Whoa there, another phone leak? It could only be the run-up to Mobile World Congress. This time, it’s Samsung that’s let slip, and the not-particularly high-end Galaxy Mini 2. Mini in size, minor in specifications, it will purportedly arrive with a 3.3-inch display at 480 x 320 resolution, running Gingerbread on an 800MHz processor. Unfortunately, at that speed, don’t expect to get any Adobe Flash action on this presumably entry-level phone. It’ll be capable of HSDPA data speeds up to 7.2Mbps; add in a three-megapixel camera, 3GB of built-in storage and it’s all starting to sound a bit 2008. GSM Arena‘s mole pegs it for a February release, so that could mean it sprints out ahead of MWC, but it’ll find it hard to avoid the bright lights of Barcelona.

Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 leaked, says it’ll arrive later this month originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The launch of the 710 is the opening salvo for Nokia as it works to re-establish itself in the U.S. following its decision to adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform. It might disappoint some users who are more anxious to see the Lumia 800, which has gotten positive reviews since it launched in Europe. But T-Mobile said the 710 fits with its strategy of targeting the 150 million Americans who have yet to buy their first smartphone.

“It’s been T-Mobile’s strategy to really upgrade folks who haven’t used a smartphone before to their first smartphone,” said Rhone Rarick, senior product manager for T-Mobile. “The barriers for that are really cost and intimidation of something too complex. From T-Mobile’s perspective we think Windows Phone is a great platform for those folks and from a hardware perspective we need to make certain things happen to get down to great price point of .”

The 710 offers a 3.7-inch WVGA display with a 1.4 GHz Snapdragon processor, 8 GB of storage and a 5 megapixel camera. It will be able to access speeds of 14.4 megabits per second on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. The T-Mobile version of the Lumia 710 will also get Netflix pre-loaded along with T-Mobile TV, a streaming video service. The Lumia 710 will join two other Windows Phone 7 devices, the HD7, T-Mobile’s first WP7 smartphone, and the HTC Radar 4G.

”The Nokia Lumia 710 is the perfect first-time smartphone: a well-designed product that delivers the most compelling Windows Phone experience in its price range and with access to great content and thousands of applications,” said Chris Weber, president, Nokia Americas in a statement. “This is the perfect first Nokia Lumia experience and the start of our re-entry into the U.S. smartphone market.”

The news was widely predicted after Nokia and T-Mobile sent out invitations to a Wednesday night event. An FCC filing also indicated the upcoming device would be the 710, removing any doubt about a possible Lumia 800 launch. But the choice of the 710 is still a disappointment in some ways considering the mounting pressure on Nokia to show that it’s serious about its new direction with Windows Phone 7. Our reviewer Kevin really enjoyed Nokia’s N9, the design the Lumia 800 is built off of.

Launching with T-Mobile would also seem to be weak choice for Nokia to debut its Windows Phone 7 line in the U.S. But it makes sense in that T-Mobile has been a strong supporter of Nokia for years. And Nokia is familiar with T-Mobile’s bands so preparing the devices for the network was relatively easy. But it still means that Nokia is starting with a struggling fourth-place carrier and will need to move quickly to roll out on the other operators. This is just the first step for Nokia but it will need to do a lot more to really make good on its bet on Windows Phone 7 in the U.S.

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The phone includes a pentaband radio, meaning it works fully on both AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s networks. I haven’t tested it on AT&T yet, but a popping a T-Mobile SIM card in has already provided download speeds of 9.4 Mbps.

I shared a brief video overview of the Galaxy Nexus within 24 hours of it arriving, so I was still learning the ropes of Android 4.0. It impressed me then and continues to do so with more usage. The phone has very capable hardware to power Google’s mobile operating system: a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of memory, fast mobile broadband and a gorgeous 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display with 1280 x 720 resolution. See for yourself:

But no phone is perfect and some may not care for the 5 megapixel camera sensor Samsung used for the Galaxy Nexus. With limited use, I find it to be more than adequate for still images in good light and also for high-definition video capture up to 1080p resolution. During the next week, I’ll try to connect the phone to my HDTV to see the output on a larger screen.

Where there may be gaps in the hardware, the software is excellent. Android 4.0 is the best attempt yet for any company to compete against Apple’s iOS 5 operating system. Google has refined the user interface by bringing the most positive aspects of Android 3.x (aka: Honeycomb) to the smartphone screen. Gmail’s revamp is superb as is the overall consistency of the entire user interface.

It’s not all peaches and cream though: There’s an issue with Facebook integration and I’m seeing some strange text formatting problems in the otherwise very impressive stock browser. And I love how my Google Chrome bookmarks on the desktop are kept in sync with the Galaxy Nexus. In fact, I like Android 4.0 so much, I’m going to install it on my old Nexus One smartphone when time allows.

This week wasn’t all good news though. A demonstration of software called Carrier IQ showed the service to be collecting data from smartphones; mainly on Android devices. The story continues to develop, but some are concerned — rightly so — about Carrier IQ’s lack of transparency. The service is apparently installed at carrier’s requests and consumers aren’t aware of this. Nor is there a choice to opt-out or shut down the service; it simply runs silently in the background.

This type of practice is one of the several reasons I’d rather have a Nexus phone, which doesn’t include any carrier software. My bigger reasons were faster Android updates and the ability to easily customize the phone with other Android software, but diagnostic tools that are hidden in the background got added to my list this week.

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That up-front cost also gets you a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage with support for a 16 GB microSD card and an 8-megapixel camera. It also includes Beats Audio technology for improved sound. Not included on the Rezound, however, is Android 4.0; at least not when the phone launches on Nov. 14. Instead, the handset runs on the Gingerbread version of Android. HTC said the device is “Ice Cream Sandwich ready”, and that an update to Android 4.0 is expected early in 2012.

No tablets yet have Android 4.0 either, but perhaps the secret to Android tablet success has less to do with the underlying operating system and more to do with the user interface and available content. That’s why I think Amazon and Barnes & Noble are both going to sell millions of their Android-based 7-inch tablets in the coming months; something no other Android tablet-maker has done yet.

Between the Kindle Fire and the upcoming Nook Tablet, both products use Android 2.3 with a clean, heavily customized interface that completely hides Android. They also focus on the key, primary activities that most people want in a mobile device: Reading digital media, browsing the web, consuming video content, checking email and running a handful of popular applications found in curated application stores. And they both do this with a relatively low price and no expensive monthly mobile broadband contract: 9 and 9 for the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, respectively.

In contrast, traditional phone and computer makers haven’t figured out this tablet strategy, or they don’t have the content to leverage. Instead, they’re focused on computer-like specifications and hardware and are trying to compete with Apple’s iPad.

A perfect example is the new Motorola Xoom 2, just introduced this week for the U.K. and Ireland. There’s little change from the first Xoom, which hasn’t been a popular seller: a 20 percent faster chip, weight savings, and a splash-guard screen coating are some of the differences. But none of these address why the Xoom hasn’t been selling millions of units.

Motorola, Samsung, HTC, LG and a score of others are likely to do better when the improved interface of Android 4.0 arrives on slates, which at this point is looking like a 2012 event. We may see one or two tablets with Ice Cream Sandwich before year-end, but I anticipate most will be shown off at January’s Consumer Electronics Show, with availability some time after that.

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A quick run-down of the specifications for those who missed the announcement:

• 4.65-inch 1280 x 720-pixel Super AMOLED HD with curved glass
• TI OMAP 4460 dual-core Cortex A9 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz
• 1 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage
• 5 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video capture, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
• LTE / HSPA mobile broadband
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC support, barometer sensor

The Galaxy Nexus is the first handset to use a Samsung Super AMOLED display that’s 4.65-inches in size. With a computer-like resolution, the screen should be stunning. However, detailed analysis of the technology by FlatPanelsHD shows that the display uses sub-pixels, which means some pixels are shared. I’ll have to see the screen for myself, but I suspect only the most discriminating users will see any issues.

Some enthusiasts are also disappointed by Samsung’s choice of a 5 megapixel rear camera sensor. I agree that Samsung missed an opportunity here — at least for those who care mostly about megapixels — but as the iPhone 4 has shown for more than year, with the right image processing software and camera sensor, a 5 megapixel camera can shoot excellent pictures. We’ll get a better feel for the camera quality soon, as Verizon has announced it will carry an LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus before year end.

Hardware of course, is only part of the equation for any  mobile device. Along with the new phone, Google introduced Android 4.0, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, which is the version that will run on the Galaxy Nexus. Everything you need to know about Android 4.0 is here, but a basic summary from what I saw during the introduction includes:

• A cleaner, more consistent user interface
• Roboto, a new system font
• Notifications in the lock screen
• Facial recognition for unlocking the phone
• Improved cut/copy/paste
• Voice recognition in near real-time for text input
• Updated core apps, i.e.; Gmail, Calendar, etc…
• Detailed data usage monitoring with customizable alerts
• Contacts are now People, with social network integration
• Android Beam: a method to share data wirelessly via NFC proximity

Android 4.0 looks far more like a finished product than Honeycomb, or Android 3.0 and it should unify Google-powered smartphones and tablets. Ultimately, that could help Android tablet sales, although some think they’re selling just fine.

A research report from Strategy Analytics this past week suggests that Android tablets now hold more than a quarter of the tablet market and are quickly eating into Apple’s iPad sales. Upon closer inspection of the analysis, there are several discrepancies and interpretations that simply don’t make sense to me. I outlined some data points that indicate Android tablets still aren’t selling well.

Perhaps with Android 4.0 in combination with quad-core chips, we’ll see an uptick in Android tablets next year.

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The 8 megapixel rear camera shoots excellent images while the front-facing 2 megapixel camera has worked well for Google Talk video chats. I had a cross-country video call with my son on the Galaxy S II and he thought I was at a computer; that’s how good the visual clarity is. You can also see in the video of how Samsung integrated movement sensors into the interface. By tapping the screen and moving the phone, you can adjust widget placement and zoom in or out of web pages or pictures.

While the Galaxy S II has the latest smartphone version of Android, a new one is coming soon. Known as Ice Cream Sandwich, the next version of Google’s mobile platform is meant to unify features between smartphones and tablets.

I received an invite to a Samsung event on Oct. 11 which also has Google’s logo on it. Given the expected timing of Ice Cream Sandwich, it’s likely that the new operating system will be unveiled at the event on a Samsung device; perhaps the next Nexus phone.

Early in the week, the newest Android tablet was launched, but you wouldn’t know it ran on Google’s platform. Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire, a 9 slate with 7-inch screen and customized user interface that completely hides Android. With the Kindle Fire, Amazon is taking a similar approach to that of Barnes and Nobles’s Nook Color, with one huge exception: Amazon has a much broader media ecosystem for its tablet.

The Kindle Fire is focused on Amazon’s content libraries for e-books, magazines, movies, television shows, and music. The Fire also comes with an email client and access to Amazon’s AppStore, which is a curated store of third-party Android applications. A Wi-Fi-only device, the Fire also has a hybrid web browser called Amazon Silk that works with Amazon Web Services to deliver content faster.

Android purists may opt for full-featured Google tablets, but for the mainstream audience, the Fire looks compelling. It delivers most of the functionality that consumers want in a small, portable device and does so at a far lower price than most competitors. See our first look video here from the Kindle Fire launch.

But there’s potentially good news for those that want a traditional tablet. Priced at 9, the Fire may put pressure on tablet makers to build devices that sell in the 0 to 0 range, instead of 9 as we’ve seen in the recent past. The HTC Flyer received a permanent 0 price cut that starts today: The capable 7-inch slate now costs 9; just days after Amazon announced its 9 Kindle Fire.

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Continue reading Nokia 701 hands-on (video)

Nokia 701 hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Research in Motion has had better days — and years, for that matter — but it’s always had a loyal partner in AT&T, a company that’s cranked out BlackBerry products faithfully for the past twelve years. The tradition continues, as the GSM giant has announced its intentions to bring the 4G BlackBerry Torch 9810 (aka the Torch 2) to stores sometime this month, followed by the 4G BlackBerry Torch 9860 and 4G Bold 9900 “later this year.” No specific dates or prices were given on any of the devices.

The Torch 9810 comes with a 1.2GHz CPU, 3.2-inch touch display, a total of 8GB internal memory (with microSD expansion up to 32GB), and a 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video capture. Oh, and about the “4G” in the title? An AT&T spokesperson confirmed to us that the moniker is simply referring to HSPA+, capping at 14.4Mbps. It’s definitely a step up from the original Torch 9800, at least, but our appetite for 4G of the LTE variety runs deep. Will this be too little too late for the Canadian manufacturer, or can this year’s fall lineup be enough to keep the company healthy until QNX rolls into town?

Continue reading AT&T to launch BlackBerry Torch 9810 this month, Torch 9860 and Bold 9900 later this year

AT&T to launch BlackBerry Torch 9810 this month, Torch 9860 and Bold 9900 later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The HTC Status pairs a small, 2.6-inch, 480×320 resolution touchscreen with a hardware keyboard for fast typing. The 600 MHz processor and 512 MB of memory won’t set any speed records, however, the Status does include two video cameras,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G connectivity, and GPS, so it’s not lacking any major features.

At this price, it’s sure to appeal to the crowd that uses a feature phone to access Facebook, email and the web. My only concern would be if Facebook makes major changes to its service, what happens to this Facebook phone? HTC and AT&T could have to create a software update in that case, and very little in the wireless industry happens fast.

Actually, a new wireless product is pretty quick: the camera on the myTouch 4G Slide. This Android 2.3.4 handset is expected out by the end of the month for 9.99 and T-Mobile sent me one for review. Yes, the 1.2 dual-core processor keeps this phone moving along quickly, but I may be more impressed by the 8 megapixel camera.

A new BurstMode feature captures five photos in immediate succession; perfect for sporting events or any other action-packed scenario. The camera also has a “zero shutter lag” function that speeds up the photo-taking process. A wide aperture (f/2.2) helps for low light conditions and the smartphone supports wide, panoramic picture-taking through an option called SweepShot.

On the tablet front, no new Android slates appeared this week, but an old favorite resurfaced: the Nook Color eReader. No, that’s not a typo: at 9, the Nook Color is becoming a favorite of many who want an inexpensive Android tablet that’s still a capable little device.

It’s relatively easy enough for anyone who’s tech-savvy to root the color eReader and install custom Android software on the Nook Color. But some enterprising folks have made the process as simple as inserting a microSD memory card into the Nook Color and powering it on. The card can be purchased for as low as and comes pre-installed with software both for use as an Android tablet or as a standard Nook Color ebook reader.

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