Saturday, March 26, 2011

Phones Review

Phones Review

Android Gingerbread Coming to Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Summertime

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 08:02 AM PDT

Well now here’s a bit of good new for all you owners of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, although Sony Ericsson some time ago made it quite clear that the Xperia X10 would not gain OS updates beyond Android Éclair, it appears Sony Ericsson has had a sudden change of heart.

According to the guys over at Android Central, the Sony Ericsson Product Blog has announced they will deliver Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread to the Xperia X10 at the end of Q2 early Q3.

Apparently Rikard Skogberg of Sony Ericsson has said that the company has listened to its customers and thus as a result of developing the Android Gingerbread update for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo it has been able to include the Xperia X10 with a “special development project.”

However, apparently the Android Gingerbread update will not be pushed out over the air but will be downloaded by way of a PC update utility, and once upgraded there is no option for going back.

So there it is Xperia X10 owners, you can at least now look forward to some Gingerbread goodness hitting your device later in the year.

Atrix 4G Software Update in Works, Motorola Wants 1000 Testers

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 07:28 AM PDT

Looks like Motorola Atirx 4G user are in line for their first software update for the device at some point in the not too distant future as Motorola has now confirmed there are working on software for the Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone.

According to an article over on Droid Dog by way of Phone Dog, Motorola has confirmed via the Motorola Support Forums that the software update for the Motorola Atrix 4G is forthcoming, but hasn’t commented on just what the software update will deliver.

However Motorola is on the lookout for 1000 testers to obviously test out the software update before such time as Motorola release it for public consumption, and anyone wishing to become a tester can do so by registering here, and then completing the form up until 11am Central Time today.

The guys over at Phone Dog have also updated their post to say that a Motorola forums manager has stated that the Motorola Atrix 4G software update WONT include a fix for the voice quality problems the device is currently experiencing.

So looks like Atrix users are still stuck with that voice quality problem for now, so I wonder what will come with this new software update…any ideas?

Android Gingerbread Possibly Coming to Motorola Droid X On Sunday

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 06:03 AM PDT

Well now for those Android lovers that happen to own a Motorola Droid X device you just might be seeing your handset updated to the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system if the latest rumour turns out to be correct.

According to an article over on Droid Dog and by way of Droid-life, the word is that Verizon’s Motorola Droid X could be officially updated to Android 2.3 Gingerbread as of this Sunday, albeit business user will gain the update first.

Apparently the Android 2.3 Gingerbread rollout could start as of midnight on Sunday and then continue throughout the week to other Droid X users.

Apparently Droid-life says a “friend in the business” says the build for the Motorola Droid X is complete but it is up to both Verizon and Motorola when it is rolled out. So folks keep your eager eyes open come Sunday and who knows by mid-week you could be playing nice with Gingerbread on your Droid X.

Nokia E7 Now Up For Pre-Order, and Priced

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 05:34 AM PDT

For the Nokia faithful out there that have been eagerly awaiting Nokia to get all official with the Nokia E7 smartphone, Nokia has now placed their official stamp on the smartphone by making the Nokia E7 available for pre-order.

According to an article over on Pocket-lint, Nokia has opened up pre-orders for the Symbian^3 slider, which apparently will be shipping some time in April and have posted some pricing info on the device as well.

According to the Nokia pre-order page the Nokia E7 will be a free handset on a 2-year agreement for £35 per month on Vodafone and includes 600 anytime minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data with a delivery time of up to 14 days.

Or if you prefer the Nokia E7 on Pay As You Go the device will set you back £469 on T-Mobile, or of course you can opt to purchase the Nokia E7 without commitment for a price of £499.00 with a 2-year warranty.

Spec wise the Nokia E7 offers a 4-inch 16:9 nHD AMOLED touch screen, full side out QWERTY keyboard, 16GB internal memory, Bluetooth 3.0, HDMI, integrated GPS, Ovi Maps navigation, 8 megapixel camera with duel-LED flash and 720p video, and WiFi.

So any of our readers going to rush to pre-order what could well be the last Symbian based smartphone to be released by Nokia?

HTC Thunderbolt, iPhone 4 Battle Round 2: Video

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 05:03 AM PDT

So, earlier I posted a comparison fight video between the new Android 2.2 Froyo packing HTC Thunderbolt 4G enabled handset for Verizon against the might of the iconic iPhone 4, and now we have round 2 of that confrontation for your viewing pleasure below.

The first video compared such things as hardware, specs, design and price, and the second video which comes our way courtesy of Technobuffalo delivers thirteen minutes of face off action comparing web browsers and typing along with a speed test.

In the video fight Noah Kravitz also take a brief look at the HTC Thunderbolt Android OS and HTC Sense against the iPhone 4 iOS, but can the HTC Thunderbolt compete against the might of the king of smartphones?

Can the new kid on the block grab the smartphone crown from the long time holder, well to find out you’ll have to skip on down, and hit that play button to se if finally there’s a smartphone to challenge the iPhone…enjoy.

RIM Confirms BlackBerry PlayBook Will Play Nice with Android Apps

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 03:48 AM PDT

Well now we all knew that Research In Motion was mulling over allowing Android applications to come to their first mobile tablet the BlackBerry PlayBook, but now RIM has finally got round to giving their official stamp to the speculation.

According to an article over on Android Community, Research In Motion has now gone all official and announced that they will support Android apps on the BlackBerry PlayBook via an “optional app player” that will be available to download the same day the BlackBerry tablet is released.

Here’s a snippet of that RIM announcement…” Developers wanting to bring their new and existing apps to the highly anticipated BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet will soon have additional tools and options to enhance and expand their commercial opportunities. Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced plans to greatly expand the application ecosystem for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The BlackBerry PlayBook is scheduled to launch in the U.S. and Canada on April 19.”

“RIM will launch two optional "app players" that provide an application run-time environment for BlackBerry Java® apps and Android v2.3 apps. These new app players will allow users to download BlackBerry Java apps and Android apps from BlackBerry App World and run them on their BlackBerry PlayBook.”

You will note that RIM state that the BlackBerry PlayBook will support Android v2.3 apps, so it isn’t too clear if the BlackBerry PlayBook will initially support Android 3.0 Honeycomb apps or whether RIM will update at a later date.

So there you have it, do our reader’s feel RIM opening up to the use of Android apps is a good thing, and will the move make you consider purchasing the BlackBerry PlayBook over say the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 or Motorola Xoom?

Apple iPad 2 Glass Put Through The Toughness Test: Video

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 03:22 AM PDT

So Apple has delivered the Apple iPad 2, which sports a thinner glass than the original Apple iPad, so does that mean that the Apple iPad 2 glass is weaker than that on the original iOS tablet? You’re about to find out in the video below.

We have a video for your viewing pleasure today that puts the 27 percent thinner Apple iPad 2 glass to the test and compares with the glass of the original Apple iPad and tests the flexibility of both from 1-inch and 2-inces high.

The video comes our way courtesy of the guys over at 9to5 Mac and by way of the guys over at iFixYouri, who tried out the stress tests on the tablet glass, and even have a go at bending both iOS tablet panels by hand.

So how does the thinner Apple iPad 2 glass stand up to the original version, well you are simply going to have to jump on down and hit that play button to find out, but you may be surprised with the result…enjoy.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb Source Code Not Leaving the Google Hive Yet

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 02:59 AM PDT

Normally once a couple of devices have hit the mobile space, the operating source code gets released, and no doubt there are many waiting patiently to get their mitts all of Google’s first Android OS for tablets, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but it appears they won’t be getting a sniff at it just yet.

According to an article over on Engadget and by way of Business Week, the Google guys are keeping hold of the Honeycomb source code and not letting it out of the Google hive in the foreseeable future.

Apparently Engadget received confirmation of this via Google who say…” Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we’re excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we’ve decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We’re committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it’s ready.”

So there it is, Google is keeping a lock on the Honeycomb source code until such times as they consider its feature ready to use on smartphones, which could mean they are working on making Android Ice Cream similar to what Honeycomb offers for tablets, no?

HTC Thunderbolt, iPhone 4 Comparison Battle Video

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 02:38 AM PDT

Okay folks so here is the main event, a comparison video between two giants of the mobile space, the Android HTC Thunderbolt facing up to the iconic iPhone 4 in a hardware, specs, design and pricing battle, but which device will come out tops?

The HTC Thunderbolt against the iPhone 4 comparison video comes out way courtesy of the guys over at Technobuffalo who have done the deed in pairing the Android 2.2 Froyo 4G handset with the iOS toting iPhone 4 in this eight minute battle.

Noah Kravitz oversee the confrontation and kicks of with letting everyone know that the HTC Thunderbolt has more storage space with 40GB total while the iPhone 4 has 32GB and the 32GB iPhone 4 cost $50 more than the Thunderbolt.

The HTC Thunderbolt is also larger than the iOS smartphone with a 4.3-inch WCGA Super LCD display, while the iPhone 4 offers a 3.5-inch Retina Display; however, I’ll stop right there as not to spoilt your enjoyment of the comparison footage below.

No doubt the Android faithful will come down on the side of the Thunderbolt while the iOS fanboys will as always claim nothing ever beats the iPhone, so I’ll let you decide for yourself after watch the footage…enjoy.
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