Mobile Tweaks

Multiple T-Mobile retail locations are reporting that the Samsung Vibrant will now launch on July 15th, instead of the original date of July 21st. New customers can grab the high-end smartphone for $199 with a 2-year contract and the full price off-contract is $449.99.

If July 15th sounds familiar, that is also the same day Verizon is launching the Droid X for the same price. The Droid X has a larger 4.3 inch display and a higher 8 megapixel camera with flash, but the Vibrant has the best display technology (Super AMOLED) and the fastest graphics processor found in an Android phone. T-Mobile customers also have the added benefit of 4G-like speeds, thanks to T-Mobile’s upgrade to HSPA+.

The Vibrant is the first high-end 1 GHz Android phone to land on T-Mobile, so it might attract a bunch of customers who have been waiting to upgrade their handset. Of course there is always something faster around the corner, but the Vibrant’s beautiful display and super-fast GPU might make this the sweet spot to jump in.

So what’s it going to be T-Mobile fans? Is anyone lining up for the Vibrant or would you rather wait a couple more months and hold off for the rumored HTC Project Emerald?

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Source: Android and Me

T-Mobile is gearing up to release the Samsung Vibrant and Motorola Charm, but a leaked roadmap indicates at least five more Android phones are headed to the carrier later this year.

First, it looks like the newly announced Motorola Charm will launch on July 21st, the same day as the Vibrant. Then in August it looks like we have the CLIQ, CLIQ XT, and myTouch 3G scheduled to receive their long awaited Android 2.x upgrades.

In September things get interesting with a new Android device named the HTC Vanguard. That will be followed by two Android devices from Motorola, the Jordan and Beyond, which are listed to drop on November 3rd.

Next we have the long rumored HTC Project Emerald to launch on November 5th, which could turn out to be the chapter of T-Mobile’s Sidekick franchise.

Finally, it looks like T-Mobile will launch their first Android device from LG sometime in November.

If you are a long suffering T-Mobile customer that has been waiting to upgrade your G1, start saving your money and hope the HTC Emerald lives up to all the hype and rumors. I’m also really curious to see what Motorola comes up with to compete against HTC. It was reported they would deliver a 2 GHz phone, so we will wait anxiously.

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Source: Android and Me

The eBook train is a rollin’ in recent weeks, as Borders has just announced the release of an eBook Android application for its newly launched eBook service, powered by Kobo. The summer of 2010 will likely go down (in my mind anyway) as the summer of eBooks, as the Border’s release comes right on the heels of Amazon’s Kindle and Kobo’s standalone eBook reader applications.

I’m all for choice when it comes to eBook reader applications, as the more apps there are, the more book offerings there are likely to be. The Border’s eBook application is likely to bring with it a strong selection of ebooks from Border’s library and will likely be a solid addition to the Android ebook repertoire.

If you’re into eBooks on your Android phone, I’d encourage you to head over to the market (or scan the QR code above) and check out the Border’s eBooks application. After all, if you don’t like it, there are plenty of other choices for your eBook reading pleasure. The Borders application is available in the U.S. only and for Android 2.0 and above.

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Source: Android and Me

The Motorola MB710.

Update: As pointed out in the comments, these new documents were released exactly six months after the original posting on the FCC site. It is likely they were just released because a confidentiality agreement ended. The new leaked T-Mobile roadmap does not list any new Motorola phones till November so I’m going to call this one busted.

A phone that resembles the Motorola Motoroi (or Milestone XT720) has just sailed through the FCC with support for T-Mobile’s 3G network. Rumors of a Sholes tablet device for T-Mobile date back to last year, but this is the first hard evidence we have seen in months.

Included in the FCC documents is the model number MB710, external pictures of the device, and an early draft of the user manual which mentions T-Mobile specific services, such as MyFaves (now phased out), and it references Motoblur.

This same device actually appeared on the FCC’s site back in January, but the entry was updated yesterday with the new pictures and a user manual.

The additional time could have been used to refresh the specs to be competitive with today’s Android phones. The original Motorola Motoroi had a 600 MHz OMAP3430, then the newer Milestone XT720 was updated to include a 720 MHz OMAP3440 processor. Motorola’s latest high-end phones (Droid X and Droid 2) are now sporting a 1 GHz OMAP3630, which could be a good candidate for this T-Mobile version.

As we saw with the Droid 2, Motorola can easily swap out the processor and keep same overall phone design. At this point, we will have to wait and see what details materialize about the T-Mobile MB710.

For a better idea of what the final phone might look like, check out Motorola’s commercial for the UK Milestone XT720.

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Source: Android and Me

The Xperia X10 Mini has competition as the cutest Android phone. Motorola today announced the T-Mobile Charm, the first device in the U.S. to feature an enhanced version of Motoblur built on Android 2.1.

T-Mobile is expected to release the Motorola Charm this summer, but no launch date or price was revealed. However, leaked information suggest the phone could arrive later this month (July 21st) and be offered for free with a 2-year contract. When it becomes available, customers will be able to pick up the phone in two colors – Golden Bronze and Cabernet.

The Charm is one of the smallest Android phones measuring only 67.2 x 98.4 x 11.4 mm and weighing in at 110 grams. It features a 2.8 inch screen which is one of the first QVGA displays (320 x 240 resolution) on an Android phone in the U.S.

Motorola left off most of the specs we care about (CPU, RAM, ROM) so it looks like this device is targeted towards the entry-level Android customer. Units that were sent out for testing suggest it features a 600 MHz TI OMAP3410 processor (unconfirmed) with 512MB ROM and 512MB RAM.

Other announced specs of the Charm include the 2.8 inch display (Gorilla Glass), 3 megapixel camera (no flash), dual microphones with with noise cancellation, QWERTY keyboard, and a 1170 mAh battery.

Just like the Motorola Backflip, the Charm also features a “BACKTRACK” navigation pad which allows users to navigate the phone by sliding their fingers across the back of the phone.

Even though the specs suggest this phone is an entry-level device, I’m still pretty excited about the BlackBerry-inspired form factor. The Charm could be the perfect messaging phone to introduce a whole new wave of users to Android for the first time. We have yet to confirm the exact processor model, but if it does feature the 600 MHz OMAP3410, then it could pack quite a punch.

Any takers?

Gallery

Additional features on Motorola CHARM include:

• Adobe Flash enabled Web browsing experience to view most of today’s content-rich sites
• Full suite of Google services including: Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and access to thousands of apps on Android Market
• Pinch to zoom functionality and two-finger swipe to easily surf the Web and sort through photos
• Capture sharp photos with a 3MP camera and KODAK PERFECT TOUCH technology for better, brighter pictures
• One-touch social media uploads to Facebook, MySpace, Picasa and PhotoBucket
• CrystalTalk PLUS for enhanced audio and call quality with a second microphone for increased voice quality while filtering out background noise
• Corporate email pushed immediately to the device for instant inbox updates

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Source: Android and Me

T-Mobile could release the Motorola Charm later this month and it should be offered for free with a 2-year contract. So what kind of specs does this entry-level Android phone pack inside? Our friends over at TmoNews received a tip that the phone is in testing and they have some of the first info on its hardware details.

The Motorola Charm runs Android 2.1 with Motoblur and features a 600 MHz processor, 2.8 inch display (QVGA 320 × 240), 512 MB ROM, 512 MB RAM, and a compact QWERTY keyboard.

No details were provided on the 600 MHz processor, but the specs of the Charm match up nicely with the Flipout, which is another new Motorola phone with a QVGA display. According to Motorola’s developer page for the Flipout, it features a 600 MHz TI OMAP3410 that includes an ARM Cortex A8 core. In theory, this OMAP processor should be powerful enough to run Flash 10.1 when Motorola updates the devices to Android 2.2.

So even though the Charm might not look like the most impressive device, it could be one of the faster phones when compared to T-Mobile’s current Android lineup. The carrier currently has offers no high-end Android devices, but that is set to change with the release of the Samsung Vibrant on July 21st.

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Source: Android and Me

My local Best Buy called this morning to inform me that the white Sprint Evo I had pre-ordered was available for pickup. This came as a shock to me seeing how they weren’t supposed to drop for another week (July 11th and August 12th for Sprint stores).

I rushed down there to return the black one I had added for someone on my Family Plan (seeing how I was within Best Buy’s 30 day return policy) and they swapped it out for the new white version. I’m not too sure if I actually like the new white color scheme over the black but its just something different. Different and newer always seem better.

Of course, the first thing I did upon powering it up was check to see if it had that “new” screen and sure enough…. it did. I’m not sure if ALL the white Evo’s will have these screens from here on out or if its a mixed bag like with the black versions. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Either way, this doesn’t make me feel too bad that I’m stuck with the black Evo on my personal line. Especially if mine has the screen I am more happier with.

If HTC is really awesome maybe we’ll see a switch to those new Super TFT screens they’re going to release on the Nexus and Droid Incredibles soon.

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Source: Android and Me

Back in May, Google announced the imminent release of Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo, to great fanfare. Froyo brought with it JIT compiler that gives increased speed to the Android platform and applications, updates to the Google search bar and launcher, built in tethering, support for installing apps on the SD card, and all kinds of other tweaks and improvements.

Though these features are awesome in and of themselves, one Froyo benfit that has been somewhat overlooked is the Chrome to Phone application and Chrome extension. Chrome to Phone  is one of the most useful Android features I have come across, and it’s a really simple idea that provides the ability to have a continuous stream of information no matter where we happen to go.

Chrome to Phone is a simple combination of a Chrome extension and Android application that allows you to click one button in your browser, and sync what you were viewing right to your Android phone to be check out at a later time.

Reading a news article but need to head out the door to drive to work? Simply click the Chrome to Phone button on your Chrome browser, launch the Chrome to Phone application on your Android device at work, and it immediately takes you to the webpage you were viewing at home so you can pick up right where you left off. I use this feature all the time, and assume many of you would as well.

Setting up Chrome to Phone (Google Chrome and Firefox):

1. Head over to the Google Chrome to Phone Download Site
2. Download and install the chrometophone-extension-v0.3.crx file (for Google Chrome) or the following Firefox extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/161941/
3. Download and install the chrometophone-android.apk Android application
4. Launch the Chrome to Phone application from your Android phone and click the Register Device button
5. Launch the Chrome to Phone Chrome Extension in your Chrome browser and enter your Google username and password
6. Start sending stuff!

Fairly simple set-up for an immensely useful, must-have Froyo feature that could easily be used very frequently. Already on Android 2.2 and use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox? What are you waiting for? Go and install Chrome to Phone now!

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Source: Android and Me

Verizon has several teaser campaigns running for their upcoming Motorola Droid X, but we have yet to see the full advertising onslaught. For a preview of what you can expect, Verizon has placed a four minute walk-through of the device on their YouTube page. Check out the clip after the jump for a nice hands on and explanation of how the three microphones work together when recording a video.

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Source: Android and Me

Google released the source code for Android 2.2 last month and Nexus One owners have already been treated to the latest firmware via an over the air update. Outside of Google’s official Android phone, other customers could be waiting months.

The problem (or is it a feature?) with other Android phones is the multiple layers of complexities placed between the customer’s device and Google. With a phone like the Nexus One, Google initiates the update and sends it directly to customers’ devices. On all other Android phones, Google releases the source code then the handset maker ports their custom UI to the latest firmware and finally the carrier tacks on their own applications and tweaks.

Recent transitions from Android 1.5 and 1.6 to Android 2.1 have shown us that most customers can expect to wait around 6 months while the updates are prepared. In fact many Android users (~45%) have yet to receive an upgrade to Android 2.x and some never will.

HTC recently said that most of their Android phones released this year would see Android 2.2 in the second half of 2010 and new comments suggest we should see updates released before Christmas.

Pocket-lint got to spend some time with a HTC representative at the Qualcomm Uplinq convention and they shed some light on the situation.

“It takes time to port all of our applications over to Froyo and then make sure that it is running well on each of our devices. That’s not like a one week kind of project. We need to make sure that our applications are taking advantage of the Froyo features. To make sure that they’re all running properly on the OS now that it’s a new version. And then to make sure that it’s running on our hardware as well as we expect”.Eric LinHTC PR

As you can see, it takes a lot of time for handset manufacturers to port all their code over and make sure it works with Google’s latest Android release. Google team members have hinted that the next major version of Android, codenamed Gingerbread, could address custom skins and make the update process easier but no time frame has been set for its release.

When the HTC rep was asked about Gingerbread, he said he didn’t know much about Google’s plans and guessed we might not see it released till Q1 2011.

In the end, the slow Android update cycle might not matter for most consumers. About 95 percent of Android users are unaware their phones can be updated and the other 5 percent will just hack their device and load an open source Android 2.2 firmware like CyanogenMod.

The only way to guarantee your Android phone will have the latest version of Android is to buy a Nexus One from Google, but it looks like the future of that product is in jeopardy. It appears carriers favor the custom UIs over stock Android, so don’t expect speedy firmware updates anytime soon.

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Source: Android and Me