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.

HTC Evo Shift 4G: What's in the box

News

By Phil Nickinson | Jan 06 2011 | 1:19 pm | 15 Comments

Just like Brad Pitt in Se7en, you just had to know what's in the box, eh? Fine. We're happy to oblige. After the break, a non-unboxing of the HTC Evo Shift 4G.

LG Optimus 2X Hands-on [Video]

Smartphones

By Dieter Bohn | Jan 06 2011 | 1:14 pm | 0 Comments

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Hands-on [Video]

Smartphones

By Dieter Bohn | Jan 06 2011 | 12:40 pm | 7 Comments

We hit up NVIDIA's table last night to see what sort of Tegra 2 awesomeness they had in store and lo-and-behold they were showing off the gaming chops of the Acer ICONIA Tab A500. If you didn't hear, the 10" tablet is coming to Verizon's LTE network and will sport Honeycomb, though this unit was rocking a fairly stock Android 2.2. So stock, in fact, that rather than poke around Android by pulling up the default buttons (they're brought on-screen with a swipe rather than existing as real button), we just took in the stellar performance of Dungeon Defenders.

Back to the Acer: hardware feels solid by dint of copious amounts of brushed metal, there's HDMI out, a proper USB port, and microUSB. Get your photos and a the video gaming demo after the break!

Huawei IDEOS X5 announced at CES, rocking Froyo on a 3.8-inch screen

News

By Andrew Melnizek | Jan 06 2011 | 11:52 am | 1 Comment

Huawei Device has announced their new IDEOS X5 at this week's CES 2011. The new Android 2.2 phone is a mid-ranged device that rocks a 800MHz Qualcomm processor, 3.8-inch touchscreen, a 11.4mm width, a 5 mega pixel camera with 720p high-def recording, and a FM radio with SRS professional audio effects. The X5 will also connect to Wi-Fi with an 802.11n connection.

No word as to when this guy is gonna hit the US, but it will be available in Singapore, Hong Kong, and New Zeland in the next few weeks. With all of these dual-core processors being shipped with upcoming devices, will the 800MHz Qualcomm processor hold-up? What do you guys think? Video after the break! [Business Wire]

Samsung Galaxy Player Hands-on [Video]

Smartphones

By Dieter Bohn | Jan 06 2011 | 11:51 am | 15 Comments

Hands-on with Gorilla Glass at CES

News

By Rene Ritchie | Jan 06 2011 | 11:49 am | 8 Comments

While there may be some devices that won't confirm they're using Corning's Gorilla Glass, many of your favorite Android phones and tablets aren't shy about it. Why? Because it's tough as nails. Actually, it's tough enough to help protect your display from things like nails.

We caught up with the folks from Gorilla Glass live at CES 2011 and they gave us the full-on scratching, cracking, bending, breaking demo. Check it out in the video up top!

(Originally posted at our sister site, TiPb.com)

Full Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc specs released -- plus videos

News

By Kyle Gibb | Jan 06 2011 | 11:38 am | 12 Comments

Sony Ericsson today released the full spec list for their upcoming Xperia Arc, and they aren't leaving much off the table. Highlights include:

1GHz Qualcomm processor
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
4.2 inch "Reality Display" (aka 480x854) optimized for multimedia viewing
8.1 megapixel camera with 720p video recording
Auto focus camera with LED flash
PlayNow service for "premium" apps and games (not in every market)
FM radio
aGPS
HDMI out
512 MB internal phone memory
8GB microSD card installed, expandable up to 32GB
1500 mAh battery
117 grams at 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm

Sony Ericsson isn't leaving much to be desired and the full specs can be found in a press release just past the break along with a number of videos. [Sony Ericsson (1), (2)]

HTC Inspire 4G for AT&T Hands-on [Video]

Smartphones

By Dieter Bohn | Jan 06 2011 | 11:37 am | 17 Comments

Ford bringing SYNC App-Link to Mustang, Android app control with voice in tow

News

By Kyle Gibb | Jan 06 2011 | 11:19 am | 4 Comments

Drivers interested in the Ford Mustang should rejoice at the news that Ford's SYNC App-Link will be coming to the car in the 2012 model. App-Link extends the current abilities of SYNC, such as hands-free calling and music search, by allowing users to control third-party apps on their phone using SYNC's voice recognition. Announced awhile back, the service currently works only with Pandora with Stitcher compatibility coming in early 2011.

Honestly, Pandora was probably the top application on everyone's list so it is great that Ford chose to focus on it first. The car maker also promises that several more apps will be added to the list over the next year along with SYNC being offered in more car models. Check out the full presser past the break. [Ford]

Hands on with the Motorola Xoom

By Phil Nickinson | Jan 06 2011 | 5:24 am | 47 Comments

Update: Video's been added after the break.

Spend even just a little time with the Motorola Xoom and Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and you quickly come away thinking that this may be the best chance for an Android tablet to hit the mainstream yet.

The 10.1-inch display (at 1280x800 and a 16:10 aspect ratio) is lovely. It's thin enough, light enough and, gosh darn it, you're gonna love Honeycomb running atop not one but two 1GHz processors.

It'll launch on Verizon sometime in the first quarter (nobody's saying yet), for an undisclosed price. And you won't get LTE at first, that will require a hardware update, with details to follow. Eventually. And the microSD card won't work at first, either. A software update will take care of that. Really, you know as much as we do about that now. So, yeah, there's still a lot left on the table.

What's not left on the table? A slew of hands-on pics. Find 'em after the break.