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Refresh Resource: week of October 10, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Official Android updates Motorola Xoom owners who swapped in their devices for one with LTE capability may have found an OTA enhancement waiting for them when the tablet arrived. It included a few minor changes, such as updates to Android Market and some additional browser security measures. The full changelog can be found at the link. [AndroidCentral] The update to the Motorola Droid 2 Global was pulled last month due to an Exchange encryption issue, but we're hearing reports that it's once again resuming the rollout with that concern resolved. [Droid-Life] Motorola's Photon 4G on Sprint is on the receiving end of a minor bug fix update, which includes video chat capability for Google Talk. [PhoneArena] The good news for unlocked Dell Streak 7 users: the official update to Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) is now rolling out and you should see it over the course of the next couple weeks. the coming weeks. [Dell] The bad news for T-Mobile Dell Streak 7 users: Honeycomb isn't coming to your tablet, for unknown reasons. [Android Community] According to a tweet from LG, there's a small refresh in the works for the Optimus 7 which will finally enable WiFi tethering. [WPCentral] Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery A new piece of firmware for the AT&T Galaxy S II was leaked via RootzWiki, and includes a few bug fixes. Sadly, it adds some bugs as well. [Android Community] Samsung's officially released the kernel source for the Stratosphere, Transfix and Galaxy Y Pro. [Android Community] And now for the best news for TouchPad owners: after several weeks of progress, it appears that CM7 is now ready to roll on the HP TouchPad. As always, download and install at your own risk -- we have a feeling this may be a bit more involved than your typical Android custom ROM. [Redmond Pie] Other platforms Redsn0w 0.9.9b5 is here, giving you the go-ahead to jailbreak iOS5. Up for the task? Head to the link for all of the details on how to make it so. [Redmond Pie] Some Windows Phone users have noticed a few bugs popping into their updated devices ever since they received Mango. The main concerns seem to be found in the keyboard and live tiles, though the reported issues are much more numerous. Have you experienced any of these on the list at the link? [WMPowerUser] Refreshes we covered this week Motorola a bit slow boomerangin' back with LTE update iOS5 now available for download
LG Optimus 7 review
If last night's cameo showing off the official Twitter client for Windows Phone 7 wasn't enough of a hint, yes, we've gotten our hands on LG's Optimus 7. This 3.8-inch machine will serve as LG's international WP7 ambassador while Americans get to grips with its QWERTY keyboard-equipped Quantum brother. As you'll no doubt be aware by now, the internal equipment is standardized around Microsoft's chassis spec, meaning a WVGA screen resolution, a 1GHz Snapdragon inside, and a 5 megapixel camera shooting 720p video at 24fps. You'd think, therefore, that it'd be a nondescript, middle-of-the-road option, but the Optimus 7 left us extremely impressed after our first hands-on and we're eager to keep digging for more. Does it put up a righteous fight against the more ambitious HD7 from HTC and Omnia 7 from Samsung? Jump past the break to find out. This review is primarily of the LG Optimus 7 hardware. Check out our full review of Windows Phone 7 for our thoughts on the OS. %Gallery-105728%
LG E900 (aka Optimus 7) finds its official press pictures unofficially leaked
We love a nice pre-release leak as much as the next tech blog, but come on, aren't you starting to feel sorry for these Windows Phone 7 guys? By the time Steve Ballmer takes the New York stage on Monday, we'll be more familiar with the stuff he'll be showing off than the big Microsoft boss himself. Today, LG's Optimus 7 handset has suffered the only indignity left, after being videoed, pictured, and handled many a time -- it's had its official press shots unleashed unto the world. It'd be hard for them to tell us anything we don't already know, but at least they're nice and neat. More at the source link. [Thanks, Ravi]
LG's Optimus 7 gets previewed by Korean newspaper, has voice to text feature?
You know how we abhor machine translation, but this rumor was too juicy to pass up -- the Korea Economic Daily reportedly got hands-on with LG's Optimus 7 (aka E900) way ahead of release, and if we're reading this right, the Windows Phone 7 device will be capable of writing your text messages, emails and status updates just by hearing you speak. The publication also reports it's got a 3.8-inch, 800 x 480 screen (rather than the 3.5 or 3.7 inches we've heard before), a 1500 mAh battery, 16GB of built-in storage and a 1GHz processor. There's also apparently "automatic panorama" feature where you simply pan the camera to take stills and stitch them together, which sounds a lot like the Sweep Panorama dealie Sony recently added to its Cyber-Shot lineup. Can we expect a US version to have these features? Hard to say. Even should this preview be wholly legit, speech-to-text would probably need quite the overhaul to tell English from Korean -- and let's not even get started on Engrish.
LG Optimus 7 pops up on Amazon.de with 5 megapixel camera, 3.5-inch touchscreen, €499 price
Amazon's German branch has been a tiny bit fast on the trigger. Windows Phone 7 isn't due to launch at least until October 11, but here we are, dazing dreamily at the first listing of a device bearing the hot new OS: LG's Optimus 7. Or is it the E900? You can tell Amazon's offering is way early since the e-tailer has opted to list both names -- it now seems like the E900 was the codename and the Optimus branding will be what you see in stores -- just to make sure snoopers like us don't miss out on it. So what's there to see? Not much actually, official product images are predictably missing and all we're told is that the handset will cost €499, include a GPS chip, and be capable of filling five million pixels with photonic data and then displaying the results on a 3.5-inch touchscreen. Such teases, these online retailers are.
LG E900 stars in epic 20-minute hands-on video, referred to as Optimus 7
We knew Windows Phone 7 leaks would increase as we got closer to launch, but this is just ridiculous. LG's E900, or what we knew as the E900 until now, has been subjected to an exhaustingly detailed hands-on overview, courtesy of some intrepid Czech investigators. Alas, the video is voiced over in that language too, so good luck with your Eastern European phonetics. But hey, at least the visuals are universal. Oh, and before we forget, the MobilMania guys are calling this the LG Optimus 7, presumably that'll be the retail name for this handset. Follow the break to see it. [Thanks, Manu]
LG's E900 and E720 handsets hit the FCC, one with AT&T-compatible frequencies
We knew LG's C900 QWERTY-packing Windows Phone 7 handset was sliding towards an AT&T finish line, but it's looking like the company's E900 slate phone might play for Team Blue as well -- here's an FCC report (the third Federal scoop in an hour!) that shows the handset boasting GSM 850 and 1900 radio frequencies as well as compatible 3G data. You can also expect Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz WiFi alongside that 1GHz Snapdragon SoC when or if the handset hits US shores. We don't know nearly as much about the Android-based LG E720 (which apparently just popped in for a quick Bluetooth test) but a filing suggests it might not be destined for the US -- unlike with the E900, there's no mention of WCDMA 850, 1900, or AWS for 3G data, only the comparatively slow EDGE.
LG's E900 shows off handsome looks on video (update: translation woes)
Wherever it is that Mr. Blurrycam calls home, Poland isn't it. Android.com.pl has the best pre-release shots of the 3.7-inch LG E900 yet, replete with some titillating specs. We're told that the upcoming Windows Phone 7 device will be driven by a 1.3GHz Qualcomm QSD8650A system-on-chip -- basically a Snapdragon with the training wheels taken off. It promises better 2D and 3D graphics acceleration, integrated GPS, HD video recording and playback, and multi-mode UMTS and CDMA 3G connectivity. As to the handset itself, light and proximity sensors have been spotted on its body, along with a miniUSB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Navigate past the break to see some more of that tantalizing WP7 UI. Update: It turns out Google Translate's played a little trick on us, adding an A to the end of the SOC codename. The Polish fellas actually had a QSD8650 in the house, a less crazy 1GHz part [Thanks, Anudeep!].
LG C900 rumored to be 'Pacific,' E900 gets hi-res blurry pic, missing link D900 doesn't exist (yet)
Turns out the Secret Society of Blurrycam isn't just a group of freelancers. Courtesy of the Windows Phone NL group comes a pretty high resolution -- albeit slightly out of focus -- shot of the LG E900 / Optimus 7. That ain't enough for you? Boy Genius Report claims it's heard from a source that the LG C900 will hit the scene as Pacific, and if that sounds familiar, we kindly point your attention to a Pocket-lint piece from late July where Microsoft product manager Greg Sullivan namedropped a LG Pacific without elaborating. One and the same? Tired of waiting on Windows Phone 7 devices? Us too -- one day at a time.
LG E900 stars in Windows Phone 7-themed video homage to Mr. Blurrycam
Whatever wraps Windows Phone 7 handsets were being kept under seem to have all but vanished. Following in the glorious footsteps of the Samsung i917, the HTC Schubert, and its own brand-mate, the C900, here we have LG's E900 WP7 device. It does away with the physical keyboard of its brother, allowing for an aggressively thin design, and still features Microsoft's mandated three buttons across the bottom, though only the Start key is delineated in white. It would seem the Back and Search buttons either haven't yet received their lick of paint or are going to be kept monochromatic to stick with the minimalistic aesthetic. Slide past the break to see the E900 in richly blurred motion.
