SnapdragonApq8060
Latest
Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 quietly goes on sale as the Gobots of transforming tablets
Lenovo's 10-inch IdeaTab S2 was one of the belles of its CES ball in offering a distinctly Transformer Pad-like experience for those not beholden to ASUS' view of the world. While there wasn't much attention given to the Android 4.0 tablet outside of the FCC filing we saw last month, it's getting its time to shine at last: the device is now sitting on Lenovo's virtual shelves as the S2110. The 10.1-inch slate's selling point remains its (strictly optional) keyboard dock, which supplies a trackpad, an SD slot, USB and 10 extra hours of battery life to keep that movie marathon going. Even if you have no intention of constructing the Gobot to ASUS' Transformer original, though, the S2110 is still a big leap over the so-so S2109 from the spring. A 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060A, a rear 5-megapixel camera and a landscape 1,280 x 800 screen are all incentives to pay the premium over the S2110's budget predecessor. Not that there will be much of a premium to pay -- despite setting a $449 official price, Lenovo is already discounting the S2110 to as little as $343. That's low enough to lure the cost-conscious away from the Transformer Pad elephant in the room, even if it reminds us of relatives that always bought us the cheaper robot toys when we were kids. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Lenovo's 55-inch IdeaTV K91 is the world's first Android Ice Cream Sandwich TV
Back in late November last year, Lenovo's Chinese folks teased a certain IdeaTV or LeTV for launch this year, and now we finally get to see it in its full glory. Dubbed the K91, we're looking at a 55-inch IPS 3D HDTV running Android Ice Cream Sandwich (a first for smart TVs, yet not quite a Google TV), and inside it sits a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060. Dig a little deeper and you'll also find 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage, SD card expansion, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 10M/100M Ethernet, HDMI and USB 2.0 connectivity (which is much needed for an external hard drive to store video content). As you can see in the pictures, the K91 will come with some Lenovo cloud services, including an app store (but the TV will have over 100 apps preloaded, anyway) and video-on-demand, along with voice control and facial recognition (mainly for child lock, we presume) using its five-megapixel webcam. As always, we'll get back to you as soon as we get information on dates and prices.
HTC Vivid review
HTC's been around this block before -- the LTE one, that is. Back in March, the manufacturer was the first to hold Verizon's hand as it tested the 4G waters with the Thunderbolt. That launch may have been fumbled (see: hotspot cycling and 3G connectivity for starters) and the device plagued by battery issues, but as far as head starts go, Big Red got a big leap. Now the time has come for AT&T to play catch-up, shedding its reliance on an HSPA+ faux-G crutch and shifting over to LTE wireless speeds. To do this, the carrier's enlisted HTC's veteran expertise, taking advantage of its 700MHz know-how and offering the manufacturer a redemption song of sorts. This round two redux takes the form of the Vivid: an all-black, metal-backed unassuming plastic slab that houses a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 8 megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash under a 4.5-inch qHD display. Impressive as its specs may be, AT&T's not betting the entire farm on this phone and is trotting out the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket alongside to shoulder the burden. But for a device once codenamed the Holiday, its battle for consumers' attention and disposable dollars could prove to be anything but leisurely. Will LTE history and its battery draining missteps repeat themselves? Can AT&T get a leg up on its first place competition with this $199 device? And is the allure of "true" 4G even worth your hard-earned dollars? Follow us after the break as we find out. %Gallery-138803%
NTT DoCoMo's Galaxy S II LTE makes way through FCC with swagger
Among the litany of smartphones that NTT DoCoMo announced last month, the SC-03D -- otherwise known as the Galaxy S II LTE -- was undeniably among the forefront of the bunch. The handset will begin shipping in the Land of the Rising Sun before year's end, but it seems that a lucky punk at the FCC got to review its dirty bits ahead of the glorious release. Like its Korea-bound siblings, the phone sports a Snapdragon S3 SoC with a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU and an Adreno 220 GPU, but unlike the over-achieving HD variant, the SC-03D's 4.5-inch display is limited to WVGA resolution. Jet-lagged Japanese travelers will find GPRS and EDGE love with our 1900 and 850MHz domestic networks, although HSPA is restricted to the 2100 and 900MHz bands. As for that lusty 75Mbps theoretical speed for the Xi LTE network, you'll have to excuse us while we attempt to hide our jealousy.
Samsung Hercules, HTC Ruby available from T-Mobile on October 26th?
We knew that the Samsung Hercules and HTC Ruby were both making their way to T-Mobile, and now, it looks like they'll be doing so in tandem. The folks over at Tmo News have obtained a leaked back to school slideshow (pictured above) that pegs the release date for both devices as October 26th, despite earlier murmurs that the Ruby would be hitting shelves in September. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding the phones' specs and peculiarities, though Samsung's Galaxy S II variant is rumored to pack some pretty impressive horsepower -- including, perhaps, a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor. We'll have to wait and see whether it lives up to its expectations and whether this reported release date proves valid, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.
Qualcomm gets official with TouchPad-powering Snapdragon APQ8060 processor
HP already put out the first official word about Qualcomm's new Snapdragon APQ8060 processor yesterday when it revealed that its TouchPad was based on it, but Qualcomm's now also come out and properly announced the new processor itself. That's, of course, a dual-core processor, and comes paired with an Adreno 220 GPU that Qualcomm says helps to deliver "unprecedented processing and 3D graphics performance." What's more, while the TouchPad is the first device to use the processor, it obviously won't be the last, and Qualcomm has now also given us an idea of what sort of capabilities those devices (including smartphones in addition to tablets) might have -- namely, cameras up to 16 megapixels, and the ability to capture and display 1080p stereoscopic 3D video or 8 megapixel stereoscopic still images. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
