Android and Me |
- Qualcomm announces Snapdragon Game Pack with more than 100 Android games
- OTAs galore: Motorola Droid X and ASUS Eee Pad Transformer updates start rolling out
- T-Mobile and HTC will supposedly launch three new phones on June 8th
- I’m Color, an Android watch available in 7 colors
- HTC Evo3D launches June 24th at Radioshack
- HTC Sensation comes to T-Mobile stores June 15th, Wal-mart June 13th
| Qualcomm announces Snapdragon Game Pack with more than 100 Android games Posted: 01 Jun 2011 06:10 PM PDT  Not to be outdone by NVIDIA and Tegra Zone, this morning Qualcomm introduced its own video game showcase product, called Snapdragon Game Pack. As we’ve seen recently, Qualcomm is going on the offensive against competitors, and the release of Snapdragon Game Pack is just an extension of that. The company really wants you to know that Snapdragon-powered devices are still best in class when it comes to performance. The goal of Snapdragon Game Pack is to highlight those Android games that have been optimized to run on the Snapdragon platform. Initially, the service will launch with more than 100 games from video game studios like Babaroga, Booyah, Com2us USA, Digital Chocolate, Eyelead Software, Glu, Guild Software, NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Gameloft, Natural Motion, Polarbit, Southend Interactive and Tripwire Interactive. Qualcomm will provide game developers with a set of tools that will allow them to get the most out of a Snapdragon chip. One of those tools is Qualcomm’s Adreno Profiler, which lets developers fine-tune the 3D performance of their Android games on the Snapdragon platform. Although details are bit scarce at the moment, it’s likely that Snapdragon Game Pack will consist of an Android app for phones and tablets. We don’t know yet if you’ll be able to download Snapdragon Game Pack from the Market, but Qualcomm hinted at the possibility of having the app pre-loaded on some Android devices. As companies like Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Marvell, and even Intel continue to fight for mobile chip supremacy, you can expect these kind of strategies to continue. Who knows? Maybe in the future phones will have stickers that say “Snapdragon Inside”, and we’ll even have Qualcomm and NVIDIA fanboys. Oh, the joy!
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| OTAs galore: Motorola Droid X and ASUS Eee Pad Transformer updates start rolling out Posted: 01 Jun 2011 04:47 PM PDT  Wednesdays always come with very little excitement, and if you are feeling some midweek depression, we have some good news for many of you. Today is a lucky day for all Droid X and Eee Pad Transformer users! OTA updates are rolling out. If you are a Motorola Droid X[1] user, you are getting an update to Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread. On this device, this upgrade will mostly consist of a boost in performance, VoIP support, and a slight change in the overall look & feel. On the other hand, the Transformer[2] is not getting as big of an upgrade as the Droid X. The Transformer is simply jumping from 3.0 to 3.1, which is still Honeycomb. The differences will not be very noticeable, at least aesthetically. Once you start using your device for a while, you should notice an improvement in the UI responsiveness, better graphics, and more seamless Flash performance. There is also the addition of USB peripherals support, which will allow you to connect to keyboards, mice, and USB flash drives for file transfer. If you own one of these devices (or both), check for your update and get ready for some new Android love. Do let us know how you feel about your update and give us your first impressions. References
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| T-Mobile and HTC will supposedly launch three new phones on June 8th Posted: 01 Jun 2011 04:20 PM PDT  It looks like T-Mobile is about to get a whole lot of love from HTC. According to a job listing found via Phandroid, T-Mobile and HTC will announce three new devices on June 8th in Houston, TX. As you might remember, we’ve already seen the June 8th date pop up before. Even though T-Mobile already announced the HTC Sensation 4G, it’s possible that the company will take the opportunity to showcase it on June 8th. That’s one HTC device, but what about the other two? The second HTC device could very well be the HTC “Doubleshot” aka the myTouch 4G Slide. Coincidentally, the phone just passed through the FCC wearing T-Mobile’s uniform. If rumored specs turn out to be true, the Doubleshot will launch with the following hardware:
That leaves us with one more HTC device left. The only other HTC phone that we know is coming in the near future is the HTC Wildfire S, alias the HTC Marvel. The Wildfire S is simply an updated version of the Wildfire, which is a small phone aimed at the low-end of the market. The phone will probably compete with T-Mobile’s other cheap Android phone, the LG Optimus T, with a price somewhere below $50. The HTC Wildfire will launch with the following specs:
While the HTC Wildfire S is not the most impressive Android phone ever; a well-built, snappy, and cheap Android phone will become very popular among people who want a smartphone without the three-digit price. We’re assuming that all three devices will be Android-powered, but there’s a chance that one of these phones is running Windows Phone 7. Powered by Android or not, we’ll be paying close attention to whatever comes out of the June 8th event.
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| I’m Color, an Android watch available in 7 colors Posted: 01 Jun 2011 12:23 PM PDT  Succeeding the I’m Watch, the I’m Color is a wristwatch that comes packed with a customized version of Android. We have seen other major manufacturers bring similar ideas, like the Sony Ericsson LiveView, and Motorola’s just leaked Tracy XL. Though these manufacturers’ prestige is much higher, the I’m Color is definitely not staying behind, and it is certainly a viable option to consider. Though the I’m Color is basically an Android device/accessory, it works on multiple platforms. This nifty device is able to connect to iPhone, Android, and soon to other devices like Blackberry. Upon making a connection with your device, the I’m Color gives you access to multiple applications, like Facebook, Twitter, Email, and text messages. It is even possible to answer incoming calls with it, much like those classic science fiction movies we all love. Like the Sony Ericsson LiveView, this Android watch connects to your device via bluetooth, but it can also sync through WiFi hotspot (for the iPhone, no mention on WiFi hotspot connection with Android). The I’m Watch creators have announced that the support for developers will be released on June 30, allowing the capabilities of the I’m Color to be widely expanded. A few months after that, around the end of September, the collection of watches will be available in 7 different colors – white, blue, green, yellow, red, pink, and black. The price for one of these spy watches will be 249 euros (around $360 U.S. dollars), which is a bit of an investment, but it is a very cool and convenient gadget to have. If you feel luxurious though, there is also the I’m Jewel, which is available in 6 different colors – yellow gold, pink gold, white gold & diamonds, titanium, black gold, and special. Now these fancy boys start at a whooping 599 euros (about $860 U.S. dollars), and can go higher depending on the design. If you want the Rolex of the Android world, this may be the way to go. Check out the different images below, and let us know what you think of these new watches. Do you think you will be getting one of these (They are available for pre-order here)? If so, which color do you prefer? Gallery
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| HTC Evo3D launches June 24th at Radioshack Posted: 01 Jun 2011 10:46 AM PDT  The folks over at Phandroid have gotten a hand on a Radioshack circular (check it out in the gallery below) announcing the release date of HTC's flagship Evo3D on Sprint. Those of you wishing and hoping for an early June release will be slightly disappointed, as you won't be able to get your hands on the Evo3D until June 24th. Sprint has not yet announced the availability of the Evo3D from their stores. It's possible they'll release it a day or two earlier, but for now we'll assume the 24th is the final date. Though not necessarily the best of news, June 24th will be here before you know it, and 3 weeks is just a short time to wait for this awesome device. Who's going to be waiting in line on the 24th when these beast hits stores? Or are you holding out for the Photon 4G or Galaxy S2? Sound off in the comments below. Gallery
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| HTC Sensation comes to T-Mobile stores June 15th, Wal-mart June 13th Posted: 31 May 2011 07:48 PM PDT  The wait for HTC’s first dual-core Android smartphone is almost over. Ever since it was rumored back in February, Android fans have eagerly waited to get their hands on HTC’s next-generation handheld. Tonight, T-Mobile announced that the HTC Sensation 4G would hit their retail stores on June 15th. Customers looking to pick up the phone a few days early should keep an eye on Wal-mart, as the Sensation is also expected to be available as early as June 12 at select locations. Update: The Sensation will be available for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate with a two-year service agreement Several dual-core phones like the AT&T Atrix 4G and T-Mobile G2x have been available for several months, but each had its own set of annoying issues and did not live up to the crazed multi-core hype (that I was responsible for). It will be interesting to see how the HTC Sensation will fair as it is powered by the dual-core Snapdragon platform instead of the NVIDIA Tegra 2. If you are in the market for a new Android phone, I’d highly recommend a dual-core powered device over a single-core model simple because it will be more future-proof and last you longer. It’s still unclear when Android 2.x will be fully optimized to take advantage of dual-core processors (like Android 3.0 was), but hopefully we will see some nice performance gains when Ice Cream Sandwich arrives in Q4. Check out HTC’s official Sensation page for a refresher on the tech specs. Any T-Mobile fans making the jump next month?
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