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Intel posts x86-friendly Android 4.0 image, lets you feel the need for speed
Android developers are all too familiar with not-so-hot emulator performance, so it's a relief that there's now an system image in a native x86 for testing. While you'll still likely want to test on ARM, the x86 image will both help ferret out bugs specific to Intel's architecture as well as provide a much faster experience debugging apps now that the ARM-to-Intel translation isn't needed on top of running a whole second operating system. It's not perfectly up to date, running on Android 4.0.3, but it's close enough that the environment will mimic much of what users see -- and a big help if you're jumping into writing specifically for Intel devices. If speed is of the essence, or you're not keen on importing a Lava Xolo X900, you just need to update the SDK Manager to start testing with an Intel-flavored green robot.
Lava's Medfield-based Xolo X900 smartphone gets reviewed by AnandTech
We briefly got our hands on the Medfield-based Xolo X900 back in February, and have seen some benchmarks from Lenovo's K800 (based on the same reference design), but AnandTech has now provided a typically thorough review of the device that's ushering in Intel's new push into smartphones. In short, the phone is a solid first step, but not something that AnandTech sees as a flagship device. Battery life is respectable and performance is even better (scoring among the top of the heap in most benchmarks), and both the screen and camera manage to impress, but AnandTech didn't find anything that pulled the device ahead of the competition. In its own words, "on the one hand it's a good thing that you can't tell an Intel smartphone apart from one running an ARM based SoC, on the other hand it does nothing to actually sell the Intel experience." Hit the source link below for the full review and benchmarks.
Lava brings Intel-based smartphones to India with the XOLO X900
Intel has already announced a partnership with Orange to bring the first Intel-based smartphone to Europe, and it's now also announced a deal with Lava International to bring a similar phone to India. Like the Orange phone, this new XOLO X900 is based on Intel's reference design, and packs a 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 processor, a high-res 4-inch display (presumably the same 600 x 1024), front and rear-facing cameras, support for HSPA+ networks, built-in NFC, and HDMI connectivity -- plus what appears to be stock Android 2.3 for an OS, with no mention of a possible ICS upgrade just yet. Still no firm word on launch details for the phone either, but Intel says it's expected to be available early in the second quarter of this year.
E-TEN busts out three new WinMo 6.1 smartphones
Actually, E-TEN's saying they're showing four new models here, but we've been aware of E-TEN's glofiish quad-band V900 for some time now, leaving three all-new Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphones on display at Computex this week. The DX900 is a dual-SIM smartphone for those on multiple carriers and comes in a form factor very similar to the aforementioned mobile TV-friendly V900. Meanwhile, the X900 is a quad-band GSM handset with HSDPA and is a basic upgrade to the X800 with Windows Mobile 6.1 and a tweaked UI. Finally, the X610 -- an update to the X600 -- also runs WinMo 6.1 and a similarly-updated interface.[Via phoneArena]
Gemei X-900 gamer-centric PMP
It's not like we haven't seen plenty of PMPs already that sport a modicum of gaming controls and enough pep to manage a NES or SNES emulator, but the new Gemei X-900 sure goes the extra mile. The 4.3-inch screened device is really quite svelte, at a mere 0.6-inches thick, but you can bulk up with some dedicated controls to spice things up, which include dual analog sticks along with the usual compliment of buttons. Otherwise, it's pretty standard fare -- though the PMP does manage a small built-in camera. The screen sports a 480 x 272 resolution, there's 1GB of built-in flash memory along with an SD expansion slot, and the codec support includes FLAC, MP3, WMA for audio, along with AVI and MPEG-4 for video. Battery life isn't too shabby, at 25 hours for audio and 6 hours for video, and the usual FM tuner and voice recording are present as well. Unfortunately, CNET sez those gaming controls aren't quite as great as they look, but we suppose they really couldn't hurt. No word on price or availability, but we're probably not going to see this thing around these parts anytime soon.[Thanks, Gooly]
