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HTC EVO 3D review
The first time we saw the rumored Supersonic we were blown away. HTC and Google had just wowed us with the Nexus One, and here we were looking at something even better -- a 4.3-inch phone with WiMAX wrapped in a white body. This prototype was buggy and had abysmal battery life, but it was real. Four months later it landed in our hands at Google I/O. We're of course talking about the EVO 4G which went on to become a runaway hit for HTC and Sprint as the first ever 4G smartphone in the US. And here we are a year later with the HTC EVO 3D, the legitimate heir to Sprint's mobile kingdom -- at least until the Motorola Photon 4G comes along. When we first played with the 3D-capable handset at CTIA we were suitably impressed, but we left with a lot of unanswered questions. How do the 1.2GHz dual core processor and qHD display affect battery life? Is 3D a compelling feature or just a gimmick? What is 2D camera performance like with the lower specced camera? Is the EVO 3D a worthy replacement for the EVO 4G? Find out in our review after the break. %Gallery-126409%
Swype 3.0 gets Honeycomb support, intense promo video (video)
The folks at Swype sure know how to get our attention. The Android keyboard app has always inspired us to get a bit dramatic, but we had no idea that predictive text and moveable QWERTY pads were this intense. To celebrate the beta release of Swype 3.0 it appears the company hired Doug Liman (or at least some one who has studied the Bourne Identity very closely) to whip up a promo video. Enjoy the thrills of a resizable input area! Be wowed by the Honeycomb support! Get stunned by the auto-correct! Oh, and don't forget to head after the break to watch the clip.
T-Mobile tossing Samsung Dart into its lineup on June 15th?
Just as the name implies, this one almost zoomed right past us. The Samsung Dart is likely to show its face on T-Mobile within the next two days, according to some very official-looking employee docs uncovered by TmoNews. Given that it shares the same launch date as the HTC Sensation 4G, the entry-level Dart -- aka the Samsung t499 -- won't be getting much of the spotlight. Regardless, we still want to give this Android phone some time in the sun, as it still sounds like a decent choice for first-time smartphone buyers: full touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera, Swype, and Flash support. Certainly there's a lot of unknowns about this device, but we're expecting those gaps to fill as Wednesday draws closer.
Samsung updates Galaxy S II, speeds up Swype and fixes auto-brightness issue
Samsung's Galaxy S II superphone didn't have many issues to begin with, and we're hearing there's one fewer annoying quirk today -- Android Community reports that a new firmware update (available via Kies) addresses the overzealous auto-brightness setting that continually irked us during testing. The i9100XWKE2 revision also apparently increases the responsiveness of the Swype software keyboard -- which is always a plus -- so unless this update also fries handsets or something, it sounds like a desirable one. [Thanks, Fayez]
Samsung Galaxy S II review
If you don't already know all about the Samsung Galaxy S II, where have you been the past two months? The successor to one of the most popular Android handsets to date carries a burden of expectation almost as sizable as its 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. It promises to be thinner, lighter, and faster than the Galaxy S that preceded it, while garnishing Android 2.3.3 with a set of TouchWiz customizations that might actually enhance, rather than hinder, the user experience. As such, the Galaxy S II earns Samsung full marks for ambition, but does this slinky new smartphone live up to its interstellar hype? The answer, as always, can be found after the break. %Gallery-122444%
April Fools' Day roundup: Google overload edition
Ah, April 1st. It's that time of the year again when the internet is rife with odd news and pranks. As before, news sites like us end up with a healthy stream of tips throughout April Fools' Day (thanks, by the way), so let us round up some of the best findings for your comedic appetite. Contenders include the usual suspects like Google and ThinkGeek, the former of which dominating the gigglesphere this year with some new "features." We also have some interesting submissions from Hulu, a font company, and probably plenty more to come as the day progresses, so keep watching this space as we add new entries to this post. Right, let the fun commence after the break.
Just got an Android phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips
Taking a smartphone out of the box for the first time can elicit a wide spectrum of emotions, starting with unadulterated excitement that can quickly devolve into panic, chaos, and confusion: what do you do now? How do you make it awesome? How do you emanate an air of "cool" on the subway by using apps specifically designed to make you look like a badass? Well, fear not, newly-minted Android smartphone owner: as always, we've got your back. Read on for all the apps, accessories, and tips you should be investigating right this very second.
Swype for Android gets lightweight build with less language support
Don't need Chinese pinyin support? Well, Swype has a little treat for you: a new version available from the company's beta installer on your handset reduces the size of the final installed package by a whopping 75 percent, down from 10MB to 2.5MB, simply by dropping support for languages other than English and Spanish -- and for a platform where the app storage issue still isn't fully resolved, every megabyte counts. On a related note, Swype has posted a note for EVO 4G owners stymied by Sprint's recent inclusion of the keyboard in ROM: if you were already running the beta, you just need to uninstall it, reboot your phone, and let the official version take over.
Dell Streak Android 2.2 (Froyo) update review
Dell Streak. Froyo. Need we say more? If you're not already getting giddy, let us remind you that said tabletphone's technically still stuck on the aging Android 1.6 OS, so this is obviously great news for all anticipating (and presumably very patient) users. Well, the handful of us anyway, given the majority's distaste for this five-inch device's abnormal form factor. Here at Engadget, we've been fortunate enough to give this final 2.2 build a thorough test over the weekend, but has it fixed the bugs that plagued the 2.1 release? And will it make the Streak relevant again? Read on to find out.%Gallery-107961%
Rumored T-Mobile doc pegs myTouch HD with front-facing camera, screen sharing, and 'dual processor'
Now that T-Mobile's got its G2 slider out in the open, the cosmic universe reckons it's time to look towards the next HSPA+ device -- and the next iteration of the Android-laden myTouch series. We've seen alleged pics of the myTouch HD before, and now TmoNews has what it claims is an internal document from the carrier boasting some of the key features of the device. Sure, it could be all for naught, but let's hear this one out. According to the alleged paper, the myTouch HD runs on "America's largest 4G network" (that's gonna make some eyes roll) and has a 3.8-inch screen, Swype, 4GB internal space, a bundled 8GB SD card, a five megapixel rear camera, and a VGA camera on the front for video chat over Qik or Yahoo Messenger. There's also talk of screen sharing for pictures and video onto a HDTV, but that could be something as simple as HDMI output. Something tells us the 1GHz "dual processor" is more than likely a typo that's meant to say dual-core, à la the Snapdragon chips, but when you're dealing in the world of the unconfirmed, we suppose anything's possible.
T-Mobile G2 comes out from hiding, pre-orders begin later this month
At last, T-Mobile just went official with its G2 QWERTY slider. As expected, this Android 2.2 device ships with Qualcomm's MSM7230 Snapdragon silicon optimized for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network with an 800MHz CPU and second generation application co-processor. Other specs include a 3.7-inch screen, 4GB of internal memory with pre-installed 8GB microSD card (supporting up to 32GB cards), Swype keyboard, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and 720p HD video capabilities. Oh, and web browsing is supported by Adobe's Flash Player. Look for this successor of the T-Mobile G1 to go up for pre-orders sometime later this month. Update: T-Mobile has exposed a bit more of its G2. So, in addition to learning about a 1300mAh capacity battery and 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches / 6.5 ounce footprint, we're also seeing a footnote related to price: "†On approved credit. $125 down payment, plus 3 monthly payments of $125, required. 0% APR. Taxes & fees additional. Available only at T-Mobile-owned retail stores." Thing is, no pricing was announced so the footnote is premature to say the least. Nevertheless, it adds up to $500 before discounts and rebates. That alligns nicely with the rumored prices pegged at $199 with contract / $499 without. [Thanks, Ollie]
Swype beta hits S60 5th Edition
Swype is still far more difficult to get than we'd like -- basically, you either need to be in an invite-only beta or own a device where it ships in ROM -- but it's being opened up to a pretty sizable new set of potential customers this month now that it's been ported to S60 5th Edition in an open beta. It's currently tested for use on the 5800, 5230, X6, N97, N97 Mini, and C6 -- and considering that most of those devices use resistive screens, we're really curious to hear how well it works (for what it's worth, Samsung's Omnia II includes Swype in the box and uses a resistive display, so this isn't a first). Installation looks pretty straightforward and you don't need to jump through any hoops or be invited to get the binary, so let us know how it goes for you, alright? Follow the break for the official video demo. [Thanks, Lloyd N.]
Swype spotted swiftly slinging fingers across Windows 7 screens?
That's not your grandpappy's touchscreen panel, nor his standard Windows 7 input method of choice, oh no -- unless our eyes deceive us, we're looking at a 3M M2256PW ten-finger multitouch display, and on it, a genuine Swype keyboard. Though we've heard nothing about a partnership between Microsoft and Swype and we see nary a mention on the internet at large, there's no denying the idea -- spotted during last week's Internet Explorer demo at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference -- is an attractive one. The question is when and how Redmond might deliver such functionality to the existing OS... and if we might possibly see the same on the company's upcoming phones as well. See it in action at the source link, and fast forward to 2:58:30 for the goods. Trust us and skip ahead -- we've got a feeling you won't want to hear Microsoft kick this party off. [Thanks, Abed R.]
Swype psyched to be on Droid X, fifty total devices by the end of 2010
Love it or lump it, looks like Swype is making inroads into the mobile space. We've seen it on a few handsets already, and we know how eager the company is to get on the iPhone, but still it doesn't look like Apple's ready to bite. In the meantime, it seems that the company is more than happy to make due with the likes of HTC, Samsung, and Motorola -- the latter having gone with Swype for the Droid X. According to CEO Mike McSherry, this is the company's biggest coup yet, though certainly not the last -- he says to look for the app on some fifty phones by late 2010.
Samsung Galaxy S preview
Just because the US has gone gaming crazy these past couple of days doesn't mean the smartphone world has stopped turning. Samsung trotted out its Galaxy S handset last night in London, and we were naturally there to try and glean a better understanding of where this 4-inch Android 2.1 device fits in our wishlist hierarchy. It's quite the stat sheet stuffer, as we're sure you're aware, and it strikes an alluring figure for those looking to get on the true do-it-all smartphone bandwagon. Check out our latest impressions -- replete with video and a whole gallery dedicated to the Super AMOLED screen's performance in sunlight -- just past the break.%Gallery-95331%
Samsung Galaxy S launches in Europe, hitting US 'later this year'
So that simultaneous global launch isn't going to materialize quite as we were told, but Samsung is indeed bringing the Galaxy S to the widest possible audience. The Korean giant has made its 2010 flagship official in Europe today, meaning you should be able to sign your life away to your favorite carrier in exchange for it very soon indeed. We're told the 4-incher will be making its American debut later in the year, though a protracted delay appears unlikely. Pricing on the Galaxy S might not turn out to be all that democratic, but its comprehensive choice of more than 100 global carriers sure will be, and might suggest we'll get a choice of networks when the phone finally makes its way Stateside. Hang tight, gringos, not long to go now.
Motorola's i1 hitting SouthernLINC Wireless, Georgians and Alabamians rejoice
Moto's i1 went from rumored device to ready for retail over the span of just a few weeks, and now we're finding out just where it'll be available -- though the news isn't exactly good. Motorola is announcing that the iDEN device will be hitting SouthernLINC first, a rural carrier that you may not have heard of if you're outside of Alabama, Georgia, or the western half of the Florida panhandle. That is the extent of this carrier's coverage, and so it's not a huge coming out party for this military spec push-to-talk smartphone, but we're hoping down the road it gets a little more love from carriers with slightly broader coverage maps.
Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on
We know you've barely recovered from our Devour review, but Moto just threw another Blur-ified phone in our laps this afternoon – the CLIQ XT. We've been playing around with the Android 1.5-based, Flash Lite-supported, multitouch-capable handset for the last couple of hours -- but before we grace you with our first impressions, just a fair warning: we don't yet know the price of the new T-Mobile Android handset, though Motorola did promise us that it will hit shelves this month. With that said, hit the break for a quick rundown of our early thoughts. %Gallery-87806%
Swype could make typing easier on the iPhone
Still haven't caught on to typing on that little non-tactile keyboard on the iPhone's screen? This little tech, from the creator of the T9 system (dreaded by some, loved by others) being shown off at TC50, could be just the ticket. Swype is kind of like a gesture-based system, except that it uses the keyboard knowledge you already have -- just run a stylus (or your finger) around a qwerty-board, hitting all the letters in your word on the way, and the program will guess the word you were drawing. If you're looking for something similar that's already appeared on the iPhone, you might check out ShapeWriter's WritingPad, which we hope will be returning to the App Store soon (warning: loud video on page).It's pretty wild -- his drawing "Mississippi" set off my "awesometer." Unfortunately, while the iPhone is given just a slight mention (can you name another touchscreen device that's used as widely?), it'd probably need a little tweaking. He's using a stylus (which on the iPhone is a no), and it'd be tough to draw with accuracy on a keyboard as small as the iPhone, even on the bigger horizontal version. Still, I like it, and Apple could always consider something like this for the iTablet, whenever they decide to release that. It'd be an easy way to overlay another typing method onto an already-working nontactile keyboard.
Swype finger-tracing text entry seems fast, hypnotic, and magical
OK, well maybe difficult is stretching it somewhat, but it does look like it'll take some getting used to. Swype's creator is none other than one of the people involved in developing T9 -- which we simply couldn't get by without -- and applies the same concept of quicker typing, with less work. Instead of tapping keys, Swype has you simply trace your finger through the letters you want to use to spell the words. The system will apparently enable even a novice to quickly get up to speeds of 40 words a minute. We're itching to check this out and with the glut of touchscreen sets on the market -- iPhone, Touch Diamond, and on, an on -- we can see this really taking off if it works as well as in the demo. Nothing to download just yet, but we've signed up and are waiting for the word.
