Sony Tablet P taken apart by FCC

The Sony Tablet P dual-screen tablet recently received an official FCC tear down – right on schedule before it makes its way over to the US. I’ve never seen the insides of a dual-screen tablet, but then again there aren’t that many to go by. From the photos included in the below gallery, it’s obvious the wireless components are laid out in the lower clamshell.

To be honest, most of the pictures center around the wireless components and the rest show us the exterior we’ve already known. The battery is actually quite large at 3080mAh, and it looks to be built into the device. Like the ASUS Eee Pad MeMo, it’s quite a unique tablet. If priced properly, I see it doing fairly well.
I’m actually surprised this clamshell hasn’t already made it to the US yet, as it had been demoed previously alongside the Tablet S. We have a hands-on video with both devices from back in August you should definitely check out. Whether or not Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will launch on this device is still unknown, but if Sony waits much longer then they may need to so they don’t get left behind.
[via WirelessGoodness]

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Gingerbread surpasses 50% distribution on Android devices

It’s been nearly a year since Google made Android 2.3 Gingerbread available to the public, and it’s taken nearly that long for it to dominate the Android space. Google’s posted the November numbers for the various distributions of Android, and Gingerbread has surpassed the 50% mark for the first time. The various versions of Gingerbread now run on 50.6% of all Android phones and tablet, up from 43.9% last month.

Froyo is still on more than a third of active Android devices, however. Android 2.2 accounts for 35.3 of all devices. On the plus side, 2.1 Eclair, now almost two years old, is only being used by slightly more than 10% of phones and tablets. Honeycomb is still at a measely 2.4% of all Android devices, but it’s restricted to tablets, and was not available in an open-source form until a few weeks ago.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich doesn’t show up on the latest chart, despite being available on the Galaxy Nexus in a few select markets. But its’ got a lot of growing to do, and will probably do so very fast: unlike Honeycomb, it’s been open source from the get go, and device manufacturers will begin to implement it into new hardware very soon. Makers of inexpensive Android tablets in China are already starting to test alpha hardware running ICS. And the open source code opens the door for custom ROM makers, many of whom have already released early versions for existing phones and tablets.
Between the already huge Android smartphone market and the growing tablet market, ICS could be the Android OS with the fastest adoption rate ever. We’ll see in the coming months.

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Galaxy Nexus arrives in Germany and on Vodafone UK, Verizon twiddles its thumbs

Good news, folks: there’s one more place you can get the Galaxy Nexus that isn’t America. Engadget reports that retailers across Germany have jumped the gun and started selling the Galaxy Nexus early. Availability is still a little shaky – it looks like some outlets are offering the unlocked GSM version and some aren’t, though Media Mart is reportedly a reliable place to find it.

Prices vary from €529- €629 (about $713-$847), but it’s not clear if that’s simply retailer variation or a different price for the 16GB and 32GB models. None of the local carriers in Germany are offering subsidized versions, but if you live in the UK you’ve got an embarrassment of riches in that area. Vodafone is now offering the Galaxy Nexus on contract, being the fourth carrier to do so, behind O2, Orange and T-Mobile. In the UK you can now purchase the phone from all major carriers or “unlocked”.
Meanwhile in Google’s home country, Android fans continue to stew over Verizon’s total lack of communication concerning the first Ice Cream Sandwich phone. Though leaks and rumors are rampant (lately December 8th and 11th is favored) there’s still been no official word on a release or even a pre-order. Livid customers are beginning to flood Verizon with Twitter and Facebook messages, demanding a release and expressing their frustration every time the company sends out a marketing message. Observe:

If you’re sick of waiting, have about eight hundred dollars and want to use AT&T or T-Mobile, you could always order an import model from Expansys. Because at this point, Verizon clearly does not want your business.

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Ice Cream Sandwich tweak: disable the home screen search bar

The new launcher for Ice Cream Sandwich is definitely one of its finer UI points, but at least one feature has minimalism fans seeing red. The Google Search bar gets its own reserved spot at the top of the launcher, now that physical buttons are optional and the Search button isn’t included by default. This is the sort of stuff that the XDA-Developers boys live and breathe, so naturally they found a way to get rid of it for a clean and more customizable home screen.

The hack is a simple one for any root user – just use the app disable feature we mentioned earlier to turn off the Google Search app. That’s Settings > Apps > All > Google Search, and tap “Disable”. The downside is that the Google Search app ceases to function, so the immediate utility is kind of shot. But armed with this information, modders should be able to disable the search bar selectively soon enough, just like they’ve been able to re-insert the Search button into the navigation area.
Before you ask: no, there’s no new information concerning the Galaxy Nexus coming to America. But more and more information on Verizon’s LTE model is leaking out, including fully baked retail units. We should be seeing some kind of announcement very soon. We hope. In the meantime you can try one of the many Ice Cream Sandwich and CyanogenMod 9 ROMs that have sprung up for dozens of devices.

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus leaks again, bloatware is easily disabled

Well folks, it appears the Galaxy Nexus over on Verizon has leaked again today and we now have a few more pictures for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to one of our friendly Android Community readers we now have a few shots of the Verizon bloatware (only a few apps) and proof that they can easily be disabled right on the device just like any app in Ice Cream Sandwich. Below are the photos showing the Verizon Galaxy Nexus including data usage, and the bloatware actually disabled.

The Verizon 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus was also leaked in a few pictures and videos yesterday. Tie that in with the pictures coming out today and the new Visual Voicemail app specifically for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus I’d say this phone is coming soon — although your guess is still as good as mine.
Verizon has made a few changes to the data usage monitoring present in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and you can see that in the leaked images below as well. I know the Gnex being a Google experience device many weren’t happy to see that Verizon was still loading up some VZW bloatware applications, even though it was only a few. It is nice to see that those few items can be easily disabled right from the application manager and will disappear from your app tray. For those worried about bloatware it seems no root will be required to keep this beautiful Google device completely stock as Google intended.
Latest rumors are pointing to a December 11th release. We can only wait and hope right?

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Google+ Hangouts now offer phone calls and conference calling

Today right on Google+ the creator of the chat protocol IRC Jarkko Oikarinen posted a few details on a new extra feature for Google+ hangout users. Starting today using Hangout with extras users will be able to make phone calls and dial out right from within the Hangout session. Not only that but this awesome new feature will allow conference calling and more all from Google+.

You’ll now be able to dial out and invite anyone to join in on the hangout from anywhere, making conference calling for co-workers and businesses a simple and easy task, not to mention having fun social moments with all your friends and family. Back in September Google+ was updated to allow mobile users to join in on these same hangout video chats although we still can’t start the hangout from our Android phones.
Currently making calls within Google+ is free and only available to the US and Canada but we expect more areas to rollout shortly. Google’s new social network service continues to get bigger and bigger while they add more features and this is just one more we can add to the list. Next time I have a conference call or meeting with my co-workers I’ll be giving this a try that is for sure. Being able to call anyone into a hangout no matter where they are at is an awesome feature.
I might be making a few prank calls here soon with my friends — just a thought.
[via Readwriteweb, via Google+]

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Motorola DROID OTA update rolling out now

For all you folks still clinging to an original Motorola DROID we have good news for you today. Verizon is all set and has finally started pushing the latest over the air update for the OG DROID. Sadly while we don’t have Android 2.3 Gingerbread rolling out today they are at least continuing to update the extremely popular smartphone with a few security and bug fixes.

The original DROID is still extremely popular and many are just about done with those two year contracts when they bought it and are probably patiently waiting for the Galaxy Nexus to get released by Verizon. We first learned of this update late last month but Verizon now tells us the update is rolling out now and users should be receiving it through the next week. If you’ve somehow managed to not root your device this entire time then go ahead and check for updates and give it a run.
The released notes (below in gallery) didn’t reveal much of anything and only state this is a bug and security fix mainly aimed at a few security issues in the browser. We have a feeling a few more things might be included but Verizon didn’t feel like mentioning them. If Android 2.2.3 FroYo isn’t your thing and you’d rather run Gingerbread then click here. Peter Alfonso will keep your DROID as up-to-date as possible for a long while. Feel free to check for updates by going to settings > about phone > check for updates and let us know if you run into any issues.

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Verizon Visual Voicemail App for Galaxy Nexus hits the Android Market

Well folks, Verizon might finally be making some headway with the Galaxy Nexus rocking those all important 4G LTE speeds. The Galaxy Nexus will come mostly bloatware free and because of that — the Galaxy Nexus will not launch with Verizon’s popular Visual Voicemail application. I personally use Google Voice but to each their own I guess. Today the Verizon VVM application has hit the Android Market being used on none other then the Verizon Galaxy Nexus.

Back in November we mentioned Ice Cream Sandwich was missing a visual voicemail feature and that is because Google has opened it up for carriers to build their own, exactly as Verizon has done. While we are still waiting for the fancy updates to VVM to hit Google Voice this should hold all you Ice Cream Sandwich users over in the mean time.
Between the leaked pictures and video of Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus yesterday, and this new application hitting the market today we could actually be very close to an announcement and release date from Verizon. Best Buy is claiming it will be available starting December 11th. If that is the case Verizon will probably be announcing the Galaxy Nexus with 4G LTE between now and Monday. Lets sit back and hope that’s the case.
Market Link

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Play it again, Sam: Best Buy may release Galaxy Nexus on December 11th

Raise your hand if you’re tired of waiting for Verizon to release the Galaxy Nexus. One, two… we may be here for a while. An internal Best Buy screenshot has made its way to Engadget, showing the big box retailer with a possible December 11th release for the much-anticipated Google phone. This contradicts earlier rumors of a December 8th launch, but then, those rumors contradict all the other rumors that have been flying around.

As the source notes, this may simply be a slightly delayed release for Best Buy – it’s not unusual for second-party resellers to get a late start on new products. Then again, discrepancies over some of the listed specifications cast doubt on the validity of the leaked information… not that Best Buy is any stranger to error. The continuing wait for the Galaxy Nexus, and especially Verizon’s total silence on the upcoming release, has many US customers and potential converts seeing red.
But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Google was the first to finally show off the LTE model that will be gracing Verizon’s airwaves, and at least one person has an apparently completed retail model for spy shots. “Confirmed” pre-orders on Tuesday, November 29th turned out to be completely and utterly bogus – again, a big thank you to Richi Jennings and Computer World for claiming a second-hand conversation with a customer support rep as a reliable source. The continued lack of communication is starting to make eager customers – not to mention self-referential tech bloggers – incredibly frustrated.

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