hardware

So for reasons that currently escape us, Samsung has decided to release a commercial showcasing the Samsung Behold II--yep, that middling Android 1.5, TouchWiz UI running phone that never picked up much steam when it was released way back in November. The commercial is a nice spot, we think the stylizing is done rather nicely, but why devote...

After spending some time with the Palm Pre in the Smartphone Round Robin, we became quite smitten with the form factor. The vertical slider is rather unique in the smartphone industry and it's surprising that out of all the Android form factors available, no one has put out a Pre-like device. Well, no more. Say...

It looks like Sprint is planning on launching their first WiMAX equipped phone by this summer. Speaking with Forbes, Sprint said that they're launching a WiMAX device in the first half of this year. Remember, WiMAX is 4G and Sprint's WiMAX network has been rolling out for some time now. A device to take advantage of Sprint's WiMAX...

According to Sydsvenskan.se, Sony Ericsson turned down the opportunity to build the Nexus One. We knew that Sony Ericsson didn't want to sell their phones...

General Mobile, the maker of the dual-sim DSTL1 if you didn't know, showcased a few Android devices at MWC. The wonderful thing is that they're all beautifully designed and come with more than capable specs. The sad thing is that they were all dummy units that offer promise but nothing else.

The phone above is called the Touch Stone and is...

Huawei, which may be an unfamiliar company to most, has actually grown quite familiar with Android. They've released Android devices before and at MWC, they'll be showcasing four more Android phones. The U880 (pictured above) is the cream of the crop, the U8300 comes with a front facing QWERTY, and the U8100 and U8110 are targeted towards the low end. That's a solid Android portfolio if you ask us.

We're not sure how many times a device can 'leak' before getting officially announced but the HTC Legend &

Here's the thing: the Acer Liquid e seems to be nearly the same phone as the original Acer Liquid. The only difference we could spot is that the Acer Liquid e will run Android 2.1 (yay!) instead of Android 1.6. The Acer Liquid e runs the same ...

And now we get reminded why we had so much faith in the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. The Xperia X10's Camera has facial recognition software that enables the camera to identify faces within pictures. For example, if you take a picture of your friend Phil in one picture, you can easily find more pictures that include Phil--it automatically groups pictures of Phil in one gallery. For a "...

We've known that Acer has been planning to release more Android devices this year but nothing has come out until now. Say hello to the Acer E110, Acer's latest Android phone. There's not much we can tell you about the device except that it's expected to run Android 2.0 and come with your typical slew of connectivity options. The design is inoffensive and we're hoping that the giant circle...

Not as crazy as it sounds. It looks there's now a way to enable USB Host mode on the Motorola Droid.  In a nutshell, this is the first step towards using a USB memory stick or printer right from the miniUSB port on your Droid. It's not the first phone to do this, but it's a welcome step on an Android device.

Right now, it’s still in the “hack...

Say hello to the Samsung SHW-M100S, Samsung's latest Android smartphone and their first to run Android 2.1. This puppy looks to be a good one with a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, 800 MHz processor, 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording, 3.5mm headphone jack, DivX support, and your usual slew of connectivity options. Nice, right?

But it ain't perfect. Why? Because the M100s runs Samsung's...

The myTouch 3G as we know is getting phased out. But it's not for the rumored myTouch Slide but actually for the myTouch 3G Version 1.2 which adds a 3.5mm headset jack (much needed!). Accessories for the myTouch 3G 1.2 have been hitting stores and

Google is currently looking for a customer phone support expert to manage a new Phone Support team for Android/Nexus One. Which means, yep, Customer Phone Support will finally be available to Nexus One users. To quote Google on the job responsibility of the Phone Support Program Manager:

[The position will be] responsible for ramping up and managing...

We already knew that Motorola had spent a boatload of money to air an ad during the Super Bowl (Go Saints!), but what would they be advertising? We're leaning towards the Backflip. The Backflip was announced at CES but has yet to been properly unveiled to the general public, what better...

Sorry, folks. Looks like you're not going to be buying the Google Nexus One at Wally World anytime soon. Despite still having it listed on its "Let's Talk" wireless retail site (albeit as "no longer available"), Walmart issued a statement today saying it won't be the...

Um, wow. After making a big deal about the new Google Phone Store and how it could potentially change everything, could the Nexus One just fall back into the typical way of smartphone life? As in, just be available in brick and mortar stores for whomever, wherever? Maybe. Wal-Mart just put a 'Coming Soon'...

This is obviously just a render, but the device in this render is reported to be the Motorola Motosplit, an Android-powered device that packs another funky form factor. Exact specifications are unknown but Engadget says its going to pack a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and it looks to be very thin. The QWERTY keyboard is split in half, so you'll have to slide out both...

Could the rumored myTouch Slide mark the end of the ridiculously successful Sidekick brand at T-Mobile? Well, rumors says yes. BGR is hearing that the upcoming...

Hey hey! Even though Google and China are having a little standoff, with Google even going as far as delaying 2 Android phones in China, it looks like the Lenovo LePhone will carry on business as usual. It's set to release in May of this year...

Please welcome Garmin-ASUS to the Android party! After promising to deliver an Android device way back in December 2008 and then re-affirming that fact in June 2009, it looks like that Garmin-ASUS Android phone will be shown off at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Better late than never, right? No official details on the...

Though it may seem like Android phones are getting rooted faster and faster, rooting the Motorola Milestone actually took a bit of time. But wait no more because the Milestone (GSM version of the Droid that packs multitouch) has been rooted for full access...

Right after we got our hands on LG's latest Android Phone, the GT540, comes news directly from LG's CEO, Nam Young, that half of their new smartphones will run Android. This is obviously great news because it'll mean more Android devices but since no LG Android Phone has hit the US, we're unsure if we'll ever see the benefits of this. Regardless, we're hopeful that the GT540 will buck

You know what would be fun, if you combined the Nexus One teardown pictures along with the just released Nexus One bill of materials list! Okay, maybe not. But if you were wondering how much the Nexus One cost in materials, and we know you guys have been just dying to know, iSuppli just did their analysis on it and came up with $174.15. Most expensive was the $30...

Say hello to the LG GT540 Swift Android smartphone. We've seen Android devices from LG before but none have reached the US, maybe that'll change with the GT540. The GT540 is a cute little device that seems to hit the midrange end of the market, especially catering to those who've yet to own a smartphone.

Watch out Nook, you have a real competitor for that Android-powered, Dual-screen E-Book Reader space. We spent a little time with the Spring Design Alex E-Reader at CES and came away pretty impressed. Unlike the Nook (un-rooted, of course),...

Hey, AT&T users, you guys are getting Android phones. AT&T finally came to their senses and is finally (!) joining the Android party. We'll forgive them for being late because we're sure AT&T users all around the nation are excited to get their hands on some Android devices, and oh will there be Android devices. In fact, AT&T promises to launch FIVE Android phones in the first half of 2010 alone. Those devices will include:

The oh so lucky guys at the Nexus One Blog got their hands on the Nexus One and one-upped the other hands-on that came out today with a full review. They go through the Nexus One in full detail and come out pretty darn impressed at the device. To summarize:

In short, the Camangi WebStation Android Tablet is a fairly well-built device that's terminally slow, plays atrocious videos, and a total fail that can't be recommended to anyone at any price. Yikes! The performance of the Camangi WebStation was so poor that the reviewer termed it as:

My suspicion is that the unit is basically a digital picture frame loaded with a cell phone version Google Android with a touch screen.

You know, we'd be ecstatic if the Galaxy was launched in the beginning of 2009 as opposed to the end of 2009 because there's just so many other Android devices to choose from. In any case, Bell Canada has just announced the Samsung Galaxy for $99.95 with new 3-year contract. You'll get a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, and usual slew of connectivity options wrapped up in a rather dated Android 1.5 OS. 

The...

Remember the Motorola Motus? Sure you do, it was Motorola's next Android device rumored to run Motoblur and have some interesting flip mechanism for the keyboard. More details are coming to light on the Motus and it looks to corroborate our previous report but the most interesting nugget is its potential launch on AT&T. Big Blue is the only carrier that doesn't offer an...

Snuggled deep in the leaked Android 2.1 ROM are codenames of future HTC Android devices. Since HTC has been such a huge proponent for Android (since the G1 days!), it's not really surprising to see so many devices listed. If this report is true, we're probably in for some stellar Android devices in the near future (the DROID can't stay on top forever). Some of the names have...

It looks like that Google Phone that was real and coming early next year has now become a certainty. According to Gizmodo, a trusted source has tipped them off that is adding even more...

Acer, which already makes the upcoming Acer Liquid (which looks great), is planning to build more Android-powered handsets in 2010. After using Windows Mobile for nearly all of their previous handsets, Acer's 2010 lineup will look to be "more balanced". According to Acer:

&...

It sure looks like the next big thing for Android will be MIDs. Inbrics just announced that they'll be showing one off at CES in January and hope to deliver it to the US in 2010. The video above showcases the Inbrics Android MID (but we're not sure if it's actually the real, working device) and it pretty much promises you the...

Here we go again. There's whispers going around that the device we've all been waiting for, since even before the existence of Android really, is coming early next year. Yep, the Google Phone, as in the hardware and design and all the little and final decisions that goes into building a phone is made by Google.

We've seen the Dell 'Streak' Android MID before. It's a 5-inch Android-powered MID that packs a 800x480 capacitive touchscreen, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and runs Android 2.0. Why is it news again? Because there are reports floating around that point the Dell Streak to AT&T in 2010. Yep, the US company that didn't release their first Android phone in the...

We've seen a Creative Zii Android Device before in the Zii Egg but we haven't heard from them since. It looks like that's about to change because the first Zii Summit 2009 will be held in December and there'll be an announcement of the Zii Optimized Android Phone platform which will presumably be available in an official Zii Android phone. The...

We've already seen the Samsung Galaxy Spica I5700 before but now it's finally official. Samsung has just unveiled their latest Android powered smartphone and it's looking exactly like we imagined. The Galaxy Spica packs a 800 MHz processor which we're going to assume is like the Moment's, a 3...

The much anticipated Dell Android Smartphone is officially official and it's headed to China & Brazil. The Dell Mini 3i, as it's known, looks like a cross between an iPhone and a Palm Pre with touches of the myTouch 3G. The Dell Mini 3i will launch on China Mobile in China without 3G and Claro in Brazil with 3G. Obviously, the biggest head scratcher is why is a big time US company not releasing their first big time phone in the US and we honestly have...

BGR has just independently confirmed what we already knew, that the GSM version of the Motorola DROID, the Motorola Milestone, will be available on Telus in Canada. BGR points to the vague timeframe of "early 2010" but that day can't come soon enough. The...

If your Verizon DROID or DROID Eris has been acting up lately, fear not, it looks like Verizon is well aware of all the DROID and DROID Eris' bugs and problems and will address them in an OTA (over-the-air) update on December 11th. Internal documents suggest that a slew of fixes are coming, both hardware and software related. Our eyes have narrowed in on the DROID's "camera auto-focus sometimes never autofocusing issue" and we're hoping the firmware fix will...

The Saygus Vphone V1 is slated for release as the third Android phone on Verizon. We know--who, what, and where is Saygus? Honestly, we wish we could tell you, we've never heard of the company until now. Saygus will be the third Android phone on Big Red (which is quickly becoming the home for Android devices) and was created through Verizon's own Open Development Program designed to make it easy to deliver Android handsets to Big...

It's pretty amazing to think how far Android has come in just one year. Just 12 months ago we were getting all excited about the T-Mobile G1 and the promises that Android 1.0 held. Fast forward 365 days and we're looking at all that potential realized--the Motorola DROID is simply a fantastic device and Android 2.0 makes it all the more amazing. The DROID is our faith in Android, re-affirmed. 

The Samsung Behold II just showed its pretty face and we got the pictures to prove it. Though we'll never like the name of the device (why name a brand new Android phone after a dumbphone?), we're beginning to come around on the Behold II. We're big fans of Samsung devices and it looks like the Behold II will pack enough niceties (3.2 inch AMOLED...

The Verizon Droid Eris, Big Red's version of the HTC Hero, has been captured again in live photos and though it's priced at the 'low-end' at $99, it has all the charm and appeal of a 'high-end' device. As you can see in the photo above, the Droid Eris will definitely run HTC Sense and pack all the niceties that...

As we already know, the Sony Ericsson 'Rachael' XPERIA X3 Android Phone will be announced at Sony Ericsson's 'extraordinary and magical' event scheduled for November 3rd. We've been looking forward to this device since the day it...

Okay, it's official. The next couple weeks are going to be HUGE for Android. Sony Ericsson just scheduled an event for November 3rd that promises to be "extraordinary and magical". What could this be about? Well, poke around the site's source code and you can find 'Rachael' mentioned by name so yeah, this is the...

You didn't think Motorola and Verizon would be alone with Android 2.0 handsets, did you? HTC just confirmed that their upcoming Android phones will also be equipped with Android 2.0 'Eclair'. In fact, HTC said that they've had Android 2.0 in-house for a while now so they've definitely been able to develop phones for the much anticipated Android build.

We've seen Android 2.0...

We've made it abundantly clear that we're in love with the Sony Ericsson 'Rachael' Android XPERIA Phone also known as the XPERIA X3. Just check out our previous