First Dual Screen Smartphone

 

This here is the first dual screen smartphone. And it’s running Android. I feel cooler just for having a phone that runs the same operating system as that thing. When I first saw it, I thought it was a new Nintendo DS design. The Droid was lauded for having the slide out keyboard, well the Echo has a slide out second screen. In the closed position it’s just like a standard touchscreen smartphone and can make calls and surf the web and such, but the awesome thing here is that you can slide the top back and make a single big touchscreen, with a slight split since they are two separate screens. It can function as one contiguous screen, displaying large images or videos or interwebs, oooooor you can use some of it’s highly modified apps to use the two screens separately. Like have the web browser in the top window and the mail app in the bottom window. And if you don’t like the idea of having one large area (maybe you’re not a tablet fan) that odd looking hinge on the back also lets it lock into a bent laptop style position. That would be amazing for typing an email or writing an article on the bottom screen while looking at your source content on the upright screen

Anyway, both of the screens are 3.5 inch WVGA, Hi Res, as if any phone these days isn’t. When they activate their wonder twin powers to work together, they take the form of a tablet screen 4.7 inches diagonally. I really wish these companies would give us the length and width of a screen along with the diagonal. A² + B² = 4.7. Great. In any case, it also includes the Wi-Fi hotspot utility for linking up to 5 other devices to the internet, a 5MP camera, the 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and a small 1 jigabyte of built in memory but an included 8 gig microSD card. The slot can also support up to 32 gigs of microSD card as usual.

Source from http://theandroidblog.com/

iPad 2 vs Motorola Xoom vs BlackBerry Playbook vs Dell Streak 7

Back in 2010, there was just the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the shops, tablet-wise. We’d seen the BlackBerry Playbook and were patiently waiting for a UK release date.

Now there’s the Motorola Xoom and the Dell Streak 7, both confirmed for the UK, and both of which run on Android. Toshiba and Panasonic are working on some yet-to-be named Android tabs as well.

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again; if 2010 was the Year of Android Phones, then 2011 is going to be the Year of Android Tablets.

Though absent from CES, the follow up to the iPad made its presence felt. Given the prevalence of tablets that are coming with a dual-camera set up, we’re going out on a limb here and guessing that the iPad 2 will feature this too. We think given the competition its up against, the iPad 2 is going to have to be something special. So, without further ado, here's how we reckon the first round of the 2011 Tablet Wars is going to go down.

iPad 2

With Facetime on the iPhone 4 , Apple managed to convince everyone that video calling was cool and useful. For this reason we’d be very surprised if the iPad 2 didn’t roll with a couple of cameras to facilitate this. We imagine that the main camera will at least match that of the iPhone; i.e. 5-megapixels, HDR mode, records HD video etc. We think that the secondary camera would be at least 2-megapixels, a la the competition. Or, they might go one better and a have a front-facing camera that’s of equal power to the main one.

Everything else that’s being said about the iPad 2 at the moment is of course straight out of Rumourville. From its internal memory, mooted to be 128GB, to the date of its announcement/release, which some people are saying is the 1st of February

Motorola Xoom

Having seen the Motorola Xoom in action we can safely say that the iPad 2 is going to have to be something special to beat this. The Motorola Xoom looks fantastic, both outside and in. It's got a beautiful reflective finish, and no physical or exterior keys, as everything is done on the 10.1-inch touchscreen. Android 3.0, as we all know, is the first OS from Google to be tailored specifically for tabs. It is hands down the nicest we’ve seen Android looking on any device so far. The Xoom plays 1080p HD video effortlessly, features two cameras (5-megapixels w/ flash on the back, 2-megapixels on the front) and has a whopping 32GB of internal memory. Scared, iPad 2? You should be.

BlackBerry Playbook

Like the Motorola Xoom, the BlackBerry  Playbook features a 1Ghz dual-core processor, and is a capable multitasker. We’ve seen it running games while keeping the browser open while powering through high definition videos. We particularly like the look of the browser and how Facebook is integrated. The Playbook’s got a 7-inch screen as opposed to those of the Xoom and (we guess) the iPad 2. We have to disagree with Steve Job's comment about 7-inches not being enough. In our review of the Galaxy Tab (which also has a 7-inch screen) we found this to be just about fine, size-wise. Having not had much real hands-on time with the Playbook or RIM’s Tablet OS, it’s hard to say how it’ll compare against iOS 4, Android 3.0 or even Android 2.2. Our money’s on it being a bit more suited to tablets than Froyo though.

Dell Streak 7

The Dell Streak 7 might not boast the visual loveliness or the tablet optimisation of Android 3.0 as runs on 2.2/Froyo (with a 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade to follow). And, it doesn’t boast the same screen size of the Motorola Xoom (7-inches opposed to 10). But it’s packing a Tegra 2 processor, meaning it’ll be able to handle high-end titles like Dungeon Defender: First Wave no problem. The smaller size might make it more of a hit with gamers, as it's going to be more portable than a 10-inch tab. The Dell Streak 7 is set to come in 16GB and 32GB flavours. Presumably the 16GB edition will be a bit easier on the wallet, compared to something that’s got a bigger screen and only available in a 32GB size.

Source from http://www.digitaltrends.com/

LG Optimus Pad with Android 3.0 Honeycomb

LG Optimus Pad runs on Android 3.0 Honeycomb and packs a 8.9-inch 3D display, 32GB internal storage and two cameras (5 megapixel and a smaller 2 megapixel one) that combined can capture 3D stereoscopic 1080p video recordings. There’s a Single LED flash and all-round connectivity package. Unfortunately, to watch 3D content on the G-Slate you’ll need to use 3D glasses. A pair of the glasses will be provided with the device.

Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL-Super Clear LCD screen

The Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL has a 4" WVGA Super Clear LCD display instead of a SuperAMOLED unit (hopefully, the new name will prevent confusion).
Anyway, the I9003 Galaxy SL will come with Android 2.2 Froyo out of the box and the innards are very, very similar to the I9000 - except the CPU, which is a 1GHz TI OMAP 3630 instead of a Hummingbird CPU. Oh, and the internal memory is 16GB, there's no 8GB version. We can also report that the user available RAM has gone some 138MB up from the original Galaxy S.

Motorola XOOM tablet running Android 3.0 Honeycomb

Today Motorola and Verizon Wireless officially unveiled the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb powered tablet computer, the Motorola XOOM. The XOOM features a 10.1 inch display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and supports 3G and Wi-Fi data connections from the start, and will support Verizon's 4G LTE based network after an update that is expected in the second quarter of this year.

The XOOM features a dual-core 1GHz processor for up to 2GHz of processing power and is powerful enough to play 1080p HD video content on the built-in display or on an external TV using the built-in HDMI support. The XOOM's web browser supports Adobe Flash for a fully featured web browsing experiences, and photographers and chatty folk alike will approve of the XOOM's dual cameras. The main 5 megapixel camera can be used for stills and 720p HD video recording, and the forward facing 2 megapixel camera is perfect for video chats.

In addition to the new features offered by Android 3.0, such as split-screen apps, a new virtual keyboard, and Google Talk video chatting, the Motorola XOOM also can act as a mobile hotspot on Verizon's network, allowing other Wi-Fi devices to make use of the XOOM's connectivity.

The Motorola XOOM is expected to be available for purchase later in the first quarter of 2011

Motorola Atrix with full HD 1080p video

The already eagerly awaited Motorola Atrix is making headlines again this time making a hint of 1080p video capture. Having a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU roaring inside, it should come as no surprise that this monster droid would offer Full HD recording much like the Optimus 2X, for instance.

The device is set to initially come with 720p video recording and 1080p playback via it's HDMI port but a vigilant read spotted a remark in the manufacturer's specs that promises 1080p video recording via a post-launch software update.

So far information on the update concerns only the AT&T version, the Atrix 4G.

It's some great news for the fans waitig eagerly for the official launch of the Atrix, especially now that the Tegra-loving LG Optimus 2X is already flaunting it's fullHD capturing capabilities.
Since the 1080p video capture will probably be a major selling point of the Atrix 4G, we really hope Motorola doesn't take long with the update as it did with the updates of most of its other GSM Android smartphones.

Source from http://www.talkandroid.com/

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play

Sony Ericsson has finally made the XPERIA Play official through a creepy Super Bowl commercial. The presentation is still scheduled for 13 February, but now you finally know what to expect then.
We've already lost count of the XPERIA Play leaks, pictures, videos, previews, benchmarks, etc. Sony Ericsson did the right thing teasing with the Super Bowl ad and making the XPERIA Play somewhat official. Really, it was about time.