 700 panel behind protective Gorilla Glass, front and rear cameras, and a swappable 4620 mAh battery, all powered by a 1GHz processor and a full gigabyte of RAM. It’s not the lightest tablet out there at 1.4 pounds, but it’s rated to survive multiple drops at anywhere between -4 and 158 degrees Fahrenheit. As of now only a WiFi model is being offered, but mobile broadband variants are scheduled for the future. Motorola is aiming to keep the pice “below $1000″ with discounts for bulk enterprise orders.
Android 2.3 Gingerbread rests on the ET1′s rugged silicon, but keep in mind, this device isn’t meant for media consumption and web surfing like most Honeycomb tablets. Motorola is including some industry-focused software tweaks, like multi-user log-ins, point-of-sale tools, and built-in encryption for the 8GB of on-board storage. Remote access allows IT managers to wipe devices that have been lost or stolen. The ET1 is expected to make its way into enterprise hands in the fourth quarter – calendar, not fiscal.
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Apple sells over 1 million iPhone 4S handsets in first 24 hours

Apple has confirmed that the company has sold a mind-numbing number of iPhone 4S devices in pre-orders, over one million of them. The previous record was from last year’s iPhone 4 launch which totaled over 600,000 in three days. Apple had a larger amount of global carrier partners for this year’s launch, including Verizon and Sprint in the U.S., but it’s still incredibly impressive. Apple’s Apple’s press release is after the break.

iPhone 4S Pre-Orders Top One Million in First 24 Hours
CUPERTINO, California—October 10, 2011—Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 4S have topped one million in a single day, surpassing the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4. iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.
“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.”
iPhone 4S will be available at all 245 Apple retail stores in the US beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, October 14. Every customer who buys an iPhone 4S at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPhone 4S by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store™ and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.
iPhone 4S includes iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features, and iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.
Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.* iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and select Best Buy, Target and Walmart stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS is available for free with a two year contract.
iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
*Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.

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Sprint’s Motorola Admiral Pictured in the Wild

Sprint’s Motorola Admiral has been pictured in the wild, and wouldn’t you know, it looks a lot like the handset pictured in an official promo video posted last month. While we speculated an announcement would be forthcoming shortly, the video was pulled and no further word has been given about the Sprint Direct Connect device. Given that history, we are hesitant to speculate on whether or not the new photos suggest a release could be imminent, but expecting the phone sometime in the near future is a safe bet.

Word along with the photos confirms the specs laid out previously: a 1.2GHz single-core CPU, 3.1-inch display, 5MP camera, and Android 2.3.
[via Engadget]

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Verizon gets Samsung Stratosphere with LTE and QWERTY keyboard

Verizon has announced a new smartphone that is a first for the carrier. The new smartphone is called the Stratosphere and it has some very cool features. One of the biggest features is that the smartphone has 4G LTE service inside. The smartphone is aimed at the business user that sends lots of texts and emails. Its other big feature is a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

The phone will hit Verizon stores on October 13. It packs in a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and has special B2B connectivity services from Cisco. The smartphone will also support business communications like VPN, encryption, and mobile device management. The OS on the smartphone is Android 2.3. It has 4G hotspot capability as well.
Other features include a Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 hummingbird processor. The front camera is a 1.3MP unit with the rear having 5MP and video recording capability. The device supports DLNA for sending content to other devices and has Bluetooth 3.0. It supports lots of video file formats and has 802.11 b/g/n. The phone will cost $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a new contract.
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China blocks access to Android Market and Gmail App

China is well known for blocking and censoring anything that the government doesn’t like or thinks will harm the population. China sensors so much content on the web that it has come to be known as the Great Firewall of china. According to reports, China is now censoring access to other things like the Gmail app and the Android Market for Android devices.

Gmail is commonly a target of attack by hackers suspected of living in China. MocoNews reports that right now the Gmail app is blocked in China along with access to the market alone. Apparently, the block has been going on for 36 hours now at mobile and broadband providers around the country.
The Gmail app isn’t working, but Chinese users are reportedly still able to access the Google Gmail accounts online. So far, there has been no official statement on why the blocks are in place. It’s not clear at this point if the blockage is an accident or if it was put in place on purpose.

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Galaxy Tab Plus hits pre-order starting at $399

If you looked at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus that was unveiled last week and thought the tablet might be for you if the price is good you weren’t alone. Samsung offered us all the specs the tablet has inside, but left us hanging on pricing for the new Tab. The 7.0 Plus has now turned up at J&R for pre-order according to Galaxytablife and the price is not bad at all.

The 16GB storage version of the Tab Plus is priced at $399.99 and the 32GB version is priced at $499.99. Both of the tablets are the same other than the storage capacity. Both have a 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution screen. They also both have HSPA+ internet connectivity. The rear camera is a 3MP unit and the front is a 2MP unit.
The processor used is a 1.2GHz dual-core and the tablet has 1GB of RAM. Both run Honeycomb and have the TouchWiz interface over the top. The price isn’t bad and the only thing we don’t know right now is exactly when these pre-order tablets will ship.
[via SlashGear]

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CyanogenMod 7.1 is released, brings Android 2.3.7 in pure form

We teased the Breaksclusive™ last week from the CyanogenMod panel at the Big Android BBQ (check out the video if you haven't already), and today CyangenMod 7.1 has been released. The changelog is pretty massive, of course, with fixes and tweaks galore. But chief among them is that you'll be first on your block to be rockin' Android 2.3.7.
The CM team also notes that it's added support for more than two dozen more devices since CM 7.1. And currently in beta status are builds for the HTC Pyramid (Sensation), Doubleshot (myTouch 4G Slide), HTC Shooter (EVO 3D), HP TouchPad and the LG Optimus 3D. So if you've yet to give CM a whirl, you're running out of excuses.

Source: CyangenMod blog

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Nexus Prime’s extra screen space is for Android navigation buttons

A consistent part of the ever-changing Samsung Nexus Prime/Galaxy Nexus rumors is its eye-popping 4.65-inch, 1280 x 720 display. If you’re the kind of Android user whose small digits quaver at a screen that size, fear not: a reddit user going by the name of “thantik” has drawn up a quick schematic illustrating the need for an extra .35-inches. The bonus space may be reserved for Android’s navigation buttons, which will soon be migrating to the phone screen.

If you’ve ever used a Honeycomb tablet’ you know that they eschew any sort of physical control buttons, including a home button. Instead, the standard home, back and menu buttons reside on the status bar, and follow the user around as he or she rotates the screen. The next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, will combine elements from Gingerbread and Honeycomb for a universal OS, one of which will be the navigation buttons. You can check out these virtual buttons on the leaked Nexus Prime video from last week.
While the mock-up graphic certainly makes sense, it doesn’t make the wait for the Nexus Prime or Ice Cream Sandwich any easier to bear. Samsung and Google delayed what was probably the unveiling of the new phone and OS from Tuesday, October 11th to an unspecified date, giving technology followers the world over a little breathing room after the untimely death of Steve Jobs. Rumors of an October 27th date persist, but have not been confirmed.

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T-Mobile announces Springboard and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets, available this year

It looks like the leaked T-Mobile roadmap from last week is progressing right no track. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the “T-Mobile Springboard”, which is almost certainly the Huawei “Tallsome” tablet we espied a while back, are both coming to the carrier before the holidays. T-Mobile wasn’t forthcoming with an exact release date or price on either, but we’ve got a pretty good idea.

First, the familiar Galaxy Tab 10.1. If you’ve kept up with Samsung’s current-generation tablet line, you know the drill: an ultra-thin, ultra-light Honeycomb tablet that takes all comes and then some. Not much has changed in this version, save the addition of T-Mobile’s “4G” radio bands. You still get the familiar 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, a full gigabyte of RAM, and a 1280x 800 LCD screen. T-Mobile declined to mention how much storage it’ll have, which probably means the default 16GB. According to the leaked roadmap (which is, of course, subject to change) the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will make its grand entrance on October 26th for $399.
The Springboard is the latest of T-Mobile’s subsidized devices from a lesser-known OEM to forgo manufacturer branding. Its 7-inch screen is describes as “HD” from the carrier, which hopefully means 1280 x 720. T-Mobile is emphasizing the tablet’s affordability, which lines up with the leaked $199 price tag. It will have an impressive (for a tablet) 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording along with an unspecified 1.2GHz dual-core processor, GPS, 4G and Honeycomb 3.2. The Springboard should be available at retail on November 2nd. $199 for a 4G Honeycomb tablet is hard to argue with, if you’re in the mood for a 7-inch screen and a new 2-year contract.

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