Android Community |
- Motorola PHOTON 4G Given Promo Video [Plus Hands-On Rundown]
- Nexus S Auto Photo Delete Error Investigated by Samsung and Google
- New line of Droidax accessories debuts
- Dell Streak for under £200 on Swarm for limited time
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 may get fatter and dimmer screen in some areas
- Samsung pokes at iPad 2 with new commercial says, “It’s time to Tab”
- Microsoft grabs for Android developers with kit for making Android to Windows Phone app development easier
- Google cooking iMessage rival: Boosted GTalk app in works?
- Voloco music/voice processing app is bizarre offspring from creepy controller [Video]
- Motorola PHOTON 4G Displays Awesomeness of Riptide GP via HDMI
- Motorola XPRT Hands-On [Videos]
- Motorola PHOTON 4G Car Dock, Multimedia Dock, and Webtop Hands-On
- Galaxy Tab 10.1 Google I/O Edition Honeycomb 3.1 update rolling out now
- Motorola PHOTON 4G Car Dock and Multimedia Dock Revealed
- U.S. Cellular launching Seven Android Smartphones by End of the Year
- Samsung Droid Charge getting EE4 Update, Improves 4G Connectivity and Battery Life
- Buy a Motorola Xoom Wifi and get a Bluetooth Keyboard Free
- Motorola Confirms Photon 4G will indeed have a locked bootloder
- The All-New NOOK hands-on and unboxing by SlashGear
- Motorola PHOTON 4G will NOT have a locked bootloader
| Motorola PHOTON 4G Given Promo Video [Plus Hands-On Rundown] Posted: 10 Jun 2011 11:22 AM PDT Behold the newest version of Motorola’s dual-core effort, this diamond-shaped device known as the PHOTON 4G, all in caps, just like that! This device is set to be working in a very similar fashion to the already released ATRIX 4G, aka one of the first dual-core Android handsets on the market, having the same (yet updated) webtop experience, a couple of docks, and a lovely NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor for the sweetest gaming experience. Have a look at the official promotional video now then page through our heavy hands-on collection next!
First let’s take a look at this device commercial that you’ll more than likely be seeing on your television (if you still watch television, that is,) or youtube soon. This commercial flips the phone around in true device commercial fashion and generally makes it look rather impressive with no drawbacks whatsoever. Pay close attention to that kickstand as it’ll be a central part of yours truly’s review of the device without a doubt. Keep in mind that we’ll be talking about how there’s only one way to keep the device aloft (as compared to the ThunderBolt’s solid two.) Next lets have a look through the hands-on and announcement items we’ve got going already here at Android Community. First lets have a look WAY back to May 25th where we first heard the name PHOTON 4G as a possible Motorola phone coming out right around… now. How about that? Next let’s look at the initial announcement post in which we give all the details and let you know what you’ll be dealing with. After that it’s all hands-on and joy. Starting with the first full hands-on experience with the device itself, going on into some more hands-on with the docks and webtop, then rounding the experience out with a bit of the ol’ Riptide GP played over HDMI in an impressive display. We’v also got news that the PHOTON 4G first appeared to have a completely unlocked bootloader then was later confirmed to instead have a locked bootloader indeed. Exciting stuff! )
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| Nexus S Auto Photo Delete Error Investigated by Samsung and Google Posted: 10 Jun 2011 11:05 AM PDT Ruh roh, one of those mysterious gremlin errors is happening in everyone’s favorite smartphone with the coolest most nude version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Nexus S. This particular error is reportedly happening specifically on the Nexus S 4G (aka the Sprint version of the device) and includes connectivity and random photo deletion errors. Before we continue, have a look at our review of said Nexus S 4G device and come back with full knowledge. Then hear this, as spoken by a spokesperson from big Yellow to ComputerWorld late yesterday: “We are aware of the connectivity reports being brought forward by a small number of Nexus S 4G customers. Google, Sprint and Samsung are examining these reports and though we have not yet been able to identify any specific causes, we are working to determine exactly what our customers are experiencing.” Bad news bears!
ComputerWorld has apparently been tracking this problem and building up a report for months now, getting in quotes from quite a few users, most of them appearing to come from the UK, pointing toward a problem not specific to a region, but to the manufacturer, if said problem is indeed a hardware problem at all. One particular UK user, Julian Bhardwaj, is detailed to the point of being a pro commenter:
Next you can track the problem back to Janurary 3rd, 2011 in Google’s mobile help section of their messageboards. A Google employee named “MrEvan” noted the following about the problems, in comment form:
Sound familiar to you? How’s your Nexus S experience been thus far? Do you think these problems are singled around one single carrier, the manufacturer, or Android 2.3? Or are they all just user errors and that’s that? Nexus S users, let us know what you think! )
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| New line of Droidax accessories debuts Posted: 10 Jun 2011 08:18 AM PDT A new line of accessories for some Android smartphones has debuted under the Droidax brand. The company offers accessories for Samsung, HTC, Sony, and LG Android devices to start with and gives free shipping on orders over $20. The initial products are screen protectors and anti-glare films. The company also has a line of cases and batteries as well.
Memory cards are available from the firm as well, but I think most will opt for name brand storage. The batteries and cases will specifically fit the Samsung Galaxy S; Samsung Galaxy S2; Samsung Nexus S; Samsung Infuse 4G; Samsung S8500 Wave; HTC Thunderbolt 4G; HTC Sensation; HTC My Touch 4G; Sony Ericsson Arc; and LG Optimus 2X. Prices on the gear starts at about $9 for the screen protectors and goes up to about $30 or more for batteries and other hardware. Raaj Menon said, “We plan to extend the range to support new handset models to be released in the coming months and add many more accessories to the DROIDAX catalogue. Prices will be very competitive and affordable.” [via SFGate] )
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| Dell Streak for under £200 on Swarm for limited time Posted: 10 Jun 2011 08:01 AM PDT If you like the idea of the Dell Streak 7 tablet, but you want something a bit smaller and easier to stick in the pocket the Streak 5 might be perfect. If you want that Streak 5 at a bargain price, you need to check out the deal that Dell has going on its Swarm site right now. The Swarm site list the Streak 5 at about half price selling for £199.50 assuming enough people agree to buy. The catch is there are only 82 of them left at the time I wrote this.
The deal will be valid for another ten hours or so provided the tablets don't sell out before then. If you want to get in on the deal you need to hurry. That is a decent price for the tablet. It runs Android 2.2 with the latest update, has a 5-inch screen with Gorilla Glass, a 5MP rear camera, and a 1.3MP front camera. Even if the Stream 5 isn’t your ideal MID the price is right and with Father’s Day coming up it might be a nice gift for pops if he isn’t qualified to operate a smartphone consistently but wants a MID for surfing the web on the go. The device can be used as a phone though with 3G capability and a mic. [via Recombu] )
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 may get fatter and dimmer screen in some areas Posted: 10 Jun 2011 05:35 AM PDT I mentioned that new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 commercial just a bit ago. We haven’t heard anything about the slightly smaller Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet in a while now that was announced along with the 10.1 a few months back. Apparently, there is a reason why we haven’t heard anything else about the 8.9 tablet and that reason is issues with the smaller LCD that the tablet uses. Shortages of screens have long plagued the industry and kept popular devices off the market in numbers to meet the demands of the consumers.
Engadget reports that Korean website Etnews has learned Samsung is having issues with low yields of the 8.9-inch G1F touchscreen that the tablet uses. The screen in that tablet uses one layer less film than a normal LCD screen making the 8.9-inch screen brighter and thinner. Apparently, the supply of the screens is so bad that Samsung is looking at using an alternate screen in the tablet in some areas. To fill in the gaps Samsung will use thicker GFF touchscreen. These panels are reportedly 30-40% thicker than the screen Samsung wants to use and they are dimmer as well. The reduced brightness is due to the extra layer the screen requires. The tablet will still launch later this summer apparently. The big question that is unanswered is what area will get the thinner and brighter screen and which will get the thicker and dimmer version. [via Engadget] )
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| Samsung pokes at iPad 2 with new commercial says, “It’s time to Tab” Posted: 10 Jun 2011 04:21 AM PDT We all knew that the inevitable comparisons and mudslinging ads were coming when the Galaxy Tab 10.1 first surfaced. With the Tab 10.1 coming soon, the first mudslinging commercial from Samsung has landed pitting the tablet against the iPad 2. Samsung doesn't say the tablet in some of the scenes in the commercial is the iPad 2, but we all recognize the iPad 2 and its smart cover when we see it. The commercial shows people watching others doing cool things with the Tab 10.1 and then buying one themselves.
I know that many iPad and iPad 2 owners still pine for Flash video support, which will likely never come officially. Whether or not simply having support for Flash is going to be enough to make the Tab 10.1 competitive with the iPad 2 in the minds of the average consumer remains to be seen. I doubt flash alone will do the deed for Samsung. What the Tab 10.1 needs is a price that is considerably cheaper than the iPad 2 and then consumers will start taking a serious look at the tablet. If you like Samsung and are interested in the Tab 10.1 the commercial is worth a watch. People aren't kind in the video comments though.
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| Posted: 10 Jun 2011 03:00 AM PDT
The kit has two parts to it, the Android to Windows Phone API mapping tool and the Windows Phone 7 guide for Android Application Developers. The latter part of the kit is a whitepaper with over 90 pages and seven chapters. The API mapping too is described as a sort of translation dictionary that will help the Android dev to figure out what WinPo 7 equivalents for Android code is. Microsoft says, “Think of the API mapping tool as being like a translation dictionary.” Microsoft says that it has also opened the API mapping tool up for feedback from devs. The tool allows the developers to add comments directly to the existing mapping systems if something is inaccurate the devs can let Microsoft know. Microsoft also notes that mapping is tedious work and is ongoing so devs shouldn’t expect mapping for all of the APIs. Microsoft has also hired an “App Guy” that crawls over forums to answer questions about porting Android apps to WinPo 7. [via Windowsteamblog.com] )
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| Google cooking iMessage rival: Boosted GTalk app in works? Posted: 10 Jun 2011 02:23 AM PDT Google is reportedly readying an Apple iMessage and BlackBerry Messenger rival of its own, according to the latest rumors, potentially allowing Android device owners to bypass SMS and MMS messaging on their handsets and tablets. According to the WSJ, Google “has also recently worked on a messaging application, a person familiar with the matter said.”
The rumors have surfaced in the aftermath of Apple’s iMessage announcement, part of the upcoming iOS 5 upgrade to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Like RIM’s BBM, iMessage will allow for text, photo and multimedia messages, sent to individuals and to groups. Details on Google’s system are unclear, though of course the company already has Google Talk, its IM app that integrates with Android devices as well as Gmail users in the browser and as a standalone app for PC. The most likely route seems to be enhancing GTalk so that it supports the same advanced functionality as iMessage and BBM, with the added bonus of being compatible with the established desktop ecosystem. )
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| Voloco music/voice processing app is bizarre offspring from creepy controller [Video] Posted: 10 Jun 2011 01:01 AM PDT What do you mean, you’ve never wanted a springbok-horn decorated, motion-sensing music controller glove? The musos at Jazari would be disappointed with you, though you can probably make it up to them by downloading their new Android app, Voloco.
Voloco is basically a real-time automatic tuning, pitch-shifting and vocoding app, based on Jazari’s custom vocal processing software as shown in action in the video below. Load up a song from your phone’s music library and it will automatically identify its tuning; you can then record your own mangling efforts. Unfortunately, it won’t let you control a vast array of percussion instrumentation simply by moving your hands. That will have to be left to the experts, as in the somewhat bizarre video below. You can download Voloco free from the Android Market.
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| Motorola PHOTON 4G Displays Awesomeness of Riptide GP via HDMI Posted: 09 Jun 2011 08:38 PM PDT If there’s one single game we’ve talked about more than any other in the past few months, it’s GOT to be Riptide GP. Not necessarily because it’s the greatest game of all time or anything, but because the developers just keep getting in there with jabs of awesome. Today what we’ve got is one of the developers of Riptide GP, our good friend Matt Small of Vector Unit, demoing the game in its current form with the Motorola PHOTON 4G playing on a big-screen television over HDMI. Take a watch!
This game has showed up more than twice before in our feed, first appearing in a video in a post by the name of LG G-Slate Demoes NVIDIA Tegra 2 Optimized Riptide GP. That was back in March at CTIA 2011 in Orlando Florida. Next we got word of an opportunity for us, the luckiest Android lovers in the world, to play a BETA of the game on our very own G-Slate. So we did of course! That post went by the name of Riptide GP [BETA] Review / Game Demo on LG G-Slate and contained a full video review. Finally we reviewed the full version of the game in a post called Riptide GP Upgraded Video Review – what a blast! Now check out the brand new Motorola PHOTON 4G running the NIVIDA Tegra 2 optimized game through an HDMI cable to a gigantic television at the Motorola event we attended in New York City today. Look at how much fun that is! Look at how awesome it feels to use that tiny handset to play such a magnificently large game! Don’t drown as you flip and blast through fireworks! Also [go download the app right now] if you’ve already got a dual-core device running NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset. Don’t know if you do? You’ll only be able to download the app if your device is stocked with the Tegra 2 dual-core processor, so no worries! Also, BONUS POINTS if you can correctly guess the song being played, the artist, and the artist behind the original song from whens it came! )
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| Motorola XPRT Hands-On [Videos] Posted: 09 Jun 2011 08:14 PM PDT What you’re about to look at is a hands-on look at a device that’s existed in a slightly different form-factor for several months, dating all the way back to 2010, in fact, having then been released as the DROID Pro on a carrier you’ll certainly be able to guess from that name. This new version has an ever-so-slightly improved user interface, an ever-so-slightly improved set of hardware, and just a LITTLE tweak to the battery. Actually quite a significant tweak to the battery. Let’s have a look, shall we?
The two videos in this post are A-Roll and B-Roll, the latter being a video that didn’t really make the cut for an official hands-on video, but does have some relatively valuable information in it so we decided to have a chop anyway. The first video is a top-down look at the device, all of the basics plus some lovely specific oddities and uses for the insides as well as the out. This device has a 1860mAh battery instead of the DROID Pro’s slightly more pitiful 1420mAh. This means the device will be getting a significant boost in uptime during the day, pushing this device more than likely to the 24 hours mark where its predecessor often failed to attain the same goal. On the back of this phone you’ve got a 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, inside you’ve got Android 2.2 Froyo and a 1GHz OMAP processor, and throughout you’ve got the ability to use the device to connect in many locations around the world. This means the device is connected along CDMA (EVDO Rev. A), GSM/UMTS (HSPA), it's got 3G hotspot capability, Quickoffice including Quickword, Quicksheet, Quickpoint, and QuickPDF files out of the box.
The display is a 3.1″ HVGA TFT LCD display at 320 x 480 pixel resolution and below the display you’ll be working with a full QWERTY keyboard in a rather familiar form (even the keys are bent the same way!) The same way as another bit of hardware from a different manufacturer, I’m sure you know which one. This device has 2GB ROM, 512MB RAM, and a microSD card slot with a 2GB card in it out of the box and the ability to hold a 32GB card for all your infinite media containing delight. Have a look at how it works with the official dock, too, pretty neat and reminiscent of what’s going on with the PHOTON now as well. See the original announcement of the Motorola XPRT here, and our super hands-on with the Motorola PHOTON 4G here. You’ll be able to purchase this phone from… several days ago, June 5th, for $129.99 with a two year contract connected to it.              )
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| Motorola PHOTON 4G Car Dock, Multimedia Dock, and Webtop Hands-On Posted: 09 Jun 2011 06:27 PM PDT I bet you thought our hands-on with the Motorola PHOTON 4G was done, didn’t you? Turns out there were a few more videos in our camera that we’d been working on when we were totally kicked out of the event because they had to get ready for Spinal Tap to play at the venue. Bummer! Good news for you, we’ve still got the video and you’re about to see it. This is a hands-on with several items: the Car Dock, the Multimedia Dock, and the new version of Motorola’s Webtop functionality. Have a peek and let us know what you think!
What you’re going to see here is a car dock that attaches to your vehicle’s dash with a suction cup, then holds the device in place with gravity and a little bit of a clamp. While there is a microUSB port popping out of this dock, it does nothing more than physically activating the car dock mode for the device – you’re out of luck if you’d like to have your PHOTON charging while you’re getting directions with this piece of hardware. On the other hand it is certainly a relatively new situation seeing the manufacturer pushing the in-car functionality like this, certainly a gamble given that docks such as these are illegal in several places in the country because of reckless use. What do you think? Will you use the dock? Next you’ll see a dock you should already be rather familiar with because it’s essentially the exact same dock that the Motorola ATRIX 4G uses. Not having that dock to place side-by-side with this one I can’t exactly tell you how it’s different, but I wager the pop-off top is the only bit that’s changed to make way for the slightly larger chassis of the PHOTON. That said, have a look at how our friendly Motorola narrator lets us know of the abilities you’ll have with this newest version of Motorola’s futuristic vision for device singularity.                        )
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| Galaxy Tab 10.1 Google I/O Edition Honeycomb 3.1 update rolling out now Posted: 09 Jun 2011 05:42 PM PDT If you were one of the lucky few (5,000) live at Google I/O 2011 this year then you probably received a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 courtesy of Google. They gave all those lucky and faithful developers a tablet to keep. News today is those fancy Limited Edition Galaxy Tab’s are now getting the OTA update to Android 3.1 Honeycomb. All you have to do is sign in to the Galaxy Tab with your Samsung account or make a new one and then hit “check for updates” in the about me page.
If you have rooted or changed the recovery on your Tab 10.1 you might want to hold off til the developers at XDA get this OTA and root it, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours for that to happen anyways. Otherwise go ahead and hit settings, about me, and check for updates and enjoy some 3.1 Honeycomb on the reboot. Feel free to check out our Tab 10.1 Google I/O Limited Edition Review while you are here. Oh and if you are one of the unlucky few that received this tablet and are having problems with the glass or screen separating from the device check out this story about displays breaking and feel free to comment. We went ahead and ran the update on our very own Limited Edition Tab we have on hand, it required that we sign in or make an account with Samsung. After signing up the update popped right up and we were good to go. Check it out below and don’t mind the stand, it’s the dog.
We waited a good few minutes for it to download and then to complete but everything is up and running smooth for us now. Re-sizable widgets is a big one and I’m happy to finally have the option. If you haven’t updated your Galaxy Tab 10.1 Google I/O Limited Edition I recommend you do it soon because Honeycomb 3.1 sure runs great.
   UPDATE: We and half the rest of the internet have noticed that if you were rooted and choose to update to 3.1, you’ll still be rooted after you’ve completed the update. Convenient! Did the same happen for you? )
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| Motorola PHOTON 4G Car Dock and Multimedia Dock Revealed Posted: 09 Jun 2011 05:41 PM PDT Word on the streets is that the brand new PHOTON 4G just announced by Motorola today (June 8th, 2011,) will have more than just your standard ATRIXish capabilities of desktop and multimedia mode, it’ll have a brand new manufacturer-created car dock. The PHOTON 4G is the newest NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core phone on the market, perfect for playing games and outputting video via HDMI – is promoting the in-car capabilities with an official dock a step too far into our all-the-time connectedness lives?
This phone is one that’s trying its darndest to stay in front of your face at any point in the day, no matter what you’re doing. It’s got a kickstand built in to it so it can stand at your desk when your preparing a salad. It’s got the ability to output media to your giant television via HDMI, it’s got more than one docking mode for media playing and data organization – and productivity, don’t forget productivity. HDMI works through the phone’s HDMI port by itself, or through the Multimedia dock – but what about this car dock? While this isn’t the first time a car dock for a device such as this has been offered, it’s certainly the first time a manufacturer has been so forthcoming with the phone’s ability to work as a partner to you in the car. While your humble narrator has used smartphones to direct via spoken aloud GPS directions in the past, I’ve got to say that it’s never really seemed safe enough to have one’s name attached it it. Is the activity of using one’s smartphone in one’s car something Motorola should be pushing as a great idea? Time will tell! Also check out the rest of our dual-core madness coverage in the Motorola Photon 4G portal!       )
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| U.S. Cellular launching Seven Android Smartphones by End of the Year Posted: 09 Jun 2011 04:03 PM PDT We have just got the official word that U.S. Cellular has some big plans for Android in the coming months of 2011. From now until the end of 2011 U.S. Cellular will be launching seven Android powered smartphones. The carrier is expanding its portfolio to offer more features, handset styles and pricing options to help its customers select the one that best meets their needs. With seven handsets on their way, all said to be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread we sense some good things coming from U.S Cellular soon, especially considering most carriers do not offer many 2.3 devices or are still in the upgrade process.
The upcoming devices feature large touchscreens, additional models will feature full QWERTY keyboards and all the usual specs of smartphones these days. All seven phones will be Google-certified and will come pre-loaded with all the apps we are used to such as Google Maps, Market, Gmail and more. They also plan to bring a 7″ HTC Tablet to market but did not mention if this would in fact be running Android 2.3 or if it will be Honeycomb, we can hope for the latter. They mention multiple HTC devices running android as well as a Motorola device with a dual-core processor and 4.3″ display, but they better hurry with that one. There is also talk of an LG branded Android phone so it looks like they plan to hit all the sweet spots. There was also brief mention about a Windows Phone 7 device but that doesn’t concern us in the android world. Feel free to check out the full press release below for all the juicy details, oh and in case you forgot U.S. Cellular does not make you sign a contract. So you could get the latest and greatest from them with no contractual obligations and just enjoy your Android. )
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| Samsung Droid Charge getting EE4 Update, Improves 4G Connectivity and Battery Life Posted: 09 Jun 2011 02:51 PM PDT The Samsung Droid Charge is just the second phone to launch with Verizon 4G LTE, it may be blazing fast but it is not perfect. Lucky for all you Charge owners Verizon has just given the green light for an update to begin rolling out. The update should come OTA (over the air) right to the device and it should fix a slew of issues and problems as well as bring on many performance and 3G/4G connectivity improvements.
The update isn’t extremely large, EE4 comes in at just 9.9MB in size, but the enhancements and changes are worth the update that is for sure. Like mentioned above they have fixed multiple 3G/4G data and signal connectivity issues, as well as signal switching. Another update that is probably a biggie for many is the restorationi of mobile hotspot functionality. The Droid Charge launched after being initially delayed for a 4G LTE outage, but was quickly brought to market after they fixed her up. You can see our full review of the Droid Charge by clicking here. If you were one of the few that following the @DroidLanding bit on twitter than you’ll probably enjoy our Interview with a Droid Charge Hunter. Please feel free to comment below if you get the update, let us know how the changes and improvements are working as we’d love to hear from you. For a full list of the changes in the update check out the source link below.
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| Buy a Motorola Xoom Wifi and get a Bluetooth Keyboard Free Posted: 09 Jun 2011 02:17 PM PDT I know many of you are probably holding out for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or possibly even something better later in the year, but if you are still waiting and plan to pick up the Motorola Xoom now would be a good time to do so. Motorola is offering a bluetooth keyboard free with the purchase of the Motorola Xoom Wifi on their online store now until June 20th. The Bluetooth keyboard is a $69.99 value and will ship with the same free 2-day shipping as the Xoom.
Go ahead and head on over to the Motorola online store, or just click here for the Xoom page. Once you add both the Xoom and the bluetooth keyboard to your cart you will see the amazing savings. Even though it wont be free you can also get the Xoom Keyboard Folio Leather case on sale right now from Verizon by checking out this story. You’ll have to decide if the case is worth it to you, or if you’ll just take the free bluetooth keyboard and be happy with it. Enjoy! [via Motorola] )
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| Motorola Confirms Photon 4G will indeed have a locked bootloder Posted: 09 Jun 2011 02:06 PM PDT It looks like the exciting news that the Photon 4G would come with an unlocked bootloader has been put to rest, Motorola was quick to come out and confirm that the statements made in the NYC event today about it having an unlocked bootloader were incorrect. After a few looked for confirmation it looks like the real story will still have to wait.
All of us Android nerds were surely excited to hear the possibility of it being unlocked as this opens the doors for customization and many other things like CyanogenMod 7 and other custom roms. Sadly that will have to be on another device, although progress has been made on the Atrix 4G so the possibilities are still open as we have an amazing development community. According to a Motorola Global PR representative, the PHOTON 4G will NOT have an unlocked bootloader, we don’t have any more details regarding this but hopefully it will get updated along with the new bootloader policy later in 2011.
[via Android Central] )
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| The All-New NOOK hands-on and unboxing by SlashGear Posted: 09 Jun 2011 01:20 PM PDT Our good friend Vincent Nguyen over at our sister site SlashGear has just received the All-New NOOK e-reader and has done a full hands-on and unboxing for us all to enjoy. The All-New NOOK replaces the originally NOOK that had a color LCD screen and the e-reader display both. This time around things are focused clearly on reading with the new E-Ink Pearl display that offers an 80% improvement in screen refresh rate.
With no color LCD screen or keyboard it certainly is compact, all while being a little lighter than the latest Kindle. It features a 6″ E-Ink touchscreen display, 800 Mhz processor, 238mb of available storage, as well as Wifi and a MicroSD slot. With it being a simple 6″ touchscreen it sure feels small, light, and having a soft touch coating and concave recess on the back to help your grip remain comfortable.
The new E-Ink Pearl Display is touch enabled using emitters down the edge of its sleek bezel. The only weakness of the display is still the refresh lag while the screen flickers to output new text, but this new model should be much faster than your previous e-reader. The page-turn strips down either side of the 6-inch display fall neatly under the fingertips for quick and easy turning the page without touching the screen, that is a nice touch.
Having just received the All-New NOOK he has only been able to enjoy it for a short while, so feel free to check out the unboxing video below as well as the full gallery and stay tuned for the full SlashGear review coming soon. All-New NOOK hands-on and unboxing video              [via SlashGear] )
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| Motorola PHOTON 4G will NOT have a locked bootloader Posted: 09 Jun 2011 12:21 PM PDT The big news coming out of the Motorola event today in NYC was the release of the Photon 4G and the Motorola Triumph. We are just getting word now that even bigger news is coming from this event, the Motorola PHOTON 4G will NOT have a locked bootloader. This is huge news for all of us android nerds in the world as most of their latest devices have all been locked down, including the Atrix 4G and Droid X2.
This was mentioned by a few Motorola Reps from the event so hopefully we can get more confirmation in the coming hours and will report back as soon as we know more. This would be a major move by Motorola and probably only because of the recent policy issues HTC have been facing and now changed regarding bootloaders. Maybe HTC deciding to unlock all future devices has made Motorola do the same, we sure hope so. While we are on the bootloader topic we must mention the Motorola Droid Bionic, does this mean we can also hope for it to feature an unlocked bootloader, and if so it just went to the top of the list for must have phone of the summer. We are reaching out to our sources at Motorola to hopefully get some more details regarding this so stay tuned and feel free to tell us what you think in the comments below. )
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Today the bulk of the developers out there tend to focus on the major platforms like Android and iOS. There are other smartphone platforms that devs work on and Microsoft wants to woo Android developers to develop their apps for Windows Phone 7 as well. To make the development process for Android to WinPo 7 easier and smoother for devs Microsoft has announced a new software kit for Android devs.
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