Today Google announced Google Instant, which shows results as you type, showing results instantly as you type. Nifty, huh? Watch the video, and you can get a feel for how cool it. What if you want it on your phone? Official word is that it will hit “later this fall”, but there might be a sneaky way to get it now.
According to Android Guys, you can get it this instant by going to http://jmt20.google.com/m?sky=psy. Hit the link, and it should automatically beam in results as you type them. Here’s hoping Google doesn’t get wind, and kill it until the official release.
His and Her Android grabbed some photos of the keyboard on the upcoming T-Mobile G2. See those three keys with what look kind of like ellipses? Those are quick keys, and can be used to assign shortcuts to and application. Programmable macros and short cuts? Count me in! It’s a feature we haven’t seen before, and it’s damn cool.
Other than that, you can really tell too much from the keyboard, though you can get a pretty good feel of the layour, and alternate buttons.
We’re expecting the device to be announced on September 15, and launched near the end of the month.
Engadget have a couple of shots of the HP Zeen C510 7-inch Android powered tablet. Rumored to be their last Android offering before the company switches over to webOS.
The device seems to have a number of specifically branded apps, but is lacking Gmail and Android market integration:
As we’d guessed, there’s also no Gmail app or Market access, although there is a homegrown email client and a fair bit of integration with Yahoo services like Mail and Messenger. Facebook is also preloaded, and the screenshot shows apps for 60 Minutes, MSNBC, and Dreamworks, so it looks like there’ll be some video action going on — and that Barnes & Noble logo all but confirms the Nook compatibility our previous tipsters had mentioned.
The weirdest thing about this tablet? You can only get it bundled with the Zeus printer, for $399. How utterly bewildering.
The Motorola Milestone is no longer rumored to be headed towards Canada’s Wind Mobile, yet confirmed by the below picture showing WM’s internal training site. Although we don’t have an “official” date to the release yet, you can be certain it is in the near feature, if not, this quarter.
If you have never heard of the milestone, here are some features of the XT720:
Android 2.1 (Eclair) OS
720MHz Processor
3.7″ Touch-screen Display
8MP Camera with Xenon flash
HD recording and playback with HDMI to HDTV (HDMI connection cable included)
GPS Receiver
FM Radio
MicroSDHC Expansion Slot (up to 32GB)
MOTONAV technology
(MOTONAV allows you to use Google Maps navigation to search for places near your location, get driving directions and view maps using Google Satellite and Street View Imagery)
256MB of RAM
512MB of ROM
TI OMAP 3430 processor clocked at 720MHz
This will be considered Wind Mobile’s first “high-end” handset, their low-end being the Huawei U8100. The one downside to having a high-end phone on is that; WM will not subsidize the products to a significant degree because they are a pay-as-you-go carrier. Hopefully this phone will be cheaper than its unlocked price at $500, but the remains to be seen until more details are leaked or unveiled.
I was under the impression that we would have to see a pretty different version of Android OS for it to work properly on a television, because much like using it on a netbook, it’s a platform the OS currently isn’t designed for. Android OS is built around touch screen interfaces, and IIRC, Google requires the device to have a mobile carrier before they’ll license the tech. Televisions aren’t exactly known for that. That’s not to say Android OS couldn’t be tweaked, but it’s not nearly there yet.
Two major phone manufacturers have just announced their plan to produce dual-core devices for the mobile market. Samsung is bringing out the Orion, a 1GHz ARM® CORTEXTM A9-based dual-core application processor.
Samsung’s new application processor incorporates a rich portfolio of advanced multimedia features implemented by hardware accelerators, such as video encoder/decoder that supports 30fps video playback and recording at 1080P full HD resolution. Using an enhanced graphics processing unit (GPU), the new processors are capable of delivering 5 times the 3D graphics performance over the previous processor generation from Samsung.
LG has teamed up with NVIDIA for the Tegra 2 processer, a 1GHz chip. LG is claiming that they will produce the world’s first dual-core cellphones, and that a line of them will hit in Q4 2010.
Here’s what they’re saying about it:
LG selected NVIDIA Tegra because it enables a new mobile experience and content capabilities. Tegra 2 features a number of mobile “firsts”: the first mobile dual-core CPU, the only ultra low-power NVIDIA GeForce® GPU and the first 1080p HD mobile video processor. Taking full advantage of the two speedy 1 GHz processors sharing the workload in Tegra 2, consumers can experience up to 2x faster web browsing and up to 5x faster gaming performance over single core processors running at 1 GHz. NVIDIA’s leadership in graphics also delivers flawless 1080p HD video playback, console-quality gaming and amazing 3D capabilities.
I guess this means that dual-core is going to be the next big thing in smartphones, along with dedicated GPUs. Awesome!
Talk about leaving it to the last minute! As has been heavily rumored, the Samsung Fascinate will be available on Verizon through the web on September 8, in stores on September 9. It’ll set you back $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate, and comes with Android 2.1 preloaded, a Super AMOLED screen, and Samsung 1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor.
Here’s the full press release:
Samsung Fascinate(TM), a Galaxy S(TM) Smartphone, Available Tomorrow on the Verizon Wireless Network
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) today announced that the Samsung Fascinate(TM), a Galaxy S(TM) smartphone exclusively from Verizon, will be available online on Sept. 8 and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Sept. 9 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.
Powered by Android 2.1(TM), the Fascinate refines customers’ social networking experiences with its Super AMOLED(TM) Screen Technology, advanced touch screen capabilities, Samsung 1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor, and virtual QWERTY keyboard featuring SWYPE technology. Additionally, the Fascinate comes pre-loaded with Amazon’s Kindle for Android app, and it boasts an array of accessories, including:
-- Charging Cradle - Doubles as a phone charger and includes a micro USB
wall adapter so customers can view movies, display digital photos, and
listen to music. It can also be used as a desktop speakerphone to
make hands-free calls, and it comes preloaded with the Samsung "Desk
Home" application, which allows customers to switch brightness levels
from day to night and provides one-touch access to Samsung Widgets and
Bing Voice Search. The charging cradle is available for $29.99.
-- Car Dock - Attachable to the windshield or dashboard, the car dock
displays turn-by-turn GPS navigation instructions, rotates freely
between landscape and portrait modes, and features a preloaded Samsung
"Car Home" application, giving customers access to everything the
"Desk Home" app can do while on the go. The car dock is available for
$39.99.
-- Backup Battery Charging System - Includes a 1500 mAH battery, battery
charger and Y-cable for charging a phone and spare battery
simultaneously. It is available for $39.99.
Pricing and Plan Information
Verizon Wireless customers who purchase the Samsung Fascinate will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Samsung Fascinate customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan (beginning at $39.99 monthly access) and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan (beginning at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access). For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
This might just be official speak from Adobe, in order to cover their own asses when older devices don’t handle Flash too well. We just hope that future editions of Flash don’t check the processor and refuse to install because of it.
Still, this is a pretty crappy move of Adobe, especially as Droid was always touted as being beyond the iPhone, because it could handle Flash.
An as yet unnamed HTC slider has been submitted for FCC approval, and the coloring hints it may be headed for Verizon. We don’t know much about this device as of yet. Obviously, it’s a slider, it has a four-inch screen, is rumored to have a 1.2GHz processor, with CDMA 2000 and GSM 850 plus EV-DO Rev. A, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n WiFi at 2.4GHz frequencies.
I’m loving that it’s a slider on a four-inch screen, but that keyboard? Not sold on having gaps between all the keys. Having them flush against each other allows for more or larger buttons, which is always a good thing.
Samsung won’t sell the Galaxy Tab directly to consumers. Samsung product executive Hankil Yoon said it would likely retail for between $200 and $300, although the final price would vary depending on wireless-carrier subsidies.
The exceedingly high European price is then probably the one without carrier subsidy, to own outright. Once you’re on contract, you’ll be able to pick one up significantly cheaper. The question remains if this subsidized price will be low enough to counteract the remarkably low un-subsidized iPad price.
