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LG Nitro HD review
And then there were three. AT&T's lonesome LTE duo -- the Samsung GS II Skyrocket and HTC Vivid -- just gained a new member with the recent launch of LG's Nitro HD. You may recognize this particular handset from its former life as the Optimus LTE, except here the phone's been rebranded with a moniker that more astutely conveys its blazing 4G purpose. There may be tough times ahead for the handset, considering the current crop of high-end devices hogging the spotlight. But if three's company, the Galaxy Nexus, HTC Rezound and Droid RAZR are sure to make this a standing room-only crowd -- an especially haughty bunch given their heavyweight specs. Which is why this sudden end-of-year release for the Nitro HD has us questioning the company's timing. Sure, it's no slouch when stacked up against the competition, with a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 AH-IPS display, dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 processor and 1.3 front-facing / 8 megapixel rear cameras. Yet at $250 on contract, the Nitro HD needs to outshine the legacy set by its best-in-class Sammy stablemate or, at least, offer a performance boost over the cheaper Vivid. So can LG's last second contender rise above the fray to win your holiday dollars? Will it succeed in outclassing its LTE compadres? Or is it a case of too little, too late for this me too three! smartphone. Follow on past the break as we dive into the mobile nitty gritty. %Gallery-141021%
Google's gingerbread Androids are fully baked, can the OS be far behind?
Continuing with our cookery theme this morning, we now have a full tray of scrumptious-looking gingerbread Android men, courtesy of Google Mobile's Twitter account. The whole world and his poodle already know that Gingerbread, Android's next iterative update that's presently expected to be given the numerical identifier of 2.3, is coming some time soon, but now Google's taken to fanning the flames of anticipation with some home cooking. What could it mean? Well, if you're an optimist, it means Android's about to receive its update imminently, but if you're a pessimist, you'll look at that Christmas-themed red and green attire and foretell of another month of waiting and thumb-twiddling. Either way, though, this seems to confirm Gingerbread is on track to land at some point before we welcome in 2011. Which can only be a good thing.
Google catches giant Gingerbread man, mounts on front lawn (video)
Cupcake, donut, eclair, froyo. That's not just a list of Android iterations, it's also an inventory of all the giant decorations (along with a large green robot) that cover the GooglePlex lawn. And today marks the introduction of a large gingerbread man. Historically, such tasty statues have been in honor of its related milestone's completion, so we're wagering that Android 3.0 (or is it 2.3?) will be officially unveiled in the very short future. Run, run, as fast as you can to the video after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Video: Samsung's YP-M1 TouchWiz interface given a sideways glance
With an "NVIDIA chipset" (presumably, Tegra) underpinning the new YP-M1 media player, Samsung's got plenty of horsepower to drive its customizable TouchWiz UI across that 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen sporting 480x272 pixels. It's not ZuneHD-sexy but it's not bad. Unfortunately, not bad's not good enough in a waning market for dedicated media players lacking voice and data radios, WiFi, or a web browser. But if you run, run, as fast you can... after the break you'll catch the Gingerbread Man.Update: Mike Rayfield, the general manager of NVIDIA's mobile business unit, confirms the M1 is Tegra-based.
