Remember that low-end assault that Google had in store for Android, plotting with LG and Huawei? Well, one of its representatives just got announced by Huawei, the Chinese electronics conglomerate. Slated for release almost everywhere on the globe, the Huawei Ideos packs Android 2.2 out of the gate, and has a 2.8″ QVGA capacitive touchscreen.

While the phone is nothing fancy in terms of design and raw CPU power (528MHz), Huawei claims it has worked in close cooperation with Google on the Ideos, so as to insure the smoothest stock Froyo experience possible. The handset packs 512MB ROM/256MB RAM, and has a 3MP camera.

It is fairly chubby at 0.53″ (13.5mm), but will come in a variety of flashy colors for all the GSM and UMTS/HSDPA bands you can imagine. Thus the US might easily be seeing it on AT&T or T-Mobile, since it recently hit the FCC. It has Wi-Fi n, and doubles as a mobile hotspot for up to eight devices.

The magic number here appears to be 200 (pounds, euros, dollars), as from prices floating around it seems that the Ideos won’t probably jump over that threshold in any country, making it an extremely affordable off-contract Froyo handset. Huawei claims that, since it has been working closely with Google on the handset, it will be promptly OTA updated to the new Android versions when they roll out.

source: Pocket-Lint

A battery life test run by the folks from Laptopmag has produced some predetermined results. They wrote an Android app to run a web browsing test in controlled environment (60 websites changed every 60 seconds), and turned off all but the cellular data connectivity options. The web browsing was left plain and simple, with Flash and other plug-ins off, and the screens remained on all the time with 40% brightness.

The results are not very surprising if you look at the official manufacturer’s numbers for the tested handsets, however it’s good to have them confirmed by a 3rd party as well. The worst performer was the HTC Droid Incredible, but the authors admit that the type of testing chosen takes the most toll on AMOLED screens. Their power consumption when showing white backgrounds, as found in most websites, is triple the one of regular LCD displays. In other circumstances like shades of gray or colors, they consume way less power, but white is a killer. If the testers had chosen continuous video play, for instance, the results of the Incredible probably would have been better. Not to mention that it has a 1300mAh battery, while most of the others tested are with 1500mAh ones.

Nevertheless, on top of the smartphone pack climbed the two latest DROIDs from Motorola. The DROID 2 lasted 7:07 hours, and the DROID X the whopping 7:42 hours. Considering these two handsets are with the power-sipping TI OMAP 3630 produced with the 45nm technology, those hours are quite explicable. We wonder if the Super AMOLED screens don’t have the same power consumption disadvantage to the LCDs when a white background is continuously displayed that the AMOLED ones have. That might explain the fact that Samsung’s Vibrant, Captivate and EPIC 4G fared worse than the DROIDs, regardless of the fact that their Hummingbird chipsets are produced with the 45nm process as well.

Of note here was the top-notch performance of the Dell Streak, which fitted right smack in the middle between the DROIDs with 7:35 hours of battery life as tested. And this is despite the large 5″ screen, and the 65nm Snapdragon inside. Looks like the Streak was born to browse.

Have a look at the full endurance chart below to see how everybody fared.
source: LaptopMag

We saw a few pictures and video of the upcoming Android-based Dell Thunder the other day, and now it has received a hands-on preview of two early prototypes dated from April this year. The main design take from the physical exam is that the handset stays with the same classy chromed sides, soft-touch plastic and curved front glass we saw before, and liked.

The prototypes were having the 4.1” screen space occupied by regular LCD screens, one with 480×800 resolution and the other with something in the realms of 768×1280 pixels, which, if materialized in a production phone, will be more than the iPhone 4’s Retina Display in pixel density. Our napkin calculations came up with 364ppi density, while the iPhone 4 has 326ppi. Take those densities with a grain of salt, though, we don’t know what the production units will ship with. The screen was rumored to be OLED all along, and these on the prototypes look vanilla LCDs, but who knows, it might be exactly DELL stunning the world in that regard. Hope is what keeps us ticking.

Other than the screen, the rest of the rumored specs are confirmed from the prototypes – 1GHz Snapdragon chipset and 8MP camera with LED flash, no front-facing cam for now. The previewers found one of the prototypes to be of AWS frequency, which means T-Mobile might be getting the Thunder besides the originally cited AT&T. They also shot a wild guess that it might appear on Verizon or Sprint due to a software they found on one of the devices, called Qualcomm CDMA Programming. We wouldn’t be so sure about it based on that nugget, as the name of the company branch is Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, and Snapdragon is Qualcomm’s creation, so it might be just its general utility software for tweaking both GSM and CDMA basebands in its Snapdragon phones.

Nevertheless, on the software front things are not getting clearer based on the two units – one had Android 2.1, the other 1.6, but considering the rumors that the Thunder will ship with a Hulu app and Flash 10.1, the handset will probably be outed with Froyo onboard. There was no DELL overlay on top of the stock Android, so we will have to wait for the real deal to have a glimpse of the promised custom “Stage” UI.
source: Engadget

Nexus One owners have now received the final build of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 to install on their device. Finally out of beta, the final version is officially 10.1.92.8 and can be downloaded for free from the Android Market. Or, if you already have one of the beta copies installed, you can upgrade your handset with the final build. Of course, you need to have already received your firmware upgrade to Android 2.2 before you can even think about installing Flash Player.

While Verizon has decided to split the Froyo upgrade for the Motorola DROID into two parts before the Flash Player can be downloaded, many owners of the Time Magazine 2009 Gadget of The Year have yet to receive the first part of the OTA upgrade, which is supposed to be completed by this Wednesday. As we reported,  Adobe had posted that the same date is to be the debut of Flash Player 10.1 in the Android Market for the first-gen DROID. Now it seems that this Wednesday will just be another day. A Big Red spokesman said, “The Android 2.2 (”Froyo”) upgrade continues to be rolled out in phases to DROID by Motorola users on the Verizon Wireless network. Later this summer users will be able to download Adobe Flash Player 10.1 from the Android Market.” The phrase “Later this summer…” sure seems to indicate that if owners of the first-gen DROID want to immediately start viewing embedded videos and animated ads in the browser, their best bet is to upgrade to the DROID 2 which was shipped with Android 2.2 and Flash Player 10.1 pre-installed on the phone.
source: AndroidCentral

Think of it what you will, but HTC is sending out invites en masse through the tech blogosphere for a mysterious event to be held September the 15th in London. Could it be the HTC Schubert/Mozart Windows Phone 7 device? The HTC Desire HD?

We hope it might also be the first official announcement of a dual-core Snapdragon smartphone from HTC. The last time they held an event in London, it was for the unveiling of the HTC Hero with Sense UI on Android, but we have the sneaking suspicion that in a month they will unveil something even more exciting. Any other guesses?
source: Pocket-Lint

Garmin’s first venture into the smartphone market didn’t go quite as planned, but when you look back at the reputation the Nuvifone G60 brought to the table for AT&T, it was undoubtedly surprising to say the least that they were coming back for seconds. Instead of relying on their own home brewed Linux based platform, the long time GPS maker decided to ride the wave of Android – seeing that a handful of other companies experienced strong sales by siding with the open platform. Granted though it brought the core elements of Android that we all know and love, it still fared below the level that other manufacturers brought along with their customized experience. Garmin recently reported their Q2 financial statement with some good numbers being backed by their tried & true business of dedicated GPS handheld devices, however, things weren’t so great in their continued smartphone venture.

CEO Dr. Min Kao said in their statement, “In the quarter, we also launched the GarminfoneA50 with T-Mobile and the nüvifone A10 with Optus in Australia. Sales of our smartphone product category contributed $27M in revenue during the quarter. While this was below our plan, we are working aggressively with T-Mobile and other carriers around the globe on the appropriate positioning and pricing of our devices in the competitive smartphone space.”

Now the key point you need to look at here is the fact that their smartphone sales only managed to generate $27 million in revenue – yes, just revenue and not profit. Additionally, Dr. Kao mentioned that its was “below our plan” and they’re doing what they can to stay competitive in this always emerging market. This summer alone showcased the vast high-end Android offering available to consumers which made the Garminfone look quaint by comparison. Despite flaunting some less than impressive figures from their most recent smartphone venture, this is one key business they will need to look at with a close eye because the mobile market is encroaching on their usual turf at a faster rate – so they will really need to bring something compelling to the table next time around.
source: Garmin via Unwired View

When the G1 appeared on T-Mobile, it had a hefty amount of curiosity factor built-in, being the first device with Google’s own mobile OS since they bought the Android startup. The interface wasn’t that polished and functional, and there weren’t much, if any, apps behind it, so the year-old iPhone felt it had nothing to worry about.

With a swarm of dedicated owners and developers, though, the G1 outgrew its purpose and became a hardware platform for all kinds of Android ROM cooking, skinning, and application efforts. It even got graced with Android 2.2 lately, but after two years in existence, T-Mobile pulled the plug on the handset sales yesterday, and from now on it will only be a collector’s item. Don’t throw your bricked G1s yet, they might be worth a fortune when the little green robot conquers the world.
source: AndroidCentral

Early this month, we had a photograph to show you of the HTC Vision, which appears to be a physical QWERTY packin’ version of the HTC Desire .A nice surprise for your late Sunday viewing, an HTC Vision all dressed up wearing the T-Mobile brand. As far as the specs are concerned, you can round up the usual suspects-a 1GHz processor and 3.7 inch WVGA display and Android 2.1. What is unclear is if the T-Mobile branding represents the European carrier or T-Mobile U.S.A. and if it is the latter, perhaps this is the HSPA+ device that has been the topic of speculation. No word on a possible launch date or pricing but there is talk that the phone will be dubbed the G-1 “Blaze”.
source: Engadget via AndroidCentral

On the Android developers web site, Google passed along word that it is making some changes to the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement. The Search Engine company’s Tim Bray wrote that this is being done in preparation of changes being made to allow more payment options for purchasers of apps on the Android Market. Currently, buying an app requires the use of a credit card using Google’s Checkout. Google plans on allowing carriers to put the charges for apps purchased from the Market directly on each customer’s monthly phone bill. Presently, only T-Mobile allows customers in the U.S. to have app charges put on the monthly invoice.

To get things moving in the right direction, Google has made one change in the Agreement and has added a new section. Section 13.1 has been changed so that  “authorized carriers” have been added as an indemnified party.This is a big clue telling us what the Mountain View based company has in mind. They also added Section 13.2 , which covers indemnity for payment processors for claims related to tax accrual. All very bland legalese to be sure, but for those who would rather pay for app purchases through their carrier instead of using Google Checkout, these are two very good changes. Both the change and the addition take place in 30 days, so we would expect to hear some official word from Google about new payment options for the Android Market sometime late in August.
source: Androiddevelopers via AndroidGuys

HTC recently announced its best financial quarter ever, flying high on the wings of Google’s Android.  It is ready now to fall back in the arms of its old love story Microsoft in the quest to reach the targeted 8.5mln phone sales in Q4.

The next shot at greatness for HTC might come courtesy of Windows Phone 7, and the next generations of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets. If we gather all rumored HTC devices slated for the fall, most of them will be running WP7. We’ve had numerous reincarnations of the same specs appearing under different names for different carriers. The rumored HTC Mondrian might become the HTC Gold in UK, HTC Mozart on T-Mobile, and HTC Scorpion on Verizon. Not to mention WP7’s anointed partner AT&T, which might be getting it earlier than anybody else. These puppies are supposed to run the second generation 1.3GHz Snapdragon made with the 45nm technology, which should bring all kinds of good to battery life and performance.

When we add to the mix leaks for an HTC Vision phone running Android, and powered by dual-core CPU (what the third generation Snapdragons just happen to be), HTC might as well reach their 24mln yearly sales target, and then some. All in all, good things happen to those who wait… till October.
source: UnwiredView

HTC Vision

HTC Mondrian