February 12, 2009 by Tap
With this years Mobile World Congress just days away the hope was that this would be the ideal opportunity for Samsung to launch their first Android handset. Unfortunately, according to the UK's Guardian, Younghee Lee, head of marketing at Samsung's mobile device division, said there will be no Android phone at the show, but they are "planning internally" for a release in the second half of the year. She said the company is in negotiations with a number of operators about taking a Samsung-designed Android phone.
Via: Guardian.co.uk
Update: February 15, 2009 - according to an article posted eFluxMedia it seems that Samsung never had any intention of revealing an Android phone at MWC and that "their development process is right on time, with the release coming in the second part of the year - just as scheduled."
February 10, 2009 by Tap
Known for their highly acclaimed media players and Internet Media Tablets, Archos today announced that they are working on a new IMT that will combine Google's Android telephony stack and the ARCHOS' multimedia framework. According to the official press release, "With the integration of voice, ARCHOS is looking to expand beyond portable media players to provide solutions for the converged space, where a foundation in high-quality video content delivery is a benefit." In addition to Android functionality and voice support, the new
ARCHOS' IMT will offer:
- PC-like Internet experience enhanced by a high-resolution 5” screen and full-width
page viewing
- Adobe Flash and Flash Video support, full screen
- Access whenever and wherever to TV, movies, photos, music and games
- Uncompromised TV recording and High Definition (HD) playback, all formats
- Hundreds of hours of video storage, up to 500 GB
- Innovative design: compact 10-mm ultra-thin tablet
- Long battery life, 7 hours’ video playback
- 3.5G 7.2 Mb/s HSUPA
- Laptop-like performance from the first implementation of OMAP3440 processor based on the ARM Cortex-A8 superscalar microprocessor and DSP
At this stage there is no word on exactly how the device will be launched or which operators will support it but it is scheduled for release in Q3 2009.
Via: Archos.com
February 4, 2009 by Tap
There's no shortage of news on Motorola's financial woes but are they pinning their hopes on Android this year? In a transcript of Motorola's Q4 2008 Earnings Call, co-CEO Sanjay Jan, seemed to indicate as such.
According to Sanjay, "Our Smartphone road map includes a variety of devices, many based on the Android operating system. Android is a flexible operating environment and has attracted thousands of developers with it as we believe we can enable differentiated user experience." He went on to say that "We think that one of the reasons that we've liked Android is that we could focus a lot of [development] dollars on differentiating, because we don't have to develop the platform ground-up."
At this point, no specifics have been mentioned but it looks like Motorola is another manufacturer to watch closely at this year's MWC.
Via: Seeking Alpha
February 2, 2009 by Tap
Following a successful launch in the UK and US in 2008, Shazam has announced that it's mobile music discovery application is now available across Europe on the Android platform.
Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam said, "We've enabled huge numbers of users to shape their own unique music experience through Shazam on Android, and extending our top rated service into new markets across Europe brings Shazam to an even wider audience." Fisher continues, "Bringing music discovery and the ability to connect with new artists by purchasing tracks through Amazon, becoming 'friends' with artists on MySpace to sharing information with friends and recommending music gems from our vast database takes Android users on an unparalleled individual musical journey."
Via: Shazam
February 1, 2009 by Tap
In an interview with FierceWireless, T-Mobile's Neville Ray (senior vice president of engineering and operations) has confirmed that the operator will be launching more G series phones this year. T-Mobile is really making a big push with 3G and has it's sights firmly set on with Verizon and AT&T. Based on the succesful rollout of the G1 together with T-Mobile's focus on consumer devices it looks like US consumers are going to be spoilt for choice in 2009.
Via: FierceWireless
February 1, 2009 by Tap
A followup to the HTC Google G1 was inevitable but could this be it? Recently added to China Grabber, a US sourcing and distribution company, is the Google Dream G200i.
Specifications seem credible enough. It uses the same Qualcomm MSM7201 processor as the G1 but has no keyboard and uses a slightly smaller 2.8 inch screen. The big ommissions however are no support for 3G or WiFi which seems to make this phone a bit of a step backwards - not the kind of thing that HTC would do making it seem very likely that they had nothing to do with this phone.
So would you pay $229 for an EDGE cell phone just because it runs Android? I remain unconvinced. You can see the full specifications and order online at China Grabber.
February 1, 2009 by Tap
Could Dell finally be getting into the phone market? According to the Wall Street Journal, the answer is yes. Sources say that engineeers have been working on phones for more than a year and produced prototypes running Google Android and Windows Mobile. The big question of course is which OS they'll choose and just when are we going to get some confirmation. Could Dell be lining up a big launch at this month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona? We'll just have to wait and see.
Via: Wall Street Journal