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Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on

We know you’ve barely recovered from our Devour review, but Moto just threw another Blur-ified phone in our laps this afternoon – the CLIQ XT. We’ve been playing around with the Android 1.5-based, Flash Lite-supported, multitouch-capable handset for the last couple of hours — but before we grace you with our first impressions, just a fair warning: we don’t yet know the price of the new T-Mobile Android handset, though Motorola did promise us that it will hit shelves this month. With that said, hit the break for a quick rundown of our early thoughts.

Continue reading Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on

Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Does Android dream of DIY cushions?

With the estate of Philip K. Dick up in arms over the slightest commercial reference to his published works, we may come to regret the above headline. But it’s worth the risk to bring more attention to this lovely, handcrafted Android pillow. Covered in fleece and filled with fluffy polyester for a texture that creator Craftsquatch describes as “firm yet springy,” the cuddly 12-inch square, made-to-order cushion can be yours for $20 before shipping. If only it came with dessert.

Does Android dream of DIY cushions? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung SHW-M120S to be first Android phone with Bluetooth 3.0?

Samsung’s all about records: firsts, biggests, smallests, thinnests, you get the idea. Indeed, it was just a few weeks ago that the company managed to slip the very first Bluetooth 3.0 certified handset through — but these guys never rest, and it looks like they’re already prepping to follow up that feat by throwing Android into the mix. The Bluetooth SIG is showing certification for an SHW-M120S model that apparently features a 3.3-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 5 megapixel autofocus primary cam plus VGA secondary, WiFi, GPS, HSDPA, and — yes, you guessed it — a Bluetooth Core Version of 3.0, meaning you’ll likely be able to fling files around to your house full of Bluetooth 3.0-capable devices with the greatest of ease. The presence of a T-DMB tuner means this sucker is targeted squarely at the South Korean market, but we’ve no doubt Sammy plans on taking 3.0 global so that it can… you know, have the world’s most Bluetooth 3.0 devices. PuntoCellulare seems to have a pretty good shot of it, and it looks pretty much how you’d expect any self-respecting Samsung smartphone to look in 2010 — in other words, there’s nothing that screams “I can wirelessly transfer data short distances at heretofore-unknown speeds” just by looking at it, and that’s totally fine by us. Rumor is we’ll see this launch “in the next few weeks.”

[Thanks, juanvaldez]

Samsung SHW-M120S to be first Android phone with Bluetooth 3.0? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Customer greeted with malware on Vodafone-issued HTC Magic (good thing it’s discontinued)

Crapware’s bad enough, but having your life torn asunder simply by plugging in that shiny new (insert USB-connected device here) is an exciting new trend — viruses find their way into the darnedest places, don’t they? It seems an employee at anti-malware firm Panda Research who’d ordered a new Magic off Vodafone UK’s site was greeted with no fewer than three nefarious executables upon plugging the device into her PC: a bot client, a password stealer, and a Conficker variant, and running a network sniffer quickly confirmed that the virii were live and ready to do harm as soon as the autorun in the Magic’s mounted mass storage was executed on her Windows machine. If this were a widespread issue, we’d certainly have heard about it in other places, so odds are good (as Panda points out) that this was simply a case of HTC or Vodafone doing an awful job of wiping a refurbished set — but it gives you pause and kind of makes you wish you worked for an anti-malware firm, at least on days when you’re plugging in a new phone for the first time. The silver lining, we suppose, is that Vodafone has recently discontinued the Magic, though that creates another problem: the only Android device it currently stocks now is the lowly Tattoo, so the X10 and Nexus One can’t come soon enough.

Customer greeted with malware on Vodafone-issued HTC Magic (good thing it’s discontinued) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour review

While Motorola’s vanilla-Android Droid has become the most recognizable Android device on the market — thanks in part to a bombastic ad campaign — Motorola’s primary focus has been on its own custom Blur UI. At least, if quantity of devices are any indication. Hitting Verizon just as the Blur-powered Backflip heads to AT&T, the new Motorola Devour is an odd cross section of the “consumery” Backflip and Cliq, and the high-end Droid slider. We’ve been playing with the phone for a week or so (you can find our initial hands-on, video walkthrough and unboxing here), so follow us after the break as we walk through the triumphs and tragedy that is this device.

Continue reading Motorola Devour review

Motorola Devour review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Cliq XT Unboxed With Live Pictures

With the Motorola Cliq XT hitting the news recently, it’s good to see a leak that shows the phone being unboxed and pictured live. According to the source, the Motorola Cliq XT is powered by Android 1.5, and sports Moto Blur, though there is a high possibility that it will be getting an Android 2.1 update in the future. One of the more interesting features of the Cliq XT is the inclusion of the Swype input system, which allows you to “type” out messages by swiping your finger over the letters instead of pressing them. The phone also includes a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. Is this the Android-powered phone that you’ve been dreaming about, or is this not the Android device that you’re looking for?

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HTC Touch Pro2 Runs Ubuntu Linux

This is probably another development that Microsoft won’t be too happy about, but it’s not like they can stop you from tinkering with your phone, right? Now, after the HTC Touch HD has been hacked to run Android, we’ve got wind of a HTC Touch Pro2 running Ubuntu Linux 8.04. Of course, the OS is really meant for laptops and desktops, but again, nobody can stop you from having some fun, right? You’re free to give it a try by loading the files onto the memory card, and running haret.exe, though we’d strongly suggest you backup your files and settings before giving this a test drive. In case you need more information on how cool this is, check out the video after the jump.

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Ubuntu hits HTC’s Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)

If there’s one thing we’re pretty sure Windows Phone 7 Series will be worse at than its Windows Mobile precursor it’s in the running of various and sundry other operating systems. We’ve seen Android running on seemingly every WinMo handset ever created and more recently Ubuntu has been receiving the mobile treatment. Last month it was on an Xperia X1, now an HTC Touch Pro2 is getting a taste. A modder who goes by the handle sebbo90 is the one responsible for this, running basically the same technique as used earlier on the X1. It looks quite easy: just download a 200MB zip, extract it to your phone, then run an exe within. A few moments later you’ll be in open source heaven, and, from what we can tell looking at the video below, it works remarkably well. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to hit up eBay to find a used handset and get hacking.

Continue reading Ubuntu hits HTC’s Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)

Ubuntu hits HTC’s Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freescale’s 7-inch tablet runs Android, Chromium OS or Linux, costs $200 (video)

Remember the $200 smartbook reference design that we saw at CES this year? Well, it’s back, it’s holding on to that same price and 7-inch enclosure, but this time it’s also showing off an expanded OS compatibility. Adapting the open source Chromium OS and another Linux variant to the ARM architecture of the prototype device was apparently not much of a hurdle for Freescale, who has an Android option in the works as well and claims to be just optimizing and enhancing the user experience at this point. Presumably one of the enhancements will be the installation of a capacitive touchscreen as the present demonstration requires either a mouse and keyboard or a resistive torture test to operate, but we’ll accept the company’s explanation that this is just a proof of concept and not the final product. Slide past the break to see some HTML5 video running on this bargain bin tablet, and hope that your friendly neighborhood OEM picks these designs up for some retail action.

Continue reading Freescale’s 7-inch tablet runs Android, Chromium OS or Linux, costs $200 (video)

Freescale’s 7-inch tablet runs Android, Chromium OS or Linux, costs $200 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink thechromesource  |  ARMdevices.net  | Email this | Comments

Android NDK Revision 3 to improve on gaming

The latest release of the native development kit (NDK) of Android, now in Revision 3 (r3), will enable developers to churn out games that look as good as those available on the iPhone. This is due to the fact that developers can now access OpenGL ES 2.0 that translates to 3D graphics which are pleasing to the eye. The Android NDK r3 will be available only for Android 2.0 or higher devices. Do you think this will make Android-powered phones and other mobile devices to be a viable portable gaming platform that could rival the iPhone?

Permalink: Android NDK Revision 3 to improve on gaming from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

HTC Supersonic meets Mr. Blurrycam, leaves us wanting more (video)

Being drip-fed information on the HTC Supersonic is unlikely to be as pleasant an experience as actually having one, but it’s all we can do to fill the time until this beast of a phone finally makes its official debut (probably on Sprint). Today’s appearance shows what looks to be a majorly insecure Mr. Blurrycam sporting gloves and gingerly handling a handset purporting to be HTC’s latest and greatest. We’re mostly treated to a sight of the back, which is white as our first (and most trusted) tipster had seen, and gives us a grainy first look at the camera and speaker grill arrangement. Check out the video after the break. As a bonus, we’ve found another source for the earlier Supersonic video — you know, the one that got yanked from YouTube twice — and have embedded it as well, go get them both while they’re still around.

[Thanks, Andy]

Continue reading HTC Supersonic meets Mr. Blurrycam, leaves us wanting more (video)

HTC Supersonic meets Mr. Blurrycam, leaves us wanting more (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firstview Presents $65 Low Cost Nike PC706V SmartBook

Firstview HK Electronic Limited has come up with a SmartBook that will only cost $65 to manufacture, dubbed the Nike PC706V. While we’re not sure whether a certain sports company will see red over the name, we do know that it is powered by Google’s Android 1.6, but has the potential to be upgraded to the latest Android 2.1. Depending on the configuration, the device could cost between $65 to $200, but its low entry cost should help kickstart the SmartBook market. Specifications of the Nike PC706V include:

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