Android Central at CES

Want to see all of our CES coverage in one place? This is the place. If it's Android and it's at CES 2011, it'll be here, friend.

Stay tuned for live coverage every day between January 4th and January 9th for all the wall-to-wall Android tablet, Android smartphone, Google TV, and [insert crazy Android device type here] news coming out of CES.

LG Revolution First Look

Smartphones

By Dieter Bohn | Jan 06 2011 | 7:19 pm | 26 Comments

One of the big three new devices Verizon saw fit to directly present at their press conference today was the LG Revolution. The handlers were pretty adamant we not put our grubby hands on their classy phones, but nevertheless watching them go through their paces gave off good impressions. As with the others, there wasn't a working Skype demo, but web pages loaded fast (4G LTE will do that) and rendered fast enough to keep us from feeling the lack of a dual-core processor.

The 4.3 inch screen was good but perhaps a little shy of Samsung's Super AMOLED-level quality. Android 2.2, a 5mp shooter, HDMI-out, mobile hotspot for 8 devices, and 16gb internal memory round out the topline specs here.

You know the drill, more images and a quick video after the break!

First look at the HTC Thunderbolt

News

By Phil Nickinson | Jan 06 2011 | 6:58 pm | 70 Comments

We've seen a number of leaks of the HTC Thunderbolt leading up to CES 2011. But to hold the Verizon 4G LTE phone in your hand certainly is electric. <Ducks!> Seriously, though. HTC knows how to make smartphones. Verizon knows how to serve up the high-speed data. And combine them in this 4.3-inch, 1GHz Sense device (and the new Sense, too!), and we've got one powerful beast.

You get Wireless hotspot. You get the Skype video chat. You get games. You get Android 2.2 with a promise to upgrade to Android 2.3.

And you get our hands-on photos and video after the break.

First look at the Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone

News

By Phil Nickinson | Jan 06 2011 | 6:35 pm | 20 Comments

The Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone has just about the most generic name we've ever seen phone a phone. But the device is anything but bland. (And more on that name in a second.)

We're talking Verizon Wireless LTE. Android 2.2. An 8MP rear camera and 1.3MP front-facing camera. A 1GHz processor. All on a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen.

Screen tech is advancing at such a clip, what's "best" changes from day to day. But you're gonna love Super AMOLED Plus on this Sammy device, thanks to its increased subpixels. The total resolution is the usual 480x800, but there are 12 subpixels to every pixel, up from the usual eight. You need to see it.

Swype video calling also promises to be a big part of this guy. Verizon didn't have it up and running, and the demo video looked pretty standard.

Now about that name. It's pretty bland. But interestingly enough, the words Galaxy S were more than apparent during our demo. So we'll have to get that straightened out.

Skype and Verizon announce video calling on many of their 4G Android devices

News

By Jared DiPane | Jan 06 2011 | 6:04 pm | 15 Comments

skype

Today, along with announcing their recent acquisition of Qik, Skype has also announced that they plan to bring video calling to a wide variety of 4G Android devices on Verizon. It has become obvious across mobile platforms that video calling is a feature that is in high demand, and Verizon and Skype wanted to ensure that they were not left behind with this; and to make sure they utilized the front and rear facing cameras to the max. Currently they expect this feature to be usable mid-2011, so while unfortunately not yet available, it is on its way!

Live from the Verizon Wireless press event!

News

By Phil Nickinson | Jan 06 2011 | 4:35 pm | 26 Comments

The excitement's been building for this one, and we're live at the Verizon Wireless press event at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

We've already seen a couple new Android devices on Verizon -- the Motorola Droid Bionic and Xoom Honeycomb tablet. Will they have something else up their sleeve? Join us after the break to find out!

T-Mobile makes LG G-Slate official

News

By Kyle Gibb | Jan 06 2011 | 3:24 pm | 7 Comments

T-Mobile today officially announced their G-Slate tablet. Made by LG, the tablet comes with TMo HSPA+ for "4G" speeds and Android 3.0 Honeycomb running the whole assembly. We already saw some leaked videos of the device in action and we are awaiting more hard tech specs. Press release after the break. [Android Central live blog, T-Mobile]

T-mobile announces the Dell Streak 7

News

By Jerry Hildenbrand | Jan 06 2011 | 3:09 pm | 5 Comments

We already knew it was going to happen, but T-Mobile announced the Dell Streak 7 at their CES press conference today. From their press release:

"T-Mobile’s first 4G tablet, the Dell Streak 7, is capable of peak speeds up to 21 Mbps to provide a super-fast 4G mobile broadband experience for watching movies and entertainment through preloaded content and thousands of widgets, games and applications available on Android Market™. Running the Android 2.2 operating system, the Dell Streak 7 features a brilliant 7-inch WVGA touch screen with Gorilla® Glass, dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and full Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 support."

Sounds like a great new device for those who aren't interested in bigger (and heavier) gear, as long as Dell can get the updates to it in a timely manner. We'll share more as we hear it!

Qik acquired by Skype [update]

News

By Andrew Melnizek | Jan 06 2011 | 2:59 pm | 14 Comments

Qik, the company behind video conferencing on the HTC Evo 4G, and many other mobile devices, has been acquired by video and voice over IP giant, Skype. Tony Bates, the CEO of Skype, has posted the announcement on the company's blog.

"Skype and Qik share a common purpose of enriching communications with video, and the acquisition of Qik will help to accelerate our leadership in video by adding recording, sharing and storing capabilities to our product portfolio" said the CEO.

No word on how much the acquisition cost and when the two will officially join forces. We'll keep you posted as this week's CES plays out. [Skype]

Update: Mashable has confirmed that Qik has been purchased for $100 million bucks.

T-Mobile press event liveblog

News

By Phil Nickinson | Jan 06 2011 | 2:55 pm | 1 Comment

Good morning from beautiful Las Vegas. We've fought our way through the Adult Entertainment Expo here at the Sands Expo and Convention Center (it's a rough job, we know) and are at the T-Mobile press event.

Will we see new phones? A Dell tablet? Only one way to find out. Hit the break for the liveblog action!

Acer announces the beTouch E140, sports Froyo and 2.8-inch screen

News

By Andrew Melnizek | Jan 06 2011 | 1:31 pm | 4 Comments

It's starting to seem like every phone coming out of CES is running Android. But hey, we're not complaining here. Acer has announced the beTouch E140. The E140's screen size is a lot smaller than what we've been seeing coming out of CES. Compared to the Samsung Infuse 4G, this guy's screen is tiny. Here's what we know about the device so far: