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It's official: Motorola Titanium coming to Sprint July 24th, mil-spec Eclair can be yours for $150
The Motorola Titanium has certainly made itself no stranger to us, as it was officially announced by Sprint all the way back in May. At the time, no pricing or availability dates were known, so we were left to speculation and leaked screenshots -- you know, the usual routine for new devices. We needn't wait any longer for the prized 411, though, as the Now Network has announced the 810G military-spec Eclair smartphone will land on store shelves on July 24th and ding our wallets a Benjamin and a half -- after a $100 rebate, that is. Of course, this particular device may not be for everyone, but we know it could be appealing for those of you who just enjoy tossing the ol' Android around a few times too many.
Archos 7c tablet with Eclair, kickstand now shipping for $220
Well, isn't today our lucky day? Just a week after debuting on video, the Archos 7c Home Tablet is shipping in the US for $220 -- more than a month ahead of its expected June arrival. As a refresher, this 7-inch tablet offers a capacitive (800 x 480) display, Android 2.1 (Eclair), and a Cortex A8 processor-RK2918 chipset combo that promises smooth 720p video playback. Other specs include 8GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, two built-in speakers, and that kickstand you see in the photo above. Of course, you'll also have to forgo niceties like wireless-N, cameras, and access to Android Market. Are those trade-offs worth the dirt-cheap price? That's a decision you're going to have to make for yourself. [Thanks, Elliott] %Gallery-122100%
Creative's 7-inch ZiiO tablet gets Froyo this Friday, 10-inch model to follow suit
If you happen to be one of the handful of Creative ZiiO tablet users, then we have good news for you: come Friday, the 7-incher will be the first of the Ziio duo to receive its Froyo update, whereas its 10-inch sibling's expected to follow suit by April. So what's new? Well, the list includes greater language support, new passcode options, the ability to install apps onto external storage, and a text-to-speech engine. Once available, you can obtain the update from either Creative's website or the tablets' ZiiO Space portal; but by all means, feel free to butter up the folks over at xda-developers to slap some Honeycomb onto these ZiiOs instead.
Motorola CLIQ gets Android 2.1 at long last
Timeline (the condensed version): Google launches Android 2.1 on January 5th, Motorola promises to eventually offer 2.1 for all its Android handsets (including the heavily skinned CLIQ) on January 6th, Google's Nexus One gets 2.1 on January 11th. We wait. Motorola CLIQ gets 2.1 today, a mere 11 months later. Sure, maybe we were young and naive, but who could've known then that this update would be so long coming? Nobody really knows the solution to this problem in a general sense, especially since vanilla Android seems to be off the table for the majority of phones. What could compel a handset manufacturer and a carrier to work up timely software updates on heftily-skinned handsets past their shelf life, potentially competing with their own newer handsets in the process? Maybe paying for updates? Real Genuine Tears of Desperation? You tell us. Anyway, congrats to the saintly CLIQ owners out there who have waited patiently for 2.1, and a grumble grumble thanks to Motorola for keeping its promise.
Samsung Acclaim arrives in US Cellular stores July 9, we're sure somebody will care
Looks like we have a small band of US Cellular fans among our numbers, as we've received a slew of tips letting us know that the national carrier has dropped an official release date for the Samsung Acclaim. This most mundane of Android sliders will arrive on July 9, and... well, that's it really. US Cellular hasn't seen fit to entice us with any actual specs or even an Android version, though information floating about the interwebs suggests it has a 3.2-inch HVGA screen and a stock Eclair installation. We'll just have to wait until somebody at Samsung swallows the shame of being associated with the Acclaim and finally gives us some official details. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition revs up Android 2.1
Sure, the Acer Liquid E Ferrari Special Edition features the same underclocked 768MHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 as the original Liquid E that launched in February, but, well, this one comes with a flashy Ferrari F1 Red paint job and matching Elite Bluetooth earpiece. Can't say no to that, can you? You know the rest of the drill: 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen, five megapixel camera with autofocus, geotagging, and adjustable ISO, included 8GB microSD card, and the Acer Sync app that syncs changes across your phone and PC. No word on price or availability, but it certainly looked pretty on the Computex show floor -- we'll let you know if we find out more. [Thanks, Shreedhan]
Motorola Flipout spotted: an Android 2.1 / Motoblur device with a twist
Remember "Square Motorola Android slider?" Ah, those were the days. The little twister's returned, this time with much greater clarity and a new name. Meet Flipout. According to Gizmodo Brazil, we're looking at Android 2.1 with a dash of Motoblur thrown into the mix, a 2.8-inch display, full QWERTY keyboard, 700MHz processor, 512MB ROM / 256MB RAM, GPS, and a 3.1 megapixel camera. The HSPA phone is expected in the states this June in at least three different colors -- black, green, and pink. Backflip, Flipout... one can only hope Motorola keeps the trend alive with a Soundgarden-themed solar phone, the Outshined.
Milestone gets Android 2.1 update in UK, available to download now
The saga of the Milestone's firmware update to Android 2.1 is finally over for one more territory. The United Kingdom is today awaking to the news that Motorola has made the freshest Eclair available to its loyal British users, with the download already awaiting those eager to be surfing along the cutting edge of Android innovation. What else do you need to know, it's the finest software Google has to offer for your phone and it's downloadable at the source link -- get going!
Sony Ericsson X10 family to get Android 2.1 in 'Q4 2010'
The Xperia X10, one of the big mindshare-grabbing devices of the smartphone world, made us wait a cool six months between its November announcement and wide retail availability in April. One of the secret hopes while all that waiting was going on was that perhaps SE would surprise us and upgrade the dusty old Android 1.6 base installation to a fresh and creamy Eclair (2.1) or even a frosty Froyo (2.2) treat shortly after launch. Time to lay those dreams to rest, dear friends, as Sony Ericsson has come with an official schedule for upgrading the firmware on the Xperia X10 and its X10 mini and X10 mini pro siblings, which places the Android 2.1 delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010 -- and knowing the company that probably means closer to Christmas than Halloween. All we can say is you'd better really like that UX platform a great deal, because it'll be the only thing you'll be seeing for quite a while on Sony Ericsson's Googlephones.
HTC Hero won't see upgrade to Android 2.1 until June, at least in Europe
Plenty of UK Hero owners were disappointed this morning upon hearing the news that free Google Maps Navigation had spread beyond the borders of the USA but required Android 1.6 as the minimum OS version. Stuck in their Android 1.5 world, they must have hoped that HTC would just hurry up and open the gates to Eclair heaven, but hurrying up is, regrettably, the opposite of what's happening. Tech Radar heard from a Google rep that the Hero's move to Android 2.1 won't be happening until June, and followed it up with HTC directly. The official response was that a free update for European Hero variants will indeed be provided "starting in June." At least this cloud of disappointment will only hang over Europe, as other territories -- like Taiwan -- might still get the update reasonably soon. [Thanks, Paul]
Samsung Galaxy Spica grows up to Android 2.1
Also known as the Galaxy Portal in the UK, Samsung's i5700 is today officially entering the Eclair portion of its Android existence. We got a nice leak of the 2.1 ROM in February, whose small glitches will no doubt have been ironed out in this official release. You'll need to either hook up to the Samsung neural network using their proprietary PC Studio 7 software to leech the upgrade or just buy a new handset -- it all depends on the ratio between your disposable time and income. Guess this will make the Spica that little bit more seductive to Rogers customers, who only just got the option to own the handset last week. Full PR after the break.
Motorola 'jumped the gun' with details of Droid's Android 2.1 update
Turns out all that excitement and frothing at the mouth was for nothing, as Motorola's surprisingly nippy move to Android 2.1 on the Droid isn't going to be all that rapid after all. The Moto Owners' Forum manager has admitted that a few trigger-happy souls rushed out the details of the Droid's upcoming OS update ahead of time, and the current situation is quite as it was before this news: your Droid will be chomping down on an Eclair, just not as soon as you might have been led to hope. The original source of the belief that the update will be hitting this week was Moto's Facebook page, but PC Mag's sleuthing has revealed that the position has now changed to "soon" over there as well. Patience is a virtue, eh? [Thanks, Steve]
Dell Streak is a 5-inch Android 2.0 MID, packs 3G and WiFi (video)
Well, hello there! Those Dell MID rumors we've been hearing have finally received vindication in the form of a nice, picture-heavy leak courtesy of some industrious folks in Vietnam. What we know as of now is that there's an 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen display (with multitouch zooming), WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G WWAN connectivity, all riding atop an Android 2.0 (aka, Donut Eclair) install. A dual-LED flash 5 megapixel camera adorns the back, and there's a 1,300mAh battery to power all that goodness. See pics below and a video awaits after the break, where an old friend of ours plays with the jumbo smartphone. [Via SlashGear; Thanks, Nicky N.] %Gallery-76104%
