TypeSmart Keyboard Beta translates text as you enter it

There’s a lot of options out there for Android keyboard apps, and a lot of them are good choices, too – Swype, Swiftkey, 8pen, and my personal favorite, Thumb Keyboard, among many, many others. I came across one today that offers a relatively novel feature: it automatically hooks in to Google Translate to allow you to input text in any supported language. TypeSmart Keyboard is still in beta, and free for the moment. If you have to translate between multiple languages often, it’s definitely worth a look.

It works like this: simply type a word or phrase into a text field in the normal way, or use Android’s voice input via the Microphone key. Then hold the Microphone key, tap “Translator,” and select your to and from languages. TypeSmart then sends your text to Google Translate and retrieves the translation, foreign characters, punctuation and all. Even for those of us who are native speakers or bilingual, this could represent a significant time savings versus using the official Google Translator app, or even hunting down the special characters that populate your language of choice.
TypeSmart supports most of the advanced features that soft keyboard junkies are used to: multiple layouts, haptic feedback, text prediction, spelling correction, et cetera. It even features Locale settings and themes for the hopeless tweaker. The developer Comet Apps hasn’t said when the beta program will end, or how much the app will cost when it goes gold, but for those of us who frequently use multiple languages every day, it could be a godsend. You can check it out now in the Android Market.

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Fandango Movies for Tablets app available now

Just like the big screen, Fandango is coming to our bigger mobile screens now too. They’ve just released the new Fandango Movies for Tablets applications and you can get it right now. Next time you’re in the mood for a flick you can simply do everything you need right from your tablet, they even offer HD movie trailers for our lovely 7″ and 10″ 1280 x 800 resolution tabs.

Browse movies at nearby theaters, search for the nearest theater with Google Maps, read reviews, watch HD movie trailers and even buy your tickets all without leaving the couch. I’ve been a long time user of Fandango and love the application but now having a Honeycomb and tablet optimized version is even better. I usually use the app while I’m out and about but this is great for those tablet users.

They offer tons of options and even show movies that are coming soon, with full voice search you can find and preview and flick you’d like with the new app for tablets. Basically everything found in the smaller phone version is present but prettier and bigger for tablets. You can even purchase movies right inside the app using a credit card or even Fandango bucks or gift cards. If you are a fan of movies be sure to give this new app for tablets a test. It’s in the Android market and you can try it now by clicking here.
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Motorola DROID RAZR costs $649 off-contract

Eager to get your hands on the DROID RAZR‘s sexy hardware without tying yourself down with a two-year contract? Nobody said being a free spirit was cheap: the phone will cost $649.99 from Verizon without a new contract or renewal. The news was broken by Droid-Life, who got a look at the DROID RAZR’s listing in Verizon’s internal device database.

All things considered, that’s about what we expected for the DROID RAZR. Over in the UK they’ll be paying £454.80, or about $716 USD. It’s still pretty darn expensive for a smartphone, but not stupendously so, when you consider that the cheapest iPhone 4S is the same price while offering a whole lot less in the hardware department. Kevlar beats glass, in case anyone was wondering. A qHD Super AMOLED screen, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 4G LTE data speeds and a 7.7mm frame should make this a hard decision, even with the equally impressive Galaxy Nexus coming soon.
The DROID RAZR’s introductory price for those of us that toil under contractual obligation is $299.99, and pre-orders begin tomorrow, October 27th. The phone itself will ship “no later than” November 10th. The phone will sell internationally as the “Motorola RAZR”, and in most major markets should be available around the same time. So what do you think – too expensive, a bargain or right on the money?

Related articles

• DROID RAZR pre-orders start tomorrow, ship out November 10th (goandroid.co.in)
• Motorola Razr vs Apple iPhone 4S (goandroid.co.in)

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HTC Raider sailing to Rogers with 4G LTE for just $149

The new HTC Raider codenamed the Holiday is all set to finally hit the shelves and reach our pockets, but with Rogers for now. While we are still waiting for a US launch like the leaks for AT&T suggest, Rogers will be getting this new 4.5″ 4G LTE smartphone here shortly, possibly as soon as November 1st.

We’ve seen plenty of the Raider (Holiday) and it was first leaked to the web back in August and we quickly learned it will be called the Raider. You can get all the details from HTC’s official announcement but what we have is a 4.5″ qHD smartphone with a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage and a beastly 8MP camera with dual LED flash.

Headed to Rogers Canada the HTC Raider will run with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC Sense 3.0 UI. The awesomely low price listed above is on a new 3-year contract from Rogers. We don’t have an official launch date or what regular contract pricing will be at this time but for those in Canada this is one great smartphone. Apparently if users get a family plan with two lines of voice and data Rogers will also give buyers a free Galaxy Tab 10.1 — sweet deal huh? I’d be picking up a few HTC Raiders and enjoying that free tablet if I was chillin up in Canada.
[via Mobile Syrup]

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Android-based i’m Watch is our new favorite buzzword machine

Ever since Dick Tracy started talking into his wrist, sci-fi aficionados have craved the watch-phone hybrid. And every few years, some company comes along to make on without really considering whether or not it’s a good idea. The latest is the i’m Watch [sic], and if buzzwords could be translated into direct sales, not even Apple would be able to stand against it.


The i’m Watch is a lot like an updated version of the old Fossil Palm watches: a full touchscreen Android device crammed down into the size of a large digital watch. Its 1.54-inch, 240 x 240 display uses a custom interface and apps to manage your calls and contacts, and the 450 mAh battery is rated for a single day of use, or five hours of constant use. Naturally the watch doesn’t conform to Google’s idea of an Android smartphone, so it’s using its own app store for software support. And here’s the kicker: the i’m Watch isn’t a really a phone. There’s no built-in voice or data connection – it needs to tether to an Android, Blackberry, iPhone or what have you via Bluetooth in order to do access anything that’s not already on its 4Gb of storage.
Check out the video below, and see how many buzzwords you can catch in four and a half minutes:



The Italian startup will begin selling the i’m Watch in January, starting at $300. And again, that doesn’t include any real connectivity – it won’t replace your current smartphone, because you have to have some method of connecting to the Internet to access calls and texts. Normally we try to shy away from declarative judgements for unreleased products, but my money’s going towards something a little cheaper and more substantial, like, say, the Sony Ericsson LiveView or the MotoACTV. Dick Tracy would be ashamed.

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ASUS Transformer Prime tablet pictured with new keyboard dock

The ASUS Transformer Prime is set to be one awesome quad-core tablet, most likely rocking Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the NVIDIA Tegra 3. Today its been spotted along with its keyboard dock friend showing off its sleek design and aluminum frame. It was recently teased on video and ASUS has also launched an official page for the Prime.

First seen in the wild a few days ago with some ASUS execs at the AsiaD show, today we are getting another look at the hardware posing with its main selling point. That being the keyboard dock that “transforms” it into a powerful notebook machine. You can see the similarities although this time around they’ve gone for a brushed aluminum design and some fancy black chicklet-style keys. Looks a bit like a MacBook if you ask me, but that isn’t a bad thing.

These spy shots of the new tablet and keyboard dock were found on a chinese website but were quickly taken down. Our friends from Notebook Italia were quick enough to save a few for our viewing pleasure. We have a 10″ display as usual along with some audio ports, micro-HDMI and a micro-SD slot as well. While being shown at AsiaD it was also stated that we will get an official announcement and full details on November 9th. We expect to hear some juicy details regarding that new quad-core processor inside and Ice Cream Sandwich so be sure and stay tuned for the full details come November 9th.
[via Notebook Italia]

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Android Collectible: Don Pablo Calaveroid – Day of the Dead Android

Who wants more Android collectibles from the highly popular Dead Zebra group? Now that Halloween is fast approaching the guys from DYZPlastic have teamed up with the Beast Brothers to bring a little Mexican flair to our favorite Android collectibles. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is what we got in return with a Don Pablo special edition Android.

 The first round of collectibles were back in February of 2010 then a series 2 the following year. The last round of collectibles was back in August but we are expecting more soon especially with this latest tease shown above.
For those looking to celebrate Halloween or Dia de los Muertos now you can do it with a bit of Android flair and from the amount of details on the android I think they’ve even hit that 15 pieces of flair minimum, although Office Space has nothing to do with Halloween. To get your very own special edition Calaveriod be sure to check by the Dead Zebra Shop on the Day of the Dead. That is November 1st, and they’ll be available starting at 11 AM EST and again at 11 PM EST. They go fast and are limited to 1 per person so you better hurry as they are usually a big hit.
[via Dyzplastic Blog]

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Amazon UK, ships November 2nd

Who is ready for some Galaxy Nexus action? Apparently the folks from Amazon UK are ready to start the party because they’ve already posted up pre-orders for the Galaxy Nexus. We saw some order pages go up earlier this week but I get a better feeling ordering from Amazon than some smaller sites, not to mention they have a release date of November 2nd.

Yup, in case you missed that, Amazon UK is listing the Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as due to be released on November 2nd. One small problem is the price though, Amazon is asking £730.15 for the new superphone. I might not be great at math but if my currency conversion skills are accurate that is well over $1100 USD. Wow, at that price put me down for three. At least shipping is free right?
According to our tipsters (thanks guys) the Amazon UK page went live last night and the device was being offered for just £540 and was listed as in stock November 7th. That actually still hasn’t changed and third party retailers on Amazon are listing the phone at the much lower £540 price tag. You may have to wait a few more days but will save a bundle.
In case anyone missed it, here is all of our Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich coverage, plus the hands-on video below for your enjoyment.

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Motorola Razr vs Apple iPhone 4S

We compare the iPhone 4S with Motorola's upcoming Razr - an Android device which looks set to make a huge splash

Apple's iPhone 4S was announced recently and immediately set about doing what Apple devices do best: dividing opinion. Some people feel the device isn't much of an upgrade over the iPhone 4, others think it's all part of Apple's grand plan to enslave humanity and others, well, others fell in love with it.
So in the spirit of fair play we've decided to see what all the fuss is about by holding the 4S up against a device which is being lauded as the next big (Android) thing, Motorola's Razr, s device which is almost certain to enjoy a successful launch this November.
Will Apple's iPhone 4S reign supreme, or will Motorola's Razr cut it to pieces?
Let's find out.

Power
The iPhone 4S is the first smartphone from Apple to benefit from a dual-core processor, and the 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 which powers the device is a great addition to the line.
In addition to the quality CPU you also have a PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU, which should afford you countless hours of gaming fun, as well as excellent visual effects and top quality movie playback.
For reasons known only to Apple, it opted to leave this newly invigorated release with only a pedestrian 512MB RAM.
Motorola seems to have taken peoples power demands a little more seriously when designing the Razr, giving the device an Ti OMAP 4430 chipset which consists of a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and PowerVR SGX540 GPU. Sure, it's similar to the iPhone 4S, but the extra oomph will certainly come in handy.
The improvements aren't limited to chipset either, as the Motorola Razr offers up a tidy 1GB RAM.
Winner - Motorola Razr

Display
The iPhone 4S features  Apple's fantastic Retina Display, a 3.5-inch LED-backlit IPS TFT which offers dazzling visual quality. The display operates at a resolution of 640 x 960 and has a pixel count of 330PPI, which is still the highest available on a smartphone (for now).
Motorola's Razr is no shrinking violet though, its 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen is a superb feature which offers stunning, deep colours and responsive performance.
The display operates at a resolution of 540 x 960 and offers up a pixel count of 256PPI, which. although impressive, is still quite a ways behind the iPhone 4S.
Winner - Apple iPhone 4S

Software
Disappointingly the Motorola Razr runs on version 2.3.4 of Android. We'd hoped that the recent acquisition of the company by Google would have allowed the device to roll-off the production line with Ice Cream Sandwich, but hey, that would have ruined the Galaxy Nexus' exclusivity, right?
It may not be the latest and greatest iteration of the OS but it still performs brilliantly and with Motorola's custom UI additions there's tons of scope for customisation. On top of that there's loads of widgets, nice eye candy and, of course, all the games and apps you can shake a muddy stick at in the Android Market.
Apple's iPhone 4S ships with version 5.0 of the company's hugely impressive iOS and the improvements are noticeable as soon as you fire up the device.
There's improved multi-tasking, an updated notification system (think Android), Twitter integration, iMessage (Think BBM) and, of course, the latest version of Safari; which is better than ever.
On top of all those there's a host of other bits and pieces which help make the platform by far the most user friendly mobile OS on the market. Oh, and there's even more apps and games in Apple's App Store than there is in Android's Market, so there!
Winner - Apple iPhone 4S

Form

Apple iPhone 4S - 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm, 140g
Motorola Razr - 130.7 x 68.9 x 7.1 mm, 127g

This category is a tough one to judge because both Apple and Motorola have earned solid reputations for building top quality devices.

The iPhone 4S is typical Apple – it's sleek, minimalist and amazingly pretty. Plus at only 9.3mm thick you'll barely notice it in your pocket (we aren't sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing though).

Motorola's Razr looks to be every bit as robust as the company's previous Android devices, which means you can look forward to a strong, attractive and immensely durable smartphone. It's also super thin at only 7.1mm.

Both devices offers toughened glass covers for their precious screens too, so you needn't worry about coin or key damage!

Winner - Draw

Camera

The Apple iPhone 4S has been given a camera upgrade, and its 8-megapixel primary offering, which also features touch focus, LED flash, geo-tagging and 1080P video capture, is among the best performing smartphone cameras we've ever clapped eyes on.

Shots are clear, captured quickly and easily print worthy.

The iPhone 4S also has a VGA secondary camera for video calling.

Motorola's Razr comes with an 8-megapixel camera too, which offers touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, image stabilisation, LED flash, auto focus and 1080P video capture.

We can't comment on the quality of the images at this stage, but Motorola's no slouch when it comes to getting good quality images out of its smartphones, so we'd expect photos to be good.

As with the iPhone 4S, the Razr comes fitted with secondary optics for video calling, but Motorola has given the device a 1.3-megpixel front-facing camera, which will offer much better quality for those who need to video call or conference.

Winner - RAZR

Apple's iPhone 4S has taken the win, albeit by a nose.

The device is fast, beautiful, features the best mobile OS around and performs like a dream. What's not to like about that? Well, the price maybe, but other than that nothing.

Motorola's Razr looks to be a contender though, and the iPhone 4S had better watch its back come November, because it may just be the Android smartphone to topple it from its pedestal.

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